Brunswick Chronicle - October 2009

The

runswick Chronicle

All The News That Fits We Print

Around Brunswick

King Lays Down the Law

By Gus Ruchman (P.2) Alumni Profile: Tom Hartch ‘59 By. Alex Jonokuchi (P. 3,4) Upper School Concert Review

By David Blumenthal (P. 5,7) Homecoming Reflections

By Alex Jonokuchi (P. 6,7)

Brunswick Sports/Arts

Backspacer Review

By Carter Johnson (P. 5,7) Water Polo: First Season

By Harrison Oztemel (P. 5,9) Team USA Soccer

By Mike Forrester (P. 8)

Student Editorials/News

A Letter to Urban Meyer

By Willy Fein (P. 10) Balloon Boy Hoax

By Spencer Dahl (P. 11) Obama Peace Prize Puzzler

By Oliver Sall (P. 12)

Issue 2: October 2009

Page1

Welcome Back Alumni: Headmaster’s Address

By Thomas W. Philip Head of Brunswick School

W

elcome Back Alumni and

Friends!

For both the faculty and the current students it is wonderful having alumni return to our campus for Homecoming Weekend.

As with all Homecomings, we have a busy weekend planned and hope that the weather will cooperate to offer everyone a great opportunity to watch our teams compete on the �ield. Starting with

the cookout and Bon�ire at 5:00pm on Friday evening and running through the Wick-Walk-Run, the Varsity

Soccer, Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Football games and the tent party on Saturday, there is much to do and to see.

While here, please feel free to wander around

the various campuses, to check out old classrooms as well as new facilities, and to chat and interact with Faculty and students. We would love to learn what you have been up to since leaving Brunswick and give you a sense of what has been going on around here since then.

Thanks again for joining us and enjoy your weekend!

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Around Brunswick

King Lays Down the Law

By Gus Ruchman Managing Editor

S

am King ’10 will not take no for an answer.

The 2009-2010 Director of Community Affairs has a vision for extracurricular life at Brunswick School on which he refuses to compromise.

As part of his agenda, addressing the growing concern over the quality and integrity of student clubs, King has begun to revamp the fundamental requirements for extracurricular operations at Wick. With the motto “one plan well executed is better than many plans poorly executed,” he has informed student leaders that new standards are in effect.

A participant in Big Brother, Middle School Connections, Bears For Chairs, the E-Proctor Program, and Gospel Choir, King af�irms an environment of vibrant activity. “Brunswick has a lot of innovative, wellintentioned people who hope to contribute to many good causes,” says King.

“The ambitious, forwardthinking people we have in the community are probably the strongest part of the club system.” His claims are not unfounded— the sheer volume of charitable associations has skyrocketed over the past few years. Academic teams,

including Debate Team and Model United Nations, have also risen to a higher level of achievement in recent seasons.

However, King recognizes that “many of us are extremely busy with academic and athletic commitments, [so] we are sometimes incapable of allocating as much energy as we might like into our extracurricular involvements.”

This widespread overcommitment and underachievement—and that the deluge of new organizations at the early assemblies of the year often evaporates to a trickle by the winter— signal the need for change.

“In the past there have been a lot of clubs that have not followed up on the promises that they have made at the beginning of the school year. By creating certain criteria that clubs have to meet (on a semester-long basis), we can ensure that clubs are maximizing all the opportunities that they have to make a real difference in Brunswick and the world community.”

The “criteria” to which King refers include guidelines for what constitutes a club: a faculty advisor and at least �ive members. Different types of groups must meet various goals. Fundraising

Page 2

The runswick Chronicle

The Brunswick Student’s News Source

Editors-in-Chief David Blumenthal ‘10 Alex Jonokuchi ‘10 Oliver Sall ‘10

Managing Editor Gus Ruchman ‘10 Staff Writers and Photographers

Harrison Oztemel ‘10 Mike Forester ‘11 Spencer Dahl ‘11 Carter Johnson ‘12 Matt Cassoli ‘12 Willy Fein ‘13

Faculty Advisor Dr. Brian Freeman

clubs must raise at least $250 in pro�its by the end of the �irst semester, while outreach clubs, leisure, and academic clubs must hold at least one legitimate and relevant activity by the end of the �irst semester.

Furthermore, King has clari�ied the procedure and etiquette of holding food sales. “Food sales have gotten to be hectic, but so far this year things are running smoothly.”King has also declared that “clubs will be audited at the end of the �irst semester with a second meeting with Student Government, where we will evaluate whether clubs have met their goals.”

