Issue 07

ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL

e h t

4 7 0 0 M e d f o r d D r. A n n a n d a l e , VA 2 2 0 0 3

LAS AB T informing the Atoms since 1954

703.642.4229

TUESDAY, FEB. 11, 2003

13

THE KOREAN CONFLICT

SLUMPIN’ SENIORS

With the Bush Administration campaigning for war against Iraq, are they overlooking the North Korean threat?

With college applications complete, many seniors have little incentive to keep up the hard work.

Today’s Weather Mostly cloudy with a chance of a light dusting of snow.

35º hi /20º low

brought to you by NBC 4

NEWS BRIEFS Snow day to be made up on Presidents’ Day Due to the inclement weather on Feb. 7, students in Fairfax County Public Schools will be attending school on Presidents’ Day. It will be a Red Day. A snow storm that sweeped up from the south through the metropolitan area blanketed the area with about six inches of snow. Snow began late Thursday night at around 8 p.m. and continued throughout the morning hours.

The next inclement weather day that occurs will replace the student holiday on April 7. Any additional snow days will cause the school year to be extended from the set date of June 22.

CHAE-WHA PARK

Faculty routs students in pep-rally basketball game

Physics teacher Will Shirkey gave the teachers a lift off the bench en route to a double digit victory. The game took place on Jan. 16.

FCPS terror plan issued

BY JOHN REISS Staff Writer In the 1960s, contingency plans were formed for schools in case of a nuclear strike during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Now, four decades later, similar precautions are being taken. With the possibility of war with Iraq looming on the horizon and the elevated code Orange Terror Alert that was issued Saturday, what is being done to protect students and faculty if an attack takes place during school?

Ever since the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, plans to respond to a biological attack have been in the works.

On Jan. 29, Fairfax County school officials outlined a plan in case of a nuclear or biological threat on the Metropolitan area.

In a scenario where such an attack happens, classrooms will go into an automatic lock down. From there, all vents into the school would be sealed and teachers would line windows with duct tape and place wet towels under the doors to keep out contaminated air. This contingency plan is called “Shelter in Place.” For students who might be outside during a terrorist biologiClausen cal strike, they would be quarantined, then showered, and given a change of clothes.

“In today’s society, it is scary how you may not be safe even at your own school and that such precautions are necessary,” said junior Alex Silano.

“I think it’s necessary for there to be a plan in case something happens,” said senior Mariko Carrington.

Fairfax County is one of the first counties to organize the “Shelter in Place” plan for its school district.

This plan was formed from a federal mandate that requires a contingency plan for possible terrorist targets. This spring, the U.S. Department of Education plans to institute the “Shelter in Place” plan for all school districts across the country.

“Terror” cont’d on pg. 6

Seniors Victoria Benson, Esther Choe, Rebecca Wise, Lauren Simmons, Ashley Lippolis, Jeanie Adkins, Michael Weinberg and Mose Choi were selected to AllState Chorus. Kelly Harbison and Jon Park were first alternates and Christina Sabotta and Dion Wilkins were second alternates.

Still need something for that special someone? The Chorus department will be selling singing valentines for $2 Friday during all lunch periods.

At districts, senior Andy Pelenberg broke gold medalist and world record holder Ed Moses’ high school mark.

Fashion show raises dress code issues Risqué attire and gyrations disgruntle administration; pajamas to be banned

BY MATT WIEST Staff Writer The SGA’s annual fashion show has roused strong opinions, pitting the student body and faculty at odds regarding dress code issues and what type of behavior is appropriate in the context of a school setting.

Last Wednesday after senior Lauren Sterlacci was verbally warned by two administrators for her attire (a sweat shirt and full length pajama pants), students were angered over what they viewed as an infringement on their freedom of speech.

At the last Faculty Advisory Council meeting, the fashion show was the number one complaint by teachers.

This event incited the pajama issue, and later this week, an announcement will be made by the administration officially banning the wearing of pajama attire, including slippers.

In protest to these clothing restrictions, which students cite as casual, comfortable attire that is conducive to the learning process, pajamas have been worn with increased frequency.

Special education science teacher Chris Segaar works the runway during the SGA’s fashion show. Segaar also proceeded to dazzle the audience with Michael Jackson-like dance moves.

The Student Government Association’s annual winter fashion show provoked much discontent. The Jan. 21 performance included what the administration deemed “inappropriate” music, dress, and gyrations.

The event featured participation by both students and faculty, and prompted strong feelings from “many” members of the faculty.

“I was surprised,” said English

The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates in the sky over southeast Texas Feb. 1 with seven astronauts aboard.

Nearly two weeks after the Columbia shuttle broke up during reentry, students and teachers are still grasping the true meaning of the incident. Teacher and swim coach Bruce Fisher began his pre-meet pep talk for the Feb. 1 district meet reflecting on the tragedy.

“Whenever this country has had a disaster or catastrophe like the Columbia shuttle, we’ve always been able to rebound and press on in the goal we were trying to achieve,” he said. “We live in a great country, with great people, and we’ve had setbacks before. You don’t achieve success without risks, and we’re not going to let mistakes keep us from achieving our goal,” he said.

The mood was also solemn throughout the nation as

Students flee to Canada for asylum

BY ANDREW SATTEN Co-Editor in Chief

55%

45%

No

—The survey was adminstered to 167 students during A, B, and C lunch Feb. 5 by The A-Blast.

Senior Hassan Jamil scrutinizes a pile of belongings, weighing which personal items will make the final cut. His sister, sophomore Saadia Jamil, is in the background vacuuming a fresh indentation in the carpet where their television used to rest. Two days earlier, their family sold underpriced, virtually all of their furniture, appliances and other possessions at a yard sale.

It is 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 4, and in less than three hours, around the time that they usually begin their homework, Hassan and Saadia will embark with their parents on an seven hour, 455-mile drive to Buffalo, New York, near the Canadian border. Just this past weekend, many of their fellow classmates traveled a similar path en route to a five star hotel to party for the weekend at the annual Canada ski trip.

However, for Hassan and Saadia, there would be no five star hotel, no skiing, and they would not return to their apartment located on the fringe of the AHS district next to Landmark Plaza. Instead, their family would sleep in a rented van, wait in long lines, and trust that they would be able to register for asylum in Canada, otherwise face being deported to their native Pakistan.

teacher Augustine Twyman. “I’m really disappointed in our leadership. The show presented a lack in taste, they really missed the ball this time.”

In past years, fashion shows have been carried over smoothly without surprises. This year’s show, however, has ignited a wave of objections throughout the “Fashion” cont’d on pg. 6

“Deportation cont’d on pg. 6

numerous ceremonies were held in memory of the deceased astronauts. The President ordered all flags at halfmast until Feb. 1, and numerous memorials have been set up throughout the country including an exhibit at the National Air & Space Museum commemorating the crew.

Reactions at AHS have been more muted. An extra moment of silence was held Monday morning, and numerous social studies classes have been discussing the issue.

Many questions loom regarding the future of NASA. “I really don’t think it will have a whole lot of effect, because this has happened before. The program’s still going, and another error isn’t going to change much,” said freshman Sam Rabinovitz. “It might push NASA to go from manned to unmanned flight, but that’s about it.”

Graduate’s death still unsolved

BY MARTHA AMOAKO Features Editor

ANDREW SATTEN

Do you currently have a boy friend or girl friend?

Yes

OLYMPIC FEAT

Aviril Lavigne is not the only one into this alternative sport.

BY CHRIS SOPHER Journalism I student

Recycling program launched this week

The Valentines Dating Scene

SK8R BOI

Shuttle tragedy hits home

AHS racks up in All-State Chorus

After more than two years without a recycling program, sophomore Kirill Gorbounov and his sponsor Norm Campbell have organized a system for collection. White paper, newspapers, and cardboard should be placed in the blue recycling bins in each class.

17

15

JAVIER SANCHEZ-YOZA

8

VOLUME #48 ISSUE 7

Sophomore Saadia Jamil vacuum’s her family’s apartment just hours before they were to embark on a drive to Canada to seek asylum due to the INS’s Special Registration program.

The ongoing investigation of missing 2002 graduate Fanta Moses has yielded her ex-boyfriend, Momodu Jalloh, as a suspect after detectives learned that his rental car contained “dried, red material” on the steering column of the car, according to The Washington Post. Jalloh had rented a car on the day of Moses’ disappearance. However, charges have not been filed against Jalloh in connection with Moses’ disappearance.

According to Fairfax County police, Moses failed to appear in court on Dec. 13 for a stalking case against her exboyfriend, Momodu Jalloh. She was scheduled to testify against Jalloh.

Moses emigrated from Sierra Leone to the U.S. She has a vibrant and friendly spirit that is remembered among her friends and teachers. “She is always smiling. Every time I saw her, she would have a huge smile on her face,” said senior Binta Rogers.

“She and I have the same name. Since we are from the same country, this strengthened our bond. Because of this, we felt that we had known each other for a long time,” said “Moses” cont’d on pg. 6

2 EDITORIALS Do you think the Senate did the right thing by passing a bill that would stop the funding for the INS registration?

“Yes, because we want to keep terrorism out of the country. The Senate should have kept it going.”

—Jonathan Young junior

“Many innocent people are getting deported and getting scammed by their lawyers. It’s a good thing they passed the bill” —Mohammad Bhatti senior

ABLAST

MON. FEB. 10, 2003

INS Registration illogical, racist In the Washington region, there are nearly 114,000 people from North Africa, the Middle East, Iran, and many South Asian countries

not good. World War II comes to mind.

Instead of catching the true criminals, harmless natives have been forced to register. Facing repercussions, and fear many Muslims have decided to leave the country that they loved, and move to Canada, England, and even back to their home country. The family of Saadia Jamil, a former sophomore at AHS, who arrived to the United States in 2001, left for Canada last Tuesday, inBY JUNAID SHAMS stead of staying here in the United States and wait for Editorials Editor the inevitable. These families hope to obtain asylum in After a few months of INS registration, have there Canada and England, as Canada grants asylum to 54 been any benefits to this entire swindle? When INS regpercent of the applicants. istration program was first started on Sept. 11, 2002, the Many Muslims have been arrested during this propurpose was to track down terrorists and other illegal cess, and several even deported, just because of their reliforeigners in the United States, as well as immigrants gion. INS officials, in many cases have failed to look at who entered and exited the states. the entire picture, as many Muslims have been discrimiDuring this registration process, males aged 16-45 nated against during this process. INS offices in Southwere fingerprinted, photographed and told to present their ern California decided to arrest, handcuff and detain sevvisa documents for inspection. After forcing natives of 24 eral hundred men and boys, accusing them of immigraMuslim countries and North Korea to register, what has tion violations. Many were in the prochanged? Mostly nothing, except thousands cess of applying for permanent resiof Muslims have now been forced to move dency status and had a legal right to and some have recently left due to fear of be in the country.

Why would a terrorist Some were detained simply bewhat would happen to them if they remained in the nation which they once called local INS offices, which were who works for cause home. overwhelmed by the numbers, failed INS registration has had no benefits Al-Qaeda register with to complete the registration process since its existence, but instead has caused the day of deadline. Others the INS? before many disastrous consequences for countwere detained due to the general conless Muslims. fusion. For example, an Iranian-born It is not illegitimate to pay extra attention to citizens Canadian citizen who was initially informed that he didn’t of countries that may harbor terrorists, but treating lawhave to register was arrested for registering late when he abiding and largely pro-American foreigners like crimistopped by an INS office to check. Some of those arrested nals is ridiculous, particularly since the precedents are were kept for more than three days in detention centers

without bedding or a change of clothes, before being transferred to jails.

The purpose of tracking down terrorists inside the United States is illogical. Why would a terrorist who works for Al-Qaeda register with the INS? Or why would a person who is illegally here register? The answer to these questions is that they wouldn’t register. Out of the thousands of Muslims who have registered, none of them have been found to be linked to a terrorist group. These people are law-abiding men and women of the United States just like many of us.

In the Washington region, there are nearly 114,000 people from North Africa, the Middle East, Iran and several South Asian countries. By forcing many of these people out, not only is the INS ruining the lives of these people, but they are also taking out the diversity which makes this nation so great. Thankfully, the Senate passed a bill on Jan. 25 which would stop the funding for the registration program. What’s the point in wasting money on deporting harmless Muslims? If the government had used the same amount of money on trying to stop Al-Qaeda and terrorism as a whole, we would have no dilemma today.

“

JUNAIDSHAMS@HOTMAIL.COM

INS REGISTRATION

—Overall 24 countries must register —Only males aged 16-45 must register —Foreigners who do not register will face legal action and will also get deported.

—Out of the 24 countries, North Korea is the only non-Muslim country —Thousands of foreigners have been deportedsince the start of this special registration

Anti-War ads unfairly stifled

“I think the whole thing is neo-Nazi and it’s a very good thing that the Senate passed the bill.”

—Zachk Sytes sophomore

—Katie Wiph junior

the

“I think if they want to live with our privileges, they need to live by our rules. If you didn’t do anything wrong, then you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“They should put it back in effect because it worked in keeping terrorists out.”

—David Astrow freshman “We have to play it safe in today’s world. The INS sent visas to the people who blasted our country. It’s time the INS makes people register.”

—Mrinalini Sadananda Chemistry teacher

“I think it is a good thing that they stopped it because they were singling people out.”

For the past few months, the Bush administration has been waging a mounting campaign to sway both domestic and global opinion to a “pro-war” stance regarding the threat posed by Iraq.

As with any campaign for war, there are dissidents. Particularly within the AHS community, it has been a contentious issue.

A substantial number of students attended the anti-war protest on the Mall during mid-January. The possibility of a draft was a hot topic among students, and government and history teachers have utilized the issue to highlight the key roles that the First Amendment and democracy play in shaping a decision to go to war.

Bush’s pro-war campaign culminated in his State of the Union Address on Jan. 28, an annual event that has become a key mechanism of our democracy. Unfortunately on this night, democracy was not done justice. A conflicting anti-war viewpoint was stifled from network airwaves, despite the fact that it had just as much of a right to be broadcast to television audiences as President Bush’s pro-war view.

The Peace Action Education Fund sought six, 30-second ads that were to be aired starting the night of the State of the Union Address on the Washington metropolitan area’s CNN affiliate. However, the region’s cable provider, Comcast, denied the organizations attempt to purchase the ads. In an Associated Press interview, spokesman Mitchell Schmale cited that in the view of the Comcast organization, the ads “failed to substantiate certain claims or charges.”

Regardless of Comcast’s view of the validity of the anti-war ads, the revered freedoms granted by the First Amendment necessitate that such views have a right to be aired. Such censorship threatens to undermine the right of “the people” to check the power of the government, particularly during a war-time period.

The government owns and regulates television air waves. Therefore, this is not a medium that grants companies the lib-

Making the Grade Dallas Passes Law to Ban Smoking

—Darold Harris Electronics teacher

A

The Dallas City Council voted 10-3 to ban smoking in restaurants and many other public places. Restaurant owners told the council that the ban would drive business to nearby suburbs, but council members were not swayed.

The ban, to take effect March 1, allows bars and billiard halls to designate areas where patrons may smoke. Smoke free workplace laws are passing nationwide as the government realizes that the health of workers is very important.

A-Blast saddened by move

CORRECTIONS ISSUE 6 —In the Jan. 21 issue of The ABlast, seniors Shergeel Khan and Hassan Jamil’s names were misspelled under the story titled “INS registrations put Muslims on edge” on page 1.

—In the Jan. 21 issue of The ABlast, junior Braxton Koppelman’s name was misspelled under the man on the street feature on page 2.

—In the Jan. 21 issue of The ABlast, teachers Augustine Twyman and Kenya Curry’s name were misspelled under the story titled “Students prepare for Black History Month celebrations” on page 12.

—In the Jan. 21 issue of The ABlast, teacher Elizabeth Edwards newborn child was 22 inches, not 22 centimeters, in length on page 4.

C

After years of working and living in room 225, The ABlast staff will now be relocating while a new room is built.

For over 23 years, The A-Blast has gone through many changes, but the room remained the same. In 1996, a fire caused tremendous damage to both the equipment and the room itself. The numerous windows will be missed as they gave the staff a view of the daily sunset. The staff will be moving to the marketing hallway temporarily.

No Pajamas?

F

Recently the teachers and administration have claimed students are not allowed to wear pajamas despite the fact the dress code does not mention it. If cheerleaders can go about their day in miniskirts, there is no reason students should not be permitted to wear pajamas. Students should be able to dress as they like, if it does not distrupt the school environment.

Fake Cancer Hoax

F

A woman is now accused of shaving her 7-year-old daughter’s head and giving her drugs to fake leukemia.

Teresa Milbrandt collected more than $10,000 in donations by fooling the community and her daughter. The cancer ruse included sending her daughter for counseling to prepare for death and a large bandage to cover a nonexistent chemotherapy "port." Milbrandt has lost custody of her two daughters.

nothing else to watch on the major networks. Considering the circumstances, there is all the more reason for a dissenting anti-war ad to be aired. Just as the Bush Administration has the right to intensify its pro-war campaign, opposing groups should also have the right to counter with their anti-war views. There is no sanctity that surrounds the State of the Union address that prevents President Bush’s views from being challenged.

The Washington metropolitan area is the mecca of freedom and democracy.

Lobbyists and organizations freely influence politicians and the citizenry on a daily basis, and the Mall has been the host for some of our nation’s most important protests. The fact that this censorship took place in this sacred democratic area makes this violation of free speech all the more bitter.

Stifling this anti-war ad is not representative of the free and open society that our nations prides itself on. Instead, this attack on free speech is more in line with the Totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein, the very cause of the possible war that is prompting such ads.

erty to deny access to a certain view point.

Companies have the right to deny an advertisement if it contains obscene content or if it features a libelous attack on an individual, however, this is a national issue of Andrew Satten whether or Co-Editor in Chief not to go to war. It is not up to the Comcast Cable distributor to assess the merit of the ad, but rather the right of “the people” to evaluate the Peace Action Education Fund’s opinion. Further, the Federal Communications Commissions has no guidelines that outlaw such an ad from being run.

In this particular instance, the ball was, so to speak, in the Bush administration’s “playing field.” For more than an hour, all of the major networks including numerous other cable channels provided viewers with commercial free coverage solely of a pro-war sentiment.

This was a captive audience, as there was

S

atten’s oundoff

SATTDOG3@AOL.COM

the Annandale High School 4700 Medford Dr. Annandale,Virginia 22003

ABLAST Vol. 48 No. 7 Feb. 10, 2003

Editors in Chief::

Philippe Podhorecki Andrew Satten Managing Editor: Reid Edwards News Editors: Caroline Friedman Abby Segall Editorial Editors: Edris Qarghah Junaid Shams Academics Editors: Laura Johnson Rebecca Kraushaar In-Depth Editors: Hayley Fletcher Hana Nguyen Features Editors: Martha Amoako Maggie Owner Atomic Articles Edi- Sarah Bizer tor: Profiles Editors: Laura Hollowell Saman Hussain Cultures Editors: Wala’a El Barasse Rachel Sinaiko Sports Editors: John Bernhardt Jared Smith Sports “Extra”: Paul Gleason David Marin Atomic Athletics Evan Ashe Editor: Entertainment Edi- Alejandro Salinas tors: Katie Stanton Crystan Blanco Arts Editors: Erin O’Brien Adviser:

Gallup Award Quill & Scroll 2000-2001

Alan Weintraut

All American National Scholastic Press Association 2001-2002

(703) 642-4229 e-mail: ahsablast@aol.com fax: 642-4197

Cameron Kynes Katharine Kishiyama Buisness Manager: Ryan Teichler Rachel Jones Ad Manager: Meg Nielsen Copy Editor: Photography Edi- Chae-Wha Park tor: Weekend Editors:

Photographers: Morgan McEvilly, Chris Rauer, Sean Sullivan, Andrew Menegat, Sarah Sherman Staff Writers: Anteneh Addisu, Kathy Ibarra, Wided Khadroui, Chris Kallander, Laura Kelly, Sohaib Khan, Elizabeth Nowrouz, John Reiss, Erik Rooney, Evan Rowland, Saadia Jamil, Kathy Saupp, Amanda Sheaffer, Sarah Sherman, Kyle Smeallie, Sabrina Stacy, Lauren Sterlacci, Matt Wiest Videographers: Shabier Bahramy, Stephen Benson, Amanuel Beyene,Rachel Johnson, Josh Lewin, Mike Mahn, Javier Sanchez-Yoza, Brent Sullivan Principal: Donald Clausen

Trophy Class Virginia High School 2001-2002

The A-Blast is an award-winning newspaper that strives to inform, educate and entertain the student body and community. Published every three weeks. The A-Blast will not print any material that is obscene or libelous; or that which substantially disrupts the school day or invades an individual’s right to privacy. Unsigned editorials represent the staff opinions which solely represent the opinion of the newspaper staff. The A-Blast is an independent, open forum for discussion which is printed at the Springfield Plant of The Washington Post. Signed letters to the editor of 250 words or less may be submitted to room 225 or mailed to the school. The A-Blast reserves the right to refuse advertisements. All submissions become property of The A-Blast Copyright, 2002.

EDITORIALS 3

the

ABLAST

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

Bush’s environmental plan corrupted Since 1989, oil and gas, mining, and auto manufacturers have donated over $205 million to the Republican Party

Sunny Jacob’s is prime example for being against the death penalty

CHAE-WHA PARK

BY JOHN BERNHARDT Sports Editor In a democracy, public opinion should dictate public policy; however, this is not the case in the United States.

In a 2002 Gallup Poll, 85% of Americans worry about contamination in our rivers and lakes, while 82% worry about contamination of our soil and water. With such an overwhelming opinion from the public to protect our environment, wouldn’t it be logical to adopt a strong policy protecting the environment?

Strongly enought, politicians have failed to pass legislation regulating pollution. This is a direct result of campaign financing from large corporations. Companies put up large sums of money to promote candidates, who in turn, vote against legislation that would limit the amount of pollution industry could make. It is clearly evident that major corporations and big business control the decisionmakers in Washington through campaign financing.

George W. Bush has taken a clear stance on his environmental agenda. His plans includes drilling for oil in Alaska, mining and logging in our national parks and lowering standards for pollution control in factories.

Recently, Bush shortened the review process before opening national parks to logging and mining. He also supported a proposal that would allow older factories, which produce much more pollution than newer facilities, to be expanded without installing expensive pollution control devices.

This agenda represents to complete opposite of what the majority of Americans want. Why then, is he backing these proposals that could have disastrous effects on our environment?

Simple.

Since 1989, oil and gas, mining, and auto manufacturers have donated over $205 million to the Republican Party, while environmental groups have only donated about $3 million to the GOP. The Democratic Party also received much larger donations from the oil and gas, mining and auto manufactures than from environmental groups. In essence, big business pays off politicians to allow them to

President George Bush and the Republican Party receive much of their funding from “soft money,” or funds coming from large corporations including gas, mining and automobile manufacturers.

pollute our air, our water and destroy our forests. As long as special interest groups are allowed to finance political campaigns, public policy will be effected by these groups.

