The Octagon April 2012 Edition

VOL. XXXV, NO. 7

(Illustration by Kamira Patel)

THEOctagon

April 24, 2012

WWW.SCDSOCTAGON.ORG

POINTS

OF

INTEREST FRIENDLY SPIRIT When senior Blair Wigney opened the letter, she started crying.

“Blair,” it said. “So sorry the cookies were stolen.

That shouldn’t happen at Country Day. Hope this covers it.”

It was signed “The Spirit of Country Day”—and earlier, Wigney had returned to school after the Senior Trevor Sutley stands in front of Chapman University in Orange County next to a statue of the college’s founder. Sutley enjoyed the visit, but wonders whether the school is too small for him. So far, his favorites include Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he was able to meet (Photo courtesy of Sutley)

her Girl Scout cookies had

So you think you know where you’re going?

“I (looked) everywhere,” Wigney said. “I even checked the dumpster.”

The total cost of the

COLLEGE VISITS ALTER PERCEPTIONS, CHANGE MINDS Page Editors

S

enior Alistair Fortson applied to the University of Southern Cali-

Last week, Fortson sent in his deposit to USC—the school he now sees

“I realized that I want different things now than when I applied,” Fortson said.

“Everything they put together—from the way the tour guide looked (think fancy summer dress, very well coiffed) down to the personal way they answered all the questions in a room full of hopefuls—impressed me,” he said.

Some are now leaning towards schools they never would have considversity, he was hesitant to make the transition from a high school of 134

friendly community. On Sunday nights, (students) would gather in the common room and two students would share their life stories,” he said.

Cornell. question campus safety due to the many Blue Light security posts there— something that might have seemed a plus on the Internet.

“Most of the time I could see three or four (Blue Lights). At one spot on “The way I see it, having more Blue Lights means that the campus police feel they need to have more Blue Lights.” details on a tour.

Zach Lemos was set on going to the more “prestigious” UC San Diego and was not even considering University of San Diego. But then he took their accepted-students tour, talked with the crew coach and realized the deposit to USD last week. her parents are UCSB alumni, she had a special visit where she not only sors she would have in the fall—and Getz loved it.

But on Jackman’s overnight visit—last week—his perspective shifted drastically.

“When I saw the dorms, I realized they formed a close, warm and

See Colleges, page 3

Wigney made announcements at morning stating that the cookies questions asked.

But when they were not, Wigney prepared to pay for the cookies herself.

Then on March 14, administrative assistant Erica Wilson gave Wigney an envelope mailed to SCDS anonymously. es of cookies to share at morning meeting.

—Christina Petlowany MUSIC FESTIVAL The high-school Orchestra, Jazz Band and Concert Band all received Gold ratings at the Forum Music Festival, April 14, in Pleasant Hill.

Each group was rated on tonation, tone, technique, pretation. All three scored Additionally, seniors Camille Getz (violin), Nicholas Samson (saxoney (trumpet) were given special recognition and awarded plaques.

“In 11 years of going to festivals, I do not remem-

Next spring the groups will participate in a com-

University of Southern California in Los Angeles. (Photos courtesy of Getz and Berg)

tween the Californian groups that won Gold.

— Ian Cardle

2 Feature

The Octagon

April 24, 2012

This we remember, but want to forget Classes lament their bouts of bad luck

, yes.

Unfortunately senior That was our prank.

really s n o o l l a b '04:The n o i t a u d halt. p s a Gra e h t t n compleme

(Photos courtesy of Julie Nelson and Amy Wells)

New buildi ng!

Class of 2 015 not inv ited...

weather.

“It was freezing and Editor-in-Chief raining on our class trip (Oct. 5-8 at Camp Lotus n the world of The Hunger Games trilon the American River) ogy, one’s life is almost completely deand we had bad weather termined by luck. last year too,” sophomore Maya KupYou are lucky if you live in the wealthy permann said in the poll.

Capital.

“In the Marin Headlands in 5th grade it You are lucky if your family can afford to was drenching rain the entire trip. In 6th buy food. grade in Sequoia You are incredibly lucky if your name isn’t drawn to participate in “Our class got really it was insanely cold,” sophothe deadly Hunger Games. screwed.

I wish I didn’t more Patrick TaTheir lives can be summed up lamantes said. remember (the sophoin one sentence that is repeated “In Yosemite it throughout the book: “May the more project).” had snowed the odds be ever in your favor.” year before and –KJ Park, ‘11 But some SCDS classes say that we really wantthe odds are never in their favor. ed it to snow but The class of ‘15 seemed to be on it didn’t.” its way to becoming the unluckiest class in “In 8th grade we had crazy turbulence on the school’s history. They missed the new lower school buildings by one year; they the plane. There were some girls who were missed iPads in the middle school by one screaming.”

And now, Kuppermann and Talamantes’s year; and, until Feb. 21, they were going to class is the one who will miss the Macmiss the new MacBooks.

However, the inauspicious freshmen got a Books. rare stroke of luck when the Board of TrustBut, in truth, every class can identify some ees reversed its decision and gave both the way in which they have been “screwed.” freshmen and sophomores laptops for the next school year. plain about,” said Michael Lewis, ’08.

Previous to this change, the freshmen For instance, the class of ’13 will have a complained that their class “misses every- new college counselor. thing new that the ’16 class gets,” freshman Some students are worried that the new Tori Pefferle said in an Octagon poll. counselor Jane Bauman will not be as expeBut other classes also feel that they are rienced as 18-year college counselor Patricia unlucky, although some, such as the class Fels. of ’14, attribute their ill luck mostly to the

By Christina Petlowany

I

69% Percentage of teachers who listen daily, often, or sometimes to CPR

See Screwed, page 3

New CPR schedule causes conflict among alumni parents

By Margaret Whitney

Page Editor

46% Percentage of students who listen daily, often, or sometimes to CPR

Statistics from an Octagon poll

riphery of one’s peers.”

