The Patriot February 2006, Issue 4, Vol 41

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John Carroll School " Tradition " Pride

The

Patriot " Excellence

703 Churchville Road " Bel Air, MD 21014

INDEX

N E W S

Student commends school’s efforts to improve student understanding of Christianity.

S P O R T S

Breaks Barriers Jeff Gunnarsson co Editor in Chief

page 2

Pow Wow teaches students about Native American culture.

page 5

F E Students exhibit A their hidden gifts T and talents. U R page 11 E S E N T E R T A I N M E N T

Brokeback Mountain

Does anyone truly abide by the laws of music copyright and online downloading?

page 15

Sports editor previews upcoming winter Olympic events.

page 20

What began with a shameful and seldom-discussed habit of sexual release between two roughneck cowboys in the isolated hills of Brokeback Mountain swiftly grew into a clandestine relationship strewn with desire, secrecy, and frustration. Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are two cowboys who, at the beginning of the movie “Brokeback Mountain” (directed by Ang Lee), a ground-breaking Þlm about the struggles involved with a homosexual relationship in the early twentieth century, had been spending several months together herding sheep across the Þlm’s namesake mountain. At Þrst, their relationship comes off as nothing more than a strong friendship. However, this cautious presumption is utterly obliterated with a spontaneous, hard-hitting, and slightly violent depiction of a sexual encounter between Ennis and Jack. I think it is safe to assume that reading that may have caused a certain degree of shock; the same was true (to a considerably greater degree) of the reaction of the audience in the theater, as was evidenced by gasps of shock and faces expressing surprise and alarm. Do not, however, get the wrong idea; the director was acceptably discreet in the scene’s portrayal.

photo by Kimberly French, courtesy of Focus Features

E D I T O R I A L S

Volume 41, Issue 4 " February 2006

Heath Ledger (left) and Jake Gyllenhaal (right) star in Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain,” a Focus Features release. The film addresses the current issue of homosexuality in mid-twentieth-century American society. It was only to establish the premise for the sexual relationship between the two men, which comes off as just that: strictly sexual. During the beginning scenes of the movie, the two rarely discuss what they do, and when they do discuss it, the conversation is problematic and uncomfortable for both of them. Eventually, both Jack and Ennis return to their homes and try to move on with their lives. Both get married and have children, and

Fashion, Function

Hip tips for keeping your attire fashionable in all seasons Neha Prakash, Alli Kartachak co Editor in Chief, Staff Writer

Sunny, partly cloudy, and a high of sixty-eight degrees during the peak hours of the afternoon. Rainy, winds at ten mph, and the highest it gets is twenty-eight degrees by early evening. The ßuctuating weather of late February and early March cause innumerable fashion predicaments. These fashion quandaries leave teenagers across Bel Air digging through the depths of their closets trying to Þnd the right thing

to wear. While the outÞt needs to reßect the latest styles, it also needs to cater to the unpredictable weather patterns of the season. Although this poses a dilemma, there is a silver lining to the cloud. Stores begin to change out their old winter attire and replace it with fresh, new, lighter outÞts for springtime. The stores hold blowout sales to wave in the new season and say goodbye to the old. The worst happenings in weather make for the best time shopping. Fashion, in any weather, is all about the rules. Please abide by all rules to keep your look fashionContinued on page 10

try in vain to live normally. As the Þlm progresses, we begin to see the anger and frustration that develop from what becomes a deeper, more personal form of their relationship. The two gradually begin to learn of the deeper feelings that they have for each other, and quickly get into the habit of meeting every few months, claiming as an alibi to their wives that they are merely taking Þshing trips as old friends. Their lives at home begin to suffer as their wives and children face avoidance and neglect. The movie hints in particular at Ennis’ sex life with his wife, which appears to suffer as a result of Ennis’ past sexual experiences with Jack. The complications intensify as Ennis’ wife learns of the surreptitious affair that her husband has been having. The ensuing divorce only leads to more problems. Ennis and Jack struggle to Þnd a way to maintain their relationship,

facing doubt and disappointment in their effort to stay in each other’s lives. This struggle deÞnes the basic conßict of the Þlm “Brokeback Mountain.” The conßict at hand in the movie clearly deÞnes the struggle that many homosexuals in our society have to face. The issue of homosexual rights and the incorporation thereof into American society has rapidly become the object of heavily-heated debate between advocates and opponents of the rights of homosexuals. For over a year, state legislatures have been weighting the decision of whether or not to approve gay marriage in states across the country. As a “Catholic, independent, secondary school for young men and women,” our school is obligated to stand with the Catholic Church on issues such as homosexual rights; hence, JC as a whole takes the stance of compassion Continued on page 14

Should homosexuals be entitled to all of the same rights as everyone else, including the right to gay marriage?*

Yes

No

39%

34%

Undecided

26%

*Based on a survey of 61 JC students from all grade levels.


Editorials

2

Editor gives advice Late graduation justified Mary Etting Editorials co Editor

Stupidity is a disease that infects all of humanity. No one is immune to stupidity. You are never too old to be stupid, and you will never be able to change the stupid things you have done. As teenagers, we enjoy blaming the stupid things we have done on our youth. While this seems to be a plausible excuse, it is not. Especially when we consider the fact that we try to gain privileges by saying we are mature, but when we make mistakes we are all of a sudden too young to take responsibility. Those in long-term relationships often think that their bond is unbreakable; however, as we learned with the tragic Brad Pitt/ Jennifer Aniston break-up, not all relationships last forever. We also learned from the Pam Anderson/ Tommy Lee and certain Paris Hilton instances that you should not record yourself and your partner having sex. When under the inßuence of alcohol it is best not to act on random ideas that may come into your head, like Brittney Spears’ 55 hour wedding or making out with a member of the same sex. Drugs can also cause serious problems for the future; Kate Moss learned that the hard way when pictures of her doing lines of cocaine surfaced

and she was dropped by Fashion Brand. All we learn from these instances is that we should come up with excuses to replace blame for things we have done instead of taking responsibility. Spur-of-the-moment decisions are normally the most deadly of them all. The scenario in which those spur of the moment decisions seem to happen a lot are when you are with your signiÞcant other and they decide to tell you how much they “love” you. This is especially hard if you know that you are not ready to be that intimate with them. Do not let other people inßuence you; if you made a decision—whether it was not to drink, smoke, or have sex—do not break it. Also, in situations like the aforementioned, we usually forget to think of the consequences: the possibility of your parents Þnding out, the possibility of rumors of what you did at that party spreading through the JC community, the possibility of those pictures of you and whoever ending up on someone’s Myspace. Before you do something, think to yourself: “How would my parents react to this? How about my grandparents? Can I get into any legal trouble by doing this? What about trouble at school or home?” Stupidity is a disease, but one which can be treated with thought. Think before you act.

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PATRIOT John Carroll School 703 Churchville Road, Bel Air, Maryland 21014 Volume 41, Issue 4, February 2006

co Editor in Chief....................................................Jeff Gunnarsson co Editor in Chief........................................................Neha Prakash Editorials co Editor........................................................Mary Etting Editorials co Editor......................................................Jared Drewen News co Editor............................................................Caitlin Keilty News co Editor...........................................................Joe Christesen Features co Editor..........................................................Emily Lazor Features co Editor........................................................Claire Bronis Entertainment co Editor...................................................Ryan Leeb Entertainment co Editor...........................................Sandy Wienholt Sports co Editor.....................................................Andy Wancowicz Sports co Editor...........................................................Brady Collins Photography co Editor..............................................Jessica O’Brien Photography co Editor...........................................Jennifer DiBiagio Business Manager..................................................Shannon Murphy Copy co Editor...............................................................Kim Hoopes Copy co Editor.....................................................Hillary Livingston Assistant Copy Editor .................................................Anne Sedney Design Editor............................................................Chris Anderson Roving Editor...............................................................Danny Morris Cartoonist............................................................Savanna Scroggins

Staff: Courtney Baltimore, Henry Basta, Kelsey Brannick, Leslie Fox, Jillian Hughes, Alli Kartachak, Lisa Krysiak, Ali Steibe, Chris Wilson The Patriot is a publication of the students of John Carroll School. The views and opinions expressed in The Patriot are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Board or Administration of John Carroll School. The editorial staff invites and greatly appreciates comments from readers on any issue.

Volume 41, Number 4

Kim Hoopes Copy co Editor

The John Carroll administration is the inhuman initiator of evil, an unkind causer of cruelty; they are beastly, barbaric, and brutish! This was my Þrst reaction when I was informed of the extended school year for the graduating class of 2006. I sided with every other senior, perplexedly demanding why “they” would want to imprison us here for longer than previous graduating classes, while conjuring up images of Mr. Barker and his cronies sitting around a table in the teachers’ lounge (on a weekend of course; the idea that teachers have lives outside of school is a misconception), hatching up new plans to make us suffer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that we don’t love our precious school—here we’ve made lifelong friends, memories, and all those warm and fuzzy things that we will cry about at graduation. But while we will be sad to leave these things behind, it’s safe to say that much of the senior class has had a countdown of the days left until graduation on their calendars since September. And the rest were probably just too lazy because of Senioritis. So, then, it is understandable why the senior class reacted to the news of a late graduation with a medley of confusion, outrage, loathing, and despondency, and why a description of my attitude when I dragged myself into school Þfteen minutes earlier than usual to interview Mr. Barker on the matter could have easily included the words, “mad demons.” Before I could voice my indignation at the atrocity, however, Mr. Barker presented me with a list of

school year statistics comparing John Carroll to other Catholic and independent schools in the area. He showed me that last year, which was similar to previous years, John Carroll had some of the earliest dates for senior exams and graduation, one of the shortest periods in between the last senior exam and graduation, and one of the latest dates for the last day of school for underclassmen. Moreover, almost every phot

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school whose last days for senior classes and exams were close to ours required their students to do a senior project. For this project, students may do things such as following around a surgeon for a week or building houses for Habitats for Humanity, and make a report about their experiences. These schools were not obscure, little known institutes either; they included Friends, Boys Latin, Bryn Mawr, Gilman, and Roland Park, among other familiar names. I began to feel a sense of panic creeping up around me. Would I have to give in? I can’t admit to the school being right! Before I could think up an argument for this proof, Mr. Barker went on to explain his thought process. Graduation used to be held on Memorial Day weekend, but that is a busy time; the Preakness horse race is often held during this time, and faculty became tired of giving up a three-day weekend (still

PARDON THIS INTERRUPTION Danny Morris Roving Editor Of all the factors that can potentially interfere with a student’s education, one would least expect a disruption to come from within the school itself. However, every student and teacher reading this is undoubtedly all too familiar with the short beep and accompanying disembodied voice that demands the presence of a student in the main ofÞce. This short disruption may seem insigniÞcant, but it is a constant source of annoyance to teachers and students alike. To begin with, the teacher is cut off midsentence in whatever lesson he or she is giving. This kind of inter-

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Drew en, E tting

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pretending teachers don’t live at school—and the tooth fairy left that money under your pillow). After these realizations, our ambitious principal researched the dates relating to graduation for other schools compared to ours, and had to ask himself why we did always Þnish so early. Even public schools require students to attend 170 days of school—JC never did that. “I think the facts are persuasive that we need to have it later,” said Mr. Barker. And Thus resulted our June 4 Graduation, eleven days after our last senior exam. A cynical student such as myself may then ask, “Who cares about other schools? Why do we have to compare ourselves to them? John Carroll believes in ‘tradition’ and an early graduation is part of that tradition.” That opinion, however, is leaving out the other two elements of the JC motto: pride and excellence. To prospective students, or rather the concerned parents of prospective students who may be considering these schools we compete with, this lax graduation custom does not promote the image of our school. A slightly later graduation, with more days in between the last day of class and the actual graduation, will be the new tradition for John Carroll. While the reputation of our school may not seem extremely important to the average senior, who is eager to “get out” and lead a more independent life, and rebellious against the idea of a strict administration, I think we must grudgingly give them this one, and simply be thankful that we still are not forced to attend the full 170 days of school required by the public school system.

OfÞce calls disrupt classes, interfere with student learning

ruption would be intolerable in a regular conversation, and is hardly more acceptable over an intercom. Having momentarily derailed the teacher’s lesson plan, the airy voice proceeds to steal two or three minutes of a random student’s time, if not more. The jeers and predictions as to what horrible fate the unlucky student has in store at the ofÞce undoubtedly will last another minute or two, before the class is Þnally brought to order and the focus is returned to the day’s topic. That is, if the teacher can remember exactly what part of the lesson the class was learning. Meanwhile the lone student trudges towards the ofÞce without the faintest idea why he or she is being summoned. The student

nervously pushes the door labeled “Pull” and, after a moment of confusion, makes it into the ofÞce hallway. Finally in the ofÞce anteroom, the student asks with trepidation why he was called. Mrs. Strawbridge smiles and hands him a bagged lunch that his mother dropped off last mod. This anti-climactic end to the drama of the past Þve minutes may be a relief to the student, but it is counterproductive and a waste of the time of teachers and students alike. The school should make a policy of only interrupting classes for urgent situations, and handling other mundane matters during homeroom, after school, or between classes.

February 2006


editorials

3

Religious confusion being cured Pretty much everyone goes to Heaven. If you are a good person and don’t kill anyone, then of course you will go to Heaven. After all, if God loves everyone, why would He send anyone to Hell? Do you see truth in this reasoning? Is your understanding of Christianity limited to the idea that baptism and the occasional Sunday church attendance is all that is necessary for salvation? Are you waiting for the day when you will meet your late beloved goldÞsh in Heaven? Does this sound like an infomercial for a cheap TV product? This is not an infomercial, your goldÞsh does not have a soul (according to Church teaching), baptism is not a ticket into Heaven, and the aforementioned reasoning is utterly absurd. Unfortunately, some JC students are not so enlightened. If you are a junior or senior, or maybe even a sophomore or freshman, then in at least one of your religion classes you have undoubtedly heard at least one of the questions that will eventually drive the religion department to retirement. Things like, “What if you’re a mass murderer, but you tell God you’re truly sorry right before you die. Can you still go to Heaven?” or “Are all Protestants going to Hell? What about Jews, who don’t believe in Jesus?” or the notorious “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The JC Handbook states its mission: “John Carroll School educates the whole person; each student develops spiritually, intellectually, physically, and socially.” The question here lies in the aspect of spiritual development. Is our school striving to spiritually develop its students, or are the religion classes that the school offers simply tangents to the real mes-

sage of spirituality and faith? Our school’s curriculum for religion is undeniably sufÞcient for supplying students with knowledge of and about the Catholic Church; between Scripture, Sacraments, and Church History classes, each JC graduate is more or less a scholar on the Catholic Church. But does that really mean a true knowledge and understanding of Christian faith? “I look at it as just giving information,” said Mr. Vierheller in an attempt to explain his approach to teaching his sophomore Sacraments and Morality classes. He went on to explain that his goal in teaching is simply to educate his students about the subjects at hand and not to impose or mandate any viewpoints upon them. Of course, he makes a concerted effort to answer students’ questions with thoughtfulness and ediÞcation, and does so in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church. If he does not know the correct answer, he consults the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “I really am careful to answer questions consistent with the Catholic Church.” Mrs. Moeser explained her approach to teaching her students, emphasizing her understanding of the need to make her lessons relevant to today. “Application to me is huge,” she explained. “I try to teach the facts, but I try to bring it to life.” Regardless of the sincerest efforts of the religion teachers, the school has not quite lived up to its obligation of helping its students to develop spiritually. Up until this point, there has been no course to provide the basis for truly under-

standing and living the Christian faith. Fortunately, the religion department is not oblivious to its inadequacies to date. Starting this year, the freshmen have been taking a course called Introduction to Catholicism. The course is intended to provide students with a basic understanding of Catholicism and, more broadly, the Christian faith. To incorporate this new class into students’ schedules, sophomores and freshmen will switch the courses that they take. Freshmen will take the Sacraments course in conjunction with the Introduction to Catholicism course, as well as the course in Catholic Morality. Sophomores, on the other hand, will take Scripture. Taking all of this a step further, the religion department has begun to administer a simple assessment to freshmen that analyzes their overall knowledge of Christianity. The assessment was administered to freshmen on Thursday, January 19 (the third day of exams) while the rest of the school took their foreign language exams. During their junior or senior year, the class of 2009 will take a similar assessment so that the school may evaluate how the students’ awareness and understanding of Christianity have improved throughout their time at JC. Our school has begun to take afÞrmative action in order to better carry out its mission statement. Our religion department has assessed its weaknesses and moved towards improvement. We as a school community should look forward to what this new course layout will bring, and ought to commend the members of the faculty who have effected this change. graphic by Chris Anderson

Jeff Gunnarsson co Editor in Chief

Two-hour exams not worth the time

omic by Savanna Scroggins

Shannon Murphy Business Manager

Volume 41, Number 4

In a week’s span, all that I did was study for exams and attempt to study for a test although I was pretty sure I was going to fail it anyway. A huge waste of a perfectly good weekend, and Christmas break. And to make matters worse, I was even more stressed out because the exams are now two hours long, and I have huge essays to write in each class. What can stress a student out more? The JC administration says that the new two hour exams were put in place to get the students ready for college exams, preparing us by making us sit through vigorous testing for longer periods of time. It seems like JC just wants to

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prepare us for SAT’s; all these new exams seem to be is a hassle. Students hate them; instead of getting out at the normal 11:00 a.m. and meeting with friends for lunch, we are cooped inside of a classroom until almost 1:00 p.m. and have to rush home to cram for the next day’s tests. Not only do the exams put a damper on a student’s social life, but most students begin studying the Saturday before their Þrst exam, feeling lucky to have gotten a jump start on remembering even a little bit of the information from way back in September. But instead of being rewarded for their hard work, they are forced to sit in a classroom without any time to relax. Each student has to study and test for six straight days—a hard enough task to get through, leaving no time to just

take it easy and watch TV or Þnd time to get out of the house. It’s no wonder so many students are irritable and just want to get away. Then, three days later we’re stuck with a new schedule and second semester is beginning in full swing. The main question that seems to bug students is how do these new exams really prepare us for college? Maybe it’s writing a strenuous 27 page essay in those little blue books, or maybe it’s having to squeeze multiple 8 paragraph essays on that tiny scantron sheet. But does that really prepare us for college? In college the students get to leave once they Þnish their exams; if the school is really trying to prepare ourselves for college than why won’t they allow us to just get up and go too?

