Southerner Volume 66, Issue 7 by David Winter

HENRY W. GRADY HIGH SCHOOL, ATLANTA

VOLUME LXVI, NUMBER 7

April 17, 2013

Debbie livingston

700 ENVISIONED AT VENTI-SIZED DAY OF SERVICE T

GRADY ‘GETS A KICK OUT OF’ SPRING PRODUCTION; MUSICAL IS ‘DELIGHTFUL, DELOVELY’ A large cast of students presented Anything Goes in Grady’s auditorium from March 21-23. Set in the 1930s, the show featured a young businessman on a passenger ship who teams up with a gangster and nightclub evangelist to pursue his love interest. Accompanied by the band and orchestra, the cast sang and tap danced to entertain the audience for more than two hours. Several teachers played a large role in the play, including director Lee Pope, Jake Dreiling, who designed the set, and Kevin Hill, who oversaw the music. To read more about the musical and its preparation, check out thesoutherneronline.com.

Season of festivals blooms again By Darriea Clark lossoming flowers, pouring rain and shorter shorts herald the arrival of the season of festivals. This spring marks the continuation of famous festivals around Atlanta such as the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the Inman Park Festival and the Sweet Auburn Music Fest. All of these festivals promote arts and crafts from local, national and even international artists.

ATLANTA DOGWOOD FESTIVAL Held at Piedmont Park from April 19-21, this free festival is now a hub for 260 artists from around the country to display and sell their work, with a special section designated for Georgia artists. Various mediums are represented at the artist market, including sculpture, paintings, pottery, jewelry, photography and many more. Walter Rich, the founder of Rich’s department store, started the Atlanta Dogwood Festival in 1936 as a means to make Atlanta internationally known for the blooming of dogwood trees. Aside from the juried market, there will also be many other activities for the whole family. There will be a Kid’s

news

Physics teacher Jeff Cramer and his wife Ann Cramer hosted a fundraiser for Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on March 10 at their Inman Park home.

dining

Village where children can ride rides, do craft projects and engage in physical activity such as rock climbing. For man’s best friend, there will be a disc dog show in which dogs will compete in athletics such as running, jumping and catching “dog discs.” There will also be an Atlanta high school art exhibition. An international village and stage will celebrate diversity. On the stage, 300 entertainers representing more than 20 countries will perform, and a concert featuring Sara Evans with the Kurt Thomas Band will grace the main stage in the meadow on Saturday at 7 p.m. For junior Annelise Hooper, the best part of the festival is performing with her music school, Eclectic Music. “It’s a great place for the arts and showcasing your talents,” Hooper said. INMAN PARK FESTIVAL For eight months, local committees have been planning the ins and outs of this year’s Inman Park Festival, held during the last weekend of April. Unlike other festivals, it see FESTIVALS, page 13

11 lifestyle

The Southerner takes you on a journey through the Irwin Street Market in Old Fourth Ward, a culinary compilation of restaurants and dessert cafés.

By Troy Kleber erri Vish, district manager for Starbucks Coffee Company in northeast Georgia, imagines a single day on Grady’s campus where hundreds of volunteers will work to paint and renovate the school, where local big corporations will meet and talk with students and where professional football players will host sports clinics. It will be “a day of celebration to show what coming together will actually do for a school and a community,” Vish said. Since January, Vish and other Starbucks personnel have been working with Kids & Pros, a local nonprofit organization that uses athleticism and sports clinics to promote youth character building, to organize this full day of service at Grady on April 27. The event is called “You + 2 = Project Together Grady.” Back in 2008, Starbucks gathered 10,000 volunteers in New Orleans to conduct community-service projects to support the city after Hurricane Katrina. At the conclusion of this event, Starbucks committed itself to achieving 1 million hours of community service by 2015 and named April as its global month of service. “Every April, like clockwork, our entire company, domestic and international, all works for a day of service throughout the month of April,” Vish said. Project Together at Grady is one of several service projects Starbucks will be hosting around the world this April. “When you think about doing the global month of service, you have to go in to the city of Atlanta,” Vish said. “That’s where our culture is; that’s where our heritage is, and there really isn’t a better name when you think of schools that have had longstanding tradition and heritage and culture than Grady.” Vish said she and Starbucks committed to carrying out this project following the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., last December. “We just felt like there needed to be some healing and assurance that our school systems are still the best place for kids to be, and as community business partners it’s our responsibility to help,” she said. Art teacher John Brandhorst agrees a main goal should be to boost the school up in light of the recent incident at Grady GRADY’S involving a firearm. CUP “Especially in the wake OF TEA: of the gun incident and Starbucks everything else, there has paired needs to be some healwith Grady ing,” Brandhorst said. to host a “This really needs to be service event and sporting see STARBUCKS, photo illustration by Lauren Ogg clinics on April 27. page 7

12 thesoutherneronline.com

Zoo Atlanta has seen an upswing in quality and business. A look back at the zoo’s history reveals both its high and low points over the last 120 years.

On March 26, two men crashed a car into several vehicles on Charles Allen. Drive. Grady was placed on lockdown when one man tried to enter the school.

comment

April 17, 2013

Editorial Board

the Southerner

Rachel Citrin Sammi Dean Troy Kleber Diana Powers Alex Stearns-Bernhart Isabelle Taft

Show Knightly pride

What is your thought process when you get dressed in the morning? Typically, you will try to come to school with an outfit that represents you. You probably understand that your image influences how others perceive you. You probably take pride in the image you present to your peers. How you look can even influence how you feel. A certain image can even improve your confidence and feelings. Think of Grady’s campus in this same way. Starbucks and Kids & Pros are hosting a community-service project for students to improve the look of our campus on April 27. Let’s not overlook this great opportunity. We, as students, complain about the current condition of our school. We frequently hear criticism in the Grady hallways about the poor condition of our restrooms, the trash covering our courtyard and the lack of consistency in our campus’s color scheme. We spend the majority of our days at Grady, but rarely do we find students motivated enough to improve the campus. In light of the importance of perceptions, it should be obvious that students should care about the look of our campus. So why don’t we? Why does trash litter our hallways? Why is grass so hard to find on our campus? Why are our toilets filled with leftover food and paper? This disrespectful conduct likely occurs because there is an overall lack of pride in the school. Students seem so focused on making these four years as painless and easy as possible, but most don’t understand or appreciate the benefit of their experiences here. Students should be proud of this school, proud of its successes and proud of its history. Grady gives so much to its students each and every day— faculty and administrators who always put students first, many clubs and activities in which students can get involved, facilities and equipment that facilitate teaching and learning, and an overall environment that stimulates and educates. Students, therefore, should give back to Grady, not just for themselves but for the future of the school. So let’s take advantage of this opportunity hosted by Starbucks and Kids & Pros on April 27. Come out and help improve our campus. p

Johnson portrayed through all angles The article written by Isabelle Taft (Feb. 8, page 1 and page 9) not only did an excellent job covering the story, but painting the picture of Antonio Johnson. The article detailed Johnson’s previous history as well as provided interviews with individuals close to the shooter. The article does not try to illustrate Johnson as a villain, but in fact takes a more humanitarian approach to the story which I would like to commend the author for. It was truly a well-written piece offering a different angle. Ike Hammond sophomore

Brought to reason by white student “Django’s unchained word selection has dark consequences” (Feb. 8, page 5) was a great article that responded to the quick burst of racial anxiety that the public had for the film. It was witty and reasonable. Regardless, I do feel a sense of disappointment that the voice of reason for who should and shouldn’t use the

Subs MIA at GHS As Grady students, we’ve seen our fair share of eccentric substitute teachers. One frequent sub delivers motivational speeches rather than prescribed lesson plans. According to school legend, an extremely pious sub once snapped a teacher’s DVD about evolution in half because she deemed it offensive. But we are still much likelier to be focused on schoolwork if there is a (at least somewhat) responsible adult in the room. Recently, substitute teachers have failed to arrive to fill in when our classroom teachers are forced away from Grady. One Southerner staffer went through the first three periods of the day with no teacher or substitute in any of her classes. The subs either had never been hired or had simply decided not to show up. Without a teacher, classrooms quickly degenerate into chaos. Many students leave altogether, wandering the halls or going to get food. Classes fall behind because students aren’t even able to find out whether or not teachers have left work for them. Worse still, walking into a completely empty classroom is a disheartening experience that makes it difficult to take school seriously. Our staffer felt her day had been completely wasted. Students are not the only ones hurt by the absence of subs. Teachers and administrators, facing the prospect of up to 40 students creating chaos in an unsupervised room, must step in for their absent colleagues. This robs them of crucial planning time, which they use to prepare lessons and to collaborate with one another. The academy model synchronizes the schedules of teams of teachers so they can gather regularly during planning periods to share ideas and concerns. When several teachers in a team are babysitting instead of planning, the model loses much of its effectiveness. The process by which subs are hired is a mysterious one with notoriously mixed results—and that’s when the subs actually show up. But when they don’t, students and teachers alike lose valuable instructional time. Grady and APS must work together to ensure subs are available for every absent teacher. A recycled motivational speech is certainly better than nothing. p

“n” word had to come from a young white guy rather than an old grizzled veteran of the civil rights movement. Gilbert Young sophomore

where, the CC&J SLC gives me the necessary tools to succeed in any career I choose. Billie Lavine sophomore

School’s SLCs lead No hesitation by to disapointment girls to buy beauty When reading Allison Rapoport’s “Small learning communities resegregate classrooms,” (Feb. 8, page 4), I remembered my struggle to choose an SLC in eighth grade. I’ve always had a passion for the protection of wildlife, and I had even considered a career as a humane law enforcement officer (animal cop). To me, it was an obvious choice to join the Public Policy and Justice SLC. After telling my parents my choice, they became concerned. They sugar-coated the situation, using terms like “better-suited” and “core group of teachers.” Emails had been circling amongst Virginia Highland moms to push for their kids to get into the CC&J SLC or at least the Biomedical SLC. I was shocked and disappointed at being forced into an SLC, but the saddest moment was the realization that although my main interests lie else-

uestion

I really loved Olivia Veira’s article, “Weave pats down on girls’ self-esteem,” (Feb. 8, page 3). Even though I would otherwise know nothing about weave, I respect the fact that she acknowledged the materialistic attitude of American girls today, even more so because it sparked a reaction from them. It really puts things into perspective when you realize how much these girls are willing to pay for a fake sense of beauty. Hannah Martin sophomore

We want to know what you think! Love an article? Hate one? Find an error? Tell us about it! The Southerner welcomes letters from any and all of our readers. Contact us at www.facebook.com/gradysoutherner.

f the month

What is the best April Fool’s joke that you have played on someone?

C O R R E C T I O N S

“

We covered a boiled egg in chocolate and gave it to a friend. She freaked out.” Brett Polluck, freshman

“

I pretended I had a seizure in class.”

“

Tia Borrego, junior

In the caption going with “Players to watch this spring season,” (March 20, page 20) Jasmine Moon was mislabled as a senior. She is a junior.

Editor-in-Chief: Isabelle Taft Managing Editors: Sammi Dean, Troy Kleber Associate Managing Editor: Diana Powers Design Editors: Lauren Ogg, Gracie White News Editors: Olivia Kleinman, Olivia Veira Comment Editors: Rachel Citrin, Alex Stearns-Bernhart Double-truck Editor: Carson Shadwell Lifestyle Editors: Jolie Jones, Hunter Rust A+E Editors: Grace Power, Megan Prendergast

Sports Editors: Kate de Give, Joe Lavine Web Master: Simon McLane Office Manager: Gracie White Photo Editor: Ciena Leshley Cartoonist: Will Staples Staff: Emma Aberle-Grasse, Ryan Bolton, Hanna Brown, J.D. Capelouto, Zac Carter, Darriea Clark, Mary Condolora, Riley Erickson, Declan Farrisee, Zac Garrett, Deborah Harris, Orli Hendler, Archie Kinnane, Eli Mansbach, Ansley

Lauren Kuon, senior

My mom was giving a present to my dad and she dropped it so it sounded like glass just broke, but it was just change in a jar.”

Tommy Bennett, freshman

Southerner Staff 2012-2013

We put clear tape on Mr. Dorsey’s door, and he walked into it.”

An upbeat paper for a downtown school Marks, Rebecca Martin, Caroline Morris, Quinn Mulholland, Axel Olson, Allison Rapoport, Ben Searles, Ryan Switzer, Olivia Volkert, Josh Weinstock, Alex Wolfe Advisers: Kate Carter, Dave Winter The Southerner, a member of GSPA, SIPA, CSPA and NSPA, is a monthly student publication of: Henry W. Grady High School 929 Charles Allen Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

To our readers, The Southerner welcomes submissions, which may be edited for grammar, inappropriate language and length. Please place submissions in Mr. Winter or Ms. Carter's box in the main office. Subscriptions are also available. For more information, please contact Mr. Winter, Ms. Carter or a member of the staff.

comment

April 17, 2013

Competitiveness bad for self-esteem The week when we receive PSAT scores is my least favorite time of the year. The same thing always happens. When my peers receive their scores, most of them are very proud of the outcome at first—they feel as if they met their personal expectations and goals. Then, as everyone else’s scores spread around the room, my friends J.D. Capelouto hear about the near-perfect scores a few students received. Immediately, their feelings of satisfaction turn into thoughts of jealousy and mediocrity, as they realize their work was not as good as possible. Students, however, should not give in to this mentality. They should judge their best work based on their own standards, not someone else’s. If you feel as if your performance is not your personal best, then it is ok to feel bad and try to work harder. But as soon as you compare your performance to others’, you are only going to make yourself feel bad by attempting to reach insurmountable goals. This theory applies to anytime you are in competition with others. I first noticed this tendency in myself when I got a calculus test back. My score was a surprising 97 percent. At first I was amazed I had gotten such a good grade and was proud of my performance. Then I discovered that my good friend had gotten a 99, and I was immediately disappointed. If I had done one subsection of a free-response problem differently, I could have matched that score!