What can be done to change the current campaign finance system? A “Clean Money” system has been proposed to reform the current policy.

According to the “Clean Money” system, special interest donation should be banned, and every candidate should receive an equal amount of money. This would bring monumental changes to American politics. If all candidates were given an equal amount of money to campaign with, there would be many more contending candidates to choose from. Right now in America’s bipartisan system, Republicans and Democrats control the offices

Big Mac makes you fat Most patrons who dine at McDonald’s have a pretty good idea that what they are shoving into their gullets isn’t exactly healthy fare. At least, that’s what I thought.

Recently, a 14-year-old, 170-pound girl brought a lawsuit upon the McDonald’s corporation, stating that McDonald’s should be held responsible for her obesity, as well as other problems associated with the overweight and unhealthy, such as diabetes and heart disease. Lawyers for the teen stated that she did not recognize the negative effects that dining at the restaurant could have on her health.

While this lack of nutritional knowledge may come as a surprise to many readers—in fact the court threw out the girls case—the truth to the matter is that many of us have no real idea of what exactly is the right fuel to put in to our bodies. This is due to mixed messages on what food is bad and what is good, and in what quantities. A lack of nutritional information at the school level is partially to blame.

Comb through the AHS snack line on any given day, and you will get an idea of what your fellow Atoms consider their lunches. While the schools cafeteria does go to lengths to follow the food guide pyramid in the main lunch lines, the sugary snacks like chocolate chip cookies, Pop Tarts, and monstrous muffins in the snack line are more tempting and accessible than the hot meals dished out by cafeteria staff.

I am not blaming the school for this scourge of unhealthy eating—that would be doing the same thing as the New York teen did to McDonald’s. The school does not lack food that is healthy enough—it just lacks nutritionally smart students.

Health class is mandatory for all freshman and sophomore students. However, much of the lessons in these classes are based on substance abuse prevention. While drug use is a problem, recent reports have stated that obesity has become a nationwide epidemic. This statistic should be a call to arms for health officials at the public school level.

Young adults today know the dangers of smoking

pot and drinking, but they have no idea what a complex carbohydrate is or what portion of a cup constitutes a healthy serving of vegetables.

So if teenagers today are making nutritional errors, where can they make corrections? First of all, by learning what is fact and what is myth when it comes to daily nutrition.

In fact, most of what young people believe to be “healthy” eating can do harm to their bodies.

A healthy diet does not exclude any food, beKathy Saupp cause all is fine in moderation. A healthy diet can consist of three balanced meals or five small meals a day, taking from the five food groups. Breakfast, the meal which most teenagers miss, is the most important meal, and keeps you from getting too hungry and overeating throughout the rest of the day. In all meals or snacks you should try to have present a protein (think chicken, beans, eggs, peanut butter, or lunchmeat), dairy (milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt), fruit (Łbanana, juice (100%), applesauce, raisins), vegetable (salad, carrot sticks, tomato soup, cucumber) and most importantly, starch (bread, bagel, cereal, pretzels, potatoes, rice, pasta).

Not that teenagers should completely abandon the sweet treats that are available in places like the snack line, but they should do so within a daily balance of healthy foods.

In order to ensure the growth of nutritionally smart adults and to counteract the obesity situation, the school needs to focus less on sales and more on healthy living when it comes to nutrition.

K athy’s Q uandaries

PHILE09@AOL.COM

because they receive all the major donations from special interest groups. However, campaign finance reform would make major offices open to candidates from more parties.

Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont have already adopted “Clean Money.” Although this is a good start, every state needs to reform its campaign finance policy. A ban on donations from special interest groups needs to be passed nationwide. As long as one candidate accepts donations from private organizations, the elections will not be fair. If the public wishes to have its opinion voiced in legislation, immediate reform of the campaign finance policy is necessary.

JOHNB.13@MINDSPRING.COM

Richmond rejects Lincoln again

BY MATT WIEST Staff Writer

The U.S. Historical Society has recently made plans to erect a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, with his son, Tad, outside the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia. The planned construction of this statue has sparked much disagreement all over Virginia, particularly in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.

Theoretically, the U.S. Historical Society can put a statue Lincoln wherever they want, so long as the National Park Service supports it.

However, the people of Richmond, and other regions throughout the state, do not wish to have such a monument in their city, therefore it should not be built there. Many have argued that the people of Richmond cannot accept defeat in a war that ended almost 140 years ago, and they feel that they are still a part of the Confederacy. Neither is true.

When Lincoln made his one and only visit to Richmond on April 5, 1865, the abandoned capital lay in ruins with the war just four days from its conclusion. Lincoln marched into Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ office and propped his feet up on his desk, a degrading action towards the southern states with whom he so ardently wished to reconcile. The fact that very little reconciliatory progress was made from Lincoln’s tactless visit justifies Richmond’s opposition to the erection of the statue. Lincoln was not President of the Confederacy, so there is no reason to have a memorial to Lincoln in a city over which he only briefly presided over. A monument to Lincoln in Richmond is not appropriate, just as the creation of a statue of Jefferson Davis next to the Lincoln Memorial would not be.

Also arousing much controversy is the validity of the U.S. Historical Society, an organization completely different from the United States Historical Society. They plan to sell miniature replicas of the statue of Lincoln with his son, but what are the motives behind this business endeavor and where will the money raised by this alleged nonprofit organization be going? If, in fact, the U.S. Historical Society is an entity raising money for the United States Historical Society or other organization as some believe it to be, the National Park Service should not get itself involved, as the purpose of this statue would be to encourage profit.

As history shows, Richmond was part of the United States for merely a month of Lincoln’s presidency. Lincoln’s visit to Richmond on April 5, 1865, was not a visit to symbolize the reunification of the country. It was blatantly offensive to the people of Richmond and was injurious to the relations between the North and South. A statue of Lincoln does not belong in Richmond.

MWIEST77@AOL.COM

Winter fashion show gets out of hand The SGA held its annual Winter Fashion Show on January 21. Unfortunately, inappropriate dancing, modeling and lyrics were expressed at the show.

Seniors Bryan Williams and Mary An Nov (right) perform inappropriate dance moves.

However, much of the talent show was not objectionable at all as seen with Government teacher Fred Zuniga and seniors Hana Sarsour and Hanna Pak (far right). Hopefully, next time these scandalous and bootylicious acts will be held in check.

Letters to the Editor

In 1976, Sunny Jacobs, mother of two with no criminal record, was convicted of gunning down two police officers on the testimony of the only person at the scene with gunpowder residue on his hands, an ex-con. He later confessed, but she remained in a Florida jail for 16 years despite her only crime having been to accept a ride with the real killer.

Represented in court by a public defender, citizens screaming for revenge and prosecutors withholding evidence, Sunny had no chance. For five years she was kept in solitary confinement while her vocal chords atrophied. She was not allowed to have pictures of her children. She was not released until 1992, two years after her boyfriend, her children’s father, also not guilty, had been executed.

Last Spring Ray Krone was released from prison after ten years on death row for a murder he didn’t commit. He was convicted of sexual assault and murder, but DNA testing, not done at the time of his Arizona trial, has now exonerated him.

In 1977, a Texas jury convicted 20-year-old Kerry Max Cook of murder on the testimony of a jailhouse informant who later confessed that his testimony was falsified to get his own murder charge reduced to manslaughter. At Cook’s trial, a police officer had testified that Cook’s fingerprint, found on the door of the murdered woman, had been left at the time of the murder. Later, that police officer recanted his testimony, admitting that it is impossible to tell when a fingerprint is made. Cook said he’d been in his neighbor’s apartment three months earlier.

Unconscionable judicial rulings, evidence withheld by prosecutors, lying police officers and lying witnesses led to 22 years in jail, where Cook was sodomized more than 2,000 times.

These are three white people who were railroaded by an imperfect judicial system. How many like them have already been executed?

The statistics for black men who did not receive a fair trial, who were tortured into confessing, who received a less than minimum defense, are staggering.

Right here in Virginia, in neighboring Fauquier County, prosecutors hid evidence that would have freed Earl Washington, who spent almost 10 years on death row for rape and murder. Now DNA evidence and hair and fibers found at the scene point to another man who lived near the victim.

In your last issue everyone interviewed on the subject felt Governor George Ryan of Illinois had erred in commuting death sentences to life in prison, a decision he made so there would be time to fully investigate each case. Despite the fact that Ryan’s administration had spent years making this decision, and despite the fact that some prisoners were tortured before making confessions, six students and two teachers found his actions irresponsible and a slap to the face to all of the victims families.

Only Mohammed Edris Qarghah, the Editorials Editor, had the courage to point out that 106 people have recently been released from death row because new evidence proved they were not guilty.

Seventeen of these were in Illinois.

How, then, can it be irresponsible to take the time to reexamine each case? Isn’t it better that hundreds of killers languish in prison, than that innocent people are executed? By the way, it costs more than three times as much to execute a prisoner as to jail him for life.

Last week I met Kerry Max Cook, and he changed my mind about the death penalty. When people are convicted because the public needs to know that a killer has been put away, or because a prosecutor wants to be reelected, or because a police officer wants a citation on his record, or because a judge has preconceived racial notions, or because a witness is being rewarded, it’s not justice.

It’s a travesty of justice.

Because our system of justice is human and flawed, why not scrutinize every piece of evidence, every word of testimony, every prosecutor and every defender to ensure that the innocent are exonerated and only the guilty are punished? I don’t want to be responsible for executing the innocent. Moreover, let’s not take 22 years to discover who the innocent are.

—Eleanor Shumaker History teacher

4 NEWS

Students hear anti-war message

Any Hispanic junior who is interested in attending college should attend the National Hispanic College Fair on March 12 at Northern Virginia Community College from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. This event will take place on a school day, and therefore a field trip form will be required. For more information students should either see Robin Roth in the Career Center or Marcelo Valencia in the guidance office. Bus transportation will be provided.

Women Engineers Needed The Society of Women Engineers of the University of Virginia is asking females in grades 10,11 and 12 to go to UVA and spend March 29-30 exploring majors and careers in the field of engineering. The cost is $35 and the deadline to register is Feb. 28. This is a great opportunity to test the fields of engineering. For more information see Robin Roth in the career center.

Golf Tournament Date Set The Sixth Annual Red and White Golf Tournament will be held on May 21. More details will be available soon.

Help Needed For Senior Breakfast The Senior Breakfast will be held from 7:45 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. on Fri. Feb. 14. Those who would like to help with setup or for the event then contact the senior class sponsor, Pam Hutson, at Pamdencal@aol.com

New Attendance Committee Seeks Parental Support Administrator Bill Curran is part of a new project to solve the attendance and truancy problem at AHS. He is asking for faculty, staff, administrators, and parents to meet four to five times for the rest of the school year in order to strategize for this new committee. If you are interested in helping contact Curran at William.curran@fcps.edu

AHS Reflections Participants to Districts Three students have moved on to the district level in this years Reflections Contest. The students are: Literature--Katherine Stanton Visual Arts---Leslie Badani Music---Ryan Herold

PTA Day in Richmond Mon. Jan. 27 was PTA Day in Richmond. Several of the area representatives attended and made clear their favor for Warner’s “No Cuts for Pre-K-12” education position. If the “nocuts” position does not pass than there could be a raise in the IB/ AP testing fees.

Attention Teachers and Coaches The Northern Virginia Athletic Directors, Administrators and Coaches Association will award 14 students with $1,500 scholarships. They will be awarded this spring to senior student-athletes , and favor will be given to those who need financial assistance. Submit names to Robin Roth in the Career Center. The deadline for submitting names through Roth is the end of February, but names can be submitted to NVADACA is Fri. March 21

Bert Sacks spoke out against a war with Iraq during Flex periods on Jan. 23. Sacks visited Iraq several times on humanitarian missions in which he administered medicines to starving children.

with what actions we take regarding war. Having U.N. backing for war is an important safety measure which most think the U.S. should gain from its allies.

“The U.S. should not take unilateral action against Iraq, because if they do then the international community will end up despising us,” said

AHS first to receive e-mails AHS is the first high school in FCPS to use a new email program that will send out school news to any who enlist

BY PHILIPPE PODHORECKI Co-Editor in Chief In an attempt to allow quick communication between clubs, parents and students, AHS is the second school (first high school) in Fairfax County to use the “Keep In Touch” program. “Keep In Touch” is a free e-mail service that parents and students can enlist to get information and news from several clubs, activities and school programs.

The program initially started in an elementary school in Sept. 2002 as a test program and has expanded to include AHS. To enlist in the service, anyone can access the FCPS website (www.fcps.edu) and fill out a form that contains pull-down menus and boxes that specify which lists to sign up for.

School-based technology specialist Rebecca Bartelt, one of the three faculty members being trained to maintain the service, believes that sometime this week a link to the “Keep In Touch” form will also be on the school website.

E-mails for the selected topics will be sent on various schedules,

usually on a case-by-case basis. The daily announcements that the teachers read each morning can be emailed and read the night before.

Bartelt, and administrative assistants Geri Lee and Cheryl Krauss are the three trainees to maintain the program but, if the program is successful, more could be added. E-mails can be sent in case of emergency as well. Currently the drama, chorus, band, orchestra, and athletics departments and the student government are signed up for e-mails. Academic information about programs such as International Baccalaureate can also be sent off. However, all student organizations can sign up to have emails sent out.

The program comes at no cost to the school and is funded by the county. AHS is the first high school in the county to test the program. As to why AHS was given this opportunity Bartelt said, “[It] came to Annandale because of the technical support and because Principal Don Clausen was known to communicate with the parents and community, and this is a way to possibly improve it.”

Science fair participants to present on Friday

BY MEG NIELSEN Copy Editor About 200 hundred students will participate in the science fair on Friday due to the postponement of the fair from Fri. Feb. 7 because of the snow day.

Gannon Sugimura, a tenth grade chemistry teacher, has been the coordinator of the fair for four years. “The forms create a difficulty, but I get to go with all the projects to regions. The best part is seeing the students’ successes,” said Sugimura.

Every student in a higher level science course is required to complete a judged

project. Projects range from how density effects buoyancy to how different ingredients effect the taste of brownies.

While students are not required to participate in the science fair specifically, many choose to do so anyway. “I chose to do the science fair here because it’s a lot more fun, because all of my friends are doing it here, and it’s a lot easier because you know what to expect,” said sophomore Kathryn Hoey.

“There has been a great increase in the quality of the projects. We are getting noticed for that as a school, and that is a good thing,” said Sugimura.

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As the drums of the war against Iraq get louder so do AHS’s opinions against it. “We shouldn’t attack, said junior Lady Reyes. “They could counterattack. We have to understand that we’re not invincible, it’s more dangerous for Americans to engage in this war than it is to not.”

War in any county has always brought hot political and ethical questions, and this country is no exception. A rally was held on Jan. 18 in Washington, D.C., with similar rallies being held in San Francisco and throughout the world. This rally echoed anti-war sentiments and was recorded as being one of the largest anti-war rallies since the Vietnam era.

With presentations and guest speakers throughout the school talking about their personal opinions on war, many students are beginning to think about their stance on war.

Bert Sacks, an anti-war activist, spoke to classes who signed up during Flexes on Jan. 23. Sacks visited Iraq and explained why, due to his visit there, he is against the war.

Andy Shallal also visited the Peer Mediation classes on Feb. 4. He talked about living in Iraq and about his family members who still live there. He said, “my aunt wanted me to tell everyone that I spoke to that we [Iraqi people] are kind, peace-loving people just like everyone else.” Shallal also discussed other solutions, other than war, in which we could solve the conflict with Hussein.

Criticism against President Bush and his administration has grown, according to an ABC news poll. Some feel that the way in which the U.S. handles the situation with Saddam Hussein is critical, and that we must be careful

Freshman Kathleen Croghan and junior Coury Shadyac help each other before the opening night performance of the children’s play Beauty and the Beast. Croghan placed the part of “Gypsy Gabriella” and Shadyac played the role of “Beauty.”

Drama did Beauty-ful

BY LAURA KELLY Staff Writer On Feb. 6 and 8 (the Feb. 7 performance was canceled because of snow), the annual children's play, written and adapted by alumni Krista Brown and senior Bayla Whitten, Beauty and the Beast, was presented by AHS drama department.

The AHS version of the play differed from the Disney version in some aspects. The character of “Gaston” was replaced by “Wilhem” as well as many others who make appearances in the production, but are not present in the movie. Also, the Beast's had a lovable pet spider, “Snirdly,” and Beauty had two sisters.

In the play, the cruel Prince turned into a horrible beast, his servants turned into talking appliances, and his castle hidden away in a dark forest by the gypsy queen. Meanwhile, Beauty and her father stumbled into the Beast's castle.

Beauty and her father decide to take the Beast's magic rose that keeps him alive. In a rage, the Beast threatened Beauty's father. Beauty offered to

take the blame herself and the Beast sent Beauty's father away but forced Beauty to remain in the castle.

Eventually Beauty and the Beast fell in love, but Beauty misses her father and begs the Beast to let her go back to him. The rest of the story ends up the same as the movie with a happy ending.

Directing this play was not easy task. "The play was very difficult to direct because it was such a large cast, but they all worked very hard," said Whitten.

“It looked great and we all did really well," said sophomore Darrin Burrell who played the Beast. Junior Coury Shadyac, who played Beauty thought “performing Beauty and the Beast was frustrating at times, but it was a real blast."

Overall, the play provided a wonderfully magical experience for the many children in the audience, eventhough it played for only two nights. “It was disappointing to not be able to perform on Friday, but it was all made worthwhile with the great turn-out on Saturday,” said Shadyac.

DiVinci Family Restaurant Dear Food Editor, I am not in the habit of writing a letter to anyone about a restaurant (even one I enjoy), but this gem of a family restaurant deserves someone to toot its horn for it!

I hope you will consider trying “DaVinici Family Restaurant” in the Barcroft Shopping Center on Columbia Pike. This place could easily define the term “family restaurant.” The minute you walk in, you are greeted as if by an old friend by the owner, and several employees, even if it is your first visit.

As you order and wait for your dinner, it becomes obvious that indeed, many of the patrons are regulars, and know not only the owner and his employees, but have come to know one another as well. This place feels homely in the best sense of the word. You feel relaxed, catered to, and leave a very satisfied consumer.

Not only is the atmosphere comfortable and pleasant, but the food is terrific! Serving a blend of Greek, Italian, and American fare, this is a place even my picky family can find something on the menu that everyone will love.

All the food I have tried here has been outstanding, but the baklava was to die for. I’ve lived in four states, and tried baklava all over the U.S, but both my husband and I agree that we have never tasted anything so divine as served at DaVinci’s. The dessert managed to have a hint of sweetness, but didn’t overpower the nuts. It was also the perfect texture (not too sticky or gooey, which is the fatal flaw in many baklavas) allowing the pastry to be flaky and shine as another integral part of the dessert.

In closing, I encourage all my friends to try this homey restaurant. No matter where you are coming from, it is worth the drive.

Nancy S. Hoeser

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Math teacher Carol Rychlik is a FCPS Teacher of the Year finalist for this year. AHS has had five finalists up for this honor for the past seven years.

The teacher of the year will be announced in March. National Hispanic

sophomore Valerie Rosas. “If we are arrogant enough to take this step, then it will further sever international relations.”

Some American citizens feel that more pressure is necessary to protect the U.S. from a possible terrorist threat.

“I strongly believe that the American government needs to stop focusing attention fueled by oil on Iraq and notice more prevalent dangers,” said sophomore Enwei Liber.

Some fear that the threat of an attack is growing, and protection from another attack like Sept. 11 incident is crucial. “I totally believe that we should have war on Iraq,” said junior Paul Baldwin. “War is war. Iraq is obviously doing something for us to hate on them. They could have totally avoided the situation [U.N. inspectors] by turning stuff over...now they will deal with the consequences.”

The validation of war on Iraq can be shown by the lack of surrender of Iraqi weapons. Many believe that Iraq has produced nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction and is currently hiding it from the U.N. inspectors.

“War on Iraq is a must because I feel that Iraq might attack the U.S.,” said freshman Brian Plunkett. “I believe that they’re a threat because they view us as a threat.”

Unwillingness to go to war is also shared by sophomore Isaac Mincilla. “I really don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t believe in this war,” said Mincilla. “There’s too much pain. The U.S. needs to start listening to its people.”

As more and more opinions are introduced and as the threat of war increases, AHS opinions grow stronger.

Speakers have provided many discussions and debates, as well as giving students and teachers a learning opportunity.

BY WIDED KHADRAOUI Staff Writer

FCPS Teacher of the Year finalist at AHS

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SCHOOL NEWS

ABLAST

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

RACHEL JOHNSON

NEWS BRIEFS

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Lag. for two in Salad and Soda

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ABLAST

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

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Model U.N. productive at UPenn

BY SABRINA STACY Staff Writer The Liberty Bell, the Mint, and University of Pennsylvania, what more could the Model U.N. ask for?

This year’s second national conference was held at the University of Pennsylvania on Thurs. Jan 30 through Sun. Feb 2. Twenty-six AHS members went on this trip, and participated in the different varieties of committees.

“It’s a great experience for them to interact with the 600 other high school kids from all over the country, and all around the world,” said history teacher and Model U.N. sponsor Johnathan York.

This year’s committees consisted of the Legal, Special Political Decolonization and Disarmament and Security committees. These issues will generally have from 50 to 200 people in one room debating.

Some members of Model U.N. were put on the Best Delegates special committee consisting of joint countries with China and India. The Status of Women is one of the issues that

was debated, about 20-25 people were in a different room debating this topic.

Model U.N. members of the special committee groups were rudely awakened by a director from the conference. They were told that there was a crisis happening and had to immediately solve it with their committees. From 2-5 a.m. the special committees were debating the emergency crisis.

“I think it is a good learning experience, but I really get a kick out of the people who bring laptops and briefcases,” said sophomore Lizzie Waxler.

Another exciting adventure that the Model U.N. members encountered was the Delegate Dance held on Saturday night, where all members from each committee came together. Not only did the AHS Model U.N. members get to interact will everyone else, and debate about the issues, they got to do some site-seeing as well. Students visted the Mint and the Liberty Bell in Pittsburgh.

This was also a good chance for the students to see if the University of

Band goes to districts

BY MEG NIELSEN Copy Editor On Thurs. Jan. 30, twenty-three members of the AHS band competed in district band. The students auditioned in December for a limited number of spots and then went to districts in hopes of becoming eligible to go on to the All- State band competition on Feb. 22.