Although these rules may seem insuf�icient to some, King reminds the community that “clubs that remain active and work

collectively towards a goal from September to June can be considered successful.”

He cites SoFar2Go and its leader, David Jaramillo ’11, and as having particularly used “many different, creative ideas to raise money.” King also looks forward to sophomore Andrew Camel’s new Scienti�ic Entrepreneurial Club, which hopes to build a space balloon in the near future.

Holding the of�ice of Director of Community Affairs through spring elections, King has commenced the school year with an unparalleled— and encouraging— effort to strengthen the extracurricular program.

So next time you buy a Bruin or a BEC in order to save the world, thank Sam King.

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Around Brunswick

Page 3

Three Generations of Brunswick Boys: An Interview with Tom Hartch ‘59

By Alex Jonokuchi ‘10 Editor-In-Chief

T

he Chronicle recently had the opportunity to speak with a member of the Class of 1959 who will be attending his landmark 50th reunion this weekend. Mr. Tom Hartch, a father of three Brunswick graduates— Todd ’85, Greg ‘88 and Tim ’88—has also had the privilege of sending his grandson Christian to his alma mater for the past four years, marking three generations of Hartches at Brunswick.

Recognizing that he comes from a Brunswick of a different time, when asked to reminisce about his favorite teachers, Mr. Hartch replied, “Well,

there were really a lot of great teachers, and the names I’m about to mention will probably not mean much except to the really old-timers, but I’d have to say Mrs. Waring in third grade and Miss Thomas in seventh, despite being very strict, were my favorites.” He went on to mention how he remembers memorizing and reciting poems up through �ifth grade, morning Bible readings in Upper School, and the ful�illed promise of an end-of-seventhgrade trip to Rye Playland, a prize that provided a “huge incentive to walk the line in [Miss Thomas’] class.”

Looking back to

previous homecomings, Mr. Hartch noticed “most memories of Homecoming are ones that took place well after being at Brunswick myself.” And given that his three sons all attended Brunswick, he has had plenty of opportunities.

During his time at the school, Brunswick was “fairly laid-back as far as alumni relations were concerned. There wasn’t the emphasis that there is today with really keeping in touch with the boys,” he says, adding that in recent years, “there has been outstanding effort in that area, which I think is terri�ic.

“There might have been a special sporting

jam. This spontaneity Backspacer Review tois something that is not

By Carter Johnson ‘12 Staff Writer

solo-to-solo, and trackto-track in an album that his is it. displays all too well Pearl The versatile vocals of front man Jam’s desire to keep doing what they love, and doing Vedder, the loose solos of Mike McCready and the tight it well. Backspacer has its moments reminiscent of rhythm of Stone Gossard the hard rock of Ten (tracks are all here. Combine that “Gonna See My Friend” with the best drumming of and “Supersonic” are good Matt Cameron’s career and examples) and its mellow the almost-magical work ones ( “Just Breathe” and of bassist Jeff Ament, and “The End”). Nothing is you end up with Pearl Jam’s forced; everything has the newest album, Backspacer. feeling of a group of five The listener is guys just getting together transported verse-to-verse,

T

altogether common these days.

Teaming up again after eleven years with producer Brendan O’Brien (who produces, among others, Bruce Springsteen, and produced Pearl Jam’s albums Vs., Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield,) Backspacer returns to some of Pearl Jam’s previous form, punk songs intermingling with moving ballads, and also adds a strong element of pop and new wave to the

event, but there wasn’t nearly as coordinated of an effort as there is now. I don’t even remember if it was called Homecoming,” Mr. Hartch says with a laugh. He also remembers how “our biggest rivals in those days were King and St. Lukes, so those were the games that people were most emotionally invested in, but now there is much more widespread competition,” and he mentions schools like Rye Country Day, Kent and Taft.

Expansion in all aspects is one of the main themes in the changes at Brunswick that Mr. Hartch has observed.

His primary sport in his time at Brunswick Continued on the next page

mix.On a more lyrical note, with the ousting of George Bush and the election of Barack Obama, Pearl Jam have replaced their moving protest songs of Riot Act and self titled Pearl Jam with equally moving but optimistic tracks, and it is an album hopefully appropriate for a new beginning.

Above all, after listening to Backspacer, one thing is for certain: Pearl Jam, after eighteen years, has definitely still “got some if you need it.”

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Around Brunswick

Page 4

Alumni Profile, Continued

Continued from the previous page

was tennis—a “terri�ic lifetime sport,” he says— which he would later continue at Yale. Choices in sports were limited, by today’s standards— by season, the sports offered were football/ soccer, basketball/ri�lery and baseball/tennis.