But I quickly realized how ridiculously hard I was being on myself. Really? I was stressing over two points? My grade was great (especially compared to my other test scores), and the fact that my friend scored better is irrelevant. This experience taught me that I am only capable of what is my best. So it did not make sense for me to beat myself up just because I didn’t reach someone else’s potential. Nowadays, this problem is rampant among academically motivated teens, and it can’t be solved by just one person. If you realize that you suffer from this tendency, it is easy to fix. In the future, focus only on your performance and don’t worry about how others do. Distracting yourself with the grades of other students will only make you lose track of what your goal should be: personal improvement. Comparing yourself to others will also make you feel disappointed in your work. You may get discouraged in your ability to succeed just because the classmate sitting in front of you got a 2260 SAT score. Even though you may not be the best at standardized tests, it certainly does not mean you can’t achieve your life goals. By working hard to improve your individual score, and not dwelling on the success of others, you can improve your work ethic, academic output, and most importantly, your self-esteem. So next time you get a test back, don’t compare your grade to your peers’ or the class average. Compare it to your own standards and go from there. p

Will Staples

Do tomorrow what you can do today Hello, my name is Quinn Mulholland and I am a procrastaholic. Ever since seventh grade, I have waited until the last possible minute to complete assignQuinn Mulholland ments. This year alone, on two separate occasions, I have started and finished a chemistry project the day it was due (sorry, Ms. Relja). Until recently, I have seen procrastination as one of my weaknesses. But I’m starting to realize that it actually can be a positive tool to accomplish things and make informed decisions. To all my fellow procrastinators out there: take heart! According to Stanford philosopher John Perry, there is such a thing as “structured procrastination.” His epiphany, according to his 2012 book The Art of Procrastination, came in 1995, when he was putting off working on a project. Perry realized that while he was procrastinating on some things, he was still being productive, working on other things, like “gardening or sharpening pencils.” The key, according to Perry, is to trick

yourself into putting tasks that seem, but really aren’t, important or menacing at the top of your to-do list, and then including easier, more manageable tasks lower down on the list. As a result you will knock out the easy items as a way of putting off dealing with the supposedly more important tasks, which you will eventually complete when a new set of even more important tasks overtake them for the top spot on your list. This strategy doesn’t work for everyone, and, admittedly, procrastination can be a bad thing. For example, if you have a test looming tomorrow, postponing studying will do you no good. But for certain people, myself included, procrastination isn’t always as iniquitous as it’s made out to be. While I would certainly love to get more than the five or six hours of sleep I get many nights, I can’t help but think that even if I had started on an assignment as soon as I received it, I would still stay up late tweaking it the night before it was due. In this way, procrastination is my tool against spending too much time on things that should be easy to knock out. For another example, we can look to Lehman Brothers, the infamous investment

bank that played a major role in the Great Recession of 2007-2008. According to Frank Partnoy, a professor at the University of San Diego and a self-proclaimed procrastinator, senior executives at Lehman Brothers attended a decision-making class in the fall of 2005 where they were taught the virtues of snap decisions. The rest is history—these snap decisions helped cause the worst recession in U.S. history since the Great Depression. In Partnoy’s 2012 book Wait: The Art and Science of Delay, he argued that in many cases, it is propitious to wait until the last moment to make a decision, so that you can be as informed a possible. In most decisions we face, there is not a clear right or wrong choice. Because we can’t be sure what the best possible course of action is, putting off the decision can be beneficial to everyone. As I put the finishing touches on this story mere minutes before my deadline, I feel a wave of relief: another project, successfully completed in the nick of time. Procrastination gets a pretty bum rap from many, and I think it’s time we procrastinators set the record straight and take a stand against these slanderous accusations. Or maybe let’s just wait until next week. p

e with r u t a N

ALEX Hitchhiking: handy outdoor skill to add to survival tool belt By Alex Stearns-Bernhart It was a cold winter day in January, and it felt even colder because of the wet clothes that hung to my body. As I walked down U.S. Route 19 outside of Bryson City, N.C., I kept looking up to see the sun quickly falling lower in the sky. The silence in the air was broken by the sound of a car coming up the road. I quickly turned to face the direction the car was coming from and threw up my thumb. Thankfully, a white Dodge truck slowed to a halt next to me. The window on the passenger side rolled down to reveal a middle-aged couple, and they looked like really nice people who were just trying to help someone out. The man asked if he could give me a lift somewhere. I happily answered “yes” and hopped into the bed of the truck. I hadn’t been so grateful for someone giving me a ride in a long time. Over the years, hitchhiking has developed a bad reputation, and is not accepted as a safe or even legal form of transportation in the United States. In most situations, I would have to agree. Hitchhiking is not safe. You are getting into the car of someone you don’t know. This seems to go against everything our parents have told us about “stranger danger.” Now you may be asking yourself, “If you feel this way, why do you still hitch?” While it is not always the safest option, it is sometimes the best and only acceptable form of transportation. Because such situations occur most often in isolated areas, it has become an accepted form of travel by many outdoor enthusiasts. For example, now that spring has arrived, thruhikers on the Appalachian Trail have hit the trail on their way to Maine. They are carrying their lives on their backs, so they can’t carry enough supplies to last them for three to five months. Didn’t you ever wonder how they got new supplies every four to five days? It’s by hitching to the nearest town. Hitching can also be a great emergency tool for all, not just those of us who find ourselves in the backcountry from time to time. It is not quite as necessary as it was in the past due to all of the technology that we now have, specifically mobile telephones. Before cell phones, if a car broke down on the side of the road, the driver had two options: either walk into town or hitch. Now with phones, we have the ability to call someone to come pick us up. I do want to make it clear that I am not condoning or recommending hitchhiking. I am just sharing my opinion on the matter; the decision is up to you, but if you are planning on hitching, pay very close attention. First and foremost, you must be ready to turn down a ride if you get a funny feeling; always follow your gut. It may seem silly, but you do actually stick your thumb out on the side of the road. Once you have received a ride, be very nice and courteous to the driver, and if you don’t get a ride, don’t blame them for not picking you up. Just in case it has not been made clear so far, hitchhiking is illegal in most states, including Georgia, and those that allow it have strict guidelines as to when and where it can be done. p

EXCLUSIVELY @ theSoutherneronline.com Sequester has many negative effects

Georgia misses the mark with gun bill

Originally created as a way to force Congress to compromise on deficit reduction, the sequester has turned into something very real and very detrimental. As a result of the fiscal-cliff, budget cuts included in the sequester were applied March 1, 2013. ...

Since March 15, HB-512 has been sitting in the Georgia Senate awaiting debate and vote. The proposed bill, HB-512, would make it legal for people to carry guns into places where they have been previously restricted, such as college campuses, ...

comment

Increased protection may provide solution

Beefed up security not always better by Sam holder

by jenni rogan

I’m as much of a fan of Grady’s security as the next student. I hate waiting in the long line, especially on those chilly mornings. I become irritated after hearing the obnoxious buzzing from the metal detector for far too long. The administration gives us extra time to get to class, but if we had more effective security, we wouldn’t need that extra time. The security at Grady, no matter how useless it may seem, makes our school safe. Even though the new security may be helping, with the new possible Georgia gun laws, new measures must be taken for the 2013-2014 school year. APS Superintendant Erroll Davis, said “Schools were designed to be places of learning ... not designed to be a fortress” and I agree. Grady is a meant to be open so students feel inclined to learn, but it’s also meant to be a place that is safe for students to learn. If we are worrying about someone bringing a gun to school, or unauthorized people making their way onto campus, learning may be compromised. Also, if students can get into a number of the buildings without going through security, we shouldn’t get rid of the security, we should get more of it. My first period class on A days is Latin, in the trailers. I usually arrive to school right at 8:15 a.m. and I head straight to class. The only time I ever went through the cafeteria was Feb. 28, the day after the shooting. I assumed there would be someone at the top of the staircase near the gym guiding people towards the cafeteria. When I got there, there was not a single adult around watching the area. Assigning a security guard, or even a teacher who doesn’t have a first period, to watch the entrance to the trailers and gym would help. The second student parking lot (or the dirt lot as some call it) also increases the number of students in the area surrounding the trailers. Most of these students make their way to the cafeteria eventually, but a teacher reminder to go to the cafeteria first would help make mornings smoother and more secure. If all students were required to work their way through the cafeteria in the morning, a third metal detector would help conduct the searches more efficiently. Even after changing the start time of the school, Grady will not be able to keep both its promises that “school starts at 8:30 a.m.” and that “everyone must go through the metal detectors” if there are only two metal detectors for almost 1,500 students to walk through. In APS’s security budget, a third metal detector should be close to the top of the list. Finally, teachers need to be able to look through bags more thoroughly. There have been more days than I can count on my fingers and toes where the teacher checking bags passed mine from one end of the table to the other without searching it. Grady probably has new security plans in the works. Security needs to be efficient, yet thorough. If, however, Grady is not able to put money into making security better, which seems to be the current situation, Grady should at least try to improve upon what it has by spreading its current resources (security guards and JROTC sergeants) and educating teachers and administrators about what they are looking for in student bags. p

e h T

April 17, 2013

In the aftermath of the accidental shooting, Grady administration has increased security. So far, the administration has implemented security practices that have been available all along. While this seems like a reasonable response, it is not as clear-cut an issue as the administration would have you believe. First, the shooting could have happened at any school. The barest facts state that a girl arrived late to school, and while in the courtyard, shot herself in the leg. Sure, this is an awful situation and the school has to address the issue of students bringing guns to school, but the school administration is going about it in the wrong way. The school’s immediate response was to reinstitute the metal detector searches. Hypothetically, this means that every morning, all of the students are funneled through two entrances, and are corralled in front of a metal detector. Besides the most noticeable problem that almost all students are now late to first period, there are a few more subtle problems. In the debate following the shooting incident, many students wondered why the school-assigned police officers are not searching our bags. Police don’t search our bags because the search of bags without just cause would violate our fourth amendment rights. Instead, administrators and teachers search our bags. Yet in the student handbook, the school administration cannot search us without probable cause. In order to bypass the school’s own policies, the school is searching everyone. They feel that they are legally able to do so by applying the laws that justify the searching of people entering courthouses and airports. If there were to be a court case testing the legality of this, it would probably go in the school’s favor. Nevertheless, until such a ruling, the school is not legally justified in applying this method of searching. There is another problem with the metal-detector method. What sets up a better time for a mass shooting then if all of the students are standing in a neat row in front of the school? Let’s assume that a student brought a gun to school and after an efficient and effective search, the teacher assigned to metal detector duty found it; what would the teacher do next? Teachers do not have adequate training to handle such a situation. To top it off, students would not need to bring the gun inside. They could wait until a later period or lunch, go out to their car and get their gun. There should not be more security at Grady High School because of the recent event. If there were to be any changes, there should be better security. What the school needs is cameras that can tell us who stole the basketball team’s stuff from the locker-room while they were playing. If the administration were to crack down on loitering in the hallways during class or do a better job of preventing skipping, maybe they could inadvertently prevent future crimes. We need to remember that we go to a school, not a prison. Instead of the metal detectors, we should go back to entering school the way it was and stop wasting everyone’s time. p

STUDENT

Stance

Does increased security provide adequate protection for Grady?

Rec games wrecks schedules, unfair to athletic kids A couple of weeks ago, my homeroom received those cute, pink folders that signified the time had finally come for us to pick our schedules for senior year. I had my whole year planned out: a few Advanced Placement classes, musical theater and a period or two for The Southerner, of course. Unfortunately, when I began Alex Wolfe to check off all my favored classes, I realized I would be unable to take AP Economics concurrently with the rest of my preferred classes due to the torturous ordeal known as rec games. Properly labeled as recreational games, the course counts for a half credit that must be gained in order to graduate, unless you have played two years of a varsity sport, JROTC or marching band. On the surface this seems like a very reasonable policy for exemption, but what about students who participate in a junior varsity sport? Or people like me who

are active, but are not engaged in a Grady sport? Are they still required to take the course? The answer to that, sadly, is yes. The official Grady website describes rec games as a course that “introduces recreational games suitable for lifetime leisure activities.” Not only are JV athletes in an adequate physical state to be able to take part in any type of recreational game, but most students in general are healthy and fit enough to partake in “leisure activities.” I mean, come on–it has the word leisure in its description! I compared the number of hours in which the varsity and JV soccer teams practice and compete. Both teams practice for about two hours a day and between four and five days a week, plus any games in which they compete. The regular season lasts about 11 weeks, and after that point, the varsity soccer team goes on to compete in a regional tournament, which lasts for an indeterminate length, depending on how well the team does. Overall, both teams are active for about 100 hours or so during the regular season, while the varsity team practices for maybe another 15 to 25 hours.