February 2006


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Students encourage awareness of poverty Caitlin Keilty and Jared Drewen News and Editorials co Editors

Hunger. Homelessness. Poverty. What images do these words provoke in your mind? Perhaps images of poor, dirty, helpless children in Ethiopia or Honduras or any other number of countries in the world come to mind. Possibly even memories of Americans in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit, wading in waste deep ßoodwater as they search for food and clean water. All of these images are commonly associated with the word ‘poverty,’ yet few of us have witnessed these scenes with our own eyes. Because we do not encounter poor people on an everyday basis, it is easy for us to forget: to forget about those children who go for weeks without so much as a grain of rice; to forget about those mothers roaming the streets at nights desperately trying to Þnd food for their starving children; and to forget about our moral obligation to help those who cannot help themselves. It is easy to make excuses as to why we can not help - we can’t afford to help them, or they live across the world, so their problems are not ours anyway. Not all of us can sail across the Atlantic to personally deliver a loaf of bread to the barefoot children in Africa. However, every one of us can make a difference and every one of us can help someone in need. Those in need are not living only in third world countries. In fact, 37 million people in the US live below the poverty line. That’s right; we’re the world’s richest country, and yet 12.7% of us are poor. A 2002 census by the Maryland Department of Human Resources brings this issue closer to home. In their census, they state that there are approximately 230,000 people living in Harford County. About 5.5% of those people are considered to be victims of poverty. Of people 17 years or younger, 6.7% are living in poverty. Five and a half percent is a fairly low percentage and so it would seem as if there is no real problem here; however, that equates to just over 12,600 individual people. There are 4,000 children under the age of 17 living in poverty in Harford County. Four thousand children, abandoned, starving on the streets in our own county. Can’t fathom this number? Picture all 800 students that currently attend JC. Now multiply this number by Þve. Throw them all out on the streets without food, shelter, or even family and then you would have an accurate representation of the number of homeless children in Harford County alone. One might ask, if this is such a problem on a local level, why are

Volume 41, Number 4

most people unaware of it? Ignorance and self-absorbance are the Þrst two reasons that come to mind. While reclining in your LazyBoy and watching Room Raiders, it’s easy to forget about those who have less than us; we prefer to think about those who have more. Through the media, we are constantly reminded of how much money celebrities waste, usually on gifts for themselves. After hearing about the 4 million dollar diamond ring that J.Lo. bought as a birthday present for herself, it’s easy to justify spending a mere 400 dollars on that bracelet you bought last week. It is at times like these that we need to stop and consider the 4,000 children who would love to have 4 or more meals a week. It’s not that we’re selÞsh, we’re simply self-absorbed. We sometimes are so concerned with our own individual lives that we forgot about all those suffering around us. And without a personal connection to poor people as a constant reminder of the need, it is easy to become wrapped up in our own privileged lifestyle. Let’s face it, it is unlikely that people who can afford to pay the JC tuition could be considered poor, which could allow you to easily forget about those who need help around you. If you have done any of your service hours, chances are that you have come into contact with at least a few of these people. If you have actually conversed with any of them, you know that they are quite often completely normal and very kind people. Usually, at least in our experiences, they have lived in or around Harford County for most of their lives and turns of bad luck or simply chance have led them to their current states. Through service organizations, and community projects, we are given a chance to meet with these impoverished people and listen to their stories. Organizations such as Our Daily Bread, the Mana House, and Habitat for Humanity depend on strong, energized teenagers to help them help others. These places are begging for help. They’ve asked, all you need to do is answer. Recently, the consciousness among the student population at JC of important issues such as poverty has been on the rise. With the bake sale, Hunger Awareness Day, and the PowerPoint at the Christmas Mass, many students are doing what they can to make others aware of the issues that surround them. Nobody expects a high-schooler to jump on the next plane to Zambia in hopes to cure world hunger. What that high-schooler could do, however, is catch the next bus to Beans and Bread and make one man’s day by telling him a joke and just talking to him.

FROM THE EDITORS: Mary Etting and Jared Drewen Editorials co Editors

When school Þrst starts, the student body has Homecoming to look forward to. Towards the end of the year, the junior class is excited for Ring Dance and the senior class has Prom to anticipate. But what does anyone have to look forward during the period between Christmas vacation and spring break? Exams? The Valentines Day Dance (which hasn’t actually oc-

School lacks winter entertainment

curred in years)? School can be daunting as well as mentally and physically exhausting, especially during the portions of the year where the few things to look forward to are months away. These months would be more endurable if there were more ongoing exhilarating activities, which certainly would boost the morale of the student body. What exciting things could JC sponsor? Here are some of our ideas: a fresh-soph mixer for the underclassmen, since they have neither Ring Dance nor Prom to

look forward to; a school-wide snowball Þght (if weather permits); more dances (ones that students outside of JC are permitted to attend); or maybe rent lots of moon bounces and have a largescale Christian Þeld party. Okay so not all of our ideas are completely viable, but you get the idea. Entertaining events would make the school year go by more quickly. It could also lead to an increase in school spirit as well as possibly generating more income for the school.

force the students to review rather old information. Instead of putting the students through the unbearable process of retrieving information which has been largely forgotten, JC should hold Þrst semester exams prior to winter break. Moving the date of exams will create a more relaxed and calm attitude towards exams for both students and teachers. With the present schedule, students forget all of what they had learned over the Þrst four months of school during the lengthy break. The loss of knowledge over break forces teachers to spend the entire week before exams re-teaching previous information. The review process must be completed so that students can be refreshed on the material and be adequately prepared for the exams. However, reviewing during class wastes time which could have been better spent learning new ideas. Holding exams before break will allow the review process to be shortened because students are more familiar with the material. Also, exams before Christmas

would make studying easier and faster. Students would have less information to go over on their own, because they would be better able to recall recent class lessons. Thus, students would be less stressed during exam time and would have the chances of achieving higher grades. Christmas break would also prove to be a more relaxing time if exams were held prior to the break. Students would be able to unwind and rest during the entire two weeks of vacation. They would not be forced to review material or complete homework over the break. The advantage in pre-break exams for teachers is that they would have ample time to grade their exams. This way, teachers are less likely to make grading mistakes due to time constraints. Semester one exams should be moved to before break. Exams would prove to be less stressful, the time spent reviewing would be diminished, and the new timing of exams would be more relaxing for the entire student body and the faculty.

Semester, winter break should coincide Neha Prakash co Editor in Chief The long- and short-term memory of the average teenager is crammed with random trivia that they Þnd applicable and engaging to their everyday lives. There is very little room in the memory to store lessons taught in school about parametric functions, reßexive verbs, and the gilded age. This information, new and generally irrelevant to life, is Þled away into dark corners of the mind, not to be touched until one day in January. The exam week in January is such a long time after the information was learned that students often forget much of what they were taught. To add to the insanity of having to remember facts taught four months earlier, students are expected to retain information for the two weeks of winter break. During the approximately fourteen days of winter break, students’ minds lie dormant and unfocused. Then, a mere two weeks after returning to school, exams are sprung upon the relaxed and unwary students. These exams

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Letters to the Editors: • MUST be signed. No unsigned letters will be printed. • Must be typed. • Can be turned in to room 125 or The Patriot Room. • Can also be e-mailed to jcpatriot@gmail.com. Letters to the editors are greatly appreciated. Anyone is welcome to write a letter to the editor - parents, alumni, students, administration, etc. If you have any questions, feel free to speak to a member of The Patriot. Love, The Editors

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POW WOW KNOW-HOW: JC and Mr. Scholl educate public about Native American traditions, crafts, and dances

Volume 41, Number 4

learn. Groups of drummers provided the music and beat to which individual dancers and the whole tribes danced to. Performers came from all age groups, skill level, and tribes. The opening ceremony began at 1 pm with a procession of dancers and drummers. The ßag that was ßown over Pearl Harbor, and then again over the Battle of Washita, was honored at JC this year. The Pow Wow was lucky to have this ßag because the owner, Ted Severe, was the arena director. It was also special for Mr. Scholl because the Battle of Washita was fought right near the town where he grew up. His anthropology class saw many videos about the battle and countless interviews of the people of the area. Not everyone who attended the Pow Wow was there to dance; many were curious spectators, simply enjoying the entertainment and crafts. If it was not obvious enough by the packed parking lot, the Þlled bleachers showed just how many had come to witness this event. Among the 2000 people in attendance, two young sisters of JC seniors were watching eagerly from the stands. Excited smiles stretched across the faces of 10-year-olds Jenny Kreis and McKenzie Rayburn. They watched the dancers excitedly with an enchanted glow in their eyes, constantly pointing out to one another which headdresses Young Native American boy and traditional regalia they dances to the beat of the drum at the Pow Wow. The dancers ranged liked the best. “That one’s my favorin age, gender, and skill level. ite,” Rayburn said as a man A small child summed up the dressed from head to toe in a yelextraordinary display of creations low, orange, and green feathered best when tugging excitedly on ensemble danced directly in front his mother’s hand and exclaiming, of the girls. “This is better than Christmas!” Kreis particularly liked the All of the vendor stations were children who participated in the set up in either the hallway or the dancing, fully costumed and more Brown room, leaving the gym animated than many of the adults. available for the main event: the She shared her excitement with dancing. The primary reason that Rayburn saying, “That girl is my Pow Wows are held is to celebrate age. That’s so cool!” life and all that it encompasses. While she loved watching these Native Americans express vari- dancers, there was one in particuous aspects of their lives through lar that she couldn’t wait to see. different dances. Some of these “Steph,” she called to her sister, dances include the gourd dance, “When are you gonna dance?” Sewhich according to Mr. Scholl is nior Stephanie Kreis turned around the easiest to learn, and the strait and replied saying, “I don’t know, dance, which he is still trying to but I’ll let you know when I do.”

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She was a part of the anthropology class which was instrumental in the organization of this event. The main dancers and head of ceremonies were going to do a thank-you dance in appreciation for the efforts of all the students involved. This honor dance, however, was still a few hours away. Until then, the dancers participated in several different dances. The head of ceremonies, Mr. Clayton Old Elk, repeatedly encouraged everyone to get involved and join the dancing. Eventually, seniors Sarah Snyder and Courtney Aburn jumped out of their seats and held hands with the other people on the dance ßoor. Even though the girls didn’t know the entire dance, they moved with the beat of the drums and had Mr. Scholl joins into the festivities dressed in clothing from a good time. Kreis comments that, “Anyone his tribe located in Colorado. could join in; there weren’t judges, they [the dancers] were just happy the day, if someone said to you, to get people involved.” ‘I like your bracelet,’ you were Mr. Scholl was very involved in supposed to take it off and give it the dancing and ceremonies. He to them. So at the Pow Wow we has his own dance regalia and col- honored the dancers and thanked lects Native American artifacts, them and the people from St. Lawhich were displayed in the tro- bre by giving them gifts from the phy cases at school. JC bookstore and sometimes cash He even beads his own mocca- donations.” sins, but they take a long time to The students danced around the make. JC students enjoyed seeing gym to thank all those who particione of their teachers so involved in pated, and the dancers joined their the activities. line and then circled the gym three Freshman Andrea Monaghan or four times. Then the students says, “Watching Mr. Scholl dance lined up and the dancers shook was my favorite part of the whole their hands and thanked them. day.” One by one, the As the day students gave the drew to a close, dancers gifts and the crowd slowthen returned to the ly dispersed unend of the line. Aftil only the stuter the honor dance dent volunteers and gift giving, and the dancers the students and remained in the dancers, over 250 gym. It was time people, ate dinner for the honor - Jessica O’Brien together. dance to thank The festivities both the students continued after dinand the particiner, and the students pants. and Native AmeriThese students, dressed in yel- cans danced together once again. low tee-shirts to show their in- Senior Jessica O’Brien jumped on volvement, helped with all aspects the opportunity to dance with the of the Pow Wow. professionals and Mr. Scholl. They staffed the tables at the She describes this experience entrance, helped with the rafße as her “favorite part,” because she drawing, lead the dancers to their “felt like part of the group.” She changing rooms, and participated says, “It was amazing to be part of something like that. I love Native in the gift giving. The gift giving ceremony was at Americans!” O’Brien and many of the end of the celebrations. Kreis the other students stayed to clean explained how this ancient tradi- up, Þnally leaving around 10 pm. tion originated saying, “Back in Photo by Jessica O’Brien

As senior Allie Greig pulled into the JC entrance on Saturday, January 14, she glanced around for a parking spot. After circling around the oval, she drove around the teacher lot, to no avail. She continued to the student lot, driving all the way to the convent, but still had no luck. She Þnally found a tiny spot near the dumpster and parked her car. Opening the door, she said to her friend, “Man, this place is packed. I didn’t expect there to be this many people here.” The girls proceeded to walk into the main entrance of the school, where they were greeted by six friendly seniors in yellow tee-shirts sitting behind a table. These students, all members of Mr. Scholl’s anthropology class, were in charge of collecting the asked for donation fee from those who wished to contribute. $3 for adults and just $1 for children was a small price to pay for the delightful display that these eager men, women, and children were about to witness. They had arrived at the annual Morning Star Pow Wow, held for the past six years at JC. Mr. Scholl has organized this event every year, and it has always received an excellent turn out. People from an innumerable number of tribes attended the Pow Wow this year. 24 traders were invited to show and sell their handmade crafts and handiwork. This year had the greatest turn out of all the years of the Pow Wow. Mr. Scholl categorized this year’s as the “biggest and best” Pow Wow. He remembers seeing the stands packed and there only being standing room when he entered to commence the ceremonies. He estimates that there were over 2,000 people. The neat, unique crafts are always a much-anticipated perk of the Pow Wow. Greig exclaims, “I love the silver and turquoise jewelry, it’s the main reason I go every year.” There were certainly plenty of rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets to browse through. Ranging from opals to emeralds, silver to copper, and simple to extravagant, there was something unique for everyone’s taste. The prices were reasonable, con-

sidering the amount of hard work and skill involved in each piece of jewelry. Additionally, most vendors were selling their crafts for cheaper than usual. Many sellers took 20% off of all copper bracelets and gave buyers a price break when purchasing more than one silver ring. Although there was an ample amount of jewelry, it was not the only craft being sold at the Pow Wow. There were handmade headdresses, tambourines, drums, and other decorative crafts. One table featured a pair of Chuck Taylors with a beaded Native American pattern on them.

Photo by Jessica O’Brien

Caitlin Keilty News co Editor

“It was amazing to be part of something like that.”