“Now there is a much larger menu of sports from which to choose. I think I would have loved to participate in cross country at Brunswick as well, had they offered it then.”

The school itself has also grown a great deal in size. “In my day there were maybe 25 students in an entire grade, and then in 1985 when my eldest son graduated there were about 40.

It has obviously grown signi�icantly since then.

And one of the biggest differences now is how dif�icult it is for new students to be admitted.

It really shows how Brunswick has become extremely sought after.”

Brunswick has certainly changed over the years, but Mr. Hartch also recognized signi�icant areas that have remained the same. “I think the strongest similarity is that Brunswick has always

had a very high academic standard.” Combine that with new facilities, a “high quality faculty and administration” and “the strong ongoing emphasis on the school motto ‘Courage, Honor, Truth’ that has been a constant from the ‘50s to the present, and probably since the founding of the school” and Brunswick, in Mr. Hartch’s opinion, “is the �inest boys’ day school in the country.

“The school has changed only in the way it has built off of its core strengths and physically expanded, in terms of numbers of students, and the facilities themselves to handle the larger numbers.” He calls the decision to acquire the new King Street campus a “brilliant stroke” and the renovated Upper School “magni�icent,” explaining how terri�ic it is that the school expanded to offer more students a Brunswickquality education. “The new interchange of students and academics in Brunswick’s interaction with Greenwich Academy is also very positive,” he adds.

When asked about the ability of the Hartch family to send three generations to Brunswick,

Mr. Hartch responded with a chuckle: “Well, one of the �irst prerequisites is to have sons, and then if they decide to live around Greenwich, for them to have sons to send to Brunswick.

In our case all three of our sons graduated from Brunswick, but my oldest is currently a professor at Eastern Kentucky University and his sons attend school down south. And while my younger two live in Greenwich, Tim has two daughters and Greg recently got transferred to Paris, so Christian, my grandson who had gone to Brunswick for four years, is now at the Marymount School there. But hopefully when Greg returns to Greenwich in about three years, Christian will be able to get back into Brunswick, because though his experience in France will be good for him and his sisters, he loves Brunswick and in particular really enjoys the opportunity to play sports under the great athletics program, not to mention that I think it’s the best thing for his education.”

In terms of what Mr. Hartch has taken away from his experience with

Brunswick, he is quick to cite the school motto. “‘Courage, Honor, Truth’ is something that’s easy to say, but these were concepts that really came through in how the school was run. Alfred Everett was the Headmaster when I was there, and I really got the impression that the administration really tried to adhere to the motto. We have had top�light faculty and quality administrators, including outstanding headmasters in Norm Pederson, Duncan Edwards, and Tom Philip, and that truly permeates the school.

If a kid is at Brunswick long enough, the phrase ‘Courage, Honor, Truth’ really becomes imbued.

And that provides a real foundation with which to take to college, and later to professional and family life.”

Mr. Hartch is a practicing attorney at Whitman Breed Abbot & Morgan, LLC as a member of the Real Estate Department and the Trust and Estates Department. He was selected as a Connecticut Super Lawyer in 2006.

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Around Brunswick

Page 5

“Turn the Beat Around”: Upper School Fall Concert

By David Blumenthal ‘10 Editor-In-Chief

O

pening night for Baker Theatre in 2009-10 saw a capacity crowd of 400+ gather to share in the varied talents of Brunswick and Greenwich Academy’s Upper School instrumental and vocal performers. From groups as varied as the a cappella group, The Mahertians, to two different music improv groups, 108 students took the stage under the direction of Alexander Constantine, Shane Kirsch, and Paul Raaen—a testament to the continuing vitality of Brunswick’s Arts Program.

The concert’s theme was “Turn the Beat Around” and was expressed through

different interpretations of classic hits with notable rhythmic variation to create an original sound. The �irst group, Music Improv, took the stage to play Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.” With Alexander Baldock on the drums, Brendon Bozorgmir, Lawrence Aspilaire and Seamus Markey on the guitars, Sammy Mehra on the trumpet, and John LaBoissiere and Jack Grif�ith on vocals, the performance hinted at the future potential of Brunswick’s instrumental program. Next, two different Advanced Improv groups performed, the �irst playing Bob Marley’s reggae classic “Redemption Song,” and the second of performing Coldplay’s “Clocks,” with