That doesn’t seem like a big difference, especially when you consider the fact that students in rec games only have the class for about 65 hours over the course of the semester. Additionally, students who compete on a team are likely to be more committed to their sport than anyone who is forced to take a mandatory course in which they have no interest. I take advanced dance classes on a regular basis, and I am active for about 10 hours a week, not just for one sports season, but for the majority of the school year. My dance classes are not involved with Grady sports, though, making my 250plus hours of activity each year worthless in the eyes of APS. Plenty of students participate in activities unrelated to Grady, including gymnastics, fencing and karate. Should we be penalized for having interests outside the realm of what Grady has to offer? I think not. As I completed my scheduling form all I could do was sigh and move on; AP Econ would have to take a backseat to my required recreational period. And until the rule is changed others will have to suffer the same fate. p

Educators charged in cheating scandal Thirty-five former APS teachers and administrators face criminal charges of racketeering, making false statements and theft by taking as a result of their involvement in the 2009 CRCT cheating scandal. All, including former superintendent Beverly Hall, turned themselves into the Fulton County Jail by April 5.

APS gives students personalized emails In an effort to ensure all students can be contacted, APS assigned every student an individual email address that can be used to log in to personalized accounts on school computers.

B.E.S.T. Academy principal steps down Boris Hurst, the former principal of B.E.S.T. Academy, an APS school in northwest Atlanta, resigned on March 6 after allegations of academic misconduct including bullying teachers if they did not change failing grades to passing grades. APS formally presented these charges against Hurst in a Feb. 21 disciplinary hearing. Hurst maintained innocence even during his resignation. The current interim principal at B.E.S.T. Academy is Gary Cantrell.

APS changes date of graduation ceremony Grady’s graduation was formerly set for May 25 at 8 p.m. In response to requests, APS changed the date. The ceremony, held at the Atlanta Civic Center, is now set for Thursday, May 23 at 1 p.m.

the Southerner

April 17, 2013

Hyundai Motor donates coats to APS kids By Olivia Kleinman A thousand public school kids in Atlanta now have new winter coats, thanks to Hyundai Motor America. The car manufacturer partnered with the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and APS to donate 1,000 coats to Atlanta youth. The donation of coats, which were purchased at wholesale from a third party vendor, is part of Hyundai’s Coats for Kids initiative and ongoing efforts to give back to local communities. The first 100 coats were distributed after an event held at Bethune Elementary School on March 5. More than 150 community members and students joined Mayor Kasim Reed to accept the donation from representatives from Hyundai. The remaining coats were distributed to other schools, churches, shelters and organizations in Atlanta. In addition to Bethune, eight other APS elementary schools received coat donations: Fain, Towns, Dunbar, Boyd, Gideons, Whitefoord, Grove Park and Thomasville. Social workers assisted in selecting students from Title 1 schools (where more than 80 percent of students are below the poverty index and receive some type of federal support) to receive coats, said Corliss Davenport, program manager of the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. APS vice chair and District 2 board member Byron Amos attended the event at Bethune and said he could see the pleasure and happiness in the children’s eyes when they received their coats. “In spite of the chilly weather, our students converged upon us beaming with warmth and pride,” wrote Bethune principal Jami Pettway in

COURTESY OF Tiffany Kelly

News Briefs

news

1,000 POINTS OF WARMTH: Students at Gideons Elementary School pose in their new coats donated by Hyundai Motor America. an email to the APS board. coats is always beneficial. they might be able to focus more on Zafar Brooks, the director of “We can never get enough coats,” their education by taking one more general affairs and corporate social she said. “This particular population thing off the table among all the responsibility and diversity inclu- is using hand-me-downs that are things that were challenges,” he said. sion at Hyundai, was amazed by too big or too small because they are Hyundai is additionally involved the young coat recipients. from a parent or sibling and are old in educational outreach by funding “[The kids] were very gracious in and worn down.” math computer labs nationwide. accepting the coats, and they seemed Brooks came up with the idea “[The labs] are helping elemenlike some tremendous young people of Coats for Kids in 2009 while tary-age kids to improve their who have ambitions and desires and in Detroit. He observed how the mathematical skills, so they move dreams,” he said. 2008 recession left many children on to be successful high-school Amos believes the coat donation without a coat. graduates,” Brooks said. had a positive impact because many “There’s nothing more basic than Hyundai selected Atlanta as students did not formerly own one. having a nice, warm coat to keep the donation location for 2013 “We live in Atlanta in which you warm as you head to school so because Hyundai has a principal we get all four seasons in one day,” that you can focus on your studies,” regional-based facility in the city Amos said. “The day we actually Brooks said. and because some staff members passed out the coats [at Bethune], I The coat donation also improves are from Atlanta. believe it was about 60 degrees. … students’ education, Brooks said. “[Coats for Kids] is a part of our The very next day, the temperature “I thought [it would be] a great overall corporate mission, which is to was 30 degrees.” combination to provide winter coats be a company that helps to make soDavenport believes donating to needy families and children, so ciety a better place,” Brooks said. p

APS censorship of various websites raises questions By Josh Weinstock While researching on a computer at Grady, senior Grace Power noticed APS had blocked websites with the words gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual in them. Power told Rachel Citrin, the president of the Activism Club and Citrin contacted APS board member Cecily Harsch-Kinnane. Harsch-Kinnane emailed David Williamson, the chief information officer of the APS Information Technology Department. “When they told me what was blocked, it was one of those things that I knew immediately that it shouldn’t have been blocked,” Williamson said. Harsch-Kinnane said blocking websites with the words gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual was not something APS did intentionally, but they “just needed to make the filter looser.” APS recently implemented a new filter from the technology company iBoss and were still figuring out the intricacies of the filter. “This new filter filters a little differently than the old one did,” Williamson said. “It was just one of those things that we hadn’t encountered yet.” The APS Technology Information Department is tasked with choosing which websites students should and should not be able to access. “The most common example people throw around is a search for breast,” Williamson

Page Blocked The Southerner found that a web page can be restricted for containing the following: Lace, butt, prohibited game content (EA games, miniclip, etc), proxies, nyan, bikini, bomb, kill, knife, murder, fetish, prohibited gambling content, esquire.com, same sex, neopets, furby.com, VICE We also found that web pages were NOT restricted for containing the following: Meth, hookers, prostitution, alcohol, Hulu, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, bombs said. “You can imagine a search for breast cancer would be an allowable search, but at the same time a search for naked breast would be blocked, for obvious reasons.” Even so, some students have discovered loopholes in the filter. When the filter determines that a website should be blocked, a screen appears with the link that the student is trying to reach and a brief explanation as to why that website is being blocked. If the link is clicked on multiple times, the computer

skips over the filter and students can gain access to the restricted website. Williamson explained three main ways the filter blocks certain websites to people using the APS Internet. “At one level, [the filter] has an exhaustive list of URL’s and those URL’s have been thrown into categories,” he said. There are 30 to 40 master categories, which include topics such as social media, business and politics. The Information Technology Department

employees monitoring the filter can decide whether to allow students and teachers access to certain categories. “Another way it filters is by type of media, file types,” Williamson said. “It can look at file types and determines whether it’s just a web page coming down or whether it’s something from streaming media like Hulu or online radio or YouTube.” The filter can recognize what kind of file a student or teacher is trying to access and Williamson and others working in the Information Technology Department can decide which types of files should be accessible to people. Williamson said the third way the filter blocks certain websites is a word list. APS can choose whether or not they will allow searches by certain words. The filter will often have to use the context of the search to determine whether it should be blocked or not. Williamson said it is usually pretty easy to tell if something should or shouldn’t be blocked. “You don’t allow access to pornography. You don’t allow access to certain social stuff. You don’t allow access to hate groups and bomb making,” Williamson said. “Most of the time it’s pretty cut and dry.” Junior Alec Bruno feels as though the filter is too strict. “I was doing history [research], and I couldn’t open a Ronald Reagan web page,” Bruno said. “It seems like we are restricted to basic content, and I don’t understand why.” p

news

April 17, 2013

Physics teacher’s home is Mayor Reed’s ‘lucky house’ FULL REED AHEAD: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (right) talks to attendees of a fundraiser about his goals for his second term. The fundraiser, hosted by long-time Grady physics teacher Jeff Cramer and his wife Ann Cramer, was the second the Cramers have held for Reed. Cramer (below) jokes with two Inman Park residents at the event, and Ann Cramer (bottom right) embraces Reed to greet him when he arrives at the Cramers’ house.

Photos by J.D. Capelouto

By Quinn Mulholland Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has had quieter months. Facing re-election in November, Reed has been involved in a wide range of issues during the month of March. After Reed controversially endorsed a plan for a new Atlanta Falcons stadium, the Atlanta City Council officially approved the proposal on March 18. The previous week, Atlanta had been named the city with the most Energy Star-certified buildings. And on March 20, Reed attended the Global Cities Initiative forum, sponsored by the Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase, to highlight the region’s assets and announce a strategy to boost the city’s competitiveness. In the middle of this whirlwind stretch, Reed stopped by the house of Grady physics teacher Jeff Cramer and his wife, Ann Cramer. The Cramers hosted a fundraiser for Reed on Sunday, March 10, at their Inman Park home. Although Reed currently faces no opposition in his re-election campaign, the Cramers said they wanted to host a neighborhood gathering so the community could get to know him. “I just want folks to know him like I know him and have that same commitment to him,” Ann Cramer said. “It’s not a matter of whether he’s going to win or not.” Jeff Cramer said they were asked to host the event by Reed’s re-election committee. “The re-election committee likes to find a place in each neighborhood where people can congregate, and the idea is just to meet people so the people know the candidate,” he said. At the event, Reed emphasized the improvements Atlanta has undergone during his first three years in office, from “the most sweeping pension reform of any major city in the United States of America,” to the creation of “the largest police force in the history of the city.” Reed also discussed his support for the Atlanta BeltLine, a new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons, deepening the Port of Savannah and funding for infrastructure and the arts. “We didn’t stop investing; we didn’t make excuses because of the tough times, so in the teeth of all of the hard decisions we were making, my council colleagues and I got together and we said, ‘What can we do right now to strengthen our city?’” Reed said. Reed also affirmed his conviction that “Georgia is getting ready to return to its forward-thinking roots,” and he expressed optimism that Hillary Clinton could win the state in the 2016 presidential election, should she get the Democratic nomination. City Councilman Kwanza Hall and Kevin Green, the president and CEO of Midtown Alliance, a community organization, both said they came to the event to show support for the mayor.

“I’ve lived in this city for 26 years, and I really think what we’re experiencing now is the most enthusiasm that I’ve ever seen, in terms of just great things happening, a lot of momentum, a lot of very positive feelings, and a lot of that comes from great leadership,” Green said. Pat Gardner, state representative and Chairwoman of the Atlanta delegation in the Georgia House of Representatives, also attended the event. She said she is a “big fan” of the mayor. “I respect that he understands the process in the legislature since he’s been in both the House and the Senate,” Gardner said. “He knows how our system works, and his leadership skills have really helped our ability to work in a compromise way with both the city and the county and the state, and that’s really important for Atlanta.” Ann Cramer emphasized that the purpose of the event was not solely to raise money.

