The Patriot February 2010, Issue 4, Vol 45

Fells Point’s quirky spots attract visitors

Local band goes major Beach House releases ‘Teen Dream’ on Sub Pop

Mr. Yogato’s and Sound Garden highlight a cherished Baltimore neighborhood

ENTERTAINMENT 7

FEATURES 6

thepatriot JCPATRIOT.COM

February 10

The John Carroll School 703 E. Churchville Rd. Bel Air, MD 21014

RECEIVE THE LATEST NEWS UPDATES, SPORTS, REVIEWS, VIDEO, AND MORE

Laws works toward becoming priest

Photo by Collin Hoofnagle

Sixteen cameras were added to JC hallways to increase security. Now, 32 cameras can now be found throughout the campus.

Security cameras boost school safety Collin Hoofnagle & Taylor Schafer News, Features Editors As part of a plan to increase campus security, 16 new security cameras were installed across the campus during Christmas break.

“This is a driving force to make kids safer,” said Dean of Students Thomas Vierheller.

This addition doubles the count of security cameras on campus to 32. The cameras are located both inside and outside the school.

Two cameras are located on each floor of the academic wing, with other cameras in the food service area of the cafeteria and the faculty parking lot.

“The prime spots have been hit,” Vier-

heller said.

The cameras serve primarily to protect the school from outsiders, though they can be used for disciplinary action against students, according to Vierheller. They aren’t monitored constantly to see student behavior, but rather reviewed if the administration is investigating an incident.

“We’re really not looking to catch students, more for monitoring [people from the outside coming in],” said Vierheller.

Principal Paul Barker still feels that while the prime reason for installing the cameras was campus security, they have a deterrent effect on students.

“Students make poor choices,” said Barker. He added that he believes that with the cameras, students are less likely to do something foolish. However, the cameras have not prevented such behavior. A recent

incident was caught on tape in the cafetieria and resulted in extreme disciplinary action.

In reaction Vierheller looked at the incident as “stealing from the community.” Vierheller would not reveal the identity of the students or further details of the incidents due to privacy issues.

Science teacher Linda Gustafson, however, sees the cameras as mainly a deterrent to make school a safer place for students in regards to bullying.

At the same time, she recognizes the use they have in campus security. “Keeping kids safe is most important,” said Gustafson.

“We have a better sense of people coming in the door,” said Barker.

“I see people I don’t recognize coming in here,” said math and science teacher Susan Kraft. According to Kraft, the cameras will See NEWS 4

Fencers fight toward Junior Olympics Rachel Kokoska Sports Editor The fight ends in a draw. Freshman Morgan Jones now has the harder task of winning from a tie. The referee flips a coin, which comes out in her opponent’s favor and gives the opponent priority. If the minute runs out without Jones hitting her opponent, her opponent automatically wins. All Jones needs is a single touch.

The referee yells, “Fence.” Jones cautiously moves forward with her épée held out in front of her. She is trying to provoke her opponent to begin the attack.

Her opponent gives in and moves towards her. With her opponent advancing towards her, she races forward. In a split second, she flicks out her épée and hits her

Index

opponent’s lower arm.

Success in encounters like this qualified Jones and sophomore James Mews to compete in the Junior Olympics for the épée style of fencing. The competition will take place in Memphis, Tennessee from February 11 to February 16. Both Mews and Jones will compete against fencers from all over the country.

In the Junior Olympic Qualifiers at the Baltimore Fencing Club in Columbia, Maryland, Jones placed in third in women’s épée twenty and under competition and Mews placed in fifth for men’s épée seventeen and under.

Freshman Marina Farrugia from C. Milton Wright placed third in women’s épée seventeen and under, also qualifying her for the Junior Olympics.

News...2

Features...4

Jones first experiences in fencing were in the physical education program at Havre de Grace Middle School. “I would fence against my teacher,” said Jones. “When I started to beat him regularly, he suggested that I start fencing for a club.”

Mews became interested in fencing when he “found it in a college [South Oregon University] magazine” at the age of twelve.

He immediately started fencing in Oregon and continued when Mews moved to Maryland later in the year. He joined the Maryland Fencing Club early in 2007, while Jones joined the Maryland Fencing Club in August of 2008.

Fencing as practiced in the Olympics includes three different varieties: sabre, foil,

Entertainment....7

See SPORTS 14

In-Depth...8

Photo by Sue Cathell

Joshua Laws gives Brady Dashiell ‘13 Communion at a school wide mass. Laws entered seminary at the end of last year.

Nicky Hatzidimitriou General Staff Wake up at 6:15 to pray the Gospel of the day for a half an hour before heading down to breakfast. Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours is at 8:00. Class at 8:30.

Seminarian Josh Laws, a former JC religion teacher, follows this schedule each day at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, the place that has become his home since he first began studying there in August 2009.

Before St. Mary’s, Laws worked as a seminarian at St. Gregory the Great Church in West Baltimore.

While at St. Gregory’s, Laws organized and led a peace rally, gave several reflections at Mass, wrote weekly reflections for the bulletin, visited men in the Baltimore City Jail, and worked to expand the relationship between the parish and the nearby community. “The parish was a real blessing for me in their warm welcome and their vibrant worship,” said Laws. “It was the perfect way for me to be introduced to what life is going to be like as a seminarian and as a priest.”

Laws is taking five classes at the seminary this semester: Metaphysics, Philosophy of God, Part III of the Catechism (Moral Theology), Doctrine of God, and ModernContemporary Church History. Each class meets twice a week for an hour and fifteen minutes. Between morning and afternoon classes, Laws attends Mass, followed by lunch with his community.

Classes end around 4:15, and at 5:15, the community gathers together again for Evening Prayer and dinner. On Wednesdays, Laws and his classmates go to their apostolate, or place of ministry. This year, Laws goes to the City Juvenile Detention Center to talk and play board games with the young men there.

See FEATURES 5

Editorials...11

Sports...14

2

news

The Patriot

The John Carroll School 703 Churchville Road Bel Air, MD 21014 Volume 45, Issue 4, February 2010

Editor in Chief: Daniel Gallen Executive Board: Kate Froehlich Joey Hoff Jenny Hottle Allison Siegel Allison Walczyk Editorials: Kaitlin Bobbin Katelynn Colgain Entertainment: Nico Cvach Hilary Weidner Features: Katie Clarke Taylor Schafer In-Depth: Julia Earnshaw Elizabeth Tauber News: Alex Dunn Collin Hoofnagle Sports: Erin Hanratty Rachel Kokoska Copy Editors: Alex Bahr Kirby Browning Charlotte Hagerman Gabbrielle Joseph Design Editor: Ryan Selvy Photo Editors: Haley Lynch Kristin Marzullo Mollyann Pais General Staff: Nicky Hatzidimitriou Ryan Lina Caitie Beth Shauck Contributers: Katie Doherty Maggie Yankovich Moderator: Mark Ionescu The Patriot is a publication of The John Carroll School.

The views and opinions expressed in The Patriot are not necessarily the views of the Board or Administration of The John Carroll School.

The editorial staff invites and greatly appreciates comments from readers on any issue.

Please email us at editor@jcpatriot.com or visit our website: www.jcpatriot.com

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Board sheds light on master plan’s progress Kate Froehlich Executive Editor President Richard O’Hara sits in former Vice Principal of Activities Gayle McAdams’ office, flipping through a full color packet of architect’s renderings of the proposed master facilities plan. Enthusiastically he points out the aspects: the “learning center” to take the place of the library, the stadium complete with lights and turf, the Grotto to the Blessed Mother. “[The master plan] is bold, it is ambitious, and it represents a very hopeful future for John Carroll.

It’s a challenge that will require hard work and support of many people, but any meaningful challenge is worth tackling for the sake of the next generation of students,” said O’Hara.

The estimated $35 million project aims to transform much of the grounds of campus, as well as updating many aspects of the school.

The reason for the execution of the master plan is “so that the whole 72 acres will be the best in 21st century education,” said Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees Sister Mary Helen Beirne.

We’re not set up for learning in the 21st century. We need a much improved and enhanced facility to support a modern educational program,” said O’Hara.

He added, from “a practical standpoint,” the school faces “significant competition from public schools with state of the art modern facilities. We can’t compete right now.”

The master plan is a “totally comprehensive use of the entire campus and how it will look over the course of time,” said former Chairman of the Board and trustee emeritus Gus Brown. Brown has been “involved significantly” in strategizing to raise money to fund

Photo courtesy of Patriot Archive

This computer generated image details the expected plans for the expansion and upgrade of the school. The master plan involves changes for the whole school complex including the Chapel, parking lots, and fields.

the plan.

Major focus areas of renovation include moving the chapel to the front of the school and the administration to the guidance hallway, revamping parking and fields, adding a new media center, expanding the cafeteria and music hallway, and updating the academic wing, especially the science labs.

The specific details are not yet clear because the master facilities plan “is an overall picture, not a detailed design,” said Sr. Beirne.

However, behind all of the individual changes is a central theme: “include, connect, and integrate Catholic values in symbol” said Sr. Beirne.

The goal now is raising the appropriate amount of funds by embarking on a capital campaign, which must first be approved by the archdiocese.

Nine months ago, according to Brown, the Board hired the Sheridan Group to determine how fea-

sible the master plan is.

Although the results were “positive,” they also revealed that the Board is “going to have to be creative about financing a portion of what we do,” said Brown.

How to achieve such monetary support is “being discussed now at the Board level. Part of it involves reengaging or engaging many prospective donors from the extended John Carroll family, and also from people who may not even know what John Carroll is,” said O’Hara.

Other possible solutions are being considered, but “we have to be mindful of what permission we get from the archdiocese,” said Brown.

“In other words, are we going to be able to borrow part of what we need from an archdiocesan fund or a commercial institution?”

Before construction can start, 50 percent of the funds needed must be in hand, per archdiocesan specifications.

When design and development

can begin is unknown because “it involves a significant outlay of money to contract with an architect,” said O’Hara.

The timeline is still under debate. According Sr. Beirne, construction should begin “before the school’s 50th anniversary [2013].”

O’Hara said, “This is probably going to take the better part of the decade to get the whole master plan completed.”

Revamping the facilities will be completed in stages, based on what is deemed most crucial, which has yet to be decided. “These elements all have to be phased so you first of all minimize disruption to the program and you eliminate any safety concerns. We don’t want students having to wear hard hats,” said O’Hara.

However, even with such obstacles, O’Hara chooses to remain positive about the plausibility of such an endeavor: “I think we have a good shot at it.”

Cameras help reassure students and teachers from FRONT PAGE

become especially beneficial during evening and weekend activities.

According to Barker, there was no one in ident that sparked the installation. Rather, Barker said that since his start as principal in 2001, numerous parents have come forward each year to address campus security. “We had an open mentality about the campus,” said Barker.

But, “we’ve had a number of things happen on campus.”

Barker cites incidents such as a man exposing himself and a cash box being stolen last year. “It happened so fast, but at least we would have had a good visual of who came in the door [with the cameras],” said Assistant Athletic Director Timothy Perry.

“Wacky stuff can happen, but now we’ve got a shot at catching bad guys,” said Barker.

And according to students, these “bad guys” can be both inside and outside the building.

Sophmore Zach Mueller believes the cameras deter student misbehavior inside the building, while freshman Kiana Wright feels they deter outsiders from stepping

inside.

Freshman Michelle Capiello said she didn’t even notice the cameras.