February 2006


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Retreat evokes World News emotions in seniors

Briefs by: Caitlin Keilty

several talks by the retreat director, Father Leo Patalinghug This priest, On February 2 and 3, 2006, the senior class came together and who also haptook part in an experience that pened to be a they would never forget. fourth degree They traveled to Willow Val- Tae Kwon Do ley in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for black belt, exhis their senior retreat, a much an- pressed ticipated and traditionally popular message in a realistic manner bonding experience. Walking through the glass doors which the seinto the main entrance of the hotel, niors could easSeniors Tom Marucci, Kasey Gayhardt, Michelle the seniors did not know what to ily understand. Scharfe, Johnny Tester, Mike McGehee His speeches expect. and Julian Maliszewsli take a break from the Richard Trujillo reßected about had a signiÞcant activities and relax among friends. Retreat was his apprehensive feelings be- impact on many a time to bond with friends, meet new people, fore retreat, saying, “I thought it seniors. and discover yourself. Savanna would be better than junior retreat, peer pressure, and relationships. but I had no idea it would be this Scroggins commented, “He was so cool, he made Lisa Floyd states, “I really liked good.” Ms. Urra’s speech because it was The seniors were treated to me want to be Catholic.” Four guest speakers shared so applicable to all of us.” home-cooked food provided by the hotel staff. They also enjoyed parts of their faith journey, and When members of the class the spacious, serene rooms, despite their own personal choices that were asked what their favorite part the fact that they only spent a few changed their lives. These speak- of retreat was, they all responded hours there. ers included Mr. Hollin, Ms. Urra, with the same event: open mic. Trujillo says, “Compared to St. Marks parish’s youth minister Seniors were given the opporlast year, the food was delicious. Bridgit Goedeke, and JC alum Na- tunity to address their classmates The rooms were so nice, I felt like dine McDonald. about any topic of their choice. royalty, or maybe just a rich ÞreMany of the students appreciatSenior Meridith Fell was the Þghter.” ed their teachers’ and mentors’ in- Þrst to step up to the microphone. The various events included sights on subjects such as college, She challenged her classmates to reßect about the other people in the room, asking them if they knew everyone in their class, or even their names. The speakers were slow to volunteer at Þrst, but by the end of the hour and Þve minutes, approximately 40 members of the class of 2006 had said something signiÞcant to their classmates. Some addressed individual friends, thanking them for their support through the years, others asked for forgiveness of their past mistakes, and others simply thanked their class for making these four years so memorable. Both teachers and students were Father Leo kicks through a thick board held by Brett Heller and impressed by the profound comJohn Hawley. He brought his message to life by demonstrating ments made by these 17 and 18 how to physically and spiritually become “Soldiers of Christ.” year olds. Mr. Torres said, “I would have never expected something like that to happen among a group of teenagers. It was crazy.” Debbie Brunson The impact that these speeches Independant Sales Rep had on the senior class was evidenced by the tears shed and the hugs shared. Call to Buy or Sell: The seniors walked out of the 410-803-2299 room different people than when debbiebrunson@comcast.net they had entered. They were more www.youravon.com/dbrunson willing to talk to strangers, rebuild lost friendships, and apologize for their mistakes. Meridith Fell says of the entire retreat experience, “I just hope Larry Wilson that if they take one thing from all ChrabbyMike Tech. *24 years of tutoring experience this, it’s that we’re all the same. 412 Trout Dale Ct. *Any Subject When it gets down to it, we are all Bel Air, Md 21014 *SAT Math prep people with feelings, and we just need to accept each other exactly Phone: 443-243-4263 as we are. I hope we don’t forget what just took place. Ever.” E-mail: lww@chrabbymike.com Photo by Patriot staff

Photo by Patriot staff

Caitlin Keilty News co Editor

AVON

Mathematics Tutoring

Volume 41, Number 4

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Local News

Hamas wins majority in parliament and puts U.S. in bind

Juniors inducted as first -ever student Eucharistic Ministers

On January 25, Hamas, a terror organization aimed at the complete annihilation of Israel, swept the elections in the Middle Eastern state of Palestine. Hamas was elected in a landslide over Fatah. Hamas was able to claim 76 seats in a 136 seat parliament. The United States now has a big problem to deal with, because George Bush has repeatedly said that the U.S. would not deal with any terrorists or countries that did not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation. Now Hamas, a group that does not recognize Israel as a nation, has risen to the Palestine government. Hamas is responsible for the countless attacks on Israel, including suicide bombers. The next question facing the Middle East is whether Hamas will keep to its radical ways or will it take a more middle road.

At the Catholic Schools Week mass on Monday, January 29, eight juniors were inducted as JC’s Þrst ever student Eucharistic Ministers. A brief induction ceremony took place immediately following the homily, in which the students were given certiÞcates and pins, and were ofÞcially named Eucharistic Ministers. The juniors were Kyle Hanratty, Brittany Furst, Emily Lazor, Nicole Devoy, Laura Hottle, Katie Johnson, Alison Steibe, and Kelsey Pospisil. These students were invited to apply as ministers, attended several sessions, and were given a book to read called A Guide for Ministers of Communion. After their induction, they administered communion to the students under the guidance of teacher and faculty Eucharistic Ministers. They were congratulated in an reception held after mass in the Brown room, with breakfast, teachers, family, and friends.

Mr. Miller takes Russian class to Alito appoint- take a look into ed to Supreme Russian history

Court despite Democratic opposition

Judge Alito was sworn into the 110th Supreme Court on January 30th by a vote of 58-42 in the senate. This was only after the Democrat’s Þlibuster Þzzled out. Alito’s peers support the majority of Alito’s decisions, supporting him 94 percent of the time according to JudgeAlito.com. Though his peers support his rulings, he is considered to be a conservative judge which worries many Democrats though he has sound credentials. Though Alito has ruled in favor of pro-life, and ruled to increase the powers of the president during wartime.

Mr. Miller took all Russian classes to the Walter’s Art gallery on Wednesday January 31. The Walter’s Art Gallery has a new exhibit on the Russian city of Novgorod. The city was one of the original cities of Russia and survived the Mongol attacks during the Middle Ages. The exhibit had icons of the city, as well as wooden combs and masks. The city was located in a very dense forest, and they used wood for just about everything. They used wood for buildings as well as roads which created preserved layers of wood. This layering made it very easy for archaeologists in the area. The exhibit is on loan from Russia, and it will only be around for a short while before it goes back to Russia.

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SAC gets school psyched for raffle ticket drive

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to say, “The only time I read magazines are in the gym or in the library.” Many of the family members of JC students feel the same way. With the magazine drive, they had to buy something for the sake of donating to the school. Whereas, with the rafße drive, they can donate money directly to the school with a chance of receiving a prize in return. However, there are some drawbacks to the rafße drive as well, because not everyone will walk away a winner. “With the magazine drive, at least you received something tangible,” says Mr. Johnson, “The rafße is more of a chance.” Even with this criticism, most people Þnd that it was a good change. Mr. Johnson remarks, it was “Good to change it up because the magazine drive was stagnant.” Others such as Hanratty feel that the new drive is a “Good way to raise funds.” Junior Class Vice President Tony Herman adds his opinion saying, “The prizes are pretty sweet.” To drum up support for the rafße drive last year, the organizers of the drive put on a “Day at the Races” in the JC gym. Prizes were awarded as goals were reached, such as the top sellers shaving Mr. Perry’s head. Along with these as-

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As a hand shoots into a mass of rectangular scraps of paper in a large glass bowl, the gym is silent. To a casual observer, these pieces of paper seem worthless, but to the students at JC who scribbled their names on the scraps, those worthless slips could soon turn into an iPod nano or other fabulous prizes. To the students, teachers, family, and friends of JC, the anxiety and excitement associated with the drawing can be enormous. This sort of excitement is what Mrs. Lang, Mrs. Greig, and the SAC are trying to generate. This new heart wrenching, gut churning style of fund raising is a new approach to the school fund raiser which was changed two years ago from a magazine drive to a rafße drive. The SAC this year will act as the advertising agency for the rafße drive, stirring up enthusiasm among the students. Their main advertising strategy will be the kick off assembly which will be held on February 6th. Its goal will be to “Get the school psyched,” according to SAC Vice President Kyle Hanratty. At the opening assembly, four

random names from each grade level will be chosen. These names will not be revealed until the closing ceremony. The people who were chosen will have a chance to win an iPod nano or a gift certiÞcate of equal value if they manage to sell one book of rafße tickets. Some of the SAC reps have seen the rafße ticket drive far superior to the magazine drive. They feel that there are two key points to the rafße ticket drive’s success. First, the rafße ticket drive is still new, and there is a lot of hype still surrounding it. Second, the people who want to donate to the school can do so with out buying a full magazine subscription. For the ßedgling rafße drive, people have mixed feelings about it. Mr. Johnson, SAC moderator, feels that the rafße drive is a more practical alternative to the previous magazine drive saying, “People don’t read magazines anymore,” and that people had no use for magazines. He then goes on

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Joe Christesen News co Editor

JC uses eLocalLink to get name out on Bel Air website Joe Christesen News co Editor

On November 7, a camera crew walked through the halls of JC and, with the help of Mrs. Cathell and Mrs. Brueggemann, managed to capture a broad picture of the life of a JC student. The students were Þlmed in their natural environment, whether that is in the classroom, cafeteria, library, or sports Þeld. The camera crew was from a company called e-LocalLink, which specializes in online video. The company was called in by the town of Bel Air in an attempt to show some of the businesses, churches, schools, and other areas such as Upper Chesapeake and the Bel Air United Methodist Church. JC jumped at the chance to meet with the company and make a commercial that could be seen by anyone who would like to know more about JC. The Þrst step that Mrs. Cathell and Mrs. Brueggemann took was to hire e-LocalLink for a nominal fee. Next, they prepared for their arrival.

Volume 41, Number 4

Mrs. Cathell and Mrs. Brueggamann collaborated and wrote a script that would be read throughout the video and picture clips of life at JC. They also came up with ideas for what they wanted included in the on-line video. With everything in place, e-LocalLink came in and took shots of the students in their everyday setting, the classroom. Since eLocalLink wanted pictures of the sports at JC and there were no teams playing at that time, JC provided them with the still shots of the football team as well as cheerleading, girls cross country, and basketball. Another spot that caught the attention of the camera was the Fine Arts wing. In the video, there are many scenes of students drawing and painting, or working on computers in the TV production room. The reason for the town of Bel Air taking this new initiative is to give “An overview of different things in the Town,” according to Mrs. Cathell. She also believes that with the addition of the videos of various businesses, the website will ßourish. Additionally, the town of Bel Air,

as well as JC, are preparing for the closing of Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. This closing would lead to the repositioning of employees to APG. If this goes through, JC is anticipating an inßux of students to the Harford County area and with this video they can show the potential students what JC is like from the inside out. The other reason for JC participating in this program is that they can send the video to potential students who are looking to transfer to JC. With this, JC can give the potential student an idea of what the atmosphere of JC is and what we have to offer. After the video was posted on the Town of Bel Air website, Mrs. Cathell was able to admire the work and remarked, “They did a good job.” Other people who saw the video had more constructive comments about it. Junior Jill Hughes said, “There was way too much of people studying, we do other stuff besides study at JC.” Although she was critical of the video, she thought, “It was cool that I was in it.”

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semblies, the rafße drive carried on some of the traditions originally set up by the magazine drive. Some of these include out-of-uni-

form days, locker bucks, and a day off of school if there is enough participation in the fund raiser.

Teachers pull full nelson for Annie Cumpston fund Joe Christesen News co Editor

From the time of the Ancient Greeks to present day Bel Air, wrestling has been a form of expressing a man’s dominance over other men. On Friday, February 3, the teachers at JC fought to demonstrate their dominance over each other, and also to raise some money for the Annie McGann Cumpston Scholarship fund. Eight teachers participated in this competition, including Mr. Scholl, Mr. Hollin, Mr. Piercy, Mr. Akers, Mr. Ireton, Mr. Wojo, Mr. Powell, and Mr. Torres. Mr. Scholl felt less than conÞdent about his match. He said, “If I get out of this gym alive, it will be a successful day,” as he was getting ready to take on Mr. Torres. However, Mr. Torres did not arrive on time because of the Senior Retreat. Their match was rescheduled to take place after the varsity game against Edgewood. When asked about Mr. Wojo, Mr. Scholl replied by saying, “That man is insane.” He also went on to say that he had heard a story about how Mr. Wojo bit a man’s ear off. This story has not been conÞrmed. Though the teachers are very competitive, they keep in mind why they are doing this. Mr. Piercy says he only agreed to wrestle because it was for a good cause. Though Mr. Piercy agreed

to participate, he said that he expected to get “shredded” by Mr. Hollin, and in fact he did. With the largest differential in points, Mr. Hollin defeated Mr. Piercy, 15-5. Many spectators commented that there was a huge discrepancy between the skill of the contenders. After the varsity wrestling match, Mr. Scholl and Mr. Torres stepped into the ring, Mr. Scholl wearing wrestling spandex. The match started to a huge ovation, with many of the fans cheering for the older Mr. Scholl. Mr. Scholl even said, “I could be his father.” With this apparent mismatch, Mr. Scholl took his chances in the ring. After one round, the score was 0-0 and Mr. Scholl looked like he could stay in the match. Apparently, just like wine, Mr. Scholl gets better with time. The second round went almost the same, except that Mr. Scholl scored two points for a reversal. It came down to the Þnal period. As the announcer tried to hype up the crowd, Mr. Scholl made his move. He started off slow, but after the announcer announced the 30 second mark, Scholl turned it on. Within 20 seconds he managed to score the only pin of the evening with 10.6 seconds remaining. The crowed went wild. The 56 year old Scholl looked like he was a spry young man and left the gym to a bewildered crowd who was loving every minute of it.

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Literary Tea provides creative outlet for student self-expression The Winter Literary Tea was held in the Brown Room on January 6 to a large audience consisting of parents, teachers, and students, many of whom attended for just a short time while they had a few mods off. The Literary Tea has been held for four years at JC and is the conception of creative writing teacher Mrs. Gezcy. It was created to showcase the writing abilities of her students and has become quite an event. The tea consists of music performances, displays of writing and art around the room, and a plethora of food, along with the oral presentations of pieces that her students have written during the Þrst semester. Since Mrs. Gezcy taught two creative writing classes (she usually teaches just one) last semester, in addition to Þve Independent Study students, there were a large number of students performing. Each student was introduced by the prior reader with a statement about why he or she writes.

Then the student went to the podium and read one or two of his or her works. These included both prose and poetry on all subjects,

from sports to God, and in tones from funny to serious and everything between. Between sets of students, there

were other performances beyond creative writing. Anna Hagan began the presentations with a ßute solo entitled “The Secret of Pan.” Later, Coleman Zurkowski played a piece on the drums which was originally written to be played on the piano entitled, “Tanzen in die Dunkel.” Near the end, Caroline Clark preformed an operatic vocal solo, “Lasciatomi Morire.” Sophomores Claire Sedney, Julie Izer, and Katie Hill from the Forensic team gave an oral presentation of “Alice, Junior Kyle Hanratty browses through a collection of student poems, artwork, and the Red Queen,” short stories. There were several of these books, along with trifolds and postera short skit. boards displaying student works and poems. After all of photo by Neha Prakash

Anne Sedney Assistant Copy Editor

the students had performed, Mr. Scholl and Mr. Barker made some closing remarks. Mr. Scholl talked about how, although he does not write creatively, he does attempt some creative endeavors when he makes such Native American artifacts as moccasins and war shirts. He lavished praise upon the students, saying, “You have shown use that creativity is not just the work of professionals—it is for all of us.” Mr. Barker had similar sentiments. He admitted to being a “dabbler in… the Þne arts” and also expressed “great appreciation for the work of Mrs. Gezcy,” recognizing that not only did she organize the entire Literary Tea, she also emceed it. After the formal presentation was completed, the audience and performers were invited to stay in the Brown Room and partake of the wide variety of cookies, brownies, and other confectionary delights. They were also free to peruse books and display boards that the students had made.

Skiers conquer slopes in Vermont 15 Caitlin Keilty News co Editor

Walking out of their last exams on Thursday, January 19, students throughout JC breathed sighs of relief as they sprinted towards their cars in anticipation of their three-day weekend. Thirty-one students, however, were stuck at school for another hour. They waited in anticipation for a nine-hour bus ride into the cold, sparsely-populated state of Vermont. Their destination was Killington Ski Resort, one of the few popular ski locations in the east. With 148 trails, 19 lifts, and 65 miles of terrain, this mountain attracts more visitors than the local resorts of Roundtop, Liberty, and Whitetail. Excited for the adventures that lay ahead, the group of ski bunnies boarded the bus around noon. They had not even left the school parking lot when the adventures inherent to the ski trip began. Chatting, eating, and laughing, everyone soon ceased their activities and turned their attention towards the sidewalk beside the bus. Harrison Kunkel, the younger brother of juniors Giuliana and Andrew Kunkel, was sprinting after the bus carrying a white grocery bag. The twins had forgotten their lunch and Harrison was attempting to save them from having to fast for the next nine hours. As if the scene was not comical enough, the Hunt Valley coach bus pulled into the shoulder of route

Volume 41, Number 4

22 and Ms. Dombrock jumped off the bus to retrieve the lunches. The bus took off again, and approximately nine hours and two food and bathroom breaks later, the crew arrived at their Þnal destination, the Holiday Inn. The skiers were anxious to unload their bags and relax by the pool, hot tub, or just in their rooms. Many went to sleep early that evening after being told that their phone would ring at 7 a.m. to wake them up. The next morning, the 31 skiers and snowboarders refueled on a continental breakfast feast of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast, and juice. Stuffed from the hearty meal and clothed from head to toe in winter attire, the group boarded the bus. After a thirty-minute drive, they arrived at the mountain and hit the slopes. Senior Meridith Fell was apprehensive about going on the ski trip, but she was conÞdent that she would have an enjoyable time. “I’ve only been skiing twice before, so this should be entertaining,” she said as she put on her boots. Unfortunately, she soon realized that SnoTime had given her two left boots. Her initial reaction was laughter, which soon turned to panic. “This is just my luck!” she exclaimed as she ran around the lodge, one boot on and one boot off. Not surprisingly, Kurt Dunn was given two right boots, which were conveniently enough the

exact same size. Dunn and Fell swapped boots and continued on their way. After a long and hard Þrst day, the tired group made their way up the steep incline to the bus. Upon arrival back at the hotel, the students relaxed in their rooms, eased their muscles in the hot tub, and mingled in the hallways. Saturday on the slopes was the same as the day before. The weather was pleasant enough that many skiers did not even wear a jacket. Senior Lisa Floyd was thankful that the weather had improved in comparison to previous years. “For the Þrst time, I wasn’t freezing to death,” she said. After another exciting day at Killington, the students retreated back to the hotel for their last night in Vermont. The night began as a typical time for rest and relaxation. Around 9:00 p.m., however, the night took an interesting turn. It began when a few of the students that had gathered in the hallway smelled something other than junk food piled high in the rooms. The entire second ßoor, occupied mostly by JC students, reeked of marijuana. Mr. Kachur was the Þrst chaperone on the scene, snifÞng out the situation. The mere mention of marijuana caused an immediate wave of rumors circulating throughout the group. Some of the seniors were especially nervous due to a similar situation that had occurred three years ago. On the ski trip during the win-

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ter of 2003, a group of senior boys smoked pot in their hotel room. The chaperones on the trip caught them and sent them home. The administration then expelled them from school. The six seniors who witnessed this event during their freshman year held their breaths to see if this year would be evidence that history really does repeat itself. It was not long until the chaperones deduced that the smell wafting into the halls originated from room 214, where two teenagers resided who, fortunately, were not JC students. On the last day, the wake up call came an hour earlier, at 6:00 a.m. The skiers boarded the bus and headed to the mountain for one Þnal day on the slopes. The temperature had dropped about 15 degrees overnight, which resulted in a bitter, cold afternoon. The ride home was only interesting because of the movies, or, rather, half movies that were played on the televisions of the bus. The main television at the front of the bus was broken, and therefore only showed half of the screen, from about the actors’ shoulders and below. Other than the ridiculouslypriced lunches, chilly weather, and headless movies, the ski trip was as always an interesting weekend Þlled with mishaps and adventure. When asked if she had fun, junior Kayla Pietruszka responded with a perky, “Of course. I always do,” tossed her snowboard into her car and head home.