“It wasn’t folks who just brought big checks; it was folks who came because they cared about the community,” she said. This was not the first neighborhood gathering the Cramers hosted for Reed. They held a similar event for Reed before his 2009 runoff election against Mary Norwood, which is why Reed refers to the Cramers’ house as his “lucky house.” Ann Cramer describes their house as “a place that we can open the front door,” since they have also hosted events for Gardner, state Rep. Margaret Kaiser, state Sen. Nan Orrock, Hall and U.S. Rep. John Lewis. Gardner said these gatherings were a key to her election. “I had a lot of meet-and-greets when I was campaigning, and I discovered that some people didn’t even know the people on their street, and when we got together for a meet-

and-greet, they not only got to know me, but they got to know their neighbors, and that’s a very basic part of building a community,” Gardner said. In an interview with The Southerner, Reed said it was important for him to spread his message to tight-knit communities like Inman Park because “there is no more important validator than a neighbor.” With a second term very likely coming, Reed said he has big plans for the future. “I plan on playing a major role in recruiting a new superintendent for Atlanta Public Schools,” Reed said. He also said he plans to improve the city’s infrastructure by spending $250 to $300 million without raising property taxes, and to “strengthen the financial condition of the city of Atlanta” by continuing to grow the city’s cash reserves. p

Grady receives grant to create three new AP classes Recent and Projected Growth in STEM and Non-STEM Employment 20

STEM Employment

Percent

Quinn Mulholland

By Ryan Bolton This fall, Grady will have three new Advanced Placement courses to offer eager science and math students. Grady was selected as one of 31 high schools in the state of Georgia to qualify for a position in the AP STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Access Program, an initiative by Google, along with DonorsChoose.Org and The College Board, to enable public high schools around the nation to provide more advanced and college-level science and math classes to high school students. Created with a $5 million grant from Google, the program is designed to motivate and increase the number of female and minority high school students who participate in AP courses around the country. It will also allow Grady to offer AP Computer Science, AP Physics: Mechanics, and AP Physics: Electricity and Magnetism. “With the three new courses that we are offering, we can encourage more students to take Advanced Placement classes to prepare them for the college workload and learning style,” AP coordinator Brandi Sabb said. “All students should take at least one AP class before graduating, and these new classes can help to draw more students in based

Non- STEM Employment

10 5 0

2000 - 10 Growth

2008 - 18 Projected growth

Data From the U.S. Department of Commerce

on their interests in science or math.” Many students are thrilled by the expansion of AP courses. “It’s really an amazing opportunity for students to have these classes as an option,” junior Eric Spencer said. “It’s

a great option available to us, and especially if you take an AP class that you may want to pursue in college as well.” Parents praised the efforts in gaining AP course options for students. “I think it’s great that more science and math courses are being offered,” parent Denise Hall said. “I mean, there’s always a growing number of jobs in the technology, science and math-related fields, and there’s always room to grow.” The growth in STEM-related jobs was three times that of non-STEM related jobs over the last 10 years, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In addition to this, STEM jobs are expected to continue to grow more than 17 percent through 2018, while non-STEM jobs are only expected to grow by around 9 percent. As Grady pushes forward in providing students with AP STEM course options, most people have a positive outlook on the classes and the benefits that students will get from them. “Honestly, I wish I had taken a class like these in high school myself,” Sabb said. “If I had these classes available to me, then my life may have been on a completely different track than it is now.” p

news

April 17, 2013

By Eli Mansbach topic was overfishing,” Ellis said. For their first semester final projOverfishing occurs when huect, Kori Ellis’s oceanography stu- mans fish too much of the same dents turned in a research paper species of fish, which depletes the about an ocean-related environmen- food supply for larger predators tal problem and possible solutions and results in a drop in populato it. Unbeknownst to the students, tion of those larger predators. Ellis and Kim Morris-Zarneke, the Mason, Galanos and Turner, manager of educational programs along with Ellis and Morrisat the Georgia Aquarium and Zarneke, worked from the Scientists advisor to the Grady delegabeginning of the second estimate 90 tion, chose three students semester to the start of percent of large to send to Washington, the summit to create predatory fish have their exposition. D.C. for the fourth annual Coastal America Sum“[We worked on the been removed. mit on March 9-12. project] after school,” The trip, including airline Ellis said. “We had a regular and hotel fees, was paid for by the meeting day after school on Monday Georgia Aquarium. This is the sec- and in order to do the video, we were ond year the aquarium has sent a here all day on one Saturday.” delegation of Grady students to the Galanos, Turner and Coastal America Summit. Mason also worked Global “[I was] very excited and honon the project durseafood ored,” said junior Lauryn Taying their oceanlor, one of the students chosen industry generates ography class. to go to the summit along with “The biggest $190 billion per juniors Annie Mason and Ted challenge was to year. Galanos. “I never thought it get them to work would be me.” on their own,” Ellis The purpose of the Coastal said. “This is supposed to be someAmerica Summit, according to thing that they Fishing its website, is “an action-oriented, do, and myis essential to results-driven collaboration process self and Kim livelihood of 200 dedicated to restoring and preserv- were there to million people. ing coastal ecosystems and address- bounce ideas ing critical environmental issues.” off and faciliEach of the 18 delegations who tate [the project].” attended the summit—from the The delegation prepared for its United States, Mexico and Can- presentation by creating a video ada—was required to prepare a on overfishing during visits to the presentation that focused on an en- aquarium, and also made a Facebook vironmental problem in the ocean page called “Fish as You Wish.” and how it could be fixed. After the “[The Facebook page was created] presentation, which was broadcast to inform the public about overfishlive on the Internet on March 11, ing,” Taylor said. “We have pictures a panel of three experts gave their and videos to help people underopinions on the project. stand better about the problem. We “Only one person, Ted, showed up have surveys to see what you do and for the meeting where we were going don’t know and easy recipes to make to decide what the topic was, and his better seafood choices.”

Korri Ellis

Students raise overfishing issue in national summit

FISHING FOR OPPORTUNITY: Ted Galanos (left), Annie Mason (center) and Lauryn Taylor (right) meet with U.S. Rep. John Lewis in Washington, D.C. to discuss their overfishing project. Mason said Lewis was impressed and thought the students had good ideas. The students’ presentation at the Coastal America Summit was met with great praise and compliments from the judging panel. “I want to applaud you and everyone else for the communication side of this [project],” one panel member said. “It is so important as we move forward with the various issues and tasks that you are undertaking ... It’s really im-

portant for us to explain why it is important to understand and that’s what [Galanos, Mason and Turner] are doing right now.” Galanos was very proud of the delegation’s presentation. “They loved it,” Galanos said. “[The panel] gave us only compliments because they could not think of any questions to ask [us].” MorrisZarneke and Ellis,

who attended the coastal summit, were also pleased with the delegation’s performance in D.C. “They did a great job with their presentation, and I look forward to the next phase of implementing their action plan through their Facebook site,” Morris-Zarneke said. In addition to their presentation, Mason, Galanos and Turner participated in student workshops, visited the National Aquarium in Baltimore and met with U.S. Rep. John Lewis to discuss how to raise awareness about the problem of overfishing. p

STARBUCKS brews up campus renovation project that—healing, not Band-Aids.” The idea to organize this event was introduced well before either firearm incident. At a security meeting last September, assistant principal David Propst talked with senior Student Government Association representatives, who identified several issues regarding Grady’s image and wanted to create a campaign to have students take ownership of improving the campus. In light of this suggestion, Propst contacted Buddy Curry, executive director of Kids & Pros, who got Starbucks involved since Kids & Pros and Starbucks had already partnered that April for a service project renovating old childcare facilities in Atlanta. Then in January, Grady, APS, Starbucks and Kids & Pros representatives met to discuss Project Together. Following this meeting, Propst gained suggestions from faculty, parents and students and created a list of the work that will be completed by hired workers and volunteers as part of Project Together. This work includes renovating the courtyard and theater, painting the campus, completing the senior project, cleaning up the restrooms and installing flat-screen televisions around school to communicate announcements. Propst said this work will cost Starbucks about $60,000. “We want to be able to walk away with Gra-

Olivia Veira

continued from front page

WISH UPON A STAR-BUCKS: Representatives from Starbucks and Kids & Pros tour the campus to identify areas that could use improvement. One focus of the community service event on April 27 will be renovating the courtyard. dy just sparkling,” Vish said. lots of unfinished projects,” he said. Brandhorst, however, is concerned these In addition to the community-service projects will not be completed as planned. component of Project Together, Curry said Brandhorst has been involved with Project he has used his leverage with Atlanta busiTogether and its planning since the beginning, nesses to organize activities for April 27. and with one month to go before the event, For younger children, there will be baskethe said he still had not seen a good diagnostic ball, football and arts-and-crafts clinics, and profile for each of the projects. professional athletes will be available to talk “From their end, I want to make sure that about athletic fundamentals and life lessons. the help that they intend is actually given as op- For interested Grady students, representaposed to it being a PR stunt that leaves us with tives from local companies will be present to

describe their experiences and discuss opportunities available to high school graduates. Propst said this “executive table” will be the “best networking opportunity for seniors.” Both Curry and Propst said a main goal for the event is to bring people together. Curry said Project Together will connect businesses with students and community members with their local public school. Propst said APS will also be involved in the effort by providing resources, such as new restroom sinks. In order to achieve this goal, Curry emphasized the importance of volunteers. “We hope that we have 500 to 700 volunteers and that the volunteers come together and get a real sense of community by volunteering,” Curry said. “There’s something about serving and about volunteering that brings people together, and it gives people hope. There’s strength in community.” Curry hopes most of the volunteers will be current Grady students. He expects teachers, parents and other community members also to be a part of the effort. “We would love to see the high school students take pride in their school and create an environment where education is important and where they go to school, how it looks, how it’s kept up is important,” Curry said. “That’s the first [goal]: to create an atmosphere of pride in the school and the community.” p

Legalize

Gay?

there are

4,129

GAY FAMILIES HOPE FOR EQUALITY, ACCESS TO FEDERAL BENEFITS By Olivia Kleinman and Olivia Veira When junior Victoria Stuart’s father, a Baptist preacher, came out in Jacksonville, Fla., Stuart’s classmates at Trinity Christian Academy told her she would go to hell. Stuart was 3 years old. “The Bible says that man should not lie with another man and the woman should not lie with another woman and that that was an abomination,” she said. “In second grade my music teacher actually told me that I shouldn’t drink after my dad because since he’s gay he automatically has AIDS and if I drink after him that I would get AIDS, too.” For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court will deliberate on the constitutionality of bans on gay marriage and federal benefits for same-sex couples. The justices have heard cases challenging both Proposition 8 in California and the Defense of Marriage Act. California voters passed Prop 8, a constitutional ban on gay marriage designed to overturn a ruling by the state supreme court that legalized gay marriage, via referendum in 2008. Congress passed DOMA in 1996. This federal law delegated the power to recognize gay marriages to the states in section 2 of the act, meaning that if someone gets married in one state, their marriage may not be recognized as legal in another. DOMA also prevents gay couples from accessing federal benefits. During the hearings, which began on March 26, Justice Anthony Kennedy, widely considered the court’s swing justice, expressed

the concern of many proponents of gay marriage. “There are some 40,000 children in California, according to the red brief, that live with same-sex parents and they want their parents to have full recognition and full status,” he said. “The voice of those children are important in this case, don’t you think?” According to the 2011 census, there are approximately 594,000 same-sex households in the United States, roughly 115,000 of which have children. Georgia’s 2010 census indicates that of those 594,000 couples, 21,318 live in Georgia and 4,179 of those couples are raising children.

A Family Affair As a baby over 17 years ago, senior Remy Johanson-Murray was left on the side of the road in Chowchin, China, picked up by the police and placed in an adoption center. After a long, tedious process, she was adopted by her two moms, Marie Johanson and Marie Murray. The family has pictures of Johanson and Murray stamping Remy’s footprints and fingerprints on the legal document to mark that special day. “I’m really happy my parents found each other then came to China and brought me here because I

73% G a

of people between 18 and 29 years old said they favor same-sex marriage up ll

ll Po

b em ov ,N

0 er 2

“If two people are lucky enough to find someone special in the world, that’s awesome. That’s something sacred: whether or not its with a man and a woman or two men or two women.” Senior Remy Johanson-Murray

feel like I have a much better life here,” Johanson-Murray said. Johanson and Murray did not go through the adoption process as a gay couple, however. Murray officially adopted Remy from China, then she cross-adopted her with Johanson. This way, both Johanson and Murray had custody. The same steps were taken when Remy’s younger sister, Martika, was adopted, except Johanson first adopted Martika in China. Sophomore Anna Stearns-Bernhart was dropped off at a police station in LePing, China when she was a baby, and later adopted by her two moms Jo Stearns and Michelle Bernhart. The new moms had to sign several pieces of paperwork while they were in the United States, and then they were sent a picture of their future child. Stearns then traveled to China where she spent several days filling out paperwork and enduring other verifications before finally seeing their child in person. “I don’t think [the adoption agency] wanted a gay family to adopt, so that might be one of the reasons why my other mom didn’t go, but she also had to take care of Alex (my older brother),” Stearns-Bernhart said. The only knowledge freshman Joshua Ortega has of his father is a picture of him when he was 3 years old and some basic information. His moms went to a sperm bank when they wanted to conceive. “Most sperm banks are super specific on what they want,” he said. No genetic disorders three generations back, no history of alcohol. You have to be top genetic to do anything with sperm banks. Other than that I don’t really know anything.” Not knowing much about his dad does not bother him. “It would be a lie to say I didn’t [want to know about him] but it doesn’t bother me. it’s more just curiosity,” he said.