“It doesn’t surprise me then that those at

Programming controversy Programmingchanges changes spark spark controversy

Radio Country Day

Percentage of student listeners who were unaware of CPR programming changes

different levels of matriculation seek to be like one another and at the same time they are looking for unique aspects to their class or age group,” she said.

Rivero believes that this phenomenon is created by the “unbridled passion that many (teenagers) have in solving the world’s probthe sophomore project. lems.

“As guinea pigs, the project was probably “Part of this passion is fueled, I think, by a more burdensome for us than it (was) for fol- craving for fairness,” she said. lowing classes,” said Damien Blake, ’11.

“One class receiving certain privileges Case Nichols, ‘11, remembers “expecta- while another one does not will seem intions constantly changing throughout this credibly unjust to fairness-minded teens,” yearlong project.” she said.

“We didn’t exactly know what kind of efThe class of ‘12 would agree with her. fort was required,” he said.

They had to deal with the fact that their And although some, such as Chris Thomp- “crazy intelligence levels led us to have conson, ’11, believe that the project wasn’t “ac- sistently low to zero curves on Baird tests,” tually a very big deal in hindsight,” others, according to senior Cabot Jackman in a such as KJ Park, ’11, think it made their class poll. really unlucky.

Additionally, this class will miss out on the “Our class got really screwed,” Park said. changes to the AP Biology and AP Latin cur“I wish I didn’t remember ricula. (the project).”

However, some classes’ Other injustices the “(The class of ‘15) miss- suffering was caused diclass of ‘11 experienced es everything new that rectly by another. include missing out on Nicky Mehtani, ‘07, the ‘16 class gets.” cutting the lunch line as said that her class is unseniors and the renova–Tori Pefferle, freshman lucky because the class tion of the high-school before did an offensive quad. senior prank, so her class’s So what causes this senior prank privileges phenomenon? were on probation. Her class had a planned According to psychologist Carol Rivero, prank where they “kidnapped” headmaster teenagers’ development involves “individu- Stephen Repsher and brought him to breakation, establishing one’s identity and striving fast at the International House of Pancakes.

41%

O

n Jan. 17, Capital Public Radio (CPR) consolidated the majority of its jazz and classical programming onto one of its two stations, while upping news coverage on the other, and most of Country Day didn’t bat an eye.

Over half of students polled said they rarely listen to CPR (88.9 and 90.9 FM), and 41 percent of those who reportedly listened sometimes, often, or even daily were unaware any changes had been made at all.

For Rick Eytcheson and Elizabeth Shattuck, however, the president and general manager, is the father of twins Michelle and Ryan Eytcheson, ‘03, while Shattuck, (a former CPR board member and longtime volunteer with the organization), is the mother of John Shattuck, ‘81.

When she learned of the new CPR programming, Shattuck was “angry and sad and I felt like something needed to be said.”

The programming changes move “Excellence in Jazz” and other music programming onto 88.9 KXPR, the station’s classical frequency, freeing up airtime for additional and repeat news and information shows on 90.9 KXJZ, while cutting back on CPR’s classical offerings.

The station no longer plays classical 24 hours a day during the week; evenings from 7-11 p.m. are now jazz. Additional changes have been made to the weekend line-up.

Shattuck wrote a private letter to Eytcheson but didn’t receive a response (“I didn’t really expect to,” she said).

Still frustrated, Shattuck turned to the Sacramento Bee. She bought over half a page of space in the paper (according to the Bee, it costs around $3800 for a half-page ad) and, on Jan. 23, published a scathing open letter to Eytcheson, accusing him of “(giving) classical and jazz lovers the back of (his) hand.”

“You may have forgotten, Rick,” wrote Shattuck, “a public radio station is different from a commercial venture—IT’S A PUBLIC TRUST. You have abdicated that public trust.”

“I think keeping faith with its donors is of utmost importance sponsive to its donors, and I don’t think (CPR) has been.”

Shattuck has been involved with CPR almost since it began in 1978 as a primarily classical station.

Shattuck volunteered for years, watching the station grow, adding jazz and news programming and a second frequency Most recently, she was a CPR board member, but resigned in 2001 to protest the station’s decision to drop daytime jazz See CPR, page 10

The Octagon

News 3

April 24, 2012

Screwed: The class of ‘16 may not be (Continued from page 2) grade inducted into Cum Laude

I received the advantages of going

Was your class ‘screwed’?

Alison Levin, ‘10: “We were led to believe that we were going to move campuses and that never materialized.”

been seen (even at Stanford) as

Sophomore Project Winners and Top 10

Maya Kuppermann 2nd

Lily Kramlich-Taylor,’10: “(T) he class of (2010) never had a senior gift.”

Michael Lewis, ‘09: “We never got to go on (teacher Ron Bell’s) stealth mode any more.

Connor Martin

Jared Gorton, ‘08: “We had graduation in the parking lot.”

Colleges: More Blue Lights don’t mean more safety

Sarah Wilks

Garrett Kaighn

Sydney Jackson 1st

(Continued from page 1)

Darby Bosco

Cissy Shi

“I want different things now

Yet some seniors deposited at a

Patrick Talamantes

–Alistair Fortson, senior Kamira Patel 3rd Margaret Whitney

4 Sports

The Octagon

April 24, 2012

Sports Shorts SWIMMING AND DIVING “It’s not really a swim team; it’s more like a swim group,” freshman Claire Pinson, one of three swimmers on the Country Day team, said with a laugh.

