February 2009

The Chronicle Harvard-Westlake School • North Hollywood, CA • Volume XVIII • Issue 5 • February 11, 2009 • chronicle.hw.com

Wrestler Q&A

Tree people

Team captain Spencer Friedman ’09 dishes on his high school wrestling career. bEN gOLDSTEIN/chronicle

A31

seth goldman/chronicle

Students plant trees at a Community Council event in Sylmar.

A5

Art for the heart A junior organizes a fundraiser art auction for next month to fight heart disease.

A21

Daniel Lundberg/vox

Filmmaker, D.A., activist to speak at 3 assemblies

By Jack Davis

daniel lundberg/vox

summer brave: Chloe Corbin ’10 and Brittany Gill ’09 watch as Cody Davis ’09 and Tyler Wallace’09 fight over Ellie Bensinger ‘09, right, in William Inge’s “Summer Brave” directed by Performing Arts teacher Michael Christopher Moore. The play was performed in Rugby Theater last weekend. For coverage, see page A20.

New rules, suppressed recommendations shine spotlight on Honor Board practices For the first time ever, privacy concerns lead the administration to withhold Honor Board recommendations for two December cases.

By Dana Glaser and Lucy Jackson

T

wo “formal leaks” of confidentiality led the administration to withhold results of two recent Honor Board cases to protect the privacy of students involved, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said Sunday. The administration’s decision not to release the customary reports, along with the creation of guidelines defining which infractions will be tried by the Honor Board and the usual influx of semesterend cases, has focused attention on the Honor Board in the last two months.

This is the first time in history that the board’s recommendation was not released to the

student body, said Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra.

The new policy requires teachers to report every student offense to a dean, but allows teachers to handle minor first offenses as they see fit.

It is unclear how much the new policy has affected or will affect the Honor Board case load, if at all, Salamandra said.

Defining the gray area implied in the term “minor” is a concern the Honor Board hopes to address “right off the bat” Chaplain Father J. Young said. Members of the Prefect Council plan to sit down with different departments within the next three weeks to clarify what assignments or of-

Holocaust survivors recount horrors

fenses qualify.

“I think to a certain degree what we’re doing is putting into policy the practice that has already been in place,” Young said.

“I think we’re just understanding why the teachers weren’t bringing everything to us.”

At a series of breakfast meetings Huybrechts held last semester, many teachers expressed a desire to have the opportunity to work with students one-on-one and to mete out punishment at their own discretion, Huybrechts said.

Salamandra said the teachers develop relationships with students and may be best suited to handle some offenses.

features

sports

Art showcase to open

Ditching Semiformal

Shutout

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drew lash/chronicle

A13

By Hana Al-Henaid Helen Freeman hid her earring in her shoe as guards at Auschwitz confiscated all her belongings, Arnold Wininger saw his mother for the last time at a train station on his way to Yugoslavia to begin a life in hiding, Eva Brettler watched from cornfields as her aunt and grandmother were marched from their home.

All three spoke at one of the sophomore, junior or senior class meetings for the second Holocaust Memorial Assembly last week.

Freeman spoke to the senior class, climbing the steps of the stairs arm in arm with Paulina Shahery ’09 and her granddaughter, Jackie Feiler ’10, who introduced her.

Freeman began her story by recalling Sept.

1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland.

“I was a teenager, like you all are,” Freeman said. “I had goals and dreams to accomplish, but my dreams were interrupted.” see SURVIVORS, A3

B SECTION

News

Why go to Semiformal?

Students hold their own parties at arcades, restaurants and a shooting range.

Related speaker coverage see BLACK HISTORY, A3 see WOMEN’S HISTORY, A8

see HONOR BOARD, A9

Kim Abeles’ environmnetal art showcase opens today in FeldmanHorn.

An Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated documentarian, a Native American candidate for Vice President of the United States and the first woman ever to serve as District Attorney of a major city will all speak to upper school students in the next month.

Filmmaker Ken Burns will speak March 17 as part of the Brown Family Speaker Series, while activist Winona LaDuke will speak at the Women’s History Assembly March 16 and the African-American History Assembly on Feb. 27 will feature San Francisco District of Attorney Kamala Harris.

Burns, who has produced award-winning documentaries for more than 30 years and won seven Emmy Awards, produced and directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Brooklyn Bridge” in 1981. He was also nominated for the Academy Award in 1986 for his film “The Statue of Liberty.”

Burns was the director, producer, co-writer, chief cinematographer, music director and executive producer of the television series “The Civil War.” Linda and Abbott Brown (Russell ’94, David ’96) created the speaker series in 2001 to bring prominent speakers to the campus. Past speakers have included the late historian Stephen Ambrose, violinist Midori and jazz great Herbie Hancock.

“As both a writer and a chronicler of history, I think Ken Burns stands in a class by himself,” said President Thomas C. Hudnut, who with the Browns, chose Burns to speak.

B Section

Goalie Alex Silverman ‘10 leads boys’ soccer into CIF playoffs.

charting

your cou rs

The Chron

A26 Sam Adams/chronicle

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classes covered

icle . Harva rd-Westlake

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core subjects

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School .

Wednesday , Feb.11,

teacher thoughts

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elective choices

PHOTO ILLUSTR

BY CATHI ATION CHOI AND EMILY FRIEDM AN

2009

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direct comparis ons

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supplem ent.

course selection: Choose your course selections with this issue’s class guide.

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Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009 The Chronicle

preview

COURTESY OF DEBORAH DOWLING

desert fun: Ethan Mark ’11 walks away from a giant sand dune after tumbling down it on a 10th grade Geology field trip to Death Valley.

news

features

anonymous writer revisits his A15 A9 An Honor Board trial.

Tither-Kaplan ’09 A12 Sarah interviewed performers A16 backstage at the 51st Grammys.

sports A25 A27

Boys’ basketball marches into CIF ranked atop Mission League.

Dodger stadium played host to Family Night on Jan. 24.

Eight teachers organize a lunch group to eat together fourth period.

Students choose the alternate college route by applying abroad.

opinion A23

Derek Schlom ’09 urges students to walk faster during passing periods.

A24

Ellina Chulpaeff ’10 demands a reprieve from the piles of work students face after sick days.

what’s online cody Schott/chronicle

this is dodger baseball: President Thomas C. Hudnut welcomes parents, students and alumni to Dodger Stadium during Family Night on Jan. 24.

www.chronicle.hw.com

» Extended photo gallery of photos Adam Rothman ’09 takes of everyday life.

Dowling’s parents survive, save home in wildfires

By Alexia Boyarsky As flames surrounded their house and licked at the floor under their feet, Director of Studies Deborah Dowling’s parents fought for their lives on Saturday night against a raging bushfire which attacked their hometown of Marysville, Australia.

Dowling’s parents John and Carolyn both survived along with the elderly couple that lived next door, but they are still working to put out the remnants of the fire that continue to crop up, Dowling wrote in a note to the faculty on Monday.

In the note, Dowling described her parents’ house as “scorched all over, even underneath, but still standing.”

The fire broke out in the state of Victoria over the weekend and has wiped out the entire town of Marysville. Dowling’s parents’ house is one of two buildings still standing in a five mile radius.

“Five miles in one direction my father found a single small shop, standing alone and cut off in the moonscape,” Dowling wrote. “It was open for business. Dad bought bottled water.”

Although supplies are scarce, her parents, along with their neighbors salvaged enough water before the pipes burst to keep themselves and four horses alive.

Authorities have been notified of their condition, and friends and family are waiting for the roads to open in order to give their help.

courtesy of kelsey woo

party animal: Casper Stockwell ’10 and his pig Bob linger outside the Sheraton after being denied entrance.

off-beat

By Derek Schlom

Casper Stockwell ’10 has a friend named Bob. Bob is a pig.

They met a few months ago, and their relationship has escalated quickly.

“He sleeps in my bed and snuggles with me,” Stockwell said. “He needed a loving home and we gave him one.”

Bob was Stockwell’s date to Semiformal at the Sheraton Universal on Jan. 31, but the pair ran into trouble after 10 minutes inside the ballroom.

“I called the hotel before and they said they were okay with it and that it was up to the people throwing the event whether or not Bob was allowed in,” he said. “I guess the school was not down with Bob. Very upsetting.”

Bob and Stockwell had some quality time together in front of the hotel for the remainder of the event, where they were visited by gawkers.

“Lots of people thought he was really cute and lots of people thought he was a dog at first.”

Despite the Semiformal disappointment, Stockwell and Bob continue to develop their connection: “No woman could amount to the bond that me and my pig share.”

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

Barrier-breaking attorney to speak of politics, race

Give it a break This will be the second month of the Wednesday break pilot program.

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By Jordan Freisleben

40 minute classes 2:30 p.m. dismissal

45 minute classes 3:10 p.m. dismissal

»11february 12 13

TODAY W

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Future Wednesday breaks

» April 15 » May 20

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SOURCE: MICHELLE BRACKEN GRAPHIC BY SHAYNA FREISLEBEN

are fighting against gang violence, the prevention of child assault, domestic violence and human trafficking and preserving the community quality of life.

The Black Leadership and Culture Club considered different speakers for the annual assembly starting at the beginning of the school year, but it was Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Eli Goldsmith who suggested Harris as a potential

Kamala Harris, the District Attorney of San Francisco, will help demonstrate the importance of African-American history and its relation to current events to the student body as the guest speaker for this year’s African-American Hissfsu.edu tory Month Assembly Feb. 27.

Kamala Harris Harris began her career as a prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s office. In 1998, speaker.

After research, members of the she started working at the San Francisco BLACC and their adviser, upper school District Attorney’s office.

Of Indian and African-American de- dean Tamar Adegbile, decided that Harscent, Harris was elected as the first fe- ris would make a great speaker for the male District Attorney of San Francisco school community.

Goldsmith was able to arrange Harin 2003, also becoming the first AfricanAmerican to be elected to the position in ris to come speak with the support of the California, and the first Indian American newly formed Harvard-Westlake Afrito be elected to the position in the United can-American Alumni Network and the Parents of African-American HarvardStates.

As District Attorney, Harris raised the Westlake Students, “[BLACC] feels that her personal story San Francisco felony conviction rate to a record high of 67% in 2006 as well as will resonate with the students here, esestablishing several outreach programs pecially given that she represents a new to connect the community to the DA’s of- generation of leaders in American politics in this age of Obama,” BLACC President fice.

An active member of the Democratic Jessica Marot ’09 said.

“Although we have come far and have Party, Harris will be running for Attorney a lot to be proud of, the struggle to reach General of California in 2010.

According to http://www.kamalahar- full equality for all continues,” Marot said. ris.org, the website for Harris’ Attorney “We believe that Kamala Harris’ speech General candidacy, her primary tenets will illustrate this.”

Holocaust survivors share stories ‘SURVIVORS’ from A1 Freeman was taken from her home and put into a ghetto. She ultimately was moved to Auschwitz. Although all her possessions were supposed to be confiscated, Freeman was able to keep her shoes, worn down from days of marching and without soles.

“The earring kept me going when I was depressed. I felt my family was with me, especially my mother,” Freeman said.

While speaking of her treatment at Auschwitz, Freeman took off her black blazer to reveal a faint blue tattoo on her arm, given to her upon her arrival at the camp. The mark read A24490.

“I was no more a human being; I was just a number,” she said.

In 1945, Freeman was liberated by American soldiers. Freeman ultimately returned to Poland, only to find her family gone.

“That’s when I realized I was an orphan,” Freeman said.

Freeman reunited with her old boyfriend from before the war, Joseph, whom she later married. They had two children within six years of their marraige and have been married 62 years.

She came to America in 1951, sponsored by a synogogue in Pasadena.The earring Freeman hid from the Germans stayed with her throughout her travels. Freeman passed it down on her daughter’s wedding day.

Freeman’s final words to the audience urged them to “please be good to each other, help each other.”

Freeman’s husband, Joseph, wrote two books; both have been signed and donated to the school’s library.

Arnold Wininger spoke on Feb. 4 to the junior class. He was introduced by his grandson Eli Wininger ’11.

Wininger was born in Leipzig, Germany in 1926. The Nazis took over in 1933 when he was in second grade.

After his father was arrested in 1939, Wininger was taken to a railroad station by his mother to flee; it was the last time he saw her. Wininger was trying to make it to the Italian-occupied

hana al henaid/chronicle

hana al henaid/chronicle

michelle Nosratian/chronicle

faces of courage: Eva Brettler (top left) speaks at the sophomore class assembly on Feb. 3. Helen Freeman (bottom left) displays her tattoo from Auschwitz at the senior class assembly on Feb. 5. Arnold Wininger (right) greets Berni Barta ’10 after speaking at the Feb. 4 junior class assembly on as his grandson Eli Winninger ’11 looks on. region of Yugoslavia.

He was able to hide safely until the war ended. In 1949, Wininger arrived in the United States with an education, but no profession. He settled in Boston and married his wife of 58 years. He now has three sons and eight grandchildren.

Wininger is the sole survivor of his family. After the war, he was invited back to his hometown by the German state.

“I remember the letter said, ‘We hope you find the courage to come back,’” Wininger said. “We went back and I made peace with myself, but there was a time when I thought I would never go back.”

Before Wininger left the stage, he asked a favor of the audience.

“I want you all to stand up; hold hands and say ‘I will stand up for you!’”

Wininger said.

Eva Brettler spoke at the sophomore class assembly. Shahery introduced her and explained the purpose of the assembly.

“It may seem like a random day of a random week,” Shahery said, “but it’s a day to think about tolerance, about how you affect other people in your life, because Eva has affected mine.”

Shahery first met Brettler two years ago during an interview.

“I want to thank Paulina for opening up certain parts of my life that were locked up for quite some time,” Brettler said.

Brettler remembers the war affecting her for the time when she was 7 years old. German soldiers had come for her grandmother and her aunt.

“My grandmother was baking when the knock came,” Brettler said. “I still remember the aroma of the bread.”

Ultimately, Brettler and her mother were arrested by Hungarian police and forced on a death march, where her mother was killed.

Now alone, Brettler was taken to Ravensbruck, where an elderly woman took pity on her.

“I remember when I went to sleep, she usually had her arms around me,” Brettler said. “One day, her arms were limp, she wouldn’t wake up. I wanted to die with her.”

Brettler and the rest of the camp were evacuated and ended up at Bergen Belsen.

“The first thing I saw was a huge mountain of bodies – they didn’t have time to bury them,” she said On April 15, 1945 the British liberat-

ed Brettler and the rest of the camp.

“I never knew my birthday until I actually saw the certificate, but I considered that day my birthday for quite some time,” Brettler said.

From the camp, Brettler migrated to Sweden. She stayed there until January 1947, when she returned to Budapest to her father who had also survived.

“Chronologically, I was 10, but after two and a half years in camps, I was in many ways a grown-up,” she said.

Brettler studied chemistry and pursued her education in the United States. She arrived to America in a naval ship and remembers seeing the Statute of Liberty from the water.

“It was a new beginning for me,” Brettler said. “It was the first time I traveled by choice, not by force.”

Brettler married a fellow survivor, with whom she had four children, and is now the proud grandmother of eight.

After each of the assemblies, students were given the opportunity to sign up to interview Holocaust survivors and join the Breakfast Club, a school club started by Shahery in order to address tolerance and acceptance in the Harvard-Westlake community.

A4 News

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

New support group to aid students with family alcoholism

May the force be with you

By Michelle Nosratian

Courtesy of Caitlin Cunningham

SENIORS ADAM BLOCH, CHARLIE LOEB, ANDREW RESSLER, MADDIE Lenard and Caitlin Cunningham (from left) dress up for Senior Superhero day as Captain Planet and the Planeteers on Jan. 28. Ressler was painted with blue paint to serve as the group’s Captain Planet. Seniors dressed up as superheros to celebrate the first day of second semester and the first Wednesday break.

A student-facilitated support group overseen by student counselor and humanities teacher Luba Bek will meet over second semester in an attempt to help students cope with family members who have an alcohol addiction.

“The group is about helping students not feel guilty, teaching them how to become emotionally removed when they need to be and learning not to put the blame on yourself,” Bek said.

The group, which remains unamed as of yet, was proposed by a student living with a parent with an alcohol addiction who came to talk to Bek. Bek pledged her support to the student’s cause and the group was born.

Bek first brought up the idea at a dean meeting.

“We were not sure how it would look for school to have such a group, or if it would contribute to a bad image,” Bek said. “Turned out [Head of Upper School Harry] Salamandra was very supportive.”

The group bears a resemblance to Al-Anon, a national organization similar to Alchoholics Anonymous that functions as a support group for family members of alchoholic individuals, and Alateen, the branch of the group dedicated specifically to young adults.

However, the group will not use the twelve-step program, the guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction popular-

ized by Alchoholics Anonymous.

“The twelve-step program is not for everyone because it requires those in recovery to believe in God,” Bek said.

“Also, if a Harvard-Westlake student went to an Alateen meeting, he or she would be surrounded by people of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

It would be harder for others in the group to identify with his or her situation.”

The group is confidential and students interested in joining must contact Bek to find out where it meets.

“This group is similar to Project 10, the support group for gay and lesbian students on campus, in that the when and where details are completely confidential and revealed to members only,” Bek said.

Bek has started advertising for the group in deans’ offices and the daily bulletin.

“We decided to start advertising for a group during second semester because it would be less difficult for a student if he or she wants to leave the group,” Bek said.

Although the flyer says that the support group is for students who are dealing with parents suffering from alcoholism, Bek assures that students dealing with siblings and other family members with any kind of addiction are also welcome.

“I’m optimistic about starting and continuing the group,” Bek said. “It’s in a safe environment for kids where they could feel comfortable talking.”

‘Character Counts’ contest selects two student-made films as finalists

By Julie Barzilay Two student-made films were selected as finalists in the “Character Counts” video contest. Students can view and vote for these videos until Feb. 16 to help determine the winner.

“Character Counts” Contest The contest is sponsored by the Josephson Institute Center for Youth Ethics, and votes can be cast at http://charactercounts.org/teens/VideoContest_entries-2008.html.

At the school’s Oct. 21 speech about ethics and character, Institute founder Michael Josephson challenged Video Art students to depict one or more of the “Six Pillars of Character” in short films for the contest. The Six pillars are Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

“Care” and “Be A Friend,” the two short videos, beat out approximately 300 other submissions to become finalists in the contest.

While “Care,” co-written by Romina D’Allesandro ’10, Daniel Edelstein ’11, Henry Braun ’11 and Alex Siegel ’11, emphasized caring, “Be A Friend,” by Jennifer Plotkin ’11, Danielle Strassman ’11 and Melissa Victor ’11 and starring Strassman and Emma Sczudlo ’11, portrayed a conflict between trust and responsibility.

“Care” Edelstein thought of the original concept of “Care,” which begins with an empty pair of shoes moving around

the campus as if their wearer was invisible. Ultimately, a friend who also feels invisible helps the owner of the shoes to feel appreciated and noticed, enabling both to “become real, visible people to each other,” D’Allesandro said.

Both Edelstein and Siegel acted in the film.

While D’Allesandro handled the photographing of the shoes in different positions to later blend them together with animation, Edelstein held the camera as he walked for his “point of view” shots, D’Allesandro said.

All of the creators edited the video individually for the assignment they turned in to video arts teacher Cheri Gaulke, but D’Allesandro’s version was the one submitted to the “Character Counts” contest.

“I think [caring] is probably the pillar that can tell a short and sweet story without trying to force a cheesy parable out of it,” D’Allesandro said. “The other five pillars can be easy if you follow the rules, but caring is something you can’t make yourself do. You’re not a bad person if you don’t notice the kid nobody pays attention to, but it just makes you a better person if you do, at least in the eyes of the invisible kid.”

“Be A Friend” “Be A Friend” follows the journey of a girl, played by Sczudlo, who is insecure about her body and is battling an eating disorder.

She leaves her cell phone in the bathroom as she engages in self-destructive behavior, thinking she is alone, but

Strassman’s character notices that her friend is in trouble.

Strassman’s character is then faced with the choice of risking her friendship to call Sczudlo’s character’s mother for help, or being a passive bystander. In the end, she picks up the idle cell phone and searches for her friend’s mother’s number.

“We wanted to try to convey that situations are not black and white; there are times when two pillars will conflict and you must choose one,” Plotkin said. “Here, responsibility for keeping a friend safe becomes more important than that friend’s trust.”

Edelstein, Victor and Plotkin discussed how to convey this story line without words, after which they carefully planned each shot together.

Strassman and Plotkin executed the operation of the camera.

As with “Care,” each student edited their own version of the film, but in this case the one submitted to the contest was a blend of Strassman’s, Victor’s and Plotkin’s finished products.

Videos submitted to the competition had to be between 30 seconds and two minutes in length, and anyone under 18 years of age was eligible to participate.

If the two finalist teams from Harvard-Westlake advance, they have the potential to win $500, $300 or $200 if they win first, second or third place respectively.

Additionally, the winning “commercials” promoting good character will be highlighted on the “Character Counts”

Courtesy of Character Counts website

friends in need: Daniel Edelstein ’11 cares about a friend who feels invisible in “Care” (top) and Emma Sczudlo ’11 portrays a girl with an eating disorder in “Be A Friend” (bottom). website, its YouTube page and in its newsletters.

The contest hopes to inspire students to be conscious of their morals, scruples and character.

“I don’t know if the contest will help all kids be aware of character, but it surely does make the people involved in the contest think about it,” D’Allesandro said.

Several other teams of stu-

dents submitted films, because Gualke assigned this video as a class assignment. This way all students could practice editing and creating a silent video with a clear message.

Gaulke is happy with the final products of the students’ efforts.

“I’m proud of their excellent work, which was their first narrative film assignment,” she said.

Feb. 11, 2009

News A5

The Chronicle

communitycouncil

New Recruits: Community Council advisers selected the following 14 students to serve as trainees for the remainder of the school year and to assume full roles next year:

Class of 2010: Class of 2011: Berni Barta Anna Etra Matthew Krisiloff Cindy Ok Kelly Rodriguez Max Zipperman

Returning Members:

courtesy of olivia van iderstine

tree people: Olivia Van Iderstine ’10 and Ali Sacks ’10 plant a tree at the Community Council’s treeplanting event Sunday with the help of a TreePeople volunteer. Eleven people attended the event.

The following four juniors already serve on the council, and will continue on the council next year:

11 students plant trees in honor of Jewish holiday

By Shayna Freisleben Despite threats of cancellation due to rain, 11 students and one faculty chaperone planted trees in honor of the Jewish holiday Tu B’shvat on Sunday at a TreePeople event in Sylmar. Tu B’shvat, which began on Sunday night, commemorates the “birthday of the trees.”

A “pod” of Community Council members coordinated the school’s participation in the event.

However, due to individual scheduling conflicts and illness, this was the first Community Council event in which no members actually attended.

The Community Council’s initial plans were to attend a TreePeople “Mountain Restoration” program in Calabasas on Sunday.

Young trains for city crisis response team

By Anna Etra Father J. Young is training to be a member of the Los Angeles Crisis Response team.

Members of the Crisis Response Team volunteer “to provide immediate on-scene crisis intervention as well as emotional don hagopian/chronicle support and referrals to victims Fr. J. Young and their families involved in Chaplain traumatic incidents,” according to the mission statement.

As a Crisis Response Team member, Young will be on the scene to help as policemen and firemen support the victims and families involved.

The program was formed in 1998 because the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments were wasting thousands of dollars by spending time with the victims.

In the past year, CRT has saved the public service department $252,000.

Young was contacted by the director of the program to join.