The nine who are able to go to All-State band are Gina Sobel on flute, Emily Dawson on clarinet, John Reiss on bass clarinet, Jessica Gray and Sivan Adato on french horn, Christa Kasdorf on E-flat clarinet, Paul Durning on mallets, Max Tholenaar-Maples on timpani, and Justin Gray on snare drum.

For their audition in Dec. they were evalutated on their prepared piece, know all the major scales, and a piece given to them to sight read. District band was a blind audition, which means that for their evaluations they were in a room where they couldn’t see the judges and weren’t allowed to talk. 23 students were sent from AHS, the biggest amount ever sent.

“District band is great because you get to meet and play with famous conductors from really good universities,” said sophomore Max Tholenaar-Maples.

The students participated Thurs. night, through Saturday.

The selected band members practiced together and later performed a concert on Sat. night. Senior Justin Gray has attended district band for three years. “Overall, the best part is the directors. Each year it’s someone new, and it is usually a professor at a university with vast experience,” said Gray.

“The best part of district band is being able to play with other people of the same or better level, and being able to learn from them,” said sophomore Sivan Adato. Adato is one of nine AHS students who is eligible for All-State band.

“The students played really well, and it was a great opportunity for them. District band is a great opportunity for students to play with great conductors outElgin side of the district,” said Elgin.

Groups try to help people celebrate the day of love

CAROLINE FRIEDMAN

Model UN students excel at the last conference of the year, held at UPENN Jan. 30 through Feb.2

SCHOOL NEWS

Juniors Coury Shadyac and Tracy Strauch work on their resolutions in their free time at the Model U.N. conference that was held on the weekend of Jan. 30. Conferences went from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. - 11:45 p.m.

Pennsylvania is the right college for them.

Outstanding performances were given by seniors Owen Beste, Preston Gisch and Josh Buzzell.

This was the last national conference for this school year, from traveling to UVA to UPenn the Model U.N.’s

success has countinued through the years. There is a chance for two more conferences at school, and members are looking forward for the end of the year conference at Thomas Jefferson.

Speakers help students decide future career

BY SABRINA STACY Staff Writer The Career Center at AHS has created an opportunity for students and teachers to come to the Lecture Hall during Flex periods and learn about possible future careers while listening to the visitors who describe their jobs and what they had to get to do to earn their living.

“The presentation was informational, and it makes me want to become a producer now, I enjoyed listening to the different jobs they had to offer,” said freshman Olivia Standifer, on recent career presentation given by a film producer.

The speakers will be coming in today as well as Feb. 21 and 25. The different speakers will talk to the students about their jobs and how situations get handled in their work environment. They will give information about what kind of colleges that they had to go to and the perks and downfalls of their type of employment. “I thought they spoke with great enthusiasm and it helped me think about my future more, and how a career takes responsibility,” said sophomore Michael Murphy.

Today, during the first Flex Kathy But-

ler will come and speak about her job being a Forensic scientist. A lot of schooling is required for this field. CSI fans should attend to see what this job is really like.

Other career speakers that will becoming are a retired FBI agent, journalist Richard McCormock, and Tim Holmberg, an insurance and real estate agent.

Many consider electricians and firefighters as typical jobs for males. But, two women who hold these jobs will be visiting the Career Center to talk about these fields and what it is like to work in a predominantly male work place.

“This is an excellent chance for students to become more career aware, and to find out what different people do, and for them to think broadly about careers for themselves,” said Robin Roth, the director of the Career Center. “Who said women can’t do a man’s job, right? They will encourage students that they can become whatever they want to be, and believe in themselves.”

As seniors are preparing to go off to college, these presentations give them a chance to see what they may want to study in college. To attend these informational programs students should see Roth in the Career Center for a Flex pass.

SAFE Club takes a stand against AIDS

BY WIDED KHADRAOUI Staff Writer AIDS and STDs are a growing concern around the globe and as well as right here at AHS. Three students, members of AHS SAFE club went to Richmond on Feb. 5 in order to be part of a meeting, commemorating AIDS Awareness Day. Sophomore Kirill Gorbounov, junior Isatta Williams and senior Lena Tabbah went on the field trip in order to participate in seminars and workshops advocating AIDS awareness. This field trip also included the introduction of a new bill that consists of whether a minor’s privacy with a doctor should be continued or whether parents have a right to know if their child was tested for any STD’s.

AIDS Awareness Day ties in very closely with George W. Bush’s most recent State of the Union Address. This speech talked about the need to dedicate more funding to

This week will be full of love as many different organizations are helping students purchase things that will make that special someone know you care on Valentines Day. The Choral Department: Selling “Singing Valentines” this week.

These will be sung on Feb. 14 during the last 30 minutes of W2 and W8 as well as the last 15 minutes of W6.

the AIDS epidemic mentioned.

Senators and delegates as well as average citizens attended the conference. “There were 40 people in each group and the three of us from Annandale were the only ones who were under the age of 20 at the whole conference,” said Gorbounov.

Senator Stephanie Newman and Senator Charles Hawkins spoke on the issue concerning the House bill that focuses on the age when doctor/patient confidentiality should begin.

In Bush’s speech he spoke about the need to “...provide humane care for millions of people suffering from AIDS...” yet Virginia’s government wants to restrict the opportunity for young people to take care of their responsibilities.

“I personally think that actions speak louder then words,” said Williams. “One of the participants in the meeting talked about Bush’s State of the Union address

and I thought he [the speaker] handled it well.”

The senators who attended the seminars talked about their voting opinion of the bill. “I don’t approve of this bill because it destroys doctor/patient privacy and will scare youngsters away from getting tested for STD’s,” said Gorbounov. “It’ll discourage people from getting tested and treating their diseases.”

The SAFE Club’s basic purpose for attending the meeting was to witness actions taken in order to deal with HIV/AIDS and STDs. AHS’s SAFE club is the only one of its kind in FCPS and “...there needs to be more SAFE clubs in high schools in Fairfax County whose objective it is to work towards greater understanding of the HIV/ AIDS panacea,” said guidance counselor and SAFE Club sponsor Linda Wheeler.

Students asked about sex lives

BY PHILIPPE PODHORECKI Co-Editor in-Chief The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted on Jan. 27 to keep nine sex-related questions in the Communities That Care Youth Survey, an annual survey of 169 questions that measure teen substance abuse. One member of the board had protested the installation of the questions into the survey, but a compromise was made to the first question. If a student answers no to, “Have you ever had sexual intercourse?”, they will skip the rest of the sexually-related questions.

The survey is given anonymously and randomly to students in grades six, eight, 10, and 12. Any parent or student may opt out of taking the survey.

Questions are designed to discover what risk behaviors are most apparent with the adolescents of the county. Pending results, funding and curriculum is altered towards the most problematic areas.

The Channing Bete Company developed the survey, and administered the questionnaire across the nation. Other questions relate to relationships, judgment, mental health, and influences. Many questions are based upon a rating, for instance a sample question is, “What are the chances you would be seen as cool if you: smoke cigarettes?”, five choices are given on the likelihood of this being true.

Library Charging Money On Feb. 3 the library put into effect a new policy which is requiring students to pay 10 cents extra per page after the first three printouts. Also, any full-page pictures will also cost ten cents.

Winners of the Regional Scholastic Art Awards Students participated in the Regional Scholastic Art Awards competition competed against all other high schools in Fairfax County as well as private schools. There were over 1,400 entries. Those students who won the Gold Key Award will have their entries sent to New York City to compete at the national level. The winners are: Gold Key Award: Leslie Badani, Courtney Fay, Sayed Hashime, Christie King, Kathy Saupp, Jennifer Stewart and Emily Van Tassel Silver Key Award: Philip Andrews, David Borowski, Victoria Dinh, Julia Ehrenfeld, Michelle Felker, Hanna Pak, Itzel Perez and Jennifer Stewart Certificates of Merit: Moses Choi, Michelle Felker, Christie King, Robert Morgenthaler.

Musical Preparations Underway The spring musical this year will be A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a comedy which is staged to take place in ancient Rome. Auditions were held on Jan. 21-23 after school in the auditorium. Before the first day of auditions, those who were interested in auditioning were told to choose and prepare one musical selection from five choices: “The Lullaby of Broadway” (42nd Street), “Do Rei Mi” (The Sound of Music), “My Favorite Things” (The Sound of Music), “‘Til There was You” (The Music Man), and “Sunrise, Sunset” (Fiddler on the Roof).

There seems to be more tension during the musical auditions than during any other play auditions since students have to demonstrate their singing abilities as well as acting. “Musical auditions are different than any other school auditions because you have to sing to an audience of your peers which can be more nervewracking than simply reading parts,” said sophomore Tamara Friedler.

Students had the opportunity to go up on stage to sing the pieces they had prepared, and some even sang a capella. “We really have some fabulous voices in our school,” said Vicki Farish, theater director.

“This is a fun play that really draws the audience in.” After the Farish vocal audition, students were chosen to read a few scenes for different characters in the play to judge the students’ acting and speaking abilities.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will be presented on April 24-26, Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

—Laura Kelly Staff Writer

6 NEWS NEWS BRIEFS

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Students fearful of deportation

Fashion show risqué —“Fashion” from pg. 1

—“Deportation” from pg. 1

Today’s Lunch Wed. Feb, 12 • Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce or Marinara Sauce w/ Breadstick • Hamburger on Bun • Cheeseburger on Bun • Veggie Cheeseburger on Bun Choice of Two: French fries, green beans, lettuce/tomato/pickle, raisins (2), chilled pears

FBLA to visit NYC The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club this year will travel to New York City on a one day chaperoned trip Feb 28. The members of the FBLA club and students of Monica Bentley’s Principles of Business class are invited by the FBLA to go. More students could attend if there is enough space to accommodate.

The students will focus on different businesses and ways of earning profits in business by visiting Rockefeller Center. This center is historical as well as a financial building that was built by the Rockefeller family. “Even though it is a very long day and several miles to travel, it leaves students with a life-long memory of the historical and financial aspects of the city,” said Bentley.

One of the sites being visited, the Federal Reserve Bank, stores real gold and other valuables from different countries all over the world. “I am really interested in the environment of the work area of the federal bank. It’s going to be helpful because I might major in accounting,” said senior Nay Kangnavong.

The tour price is $69, which includes all admissions. A tour manager from Mount Vernon Travel agency will accompany the group and Bentley will chaperone.

The buses will arrive at AHS at 4:45 a.m. on Fri. Feb. 28. Bus rules and itinerary will be explained and they will depart at 5:00 a.m.

The bus will reach Rockefeller Center in New York at 10:30 a.m. and the students will tour for about an hour to learn and get a better prospect of principles of businesses.

The students will have a lunch break at noon. Later the bus will stop at the Federal Reserve Bank for about an hour and then students would get some time to get off the bus to tour Trinity Church, the oldest church in New York City, Federal Hall, where George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of United States, and the New York stock exchange which is considered financial district of the city.

The students will depart for home around 6 p.m. This experience will help these business students to see what business principles look like when applied in the real world.

— Sohaib Kahn Staff Writer

Hassan and Saadia’s family had resided in the U.S. for the last year and a half on a visa. However, considering their citizenship case is currently pending, the Jamil’s opted to forgo the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s controversial Special Registration program for fear of being deported. Instead, like thousands of Muslims around the nation who have settled in the U.S. without citizenship, they are flocking to Buffalo, the sight for Canadian asylum registration.

“I’m going to miss this school very much....but what else can I say. We just have to go, there is no point in registering” said Hassan. The family had been working with an immigration attorney, and Pakistanis in similar situations to theirs were being deported.

The INS’s Special Registration program was designed to more closely monitor the activities of noncitizens in the U.S. from nations that had a track record of terrorist activities, a measure instituted to thwart the internal terror cell structure. The nations were divided into different groups, each of which has a registration deadline.

The Jamil family Jamil was facing a Feb. 21 deadline. Nationwide, 15,000 foreign nationals have registered, out of which 500 deportations resulted. The program has also yielded 50 individuals that have current criminal charges or are suspected of having terrorist ties.

“I’m sad. I was shocked when I heard they were going. He’s [Hassan] a brilliant student, really close friend, and now he has to start all over,” said junior Shabir Ahmed who came by after school to say goodbye the day they were leaving.

When they resided in Pakistan, the Jamil’s lived a rather “lavish” lifestyle, as their mother was the equivalent of a principal and their father held a government position. However, the slow economy had made finding work difficult in the U.S. “We came to the U.S. with a lot of expectations of a good future, but because of this situation, it’s very hard for Muslims to go on with their lives,” said Saadia.

Under Virginia law, non-citizens and illegal aliens are not banned from receiving public education. The AHS administration makes no efforts to investigate a student’s resident status, as enrollment is handled by the Fairfax County Public Schools Central Registration Office. Though the administration was not aware of any other students who had to withdraw from school due to the registration, officials believed that there were others who likely did not go through the school withdrawal process due to the urgency of leaving. Saadia estimated that she knew of 20-30 other families in the area who had already left, or were planning on leaving for Buffalo.

History teacher and sponsor of the Muslim Student Association John Nemeth underscored the complexity of the issue. “I can understand both sides.

We are trying to protect the country, but at the same time we are hurting a lot of people,”said Nemeth.

of objections throughout the school over the presentation. The show featured musical selections containing profanity and other degrading language, removal of already revealing clothing, along with suggestive dancing that shocked many students, teachers and administrators.

“There was probably some inappropriate action on the part of students and adults in the show,” said Asst.

Principal Jon Frederickson. “Anyone who participated, who was taking off shirts, we felt that was not appropriate...particularly some of the inappropriate gyrations. With our diverse population, we had many students whose beliefs were offended by the show.”

Frederickson also highlighted the negative sentiments of teachers who were asked to chaperone the winter dance, yet declined because of the risqué dancing methods that students employ. “Feelings were running very strong by a lot of the faculty...they were shocked because this was so out of character for AHS.” “The whole thing was a good idea, it just got out of hand,” said special education science teacher Chris Segaar, one of the models in the show. “We let it get out of control. It’s hard to say what’s inappropriate and what’s not with all the stuff we have in magazines and on TV. This was probably inappropriate for school.”

Asst. Principal Brandon Cooley, another faculty member who danced in the fashion show, declined to

comment on the situation.

The SGA sent a letter to the teachers and staff apologizing for the fashion show mishap. Most faculty members have accepted the SGA’s apology.

“It’s all about learning,” said Twyman, “it’s part of the learning process, and we learned a lesson. I realize they had good intentions, but it wasn’t well executed.”

“Something happened in between the planning and the actual show,” said Frederickson.

With regard to the pajama controversy, Asst. Principal Barbara Fugate said, “It’s gotten out of hand, people are taking advantage of things and it’s going to be taken out. The pajamas are gone, leave them at home.”

Fugate feels that pajama pants are a disruption to the school day. Court cases have established that student status makes is permittable for some First Ammendment rights to be forfeited in a school setting. However, the landmark 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines School District bolstered student rights, citing that clothing attire must truly cause a disturbance for it to be restricted.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said junior Julie Stone, “there’s no reason why we should not be able to wear pajama pants as long as they’re aren’t inappropriate. I don’t see how pajama pants are any different from sweat pants or any other type of pants.”

FCPS readies for bio-terror attacks —“Terror” from pg. 1

To further prepare for a terrorist threat, Fairfax County has organized a contingency plan for Smallpox and other innoculations in case of a biological attack. In response to a letter issued by the Fairfax County Department of Health, volunteers from around the community have signed up to run emergency vaccinations out of district schools.

“Schools are natural centers for such a plan,” said Principal Donald Clausen. “High schools especially are of ample size and lots of parking to accommodate the community.”

So far, 55 staff members of AHS have volunteered to work four, 12 hour shifts in case innoculations are needed.

All volunteers viewed a training video on Jan. 30 that taught them the proper procedure to work with medics if necessary. U.S. History and Government teacher Jonathan York said, “I see it as doing a great service to my community and my country. Also, if we need vaccinations, I’ll be the first in line.”

Even though there is a contingency plan in place, administrators still hope that it will not be necessary.

“People shouldn’t be worried by the fact that we have such a plan in place,” said Clausen. “Rather, they should be glad that we are prepared. I still hope that we won’t have to execute the plan, though.”

With all these plans in place, it would seem that Fairfax County is prepared for anything. However, some students, such as junior Chris Evans do not feel properly informed.

“I’m not satisfied by the school’s preparations,” said Evans. “If the school wants us to be prepared, then we [the students] should know the procedure, too.”

Despite this minor discrepancy, Fairfax County Public Schools have prepared themselves well to respond quickly and effectively to a bio-terrorist attack and will only improve on these plans as time goes on.

AHS alum still missing —“Moses” from pg. 1

senior Fanta Sesay.

Both her teachers and friends agree that Moses worked diligently to achieve her goal of becoming a nurse. “She was so shy and she had trouble talking in front of the class. She struggled through class presentations, but she worked really, really hard. By the end of the year, she stood in front of the class with confidence and presented her information,” said Government teacher Mary Richardson.

“Every time she came to my class, she did her work.

She was really diligent about it. She also contributed to the class through her comments during discussions,” said English teacher Michelle Fish.

“I’m really shocked. When you know someone, you don’t think anything like this is going to happen to them,” said Rogers.

“When I heard about her disappearance, I felt very sad. It made me reflect on my own life. It really makes you appreciate life more. She is so young and has so much potential. She is one those people who sets her mind on her goals and works diligently toward them.

It just tells you that something like this can happen to anyone,” said Sesay.

Anyone who has information relating to Moses’ whereabouts or when Moses was last seen is asked to call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.

Check a Date 9

10

11

Guitar Concert jammin’ On Jan. 27, the guitar class held a concert in the auditorium from 7:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Twentyfour guitarist performed in over nine acts, and they did not disappoint.

They opened with a song called “An Hellen Tagen.” Two other songs followed this, which were “Water Song” and “Flor De Santa” (Carnival Cruceno). Then one more group of songs were played called “Trio”.

The songs were played well, even though it it hard to synchronize the playing of so many guitars.

Senior Jack Bartuska played a solo after the opening act. A duo was performed by Aaron Brown and Albert Dwan. “I think I could have done better,” said Brown.

“But overall I think the concert went fine.”

Later an act was performed by senior Michael Flint and again Bartuska. Finally a concluding group jam led by Brown and Dwan closed the show. It was a fun filled evening that brimmed with talent.

We can all look forward to the next guitar concert with high expectations.

—Chris Kallander Staff Writer

ABLAST

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

VLT

16

17 Presidents Day

18

7:00p.m.- PTSA Meeting

12

FLEX: Career Speaker R1/W2 2:00pm- Heritage NIght Auditions 7:00p.m.- Red & WhiteNight

13

4:30-8:00p.m.- F, JV, V Boys Basketball v. T.C Williams (H)

19

15

VALENTINE’S DAY

TESTING

FLEX: Career Speaker W6/R7

14

FLEX: Course Selection Fair R3/R5 4:30p.m.- F, JV, V Girls Basketball v.

T.C Williams (A)

20

Female Firefighter/ Retired FBI Agent

21

FLEX: Career Speaker W8/R1 Journalist/ Electrician

22 Broadway Desserts at NOVA

Broadway Desserts at NOVA

23

24

Spring Sports Begin

25

FLEX: Career Speaker W2/R3 FBI profiler/ Executive Chief of Occasions Catering

26

Cap&Gown Pcitures 7:20a.m.National Math Exam

27

Cap&Gown Pcitures FLEX: Black History Bowl R5/W6 7:30p.m.- Pyramid

28

Fine Arts- New York Trip

39

FEATURES 7

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ABLAST

MON. FEB. 10, 2003

Students face possible legal prosecution

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE OWNER

“The law won’t effect me,” said Pak, who uses Kazaa. “I really don’t care, what can they do.” Others believe, despite

BY RACHEL JONES the chance of being prosecuted, that downloading music is Advertising Manager not wrong. “I don’t think that downloading music is a crime, the real crime is the high prices that they charge Cry me a river for CDs,” said senior Mike Flint.

Go on an’ cry me a river The ruling would affect the majority of Justin Timberlake’s song “Cry me a River”, people who download music from the is one of the most popular songs currently Internet. Over 100 million people have on the radio. Instead of rushing to Best downloaded the swapping service, Buy or Tower Records to get a copy Kazaa. of Timberlake’s new CD, fans will The amount of people who just sit at their computer and download songs from the Internet download the song off the Internet has skyrocketed because of the without paying for it. relative ease and the fact that “I download music because it’s songs are free. The average CD easier, faster, more efficient and costs between $15-$20. cheaper,” said freshman Alexis “The CD’s are Pak, who has over 400 songs too expensive. downloaded on her computer. “I Why buy a CD haven’t bought CDs in a while, when you can because it takes time and I don’t download your fahave the money,” Pak said. vorite song for Internet sharing of songs free?” said junior has cost the recording indusLauren Edwards, who try billions of dollars. Last only downloads a couple of year alone, it is estimated, that songs a month. “I only buy CDs the recording industry lost $5 bilwhen I know the artist is good and will lion to song sharing over the Internet. make a whole CD worth listening too.”

The mass amounts of free song This ruling also has particular impact sharing may soon be stopped with the on parents of ruling between Verizon and the reteenagers who cording industry. The Recording InJunior Emily Miller listens to an Mp3 player. Mp3 players are a portable download mudustry of America (RIAA) and way to listen to Mp3s downloaded off of the Internet. The cost of an Mp3 sic. Legal acrecord companies have been fight- player varies from $100- $300. Mp3 players can be found at electronic tion would be ing song sharing since the trend be- stores such as Best Buy or Circuit City. taken against the official subscriber, who is typically the came popular with the introduction of Napster. Various, parent. songwriters and singers felt cheated out of profits and sued The liability of parents has already caused several stuNapster and caused its ultimate decline. dents already to stop downloading music. “My parents won’t Recently the RIAA brought up a lawsuit against Verizon let me download songs, and it’s easy to get viruses because Communications Inc. In a landmark case U.S. District Judge you don’t know where the music comes from,” said senior John D. Bates ordered Verizon to release the name of one of Cameron Mittelman, whose computer has crashed twice its members who trades music online. This decision would due to downloading songs. put teenagers who excessively download music from the “I didn’t think it was illegal,” said junior Elizabeth Gill, Internet at risk of being prosecuted for violations of copywho has downloaded over 700 songs from Kazaa. “I downright laws. load music so I have a variety of music when I do my homeThe ruling, one in a series of legal victories, allows the work. I would use the radio, but there are too many comnames of all people who swap music online to be released in mercials,” said Gill. order for legal action to be taken against them.

Consumer rights groups also believe the judge’s decision to be flawed. Consumer groups argue that downloading music is similar to taping music from the radio, which is legal.

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Government oversteps boundaries

BY ALEJANDRO SALINAS Entertainment Editor Imagine yourself at home, relaxing in front of your computer screen. You’re singing along to the tune of an unreleased track from your favorite band, downloading a movie using some file-sharing program. You know it’s illegal, but you don’t really care. After all, everyone else is doing it, and there is no possible way the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) could trace and charge you with piracy or copyright infringement, right? Think again.