Vierheller attributes attitudes like Capiello’s about the cameras as going hand-in-hand with following the rules. “No one thinks about them because you’ve done nothing wrong,” said Vierheller.

Another advantage of the cameras, according to Barker, is the elimination of fines from the police department for false alarm calls.

Now, when an alarm is triggered, security footage can be immediately reviewed to see if a true threat exists. If so, the police can then be contacted.

Without the cameras, the police come by default. And most of the alarms are triggered, according to Barker, by faculty or staff who forget to follow procedure, resulting in fines for the school.

The cameras are funded in part by a grant from the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.

The school pays for 25 percent of the cost, while M.E.M.A. takes care of the other 75 percent, according to Barker.

Barker calls the move “incred-

Photo by Collin Hoofnagle

Dean of Students Thomas Vierheller scans video feeds from the cameras. The cameras were placed in areas inside and outside of school.

ibly affordable.”

Gustafson agrees with the school’s proactive approach to the cameras. “Better to have them now and not need them than the other way around,” said Gustafson.

Footage from the cameras can be viewed via an IP address, allowing those with access to view footage from outside the school, according to Vierheller.

Both the administration and fac-

ulty have hope to expand the coverage of the cameras to an extent.

“If there was a third phase, it would be optimal to put cameras on the student lot,” said Barker.

Others like Vierheller and Kraft wish to see more installed in the academic wing, to “further classroom safety.”

At the same time, “We don’t want the students to be paranoid walking around,” Vierheller said.

news

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Staying focused while driving saves lives Maryland Highway Safety Office’s statement that over 90 percent of General Staff crashes are completely preventable Kara Jester and her mother incidents caused simply by driver were driving back from the Mount error.

St. Mary’s Open House when they Despite the fact that the majority received a phone call, and Jester of traffic crashes are preventable, heard the words that would forever they still remain the number one change her life: “He’s gone.” killer of people between the ages On October 24, Jester’s uncle, of four and 34.

Jeffrey Neral, was killed in a mo“I think a lot of people forget torcycle accident at the age of 42. that you’re told when you learn Neral, a Baltimore County police how to drive that you need to look officer, was riding his motorcycle left, right, and then left again, beon his way to work when a woman cause in the time it takes you to in an SUV pulled out in front of look right, something could be him. Neral’s motorcycle and hel- coming from the left,” said Jester. met were barely damaged, but he Organizations such as Choose passed away from the Safety for Life call trauma of the acciupon drivers, pedesdent. trians, and cyclists to According to the make safe decisions Maryland Highway while traveling in Safety Office, there Maryland in order to has been a steady save lives and prevent increase in the numinjuries. ber of motorcycleAccording to the involved crashes in Choose Safety for Life Maryland over the website, there are 276 past five years. And it crashes in Maryland isn’t just motorcycles Officer Jeffery Neral every day. The numthat can cause major damage. ber one cause of these crashes?

Each year, traffic accidents kill Inattentive driving. more people in Maryland than A study by Virginia Tech even homicides. According to the most proves that the risk of a crash inrecent statistics from the National creases 23 percent when a driver Study Center for Trauma & EMS, is texting. Texting results in a dethere were 95,349 crashes in 2008, crease in reaction time, and this 539 of which were fatal. loss of reaction time is roughly the Even more surprising is the equivalent of having four drinks

3

Nicky Hatzidimitriou

courtesy of sxc.hu

Photo by Alex Dunn

Olympics lead to NBC loss

torcycles are harder to see, and it is more difficult to estimate their speed. The MVA advises drivers not to think of a motorcycle as a vehicle but as a person.

“They move fast, they’re easily hidden, and you need to look again” said Jester.

Evidence from the scene of the crash shows that Neral did what he was supposed to do upon seeing the SUV by laying down his bike, but his life was still taken. “You just never know,” Jester said.

“I have not only lost the second biggest father figure in my life,” said Jester, “but one of my best friends in my family. You really, really need to look out because even though you didn’t know him, I did.”

NBC Universal has projected that it will lose money because of the cost of televising the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

This loss is due to high fees NBC had to pay in order to broadcast the games.

NBC paid $820 million for the rights to the Winter Games, which is significantly greater in comparison to the $613 million paid for the rights to televise the 2006 Olympics in Italy.

According to NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol, this is the first time that the station has lost money on the games since the broadcasts in 1992 from Barcelona.

This loss of revenue may affect negotiations for the U.S. rights to televise the future Olympics. Major contenders for the rights include Fox’s News Corp. and Disney.

I-95 is the main highway for the East Coast and as such is the most traveled highway in the system. Accidents due to reckless and driving happen on the interstate every day.

and then driving.

Maryland is working to reduce traffic crashes through four major areas: engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services. Education is the field that plays a key role in helping all drivers to better understand how to keep themselves and others safe.

With advice like minimizing distractions, sharing the road, signaling intentions, keeping a safe distance, monitoring speed, and focusing, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration website reminds people that driving is probably the most dangerous activity they will do each day.

The MVA also states that because of their smaller profiles, mo-

Photo by Kristen Marzullo

Time spent multi-tasking increases

    

A recent study released by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that children are exposed to an average of seven and a half hours of media each day.

This number saw an increase of two hours and fifteen minutes in the last two years.

However, when the Kaiser Foundation factored in multi-tasking, the statistic went up to ten hours and 45 minutes. The study focuses on how multi-tasking will affect the children later in life.

The study looked at how multitasking in earlier years affects a child’s ability to find a job in the work force later in life.

It also focuses on whether or not guidelines for advertising campaigns that target children and teenagers need to be adjusted.

Children consumed an average of four hours and 29 minutes of television and two hours and 31 minutes of music per day.

These times were followed by computer time being just under an hour and video games with an average of one hour and 13 minutes per day.

This media consumption, however, only reaches its peak between ages 11 to 14.

4 Major : features

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

$90,830

Decisions Katie Clarke Features Editor

Five years ago, Matthew Kane, class of ’05, sat immersed in a sea of hundreds of other college freshmen, delving into his first Introduction to Economics class at the University of Maryland, College Park. Originally a biology major, Kane pondered his change of studies, wondering how he had arrived in this class, so radically different from the science courses he had expected to be taking in college.

Kane realized that in the next few years, he didn’t want to be dissecting frogs and doing tedious lab work. Rather, he wanted to study change through economic concepts. Declaring a major in economics requires a dedication to finding out how things work together, according to College Board. Social Studies department chair and economics teacher Jake Hollin said, “Somebody who likes to study behaviors and patterns should try a major in economics. Economics is the study of the way people make use of limited resources.”

One way to try economics as a

Rebecca Malone

major would be to take the Eco- said senior Joe Henninger.

Studying choices is key to an nomics class senior year and see if the subject seems particularly ap- economic discussion. “Economics pealing. “Majoring in something is the study where you have definiyou enjoy is a great way to gain suc- tive answers; it’s all about data, but cess in college,” said Kane. “Major- using objective data as well helps ing in something that doesn’t inter- you to create a subjective plan,” said Hollin. est you will more To prepare for creoften than not lead ating subjective plans, to failure.”

Majoring in Hollin suggests taking Kane also sugsomething you English classes and gests two other categories of students enjoy is a great pursuing psychology in addition to the ecoto consider a major way to gain nomics class. in economics. “The Economics manext type would be success in jors can pursue a for people interbachelor’s degree in ested in efficient socollege.” either the arts or scilutions to modern ence, depending on problems,” he said.

- Matthew Kane, “[Another] group the school. AccordClass of ’05 ing to College Board, [is] people who are unsure of what they want to do. I’m a typical economics major aiming not saying blindly sign up for an towards a bachelor’s degree in scieconomics major, but they should ence will focus more on the quantake a wide variety of classes includ- titative and statistical side of ecoing economics classes to see what nomics, whereas a student geared towards a degree in the arts will interests them.”

“I want to study economics be- learn much more about analyzing cause I am interested in the way the data through liberal arts classes Wall Street and the economy work and foreign languages.

After college, career options for to influence our everyday lives,”

‘

teacherSPOTLIGHT

Allison Walczyk

Religion teacher Rebecca Malone takes attendance in one of her Christian Life classes. Malone came to JC to cover Jackie Moeser’s Christian Life classes this semester as Moeser continues to recover.

Managing Editor Rebecca Malone came to JC at the beginning of the second quarter and is substitute teaching religion for Jackie Moeser while she is in recovery from cancer treatment. She taught Church History first semester and is now teaching senior Christian Life classes during the second semester.

Q:

What did you do before you came to JC?

A:

Most immediately, for the last six years, I was the head of the middle school for Roland Park Country School.

Q:

Q:

Photo by Katie Clarke

Where did you grow up?

Was it around here?

What are some special hobbies that you have?

No, actually it was in New York. I lived there from the time I was nine through my adult life.

My parents actually still live in the house I grew up in.

Well, I like quilting. I am currently working on a quilt right now, and I really enjoy biking, especially long distance biking. I’m a computer nut; I really like playing with computers.

A:

Q:

How has your transition been to JC?

A: Really smooth, I’ve liked

it. It’s hard to take over a class in a situation that is so sad, but I’m hoping that if I handle this well, it will help Mrs. Moeser to relax and not worry about how class is going. I find the students very pleasant and hard working.

A:

Q:

Did you go to school in New York? What did you study in college?

A:

For my grade school years I went to a Catholic girls’ high school called Mount St. Ursula, and then went to Harvard for college. I majored in Religion and minored in English.

$84,780

average salary of Financial Analysts in 2008

Local colleges to check out: l

l

l

l

l

University of Maryland, College Park University of Delaware American University Washington College University of Maryland, Baltimore County

5

Three juniors anticipate Junior Miss competition Managing Editor

religion

Allison Walczyk

economics majors vary, ranging from budget analysts to news analysts. “You want a major that can provide you with career opportunities, and this major gives you an opportunity for employment straight out of undergrad,” said Hollin.

Kane currently works for the Logistics and Readiness Center (LRC) Enterprise Soldier Avionics at the Edgewood Arsenal facility of Aberdeen Proving Grounds as a Budget Analyst and Item Manager. An economic background has helped him greatly. “I deal with the day to day management of a particular item, in my case [a] light set used by soldier in Iraq,” said Kane. “Economic themes such as supply and demand, marginal cost, marginal utility and opportunity cost are everyday occurrences for me, and having a degree in the field of economics makes my job that much easier,” said Kane.

“Economics not only gives you an opportunity for employment, but is able to enhance your everyday life. This major can lead you to a better understanding of life. Everyone’s life involves economics,” said Hollin.

average salary of Economists in 2008

Several times a week, junior Ashley Snyder spends hours in the music wing with music teacher Marc Bolden, tirelessly practicing her song for the talent portion in the Greater Baltimore Junior Miss Competition on February 13.

As the big day grows closer, juniors Sydney Comitz, Angelica Ellison, and Ashley Snyder work hard for the Junior Miss Program. The Junior Miss Program is, according to America’s Junior Miss, “a college scholarship program for high school senior girls,” because most finalists are currently seniors. The moral values of this organization are different than other pageants.

“I think it’s important to teach little girls everywhere that it’s not about how many boyfriends you have but what kind of person you are,” said Ashley Snyder.

Senior Kristi Snyder, this year’s Maryland finalist, said, “The most important part of the program is to make girls understand that they don’t have to change like they do for the stereotypical pageant.”