“I find working with folks in time of great need to be very rewarding,” Young said. “I think the chief benefit is the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve used some gift that you have in order to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter how small.”

Young plans to apply the new skills acquired in training to the school’s Crisis and Support Team (CaST).

“I think the skills useful in dealing with significant crisis (listening, the gift of presence, ability to make referrals, calming disposition, etc.) are the same skills that we try to hone in CaST members,” Young said.

The event was ultimately cancelled on Saturday due to heavy rain, and the students were rerouted to the Sylmar tree planting around Swim Lake.

There were around 50 attendees total, according to event participant Jonathan Etra ’11.

The group of volunteers was welcomed by a rabbi, who explained the Jewish significance and celebration of the tree. Students then divided into smaller groups to plant trees around the park.

“It was cool to see so many people dedicated to one important cause,” Etra said.

Etra, an Orthodox Jew, enjoyed fusing aspects of his religion with a school community service project.

“I think it is always interesting celebrating a Jewish holiday or event with classmates from school because it gives me a chance to show who I am outside

David Burton Gabriella Cohen Patrick Edwards Conor Elliot Daniel Rothberg Chelsea Shannon Emily Wallach Catherine Wang Tiana Woolridge

Andrew Berman Caity Croft Ava Kofman Erin Moy

source: jordan church graphic by sammy roth AND daniel rothberg

the classroom and get their views on it,” he said.

The Community Council pod that planned this particular event consisted of Sara Fleischman ’09, Ava Kofman ’10, Shelby Layne ’09 and Charlie Weintraub ’09. The group had been planning the event for about a month, Layne said.

The pod system was created at the beginning of the school year in order to maximize Council productivity and to cater to more specific community service interests. The Council has aimed to host community service events on each day of the weekend for the whole month of February.

“It takes a lot of work and a lot of coordination, but so far, the pod system has been really effective,” Layne said. “It’s a great way to allocate all of the jobs and balance responsibility.”

Contaminated Peanut Scare: Since August, eight people have died and 575 people have fallen ill from peanut butter contaminated with salmonella. As a result, the cafeteria has reevaluated its peanut-containing products, and it has stopped selling some products.

Products removed

Products still being sold

—LUNA bars:

— Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches:

— Peanut butter Balance Bars:

—Peanut butter cups —Candy containing peanut butter which was not recalled source: Phairot janthep graphic by matthew lee and sammy roth

Cafeteria stops selling some peanut products after mass government recall

By Emily Wallach The school’s cafeteria halted the sale of LUNA bars and peanut butter Balance Bars after the government recalled more than 1,300 peanut products in January for traces of salmonella.

Products in the recall, as listed by the Food and Drug Administration, contain peanuts, peanut butter and peanut paste.

According to the head of FDA’s food safety center, Stephen Sundlof, most peanut butter sold in jars

seems to be safe, said http://www. msnbc.com.

“We get our peanut butter from a big container,” cafeteria employee Phairot Janthep said.

The cafeteria offers plain peanut butter in sandwiches and cups for dipping snacks.

They also offer a variety of trail mixes, cookies, candies and energy bars; however, these peanut products are exempt from the recall.

LUNA bars were sold in the cafeteria prior to the outbreak, but have since been unavailable

for purchase as two flavors, Nutz Over Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookie are on the government’s recall lists. Peanut butter Balance Bars have also been removed.

“We stopped buying LUNA bars and peanut products after the recall. All products out [for sale] are okay,” Janthep said.

Eight deaths and 575 illnesses were blamed on the salmonella outbreak caused by a string of bacteria called typhimurium, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A6 News

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

inbrief

Senior Gift options to be voted on at meeting The money raised for the Senior Gift will be used either to support Financial Aid, the Brownstein Fellowship or environmentally-friendly initiatives, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Eli Goldsmith said.

The options were formulated by a committee of the Senior and Head Prefects, student members of the Student Alumni Association, Goldsmith, Chief Advancement Officer Ed Hu and students recommended for the committee by their deans. Seniors will vote on the gift of their choice at a class meeting this month.

— Sammy Roth

English teacher fills in while Turner on leave Chuck Berezin has joined the English department for the remainder of second semester in place of teacher Jill Turner. Berezin is returning to teaching after working for a management consultant. He previously taught literature at the University of Chicago and Tufts University.

Turner is currently on maternity leave and looking forward to the birth of her second child.

— Sade Tavangarian

Social Committee applications available The Prefect Council has created a Social Committee, chaired

by Prefects Aarti Rao ’10 and Christine Kanoff ’11, who will be in charge of theme days. The committee will help plan events for the newly implemented Wednesday breaks. Applications to be on the committee are due by this Friday, which makes the tentative start date Feb. 23.

Hana Al-Henaid/chronicle

Paper art: Kim Abeles builds a 30-foot woman made of paper collected from the trash around school. Her art exhibit “Nature Studies” is now featured in Feldman-Horn Gallery. For more photo coverage on Kim Abeles’ art exhibit, see Photo Finish on A32.

‘Leaf Lounge’ opens in gallery

By Ester Khachatryan Artist-in-residence Kim Abeles’ environmentally-conscious art exhibit “Nature Studies” has been featured in Feldmanorn Gallery since Monday and will continue to be featured until March 6. A discussion will be conducted by Abeles on Feb. 18 to encourage awareness of environmental crises through art.

In addition to her own environmental art, Abeles worked with students and teachers of art, math, science and environmental studies to create art pieces that are unique in showing the effects of human waste and consumption on the environment.

Abeles turned the Feldman-Horn Gallery into a “leaf lounge,” placing pillows stuffed with leaves from around the world around the room to create a natural atmosphere for students and faculty, chair of Visual Arts department Cheri Gaulke said.

“She’s an incredible role model for students,” Gaulke said.

“She is very committed to using her art to help people see things in new ways, such as what we are doing to the environment.”

The exhibition includes a 30 foot sculpture and data of five weekdays of trash that Abeles collected from campus.

“Kim not only gathered Harvard-Westlake’s trash for a week

and made art out of it, but she found things that people may not even realize they had thrown away,” Gaulke said. “Students might be surprised to find personal objects as part of the art.”

Students involved in the exhibition include upper school math department head Paula Evans’ math class that will evaluate campus consumption and waste based on Abeles’ data.

Visual Arts teacher Nancy Popp and foreign language teacher Allan Sasaki’s photography students investigated the effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays on different skin tones. Science teacher Tara Kheradyar’s AP Environmental Science classes collected brand names of packaged water. Video Art students will feature films on environmental studies. The Environmental Club, Gender Studies and H-W Green committee all took part in Abeles’ projects.

Included in the gallery is art that makes a political statement about the response of American presidents to the environmental crisis. Abeles stenciled portraits of past presidents on plates and allowed air pollutants to settle around them to reflect each president’s attitude toward environmental policy.

Presidents who have been inactive in dealing with environmental issues are allowed to accumulate more air pollutants.

“Her art is not only beautiful and interesting, it has a transformative power,” Gaulke said. “It is important for students to know about this approach to art.”

Guerrero cancels Bel Canto tour

— Neha Nimmagadda

Faculty member runs marathon for charity Technology Integration Specialist Jennifer Lamkins ran in the Huntington Beach Surf City half marathon Feb. 1 to raise funds for the Free Wheelchair Mission, a non-profit organization which provides specially designed wheelchairs for people in third world countries.

Lamkins was able to raise enough money to buy 12 wheelchairs with the help of faculty and staff donations. This half marathon is part of her training to run the Seattle Nirvana Rock n’ Roll Marathon June 27.

— Catherine Wang

Darfur Club signs postcards for President The Darfur Awareness Activism Training club hosted a booth for students and faculty to sign postcards which were to be delivered to President Barack Obama on the first day of his presidency.

The postcards asked him to act against the genocide in Sudan.

The effort was to get one million postcards signed nationwide through Jewish World Watch.

The Darfur club collected almost 700 postcards from the booths. The goal of one million postcards was not reached and has been extended for 100 days.

— Nicki Resnikoff

By Jamie Kim

Cathi Choi/chronicle

coldwater crashes: A driver coming down Coldwater Canyon damaged three student cars after spinning out of control on Monday Jan. 5.

Accidents damage 4 student cars parked on Coldwater

By Cathi Choi Four student-owned cars were damaged in two separate accidents on Coldwater Canyon on Jan. 5 and 6.

After being rear ended, a driver going North on Coldwater Canyon bumped into a parked student-owned Toyota on Jan 6. The driver, who has no connection with the school, left minor paint transfers on the car, CJL employee Mike Providente said.

On Jan. 5, a car collision caused damage to a school drainage pipe and three student-owned cars. No one suffered major injuries in the accidents. One driver involved in the first accident sustained minor injuries to his arm.

Abe Brown, a longtime user of the school track, had been parked on Coldwater Canyon’s south-bound lane and was merging into traffic when he collided with the other driver.

After the collision, the other driver’s car was spinning out of control.

He scraped one student-owned car and seriously damaged two others, Providente said. He crashed into a Silver Acura, scraped a white Mercedes-Benz and reared into a blue Prius, Providente said.

Brown crashed into the school’s drainage pipe, into which water flows from Zanuck Stadium and Ted Slavin Field. Authorities from the Department of Water and Power came to inspect the drainage pipe and concluded that there were no leak problems, Providente said.

Providente, also a retired sergeant, said that students would most likely see an increase of LAPD presence on Coldwater Canyon.

“There’s a lot of recklessness on Coldwater,” Providente said. “This accident should be able to remind students to drive safely.”

If things had gone as Choir Director Rodger Guerrero had planned, Bel Canto would have spent Presidents’ Day weekend singing in the capitol dome.

Every year, Guerrero struggles to find enough participation to allow for the pseudoannual choir trip.

The purpose of a choir tour is “to take students out of the H-W environment, to give them contact with professional university educators to see what they might like to do when they go away, and to hear other choirs sing music,” Guerrero said.

During the summer, Guerrero planned for this year’s Bel Canto to tour in Sacramento.

“The idea of the trip this year was centered around being invited to sing at the capitol in Sacramento. That’s not something that just happens,” he said.

But when he asked for sign-ups weeks ago, only 16 out of the 41 Bel Canto singers expressed interest.

“If there had been about seven or eight more girls we could have had balance in the sections,” he said. Guerrero was forced to cancel the trip.

Guerrero says finding adequate participation is less of an issue when the tour is scheduled for spring break instead of the three-day Presidents’ Day weekend.

“Because these trips are optional, it has always depended upon whether the students’ schedules meshed,” Guerrero said. “In this case, we have so many girls involved in [other activities]. There were other concerns – can I miss two days of school at Harvard-Westlake?”

In the past, the singers have done choral exchanges with other high school programs or universities, clinical workshops with famous directors, sung in professional venues and attended concertss and ballets.

Feb. 11, 2009

News A7

The Chronicle

Hieatt, Van Norden to lead Alaska trip

By Erin Moy

inbrief

Sophomores allowed option to take PLAN

For the first time ever, sophomores were given the choice to take the PLAN, the ACT’s version of the PSAT, last Saturday.

An informational letter from the upper school deans was sent to parents with first quarter report cards giving students the option of taking the PLAN in addition to already having taken the PSAT. “We asked all sophomores if they wanted to do it and about 120 decided they would,” Dean Canh Oxelson said.

The test is one hour and 55 minutes long with 145 questions and four sections: english, math, reading and science.

“i want students to experience true wilderness.”

Middle and upper school students will be able to go white water rafting and camping on the first-ever school trip to Alaska this —Wendy Van Norden summer. The group will Geology teacher start in Anchorage, Alaska and will end in Denali National Park.

Throughout the trip, the group will see sites such as the Spencer Glacier and Mt. McKinley. The trip is limited to 10 students and will cost $3,050 per student. The sign up deadline is April 15, and requires a $500 deposit.Upper school science teacher Wendy Van Norden and middle school Head of Physical Education Kim Hieatt will be leading the trip from June 15 to June 25.

Van Norden has previously led backpacking trips in Alaska for the Sierra Club, a grassroots environmental organization.

After traveling to Katmai National Park in Alaska last year, Van Norden and Hieatt decided to lead a school trip.

As an Honors Geology and Geology teacher, Van Norden has led school trips to Death Valley in recent years. Even so, she feels that Alaska will be a new experience for students.

“My students think that Death Valley is a wilderness because it doesn’t have cell phone service,” Van Norden said. “I want students to experience true wilderness.”

Though Van Norden feels that students who have taken AP Environmental Science or Geology may be able to get more out of the trip, it is not a prerequisite.

Courtesy of wendy van norden

into the wild: Upper school science teacher Wendy Van Norden in Alaska on one of her trips with the Sierra Club.

“I want students with an adventurous spirit,” she said.

Van Norden hopes that there will be trips in years to come.

Her goal is for students “to have fun while seeing amazing things.”

“I want them to have an adventure,” she said.

New summer academic programs, sports camps offered on middle, upper campuses

By Emily Khaykin Registration is now open for summer school classes in advanced French, Italian, journalism, computer programming and web dedon hagopian/chronicle sign, the performing Jim Patterson arts, finance, and more. These classes are available to middle and upper school students as well as students from other schools. Along with the classes from last year, there is a new cheerleading camp, an intensive acting workship at the middle school and a two-week journalism course. In addition to new academic courses, new sports camps have been added as well.

The middle school will once again host many of the summer programs, whereas last summer, all summer programs took place at the upper school due to the con-

struction at the middle school. Upper school Dean Jim Patterson is in charge of the summer programs. In addition to many new classes, Patterson said that courses will available in “bundled class groups,” which would allowe students to groups similar courses together for a discounted price.

The Film Camp is particularly popular, Patterson said. Instructor Cheri Gaulke has, in past summers, sent in some of the videos created in the two weeks of camp to film festivals. Many of the videos have done well, despite the short time in which they were created.

There is an added performance opportunity for middle school students this summer. The new Middle School Performing Arts program is two weeks and is modeled after the summer intensive acting class at the upper school, but is much more ambitious.

“It’s very exciting,” Patterson said.

Middle school students will have the chance to participate in classes taught

by professionals in dance, choral music, acting, instrumental music, technical theatre, and improvisational acting.

Patterson says that students will be able to pick and choose particular classes or participate in all of them.

All the regular sports programs will be available with the addition of a cheerleading camp, Gold Medal Sports Camp, and a Sports Performance Camp.

All of these programs can be viewed for further information online at www. hw.com/summerprograms. The Summer Opportunities information packet that the deans have mailed out in the past, concerning camps, classes, and other programs available across the country as well as internationally, can also now be viewed online at www.hw.com/ summeropportunities. To view these, students will need to use their student login and parents can use their login and password as well. Registration for these programs began at the beginning of the month.

Bookstore associate stars in new musical ‘Pope Joan’

By Michelle Nosratian Upper school bookstore associate Allie Costa is starring as Joan in the new musical “Pope Joan,” which tells the story of a woman’s tumultuous rise to power during the Middle Ages.

Written and composed by Christopher Moore, the play is set in medieval France and Rome. It opened Jan. 16 and runs through March 22 at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood with showings Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

The heroine, Joan, feels compelled to work with the church and help the poor. However, in order to pursue her work, Joan must maintain her guise as a man, as women are not permitted to hold the same offices or receive the same level of education as men.

King Louis II of France is in a relationship with Joan but keeps her identity under wraps. She ascends through church ranks and is elected Pope.

Costa plays the younger version of Joan.

“As Young Joan, I have to be very simple and still, which is quite different from my normal high-energy

self,” Costa said. “I also get to do some pretty awesome stunts in the show.

When the townspeople turn on her – well, you’ll just have to come see the show to find out what happens.”

Pope Joan has a cast of 26 people.

“The ensemble is amazing,” Costa said. “With so many different, talented people, each person brings something special to the mix.”

Costa auditioned for the part in September the morning after the closing performance of another play she was in. She knew very little about Joan’s story when she showed up to the casting.

“Since it was a new musical, I had no idea if the music would be contemporary or classical or rock or whatnot, so I sang my heart out and hoped for the best,” Costa said. “The music and the dialogue turned out to be like the time period, more like ‘Les Misérables’ than, say, ‘Spring Awakening,’ and treated very seriously.”

She has performed in stage productions such as “Spring Awakening,” “Anything Goes,” “West Side Story,” “The Mikado” and others.

Costa was recently cast in another new musical, “Gothmas,” which she auditioned for a few hours before a “Pope Joan” matinee performance.

— Michelle Nosratian

Prefect Council initiates weekly newsletter In an effort to increase communication with the student body, the Prefect Council has begun to circulate a weekly newsletter via e-mail. The newsletter will inform students of events during breaks, clubs and activities.

— Daniel Rothberg

Debate team captain qualifies for tournament Debate team captain Sean Nadel ’09 qualified for the Tournament of Champions.

The tournament, held in May at the University of Kentucky, assembles approximately 70 of the nation’s best Lincoln-Douglas debaters. Nadel is the first ever Lincoln-Douglas style debater from Harvard-Westlake to advance to the TOC. — Alex Leichenger

Senior returns from first and last SYA in India The School Year Abroad program in India has been discontinued because of an administrative decision on the part of SYA, Director of Financial Aid and SYA representative Geoff Bird said.

Bird said that SYA officials believed the recent Mumbai terrorist attacks “caused a lot of concern.”

Danielle Naghi ’09 spent last year in India, and has returned to school this year.

SYA is trying to start a program in Vietnam for the fall.

— Hana Al-Henaid

Teacher’s mockumentary for purchase on Amazon

Courtesy of Allie Costa

An Elvis mockumentary for which middle school performing Arts teacher Foster Solomon was a co-editor and the director of photography is now available on http://www.amazon.com.

The mockumentary, entitled “We Three Kings,” follows two Elvis impersonators in their quest to find the third Elvis. The two Elvises need a third so that they can win an impersonation contest.

“I just thought the story was hysterical and I loved the idea of shooting without stopping while the actors just improvised free form,” Solomon said.

Pope allie: Bookstore associate Allie Costa is elected Pope in the new musical “Pope Joan.”

— Alice Phillips

A8 News

The Chronicle

Feb. 11, 2009

Environmental, women’s activist to address school Nader’s running mate will appear for Women’s History Month.

By Derek Schlom

Courtesy of Tiffany Jung

Eye to eye: Tiffany Jung ’06 in Gambia with a local boy. While in Gambia during summer 2007, she developed strong relationships with the locals which caused her to start her scholarship.

Graduate creates scholarship for students in Gambia

By Ellina Chulpaeff Tiffany Jung ’06 started the Gambia Scholarship for students in Gambia to pursue higher education. Jung spent three months during the summer of 2007 in Gambia representing Operation Crossroads Africa to complete the construction of a library in the village of Jambanjelly.

During her visit, Jung developed friendships with the locals and realized that many of her native friends did not do well in school.

“In their eyes, more time devoted to education meant less time to work and make money for the family,” Jung said.

Jung wanted to inspire students to learn at a higher level.

She discovered the University of Gambia and decided that creating a merit scholarship would be an incentive for many Gambian students to pursue a higher education.

Immediately after returning from her trip, Jung created a website that explained

what the scholarship would do. However, she found the process of becoming an official non-profit tax-exempt entity extremely long and time consuming. After researching other organizations, Jung found Develop Africa, a non-profit organization that shared her vision of helping advance Africa. She immediately contacted Develop Africa and added the causes of the Gambia Scholarship to the Promise of Hope Scholarship that already existed.

“In addition to having the same goals I envisioned of the scholarship, Develop Africa is extremely efficient and far-reaching,” Jung said.

According to Develop Africa’s website, to apply for the scholarship students must be currently enrolled in a college and demonstrate exceptional leadership potential.

In addition, they must have exceptional grades and provide evidence of contribution to the civic life of their communities.

Jung plans to sponsor two students within the next year, and eventually more.

A Native American activist for the rights of the environment, women and Native Americans who ran as the Green Party’s vice presidential candidate will share her experiences at the Women’s History Month assembly March 16.

Winona LaDuke was Ralph Nader’s running mate in 1996 and 2000.

“She clearly has made history as a deeply committed woman,” English and Gender Studies teacher Martha Wheelock, who organized the annual assembly, said.

“We have never hosted a Native American and I think it is about time,” Wheelock said. “As women, especially in the Native American communities, we are very close to the earth and often identify with the earth. She comes at a time on our campus where we are gaining green awareness for our school. She has addressed the issue of green jobs and ‘loving our mother Earth.’”

After graduating from Harvard University in 1982 with a degree in rural economic development, LaDuke earned a master’s in community economic development from Antioch University.

Advanced Photo III students exhibit work

By Mary Rose Fissinger Large cutouts of numbers hang above photos capturing everything from the African landscape to a deserted playground adorned the walls of the Feldman Horn Art Gallery starting Feb. 2.

The opening of the Advanced Photography III gallery drew a large crowd during break, and students from all grades as well as teachers filled the room to see student art and eat free snacks.

“I made all the kids bring their second period teachers,” Kevin O’Malley, teacher of Advanced Photography III, said with a laugh.

The exhibit was called “Clockworks,” and the concept was pretty, but allowed for artistic interpretation.

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“Each student chose one of the hours on the clock and then photographed both a.m. and p.m. images,” O’Malley said.

The task was executed in a variety of ways, each artist putting their own spin on the assignment.

Alex Fullman’s ’09 display depicted 8 o’clock.

“Being assigned 8 o’clock, I wasn’t sure how I could show everything in two pictures,” Fullman said.

He decided to take 30 or so pictures, develop them on regular 4 x 6 photo paper, and arrange them in a huge 8 that spanned a large part of the southern wall of the gallery.

He also found a poem entitled “8 o’clock” by A. G. Houseman. He posted the poem in black letters on the window.

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Involved: Winona LaDuke advocates environmental, Native American and women’s rights.

LaDuke was named Ms. Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 1997, won the Reebok Human Rights Award in 1998 for her efforts to publicize the forced sterilization of Native American women and was inducted to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007.

She currently serves as executive director of Honor the Earth, which fights to oppose the slaughter of the Yellowstone buffalo herd and to support grassroots native buffalo restoration projects.

LaDuke is also the executive director of the White Earth Land Group, an organization,which works to facilitate the recovery of the original land base of the White Earth Indian Reservation in Callaway, Minn.

LaDuke has written a novel, “Last Standing Woman,” and two non-fiction books about Native American life, “All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life” and “Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming.”

Magazine names alum’s book one of year’s best

By Candice Navi

Mary Rose Fissinger/chronicle

Time Flies: Two students look at the artwork for 7 o’clock.

Elisa Albert’s ’96 debut novel, “The Book of Dahlia,” was named the second best fiction book of 2008 in Entertainment Weekly’s December issue.

“What begins as a darkly funny novel develops quickly into a genuine tragedy, though it’s unlike any you’ve read before,” Entertainment Weekly wrote.

She has also written a collection of short stories called “How This Night is Different,” which was first published in 2006.

“The Book of Dahlia” focuses on 29 year-old Dahlia Finger who is witty and unemployed.

Dahlia is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.

“She lives in a milieu that I feel I can speak of with some authority — a dysfunction-

al, affluent Jewish family in southern California, a young adulthood in Brooklyn, and so on — but my own life is thankfully pretty different from Dahlia’s,” Albert said.

Aside from writing, Albert is a founding editor of “Jewcy,” a magazine and website with daily news and commentary with a Jewish perspective.

Albert has been an assistant creative writing professor at Columbia University since 2006. She is editing an anthology of original essays by numerous literary authors about sibling relationships along with a new novel and essays of her own. Other works

by Albert have been published in journals and anthologies such as Post Road, Washington Square, Nextbook and The Modern Jewish Girl’s Guide to Guilt.