Number of hours spent skiing

21

Number of hours spent on bus

24 Number of Vendors at Pow Wow

4,000 dollars raised for St. Labrea

2,000 People who attended the Opening Ceremonies at Pow Wow

150 Dancers at Pow Wow February 2006


Features

9

Claire Bronis Features co Editor

photo photoby byCLaire Claire Bronis Bronis

Webster’s dictionary deÞnes it as “a spelling contest group, although pretty limited to Asian and Indian in which contestants are eliminated as soon as they mis- children, are the main competitors in the Scripps spell a word,” a representative from the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. These kids go to ridiculous Foundation describes it as “a competition held in rounds lengths to study for the yearly Bee: they study etyto see who can spell the hardest words,” critics mology, memorize dictionaries, and even take steof it say “it’s really a waste of intel- roids. ligence,” advocates declare Yes, that’s right. These super-spellers can bust out that they “train children those strings of letters like they do because they’re to be more persistent, juiced. Judges of the bee suspect the youngsters’ conÞdent and calm abilities to spell bee-favorites like autochthonous, under stressful situpenultimate, schwarmerei, and pococurante are parations,” while a tially drug-induced. CNN news report Denver Rocky Mountain News reporter Katie asserts that it is “a McCrimmon said of the start of drug testing in the highly competitive spelling world, “This is a dark day for this sport.” American sport.” But would JC students actually be able to spell No matter how one-syllable toughies like “freind” and “geuss” betyou classify a ter if they were on steroids? Probably not. spelling bee, one at A parent of a former speller laments, “We have JC would go a little lost a generation of high school students to bad something like this: spellings because of moAnnouncer: First bile phones.” word-- refrigerator. Elizabeth KuizMr. Paaby’s Webster’s Third Speller: R-e-f-r-i-d-g-o-r-a-t-o-r” enga, a memNew International Dictionary, A: I’m sorry, that’s incorrect. Next speller, cleverly nicknamed named “Big ber of the Bertha”, contains more than 2663 please. Society for pages. JC students might want to look S: R-e-f-r-i-d-g-e-r-a-t-o-r SimpliÞed up how to spell the following words... A: I’m sorry. Next speller. Spelling of S: R-e-f-r-i-d-g-e-a-t-o-r the English A: Sorry. Next please. Language, S: R-e-f-r-i-g-i-d-r-a-t-o-r asserts that A: I’m sorry. “there is S: R-e-f-r-i-d-g… also emA: Next! pirical eviSadly, all of these variations on the correct dence that “refrigerator” are actual spellings given by children’s JC students on an anonymous spelling quiz. conÞdence Only thirteen percent of the students surveyed in their sense spelled all ten out of ten words right, and half of logic is of them got six or less correct. seriously un*these are actual spellings of words given by JC students on This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who dermined by an anonymous spelling quiz already knows that JC’s average SAT score has less our illogical spellthan four digits or even to anyone who is acquainted with ings. Indeed, many chilmore than one of our very gifted students. dren just give up on school altogether as a The truth is this: JC-ers don’t stack up to a bunch of result. The prisons are full of people with literacy eight- to twelve-year-old spellers. problems.” While this may seem like a grim reality, another So what does this mean? That you will probably truth is that these eight to twelve year-olds are among be convicted of one or more felonies before the year the world’s most fantastic spellers, comparable only to is through if you don’t start studying Merriam Webmiddle-aged British scholars. The reason is that this age ster daily. Another tip that might keep you out of trouble: Remember, i before e except after c.

- definatly - wierd - rasseberry - vacume - potatoe

Happy February! Looking for reasons to celebrate this February besides Valentines Day? Try some of these... Wild Bird Feeding Month

Ralph Nader turns 72 (27th)

John Steinbeck’s Birthday (27th) School Counselors Week

Bake For Family Fun Month

Library Lovers Month

Z

Z

Z Z Z Z

This is a close-up shot of a random object somewhere in JC. Know what it is? Email submissions to jcpatriot@gmail.com

Banana Bread Day (23rd) pancake week Nat’l Gum Drop Day (15th)

Rick James’ Birthday (1st)

Volume 41, Number 4

A teacher drones on and on The best way for a student to about a war that happened be- Þght off sleep during their Þrst fore your grandparents were three-mod class is very obviborn. Another teacher explains ous: get enough sleep the night the conjugation of a word you before. doubt you’ll ever use. Your eyes Sleep experts say that bebecome heavy and the cause of biological changes in teacher’s caffeine-futeenagers’ bodies, they need at eled sermon has now minimum nine and a quarter become the chant of the hours of sleep each night sandman. while the average sleep You have two choices: mudtime during the school dle through the tempweek for an American tation of falling asleep teenager is around six hours. in class or take a nap This means that most of us in the comfort of your would have to go to bed around textbook. If you 8:45 each night. Often times, decide upon the because of late extracurricular second choice, activities, practices, and games, then you might many of us don’t get home unmiss important informatil after 9:00. tion and risk the chance A well-balanced breakfast, of getting a detention. “the most important meal of Students around the school the day,” early in the morning have once or twice will help you appear in school found themselves bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. sitting in a class Even a quick breakfast is better where they more then none at all. than likely wanted to be at If you do Þnd yourself in a home sleeping. However, they class where you have not gothave special ways to keep these ten enough sleep and have not thoughts of sleep out of their had your daily dose of Starminds. bucks, there are simpler steps Sophomore Jennifer Young you could take. Junior Madisaid, “lots of caffeine will help son Lundon suggests doodling keep a person awake.” while still paying attention. Caffeine, while not the best Always remember, if you do remedy in making a student the fall asleep in a class, just try not most attentive, will fulÞll the job to snore. of keeping the student awake. If a student can leave home early enough, he or she can stop at Safeway, which is not even a mile away from the school, and buy an extralarge Starbucks coffee to start the day. Junior Tim Webster struggles to stay awake in class. Too bad teachers don’t accept narcolepsy as an excuse.

Guess the object!

Sinus Pain Awareness Month Michael Bolton Flirting Week turns 53 (26th) National Heart Health Month

Henry Basta Staff Writer

photo by CLaire Bronis

Grapefruit Month

Umbrella Month

Sleep deprived students catch some Z’s in class

photo by Ali Steibe

Students go through bad spell

The

Patriot

February 2006


features

10

Patty Hearst lives here. Curious?

There are only so many things to do in Churchville: brush up on your game of minigolf, pick up a delicious chili dog at the Arctic Circle, catch a late night movie at the now-defunct Big M drive-in, or, ummm, go to church. But for those who can spot quirky locations with the same perspicacity of a hawk looking for its prey, the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop might have caught their attention. I Þrst learned about the quirky antique shop after junior Brendan Gauthier purchased a tandem bike (one of those goofy bikes with two seats and two sets of pedals) from the store. At Þrst glance it brings to mind that house at the intersection of 152 and Harford Rd that avidly decorates for every holiday right down to Groundhog’s Day, or it might remind those of us who are more cultured of a ride through the neighborhoods of Dundalk. The shop is a small blue hut less than a mile after Churchville mini golf. It’s front lawn is littered with quirky childrens’

toys, antique pitchforks and hubcaps, eccentric bird houses and feeders, and my personal favorite, a worn, blue Exlax “the safe chocolated laxative” poster. The shop opened in the summer of 1973 after Norwich, Connecticut native Bob “It’s French” Rioux “just collected too many things and needed to get rid of them.” The

Volume 41, Number 4

Chuchville resident Bob Rioux has owned the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop since 1973. The quirky antique shop offers all kinds of tchockies such as some of the vintage collectors’ items pictured below.

small building had previously been a private residence, a beauty parlor, a music store, a grocery store, and now an antique store. The store offers collectors’ items from over 50,000 years ago to items from the early ‘90s. Some of our favorite items included a deformed skull of a 16 year old Indian girl used for Grey’s Anatomy and a 1974 “Wanted” poster for Patty Hearst, granddaughter of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, after she participated in an urban guerilla terrorist brain washed induced bank robbery. While Rioux says that the most expensive thing he has ever sold was an 1834 sampler worth $1,200, the thing he most regrets in life is selling a 1935 Sky Ranger wind-up toy which has gained $650 in worth. “They just don’t do workmanship like that anymore,” he says. His most sold items are Coca-Cola memorabilia, and the store’s walls are decorated with Coca-Cola pins, antique bottles, and signs. Rioux purchases most of his items from ßea markets, auctions, and people who come in to sell him some of their collections, but he says that he doesn’t have to go often because of his surplus of… “stuff.” Rioux says that in his free time he enjoys learning about his “stuff” and sleeping, and if he wasn’t an antique store owner he would enjoy being an archaeologist or paleontologist. When asked about his philosophy on life, he says that he loves the Beatles’ song “Yesterday” and that the rest of it can be found on a poster “somewhere over there,” that simply says, “Just sit by the road and be a friend to man.”

photos by Claire Bronis

The

photo by Claire Bronis

Claire Bronis & Emily Lazor Features co Editors

“Fashion,” from page 1

warmers. Contrasting the clean-cut style of the jean skirt with bright, multicolored tights allows for a different type of look. Add in a fun, patterned or textured hat with furred, ankle length boots to throw in a splash of urbanity. The functionality of the outÞt is that the jean skirt and color of the tights holds for a spring look. However, the tights and the boots will keep your legs warm during cold nights. Rule number Two: It has always been said that less is more, but when it comes to the new look, using more layers provides for a more stylish and comfortable style. Wear a lacey, sparkled, or jeweled camisole under a sheer, v-necked, long sleeve shirt to create the illusion of elegance. However, the numerous layers are good to keep you warm when the weather drops, but are lightweight enough to keep you cool on a sunny day. Also, pairing a logo or vintage tshirt with a button-up blazer gives off an air of sophistication, while providing the added comfort of just wearing a t-shirt. The blazer multitasks as a jacket for the breezy evenings. If you are completely clueless about the events or weather of the day, throw on a short-waisted, bright colored cardigan that can be removed for a hot day or kept on during the evening hours. The secret to the season’s look is to drape a skinny, patterned scarf over any sweater or t-shirt to add warmth and drama to a regularly blasé outÞt. The key to this rule is mixing colors, because spring is all about them, while winter is all about the layers. Rule number Three: Go big and bold with the accessories and hair, but keep the make-up fresh and delicate. In the accessories category, wear chunky bracelets and pendant necklaces OR dangling earrings. Make sure to not overdo the jewelry. Fit the jewelry to the exposed parts of your body. If you are wearing a deep neck shirt, then wear a long necklace to accentuate the neckline. However, nix the earrings and bracelet to refrain from looking tacky. Also, spice up a loose Þtting outÞt with a structured brown belt. The belt should have brass studding or a pattern. The beneÞt of a belt is to create the illusion of a longer torso or longer legs. If you wrap the belt higher up from the waist, then you immediately give the effect of long legs, or

Patriot

wear it lower to make your torso long and lean. The shoe department is a tricky category. It’s too early to throw on the ßip-ßops, but too late to continue wearing boots. Instead, slip into a pair of cute, colorful, and sparkly ballet ßats. Flats look good with all styles of clothing and will keep your feet warm and are deÞnitely more comfortable than heels. If you lack height and feel uncomfortable with ßats, then buy a pair of “semi-ßats.” These shoes still appear to be ballet-styled but have the added chunk heel to give some extra height. This way, you can appear taller but still get away with the look. The hairstyle that is revolutionizing runways these days is the “elevated comb-up.” Its inspiration stems from The OC’s Mischa Barton. The hairdo has spread to red carpets and has recently been spotted on Reese Witherspoon at the 2006 Golden Globes. The key to the look is wearing your hair partly up and pushing the front portion into a bump. The hairstyle is a chic and sleek way to elongate your face. The make-up section of your outÞt is all about the tones. Never stress more than one feature at a time. Apply a vivid colored eye-shadow or lip gloss OR pile on the eyeliner for a dramatic appearance. Always remember to keep your face fresh and clean because that’s what spring is all about. For the guys, the same rules apply. Wear layers by using ßeeces and corduroy jackets. Also, incorporate bright colors of spring by wearing bright colored pants. The best way to individualize a look is to add simple, rugged jewelry. For example, hemp bracelets and necklaces with a single charm is a unique addition to the normal t-shirt and jeans. The biggest mistake seen in guys lately has been the over gelled, ßipped up bangs. Unfortunately, this style died out when we graduated from middle school. Instead, keep the hair messy and shaggy. However, the warning is that you do not want to resemble a sheep dog. Keep the shag under control so the girls can still admire your eyes! Remember to embrace the changing seasons and the changing fashion. Have fun with colors, patterns, and styles, but never go overboard. Most of all, stay comfortable and classy, Bel Air.

February 2006


features

11

Students Share secret talents those who couldn’t think of any or merely don’t have talents that “I deÞnitely don’t want to share with everyone through the newspaper” decided to take the artistic liberty to claim some of their innate abilities as unusual talents. “I can get the ladies like none other,” says sophomore Brandon Collins conÞdently. Senior Chris Susio not so conÞdently comments, “I’m balding at seventeen.” Speaking of balding, some of the older members of the John Carroll community have special talents as well. That’s right, teachers. Mr. Couchman has Junior Kari Patchak demonstrates one a rather special hobby of her own secret talents by flipping known as spelunking, or through the air. While many cheerleadcaving. He also added ers learn these skills, some are born that one of his and his naturally talented. photo by Mary Etting

Everyone, well for the most part, has legs. But only some can stick them behind their head with great ease. Everyone has watched a goldÞsh won at the John Carroll fair swim around a makeshift peanut butter container Þshbowl. But only some can claim that they’ve swallowed one, regurgitated it back up, and then placed it back in the Þsh bowl to continue to nibble on its parsley tropical plants. These are the people who hide their true talents from the world like eight year old boys hiding underdeveloped frogs stolen out of pool Þlters in their pants. But like an omniscient mother, I decided that I would be the one to beat the frogs out of my fellow students’ pants. And by that I mean Þnd out their secret talents. Immediately after I announced to one of my friends that I was writing an article about secret

talents, she proclaimed, “Go Þnd Emily Hyson! She can talk with her mouth completely closed. I don’t know it just comes out of her throat!” And amazingly senior Emily Hyson could recite the entire alphabet audibly with just her throat. And onward I went to Þnd junior Tim Webster who can hum and whistle at the same time and freshman Chelsea Baumgardner who is fully capable of the 1980s break dance maneuver “the worm.” Secret talents that one can bust out at parties and/or awkward situations seem to be popular amongst the student body, as junior Vinnie Lidie is peer proclaimed as the limbo champion of the tri-state area as he has frequently beat out level Þve gymnasts and four year old boys whose bones and cartilage haven’t even fully developed. The best part is that he is 6’3’’. When I was “beating” these interesting talents out of people in the hallway, library, or cafeteria,

photo by Mary Etting

Emily Lazor Features co Editor

wife’s Þrst dates was a spelunking trip. “It was quite romantic,” he says. “I’m a sister, isn’t that unusual?” asks Sister Mary Anne. She also has a unique artistic talent: she enjoys painting on silk. Some of her pieces can be seen as the backgrounds on her student website. Mr. Shupe can play “Swanee River,” the ofÞcial song of the state of Florida, with spoons, while Mr. Schick is an expert in the Þeld of fueling members of The Patriot with Smarties and Dum-dums. While most of the talents that I discovered are considered more developed qualities rather than innate ones, it was at least gratifying to see my interviewees’ faces light up in pure glee when describing. Nothing is quite comparable to seeing junior Susie Horn’s face after explaining that, “when I’m in the mood I can take off my socks and roll them into a ball with my feet!”