The team swims with Rio Americano High School, but all of the members—Pinson, freshman Lauren Larrabee and senior Adam Pinson—swim on club teams, so they don’t attend practices.

This lack of participation also extends to the meets—Claire and Adam have raced in only one. Claire swam the 200 and the 500 freethe 200 in 2:00 and the 500 in 5:16.

Adam attended one meet against El Camino High School, where he swam the 100 butterbackstroke, breaststroke and freestyle). He plans to swim for Carnegie Mellon University in the fall.

“It would be nice if people came to watch, but swimming isn’t really a spectator sport,” Claire said.

Larrabee leads the team in attendance with four meets. She said she doesn’t mind the small team.

“It’s not really about the team. It’s about the swimming and competing,” Larrabee said.

—Micaela Bennett-Smith

TRACK After losing many of last year’s strong senior competitive despite struggling with only seven runners.

The team competes in all-day meets every week—consisting of multiple different-length races—but it struggles with attendance.

Juniors Jacob Frankel, Jackson Dulla and Lovisits over Spring Break.

And sophomores Ryan Ho and Darby Bosco and freshman Michael Wong simply haven’t attended any of the eight meets yet.

“I just enjoy going to the work-outs more than the races,” Ho said.

Only senior Wei Dai has competed in every meet. competitive runners on the team, as both are looking to run in college, coach Nick Domich said.

Above left, junior Kevin Wang, sophomore Daniel Kong and at right junior Tommy Peng, do a three-minute drill in which they must catch a football, slide around cones and jump over hurdles. (Photos by Kelsi Thomas)

New elective has no problem pulling its weight

By Darby Bosco Page Editor

T

he newly added Cross-Fit elective has quickly become

cal education requirements.

Offered for both Elective I and II, the class is co-taught

by Alisha Harris, personal trainer and girls’ basketball head coach, and Michelle Myers, P.E. department chair.

The course was inspired by several students’ aspirations to do further weight training than what is offered in the P.E. curriculum, Myers said.

The class began the third trimester, and 15 of the 29 students currently enrolled in P.E. have chosen to take Cross-Fit instead of the normal curriculum.

Students participate in workouts such as circuit training, pyramiding (a core exercise similar to planking) and sports conditioning, Harris said. warm-up, 20-40 minute workout and a 10-minute stretch and clean up.

“The type of working out differs from P.E.,” Myers said.

“The students are on an interval system, so they are in constant high cardiac output for 60 minutes versus the P.E. class that does a warm-up, plays in a variety of games and then cools down.” and inclusive,” Harris said.

True to its name, Cross-Fit is used as good cross training for

Underweight: < BMI of 18.5

Normal Weight: BMI of 18.5-24.9

At the Rio Vista Invitational on April 3, senior Wei Dai of the track and in the 1600-meter category—a personal best.

He’s the only member of the team that has attended every meet.

We thank

The Nichols Family (Case, ‘11) The Martin Family

The Williams Family

they log their body fat, learn about body types and are taught about body fat percentages and body mass index (BMI).

“We do body fat testing and measurements at the beginning of the course and the last week of the course,” Harris said.

And unlike the P.E. classes, if a student misses Cross-Fit they are required to make it up before school, after school or on the weekend.

“I think this elective has been very successful so far, and I hope that it continues next year,” Hutchinson said.

The course will continue if there is enough funding and interest, Myers said.

Harris hopes students will maintain what they have learned in college, and avoid gaining the “Freshman 15”.

Try it yourself: Weight (lb) x 703 / [height (in)]2 If you are . . .

Senior Madison Galati received the A. Dale Lacky Scholarship for her strong athletic and academic abilities during her high-school career. She also hit a home run at the Lutheran softball match, March 22.

The Caves Family

their daily eating habits and physical activity.

“Knowing other people are going to see what you eat makes you more conscious about the different foods you eat,” junior Leslie Rieger said.

In addition to the added nutrition education, unlike the normal

Think you’re fit? Think BMI

year, but he is one of the strongest runners, according to Domich.

Dai ran a personal-best 4:55.64 in the 1600-meter race (his favorite event) at the Rio Linda Invitational on April 3.

4:46.67 in the same event on April 13.

The team will have their next meet tomorrow at Delta High School.

—Garrett Kaighn

other sports.

“I want to learn soccer next year, and it is a good time to help me get in shape,” sophomore Daniel Kong said.

“Harris’s fun approach to working out motivates us (the students) to work harder,” freshman Clare Fina said.

“The music playing during the class really pumps me up,” junior Donald Hutchinson said.

Beyond working out, the purpose of the class is to teach students about nutrition.

Suzanne Kyle Design, Inc.

The Bosco Family

The Berg Family

Overweight: BMI of 25-29.9

Obesity: BMI of >30

The Octagon

Sports 5

April 24, 2012

Lacrosse team learns from quirky Quaker Page Editor

I

t’s a sunny day with a light breeze as the lacrosse team strolls into the St. Mary’s High School football stadium in Stockton on March 21. The St. Mary’s JV team is already in their gear and warming up on At this point it’s calm. Coaches Brooke Wells, Mark Whitney and Andy Cunningham meander through the 19-odd boys as they don their shoulder pads and helmets.

Head coach Wells has been playing lacrosse ever since he learned about the game as an impressionable fourth grader outside of Philadelphia, where he grew up. played, and he ran a mini course,” Wells said. “I liked it immediately. It ran into baseball season, but in baseball you don’t get the ball that much—I wasn’t patient enough for that.”