Feb. 11, 2009

News A9

The Chronicle

Skiers enjoy 4 snow days

3 go to finals in vocal solo competition

By Drew Lash

Forty-eight students and six chaperones escaped to Mammoth Mountain over semester break to ski and snowboard for four days beginning on Jan. 23.

For the second year in a row, Ava Kofman ’10 and Sajjan Sri-Kumar ’12, along with faculty advisor, Rob Levin, organized, led and advertised for the trip.

“It snowed all four days of skiing. However, there was a blizzard to brave through on Saturday and Sunday and only light snow and comfortable clear skies on Monday and Tuesday,” Kofman said.

“Once we went into town to go ice skating and we were the only people at the rink, so we had it all to ourselves, which was pretty cool,” Jordan Gavens ’12 said.

“The trip was great — 48 great and responsible kids, 40 inches of great and responsive snow, six great but under-worked chaperones (because the kids were so responsible), and a wonderful time had by all,” Levin said.

By Lauren Seo

pHOTO BY kATIE lIM

SNOW DAY: Students ski and snowboard down a slope on Mammoth Mountain on the semester break school trip.

Emily Altschul ’09, Kat Arenella ’10 and Brandon Levin ’09 will compete in the final round of the Southern California Vocal Association vocal solo competition on March 14.

Thirteen students, eleven of whom are members of a Harvard-Westlake choir, participated in the preliminary event Jan. 10.

The event was judged by Michelle Bourque, a professional opera singer. The competition was held in a master class format, in which the singers performed and were critiqued in front of their classmates. Each participant sang one classical piece appropriate to his or her age and experience level and was given eight minutes total to perform and work with the adjudicator.

Winners will be featured in performances on May 3.

Honor Board reforms submission process from HONOR, page A1

“Some of the faculty felt that it would be beneficial to be able to have that relationship with the student, especially if it was a first time offense or it was an offense of a more minor nature,” he said.

The administration felt it could give the teachers the ability to handle minor offenses without compromising the Honor Board process, he said, but the policy could lessen the role of the Honor Board in disciplinary proceedings.

“One thing that’s unfortunate about the new policy is that I think the Honor Board is a good experience for a lot of kids,” Head Prefect Tessa Wick ’09 said.

The policy replaces an earlier experiment referred to by Huybrechts as “Honor Board Light.” The streamlined process for minor infractions, involving two Honor Board members and one faculty member, began last year when Honor Board members attended individual department meetings to investigate why teachers didn’t seem to be sending cases to the board. They discovered that some teachers preferred not to report minor infractions because

cases became time consuming and bureaucratic, Huybrechts said.

Under the new system, although punishment for minor transgressions would vary by the teacher, deans would act as a point of consistency, which wasn’t where it should have been, Salamandra said.

There have been nine cases since the policy was implemented, for a total of 10 this school year, Wick said. But chaplain Father J. Young said he saw no direct correlation.

“If you charted all the cases we’ve had in years past, they absolutely do fall around winter break and the end of the school year.”

Two cases in this onslaught, however, have set another new precedent: the recommendations made in the cases will not be released to the school community due to a breach in confidentiality, Salamandra told students in an e-mail last week. Salamandra qualified a breach as a formal leak made by someone who was “intimate with the case” other than the involved students themselves.

The normal procedure is for the Honor Board to release an anonymous

summary of events, as well as the recommended punishment, to the student body after the administration has finalized it.

“Obviously publishing a rec in anybody’s case does to some degree infringe on the confidentiality,” Young said. “So there’s a balance there that we try to strike between a person’s confidentiality versus the need for the community to know and learn from other people’s mistakes.”

Salamandra said he sent the e-mail to students because it had been “a long time” since the two cases were heard.

“Once that breach was made we needed to weigh how much it was going to affect the case,” he said. “We would like to post these things if at all possible, but at the moment we still feel like we can’t.”

“There are pieces still dangling, and not all the pieces have been put together yet,” he said.

Huybrechts said the administration was not waiting for new information.

“I’m not sure I know what [Salamandra] is talking about,” she said. “I don’t see that there are any loose ends to tie up in this particular case – I

honorboard

photos by don hagopian

“first time offenses are dealt with by the teacher rather than the honor board.”

— Tessa Wick ‘09 Head Prefect

photos by don hagopian

“I hope we make rules in a way to better meet the needs of the community.”

— Harry Salamandra Head of Upper School

graphic by daniel rothberg and alice phillips

think that there was a breach in confidentiality so we made a decision not to post them.”

Huybrechts confirmed that two leaks divulged enough information that if the anonymous recommendations were released, it would reveal the individuals involved.

It is unclear who caused that breach, although the e-mail said “confidentiality was not breached by the Honor Board.”

Going before the Honor Board ‘is a memory that doesn’t fade’

Waiting in that ventilated hall of the third floor of Seaver is what I remember most, or best, about my Honor Board experience. Most of the specifics about the actual hearing have faded in the subsequent two years, but that cool draft sending a faint shiver straight down my spine as I loitered outside the door, preparing to give my testimony, lingers in my memory.

I sat cross-legged on the off-white marble floor of third floor Seaver, tugging on the shoulder of my royal blue cable-knit sweater. My mom had suggested it this morning – “it’s a nice color,” she told me. “You shouldn’t look like a slob today.” It fit too snug around my shoulders, but I wore it anyway.

My dean stood a few feet away. It was the beginning of October of my sophomore year, and I barely knew her.

She tried her best to engage me in small talk.

“So,” she said with an audible sigh, “who are your friends?”

I rattled off a few names.

“Oh.” I returned to the sweatertugging.

Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra had pulled me out of English on Friday of the prior week and laid

his accusation on the table. I fessed up without hesitation.

He told me what would happen next: the Honor Board, comprised of the Prefect Council and faculty members, would be presented with the facts of my infraction and decide, as a formality, whether or not I had officially violated the Honor Code (which I knowingly had done, so I wasn’t exactly expecting them to disagree). A hearing would then be scheduled where the teacher and I would be questioned by the Board, with a notification of my punishment to follow in a few days.

In the interim, he told me, I should write a statement detailing the facts of the situation for the Board to look over prior to the hearing – why I did what I did and how I feel about it in hindsight. Salamandra dropped me off outside of my class, but I didn’t go in. I rushed to the bathroom and locked a stall and cried, not because I was in trouble or because I had to tell my parents, but at the thought of facing judgment from a jury of my peers. I knew them. I voted for them.

They were my age, and they would be deciding my fate.

Was my case the year’s first?

Was I that single screw-up?

I wrote my statement that

night. I was and remain immensely contrite about my actions (though at the time I was more sorry that I got caught; true remorse and shame came with maturity and perspective), but I recounted my side of the story without emotion – I just ran through the facts, the timeline, the nitty gritty.

A day or two after turning in my statement, my hearing was scheduled for after school in a Seaver classroom.

The door swung open and my teacher walked out, carrying a large folder stuffed with papers. I wasn’t aware that she had been called in first.

“Good luck in there,” she said. I could tell that she meant it.

Head Prefect Sammy McGowan called me in without looking me in the eye. My dean followed. Honor Code violators are accompanied by their deans in the hearing to serve as advocates or to provide broader viewpoints about the wrongdoer’s work ethic or personality. Since I had spoken to my dean on only three occasions, I figured she was there for moral support.

Four faculty members and eight prefects seated at desks assembled in a circle introduced themselves. A sophomore representative, a

childhood friend, said “Hi,” without lifting his head from his notes.

The preliminary questions were easy enough – I just corroborated what I had written in my statement. I said that I understood the harm my action had caused. Father J. Young looked concerned.

“Do you understand how this violates the entire community, not just your teacher and the class?”

“You mean, my teacher won’t trust any of her students anymore because of me.

Is that what you mean?”

He asked if I understood how it affected the whole community.

I had no clue what he meant. How did this have to do with anyone beyond my teacher and immediate peers?

The hearing ended after only 10 minutes of grilling.

I stopped by my dean’s office a few days later to face my punishment. I read the statement, which said that I seemed embarrassed and that I understood the impact of my actions on a small scale, but that I was too compliant, that I went along with everything they said. Was I supposed to argue with them, to stand up for myself? I simply agreed with their assessment of the infraction. Why was that a

problem?

The Honor Board had recommended, among other tasks, to “re-integrate me into the community,” a one-day in-house suspension, which would ruin my record. College and future happiness had slipped away.

But on a page stapled to the Honor Board’s recommendation, the administration disagreed with the Board’s penalty. No suspension.

Instead, I would come in on a Saturday afternoon and write a research paper about famous cases of plagiarism.

That the administration mitigated my punishment didn’t alleviate my guilt or make the experience easier or less terrifying in retrospect.

The teacher who brought the case against me worked hard to make me feel comfortable for the rest of the year. Life, as I knew it, went on without a hitch.

It’s only now, with two years of space, that I can reflect on the impact of facing the Board. My record isn’t tainted and my college changes aren’t impeded, but that cold hallway and the draft against my skin is a memory that doesn’t fade.

Author’s name withheld by request

A10 News

Reitman hosts filmmaker duo at speaker series

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

By Ester Khachatryan Two directors who cater to a young audience were guests at the second installment of Jason Reitman’s ’95 three-part speaker series on Jan. 8 for a student, faculty and alumni audience.

From the hour-long MTV show, “The Cutting Edge,” which hosted bands and soloists of alternative music, to commercials and music videos, to a feature film, “Little Miss Sunshine,” directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have made their careers entertaining youth.

The two directors trust and rely on one another in all stages of the filmmaking process, from selling their ideas to clients to directing on set, Faris said.

“We form a united front,” Faris said.

Their Oscar-winning film “Little Miss Sunshine” portrayed social and psychological problems that face youth and family relationships through the story of a girl and her family’s pursuit of her dreams.

The film consists of a series of the most ordinary events that trace the triumph of family over the status quo.

By speaking in the language of youth, Dayton and Faris expose the family “next-door” with eccentric but plausible problems.

“We love our films, we love our family. So many of these balance in [the film],” Dayton said.

Homicide occurs next to campus

Daniel Lundberg/vox

laughable: At the second installment of Jason Reitman’s ’95 three-part speaker series, he sat down with director-couple Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (from left). Dayton and Faris directed “Little Miss Sunshine.”

To keep the film realistic, certain scenes were altered for the screen, Faris said. The hospital scene, in which the family kidnaps the grandfather’s body and stows it in the trunk of the car, was changed to a less gory version in keeping with the directors’ realworld vision of the film.

In preparation for production, Dayton and Faris enrolled in acting workshops where they were exposed to director-actor relationships that helped to coordinate their “performance-driven” film, Dayton

Mapping the murder Early on New Year’s morning, and less than a block south of the school, a man was shot and killed at a New Year’s party.

By Sam Adams

The blood streamed downhill, forming a pool near St. Michael’s Church, police said.

In the opening hours of the new year, a man was shot and killed outside a house closer to Harvard-Westlake than some student parking spots.

Less than a football field’s length from school-owned homes in which teachers live, the murder occurred after an underground, pay-at-the-door New Year’s party in a foreclosed house.

“The neighborhood is a nice, quiet one,” said Dean Michele Bird, who lives in school housing with her husband, Coordinator of Financial Aid Geoff Bird.

“We don’t hear much from there but the occasional dog barking or kids playing.”

But the peaceful neighborhood was disrupted by the sound of police sirens and helicopters after three shots were fired on Jan. 1.

The shooting took place on the 3900 block of Avenida del Sol, just south of the school off Coldwater Canyon.

The scene of the crime was a vacant house that had been sold at a trustee’s sale after foreclosure in September.

The illegal party was marketed as a “Winter Wonderland” event, with fliers passed out to neighbors. A fight between two men began at about 4 a.m., resulting in the shooting of Felix Lang, a Hamilton High School and later Valley College basketball standout, by selfproclaimed bouncer Gilbert Llewelyn McDonald, police said.

There is no indication that HarvardWestlake students were at the party.

McDonald was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries resulting

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said.

The directors met at UCLA, where Dayton, then a film student, was asked to make a film with dancer Faris. A strictly collaborative relationship turned into a romance and a marriage with three children.

Dayton and Faris said that they try to work as little as possible, but work hard when an extraordinary project presents itself.

“Passion is one of the greatest tools of film,” the three directors agreed.

Ted Slavin Field Hamilton Gym Lower St. Michael’s Parking Lot

CRIME SCENE: 3949 Avenida del Sol graphic by alexia boyarsky and shayna Freisleben

from the altercation, where he was apprehended by police. He has since been charged with murder and has gone through preliminary hearings.

Christopher Darden, the assistant prosecutor during the O.J. Simpson murder trial more than a decade ago, is representing the defendant.

“Surprising enough, neither I nor my dogs heard the gunshot or even the party,” performing arts teacher Christoper Michael Moore said.

Moore, the faculty member who lives closest to the site of the altercation, was interviewed by police during the initial investigation.

The murder, described as an “isolated incident” by LAPD North Hollywood Homicide Detective Thomas Townsend, nonetheless reflects a rise in crime rates in the local area. Robberies have in-

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creased by 138 percent in the past year and shots fired have spiked by 700 percent in the North Hollywood precinct, according to police statistics.

Members of the school’s security team monitor local crime information to better protect students and faculty.

“If there is a burglary problem in the neighborhood, we discover as much information as we can so the problem doesn’t affect Harvard-Westlake,” Head of Security Jim Crawford said. “We are aware of car thefts in the area, and we get suspect descriptions. We do not want any of our students to walk to their vehicle and confront a car thief, so we are diligent in monitoring the outside areas.”

The security team maintains a neighborhood presence at night, but focuses on on-campus safety, Crawford said.

Speaker to discuss nutrition for athletes

By Sade Tavangarian

Ellen Coleman, winner of the 1994 Sports Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition Achievement Award and 1995 California Dietetic Association Award, will talk about sports nutrition at a March 12 event sponsored by the Black and Red Club.

Coleman is a dietician and exercise physiologist in Riverside and was the nutrition columnist for “Sports Medicine Digest” for over 20 years. She currently lectures extensively on the dietary needs of athletes and active people.

She is also a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and has written several books such as “Ultimate Sports Nutrition.”

The Black and Red Club Vice President Dave Kenney (Chris Kenney ’10) said “she is one of the leading sports-related nutritionists in the country.”

Coleman will speak about the “Performance Orientated Nutrition for the High School Athlete.”

“Originally we thought it would be only for the parents of upper and middle school students. However, I am getting a lot of interest from parents wanting their kids to have the option of attending the event,” Kenney said. Coleman will speak from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The event is open to all high school athletes and parents interested in improving their nutrition.

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Feb. 11, 2009

News A11

The Chronicle

Geology trip takes students to Death Valley

By Austin Block Eighteen Geology students and one Geology Honors student spent their semester break hiking, running and tumbling down sand dunes, observing and learning about their surroundings and camping out in Death Valley as a part of the first Geology trip of the year.

Each Geology student is required to go on one of the three Geology trips that happen during the year, and the recently completed trip lasted from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27. The remaining two trips will take place from March 7 to March 9 and from March 21 to March 23.

The trip was led by Geology teacher Wendy Van Norden and Director of Studies Deborah Dowling.

Van Norden also conducts a Geology Honors trip, though Geology Honors students can go on the Geology trips and vice versa if necessary.

The group traveled by bus and stopped at Vasquez Rocks, the San Andreas Fault, Fossil Falls and Red Rock Canyon on the way to Death Valley. They arrived in Death Valley by the end of the first day, spent the second day there and returned home on the third day, stopping at a ghost town and sand dunes and hiking up a canyon.

Van Norden said that at each stop she gave a “rock talk,” where the students would learn about “the geological processes responsible for forming the area.”

After the lectures, “we just get a chance to play,” Van Norden said.

“For example, I will discuss the formation and migration of sand dunes, but then we climb up and roll down sand dunes, just because it is fun,” Van Norden

photo by Deborah Dowling

on the rocks: Geology teacher Wendy Van Norden teaches students on the semester break geology field trip to Death Valley. All geology students are required to attend at least three geology field trips during the year. said.

At night the group camped out and cooked with a campfire.

The students had to stay in tents due to rain and observe the Red Rock Canyon area from inside the bus due to strong winds on the first day.

“I definitely enjoyed the hike to the giant sand

dune, but the best part was running down it on the way back to the bus,” Emilia Louy ’11 said.

Van Norden said these trips are important for Geology students because “geology is so much more real and interesting if you are there in person…students can take what they have learned in class and see it in the real world.”

’97 valedictorian stars on ‘Survivor’

By Cathi Choi On “Survivor,” most people put up with the backstabbing, isolation from society and extreme outdoor conditions because of the million dollar cash incentive, but Stephen Fishbach ’97, Harvard-Westlake valedictorian and a Yale University graduate, had a different motivation.

Fishbach is one of the contestants on the new season of “Survivor” in Brazil, premiering tomorrow, and he saw this show as a great experience that could help his writing. Fishbach is “a struggling writer,” he said.

“I think that anyone in writing is trying to capture something of human experience, right?” Fishbach said. “And that’s sort of why I was so excited about going on ‘Survivor’ – I thought it would really broaden my understanding of human beings.”

The cash prize, he said, was intriguing, but he never thought he had a real chance at winning it.

“I was just excited to have this extreme experience and meet really interesting people,” Fishbach said.

Being on a reality show was never a part of Fishbach’s long-term plans.

When he was first approached about being on the show, he was apprehensive.

“My first instinct was absolutely not to do it,” he said. “I always thought the people who did these TV shows were sort of dumb. You can’t control your own image or the path ahead of you.”

From the footage Fishbach has seen, he thinks that the show might portray him as an outsider, a role he was nervous about falling into because of his educational rap sheet. His Yale degree, he suspected, would immediately position him into being an outsider, as he had seen in past seasons of “Survivor.”

“There was an idea that somehow this Ivy League education would enable them to backstab everybody, pull some special Ivy maneuver out of their back and destroy all the competitors,” Fishbach said. “So I always thought that going in, and I think that’s the way I’m going to look on the screen.”

He did benefit from his educa-

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tion, he said, specifically his study of English. Former English teacher Phil Holmes probably never expected his lectures on the power of rhetoric in AP English Language would help Fishbach navigate successfully through a Tribal Council on “Survivor,” but it did.

“The host asks really probing questions, and I definitely thought that going into the game speaking well would be a good skill to have – knowing what information to emphasize and what to withhold,” Fishbach said. “The host asks really probing questions and you want to be able to answer these questions while also evading them in a certain way to not incriminate yourself.”

Because of contractual obligations, Fishbach wasn’t allowed to go into details about what he has been doing after “Survivor.”

He was, however, allowed to talk a little about tomorrow.

“I’m having a ‘Survivor’ premiere viewing with my friends and family, Fishbach said. “Hopefully they won’t be ridiculing me that much.”

Monty Brinton/CBS

i will survive: Stephen Fishbach ’97, the valedictorian of his class, is starring in this season of the reality show ‘Survivor.’

School to implement more ALICE training for students

By Spencer Gisser Sophomores, seniors, Peer Support trainees and leaders and faculty members are being considered as candidates for training under the ALICE system, a security procedure for handling oncampus shootings. Head of CJL Security Inc. Jim Crawford, Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church, counselor Luba Bek, Assistant to the Head of Upper School Michelle Bracken and Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra met on Feb. 5 to discuss the implementation of the ALICE system.

Prefects who had evaluated the ALICE system said that the ALICE training program is “a valuable exercise,” Salamandra said.

The program might be streamlined, Salamandra said, mentioning

the length of the prefects’ four-hour training session. Because the prefects found the program useful, the meeting “was just to set up a plan to bring awareness and information to as many people as possible,” Salamandra said.

In brainstorming how to effectively train as many people as possible, “we were going to look into training faculty,” but now instead consider training the trainees in Peer Support, Salamandra said. Peer Support leaders will be trained on Monday, Feb. 23, according to Peer Support Coordinator Annie Belfield ’09.

Trained Peer Support leaders would be expected to train members of their individual groups on their Monday night sessions. Other ALICE training sessions could include Sophomore Orientation Day and Senior Seminars.

A12 News

Senior reporter interviews stars at Grammys

The Chronicle

Feb. 11, 2009

Sarah Tither-Kaplan ’09 interviewed Taylor Swift and chatted with Paul McCartney.

By Julie Barzilay At the 51st Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Taylor Swift rushed through the aisles to join Miley Cyrus on the brightly-lit satellite stage in the middle of Staples Center. Hours earlier, Sarah Tither-Kaplan ’09 stood face to face with Swift in the Staples dressing room, executing an interview she had anticipated for weeks.

Later in the ceremony, Coldplay apologized to Sir Paul McCartney for “borrowing” the Sergeant Pepper-inspired costumes the group donned for the show. A day earlier, Tither-Kaplan observed the very same Chris Martin as he bounded eagerly across the stage with Jay-Z, laughing, announcing how nervous he was, and, according to Tither-Kaplan, evaluating his chances of making it big on “American Idol.” The verdict? He thinks he has the wrong cheekbones to build a substantial fanbase.

In a way, Sarah Tither-Kaplan ’09’s backstage pass at the Grammys was the result of two years of travel and toil in the music industry. She started out writing reviews for music websites, then began snapping shots and doing interviews at festivals. Next she founded the promotional team for the band Josephine Collective, which grew from zero to 600 members in the course of a year. Her next stop was 2008 summer Grammy Camp, where she worked with professional music journalist Steve Baltin. Baltin offered TitherKaplan the chance to put her journalistic skills to the ultimate test as a Grammy reporter.

During her 11-hour days at the Staples Center

Courtesy of Sarah tither-Kaplan

high note: Sarah Tither-Kaplan ’09 records at Grammy camp last summer (left); she collected her press badges from the events she has covered (right). last week, Tither-Kaplan was granted full-fledged interviews with Katy Perry and Taylor Swift (who she deemed “a sweetie”), saw U2 perform their “epic” new song and witnessed the “adorable” collaboration between the Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder come to fruition in rehearsals. She also attended Grammy Career Day at USC and sang along at the Grammy’s Person of the Year event honoring Neil Diamond.

During the telecast of the Grammys, Tither-Kaplan sat with other print reporters and interviewed winners from the pre-telecast show. As the night wore on, winners meandered into her room, enabling Tither-Kaplan to have lengthy conversations with the likes of Paul McCartney and Robert Plant.

Tither-Kaplan’s interviews and reviews of Grammy performances will be published on Grammy.com while her in-depth pieces will be featured on AOL Music.com. There is already a snippet about Taylor Swift by Tither-Kaplan at http://www.bered. com/2009/02/09/taylor-swift-talks-about-grammyperformance-with-miley-cyrus/. While seeing the band that ignited her love of music, Blink 182, reunite at the Grammys was a major highlight, her favorite performance was actually an impromptu one by John Mayer, Buddy Guy, BB King and Keith Urban. In rehearsal, Mayer was making fun of King for forgetting

the lyrics to the song they were playing, a tribute to Bo Diddley. King made a casual remark that “that line fools me every time” – and when you get four renowned musicians together in a gargantuan arena, a throwaway phrase transforms into a full-fledged original song. Mayer improvised lyrics, King played lead guitar and a unique moment of artistic creation presented itself to an awe-struck Tither-Kaplan.

“I was one of the only people in the world to ever hear that song,” she said.

Tither-Kaplan said she had to work hard to keep her cool in the presence of her idols.