Disney gets its head in the game Leslie Fox Contributing Writer

My assignment was simple: watch the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” and write an article about it. To say I was enthused by receiving this particular newspaper assignment would be a lie. Actually, to say I was even remotely happy would be a complete overstatement. It’s not that I thought “High School Musical” would be a bad movie because everything I had heard about it told me that I should expect nothing less than greatness. “I love the music so much, and I walk around singing it all the time,” my friend, junior Elizabeth Krempa gushed one day, “You’re going to love it.” Walk down the hallway, and you can hear the most unexpected people singing the movie musical’s lyrics. “I watch it every time it’s on, it’s kind of sad,” said sophomore Marissa McDonald Junior Caroline Volker agrees adding that, “my whole French class sings High School Musical songs when we’re writing exercises on the board.” This movie was all people could sing and talk about. I trusted my friends opinions, but the problem was that I’ve been let down by the Disney Channel before. Gone are the days of brand new “Even Stevens” episodes and “Lizzie Maguire” before Hillary Duff became, well, the Hillary Duff. Now all us viewers are left with are B-list shows that recycle plot lines and all share the same, special after school messages over and over. While I know not everyone shares

Volume 41, Number 4

my views on the network’s choice of programs, it’s hard for me to keep a straight face and say that movies like “The Cheetah Girls” are worth the time to watch. After much reluctance on my part I did a little research, paid my 12 year old neighbor 10 bucks with a promise to help her with her math homework for her taped copy of the movie, and spent my night off from work watching “High School Musical.” After a slow start where I began to think that the only high point of the movie was going to be the attractive lead actor, I shockingly became impressed. It seemed, after what felt like millions of tries, the Disney Channel had Þnally found a movie worth banking on. The musical comedy that is “High School Musical” stars Zac Efron (of the WB’s Summerland) as Troy Bolton, a popular, prodigy basketball player and Vannesa Anne Hudgens as Gabriella Montez, a shy, smart transfer student. The two meet on vacation at a ski lodge and discover they both have a gift and love for singing after being chosen randomly for a karaoke contest. Upon returning to school both teenagers slip into their predetermined “jock” and “brainiac” cliques, but later secretly sign up to audition for the school musical. This somehow manages to severely disrupt East High’s distinct social boundaries and send both their peers, especially self proclaimed theatre star twins Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) Evans, and Troy’s father, who plays a dual role as Troy’s basketball coach, into an uproar. Everyone joins in the effort to

sabotage our heroes and return the school back to its original status quo - cliques and all. Actually the song, “Stick to the Status Quo,” was a fan favorite featuring solos sung on cafeteria tables by members of every possible clique. Basketball “jock” Zeke sings about how there’s “nothin’ but net when I am in a zone and on a roll,” but also that, “Someday I hope to make the perfect crème brulee” referring to his secret love of baking. Its classy plotlines like these that are featured throughout the

“I love to pop and lock and jam and break!” - Disney’s High School Musical

movie, as in every moment of tension Zeke would pull out a random baked goods out of his basketball warm up pants. Two other solos in the song include a female “brainiac” who also loves to “pop and lock and jam and break,” and a Disney proclaimed “skater dude” who has a hankering for cello playing. “High School Musical” gives a fresh look to a used plot line and gained a large fan base in the process. During my pre and post movie watching research I stumbled upon quite a few communities dedicated to the movie’s

The

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stars and the movie itself. I had actually become so dedicated to this assignment that I, for research purposes only, even joined a Zac Efron community. Here, at “DedicatedtoZac”, the girls fought about who was going to marry the young star, whether or not he was dating his co-star Hudgens and debated which look suited him more: his “Summerland” look or his “Musical” look. It was an in depth debate, I assure you. One fan of both Efron and the movie, Zaclover223, claimed to have watched the movie a record 22 times. The dedication of the fans surprised me, but I Þgure it shouldn’t have. The week that “High School Musical” debuted on Disney Channel, Nielsen Media Research reported that it ranked number one and two for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks. “Musical” beat out a brand new episode of fan favorite “Monk” and children favorites like “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Fairly Odd Parents.” That’s no small feat. Neither is having Þve songs from the movie’s soundtrack in the top ten most downloaded I-tunes. “Breaking Free” and “Get’cha Head in the Game” are one and three respectively, beating out mainstream hits like Beyonce’s “Check On It” and Nelly’s “Grillz,” a song about ridiculously priced gold and diamond adorned teeth molds sported by rappers like Mike Jones. “I don’t Þnd it that surprising,” junior John Hussar responded when asked if he was surprised at the soundtrack’s success. “The movie had fun energetic songs that everyone in the family would enjoy and get up to dance to while

also containing slow ballads with exceptional vocals.” While the musical wasn’t received well by critics (seriously though, what Disney movies ever are?) it has become a popular hit with teenagers and families across the country and John Carroll students as well. Every place you turn people are singing the songs, gushing over the attractive cast, or just talking about the movie in general. “I couldn’t escape it,” junior Matt Ebner told me. “It was everywhere you turned. Somebody was always talking about it.” Though through “High School Musical” Disney may be showing a more relatable, cooler side of them, they are still making sure to relate those valuable, inspirational themes that can teach all of us a lesson - it wouldn’t be Disney if they didn’t. As Troy and Gabriella Þght to follow their dreams they inspire their classmates to do their same and viewers in the process. “I’ve already decided to move to NYC,” junior Ryan DeVoe explained to me after being asked if he found the musical inspirational, “So it didn’t affect me much, but for younger kids, I think it would really encourage them.” However, for those of you who think “High School Musical” is just for the “theatre kids” or the younger crowd, it’s not. Junior Laura Hottle remarked that what she liked best about the movie was that it was entertaining for her whole family. It’s a movie for all ages and all different types of people. “Even for people who can’t relate to what high school musicals are all about,” Elizabeth Krempa explained,“I think it was something everyone could enjoy.”

February 2006


features

12 Student gains pain, not wisdom Jared Drewen Editorials co Editor

photo by Claire Bronis

The third molars, wisdom teeth, God’s curse upon all who spent money at the orthodontist. Whatever the name, these teeth are a source of pain for many. Towards the end of high school, many students deal with these teeth coming in, the last set of teeth to ever come into their mouth and usually the most painful. For many years, parents of orally-disadvantaged children (almost everyone) have crowded their kids into the minivan or SUV and taken them down to the orthodontist. Then, after thousands and thou-

sands of our would-be college tuition fund is paid so we may smile conÞdently, something terrible happens. It starts innocently: your dentist mentions that he or she sees wisdom teeth coming in. You go back six months later, and they mention that they’ll take another look in six more months. You return, a year after this realization that your wisdom teeth were coming in, which—don’t get

your hopes up—does not mean you are smart in the slightest, and get one more x-ray. “We’ll refer you to an oral surgeon so you may get your wisdom teeth removed,” remarks the dentist. Your heart sinks as you imagine the waterfall of blood that will be pouring out of your face, which in turn will be swollen to the size of a basketball. I recently underwent this surgery. I spent the days right after Christmas recovering from his surgery The surgery was not quite as bad as many people make it out to be. The actual day of my surgery was December 28 and it has, for all intents and purposes, been erased from my memory. The only thing I can remember is going to the dentist, having something pumped into me through a needle in my left arm, and then waking up at around 8:00 PM with blood spattered on my old t-shirt. For the next week and a half, painkillers and antibacterial medications were served with every meal, a total of three pills per meal, and kept me from experiencing the pain that would have gone along with the surgery. All I could feel was a dull ache in my jaws, which was annoying, but also nothing close to the pain I would have felt without the painkillers. The dentist gave me a time frame of three to Þve days for re-

covering enough to begin doing anything strenuous, such as going out with friends. By the third day, I felt ready enough to go out, so I did. My friends and I went to a restaurant, where I could eat nothing but mashed potatoes and soup with no meat in it. Now wisdom tooth-less, I was able to celebrate the New Year with a few friends. It was a relatively quiet New Years for me, as I was unable to shout or make much noise with my mouth without causing profuse bleeding, nor was I able to jump around in jubilee for the same reason. The Þrst few days back to school saw daily lunches of pudding snacks, jell-o, and applesauce. By the second day back, I had gone exactly a week without eating anything more substantial than a milkshake. Thursday night, eight days after his surgery, I decided that enough was enough; I would eat something real. My Þrst solid food was a stale cookie, saved from Christmas for this precise moment. As I nibbled at the cookie, I thought about how great it felt to actually chew something, and how every day people take for granted their ability to chew solid foods. And then I stopped thinking, took a fantastic leap of faith, and shoved the solid cookie in my mouth. From that point forward, it was nothing but solid foods for me. Currently, I am completely back to normal, with the exception of four tiny holes in the back of my mouth that will heal over with time. So what is the silver lining to getting your wisdom teeth out? I’d have to say that it is bet- ter than having your teeth grow in crooked into your molars, causing one to have all of their teeth removed. An operation that might cause them to eat mash potatoes for a little bit longer than aforementioned.

Where in the world is...

Match these teachers to their hometowns!

1. Miss Dombrock 2. Mr. Appleby 3. Mrs. JK 4. Mr. Iacchei 5. Mrs. Fisher 6. Dr. Gallen 7. Mr. Kell 8. Mr. Shupe 9. Mr. Schick 10. Mrs. Markel

a. Latham, NY b. Charleston, WV c. Toledo, OH d. Oak Lawn, IL e. Palmyra, PA f. Louisville, KY g. Fries, VA h. Apple Valley, MN i. Philadelphia, PA j. Providence, RI

Answers: 1 - h, 2 - a, 3 - f, 4 - j, 5 - c, 6 - i, 7 - e, 8 - g, 9 - d, 10 - b Volume 41, Number 4

The

Patriot

Cupid gets stupid Kelsey Brannick Staff Writer You’ve heard it all. To those that despise establishment, Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark holiday, a day fabricated by money-grubbers at the candy and card factory who decided they desired a higher profit, so they tricked billions into buying useless trinkets for their sweethearts for a holiday that is in fact Þctitious, therefore producing immediate monetary re-

sults from the gullible populace. It’s a day that signiÞes love in its most unworthy form, through the giving and receiving of ßimsy cards saying “Be Mine,” most likely made from non eco-friendly materials. Although the holiday seems unfriendly to many, everyone has a special way to embrace this day of love. To those that love to hate, Valentine’s Day is a day Þlled with pathetic attempts to fulÞll false pretenses that maybe they, too, could one day be in a shortlived, conÞdence-depleting high school relationship, if only they had bought the one they had their eye on a stuffed bear or chocolate candies. It drains the happiness of the average person, and at its best is a completely futile and utterly useless waste of a perfectly good day in February. To those that love to love, Valentine’s Day is a beautiful explosion of all things pink and red, things that emanate courtship, that shout love from the rooftops, as young lovers dance in the streets, praise each other’s names on high, and roses of brilliant pink ßoat gaily from the heavens and land on their little, loving noses. It is a day that bottles up everything right in the world, everything caring, everything adoring, and everything lovely. To those that are history buffs, the act of choosing a Valentine is not in any way related to St. Valentine, a priest of Rome who was imprisoned and later beheaded for releasing imprisoned Christians. This day is in reference to an ancient relic, the Roman Lupercalia,

or from association with the mating season of birds. In actuality, Valentine’s Day is in cohorts with mating birds, which typically is not the most prominent of thoughts while enduring Valentine’s Day festivities. In reality, bird mating is virtually never on the minds of the vengeful, the hateful, the loving, or even the historians. Different Valentine’s Day

celebrations vary to the polar opposites as much as human feelings range across the emotional spectrum. The more sensitive type might Þnd happiness in a box of tissues, a pint of high-calorie ice cream, and a sappy Lifetime movie. Crying, whining, and wallowing in self-pity may serve as one typical Valentine’s Day, into Valentine’s Day night. The most predictable Valentine’s Day includes little postcards with cutesy rhymes or sayings strewn across them, the giving and receiving of candy grams, and a date. Oh, the Valentine’s Day date; the awkwardness, the inescapability, the gas station ßower bouquets. Who could resist the glory of the Valentine’s Day date? Others opt for encircling themselves with their same gender, and ensuing in a race to see who can complain about the opposite sex more. Common phrases include, but are not limited to, “I don’t need them to be happy,” “I’d much rather hang out with you guys,” and “I don’t have time for a relationship anyway.”

The everpopular strategy of paying no heed to Valentine’s Day is also prominent, as some may say that “ignorance is bliss.” Keeping busy with errands, sports, or friends may serve to completely extricate any thought of the holiday from one’s mind. But if the holiday is ever brought forth into one’s mind who uses this form of Valentine’s Day behavior, then that person will be immediately forced to succumb to the tissues, ice cream, and Lifetime movie. This is part of the vicious cycle of Valentine’s Day. Pick your poi-

February 2006


Entertainment 13 Tristan and Isolde: PG-13

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his own son. He shows more love and devotion to Tristan than to his own biological son, Melot. This event proves destructive to Briton. Tristan grows to become a very Þerce warrior, practically invincible. Although he kills the best Irish warrior, he is injured in the process with the man’s poison-ridden sword, which paralyzes him and puts him into a coma. Tristan is given a king’s ceremony where he is laid in a boat which is lit on Þre and left to ßoat away. Isolde, the princess of Ireland, Þnds the boat on her own shore and hides Tristan. Isolde gives Tristan a wrong name to protect herself. Of course the two fall in love. After she nurses him back to health, Tristan returns to Briton. Lord Marke receives news that the Irish king is holding a tournament and the prize is his daughter, Isolde. Tristan wins Isolde for Lord Marke. Then, they both realize the mistake. Isolde and Tristan can never be together. Even after attempting to end the relationship between the two, they can’t resist and Tristan and Isolde decide to see each other secretly. This decision proves to be destructive to the now-united kingdom. The Irish use the affair against the British king, Marke, and the attacks begin again. The love between Tristan and Isolde destroys the found unity. Their love destroys the peace which was created through the marriage of Isolde to Lord Marke. Lord Marke’s love for Tristan destroys his own son’s faith in himself. And because of this loss of self-esteem, the son makes an unintelligent decision and allows the enemy into the British stronghold. So as not to give away the ending, this event causes other dramatic events, which are not pretty or happy.

The tragic ending is what makes the movie worth something. Sure I wanted everything to end up perfectly and for everything to turn out happily ever after. On second thought, the happily ever after ending would be terrible. This movie takes a different road than most, which is why I respect it as a great work. It is worth a trip to your local discount theater-- maybe not worth the nine dol- lars at Regal or Lowe’s.

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Everyone has seen or at least heard of those “Scary Movie” Þlms which are parodies of horror Þlms. Now knocking on your door is a new romance parody Þlm “Date Movie.” In the Þlm, Julia Jones meets the man of her dreams, Grant Fonckyerdoder. The movie is a compilation of many Þlms including “The Wedding Planner” and “Meet the Parents.”

Eight Below Rated: PG

Nicole Richie and Paris Hilt on end their friendship. And they were spotted in Bel Air. rad iston and B Jennifer An ter ” olie Angelina J rry Pot . . a p u H lit “ sp t h it d t P Four niston. lease e r s a replaces A film w Martha Stewart gets out of jail after five Britney Spears becomes months. a new mother. Carrie U wins s nderwood t guilty for eason Michael Jackson no five o “Ame arges. f rican child molestation ch Idol.”

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The

Freedomland Rated: R

Walt Disney Picture’s new Þlm “Eight Below” is based on the true story of three scientists on an expedition in Antarctica. A snowstorm separates scientist Jerry Shepard from his sled dogs. Because of his loyalty to the dogs, Shepard decides to Þnd them. Of course this is easier said than done. Take your little sister to this one to get her out of your hair.

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The timeless theme that love can overcome all our problems is commonly used in movies. Just look at a few of the most recent Þlms: “Wedding Crashers,” “Pride and Prejudice,” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” These Þlms all contain the theme of the good power of love. In “The Wedding Crashers,” love plays a very important role in the end of the movie. And yes this movie does have a happy ending. In “Pride and Prejudice,” Darcy is able to look past Elizabeth’s low social class because of his love for her. And Þnally, in “The Chronicles of Narnia,” Aslan’s love for his kingdom causes him to sacriÞce himself to defeat the white witch. Frankly, this theme is overused and abused. However, I was able to Þnd a Þlm without this trite theme, “Tristan and Isolde.” The Þlm, which sidesteps the cliché ending, shows the destructive nature of love and its ability to bring down a country and destroy a life rather than the more positive effect of love. Now I will say that the acting was not the best I have seen. It was more of a beauty choice for actors rather than a talent choice. However, the story overpowered this weakness of acting and I ultimately found it entertaining. The story is set in the thirteenth century before the myth of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. As a true tragedy which can be equated with “Romeo and Juliet,” the movie provoked many tears throughout the theater. The Irish, more powerful than the divided kingdom of Briton, continually attack the British in order to take the entire island. In an attempt to Þnally end Ireland’s ruthless attacks on the divided Briton, British kings unite the country against them. They elect Lord Marke as the king of United Briton. In the attack, Tristan’s parents are killed and Lord Marke adopts him as

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**

This drama contains a racial theme. A white woman blames the death of her son on a black man who lives in the projects. However, after investigating the murder, a black detective and a white news reporter discover that the accusation just might not be true. The movie keeps viewers on their feet (Þguratively, of course).