Reid Breck singing Guy the school’s elite a Berryman’s lyrics. cappella group known as The evening “The Twelve” performed. progressed with two The �irst number was strong renditions by Dave Mason’s soft rock the Men of Brunswick classic “We Just Disagree,” (or the “M.O.B.”), who with well-balanced solos entertained the crowd from Reid Breck and Gus with Van Morrison’s Ruchman. For their �inal “Brown Eyed Girl” and song, choral director Rick Spring�ield’s “Jessie’s Alexander Constantine Girl.” Charlie Southwick had offered the solo to ’10 said of the group’s “any guy in the M. O. B. performance, “The willing to undertake the audience was having challenge, whether he had a better time than I’ve been in The Twelve or ever seen.” Following not.” Freshman John La right behind them were Boissiere answered the two Jazz Band Groups call and delivered a strong (one regular and one performance of Nat King advanced). The �irst Cole’s “Orange Colored group played Victor Sky.” Lopez’s “Drama For In terms of numbers, Your Mama,” while the the most impressive second, advanced group group of the night was highlighted Lopez’s “Jona without question “The Jam.” Continued on Page 7 After the jazz groups,

Philip was approached at the beginning of this past summer by a signi�icant number of families expressing a strong interest in starting a water polo program. “We circulated an e-mail over the summer” says Philip, “and with the resulting numbers established a relationship with the YMCA and got Mr. Tillman and the other coaches to

help.”

At the helm is Head Coach Bill Smith. Apart from being the Director of Finance for USA Water Polo, Mr. Smith has coached and played at the national and collegiate levels, in addition to coaching for Greenwich High School. He has two children, Will, who plays on the Varsity water polo team at Stanford

Wick Water Polo: The First Season University, and a daughter

By Harrison Oztemel ‘09 Staff Writer

J

unior Nick Ruppel now has a place in Brunswick School history. On Thursday September 16, at the Greenwich YMCA, Ruppel scored the �irst goal in school history in a 23-15 loss to the Hopkins School water polo team. After much discussion over the past few years with parents and students, Mr.

Patty, who plays on Harvard’s women’s team.

Ulmis Iordache joins Smith behind the bench.

A native of Romania, Ulmis has been playing the sport his entire life, most notably at the national level in Romania.

He won several national championships in the ‘90s and brings a physical coaching style based upon hard work ethic.

Continued on Page 9

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Around brunswick

Page 6

Homecoming Reflections

By Alex Jonokuchi ‘10 Editor-In-Chief

I

t wasn’t even about the stupid Legos anymore. It was about the pride, and I wasn’t about to leave the Bingo table empty-handed. As the game progressed, I recognized my prospects were not looking good.

I was two spaces away in about four different directions. And just when things started looking good (I was a B2 away from victory), it was over.

My brother—then with an Elmer Fudd-like speech impediment, and much smaller than he should have been for his grade—had won for the second time, much to the delight of everyone at the table—except me. And so it went, at the beanbag tosses and all of the wretched little stalls with games in which, despite the sympathetic efforts of the Upper Schoolers (“Oh here, take another shot…Oh, try again, try again…”), I encountered no success. I’m convinced my brother was built to win prizes at fairs—not only is he one of the most coordinated and lucky kids you’ll ever meet, he was small enough then that most people allowed him to throw from the

closer line or get another chance. Most of the time I had to feign disinterest in order to avoid getting one-upped (or twoupped, as it was in Bingo that time) by my brother, three and a half years my junior. The best part of the Bear Fair for me was probably running around with friends outside the gym. Or maybe the food, because half of the time I walked up to the popcorn machine expecting to have to throw something through a ring to get it, making it taste great when they just handed it to me.

I think it must have been that same year that the heat from the grill radiated onto his metal sunglass frames and singed my father’s volunteer eyebrows as he sweated through his shirt as he worked over the hot �lame. A perfectionist to the last (I think we share that gene), he refused to allow the physical discomfort to affect the burger patties under his watch. To this day, I can’t think of anything that better epitomizes unwavering dedication to your son’s educational institution.

My brother and I went to the Bon�ire a few times, but I just remember being cold, a

little intimidated by the trucks-full of older kids making loud noises in the dark, and never allowed to get as close to the �ire as I wanted. The best part was, again, the friends you ran into beforehand (when it wasn’t pitch black yet and you could throw around a Frisbee or football), or the free drinks in the big soda can-shaped coolers. I never managed to get myself to the Wick Walk Run, because my brother and I always had town soccer, or the weather didn’t cooperate (I’m a fair weather runner), but I remember one year my mom somehow managed to participate, pushing Evan in a stroller the whole way. These were the sorts of Homecoming memories that stuck with me in my Lower School days.