Atlanta: the city too busy to hate Every other day, Stuart went to the girl’s locker room to prepare for gym class. Most students changed in plain sight, however, Stewart, hid in the bathroom stalls. “Some people thought that because my dad was gay, I was 50 percent gay,” she said. In eighth grade, Stewart was expelled from Trinity Christian Academy for unchristianlike behavior because she supported her father’s sexuality and did not believe in the strict rules of the Baptist church. Since moving to Grady, Stewart hasn’t experienced prejudice, in or out of the locker room. Grady and Atlanta have a history of acceptance, especially compared to more conservative parts of Georgia. As the first openly gay member of the Atlanta City Council upon his election in 2009, Wan said Atlanta is a leader in supporting marriage equality for a number of reasons. He thinks the large Atlanta LBGT community is a major contributing factor. “I believe the history of the city plays into [its support of gay marriage] as well,” Wan said. “The city’s role in the Civil Rights movement I think has fostered a spirit of inclusion and equality and respect that I really believe also contributes to why Atlanta is on the leading edge on this issue.” Wan reflects on a very special moment for him concern-

ing Grady. When the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church was protesting in midtown in 2010, several students came together to organize a counter protest. “I was standing there just really impressed and really amazed and really touched,” Wan said. “I thought the kids are coming out to support this and fight against hatred and bigotry, that’s our hope right there.”

gay couples raising kids in Georgia 2010 U.S.

sus Cen

22%

of Grady students believe gay marriage is immoral Au g

t 20

12 So

utherner Survey of 3

u 3 St

ts n

Life of Judgement Johanson Murray faced prejudice from her peers while growing up because of her parents’ sexuality. “When I was a kid, a lot of people asked me where my dad was, and I would say I didn’t have one and I had two moms instead,” Johanson Murray said. “Kids my age—kindergarten up to middle school—were really weirded out by that, but it didn’t really bug me.” Both Johanson Murray and Stearns-Bernhart have cabins in the North Georgia mountains and have witnessed discrimination against their moms on several occasions. One time in North Georgia, when Johanson Murray, her sister and two moms were browsing a woodworking shop, the owner refused to sell a table to Johanson Murray’s family because she had a rainbow flag on her car. “He said, ‘I’m sorry but my morals, I can’t sell you this table,’ and my mom said, ‘Well I’m sorry that you’ve been raised like this, I’m proud of who I am, I’m proud of my partner and my children, and I hope that maybe one day you can accept it,’” Johanson Murray recalled. The messages being sent to the youth are extremely important on both sides of the issue, Johanson Murray said. One boy Johanson Murray knew through a friend committed suicide after coming out as gay in a closed-minded household and being abandoned by his friends and family. The way children are raised have a large impact on their values and beliefs. Johanson Murray said she has experienced some parents’ antigay attitudes passed down to their children. “I’ve had to babysit little girls and little boys who have asked me where my dad was, and when I explain to them they’re like ‘Oh no, God says that’s wrong.’” she said. Stearns-Bernhart believes having two moms has made her more open to other people’s relationships, both gay and straight. Johanson Murray shares a similar sentiment. “I grew up watching [my parents] stand up for what they believe in,” Johanson Murray said. “They weren’t afraid to be in love, as anyone shouldn’t be.”

‘Virtually Indistinguishable’ Up until middle school, Johanson Murray was accustomed to a variety of weird questions regarding her two moms. She said she has been asked if her moms are hot Asians, if she is lesbian because her parents are and even if her moms “make a move” on her. She constantly has to straighten out such misconceptions. “I have to just explain to people, nope, we’re a totally normal

family,” Johanson Murray said. “It’s still a normal household, it’s just me, my sister and my two moms. Of course there’s that really weird once per month time where it just gets crazy, but other than that, it was a pretty normal upbringing.” Additionally, some opponents of gay marriage argue that a “real family” needs a mother and a father. Wan said he laughs at this statement, but also hates hearing it because it discounts single moms and dads. “I think what a child really needs is two loving parents that are engaged in their life and make sure they get the best possible opportunities,” Wan said. In July 2012, Mark Regenerus, a scholar in the department of Sociology and Population Research Center at the University of Texas, released a study which found that children raised by samesex couples are disadvantaged. He surveyed nearly 3,000 adults. In his conclusion, Regenerus said his survey “suggests that notable differences on many outcomes do in fact exist” between children raised by homosexual and heterosexual parents. In 2010, however, the American Psychological Association reported research by Rachel Farr, a psychology doctoral student at the University of Virginia, and Stephen Forsell, Ph.D. at George Washington University. “[They] studied 106 families—including 56 same-sex couples and 50 heterosexual couples—who adopted children at birth or in the first few weeks of life,” their website, apa.org, said. The study indicated that “children of gays and lesbians were virtually indistinguishable from children of heterosexual parents.” Julie Kubala, senior lecturer at Georgia State University (GSU) and a scholar for the Institute for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, has a child with her partner. Although Kubala’s research focuses on the legal aspects of the gay marriage debate, she has encountered several studies over the course of her career. “Most of the studies suggest there [aren’t] significant differences,” Kubala said. “One study suggested that children of gay parents scored higher on being open minded, but in everything else they were

roughly the same as children of heterosexual parents.” Kubala said the findings of these studies may be inconclusive. “There’s a lot of factors involved and they don’t always very carefully track for issues like race and class,” she said. From first-hand experience, Johanson Murray does not think a having a dad is a necessity. Stearns-Bernhart agrees. “I don’t really know what dads are supposed to do,” StearnsBernhart said. “It’d probably feel weird to have a dad because I know usually they’re overprotective, like when you get a boyfriend or something, and since my parents are women they understand more, and they take it better than a guy maybe would.”

‘When, Not If’ Though none of their parents are married, Stearns-Bernhart, Stuart, Ortega and Johanson Murray are hopeful. They all said the legalization of gay marriage is inevitable. “It’s going to happen eventually and people need to learn to accept it and love in any way is beautiful,” Johanson Murray said. Ortega hopes the Supreme Court is careful in its ruling. He said when the Supreme Court legalized abortion in its ruling on Roe v. Wade, it sparked a backlash, and he does not want the same thing to happen with gay marriage. “The opposing side erupted and they created so much controversy,” Ortega said. “They held onto their views even tighter.” Wan agrees with Stearns-Bernhart. “When I was growing up 10 years ago, the question was if we would ever get full rights,” Wan said. “Now the real question is when, it’s not if anymore.” p

Legalize

Gay?

there are

4,129

73% G a

of people between 18 and 29 years old said they favor same-sex marriage up ll

ll Po

b em ov ,N

0 er 2

gay couples raising kids in Georgia 2010 U.S.

sus Cen

22%

of Grady students believe gay marriage is immoral Au g

t 20

12 So

utherner Survey of 3

u 3 St

ts n

a & e Mary Lin dad divides time between family and fame 10

April 17, 2013

PHOTOS COURTSEY OF Brit Turner

By Olivia Volkert Europe, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Bahamas, Dallas, Portland and Candler Park–Brit Turner frequents all of these places in his dual life as a member of a nationally recognized country rock band, Blackberry Smoke, and a Mary Lin Elementary School dad and husband. In 2001, Turner formed Blackberry Smoke with the help of his brother, bassist Richard Turner, and Charlie Starr, guitarist and lead singer. They added Paul Jackson on guitar and vocals, and they started out playing original music in sets at local Atlanta bars. Now, Blackberry Smoke is comprised of five men, with the fifth being keyboardist Brandon Still. Four of the band members balance music with wives or children. Over the past decade, the band has seen immense success, playing as headliners and as opening acts for musicians like The Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd and George Jones, for whom they played on his 80th birthday. They also toured alongside the Zac Brown Band and have released three studio albums, two EP’s and a live DVD. They have songs featured in the film Swing Vote and in EA Sports’ NASCAR 08 video game and have toured Europe three times now. The band plays up to 250 dates per calendar year. As Turner and his bandmates have climbed the country music chart, he and his wife Shannon Turner, who owns the Little Five Points boutique Cherry Bomb, have also been raising their 6-year-old daughter, Lana. Since Blackberry Smoke is on the road about 200 days of the year, Lana and Shannon Turner will occasionally catch shows during the year, especially during the summer, turning the concerts into vacations. The family communicates daily via video chat, phone calls and texting. When Turner is home, he spends as much time as possible with Lana by visiting her at Mary

BLACKBERRY SMOKIN’: Country drummer and father, Brit Turner, stands with wife and daughter Shannon and Lana Turner (top right), plays the drums (above) and performs with the rest of his band (bottom right). Turner has rocked out with the band Blackberry Smoke for 12 years. Lin, one of Grady’s feeder schools, during lunch. He also inspires her musically while he is away. Lana currently plays the piano and guitar, and is learning to play drums on the drum kit her dad bought for her. The Turners do not seem to mind the balancing act. Being on the country music charts provides much needed exposure for Blackberry Smoke. “It’s exciting to be recognized by the country music industry, but none of that really matters unless you are doing something you enjoy,” Turner said. Turner said he couldn’t live the life he does or get the musical fame he has if it were not for his wife. She said the secret to how their marriage and family work is simply having respect for each other.

“We support each other 100 percent and value each other’s opinions very much,” Shannon Turner said. Although long stretches out of town are hard and Lana said she misses her father very much, the Turners have good friends and a nanny who help out at home. One drawback however of Blackberry Smoke’s success is missing out on some of Lana’s milestones. “It’s great to be out seeing the world and being well-received, but it’s hard when you have to miss your kid’s first father-daughter dance,” Turner said. Brit and Shannon Turner agree that their family unit has grown accustomed to the lifestyle due to Brit being on the road and playing with Blackberry Smoke for so long. “He’s my dad!” Lana said. Because the

lifestyle is simply her reality, their family hasn’t had to change their routine or lifestyle very much. “It has been [Blackberry Smoke’s] way of life since we have met all of our better halves,” Brit said. “We just try to make every second count.” In the end, he says that the most rewarding part of being a part of Blackberry Smoke is watching the band improve and getting the recognition from their peers and their idols. Blackberry Smoke’s ultimate goal is pretty simple: to continue to grow as a band and try to make the best music they can. “I feel like we all want to make a record that will live beyond our days on Earth,” Turner said. “Something timeless.” p

By Orli Hendler A towering man stood in front of a crowd of teens juggling knives over a girl lying on the floor. The assorted teens gasped and cheered as the machetes flipped through the air. This cutting-edge performance was one activity that Teen Night at the High Museum of Art offered attendees. The night also featured a photo area with a backdrop, face painting, food and a chance to view all of the exhibits in the High. “[The night] went really well,” said Kaitlin Gress, coordinator of the Wells Fargo ArtsVibe Teen Program. “All the teenagers that I spoke to said they were having a really good time. They seemed to enjoy all the different activities that we had going on.” Gress listed the activities that were available at the event, including a fortune teller and live music, which was performed in the atrium. Grady sophomore Faye Webster performed at the High during Teen Night. She said Teen Night coordinator Beth Malone contacted her after hearing her perform at a High Museum Culture Shock in February. “She wanted me to play antilove and love songs, to go with Frida,” Webster said. “I don’t re-

Orli Hendler

Teens get involved and have a p-ART-y at the High

FRIDA AND FAYE: Sophomore Faye Webster performs an original song for students who attended Teen Night at the High Museum. ally write about that, so I had to “I’m a fan of [Frida’s] earlier “Our goal is to get teens to come find some good songs to play.” years when she’s into the whole to the [Woodruff] Arts Center and She played a mix of her original blood-spurting, hold each other’s experience all the different divisions, music along with other famous hearts in pain, but it’s really to so the High Museum of Art, the Atlove songs, such as “L-O-V-E” by each his own,” Petersen said. lanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Nat King Cole. The Wells Fargo ArtsVibe Teen Alliance Theatre and Young AudiStudents from schools across Program hosted the event. This pro- ences,” Gress said. “We plan proAtlanta attended the event. Se- gram was created in August 2012 gramming and events just for teennior Rex Petersen wandered when Wells Fargo donated $2 mil- agers to get them to come experience through the Frida and Diego gal- lion to the Woodruff Arts Center. the arts and find the value in art.” lery sharing his knowledge about The money will be allocated over Although the funding came the two artists with other students five years, and Gress was charged from the Wells Fargo grant, the admiring the art. He said he was with planning as many programs actual planning was done by the there because he liked to look at for teens as possible. Thanks to the 16 high school students that make the paintings, and secondarily be- grant, all ArtsVibe programs are up the Teen Team. cause the event was free. free, Gress said. “The Teen Team is a selection

of students from all over the state of Georgia who are really good at art and plan teen events to get more teen involvement at the High Museum,” said senior Afi Goggins, one of the members of the Teen Team. The students broke into different groups to plan different aspects of the event. Goggins was part of the performance committee. “We had to decide what kind of performance we wanted, how much we were going to pay them, [and what] decorations we were going to use for the poetry slam and the atrium,” Goggins said. The teens also had to decide on themes, activities, and help market the event, Gress said. The next ArtsVibe program, the Voices and Vibes Festival, will be April 26 and April 27. On Friday night, the Arts Center will hold a teen talent showcase followed by workshops throughout the day on Saturday for teens interested in the arts. The event will be the first festival for teens held at the Woodruff Arts Center. "We strongly believe that art is a valuable part of anyone's life, and we’re trying to teach that to teenagers to find a way to express themselves through the arts," Gress said. p

April 17, 2013

dining

Irwin Street Market’s goods very marketable, yummy

YOUR-WIN STREET MARKET: The market sells not only furniture and household items (above) but also a variety of food items. Bell Street Burritos offers burritos, tacos and quesadillas, among other items (bottom). Jake’s serves ice creams (right), including novelty flavors like “Rachel will you marry me?” and “Chocolate slap yo mama.”