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14

Chris Anderson Design Editor

The sounds of battle echo throughout the realm of technology. The 1980’s saw VHS and Betamax clash – the most famous of all wars. The battle over conquering the consumer and the producer and as a result ruling the market has been fought before, and as of today it is all-out warfare between two new armies: Blu-ray and HD DVD. While many have a blissful ignorance towards this war, which we are already in the thick of, it will determine the very future of that which is most vital: the method by which we watch our entertainment is at stake. On one side of this battle comes the Blu-ray Disc Association. The

BDA’s sole aim is to restock store shelves with its Blu-ray, over the obsolete Digital Versatile Disc, commonly referred to as the DVD. Its opponent, High DeÞnition DVD, has the same intention in mind. What separates these two formats is minute, but enough to make the two bitter enemies. The Blu-ray appears to be the format currently winning the war. It also appears, on the outside, to be the better of the two options. It can hold more space; a dual-layered disc, essentially two discs in one, can hold 50 gigabytes (GB). For comparison, DVDs can store about 5 GB. The Blu-ray, as well as the HD DVD, guarantees a better video resolution – an appeal to everyone with a big high deÞnition TV set. The Blu-ray guarantees that it

Brokeback Mountain challenges American views on homosexuality “Brokeback,” from page 1

and understanding for the plight of homosexuals, but does not advocate homosexual lifestyles in any form. Our school’s declared standpoint on any issue, however, is not in any way to be forced upon its students. Students are free to form their own opinions about any issue, regardless of JC’s Catholic identity. While some of us are extremely supportive and empathetic when it comes to homosexual rights, some others have developed strong feelings against the issue, citing the immorality of homosexual relationships in a variety of contexts, be they religious, biological, or otherwise. “They are still people and should be treated as such,” said sophomore Kerry Biondo. “They don’t choose to be the way they are; they were created that way.” Some students have developed their standpoints based on their personal experiences and relationships. “I have a lot of friends who are homosexual, and I think they should have the same rights as me,” said one senior. Other students took a slightly difference stance. “The world was made for Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” said junior Tony Herman, citing a popular cliché. Junior Caitlin Averill voiced her idea of a reasonable compromise on gay marriage in particular, saying, “I do believe that the state should recognize gay marriage, but a religion should be allowed to deny gay marriage, because in many cases marriage is a sacrament: where a man and woman unify, and God is the one who uni-

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Þes them.” Broadening her assessment, she said that “in many cases a person can’t control their sexual preference and should not be criticized for it.” Junior Allison Grimmel took a similar viewpoint, saying, “They should have equal rights but not allowed to celebrate the sacrament [of marriage].” “Brokeback Mountain” has taken its stance on homosexual rights and has tried to relay its message on to society. It is more than just a Þlm about a gay love affair. It is a bold and daring attempt to tear down the walls of apathy that have been established around the opponents of gay rights by giving an up-close and deeply personal perspective on a speciÞc case of homosexuality. This Þlm forces the viewer to throw away any predisposition about the incorrectness of homosexuality and to actually experience the intricate workings of a profound relationship between two men. The movie does not have the sole purpose of providing justiÞcation for or proving the correctness of homosexuality. It seeks to necessitate empathy from those who have never yielded such before, and to coerce its viewers to give honest consideration to those who struggle with being different. It seeks to show its viewers that homosexuals are not just hormonally-confused “queers,” but rather that they are real people with real feelings and real desires, and that they struggle with those feelings just as much, if not more, than anyone else. It compels the viewer to understand that even though homosexuality may be wrong, it is no one’s place to put blame upon anyone.

can hold more space than the HD DVD, which may be frightening to the consumer since it almost guarantees a higher cost. However, Blu-ray boasts support from many leading technology superpowers. A project spearheaded by none other than Sony has gained allies in Apple, Dell, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Samsung as well as gaining support from movie companies such as Walt Disney. HD DVD, whose architect is Toshiba, sees its support somewhat smaller, but it has a trump card in Microsoft possibly pledging full support to the HD DVD format. If that happens, the face of this war could be dramatically altered. Microsoft has already announced a HD DVD will be available as an add-on for its Xbox 360 video game console sometime in 2006. Sony plans to respond by making its upcoming and highly anticipated Playstation 3 console a Blu-ray player. 2006 will see the release of the Playstation 3. Toshiba also plans to release its own HD DVD players sometime in the spring. But this war

isn’t limited to just players. Computer drives, recorders, and even the movie industry plan to change formats in the course of this war. With Þlm reels gone, either HD DVD or Blu-ray will become the method by which movies are shown in theaters. Japanese corporation Pioneer on December 27, 2005 ofÞcially announced the BDR 101-A drive for computers. It can read and write both Blu-ray and regular DVDs. However, something that may deter many potential consumers, is that it is literally too powerful to read a CD. Fortunately, a Blu-ray player and an HD DVD player can both read DVDs, so customers will not suffer the aggravation of having to change the way they watch movies at home any time soon. The unfortunate thing is that a Blu-ray player is unable to play HD DVD and vice versa. In the future that is a deÞnite possibility, and most likely a certainty. People thought VHS, after it laid the Þnal dagger in the heart of its opponent Betamax, would be the format by which people watched movies for years to come.

Anne Sedney Assistant Copy Editor The All-American Rejects’ previous, self-titled CD is what I call my rejection music. When I’m feeling lonely or rejected, I pop it in and relax, knowing that every single track is about some aspect of rejection. It’s a good CD, but the subject repetition gets somewhat bland, as do the familiar pop-punk beats. AAR entitled its newest release Move Along, and that’s exactly what they have done. There is much more variety in this CD, in both the lyrics and the styles of the songs. The songwriter is the same; you can tell because he continues to use an impressive vocabulary and command of wordplay in his lyrics. The Þrst track, “Dirty Little Secret,” is fastpaced with a catchy beat. It gets the most radio time of any of the songs on this CD, and it’s easy to hear why. Who can help but sing along? “Stab My Back” slows down a little bit and showcases the singer’s voice, which, though not quite amazing, is decent and easy to listen to and sing along with. This song is not among the best, but it is certainly not bad. At Þrst, “Move Along” sounds like something off the previous CD, with familiar beats and guitar riffs. The chorus is stronger, though, and the subject does not just focus solely on relationships. It has an upbeat message, repeating, “even when your hope is gone, move along, move along, just to make it through.” “It Ends Tonight” is a beautiful, sad song, incorporating violins. “Change Your Mind” is upbeat, fast-paced. The clapping at the beginning of “Night Drive” is an unexpected but pleasant surprise and the beat is strong. I especially appreciated this song because I love driving at night to think things through and release my mind. This is a different kind of rejection song: instead of being rejected, the singer is rejecting someone

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JC students certainly do not remember the war between Betamax and VHS, which saw its apparent end 20 years ago. JVC, an underdog, was the architect behind VHS while the juggernaut Sony came out with Betamax. Both were video cassettes which required a different type of player, so families had to settle on one. As mentioned earlier, VHS was able to defeat Betamax thanks to marketing. The most important part of consumer warfare, after all, is how a company markets its product. And almost certainly that will determine the victor in the next generation DVD wars. If the consumer wants Blu-ray, they will get Blu-ray, but if the consumer wants HD DVD, they will get HD DVD. Companies risk too much by staying on the wrong side for too long, and they will undoubtedly jump ship to the apparent victor as soon as that becomes partially clear. Of course, while this whole war is going on, as in the case of all wars, the civilian will pay in some form or another. Buying into either format too early could be hazardous to one’s wallet.

else. This is a strong, “Goodbye, witch!” kind of song. The CD loses its momentum a little in the middle with two songs that, while they are pretty good, are not extraordinary. “11:11 p.m.” is another pop-punk, classic AAR-type song, as is “Dance Inside,” though the latter somewhat redeems itself with a cool harmonized acoustic part in the middle. “Top of the World” begins with a Spanishsounding guitar piece, then quickly changes to a more rock-like sound, though sometimes still incorporating the original solo. The slow-paced “Straitjacket Feeling” is acoustic at the beginning, later incorporating violins. “And all I ever thought you’d be, that face is staring holes in me…and all you ever put me through, I’m holding on by letting go of you.” The chorus makes me want to cry. It’s one of the best songs on the CD, showing that AAR can handle slow, soft songs, not just their more usual, peppier tracks. “I’m Waiting,” speeds the CD up again (AAR is pretty good at mixing tracks to keep the listener from getting mired in songs that are all of one feel). This is a good song with thoughtful lyrics. “Can’t Take This” has only violins and piano as accompaniment and is a really cool-sounding, unusual song because of this; a mix of classical instruments and a punk-type singer produce this strange sound. The singer’s voice really stands out against this unusual instrumental background. Overall, this CD is really well put together. Whenever a song comes along that isn’t quite up to par, the listener can be conÞdent that the next one will be better. I can no longer label the All-American Rejects as simply “my rejection band.” They have become more complex in this latest offering, and I’d now recommend them for anyone in any mood.

February 2006


entertainment Music piracy sparks net revolution It’s been a long, stressful day. You make the long, stressful trek home from school. You walk inside. Stressfully. You throw your books down and run into an empty room, slam (and lock!) the door. And then, the release comes. For the vast majority of high school students, music is the only thing that separates them from being put into a small, white, padded room with a locked door and a small circular window for scientists and psychiatrists to analyze them through for the remainder of their lives. However, few have the time and means to venture all the way to Best Buy or even Sam Goody to get access to such delicacies. So how, then, do students avoid becoming deranged, mouth-breathing psychopaths? With the introduction of the notorious Napster in 1999, people of the world were given one of the Þrst opportunities to access this music from a computer without spending a single penny on CDs, gas to get to the store, or the most valuable currency, time. Unfortunately, that’s kind of considered stealing, since the artists aren’t getting paid at all. And the “I don’t know about that law” tactic doesn’t work too well, as Napster was “shut down” by many recording companies in September of 2001. So what happens to all of the “consumers” who were so dependent on their daily Þx of illegal beauty? Well, it turns out that a revolution was to take place. Soon after the zinging of Napster, similar programs were created that allowed the musically inclined to download their favorite beats and tunes with the convenience seen in Napster. However, there was an overpowering uproar released from the mouths

of all of those once-excited listeners when they saw the clouds beginning to cover the silver lining that was the music industry as they knew it. The cloud was, of course, the price tag next to each song. Now, music listeners are transforming into legitimate consumers, since they actually have to pay for songs. Usually, the songs are just under the onedollar mark, 99 cents being the norm. Top sellers are iTunes Music Store, Napster (the sinless version, of course), and Rhapsody. Of course, just because these programs have been introduced does not necessarily mean that they are removing the problem

of music piracy. Limewire,Ares, and Kazaa are just a few of the illegal downloading titans. Can they ever be conquered? Apparently not, as interest and usage of them is at an all-time high. Even authorities have come to accept the eternal nature of illegal Þlesharing. Says photo by Chris Anderson

Ryan Leeb Entertainment co Editor

president of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Cary Sherman in an interview with BBC News, “Our aim is not to completely eliminate music piracy or illegal peer-to-peer services altogether… As long as it is within a reasonable amount of control then we will be happy but we are still a long way from that.” As these illegal sharers gain fame, so too do their legal counterparts. According to a BBC study, 19% of listeners were willing to pay for downloaded music, a 3% improvement from last year. With this increase in

legal internet downloads, and the 10% drop in album sales in past years, it is quite possible that artists will stop producing CDs and move to strictly distributing through the internet. While consumers will be able to pay about 10 dollars for a complete CD on the internet now instead of about 17 dollars in the physical form, they have to trade the actual hands-on appeal of having a CD case with the composer’s artwork spewed all over it. And how would you get the lyrics to all your favorite songs without the included booklet? Oh yeah. The internet. All things considered, choosing between legal and illegal distributors seems to be purely a matter of choice and moral values. Are you willing to commit a felony and degrade your favorite artists’ wellbeing by stealing their material? Or are you perfectly content with putting your parents’ credit card numbers into the internet so you can give the artists the money they deserve, and the identity-stealing hackers the funding they desire. Oops, we don’t want to think about that. We’ll just act like that doesn’t happen. Recently, there have been reports that illegal downloaders are being convicted for these federal offenses. Parents have gone berserk when faced with children that commit piracy, even in this form, and are threatened by having to pay for all of the thousands of Þles downloaded if they are caught. You should not disregard this threat, because it can be a big deal. A huge one. However, it really isn’t the high schoolers that the authorities have been chasing. Colleges, with huge networks for all of their usually thousands of students, have been largely attacked because students have downloaded using illegal devices. The convicts captured were usually charged with paying the standard 99 cents for each Þle downloaded. But since colleges are now updating their networks to disable these applications from being downloaded, is it foreseeable in our near future that technology-adept high schools like JC could begin to search out the pirates? It certainly seems like the next logical event to occur. But honestly, I doubt that these measures will be taken. I would just advise high schoolers to get all of their downloading out of their systems by the

15 Top Ten Things To Do On A Dateless Valentine’s Day: 1.Go out to dinner with your mom. She still loves you! 2. Have a picnic alone in a park. Your excuse for onlookers: you’re simply meditating on a mental health day. 3. Go to Chuck-E-Cheese. All of the kids there will understand... everyone their age still has cooties. 4. Read a romance novel. It’ll make you feel like you know what a relationship is really like! 5. Go to the aquarium and kiss the animals in the holding tank. The results will probably be worse than if you stuck to your own species, but it’s better than watching “Saved by the Bell.” 6. Scratch that. You can watch “Saved by the Bell,” too. At this point, just take any means necessary to keep yourself from falling asleep before your bedtime. 7. Draw pictures of what your ideal relationship would be. 8. If you have no idea what an ideal relationship is through lack of experience, play MASH. Alone. 9. Go through all of those love notes that you have undoubtedly saved in a little shoe box under your bed. Ahh, young love. 10. After you slip the shoe box under your bed, you might as well just go to sleep on top of it. Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers, not losers!

Christmas concert captures commendation Jillian Hughes Staff Writer The week before the JC Christmas Concert, everything was all one big question mark. As a member of the JC chorus, in my mind, I wasn’t too sure how it would go. Maybe we would sound good, maybe not; we had some songs down, and others we had hardly gone over. We were still using our music since none of us had it memorized, and altogether we were going to attempt to perform eight songs. With only half hour rehearsals before school, a bunch of freshman rookies, and a limited number of guys in the chorus, the eight songs were hard to pull together. On top of that, the difÞculty level was astonishing. We were attempting to sing famous pieces by Handel and Schubert. A high school chorus singing songs from Handel’s “Messiah” with limited practice time is a tough feat to pull

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off. However, when Sunday, December 18 rolled around, my doubts were quelled. The concert as a whole was a fantastic musical afternoon, Þlled with Christmas spirit. The JC band started the show off with a bang. The band played the Þrst song of the performance, but not in normal concert band style. They played “King of Kings,” a powerful opener, and a great start to the concert. Following the unconventional, but exciting opening, was the jazz band. Creativity seemed to be the theme of the show, as the Jazz band created an interesting song as well. They played the tune of “It Don’t Mean A Thing” by Duke Ellington, but changed the words to the song for the Christmas holiday. Singing the words in a stunning red dress was soloist Rajni Sharma. She was nicknamed the “Rudolph”

of the bunch. Each member of the Jazz band also had their own appropriate reindeer counterpart. The song gave the concert a fun side, and spiced it up a bit. Some of the song’s alternate words included “it makes no difference if it’s snow or ice” and “fa la la’s” in place of the song’s usual “du wah’s.” Next, the chorus mounted the stage, and everything turned out just Þne. Familiar songs “Celtic Carol,” “Once Upon a December,” and “And the Stars Began to Sing,” gave them no problem at all. They sounded like pros. Following these three was the Ave Maria. Senior Caroline Clark sang a beautiful solo for this song. This piece, in its original Latin, was a magniÞcent balance of solo, melody, and harmony parts.

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“Madrigal of the Bells,” a simpler Christmas Carol, with the effect of Christmas chimes went well, and then it was onto the Messiah. They pulled off “For Unto Us a Child is Born” ßawlessly. The traditional piece did them justice. “And the Glory of the Lord” was next. There were a few hidden mistakes that only an insider would notice, but the chorus was paired with the orchestra on this song for a beautiful overall sound. Last, the chorus and the orchestra collaborated again on the “Halleluiah Chorus.” This was a challenging closing, but it ended the choral section of the concert with the impression that they could handle anything. The orchestra, amazing as always, impressed once again. Under the direction of Mrs. Molina, the orchestra performed three songs. “Shepard’s Hey” and “Greensleeves” were familiar and beautiful, Þlling the auditorium with more Christmas spirit.

All sixteen members performed the Þrst two songs, but for the last one, “Christmas Concerto,” only upperclassmen played. Three movements of the concerto were played, and the audience erupted with appreciation. The expertise of these musicians was clearly displayed. The band, under the direction of Mrs. Bair, closed the concert with three Þnal songs. Familiar tunes brought life to the performance. “Symphonic Prelude on ‘Adests Fidelis’” came next, followed by the classic “Sleigh Ride.” Band members put on their Santa hats for this traditional closer. The percussion section was on the ball, creating the sounds of bells, horse trots, and whipping noises. The song was a fantastic end. The big question mark turned out to be an exclamation point. The talented students in the JC music department pulled off a stellar performance and brought life into the approaching holiday.