“When you’re on a red carpet or in a press room, you never know who you are going to wind up standing in front of,” she said. “My world revolves around music, and having to speak coherently to one of the artists whose music has become so much a part of my life is definitely a challenge.”

Tither-Kaplan “definitely” wants to continue to work in the music industry, she said, but before she figures out whether her path will involve journalism she needs to decompress from this weekend.

“It was a really grueling but a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said. “I came in so star-struck, but by the end I was really comfortable with it. These artists are real people, and to get a glimpse of their real personalities is fascinating.”

features

A13 The Chronicle Harvard-Westlake School Volume XVIII Issue 5 February 11, 2009

Skipping Semiformal Students ditch Semiformal to spend time other ways.

By Ashley Halkett While many of their peers were dressing up and preparing for a Casino Royale Semiformal, Joey Meyer ’09 and Sean Kesluk ’09 enjoyed a very different kind of night. The two friends opted against the dance, choosing instead to go out for sushi and arcade games before returning home to watch the Australian Open final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Neither have any regrets.

“If I’m going to spend all that money on clothing, tickets, a limo, why would it be to pretend I’m having fun?” Kesluk said, shrugging. “It’s not worth it. I can spend 20 bucks on movie tickets and have a better time.”

Meyer agreed wholeheartedly, although for him money wasn’t the main concern.

“The actual Semiformal is like a bar mitzvah, and I’ve been to a lot of those,” Meyer said. “And there’s no Pepsi 7­-Up game, and that’s my favorite part.”

Meyer and Kesluk are just two of many students that decided well in advance not to attend the dance, held at the Sheraton Universal on Jan. 31 from 8 to 11 p.m. Roughly 800 students attended the dance, according to Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church, while 28 percent of upper school students reported in an online survey that they did not go to semiformal, with the majority listing money or lack of entertainment as their main concern.

The latter was the case for Caroline Groth ’10 and six of her friends, all of whom saw no compelling reason to attend the function. As an alternative they went to Koi in West Hollywood for dinner in a limo, since at Semiformal “there is not much of a theme or much to do other than dance,” Groth said. Groth also said that she would probably go if there were not a lockdown. The lockdown at the Semiformal every year requires students to stay at the hotel for a designated period of time. This year, attendees were not allowed into the dance after 9 p.m. and were prohibited from leaving before 10:30. Raeye Daniel ’09, who also decided against Semiformal in favor of a small get-together with friends at Marty Jackson’s

ashley halkett/chronicle

guns and roses: Joey Meyer ’09 and Sean Kesluk ’09 play games at an arcade instead of Semiformal.

’09 house.

“The lockdown keeps people from really wanting I didn’t go to Semiformal to go. Why are we forced to These four girls all decided to spend on Saturday in and spent.... stay?” Daniel said. “If the different ways: atmosphere and the music Girl #3 Girl #1 Girl #2 were better, more $60 dinner people would want to stay $50 limo dress $2,000 voluntarily.” dress $100 shoes One group of sophomores $600 total: shoes $80 and juniors went to a makeup $250 Katy Perry concert and $80 limo hair $100 the afterparty instead of Girl #4 $50 semiformal ticket limo $80 attending the dance. hair $50 concert ticket $40 Some students feel that nails $60 afterparty ticket $10 dinner $40 the dance is primarily for $40 afterparty ticket $40 afterparty ticket younger kids. Kimberly $25 nails boutonniere $40 Wang ’09, who experienced total: total: her first Harvard-Westlake total: semiformal this year, said that she went because her graphic by jordan freisleben friends wanted to have a reunion limo. have as a class, besides Grad Night,” Daniel said. “I “It was fun hanging out with my friends and doing wouldn’t miss it for the world.” it for one last time, but high school dances get old Despite his determination not to attend the after awhile,” she said. semiformal dance, Meyer reached the same However much students may dislike Semiformal, conclusion. in the end high school dances have still managed to “I don’t want to become one of those guys who retain their title as an integral part of the high school never went to their senior prom and have to live experience — or at least Prom has. vicariously through others because they missed out “It’s my senior year and I feel like Prom is sort on a classic childhood memory,” Meyer said sincerely, of that last bonding experience that we are going to before breaking out into a smile.

Fast Fashion

By Carly Radist

The music is blaring from the speakers, the lights are flashing down the runway. Models stream down the aisle, decked in clothes that look perfectly put together. These models are cohesively dressed, with the right accessories and shoes. As they turn that corner and disappear, only to reappear in a couple of minutes, a new outfit will emerge, looking as though they effortlessly threw it on. However, those crucial minutes, sometimes only 45 seconds, are filled with frantic people trying to dress the models in order to send them back on the runway.

Rebecca Weinstein ’09, a dresser at these runway shows, performs the “quick change” behind the scenes, a vital job for these fashion shows.

“Backstage is absolutely wild,” Weinstein said. “The second the techno music comes on, everyone offstage launches into work mode.”

Weinstein has been involved with fashion shows since last year’s Grammy Awards. Her first show was a PreGrammy Special Buyers show at Saks Fifth Avenue. This was a test run for Weinstein, set up by an event planner for fashion shows that got her involved with helping out backstage. She came into contact with this woman through a friend of a friend, landing the job after

Paying for Semiformal

$110

$3,170

$415

$100

Rebecca Weinstein ’09 must work quickly behind the scenes when she volunteers for fashion shows.

e-mailing her and expressing her love of fashion and a previous internship at a clothing manufacturer.

“I got involved because I really do love fashion and I would love to work in this type of industry some day,” she said. “I figured any experience is good experience and it has been an incredible journey so far.”

Weinstein’s job isn’t to simply dress her model for the night. It entails preparation and cleanup. She must steam the clothing when she arrives at the venue and after the show has begun, she must be prepared for her model to exit the runway to change her outfit.

This quick change means that she has about 45 seconds to redress her model, which is not easy because the clothes are often more intricate than everyday wear. In addition, with a larger show, she usually will have more than one model to dress. She must make sure that everything is coordinated; double checking that the model has the right shoes and accessories on. Once the show is over, she has to pack up all of the clothes and accessories so that they can go back to the designer.

She has worked plenty of shows since her first, including a Teen Vogue Fashion Live show and her favorite, the Macy’s Passport show. She usually works on the weekends, realizing that the weekdays are too stressful with

catherine choi/chronicle

runway ready: Rebecca Weinstein ’09 dresses a mannequin in her costume design class. Weinstein is one of six students who take the class. school work. In addition, Weinstein gets paid for each show that she works at. Usually shows don’t last for much longer than a weekend. However, she has participated in bigger shows that are multiple days in a row with hours from 6 to 11 p.m or 5 to 10 p.m.

Backstage during the fashion show, tensions run high as dressers and other various workers scramble to keep the show running. When a model walks off the runway, dressers start tearing their clothes off, Weinstein explains.

Depending on the size of the show,

there can be around 15 to 40 dressers.

“If you can’t move quickly, you can’t do the job,” she said. “It’s the best combination of stress and fun possible.”

Besides getting to participate in an industry which she is passionate about, Weinstein’s favorite part is meeting all the people she gets to work with. The dressers range from 22 to 40 years old, much older than Weinstein. Most of them have gone to fashion school and are people she would have never met if she hadn’t gotten involved.

A14 Features

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

courtesy of amy dominguez

courtesy of Chris Turner

barack the mall: Chris Turner ’09 (left) stands in front of the Capitol Building while Obama gives his speech. Jon O’Hara ’10 (top right) camps out on the

Day at the Mall

By Dana Glaser

At first he thought it was just junk mail, the kind that floods mailboxes after the PSATs, offering educational conferences, summer programs and fine print. This letter was from a program called Lead America – just the type of letter Jon O’Hara ’10 usually threw away. But he decided to read this particular one. He found he was invited to the inauguration of the 44th President.

As students flooded the campus on the morning of Jan. 20, armed with sweats, pens and pencils and a semester’s worth of history notes, O’Hara, along with Bridget Golob ’10, Chris Turner ’09, Jonathan Lawson ’09, Charlie Mischer ’10, Tennyson Turner ’10, Catherine Wang ’11, Upper School Dean Cahn Oxelson and Upper School History teacher Ken Neisser, were on the other side of the country, scattered among millions in Washington D.C. to witness the inauguration of the first African American president.

“My parents decided to go before Obama was even elected,” Lawson said, “because they knew he might be the first black president.”

Golob, who was leaning toward Senator John McCain, also arranged to attend the inauguration because even before the results were in, she believed it was a “a great election,” with the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama making history before the election even started, she said.

O’Hara had volunteered for Obama’s campaign, phone banking and recruiting door-to-door volunteers.

Because his parents were fundraisers for Obama’s campaign, Lawson was able to get tickets, which allowed him to watch the inauguration ceremony from beyond the barrier, while the rest had to tough it out in the crowds. Several students, like O’Hara, were invited to the inauguration by programs run for students.

Neisser had “multiple levels of interest” in the inauguration, he said, because not only is his wife African-American, but his sister-in-law had worked with First Lady Michelle Obama in healthcare for over 10 years.

They decided before the election that if Obama won, they would hold a family reunion in Washington D.C. “We had family members in from Chicago and London and Ohio and Boston and New York,” he said, “so at the very least it was going to be a family reunion, and it turned out to be a great deal more.”

“It was my third and final opportunity,” Oxelson said. He had considered going to the Democratic convention or President Obama’s acceptance speech in Grant Park, but hadn’t been able to.

Golob, Turner and Wang were three of 7,500 students participating in the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. They received invitations because they were alumni of summer programs called National Young Leaders State Conference. O’Hara never knew for sure why he got his letter – it could have been his PSAT scores, he said, or someone, possibly a

courtesy of bridget golob

Mall waiting for the Inauguration to begin. Bridget Golob ’10 (bottom right) shows her patriotism by waving a flag on the Mall.

Members of the Harvard-Westlake community attended the Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol.

teacher, had recommended him.

Golob, Turner and Wang arrived in D.C. several days before the inaugural ceremony to attend a speaker series at University of Maryland just for their program.

The two day series included a line up of pundits and politicians including former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu.

During one speech Turner thought he recognized the girl sitting in front of him.

“We recognized each other even though we don’t have mutual friends. I wasn’t going to say anything,” he said. “But then she turned and she said ‘don’t you go to Harvard-Westlake?’” It was Golob.

They all converged at the national mall early on the chill, bright Tuesday morning of the inauguration. Even Lawson, who had tickets, woke at six and braved a two hour line to get to his seats. It was 10 degrees outside.

Turner made it his business to weave through the crowd to get as close as physically possible. When he and his friends came up on the police patrolled barrier at 3rd street, they held up the PYIC slung around their necks as if they were tickets – and they passed.

“I actually got in front of the reflecting pool,” he said.

Neisser had doubted whether he would be able to attend the ceremony, even with tickets. He was staying in Virginia and was told clearly that it might be impossible, with all of the human traffic, to get into Washington D.C. “We were really lucky,” he said. “If any of our logistics had failed like planes or pickups I’d probably be singing a different song.”

After a couple hours of waiting, each watched – all except Lawson – with the aid of television screens to magnify the doll-like figures on the distant podium – as President Barack Obama was inaugurated with a bit of a fumble, to tears and uproarious applause.

“At the moment I thought ‘he’s actually president now’,” Lawson said. “I just want to see what he does, if he’s exceptional or if he’ll be just like every other president.”

Around them, people reacted in drastically different ways, celebrating, dancing and singing with strangers around them or taking an introspective moment to pray or cry, alone among the 2 million people in the mall, Oxelson said.

“I cried a little bit, and I celebrated a lot,” he said.

As soon as Yale Professor Elizabeth Alexander dipped in to the first lines of her poem “Praise Song for the Day,” the masses began to move. It took an hour and a half to walk two blocks because of the human traffic, O’Hara said. The police would not release the restrictions, so Golob and her friends followed the crowds, climbing over walls and trekking over shut down highways.

“We just walked up a freeway ramp” she said. “It was crazy.”

They left the next day, returning to sunshine and midterms.

long distance Those unable to attend the Inauguration in Washington D.C. experienced the event from home. The Inauguration was also broadcasted at school before the history midterms.

chronicle.hw.com “Witnessing History” Catherine Wang ‘11 blogs about her experience attending the Inauguration "I Tivo'd it and watched it at home with my sisters. I thought it was a really good speech; it sent the right message that the country needs."

don hagopian/chronicle

— Riley Guerin ‘11 "My parents weren't sure that they would ever see a black president. they were kids when the Civil Rights legislations were passed — the world they grew up in was a lot less united than it is now."

don hagopian/chronicle

—Jessica Marot ’09 infographic by marni barta

Feb. 11, 2009

Features A15

The Chronicle

Lunch Bunch

photo illustration by drew lash all photos by drew lash and lauren seo/chronicle

The

much more than a hunch: (clockwise from top left) Allan Sasaki, Wendy Van Norden, Ted Walch, Arthur Tobias, James Patterson, Vanna Cairns, Shannon Acedo and John Luebtow.

A group of teachers has eaten lunch together since the mid-1990s.

On Wednesdays, there’s dessert.

By Lauren Seo

I

t was fourth period on the first day of school, and Shannon Acedo, the then-new Head Upper School Librarian, couldn’t find a familiar face in the crowd of hungry adolescents. Venturing out into the Chalmers quad, however, she noticed a table seemingly overflowing with teachers.

As she set her green lunch tray down on the table, she was greeted by welcoming smiles and a chorus of “hellos” along with what she called “a genuine group dynamic”.

Although she didn’t know it then, this fourth period lunch group had been eating together since the mid-90s. Now, a year and a half later, Acedo is a member of the group.

Regulars include science teacher Wendy Van Norden, Performing Arts teacher Ted Walch, Dean James Patterson, Dean Vanna Cairns, Visual Arts teacher John Luebtow, Visual Arts teacher Arthur Tobias, Foreign Language teacher Allan Sasaki and Mathematics teacher Suzanne Lee. In addition to the core group, other teachers occasionally stop by to lunch.

“It’s a very welcoming group, and the variety in departments keeps me updated on what happens in other departments,” Tobias said.

As teachers share an office with their own department, Acedo said having lunch with other teachers from other departments was a great way for her to get to know the school as a whole.

“People are often with their departments,” she said. “You hang out with your department, you have offices with your department.

But at lunch it’s all the different departments together, and that’s very nice.”

Tobias agreed with the benefits of having lunch with faculty from different departments, as it provides a variety of conversational topics.

“We talk about everything from the real serious science stuff to just telling the dumbest jokes you can think of,” he said.

Tobias also added that the group prides itself on its off-limits approach to discussing colloquial subject matter.

“Although, of course, certain things are off limits,” he said with a grin.

Lauren seo/chronicle

party of seven: Lisa Rado, David Hinden and Malina Mamigonian join regulars Arthur Tobias, Suzanne Lee and Wendy Van Norden for fourth period lunch.

Most students don’t know that faculty are provided with lunch cards, and are contractually obligated to lunch in the student area.

However, as scheduled meetings with students and fellow teachers may conflict with lunch time, it is unusual to see this large a congregation of lunching teachers.

Although one table in the quad is meant to comfortably seat five, the lunch group occupies every available seat as well as the posts, seating up to a dozen at a single table.

Tobias, who has been teaching at HarvardWestlake since 1989, said there was never an official beginning to the group.

“At some point in the past the same bunch of us noticed each other and said, ‘hey, didn’t we eat lunch together last year, and the year before that?’” he said laughing.

Sasaki was also surprised that the group has had the same period free together for such a long time.

“It’s kind of odd that it was scheduled that way,” he said. “But we’ve gotten to know each other a lot more than one would expect.”

Since the group’s beginning, informal traditions have been developed and upheld, such as the addition of a dessert day on Wednes-

days.

Members take turns bringing various desserts, such as the homemade cookies Acedo brought last Wednesday, and share them with their colleagues.

A set of serving implements, including a silver cake server and knife, donated to the group by former math teacher and “lunch bunch” past regular James O’Connor, is given to the person whose turn it is that week. After the lunch, it is then that person’s responsibility to clean up the utensils and put them in the faculty mailbox of next week’s designated server.

This year, the group has started a new tradition of doing their part for the environment by eating from ceramic bowls and plates. Most use ceramic bowls made by Tobias himself, except for Luebtow, who brings the ones he made on his own.

While 10:30 a.m. might seem like an early time to eat lunch, Tobias said it is probably essential that the group is full of early risers who exercise early in the morning as well.

“There is a real camaraderie here among people who normally wouldn’t see each other during the day,” he said. “It’s nice.”

The Ch

roads less travele A16 Features

Wednesday, F

Auditioning for college acceptances

By Jamie Kim

A

t the beginning of fifth period, Caroline Chien ’09 begins to unpack a cello on the bottom floor of Chalmers. In a small practice room labeled Studio 2 usually reserved for small jazz sectionals, Chien practices for two straight periods. On her stand rests a pile about an inch thick of sheet music. Bach solo suites, the Haydn Concerto in C Major and Piatti caprices round out the repertoire she has prepared over the course of a year. Chien actually doesn’t need any of the papers; she plays from memory.

Even if she doesn’t need more practice, Chien is willing to put in the extra time because she will spend the next two weeks flying all across the country for eight live conservatory auditions.

Chien, along with Andy Alden ’09, Jack McFadden-Talbot ’09 and Liam Allman ’09, is among a relatively small group of students who has applied to art schools or music conservatories.

While the rest of their peers have already finished their applications, Alden, Chien and McFadden-Talbot still have audition­­s ahead of them.

Although accredited art or music schools offer liberal arts classes, usually based in the humanities, they often have limited academic requirements.

The audition is often the most crucial part of an application.

Chien, Alden, McFadden-Talbot and Allman all see music or art as playing a big part in their futures. But all have applied to other colleges in addition to conservatories or art schools, and none have decided that they will absolutely attend a conservatory. They agree that there are pros and cons to both conservatories and colleges.

“In my case, the biggest plus [to a conservatory education] is that I’m going to be surrounded by a lot of talented musicians,” Alden said.

Alden, who was accepted early action to Yale last December, has applied to Harvard and the New England Conservatory. If he is accepted to both

schools, he may choose to participate in a five-year dual program to earn two degrees, one in composing, and one in biology, his primary academic interest.

“If I went purely to a conservatory, I would miss out on a well-rounded academic experience, and the possibility of studying other subjects,” he said. “[Yale] is a fine way to go, it’s just that conservatories tend to be more careeroriented for performers. But me, not primarily being a performer, I think it’s easier, or potentially a better idea to go to an academic institution.”

Allman also seeks balance between intellectual and musical education.

“Ultimately, I’ve only applied to art schools where I think I can get a decent liberal arts education, because I still want that college experience,” he said.

Allman said he is only looking for his best fit.

“I loath to say I’m professionally oriented,” he said. “However, the fields of art that I’m interested in — animation, for instance — are fairly commercial, so I don’t think I would do as well in the industry if I had had a lot of psychology or English. Frankly, I just don’t think that the levels of education [at an art school versus a liberal arts college] can quite compare,” he said.

McFadden-Talbot has a slightly different take. For him, the biggest benefit of attending a conservatory is the opportunity to devote himself completely to music. “[Right now], because I have to juggle academics, composition and violin, I end up not being able to spend as much time as I want on each thing,” he said. “What I should be able to do is have a four hour chunk for violin and a four hour chunk for composition built into my day, but that’s just not the way it works. At a conservatory, I would get that opportunity.”

McFadden-Talbot described the amount of work he’s done on his eight conservatory applications as “pretty ludicrous.” Since he wants to study both composition and violin, he sub-

mitted separate applications for each school. He, like Chien, has eight live auditions to complete this month.

McFadden-Talbot has prepared the violin repertoire for his conservatory auditions for about a year.

Allman began preparing his art portfolios, compilations of about 20 slides on average, last November, but the art was the outcome of years of work.

Although some students who have applied to art and music school would strongly disagree, Upper School Dean Beth Slattery, who helped two students apply to art and music schools this year, believes that while the application process may be slightly longer than for universities, it is not necessarily more arduous or complicated.

“Conservatories require auditions, but many places don’t require essays,” she said. “If anything, I actually think it’s more straightforward because you either pass the audition, or you don’t.

Of course, for the deans, that’s hard to predict because it’s based on talent and ability.”

Slattery said that, depending on the type of school, the emphasis put on academic record relative to an applicant’s music record will vary.

A conservatory within a larger university, like the University of South California’s Thornton School of Music, focuses more on academic record than small college-level conservatories such as Juilliard.

Juilliard states on its website, “Transcripts are reviewed to determine the general background of an applicant…

There are no specific courses, GPAs, or class rank required.

The greatest importance is placed on the required audition in which the student performs in front of Juilliard faculty.”

“They just don’t want someone who has no academic record at all. It would be difficult for them to keep up at any school,” Chien said.

At the same time, she thinks no conservatory will stress academic record more than the audition.

At a gla

don hagopian/chronicle

Jack McFadden-Talbot

The deadlines for natives to the typ can college proce

Octobe don hagopian/chronicle

Andy Alden ’09

Application dea overseas applica

$25 application, p test for field of stu

February don hagopian/chronicle

Caroline Chien ’09

Regular decision ap deadline

Teacher recommend portfolio

April

Admission decision don hagopian/chronicle

Liam Allman ’09

sources: www.m

hronicle

ed

A17 Features

Feb. 11, 2009

Some seniors are considering an atypical college experience. Artists and musicians are looking at conservatories while others apply abroad.

Oxford: no formal classes

By Hannah Rosenberg and Catherine Wang

ance:

photo illustration by Lauren Seo and Candice Navi Art by dana glaser, hannah Rosenberg and Cathi Choi

the application process

three alterpical Ameriess.

Graphic by Candice Navi

St. Andrews in Scotland (foreign) Maryland Institute College of Art (art) New England Conservatory (music)

December

adline for ants

Application deadline

pplication

dations and

ns mailed

Opting for college abroad

By Drew Lash

er

placement udy

Walking down the cobblestone streets in Oxford with a suitcase the size of a refrigerator, incoming freshman Cody Cohen ’05 arrived at Merton College for the first day of university. Walking up to check-in, Cohen was advised to use his real name, David, instead of his current nickname, Cody, short for his middle name, Dakota.

After helping him register, the student council representative, named James, asked Cohen, “Why don’t you just change your name and go by David? I used to go

by Jimmy and once I got here, I changed to James.”

Cohen, who said he had “terrible grades but good test scores” in high school, was inspired to apply to Oxford by fellow Chronicle staff member Penn Lawrence ’04, who told him that he wouldn’t get into American universities because of his grades, but that his test scores could get him into Oxford.

Cohen randomly picked Merton College, one of 30 colleges at Oxford, which he now calls “a bad choice” since it was “one of the most academic, a lot of work but a really tight-knit community.”

His favorite thing about going to school in Oxford, where he graduated last June, was that he didn’t have to attend class.

Although the university did provide lectures, attending was not mandatory, he said.

Instead, he and up to four other students met with a tutor for an hour once

artistic resume, repertoire list, prescreening tape

March Live audition at campus

Admissions decision sent

Admission decisions mailed

mica.edu, www.st-andrews.ac.uk and www.newenglandconservatory.edu InfoGraphic by Lauren Seo and Candice Navi

a week to be assigned an essay question and a list of 10 to 20 books that could be read to help with the essay. He would have a week to Alex Leichenger/chronicle produce a 2,000 David Cohen ’05 word essay and meet with the tutor to “hear what was wrong with it” and get another assignment. This method of learning allowed Cohen to work during the day and hang out with friends at night.