On Jan. 21, a federal judge ruled in favor of the RIAA and ordered Verizon Communications Inc. to reveal the identity of an Internet subscriber suspected of illegally downloading as many as 600 songs a day using Kazaa.

According to The Washington Post, the District judge based his decision on the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, in which that copyright holders can demand the identities of suspected pirates. Under the judge’s decision, music companies can force Internet Service Providers (ISP) to turn over the name of a suspected pirate upon subpoena from any U.S. District Court clerk’s office without a judge’s order .

“It’s like tapping your phone line. It’s an invasion of privacy and disrespect,” said junior Zefun Moiconnen.

With online file-sharing programs costing the record industry over $5 billion in lost revenue worldwide, this new ruling my have finally granted copyright owners an effective system to attack digital piracy. Conversely, this decision threatens to violate Internet users’ privacy and anonymity.

Should we permit those committing illegal acts to hide behind the right of privacy?

The answer is a provisional “yes;” while anonymous illegal activity should not be sanctioned by the right of privacy, the current court ruling has several internal flaws which largely outweighs its advantages.

Under this new subpoena process, confidential information could be within the grasp of unscrupulous individuals.

This law makes it disturbingly easy for anyone claiming a copyright violation to attain complete access to private subscriber information without due protection.

Another problem with this new law is the toll on ISPs: by forcing ISPs to regulate and inform copyright owners and the RIAA about its subscribers’ activities, this new ruling places an unnecessary strain on these service providers. [Having not only the task of providing the service, but also regulating the material accessed by its users,] ISPs could eventually increase the cost of their services.

Digital piracy should be eradicated; individuals who commit illegal acts and violate copyright laws should be criminally prosecuted. But, this objective should not be achieved at the expense of the public’s right to privacy.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR MUSIC? Illegal file-sharing programs Kazaa— Music can be downloaded for free from Kazaa.com. Music is accessed by a “peer to peer” sharing system. According to The Washington Post, Kazaa is soon to be under investigation for piracy and copyright infringement.

Morpheus– Another illegal file-sharing program that uses the “peer to peer” system. Free software can be dowloaded at musiccity.com.

WinMX—Free dowloadable progam that also uses the “peer to peer” program.

WinMX can be dowloaded at winmx.com.

Legal file-sharing programs Listen.com–Listeners can subscribe to either an All Access plan or a Radio Plus plan. The All Access plan offers 28,769 song tracks for $9.95 per month. The Radio Plus plan offers 50 pre-programmed, commercial-free radio-stations at $4.95 per month.

Subscribers can burn CDs at $.99 a track.

MusicNet–In association with several music companies, MusicNet offers thousands of songs at a one time fee of $19.95. Subscribers can also access 50 preprogammed, commercial-free radio stations at $5.95 per month. Music companies and musicians receive a portion of Music Net’s revenues. To subscribe to MusicNet people can go to Realone.com.

Do you think that people who download software excessively should be prosecuted?

“No, because a lot of people do it and there is no way they can catch everybody.”

—Dan Kim freshman

ALESALG16@HOTMAIL.COM

“If you [download music] excessively, then you should be fined.”

—Maggie Schubert freshman

“Yes, they should be put in jail. People with that much time on their hands should be locked up.”

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“If you violate laws already in place you should be prosecuted.”

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“I don’t know if I would say prosecuted, I think it is unfair to music companies and the recording artists.”

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AB T 8 CULTURES Korean students discuss war the

MON. FEB. 10, 2003

CALCULATING THE THREAT

On January 29, 2002, in President Bush’s State of the Union Address, he named Iraq and North Korea as two of the three countries that make the “axis of evil.” We may be on the brink of war with Iraq, but how does North Korea compare?

Iraq

North Korea

Population: 24 million 22 million

Military Budget: $1.4 billion $5.12 billion

Artillery: 2,628 units 10,400 units

Military: 389,000 soldiers 1.1 million soldiers

BY KATHY IBARRA Staff Writer It’s been half a century this year since North and South Korea signed the armistice ending the fighting of the Korean War, but students at AHS feel the tension is rising as North Korea continues to back away from nuclear non-proliferation.

“It’s bad that North Korea is building up their nuclear weapons program because you don’t want a communist country dominating over the other countries. That will affect the whole world,” said sophomore Sam Kim. Kim comes from a history of Koreans, both North and South. His great-grandparents on his father’s side were born in North Korea. During the Korean War, they escaped to South Korea, where they met and married. But, when they left North Korea, they left behind their family and friends.

Kang remains active in her Korean culture even though she lives in the U.S. She is currently the President of the Asian American Students Association.

“My great-grandmother is 94 years old and still lives in South Korea. She hasn’t seen her siblings or her parents in over 50 years,” said Kim. “They feel lucky to be in a country they are secure in.”

Kim Il Jong, dictator of communist North Korea, is the “brains of the operation,” according to junior Susan Kang.

“This guy isn’t as hard core North Korean as his father [Kim Jong Il]. I think he’s considering peace, but his officials are pushing him.”

Kang’s family originated in North Korea as well. Her grandparents on her father’s side married in North Korea and also escaped during the Korean war, where they started a family of their own in South Korea.

“Not too long ago North and South Koreans got to reunite with their family and friends and that was a big deal.

It’s so sad though because they’re never going to meet again. At that time it seemed like relations between North and South Korea were going to get better,” said Kang.

Kang feels strongly that the situation in North Korea should be solved diplomatically, but like the South Koreans, she believes the United States is responsible for dealing with the situation. “The U.S. chose to get involved and they just can’t back out now,” said Kang.

The United States currently has 37,000 troops in the demilitarized zone that stretches between North and South Korea. “I went to the border of the DMZ and I saw troops with guns, always watching,” said Kim, who visited South Korea several years ago. “I was scared, but I felt secure because the U.S. will protect South Korea.”

“It’s better to talk things out, but if North Korea used nuclear weapons that will harm the world, that’s a different story. North Korea isn’t doing anything about people starving and nuclear weapons aren’t going to help,” said Kim. Kang agreed. “Definitely, at all cost, avoid war. If we could settle it politically, then that’s great, but I don’t see that happening.”

The Asian American Students Association was founded last year to promote and educate members about Asian Pacific American Issues and Culture. The club, which has a $5 membership fee and currently has 25 members. The next meeting will be held Monday, February 12 in room 138.

LAS

Junior Susan Kang, president of the Asian Club, believes that the US should help with the situation in North Korea. “Definitely [the U.S. should] at all cost, avoid war. “ KATHY IBARRA

North Korea, the next Iraq?

Iraq may be North Korea signed a Nonthe focal point Proliferation Treaty in of war pro1994, agreeing to eliminate posals, but its nuclear weapons proNorth Korea gram, but has violated this treaty. What actions should is still threatening the United States take?

“We should take the diplomatic approach, if that doesn’t work we should keep peace by sending troops.

And if they [North Korea] becomes more hostile we should take military action.”

—Stephen Stalcup freshman

BY RACHEL SINAIKO Cultures Editor With most of President Bush’s discussion centering on war with Iraq, the question lingers in students' minds: what's going to happen with North Korea?

“Obviously, the President is more concerned with Iraq right now. I kind of forgot that North Korea is considered a big threat too,” said sophomore Carolyn Hamilton. “I mean, is North Korea really that important?”

While North Korea may not be at the forefront of most recent Bush proposals, it is still a major issue. A military strike against North Korea has

been ruled out, with the U.S. instead presenting North Korean leader Kim Jong Il with an ultimatum: stop your weapons programs or expect continued American refusal to negotiate.

“I think that North Korea will not stop building weapons because if it already started, why stop now?” said junior Jason Lee. So how dangerous is North Korea? Last October, the country informed the rest of the world that it had finished building a new uraniumenrichment factory, which could be used to create nuclear bombs.

Therefore, North Korea could be developing anything without any other country finding out for some time.

“North Korea probably just wants attention. They want to be part of the war game,” said sophomore Mary Yoon Kim. "The weapons that North Korea says it has could be a big danger to the United States," said freshman Duk Kim. “But they are more of a danger to countries closer to North Korea.”

South Korea, an ally of the U.S., has sent several envoys to the capital of North Ko-

BACK IN BLACK

“We should go to war with them [North Korea], and Afghanistan.”

—Tim Tan sophomore

“The U.S. should retaliate— North Korea broke a promise, and it’s important to protect our people.”

—Kathryn Hoey sophomore

“We should use economic sanctions.

North Korea considers these an act of war, so this could be taking a chance, but it would probably be most effective.”

—John Nemeth History Teacher

“They [North Korea and the United States] should talk it out without causing any harm.”

—Dennis Demaree junior

rea, Pyongyang. North Korea has continued to threaten the U.S., but North Korean officials have continued to assure South Korea that it is not a target. However, some Korean students at AHS are doubtful. “North Korea will probably try to hit South Korea first if they use their nuclear bombs,” said sophomore Da-jung Han. While the prospect of war with North Korea seems distant now, students still think it could happen. “I'm sure that after Iraq the President will start talking about fighting with Korea,” Lee said. “Its not at the top of the list right now, but pretty soon it will be,” said Kim.

D.C. UNITED vs. DALLAS BURN May 3, 2003 7:30 PM RFK STADIUM Mark your calendars! www.dcunited.com

More information heading your way.

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ABLAST

ACADEMICS 9

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

. . coolest classes Don’t suffer through anymore boring classes next year. Check out these courses on Friday at the elective fair.

ELECTIVE FAIR The elective fair will be during Flex on Friday Feb. 14th. Students will have the opportunity to visit several selected classes that they are interested in taking.

REGISTRATION FILM STUDY

ADVANCED COMPOSITION

Mr. Weintraut, rm .225

Mr. Maglisceau, rm. 249 This course, good for half a credit and is open to grades 1012, is designed to help students who are looking ahead to college.

In the duration of the year, students write 12-14 essays.

Most of them are preparatory, but two are normally timed writings. Students also are involved in editing essays, speeches, and quizes.

“Most students get A’s, but the slackers get C’s, D’s and F’s,” said Maglisceau.

Bottom line: This class will help students prepare for college level essays as well as the admissions essays.

PRE-IB COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT Mr. Hawes, rm. 154B This class offers a fun and different approach to American and global governments. It is worth one credit and is for rising 10th graders.

The curriculum mainly consists of political philosophy, federal and state government functions and U.S. involvenment in international affairs.

The homework is fairly light for a Pre-IB class, with an average of half an hour to an hour of work a night.

HAWES “The homework is meant to be students commenting on political issues,” said Hawes. The average grade for the second quarter in Pre-IB government is a C+ .

One in-class simulation includes “Survivor,” where students must solve problems on their island and settle disputes.

“It’s a really fun class because we do a lot of activities that get you involved in the class, like court cases,” said sophomore Amy Suddarth.

“It can be tough, but it makes you want to learn, plus Mr. Hawes rocks!”

Bottom line: Government is a fun and educational class that is a good introduction to the way the world works.

ELECTRONICS Mr. Harrison, rm. 150 Electronics is designed to help students who are interested in the fields of electricity, electronics and robotics, with such activites as preparing for future space ships, exploring circuits, learning the components of motors and how they work.

Senior Chris Owens said, “Mr. Harrison is the best teacher because he is nice and fair, and also the class is very fun and entertaining.”

This class is offered to students in grades 9-12, and is worth one credit as an elective. For students who are especially interested in the field of HARRISON electronics, Electronics II is offered for students who have already taken Electronics I. Bottom line: Electronics 1 is a good introduction to the field of circuits, engines and robotics for all interested students.

PSYCHOLOGY Mr. Hambrick, rm .259 Does high school feel like one long psychotic episode? Maybe you should get to the bottom of it in psychology class. This one credit course is only opened to 11th and 12th graders.

The class covers the history and different schools of psychology. The emotional, intellectual, and physical factors that form a person’s personality are also investigated.

“I’m taking the class because it sounded really interesting and my friends who took it liked it,” said junior Lauren Edwards. “We learn a lot of practical things like sleep patterns, what causes stress, and other everyday problems.”

If you’re looking for the easy ‘A’ class, though, look somewhere else. “It’s a hard elective,” said Edwards. “We have homework every night and a lot of tests, but it’s fun.”

Bottom line: If you’re curious about why some people are so weird, sign up for this class. But be warned, this is a class about the study of the human brain; you’ll probably have to use yours if you want to do well.

The perfect class would amount to watching blockbuster movies, eating popcorn, and/or sleeping. That’s what film study is all about, right? Wrong.

“When I came here I thought we were going to watch good movies like “Braveheart” or the “The Rock,” but we’re watching black and white stuff,” said senior Jegs Peralta. While the class does consist of watching classic and awardwinning movies, it isn’t just a slacker’s class.

“If you just pay attention to the movies, you’ll do well,” said sophomore Maryam Pourrabi. “We have to take a test after every movie we watch.” Students also are expected to critique and write about the films they see.

Tests, black and white movies, and no sleeping? School is the only place where even watching movies can be made miserable. Most students who are in this class are curious about the technical aspects of filmmaking and don’t mind using a little brain power.

Students take the knowledge they’ve gleaned from all the movie watching, and make their own film noire.

Their final product is shown at the annual film festival and judged by a panel of teachers on its artistic and technical merit. The class counts for one credit, and next year IB film study will be offered as well.

Bottom line: You get to watch movies in class.

GUITAR Mr. Kee, auditorium If you were stranded on a desert island, what’s the one thing you couldn’t live without? If you answered music, maybe you should check out a beginning guitar class. That way if you ever do find yourself stranded somewhere, all you’ll need is your guitar to pelt out all the sweet harmonies you want.

However, don’t think you’re going to sound like Bob Marley immediately. First, proper playing posture, chording, rhythmic understanding, and reading guitar music must be mastered. “[Mr. Kee] gives us assignment songs and we learn to play them,” said junior Cameron Wells. The focus of the class is on learning how to play well, and there aren’t many written tests to worry about.

The class counts for one credit and students can go on to take more advanced guitar classes.

Bottom line: If you played the piccolo in fourth grade, but thought it was dorky, here’s your chance to pick up another musical instrument. Only, this time you’ll be cool.

HUMAN ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY Mrs. Edwards, rm. 133 This is a one credit science elective open to students who have already taken biology and chemistry, (however, it does not meet FCPS (NOT MRS. EDWARDS) graduation requirements as a third labratory science.)

While this class might not look as strong on a transcript as other science courses, it’s a great class for students who are strong in biology who might be interested in pursuing a medical career.

Class materials include the scalpel, stethoscope...and a big box of colored pencils. “We color a lot. It’s like coloring book 101,” said senior Kari Krauss.

Worksheets and labs are an essential part of the class, but the workload isn’t too heavy. “It’s the class I look forward to,” said senior Katie Burton. “A lot of the work gets done in class so there’s not much homework.”

Bottom line: This class is laid back and a good alternative to a standard science class.

PEER MEDIATION Ms. Neal, rm .226 If you’re the type of person who your friends come to for advice, peer mediation is probably right up your ally.

In order to be accepted into the program, however, you must first fill out an application including teacher recommendations, and go for an interview.

Students come away from the class

with knowledge on different forms of conflict management, problem solving and improving communication style.

Advanced students who have already gone through one year of training can then resolve in-school disputes.

“We do a lot of role playing,” said junior Janet Partlow.

“We practice mediations with pretend problems.” If you’re the quiet type and don’t like to open your mouth in class, you might want to find another elective. Class discussions are a big component of the class.

“People who want to make a difference at school should take peer mediation,” said junior Coury Shadyac. The class counts for a half credit and students can go on to take advanced peer mediation.

Bottom line: This is a constructive class if you’re calm and composed and have a good handle on interpersonal relationships.

COMPUTER GRAPHICS Mr. Christie, rm. 148 Did you take Art 1 last year and decided that you’ve had you’re fill of acrylics, pastels, and charcoal, but still have that creative bug in you?

Check out the computer graphics room. You won’t find paintbrushes or clay in this class, but that far from limits artistic expression. The classroom is covered with an outpouring of artwork proCHRISTIE duced by students on the computer.

And this class shouldn’t intimidate those who are creative, but not technically inclined. “Most students have very little computer or drawing skills. If they have any fears [about computer skills] they shouldn’t,” said Christie.

“We start slow before we get into more advanced applications.”

Students’ first project is to create a self-portrait.

They then go onto other assignments, including a selfportrait, a Senior Jake McIntyre, used photoshop to create this monster cat for his surrealism metamorphosis project project, a movie poster, and magazine and CD covers. Students are graded mainly on their long-term projects. This class is ideal for those who dread exams; there’s only one quiz per quarter.

The class is good for one credit and students can go on and do computer graphics two their second year.

Bottom line: If you’re artistic, but don’t like getting your hands messy, take this class and let your imagination run wild.

SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING Mr. Hiatt and Mrs. Hendrickson, rm .268 Did you spend the Super Bowl pondering what type of contracts companies signed to advertise during commercials?

Find out all this and more in sports and entertainment marketing.

Sponsorship, promotion, advertising, communication, and event marketing are all topics covered in the class. Students may reinforce their knowledge of sports marketing and earn additional credits by doing on-the-job-training. The class can count for anywhere from one to three credits.

“It is pretty laid back, but we still learn a lot of stuff,” said junior Mikey Perucci. “It’s a career I want to go into.”

This year students are getting hands on training in their partnership with D.C. United. The class sells tickets to United games and competes against other high schools to sell the most. They’ve advertised during pep rallies and will be making announcements in the morning.

Bottom line: If you have any remote interest in sports or entertainment this class should be pretty interesting. If you don’t own a TV or couldn’tP care less about the “joy of Pepsi,” take an art class instead.

Compliled by Academics Editors Laura Johnson and Rebecca Kraushaar

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If you could create any class to take, what would it be?

“Skateboarding; It’s a crucial sport.”

—Luke Eliot freshman

“There’s an animal science class at Edison, so it would be good to have it here instead of having to go all the way to Edison.”

—Diana Hollingsworth sophomore

“An amusement park class would be good.

There is a wide range of opportunities in that field.”

— Mike Perucci junior

“I think that we should have an Americanization class, so people can learn what it means to be American.”

- Bobby Morganthaller senior

NEW CLASSSES • IB Film study—grades 11-12, no prerequisite. This pilot class is worth 1 or 2 credits (weighted on the .5).

•Programming- grades 10-12, prerequisite: keyboarding skills and Windows knowledge.

• Webpage development—grades 10-12, prerequisite- keyboarding skills and Microsoft Windows knowledge.

• Sports medicine—grades 10-12, no prerequisite. This course was scheduled last year, but was canceled.

• Oceanography—grades 11-12, prerequisite- two labratory science courses. This course counts as a science for the advanced diploma, but not for the standard diploma.

CANCELED CLASSES • Keyboarding Applications • Creative writing • Early child care careers 1 amd 2

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10 IN-DEPTH

—Rortanak Sy senior

“Fear factor is my favorite because they make people do crazy stuff.”

—Tara Smothers sophomore

“The Bachelorette is my favorite because the guys on the show are really funny and desperate.”

—Mohammad Amin junior

“I like American Idol. Its really great to see peopel making fools of themselves.”

—Jazzmin White freshman

“Survivor, becaue I was home for four months du to a leg injury last winter. I watched more TV than normal.”

—Mary Catherin Moshero Latin teacher

“Survivor because it’s the only one I’ve ever watched and I got hooked.”

—Cliff Cornwell safety specialist

“I’m embarassed to admit I’ve watched the Bachelorette.

It’s so very far from reality and I don’t know why any woman who has had 25 handsome eligible bachelors to choose from.”

—Sarah Farsmouth counselor

IN-DEPTH 11

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

America’s Newest Sensation Reality check

making $19,000 a year, had actually worked as an actor on a popular NBC Entertainment Editor soap opera in 2000, and modeled underwear for the California Muscle catalog.

ABC’s Are you hot? The Search for According to Entertainment Weekly, America’s Sexiest People is the latest Marriott rented a $1.7 million home in reality show that promises to captivate Venice, California and even ventured the nation’s attention and have people into professional wrestling.How talking and voting (Note: thinking is Marriott managed to afford such home not a requisite for this show or any of with his meager salary remains a mysits predecessors for that matter). tery.

The show promises to feature dozYet perhaps the show’s most scandalens of men and women in tiny swimous revelation came after newspapers suits. However, not even the presence across the country exposed a finalists’ of thousands of silicon-infused vixens kinky acting past: Before becoming a and egomaniac guys can guarantee contestant in the show, finalist Sarah high ratings for the show. Are you Hot? Kozer starred in a series of bondage and is up against some stiff competition; foot-fetish films such as Novice in Knots, Survivor: The Amazon, Joe Millionaire, Dirty Soled Girls and Bound and DomiThe Bachelorette, High School Renated. union, The Surreal Life, the list conThese so-called “reality shows” not tinues. Yet all these shows have someonly blur lines in order to draw crowds, thing in common: they reflect the curbut could in fact be completely phony: rent reality show boom, which are Both Kozer and Marriott, who worked rarely even real. as aspiring actors before becoming inWhat initially began as an alternavolved in the show, attempted to conceal tive movement to scripted television this information from the public. dramas and sitcoms, is now the drivMarriott alleged he was a construcing force behind every major television tion worker, while network. There Kozer cited her occuare over 10 difpation as sales and deferent reality sign. Doesn’t it seem shows currently Even though I don’t like just a little too farairing, and over fetched for two actors 15 projects in de- [Joe Millionaire] that to be involved in a velopment. ABC same show? Furtheris in final cast- much anymore, I feel like I more, if Marriott picks ings for three have to finish it to find out Kozer, how can audinew shows, what happens. [Reality ences be convinced of while other netthe authenticity of this works like NBC, shows] are addictive. couple?

FOX, and CBS —Cameron Wells “I hate Joe Millionjunior have also several aire because it proshows in develmotes promiscuity,” opment. said senior Vanessa Portillo. “The show With shows like Joe Millionaire atis fake and all about money.” tracting around 20.3 million viewers, MTV’s The Real World was probably every network is out for a piece of this one of the first shows to “alter” reality in new reality television craze. It’s in this the name of entertainment. The show quest for ratings boost , that many netwas launched under a simple yet allurworks are flirting with the line between ing premise; seven strangers living to“real” and scripted shows. gether and being real. However, soon The WB’s High School Reunion was enough the show was exposed as a hoax: the first reality show that came under turns out every Real World episode is intense scrutiny after it was discovered scripted, and the emotions expressed by that the show was stretching the truth: the seven strangers are as real as Launched under the premise of a 10Pamela Anderson’s breasts. year televised reunion in which 17 alYet despite these facts, The Real ums from Illinois’ Oak- Park-River ForWorld, Joe Millionaire, High School Reest High School would gather in Haunion and many other reality shows waii for six weeks. continue to draw millions of viewers.