February 2006


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Kite Runner provides Middle-Eastern insight saying “For you, a thousand times over.” On one occasion, Amir and a local bully get into a Þght and Hassan retaliates by shooting the bully with a slingshot. The bully swears that he will get back at the two, and then retreats. The bully corners Hassan one day and they argue momentarily. Amir watches this behind a fence and does not know whether or not to stand up for Hassan like Hassan had done for him. Eventually, the male bully rapes Hassan. Amir decided that he would run away because the bully could easily beat him in a Þght. This event has a huge impact on Amir’s life, and his guilt for it builds as his life goes on. Hassan and Amir slowly grow apart after this, despite the fact that Hassan did not know about Amir’s betrayal. Eventually, they do not speak at all. Amir’s guilt grows so unbearable that he puts money in Hassan’s hut and tells Baba that Hassan stole it. Hassan’s father becomes extremely embarrassed and leaves the house immediately. Political events, the Civil War in Afghanistan, force Baba and Amir to ßy to America. Their lives change drastically as they live in poverty for the Þrst time.

Amir eventually becomes a writer and makes a good name for himself. He marries an Afghani woman and they have a good life until Baba dies of cancer. This, along with the fact that Amir’s wife cannot bear children, throws Amir into a deep depression. A family friend, Rahim Khan, mails Amir a letter from Afghanistan during this time. Amir knows that Rahim must have discovered that Amir betrayed Hassan because Rahim often involved himself in Amir and Hassan’s friendship in the past. Amir ßies back to Afghanistan to meet with Rahim. Rahim informs Amir that Hassan had started a family while Amir was in America. He eventually reveals to Amir that the Taliban killed Hassan and his wife, leaving his son as an orphan. Rahim Þnally tells Amir that in order to repent for his betrayal of Hassan, he must bring the son to a safe adoption agency. The plot twists as Amir Þnds Hassan’s son, Sohrab, in custody of the childhood bully, who had turned into a Taliban executive, Assef. Ironically, Amir Þnds that in order to take Sohrab, he must Þght Assef. He attempts to do so, but Assef gains

the upper hand. Sohrab, like his father before him, saves Amir’s life by shooting Assef with a slingshot. Amir discovers that there was no adoption agency suitable for Sohrab, and is forced to adopt him. He brings him to America, where Sohrab becomes extremely depressed, and rarely speaks at all. Amir takes it as his debt to Hassan to be a good father for Sohrab. The rest of the novel is uplifting. The Þnale is very impressive. However, I will not reveal the Þnale because that is an unforgivable sin in the world of literature. The Kite Runner is one of the most mature novels I have ever read. It teaches about human emotion at the most primal level, and shows how powerful regret and doubt can be. It motivates the reader to seek light at even the darkest time, and also to cherish relationships most in life. 2005’s Teacher of the Year, Mr. Paaby, recommended this novel to me earlier this year, and it is a valid candidate to be the best book I have ever read. I would recommend picking up The Kite Runner for around $14 at your nearest bookstore. by ww w.flag s.net

Books can be dangerous things. If a book is too controversial or too truthful in an area where the truth should be concealed, it could change society or start cults. If you know me at all, you have probably realized that I have an obsession of sorts with such books. When an inanimate object can create ideas and even philosophies of life in just 400 pages that completely change a reader’s life forever, it is a force to be reckoned with. Some people would be shocked with the realization that Dan Brown is not the only controversialist writer, and Michael Moore is not the only person that has extreme political views. By making a short trip to Barnes & Noble, you can pick up a treasure called The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It is not a book that aims to forever change people’s political views, religious ideals, or even the structure of society. It actually targets human emotion in an extreme story of a man’s life of regret, sorrow, and hardships. The main character, Amir, is born in Afghanistan to a rich father, whom he endearingly calls “Baba” throughout the entire novel. His mother

dies during labor, and Amir rarely hears anything about her. Amir has two housekeepers, a father and a son, to whom he grows very attached. However, the housekeepers are Hazaras, the name given to a certain ethnic group in Afghanistan that was heavily mistreated during the time that this story takes place. Amir is best friends with the son, Hassan. The two grew up together and even nursed from the same woman. Unfortunately, Hassan is not a “presentable” friend for Amir among his peers, since he is a Hazara. The children in their town often ask Amir why he is always with Hassan. He is hardpressed to Þnd an answer and usually does not give one. Hassan is a strong Þgure in the novel who sacriÞces many things for Amir. However, Amir often abuses Hassan throughout the novel. Hosseini makes a very obvious connection between the relationship between Amir and Hassan and the relationship between Jesus and the Christians. Jesus sacriÞced his entire life for the people that understood him so little and betrayed him. Hassan makes this connection even greater by continually doing favors for Amir and

photo

Ryan Leeb Entertainment co Editor

The Big Bang of Books:

Your Guide to The Hottest Books Available “Beauty” proves beautiful read, not terrible in slightest Around 2:30 a.m., I was laying on my bed completely intoxicated. My mind was slipping between reality and mystical realms through the eyes of 16-year-old Gemma Doyle. To clear up any misconceptions you may have, I was actually reading. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray is one of those books that once you start reading it, you can’t put it down. It is a Þctional narrative spoken by Gemma Doyle that takes place in the late 1800s when women were expected to do nothing other than train themselves to become the future mothers and wives of England. However, Gemma’s destiny was different. The story opens up in Bombay, India, where Gemma and her mother, Virginia, are on their way to have tea. A mysterious Indian

Volume 41, Number 4

bumps into Virginia, uttering three words that nearly knock the breath out of her: “Circe is near.” After she regains her composure, Gemma and Virginia get separated and Gemma has her Þrst vision, where she sees the Indian she has just bumped in to being taken by a hideous creature. Then, she sees her mother stabbing and killing herself. Gemma, still confused by what happened, later Þnds out that her visions are true. Two months later, Gemma Þnds herself at Spence Academy in London. It is there that her visions deepen and become clearer and there that she Þrst hears about the Order, a powerful group of women who are the keepers of great powers and help souls to cross over in the after life. Gemma and her three friends eventually decide to form their own Order sisterhood and are shocked to Þnd out it actually works and that Gemma may be the key to all the powers in the realms. Bray paints a beautiful and imaginative portrait of the realms

where the girls can turn stones into butterßies and where they can smell the favorite aromas of their childhoods. The girls are thrilled at their discovery; however, Gemma is constantly being visited by Kartik, a mysterious young Indian to whom Gemma Þnds herself strangely attracted. He warns her to close her mind to the visions and the realms or else she may be in grave danger because Circe, a former member of the Order who plans to take all the powers, is looking for her. Gemma also learns about her mother’s own eerie connection to the Order and the realms. Bray’s story is absolutely riveting. It keeps you guessing at every page. It is a book that makes you disappointed when there are only a few pages left. At the end of the story, Bray leaves some business unattended to and the reader wanting more. The sequel Rebel Angels is just as good as, if not better than, the Þrst. It is in this story that Gemma

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Þnally faces Circe in a way she never imagined, Þnds her destiny

in the realms, and deepens her romance with Kartik. This story, too, leaves some unÞnished business, hinting that there may be a third. I must commend Libba Bray for a wonderfully unique and original story. A Great and Terrible Beauty has it all: adventure, fantasy, magic, and intriguing characters mixed with a bit of forbidden romance. It was a New York Times Best Seller and the recipient of much critical acclamation. I also want to thank Mrs. Bray for helping me to remember how much I love to read. photo by images.barnesandnoble.com

Hillary Livingston Copy Editor

February 2006


Sports

Volume 41, Number 4

that he expected, in a way they were embarrassing the university, and they certainly, as a team with a 6-10 record, don’t deserve the new improvements of the locker room. Call it harsh, but time will tell if it was effective... Perhaps the best news of recent days was Duke’s loss to Georgetown. I can honestly say that it was downright enjoyable to watch Greg Paulus trip and lose the ball on his way down the court while trying to get a shot off to tie the game. Don’t even get me started on Coach K’s press conference. Comparing the way they’d been playing to living in a penthouse? I guess so, considering their toughest road tests had been at overrated Indiana and stumbling, okay downright collapsing, Wake Forest. And don’t think Duke is going to win the rest of their games or that this will be a wake-up call. Well actually, it will be a wake-up call: for the rest of the ACC. Every team in the conference is gobbling up that game tape like it’s Thanksgiving dinner. After all, the Hoyas managed to shut down Shelden Williams, holding him to only 4 points. So what if Redick had 41 points. Find a way to keep the whole team from screening for him to get him wide open like the always do (which causes Dick Vitale to go on a rant about how much improved he is and how great of an all around player and future NBA star etc.)... And while I’m on that topic, to anyone who thinks Redick will be the next NBA star (especially you, Dick Vitale). I offer one simple thought, name, or whatever you wish to call it: Trajan Langdon. Because he worked out well as a great shooter who could do nothing else as a Þrst round pick out of Duke... Just to keep this fair, I’ll take a shot at a Maryland player as well. Seriously Travis Garrison, what were you thinking? Probably the same thing you were thinking during about half of the games this year: absolutely nothing. Last time I checked, “no” meant no. Not to be insensitive, but couldn’t you have put your hands to better use, like getting some rebounds and playing some defense on the court? Is anybody else sick of every single Duke game being televised on national TV? Especially on ESPN. This isn’t Duke Territory. I’d rather watch a documentary on the growth of wheat than watch Duke play Boston University. Please, enough with the Duke bias ESPN. It’s time to realize that the majority that hates Duke is much greater than the minority that worships them... And if you’ll please excuse me I have to go sign my basketball court so that everyone knows it’s “my house.” It’s not like there’s a big logo, a mascot, a bunch of obnoxious fans, etc. Oh wait, I’m not Duke am I? If it takes signing center court to let your team know that

this is their house, how’d they get into such a high-academic school in the Þrst place? Don’t bother answering that one, Coach K... This is my last shot at Duke, I promise. But did anyone else Þnd it funny that Lee Melchionni was crying about Maryland fans in a recent ESPN the Magazine? “Terps fans are mean to us…they say things that can bring a grown man to tears.” Like your fans aren’t the same way, just ask Nik Caner-Medley; grow up, play the game, and stop complaining... In other news, Kobe Bryant went off for 81 points on January 22nd against the Toronto Raptors. Yeah, one man scored 81 points. Not to take away from that amazing feat, but does that really surprise anyone? Look at the box score and you’ll see something that takes away from this accomplishment: 46 shots, more than half of the Lakers shots (they had 88). So really was this a case of a guy being lights out or was this simply the same old Kobe Bryant that’s been playing for the Lakers all year- the one that’s all about him. However, when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game on March 2, 1962 did anybody complain then? So, maybe I’m taking this out of proportion. Maybe Kobe deserves more praise than criticism. But really, this shouldn’t take anyone by surprise. After all, this is his team you know; the one composed of guys casual fans didn’t even know existed who are simply there because none of them have the clout to stand up to Kobe, demanding a chance to be involved in the offense themselves... Speaking of Kobe, did you happen to catch the Kobe and Shaq reunion? What a joke. Every part of it seemed like a set up and a scam. The way it turns out, Bill Russell told Shaq to do it. So basically, there was no real meaning behind it no matter what anyone wants to say. Shaq and Kobe on speaking terms? It’s doubtful. Shaq and Kobe, friends again? Were they ever? Oh well, it added some theater to the NBA, which last time I checked could use some positive reform to it’s image... Finally, how about the situation New York Knicks forward Antonio Davis found himself in? So apparently according to the NBA, it’s bad to have any reaction to a drunk man touching your wife. Because of all things, players have to stay out of the stands. Davis was NOT pulling a Ron Artest (yeah, that’s a verb now). He was simply going to protect his wife and mediate in the situation. This sort of thing happens all the time to players’ family members, but usually not to this extent. Put them in a safe place, but please Commissioner David Stern, don’t suspend a man who was just protecting his wife. Antonio Davis, I commend you.

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Indoor soccer and ice hockey bring new thrills to JC sports world in 05-06 Chris Wilson Contributing Writer The new year brought two new sports to the JC community. These winter sports, ice hockey and girls’ indoor soccer, were added and many JC students took advantage of this opportunity to get involved in athletics. Sophomore Kate Kline is playing her Þrst sport at JC as a member of the indoor soccer team and has come to realize the amount of fun and teamwork that is experienced in playing a team sport. Led by sophomores Tori Ripple, Jessica Kraft, and Marissa McDonald along with freshman Jen Eikenberg, the indoor soccer team Þnds itself 2-4-1 headed into the Þnal game of the season against Glenelg Country School at the DuBurns Arena. The team defeated NDP 7-3 for their Þrst win and Bryn Mawr 6-0 for their second win with McDonald securing a hat trick. The team practices every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:00-9:00 p.m. at the Just4Kids Arena in Forest Hill. “The season was very worthwhile,” remarked sophomore Erika ProÞli, “Mr. Gary Lynch has taken over and taught us a lot which we can hopefully use in next week’s tournament.” Coach Gary Lynch looks to lead JC Indoor far into the tournament after their vast improvement throughout regular season play. The ice hockey team is lead by co-captains T.J. Lewis and Dylan Baumgardner. Unfortunately, the hockey team Þnds themselves with a lack of games available due to the small amount (eight) of players on the team. The team Þnds themselves matched up against JV teams because of their lack of numbers on the bench. Unfortunately, the team was denied the right to play in the JV league and declared themselves independent and were forced to schedule their own games. The team’s biggest win came against Loyola in a 7-5 victory. Lewis hopes that this will not be their last win as they hope to be victorious in future games against the Fallston club hockey team and Calvert Hall. “We are deÞnitely improving in every game,” said Lewis. The team coached by Mr. Bob Goodwin believes that the Þrst year was a success. Future stars, Ryan McGrath, who leads the team in assists, and Chris Szoka, who leads the team in goals, have stepped up as key players although they are only freshmen. The one player that stands out most among the team as a hard worker is the goalie, junior Adam Krolewski. Before the season, Krolewski had no experience playing hockey and has really stepped up for the Patriots this season. Both teams Þnd themselves providing athletic opportunities to students who before had never had the chance to contribute to a sport’s team. Junior T.J. Lewis summed up the season by saying, “I think it has been a very great Þrst season and I am grateful that the sport I have been playing since I was young is now available to me at the high school level.”

photo by Ali Steibe

Alright, this may or may not work out, but I decided to try a new style for my column this time. Before, it was kinda like one of those giant party subs from Subway. Now, I guess it could be compared to a bunch of cafeteria hamburgers, minus the cafeteria part thankfully. So basically, what this is going to be like, at least for now, is me offering my opinion in shorter version on a bunch of different topics instead of just one. It’ll be kind of like Peter Schmuck’s column in The Baltimore Sun in a way... Is it just me or does Marcus Vick make absolutely no sense? Seriously, the guy had just about everything anyone wanting to be a Þrst round pick in the NFL Draft needs: name recognition (his brother just happens to be some guy named Mike Vick), big time television exposure (well, maybe that turned out to be bad - just ask Louisville’s Elvis Dumervil who became close friends with Marcus’s foot), nearly unlimited potential (the speed of Mike and twice the arm), and oh yeah, he was the starting quarterback for a team that’s always at least considered a contender for the national title. So, um, how do you explain pointing a gun at a couple kids at a McDonalds? So what if they were making fun of you for ordering a Happy Meal. Well, you were already kicked off the Virginia Tech team by then, I suppose you thought you had nothing left to lose. But just a day or two before didn’t you say something to the effect of: “It don’t matter, man; I’m goin’ to the NFL.” Good luck with that one. Most guys who are charged with violating a minor, providing alcohol to a minor, possession of marijuana, driving without a license, and pointing a gun at kids end up in jail, not the NFL. And by the way, the NFL doesn’t like guys who show up other players by stepping on them. So good luck Þnding a team in this country; the only NFL you should be seeing, Marcus, is NFL Europe... Here’s a good headline: “UMBC Players Locked out of Locker Room.” Upon seeing that the immediate thought I had was “Is that really a news story?” But it turns out it was more than just a misplaced key or a prank. The culprit was men’s basketball head coach Randy Monroe. He was not exactly thrilled with the fact that his team dropped a game at home to New Hampshire, who had won just three games all year before the meeting, by fourteen. So, Monroe told his players to clean out their lockers and forbid them from wearing any clothing with the school’s name or logo on it. Now, one may immediately think that he overreacted. True, he may have, but this was a newly improved $2+ million locker room. In my opinion, Coach Monroe was right by this; his players weren’t performing up to the level

17

The JC Hockey team gathers around their coach, Mr. Goodwin, during their 7-5 victory over Loyola’s JV team.