Flash forward to ninth grade, when Homecoming made a little more sense. There was the Homecoming Dance, the �irst Upper School dance for the freshmen— which ended up being the most hyped two and a half hours of standing around of my life, as most of the freshmen gathered in a still horde along the sidelines where we watched the upperclassmen “making

their moves.” Dances, among many other things, have since steadily gotten better with seniority.

But the sporting events immediately became a whole lot more fun in Upper School; now your teachers became the coaches, the people you saw at school everyday the players, and more of your friends showed up as the cheering sections.

Nothing is better, I’ve decided, than joining crazy (but positive and respectful) masses in supporting your school’s sports teams.

It’s hard to believe I’m facing my �inal Homecoming as a student. My thirteen years here have actually �lown by—that is, as fast as thirteen years possibly can. I think the entirety of Senior year (after my college applications are in) will consist of balancing cruising with trying not to let it all go by too fast. A part of me wants to make it the most memorable Homecoming yet. But then again, I know it won’t be my last, and with two younger brothers still at Brunswick and a younger sister at GA, I know it won’t be my family’s last.

Continued on the next page

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Page 7

Around Brunswick

Upper School Concert, Cont.

Continued from Page 5

Mahertians,” whose ranks have swelled to nearly sixty. They performed four numbers: “When I Fall in Love,” George Michael’s “Faith,” James Taylor’s “Lonesome Road,” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” For “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Reid Breck and Alexa Salameh, who had only been handed the solos the night before, delivered stunning performances.

No one had a clear answer on which song was the group’s favorite, but Will Knox re�lected the general feeling of the group: “Despite the early mornings and constant bumps in the road it was great to see things

come together at the last minute to form something great.” Brunswick’s choral groups look forward to taking on bigger and better challenges.

Two additional Honors Improv groups rounded out the performances by more intimate bands. A silky smooth rendition of “Just You, Just Me” featured Allen Louis and Alexa Salameh as Brunswick’s answer to Ray Charles and Betty Parker. Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” showcased the outstanding guitar talents of several seniors as well as promising saxophonists junior Spencer Dahl and sophomore David Russell.

The musical feast

then moved on to the feature presentation of the night: Brunswick’s Blue Notes. Despite losing so many outstanding members to graduation, veterans including Nikhil Mehra ’10 were enthused about the new crop of instrumentalists. “I was really impressed with the Blue Notes’ performance at the Fall Concert, especially given that close to 75% of the band are underclassmen and over 60% are new members.

I was pleased that we managed to maintain a similar level of maturity in our sound despite the younger group.” The Blue Notes performed three numbers, with solos from Nikhil Mehra,

Gwen Fernandez, JP Hare, Matthew Cassoli, and Rick Salame. The presence of girls was also duly noted: “Special recognition to Gwen Fernandez and Nicole Snyder is deserved for stepping up and breaking the gender barrier. They have created a precedent for GA students to follow in the future when it comes to music.”

When asked who was the most impressive group, the vox populi was not of one mind.

However, they could all agree on one point—it was a night to inspire and to remember.

your every action or prevent you from error, it still remains deeply ingrained in your belief system. As you come to associate yourself with the school, so too do you become associated with its mission. Since beliefs seem to follow actions as much as the reverse holds true, you subscribe to that mission as easily as you can wear the brown sweater, don the brown jersey, display the “WCK” on the back of

your car or generally call Brunswick “home.” Long after the memories of that dramatic comeback in overtime, classic oneliner, “aha!” moment in class, successful dance, inspirational (or otherwise distinctive) guest speaker, or hilarious class trip fade to memories of a time long gone, the school and what it has taught us unquestionably remain.

Brunswick is at the same time the vast

collection of individuals and the overall community as a whole, past and present. Though sometimes easy to forget, we must remember that we de�ine Brunswick as much as Brunswick de�ines us.

Reflections, Continued

Cont. from the previous page

There are always members of your class you wouldn’t exactly call your friends. Yet why is it that outside of school, your common links—the school you attend, the classes you share, the great facilities you use and the teachers you admire—inexplicably and undeniably still bind you together?

While the motto “Courage, Honor, Truth” may not always inform

The Homecoming tradition serves all of us with the perfect reminder.

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Sports

Page 8

2010 FIFA WorldCup: Team USA

By Mike Forrester ‘11 Staff Writer

A

fter its 3-2 victory over Honduras on October 10th, the United States men’s national soccer team quali�ied for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Granted, this news may not particularly excite you, given that the US team has made it out of the group stage in a World Cup only once since 1990. That year, 2002, the team advanced to the quarter�inals, before losing to Germany.

Historically though, international success has not been one of the team’s strengths. The current team is looking to break this trend. Fresh off its runner-up �inish in the 2009 Confederations Cup and its recent World Cup quali�ication, this US team is �lying high.