“I chose to do this program be-

m ’s Broo

cause it’s a really great opportunity to show what the campaign was saying about being your best self and not trying to be necessarily the prettiest, but being who you are and being proud of it,” said Comitz.

“A really nice part of the program is the ‘Little Sisters’ part of the program,” said Comitz. “There is a really neat part that has the contestants partner up with a younger girl and mentor them, and perform with them as part of the program,” said Ashley Snyder.

“The ‘Little Sisters’ portion of the program started on the state level, but is now being introduced on the local level,” said Kristi Snyder.

As the girls prepare for this event, they are fully anticipating the friendships they hope to make.

“These girls become like family, because you learn more about them than you thought possible,” said Ashley Snyder.

“My best advice for the girls is to think of it not as a test, but a testimonial,” said Kristi Snyder.

The date of the Greater Baltimore Junior Miss program is February 13 and it will take place in Oak Crest Village at 7:30 p.m.

Bloom Farm Products, Inc

Featuring... www.bbdairy.com (410) 399 COWS(2697) 1700 S. Fountain Green Rd. Bel Air, Maryland 21015 Tu,Wed,Th 11-8pm~ Fri & Sat11-9 Sun 12-8~ Closed Mon

~ Homemade Ice Cream ~ Farmstead Cheese ~ Woolsey Farm Lamb ~ Level Farm Beef ~ Country Pork sausage ~ Free Range Eggs

features

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Senior completes volunteer internship at Upper Cheaspeake cabinet. For incoming patients, Stoots would make new folders Copy Editor and ensure that their names were Senior Shayna Stoots has been on every document. anything but infected with the “That was extremely nerve dreaded “senioritis” this year. wracking at first, because everyStoots volunteered at Upper one’s coming in and out, talking Chesapeake Medical Center every and leaving, using the computers I Monday and Tuesday during first was sitting at,” said Stoots. “I was so semester in an effort to gain more worried I would mess up their files experience in the medical field. and the doctor would report it. But “I honestly didn’t do it for com- thankfully I never did!” munity service or senior project,” Stoots particularly liked knowing said Stoots. “I just did it to look that her work helped lighten somegood for college and to try some- one else’s burden for the day. “It thing different.” was a great feeling knowing that I Stoots was able to fit time to vol- had saved some trouble for a nurse unteer at the hospital into her class or the patient themself,” she said. schedule on Mondays from 8 a.m.

Stoots intends on volunteering at to 10 a.m. and on Tuesdays from Johns Hopkins for her senior proj2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ect this spring.

On Mondays, While Stoots did she worked in not get the opporthe Women and tunity to work with It was a great Children unit and the patients as she feeling knowing originally wanted, on Tuesdays she worked in Cardio. she simply enjoyed I had saved Her job on being in the mediMondays was some trouble for cal environment. mainly dirty work.

“I would most defia nurse or the Stoots would nitely encourage clean all the door [volunteering at a patient knobs with disinhospital]. It was a fectant wipes to great experience!” themself .” stop the spread she said. of germs. Then, “Even though I - Shayna Stoots she would stock wasn’t interacting Class of ‘10 the cabinets with with patients, it did respiratory equipment and make mean a lot to me to be able to help sure that each bed had a pillow. someone do something for themAfterwards, she would check the selves. For example, fill up their patients’ rooms to see if anyone cup when they are too sick to walk needed anything. to the sink,” said Stoots.

In the Women and Children “It had a great effect on me and unit on Mondays, most of the pa- showed me what I would have to tients were seriously ill women with do if I were working instead of goyoung children or teenagers. ing to school. I felt important and However, while Mondays were like I was contributing to the hosfairly slow, Stoots said, “Tuesdays pital,” said Stoots. “[Upper Chesawere very stressful and intense. peake] has over 3,000 volunteers, Working in cardio was very excit- so I only made a small dent, but I ing, not because of the work I was still felt meaningful.” doing, but because of the intensity Next fall, Stoots will be attendlevel in that wing.” ing Stevenson University and plans On Tuesdays, Stoots worked to major in nursing. Stoots feels with a secretary named Christina, thankful that she will have an upper taking apart the patients’ files that hand, as her volunteer experience were being discharged and wrap- already introduced her to the mediping the files up to put in the file cal field in a more hands-on way.

5

Charlotte Hagerman

Laws prepares to become priest at St. Mary’s Seminary from FRONT PAGE

The community Laws is a part of includes about 70 other seminarians and 12 full time priests. “We are always together,” said Laws. “We eat together, pray together, [and] go to school together.” Although this change was strange at first, Laws enjoys being surrounded by his community.

“We all get to know each other really well and appreciate who we are, and the many things that we bring to the table,” said Laws.

However, the biggest change Laws has experienced in seminary is his tight schedule. Laws now spends his free time doing schoolwork, coaching rugby at Loyola University, going to meetings, giving vocation talks or reflections at different schools and parishes, or getting together with friends.

“One of the words of advice I received came from a priest friend of mine,” said Laws. “He said, ‘When you become a priest, your time is no longer yours.’

And I am finding that to be very true.”

Although Laws doesn’t regret joining the seminary, he does admit that there are certain days when he misses teaching, the community at JC, his free time, and the luxury of having his own house, among other things. “There are also days when I think about how nice it would be to be married and have a family,” said Laws.

“I am finding a lot of joy, clarity, gratitude, and confirmations in my prayers, conversations, evaluations, and experiences as a seminarian,” said Laws.

“I am also inspired by the other men who have chosen this vocation. I am inspired by the other guys here at the seminary, our dedicated priests and lay teachers on the faculty here, and the wealth of dedicated men who serve as priests in the Archdiocese,” said Laws.

This summer, Laws is going to take courses and train in spirituality at the Institute of Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Nebraska. He will return to St. Mary’s for more classes in theology, and in the summer of 2015, Laws will be ordained a priest.

Until then, Laws will continue with his vocation, learning about and serving the Lord. “Through my

70

other seminarians at St. Mary’s

12

full time priests at St. Mary’s

seminarySTATS

‘

Photo courtesy of Sue Cathell

Seminarian Josh Laws serves Communion to junior Chelsea Shock during the Thanksgiving Mass dedicated to Religion teacher Jackie Moeser. Laws will continue his studies towards priesthood for the next five years and plans to be ordained in the summer of 2015.

258

diocesan priests in Baltimore experiences so far, both here and in parishes, I have grown in my appreciation of the Church and its vastness” said Laws. “I am learning how big the Church is, and how many different outlooks and ways of believing in and praising God there are – each having its own place and importance in the Church.”

6

features

the patriot

Exploring Fell’s Point

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

weekendHOTSPOT Nicky Hatzidimitriou General Staff

When thinking about Baltimore, the mind sees one of two things: the high crime rate of a city in constant conflict, or a tourist attraction for people who have an affinity for science or sea creatures. Overlooked are the true treasures of Baltimore, like Fell’s Point.

Once a well-known area, Fell’s Point now lies buried under misconceptions and misplaced stereotypes for many people. But when light is shed upon this historical harbor-side town, it leaves an unparalleled impression, reminding visitors that Baltimore truly is a one of a kind city.

From boutiques to thrift shops, cafes to coffeehouses, the various businesses that make up Fell’s Point overflow with originality.

Mr. Yogato’s, a frozen yogurt shop, was initially founded in D.C. by a rocket scientist. That’s right: a rocket scientist. Steve Davis, the rocket scientist, previously worked in California, where frozen yogurt is a popular treat, until he was transferred to D.C., where frozen yogurt is not as accessible. Therefore, Davis decided to open his own frozen yogurt shop, an unpretentious place that would be involved with the community.

Davis’ colleague, rocket scientist Jessica Jensen, wanted to do the same thing in Baltimore, her

Scott Novak

Photo by Katie Clarke

At Mr. Yogato’s, customers have the option of decorating their spoons, like these on display, after eating. Mr. Yogato’s is one of several interesting venues that can be found walking around on a day trip to Fell’s Point.

hometown, so she opened a Mr. Yogato’s in Fell’s Point last April.

Mr. Yogato’s serves frozen yogurt, as well as cupcakes and hot chocolate, and offers over 40 toppings, but it’s the special discounts and rules that give Mr. Yogato’s its charm: 50% off for anyone who balances on one foot with their eyes closed for 15 seconds (a lot harder than it sounds), 30% off for anyone who recites the poison cup speech from The Princess Bride (in ac-

cent), 10% off for anyone who gets a Yogato stamp on their head, 10% off for anyone who answers a trivia question correctly (and 10% added for those who get it wrong), and a flavor is named after anyone who orders yogurt for 30 days straight.

Even the quaint shop itself has plenty to offer customers. Hula hoops, board games, and an old Nintendo system are available for entertainment. “The Park,” a section of the shop, also offers

student artistSPOTLIGHT

Photo by Katie Doherty

While students and teachers sit on the bleachers during mass, sophomore musician Scott Novak performs.

Seated behind the Music Ministry’s keyboard, Novak helps lead the group in worship songs.

Novak performs on the piano in front of hundreds of students and teachers at each Mass and rarely feels intimidated.

Novak loves the group aspect of music. “When I’m with a group [playing piano], it’s a lot of fun. You become part of the group,” said Novak.

He also added that the group keeps him from feeling nervous.

“At school, I really don’t get nervous. I only get nervous if I play a solo completely by myself,” Novak said.

52

most computers taken to technology lab in one day

237.5

Sophomore Scott Novak practices piano in the band room. Novak started playing piano at age five and originally hated his lessons.

Managing Editor

JC Fast Facts: 11,990 books currently in the library

musician Joey Hoff

entertainment. Customers can play chess, write messages on a chalkboard door, or dress up their spoons like people.

“Frozen yogurt should not be taken seriously,” said employee Bria Murphy. “We have a good product that’s good for you, it’s a fun place to hang out, there are surprises every day, and it’s a nice alternative to spending a bunch of money to see a movie…you just have to come down and see it.”

After games and desert, walk up the street and across the block to Sound Garden, a CD, record, and movie shop with a lot of personality. Sound Garden was opened in 1993 because there were no quality record stores in Baltimore.

Ever since then, it has remained a popular landmark in Fell’s Point.

With an incredible selection of new and used CDs, DVDs, and records, almost anything can be found at Sound Garden with the help of their friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Sound Garden even has a small, indoor stage that has been used for intimate performances by celebrities such as Regina Spektor, The Goo Goo Dolls, Kiefer Sutherland, Robin Thick, Motorhead, Rise Against, and many others.

“It’s a great, independent business and just a cool place to come hang out and find out about new music and movies,” said employee Alex Ashkenes.

With only one other Sound Garden location in Syracuse, NY, it is no wonder why people who visit Baltimore’s Sound Garden always seem to find their way back. “It’s a destination,” said Ashkenes.

Places with originality, spunk, and their own idea of normalcy tend to be destinations. Sometimes a little out of the way, but completely worth it. Fell’s Point is filled with plenty of destinations for countless unique experiences.

To reach his current musical ability, Novak began his first piano lessons when he was five years old.

“I hated it,” Novak said. “But around ten, when I started getting good at it, I liked it a lot more. It turned out to be worth it, but in the beginning, my parents had to force me to go to the lessons.”

Besides Music Ministry, Novak plays piano at Fallston United Methodist Church, and even writes his own classicalstyle piano solos, one of which he entitled “Tears of the Earth.”

For inspiration, Novak turns to Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi. This modern composer wrote scores for over 100 films.

“I’ve played and learned tons of his songs,” Novak said.