“It’s pretty pretentious,” Cohen said of the lifestyle in England. “Everyone there is very studious.”

Now at the Annenberg Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Southern California pursuing a master’s degree in journalism, Cohen is the opinion editor for the online newspaper, Neon Tommy, which will be officially published within the next week.

Cohen is also studying Chinese with the idea of working as a journalist in China.

“What occurred to me is I really don’t like sitting down, I need a job where I will be on my feet,” he said.

He recommends going to college abroad instead of taking a year abroad.

“If you want to experience culture in a certain country, taking a year abroad just shows what it is like to live in a country if only American people lived there,” he said. “Moving there is the best way to experience the culture of a country.”

C

harlotte Abrams ’09 likes nothing more than playing golf. The chance for her to go to college at the birthplace of the sport was almost irresistible. The history and beauty of the University of St. Andrews inspired her both athletically and academically. The chance to pursue her passions for golf, international adventure and higher education has led her to apply to one of the United Kingdom’s oldest and most prestigious schools.

“I could take my chances and try out for a Division I walk-on spot [at an American school], or I could go to St. Andrews, where the golf club, or ‘society’ as they call it, is the largest in the entire school,” Abrams said. “All levels can play and compete. Eventually, I could even play in more competitive tournaments all over Europe. Obviously, golf was invented in St. Andrews and the facilities are out of this world.”

However, the location of St. Andrews and its golf opportunities were not the only points on Abrams’ college checklist.

“Honestly, the fact that the college is in another country is only one aspect of the school that I found appealing. It just worked out that the school was located in Scotland,” Abrams said. “What really sold me was that one-third of the student body is from outside the U.K.—no American college or university and few other universities in the world offer such an international student body. I hope to major in International Relations, so it made sense.”

The cultural and academic traditions of St. Andrews and other British universities are steeped in history. Founded in 1413, the University of St. Andrews grew to contain three colleges by the midsixteenth century and is located a short train ride away from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Another school in the United Kingdom, the University of Cambridge, lies just outside of London and contains 29 colleges. An applicant can choose a specific college to apply to or can apply for an open application.

In the open application process, students applying from outside the European Union who do not have a specific preference for a certain college will have their applications evenly distributed to all of

the colleges. While a student is not required to decide on one college to apply to at Cambridge, each applicant is required to identify a particular course study to pursue.

The University of Oxford also has the same open application process for studon hagopian/chronicle dents who do not have a Charlotte Abrams ’09 preference for a particular college.

In the past three years, five Harvard-Westlake students have applied to St. Andrews, three students have applied to Oxford and one student has applied to Cambridge.

These universities differ from American universities in that most American colleges do not have such a large number of inner colleges to choose from and choosing a specific college within a university usually pertains directly to a field of study.

“Students thinking about applying to foreign institutions will probably need to be on top of things earlier than students applying to domestic institutions,” Dean Beth Slattery said.

Most British application deadlines are October 15 rather than the November 15 early decision deadline or January 1 regular decision deadline for American schools.

According to Slattery, foreign schools place an emphasis on a student’s GPA. However, some British schools require a placement test in the subject the student would like to study which is usually the most important factor regarding the school’s decision.

For Abrams, another clear advantage of a school in Scotland is the proximity to the rest of Europe, allowing for easier and more accessible travel opportunities.

Abrams also liked that “the university buildings and dorms are scattered throughout the town, which gives off a more independent vibe among the student body. Students are given more freedom and responsibility to take care of themselves.”

For Abrams, the lure of a great university filled with history, diversity and golf is so strong that not even the Atlantic Ocean can stop her.

A18 Features

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

Jason Mow

Adam Rothman

campus life: (clockwise from top left) Ashley Halkett ‘09 hides behind a lab bench during biology, Joey Meyer ‘09 squints through a slinky, Angela Navarro ‘09 solves a Rubik’s cube, and Aaron Kirkbride ’09 bonds with a skeleton during biology class.

album a day adam rothman

Jason Mow

Adam Rothman ’09 and Jason Mow ’09 pursue their passion for photography by documenting life on campus.

By Julie Barzilay It’s January 7. Ashley Halkett ’09 and Joey Meyer ’09 are lounging near the sculpture in the Rugby courtyard. They climb among the stones and wooden planks, balancing precariously and smiling. Fortunately, Jason Mow ’09 is but a few feet away, ready to immortalize this moment.

Click.

It’s February 2. Adam Rothman ’09 is relaxing in the lounge as his friends scribble out solutions to Calculus problems, laugh uproariously at each other’s jokes and chatter softly. Ben Barad ’09 sneaks up stealthily behind Rothman. He leaps up suddenly, making a wild face. Click. Rothman and his camera are ready to capture this alarming expression of insanity and mirth.

For the past two months, Rothman, armed with his new Nikon D700, and Mow with his D90 — both Christmas gifts — have devoted themselves to framing snapshots of everyday life at Harvard-Westlake and showcasing their works on Facebook and Flickr. Rothman also posts his photos on his website, http://www.adamrothman. com.

“We sort of separately, although sort of cooperatively, got cameras around the same time and took pictures,” Mow said.

Photography found Rothman in a rather roundabout way: it was the excitement of digital cameras cheap enough for practical consumption that sparked his interest, he said.

“I have a gadget fetish, so I was really more interested in it from a technical perspective,” Rothman said. “When pictures made their way onto computers, they could become anything you wanted them to be.”

Rothman found his footing in the world of digital photography through pure trial and error, with a few instruction manuals thrown in for good measure. Experimenting with photography is somewhat about one’s mindset, Rothman said.

“Everything I know about photography I’ve learned by pushing buttons on cameras and reading manuals to figure out what I just did,” he said. “I do read a few websites semi-regularly – dpreview.com and kenrockwell.com – for product reviews and tips and tricks. I also have a lot of friends who are very much into photography and I’m always learning from them.”

Mow is one such friend. Neither he nor Rothman has a strict set of rules for composing shots, but both keep the “rule of thirds” in mind as they click away. The rule means that the photographer divides the image into nine equal sections and plays with alignment rather than simply centering the subject.

“The pictures capturing my friend’s smiling and interacting with each other are my favorite because it’s not something I can set up again,” Mow said.

Both feel that practice – and rapid-fire photography– makes perfect.

“I think too many people worry about every little technical aspect of their photo-

graphs, and end up missing good shots as a result,” Rothman said.

Rothman hasn’t been able to resist developing a few favorites among his photos.

“I have one of Ben Barad that was taken really close up,” he said. “He was coming towards me, so the camera didn’t quite focus perfectly. He’s also making a funny face that, when combined with the soft look of the picture, makes him look like Yoda. I laugh every time I see it. I have another one of Jason Mow looking rather dazed in SSR, which I think captures pretty well the way we all feel in that class.”

Rothman says people aren’t typically annoyed to become the subjects of his photos, more often amused.

“I think the thing I love most about Harvard-Westlake is the people,” he added. “Whether I barely know them or we’ve been friends since seventh grade, everyone in our class is really cool and worth getting to know. I wish I could say that I’m trying to make some kind of huge, overarching social commentary with my pictures but really I’m just having fun.”

Mow also hopes the pictures will serve as reminders of his Harvard-Westlake experience.

“I take pictures as an art and as a memory,” he said. “This is the second semester of my senior year; I’m never going to have this time back, and I want to remember it. I want to remember all my friends and my school and everything going on around me.”

Feb. 11, 2009

Features A19

The Chronicle

daniel lundberg/vox

mightier than the sword: Amy Zhang ’10 points and twirls her sword in the Advanced Dance

I showcase in December. In this showcase she used her skills to portray an exotic circus performer and Zhang’s

weekly Chinese folkloric dance classes delve deep into Chinese culture with dragon and water dances.

Chinese dance connects junior to her heritage

By Julie Barzilay Sprained ankles, sore muscles and back problems are all typical injuries for dancers. But not many dancers complain of cuts on a regular basis — particularly not near one’s face. Nonetheless, Amy Zhang’s ’10 ear was cut during a dance rehearsal – the result of an oversized sword whirling above her head in a Chinese folkloric dance performance. Though there are definitely risks involved in sword dancing and the other types of dance she practices every week, Chinese folkloric dance is a release and a thrill more than anything, Zhang said.

Zhang began to take Chinese folkloric dance classes at Shin Dance Academy in Temple City when she was 10 years old. Her parents simply recommended that she try it — and Zhang says she fell in love.

“I love performing — it’s just the best thing,” Zhang said. “I also love learning all of the new and unique styles.”

Chinese folkloric dance involves props like ribbons, swords and long sleeves. With the sword dances, one’s hands must be held a certain way throughout the entire piece, and in ribbon combinations, the ribbons used are typically the length of a room.

“You definitely get tangled a lot when you practice,” Zhang said.

Zhang spends seven hours every Sunday practicing Chinese Folkloric Dance, and performances occur once a month. Her company, the Shin Dance Company, consists of 20 people and required an audition to be accepted. After many classes, Zhang had to choreograph a solo and perform it – that solo is the only piece she’s ever choreographed.

“Our teachers choreograph everything,” Zhang said. “Pieces vary from featuring groups to soloists.”

High Stakes

Chapter 5: Three seniors plan their next moves.

By Derek Schlom Some of the class of 2009 rode waves of delight while others were forced to withstand disappointment in midDecember when early admission decisions at most major universities were released.

For those who were not accepted, the rest of the month was consumed by last-minute application work in time for the early-January regular admis-

Zhang said that some of the dances represent minority groups in China and express their heritage and cultural traditions. One of Zhang’s teachers is famous for her performances of the peacock dance in China — there are also dances about beautiful dragons and dances that demonstrate watering gardens. Peacock dance performers don feathers and decorated plates with large eyes painted on them, while dragon dancers pile on red and orange scales.

Zhang’s instructors teach more than just movement; Zhang said that they teach all classes about Chinese history.

“It definitely makes me appreciate my culture more,” she said. “The more styles of dance you practice, the easier other types become.”

Zhang’s experience with jazz and ballet classes has given her a strong foundation for Chinese folkloric dance.

While dancing for so many hours can be difficult to balance with schoolwork, Zhang treats dance classes like a break from her normal routine. Plus, she says, dancing feels natural and relaxing to her.

“When I speak in public or do something similar, I get nervous,” Zhang said. “But when I perform, I don’t get nervous at all.”

Flexibility is a large element of this type of dance — and Zhang’s least favorite part, she said.

“There’s a lot of gymnastics involved: jumping, turning, aerials,” she said. “And there are no mats, so if you fall, it hurts.”

Another potential hazard accompanies this form of dance — the sword Zhang weilds is in fact a real sword, though it is not very sharp, she said. Once Zhang cut her ear with her sword because it was too long for her. Her teacher was able to cut the sword to a length that was easier to maneuver.

sion deadlines.

Denise Denise, who applied exclusively to schools on the West Coast, is still playing the waiting game.

She was accepted early action to Lewis & Clark College, one of her top choices, and to the University of Arizona, but has yet to hear from any of the other ten schools to which she applied, including University of Southern California and Occidental.

“It was exciting to get in to those schools, and Lewis & Clark is a viable option, but I want to wait and see where else I get in,” she said.

Though she has wavered throughout the application process, Denise has honed her choices, with the exception of the Lewis & Clark and Arizona, down to schools in the Los Angeles area, including four Claremont colleges: Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Scripps, and Pomona (which she calls a “super long shot”).

“I first learned about Scripps during the dean meetings and I looked into the rest of [the Claremont colleges] and liked all of them,” she said.

Denise hasn’t fallen ill with “seniori-

Each year the Shin Dance Academy performs a Chinese New Year show at the Kodak Theatre. This year, Zhang performed in a Yellow River dance that she had to audition for.

Zhang is a member of the Advanced Dance I class at Harvard-Westlake, and performed a sword dance the most recent showcase.

Upper school dance teacher Cyndy Winter appreciates the extra dimension that Zhang’s cultural dance adds to her movement vocabulary and to each performance of which she is a part.

“It’s lovely to have students who study different forms of dance because it enriches us all, and brings in interesting perspectives on movement and choreography,” she said.

Zhang utilized her talents to portray an “exotic” circus act in Advanced Dance I’s circus-themed performance for disabled adults.

“Dance makes me feel connected to my culture, gives me a release, and I love performing,” she said. “I want to keep dancing forever.”

Students perform for Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year’s Luncheon will be held at the home of Bill and Rosa Mow (Hilary ’05, Jason ’09) on Feb. 22. The event is organized by the Chinese Cultural Club, and will feature performances by students in Chinese program and the Chinese Music Ensemble at UCLA. Solo performances will include a folk dance by Amy Zhang ’10 and a song by Liza Woythaler ’14. Jenny Lin ’11 and Timothy Schorr ’10 will present a poem they wrote.

tis,” despite her offers at Arizona and Lewis & Clark.

“I’m definitely still working,” she said. “I’m not looking at this semester any differently. I’m excited that it’s second semester, but I’m doing what I need to do.”

Holly Holly, who was accepted in December to Northwestern University’s School of Communication, refuses to fall into complacency, not out of fear that her acceptance will be revoked, but for her own contentment.

“It’s weird — you think that second semester is going to come and all of a sudden you’re just going to stop working. I found that it makes me way too uncomfortable to do homework,” she said.

“It’s so ingrained into my daily routine and my mentality that I just can’t not do it. I still want to do well in school, but now I can do that completely for my satisfaction. I don’t have to try and impress anyone anymore.”

Brian Brian, a varsity athlete, was rejected early from Stanford, but received a

—Alex Leichenger

It’s all downhill from here...

graphic by Andrew Lee

“likely letter” from Harvard notifying him that he will be accepted when official decisions are made in the spring.

As a result, he only applied to Harvard.

“I haven’t really planned for [not being accepted], so hopefully it won’t happen,” he said.

arts entertainment

A20 Features

Cast of 14 portrays period piece

By Julie Barzilay Kelly Ohriner

inbrief

Student combos jazz up Vibrato

Four jazz student combos performed for a packed house of families, friends and jazz aficionados at Vibrato Grill Jazz… etc. on Sunday Jan. 11. Upper school jazz teacher Shawn Costantino also played a set with his professional band. Vibrato’s website advertised the acts as the “jazz stars of tomorrow.”

The four combos each performed sets of four songs They rehearsed around three times a week for a month to prepare and memorize all new material. Costantino would like to see another performance in the students’ futures, but doesn’t think that this year’s academic calendar will permit it.

“We are definitely invited back, but it’s a matter of timing,” he said. “It’s a major performance for these students, and balancing such a big gig with APs can be really challenging.”

—Allegra Tepper

and

Seven boys and seven girls transformed Rugby auditorium into 1950s rural Kansas in William Inge’s “Summer Brave” last Friday, Saturday and Sunday under the direction of performing arts teacher Christopher Moore.

The play centers around a close group of neighbors and friends and the sudden arrival of the young and rugged Hal Carter (played by Cody Davis ’09) just before the annual Labor Day celebration in a small town in Kansas in the 1950s.

Carter plays on the emotions of an old college friend, the hardworking and disciplined Alan Seymour (played by Tyler Wallace ’09), and quickly becomes entangled in the lives of the other characters, creating change in the otherwise static atmosphere of the small town.

Madge Owens, the town’s prettiest yet naïve teenage girl, was played

by Ellie Bensinger ’09. Though she is the object of affection for every man in town, she and Seymour have managed to keep a seemingly steady relationship.

Millie Owens, Madge’s sister, was played by Rachel Katz ’11. While not as pretty as her older sister, Millie is at the top of her class and an aspiring writer.

Madge and Millie’s mother was played by Emily Altschul ’09 while Elana Fruchtman ’10 portrayed her friend and boarder Rosemary Sydney.

“Doing a period piece was more of a challenge than anything I’ve been in before,” Altschul said. “Getting up the anger and energy for the part was also hard because it’s so different from my personality. But the process was really rewarding overall.”

Feb. 11, 2009

Students’ films chosen by festivals

Daniel lundberg/vox

summer lovin’: Cody Davis ’09, who played Hal Carter, clutches Ellie Bensinger ’09, who played Madge, in front of Tyler Wallace ’09 during the production of “Summer Brave.”

Studying video art: a male-dominated world

By Ester Khachatryan The modern entertainment medium – filmmaking – came to Westlake School in 1986 as a Video Art class. It was an all girls’ class in an all girls’ school. When Westlake and Harvard merged in 1991, the all young women’s class was exposed to a co-ed experience, which proved unsuccessful as there developed a growing disproportion in the number of young men to young women in each class. In 2009, like the year Video Art was established, the class will have students of one gender. This time, there will be no young women in the Advanced Video Art II class.

The question relentlessly asked by the class instructors and other faculty is why so few young women enroll in the course.

The answer is complex and obscure.

Kevin O’Malley, who started the Video Art program, dispels the idea that technology plays a role in young women’s reticence to enroll in the classes.

“The concentration is more on being able to tell good stories,” O’Malley says.

Nancy Popp believes that it is precisely the emphasis on story-telling attracts more young men. The resulting gdominance of young men in the class, she says, intimidates young women from being in an all-boy environment.

Simha Haddad ’09 first took the class in 10th grade at a recommendation from a middle school drama teacher. As for any misgivings about being in a maledominated class, she showed no signs of doing anything but relishing the challenge of acquiring multi-faceted directing, editing, acting, and producing skills simultaneously.

“We are starting to get some positions but again, we are not given the big budgets, which get publicity.”

- Cheri Gaulke Video Art teacher “I don’t think being a girl inhibits my participation in a video art class at all, and I don’t see why it should,” Haddad said.

The three Video Art instructors, Cheri Gaulke, O’Malley and Popp, agree that a lack of female role models in the film industry is contributing to the low enrollment of young women in the course.

“The problem is that women are not as visible as men,” Gaulke said. She emphasizes teaching her students about women’s accomplishments in filmmaking.

Martha Wheelock, English and Women’s Studies instructor, established her own film company and is an independent director.

“We are starting to get some positions but again, we are not given the big budgets, which get publicity,” Wheelock said.

To increase participation in Video Art, Wheelock recommends that instructors “show some powerful images of what women do in the industry.”

Cate Barsky ’10, currently enrolled in Advanced Acting and Directing, points to the unappealing publicity surrounding Video Art classes.

“It’s never been advertised as a ‘film-

making class’ so I don’t think it draws that many actors and actresses,” Barsky said.

An article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times on May 20, 2008 titled “Film Directing is still a man’s world” by Patrick Goldstein, notes that of 250 topgrossing films in 2007, six percent were directed by women.

However, Goldstein adds, “It’s especially hard to cry discrimination about female directors when women flourish in so many other areas of the business – Hollywood is loaded with powerful female producers, studio executives, managers and publicists.”

While historically filmmaking has been a male domain, Goldstein notes the large number of female directors making successful independent films.

A study by Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., titled “Women @ the Box Office,”analyzes the financial success of films made by men and films made by women.

Lauzen sites that when given similar budgets, films made by men have similar box office grosses as films made by women. Lauzen discredits conceptions that women are less capable of making films or insecure about commanding a film set.

The question of why more women are not involved in the film industry remains unanswered. Gender division and differences are theories promulgated by Gaulke and Goldstein.

Next year, whether due to lack of women role models or young women’s intimidation of technology and a male dominant environment, the Advanced Video Art II class will be a young man’s class.

The Screen Film Festival at Pacifica Christian High School screened “Untouchable,” directed by Jack Heston ’09 and Justin Levine ’09, “Ridden,” by Sebastian Spader ’08 and Patrick Hibler ’08, “1234: A Study of Romance,” also by Spader, and “Transatlantique,” by Lucas Foster ’13.

The Frost Film Festival screened “Transatlantique,” “Ridden,” “Untouchable” and “It’s a Wonderful Climate,” directed by Evan Ryan ’09 and written by Joey Meyer ‘09, on Jan. 30-31.

Foster’s “Transatlantique” was chosen by the National Film Festival of Talented Youth.

Later this year, the International Family Film Festival will screen “Untouchable” and Michael Diamant’s ’09 “Conflict in the Middle Table” in their student shorts category.

In addition, an adult film festival, the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival, has chosen another Diamant film, “Perfect Day,” to screen.

—Daniel Rothberg

Saxophonist speaks to jazz classes Gary Keller, a professor at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, spoke to Studio Band, Jazz Band, and Jazz Ensemble classes on Feb. 2. Keller specializes in saxophone and has had an influential role on Costantino’s life and appreciation of music.

Focusing on various jazz skills, Keller emphasized the use of basic harmonic and melodic skills in jazz improvisations.

Keller made the class analyze the music and “taught us how to emphasize notes and listen to others while playing,” trombonist Evan Jackson ’10 said.

“It is special to have someone who has based their career on jazz music to share his experience and techniques with upcoming musicians,” he said.

Costantino previously invited jazz musician Marcus Miller to help instruct his three jazz classes in December.

—David Burton and Jordan Freisleben

Feb. 11, 2009

arts entertainment

Harvard-Westlake Film Festival 13 films made by students from nine different schools will be featured at the HarvardWestlake Film Festival at the Arclight Dome on March 20.

School Film

Harvard “Untouchable” -Westlake: “Care” “A True War Story” “Conflict in the Middle Table” Crossroads: “Heaven Forbid” “Much Ado about Goblins” Vahala: “Cheaters Never Prosper” El Dorado: “Thriller” Oakwood: “Arterial Deposition in “Thought & Being” Irvine: “How to Save a Life” Moorpark: “Water Damage” Chaminade: “All is Full of Love” “Hand the Ball” Infographic by Carly Radist and Catherine Wang www.studentfilmmakers.com

Features A21

Arclight Dome to host film festival An audience of 800 is expected to attend the annual event this March.

By Ester Khachatryan Thirteen films have been selected from nine Southern California schools, including four from Harvard-Westlake, to be featured at the annual Harvard-Westlake Film Festival at the Arclight Dome on March 20.

The festival will feature films of different styles including narratives of comedy and drama, music videos and documentaries, student Co-Chair Lauren Bailey ’09 said.

“The festival is unique in that the films submitted are diverse and unique with a wide range of production values from two kids in a closet to a documentary shot in India,” Bailey said.

Four films to be featured at the festival were made by Harvard-Westlake students: Kyle Kleinbart’s ’09 “A True War Story,” Justine Levine ’09 and Jack Heston’s ’09 “Untouchable,” Michael Diamant’s ’09 and Michael Stampler’s ’09 “Conflict in the Middle Table” and Romina D’Allesandro’s ’10

“Care.”

“What do I think will happen with my participation in the festival? Well, hopefully I’m on my way to my first Oscar,” D’Allesandro said.

Of the approximately 150 short films submitted to the festival, student Co-Chairs Bailey and Jonathan Haile ’09 reduced the eligible films to 50 possibilites to be reviewed by a committee of faculty, students and teachers.

The committee members rated the films, and films with highest ratings were chosen for the final elimination process. Bailey, Haile and faculty CoChairs Cheri Gaulke and Ted Walch selected the 12 films that will be featured in the festival.

The films selected will be recorded on DVD and sent anonymously to festival judges, including such filmmakers as Oliver Stone, Martha DeLaurentiis, Rita Wilson and Jeb Brody. The films will be evaluated by judges who will decide appropriate awards for each film, including Best Director, Best Cinematographer and Best Screenplay in a miniature Academy Award style. Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks will also be present to address an expected audience of 800.

The festival has enjoyed a wide popularity, selling out every year since its inception at Rugby Theater. The tickets to the festival are free and are followed by a complimentary reception in which attendees will have a chance to mingle with judges, Haile said.