Photos By Sammi Dean

Walking into the Irwin Street Market is like walking into a really hip grandma’s living room. The vendors of baked goods and other foods, nestled among furniture and knick knacks for sale, find just the right balance between hoarder and homey. The building includes establishments offering all kinds of food. Bell Street Burritos sits next to Picnic Cafe and Jake’s Ice Sammi Dean Cream. On the opposite side of Jake’s is Hilda’s, a breakfast restaurant, and a variety of kitschy items for sale, such as lamps and flower-adorned cabinets. Best of all, it is right at the end of the paved BeltLine, just a 13-minute bike ride or 35-minute walk from Grady. I started out my Irwin Street Market experience with an early dinner from Bell Street Burritos. The staff, two vaguely hipsterish 20-something-year-olds, were competent. The sparse furnishings—only a counter for paying and a handful of tables—create a very relaxed feel. I ordered a cheese quesadilla with chips and queso. Disappointingly, only a few chips came free with my meal. Getting more as a side order and subbing out salsa for queso also added another $3, bringing my total to more than $6. After biting into my quickly prepared quesadilla, I was surprised to find a layer of salsa inside. Although unexpected, it was delicious. The quesadilla was large and filling, and the chips and queso were fantastic. I could easily taste the difference in quality between Bell Street’s food and cheap, fast-food versions of the same dishes. After digesting my meal, I headed over to Picnic and ogled some of the chocolates and desserts. There was a wide variety. In addition to several different kinds of cookies, it had miniature apple pies, Mars bar Rice Krispie Treats, jelly bean fudge and other delicious, if unconventional, desserts. I purchased a Mars Bar Rice Krispie Treat and a sugar cookie. The treat looked like a slice of pie made of solid chocolate, but it was crunchy and delicious, if heavy. I was less happy, however, with the sugar cookie, which was actually dyed green. It tasted strongly of coconut and was a little too dry. I was unable to pass up some classic ice cream and chose to spend more money at Jake’s. I got a surprisingly large single scoop of Butterfinger ice cream for just under $4—pricey but worth it. Their ice cream is always soft and fresh. To eat it, I sat on the sunny, front patio and watched joggers and dog walkers amble on and off the BeltLine. Since the first time I visited the Irwin Street Market, I have been unable to stay away for more than about a week. I am drawn back again and again for either a speedy meal, a sweet treat or just relaxation. p

New Orleans-style SnoBall Café delivers icy delights

Megan Prendergast

By Megan Prendergast New Orleans SnoBall Café has been “jazzing up Decatur” since May 2010. Fifteen years ago, co-owners Victoria Sanders and Jared Scanlon met at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, where the two worked on an assignment in a business class to create the “perfect business.” About 10 years after getting an “A” on the assignment, they pulled out their business plan, made a couple of tweaks and put it into action in the real world. Sanders grew up in New Orleans and since then has worked in a wide range of industries. Scanlon was born in Chicago but grew up in Alpharetta. After graduating from UGA, he returned to Chicago to work for a trucking company, while Sanders remained in Georgia. Currently, the two enjoy owning New Orleans SnoBall Café. SnoBall Café offers many treats, including the traditional New Orleans SnoBall. To create a SnoBall, employees begin by preparing a 12-pound “loaf ” of ice. Once the block is completely frozen, it goes through a motorized ice block shaver to produce New Orleans-style shaved ice. “The key to a New Orleans SnoBall is that it shaves [the loaf of ice] with sharp, sharp blades, sharper than [blades] you [use to] shave your face, and it comes out like snow,” Sanders said. “It’s not a snowcone. A snowcone is very chunky, and the ice is thick and big.” Each SnoBall is shaved to order.

SNOBALL EFFECT: New Orleans SnoBall Café’s most popular flavors, Café Du Monde (left) and Mississippi Mud (right), have been on the dynamic menu since day one. Both are filled with locally made ice cream and topped with condensed milk. The café sells Café Du Monde coffee, which patrons may make at home. “You get fresh, fallen snow, like flaky, vors, including mango, pineapple, wedfluffy snow,” Sanders said. ding cake and cinnamon. Step three: stuff Customers then create their own na- it with either ice cream or sorbet. ked SnoBalls. Step one: choose a size. An “In New Orleans they’ll put ice cream 8-ounce “prince/princess,” a 12-ounce on top,” Sanders said. “We decided if we “queen” or a 16-ounce “king.” Step two: put it in the middle, then we could still choose a “flava.” You may choose up to put [toppings on top]. So we thought [ice three traditional New Orleans-style fla- cream] in the middle like a Tootsie Pop

would be good.” Step four: crown it. “We take fresh fruit and put it in the Vitamix,” Sanders said. “We then purée it and make what we call crowns.” Crowns are pulverized fresh fruit, which are poured on top of the SnoBall. If customers aren’t feeling creative or inventive, they may choose from Sanders and Scanlon’s own recipes. “Since we’ve been open, there are two [flavors] that [have been here] from day one,” Sanders said. “[They are] Café Du Monde and Mississippi Mud.” The Café Du Monde is the New Orleans coffee flavor on top of fluffy snow, filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with condensed milk. The Mississippi Mud is chocolate flavor filled with chocolate ice cream and topped with condensed milk. Sanders and Scanlon’s business plan was inspired by the New Orleans spirit. “I missed it, and I wanted to create it again here,” Sanders said. SnoBalls are not the only treat the café offers. After struggling to find a new product, they settled on popcorn. Their most popular flavor, the Trinity, is a mix of double cheddar, caramel corn and kettle corn, which creates a sweet, salty and cheesy flavor. “The place has the ambience of New Orleans, so we hope when you walk in, if you don’t turn your back and look out into the street, you’ll think you’re in New Orleans and not in Decatur,” Sanders said. p

lifestyle

April 17, 2013

Once troubled Atlanta zoo has come full circle (of life) when legal action was taken. The same New York Times article reported on Twinkles the elephant who was pronounced dead at the age of 13. In actuality the zoo released her into rural Georgia. Twinkles, without support or care, died after a small circus found and adopted her. Due to the mounting controversy and crippling financial straits the zoo faced mounting pressure to privatize. In 1985, the Atlanta zoo did just that and became Zoo Atlanta. Terry Maple became executive director and took on the responsibility of improving the zoo. Maple wrote in the book Animal Attractions - Nature on Display in American Zoos, "Zoos have been transformed, almost overnight, from prisons into bioparks, becoming lush greenwards to enhance the well-being of animals and people." Maple was central to Zoo Atlanta's transformation. Through implementing outdoor habitats and improving living conditions he actively rehabilitated Zoo Atlanta. Zoo Atlanta's website reports on the years following the privatization. Ford Motor Company sponsored the installation of more humane, naturalistic habitats and donated the funds necessary

for Terry Maple to make an artificial African rainforest for Gorillas. After a decade of steady improvement, the arrival of pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang in 1999 turned a corner for the Atlanta zoo. The pandas created public excitement and the zoo reported that admissions topped a million. The rise in attendance reflects the rise of a now thriving Zoo Atlanta. The zoo continues to enjoy the success that began in the early 2000s. Current President of the zoo, Dr. David Allen, said to NPR that last year's atten-

dance was the second highest ever noted in the zoo's 124-year history. Up 29 percent from 2010, over 800,000 people came to the zoo. After implementing several new features, attendance is not the only thing on the upswing. Conditions at the zoo are better than ever and there are several opportunities new to the zoo. In the last year, patrons were afforded the chance to feed the giraffes and new viewing decks have enhanced the zoo experience. Zoo Atlanta continues to improve without compromising what Maple worked so hard to protect—the animals. p

Photo illustration byRILEY ERICKSON

By Riley Erickson The silverback gorilla, Willie B, was kept in isolation for almost 30 years while the Atlanta zoo fell into disrepair. After being introduced in 1961, the gorilla was placed in a cage with only a black-and-white television and a tire swing for entertainment. Willie B's austere experience represented the dysfunctionality and declining reputation of the Atlanta zoo. The Atlanta zoo has always been a cultural hub for the city. While the zoo is popular today, it suffered considerably in its leaner years. In the 1980s the zoo lost much of its state sponsorship which lead to a precipitous decline in both quality and care of animals. In 1984, the zoo reached a frightening low. The deaths of an elephant, two bears and other animals touched off a furious public controversy. The petting zoo came under fire for selling animals to a zookeeper who cooked them for dinners. The Gadsden Times reported on June 13 of that year, "the groundskeeper bought 20 rabbits in recent years that were on display at the children's exhibit." The groundskeeper justified his actions by saying "the animals were old and fat anyway." Casanova was once the oldest baboon in captivity; unfortunately for him, he lived in the Atlanta zoo during its period of decline. Casanova died in 1982, but the zoo never performed any post mortem procedure. The New York Times' William Schmidt reported on the criticism of the Atlanta zoo. Casanova was "tossed into the trash outside the zoo's veterinary clinic." No staff member was reprimanded until 1984

MARIAN P. KELLY AWARD FINALISTS Since 2006, The Southerner has awarded The Marian P. Kelly Award to the teacher the senior class chooses as having the most meaningful impact on their high school career. The award is named in honor of the English teacher, Marian P. Kelly, who served Grady for 30 years. Past recipients of the Kelly award include Jeff Cramer (2012), Ebony Anderson-Johnson (2011), John Brandhorst (2010), George Darden (2009), Lee Pope (2008), Kurt Phillips (2007) and Janet Milton (2006). Teachers who have won in the past four years are ineligible to win the award this year. An unusually large number of finalists were chosen this year because the margin

Ms. Abbott

Mr. Allen

Deedee Abbott teaches 10th grade literature and composition and honors oral and written communication. She is also the adviser of the literary magazine The Unmasking.

Scott Allen has been teaching Latin at Grady for three years. Outside the classroom, he is the coach of the Latin quiz bowl team and heads Latin Club. "Mr. Allen is kind, passionate about Latin, endlessly helpful and knowledgeable about so many topics outside of the classroom. He’s not only a great teacher but a lot of fun to talk to. Mr. Allen is the best."

"She is extremely motivating with her students, but she is also very honest and fun. Let’s send her out on a good note!" "She stimulated my interests in journalism and acted as both a teacher and an adviser during my two years with her." p

"Mr. Allen shows enthusiasm in and out of the classroom." p

separating these five teachers was so small. In the write-in nomination forms, seniors were asked to write brief explanations describing how the teacher has inspired them in the past and why they nominated the teacher. We included excerpts from these nomination forms in the following descriptions of this year's finalists. Seniors will soon receive a form in their Literature class where they will select the finalist they think should receive the 2013 Marian P. Kelly Award. The winner this year will be announced on May 18 at the Visions ceremony in honor of the graduating class. p

Mr. McCurdy

Mr. Pope

Gary Hardy has been teaching literature at Grady for the past four years. He now teaches students in the Law and Leadership Academy.

Lawrence McCurdy teaches multiple senior literature classes. He has been teaching at Grady for 16 years and served as coach to the mock trial team.

Lee Pope teaches AP U.S. History and triple threat. He is also involved in the drama program and served as the director of Anything Goes, this year's spring musical production.

"He gave me confidence in myself that I never really had. Also, he prepared me the most for college. I appreciate his tough love and humor."

"Mr. McCurdy is an intelligent, worldly person who realizes that, in order to teach, you must open the classroom for discussion and allow a group to throw around ideas."

"He is a good, charismatic teacher and actually enjoys teaching his students. He does everything he can to help his students out."

"He cares about his students and uses teaching in a way that kids can easily understand." p

"He made history exciting for me and taught me in a way that made me interested. " p

Mr. Hardy

"When I walk into the door of his room I know that I am up for a challenge, unlike other [teachers]." p

April 17, 2013

lifestyle

Forever Knights miss Grady, relish new opportunities By Lauren Ogg As they walk across the stage of the Civic Center, students receive their diplomas and begin the transition into the next chapter of their lives. Some will join the workforce, others will enlist in the military, but a great number of students will go to college for the next four years. Whether they end up on the other side of the country or a couple hours away from home, most students share a feelings of nostalgia for their high school and the town where they grew up. Grady alum Alex Fritzinger-Pittman graduated in 2011. At the end of the summer following his senior

Alex Fritzinger-Pittman Stanford University “I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people here in California, and it has allowed me to learn more about others as well as myself.”

year, he packed his bags and flew across the country to the West Coast, arriving at Stanford University. “I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people here in California, and it has allowed me to learn more about others as well as myself,” he said. “It's a great change, something that I really cherish.” He described an aspect of this change as more opportunities for young adults. He said that once students leave high school, the opportunities become endless. He identified some of these opportunities as the ability to join interesting clubs and new sports or make the “ next technological breakthrough.” Fritzinger-Pittman’s setting also changed significantly. Going to school in California allowed him to join a whole new group of individuals. He misses his friends at home but has found new friends through school and social activities. “Whether you are working on a project together until the sun comes up, or whether you meet them at a party, it never hurts to have contacts,” Fritzinger-Pittman said. “It's also just nice to hear people's stories, where they come from and how they got to where they are now.” Abena Amoakuh, a 2012 graduate and student at Boston University, shares a similar feeling. “[It is] a new experience [to be] around people I have never had the opportunity to interact with

before,” Amoakuh said. “I am constantly meeting people from different areas of the world, and it is pretty awesome getting to know them and see how different their lives are from my own. It’s very eye-opening and exciting.” She said she enjoys meeting new people, but she misses the environment that Grady provided. “The Grady community was very much a place where everyone knew one another,” Amoakuh said. “I have known some of the same kids since elementary school and also some of my teachers I had more than once during my time at Grady. I miss being able to hang out in the yearbook room, eating with friends at MedGrill and Friday night football games cheering on our Grey Knights.” Amoakuh attends school 1,076 miles from her Atlanta home. Like Fritzinger-Pittman, she had been geographically displaced. She said she struggles with the long-distance travel and the significantly heavier workload. Amoakuh said that in college there is a short time period to complete assignments. She said they are due immediately and sometimes come with vague instructions. “At Grady you kind of always knew what to expect when it came to tests, and I never really found myself spending hours studying as I do now,” Amoakuh said.