Wells played on Haverford College’s varsity team, then for a semi-professional team in New Orleans, where an Iroquois Indian told him about the origins of the game.

The Ancient Game Lacrosse began, according to Wells, with the Iroquois Indians and was very different from the game known today. The sport was called Little Brother of War. There were no boundaries, people carried two sticks (one for carving your way through the masses and the other for cradling the ball) and there were no limits to the number Wells said that he used to hear stories about the rules of the ancient game in the locker room before matches.

The team’s other coaches also have a lot of experience that allows them to help the many inexperienced players. Whitney played in high school and at Bowdoin College, and Cunningham played for Menlo College.

“Hey, guys, bring it in!” senior defender Cabot Jackman yells to the team during warm-ups.

The team circles around Jackman and Hutchinson to stretch. Wells walks around the middle of the circle, at one point looking like a god that the boys pray to as they bow their heads in a leg stretch.

“Get hot, boys, let’s get hot,” Wells repeats several times.

“Come on, Caleb. Let’s go, buddy.”

“Come in, red,” We l l s says.

“Everyone lock and load. Get the ball and run our plays, and we’ll win the game.”

“Country Day on three. One, two, three: Country Day!” Faceoff The starters from each team line up across ward to shake their opponents’ hands.

Then Hutchinson takes his place in the Mary’s player.

Hutchinson’s broad shoulders aim directly at his opponent, as he gets low enough to the ground that only a couple inches separate his legs from the turf. He freezes, body in the low, athletic position, as the ref says “Down.

Set,” then blows the whistle.

The struggle lasts only a few seconds, after which a green St. Mary’s jersey break free with the ball.

“Win the ball to win the game, boys,” Wells says from the sideline, where he paces back and forth in front of the bench.

At the score table, the sound of stats being recorded is a continuous stream. The announcer calls out the numbers of players who take a shot, get an assist, pick up a ground ball, get a save or get put in the penalty box for a foul. when a siren like a police car’s sounds.

“If you do not have a player, you are in the wrong place,” Wells tells the boys in their huddle. “If two of you have the same player, one of you is in the wrong place.”

After a short break the team t a k e s again.

At the end of the second quarter, the piercing sound of an air horn blasts, signifying halftime.

Junior Morgan Bennett-Smith has scored three goals, but the Cavs still trail 3-6 at the half.

They take off their helmets, revealing exhausted sweat-drenched faces as they trudge time talk.

“Who here knows what a slide is?”

Hutchinson asks his team. “Because that guy just came around the crease, and we should have absolutely wrecked him.”

The crease is the nine-foot circle around the goal, where the goalie has sole control of the ball.

Then Wells comes over, crouches in front of the guys and tells them he loves the way they’re taking their shots.

Quaker Roots Those who know Wells may associate him with his Quaker roots or his love of poetry and the acoustic guitar.

The physical, sometimes dangerous, sport of lacrosse may not seem like the most logiWells says he never thought of sports as “violent.”

In fact, Wells’s grandfather, a Quaker preacher, was a boxer (Wells says this is before the sport was corrupted). But Wells said that the point of lacrosse is to get the ball, not to injure.

“I was a goal scorer,” Wells said. “I very rarely would just try to knock someone down. I was also much better at avoiding being hit than hitting others.”

Wells said he was quick, easily maneuvering himself out of harm’s way.

“I’m sort of tall and skinny, but I weigh a ton,” he said. “I have a lot of hidden mass.

People would hit me and bounce off, even in college.”

Back in the huddle, Whitney is coaching the boys on hitting.

“I don’t want you just willy nilly hitting people,” Whitney tells the defense in the huddle. “It has got to be at the right time.” ond half, Wells gives them some words of encouragement.

“You slide hard! You slide the holy bejeezus out of it! This is our game—I believe it!”

A slide is when the defense shifts to protect the goal from an oncoming attacker. As if to emphasize the Cavs’ need to protect the goal, St. Mary’s scores within 30 seconds of the start of the second half.

With two quick fouls Hutchinson and freshman Dominic Stephen are in the penalty box, giving St. Mary’s the advantage.

Getting Stuck in the Box Like hockey, when there is a foul, the player stays in the penalty box for 30 seconds to four minutes, leaving their team down a fouls is ejected from the game.

After another penalty a couple minutes later, Hutchinson scores. Thirty seconds after this, freshman attacker Skovran Cunningham gets the ball past St. Mary’s skillful goalie, putting the score at 5-8.

“C’mon, boys, pick up the ball. That’s our bread and butter,” Wells shouts from the sideline.

The siren sounds and the third quarter is over. The Cavs are still behind 5-8.

The fourth quarter goes by quickly, with one more goal by Bennett-Smith but two more for St. Mary’s.

The green mass from the St. Mary’s bench as the Cavs skulk towards their bench.

“We keep our helmets on and we shake their hands,” says Wells.

Wells said that the team’s biggest obstacle is inexperience, for only seven boys have played the sport before this season.

Traditionally an East Coast sport, lacrosse has become increasingly popular on the West Coast in the last 15 years.

Wells thinks the interest could have come with the dot-com boom, when all the Ivy Leaguers brought the sport west with them.

Regardless of how it arrived, lacrosse has caught on fast. The pull of this action-packed year team Country Day has ever seen.

“It was (athletic director) Matt Vargo’s decision to start the team,” Wells said. “But there was a lot of interest this year (from highschool students), and there are some middle school students who are also interested.

During the after-game pizza party, Wells’s exuberance doesn’t wane. As he hands out pizza, he pats players on the shoulder, repeating, “You played really well tonight.”