Junior organizes charity art show

By Alex Edel Catie Yagher ’10 has experienced the realities of the effects of heart conditions. Before she was born, her grandfather died due to clogged valves that lead to a heart attack. At two years old, her cousin, Matthew Yagher, had open heart surgery to repair a hole in his septum. Inspired by these events, Yagher is holding a charity event, Art for the Heart, to benefit the American Heart Association.

Art for the Heart will be held on March 8 at 5 p.m. in the Feldman Horn Gallery. Donated student and faculty art will be on display for purchase along with Art for the Heart t-shirts and Tiffany heart necklaces.

The money made at the event will be given to the American Heart Association to finance the research necessary to reduce the number of deaths each year due to heart related tragedies.

To spread more awareness about the event there will be a kick off at break on March 2, the monday before the event with food and information regarding the charity.

“I would have known my grandfather if medical information had been further along during the time of his life,” Yagher said.

The American Heart Association is now giving grants to scientists to help research ideas like which molecules help in the body’s processing of dietary fat or which mental and physical exercises can ease the pain after heart surgery.

Yagher was also inspired by the fig-

ure drawing class she attended at Otis College of Art and Design. At the end of the summer her parents took her best paintings and had them framed and hung in her house.

“This confirmed my idea that if parents frame student artwork and put it in their houses it can look really good,” Yagher said. Aaron Brothers will be taking orders for frames at the event so that buyers may do the same with their art.

After realizing the potential of selling artwork that would otherwise be stuck in the back of a closet, Yagher started working on the charity event.

Starting only two weeks after school started, Yagher put her homework aside and worked on coming up with a proposal and speech that she had to present in front of the planning committee. The planning committee is a group of adults who decide on the events the school will hold and the liability issues involved with them.

“It was a bit nerve-racking at first; however, they were very friendly and accepted the proposal,” Yagher said.

Under Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church’s supervision, Yagher found a CFO, Jordan Flatt ’09, to help her come up with a budget.

She has also been working with Community Council to find a way for people who are working on the event to get community service credit.

Students who work on the event will have to work one-on-one with children at a hospital affiliated with the American Heart Association. Working with Julie Klayman, an American Heart

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preparation: Catie Yagher ’10 will donate the proceeds from the March 8 event to the American Heart Association. The show will be held in Feldman Horn.

Association representative, Yagher has been able to organize a hospital visit to meet children with heart conditions.

Yagher sent out an e-mail to all students in art classes and in the first meeting asked students to join leadership committees.

“It is difficult to release your new idea to the public and allow others to contribute because early on, human instinct compels you to hold tight to your invention,” Yagher said. “However, Mr. Levin and Mr. Church inspired me to get others just as excited about Art for the Heart as I am.”

Some subcommittees include promotion, t-shirt production, donation collection, faculty communications and parent communications. Students in the promotion committee put up fliers on campus and students in t-shirt production have come up with a design.

Olivia Van Iderstine ’10 has been helping with communication and Jacqi Lee ’10 has designed part of the logo.

“Art for the Heart is a unique opportunity for students to showcase their talent in art,” Yagher said. “Parents will be able to see the true artistic talent of the student body.”

A22 Opinion

The Chronicle

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

Harvard-Westlake School •Volume X VIII • Issue 5 • Feb. 11, 2009

3700 Coldwater Canyon, North Hollywood, CA 91604 Editors in Chief: Lucy Jackson, Andrew Lee Managing Editors: Alexia Boyarsky, A.J. Calabrese Executive Editors: Julie Barzilay, Derek Schlom Presentations Editors: Cathi Choi, Dana Glaser Business Manager: Carly Mandel Ads Manager: Neha Nimmagadda Assistant: David Burton Chief Copy Editor: Ellina Chulpaeff Online Assistant Editor: Mac Taylor News Managing Editors: Shayna Freisleben, Carly Radist Section Heads: Hana Al-Henaid, Sammy Roth Production Head: Nicki Resnikoff Online Editors: Michelle Nosratian Copy Editor: Spencer Gisser Assistants: Olivia Kwitny, Matthew Lee, Alice Phillips, Daniel Rothberg, Sade Tavanganian, Catherine Wang Features Managing Editors: Marni Barta, Faire Davidson Section Heads: Drew Lash, Lauren Seo Production Editors: Jamie Kim, Candice Navi Assistants: Ingrid Chang, Jordan Freisleben, Jordan McSpadden, Kelly Ohriner, Hannah Rosenberg Opinion Managing Editors: Annie Belfield, Ashley Halkett Section Heads: Anna Etra, Erin Moy Production Editor: Ester Khachatryan Assistant: Emily Khaykin Sports Managing Editors: Ben Goldstein, Cody Schott Section Heads: Sam Adams, Jack Davis Production Editors: Alex Edel, Jonah Rosenbaum Junior Varsity Editor: Cary Volpert Copy Editor: Jack Schwada Online Editors: Seth Goldman, Sean Kyle Assistants: Austin Block, Alec Caso, Alex Leichenger, Tiana Woolridge Supplement Managing Editors: Emily Friedman, Candace Ravan Supplement Section Heads: Allegra Tepper, Michelle Yousefzadeh Assistants: Mary Rose Fissinger, Jean Park, Emily Wallach Adviser: Kathleen Neumeyer The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published eight times per year. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the senior members of the Editorial Board. Advertising questions may be directed to Business Manager Carly Mandel at (818) 481-2087. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

“I’m bored. There’s nothing to do this weekend.”

It’s our turn, community

andrew lee/chronicle

A

lthough there have been community service events scheduled every weekend since winter break, fewer than 20 percent of the student body has completed their requirement. While the Community Council has worked tirelessly to provide many opportunities, students have not yet responded.

The Community Council, in its inaugural year, has done an admirable job of organizing a broad variety of events to allow students to fulfill their requirements easily; however, students have not been taking advantage of them.

Only 15 percent of the students polled in a Chronicle survey have actually utilized the service opportunities provided by the Community Council and completed their outreach through one of their trips. To the over 70 percent of students who haven’t completed any outreach this semester, we encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities.

Although we continue to disagree with the Community Council’s rule that outreach can only be credited through group activities while solo projects are no longer accepted, we do commend them for setting up such a variety of different opportunities for the students. We stand by our assertion that solo outreach can be more meaningful than forced group outreach, but you have made it very simple for students to comply with the new rules, and for that we thank you.

In the month of February alone, there have been three events, ranging from tree planting to a Send-aSmile event. These types of events cater to the varied interests of the student body, and are organized in

such a way as to make it simple for any student to sign up. The well-planned trips also take a load off the students who would otherwise have to organize a group to perform their outreach together.

Despite these feats of organization, students are still not signing up. One way to boost sign ups is to have more tangible outlets for signing up for events. Instead of impersonally emailing the mass of students about upcoming events, Community Council could confront them in person: set up stands in the quad that advertise that week’s trip or post sign up sheets around campus. Or simply have some members walking around with signup sheets for the latest project a few times a week; when brought faceto-face with the requirement, students will be more likely to sign up.

Students, on the other hand, need to keep in mind that half of the year is over already, and with the outreach deadline tentatively set for April 30, we all need to get some form of community service done.

The next organized event takes place this Saturday and involves feeding the homeless on a mobile food truck. Why not attend?

The ball is now in the students’ court, and we recommend that students seize the opportunities presented and utilize the Council’s events.

Broaden English horizons

T

hese are the numbers: eight for science, six for history and two for English.

The stark contrast between the number of elective classes offered by the departments signals a problem in school curriculum: there are simply not enough avenues for students to explore an interest in English literature.

A student interested in languages, science or history can double up on electives and non-mainstream classes, selecting from a wide array of choices.

But students with an interest in English have only two choices: Shakespeare and Creative Writing.

Thankfully, these courses come from different ends of the spectrum of the study of literature: in one, students study in-depth the work of one writer and in the other, students create their own work, finding their own voice.

These course electives, however well-crafted, should only be considered the start.

The 10th and 11th grade courses offer student tastes of different types of literature. But when Dickinson or Whitman influences a student, sparking a passion for poetry, what can they do?

Start an independent study? Wait until the teacher brings up another poem as a supplement to the designated work of literature? Where is the avenue for this student with a budding interest in poetry?

At Marlborough, seniors are given 11 one-semester course options: African Literature, Anna Karenina, Bible as Literature, Contemporary Writing, Dramatic Literature, Gender Sexuality, Jane Austen, Latin American Literature in Translation, Modernism and The 21st Century Novel. Seniors who have taken two of these courses are credited with having taken AP English Language. (They take AP English Literature as Juniors.)

“Our seniors really like the variety of our electives, and the faculty love teaching them because they

represent faculty passions,” Marlborough’s English Department Head Joseph Koetters said. “As teachers we were happy to see students get whatever benefit the AP label gives the girls while keeping our elective format, which we feel is the right way to end a student’s time in our program.”

This system, Koetters said, has been approved by both the UC system and the College Board.

The English department should give students a wider variety in classes or electives.

Either the department should add more electives like Shakespeare and Creative Writing into the already existing curriculum, or it should adapt something akin to Marlborough’s system and change senior year classes.

By the time students have finished two years with the upper school English department, they are ready to choose courses that cater specifically to their interests and passions. This is something they will be doing at universities in one year. Why not allow them to begin here?

We understand that all the English teachers are currently teaching at maximum capacity: students have to take English for all three years, and class sizes have to be small. So, change might be slow, and ultimately, after the English department discusses this, they could instead conceive an entirely different option for the curriculum. The point is that change needs to be discussed. There should be as many options for lovers of English as there are for history and science.

Feb. 11, 2009

Opinion A23

The Chronicle

reader feedback

In this issue of the Chronicle, the staff editorializes about two school issues.

Here’s what 261 upper school students had to say:

Community Council

148 46

Has the Community Council been successful in providing community service opportunities?

Yes, but I have not attended one of their events.

No, and I haven’t completed my service requirement.

38 29

Yes, and I’ve done my service with one of their events.

No, but I’ve managed to complete my service.

English Curriculum

108 93

Should the English Department offer more classes in their curriculum?

They should have a variety of books and core classes to choose from to fulfill the requirement.

I think the English curriculum is fine as it is now.

Matthew Bedford ’10

Lilie Nanus ’11

Jason Hirschhorn ’09

Lauren Berliner ’10

“I think they could offer more opportunities at the Upper School because I feel like most are at the Middle School. ”

“They have provided opportunities for students who may not have the time or resources to come up with things to do on their own.”

“I get their e-mails on a regular basis.

Although I do community service on my own, I think they do a really good job at providing opportunities .”

“I think it’s fine the way it is. They have Shakespeare and a creative writing class, but no one really wants to take them.”

42 18

There should be more electives and I would take them.

There should be more electives but I would not take them.

Atira Richards ’09

Alex Velaise ’11

46 148 38 93 18 108 Columns

“People who like English should be given just as many opportunities as the people who like math and science .”

These results are based on responses to an online poll emailed to HarvardWestlake upper school students through http://www.surveymonkey.com.

Graphic by annie belfield, anna etra, Ashley halkett and erin moy

Derek Schlom

Step it up, people

I

“It would be a good idea for those people who like taking those kinds of courses. It would be nice if they introduced some more.”

check the time on my phone — it’s 10:29 a.m. My daily treacherous trek from our campus’ geographic equivalent of Death Valley, Weiler Hall, to my AP Comparative Government class at the altitude sicknessinducing height of Seaver’s third floor is nearly complete in the nick of time, and my calves are throbbing (not in a good way).

I push through the glass double-doors, sharply turn left and begin my final ascent, but I’m halted by gridlock. No one is walking.

In my rage-induced delusion, I see a tortoise pushing his/her way through the crowd, and I want nothing more than to hitch a ride on that glorious shell.

This is a problem that I have faced all too often: hallways, doorways, passageways and stairways are blocked by sluggish loiterers during the passing period between classes. This should not be a time to linger! For those five minutes, your primary goal in life should not be to gain admission to Princeton or to break the world record for consecutive pogo-stick jumps (currently a rather impressive 177,737, FYI) — it should be to get to your next class as expeditiously as humanly possible.

I’m not encouraging anarchy; a “Running

of the Bulls”-type situation might result in a twisted ankle or two. I’m just asking, on my figurative knees, for a little haste, a little urgency, for a total of 35 minutes each day.

All jokes aside, the tardy policy is too strict not to be taken seriously. Six tardies add up to one detention, and six detentions is grounds for a suspension and the unceremonious end of my dreams of college, wealth, happiness and owning the biggest gumball machine EVER. There is no such thing as being “fashionably late” to class, unless you think that it’s fashionable to ruin other people’s lives and deprive them of self-flushing toilets and a fleet of genetically-modified monkeys designed to greet guests with hugs. Hypothetically.

All I’m asking for is a little help as I try to avoid a future of panhandling and dumpsterdiving (involuntarily, that is — all power to ya, Kim Abeles).

So next time you feel like halting traffic when the pressing urge to recap the causes and effects of each of Dan and Serena’s break-ups comes over you, listen closely for my breath, deep and increasing in speed with each second of mindless chatter, over your shoulder. Good deterrent, right?

feedback

corrections

The Chronicle wants reader feedback.

Letters submitted must be signed and may not exceed 350 words.

Letters must be received by March 11. All submissions can be e-mailed to chronicle@hw.com.

In the Dec. 17 2008 article “Renowned jazz artist visits classes,” the Chronicle mistakenly reported the spelling of upper school performing arts teacher Shawn Costantino as “Shawn Constantino.” The correct spelling of his name is Shawn Costantino.

Erin Moy

Changes L

ately, change has been in every aspect of our lives. Signs, bumper stickers and news reports inundate us daily. It is no longer a mere word; change has become a dogma.

Obviously, change is an inescapable part of life. It is part of what the high school experience is all about.

There is, of course, our new president whose campaign ran on the catch phrases “hope” and “change.” Though critics pointed out that the campaign was merely recycling old political jargon, the words grew as President Obama’s campaign gained momentum; people began to believe in “hope” and “change” with fervor that hasn’t been seen in politics for years. No one cared how fresh the words were; they just cared about what the words represented.

As we start a new semester, I feel like we are in a fairly similar situation without the optimistic feelings.

In political terms, it seems to be an uphill battle for the majority of juniors and sophomores. Do we salvage our G.P.A or keep it the way it is? Like the U.S. Economy, there is no “clean slate,” only a stimulus package which, on our end, looks like it’s going to come in the form of a permanent desk in Silent Study (costly in the sense of our social lives, not taxpayers’ money).

On the other hand, there are the second semester seniors who are the object of the lower grades’ envy.

Similar to our new president, they have campaigned hard and are now reaping the benefits.

There is of course, the never ending question: do they pull out, happily succumbing to senioritis or wait until they have fully finished their high school careers?

These are not new questions or new situations.

I’m also no charismatic presidential candidate trying to rouse the entire nation behind me. But, if “hope” and “change” can take on a new, fresh meaning for the entire country, can’t we adopt them in the new semester?

A24 Opinion Candice Navi

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

Adjusting our attitudes

T

“It is possible that my classes had been more like a family and less like a learning facility all along...”

owards the end of the school day, I find myself begging the minute hand to wait a few more seconds before ticking forward. What could possibly possess me to even think of lingering even a little bit longer at school? You may want to sit down for the answer, because it is pretty shocking. I was actually having fun. Yes, I enjoyed my time in a fluorescent-lit, greentinged room, also known as a classroom.

Frankly, this has been the case in an increasing number of my courses; my enjoyment of class has begun to outweigh my general dislike of school. Maybe a chapter in English was particularly fascinating or that evolutionary theory from Biology caught my interest.

But even more likely is the new perspective I have developed over the past few months about learning. Even though it took me about 11 years of schooling, I have come to understand that I can learn and have fun at the same time, even after my innocent days in elementary school.

The lessons we learn in high school are immensely different than the hours of fingerpainting of kindergarten, but why can’t they be just as enjoyable?

Part of going to school is the interaction between students and their teachers; I used to believe teachers only taught and students only learned. But there is more to the classroom dynamic than what meets the eye.

The students in many of my classes actually interact with one another, leading to relationships beyond the skin-deep bonds I typically formed with my classmates. Many of my teachers talk to their students like friends and tend to advise more than they preach.

My great revelation was quickly followed by despair at the fact that my academic classes could never be as fun as my electives.

These few minutes of gloom were quickly followed by an awe-inspiring optimism. I walked into each of my classes with a positive attitude and a determination to change the tone in as many of my classes as I possibly could.

It is possible that my classes had been more like a family and less like a learning facility all along and I was unwilling to let people in.

Now I am surprised to hear a zipper of a nearby backpack closing, indicating the end of the period or looking at the clock to make sure class is not over yet.

My relationship with fellow students has dramatically changed for the better.

I have gotten past what I now realize is a stereotypical and inaccurate high school experience and have exchanged it for something much more rewarding; a revived enjoyment of school.

illustration by liam allman

Ellina Chulpaeff

Sick of being sick

I

f I told you I spent the week of midterms in bed, not opening a single textbook, you might tell me that it’s a dream come true. If I told you that it was a hospital bed and I had to make up all my midterms over Semester Break, you would tell me that I just described one of your worst nightmares.

That’s what it was — a nightmare.

Getting sick at Harvard-Westlake is bad enough. With several extracurricular commitments adding on to the strenuous academic schedule, students simply cannot allow anything to get in the way of their busy schedules. Students and teachers alike frown upon the idea of missing school. Most teachers have a policy requiring students to make up all tests and homework the very next day. In theory, this policy may make sense in that it doesn’t allow students to fall even further behind. Yet, it doesn’t factor in the pain of falling ill, the inability to concentrate on schoolwork and that rest, not studying, should be the main priority.

Students should be recuperating when ill, not feeling even more stressed out.

Instead, they are missing even more sleep staying up thinking about the papers that have to be written, the missed review days before the big test, the unfinished projects or the skipped practice leaving the team to restrategize.

Although it’s true that the amount students have to make up after an absence really depends on the teacher, many teachers still insist that everything has to be turned in the day a student returns to school. I

Lucy Jackson

Too little, too late

L

ast Friday, Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra sent an e-mail to upper school students stating that the recommendations for two Honor Board cases that took place in December would not be released due to a breach in confidentiality that gave away the identities of the students involved.

After two months of silence from the Prefect Council and the administration, the one paragraph e-mail that spoke only in vague, broad terms was too little, too late.

Salamandra said in an interview last week that in addition to this breach of confidentiality, several pieces of the case had not been put together yet, and that until more information was gathered, the recommendations could not be posted.

But what information is the administration waiting on? The e-mail, which omitted any mention

of possible missing links, stated that the Honor Board had made its recommendation, and that the administration had “concurred”, indicating that a final decision on the two cases had been made.

If there are, in fact, more loose ends to tie up, and that was reason to withhold the recommendations, it would seem to indicate that there could be a potential change in what was recommended initially by the Board. Students should at least be made aware of such a change in precedent, which the e-mail sent out made no attempt to do.

For months now, students have heard varying accounts of the story from their peers and even the students involved. At this point, everyone in the community knows who the players are and what they said happened, but it would be nice to hear from the referees. Essentially, everyone has given his or her two

remember lying in bed during midterms running on no less than 15 pills a day trying to figure out when I’m supposed to study.

It was only at three o’clock the day before I took my first two finals in a row when I could coherently read over my notes. Although I was upset about having to cram the night before for each exam and coming in during Semester Break, I still felt guilty. I felt guilty about getting sick and inconveniencing my teachers who had to grade hundreds of multiple choice problems by hand. I felt even worse about letting down my cheerleading stunt group who depend on me to go up into a pyramid.

Yet it wasn’t my fault. People get sick — that’s just the way life is. But there has to be an easier way of transitioning back to school.

Maybe students shouldn’t have to make up quizzes. I remember one of my math teachers substituted our unit test grade for each missed quiz. I thought that was great — you’re still obligated to learn all the material without having to spend frees taking quizzes.

Or maybe sick students should be excused from turning in all the small homework assignments — a week of missed homework can certainly pile up. Maybe teachers should send their lectures out to absent students instead of forcing them to transcribe other students’ illegible notes.

Still, no matter what the policy is, it’s clear that after falling ill for an extended amount of time, students need an easier way to come back to school. They should be able to lie in bed without having to worry about their math homework.

“Without an authoritative source like an Honor Board recommendation, students are left to fill in the blanks themselves... ” cents, making for a glorified game of “telephone” on the upper school campus. At a school as small as Harvard-Westlake, with a rumor mill as proficient as anywhere, everyone knows what’s going on in some form or another.

The problem becomes, then, not the quantity of information, but rather the quality of it. Without an authoritative source like an Honor Board recommendation, students are left to fill in the blanks themselves, thinking in some cases that justice has been served, and in others that the innocent have been wrongfully punished.

The variety in stories serves to break apart the community, as students question who’s right and wrong, and inevitably come to the wrong conclusions without an official record to rely on.

Frequently, the board states that a student needs to rebuild the

bonds of trust between teachers and the community as its reasoning for certain punishments. If the stated purpose of the Honor Board is to rebuild broken bonds between student and community, then withholding the recommendation from the student body works against the board’s fundamental purpose.

The community is not given a chance to learn from others within it, and therefore can’t grow as a result.

When it comes down to it, the Prefect Council and the administration need to improve upon their balancing act; we settle for anonymous recommendations, realizing that confidentiality is important, but when they are withheld entirely and the community is left in the dark, then the anonymity of the individual is favored over the well-being of the community, and those damaged bonds cannot begin to be repaired.

sports

A25 The Chronicle Harvard-Westlake School Volume XVIII Issue 5 February 11, 2009

A year long commitment Baseball plays summer and winter leagues to prepare for spring season

By Cody Schott

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Uttered by one of baseball’s legendary players, Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, the phrase has reverberated through generations. The Wolverine baseball team is living proof; the team plays and practices all year long, never stopping and never quitting.

The Wolverines take part in winter and summer leagues, as well as playing the official spring season.

The winter and the summer leagues consist of exhibition games against opponents from Camarillo to Santa Clarita. The games are played on Saturdays, and the team practices throughout the week. Even though these games don’t count, Head Coach Matt LaCour thinks that playing year-round is crucial to the team’s competitiveness during the spring season.

“Not training and playing winter league is not an option in southern California if you want to compete,” LaCour said.

The coach also compared baseball to other sports that compete all year.

“Volleyball players play club volleyball in their off-season,” he said. “Basketball players are on traveling teams in the off-season. Winter league is our Spring Training. We get two weeks of practice and one scrimmage before our regular season.”

According to Hunter Spinks ’09, CIF has abolished rules preventing high school teams from practicing together in the offseason like club teams do.

LaCour said he uses the extra games to play around with his lineup and defensive scenarios, but he also said it’s a time for the players to improve. According to LaCour, winter season has helped some players improve, like Oliver Lowry ’10 and Joe Cadiff ’10, who are adjusting from football, and other players just garnering game experience, like Spinks.

“Winter League gives you a chance to get experience,” he said. “We get to work on every little bit of our game in game situations.”

Spinks acknowledges that playing throughout the year is fatiguing, but is also very rewarding when the spring season rolls along.

“It does test your mental and physical abilities,” he said. “In the end it makes you a better baseball player; it makes you mentally tough. It helps you give the extra push when the game is on the line in the later innings.”

Southern California and high school baseball have a working agreement; the coastal-desert climate provides the atmosphere for America’s pastime to roll year long.

“We are located in an area of the country where baseball is played all year long. We are lucky,” LaCour said.