Entertainment Weekly re“Even though I don’t like the show that cently revealed that four much anymore. I feel like I have to finof the schoolmates ish it to find out what happens,” said form the show junior Cameron Wells, “They are addicdidn’t even gradutive.” ate in 1992, which Whether its due to the public’s friprompts stuvolity, or the massive appeal of these dents to wonder shows, reality programming continues why they are to boom. According to statistics, High even watchSchool Reunion’s debut marked the WB’s ing. best-ever Sunday debut, and Joe Million“Reality aire has broken Fox’s audience records shows are for reality and non-reality shows alike. dumb,” said Reality shows continue to thrive and junior Keris prove that all it takes to engage an auKrennHrubec. “People dience is a simple premise and many don’t do stuff like that anyway.” scandals. In the end, who needs distractFox’s Joe Millionaire is not free of ing plot lines when you can watch people “reality” issues either. A few episodes being humiliated and degraded on nainto the show, it was revealed that tional television every night.

Evan Marriott, the construction worker who the network pinned as

Why do people believe in reality shows so much when they are not as real as they might seem?

BY HANA NGUYEN

In-Depth Editor

“

Reality TV Timeline Reality shows did not originate within the past few years, as many think.

They have been in business for more that 50 years.

1948

1955: Wanted was the first show that inspired the crime reality shows that later aired like America’s Most Wanted and Cops. It only lasted for a year, but discussed the crimes of criminals and included interviews with their loved ones and police authorities.

1955

1948: Candid Camera has been on the air for over five decades. It is a television classic that captures people in the most awkward and compromising moments and shares it with the entire viewing world.

1973

1973: An American Family featured the Loud family through trials and tribulations of marital breakup of Bill and Pat Loud as well as the coming of age of the son Lance. A total of 10 million Americans viewed this show each week and it was described as a show ahead of its time.

Reality television is quickly becoming an entity in itself. An American obsession, fascination, and staple that has altered the future of television forever.

Last week, a staggering 27 million viewers hovered around glowing television sets, glued to Fox’s return sensation, American Idol. Viewers were mesmerized by tone-deaf hopefuls, wishing for a chance at stardom.

While many traditional critics fear the disintegration of Western civilization seeing that The New York Times comments on ABC’s flop, Extreme Makeover, as the “mutilation of entertainment,” reality TV has left an indelible mark on American pop culture.

Like it or not, the public cannot get enough of a spoiled Kelly Osbourne complaining about how she has too much money to spare.

We yearn to view true love spring as a poor construction worker masquerading as a millionaire tries to woo a naive girl.

It seems that reality TV has a firm grip on the American psyche and refuses to let go.

JOE MILLIONAIRE As Fox’s newest hit, Joe Millionaire transforms the average guy into a wealthy millionaire in hopes of discerning what women really look for in a meaningful relationship: a great personality or a full checkbook. Viewers are tentatively awaiting the final episode when the average Joe, Evan Marriott, reveals that his wealthy facade was all a lie.

Will his true love accept who he really is, or will she travel to greener pastures?

AHS reviews the reality of TV

BY JOHN REISS

Staff Writer With all of the problems that trouble the world, people sometimes need to get away from reality. Ironically, a common escape from reality is to sit down on the couch and watch the popular TV programs that depict reality. Though, it might not seem to make much sense to watch a reality show in order to get away from their own dull and stressful lives. Nevertheless, a trend of reality shows is spreading across America and the world, even down to places like the AHS community.

To understand this phenomenon it is necessary to look at the roots of reality TV. The police-chase show Cops is one of the earliest example of a reality-based show. Most people are familiar with the show, it is composed of a camera crew following around a patrol car on reports of criminal activities and delivering inyour-face action to the viewer at home of the arrest. This show set the stage for the multimillion dollar TV production of reality TV that is popular now, where people could connect with and relate to their own lives.

Sophomore Jennifer Brackett is an avid watcher of reality shows, always making time for The Bachelorette and Joe Millionaire. “With reality shows, I imagine that I am that person and think of the decisions I would make in the given situation, sometimes I even get mad at their decisions,” said Brackett.

The popularity of reality programming on television is rapidly growing and every network is cashing in on it. ABC is perhaps putting the biggest effort forth with such programs as The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Mole and Celebrity Mole: Hawaii. Fox airs such shows as American Idol and the new sensation of Joe Millionaire. CBS is also home to Big Brother, The Amazing Race and Survivor; one of the first reality television shows which is now in its eighth season.

Despite all of these new comers though, the teen-influenced music network of MTV has long held its ground as a network with reality-television and currently shows six different reality-based programs. The popular Real World series made its 12th season debut this year and its companion show, Road Rules, is now in its 11th season. These two shows have spanned such reality shows as Battle of the Seasons, Battle of the Sexes, True Life, Making the Band, MADE and MTV’s most recent hit, The Osbournes.

“I like to watch True Life,” says Junior Yama Nadi. “It gives you an idea about other people’s cultures and the lives of other people.”

While all of these shows might bring entertainment and delight to viewers

1988: America’s Most Wanted became the highest-rated show in its time slot just weeks after its premiere.

This show has aided in apprehending over 600 criminals.

1988

OTHER REALITY TV SHOWS

The best shows

BY ALEJANDRO SALINAS

PAUL GLEASON AND HANA NGUYEN

“American Idol is my favorite show.

I think its funny how people think they can sing when they can’t.”

ABLAST

1989

1990: America’s Funniest Home Videos first aired with host Bob Saget. The show encouraged people to send their most entertaining home videos for a reward of a $10,000 cash prize voted by the studio audience.

1990

1989: Cops became an immediate hit in the FOX network. The show follows police officers on the hot trail of criminals. Its success has resulted in several spin-offs.

1991

across the globe every night, they also bring up many questions. The behavior and actions of people in these shows tend to be highly comedic and amusing, but what do they really say about people?

Most stars of reality shows commit acts of betrayal and tell numerous lies to win the prize presented by the specific show. The promise of reward brings forth conflict between the participants of the show. This reflects on Juniors Kate Bagnulo and Julie Stone got together on people around the world by Feb. 4 to watch the first eight performers on American showing how some sort of inIdol 2 sing for the first time. “I didn’t watch the show that centive is necessary for much last season, but recently I’ve been watching it more people to do something and often and I really enjoy it,” said Bagnulo. that they will do anything to claw their way to the top.

“I watch reality shows on occasion,” said junior Max Ruth. “They help give me insights into the sick minds of people around the world.”

Reality shows are also inexpensive to produce with limited production values. Smaller casts who are relatively unknown don’t demand high salaries, and limited set designs are easy to construct. While the locations are sometimes exotic, the lighting, camera work and audio are often very low budget. Considering the rate of return each show brings, the networks cannot pass them up. Audiences also readily indentify with plot lines and conflicts similar to their own lives.

“I think that the conflicts on the show are real enough, but sometimes the network projects the conflict to the viewer on a much larger scale,” said senior Mary Burke.

With the status of reality TV fluctuating, perhaps the only way to describe their predicament is through an ironic quote from The Simpsons:

1992: Road Rules has the same concept as The Real World, except that the cast continually travels in a mobile home. They participate in challenges throughout the duration of their trip in order to earn cash and prizes.

1992

1991: The Real World immediately received high ratings, it is now entering it’s 11th season on MTV. Seven strangers are allowed to live rent-free in a home with all the amenities.

The roommates come from different backgrounds and more than often have conflicting views about controversial issues and topics.

THE OSBOURNES

HAYLEY FLETCHER

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE REALITY SHOW AND WHY?

the TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

Chronicling the life of shock rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his eccentric family, The Osbournes has single-handedly altered America’s view of the typical family. As MTV’s highest rated show, The Osbournes sheds light on the atypical antics of brat pack Kelly and Jack in addition to the crazy arguments of Ozzy and Sharon.

The Osbournes Rockstar Ozzy Osbourne made history in has resurrected his 2002 when it raked career with his reality TV in as astounding 8 show. million viewers in its first episode, a record for cable television.

It has launched the career of the punk-inspired Kelly Osbourne and introduced Ozzy to a completely new generation. The family has been adopted as America’s own and has graced the cover of numerous magazines including Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, and Newsweek. The Osbourne family recently hosted the American Music Awards, demonstrating that America is captivated by the startling behavior of this British import.

“The Osbournes are very funny,” said junior Neila Darvish. “I never know what they’re going to do next.”

AMERICAN IDOL With America infatuated with good-looking, semi-talented youngsters hoping for

fame and fortune, American Idol may be this winter’s most popular reality programming. The cruel criticism of the infam o u s Simon Cowell draws in millions American Idol judges Randy Jackson, of de- Simon Cowell, and Puala Abdul. voted f a n s each episode while the kind comments made by Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson create great foils to Cowell’s caustic personality.

The public is compelled by the rags-toriches plot of American Idol, and is moved by the emotional breakdowns of delusional, substandard rejects. Continued public support is perpetuated by the ingenious voting method. Each episode, millions of Americans have the opportunity to chime in and vote for their choice idol.

Last year, a star was made out of Kelly Clarkson, and America is itching to manufacture a similar pop idol. Clarkson’s song “A Moment Like This” had the fastest ascend to the no. 1 position on the Billboard charts in 2002, and it seems that there is not stifling the public’s will to create another superstar.

“I always tune in to American Idol every week,” said senior Kimberly Vu. “I am a dedicated fan and I like to feel like I have some say in choosing the next idol.”

THE REAL WORLD Since its inception 12 years ago, The Real World has sustained a consistent following for over a decade. The theme of the show, “When people stop being polite and start getting real,” resonates with audiences in the desired demographic of 18 to 34 year olds.

As a pioneer in reality TV, MTV has demonstrated through The Real World, that this type of programming can be extremely successful. The formula is very simple: place seven strangers in a lavish house, and watch the madness ensue. Because of the success of The Real World, spinoffs such as Real World Road Rules Battle of the Sexes has entered the realm of continuous MTV airplay in recent years.

While it may be difficult to discern why America is so moved by the simple, repetitive arguments of the seven strangers of The Real World, many AHS students have reasons to relish in the latest craze.

“Reality shows like American Idol are very catchy,” said senior Zhiela Ashtianipour. “They lure in the audience and create cliffhangers that force us to tune in the following week.”

There are a myriad a reasons that could suffice but essentially, people can relate to reality TV. Big blockbuster stars aren’t hired to play the lead, common folk are. Reality TV is innovative and provocative and while it may be unconventional, reality television is a successful combination of controversy and trivial entertainment.

Krusty the Clown: Eh, this quiz show [reality show in this case] is just a fad.

Male Executive: Well, fad or not, it’s here to stay.

2000: Big Brother had initial success but eventually had a ratings plunge. Viewers grew tired of the boring things that went on in the Big Brother household, since the contestants were not really doing anything interesting.

2001: Temptation Island involved four couples who were put to the test of their dedication and love by being left on an island for two weeks with 30 eligible single males and females.

At the conclusion of the show, the couples were asked if they wanted to stay in their original relationship.

2000 2000: Survivor consists of 16 cast members at a remote location who are forced to live without the luxuries of modern life.

In each episode, a cast member is voted off by seven previously-exiled castaways. Controversy is created by the formation of alliances known as tribes.

2001: Boot Camp involves army recruits who compete for a half million dollar cash prize, while surviving the grueling effects of camp and one another. The show received respectable ratings and is expected to return for another season.

2001 2000: Making the Band documented the process of auditioning for a pop boy band. Viewers were able to see what people go through in order to make it big in the music industry.

The finished product is now the boy band O-Town.

2001: The Mole was a hit in four other countries before coming to the U.S. Ten contestants try to figure out which of them is the mole, who tries to sabotage their challengers. After each episode contestants are asked questions about the mole, and whoever knows the least about the mole is sent packing. The process continues until only a few contestants remain. Whoever figures out who the mole wins.

2002: American Idol is a talent show with comments by the three judges who are very upfront and curt with their criticism.

There are 32 contestants who perform their songs and are voted off by phone tallies from viewers across the nation.

2002 2002: The Bachelor is a show in which an eligible male gets to date 25 women who are trying to win his heart. The finalists are selected by the presentation of a rose. The finalist is chosen and proposed to on the spot.

Because of the show’s popularity, ABC even has madeThe Bachelorette show.

The Anna Nicole Show —E!’s candid spectacle of Anna Nicole Smith, former Playboy model and widow of millionaire tycoon, J. Howard Marshall, first aired on August 4, 2002 and has been a staple on the entertainment cable network ever since.

The show has kept Smith in the spotlight in addition to making celebrities out of her assistant Kim, her lawyer Howard K. Stern, her son Daniel, and dog Sugar Pie. E!, Sundays at 10 p.m.

Trading Spaces— This home improvement show, which got its start in Britain under a different name, Changing Rooms, has become a hit in American audiences.

Homeowners redecorate each other’s homes in two days under a budget of $1,000 and reveal the outcome to very surprised neighbors. TLC, Saturdays at 8 and 9 p.m., Weekdays at 4 p.m.

Road Rules—As the second installment in MTV’s successful reality TV series, Road Rules is similar to The Real World but with an athletic twist. Six strangers are sent to live in an RV and perform designated tasks for cash, prizes, and a handsome reward. MTV, Mondays at 10 p.m.

The Bachelorette— Trista Rehn was such a sensation on The Bachelor that ABC requested her to engage in her own reality TV show. Twenty-five men are at Trista’s beck and call, and by the end of the episode, she will be expected to purpose to the man whom she believes is her true love.

Audiences are captivated by the blonde’s attitude and tune in each week to see which man she will eliminate next. ABC, Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

The Mole 2— Dubbed television’s smartest reality show, The Mole returns for a second season on ABC. Like its predecessor, The Mole 2 will feature Anderson Cooper as its host, and 14 players who will try to figure out who among them is the mole. The cast works as a team to complete a series of challenging physical and mental games in order to win cash prizes. Working undercover against the team, however, is the mole, a double agent planted by the producers to sabotage the players’ moneyearning efforts. ABC, Tuesdays 9 p.m.

Married By America— Married By America hopes to break new ground in reality television by making the viewer the matchmaker who will pair two strangers that will eventually marry. This is FOX’s newest edition to reality TV and will have a special two-hour premiere on Monday, March 10 at 8 p.m.

Cops—This pioneer in reality television has been on the air for 14 years and has been nominated for four Emmys. As one of the longest-running programs currently on primetime television, Cops’ intent in to capture the most vivid images of the human condition by following policemen as they arrest criminals. FOX, Saturdays at 8 and 8:30 p.m.

Fear Factor— Hosted by Joe Rogan, Fear Factor has been labeled on of the “grossest” reality shows on television. Already in its second season, Fear Factor has been nominated for a People’s Choice Award and garners some of NBC’s highest ratings. The show is a favorite among audiences because it places ordinary people in compromising positions. The winner of each episode is awarded $50,000 for their efforts. NBC, Mondays at 8 p.m.

AB 12 ARTS Students begin to see AHS through a whole new lens the

MON. FEB. 10, 2003

LAST

PHOTOGRAPHY TIMELINE

1500’s

1600’s Camera obscuras in frequent use by artists and made portable in the form of sedan chairs

1834 Henry Fox Talbot creates permanent (negative) images using paper soaked in silver chloride and fixed with salt solution. Talbot created positive images by contact printing onto another sheet of paper

1837 Louis Daguerre creates images on silver-plated copper, coated with silver iodide and “developed” with warmed mercury; Daguerre is awarded a state pension by the French government in exchange for publication of methods and the rights by other French citizens to the Daguerreotype process

1861 Scottish physicist James ClerkMaxwell demonstrates a color photography system involving three black and white photographs, each taken through a red, green, or blue filter. Photos were turned into lantern slides and projected in registration with the same color filters. This is the “color separation” method

1861-1865 Mathew Brady and staff covers American Civil War, exposing over 7000 negatives

1880 George Eastman, age 24, sets up Easton Dry Plate Company in Rochester, New York. First halftone photograph appears in a daily newspaper, the New York Graphic

1900 Kodak Brownie box roll-film camera introduced

1907 First commercial color film, the Autochrome plates, manufactured

by Lumiere borthers in France

1934 Fuji Photo Film founded. By 1938, Fuji is making cameras and lenses in addition to film

1936 Development of Kodachrome, the first color multi-layered color film; development of Exakta, pioneering 35 mm single-lens reflex camera

1972

an actual photograph from a negative, and how to print the picture in the dark room. Because undeveloped pictures will be ruined by exposure to light, all photos are developed in a dimly lit room know as the dark room. The photography classroom is equipped with one of these for the convenience of the students. In addition, the program holds two weekly after school sessions for all levels to take advantage of, whether it be for additional instruction or use of the facilities.

In the later years of photography, students master techniques such as using different lighting textures to create multiple effects. A portfolio of their work is also created from the beginning of their photo career at AHS to the end.

In Photography 2, students continue their exploration.

They study great works of art and critique the work of others to gain experience. A great portion of what makes a picture great is the lighting, and Photography 2 students delve deeply into working with light to make it have the best effect.

Older students build on the knowledge they have gained in their past years. Additional aspects are added to the picture taking process, and each student concentrates their efforts on their own personal areas of expertise. All pictures printed in the program are in black and white for multiple reasons. Overall, it is believed that the black and white print captures light and emotion well for a better overall product.

At the end of their senior year, each Photography porfolio student creates a compilation of their work to be viewed in a one- person show displaying their best efforts from the past three years. These advanced students are expected to show exemplary performance, commitment, and initiative.

Most students who enter the photography program at AHS are pleased with their improvement and leave with great satisfaction and inspiration. Photography 1 student Brian Bernhards, a sophomore, loves photography and feels it gives him great experience. “Photography is a very dynamic class where you learn something new everyday.”

vide their own camera and film as needed. This is the year that the portfolio which will be continued through the end of the program is begun.

Photography teacher, Mr. Saylor, guides the students through the rest of the process. Mr. Saylor teaches all levels of photography at AHS, and has an extensive background in the skill. “I love art and photography. It’s part of my life and who I am,” Saylor said. He teaches everything from developing film in the dark room to how to use light and texture effectively.

Saylor’s knowledge is a major help to all students. He has been at AHS for three years.

Other skills learned in basic photography are how to use enlargers in the dark room, in other words, how to create

BY ELIZABETH NOWROUZ STAFF WRITER Here at AHS, the photography program is thriving. With three different levels of photography offered, as well as a photojournalism program, students at AHS are offered a wide variety of classes to fit their interests in this field.

Offered to sophomores through seniors, the photography program is completed in three credits. To be accepted into the program, students must either have a prerequisite in Art 1 or have a sophomore standing.

Many students are very excited to begin the program, which has been highly successful in the past and has a great reputation. Photography 1 student, sophomore Tina Doroudian is one of those students.

“Photgraphy is something I’ve always wanted to do and I love learning about it and getting better,” Doroudian said.

In Photography 1, the first of the three years, students are introduced to the basics of the picture taking and making process. They learn elementary skills, such as the simple functions of the camera and the how one is handled.

Also introduced are the fundamentals of black and white photography and the history of photography. Students continue their learning in the next two levels, Photography 2 and Portfolio Preparation: Photography. In addition, there is a yearly fee of $35 to cover the cost of lab chemicals and equipment. Plus, each student must pro-

JOHN REISS

Brightness and clarity of camera improved by enlarging the hole and inserting a telescope lens

Students succeed with Saylor’s knowledge The following Question and Answer session with Photography teacher, Scott Saylor, was completed

by Staff Writer, Lauren Sterlacci.

How long have you been teaching?

I’ve been teaching for 8 years. I taught for 2 years at VCU and for six years in FCPS. This is my third year at Annandale Where did you attend college?

I went to Nova for a year. I also went to Corcoran School of Art and earned my Bach-

elor of Fine Arts. I went to VCU for four years and earned my Masters of Fine Arts. I also attended JMU for other photo courses.

Why did you decide to teach on the high school level?

I really enjoy teaching at a college level, and I saw things that were not being taught correctly. I thought High school was where to go and get them started early.

Why did you decide to teach photography?

I love art and photography. It’s part of my life and who I am. I want to help show students they have other opportunities in life they may not have considered.

What classes did you have to take in college to have this job?

I had to take art history, history of photo, creative writing, business law art, commercial studio, color photo, color theory, alternative process photo and drawing.

How can students get their work seen?

They can get their work seen at local community art shows, in The Filament, by entering Scholastic Art Competitions and through the Torpedo Factory.

Would you change anything about the AHS photo program?

I would like to get studio space for studio photography.

Saylor hand picked this photograph, “Untitled”, taken by senior, Zhiela Ashtianipour, to represtent his class.

Every picture relives a Kodak moment Pictures capture emotion that allows someone to experience the moment.

Patience is a key virtue to all photographers.

It sometimes takes hours, even days or weeks to get that one picture.

That one picture that will capture Art Commentary by John Reiss all of the emotion and feeling, that will make someone experience the moment the picture was taken. And for this patience, we are thankful.

Photography became public in 1839 when Sir John Herschel derived the word photography from Greek words of light and writing. The use of photography though, actually dates back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci, when the artists supposedly used a dark room with a single hole of light flooding in to it, to inverse and image and draw it. Photography

Reiss’ Pieces

110-format cameras introduced by Kodak with a 13x17mm frame

began to develop and grew in popularity throughout the 19th century. At the turn of the century photography evolved by leaps and bounds, with the creation of more modern techniques of photography such as slower and faster shutter speeds, motion photography (which developed into video cameras) and full color pictures by 1907.

Aside from simple techniques as recording history by script, photography has acted as a device to document pivotal events in the history of the world.

Besides the development of photographic technology over time, there has been a vast increase in all the different techniques and styles used by photographers. Forensic photography has developed to help law enforcement solve crimes, while astrophotography is used to picture planets and shooting stars. The popular study of Wildlife photography has entertained people around the world and also played an important role in representing the necessity to preserve nature.

When the words necessary to describe a scene or event can’t be found, a picture is worth a thousand of them.

The Migrant Worker, photographed by Dorothea Lange, is one of the most well known photographs of the 20th century.

1980 Elsa Dorfman begins making portraits with the 20x24” Polaroid

1982 Sony demonstrates Mavica “still video”

1992 Kodak introduces PhotoCD

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PHOTO 13

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ABLAST

MON. FEB. 10, 2003

SENIOR L U M P

With the halfway mark behind them now, many of the Class of 2003 have fallen into that notorious ditch that ensnares the best of them.

Diligence and determination is at an a ll-time low as these burnt-out seniors begrudgingly wake up every morning, counting down the days they have left at AHS. They have been bitten by that infamous bug, which infects seniors each school year with an incurable disease, “senioritis.”

From Here On...

