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Devil’s Advocate
Friday, May 8, 2009
Student Opinion A Movie Review: Adventureland Editors-in-Chief: Meghan Woolley and Hannah Bober Contributors: Dan Bergstrom Hannah Bober Tyler Greenbacker Katelynn Hill Mackenzie Hurlbert Morgan Jacques
Zach LaVigne Natalie Sabino Chris Struchowski Ruth Vizard Pierce Watson Meghan Woolley
Production: Meghan Woolley, Zach LaVigne, Mackenzie Hurlbert and Jennie Ochterski Advisors: Mr. Nate Fisher and Mrs. Sue VanDerzee The Devil’s Advocate is the Coginchaug High School newspaper. These pages are the creation and expression of the students. All students are welcome to contribute.
Everything You Never Wanted to Know About CRHS Teachers By Katelynn Hill As a freshman at Coginchaug Re- Miss Larsen was made fun of and gional High School, I quickly learned called names by a young boy named that our teachers are very original. I Henry, and she was so angry that am always fascinated by the per- she took action and punched the sonal goals or achievements that young boy in the stomach, causing brought these teachers to Cogin- him to throw up. Soon the mother of chaug. Over the past week I asked Henry yelled at Ms. Larsen at church some teachers at CRHS to share for punching her son. any embarrassing moments or stoWhen I talked to Mrs. Brickley, I ries about themselves that no one found out that she has been teachwould expect. ing nutrition and foods for 37 years. For example, Mr. Matt Thompson However, I didn’t know that she played a card soldier in the musical once taught an all-male senior Alice in Wonderland in college. Mr. class (17-18 years old) when she Thompson also worked at our local was only 21 years old. She had to Lyman Orchards when he was a lie and told the class that she was teenager. 35 years old. Mr. Kalberg, who played the saxMrs. Dunn ran an 800-meter ophone in fourth grade, was asked sprint/distance race and came in to leave the band by his band last, so she realized that running teacher because of his bad music wasn’t for her. She now hates losing skills, which is the reason he pur- in her tennis matches. sued sports. Another intriguing fact was that Miss Fernandez was terrified of Mrs. Selberg and her husband used sharks when she was little; she to perform 19th century dances in would have panic attacks at the full historic costume, but they now deep end of her pool. Her dad also enjoy theater lighting for young pertook her out of the soccer team be- forming arts groups instead. Also, cause whenever the ball came at when she was in high school, she her, she would scream and run was in an a capella group that made away from it. She spent most of her a record and was written up in the time picking flowers in the field in- New York Times. stead of playing. As I laugh and appreciate these I asked Madame Lejoly, “What’s stories being told to me, I realize that something interesting about you?” It all teachers seem to have one thing turns out that Madame has a very in common, a smirk on their faces unique taste in foods; one of her fa- and a facial expression of a memory vorite foods is “cow brain.” Sounds they’ll never forget. I soon realized delicious. that teachers at CRHS are not only One of my favorite stories was one looked upon as our teachers but as many could relate to. In third grade, people that we can all relate to.
By Pierce Watson Having the same director as the boisterous smash hit Superbad can never be a bad thing. The new movie Adventureland has director Greg Mottola, yet it sets up an expectation that is simply never fulfilled. Despite being a solidly entertaining and successful romantic comedy, Adventureland doesn’t bring the types of laughs the trailer seem to promise. However, as the credits roll, the overall quality of the movie is acknowledged. Taking place at a slightly dilapidated amusement park in Pittsburgh, PA, the main character, named James, is forced to take a job there to pay for graduate school. At the amusement park, he falls for a girl named Em, who unbeknownst to Jesse, has been sneaking around with the park’s handyman for a while. James,
played by Jessie Eisenberg, and Em, played by Kristen Stewart, both excel at their roles. However, the real stars of this flick are the park owners, husband and wife, played by Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. Hader, who also worked with Mottola in Superbad, is the main source of comic relief in a movie saturated with tension. Martin Starr, who has been in movies such as Knocked Up, Superbad, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, is an underrated actor who plays an amusing part as well. The movie is one I would definitely recommend to friends and family, while also warning them of the true nature of the film. Adventureland can be a lot of fun if you walk in with the correct expectations. Also, if you have a girlfriend, bring her to this movie.
AP Exams Will Be Over (Thank goodness!) by the Time You Read This By Hannah Bober Ladies and gentleman, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. After months of trial and perseverance, the time has come for those select few students to “start their engines.” No, it’s not graduation time yet; our college level courses have come to collect our souls. AP. Few other letters hold so much power over seniors and juniors at CRHS. Monday, May 4, began this year’s series with a bureaucratic bang, featuring both a three-hour U.S. Government exam and a three-hour Comparative Government exam. The next exam is easy as pie, consisting of only one three-hour portion of Calculus. On Thursday, English students had better read up for their evaluation, and finally on Friday the young juniors make history (of the United States, of course). Finally, life continues after the following Monday’s completion of Biology. (You’ll have to excuse the puns as a side effect of Advancio placementio — AP syndrome.)
Ordinarily, tests are no big deal. Kids blow them off all the time. Most victims — I mean students — are finding the Advanced Placement exams slightly more stressful. With college credit (and therefore college money) at stake, everyone wants to do well. Whether the stress helps or not is an individual issue, but students have been known to spend quite some time preparing. Study parties abound, but it’s those dedicated eat-sleepand-breathe-if-there’s-time kids who really make an impression on the procrastinating type. There are even strategies suggested on College Board for “In-test” hints, the most useful of which I’ve found to be the Lion face. Once completed, however, the time spent studying matters very little in comparison to the full-fledged Senior Slide (which relieved juniors may very well slip down). To all those embarking in this journey: may the force be with you. Start your number two pencils, and begin to bubble-in.