DANIEL LUNDBERG/VOX

DANIEL LUNDBERG/VOX

high rise: Guard Austin Kelly ’10 (left) goes up for a layup in the Wolverine’s 74-58 win over Notre Dame Feb. 4.

Also against Notre Dame, forward Erik Swoope ’10 (right) sails past the defender and prepares to dunk the ball.

By Jack Davis

many competitive situations and carrying a big part of the load.”

However, Hilliard credits the success of this year’s team to not just the three underclassmen, but also to the unity and hardworking attitude of this year’s team. “[The three players] also benefit by being able to share the burden with each other and some great performances by their teammates. They realize that they have done their part but the largest factor in our team’s success has been our belief in our team motto, ‘Ubuntu,’ which means roughly, ‘I am because we are,’” Hilliard said.

“As a coach, I’m now very spoiled because it would be very hard to work with an under-achieving team after sharing a season with these players,” he said.

Many players also credit the team’s success to beginning the year with an unusually difficult road schedule.

While the Wolverines play in Division III-AA, they began the year playing in tournaments facing many nationally ranked teams, like national powerhouse Fairfax and its number one ranked recruit Renardo Sidney.

“I think we started the year playing really hard teams in the Pacific Shores and Ocean View tournaments,” guard Nate Bulluck ’10 said. “We played against some of the top rated schools in the nation, and we played well in that tournament. Playing against such high level competition really helped us come together and play well, and it really prepared us for league play.

Now we are playing really well and hopefully gearing up for a CIF title run, and maybe, eventually, a state title run.”

Boys’ basketball wraps up league play on hot streak The boys’ varsity basketball team closes out its regular season tonight at league rival Chaminade after playing Verbum Dei on the road on Monday night. The Wolverines had a record of 10-1 at press time, as they geared up for CIF playoffs, which begin on Feb. 20.

Victories over Chaminade and Verbum Dei would leave the Wolverines tied with their archrival Loyola for first place in the Mission League. The winner of league will be determined after the season wraps up for both Loyola and Harvard-Westlake today. The Wolverines defeated Loyola 86-81 Jan. 12 on the road, but lost to the Cubs 91-88 at home Jan. 30.

“Winning league is really important for us because how we place in league determines who we play in the first round of playoffs,” guard Austin Kelly ’10 said. “But worst case scenario we get second in league, and we are going to be confident against anybody we play,” he said.

Kelly leads the team with 14.6 points per game; he is shooting 46 percent from the field, and 38 percent from the three point line.

This years’ squad has been mainly led by underclassmen, with no starting seniors and only two seniors that contribute significant minutes. Kelly and forwards Erik Swoope ’10 and Damiene Cain ’11 have accounted for 42 of the team’s 75 point per game average, with Cain and Swoope also leading the team in rebounds and blocked shots.

“All three of these players have made great progress,” Coach Greg Hilliard said. “This is the result of being in

Girls’ soccer clinches spot in CIF

By Seth Goldman

DANIEL LUNDBERG/VOX

High kick: Danielle Duhl ’12 gets possession of the ball in a Jan. 28 victory against Alemany.

Having locked up at least a third place finish in league, the girls’ soccer team will close out the regular season against Chaminade tonight.

The game is at 5:30 p.m. at Ted Slavin Field.

The team is on the heels of a 1-0 home victory over Louisville last Friday. Although heavy rain made the playing conditions tough, the team was able to play solid defense and get just enough offense to win.

The win brought the team’s record to 5-2-2 in Mission League and 123-3 overall.

“Our team has a lot of speed and

we work really well together,” defender Maddie Lenard ’09 said.

The Wolverines have been dominant at home, going 5-0-1 and outscoring opponents 15-7 in those games.

With a strong start to the season, the girls reached as high as number one in the Daily News local rankings and number 24 in espn.com’s national rankings.

However, at that time the team’s leading goal scorer Katie Speidel ’11 got injured and missed 11 games.

With Speidel out, the team had trouble scoring goals, according to Head Coach Richard Simms.

But the Wolverines have re-

bounded to go 4-1-1 in their last six league games.

With the team healthy as the playoffs approach, the players are confident.

Pending the results of the final game of the season, the team will finish either second or third in league and will open CIF playoffs next Thursday.

Because the squad is made up of many underclassmen, Simms said that the players will have to work through their inexperience to succeed in the upcoming playoffs.

“We just to need to be patient and stay composed when we make mistakes,” Simms said.

A26 Sports

The Chronicle

Feb. 11, 2009

After slow league start boys’ soccer heats up

By Sam Adams Encouraged by a victory two weeks ago against rival Loyola, the boys’ soccer team is ranked third in the Mission League.

The team is riding a three-match winning streak in league play which brings its record in the league up to 5-1-4.

A rescheduled game against Crespi this Friday is expected to affect the status of the team in the postseason.

After tying with Loyola 1-1 earlier in the season, the Wolverines defeated the Cubs 1-0 in the team’s last meeting at Ted Slavin Field.

Many on the team consider it a highlight of the season to date, especially considering the fact that the Wolverines have failed to defeat them in recent years.

“The Loyola game was when everything came together,” forward Sebastian Li ’10 said. “It was a time when it all came in at a time that we needed it to.”

The team stumbled in the first few games of league play, drawing its first three games against St. Francis, Alemany and Loyola. However, the team has since gone on a 5-1-1 run. Under the leadership of goalkeeper Alex Silverman ’10 and midfielder Jesse Mirman ’10, the team has clinched a spot in the CIF playoffs.

Only the team’s seeding is yet to be

determined. If the team can win all of its remaining games, members of the team are optimistic that they can finish with a higher league ranking and the home playoff games that accompany it.

A win against league powerhouse Notre Dame on Feb. 4 allowed the team to come back into Mission League title contention. Though the team is mired in the middle of the league rankings, many team members believe that a championship is not out of the question.

Should the team move up to first or second place, then the team will gain home field advantage for the first round of the CIF playoff tournament, which will begin on Feb. 18.

Mirman, a first-year varsity starter, has stepped up for the team, emerging as the top scorer.

“Jesse provides us with an actual offense,” Li said. “In terms of scoring, he’s our backbone. He is a real playmaker.”

Mirman has scored three goals for the team so far, in addition to having contributed three assists.

Next Friday’s match against second-ranked Crespi, rained out from last week, could swing the fortunes of the team.

“Crespi is a must win if we want to win league,” defender Austin Park ’10 said. “If we want to finish with a high CIF seed, we need to win.”

sam adams/chronicle

Heads up: Anthony Farias Eisner ’09 (left) passes the ball to forward Michael Williams ‘11 against league rival Loyola. The Wolverines won the match, 1-0.

Junior goalie leads soccer to playoffs

By Jack Davis In the waning moments of a crucial league game against division rival Notre Dame, with a win seemingly in hand, goalie Alex Silverman ’10 begins to relax until the unthinkable happens.

The Wolverines’ vaunted defense momentarily breaks down, and a Notre Dame forward capitalizes on the rare miscue to break away alone towards the goal.

Silverman knows as the goalie, he is the last line of defense. Even though the breakdown is not his fault, as goalie he is ultimately held accountable for everything that slips by him into the back of the net.

And Silverman knows he can’t screw up here. The Wolverines are clutching to a 1-0 lead, and, if he can just make this one save, the Wolverines will secure another league win,

helping them that much more in the all important race for playoff seeding.

So Silverman stays calm, sets his feet, and focuses. And then he does what he has done all year: make the save.

Silverman clutches the ball for an extra second, knowing that save has just ensured victory, before finally relinquishing his treasure to a Harvard-Westlake defender. After the game, which was Silverman’s third straight shutout, and fifth shutout in his last six contests, he heads to the showers, while his teammates and coaches sing his praises.

“We wouldn’t be where we are without Alex,” forward Sebastian Li ’10 said. “He keeps us together and he is one of the best players out there on the field every time we play.”

“He gives us confidence from the back,” Head Coach Freddy Arroyo said.

“He makes the big saves when we need

Austin block/chronicle

Saving silverman: Silverman has recorded a shutout in five of the last six Wolverine games, and has allowed only one goal in nine home games this season.

him to and he keeps us in the game.”

Silverman sees leadership as part of the obligations that come with being goalie.

“As a goalie you have to be a leader,” Silverman said. “I feel like all the best goalies I’ve ever seen were leaders for their team. As goalie, I’m the only person that can see the whole field so I have to be sort of a coach out there and help give direction to my teammates.”

Silverman started playing soccer seriously at the age of nine, taking a more unconventional route in choosing soccer over more popular sports like football, basketball, or baseball, and choosing to be goalie, the most isolated position in the field.

“I was drawn to soccer at a young age because I’ve just always enjoyed the beauty of the game,” Silverman said. “I love the technique, the complexities of the game, the athleticism required to play and the shape you have to keep yourself in. I’ve always just felt at home out there on the field.”

Silverman began his soccer career by playing AYSO, before eventually becoming more serious and joining local club and all-star teams. Around the age of 12, Silverman began training with a goalie coach to improve his technique, footwork, and instincts.

For Silverman, soccer is a yearround sport, with training and playing for Harvard-Westlake taking up his fall and winter, and club soccer taking up his spring and summer.

All in all, Silverman estimates he spends about 10 hours a week most every week of the year playing soccer.

Silverman credits most of his success and this year’s success as a team to a generally improved chemistry with his teammates’.

“This year more than ever we have experimented with a lot of different lineups,” Silverman said. “We started out the year really struggling but eventually we settled into a good group and got really comfortable out there on the field and it really shows. For all the shutouts I’ve had this year, the praise shouldn’t only belong to me, it really should go all around the team.

In plenty of those games I didn’t’ really have anything come my way because our defense totally shut them down.”

Silverman has high hopes

austin block/chronicle

keeper: Goalie Alex Silverman ’10 runs to a ball in practice. Silverman began goalie lessons at the age of 12. for how deep the team can go into this years’ CIF Playoffs.

“I feel like with the soccer program, people tend to look at our success from years past and since we don’t have that many seniors people just talk about our potential, but we really have a talented team. When we play hard, work together, stay focused, and hold our own we are really difficult to beat.”

As for his own career, Silverman forsees himself always playing soccer, regardless of whether he is able to continue playing at the college level.

“Obviously I would love to be able to play college-level soccer, but for me playing in college isn’t the reason I play soccer. I love soccer and have so much fun playing, so I don’t ever see myself not playing. As long as I’m playing, it doesn’t matter if I’m playing in college or just playing recreationally.”

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

Familes take over Dodger Stadium at ‘fun-raiser’ event

Sports A27

By Cody Schott Families converged on Dodger Stadium as if it were April, but replacing Dodger players Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and Manny Ramirez in the outfield were current students, parents, alumni and children playing catch.

On Jan. 24, this year’s Family Night, organized by the Office of Advancement, was held in Chavez Ravine, after being held at MOCA last year. Frank and Jamie McCourt (Casey ’05 and Gavin ’09), principal owners of the Dodgers, hosted the event at their stadium.

The “fun-raiser” offered the opportunity for families to hit inside the clubhouse batting cage, pitch from the pitching mound or the bullpen and run the bases. Many also took the opportunity to bring their baseball gloves and play catch or pickle in the outfield. Tours of the ballpark were also offered for anyone interested.

The guests were treated to the customary Dodger Dog as well as burgers, chips, peanuts, Cracker-Jacks and cookies.

The Wolverine varsity baseball team volunteered to help with different activities. Players were stationed at the batting cage, in the bullpen and on the field. They arrived early to warm up on the field before everybody arrived.

“I think the guys all had a good time and enjoyed the night,” said Head Coach Matt LaCour. “I’m sure they will remember [this] for a long time.”

Everyone was brought together at around 6:30 p.m. for speeches made by President Thomas C. Hudnut and the McCourts. The theme was centered on family. Jamie McCourt said that Harvard-Westlake welcomed her to Los Angeles like a family. Hudnut re-iterated this point.

“Harvard-Westlake is always your home,” Hudnut told the crowd.

Cody Schott/chronicle

Fernando Hudnut: School President Thomas Hudnut takes the mound at Dodger Stadium sporting Dodger legend Fernando Valuenzela’s No. 34. Students, family and alumni look on.

Major League veteran plays catch with Wolverines on Ted Slavin Field

By Cary Volpert

COUrtesy of pheeling.files.wordpress.com

Wolf-ERINE: Randy Wolf, who recently signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been practicing with the Wolverines in the offseason.

Randy Wolf, a 10-year Major League veteran and recently signed Dodger, has been playing catch with Wolverine baseball players on Ted Slavin Field.

Wolf, a Los Angeles native, has been practicing at Harvard-Westlake for the past month to keep himself in shape in the off-season.

Wolf played high school baseball at nearby El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, where he met current Head Baseball Coach Matt LaCour, who used to coach at El Camino.

One player who has played catch with Wolf frequently during the offseason is catcher Sam Katz ’09.

Katz got the opportunity to practice with Wolf after some determination and a bit of luck.

“Randy always comes at around 11 o’clock and luckily I was free most of the time,” Katz said.

“I didn’t get to play catch with him the first time he came out, so I begged LaCour for a couple of days until he let me play with him.”

At first Katz was anxious about playing catch with a professional.

“I was definitely nervous the first time. He had me line up on the goal line, and he went out to about the 30 yardline, so with each throw I was worried that I would throw it over his head,” Katz said.

“I didn’t want to have to make him run.”

Eventually, the catcher became more accustomed to the flow of practicing with the skilled veteran.

“At first we only made small talk, maybe talking about how he hadn’t gotten signed until so late in the off-season, his off-season schedule or our Harvard-Westlake team this year,” Katz said.

“Then, as I got to be more comfortable with him, I began to play around with him a bit more. One

day he showed up late to the field, so I blamed him for ‘big-leaguing me.’”

Katz was amazed by how skilled Wolf was and by the sensation of simply playing catch with a Major League baseball player.

“It’s pretty wild. I play with other kids on the team practically every day, but when I played with Randy, it was a whole different animal,” Katz said.

“He never misses. When Randy was on, I could set up my glove, close my eyes, and be confident that he would hit the spot. He has great control and great consistency.”

This week is likely Wolf ’s last week playing on Ted Slavin Field, with Dodger pitcher and catchers reporting to Arizona for spring training on Monday.

Wolf has also practiced with Coach LaCour, pitchers Hunter Spinks ’09, Lucas Casso ’09, and Jack Lazebnik ’09, and third baseman Andrew Shanfeld ’10.

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A28 Sports

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

Girls’ water polo aims to avenge CIF final loss

By Cary Volpert The girls’ water polo squad finds itself sitting atop the Mission League standings as it contends for a league title.

The team is 15-5 in overall, but is undefeated in Mission League play this year with an 8-0 record.

The group will have to win only one of the two remaining games this week to officially win the Mission League title, standout player Ashley Grossman ’11 said.

Newcomer Caroline Cuse’09 said that “wins against both of teams we play [Alemany and Flintridge Sacred Heart] this week should not be too challenging since we beat them pretty convincingly the last time we played them.”

They beat Alemany 14-7 and beat Flintridge Sacred Heart 23-4 in January.

The team came out of the Irvine Tournament in Irvine, Calif. with a 3-2 record. The team lost to Foothill High School 14-3 and to Arlington High School 19-13.

However, they were victorious against Miliken High School winning 7-6, Laguna Hills High School 9-8, and Santa Margarita High School 13-8.

After entering the tournament as the 27th seed out of the 32 competing teams, the crew emerged as the 21st best team in the tournament by the competition’s end.

Grossman was pleased with her team’s play.

“In the beginning of the tournament we played Foothill who was a Division 1 team. We

played tentatively against them and did not play our best. Eventually we began to cooperate as a team and ended up beating three teams and playing well [last] Saturday,” she said.

Grossman also mentioned the importance of Coach Larry Felix. “He is a really good coach.

He was on the men’s national team so that gives him the perspective as both a player and a coach, which I really like about him,” she said, “He does a great job catering to players’ needs and conducts specific drills to improve players’ skills.”

The team is young with only three seniors on the team. Many girls have just joined including Cuse and Bridget Golob ’10, who plays goalie.

Grossman spoke of how well Felix has helped these girls adjust.

“We also have a lot of new girls on the team this year, so he has done a great job training them and getting them acclimated.”

Both Grossman and her teammate Camille Hooks ’11, a 2 meter defender and a ball handler on offense, share the same goal for their team as the water polo squadron approaches the end of the regular season.

“I am looking forward to playoffs and playing different teams in our division we haven’t already faced and going as far into CIF as possible,” Hooks said. “We want to win Mission League and then try and win CIF.” The team lost by one point in the final minute in the finals of CIF to Arroyo Grande and lost most of their starters to graduation last year. This year Grossman’s is to “get high into playoffs and CIF and to avenge that loss.”

young gun: Sophomore Ashley Grossman passes the ball during a recent match against Louisville on Feb. 3. The Wolverines won the game 14-7.

Wrestling ends year as CIF looms ahead

Girls’ basketball sets sights on league title

By Alex Edel The varsity girls basketball team has an overall record of 16-7 and 7-1 in league record going into their last week of competition. The team will play one more league game before CIF starts next week.

The team is currently tied for first in Mission league with Notre Dame, both teams having the same in league record.

The team’s biggest win of the season was their fifteen point victory over Notre Dame at Notre Dame.

“It was huge for us because they’re our biggest rivals in league and we had never beaten them at their gym before,” Nicole Hung ’10 said.

Consequently their biggest loss this season was when Notre Dame beat them last Thursday at home by three points.

“We didn’t come out very hard, and allowed them to set the tone early on in the game so instead of playing our game, we played theirs and it was tough because it was a battle the entire time,” Nicole Nesbit ’10 said.

After losing many players to college, the team is extremely with no seniors. Hung and Nesbit, both juniors are the team captains.

During winter break the team placed second in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix Arizona, only losing to St. Mary’s.

The girls will play Flintridge Sacred Heart on Thursday in the last preseason game before CIF starts on Saturday. Flintridge has a 4-8 record and lost to Harvard-Westlake two weeks ago, 23-73.

“Our philosophy this year has been “All Five” which is just a stress that we are all in this together no matter how hard it gets, we are all there for one another.,” Nesbit said.

Last year the team only made it to the first round of CIF where they lost to Wilson High School, who were ranked number one in the

Courtesy of Ashley Grossman

By Jack Schwada

Daniel Lundberg/VOX

syd vicious: Sydney Haydel ’10 shoots a free throw during the Wolverines three point loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 5.

Miramonte league.

“To get ready for CIF, we’re trying to turn up our defense and communicate better with each other on the court,” said Hung.

“We will approach it with a goal, and that is to make it to the finals, and take the title this year. We know we do have a much better chance this year because out division is not nearly as good as last year, but we will not underestimate it either,” Nesbit said.

Last Saturday marked the end of the season for some wrestlers, and for others it marked the beginning of the quest for CIF level recognition. The Mission League finals took place at Chaminade High School and the results of this hours long tournament determined which Wolverines would qualify for the Southern Section Central Division individual championships, which will take place in a few weeks.

Last year’s Mission League finals were a great success for the Wolverine squad, with nine of their wrestlers placing in the top three of their weight divisions. This year’s Mission League finals was not as promising as last year’s but still marked a significant success for the team. Nearly all of the wrestlers advanced to CIF. Wrestlers needed to come in the top three of their weight classes in order to advance to CIF. Many Wolverines were able to make the cut and came in the top three of their weight classes advanced to CIF. Spencer Friedman ’09 took first place in his weight class and so did Ben Kogan ’11. Matt Felker ’09 was another senior who will be advancing to CIF and took second place in his weight

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class.

This CIF qualifier came after last Tuesday’s loss to Alemany. This 64-14 loss placed Alemany first place in the league with the Wolverines taking second place overall during the season in their league.

Alemany proved its skills last Saturday, beating out the Wolverines again and taking first place in the tournament.

The Wolverines faced three other schools during the season besides Alemany. They participated in several tournaments but only a few were against league squads, such as Brentwood, Crespi and Chaminade, each of whom they took on last month.

One problem during this season was a lack of truly experienced wrestlers. Of all the Wolverines on the squad, only five were upperclassmen.

“We are definitely a very young team,” Felker said. “But once we seniors are gone I’m confident that the team will progress. This squad has a very bright future.”

Despite the youth of the squad this season, the future looks bright for this younger squad. The Wolverine squad has been led and will continue to be led by head coach Gary Bairos who has been with the school for several years.

Feb. 11, 2009

Sports A29

The Chronicle

Former Wolverine standout makes his mark in Knoxville

By Jonah Rosenbaum In Knoxville, Tennessee, basketball matters.

When University Of Tennessee Head Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl first saw the team’s enormous 22,756 -seat arena (almost double the size of UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion), he asked himself, “I wonder if this place is big enough?”

The question might have been a good one, as 21,314 poured in to see the Volunteers take on Belmont, over 2,000 more than saw the Lakers-Celtics on Christmas day. While game days might be a popular and exciting diversion for Tennessee fans, they hold a vastly different experience for former Wolverine standout and current Tennessee freshman Renaldo Woolridge ’08.

Woolridge is a 6’8 small forward, and the son of former Laker Orlando Woolridge. As a senior at Harvard-Westlake, Woolridge averaged 19.1 points per game, and led the team to the second round of the playoffs before it fell to top ranked Mater Dei. Woolridge committed to the University of Tennessee over such schools as Georgetown, USC and Illinois.

Woolridge has experienced the typical ups and downs of a freshman playing early minutes for a major program.

He began the season in the starting lineup, a rare feat for a freshman in the competitive Southeastern Conference.

Woolridge averaged 6.6 points through the first 11 games, including a 14 point outburst against Sienna.

Over the last 10 games, Woolridge has fallen into a shooting slump, averaging only 1.5 points per game, and shooting just one for 12 from threepoint range.

One of the ups so far this season came during the Vols game versus Belmont early on in the season.

The day of the game, Woolridge and his teammates woke up and immediately had to focus their attention elsewhere. With the game just hours away, they had school on their mind.

“Before home games, we go to class

just like everybody else,” Woolridge said.

After class was over, Woolridge and his teammates headed to the team’s practice facility.

“Five hours before the game, we had a walk through going over defending their plays as well as fine tuning ours.”

Pearl stressed the importance of taking little known Belmont seriously, referencing their near upset of perennial power Duke, in the previous year’s NCAA tournament.

At 11 a.m., four hours before the 3 p.m. tipoff, the team had their traditional pre-game meal.

“We always have steak, pasta and some sort of vegetable to get us right for the game,” Woolridge said.

After the meal, the team had two and a half hours to relax before entering their arena for the shoot around.

The shoot around is used to get warmed up before the game.

“The guards and big men split up and work on some individual offensive things,” Woolridge said.

At 2:30, fans are beginning to pile in, the band is playing Tennessee’s fight song “Rocky Top,” and the team is in the locker room getting final instructions from their coach.

“Coach Pearl went over game strategies, and hyped us up for the game,” Woolridge said. While some players are beginning to feel nervous, Renaldo remains relaxed.

“He just stays calm, and gets ready for the game,” his sister Tiana ’11 said.

“He likes to listen to Lil’ Wayne before running onto the court.”

After the team has listened to Pearl’s speech they run onto the court to thunderous applause.

The ESPN crew is going over the keys to the game, and the team is getting in a final warmup, while Belmont is being greeted by loud boos and taunts on the other side of the court.

Five minutes before tipoff, the team heads up to the top of the arena, and following Tennessee tradition, runs all the way down to the court, high fiving fans along the way.

courtesy of renaldo woolridge

Re of hope: Former Wolverine Renaldo Woolridge ’08 now plays for the Tennessee Volunteers under Head Coach Bruce Pearl. Though the 6’8” forward started for the Volunteers at the beginning of the season, he now comes off the bench.