Before their games, the Cavs do a series of ground ball progressions, pass with a circle as Wells walks among them. (Photo

by Kelsi Thomas)

CONGRATULATIONS Class of 2012

“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.”

-William Arthur Ward

Best wishes, the Israel Cardle family

7

6

STUDENTS TALK POLITICS

caught in between SCDS straddles political stereotypes This means that, although many Independent voters choose not to associate themselves with any one party, over half of the high school will settle for a party representative who isn’t a

By Madeleine Wright and Zach Lemos

Would another party—socially liberal but

Imagine a world of two extremes. If you’re not a proud member of the football team, you’re the champion of your chess club. If you don’t live on a remote Nebraska farm, you live in a cramped New York City apartment. You’ve either got a house in the Fabulous Forties or you’re begging for spare change on the side of Watt Avenue.

And if you’re not a Republican, you’re a Democrat. There’s no other option.

This is a problem for Country Day students. off as neither wholeheartedly conservative nor entirely liberal. Rather they fall somewhere in the middle.

According to senior Alistair Fortson, this results from a divide between the general feeling of the public and the two political parties’ platforms.

“Sometimes I think some of the politicians don’t know what their constituents actually want,” he said.

Because of this, Fortson does not align himself

and Fortson better?

Junior Carter Brown thinks so, though he feels that words like “liberal” and “conservative” only further the divide between the two groups.

“Instead I would say that socially I am tolerant Brown’s reluctance to associate with a party stems from a general distrust of the politicians.

“I don’t like the partisanship and how politiparty and not necessarily for what’s best for their constituents or the regions they represent,” Brown said.

This is what leads to Country Day students’ low Congressional approval rating—less than

To see how SCDS students view subjects ranging from abortion to the economy, go to scdssoctagon.org.

independent middle ground.

Senior Nick Samson follows suit, choosing not “When you force yourself to stick to one line of thought, you can get led in the wrong direction,” he said.

And while the two seniors agree on that matter, Fortson and Samson disagree on which presidential candidate they support. Samson vote, while Fortson backs Romney.

Yet neither is willing to lend his full, passionate support. In fact, Fortson’s support of Romney is about as unenthusiastic as it comes. rible,” he said.

And this is typical; most students, when forced to choose, will pick a party or a candidate to support—but only reluctantly—because they feel that there are just no other options.

ported Congress’s recent actions.

And the biggest thing a politician can do to stir up that voter disapproval, at least in the eyes of Country Day’s teenagers?

Just about any socially conservative action out there—especially when it comes to birth control, abortion and gay marriage. That’s because 70 ate to liberal.

Take senior Grace Mehta. She’s a Republican who supports gay marriage and is pro-choice.

“After working literally all summer, half of my paycheck vanished to taxes. Then, a few Social Security. The government wouldn’t need that much of my money if it wasn’t so bloated,” she said.

So, politically, she sides with the Republicans.

Yet when it comes to social issues, say gay marriage, she breaks with the party’s platform.

them!” he said.

And it’s actually social issues like gay marriage that drive senior Adam Pinson away from identifying as a Republican. Calling himself the Republican platform on nearly every major issue—from taxes to government oversight— except the social ones.

“The Republicans seem to be an all-or-nothing party—which drives me up the wall,” he said.

By this, he means that they refuse to compromise on some issues that, in his opinion, deserve one. For example, Republicans shutting down a bill solely because it includes a tax hike, in Pinson’s opinion, is closed-minded.

And Country Day students aren’t the only Pro, says resentment of political parties and the candidates who represent them is growing, and not just among young people.

In particular, he said, the trend is fueled by the support for gay marriage.

“It’s really a generational thing—even in states where a year or two ago gay marriage was defeated, it would pass now,” he said. this is also just the inevitable “march of history” as older, more conservative voters die off and the younger generation grows up more tolerant of modern ideas.

Romney supports gay marriage, but in four years I think you could have a serious candidate who does,” Grieve said.

And the fiscal conservatism Country Day students are displaying appears to be something of a nationwide trend.

According to Grieve, voters are displaying a “much heightened concern about how much money the government spends,” which has created “increasing room in our political dialogue for people who can touch the erate on social issues.”

And SCDS students have certainly begun a dialogue about candidates who can reel

parents never would. The Republicans have it too strict on most social matters,” Mehta said. as a social conservative, takes a liberal stance on abortion and gay marriage.

“If dudes want to get married, more power to

issues.

Although this isn’t true for everyone at Country Day—for some students there is no conversation because they simply

“don’t know” about the issue. When tween being socially conservative, moderate, liberal or “don’t know,” 33 percent of students went with the latter.

Additionally, 35 percent of students didn’t know whether or not they approved of the job Congress has done over the past few years.

But for those who do know, the tendency

(WITHOUT PARENTS AROUND)

Hayley Graves, senior

44%

of high-school students identify as Independent

“

my parents). Dr. Bell describes it as an ‘older Republican’—someone who isn’t as opposed to what I call ‘elective issues.’ These are issues that are not crucially important but are relevant, such as gay rights issues or contraceptives.

A lot of our younger generation is Democratic because they want everyone to have a lot of of getting my $10-an-hour wage, taxes took about can. It feels like you’re putting in all this work, and you’re not getting what you worked for.”

Richard Whitney, senior

liberalism.

In this two-party nation, it seems the Democrats are a cube and the Republicans are a pyramid. And both parties keep trying to force themselves onto the voters—a round peg.

The result, Country Day students seem to be saying, is that “it just

“

left than right. I’m a Libertarian leaning liberal. Just from what I’ve read and seen in the world, the only logical conclusion for me are my views.

