“Some of the News That’s Fit to Print”
November 5, 2012
The VA Voice Vermont Academy, Saxtons River, Vermont 05154 “Discere verba et opera Dei”
Results of VA Presidential Election
By: Eamon O’Keefe In light of the upcoming presidential election on Tuesday, a dream team of sorts assembled to hold an election here at Vermont Academy. Mike Reilly, Eamon O’Keefe, and Mr. Gaudet worked to organize this election which was held on Friday, November 2, in Aldrich Lounge during lunch. All members of the community were encouraged to vote in an election that brought out record turnout. On the ballot were the two main presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, and also many third party candidates. Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Jill Stein of the Green Party, and Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party http://www.igoflags.com/wp-content/uploads/American-Election-2012-3D-Flag.png were other options for voters discontented with the two main candidates. So what were the results? Barack Obama won the election with 72.41% of the vote. Mitt Romney came in second with 20.69% of the vote. Jill Stein and Gary Johnson both came in distant third, each receiving 3.45% of the vote. The Constitution Party received no votes this time around which indicates that few if any people know what this party is. While this election may not reflect the outcome on Tuesday, it does tell us that the Vermont Academy community leans more liberal. The result will be shared with a broader group of boarding schools so that a larger sample can be achieved. We will watch closely on Tuesday to see the result of the real election, and don’t forget to vote in the real thing.
Volume 17, Issue 6
IN THE MARGIN Huricane Sandy Hits Northeast Huricane Sandy traveled up the east coast, and caused widespread damage from Virginia up to New England. The most affected areas were the densely populated regions of New York City and New Jersey. High storm surges and heavy rain caused widespread flooding and power outages. These areas are still recovering from the disaster. US adds Jobs in October The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the final unemployment statistics before the election. A suprising 171,000 jobs were added in the month of October, marking a positive trend for the American economy. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.9%. Gas Shortage in New Jersey Due to the lack of electricity in the New York and New Jersey area, many gas stations have stopped operation and others have run out of gas. This has been exacerbated by a run on gas stations by many people in New Jersey. President Obama has ordered assistance in getting gasoline to the affected areas.
http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/us-bureau-of-labor-statistics.png http://knowthyplace.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/barack-obama.jpg http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/R/Mitt-Romney-241055-4-402.jpg http://iowacaucus2012.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/gary-johnson.jpg http://www.gp.org/candidates/images/Jill-Stein-2012.jpg
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The VA Voice
Fashion Disaster
Spirit Week: Twin Day
By: Brittany Allard This past Tuesday, October 30, marked the second day of spirit week. It was twin day at Vermont Academy. Many members of the community dressed as doubles. Most of those people wore regular costumes, but some groups wore more eccentric outfits. It made the day unique and fun, and countless VA students appreciated the theme. Students used a great deal of imagination to pull off many of the different costumes. Some notable twins included Faith Smith and Whitley Neumeister who looked very similar with their identical hair. Erik Nielsen and Oliver Hoblitzelle also looked remarkably alike. Many members of the community thought that the participation this year was better than in years past. The faculty participated in this event with the hilarious Mr. and Mrs. Frey combination surely one of the highlights of the day. Many students also remarked that twin day was their favorite of all of the spirit week events. The day was a huge success, and I’m very excited to see what happens for twin day next year.
November 5, 2012
Spirit Week: Halloween
By: John Scoby Halloween 2012 at VA was a huge success. It was held on Wednesday, October, 31, and both students and faculty participated. There were some very creative costumes out there. A unicorn made a surprise appearance in the dining hall, and was regarded as one of the best costumes this Halloween. Many people have wondered who this mysterious person might have been. I guess we will never know. Faculty members participated with much enthusiasm, and this was never more evident than with Mr. Tesar’s excellent “World’s Best Mom” outfit. Halloween spirit was seen all over campus. The dining hall provided all kinds of wacky Halloween food choices including a goulish poutine that had some sports players feeling as though they were haunted during their sports games. There were also Jack-o-lanterns in the trees this year. The Halloween candy grams were also a huge success. Many people got their fair share of candy, and the event marked another fun Halloween at Vermont Academy.
