The Chronicle Harvard-Westlake School • North Hollywood, CA • Volume XVIII • Issue 2 • October 1, 2008 • chronicle.hw.com
Brotherly love:
Media frenzy:
Oliver Doublet ’09, with his two brothers, is one of several students with infant siblings.
Ashton Kutcher attracts paparazzi as a new freshman assistant football coach.
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A23
A15
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Space travel: Peter Diamandis speaks about his development in science and the space industry.
A8
Ethicist to speak on character
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By Jordan Freisleben
Ethicist Michael Josephson will discuss character and the specific challenges and pressures teenagers face at an assembly on Oct. 21 as well as a parent meeting later that night, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. He was selected by Huybrechts as part of her theme for this year that “character, not circumstance, makes the person.” Josephson, the founder of the Josephson Institute for Ethics, emphasizes improving the ethical quality of society by changing decision-making and behavior. The Honor Code violations last year led to Huybrechts’ decision to invite Josephson to speak at the assembly. “I told him about the problems that we had last year and that at the end of the year we were really questioning whether we, the school, were doing an adequate job of developing character in our students,” Huybrechts said. At the assembly, he will be addressing ninth through twelfth graders about the coinciding of school and character. “I think he’s better for high school kids than middle school kids, so I invited all of our high school kids rather than have two assemblies,” she said. Huybrechts said that the topic of building ethical character amongst students continues to remain a significant focus for the school. “This is the old ‘hard right vs. the easy wrong’ scenario that all teenagers face,” she said. “How are you going to develop your own moral compass?”
Head Prefect nominated for Morehead By A.J. Calabrese
Head Prefect Brandon Levin ’09 received the nomination for this year’s Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a full four year scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With the nomination Levin becomes one of a selective group of nationwide contenders for the award, which is awarded to 70 to 80 high school students. “I was absolutely thrilled to be representing Harvard-Westlake,” Levin said. “I really felt honored to be selected from what I’m sure was a prestigious group.” Levin found out about the nomination at the end of last year after a committee of school administrators including his dean, Jim Patterson, made the decision. “I think Brandon exemplified the qualities that Moorhead-Cain are looking for—scholarship, leadership and participation in athletics,” Patterson said. This year’s Morehead winners will be announced in March.
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shine a light: Terrell Willard ’11 dives for a ball in the varsity football game against Rosemead last Friday (top left). Michael Diamant ’09 leads the student section in cheers (top right). Cheerleaders observe the game (bottom).
Huybrechts initiates a green scene By Carly Mandel
and
Derek Schlom
As part of a concerted school-wide effort to maximize the efficiency of energy and resources on both campuses, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts announced plans last month to implement a series of environmentallyconscious policies, collectively known as “H-W Green.” “I believe that most of the time, most of us try to be environmentally conscious…but we could be doing much more,” Huybrechts wrote in an e-mail to faculty Sept. 18. “This year I’d like us to do much more: to become more intentional about lowering our impact on the environment, and to begin making green practices an integral part of daily operation at H-W.” “We’re going to take a look at how we at school can be greener and perhaps how we can educate our students
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about principles related to conservation,” she added in an interview last week. Middle school performing arts teacher Carrie Green and upper school math teacher Kent Palmer will be leading the “H-W Green” initiative on their respective campuses. Huybrechts has yet to declare any specific components of “H-W Green” beyond its leaders. “From my point of view there are no specific plans. There are all sorts of ideas already,” she said, citing the potential elimination of paper plates and plastic utensils from the cafeteria as an example. The creation of a committee of faculty members, Prefects and student volunteers to spearhead “H-W Green” has also been tentatively discussed, Huybrechts said. One of the committee’s goals would
COMMUNITY FAIR: Students help out underprivileged children. A7
IPHONE DEVELOPER: Ian Cinnamon ’09 creates a topselling iPhone application. A12
be to educate and raise awareness among the student body on the necessity and benefits of sustainable living, Prefect Kate Liebman ’09 said. Potential ideas include selling reusable water bottles for student use and adding an eco-friendly element to this year’s Semiformal, Liebman said. Huybrechts said she anticipates that “H-W Green” will eventually have a significant positive impact on the school’s policies and their environmental consequences. “Rather than wait a whole year and make some recommendations at the end of the year, I would like us just to become greener tomorrow, if possible,” she said. “There are so many people involved in this, so many people who are interested that I anticipate some real changes in the school.” Additional green coverage, A16
B SECTION:
election day: Students are getting involved with campaigning both on and off campus.