Novak’s musical interests reach far beyond the piano keys.

He keeps busy by singing in the

school chorus and playing the trombone in both the concert band and jazz band.

During the fall musicals, Novak plays the violin in the pit orchestra. Novak performs in the spring production on stage.

“Musicals are a whole other thing with the vocals. I really like singing,” Novak said.

“Wicked” tops Novak’s list of favorite musicals to watch. “I saw it a few years ago at the Hippodrome and loved it,” Novak said.

Whether he’s performing in musicals or writing piano solos, Novak is always involved in music.

However, as for now, Novak doesn’t believe that he will major in music in college.

Even if he doesn’t plan to pursue a major or career in music, Novak knows that music will always be a part of his life.

most service hours recorded by a current student

1,931 1,017

average number of visitors per day to johncarroll.org

college applications received by guidance department

NVS

Salon & Spa

312 N. Main Street Bel Air, MD 21014 (410) 803- 0005 www.NVSsalon.com Come in for all of your beauty needs

Bring in this coupon for a great manicure pedicure combo deal for only $40!

entertainment

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 December 2010

7

Beach House’s ‘Teen Dream’ breaks out to new levels Daniel Gallen

Photo by Anna Gallen

Beach House’s Victoria Legrand (right) performs with Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste (left) and Daniel Rossen on August 31, 2009 in Brooklyn, NY. Touring with Grizzly Bear has given added exposure to Beach House.

Editor in Chief In order to succeed these days, a band needs a good record label, a popular single, and great friends.

Beach House has all three, plus a stellar full-length album which uses these attributes to make the jump to mainstream consciousness.

The duo of Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand collaborate on their third studio album, “Teen Dream,” released on Sub Pop Records, to shower the listener with soft crooning vocals, light keyboards, and metronomic beats associated with the “dream pop” genre.

The first single, “Used To Be,” was released in October 2008 and is one of the stronger songs on the album. The beat of the song is consistent throughout and sweeps the listener along on a journey through piano tunes and Legrand’s vocals.

In November 2009, the band released “Norway,” which was met by much critical acclaim, earning

“Best New Music” honors from Pitchfork. The song builds anticipation from the first piano chords and on through the intro of hazy vocals and arpeggiated guitar. “Norway” fades into what might be the best song of the album, “Walk In The Park.” Here, Legrand’s vocals imitate a clear winter day, while the drums resemble the pace of a walk in a park. “Walk In The Park” is a song about moving on, but the way it is put together, the listener wants to do anything but that.

In 2009, Beach House started to break into the musical consciousness of fans everywhere. Legrand collaborated twice with Grizzly Bear in the year, once with the hit “Two Weeks,” from “Veckatimest,” and again, on the soundtrack for “New Moon” on the song “Slow Life.” While overshadowed

by Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” as one of the first great albums in 2010, “Teen Dream” should not be ignored by anyone.

Spoon sets bar too high for ‘Transference’ to live up to Kaitlin Bobbin Editorials Editor Perhaps the best thing about Spoon is that they don’t demand that “I’m ready to listen to new music” mood to lure you into their latest release.

The familiar sound of Britt Daniel’s concise vocals and Eric Harvey’s rhythmic percussion mastery is a welcoming hallmark. It’s all a part of the standard we set for Spoon.

Yet Daniel’s comment to Spinner that “Transference” is an “uglier record” from back in November left fans asking what exactly that means.

Nothing on this album screams groundbreaking. Spoon didn’t blow our minds with singles similar to “The Underdog” or “You Got Yr.

Cherry Bomb” from “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” this time around. “Transference” is simply less complex.

“Transference” is an experience similar to sitting in a basement with the band as it tosses around some melodies and play with a variety of different mood tensions. “Written in Reverse” lets us hear that raw stage of their music. At once, the band’s caged anger runs free on a genuine rock guitar solo and passionately flowing unrestrained vocals. The rest of the album has glimpses of this rock craving, but it is impossible to give the album that identity.

Traces of the sounds we know Spoon for surface midway through the album. “I Saw the Light” sounds like that tense sharpness we got from “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.”

‘Romance is Boring’ exceeds expectations Daniel Gallen Editor in Chief When Los Campesinos! burst onto the music scene in Wales in late 2006, something was amiss with their music. The instrumentation was too loud and too fast to keep up with and just a bit out of sync while lyrically, the songs had too many words in too small of a space.

Los Campesinos! exhibited some of these flaws after their 2008 debut “Hold On Now, Youngster...” which were shored up in the follow-up, “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.” Los Campesinos! finally hit their stride with “Romance Is Boring.”

From start to finish, the sevenpiece outfit throws together witty lyrics, musical chops, and raw emotion to form an album that could possibly be on every critic’s top ten list when the year is through. The band’s use of group vocals is unmatched, as it livens up every song, changing pace on the listener and

changing the band’s sound at every turn to keep the listener’s attention.

The content of the album sticks better than it did previously, with song titles like “A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State, or Letters from Me to Charlotte.”

“A Heat Rash” looks at a relationship between two close friends that morphs into a romance from the outside while offering advice of “Walk out onto your front lawn and face into the rain / Shout into the wind, ‘This’ll never be the same.’”

Los Campesinos! refined their sound in “Romance Is Boring” without losing anything that made them one of the best indie bands to come out of England in recent years.

“Romance Is Boring” defies expectations and will definately resurface in December when the “Best of” lists are compiled.

Overall, Los Campesinos!’s “Romance is Boring” deserves an Afor their outstanding new content, and emotion to go along with it.

“Trouble Comes Running” instantly gives a “Kill the Moonlight” feel, as if it were written to be featured on “The O.C.” Then “Goodnight Laura” plays in with that soft rock element that drones into “Out Go the Lights,” a quiet sequence to contrast a rock based album.

And then there’s “The Mystery Zone” with steady drum lines that compliment this bass driven track.

“Who Makes Your Money,” is more of a mystic sound with repetitive, gentle vocals.

Even if “Transference” can’t compare to “Kill the Moonlight” or “Gimme Fiction,” there is something to say about a band whose rampant escapade of experimentation reassures us that quality is in its nature.

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Due to the great reviews from Spoon’s previous albums, “Transference,” shown above, was expected to be even better.

8 in-depth

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

According to reports from Rutgers University, 95 percent of high school students say they have cheated at least once during their education.

Within our own school, 79 percent of JC students admitted to cheating in a recent poll of 140 students taken.

These studies and incidents indicate that cheating is becoming the norm among students.

Are moral integrity, honesty, and ethical standards forgotten? This issue, The Patriot takes a look at cheating, the consequences, and teachers’ thoughts.

Caught Red Handed

Student achieves cheat-free success Kristin Marzullo Photo Editor

School isn’t easy. Juggling academics, sports, family, and friends can be a major challenge. Sometimes it may feel like there’s no time for anything. But cheating doesn’t make school any easier either.

Junior Susan Lubejko has managed to juggle school, cello lessons, friends, and family life, without ever thinking about cheating. Lubejko is ranked first in her class and has earned all of her grades fairly.

“I think it’s unfair that I spend time doing work and people cheat and still get good grades,” Lubejko said. She and other students who don’t cheat feel they are put at a disadvantage when a classmate, who decides not to study and cheats on his or her tests or homework.

Lubejko also said, “I don’t think teachers can get rid of cheating on homework but some teachers just don’t pay attention; like if there’s a test on the computer they don’t realize students are looking at their notes at the same time.”

In the end, Lubejko thinks it would be easier, and smarter, for students to sit down and study rather than try to cheat.

They will retain information they study and it could help them in the future.

“Cheating doesn’t help you in the long run, especially on things like exams, which you can’t cheat on,” Lubejko said.

Cheaters weigh in on discipline the most honest way.

“I cheat because I’m In-Depth Editor stressed, because of school, and trying to get into a good Cheating. It’s as easy as college,” said one anonymous glancing at answers on the student. palm of a hand, peering onto Another student cheats bethe next student’s paper, or cause he wants his parents to pulling up your skirt, sleeve, “feel proud” of him. and pant leg ever so slightly to One student doesn’t have ace the test. Studies show that the motivation or time to tacktoday, high school students are le the piles of homework every willing to leave their morals night, which many students behind to earn can relate a good grade to. “I cheat more than ever. because I I cheat because don’t have JC defines cheating in enough time I’m stressed, the 2009-2010 to study and because of Student Handget homeschool, and book as “giving, work done receiving, or trying to get into because of conflicting attempting to a good college.” clubs and give or receive sports,” said unauthorized - Unnamed JC help that could the student.

Student result in an unWhether fair advantage in completing the motive behind students’ school work.” cheating is to make parents According to a recent poll proud, get into a good college, taken by 140 JC students on or make up for lack of time, it the topic of cheating, 79 per- is becoming a huge problem. cent of students in JC cheat. In According to many stuhigh school, students feel the dents, the teacher, assignment heavy weight of tests, quizzes, type, and subject have much homework, and other big as- to do with whether or not a signments on their shoulders. student will cheat or not.

Not only do they want to do “If the teacher and subject well for themselves, but they interest me, I’m not going to want to do well in academics cheat. If the teacher’s mean to get into a good college. and the subject’s boring, I’m Even though 56 percent more likely to cheat,” said one of JC students feel that doing student. their own homework is easier Many students feel differthan cheating, a majority of stu- ently about the act of copying dents are continuing to cheat homework, though. to keep up. Unfortunately, “Copying homework is students don’t always achieve cheating because the person their success in academics in who they copied did their

Julia Earnshaw

‘

homework themselves and they did not,” said the student.

One student believes it’s okay to cheat in certain courses. “I mostly cheat in religion because I don’t understand why we need to be tested on our beliefs,” said the student.

Whether it’s copying homework or copying off of someone else’s test, the Student Handbook states that cheating deserves punishment: “in addition to disciplinary penalties, any instance of plagiarism results in a failing grade for the assignment and, or test.” If a student has received three demerits, they will be suspended until a disciplinary hearing is scheduled to review the student’s situation. The suspension may be an in-school or out-of-school suspension, dependent of the Dean of Students. It may even result in a permanent dismissal from school.

Most students feel that if they did get caught, receiving disciplinary action wouldn’t curb their cheating, even if it was a three demerit offense.

“It won’t stop me from cheating because the likeliness of me getting caught is slim to none. I would much rather take the good grades,” said one student.

The high amount of students that cheat in JC, and the fact that 49 percent of JC students don’t feel guilty about cheating their way into a good grade, shows that taking the risk by cheating to get a good grade for students in JC is more important than doing their work the honest way.

cheating GRAPHS

in-depth

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

9

Teachers keep eye out for cheating Daniel Gallen Editor in Chief From homework, tests, and quizzes, the temptation to cheat is everywhere for students on a daily basis. This temptation gripped one anonymous senior last year during one of physics teacher Lyle Brennen’s tests and she made the decision to go through with this academic dishonesty.

However, she immediately regretted her decision.

“I’d always considered it, but never followed through,” she said, “but after that one time, I’d never do it again.”

The student said that Brennen handled it the same as any other cheating incidents.

“I always react by collecting the quiz or test immediately, stapling the test, Honor Pledge, and cheat sheets together, and giving it to [Dean of Students Tom] Vierheller,” Brennen said. After Vierheller has possession of the confiscated material, he decides the punishment for the student.

Brennen holds the usual “zero tolerance” standard when it comes

to cheating on tests and quizzes, but does admit that there is “gray area” when it comes to cheating on homework. He describes a “fine line” and “too much helping versus cheating.”