I really do tend to lean towards the liberal side, but I don’t agree with everything Democrats do.

And I do like some things Republicans do. I’m a huge person for compromise.

The people who are really wrong, though, are those who feel that you should remain true to one idea and that their views can never change. There are no absolutes in history.

My dad and I do argue a lot. My dad tends to take a pro-American stance on many issues that I don’t always agree with. He’s been known to call me anti-American for that.”

Troy Hoddick, sophomore

“

I tend to side with my dad because we think similarly. My family has differing opinions on social issues. But when I do disagree with my parents, they don’t argue over it. They leave it up to me.

This year they’re leaning towards Romney, but parents have a large impact on my perception and views of the world, but, politically, it’s left up to what I think is right and wrong. If I was going to vote, it would be for Romney.”

(Quotes collected by Mollie Berg and Yanni Dahmani)

7

6

STUDENTS TALK POLITICS

caught in between SCDS straddles political stereotypes This means that, although many Independent voters choose not to associate themselves with any one party, over half of the high school will settle for a party representative who isn’t a

By Madeleine Wright and Zach Lemos

Would another party—socially liberal but

Imagine a world of two extremes. If you’re not a proud member of the football team, you’re the champion of your chess club. If you don’t live on a remote Nebraska farm, you live in a cramped New York City apartment. You’ve either got a house in the Fabulous Forties or you’re begging for spare change on the side of Watt Avenue.

And if you’re not a Republican, you’re a Democrat. There’s no other option.

This is a problem for Country Day students. off as neither wholeheartedly conservative nor entirely liberal. Rather they fall somewhere in the middle.

According to senior Alistair Fortson, this results from a divide between the general feeling of the public and the two political parties’ platforms.

“Sometimes I think some of the politicians don’t know what their constituents actually want,” he said.

Because of this, Fortson does not align himself

and Fortson better?

Junior Carter Brown thinks so, though he feels that words like “liberal” and “conservative” only further the divide between the two groups.

“Instead I would say that socially I am tolerant Brown’s reluctance to associate with a party stems from a general distrust of the politicians.

“I don’t like the partisanship and how politiparty and not necessarily for what’s best for their constituents or the regions they represent,” Brown said.

This is what leads to Country Day students’ low Congressional approval rating—less than

To see how SCDS students view subjects ranging from abortion to the economy, go to scdssoctagon.org.

independent middle ground.

Senior Nick Samson follows suit, choosing not “When you force yourself to stick to one line of thought, you can get led in the wrong direction,” he said.

And while the two seniors agree on that matter, Fortson and Samson disagree on which presidential candidate they support. Samson vote, while Fortson backs Romney.

Yet neither is willing to lend his full, passionate support. In fact, Fortson’s support of Romney is about as unenthusiastic as it comes. rible,” he said.

And this is typical; most students, when forced to choose, will pick a party or a candidate to support—but only reluctantly—because they feel that there are just no other options.

ported Congress’s recent actions.

And the biggest thing a politician can do to stir up that voter disapproval, at least in the eyes of Country Day’s teenagers?

Just about any socially conservative action out there—especially when it comes to birth control, abortion and gay marriage. That’s because 70 ate to liberal.

Take senior Grace Mehta. She’s a Republican who supports gay marriage and is pro-choice.

“After working literally all summer, half of my paycheck vanished to taxes. Then, a few Social Security. The government wouldn’t need that much of my money if it wasn’t so bloated,” she said.

So, politically, she sides with the Republicans.

Yet when it comes to social issues, say gay marriage, she breaks with the party’s platform.

them!” he said.

And it’s actually social issues like gay marriage that drive senior Adam Pinson away from identifying as a Republican. Calling himself the Republican platform on nearly every major issue—from taxes to government oversight— except the social ones.

“The Republicans seem to be an all-or-nothing party—which drives me up the wall,” he said.

By this, he means that they refuse to compromise on some issues that, in his opinion, deserve one. For example, Republicans shutting down a bill solely because it includes a tax hike, in Pinson’s opinion, is closed-minded.

And Country Day students aren’t the only Pro, says resentment of political parties and the candidates who represent them is growing, and not just among young people.

In particular, he said, the trend is fueled by the support for gay marriage.

“It’s really a generational thing—even in states where a year or two ago gay marriage was defeated, it would pass now,” he said. this is also just the inevitable “march of history” as older, more conservative voters die off and the younger generation grows up more tolerant of modern ideas.

Romney supports gay marriage, but in four years I think you could have a serious candidate who does,” Grieve said.

And the fiscal conservatism Country Day students are displaying appears to be something of a nationwide trend.

According to Grieve, voters are displaying a “much heightened concern about how much money the government spends,” which has created “increasing room in our political dialogue for people who can touch the erate on social issues.”

And SCDS students have certainly begun a dialogue about candidates who can reel

parents never would. The Republicans have it too strict on most social matters,” Mehta said. as a social conservative, takes a liberal stance on abortion and gay marriage.

“If dudes want to get married, more power to

issues.

Although this isn’t true for everyone at Country Day—for some students there is no conversation because they simply

“don’t know” about the issue. When tween being socially conservative, moderate, liberal or “don’t know,” 33 percent of students went with the latter.

Additionally, 35 percent of students didn’t know whether or not they approved of the job Congress has done over the past few years.

But for those who do know, the tendency

(WITHOUT PARENTS AROUND)

Hayley Graves, senior

44%

of high-school students identify as Independent

“

my parents). Dr. Bell describes it as an ‘older Republican’—someone who isn’t as opposed to what I call ‘elective issues.’ These are issues that are not crucially important but are relevant, such as gay rights issues or contraceptives.