By: Carly Radovich The School Spirit Committee is comprised of VA students, and they decided the spirit week themes this year for the first time in school history. Five out of six days were carried over from previous years: pajama day, twin day, color wars, VA spirit, and Halloween. This year the undecided day was Fashion Disaster. The name doesn’t need an explanation. Some people might have believed that this day was easy, but in reality it took a lot more planning and digging to find the ugliest clothes to wear. The day was a hit; so many students and faculty went all out in their costumes. Attending breakfast was probably the best decision someone could have made because the unexpected happened. People you wouldn’t have even thought would participate did, and they were some of the goofiest looking out of them all. All in all, the day was filled with laughter and a lot of funny surprises. Mr. Mayhew once again didn’t fail at finding the most interesting outfit, and Dr. Cohn’s purple vest and pant duo was simply outstanding, but I have to give the overall win to the girls of Dr. Brown House (I’ll admit that I’m being very biased). Fashion disaster day was a hit, and the overall agreement was that this was one of the best spirit weeks the school has had in a very long time.
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The VA Voice
November 5, 2012
Mr. Hearon’s Top Ten Tips on Places to Ponder the Future of America
In honor of the election, these are the ten places where I would like to spend five minutes with the candidates talking about the past, present, and future of this great country: 10. Porch of the Village Market: grab a donut and a coffee, Barack, and take in life on Main Street, Vermont with me. 9. Third floor Fuller Hall: no, it is not a ghost town, nor a third world country, it is the Math Department. Best views on campus. I think Paul Ryan would like it up here. He could take Finance Math with Mr. Stotskov and learn how to add REAL numbers together. 8. New tennis courts: have you seen the new courts? Totally awesome. The economy at work, baby. I would like just five minutes out there with Mitt, I would make him run. Hard. 7. Top of Ski Jump: the perfect metaphor for this crazy election. Just point ‘em downhill and let it
rip! Throw honesty and morals to the wind! Possible yard sale at the bottom of the hill, but who cares, right? We’ll be alright. This is America! 6. Hays/Naramore Field: such a nice place to play or even just meditate with Deepak Chopra. Would love to put Biden in goal and take a couple of shots from the 18. 5. Porch of Chivers: maybe a few minutes with Obama here watching a baseball game and I could convince him that the environment really should be his main priority. 4. Wildcat Den: man, a couple of minutes here on a Saturday night and all the candidates would have a better idea of where this country is headed… 3. The best darn ice in New England: Choukas Rink! How sweet would it be to put the candidates in pads, throw them in goal, and crank a couple of slap shots at them. No Secret Service allowed. 2. South Lawn: a walk on the South
Questions Around Campus??? What was your best Halloween costume?
Ms. Perkins
Ellie Van Der Vord Mac Haddad
Lawn (get it?), just like you see in the photos from the White House, except here in Sax Riv. Obama and Dean Hearon super focused, walking arm in arm, talking economics, talking Afghanistan, talking best bed times for the kids, talking about maybe grabbing some dinner later on with the ladies, talking March Madness, just talking like bros, real bros. I really do think he would listen to me if I could just get him on the South Lawn. Maybe we could even be friends…maybe play some hoops together. Maybe…. 1. Memorial Conference Room: hate to get all serious, but the room off of Aldrich Lounge in Shep contains photos and bios of alumni who gave their life in military conflicts around the world. Too few students and too few politicians take the time to stare at the faces of the past and read the stories of former VA students who truly knew the meaning of sacrifice.
By: Ross Holzschuh and Salty Pennington FitzGerald
If you could name a hurricane, what would you call it? I was an Indian There’s no betprincess ter name than Sandy, because that’s the name of my ex-husband Hurricane AmeI was Brittany Spears. For lia three years. In a row. You know, I was Hurricane Bau5 a blue M&M once. That was pretty good
If you were a rapper, what would your name be? Vitamin P. No, Perk Dawg
Daquein
I don’t know. Mac N Cheese
VA VOICE STAFF Editor in Chief Eamon O’Keefe Assistant Editor George Atkins Student Contributors Mike Reilly, Ross Holzschuh, George Atkins, Carly Radovich, John Scoby, Brittany Allard, Faculty Contributors Mr. Hearon Faculty Advisor: Mr. Frey, Dr. Cohn
Page 4 Writing Prompt:
What Keeps you up at Night?