He can usually tell when two students or a group of students are cheating because the incorrect answers have consistent flaws in the work. Brennen does not have a problem with students helping each other get around a “blockade” in their work, but wants the students to try to finish their work independently. “If you do most of the thinking, I’m alright with that,” he said.

Going hand-in-hand with cheating is plagiarism. Principal Paul Barker, a former English teacher, has witnessed numerous incidents of plagiarism throughout his career in academics, including one at his former school, St. Edward High School, in Cleveland, OH. He clearly recalled catching the star shooting guard from the St. Edward basketball team plagiarizing a research paper word-for-word.

He was able to catch the student because Barker collected all re-

search papers from previous years for his records. The student was suspended from school for a week and from his team for two weeks after Barker realized that the student’s paper “looked familiar.” He checked his records and found the copy of the paper from a previous year.

Barker finds it “insulting that a person thinks [plagiarism] is alright” and asks, “How could you rationalize it to yourself?” Barker also went on to say that plagiarism is like a student thinking “it would be okay to poke your teacher in the eye.”

“There are a few things a student can do that can cause great hurt, disappointment, and some anger among parents and teachers alike than cheating,” said Brennen. “[Cheating is] deeply hurtful.

Deeply, deeply hurtful.”

Barker said that cheating shows a “lack of class and dignity” and a “lack of respect for teachers.”

Barker, who is completing a doctoral program at University of Pennsylvania, is facing the same dilemmas that some students face with immense research projects.

Barker said that while students should contribute something new with their projects, they should “ground it in those coming before” and cite their sources. “You can’t do [work] in a vacuum,” said Barker.

The aftermath of cheating proves to be one of the most trying times in a student’s life with the feelings of lost trust. The anonymous student caught cheating in Brennen’s physics class said, “Everything sunk. It was the worst guilt you could possibly feel.”

“After the punishment, I was so worried about what he would think about it, how he would view me,” she said.

Brennen commends students that stick with classes in the aftermath of a cheating incident. “It’s very difficult to face the teacher after a serious cheating incident,” he said. “It takes guts.”

Both Brennen and Barker recognize that cheating is a “personal decision” that “never goes away,” as Barker said.

“No one forgets,” said Brennen.

“It’s something you have to live with.”

studentANSWER Do teachers do a good job at catching students cheating?

Are the punishments fair?

“I don’t know because sutdents don’t cheat in my classes.“ -Malia Williamson, ‘13

“I think the teachers do a good job and the punishment is fair.”

- Emily Keegan, ‘12

“No the teacher’s don’t. I “The teacher’s don’t do a think cheating’s bad and they good job at all. I hink if the should crack down more.” student gets away with it they shouldn’t be punished.”

- Lance Waters, ‘11 - Reed Freeman, ‘10

Students risk honor, trust through cheating Elizabeth Tauber In-Depth Editor Every year, Dean of Students Thomas Vierheller and Freshman Dean of Students Sean Ireton see instances of cheating and plagiarism, an offense that can cost up to three demerits.

“It always is [a problem],” said Ireton. “One incident is a problem.” Ireton feels that the motivation for cheating comes from the academic environment. “They get pressured,” said Ireton. “It’s a bigger mistake than failing a test.”

“They want to do well and are pressured by parents and themselves,” said Vierheller. Students who cheat do so in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage in the classroom, spending less time preparing, but hoping to receive equal to or superior to their fellow pupils.

“I hate when stupid kids get better grades than me on tests when I studied for three hours,” said junior Ryan Kirby.

“[Cheating students] often procrastinate in preparing,” said Vierheller. “They cheat others of their time and preparation.”

A student who gets caught cheating will be sent to either Ireton or Vierheller. The situation will be evaluated by one of the deans to determine the punishment.

Kirby feels that the punishment should depend on the offense, like having a detention be a punishment for cheating on a homework as a “slap on the wrist,” while having tests and other major assignments at three demerits.

On the other hand, junior Jessi Barley said, “Cheating is cheating.

It shouldn’t matter.”

Math teacher Claudia Reyerson said, “I’m not opposed to students collaborating on homework, but when it’s ‘one person per paper,’ I look for it.”

Reyerson described her methods for preventing cheating as a combination of walking up and down the aisles of her classroom,

watching student behavior, looking in the aisles for open notebooks that could have answers on them, and checking to see if students have answers in their calculators.

“I’ve managed to stop cheating that way,” she said However, punishment isn’t all about discipline. “We try to get the student to think about what the mistake has cost them,” said Ireton, referencing a damaged reputation, the respect of a teacher, and trustworthiness.The honor code is posted in every classroom, and some teachers have their students write it on tests or quizzes. “[The students] have an understanding of what it means and what they stand for,” said Ireton. “The students have a sense of respect of who they are and where they come from.”

“I would like the honor pledge to mean something,” Reyerson said.

Principal Paul Barker said that he would like to see an addition of an honor court that would hold

students accountable among their peers as an added punishment.

An honor court would work similarly to a review board, where the student caught cheating would face a panel of their peers. According to Barker, having cheating students “interrogated” by fellow classmates and having to “answer” to the honor court of students rather than a review board of teachers would have a “good outcome.”

For now, Barker thinks teachers should utilize methods such as Turnitin.com to help prevent cheating from happening. While teaching, Barker gave assignments on books that did not have much literature on sites like SparkNotes or CliffNotes available for them.

He said doing this would help to “remove the temptation” to cheat on academic assignments.

“Over time, we hope to make [the honor pledge] truly a part of our culture,” said Vierheller.

“Most students take pride in their work, but many do not,” he said.

10 entertainment

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Collin Hoofnagle braves the wee morning hours to bring you the best of late night comedy programming

NBC proves to be late night king I almost cried on the night Conan O’Brien left. He had only hosted “The Tonight Show” for a couple of months, but it only takes that long to become attached to that show. What made the show great was O’Brien’s great sense of creativity.

Every night he brought something new, whether it was having stunt girls fired out of a Ringling Brothers cannon or racing Teri Hatcher in a full triathlon. Unfortunately, though, O’Brien and “The Tonight Show” are no more.

And soon, Jay Leno and “The Jay Leno Show” will be too. Thank God. “The Jay Leno Show” is simply torture. Leno seemed like a comedic pro on the “The Tonight

Show,” but his move to primetime doubled as a fall from grace. The producers have lost their sense of reality, thinking that somehow celebrities racing around a track in a sub-compact car is comedy.

And Leno’s monologue doesn’t help either. He tries to appeal to a young crowd, and it certainly shows. It’s just weird to hear a 59 year old man make jokes about Twitter.

Hopefully, next in line to take “The Tonight Show” seat is Saturday Night Live veteran and host of “Late Night,” Jimmy Fallon.

Fallon’s show contains bits that sometimes don’t make sense and are always totally random. One time, he had audience members

throw hot dogs through holes in blown up posters of “Twilight” stars. Yet, they are still outrageously funny.

Fallon’s Saturday Night Live experience comes through, most notably when he and his show’s staff, cross dress to play their wives in a mini-series, mocking Bravo’s “The Real Housewives” franchise.

One of Fallon’s writers, for example, plays “Yvonne,” an obese black woman who crashes “The Today Show.”

While Fallon only really appeals to a young crowd with his type of comedy, all of the humor in the show makes staying up truly worth it for anyone who is craving a little late night comedy.

CBS barely breaks even It doesn’t take long after watching the dinosaur David Letterman deliver his monologue to realize how unappealing “The Late Show” truly is. His monologues apply only to old folks, most of who probably don’t even stay up that late.

And awkwardly enough, the monologues sometimes become overly sexual, for instance, when Letterman mocked Massachusetts senator-elect Joe Brown’s nude photo shoot.

It’s not just Letterman’s monologue that is mediocre. The entire show lacks creativity. Perhaps the most annoying part of the show is the stupid little joke that pops up before commercial breaks.

One thing Letterman does do right: interesting and well-known guests and the ability to have a conversation with them that actually interests viewers.

Still though, I think Letterman’s show would better be aired

throughout retirement communities, rather than on a big-time network, such as CBS. When Letterman finally ends, some relief comes with “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” This Scot has a knack for doing things differently, and it really shows in this playful late night show.

Ferguson spends a long time on his monologue, most of which is occupied by him reflecting on his thoughts and actions.

And while he does tend to get a bit too close to the camera for my comfort, his random ramble is amazing. It’s like nothing else on late night. The best part about Ferguson is his appeal. Both young and old audiences can find something to laugh at while watching “The Late Late Show.” And while his guests may not be A-list celebrities, Ferguson’s monologue more than makes up for it.

ABC lacks laughter Airing the news program “Nightline” at the same time as NBC and CBS’s prime late night comedy shows, the network isn’t too committed to late night comedy.

Their only late night comedy show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” is not especially entertaining, but not disastrous either.

Jimmy Kimmel seems bored in his role, like he’s not having any fun. His Mexican “sidekick” Guillermo, who doubles as the studio’s security guard, is a riot though.

Unfortunately, Guillermo’s pretty much the sole source of laughter on the show.

There’s little creativity like O’Brien’s or Fallon’s shows, unless you call a bad interpretation of Jay Leno’s hair and voice creative.

Kimmel does get creativity points for his video-spoofs.

One of my favorites being a History Channel-like documentary mocking the feud between O’Brien and Leno complete with Civil War photos.

His recurring video spoof “Unnecessary Censorship” takes clips from interviews and shows and bleeps out certain words to make it seem like people are cursing. It’s good for a chuckle at first, but it gets old week after week.

Kimmel consistently has wellknown stars on the show, but his problem is that his lack of energy continues throughout the all of the guest interviews.

With no act to follow Kimmel, ABC is sort of in the dark when it comes to late night comedy.

editorials

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Technologies of the

Past, Present, and Future The Patriot staff weighs in on technology’s changes as we enter the new decade, as well as reflecting on the past.

blast from the not so distant past We’re only a decade into the millennium, and America has already seen new trends emerge. Managing Editor Joey Hoff takes a look back on the defining products of the past decade.

Reality TV

No matter how annoying the exploitation of people in “real-life” situations can be, reality shows were a defining mark in the past decade of television programming.

The John and Kate saga came to an end after five seasons, but their accomplishments were no match for the reigning reality show king, “Survivor.” In the past decade, CBS managed to squeeze out 19 seasons of “Survivor” with another season planned for 2010. Nearly 52 million people watched the finale for “Survivor: Borneo” in 2000, making it one of the most-watched television programs of the decade.

That’s a feat.

Crossover SUV’s

It’s a marketing term that’s made its way into our vocabulary: cross-

twitter changes society Ryan Selvy Design Editor Strap yourself into a time machine and crank the gear back about a year. Walk down the street, look a stranger in the eye, and ask him if he has a Twitter. Naturally, you’ll be called a cuckoo nut head and will be hastily avoided. Bring yourself back to today’s world and do the same experiment. You’ll find out that the same person just tweeted while you were walking up to them.

Twitter has morphed our world into an entire new norm for getting information, sharing information, and broadcasting ourselves to others. Law suits have been filed because of tweets, and law suits have been ended through tweets. Crimes have been planned over Twitter, crimes have been stopped by the police checking Twitter. But most importantly, Twitter has become a massive cloud of breaking news from people around the world.

Celebrities and companies have taken this free service and used it to share their product to the world through tweeting campaigns, slo-

gans, ads, and opinions directly to their fans. But as this became the social norm, people began abusing it and obsessing over the service, leading to law suits and tears.