Senior Breakfast February 14, cafetaria, FLEX Senior Riana Bovill refuses to fully awaken even while at school. Having already been accepted to Elmira College, New York, the college of her choice, Bovill’s plummet has definitely set in. “I don’t really have any motivation to get all dressed up in the morning. I’m a senior so it’s almost over. Why try anymore?” said Bovill.

Cap & Gown Pictures February 26-27 End of 3rd Quarter April 4

Beginning of 4th Quarter April 8

Senior Lam Vu shows the most common symptom of “senior slump”: being easily distracted. He plays Splinter Cell on his Xbox while his backpack and homework lay untouched. It is arguable that those seniors who have worked hard for the past three years deserve a little break their last year in high school. Vu is one of these seniors. He even chose a heavy load this year, consisting of four IB classes (Computer Science, Math Methods, French and Physics). “I usually procrastinate everything when I get home, and end up playing my guitar or X-box rather than doing homework.”

Spring Break April 14-18

Another indication of “senioritis” is the growing lack of the ability to tell time.

Seniors Ashley Dubler and Andy Pelenberg casually walk in right as the warning bell rings at 7:15 a.m. All underclassmen bustle to their classes, while seniors even consider this too early.

A growing inclination to “cut it close” grows as time passes.

Prom Hilton Alexandria May 9 Senior Liz Tran is one of many seniors who can be seen in the halls taking care of a little last minute business in the morning.

“It’s second semester and my senioritis is so bad, I try not to even open my backpack at home. I’d rather do only the homework I absolutely have to, at the last minute possible,” said Tran. Tran’s “senior slump” is still not full-fledged though because she still works to maintain decent grades. Around this time, seniors do the bare minimum to avoid getting a warning letter from the colleges they have been accepted to. Those who do not work at all have the fullblown, raring version of “senioritis.”

“Senior slump” usually begins right after all college applications have been signed, stamped and sent, if not earlier. Juggling college, technical school and scholarship applications on top of dealing with every day life: family, school, friends, extracurricular activities and jobs, takes a lot of time, energy and motivation out of seniors.

Being “burnt out” is the main reason behind seniors slumping, especially after first semester grades have been sent.

After having applied such superman efforts into their futures, who could blame seniors for wanting comfort above conformity? Seniors Lindsey Grant and Karen Steinbuechler both decided to wear comfortable pajama pants to school, lounge wear that allows them to express that “yes, I am tired today,” but “yes, I decided to come to school anyways.”

Senior Night June 2

Awards Ceremony June 4, (main gym) Graduation Rehearsal (Auditorium 10:30 a.m. A-Kh 12 p.m. Ki-Z)

Seniors Katie Burton and Michael Nakamura have been exposed to “senioritis.” It is evident in Burton’s mesmerized stare at Nakamura’s hypnotizing actions. “Focusing in class is getting really hard these days. I find myself twirling a lot of things now,” said Nakamura. “Now that I have been accepted to the college of my choice, I really don’t pay attention in class.

Fun shapes and bright colors distract me too easily,” said Burton. Both Burton and Nakamura have already been accepted to a college.

June 13

Cap & Gown Distribution June 16 (Upstairs Gym, 10-11:30 a.m.)

Graduation (Constitution Hall, DC, 7 p.m.),

Senior Jen Stewart whips out her handy-dandy Nintendo Gameboy before Spanish class starts. For seniors, using time efficiently only comes into play when it is for entertainment. “Whenever I have free time in class, I play my Gameboy. Most of my classes are IB, so I can’t conpletely slack in them.

But I can’t wait for this year to be over,” said Stewart.

Seniors Danielle Briggs and Quang Vu are devoid of the energy to even stay standing in the mornings. These seniors, along with all their senior friends, resort to sitting down while waiting for a burst of energy to come which will allow them to make it to their first class.

All Night Grad Party (South Run Rec., 10:30 p.m.-5 a.m., Doors close at 12)

June 17 Total School Days Left til Graduation:

82 BACKGROUND PHOTOS OF SENIORS HANA SARSOUR AND MIKE FLINT “SLEEPING” IN CLASS. PAGE LAYOUT AND PHOTOS BY CHAE-WHA PARK

14 PEOPLE AHS Idolizes talented singer

the

ABLAST

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

Who am I?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

• I have been an administrator at AHS for two years.

What do you plan to do on your birthday?

— Stephanie Lugar junior

“I plan on going out to dinner with my friends and have fun on my birthday.”

— Kyle Easter senior

“I’m going to hang out with my friends and have fun on my birthday.”

— Chanda Kim junior

“I’ll probably just go out to dinner with my parents.

I’m not really big on birthdays.”

--- Blade Ronetz junior

“I’m going to go up to Maine to visit my cousins and just hang out and have fun.”

— Cameron Wells junior

“On my birthday I plan on going snowboarding at Bryce.”

—

Daniel Borras sophomore

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

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Feb. 11 Jennifer Aniston, 33

The enormous crowd that gathered at the Jan. 23 night pep rally was dead silent in anticipation for the final performance in the Annandale Idol Contest. Senior Anteneh Addisu nervously held the microphone and began Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” with, “She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene.”

Halfway through the song, Addisu choked as he found the audience to be unexpectedly large and intimidating.

He ran off the stage to collect himself. Spending about three minutes outside, regaining his confidence, Addisu stepped back into the roaring gym. He was welcomed with the crowd chanting his name, “Anteneh! Anteneh!

Anteneh!,” persuading him to give it another shot. He asked the judges if he would be able to finish his performance.

After retaking the stage, Addisu sang his more familiar, self-written French song, “Mon Coeur Est Pour Toi,” the crowd responded greatly, by voting him as winner of the AHS Idol competition.

“I was really happy when I won. It was all for fun, it’s just cool to win,” said Addisu.

Addisu felt that all of the judges were beneficial, but he liked Alan Weintraut the best because he spoke his mind and always added the “signature Weintraut humor.”

Addisu admitted to never really practicing his singing before the performances, only for the last “one” [performance], but he “ended up choking” so it was kind of a waste of time. Addisu sang often in the locker room during football, but it was always just for fun. He was never “serious” about it.

For winning the Annandale Idol, Addisu received a trophy and $100, which he plans to use to help pay for Senior Beach Week.

Addisu was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, because his mother emigrated from Ethiopia, escaping communist rule. His family then moved on to Germany and then proceeded to go overseas to Texas.

As a kid, Addisu visited the Dallas Cowboys stadium and toured their locker room, which may be the part of the reason why his dream job is to be the defensive coordinator of the Cowboys.

If he had the opportunity to go to lunch with anyone

dead or alive, he would select Tupac Shakur because he has had an “incredible impact” on the music industry. Addisu would ask Shakur “if he is really dead or alive,” and “does heaven really have a ghetto?”

His favorite motto is something that he heard from coach Adams, “You can’t make chicken

• My favorite activities include football, volleyball, bowling and traveling.

• I mostly like to eat chicken, but it really depends on what day it is.

• I like to cook a lot of pasta dishes.

• My motto in life is “treat everybody with respect.”

salad out of chicken crap.” Dae Yoon is his hero because he has an incredible work ethic which makes Addisu “realize he is lazy.”

Known by his friends best for “always providing a source of entertainment,” Addisu usually sings for fun, leisure, and is never serious about it. He participates in varsity football, The A-Blast, French Honor Society, and he is his Class President. His first college choice is University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill because of the amazing campus life and it is 60 percent female population. After college, Addisu plans to go to Capitol Hill and Law school. He is not going to take a run at becoming a celebrity singer, “I don’t think I have what it takes for that.”

Last issue’s Who Am I? Math teacher Judy Werbel was last issue’s Who Am I? She has been teaching at AHS for 16 years.

Junior Ayoob Jan was the winner of last issue’s Who Am I? Jan won a signature The A-Blast prize.

Senior athlete returns after injury After giving up football following a crucial injury, and being hospitalized, for weeks, senior Dae Yoon is back

BY ANTENEH ADDISU Staff Writer Coming into his senior year, Dae Yoon intended on participating in a sport each season, football, wrestling, and track, as he had done the previous years. Being an avid participant in athletics, Yoon has been a true AHS Atom. Change came in the middle of his varsity football season.

Yoon was a third-year letterman,

“

[Yoon] is a great kid and will be successful due to his work —Will Stravino Wrestling Coach

playing linebacker for the varsity Atoms. During AHS conference game against Robinson, Yoon suffered from extensive brain swelling, end-

ing his time on the field. His critical condition forced Yoon to exit the game permanently. This injury also prevented him from participating in sports for a year. He was hospitalized to recieve a surgery. From Oct. 3 until Nov. 20, he was unable to attend school. Yoon says, “It was really difficult to adjust from being really involved in the activities to just restricted participation.”

“I wanted to play for AHS since I was a little kid. Not being able to finish up was simply devastating,” he said. Although Yoon was restricted from the gridiron, he found other ways of participating in AHS athletics.

Yoon is now contributing to the sport that meant dearest to him, wrestling. “Since I couldn’t finish the rest of my football season, and I’m unable to wrestle, I want to contribute something,” said Yoon. “As a JV wrestling coach, I can instruct and help the younger wrestlers, and I also have the opportunity to finetune the fellows on the varsity level.”

Nevertheless, the incident has not permanently hindered his passion for the sport of wrestling. With the

Feb. 17 Michael Jordan, 40

Feb. 18 Cybill Sheperd, 52

• I dislike arrogant peers and times when parents don’t put their kids in car seats.

Addisu passionately sings during his winning performance on the final night of Annandale Idol.

assistance of wrestling coaches Will Stravino and Keith Shoulders, Yoon will be a competitor on the Division I level, having the opportunity to wrestle for George Mason University.

George Mason has expressed interest in Yoon since his sophomore year, and communication has since then been open.

When asked about Yoon’s character, Coach Will Stravino says, “He’s a great kid, motivated, an extremely hard worker, and will be successful due to his work ethic.”

Despite the fact that Yoon is unable to compete, he was able to maintain fitness and simultaneously contribute essential input to his peers in the same sports.

“I would like to thank everyone that truly cared for me, most of all the Quarto-Mulcahy family for always being there for me,” says Yoon.

Feb. 12 Christinia Ricci, 22

Feb. 18 John Travolta, 48

• I like to play sports and am on other athletic teams.

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Feb. 21 Kelsey Grammer, 47 Extra-curricular involvement: Future Business Leaders of America, Student Advisory Council, Chess Club, Track team.

Feb. 21 Jennifer Love Hewitt, 23

Yoon in his football uniform. After his brain injury, he has unable to be on the team.

K! Nails & Tanning

Workload: AP Government, IB Math Studies, IB Environmental Systems.

Feb. 20 Cindy Crawford, 36

COURTESY OF DAE YOON

“I’m going to see The Lion King on Imax and hang out with friends.”

• I am married and have three kids, one son and two daughters.

REID EDWARDS

BY EVAN ROWLAND Staff Writer

• I have served in the U.S. Army

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Feb. 22 Drew Barrymore, 27 Job: Works with the advertising company, News America.

Feb. 27 Chelsea Clinton, 22

Key to success: “Get stuff done while you’re having fun!”

Feb. 27 Elizabeth Taylor, 70

Travolta

Senior John Kapoor is a bright student with notable involvement in school activities.

Walk ins Welcome

Study habit: Working in a zero distraction environment, preferably in bed listening to the radio station Hot 99.5 A peak into his future: Desires to go to University of Virginia or Penn State and has already been accepted into George Mason University.

Claim to Fame: Kapoor is most noted for his comedian performances. He has shared a piece of his humor with the senior class during elections and senior class assemblies.

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ABLAST

MON. FEB. 10, 2002

SPORTS XTRA 15 Skateboarding Tricks Ollie: One of the most basic tricks.

An ollie is when you jump in the air kicking the tail so that the board comes with you.

Pop- shove it (aka variel): A simple trick where you ollie and make the board spin 180 degrees beneath your feet.

Kick-Flip: Another basic trick that once you learn opens up more kinds of tricks.

Heel Flip: The same trick as a kick flip only you use your heel to flip the board another way. Some people find a heel flip more difficult than the kickflip, but some people pick it up much easier.

Kick Flip

How skateboarding has come of age

BY KYLE SMEALLIE AND EVAN ROWLAND Staff Writers Freshman Luke Elliot puts his board and stares down the six stair case at the local Masonic Temple Church.

From his viewpoint, the stairs look huge, but seconds later, he has popped his ollie and is soaring downward. Before he knows it, he is riding away and the familiar euphoria takes over as he knows that he just stuck it, and rolled away clean. He needs more. He hops back on his board and heads towards the handrail above the staircase. He hops on, centers his board over the rail, turns, and rides away clean. His accomplishments are duplicated at the various neighborhood skate spots that have the perfect rail or the best ledge. However, much to the dismay of Elliot and many other local skaters, there are few places that actually encourage the up-and-coming art of skateboarding.

One locale that does promote skateboarding is the widely known area skatepark owned by the shoe company Vans. Located at Potomac Mills Mall, it is about a 30 minute drive from AHS, but the trip is undoubtedly worth it. This skatepark is a utopia for every skater, from beginner to pro.

One of the largest indoor skateparks in North America, Vans has four main sections. There is the concrete section (with two rails, a pyramid, and a one foot high island) and the wood section (with boxes, different sized ramps and the mini-half pipe). Vans is also famous for its two other half-pipes, a mid sized and the 40 foot wide competition half pipe. The final section of Vans is the advanced section located in the far right corner of this 68,000 square foot park. This portion has larger obstacles, which are usually left to the superior skateboarders.

There are, however, objectionable qualities of this skatepark. On the weekends and at other peak times, the park can be very crowded. Another downside to Vans is the expense. For nonmembers, a two hour session can cost up to $19 if pads and a helmet are rented. For members (which entails an annual $50 fee) sessions can be as little as $5 if pads are provided.

Skateparks are only a few of the many places where skateboarding can be practiced. There are numerous local

spots, including a popular spot near AHS. At the Wakefield Recreational Facility, there is a segment near the entrance that is perfect for skateboarding.

It is basically a flurry of curbs and different sizes ledges, but it is ideal for a creative skater who looks for lines that no one else recognizes. There are waxed ledges perfect for sliding, a five-set staircase, and smooth former shuffleboard courts.

In Washington, DC, the legendary Pulaski Park (commonly known as Freedom Plaza) has served as a skate spot for many professionals in nationally released skateboarding videos. It is one of the most frequently skated spots in DC, mainly because it contains a variety of marble ledges, stairs, gaps, and even a jump ramp set up with a trash can. However, if the park police happen to catch you skating

at this landmark, then you may have to pay a fine and have your board confiscated.

There are other smaller places where skateboarding is frowned upon. Behind K-Mart in Annandale lies a one foot ledge and smooth concrete. Near the Annandale Shopping Center there are ledges and a small set of three stairs.

However, the best place to learn skateboarding has and always will be your own neighborhood. The admission is free, there are no managers to kick you out, and you have the ability to create and modify your own obstacles.

However, a good place to skate isn’t the only thing needed to become a good skater. Dedication, persistence, endurance, and devotion are all traits that are needed to be successful in skateboarding. The ability to mess up over and over again, and possibly get hurt is very impor-

tant.

Many people have gained such traits from skateboarding. Throughout the past twenty years, skateboarding has taken a long journey from new technology like lighter boards, with more concave and better durability, to lighter, stronger trucks, and bearings so fast that will have you flying down your street. In the past few years, skateboarding has had a big rebirth, with several local skate parks and skate shops built all over, and quite easily tens of thousands of new skateboarders.

Due to the progress skateboarding has made, it’s becoming more popular for a crowd as young as elementary school kids who now have access to equipment that they did not have before.

Students in elementary and junior high school are able to improve their skills quickly due to the fact that they generally have less homework than high school students, therefore they can come home and skateboard for a few hours everyday.

Eleven year old Sam Sinnenberg is an example of what skateboarding has become. Sinnenberg can be seen at the local skate park “olleying” off of a 3 foot high “launch ramp,” propelling himself about six feet high into the air.

Skateboarders are always looking for a new skate spot to conquer and new tricks to master. Sinnenberg has been a skater for only two years, yet he has progressed quickly because, “he practices everyday after he gets home from school,” said his mother Beth Sinnenberg. Sinnenberg has compiled a “quarter pipe,” a “launch ramp” and a “grinding rail” to practice on in the backyard of his Richmond home. Even though the Sinnenberg’s live in Richmond, they travel up to Woodbridge, VA every month to skateboard at Vans Skatepark. This is only one example of the dedication necessary to become an avid skaterboarder.

Variel Flip: A cross between the pop-shove it and a kick-flip. This trick is when you do a pop shove-it and flip the board laterally, like in a kick flip.

360 Flip: If you’re at the point of doing 360 flips, the tricks begin to get more complicated and technique.

A 360 flip is when you variel flip but spin the board 360 degrees instead of 180.

Hard Flip: If you’re at the point of doing hard flips, you’re already a pretty good skater. Many people quit skating before ever being able to land this trick. A hard flip is when you kick the board up and flip the board in between your legs.

Big Spin: When you variel the board 360 degrees and your body spins with the board 180 degrees.

Board Slides and Grinds Board Slide: A board slide is when you ollie onto a rail (or do any kind of trick onto a rail) and slide down sideways on the middle of the bottom of the board. There are both front side and back side boardslides. A front side board slide is when you ride down the rail with your back facing forward, and a back- side board slide is when you ride down facing forward.

50/50 (Fifty Fifty grind): When you ride down a rail on both the trucks of the board.

Tail Slide & Nose Slide: These two slides are when you slide on a rail or a ledge on the ends of the board.

Lip Slide: Though it is not exactly a type of slide, it is a technique used to get onto a rail or ledge. The technique involves getting onto a rail or ledge by the attempting the trick from the opposite side you would normally would.

Nose Slide

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5-o (five “O”) grind: A type of grind similar to a “fifty fifty” grind, but instead of grinding on both trucks you lift the front truck off the rail.

Nose grind: The same idea as a 5-o grind but instead of lifting the front truck up, you lift the back one up and leave the front down.

Crooked grind: Although similar to a nose grind in that your front truck is the only one grinding, the key difference is that you angle the board slightly off so that the board is not exactly parallel with the rail.

Smith grind: Quite similar to a crooked grind, but instead you use the 5-o grind but angle the board off the rail.

Mini-ramp/half pipe tricks Rock- fakey & fakey rock: these two tricks are when you ride up one side of the ramp and let one side of your tucks go over the coping. The difference between a rock- fakey and a fakey rock is the approach. Riding fakey is the term used to describe when you’re riding backwards.

Blunt stall: Similar to a fakey- rock and a rock- fakey in that you let your trucks go above the coping, but during a blunt stall both trucks are above and your resting on the tail and the back truck.

Nose Stall: Same as a blunt stall only done on the nose of the board instead of the tail.

“Old-school” tricks Casper: This trick can be described as half of a kick flip, but when the board is upside down you catch the board with your feet, with your front foot underneath (holding you up) and your back foot on the tail (balancing you). There is a casper slide but many find it quite difficult because moving and doing this trick is found to be quite hard.

Casper

16 SPORTS EXCUSE THE I NTERJECTION

the

ABLAST

TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

Boys basketball on losing skid

The Lebron Scandal

ATHLETES

Billy Purdon Grade: 11 Sport: Varsity Boys Basketball Position(s): Forward and center Personal Achievements: Made the all tournament team during the X-Mass Tourney. Put up a career high 27 points two weeks ago vs.

Robinson Pre-Game routine: Tapes his two middle fingers and writes 42 on them. He also listens to music to get pumped up.

Head coach Pat Hughes discusses defensive strategies with junior Brandon Betz and sophomore Mike Torbert. Successful execution of the Atoms’ patented man-to-man defense gives the Atoms’ and edge over their opponents.

BY LAUREN STERLACCI Staff Writer While beating out a majority of the teams in their past three meets, the Atoms have been dominating their competitors coming out with some crucial wins over highly ranked teams and holding an 8-5 record and 3-3 in the district.

On Jan. 29, the Atoms faced their most recent challenge, Jefferson and Edison.

Coach William Stravino said, “At the Edison meet the lightweights really pulled through to win with great performances by sophomores Brett Mehlman and Justin McCoy.” Freshman Morgan McNeill said, “I’ve been having a really good time this season and

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Elizabeth Gill Grade: 11 Sport: Winter Track Position: Pole vault Personal Achievements: AHS pole vaulting record at 8’ 6” ft.

Pre-game routine: Strech before every jump and and get in “the zone”

—Pat Hughes Head Coach

getting a lot of experience for the upcoming years, in which I hope to succeed in very well.”

On Jan. 25, the team went up against Lake Braddock, T.C. Williams and West Springfield.

They defeated Lake Braddock and T.C. Williams, but lost to West Springfield.

Senior Ehab Awadallah said, “This season has been going really well, and I have a good feeling about how we will do for the rest of this season. Everyone has really stepped it up, and as a team we have been setting goals for ourselves.

If we work hard enough, we can accomplish them.”

On Jan. 18, the Atoms faced Mount Vernon, Chantilly -Ehab Awadallah and Hayfield in their first Quad Senior meet. They managed to beat the #6 team Chantilly along with #9 Mount Vernon, and had a loss to #2 Hayfield.

Coach William Stravino said, “Junior Edgar Jorge really showed how well he’s been playing although he is injured now. Along with him, juniors Sean Johnson and Noah Crowley beat out ranked guys, so that was definitely a great success for the two of them.”

Coach Stravino said, “We had the most success at Mount Vernon because it gave us a lot of experience. One of my goals is to take the whole team to qualify for the regional tournament.”

“This season has been going really well and I have a good feeling about how we will do for the rest of this season.”

FEATURING

Jon Kreitler

“We’re making young mistakes, but we’re going to have to work through things and play the game at a higher level.”

Young wrestling team prepares for districts

www.thefarewellact.com

Grade: 10 Sport: Swimming Event(s): 50 and 100 yd freestyle Personal Achievements: Finished 3rd in the state last year for 50 and 100 yard freestyle Pre-race rountine: He goes off in his own corner and gets pumped up in his own “special” way.

The 5-15 boys varsity basketball team lost 99-55 to Hayfield on Saturday night, marking the Atoms’ eighth consecutive defeat. The loss puts the Atoms at 3-9 in district play. Also included in the Atoms’ second half difficulties is their 67-53 loss at West Potomac last Tuesday. After being down 17-14 at the end of the first quarter, AHS went on a scoring drought, tallying just eight points in the second quarter, leaving West Potomac with a 16 lead at the half.

This “second quarter stumble” seems to be a developing trend for the Atoms.

Nearly every game this season, the Atoms have scored fewer points in the second quarter than in any other, and, in addition, have allowed the most points.

“We’re making young mistakes,” said Coach Pat Hughes, “but we’re going to have to work through things. We need to play the game with a higher maturity level, with a more thorough understanding of the game.”