Nichols wins MIT award By Allison Rapoport Each year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the sixth-best college in the United States, asks its students to nominate a high-school teacher, counselor or coach to receive the Inspirational Teacher Award. According to the MIT Alumni Association website, this person must stand out “in [their] hearts and memories as a significant influence.” The website says the goal of the award is to recognize teachers who “instill values and a love of learning that shape our educational and career choices, and guide us throughout our adult lives.” This year, Erin Bailie, a sophomore at MIT and a 2011 Grady graduate, nominated Grady math teacher Andrew Nichols for the award. Nichols found out on March 2 that he had won. “I never properly thanked him for everything that he did for me my junior and senior years of high school,” Bailie said. Bailie is majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in materials science. She is involved in the student wellness group, mentors freshmen and spends her minimal free time training for half marathons. When she met Nichols, she was a sophomore at Grady. Her math teacher introduced her to Nichols, who was the head of the math department, so he could nominate her for Governor’s Honors Program. Nichols was delighted to have won the prestigious award. “It was quite touching,” he said. “The fact that she is doing so well at MIT and that I contributed in a positive way to her success there made me feel very good.” Nichols believes it is important for teachers to be recognized for the work they put in. “It’s important for teachers to know that

Fellow Grady 2010 alum, Madison Trapkin, attends the University of Georgia and can relate to Amoakuh’s struggle in adapting to new study methods. “I've always been a good student, getting A's and turning things in on time,” Trapkin said. “Studying in college is hard and requires a completely different skill set. Instead of writing endless flashcards and calling it a day, you have to find real ways to internalize the information.” Even though Trapkin is still adjusting to the new standards and expectations college has brought, she enjoys living on her own. “What I truly enjoy is the sense of independence I have that comes from living away from home and going to a school that is filled with thousands of people that I haven't known K-12,” Trapkin said. “It's really great and fun being an independent or semi-independent adult, but there's just something about being a teenager in high school that you really miss once it's gone.” Amoakuh advises students to cherish their Grady days. “Don't take your Grady experience for granted,” Amoakuh said. “You may not believe it now, but it re-

ally will help shape your view and opinion of many things when you get to college.” Fritzinger-Pittman agrees. “Grady High School is this wonderful entity in our lives that has afforded us the opportunity to do something amazing with the education we received there,” he said. p

Abena Amoakuh Boston University “Don’t take your Grady experience for granted. “

Madison Trapkin University of Georgia “What I truly enjoy is the sense of independence I have that comes from living away from home and going to a school that is filled with thousands of people that I haven’t known k-12.”

FESTIVALS bloom this spring continued from the front page

GANGSTAZ: Bailie was a member of the Grady Gearbox Gangstaz and a student in all of Nichols’ AP math classes. the blood, sweat and tears that we put into what we do on a day-to-day basis really does have a meaningful impact, a long-lasting impact, on our students’ lives,” he said. When Bailie met Nichols her sophomore year, he described how he believed she looked at math in a different way than others. “Since then, you have helped me see the beauty in math by explaining information above and beyond the syllabus,” Bailie said in her letter of nomination to Nichols. He taught her math and coached her on the robotics team for two years. “I took AP math classes with him, and I was his intern, and I was also on the robotics team, and he really, really pushed me,” Bailie said. “I thought, ‘I can’t take AP Calc AB and BC at the same time,’ and he said, ‘Try it. See how it works. Maybe you can.’ I said, ‘I can’t do that and be on the robotics team,’ and he said, ‘Try it. See how it works. Maybe you can.’” Nichols’s prize for winning the award is access to MIT’s teacher resources. “He really pushed my limits and helped me see that I was capable of a lot more than I thought I was, which has definitely come in handy in college,” she said. p

is the only festival run solely by volunteers in the Southeast, festival co-chair Melissa Miller said. “We hire no professional organizers, and the work before and during the festival is done entirely by volunteers,” Miller said. “It is a great sense of accomplishment to see everyone having such a good time at the festival and to know that you played a part in making that happen.” The festival features a parade, live performances, a market and a separate market that will judged by artistic peers. Another attendee favorite is the Tour of Homes. Inman Park was created in the 1880s by Joel Hurt and owns the title as Atlanta’s first planned community after the Civil War. With a rich history of uplifts and declines, the community prides itself with renovating and revitalizing homes. For the tour, festival goers are allowed to buy tickets and visit Inman Park residences. The house of Kate Taber, a senior, has been on the tour three times. Taber remembers having to wake up early, make her bed and leave the house. Despite these inconveniences, however, she said the tours do not feel like an invasion of privacy. “Everything is kind of put away, so it’s not really in your personal space,” Taber said. The festival will officially begin on Friday, April 26 with the Butterfly Ball, a gala event in which Inman Park Neighborhood Association members dance and enjoy a buffet. On April 25, the Inman Park United Methodist Church will host the inaugural Cocoon Ball, a smaller simulation of the Butterfly Ball, in which middle-school children can dance, eat and play games.

Sweet Auburn Festival Held on Atlanta’s historic Auburn Avenue, the Sweet Auburn Music Festival is “where the Food is Good and the Music is Great all the time,” according to its slogan. From May 3-5, the long street is packed with thousands of people enjoying music and eating food from local restaurants. The festival features R&B, hip-hop and gospel music. The festival focuses on tying together music and community involvement. On May 4, organizers of the Sweet Auburn Music Fest plan to conduct the world’s largest Harlem Shake video, according to the Sweet Auburn Music Fest Twitter page. Since Feb. 1, the Sweet Auburn Music Fest has hosted a Road 2 Success Talent Showcase in which entertainers of different genres audition to perform on the main stage at the Sweet Auburn Music Fest. To sophomore Sequoyah Murray, a devoted music lover, the musical aspect of festivals is essential. “You can’t have a festival without music,” Murray said. “That’s lame. The bands act as the background music for the festival.” The Sweet Auburn Music Festival also provides the opportunity to buy merchandise from small business owners. Located in the Sweet Auburn Avenue business district, the festival hopes to promote small business and offer the owners direct access to thousands of shoppers. There is an abundance of free festivals happening this spring, including the Alpharetta Arts Streetfest and the Spring Festival on Ponce from April 13 to 14, the Spring ArtFest on April 21, the Salsa Festival Atlanta on June 2 and Fiesta Art on May 5. Information about these festivals and many others can be found at atlantaplanit.com. p

sports

April 17, 2013

The good ol’ days: coaches recount sporting exploits By Archie Kinnane I have run hundreds of miles with physics teacher Jeff Cramer, but I never knew he came within 100 meters of a state championship. I have played soccer under the direction of Thomas Waller for three seasons, but I never knew he played professionally in Scotland. As athletes, we take the experience and knowledge of our coaches for granted, most of whom have competed extensively in the sports they now coach. The experiences of Cramer and Waller make it clear sports at Grady are graced with exceptional coaches, and I hope their stories inspire athletes to ask their mentors and leaders about their own sporting pasts.

Longtime cross-country coach and physics teacher Jeff Cramer began running competitively as a 13-year-old in junior high school. At his high school in Tallahassee, Fla., he was a member of the cross-country and track teams. Cramer had a successful career as a highschool competitor. “We finished second in state my junior year,” Cramer said. “I was fifth overall in the state and first on the team.” Despite only having six out of a possible seven runners his junior year, Cramer said his team nearly took first place. “We had our top five all in the top 20, just cruising along,” Cramer said. “Our No. 5 guy dropped out 100 meters from the finish line. The sixth guy [on our team] was 52nd.” Without the unforeseen dropout, Cramer said his team would have easily won the state title. “We only lost by two points anyway,” Cramer said. Cramer said he and his teammates have never discovered why the runner dropped out. “That’s always been one of those real quandaries,” Cramer said. “He claimed that his ankle hurt, but we think it was more that he felt alienated from the team and was trying to get back at us or something.” Cramer continued running competitively,

COURTESY OF FOTOS BY FRENCH

JEFF CRAMER

STRUTTING DOWN PEACHTREE: Jeff Cramer (right) competes in 1975 or 1976 in one of the first Peachtree Road Races. In the modern Peachtree Road Race, the streets are blocked off for runners, but in the race’s early days, Cramer ran alongside moving cars. He has run in nearly every Peachtree Road Race since. eventually completing one of his life goals of THOMAS WALLER running a marathon in under three hours. He said reaching that goal was no easy task. Boys varsity soccer coach Thomas Waller “You really have to put in the mileage,” Cra- began playing soccer when he was 5 years mer said. “I was putting in 100-mile weeks.” old after his mother saw a group of people Three days after he finished the marathon, playing soccer. his daughter was born. “She asked a mom, ‘What is this sport “I was in the labor and delivery room they are playing, and how do I get my son with my wife throughout the whole thing, involved?’” Waller said. and she had a very long labor,” Cramer said. Waller went on to play at McEachern “What kept occurring to me was she was High School in Powder Springs. His team much more fit and had much more endur- won the region tournament all four years he ance than I did. She was in labor for over 24 played, eventually making it to the semifihours with no medication at all. Zero.” nal game of state his senior year, where his Cramer said he never trained as hard team lost to St. Pius X High School. again after that. Waller said one of his most memorable “[That experience] kind of put everything moments occurred his senior year season. in perspective,” he said. In the second game of the season, his

team lost 4-1 to McEachern’s rival, Walton High School. “[They] just completely embarrassed us,” Waller said. “They outclassed us top to bottom.” McEachern and Walton met again at Walton’s stadium in the second round of the state playoffs. “We went over there and beat them, 1-0,” Waller said. After graduating from high school, Waller went on to play soccer at Andrew College, a junior college in Randolph County in southwest Georgia. He then transferred to Georgia State University after his junior year. Because of a strained relationship with the coach, Waller did not play in many games at GSU. After completing college in 1996, Waller pursued his professional soccer career in Chattanooga, Tenn. He and a few friends began training with Chattanooga Springs, a team that is part of a lower division of the United Soccer League. “The coach told me to come back the next week, and I did,” Waller said. “They offered me a contract because I was persistent, and they needed players.” After two seasons with Chattanooga, Waller moved to Daytona, Fla. to play with a new franchise. “It was the worst experience I have ever had with soccer,” Waller said. “My owner was found dead in a lake. Our coach said he had played in Portugal, but he had never played a day of soccer in his life. It was just really unprofessional.” Waller quickly left the team after only a few months of playing to join the South Carolina Shamrocks, a team located in Greenville, S.C. During his second season, a scout from Meadowbank FC in Livingston, Scotland, came to observe several of his teammates. In 1999, after watching one of their games, the scout asked Waller and one of his teammates to come play in Scotland. After impressing Meadowbank’s coaches by scoring a goal and performing impressively in a friendly match, Waller was moved to the first team. Waller scored 14 goals in 23 first-team appearances. q

Q&A

How old were you when you began playing baseball? Where did you start? Munger: I started playing at around age 4 at Medlock Park in Decatur. I’ve played on a bunch of recreational teams there since then. What does baseball mean to you? Munger: [Baseball] means a lot to me. Aside from the fact I’ve spent so much of my life devoted to it, I couldn’t imagine my life without it, watching and playing it.

with senior varsity catcher, pitcher and outfielder Alex Munger

What kind of communities and leaders have you found in baseball? Munger: I’ve met a lot of my friends through baseball on all my different teams. I look up to a lot of my coaches, especially the ones who played in the Major Leagues like my club team coach, Marquis Grisson, who played for the Braves. How many teams have you been on? How long have you played for Grady? Munger: I’ve only been on two club teams; the MGBA Braves in College Park and the Druid Hills AllStars, but I’ve also been on a lot of recreational teams. I’ve only played three years at Grady because I went to Woodward freshman year. What are your expectations for the Grady team this year? Munger: [Grady] switched classes this year [from 3-A to 4-A,] so I didn’t really know what to expect at the beginning of the season, but it turns out that we don’t have as much competition. We lost a lot of really good players like Mendez Elder and Jordan Loveless last year. I think we have a good core of players though, so we should go far.