Including a 2-0 win over Spain (which hadn’t lost a match since 2006 and were then ranked number one in the world), the US has put together a string of impressive wins.

The best men’s national soccer team in a decade has head coach Bob Bradley at its helm. Led on the �ield by veteran Landon Donovan, the squad is loaded with international stars

including Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, and Oguchi Onyewu. Several players have emerged as leaders, especially Altidore, who has scored six goals in quali�ication, including a hat trick against Trinidad and Tobago. However, no team can be great without a superb goalkeeper, and Tim Howard certainly is one. Howard, who has

keeps his squad together as a team and helps them stay focused. Their main goal should be to advance deep into the 2010 World Cup, which at this point is not out of the question.

The team’s recent success brings about a pressing question: Why is soccer in this country viewed as a “second-class” sport?

been playing in the EPL (English Premier League) since 2003, was awarded the Golden Glove award as best goalkeeper in the Confederations Cup. This national team is balanced, explosive, and hungry, unlike previous teams, which may have had good players but lacked continuity. Bradley

It is without a doubt the most popular sport worldwide, yet seemingly every American kid wants to play football, basketball, or baseball.

Even hockey and lacrosse have not completely caught on yet, but they are still further along than soccer. Soccer is a beautiful game, and it’s

about time more people began to appreciate its elegance. I’m not saying great young athletes in the United States should all want to be soccer players, but it should be in their minds, not an afterthought. Jozy Altidore is built and chiseled along the lines of Kobe Bryant, he has the speed of a wide receiver, and not to mention, he’s only 19. He is the type of athlete US soccer needs more of.

The stage is set for Team USA in 2010.

Anything less than a quarter�inal appearance will be considered a major disappointment.

But, there’s no doubt in my mind that this team can accomplish that feat.

However, Bob Bradley, always professional, is not letting his team look ahead to 2010. He is instead keeping his team focused on �inishing the qualifying round strong.

“It’s the goal to �inish �irst,” said Bradley. “We take a great deal of pride in being the best team in CONCACAF.” As it turns out, Team USA is not only the best team in CONCACAF— it is also becoming one of the elite squadrons in all of men’s soccer.

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Brunswick Sports

Water Polo, Continued

Continued from Page 5

Before even meeting for the �irst time, the team already had the best coaches in the area providing the initial push.

The team is comprised of me, Juniors Nick Ruppel, Ben Prout and Matt Weill, and Freshman Connor Kupersmith, Sander Profaci, Holden Fett, Pete Rogan, Eric and Ian Rhonda, and Peter D’Agostino. Most of the team

(excluding me, Prout, Ruppel, and Profaci) had never played before, let alone been a longtime swimmer.

The team practices everyday at the Greenwich YMCA,

Page 9

appropriately slotting in between the U-14 YMCA team and the postcollegiate Masters team.

With rigorous swim sets consuming the �irst half of the practice, the team as a whole has grown to be more comfortable in the water, and more conditioned for those tough fourth quarters.

After losing to Hopkins in the �irst week, the team traveled up to Suf�ield for

up against a physical Andover JV squad. With some key players ejected for some “extra-curricular activity” in the �irst half, Brunswick relied on the work of freshman standout goalie Sander Profaci, who allowed only two goals in the entire 2nd half in a 19-7 win.

A three-game homestand last week saw the team again soundly defeat Suf�ield, as well as Staples HS and Horace

part in the Navy Water Polo Tournament before concluding the season with two home games against Hudson Valley and Trinity, and an all-day tournament at Hopkins.

The start to this program has been extremely successful, encouraging many students and faculty to take interest and show support. Everyone on the team has full con�idence that Brunswick Water

a double-header the following weekend.

Equipped with new Brunswick Water Polo caps, the squad cruised past Suf�ield JV in a 2214 win. Immediately following the Suf�ield game, the team matched

Mann, outscoring our opponents 51-23. Most recently, Brunswick Water Polo traveled to Choate Rosemary Hall and blew them out 15-4.

The team plans to travel down to Annapolis, MD on October 23 to take

Polo is headed to the top, and that, given our record in the Prep School JV circuit, the team will soon be a force to be reckoned with at the Varsity level.

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Page 10

Editorials

A Letter to Urban Meyer

By Willy Fein ‘13 Staff Writer

D

ear Mr. Urban Meyer,

I’m sure you’re not told this a lot, but on Saturday night you made a football decision, and you were wrong. Tim Tebow should not have started against LSU. You told us that medically he was cleared to play. In sports, medical clearance has about the same value as celebrity endorsement; if you’re willing to pay enough, you can always get it, and once you do, it gives nothing more than the ability to say that you have it. You told us Tim said he was ready.