A lot of our younger generation is Democratic because they want everyone to have a lot of of getting my $10-an-hour wage, taxes took about can. It feels like you’re putting in all this work, and you’re not getting what you worked for.”

Richard Whitney, senior

liberalism.

In this two-party nation, it seems the Democrats are a cube and the Republicans are a pyramid. And both parties keep trying to force themselves onto the voters—a round peg.

The result, Country Day students seem to be saying, is that “it just

“

left than right. I’m a Libertarian leaning liberal. Just from what I’ve read and seen in the world, the only logical conclusion for me are my views.

I really do tend to lean towards the liberal side, but I don’t agree with everything Democrats do.

And I do like some things Republicans do. I’m a huge person for compromise.

The people who are really wrong, though, are those who feel that you should remain true to one idea and that their views can never change. There are no absolutes in history.

My dad and I do argue a lot. My dad tends to take a pro-American stance on many issues that I don’t always agree with. He’s been known to call me anti-American for that.”

Troy Hoddick, sophomore

“

I tend to side with my dad because we think similarly. My family has differing opinions on social issues. But when I do disagree with my parents, they don’t argue over it. They leave it up to me.

This year they’re leaning towards Romney, but parents have a large impact on my perception and views of the world, but, politically, it’s left up to what I think is right and wrong. If I was going to vote, it would be for Romney.”

(Quotes collected by Mollie Berg and Yanni Dahmani)

8 Editorial

April 24, 2012

By Darby Bosco

My Angle

Have no fear, freshmen

W

EDITORIAL: no stats mean no story

M

eet the Smiths.

Mr. Smith makes a comfortable $80,000 a year. He and his wife have three children. And, until the recession, life was good. But the years after 2009 brought the nances, they just barely scraped by.

Yet surprisingly, while still in the middle of serious a fourth child.

Naturally, the other three wonder where the money for this baby is coming from. Will there be fewer Christmas gifts? Or will the money come from other expenses? Maybe the Smiths will eat out less often?

Mr. Smith isn’t making any more this year, and since he recently purchased new Macbooks for the family, the kids know there’s nothing to spare. To get a grasp on the situation, they ask for a breakdown of how much the family spends per child, and if there’s been any change since the birth of baby number four.

So imagine the children’s anger when their inquiries are answered with “We don’t have that information.”

All right, we’ll admit it. The Smiths aren’t a real family—they’re our school.

Mr. Smith is the administration, his children represent the school’s ever-growing number of sports teams. And the children’s inquiries are the Octagon’s attempts to discover where the money for the new lacrosse team came from.

To pay for coaches, transportation, uniforms, and other necessities, did the school pull from other

teams—was girls’ volleyball or boys’ soccer affected?

We were informed that the school’s sports budget—$125,000 for lower-, middle- and high-school sports—remained relatively constant this year, so we know it didn’t come from outside the sports budget.

That is to say, we know the Smiths aren’t eating out less; they’re spending less per child.

And when the Octagon went to the administration to ask how much was spent on each sport and how that compared to previous years, we were informed that the school doesn’t have that information.

Really? Shouldn’t that be monitored? In a time when shouldn’t every facet of the budget be watched?

We understand that if the school makes public every little budget detail, one parent will complain that the drama department gets too much money while another will whine that it deserves far more.

But our job is to report the facts, and it’s undeniable that if the lacrosse team is siphoning money from other sports, it’s a story worth running. Whether that occurrence is “worth the expense” or “ruining our Div. VII sports teams” is up to our readers. But the discussion can’t even begin without the correct statistics.

When students complain about ragged baseball uniforms (or the track team’s cheap plastic hurdles) but see the lacrosse team travel to Oakland, Stockton, and Napa, we’d like to investigate.

But at this point, that information just isn’t available, leaving us just as puzzled and disappointed as the Smith children.

The Octagon Editors-In-Chief Mollie Berg Ian Cardle Christina Petlowany Copy Editor Zach Lemos Assistant Copy Editor Garrett Kaighn Business Manager Ian Cardle News Editor Christina Petlowany Editorial Editor Jeffrey Caves Community Editor Yanni Dahmani Sports Editors Mary-Clare Bosco Darby Bosco Ryan Ho Centerpoint Editor Mollie Berg Review Editor Connor Martin

Feature Editors Madeleine Wright Margaret Whitney Online Editors Anthony Valdez Yanni Dahmani Morgan Bennett-Smith Photo Editor Kelsi Thomas Photographer Will Wright Graphics Editor Kamira Patel Reporters Micaela Bennett-Smith Skovran Cunningham Grant Miner David Myers Shaun Shah Max Shukuya Patrick Talamantes Emma Williams Cartoonist Camille Getz Adviser Patricia Fels

The Octagon is published eight times a year by high-school journalism students of Sacramento Country Day School, 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, Calif. 95864. Phone: (916) 481-8811, ext. 347. Email: octagon@saccds.org, Web address: http://www. scdsoctagon.org.

Orchids

&

Onions O nions

ith sweaty palms and hundreds of butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I stood at the head of the class, waiting.

From my facial expression alone, one might have thought I was awaiting my worst nightmare.

But that would be wrong. It was way worse than one of my nightmares. It was the dreaded sophomore presentation.

Coming into my sophomore year, I wasn’t concerned about my new classes—not Mr. Beamer’s chemistry labs nor Dr. Baird and his infamous tests. No, I was terrified of the sophomore project.

Everyone in the junior class complained about how difficult the project was, giving me a negative opinion before I had even begun.