On Jan. 31, AHS suffered a 65-48 defeat to the West Springfield Spartans.

Again, the second quarter proved to hurt the Atoms, who were outscored 15-6 in the quarter.

“We got real frustrated,” said junior Matt Hubacher. “It seemed like nothing would go our way. We just haven’t been playing our ‘A’ game lately.”

Preceding the defeat at West Springfield, the Atoms played the Robinson

Rams, hoping for a rematch of the double overtime AHS victory. However, this would not be the case, as the Rams were able to beat the Atoms this time, 57-53.

“The team played a pretty decent game,” said junior Chris Flowers, “we just couldn’t finish. We we’re tired at the end of the game, and that came back and hurt us.”

Recent losses to T.C. Williams, Lake Braddock, and South Lakes are also included in the Atoms’ record.

Despite a losing record, the Annandale’s season is by no means over. The district tournament is fast approaching, and the Atoms could advance to the regional tournament with just one win.

“Basketball is a tournament sport. Just because we haven’t been doing as well in the regular season doesn’t mean we can’t do well overall. It’s all right there for us, if we can get one win in the district tournament, we’re on to regionals,” said Hughes.

As the team goes down the final stretch of the season, they’re going to need to pull together for a couple of big wins. “Consistency is key,” said Hughes. “We’re not all producing the same night, and that’s why we’re not winning. If we’re going to win, we’ll need to play as a team and produce more consistently as a unit.”

The Atoms play their final game of the regular season against T.C.

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ANDREW MENEGAT

SPOTLIGHT

JARED SMITH

Is all the commotion about the scandal necessary?

Jared: The whole Lebron scandal is a bunch of mularchy. What did he get suspended for, accepting two jerseys worth $845. If Lebron got suspended for that then the AD of James’ school should get fired and deported. They are charging parents $15 to see Mt. St. Mary’s play every game. Parents of these players are used to paying $34 a game. They are also showing these games on payper-view for $4.99 a pop. So James got free jerseys for $845, so what. Mt. St. Mary’s is making thousands of dollars by marketing and selling Lebron James the player. Off the court high school athletes should be allowed to be kids, even though they happen to be sports icons. Just because James’ is being flaunted around all of the media outlets doesn’t mean he shouldn’t stop enjoying the benefits of being a teenager.

John: The situation poses an interesting question. With millions of dollars dangling in front of high school athletes, it makes it difficult for a teenager to refuse adults’ gifts.

Administrators and officials at his high school need to regulate contact with scouts.

Personally, I think there has been too much media hype for James, who has already been hailed as “The next Michael Jordan.” There is a large difference in the competition of high school games and NBA games. I think high schools players should resist the temptation of the big bucks, and they should play in college to further develop to become better players.

BY MATT WIEST Staff Writer

Senior Dae Yoon practices one of his moves on junior Yonas Tewodros.

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SPORTS 17

the

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TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

Girls basketball defeats Hayfield The Lady Atoms more than rose to the occasion on Feb. 8, beating Hayfield 57-51.

Not only did the victory bring them to 5-6 in the district, but 8-12 overall, the most victories the team has had in a single season in eight years. Beating the Hawks allowed the Atoms to seal a 4th place seeding in the district tournament.

Danni Rumber was the star of the pregame ceremonies as she was the only senior to play this year. “Danni has gone way past my expectations as a captain,” said Coach Lori Barb. “She is an outstanding leader and the kids really respect her.”

Clutch performances from the free throw line were key, the team went 31/40 overall, and Rebecca Frece also came up clutch as she went 14/15 from the free throw line.

With this performance, Frece is now averaging 13.5 points a game, making her the 5th leading scorer in the Patriot District.

Freshman Nicole Finney also had an impressive performace scoring a double-double with 15 pts and 12 rebounds. “Every game we have someone different stepping up,” said Barb. “We are not always counting on one person as we have in the past.”

On Feb. 4, AHS defeated West Potomac 63-30. The Lady Atoms entered the West Potomac game with nothing to lose, coming off a three-game losing streak, falling to Lake Braddock (47-40), Robinson (62-48), and West Springfield in a devastating 70-22 loss.

“We knew where we stood and where [West Potomac] stood. We knew what we had to

do. We went in, played our hearts out and did it,” said senior co-captain Danni Rumber.

The girls have taken a different approach to their season this year, and it is proving to be extremely effective. Prayer and unity are key elements to this year’s team. The players and coaches both feel praying together is something that unites them on a higher level than can be accomplished through basketball alone. “I’ve never been on a team that prayed before every game,” said junior Angela Briggs.

“I think it has really helped us get as many victories as we had. “We do everything we can at practice,” said Barb. “After that, we give it up to a higher power.”

The Atoms’ momentum keeps picking up as their season continues. With the first district game Mon. Feb. 17, the girls will need to stay up. “We are in sync with one another and that allows us to pump each other up,” said sophomore Samantha Muchmore. “When we get up for a game, we win. We need to carry that into the tournament.”

The girls are continually improving.

“There’s a big difference in where we were in November and where we are now,” said junior Amy Merrill. “I know we can keep it up in districts. “Attitudes along with skill have improved so much, allowing us to be so much more successful,” said Frece. “We should win our first tournament game and go on to regionals.”

The Atoms will travel to T.C. Williams on Fri. Feb. 14 for their final regular season game.

“As far as districts, we are just going to take it one game at a time and see where that takes us,” said Barb. “I know all the kids are really excited about it.”

ATHLETICS BOYS FRESHMAN B-BALL

Billy Rathbun

Record: 1-14 Captains: none Result of last game: Last Saturday, 56-69 loss to Hayfield.

Next Game: Thursday @ T.C. Williams, 4:30 p. m.

Coach’s Quote: “This was a great year. It was a learning year. My prayers are that these guys go on and become the best athletes they can be,” said Coach KW Williams.

BOYS JV BASKETBALL

SEAN SULLIVAN

BY ERIN O’BRIEN Arts Editor

ATOMIC

Sophomore Nakia Williams practices her free-throw stroke during practice.

Making free throws was a key factor in the Atoms’ most recent victory against Hayfield, where they went 31/40 from the line.

Senior breaks record held by gold medalist

—Andrew Pelenberg Senior

Record: 9-5 Captains: Bobby Terry, Brandon Flowers, Vinnie Athey Result of last game: Game played Saturday, 66-68 loss to Hayfield.

Next Game: Thursday @ T.C. Williams, 6:00 p.m.

Coach’s Quote: “We had a great season, our players played very well. We met our expectations,” said Coach Marcus Washington.

BY KYLE SMEALLIE Staff Writer As a focused Andrew Pelenberg swayed back and forth to the rhymes of Ludacris, he had one goal on his mind. He had warmed up for over one hour, trying to be in peak physical condition for his 100 yard breastroke race. His mind frame was set on Ed Moses’ district breastroke record of 59.64 seconds, a time Pelenberg was aware of as he swam down his lane. He got out of the water and looked at his time; he had beaten the record by a mere two tenths of a second.

Moses won the silver medal for breastroke in the 2000 Olympics, and also owns the fastest breastroke relay split in history as part of the gold medal winning 400 meter relay. He also holds the world record for the 50, 100 and 200 meter breastroke.

“Immediately I knew that I had won and broke the record because I felt good during the race. I was focused on my goal to break the record and I am proud that I did,” said Pelenberg. Because of his success in the race, Pelenberg as well as John Kreitler, Stephanie McKinney, Tiffany Wattenbarger, and Sarah Bizer have been named as all district swimmers and divers.

Many people were glad for Pelenberg’s achievement, but few were surprised. “He’s a really hard worker and I’m glad all of his effort has paid off,” said freshman teammate Erica Satten. His coach concurred. “He is one of the hardest working guys that I know and he is one of the strongest swimmers for our team. He never misses practice and swims year round, which gives him an edge over most high school swimmers,” said coach Bruce Fisher.

This was one of the highlights of the District Swim meet, held Feb. 1, as the boys placed second overall, and the girls finished in 5th place overall. The boys sent five individuals (Pelenberg, Kreitler, Bobby Morgenthaler, Brian Tordella, and John Bechtoldt) to the Northern Regional Cham-

GIRLS FRESHMAN BASKETBALL

ANDREW MENEGAT

“Immediately I knew that I had broken the record. I was focused on my goal to break the record and I am proud that I did.”

Vinnie Athey

Senior Andrew Pelenberg chats with Coach Fisher at the District Tournament. Pelenberg broke the 100m breast stroke record previously held by 2000 Olympic gold medalist Ed Moses. Pelenberg is a favorite to make the State tournament this weekend.

pionships, and the girls team sent four (sisters Julia and Sarah Bizer, Wattenbarger, and McKinney). Also, all three relays for boys and girls are advancing to regionals.

“I think we performed well, and I think the thing I’ve been most impressed with is the development of the younger swimmers,” said Fisher.

As for the regional meet, held Feb. 8 at Oakmar Rec. Center, senior Andy Pelenberg continued on his winning ways. Pelenberg broke his previous record in the 100 yd. breaststroke that he set just last week. In addition, because Andy’s time was so low he automatically qualified a spot for himself as an AllAmerican swimmer which means he is in the

top-100 in the US in his event. Overall the Atoms’ boys finished 9th and the girls finished 16th out of 28 teams. The Atoms’ qualified 10 individuals, 5 boys and 5 girls, for the state meet this weekend at Virginia Beach. Of the individual winners were sophomore Jon Kreitler in the 100 and 50 yd freestyle, and sophomore Stephanie McKinney was 6ht overall in the diving.

“We expect to have a strong showing in the state meet,” said Coach Fisher, “We have many swimmers who have potential to be in the finals which will score points for our team, out of the 100 teams participating I expect us to be no lower then 15th overall.”

Track struggles at district tourney

JARED SMITH

BY ELIZABETH NOWROU Staff Writer

Senior Kari Kraus practices her shot-put throw. None of the Annandale throwers made it past the district meet, but the Atoms’ 4x800m relay with junior Ayoob Jan, and seniors Cameron Middlemen, Publio Agrafas, and Mike Flint qualified for regionals along with several other individual qualifiers.

The Atoms participated in the Patriot District Track meet Saturday and had a disappointing finish placing last overall. The Atoms’ bright spot came with the individual performances of seniors Mike Flint and Publio Agrafas both placing in the top 8 in the 1000m run, junior Ayoob Jan finished top 8 in the pole vaulting, and junior Lauren Edwards in the 1000m run scoring her career best time of 3:10. All of these students qualified for the regional tournament this weekend.

The Atoms were stronger in their previous meet against Lake Braddock, Wakefield, and West Springfield on Feb. 1st, AHS came in 3rd place for both boys and girls.

This has been a rebuilding season for the team. Resulting in the loss of many valuable seniors last year, the team had a rocky start, but high morale and great discipline have proven that AHS can bounce back. The slow start this season made it a little rough at times.

“This was my first season on track.

At first I loathed coming to practice, but eventually I found it beneficial,” said

Caitlin Beckett

Record: 1-12 Captains: None Result of last game: Game played Saturday, 18-25 loss to Hayfield.

Next Game: Friday @ T.C. Williams, 4:30 p.m.

Coach’s Quote: “My girls played hard all season, they never quit. I think they learned a lot. Hopefully their ready for the next level,” said Coach Amy Lipicky.

GIRLS JV BASKETBALL

Anna Sciullo

sophomore Megan Berry.

Berry competed in the 55m dash, as well as the long jump. In addition, there have been many talented newcomers, such as Caitlin Molavi and Brian Plunkett. It is freshmen such as these who are showing the greatest promise.

Also giving standout performances are seniors and captains Mike Flint and Publio Agrafas, as well —Bob Sykes as junior Lauren Track Coach Edwards.

These days, track is focusing all of their attention getting down the final points and perfecting their races.

And with the few runners they have going to regionals this weekend they can focus more on these fundamentals and perhaps send some students to the state meet.

“We have solid kids in various races, now they just have to perform,”

Record: 5-8 Captains: None Next Game: Friday @ T.C. Williams, at 6:00 p.m.

Result of last game: Game played Saturday, 46-42 overtime victory over Hayfield.

Coach’s Quote: “We worked hard all season, and we got better. I think a lot of these girls can help the varsity,” said Coach Rocky Carter.

JV WRESTLING

David Astrow

Record: 5-0 Captains: None.

Last game: JV District meet last Wednesday at Hayfield.

Coach’s Quote: “Everyone won at least one match. As a coach I’m excited because half of our JV wrestlers are freshmen,” said Coach Will Stravino

18 ENTERTAINMENT ‘Pianist’ hits the notes

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TUES. FEB. 11, 2003

COMING SOON THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE

CAST Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney SYNOPSIS David Gale (Spacey) is a man who, in a bizarre twist of fate, is convicted of murdering a fellow activist.

With only three days before his scheduled execution, it’s up to Pulitzer-hungry reporter Bitsey Bloom (Winslet) to piece together the shocking events surrounding the activist’s death, before it’s too late.

RELEASE DATE February 21

OLD SCHOOL

CAST Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Elisha Cuthbert SYNOPSIS A raucous comedy about a trio of twentysomething buddies(Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson) who try to recapture the outrageous, irrepressible fun of their college years by starting their own offcampus frat house.

RELEASE DATE February 21

BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE

CAST Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy SYNOPSIS Queen Latifah plays an imprisoned woman who breaks out of jail to meet her online date. Turns out the guy she met online is a straight-laced businessman (Steve Martin), who’s in the middle of a divorce.

Needless to say, she ends up turning his life upside down.

RELEASE DATE March 7

X-MEN 2

CAST Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Anna Paquin, Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos SYNOPSIS Mutants continue their struggle against a society that fears and distrusts them. There is a shocking attack that renews the political and public outcry for a Mutant Registration Act led by a former commander for the army named William Stryker.

Stryker puts into motion his anti-mutant program— launching a severe attack on Professor Xavier’s mansion.

RELEASE DATE May 2

BY ERIK ROONEY Staff Writer Roman Polanski’s gripping Holocaust drama The Pianist portrays the real life of Wladyslaw Szpilman and his struggle to survive in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Polanski not only draws upon his talent as a director and visionary, but on his own experience as well: Roman Polanski escaped from a Polish ghetto through a barbed wire fence when he was seven years old.

The story is set in the late 1930’s in Warsaw, Poland amid the German invasion. Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a classicalMOVIE REVIEW pianist for the local THE PIANIST radio station is the main character.

One day his whole world is shattered, with the sounds of German bombs deA POWERFUL, REALISTIC stroying the city.

FILM ABOUT THE Szpilman and HOLOCAUST. his family are forced out of their home and into the Jewish ghettos. Just as he and his family begin to settle in, word spreads that the Germans are sending Jews to “work camps.” As the weeks

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go by and all of the Jews are being relocated, Szpilman and his family must leave for the camps.

In a heart-wrenching scene at the train station, in which the Jews are being loaded in to storage cars, Szpilman is separated from his family. He is left all alone in the deserted city of rubble, waiting out the war and hoping for the Russians come.

Roman Polanski, who directed such films as Tess and Pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman’s (Adrien Brody) life is shattered by the Holocaust .

The Ninth Gate, is no stranger to the pains of the Holocaust. In fact he was himself for the role, spent six weeks starvasked to direct possibly one of the greating himself and learning the piano. est cinematic portrayals of the Holocaust, The Pianist has the raw staying power Schindler’s List, but declined, saying that of Schindler’s List, but offers a colder, more it was too painful. In the making of The real look at the Holocaust. With the hauntPianist, he has come to terms with his past ing music of Wojciech Kilar and dark cinand his pain. Polanski sought out Adrien ematography of Pawel Edelman, The PiaBrody, who plays Polanski, for his roll in nist will be sure to strike a chord with you.

Saving Private Ryan. Brody, to prepare

Award shows are rank The Emmies, the Grammies, the Golden Globes, the Peoples’ Choice Awards...

Why do we subject ourselves to watching this nonsense?

BY KATIE STANTON Entertainment Editor Alone in my living room, poised before the TV with remote in hand, my eyes are drooping and my arms are slack; my mind is wondering, “Why am I here?” The only show on tonight, televised exclusively on my favorite channel, happens to be infested with backless strapless bras, high heels, sunglasses and self-gratification.

Award season is here once more, and at least two of your favorite stations are rushing to get footage of celebrities patting themselves on the back for a job well-done and millions of dollars well-spent. The Emmies, the Grammies, the Latin Grammies, the Golden Globes, the American Music Awards, the Peoples’ Choice Awards, and so many others that nobody cares about; why do we subject ourselves to watching this nonsense? Sure, it may be yet another opportunity to gawk at your favorite stars and... Well, that’s pretty much it.

Celebs get countless opportuni-

ties to flaunt their emaciated figures and questionable styling choices all over every kind of screen out there. Hundreds of people devote their lives to making these stars look gorgeous and sell themselves like good little icons in their usual multi-figure-salary-paying jobs. But these hours-long celebrations of self-satisfaction truly serve no purpose other than to give their lives some remote sense of accomplishment, as determined by supposed experts in a myriad of categories no one’s heard of.

Not that I don’t give them credit. Granted, some very moving and exquisitely done performances have been given the recognition they deserve, like Norah Jones, fighting against the pop-remix tide with blues vocals and emotional depth, and Russell Crowe, who won an Oscar for his emotional performance in Gladiator. But there are countless more individuals who create more eloquent, touching and emotional pieces that have the genius

Album cover for The Young and the Hopeless, Good Charlotte’s latest cd.

Good Charlotte

BY ALEJANDRO SALINAS AND CAROLINE FRIEDMAN

Entertainment Editor and News Editor Don’t let their many piercings, crazy hairdos, and behavior fool you, Good Charlotte is more about strong melodies charged with light pop touches than punk music. Their first single, “lifestyles of the rich and famous,” from their new album The Young and the Hopeless, sounds more like an attiCD REVIEW tude-infused THE YOUNG AND THE HOPELESS Blink-182 t h a n G r e e n d a y, not that there is anything wrong GREAT FOR THOSE WHO with that.

ENJOY THE LIGHTER SIDE T h e OF PUNK MUSIC. Young and the Hopeless is perfect for audiences seeking the lighter side of punk. Every track in the album reflects the members thoughts and feelings on various issues: From the wealthy snobs that plague Hollywood, as described in “Lifestyles,” to teenage rebellion in “Anthem,” Good Charlotte uses their talent for music to express what we all think. The raw, get-tothe point lyrics of their music is what makes them such a stand-out band.

Originally from Waldorf,Md., brothers Joel and Benji Madden were always interested in music. In 1998, accompanied by their friend Paul, they moved to Annapolis to join its thriving music scene.

There they met Billy and officially became Good Charlotte. With Joel as lead vocals, Benji as vocalist and guitarist, Billy on guitar and Paul on bass, the band began performing in various concerts, including HFStival.

The album starts with six explosive tracks, guaranteed to keep listeners amused: “The Anthem,” “Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous,” “Wondering,” “My Old Man,” “Girls and Boys,” and “My Bloody Valentine.”

However, by the seventh or eighth track, the album becomes repetitive and loses its impact.

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to be worth it—without the money to be noticed. Shouldn’t the time and money be spent making quality music and movies more available, vs congratulating big names and giving them even more publicity?

More to the point, the majority of these productions consist of big name celebrities paid to speak cheap one-liners in front of clips of movies you’ve already seen, followed by more A-list stars saying “Thank you!” with as much passion as can show through pounds of makeup and as much skin as can bounce around on primetime television.

Not to mention that much of the media attention is focused on celebrity apparel over celebrity accomplishment. It really is possible to accept awards with succinct grace, fully dressed, minus the asinine banter of journalists desperately seeking work (i.e., Joan Rivers-heck, the entire E! staff.)

The bottom line is that regular people like myself have lives to lead and things to do. Watching rich people feel good wearing clothes and earning millions in jobs that, when it comes right down to it, do little to advance society as a whole (what means more: playing a teacher who educates children in a movie, or actually educating the youth of today?) is useless and downright boring.

When the only feeling remaining after subjecting myself to an hour of celebrity hedonism is shame, it can mean one thing: award shows are not worth the energy it takes to turn on the TV.

‘Devil May Cry,’ or at least I might

BY PHILIPPE PODHORECKI Co-Editor in-Chief Devil May Cry, released in fall 2001, set a new precedent for action games, including clever level designs, thought-provoking puzzles, and difficult but fun sword and gunplay. In Capcom’s sequel for the Playstation 2, these three distinctive qualities have been dramatic a l l y changed-for the worse.

Devil May Cry 2 has so many problems that it feels rushed and haphazardly designed for a Capcom cash-in on their newly popular franchise. The levels are much wider and feature little interaction with the player, the puzzles are absurdly simple and the story... What story?

DMC2’s story makes no sense throughout the entire game, even after completion as both available characters, Dante and Lucia. The gist of the story is that a evil corporation president named Arius has joined forces with some unnamed force of evil and is trying to destroy the world. Dante and Lucia, who each have their own quest, join together to combat this new evil

power. The story is expressed through well-animated cut-scenes that unfortunately leave the player clueless as to who Arius is and what is happening.

These cut-scenes, like most of the game, are well-drawn with beautifully sculpted WITH c h a r a c t e r models. Most of DMC2’s levels are large with inPhilippe Podhorecki tense fights.

Co-Editor in-Chief However, the game tends to suffer from severe slowdown whenever many characters are on screen at once. Dante and Lucia look cool and mysterious, even with new costumes awarded upon beating each of their quests.

The game’s enemies range from exploding flies to huge minotaur-like creatures that can topple the heroes with a single blow. But perhaps the most exciting are the huge bosses that look scary and difficult, but are actually pushovers that follow simple patterns.

The fights are where the game hits its lowest point: Although they look amazing with the new wall run and cool jump-and-shoot in the air move, the

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fights are incredibly easy. No boss fight will kill a moderately skilled player until Hard mode or Dante/Lucia Must Die mode.

Because the fighting is so easy the game takes merely three to four hours to finish per character, translating into 12-14 hours to beat the game as both characters on Normal and Hard mode, unlocking nearly everything the game has to offer. The GAME REVIEW levels where DEVIL MAY CRY 2 the nonstop basic fights take place are large and wideopen, but feature very little MAJOR FLAWS BRING THE in terms of GAME’S QUALITY DOWN. props or decoration.

Another flaw in the game is the purple-auto-target system. At points in the game switches must be hit in the middle of a fight, but if there is an enemy nearby, the character lunges towards the enemy, not the switch.

Despite all these drawbacks from the first game, DMC2 is still loads of fun for anyone with a high tolerance and desire for violent, fast-action fighting that never becomes tiresome.

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Dante is one of the main characters from Capcom’s new game Devil May Cry 2.

ENTERTAINMENT 19 Chicago serves up all that jazz the

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MON. FEB. 10, 2002

HOROSCOPES

numbers all take place in her imagination, but it is no dream how Zellweger portrays this striving chorus girl.