By: Mikaela Paluszek The dorm parent wishes us all good night and we respond in the like; the lights go off and my head hits the pillow. But I don’t fall asleep right away; most of my nights are very entertaining yet frustrating in the prelude to sleep. It goes something to the effect of this: What was the homework? Where is my pen, wait where did I put my homework? Oh okay I know where it is, no wait no I don’t. Is it seven plus eight? Snow. Or was it seven divided by eight, ugg I can’t remember. OH MY GOD why can’t I get this song out of my head, it has a catchy tune that’s why, and I like the beat of it. Why won’t it just go away? Skis and snow. I wonder what my friends are doing right now, they’re most likely all asleep, oh no wait they’re not, my phone is vibrating again. Window why can’t you close anymore, there is still light in my window. Is it snowing yet? What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? How did I get to thinking about this? Why is there no snow yet? I really should write something for my essay now, or I could be reading my book to review for class. But staring at this ceiling is so much more entertaining, oh my poster is falling down. I should fix that. Where’s my snow? Wait what was the homework again,...five more minutes please! And that, my friends, is the typical night of Mikaela Paluszek.
The VA Voice
November 5, 2012
George Atkins on Sports: Boy’s Varsity Soccer
The boy’s varsity soccer team had a great start to the season, and although they had a streak of tough games, they are still battling for a position in the playoffs. Their record this year is 7-2-6 (wins-tieslosses), with a huge win to start the season against New Hampton and ties against such teams Holderness and Tilton. Their full roster has 21 players, although their daily roster is a toss-up due to a bought of injuries. Their full roster includes Charles Anderson, Nate Antesberger, Guillermo Barreiro-Perez, Pat Bartolomucci, Adrian Diaz, Michail Eggelhoefer, Dimitri Floras, Eddie Garcia, Nate (Rico) Goldman, Bradley Younjin Kim, Jon Lesser, Neil Li, Alejandro Neo, Eamon O’Keefe, Jack Payne, Trevor Peterson, Dalton Romanowski, Domenic Senerchia, Sage Vogt, Richard Williams, Cam Wright, and Sebastian Wu. They are coached by Simon Jarcho, Ricardo Carreno, and Nate Williams; there are two managers, Eric Alexander and Steffen Ghantous. I asked players Sebbi Wu and Cam Wright a few questions on the
team and their season: George: “Which game could your team have played better, and possibly have had a better outcome?” Sebbi: “Our game against Proctor could have gone much different.” George: “It has been clear that the exchange students from Spain have been an integral part of the success of your team this season, how do you think losing them will affect the last game?” Sebbi: “Although they have been key, I think we will be able to move forward. Plus, we will probably be having some position changes that will really help us make up for the loss of those key players.”
Food Thoughts by Erik Neilson
The month of November began with a hearty yet healthy lunch. The main entrée was beef tips that were exquisitely good. The egg noodles filled the room with a buttery ambiance that turned everyone’s frown upside down. The only complaint from the table was that we all wished the noodles came before the beef so that they could be drenched in the succulent meat. The ravioli was good, but seemed to be a tad bit overshadowed by the rest of the meal. But when the ravioli was paired with the green beans, they were a force to be reckoned with. The salad was good
as always, and the cookies were a nice but not very filling way to end the meal. The standout item was the rolls. Mr. Brunell told Charles that, “he was on a roll!” after Charles wolfed down his fifth and final buttery roll. Charles said after the meal that they were, “top notch,” and everyone agreed that they were incredibly crisp and warm. The crispness was complemented by a moist interior filled with wheat flavored delights. Overall, it was another job well done by the VA dinging hall, and the meal was given a solid 8.3.