BOTH SIDES OF THE PLATE: Senior Alex Munger (in background) catches a pitch in Grady’s 1-12 loss against Marist on March 22. Munger (right) bats during the Grady 17-2 win on March 27 against South Atlanta. Munger also pitches for the team. Ben

Do you intend to play baseball in college? Munger: I want to, but it really depends on where I go. If I go to Georgia Tech, I can’t play. I’ve been talking to the coach of William and Mary, where I just got in, and it looks like I might be able to play there.

Searles

How much time do you put into baseball throughout the year? Munger: I practice with Grady in the spring basically whenever we can because we have games most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For my club team, the MGBA Braves, we practice one or two times a week in the summer, and then we play in 10 tournaments throughout the summer.

sports

April 17, 2013

How to pole vault successfully with Jawayln Brooks Senior Jawayln Brooks has been a member of the varsity track-and-field team for three years. He began pole vaulting his sophomore year, and he is now ranked first in the city. Brooks plans to attend either Texas Southern University on a track scholarship or Morehouse College on an academic scholarship. Brooks is expected to place in the top three at the state meet in early May.

THE LEG SWING: “After you plant, you jump,” Brooks said. “You are using the speed you’ve built up to swing your legs to your chest.”

THE FOLLOW THROUGH: “You want to try to pike and fold your arms inward so that you don’t hit the bar,” Brooks said. ”You follow through with your jump all the way until you hit the mat.”

THE PLANT: “By now you’ve lowered your pole to a certain height,”Brooks said.“You then take a final step and plant your pole into the back of the box. THE FALL: “ While you’re falling, you want to try and spread your body out as much as you can so that you will land as much on the mat as possible,” Brooks said. “You want to be on your back. If you don’t fall correctly, you could land in the box, which is really dangerous. I’ve seen people break their legs from landing the wrong way. ”

STANDERS

THE RUN:“You have to accelerate as much as you can to get to your highest speed,” Brooks said. “Begin to lower the pole while you’re running.”

INVERSION: “This is a fluid motion from the leg swing,” Brooks said. “Once your legs reach your chest, you drop your shoulders, extend your hips and go with the flow of the pole.”

MAT

RUNWAY

INITIATION (not pictured): “You get prepared. You find your grip, and you find your stance,” Brooks said. “You then perform a rocker step, where you get your body set, and you lean back to build up your run.”

Illustration by kate de give, Photos by joe lavine

BOX

By Kate de Give During the Feb. 19 girls soccer game against Riverwood, two sisters, junior Emily Ferris and freshman Erin Ferris, raced down the sideline. Emily was in front dribbling the ball with Erin following close behind. In an attempt to fake her defender, Emily made a “perfect” back pass to her sister, and then they continued down the field, as if nothing had happened. “It was really cool,” senior captain Abby Orlanksy said. “It was this cool sister-sister thing that no one will ever forget.” Before high school, Erin Ferris hated when her older sister Emily would play on her soccer team. “It would always be competitive, and I’d feel like she would be intruding on my soccer team,” Erin said. “It was like she was trying to be a part of my soccer life.” But when Erin made the varsity soccer team at Grady as a freshman, she said that all changed. Now, she welcomes Emily into her soccer life. When she found out she had made the team, Erin said she was happy but didn’t celebrate right away with the other freshmen who made it. “When I got home, that's when I really freaked out,” Erin said. “My sister and I talked about everything, and how it was going to be with me on the varsity team. I was just so happy I could play up with the varsity team, and that I could be good enough for my sister.”

KATE DEGIVE

Starting soccer players leave sisterhood off the field

SISTER-SISTER: Erin and Emily Ferris stretch out before the start of Grady’s 3-1 win against Druid Hills High School on March 26. Captain Abby Orlansky said the girls often warm up together by doing passing drills. Emily Ferris said she was happy when to put Erin on varsity was similar to that of her sister made the team, but she knew the his decision to put Emily on varsity. decision was coming. “When I saw Emily play for the first “The coach and I have been talking time, I saw an aggressiveness, a confidence about it ever since last season, so her mak- and just the overall tenacity of a soccer ing the team was not a surprise,” Emily player,” Thomas said. “In Erin, I saw a lot said. “It was kind of weird once he an- of the same, definitely the same, skills.” nounced the teams after tryouts. To hear Thomas said one of the only differences our names called together was a little odd, between the two was Erin’s lack of confibut I knew it would be fun.” dence, but he was sure she would gain it Coach Rodney Thomas said his decision during her future seasons in high school.

Erin said she and her sister have a lot in common with one another. “We're almost exactly the same,” Erin said. “We wear the same clothes; we play the same sports, eat the same food, talk the same and the majority of the time listen to the same music.” Despite their similar personalities, Emily said they are just regular sisters. “Of course we fight,” Emily said. “We are sisters, and it wouldn’t be right if we didn't, but at the end of the day, we love each other.” Both Erin and Emily said this healthy sister relationship does not cause problems on the soccer field, but it does create greater intensity. “There is definitely competition when [Emily] and I play with each other,” Erin said. “When we are on the same team, we work together, but I still try and be better than her, and I try to wow Coach Thomas. If we're on different teams when scrimmaging, the competition is even higher.” Erin said she and Emily are most competitive when she and her sister have a one-on-one situation because everyone is watching their “sister-sister battle” to see what happens. Even with this heightened competition, the girls attempt to be completely committed teammates. “When they hit the field, it’s all business,” Thomas said. p

the Sports section

thesoutherneronline.com

HENRY W. GRADY HIGH SCHOOL, ATLANTA

April 17, 2013

VOLUME LXVI, NUMBER 7

A DAY IN THE LIFE

The Grady stadium was renovated in 2009 and renamed Eddie S. Henderson Sr. Athletic Field in 2011. Henderson was Grady’s first African-American coach and also served as athletic director of APS. Eddie S. Henderson Sr. Athletic field is the only stadium on an APS high-school campus.

B y Jo e L av in e

The Grady stadium is in its 65th year, but don’t let its old age fool you. It served as a training site for athletes in the 1996 Olympics and occasionally functions as a practice field for the Atlanta Falcons. The stadium is known for its thunderous atmosphere in the fall during high school football games and its busy eveinings that can consist of lacrosse, soccer, track and JROTC drill team practices. But what I wondered was, what’s the atmosphere during an ordinary day in the stadium? So I decided to spend several hours in the stadium on the last day of winter to observe a day in the life of Eddie S. Henderson Sr. Athletic Field.

Tuesday, March 19 9 a.m.

The American flag waves lazily, continuously unfurling and furling.

Beautiful spring weather has come a day early. It is a temperate 55 degrees, and the morning sun blazes a soft blanket over my skin. The cloudless sky sports many shades of blue; the lighter shades on the horizon gradually darken high in the sky. As I sit down on the sideline at the 33-yard line, a slow, peaceful pocket of air casually brushes along. Apart from myself, the enormous stadium is completely devoid of humans. Overhead, however, there are plenty of birds. They chirp from all directions. The Eighth Street birds begin the chatter, the 10th Street birds pipe up in response and the Monroe birds chime in once in a while. The sun’s rays scatter sparkles on the artificial turf, exposing its phoniness. The stretchy, elastic blades of green, rubber black dots and paint that comprise the turf are impervious to weather and completely preserved in their original state.

11 a.m.

A sense of drama, passion, sweat and grind radiate off the field, leaving a distinguished, proud aura in the crisp air. On this fine morning, the stadium is in a state of hibernation, resting calmly, awaiting an afternoon and evening of sprinting, jumping and cutting. One of physical trainer Jody Smith’s trainees runs the track with a fitness ball. In addition to his training, Smith has worked with the Grady basketball, football and track teams. “I just love helping people,” Smith said. “It feels good to be able to help [people] feel better about themselves and transform their lives, their mind and their body.

“You know Gucci?” super trainer Jody Smith asked me. “Gucci Mane?” I asked for clarification. Smith has been a physical trainer for 14 years, and he has trained his clients at Grady’s stadium for about 10 years. This morning he happens to be training Kevin “Coach K” Lee, who has been rap artist Gucci Mane’s manager in the past. Smith has also trained Polow da Don, Bernice King, Ben Stiller, P. Diddy and Bubba Sparxxx. His wife is five-time Olympic gold medalist track athlete Gwen Torrence, who Smith calls “the fastest woman on earth.” Smith uses the stadium around six times a week. He trains some Grady students before school starts, as early as 6:45 a.m. “I love using the stadium,” Smith said. “Working at the stadium is real good because you’re outside, and you’re not confined to being inside a studio or a gym. It makes it easier for you to train.”

1 p.m.

Around 1:47 p.m., Coach Harlen Graham’s P.E. class comes out to exercise. Some students play a five-on-five game of touch football. Freshman John Lansing practices lacrosse on the sideline.Two students sit in the long-jump sand pit, and many sit on benches on the sideline. The class goes back inside at 2:20, leaving the stadium empty once again.

Smith and his trainees have left, and the stadium is empty again. The sun is glaring down, burning my skin. A mirage of heat waves surrounds the track and covers the turf, vibrating with energy. The traffic is quieter, but the Park Tavern is bumping with music, overwhelmed by a heavy bass. Casual dog walkers stroll down 10th Street. A strong breeze disperses the heat waves, bringing a temporary chill to the air, but the sun responds with more heat.

3 p.m. At 2:45 p.m., boys track coach Del Ellerton arrives to begin preparing for the 5 p.m. track meet, one of four track meets the field will host this year. He is all business. His face is stern and serious. He will spend the next six hours keeping the track a well-oiled machine. The meet will consist of long jump, high jump, triple jump, 100 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 400-meter hurdles, 4 x 100 meter relay and discus throwing to name just a few. The temperature has peaked at 60 degrees. The energy on the field is beginning to pick up. It seems to feel the upcoming action and is preparing itself for hundreds of cleats that will soon dig into it.

A couple of students and I help coach Del Ellerton arrange several sets of hurdles around the track.“It’s nice to have something like [the stadium] as your home stadium,” he said.“If I was at any other school in APS, we wouldn’t be able to host the meets right in our own backyard.”

4 p.m.

At 4:45, check-in for the track meet begins at two tables by the white tent. The overall atmosphere of the track meet is chaotic, but one can also sense the keen focus of the athletes. I hear the sound of sweatpants swishing as runners, jumpers and throwers warm up. Coaches give final pieces of advice. Then the announcement sounds. The first event will begin at 5:15.

The stadium is the opposite of what it was in the morning and early afternoon. It is now bustling with activity. The boys varsity soccer team is running two crossing drills from one 30-yard line to the other. The boys junior varsity soccer team is doing a ball-control drill near the south end zone. The girls junior varsity soccer team runs laps around the track. Meanwhile, The Towers, Chamblee, Lakeside, Creekside, Osborne, Frederick Douglass, Heritage, Stone Mountain, Druid Hills and Maynard Jackson track teams are arriving in buses in the parking lot. They all begin to funnel into the stadium through the entrance by the tennis courts, up the staircase and into different sections of the stands, like strains of sand spreading into a 10-day pillbox organizer. Coaches hustle hectically around the field, shouting directions to others and making last-minute preparations of their own.

6 p.m. The atmosphere of the track meet is incredibly competitive but also very friendly. During down time, athletes chat with others from different schools, bragging about times or distances and challenging others to do better. Runners with faces of pure pain and determination cross the finish line and immediately topple to the ground. Teammates help them up and congratulate them on finishing.

Photos by Joe Lavine

The track meet is in full swing. For most events, there are several heats for both boys and girls. Of all the races, the crowd gets most excited for the boys 4 x 100 meter relay. The athletes run with such unbelievable speed and swiftness that they seem to glide inches above the track. The passing of the baton, widely regarded as the most difficult part of the event, is less graceful but still efficient. The runner waiting for the pass begins his sprint and does not look back for the baton. He simply sticks his hand back for his speeding teammate, who delivers the baton as quickly and carefully as he can. A half moon has become visible in the sky as the sun begins to break towards the horizon. It has been just another day at Eddie S. Henderson Sr. Athletic Field.

Grady Sports Score Central: March Soccer March 7 Grady 5, North Atlanta 2

Grady 4, North Atlanta 1 March 13 Grady 10, Banneker 0

Grady 12, Banneker 0 March 15 Grady 1, Woodward 0

Woodward 3, Grady 0

March 20 Grady 2, Flowery Branch 0 Flowery Branch 5, Grady 0 March 26 Grady 2, Druid Hills 1 Grady 3, Druid Hills 1

Baseball March 1 Grady 16, Douglass 1 March 4 Grady 7, Cedar Grove 6 March 8 N. Atlanta 5, Grady 2 March 14 Woodstock 20, Grady 5 March 19

Grady 15, Therrell 0 March 20 Grady 17, Washington 2 March 22 Marist 12, Grady 1 March 25 Redan 3, Grady 2 March 27 Grady 17, South Atlanta 2

Lacrosse March 1 Northgate 10, Grady 5 March 7 McIntosh 20, Grady 0 March 13 Pace 14, Grady 2 March 15 Whitewater 16, Grady 1

March 19 Druid Hills 10, Grady 6 March 25 Dunwoody 9, Grady 8

p Boys p Girls

See complete coverage of games on thesoutherneronline.com and on The Southerner Facebook page.