Zellweger’s voice is half meek and sweet and half raspy, but it fits the role of Roxie: doe-eyed on the outside and a true vixen within. Her sweet sass and sexy bawdiness lure the viewer into Zellweger’s

trap and keep them focusing on her the entire movie.

When Zeta-Jones was cast as Velma Kelly, the director wanted her to keep her hair long so that they could use stuntwomen in her place. Instead, ZetaThe lights go down and the opening music begins Jones attended special training, chopped off her hair as I relax back into my seat and getready to embark in a just-below-the-ear bob, and blew her audiencce on the journey of a musical. I am in a regular movie out of the water with her booming voice and clean cut theater watching the awesome display of acting, dancdance moves. While Zeta-Jones didn’t have as much ing and singing shown in Chicago. screen time as Zellweger, she lit up the screen. Her Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart (Renee impish and sizzling rendition of Zellweger), an aspiring showgirl who admires the great “All That Jazz” proved that Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the hottest act in MOVIE REVIEW Zeta-Jones is a true performer. the windy-city. Roxie has an ongoing affair with a man CHICAGO She drags both Roxie and the named Fred Casely, believing that he has connections viewers under her spell. to get her in the business. When Fred reveals that Both Gere and Queen he wants to end their relationship and has no conLatifah’s performances were nections, Roxie kills him and lands in the Cook surprises. While Gere was not AN AWESOME County jail, right next to the accused double-murDISPLAY OF the show’s highlight, he derer, Ms. Kelly.

ACTING, DANCING proved that he has more than While in jail, Mama Morton (Queen Latifah) AND SINGING just acting talent in his acts as a mother to the women under her care blood.

Queen Latifah, and stealthily pulls strings for them, while though, had to be the biggest shocker of them all. making them pay for her help. Among these Walking in I never thought that a rapper and services is getting both Roxie and Velma the short-lived television actress could pull off a best lawyer in town, Billy Flynn (Richard Broadway part. But she proved everyone wrong Gere), who has never lost a case and knows with her raunchy performance of “When You’re exactly what it takes for the public to feel Good To Mama.” Hopefully, Queen Latifah will sorry for one of his clients. One of the highbe taken more seriously from now on, as she lights is a scene where Gere is a ventrilodeserves the positive feedback for her bold voice quist and Zellweger is his puppet. The actand excellent sense of character. ing, music and costumes make the audiChicago is joining the comeback of the ences tap their feet and laugh along. movie-musical and should top the list. With The actors in this film provided to be great music and stellar performances, much more than just that. Zellweger, this film makes audiences want to get Zeta-Jones, Gere and Latifah displayed up and dance and sing along. The acwhat it takes to be a real Hollywood pertors, formally viewed in one light, former. By doing all their own singing, should be credited with much more. dancing and stunts, they proved to be They are the people that can transtrue stars in this classic story. form an ordinary movie theater Zellweger’s real calling could very experience into the razzle-dazzle well be the stage, made apparent in Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger star in the theater adapation of the hit Broadway of a Broadway musical. her portrayal of Roxie. The musical musical, first performed in 1975.

BY CAROLINE FRIEDMAN News Editor

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New rock will move you

BY KATIE STANTON Entertainment Editor As a special return feature of the Best Things You’ve Never Heard Of, look no further for the ongoing evolution of rock: melody, youth, and introspection galore.

OK Go Their combined weight is 624 pounds, two members started a band together when they were 11 called The Greased Ferrets (featuring folding-chair drums), and at one time they ended their shows with a choreographed dance routine a la N’ Sync; if you’re looking for a fresh new indie-rock group that lets the music carry you away, OK Go is just what you need.

The four young men (Damian Kulash Jr, Tim Nordwind, Dan Kanopka and Andy Duncan) formed in 1999, and released their first self-titled album in September with Capitol Records. Their first single for radio is “Get Over It,” which like much of the album tells of a disastrous relationship (a common theme in the latest new rock) and is a catchy, high-energy tune. Other songs like “What To Do” express that even if OK Go seems all fun and games, a little meditation isn’t above them.

Pop-punk guitar, energy bursting out of the seams, and a teenage appeal that can’t be denied; songwriter Kulash Jr. clearly has been through a lot, and tells his story, albeit bluntly, with enthusiasm and adolescent intuition. OK Go is definitely a worthy pursuit if this is how you like it.

Something Corporate Also finding a home in the teenage pop-punk category is the better known Something Corporate.

They’ve been making the girls swoon and the boys feel inspired since they started as an indie band in Southern California. They soon made it opening for acts like Sugar Ray and Better Than Ezra, getting noticed by and signing with DriveThru, a label known for youthfully energetic pop punk.

Pianist (yes, they even drag an upright piano onstage when they play) and lead songwriter Andrew McMahon takes influences from Elton John, as on Leaving Through the Window, their latest release in which they blend powerful vocals with two guitars, bass, drums and his surprisingly well-matched piano. Josh Partington, William Tell, Clutch and Brian Ireland finish this quintet, who seems to want to convince the world around them that teenagers too are capable of honesty and thought.

Tonic For the more introspective listener, the acoustic guitar and heartfelt vocals of Tonic might be more your speed. Their latest release, Head On Straight, holds to their platinum-selling reputation and has given them two Grammy nominations in Rock categories. If you haven’t heard of them since their debut in 1997, you’ve been missing out.

Singer and guitarist Emerson Hart, guitarist Jeff Russo and bassist Dan Lavery make up this dynamic trio and have been playing to sold-out crowds almost since they started. Hit singles like “Open Up Your Eyes” and “Casual Affair” from Lemon Parade sold their success, and the follow-up three years later only ensured it. Now, Head On Straight continues the legacy (Below) Something Corporate will be playing with The Juliana Theory and Vendetta Red on Feb. 16 at Nation,1015 Half St. in D.C. (Left) Sparta hasn’t even existed for two years and they already are hitting top tours.

Lovely Bones is heavenly

BY WALA’A EL BARASSE Cultures Editor

There are rumors of a Tonic acoustic tour hitting Alex., VA at the Birchmere on March 25.

of their melodic acoustics mixed with thunderous riffs and lyrics that flow like poetry. The single, “Take Me As I Am,” and the first track, “Roses,” speaks of ended romance and earnestness, tinged with an unexpectedly uplifting note of hope. Head On Straight and Tonic both can be credited as eloquent guides to human emotion.

Sparta Maybe all of this pop is a bit too much; in that case, bring on the punk. Texas-based Sparta holds true to its roots, although they refer to their music as just plain rock.

Formed in 2001, three of the four members were originally in nowdefunct At The Drive-In, founded in 1994. Sparta became their main focus when they started practicing a few weeks later; now, almost two years later, Sparta has played countless shows and is even more popular.

The four members are Jim Ward, Tony Hajjar, Paul Hinojos, all of ATDI fame, and Matt Miller, who joined later and took up bass for the band. They grew up on the Texas-Mexico border and are more ethnically diverse than most, giving them a wide range of musical influences. Their debut cd Wiretap Scars, released in summer of 2002, was produced by Jerry Finn (Greenday, Sum 41) and can only be described as composed disarray.

Reworked songs from their EP (called Austere) such as “Echodyne Harmonic” are powerful and synthesized, sounding nothing like the norm and making the listener grateful it doesn’t. Lyrics are more obscure than other bands featured here, waxing like poetry and delivered with furor.

Sparta is currently on the SnoCore tour, starting in New Mexico as of mid-February, with Glassjaw, Hot Water Music and Dredg; they’ll be in D.C. on March 23 at the 930 Club.

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.”

With this bold approach begins Alice Sebold’s debut novel, The Lovely Bones, which takes readers on a whirlwind emotional roller coaster.

From the calmly harrowing and spell binding first chapter, which details the rape and murder, to Susie’s vantage point from heaven on the earthly happenings she is missing out on, Sebold creates a panBOOK REVIEW orama of life in a 1970’s THE LOVELY BONES Pennsylvanian suburb.

As Susie looks down on earth from her personlaized version of heaven (it looks WELL-WRITTEN, like the high school she used BUT AT TIMES to dream of attending, with FEELS TOO Vogue and Glamour as textCHEESY. books) she guides us through a maze of grief and dysfunction that follows her brutal death. She watches as the police try, in vain, to find her murderer. She also watches her grieving family disentigrate as they try to deal with their loss.

Her father, Jack Salmon, feels responsible for Susie’s death and embarks on a mission to find her killer. He feels as though “the hand of God was pressing down on him, saying you were not there when your daughter needed you.”

Meanwhile, Susie’s mother, Abigail Salmon, finds a “doorway out of her ruined heart, in merciful adultery,” and then abandons her family.

Lindsey, Susie’s younger sister, avoids her reflection at all costs because it reminds her of Susie.

Susie’s younger brother, Buckley, can not grasp the concept of death just yet because of his young age, and equates Susie’s absence to a missing Monopoly piece.

Sebold’s fresh style of writing makes the novel a relatively quick read. The subject of rape and murder is not light, a n d Susie’s rape is master-

B

fully portrayed, taking from her own experiences.

While writing The Lovely Bones Sebold took a break and wrote her m e m o i r, Lucky, about her rape and assualt as a freshman at Syracuse University in 1981.

The only downfall in Sebold’s novel is towards the end. Susie enters her friend’s body, Ruth, for one last rendezvous with the boy she shared her first and only kiss with, Ray Singh.

However, this novel is unique in the fact that the reader is told who the murderer is from page two. Sebold does not dwell on the crime; rather, she examines its effect on the other characters while Susie continuously touches their lives.

If today is your birthday: Use your persuasive skills to your advantage, but keep in mind that not everyone automatically agrees with you. I’d tell you to watch your back, but you have a personality that dares people to take their best shotsometimes you feel like you’re invincible.

As you become more of an adult, take another look at your life and decide where your important responsibilities lie.

Lucky numbers: 4, 8. 25.

Aries (March 21-April 19) Try not to be disappointed at the end of the week; good intentions may pave the road to hell, b u t they’re still good. Real love is worth more than flowers or a candy heart. Look for Capricorn support.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Death has knocked at your door twice; maybe he’s trying to tell you something. If I were you, I would listen. A gift you gave for someone else may have conveyed the wrong impression.

Make sure a Cancer knows what you really mean.

Gemini (May 21- June 21) Prepare for an intimate evening with your loved one, who is just as spirited as you are. You’ve undergone some physical stress recently; be thankful for the medical advances of man. Seek guidance from a Taurus.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) Stop giving up so fast for two reasons: 1) confidence is attractive and 2) everyone knows you’re making a mistake. What’s meant to happen and what will are two different things. Be prepared to negotiate with a Gemini.

Leo (July 23-August 22) It’s ok to spend a few bucks out of the goodness of your heart now and then; you may be kind of stingy, but you can afford it.

Flaunt yourself and expect someone to notice, but don’t expect them to make the first move if they’re easily intimidated.

Virgo (August 23-Sept. 22) Take unexpected events in stride; you need to start thinking you’re capable of handling yourself again.

Humor in relationships is good, but prepare for serious issues next week. You’re on top of this month if you let yourself be.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) A surprise may be in store as the New Moon joins Neptune in the romantic area of your chart at the beginning of this month. Someone who’s had an eye on you may make a move. This could also represent creative inspiration from an unusual source.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Your mind’s on your money and your money’s on your mind. Seek unusual dates for a connection you never expected. Honesty is important but a little flattery never hurt anybody, as an Aries can demonstrate.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) With Mars dominating your chart, expect to have a packed schedule. Be careful about impulsive actions to avoid accidents. Persistance in love is great, but if they’re playing too hard to get, give it up.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You’re covering your real instincts with what you think other people expect. Come clean. If you feel like you don’t know your friends anymore, take a look at all you’ve been through; it’s not as easy as you think to throw it all away. Look to Aquarius for a reminder.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Happy birthday! You just can’t get no satisfaction; use this time to find out who you really are and what you really love. There could be some financial success in your future if you’re not afraid to throw yourself out there. Make friends with a Libra.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) You have had great achievements, but there could be some difficulty ahead that could have you questioning just how good they are. Don’t lose hope.

Focus your priorities despite setbacks, and steer clear of Leos.

20 WEEKEND Totally tubuler

the

ABLAST

MON. FEB. 10, 2003

North’s noteworthy lesson

WEEKEND UPDATE

freshman

“I like hanging out with my brother when he comes home from JMU.” —Anna Sciullo sophomore

“I like sledding in the snow because it’s fun and I get to sled with my little sister, Mandy my super-pal, and my dog Anushka.”

—Amy Buckles junior

Junior Charlie Dickinson races down the slopes at Whitetail Ski Resort. As he speeds down, he begins to feel the intensity of the wind crashing his face as his vision begins to blur.

While he spins and twists on the tube, he begins to recollect the days when he would go sledding in his steel saucer.

“When I was younger I really liked to go sledding in my saucer. I figured this would be just as joyous,” said Dickinson. The rush Charlie gets from snow tubing can out do that of any snowboard or pair of skiis available.

Once he reaches the end of the run, Charlie attaches his tube to the lift to carry him to the top. He begins to doze off, seeing as how the lift does the work Whitetail Ski Resort for him. Upon reaching the top, he unlaches his tube, and prepares for another invigorating run.

For anyone who doesn’t have the balance, or who just can’t seem to get big air, there’s a solution: snow tubing.

Snow tubing is one of the fastest growing sports. It is an alternative to snowboarding and skiing that still allows you to have fun on the slopes.

Many area ski resorts are opening tubing parks to cater to the increasing growth of the activity. Snow tubing is a lot like sledding, but more fun and less work. You don’t need any experience. As long as you know how to hold on tight, you can just hop on and enjoy the ride.

One of the reasons for snow tubing’s growing popularity is its appeal to people of all ages. It is safe and easy enough for young children and fun for the whole family.

All tubers must be at least 42 inches tall. Nevertheless, Some ski resorts

“

The thing I like most about snow tubing is I don’t really have to exert any effort. It’s a very chill Dickinson activity. Charliejunior

have tailored to younger crowds by opening kiddie tubing areas. They have also accommodated by offering special kiddes rates. For example, at Whitetail Ski Resort children two years to 41 inches can tube for only $3.00 on the

Ski Resort Snow Tubing Rates and Hours

“Snowboarding.

I love it. I’ve been doing it since 7th grade and I’m looking forward to doing it in Canada.”

Ski Liberty Curroll Valley, PA

Wintergreen

—Meagan Ogletree

Wintergreen, VA

senior

Whitetail “I like going to a cabin in Michigan and ice fishing.”

—Dick Adams

Merceryburg, PA

Wisp Deep Creek Lake, MD

football coach

Massanutten Massanutten, VA

Lewisberry, PA

Midweek/Non-peak: $15 for two hours Weekend/ Peak: $17 for two hours Hours: 12pm- 9pm Telephone:( 438) 325-2100 Midweek/Non-peak: $7.00 per hour or $11.00 for 2 hours Weekend/Peak: $9.00 per hour or $13.00 for 2 hours Hours: Mon-Thurs. 4pm-10pm Weekend 10am-10pm Telephone: (717) 328-9400 Midweek/Non-peak: $14 for two hours Weekend/ Peak: $16 for two hours Hours: 1pm-9pm Telephone: (301) 387-4911 Midweek/ Non-peak: $15 for two hours Weekend/ Peak: $15 for two hours Hours: 9am- 9pm Telephone: (540) 289-9441 Midweek/ Non-peak: $8 per hour, $15 for two hours Weekend/ Peak: $10 per hour, $17 for two hours Hours: 10am-10pm Telephone: (717) 432-9531

kiddie slopes.

“The thing I like most about snow tubing is I don’t really have to exert any effort. It’s a very chill activity,” said junior Charlie Dickinson.

One appealing aspect of snow tubing is the ride back up the mountain. Lifts that pull the tube are provided that comfortably seat you and pull you back to the top.

All you have to do is sit back and relax. “The best part of snow tubing is the ride up, because you attach your tube to the lift and then it does all the work,” said junior Stephanie Lugar.

Going down a mountain in a huge tube, twice the size of a plastic saucer sled, a person can lie back and enjoy without having to worry about carving or maneuvering through a set of moguls. While snow tubing isn’t an extreme sport, you can still get the rush of speeding down a steep mountain.

Another reason snow tubing is great is the price. For a fraction of the price of a renting a board (or pair of skis) and a lift Wisp Ski Resort ticket, you can tube until you drop. “The price is almost as refreshing as the snow. I can snow tube for a fraction of the price of snowboarding,” said junior Mikey Perucci. Snow tubing is priced anywhere between $7.00 for an hour to $17.00 for two hours.

So if you and your friends are feeling a need to hit the slopes but are not willing to dish out the cash or do not have the energy skiing and snowboarding requires, check out snow tubbing.

While snowboarding and skiing require balance and skill, snow tubing demands no experience and the prices are great. No beginning lessons are needed. Just grab a tube and go! In addition, the effort is limited and the need for speed is satisfied. For more information visit your nearest ski resort’s home page to check rates, hours, and telephone numbers.

Feb 16- Something Corporate w/ Juliana Theory @ Nation $15.00 Feb. 18- TRUSTcompany w/ Blindside, Depswa, Pacifier @ 9:30 Club $15.00 Feb. 22- Ludacris @ 9:30 Club $35.00 Feb. 23- DC101 presents EVANESCENCE w/ The Blank Theory, Carbondale @ 9:30 Club $1.01 Feb. 24- Home Grown w/ Riddlin’ Kids, All American Rejects, Wakefield @ 9:30 Club $12.00 Feb. 26- Common w/ Gang Starr, Talib Kweli, Floetry @ 9:30 Club $30.00 Mar. 1- They Might Be Giants @ 9:30 Club $20.00 Mar. 7- Papa Roach @ 9:30 Club $15.00 Mar. 9- Bon Jovi @ MCI center $35.00-$75.00

BY PHILIPPE PODHORECKI Co-Editor in-Chief Theophilus North, a play adapted by Matthew Burnett from Thorton Wilder’s last book, follows the character of the same name as the play as he goes on an adventure to find himself. While it may sound like a book for an English class (and it probably could be), Theophilus North manages to entertain both intellectually and superficially through a brilliant use of the stage and the actors who, other than Theophilus North (Matthew Floyd Miller), play multiple roles.

Directed by Mark Cuddy, the actors shine as they portray several characters during the play, donning new costumes in the blink of an eye. Though at first this trick is a bit confusing, the actors do such a great job to change their personas as well as their costumes for each character that, despite initial confusion, the story comes off without a hitch.

The story takes place in Rhode Island during 1926 as Theophilus begins his journey to travel around the world. His quest is cut short early on when his car, hilariously played by one of the actresses, breaks down. He sells his broken car and is convinced to stay in town for a short time. This short time turns into a couple seasons as Theophilus teaches the townspeople a few lessons about life.

What the play does so well that most movies fail to do is use intellectual humor to make a point about society. Through a series of meetings with different townsfolk with their own quirky problems. One family, for example, has a son who doesn’t like to talk to people. North cleverly manipulates the boy into both learning from him and discovering what is wrong with the boy.

Several of the meetings involve North, a former teacher, using his knowledge to help others. One women, a bedridden pregnant lady, indulges in Shakespeare, and, through that is able to expand her view of the world and herself, something she could have never done before Theophilus.

Theophilus North is a well-acted play that is both humorous and inspirational.

Theophilus North is playing in the Kreeger at Arena Stage through March 2.

WWW.WHITETAIL.COM REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION

UPCOMING CONCERTS

Roundtop

Midweek/Non-peak: $7.00 per hour, $11.00 for 2 hours Weekend/Peak: $9.00 per hour, $13.00 for 2 hours Hours: 4pm-10pm Telephone: (717) 642-8282

Play’s inspiring plot bring adventure and philosophy to the stage

COURTESY OF ARENA STAGE

—Erica Satten

Photographer

Theophilus North teaches one of the Rhode Islanders about life. The play will be open till Mar. 2.

Panera Bread baked fresh

K

AT’S ORNER

KATHARINE KISHIYAMA

Weekend Editor Ever find yourself sitting in a fancy restaurant munching on scrumptious slices of complementary bread getting ready to order a wholesome meal when you stop and think to yourself that you could eat a whole meal of just bread? Well, I have on several occasions and to my delight Panera Bread has satisfied my unusual desire.

This bakery-cafe specializes in using only the highest quality ingredients including dough with no preservatives to bake fresh bread every day including a wide range of flavors such as sourdough, French, stonemilled rye, pumpernickel, cinnamon raisin, honey wheat, three cheese and Asiago cheese

to name a few. Their specialty bread adds a distinctive freshness, flavor and quality to everything offered on their cafe menu, while the bakery offers more delicious treats.

Panera’s signature bread is the centerpiece of every meal found on their menu from sandwiches and salads to hearty soups served in sourdough bread bowls (once you finish the soup, you can eat the bowl!). Some of their soups include broccoli cheddar, French onion, low fat garden vegetable, and black bean. The only downside to their wide variety of soup flavors is the soup schedule (for a detailed schedule check out Panera’s Web site at www.panerabread.com). Aside from soups, Panera also offers exotic salads such as the Asian Sesame Chicken and Grilled Chicken Caesar salad. As for sandwiches, there are three types, the Hot Panini Sandwiches, Signature Sandwiches, and Cafe Sandwiches. Hot Panini Sandwiches, inspired by Italy, are

sandwiches made with fresh ingredients put between slices their fresh bread and pressed on a hot grill, while Signature Sandwiches are made of cold cuts all of which are served on your choice of bread. Cafe Sandwiches are more basic and cheaper, for example, Peanut Butter and Jelly on French, Chicken Salad Nine Grain, and Smoked Ham and Swiss on Rye. However, that’s only half of what Panera has to offer. Their bakery menu is filled with dozens of delicious varieties of bread, as well as bagels, croissants, muffins, and pastries including brownies, croissants, Danish, mini Bundt cakes, scones, and strudels.

Panera is the place to stop whether its breakfast, brunch, lunch, a snack or dessert. They will have something to suit whatever you crave. However, while this European style bakery-cafe is packed with scrumptious foods, their pricing can be a bit tricky. I was ecstatic when I found a bagel was only 69 cents, however if I wanted it with cream cheese, it was $1.19. The best deal is the You Pick Two where you can select

KATHARINE KISHIYAMA

“I like to drink hot chocolate because it warms you up in the cold weather.”

BY ANDREW MENEGAT

WWW.WHITETAIL.COM

What’s your favorite winter activity?

Panera Bread, located in Bailey’s Crossroads and several other locations, offers various treats ranging from soups served in bread bowls to delicious freshly baked pastries.

two of the following: any bowl of soup, any half sandwich, or any half salad for $5.95.

For more information or directions to the nearest Panera near you, check out www.panerabread.com.