Tebow’s assurance means less than the doctor’s. This is a guy who would say he was ready to play before he left the emergency room. Coach Meyer, you are a very good coach.

Your play calls keep the defense on their heels and your game-time decisions undoubtedly help your team win. On Saturday, however, your decision was dead wrong.

It’s true that the game at LSU might be the most important of Florida’s season, and without Tebow your chances of winning would be greatly diminished. Replacing Tebow is virtually impossible; putting Tebow on the bench might have

ruined your undefeated record and chance at a national championship. I’m not going to deny that he played well and your win in Baton Rouge set you up for a national championship bid. Luckily, he didn’t take any bad hits and it didn’t look like his head was bothering him. But the fact remains you decided to put your quarterback in a potentially life-threatening situation and the fact that he didn’t get hurt does not redeem the decision. One hit, one accidental blow to his head, and his football career could have been over, or worse.

Recent medical studies reveal the signi�icance of concussions on the later lives of NFL players.

As reported in the New York Times, a study commissioned by the NFL showed that mental and memory-related diseases such as Alzheimers are nineteen times more prominent among former NFL players from ages 3049 than they are among the general population. After this season, Tim Tebow will be an NFL player, playing with preexisting head injuries. Recovery from a concussion requires not only rest and healing, but also gradual and methodical reintegration to playing sports. Step by step, Tebow should have slowly rejoined practice

and drills before playing in a game. He had less than a week of practice after taking the hit against Kentucky. He was not ready to play.

Mr. Meyer, as a coach you have an obligation to your players. You are being paid four-million dollars a year to coach players who week-in and week-out give their heart and soul for the team. For them, football is a game and a future not merely a source of income. By subjecting your players to the risk of career-ending injury, you jeopardize what could be their most viable chance of �inancial security. To help them become the best players they can be should be your primary job, which includes developing them as athletes and as men.

With Tim Tebow, your job was an easy one. His athleticism is unmatched throughout the nation.

As a freshman, he was your leading rusher, even though he was a backup quarterback. As a sophomore, he scored more points by himself than 87 Division I-A teams. He has two national championships to go with his Heisman Trophy and countless records. His natural ability is matched only by his integrity and spiritual devotion. In his free time, he preaches at prisons and orphanages

and visits the Philippines on missions. As a coach, all you had to do was enjoy having Tim Tebow on your team and keep him safe for four great years.

The right path should have been an easy one to follow: let Tim Tebow watch the game from the sideline. Tebow is probably the most valuable and wellknown college football player in the country. By resting him in a game with de�inite national championship implications, you would have shown that your players mean more to you than a national championship trophy.

Coach Meyer, it is not often that one decision can change a sport; you had precisely that opportunity. You could have shown players and coaches everywhere that to feel pain is not a sign of weakness, and to take time off to heal is not a sign of fear. Instead, for the rest of his college and pro career, every time Tim Tebow hits the ground, fans everywhere will hold their breath, wondering if that concussion, and your decision, is �inally coming back to haunt him.

Sincerely,

Willy Fein

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Editorials

Page 11

Balloon Boy Hoax

By Spencer Dahl ‘11 Staff Writer

B

y now, most have probably heard of the “Balloon Boy” story, the tale of how the Heene family of Colorado contacted the local police department claiming that their son, Falcon, was missing. He was presumed to be inside an errant homemade weather balloon, �loating seven thousand feet above the Rockies.

For several hours, the country was �ixated on the fate of the unexpected airborne traveler, as the National Guard scrambled two helicopters in order to track the balloon and Denver International Airport was temporarily shut down. As the media converged on the boy’s family, the cause of the crisis was determined. According to his parents, the boy had crawled into the weather balloon undetected when the balloon came off its tether and �loated away with the boy still inside. The balloon �inally came down in a �ield in Colorado Springs, and the authorities converged on the device, hoping to �ind the boy alive inside. But the balloon was found to be empty.

Panic overtook those

following the story as it was discovered that the box attached to the balloon, which would have been holding the boy, was nowhere to be found. A Sherriff from a nearby town claimed that he saw an object fall off the balloon earlier in the afternoon. The search for

close to the balloon earlier in the day. The family was interviewed by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, during which he asked the family if they had been calling for the boy during the day. Both parents claimed that they had in fact been calling the boy’s name. Blitzer then turned his attentions

the boy continued until he was �inally discovered to be hiding in a box in the attic of his house, where he had supposedly hidden after his father, a meteorologist, yelled at him for getting too

to Falcon, asking him if he has heard his parents calling his name. Falcon’s response was to turn to his parents and reply: “You guys said…that…we did this for the show!”