February 2006


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Girls swimming makes big splash in IAAM “B” Conference Lisa Krysiak Staff Writer

photo by Jess O’Brien

Some of them ßy. Some are better on their backs. Some never breathe. And to them, IM doesn’t mean instant message. This is the JC girls swim team, described as being “enthusiastic and spirited” by one of their coaches, JC teacher Danica Zavodny. Zavodny’s fellow coaches, JC Athletic Director Larry Dukes and Harford Hurricanes Coach Sam Lapan, coach both the boys and girls teams. There is a total of 21 girls on the team, composed of “mostly juniors,” according to junior swimmer Kathleen Franetovich. The number of girls that compete per race depends on the meet itself. If there are two teams competing, three girls race per team. If there are three teams, that number decreases to two. Junior swimmer Kate Martin thinks overall the best swimmers on the team are junior Jillian Hughes, specializing in freestyle events, and sophomore Krista Walls, specializing in backstroke and IM, or individual medley. Coach Zavodny agrees, adding senior Eleni Van Roden to the list. Eleni is a sprint free styler and, along with fellow senior Julie Linder, leads the team as a captain. Coach Zavodny, and juniors Martin and Franetovich all agree the hardest team along the way has been IND, their divisional rival. Martin and Franetovich say the meet was hard because IND is a Divison A school and, according to Martin, “has more year-

round swimmers.” The coach also adds Severn, who beat the team by only two points. Junior Jillian Hughes adds, “IND beat us by a little more than two, but not by a landslide.” The team believes their easiest meets were against Catholic High and Towson Catholic, due to the smaller size and lesser speed of their teams. Looking towards the end of the season, the girls cannot win the Dual-Meet Championship due to the losses to IND and Severn. In order to win it, the girls would have had to beat all of the teams in their division. Coach Zavodny also believes regular championship is not in the cards for team. She says that they will place better than last year because they are a stronger team, but one of their strongest swimmers, Krista Walls, will be in Spain during the championship meet in February. Junior Jill Hughes says,” We’re a good sized team, and we have speed, but not as much as some other teams in our division.” She continues, “A regular championship means that you score the highest out of the teams in your division at the championship meet [in Feburary]. Our team doesn’t usually have that many people that place in the top 8 for each event, so it’s difÞcult to get points.” The JC girls team started off the season at 3-0, and as of January 23rd, stand at 4-3. Overall, team members have concerned themselves with growing individually rather than what the numbers on the scoreboard say.

Junior Jillian Hughes swims the butterfly in the meet against Pallotti on January 30. The Patriot girls swimming team finished a near perfect season on Tuesday in the IAAM “B” Conference with their only loss coming to top-ranked IND.

New baseball field introduced featuring stylish black fence Brady Collins Sports co Editor

photo by Jen DiBiaggio

The newest addition to the JC athletic program is a fence for the men’s baseball Þeld. The new fence adds another aspect to the game, giving players the opportunity to “go deep,” and hit a homerun out of the park. Along with the new fence, the Þeld got resurfaced, adding to the quality of the inÞeld. With the new inÞeld, groundballs will be more predictable, a quality which few Þelds posses. “I’m excited about playing on the new Þeld, and ripping a couple over the fence,” said junior Sean Adams. Other players are excited about the new Þeld, feeling that it helps get ready for college baseball, something that most JC baseball players look for into the future. The new fence is just one of the many changes the school’s athletic program has made in the past year, under athletic director Larry Dukes. It seems that the athletics at JC are getting the The newly resurfaced baseball field should bring team up to tools they need to be competitive around the state, a goal that par with the rest of the league. Also, the new fence brings an added dimension to this venue. every team has.

Volume 41, Number 4

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Patriot

sports Boys indoor track ends on a rough note Andy Wancowicz Sports co Editor In the team competition, the MIAA Indoor Track Championship Meet was not particularly successful for the Patriots. At both the Varsity and JV levels however, one competitor stood above the rest. At the Varsity level, senior Kevin Turek “dominated the Þeld,” in the words of MIAAsports. com columnist Derek Toney. Turek jumped to new heights in high jump by a staggering nine inches, with a personal best and MIAA record by clearing 6 feet- 5 inches. Turek also placed third in the 300 meter dash with a time of 37.42 seconds, .39 seconds behind Þrst place Þnisher Jonathan McMaster from Gilman. The Patriots Þnished the meet in ninth place out of 10 with their only other top six Þnish coming in the 4x400 meter relay, where they placed sixth. Following in the footsteps of Turek, sophomore Kenny Lewis led the way for the Patriots’ JV squad. He picked up three top three Þnishes including a Þve-inch victory in the high jump. Lewis’s other top three’s came in the 55 meter dash and the 300 meter dash, both third place Þnishes. Also picking up a top six for the JV squad which Þnished in seventh place out of ten was freshman Matt Prauman, who placed sixth in the 1600 meter run.

Girls track finds success at end of season Andy Wancowicz Sports co Editor The JC Girls Indoor Track team capped off a successful season with a solid performance at the IAAM Indoor Track Championships. Led by several strong individual efforts, the Patriots Þnished Þfth out of thirteen as traditional IAAM powerhouse McDonogh ran away with the championship. Breaking the IAAM Championship record by 10 seconds, junior Brittany Furst won the 3200 meter run by a margin of over 30 seconds. She also placed third in the 1600 meter run, less than Þve seconds behind the winner. After setting an IAAM record in the high jump last year, senior Jess O’Brien won the title again by clearing Þve feet, four inches more than the second place Þnisher. In addition, she Þnished fourth in the 55 meter hurdles with a time of 9.48 seconds. Also at the Championships, junior Jess Hnatiuk placed fourth in the 500 meter run, freshman Meghan McAdorey placed sixth in the 800 meter run, and sophomore Erika Stasakova placed sixth in the 1600 meter run. In the relay events, the Patriots placed Þfth in the 4x400 and fourth in the 4x800, in which they Þnished over 17 seconds ahead of overall champion McDonogh.

February 2006


sports JC’s unsung heroes tearing up on the mats yet again

19

Mary Etting Editorials co Editor

photo by Mary Etting

Freshman Varsity wrestler Ethan Reese wrestles Bel Air senior Shane Correal during the “Battle of Bel Air.” Ethan won in his match against Correal, the major upset of the night. Despite his best efforts the Patriots fell short of their goal of beating the top-ranked Bobcats.

Volume 41, Number 4

photo by Jess O’Brien

photo by Jess O’Brien

JC sports programs such as the boys’ basketball and football teams receive much publicity around campus; however, it seems that little praise is given to one of the most successful male sports at JC- the wrestling team. Due to a lack of a separate practice area, the wrestlers must share, the much vied for, gym time. Last year, they had to deal with the much maligned tent. However, this has not had an overwhelmingly negative effect on the team. The Varsity team is currently 24-7, and the JV team is currently 13-2 According to Coach Watson, “There are 48 people on our roster, all those who get Varsity letters are main contributors,” there are some athletes who standout among the rest. Nine wrestlers are ranked in the top Þve in the MIAA “A” conference, and as a whole, the team usually places second or third in their tournaments. The athletes who are most prominent on the mat are senior JT Levendusky, a captain whose record is 20-4 and is currently ranked sixth in the state at his weight class, junior Jon Von Paris, also a captain whose record is 25-4, and freshman Ethan Reese, with a record of 26-4. Most recently, at The Battle of Bel Air, the JV wrestling team conquered Bel Air while the Varsity team was defeated. The most exciting match of the night was indisputably JC’s Tim Webster against Bel Air’s Brian Baker. The two struggled for control, but Webster overcame Baker and pinned him in the last 30 seconds of the third period.

J.T. is the captain of the Boys’ Varsity Wres-

Allison is in her third year as a varsity

tling team and competes in the 215 pound

starter, and leads the Girls’ Varsity Basketball

weight class, where he is currently ranked

team in points per game. She has been the

sixth in state. “He is a strong leader both in

only consistent force in the Patriot offense so

practice and as a motivator during the match-

far this season, helping the team win against

es,” said Junior teammate Kyle Hanratty. J.T.

the local public schools, the C. Milton Wright

is on the Varsity team for his 3rd year and has

Mustangs, and the Fallston Cougars. In her

proven himself with both his work and dedi-

“best game ever played,” against C.M.W.,

cation both on and off the mat.

Allison had all nine points that the Patriots scored in the Þrst quarter.

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The

Patriot

Micheal L. Simms Owner (410) 893-9555 February 2006


sports

20

Sport Alpine Skiing Downhill Super-G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined Biathlon Sprint Pursuit Mass Start Individual Relay Bobsled Two-Man Four-Man Women’s Cross- Country Skiing Sprint Team Sprint Pursuit Relay 10km Classical 15km Classical 30km Freestyle 50km Freestyle Curling Men’s Women’s Figure Skating Ladies’ Men’s Pairs Ice Dancing Freestyle Skiing Aerials Moguls Ice Hockey Men’s Women’s Luge Singles Doubles Nordic Combined Sprint Individual Team Short Track Speed Skating 500m 1000m 1500m Relay Skeleton Men’s Women’s Ski Jumping Normal Hill Large Hill Team Snowboarding Halfpipe PGS Snow Cross Speed Skating 500m 1000m 1500m 3000m 5000m 10,000m Team Pursuit

U.S. Snowboarding set to dominate

Projected Winner

Who to Watch

M: Daron Rahlves, U.S. W: Elena Fanchini, Italy M: Benjamin Raich, Austria W: Janica Kostelic, Croatia M: Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway W: Tanja Poutiainen, Finland M: Giorgio Rocca, Italy W: Anja Paerson, Sweden M: Kjetil Andre Aamodt, Norway W: Lindsey Kildow, U.S.

Hermann Maier, Austria Julia Mancuso, U.S. Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway Lindsey Kildow, U.S. Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria Tina Maze, Slovakia Ted Ligety, U.S. Julia Mancuso, U.S. Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria Renate Goetschl, Austria

M: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Norway W: Kati Wilhelm, Germany M: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Norway W: Uschi Disl, Germany M: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Norway W: Uschi Disl, Germany M: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Norway W: Andrea Henkel, Germany M: Germany W: Germany

Sven Fischer, Germany Uschi Disl, Germany Sven Fischer, Germany Kati Wilhelm, Germany Sven Fischer, Germany Kati Wilhelm, Germany Roman Dostal, Czech Republic Uschi Disl, Germany Russia Norway

Driver: Todd Hays, U.S. Driver: Andre Lange, Germany Driver: Sandra Kiriasis, Germany

Driver: Martin Annon, Switzerland Driver: Aleksandr Zoubkov, Russia Driver: Susi Erdman, Germany

M: Tor Arne Hetland, Norway W: Emelie Oehrstig, Sweden M: Norway W: Norway M: Vincent Vittoz, France W: Yulia Tchepalova, Russia M: Norway W: Norway Marit Bjorgen, Norway Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset, Norway Marit Bjorgen, Norway Tobias Angerer, Germany

Andy Newell, U.S. Lina Andersson, Sweden U.S. Canada Tobias Angerer, Germany Wendy Wagner, U.S. Italy Germany Yulia Tchepalova, Russia Axel Teichmann, Germany Yulia Tchepalova, Russia Frode Estil, Norway

Canada Britain

U.S. Canada

Irina Slutskaya, Russia Yevgeny Pushenko, Russia Totmiyania/Marinin, Russia Navka/ Kostomanov, Russia

Sasha Cohen, U.S. Johnny Weir, U.S. Dan/ Hao, China Grushinov/ Goncharov, Ukraine

M: Aleksei Grichin, Belarus W: Li Nina, China M: Jeremy Bloom, U.S. W: Kari Traa, Norway

Steve Omischl, Canada Alisa Camplin, Australia Janne Lahtela, Finland Hannah Kearney, U.S.

Canada Canada

Russia U.S.

M: Georg Hackl, Germany W: Sylke Otto, Germany Germany

Armin Zoeggeler, Italy Silke Kraushaar, Germany U.S.

Hannu Manninen, Finland Hannu Manninen, Finland Finland

Ronny Ackermann, Germany Ronny Ackermann, Germany Germany

M: Ahn Hyun-Soo, Korea W: Jin Sun-Yu, Korea M: Apolo Anton Ohno, U.S. W: Wang Meng, China M: Apolo Anton Ohno, U.S. W: Jin Sun-Yu, Korea M: Korea W: Korea

Apolo Anton Ohno, U.S. Wang Meng, China Lee Ho-Suk, Korea Yang Yang, China Ahn Hyun-Soo, Korea Allison Baver, U.S. Canada China

Jeff Pain, Canada Diana Sartor, Germany

Gregor Staehli, Switzerland Maya Pedersen, Switzerland

Rok Benkovic, Slovakia Janne Ahonen, Finland Austria

Simon Ammann, Switzerland Simon Ammann, Switzerland Finland

M: Shaun White, U.S. W: Gretchen Bleiler, U.S. M: Philipp Schoch, Switzerland W: Manuela Riegler, Austria M: Nate Holland, U.S. W: Lindsey Jacobellis, U.S.

Antti Autti, Finland Tora Bright, Australia Nicolas Huet, France Doresia Krings, Austria Xavier Delerue, France Doresia Krings, Austria

M: Hiroyasu Shimizu, Japan W: Wang Manli, China M: Jan Bos, Netherlands W: Jennifer Rodriguez, U.S. M: Enrico Fabris, Italy W: Anni Freisinger, Germany Claudia Pechstein, Germany M: Sven Kramer, Netherlands W: Claudia Pechstein, Germany Bob de Jong, Netherlands M: Netherlands W: Canada

Casey FitzRandolph, U.S. Tomomi Okazaki, Japan Shani Davis, U.S. Svetlana Zhurova, Russia Shani Davis, U.S. Cindy Klassen, Canada Gretha Smit, Netherlands Chad Hedrick, U.S. Anni Freisinger, Germany Chad Hedrick, U.S. U.S. Germany

Volume 41, Number 4

The

Andy Wancowicz Sports co Editor

It’s that time that happens every four years when people like me get to feed their obsession. Yeah it’s happened before. Only this year, it’s so much sweeter than any time before. In my case, the obsession started back in the days of Nintendo 64 and the game 1080º, the most addicting game ever created. For others it goes back farther, back to 1997 when ESPN rolled out the Þrst Winter X Games. But anyway, this year, how great is this, the X-Games and the Winter Olympics are within a month of each other. And never before has the sport been so deep with talent. It’s snowboarding and, if you ask me, it has never been better. This is only the third time for snowboarding in the Olympics and this time it’s expanded. Back in 1998, it started out with the Giant Slalom and the Half-Pipe, for both men and women. Then, in 2002, the half-pipe stayed but the Giant Slalom was replaced by the Parallel Giant Slalom, a.k.a. the PGS. This year, a new competition has crossed over from X to the Olympics. It has a slightly different name, Snowboard Cross, but it’s basically Snowboarder X from the X Games. Did I mention how stacked the competitions are this year? And I’m just talking about the competition for spots on the U.S. Snowboard Team. Just look at the teams. There are probably a few names you’ve never seen before and there are deÞnitely some notable names missing. But that’s what happens when a country can only send a maximum of Þve people for each event. The Half-Pipe is probably the most watched snowboarding event out there and the U.S. team has no shortage of stars in that category. On the men’s side, there’s a guy who won silver at the 2002 Olympics, one who got silver in the event at the X Games last year, and two of the top young snowboarders to ever set foot, or board, on the slopes of all time, including the one who became the Þrst man to four-peat in any event at the X Games (Snowboard Slopestyle). What this team doesn’t have is the 2002 gold medal winner and the 2002 bronze medal winner, just to name a few. So who are these six guys mentioned above? In order they are: Danny Kass, Andy Finch, Shaun White, Mason Aguirre, Ross Powers, and J.J. Thomas. And to say that those guys are the only ones to be considered would be a downright joke; just ask somebody like Keir Dillon, who is the master at pulling off huge McTwists. On the women’s side, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that an American takes the gold. This team is downright loaded. It all starts with Kelly Clark, who is on track to follow her 2002 path off getting gold at the X Games and following it up with gold at the Olympics. Then there’s Gretchen Bleiler. It’s safe to argue that she would’ve won gold at X this year (she’s won it in the only two years she’s competed there - 2003 and 2005), but instead she decided to skip it to rest for the Olympics. Did I mention she’s won four U.S. Grand Prix events in a row? Then there’s Hannah Teter, who won gold at the X Games back in 2004 but skipped this year to rest. How good is she? After shredding the slopes in Alaska with her in February, Shaun White said, “She was…doing the same stuff I was. When I see Hannah, I feel like I’m not training hard enough.” How’s that for a compliment? And Þnally there is 16-year-old Elena Hight from Hawaii, one of the Þrst women to ever land a 900. But by no means are they “it.” The X Games may have been a showcase for the next big star in Women’s Halfpipe and she didn’t even medal. At only 5’1”, 18-year-old Colorado native Clair Bidez was the only competitor to land a 900 yet she got ripped off with nothing to show for it. And, like with the men’s side, the list goes on. Now what I’m personally stoked to see: Snowboard Cross. On the men’s side the U.S. will send out some of the most identiÞable names in the sport: Seth Wescott, with six X Games medals under his belt, Nate Holland, this year’s gold medalist at X, and Jayson Hale, who collected the bronze this year. On the women’s side, there’s only one name you need to know, and that’s not just because the U.S. only has one representative. It’s because Lindsey Jacobellis is the sport. She tore up the event at the X Games in the last three year’s before skipping out this year with a minor knee tweak she wanted to rest. At only 20, she still probably has quite a few more years on domination to come. And Þnally there is the PGS. On the men’s side, the U.S. is sending a 16-year-old, Tyler Jewell, instead of 2002 bronze medalist Chris Klug, whose appeal for a spot on the team was denied. As for the women, the representatives are Michelle Gorgone, who placed in the top 10 seven times in World Cup events last season, and Rosey Fletcher, who won silver in the event at the 1999 and 2001 World Championships. It’s clear that this is the U.S.’s weakest snowboarding event but, hey, it’s not like it really matters when there’s a pretty solid shot at four golds and numerous other medals in the other events. Don’t be shocked to see the U.S. sweep the medals in the Half-Pipe and the Snowboard Cross. Even with all the top-class competition out there. And how about the future? I’m already pumped for 2010, or at least next year’s X-Games.

Patriot

February 2006


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