Many celebrities and athletes have tweet confidentiality in their contracts now. These actors and athletes could face suspension for sending a small 140 character message over the waves.

In the beginning of August the NFL doled out its first Twitter-related fined to San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie for complaining about the food at training camp. As far as celebrities, Courtney Love’s Twitter was shut down due to a lawsuit over libel in her tweets about her designer.

But Twitter doesn’t only hurt people. Companies have created social portals in which they answer their customers instantly from a tweeted complaint. If you generically tweet that you had bad service at Best Buy, you can bet that someone will message you, apologize for your bad experience, and ask if they can assist you. Then, they will proceed to sell their product to you through small messages just re-

11

minding you that they’re there.

Twitter is no longer just a small service used to see what you’re doing. Twitter has become a mass blob of insanity that lawyers, CEOs, media, and the public are constantly worried about. Here we are, in 2010, obsessively checking to see who tweeted what.

Twitter should not be considered an evil corporation though.

Blogs, message boards, MySpaces and other Internet tools have always been available and popular to celebrity use. With Twitter, we are able to get more information from our favorite people. Sure, celebrities may have to watch what they say, but it’s no reason to abandon Twitter. It is a way to reach out to fans, by taking away their account they shut off their fans. And less fans is always a bad thing if you’re doing it for money.

Celebrities, agents, and corporations need to embrace Twitter as much as they did in the future.

A few bad stories here and there shouldn’t scare anyone away.

But only time can tell what will happen to Twitter. One can only imagine what lies in our future.

over SUV. In the late ‘90s, the Lexus RX was the only crossover on the road. Today, nearly every major auto-maker has a crossover model, and the crossovers dominate America’s SUV segment.

They’re convenient, comparatively fuel efficient, and hopefully here to stay. I’ll probably regret saying that in 2020.

GPS

While Global Positioning Systems have been around for decades, they’ve fully made their way into mainstream American gadgetry in the past decade. Just take a look at all the glowing screens on car windshields during a nighttime drive down I-95. They’re everywhere. I can hardly remember life without one. They reroute us when we’re lost, get us home from the beach, and tell us how long our trip will take. Are we there yet?

YouTube

Film it, upload it, and you’re practically a star. YouTube has launched singing careers, made America laugh, and provided a temporary cure for boredom by

redefining ways to avidly avoid work. Less than two years after its creation, YouTube was sold to Google for $1.65 billion. Do you have a good idea for the Internet?

I’d give Google a call.

iStuff

In 2001, music changed forever.

It wasn’t the death of a famous musician; it was the introduction of Apple’s iPod. We no longer had to carry around bulky CD players that skipped with every step. The iPod condensed piles of CD’s into a single handheld device! As I held my silver iPod Mini with a black and white screen, I didn’t think that technology could get any better.

But I was wrong. In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone, revolutionizing the mobile phone industry.

Will another Apple product define the next decade?

Mathematicians and financial analysts have argued that the new decade doesn’t start for another year. I’m still trying to figure out what to call the decade: The zeros?

The double “O’s”? How about something simple: unforgettable.

What’s in store...

Apple redefines the media with the new iPad. Available in up to 64 GB, the tablet style iPad is the new device for music, books, magazines, and more.

Image from apple.com

video games move to forefront in 2000s Ryan Lina General Staff We all know that video games don’t actually make you want to kill people (sorry Hillary Clinton) but who would think that video games are one of the few industries that isn’t tanking.

That’s right, with the economy down, people are losing their jobs left and right and one of the only industries that isn’t suffering is vid-

eo games. How is this happening?

While many industries have been forced to down size and lay people off, major gaming companies like Zenamax Media (the company responsible for games like “Elder Scrolls Oblivion” and “Fallout 3”) have nearly doubled in size according to npr.org.

It’s not just that company though. Most gaming companies have grown in size and it’s easy to see why. Video games have

become widely accepted in our culture. It’s not just teenagers anymore either. People of all ages can be found playing, whether it’s as simple as Farmville or a game like “Guitar Hero.”

I swear if I was in the room when somebody first pitched the idea for “Guitar Hero” I would have shot it down thinking “no one would want to play a game like that, they’d just play an actual guitar.” I guess I would have been wrong because I

haven’t met one person who hasn’t played “Guitar Hero.”

It’s sad to think about it, but video games are so popular that in an economy that is struggling to prosper we are still willing to pay seventy dollars for one game when there are so many more productive things that you could spend it on.

Applebee’s two-for-twenty deal lets you have two three course meals for twenty dollars. So for the price of one video game you could

eat at Applebee’s three times. Does anyone else agree with me that video games are overpriced?

If that’s not enough to make you think about how video games have taken over our society than think about this: according to Feed the Children Foundation you can feed a hungry child for ten cents a day.

So for seventy dollars you can feed a child for seven hundred days.

That’s almost two years. Should we Americans re-think our priorities?

12editorials

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Economic times force cuts in science Kate Froehlich Executive Editor

At Wit’s End By: Allison Siegel

The difficulty of convincing a bunch of apathetic teenagers to unite and do something together is nothing to jeer at.

Teenagers are naturally uninterested in things that aren’t directly related to them. Even if one person has the boldness to stand up for something, become active in a crusade against a societal evil, or make a simple change, he or she is often excluded for being, well, different.

For years, there has been a fight to have teens become active in their society and to have them take full advantage of the vigor they possess. Imagine if you could have a group of teenagers raise money for a homeless shelter with as much enthusiasm as they have toward attending a party on a Friday night.

We have the tools, they’re in our belt. It just hasn’t been brought to our attention how useful each of us can really be.

Facebook has become an integral part of society. But it is not just a website to chat with your friends and send “pokes.” Facebook has become a call to activism.

The website is a tool to reach thousands of people by simply stating your message and waiting for those who seem to care to come around. Facebook has brought together people for serious events, such as an effort to rally for causes like breast cancer, and events that are pure fun, like a snowball fight for hundreds of D.C. adults.

If one person can create an event on Facebook and send an invitation to all of his or her friends, a few will most likely respond. And when it shows up in those people’s News Feeds, a few more may become interested. All of the sudden, the actions of one can cause hundreds to join. All it takes to make something successful is creativity in presentation.

Teens have opinions. Why do you think I enjoy writing this column so much? We have stances, we have ideas, and we have passions. It’s a shame that we have to pin them down inside our heads just because we don’t have anywhere else to keep them. The key to getting a teen to be involved is to guide them to the outlet. That’s what I’m here to do. I think that there’s potential for this generation.

Let’s do something.

If Facebook is such an easy way to reach out to people, why aren’t we using it more? It is the one place that you can almost guarantee thousands of people can access every day. Facebook can be the cause; it is up to us to be the effect.

As the new master plan prepares to upgrade science labs on campus, recognizing the dire need for science skills in the 21st century, Berkeley High School in California is doing just the opposite.

Berkeley’s School Governance Council (SGC) voted in favor of a proposal to cut five science teachers and eliminate science labs in order to funnel that money into programs to benefit students that are struggling academically.

That’s all well and good. But how does that offer any incentive to those that make an obvious effort?

In a fair world, the students who honestly care about their marks would get the respect they deserve.

Instead, they’re seeing useful programs cut. And it’s not like students aren’t electing to take the science classes. According to a 2008 Board of Education assessment for Berkeley, enrollment in AP Environmental has increased over the past year.

The message I get from it?

“Look, Susie, we know you want to become a biologist or discover a cure for lung cancer, but honestly, your future is less important to us than Rodger’s, who hasn’t done his homework all semester.”

Labs offer a variety of benefits crucial to the practical success of students when they enter the real world. The National Science Teacher Association’s website states that labs provide the oppor-

tunity to “design investigations, engage in scientific reasoning, manipulate equipment, record data, analyze results, and discuss their findings,” as well as encourage inquisitiveness in students.

Labs allow students to see practical uses for what they are learning and to be immersed in the process, in addition to simply learning straight facts and theories.

Besides, from Frostburg to Harvard, colleges are looking for at least two years Cartoon by Brooke Basta of lab science in Years ago, parents feared that schools would cut arts and music programs in order to a student’s back- remain within yearly budgets. The fight to preserve a variety of subjects in schools has ground. I sup- re-emerged when a high school in California threatened to cut its science courses. pose Berkeley doesn’t see any 9 of the 10 highest paying jobs, more of. I do recognize the need real need to prepare their students mostly in the medical field, require to help lower-performing students, for higher education? science. In addition, the Bureau of but find ways to achieve this withThis seems a little ironic, consid- Labor Statistics, projecting figures out negatively impacting those who ering their website boasts that 80% for 2018, reports the need for a work hard to maintain their grades. of their students go on to a two- or background in science for five of In addition, I applaud JC’s plans four-year college. Good luck find- the ten fastest growing occupations. to address the downtrodden sciing colleges that are happy with no I plead with the Berkeley School ence facilities at our school. The lab science experience on the stu- Board to reject this proposal. plan for modern labs, offering a dents’ résumés.

Don’t jeopardize the futures of wealth of new knowledge, will only The way of the future is in the students in the science field, when continue to fulfill the mission of a sciences. According to cnbc.com, this field is what this world needs college preparatory school.

Parents exceed necessary enthusiasm Maggie Yankovich Contributing Writer Three weeks ago, I attended my very first JC athletic event. I suppose this could be seen as somewhat blasphemous, considering I have been at this school for nearly two years now.

Now, anyone who knows me could tell you that I normally could care less about sports. But basketball is the exception: fast-paced, high-energy, and a game of talent and dedication. It is the one sport that I love to watch and enjoyed playing for four years.

This came and hit me upside the head as the game commenced. It was the girls’ varsity basketball team against the undefeated Joppatowne Mariners, and from the very beginning, it was clear that we would give them a run for their money.

I found myself in a state of euphoria. Within minutes of the first quarter, I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins as baskets were made and passes blocked.

It was as if I was back in my own jersey and Nikes, a forward ready to take my place under the net. I could hear the long-lost basketball hound in me ask, “Why didn’t you try out for the team last year?!”

But that question was answered when the referees apparently made a bad call. I can’t recall what that call entailed, but I can tell you what, or should I say who, shattered my longing to put back on a basketball

Photo by Katie Doherty

Fans gather to watch the girls basketball team play St. Paul’s. Full bleachers only add to the chaos when the intensity of the game rises.

jersey: parents.

Not just any parents, oh no.

The overzealous, sport-mongering, micro-managing parents. Their cries of “YOU’RE GONNA LET THEM CHEAT?!” or, my favorite, “MY FOUR-YEAR OLD COULD DO A BETTER JOB!” echoed throughout the gymnasium.

Let me make something very clear: I have no qualms about cheering for my team or getting a little rowdy when the opposing team gets ahead. But what turns me off completely from wanting to take part in organized school sports is the disrespect that the heckling

parents display most hypocritically.

I’ve never understood why parents think that it is okay to act at high school sporting events like they would at a professional game.

If you want to carry on and criticize the players out on the field or court at an NFL or NBA game, fine by me. But parents get this idea that if they can act out and show off at a pro game, they could certainly behave the same way at their son’s baseball game or their daughter’s field hockey competition.

Well, you look more foolish when you are in a gymnasium with 30 people, and the only one

screaming bloody murder at your 16-year-old’s team, than you do at an arena-sized venue.