The event has been put on YouTube and viewed over 1.8 million times, sparking controversy over whether the boy had ever actually been missing. It has since been revealed that the whole event was a hoax and a publicity stunt.

According to Brian Jones, a physics professor at Colorado State University, the balloon would not even have been able to take off with the boy inside.

Although there was outrage voiced on the Internet over the falsi�ied story, little was expected to follow. However, it has recently been revealed that several serious charges are being leveled against the Heenes as a result of their deception of the authorities. The potential charges include conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities, and attempting to in�luence a public servant. Whether they will have to face the consequences for their invented story remains to be seen. There is little doubt, though, that the Heenes wasted the time of the local authorities, the media, and millions of Americans with their publicity stunt.

The Brunswick Chronicle October 2009

Editorials

Page 12

Obama’s Peace Prize Puzzler

By Oliver Sall Editor-In-Chief

T

he human decision-making process, a complex phenomenon, is all too often complicated by self interest, frequently at the expense of rational choice.

As disconcerting as that may sound, there are also occasions when people act solely out of wishful thinking while ignoring the inescapable facts. The Nobel Committee’s recent decision to award Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize is a �ine example of the latter instance.

At this point in his presidency, none can doubt the worldwide popularity of Barack Obama. In fact, in the most recent poll from the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index, a �irm that measures the global image of 50 countries each year, the United States is now the most admired country in the world.

This ranking, a year after ranking seventh, is due in large part to the star power of our 44th President. And the popularity of Obama was obviously not lost on the Norwegian Nobel Committee of 2009 which has awarded him the Peace Prize for his shimmering résumé that includes—well, what exactly?

It is true that someday Barack Obama may very well deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, and I hope that day comes as much as anyone else. But as of his

October 9th recognition, the award was completely unfounded and premature.

Obama was nominated for the Peace Prize a mere two weeks after his inauguration, indicating that the Nobel Committee was nominating Obama based on about the same amount of substance that a Miss America contestant would put forth during the Q&A session of a beauty pageant. Not only does this reduce the credibility of the nomination, it also draws attention to a potential political agenda shown by the Nobel Committee. With regard to Obama’s policy, the Committee stated that, “his diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.” As if anyone needed a further reminder that the Committee looked unfavorably upon Bush’s unpopular foreign policy.

To many, the speci�ic wording of many of the Committee’s statements is less telling than the actual choices of the recipient of their political perspective.

Critics have pointed to the past three presidential choices for the Peace Prize as an important indicator of the Committee’s true feelings. Former President Jimmy Carter in 2002, alsoran President Al Gore in 2007, and now President Barack Obama in 2009 all

form a neatly bracketed liberal snubbing of the Bush presidency: they were respectively given the Peace Prize a year after his election, at the height of his unpopularity, and following his hailed departure.

Personally, I am less upset about the Committee’s choice of words and prior selections (however suspect) than I am about the speci�ic merits, or lack thereof, of Obama. Not only are his accomplishments entirely minimal, Obama has also presided over a series of policies that may very well be the opposite of peace.

Since his inauguration, Obama has only escalated the war in Afghanistan, calling in various air strikes that have killed over 100 Afghan civilians. Obama continues to preside over another war in Iraq, where no meaningful withdrawal has taken place, and he has reserved the right to initiate another con�lict with Iran. Now, two points must be made to clarify my previous statements Firstly, it is true that Obama inherited these con�licts; and it’s possible that he could bring about their end, which would possibly make him deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize. But it’s also entirely possible that he will escalate some military involvement in the Middle East, due largely to the radically dangerous tendencies already displayed by Iran

– which brings us to my second point. It is also entirely possible, depending on one’s viewpoint, that the escalation of action in Afghanistan and the continued presence in Iraq are both worthy endeavors.

But this is beside the point.

The point is that, regardless of one’s political leaning, presiding over these activities should not qualify anyone for a Nobel Peace Prize.

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize should be awarded to the person who, “during the preceding year…shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” Not only did Obama undertake no concrete work towards peace during the “previous year” at the time of the nomination, he also did not exactly put in a lot of work towards abolishing or reducing standing armies, especially when he increased America’s military budget by $20 billion. It is safe to say that Obama’s accomplishments thus far are not exactly in the spirit of Alfred Nobel, thus rendering the President undeserving of the prize that he has been awarded.