The game went back and forth, and as Pearl predicted, was closer than expected. Belmont had a chance to win the game, but guard Alex Renfroe missed two free throws down the stretch and Tennessee hit their freethrows, ultimately winning 79-77.

Woolridge had nine points in 15 min-

utes of play.

After the game, Coach Pearl talked to the team about “how we did and also about our next opponent.”

After a long night, Woolridge headed to dinner with teammates Wayne Chism, Scotty Hopson and Tyler Smith.

Alexia Boyarsky

The non-athlete’s guide to sports

By Alexia Boyarsky I never really understood sports. As a child, I was never in the Little League; I never played Pee-wee basketball, or played on the community soccer team. I danced ballet, I dabbled in gymnastics, I took up and dropped tennis – but I never competed.

However, despite my lack of knowledge about competitive sports (I still don’t understand how football works, despite having had the game explained to me on at least six different occasions), I have come to realize that watching a sports game is one of the most intense experiences you can have in your life; especially when the people you are rooting for are not Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol, but people you go to school with on a daily basis.

It’s sweaty, yes, and it’s tiring. All the jumping around, clapping and screaming burns up to 300 calories an hour, or so I’ve heard – but it’s more

than just that.

First off, you get to dress up. Finding the perfect outfit is difficult; what jeans go with my Fanatics shirt? Do I want red Converse or black ones?

Face paint, or no face paint?

It’s all rather complicated.

Second, it’s exciting. I mean really exciting. Even if you don’t know the game, you stand up and cheer. When they make a basket, you know, even if you weren’t watching, and you start screaming even if you missed the moment. It’s a human reflex; rather like yawning, excitement is contagious. Trust me, you’ll catch it too.

Take, for example, the varsity boys’ basketball game against Loyola two weeks ago.

With packed stands, black and red gear and “Beat Loyola” shirts, H-W students crammed into Taper gymnasium and presented a formidable and impenetrable bulwark.

We screamed and we shouted and we clapped our poor

hands red, and even though we lost, perhaps because of it, we were united. For two hours, the mass students became a single entity, united for a common goal against a common enemy.

Although we lost, we fought and we cheered valiantly.

Then the next morning, the tacit glances between students seemed to say “you were there too,” “you saw it happen.” Sports bring people together. Like the latest popular TV show, albeit with outfits distinctly uglier than anything Blair Waldorf would ever wear, it’s something you can discuss with other people, and a bond you will share when it’s over.

I suppose what this discussion leads to is a school community. I can’t count the number of times I have heard students bemoaning the fact that we “don’t have a sense of community.” But that feeling starts first and foremost with the students, not with the school administration.

How can we expect the Prefect

Council, the Social Committee or the school administrators to “foster” school spirit if the students themselves do not make an attempt to?

So, even if you don’t know a whit about sports, you do know that a basketball going into the hoop is a good thing, that a football carried all the way to that tall fork-like thing at either end is a good thing, that a score into a net is a good thing. Cheer for that.

Or, as I frequently have done at football games, simply cheer when the people around you are cheering. It’s not that difficult to fake. Just don’t get confused between the two teams.

Or simply fall back on the timeless phrases: “that was a beautiful shot,” “our defense is slack tonight” or “that was such a nice play.” Each of them is guaranteed to fool the people around you into thinking you actually know what you’re talking about.

At a risk of sounding cheesy,

“Despite my lack of knowledge about competitive sports, I have come to realize that watching a sports game is one of the most intense high school experiences you can have.” and in my best Morgan Freeman impersonation, I quote from the Olympics Visa commercial: “we cheer, because when they succeed, we succeed.”

The students that are winning on the field are my classmates, my friends, my peers, and when they win, I feel like I win too.

A30 Sports

The Chronicle

JV roundup

Feb. 11, 2009

B oys’ S occer

Boys alter team strategy

By Tiana Woolridge With the end of the 2008-2009 season in sight, the JV boys’ soccer team has attained an overall record of 6-7-3 and a league record of 5-4-1.

After a few losses in the beginning of the season, Head Coach Dino Durand felt like it was time for a change.

“We just applied a system of how to support each other on every play,” said Durand. “Also, I told them that they have to focus more and believe in themselves.”

“Our team has improved a lot and we’ve done really well,” James Myerson

’11 said. “We just dominated a team that we lost to in January because of our new system.”

The team will play their last game against Chaminade this afternoon at Chaminade High School. While Durand hopes for a win, he has other goals in mind.

“I come from Argentina and I have a lot of experience that I want to transmit to the players of this school,” Durand said. “I’m very proud about the results of the season and I want my players to have fun while at the same time learn something positive for their future.”

DAVID BURTON/CHRONICLE

Battle royale: Will Oliver ’11 fights for the ball with a Notre Dame player in the two teams’ recent game on Friday Feb. 4. The Wolverines won 3-0.

Girls’ S occer

Team slides to 6-7 record

By Alec Caso Last Friday’s league match against Louisville ended with HarvardWestlake winning 1-0.

The team has had a season record of six wins and seven losses. They started their season with a loss against Huntington Beach. They continued to win the next three games against Woodridge, Oaks Christian, and Chatsworth.

They lost the next five games, but ended their season with three more wins.

“I feel like this team has a lot of potential. We don’t have much field space but we I feel like we have gotten a lot better,” Danielle Strom ’11 said.

The game last Friday was concluded in the last two minutes. Rain poured

Alex Leichenger/chronicle

Defense: Lewis Dix ’11 defends a Notre Dame player during the JV boys’ basketball match last Wednesday at Taper gym. The Wolverines won the game 49-46.

B oys’ Basketball

Squad wins 5 of last 7

By Alex Leichenger The JV boys’ basketball team will head into its final two games of the season against Verbum Dei and Chaminade with an overall record of 13-11 and a league record of 7-5.

The squad, coached by Drew Firestone, defeated both Verbum Dei and Chaminade at home in their previous meetings.

The Wolverines fell on the road to Crespi Friday after a 49-46 victory Wednesday against Notre Dame. The closely contested win redeemed an 11point loss Jan. 14.

The Wolverines have dealt with a pair of three-game losing streaks this season and have struggled against league rivals Loyola and Crespi. Loyola handed the Wolverines their most lopsided defeat of the season, 59-33,on Jan. 30 at Taper. The Cubs also defeated the Wolverines 76-59 on Jan. 12.

The Wolverines are 6-0 against league opponents Verbum Dei, Chaminade, Alemany, and St. Francis, including a 68-28 rout of Alemany Jan 9.

“In the beginning [of the season], we started off slow,” guard David Kinrich ’11 said. “But then we meshed as a team and got where we needed to be.”

down on the field the entire game. In the last two minutes the HarvardWestlake team came back and won, locking the score at 1-0.

“I thought that we made hard work of the first half, we should have been 2-0 up at least, but we didn’t take the opportunities that we worked so hard to get,” Head Varsity Coach David Copeland-Smith said.

One major concern for the JV girls team was limited field space. Often times they were pushed to one small section of the field were they did not have any room to practice full drills.

“It’s hard to plan and indeed implement training session in the warm up/cool down area on the south side of the field as you just really can’t do a lot of game realistic drills,” Copeland-Smith said.

Girls’ Basketball

Girls clinch Mission title

By Austin Block With one game left in their season, the JV girls’ basketball team clinched the Mission League title with a 17-3 overall record and a spotless 8-0 record against league opponents, not including their game last night against Alemany, which took place after press time.

Heading into the Alemany game, the team had not lost since Dec. 20, a five point loss to Santa Monica, and was riding an 11 game winning streak that included all eight of the league games they have played so far.

“What I like about this team is the cohesion between the players and the coaches. We go on “team bonding” events where we would go to the movies or to a restaurant and just enjoy each other’s company,” Mariana Bagneris ’11 said. “The positive attitudes are carried

onto the court and it shows through our play and our victories.”

Jessie Goldman ’11 echoed Bagneris’ sentiments: “What I like best about the team is our chemistry. We all get along so well and it really shows on the court. We spend so much time together that the players on the team literally become your sisters.”

Head Coach L’Tanya Robnett ’00 said that this team works hard and the players get along and work well with each other.

She said their biggest win was their Feb. 5 42-33 victory over Notre Dame, in which they clinched the Mission League title.

“This season has been incredible.

Our goal was to go undefeated in league and so far we’ve accomplished that, definitely something that we’re proud of,” Goldman said.

Feb. 11, 2009

Sports A31

The Chronicle

In his own words...

Spencer Friedman ‘09 — Wrestling Captain Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A

How do you think the wrestling team is doing this season?

We’ve been doing pretty well, we’re a young team in general and we’re a small team so we have trouble winning dual meets but we do well in tournaments and especially in this past month have stepped it up.

How long have you been wrestling? What got you interested?

I started wrestling in 7th grade. I was small and it was a no-cut sport. I was too short to play basketball. I continued because I enjoyed challenging myself and wrestling is easily the most challenging thing you can do.

What is your role on the squad as a captain?

I have to set a good example in practice. It’s about leading by example and getting in the room and working really hard every single day.

Are you continuing wrestling in college?

Where?

Yes. I was recruited for wrestling and I will continue to wrestle at Harvard. I’ve become addicted to wrestling and the intense work; I thrive off that.

What is the team dynamic like this season? Are you guys close?

Absolutely. You go through hell and back in practice with these guys, it’s hard not to grow close with them. With wrestling you get a lot of kids who wouldn’t normally be friends but it brings you all together.

What are your strengths as a wrestler?

Any weaknesses?

I don’t really have any blaring weaknesses or blaring strengths. I’m a pretty well-rounded wrestler.

Weight is a big deal in wrestling. What’s your weight class, and what do you do to stay in your class?

135 pounds. I eat five small meals a day, moderate carbohydrate, moderate fat and high protein intake. And I drink two to three gallons of water every day to keep hydrated. We do it the right way.

Photo by A.J. Calabrese Interview by Ashley Halkett

February Games to watch...

11 12 13 18 20 Girls’ Soccer vs. Chaminade

Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Ted Slavin Field

“We tied last time after a really tough game, so hopefully we’ll be able to come out with a win this time.”

—Katy Park ‘11

Girls’ Basketball vs. Flintridge Sacred Heart Thursday at 7 p.m.

Taper Gym

“Even though we won last time, we need to stay focused and continue to work hard to get prepared for playoffs.”

—Leslie Schuman ’12

Boys’ Soccer at Crespi

Friday at 5 p.m.

Crespi Carmelite High School

“This game is going determine who we’re going to play in the playoffs and whether we’ll be able to play at home. It’s a big game for us.”

—AJ Hong ’10

Girls’ WaterPolo vs. TBA Round 1 CIF Wednesday

“I’m pretty confident in our first round draw... I think we’re going to shock some people.”

—Head Coach Larry Felix

Boys’ Basketball vs. TBA Round 1 CIF Friday

“We want to go all the way and capture a CIF title and hopefully make a run at state.”

—Nate Bulluck ’10

photo finish

Feb. 11, 2009

product

process

A32

»

cathi choi/chronicle

cathi choi/chronicle

alan sasaki/reprinted with permission

cathi choi/chronicle cathi choi/chronicle

creation: Abeles crafts a larger-than-life kneeling body entirely out of papers and wrappers discarded by students and teachers over one week (top). Abeles rifles through dumpsters by Weiler Hall on Jan. 9, one of the several times she gathered discarded bottles, papers, food items and more thrown away during one week at Harvard-Westlake (middle). She transported the trash in her car (below) and stored it in her studio until she sculpted, ironed and arranged it in Feldman-Horn.

looming large: Lorenz Kim ’11 absorbs Abeles’ displays in front of a series of presidential portraits in which the degree of shading reflects the president’s environmental policies as the giant paper body looms overhead.

another

woman’s cathi choi/chronicle

treasure

Artist-in-residence Kim Abeles created art from one week of school trash. The gallery officially opened today. See A6 for the full story.

cathi choi/chronicle

leafy green: Students observe all the water bottles Abeles collected in one week (top). Students from Allan Sasaki’s Advanced Photo I class on Monday hang out in the Leaf Lounge, a collection of pillows shaped like leaves and stuffed with leaves from all over the world (middle). Abeles found a carpet in a dumpster and transformed it into a dress which is carrying a photo of the original carpet (bottom). Some of the images in the orange wallpaper behind Sal Greenberger ’09 and English teacher Martha Wheelock contain openings with televisions behind them where footage Abeles filmed of Niagara Falls is playing.

B Section

charting your course

The Chronicle . Harvard-Westlake School . Wednesday, Feb.11, 2009

21

classes covered

14 13

core subjects

teacher thoughts

7

elective choices

5

direct comparisons

photo illustration

by Cathi Choi and Emily Friedman

1

supplement.

The Ch

Playing your cards righ B2

Feb. 1

12

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AP Calculus AB

In class: Students participate in group worksheets and activities. Student team work is emphasized.

At home: About one page of worksheet problems.

Evaluation: One or two quizzes per unit and an individual or group test.

“The beginning of the year was mostly a review of Algebra 2 and Precalculus. It’s nice to take a class that’s not an AP.” — Katelyn Kondra ’09, enrolled in TCS “TCS is a great class for the overworked senior. It’s a pretty good Calculus class without the stress of an AP.” — Paula Evans, Head of Math Department

In class: Students take their own notes (no handouts) and do practice problems.

There are weekly double periods.

At home: Approximately seven to 15 problems per night Evaluation: One or two quizzes per unit and comprehensive unit tests

“I think it is a little more interesting than most math classes. In my experience, I have found that the quizzes tend to be harder than the tests.”

— Joey Meyer ’09, enrolled in AP Calculus AB “AP Calculus is for mathematical and mechanical thinkers.”

— Paula Evans, Head of Math Department

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math AP St

atistic s

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Topics in Calculus and Statistics

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TCS

AP Calculus AB

AP Statistics

In class: The class consists of discussions, group activities and weekly double periods.

At home: Four to seven problems per night, each with multiple parts Evaluation: Take-home projects and case studies count for a portion of test grades

“Students learn to deeply understand how to conduct a scientific study, collect data appropriately, analyze data, and make proper conclusions about the data that surround our lives. ” — William Thill, AP Statistics teacher

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science span B

AP Biology

APES

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AP Physics

AP Environmental Science

AP Physics B

In class: 12 labs are completed per year.

Students take notes on lectures and do sample problems.

At home: Four to five problems are assigned about five times per unit. All homework is due on the day of the unit test. Lab reports require additional hours of work.

Evaluation: Unit tests, quizzes and labs

“I am in the high math course and I have a tutor to help get through [Physics B]. It is probably the most difficult class I have taken so far.”

— Simon Hunegs ’10, enrolled in AP Physics B

“The class moves quickly through a lot of difficult material, so students should be prepared to feel overwhelmed and a little confused.”

— Karen Hutchison, AP Physics B and Physics teacher “You need to be either naturally good at it or really interested in it. If you don’t fall into one of these categories, it will be really hard.”

— Jesse Reiner, AP Physics B and Physics teacher

In class: Students take notes from Power Point lectures and complete an average of one lab each week.

At home: Worksheets, reading assignments and online quizzes Evaluation: Eight to 10 tests per semester

AP Spanish Literature

“APES takes a wider range of students.

There’s some math but not as much as Physics. The class also isn’t as intense as AP Biology which is why we don’t need the extra day that Bio does.”

— Wendy Van Norden, former APES teacher

AP Biology

In class: Students take notes on slideshow lectures and do two labs per unit.

The class meets six times each week.

At home: Extensive nightly reading assignments.

Evaluation: Unit tests and lab quizzes “You should be motivated, self disciplined, and interested in the subject. It’s a vigorous class.”

— Walt Werner, science teacher

“The class is a combination of studentfueled, outside-of-class study and teacher-assisted lab work; the majority of the learning is done in lecture and reading so a lot of self-motivated discovery is involved.”

— Nick Merrill ’09, enrolled in AP Biology

AP Spanish Literature

In class: The class consists of discussions analyzing content and form of literary works.

At home: Nightly reading assignments from Peninsular and Latin American literary texts Evaluation: There are daily reading quizzes, in-class essays approximately every two weeks and a semester exam.

“Overall, AP Spanish Literature is a pretty manageable class as long as you pay attention and take notes. You have to do the reading and online quizzes each night to stay on top of your work. ” — Nisha Shah ’09, enrolled in AP Spanish Literature

hronicle

ht

B3

11, 2009

Picking classes can be tough. Here’s a guide to help differentiate between similar classes.

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G

A

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history

In class: No quizzes, lecture style class At home: Nightly reading assignments Evaluation: Two term papers per year, three unit tests per semester

“I’ve never done a single reading and I’m doing well in the class. I’m a slow reader and that is not how I learn well.

[Eric] Zwemer lectures and [Katherine] Holmes-Chuba opens up the class to questions or comments.”

— Jeremy Cairl ’09, enrolled in AP History of Art

“This class teaches you how to train your eye to recognize and understand art even if you’ve never seen it before.

It’s not about memorizing 10,000 works of art.”

— Eric Zwemer, AP History of Art teacher

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AP History of Art

AP Government

AP Wo Historyrld

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AP History of Art

AP World History

AP Government

In class: The class consists of discussions and unannounced reading quizzes.

At home: Nightly reading assignments from the textbook and handout articles Evaluation: State project and courtcase project

“Gov is a political science course, it’s not a linear course. Gov and Art History both teach different skills, and both have a large volume of reading and work.”

— Francine Werner, AP Government teacher

In class: Class consists of discussions and weekly reading quizzes at the end of each chapter.

At home: Lengthy nightly reading assignments Evaluation: Unit tests, frequent reading quizzes and one term paper in the spring

“AP World is definitely more conceptual than AP Government and more about broad themes across different regions.

I have over an hour of homework in World and 40 minutes in Gov.” — Alex Sones ’09, enrolled in AP World History

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ñ

nish ñ

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Span ish V

Spanish V

In class: A discussion-based class meant to delve into the expression of intellect. There are no formal vocabulary or grammar lessons.

At home: Research and create PowerPoints on topics of student’s choice, and oral presentations of the PowerPoints.

Evaluation: Three PowerPoint projects, open-note tests, one open note semester exam and a final term paper.

Nearly 50 percent of a student’s grade is based on participation.

“I like the idea that this is more a conversational class and we watch movies and do PowerPoint presentations on influential Hispanic people.”

— Alex Rivkin ’09, enrolled in Spanish V

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lish AP Entgure Litera

AP E Langunaglish ge

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ñ S

AP English Literature

AP English Language

Reading list (based on 2008-2009 curriculum): “The Iliad” (Homer), “Hamlet” (William Shakespeare), “Pride and Prejudice” (Jane Austen), “Mrs. Dalloway” (Virginia Woolf), “Metamorphosis” (Franz Kafka), “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” (Tom Stoppard)

Reading list (based on 2008 - 2009 curriculum): “Song of Solomon” (Toni Morrison), “The Merchant of Venice” (William Shakespeare), Bartleby & Benito Cerino (Herman Melville), “Good Man is Hard to Find & Other Stories” (Flannery O’Connor), “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” (Frederick Douglass)

“The difference [between AP English Language and Literature] has primarily to do with the kind of analysis.

The language course focuses more on rhetorical analysis looking at techniques writers use to make arguments, to persuade. The literature course focuses more on figurative language and how the writer uses elements such as diction, imagery, allusions and so on to convey meaning.”

— Geraldine Harding, AP English Lang and Lit teacher

“When we were reading fiction, the class was really discussion-based and everyone got the chance to interpret the text and debate their ideas.”

— Rachel Scott ’09, enrolled in AP English Language

english

“Many juniors will advance to AP Language, a course that includes a focus on rhetoric and strategies writers use to persuade, a useful focus for seniors in preparation for college writing.”

— Larry Weber, Head of English Department

Graphics by Candace ravan

B4

Feb. 11, 2009

The Chronicle

3 in a row

Some classes go better together: mix up a difficult core class with a complementary course.

Sound and acoustics AP Physics Electronics

AP Art History AP World History AP Comparative Government

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By Alexia Boyarsky

A

lthough the AP World History curriculum is designed to assume that students start “knowing nothing about the subject,” the class’ only teacher, Drew Maddock believes that seniors also enrolled in AP Art History feel more comfortable in his class.

The students also taking Art History “recognize the works of art that I show in class,” Maddock said. “That makes them feel more comfortable, they make connections between the

two [classes] and world history starts to feel less foreign when they have already covered an aspect of it in another class.”

History teacher David Waterhouse also believes that taking AP Comparative Government second semester helps seniors make connections between issues countries faced in the past and current topics developing in the same countries.

“Comparative Government provides a modern day analysis of the same basic topics covered in World History,” Waterhouse said.

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By Emily Friedman

W

hen science teacher Antonio Nassar teaches a concept in his AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism class, Carl Lawson ’09 is able to visualize the situation. This is possible because Lawson, in addition to being enrolled in AP Physics C, is also taking Electronics.

Electronics, taught by Nassar and only offered second semester, is a highly content-oriented course. “It is heavily based on lab work,” Nassar said.

“What we learn in E&M is all of the explanations behind what we do in electronics,” said Lawson. “It is really just a hands on class that tells what happens but not why, and E&M covers why.”

Sound and Acoustics, also taught

by Nassar and offered only first semester, is an introduction to the science of sound, a topic introduced in AP Physics B. Sound and Acoustics is a more conceptual class and topics are related to a large variety of immediate everyday physical situations, Nassar said.

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11th and 12th grade English Shakespeare Creative Writing

AP Biology Human Anatomy Genetics and Biotechnology

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www.sxc.hu/reprinted with permission Graphic by Dana Glasser and michelle yousefzadeh

By Michelle Yousefzadeh

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n his AP Biology class, Eli Moghavem ’10 is able to apply Mendel’s theory to what he’s learning in Genetics and Biotechnology. Moghavem is one of few students who has the advantage of understanding a Biology topic before it is taught.

Genetics and Biotechnology is a science course which studies how life works at the molecular level with emphasis on the role of DNA. “Biology introduces a lot of the topics we cover in genetics

but we dive much deeper into them in genetics” Moghavem said.

Also helpful to the AP Biology class is Human Anatomy and Physiology which is an advanced course in biology with the main emphasis on the physiology of the human body.

“If I didn’t take Biology, I would have had to work much harder to understand the concepts and to prepare for tests in Human Anatomy,” Nicole Cameron ’09 said.

Cameron took Biology as a junior and is now taking Human Anatomy as a senior.

By Cathi Choi

T

he English electives Creative Writing and Shakespeare do more for students than just teaching them how to write better or making Shakespearean language easier to understand. The two onesemester classes teach students skills for all English classes, English teachers Jocelyn Medawar and Adam Howard said.

Shakespeare teacher Medawar said Shakespeare can be a supplement to the regular English classes because it allows students to spend time with one writer and to write different kinds of papers.

“With Shakespeare, I can offer different kinds of writing assignments that allow students with different strengths to show off,”

Medawar said.

They do, however, write some analytical essays during the semester, whereas students in Creative Writing, Creative Writing teacher Howard said, write no analytical essays at all.

In all three sections of the class, students emulate the writers, making their own creative work. This practice of emulation, Howard said, helps students in their regular English classes by giving them a different perspective on writing.

“I think that they find themselves seeing more tools at the writers disposal, and so they’re not only looking at what they’re being led to,” Howard said, “but also they might discover some things that help them form a personal connection to the writer.”