These parents are the same parents that you hear about on the news, starting fights over their children’s tee-ball games. The same parents who pressure their kids to excel in their sport to the breaking point, making them forget why they loved playing it in the first place.

I couldn’t help but cringe during the basketball game when the parents refused to move on from the ref’s controversial call. Not because it was detrimental to the game, but because once parents get hysterical, they don’t stop.

The crude commotion came to an abrupt stop, when one of the girls on the team put them in their place by letting them know that it is her team’s game to play, not theirs.

I could feel the embarrassment and shame come in waves where the parents sat. I’m sure it is a humbling thing to be put in your place by the same children you taught the meaning of RESPECT and GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP. Forgive me if what I have to say about high school sports seems bitter, for I do not mean to upset any parents, nor do I intend to be a muckraker hell bent on revolting against the way school sports are treated. However, if parents continue to behave like a bunch of knowit-all fanatics, I won’t be the only one so disillusioned about sports.

editorials

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

STAFF

EDITORIAL

Disaster strikes Haitians

What does ‘The Patriot’ have to say?

Everyone knows what it’s like to feel afraid, to feel devastated. Some people know what it’s like to lose a loved one. But few people know what it’s like to watch everything they’ve ever known crumble beneath them.

However, most people never experience such grand scale devastation. They can only imagine. On January 12, 2010, this changed for the citizens of Haiti.

Throughout the years, we’ve watched Haiti and other countries throughout the world suffer from political insecurity, poverty, and natural disaster. People tend to set

themselves apart from these realities. People turn away based on the conception that they can’t make a difference.

But when a human cries out for help, naturally, it’s hard to look away. On a Tuesday like any other, Port-au-Prince was shaken to ruins. Over 100,000 people died.

The equally important part: some people are still alive, and they need help.

JC can help. We can help. It is not our responsibility to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, but as a Catholic school and as people, we should value our abil-

ity to reach out to those in need.

There are people in this world strong enough to watch their lives collapse and get up and build a camp for their families. These people are worth helping. They aren’t a lost cause or bad people. These people were just like us, until they suffered an earthquake.

The Red Cross has taken the effort to start a foundation and work one-on-one with the people in Haiti. All it takes is another click of your mouse to donate to their cause.

JC has taken the effort to team up with St. Margaret’s and raise

money for the Catholic Relief for the Haitians. At the January 26 men’s basketball game against Cardinal Gibbons, a donation to Catholic Relief Services replaced an admission fee.

Students also have the opportunity to make a difference by selling all of their raffle tickets this year.

After all, JC is donating 20 percent of the proceeds.

All the work has been done for us. Helping the Haitians is just a donation away. So if anyone can manage to part with their Starbucks one morning, their five dollars won’t be wasted.

What do you think about taking a relief trip to Haiti?

13

Kaitlin Bobbin Editorials Editor Chicken patties: that’s straight. I mean who doesn’t want to eat a slab of processed poultry of questionable color at 11 in the morning? And two dollars and fifty cents is such a reasonable price when compared to that equally questionable PB& J mom made this morning. Who can resist grabbing one? Or two? Or three?

ssss s s

the patriot

As if we don’t read enough books by dead people. I guess “Catcher in the Rye” just made its shift from ‘contemporary’ to ‘classic’ with the death of J.D. Salinger on January 27. I wonder if it’s still extra credit for Mr. Paaby’s sophomore class to write letters to him.

Sorry Relient K, but it looks like khaki pants and sweaters won’t cut it for this Sadie Hawkins. Only formal black and white attire is acceptable for Sadie Hawkins: JC edition. I hope the tuxes complement the cafeteria floor.

“That would be a great thing because it shows how much we care.”

-Martha Schick ‘13

“It’s awesome that JC students want to get involved.”

“I don’t feel anything towards it.”

“I think that would be awesome.”

-Adam Kuester ‘12

-Mike Schott ‘11

-Erin Hellman ‘10

Overly expensive essentials upset all Ryan Lina General Staff Today, I went to McDonald’s to buy a bacon cheeseburger. However, when the clerk told me to give him $6.50, I was shocked. I wanted to take my burger and leave.

Then I stopped to think about it. The more I thought about how ridiculously expensive everything has become, I had to ask myself, why? Yes, six dollars is a lot for a burger, but fifteen dollars is a lot for a CD and for some reason society thinks that price is acceptable.

This overpriced pandemic exists at JC too. Last year, the cafeteria drinks were only a dollar and the cups were bigger. Now the cups have reduced in size and increased in price. Originally the cafeteria staff made up for the loss of cup size by giving us refills. However, that was taken away because people began stealing the cups. But still, the drinks now cost more and are smaller. It makes perfect sense if you don’t really think about it.

It’s not just JC food that is going through this problem—all over the

country, food is decreasing in size and increasing in price. It’s amazing that the biggest cheeseburger is Burger King’s Whopper and the meat on it is about as thick as my finger nail.

So many people try to say that “money isn’t everything,” but how can that be, when it seems that cash is the only thing this society revolves around?

After all, there are very few things that you can do unless you have money. They say that love is free, but if you want to spend time with the people you love, you often need a lot of money to do it.

If prices keep going up and both the quality and quantity keep going down, we are heading for disaster.

Don’t believe me? This may sound like a weird example, but at Woodstock 1999, food, water, and everything else was overpriced.

The concert turned into a riot, and was widely viewed as a catastrophe.

I’m not saying that the world is going to end, but if things don’t change, bad things are bound to happen.

It’s time for change.

The lobby of the Willow Valley Resort suffered damage in a two alarm fire on January 9. Fortunately, this is precisely where the senior class will be so pleasantly dropped off on February 18 for a relaxing retreat. I hope Mrs. Murphy Dohn has looked into this recently.

The administration is pushing the frontiers of creeping. Apparently Facebook photos are no longer enough, they need to watch us in action. Suspiciously moving down the hallway by ourselves… blatantly walking into the bathroom.

Did they want to check our pockets too?

Attention seniors: banner order forms are sitting in the hands of your parents. Begin your censoring now. The fact that you still need a date to prom doesn’t have to be public.

14 sports

the patriot

fanSPOTLIGHT

Pep Band Allison Siegel

Joey Hoff Managing Editor

Larry Dukes Swimming Q:How did you get involved in swimming?

A:Actually, I had swam earlier,

and then my son ran into a friend of his that was swimming and asked if he could try it out. When I went to his club to have [my son] try it out, it reacquainted me with a bunch of people that I swam with when I was younger and they coerced me into helping them coach.

photo by Kristin Marzullo

Senior Jeremy Griffith plays his trombone during the men’s varsity basketball game against Cardinal Gibbons. Pep band, normally reserved for basketball games in college, also played at wrestling matches this year.

“It really helps in the whole mental aspect of the match. If another team comes in and they see that we’ve got the stands full, the team pumped up, and a Pep Band there to keep the energy high, it’s going to psych another team out,” said Hollin.

The Pep Band has come a long way from their beginning. Bolden believes that the Pep Band should really be in the control of the students participating in it. He gave them freedom to help choose their uniform, their music, and how they would support the teams.

While still in search of a true JC Fight Song, the Pep Band has had a rigorous musical process. After a month of research by Bolden for fast, high-energy songs, the band auditioned ten songs, choosing the member’s five favorites. There was no set percussion music at the be-

point; you’re measuring yourself against the clock.There’s always another level that you can take yourself to. It’s much like track and field or those sports where it’s you and time or you and a bar where you can always raise the bar and always get a faster time.

Q:Did you start

coaching at JC?

A:No,

A:

ginning of the Pep Band’s existence, so the percussion section had to completely improvise it’s creative and original beats.

“There is a lot more freedom in what you can play. You’re encouraged to play loud,” said junior Patrick St. Clair.

Both Bolden and St. Clair agree that it would be great to expand the Pep Band and attract more people. Bolden hopes that an expansion would not mean the loss of the current band’s proficiency.

“I see it as a way to help break this barrier that seems to separate the music and athletic department” said St. Clair.

Coaches were ecstatic that the Pep Band wanted to participate in their games, and future seasons seem like they will be just as fruitful.

Q:How

would you describe your coaching technique?

A:It’s understanding the goals

of each one of the individuals, each one of the swimmers, and understanding the strengths that they have in their particular strokes. I guess my prowess is helping them with mechanics. We build mechanics before we build the endurance.

We can worry about swimming fast after we learn how to swim Larry Dukes correctly.

actually, I started at the club level for the Harford Hurricanes and the North Harford Neptunes. Then, I came to [JC] as What do you like about a swim coach. I think it was nine or swimming? ten years ago. I was coaching and teaching a course here part time You can very easily see an in- and then eventually became the dividual seeing the pay off of their athletic director. work, and I like the fact that it’s something from an individual stand-

Q:

Mews, Jones head to Memphis for fencing from FRONT PAGE

Managing Editor Hailing from the college that claims to possess the “best damn pep band in all the land,” it’s not surprising that the music department’s latest faculty addition is able to use his skills to assist the growing JC Pep Band.

Marc Bolden, music teacher and graduate of the University of Dayton, is leading the Pep Band. Participating in the pep band during college helped Bolden reach a new level of understanding with music, showing him just how much music can add to athletics.

Traditionally, a Pep Band is reserved for men’s basketball teams throughout the college world, but as always, JC is bending the rules.

“I think that the Pep Band has been an outstanding addition to athletics. It brings the whole college atmosphere to our games,” said varsity men’s basketball coach Tony Martin.

This year the Pep Band was a part of both the Wrestlepalooza and Battle of Bel Air wrestling matches. Wrestling coach Jake Hollin had specifically requested that the Pep Band play for the matches because he was looking to take the events to the next level.

According to him, the success of the wrestling team and the turn outs they have sustained are thanks to the Pep Band.

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Q:What is your favorite stroke?

A:My favorite stroke to swim is the breast stroke. It was my fastest stroke when I was growing up, but I always envied the good butterfliers.

nent without right of way, the fencand épée. Jones and Mews both er does not get the point. Right of compete in épée. Épée is the most way is established by turning the lenient of the three varieties. A bellguard, which protects the hand fencer can earn a point by hitting from stray hits, inward. If the fencany part of a person’s er becomes careless and body. The épée consists changes the position of of a blade with a point on his wrist, his opponent the end. The sword-like can gain the right of way. weapon is heavier in épée “With épée it’s more than in foil. of setting up an attack, “When I started fencwhile in sabre you rush ing in middle school I in to establish right of Morgan Jones learned foil. But when I way,” said Jones. went to the fencing club, Jones started learning I learned épée and imhow to compete in sabre mediately loved it,” said within the last month. “I Jones. like sabre because it ofFoil is similar to épée, fers different techniques but the foil’s blade is lightthan épée. It becomes er. In foil, the fencer can a lot faster and more agonly earn points by hitting gressive,” said Jones. his/her opponent’s torso, Competitions, in épée James Mews front and back. and sabre, are not on Both the foil and the a regular schedule. “I sabre are considerably more flex- compete whenever competitions ible than the épée. In sabre, the arise. It can be as many as three valid point areas are limited to any- times a month or once,” said Mews. thing above the waist. The sabre Jones joined the work study prois lighter than an épée but heavier gram to help afford her fencing lesthan a foil. sons and competitions. She assists Not only are the weapons a teacher in a class of kids age seven unique but the interaction between through nine. the fencers is different. The key Both are dreaming big for updifference between sabre and épée coming years. “The Olympics is right of way. would be awesome,” said Mews.

Right of way limits who can earn At the very least, both would like to points. If a fencer hits his oppo- compete in college.

sports

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Hall of Fame honors alumni athletic achievements

15

Haley Lynch Photo Editor Alumni Bryan Barrett, class of ’96, described his time at JC as some of the best four years of his life. After graduating, he went on to play eight years of professional lacrosse.

Barrett was just one of three athletes inducted into the JC Hall of Fame on January 24. These three athletes include his sister Brooke Barrett, class of ’98, and Katie Tiburzi Jenkins, class of ’97.

The Athletic Hall of Fame inductions have been going on since 1989. The Hall of Fame Committee chooses the athletes after receiving recommendations from athletes’ friends or family.

Anne Munth, Brooke’s former field hockey assistant coach, read off a letter from Brooke’s head lacrosse coach John Hughes. In the letter, he listed several of her many accomplishments.

Brooke was captain of the lacrosse team senior year and a two year starter on JC’s varsity field hockey team. After high school, she went to Boston University, where she continued to play lacrosse. Hughes described Brooke saying, “She was a natural leader.

She was always one to help others no matter what. She shares her love for the game.”

After receiving her plaque and gift, Brooke made a short but genu-

Overtime

By: Daniel Gallen

Photo by Katie Doherty

Brooke Barrett, class of ‘98, recieves her award from President Richard O’Hara. Barrett was recognized for her success in field hockey and lacrosse at JC and Boston University.

ine speech thanking her friends, family, and JC. “My biggest thanks goes to my brother. I always admired him for all he did,” said Brooke.

Addressing all JC student athletes, Brooke said, “It takes hard work. If you just believe in yourself, whether in John Carroll or beyond, you can accomplish your goals.”

Next, Bryan Barrett’s longtime friend, Brad Knapp, spoke about what it was like growing up with Bryan. He said, “Bryan was always the guy to get picked first. His character, passion, and will to win the

game was what made him different.” Bryan was captain of the football team his senior year.

After he was cut from the football team in his freshman year at the University of Delaware, he chose to play lacrosse the next three years. He described his reaction saying, “I believe that all things happen for a reason. It made me not take things for granted.” Later in 2007, while playing for the Indoor National Lacrosse league, Bryan’s team won the bronze medal.

Bryan confessed, “I was never

the most talented kid. I had to work and earn what I got, and I think my teammates respected me for that.”

Unfortunately, Katie Tiburzi Jenkins was unable to attend, but will still be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

According to Dukes, the tradition of inducting athletes into the Hall of Fame will continue for years to come. O’Hara described the goal of the committee. “We are honoring traits and character, strengths, personal qualities, and hard work. Who they are, were,

So many times the front page stories in the sports section involve the health of a team’s star player.

For some athletes, every little detail immediately becomes front page news.

Vikings quarterback Brett Favre’s rotator cuff could have had a reality show by the time it healed last summer.

But sometimes, it appears that the focus on health needs to shift from the players to the coaches.

On December 26, Urban Meyer, head coach of the University of Florida football program, announced he was resigning from his position due to health issues.

While Meyer changed his plans to a leave of absence and said he expects to coach the Gators in 2010, it was revealed that he had been suffering heart problems and stress related ailments.

It was announced on January 19 that University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun was taking a medical leave of absence for what his doctor called “temporary medical issues.” Calhoun is no stranger to ailments, as he has undergone treatments for prostate cancer and skin cancer in the past decade.

Meyer and Calhoun are just two of the many coaches who deal with the same thing on a daily basis: stress. With the bottom line being money these days, the pressure for coaches to win becomes higher than ever.

The lengths that coaches especially college ones, go through to ensure that their teams will succeed are incredibly disproportionate to the health risks they submit themselves too. Half the time, they aren’t given their due.

No matter the sport, the players cannot do everything on their own.

There must be a strong presence guiding the team. While credit is often given to an individual based on his or her performance, the performance is only possible because of the coach.

The coach is responsible for motivating the players to give their best effort, no matter what the circumstances. Give coaches credit.

Meyer and Calhoun are not the only coaches out there with health problems. It’s not easy to see when coaches are in bad health. Their intense sacrifice needs to be appreciated by all outside observers, as these health scares show that coaches give up more than meets the eye to do their jobs.

16 sports

the patriot

Volume 45 Issue 4 February 2010

Owona twins finally reunite on court, in country Freshman basketball forward Christian Owona (42) posts up against junior center Kanu Aja of Cardinal Gibbons while junior guard Malcolm McMillan (11) attempts to inbound the ball.

Owona scored one point in the Patriots’ 52-49 victory over the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders on January 26.

Rachel Kokoska Sports Editor Five rejections are hard for anyone to take, but for freshman Christian Owona they were preventing his ticket to America.

Christian and his twin brother Mike went to obtain student visas in Cameroon on the same day.

Both had been offered the chance to play basketball at JC. Mike walked out with his visa, while Christian was rejected for the first time. The boys went in together, but each went to a separate immigration official.

“One person can give you the okay, while the person in the next room can reject you,” said men’s varsity basketball coach Tony Martin. “There is no exact logic behind [the decision].”

Both boys had the same credentials, but each immigration official made the decision based on his or her own opinion.

Christian did not go to the airport to see Mike leave in August.

Their mother told Martin that Christian was “inconsolable.” It was the first time the brothers had ever been apart.

Christian and Mike came to America from Cameroon, a small country on the west coast of Africa.

Joe Touomou, a Cameroonian native, made that all possible.

Touomou came to America to play basketball for a high school

photo by Katie Doherty

in North Carolina. He went on to Georgetown University, as point guard for the Hoyas from 1995 to 1999. A knee injury kept him from advancing to a higher level.

Martin first came in contact with Touomou while coaching at Archbishop Spalding in the mid-1990’s.

The Georgetown basketball coach, Craig Esherick, contacted Martin about bringing over another Cameroonian basketball player, Max Yokono. Yokono was like a “little brother” to Touomou.

After graduating from Archbishop Spalding in 1998, Yokono played basketball at Sacred Heart University while Touomou started recruiting boys from Africa to play

basketball in the United States.

Originally a scout for National Basketball Association, Touomou started his own recruiting organization Kossengwe.

Martin and Touomou were in constant contact from the mid1990’s onward. The Owona twins are not the first players Touomou suggested, but are the first athletes to play for JC. The Owona twins went to a Catholic school in Cameroon, focusing on a science curriculum.

The boys stood out because they were tall. “I was six feet and three inches when I was thirteen,” said Mike. Mike, currently six feet and eight inches, and Christian, stand-

ing at six feet and six inches, have a natural advantage in basketball.

The team has gained from Mike’s height and athleticism.

“Mike is a strong shot blocker and rebounder,” said Martin.

Besides just his athletic strength, “[Mike] adds a worldly prespective for the team,” said Martin.

“In my country, everybody plays soccer, but we played basketball because we were tall,” said Mike.

The boys were approached by Touomou early in 2008.

“Our parents were happy for us, but parents are parents. They were still worried,” said Mike.

America “is better than Africa in a lot of ways, but it can be bor-

ing,” Mike said. Much of Mike’s boredom can be contributed to the absence of Christian during first semester.

Mike began living with his host family, the Loves, in August. Senior Jamal Love was excited for Mike to come because he had “never had another guy in the house.”

Love had heard that Martin was bringing over international students from Africa last year and he told his mother about it. Love said, “She was really happy about it” and then agreed to host Mike and Christian.

Mike started to adjust without his brother. He kept in contact with his friends and family in Cameroon through Skype.

In school, Mike is also adapting well. “Mike got moved up in math because he is so far ahead of students here,” said Martin.

But Mike was still waiting for his brother to come over. “When Christian wasn’t there, I was really bored and lonely,” Mike said.

Christian finally received a student visa late in 2009. He arrived in America in early January and began school at the beginning of the second semester.

“Christian’s the shy one,” Love said. Christian is beginning his adjustment to America and learning English. “Mostly they talk to each other in French,” said Love.

“My hope for the boys is to have life changing experiences beyond the basketball court,” said Martin.

Key US athletes promise excitement at Olympics Caitie Beth Shauck General Staff

Soccer photo courtsey of Pacificus; other pictures by Katie Doherty

Junior point guard Malcolm McMillan began his basketball career at age five. McMillan enjoys basketball because “it’s fun to play with my teammates.”

For the second year in a row, McMillan is the captain of the men’s varsity basketball team. McMillan feels that his leadership skills contributed to his being appointed captain. Coach Tony Martin cited McMillan’s time with the program as the reason for his captaincy and said, “He is the most experienced player in the program.” Martin praised McMillan’s “great attitude” and “hard work.” McMillan’s favorite memory is “playing against the number one player [Greg Monroe] in the nation.” His high ankle sprain at the beginning of this season “slowed him down,” but he is back to his original strength. McMillan hopes to play Division I basketball in college.

Melissa Lookingland started playing soccer at age four. She plays forward for the Patriots, but plays defense for her club team, Laurel Lightning. The strong competition in soccer appeals to Lookingland because she has “an intense competitive nature.”

Her greatest challenge throughout her four years at JC has been to remain in the starting line-up. Coach Gary Lynch chose her to be captain of the women’s varsity soccer team last fall because he could see that she would “take the high standards she used to judge herself to encourage the other players to have high expectations of themselves.” Her favorite JC soccer memory is the team’s trip to New Jersey because “the team bonded together.” She is going to play Division I soccer for St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

Every four years, the world comes together to take part in the time-honored tradition of the Winter Olympics. This year’s games kick off February 12 in Vancouver.

Although local favorite Kimmie Meissner will not be returning for her second Olympics due to an injury, this year’s games will nonetheless see the return of many fan-favorite athletes from across the country for Team U.S.A. Among them is arguably the most recognizable Olympian, twenty-three year old snowboarder Shaun White from California.

White is better known as the “Flying Tomato,” a nickname that developed in reference to his flaming red hair. After winning gold on the half pipe at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, White became a household name.

Another snowboarder who experienced success with a gold medal from the half pipe in Torino is twenty-three year old Hannah Teter from Vermont.

Teter has used her success to benefit others, starting her own charity, Hannah’s Gold. Through this charity, Teter donates her earnings from competitions, along with the money made from selling Vermont maple syrup, to a village in Kenya. The money is then used to improve water quality conditions.

Returning for his third Olympics is twenty-seven year old short

track speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno from Washington. In 2002, he won a silver medal and a gold medal, and in 2006, he took home two bronze medals and one gold medal. Ohno gained further fame when he competed in and won the reality show competition “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007 with partner Julianne Hough.

A pair to watch on the ice this year is twenty-five year old Tanith Belbin from Michigan and her partner, twenty-eight year old Ben Agosto from Illinois.

Together, they took home the silver medal for ice dancing at the 2006 games. This was the first time in thirty years that a U.S. pair landed on the podium for ice dancing, and the duo will attempt to improve and bring home the gold for Team U.S.A. Twenty-five year old figure skater Johnny Weir performed for the U.S. Olympic team in Torino.

Although he did not earn a medal in 2006, he produced an unforgettable program in which he dressed like a swan, complete with a red glove serving as the beak. He recently placed third at the 2010 U.S. National Championships.

On the slopes, keep an eye out for twenty-five year old Lindsey Vonn from Colorado, who will be competing in her third Olympic games. In 2006, she won the women’s U.S. Olympic Spirit Award after racing despite having sustained injuries to her back and legs during training.