But to my surprise, the project wasn’t all that bad.

The 10 weekly note-cards were completely manageable, and could even be easily completed the night before they were due.

Finding enough sources was as simple as walking into the library and talking to the librarians for a few minutes.

Moreover, numerous class periods were devoted to the project, and there was more than ample time between paper deadlines.

And the “monstrous paper,” is only 15 pages double spaced. By the time you start working, the vast amount of research you’ve done makes writing it quite easy.

Not to mention the daylong moratorium solely devoted to outlining the paper.

But I must admit, there was one enormous hurdle to the sophomore project: the presentation.

Conquering the presentation is undoubtedly the most difficult part, simply because most sophomores are not accustomed to giving 15-minute presentations.

I spent hours studying what I would say and mastering my hand gestures, but no matter how many times I practiced giving my presentation to my bathroom mirror, it was much more difficult giving it to a room full of people.

But as I looked out at my classmates watching me, I realized I had nothing to fear. I knew everyone in the room, several of them since I was five years old.

Plus, I was given another day-long moratorium to practice the presentation and create a powerpoint. And there is always that shining light on the horizon: winning a prize, such as a Kindle or iPod Touch.

To be fair to previous classes, the project has been adapted to better fit the needs of students, such as adding the second moratorium.

So, dear freshmen, don’t fear. The project is hardly a nightmare. You will survive and, if you don’t, at least you will have a horror story to frighten the grade below you with.

rchids to. . . lower-school librarian Cary Kelly for her years of service at the school. You and your Cat in the Hat costume will be sorely missed.

O

nions to. . . the lack of student participation in School Spirit Week. Almost no one dressed up for Neon or College day!

O

O

nions to. . . poor planning of the sophomore project top ten. Tests, paste-up, Medallion worknight and concerts all in the same week as final presentations!

O

rchids to. . . Madison Galati’s first Ital-

Vernazza. There’s nothmade food to benefit a

The Octagon

Review 9

April 24, 2012

By Jeffrey Caves

Cooking in the Cave Stew through a straw:

what to eat when you can’t

W Freshmen Emma Williams and Lara Kong sit on the sidewalk by Fuzion Eatz, eating gyros. (Photo courtesy of Williams)

Food in the Fast Lane

B

Trucks offer creative cuisine on the go

efore I ate at a food truck, I thought they were “roach coaches.” But as soon as I sampled the Mustang sandwich from Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen, I realized how completely wrong I was.

More and more gourmet food trucks are hitting the streets of Sacramento. Since they change their locations daily (often between mealtimes), you need to follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Each day they post their location—often department-store parking lots.

But keep in mind they don’t offer seating areas, so you’ll have to sit on the ground or in your car.

Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen Standing in a Lowe’s parking lot off of Sunrise Boulevard, I stared at a handwrit-

Fuzion Eatz But the best part was the house-made The answer: a mouthwatering entree

far from gourmet, but Drewksi’s Hot Rod

Craving sweet potato fries? Drewski’s I look forward to sampling the fried

—Connor Martin good all in the same bite?

I have no idea, but it is good and that’s “I know what people like and I know

The Miniburger Truck There’s a long line outside REI, but Their

About 15 people are

Spartan

serving small gourmet sweet

pineapple

abi aioli and Havarti topped with letburger has earned the

all in the same bite? vorful option for those who aren’t big on pineapple

Instead of tasting like Carolina pulled

Spartan, but instead of pineapple it has

The

aioli,

The sweet potato tots are a great bite-sized orange tater tots have a

but trust me, the food is well —Skovran Cunningham

never know if there will be seating or —Emma Williams

hat do you do when food is a major part of your life—you cook, you eat, you have been interested in food for as long as you can remember—and a surgeon takes a rather large and unfriendly-looking metal wire and laces your jaws together?

Well, if you are like me and you just had jaw surgery, you starve for a little while.

And a little while longer.

After all, even hunger seems a palatable alternative to whatever the hell is in those sinister-looking Ensure liquid-whatevers that you have sworn to yourself you will never try before your final descent into senility.

But then you can drink milkshakes after a few days and everything seems all right— well, except the part where you can’t talk, your jaw hurts and you are a little woozy from painkillers.

And eventually you discover that an exclusively milk-and-sugar-based diet, the fantasy of most six-year olds, quickly grows old.

When you can no longer tolerate the sight of any cold, sweet dairy product, you are faced with yet another period of starvation— but then you find salvation.

Salvation in this case means the spicy, rich and garlic-scented broth of an old family recipe, albeit one that I took a rather unorthodox approach to.

“Family recipe,” in my family, means something more like “got it out of ‘The Joy of Cooking’ and made it many times” rather than the traditional definition.

That said, it was a pretty good recipe for a chicken stew—with some doubling up on spices and herbs—from a pretty good book.

After all, what other book has recipes for the oh-so-common occurrence of having a dead beaver in your kitchen and a shortage of cooking oil? (Apparently the fat from the tail is enough to cook the meat. Who knew?)

Advanced rodent preparations aside, it was always a pretty good stew, with a hint of tomatoes along with mushrooms, chicken and herbs and a flavorful broth that I might be able to ingest via straw.

But I always felt it was missing something.

And so I volunteered to make dinner, even though I could only drink the liquid.

I started with minor adjustments. And then I pretty much threw out the recipe, adding smoked paprika, tomatoes, white wine and anything else I thought would taste good.

The moment I smelled that concoction, I resolved I would eat something real, something I had made, for the first time in weeks.

I spent hours over that pot, carefully doctoring the seasoning. It was the first time I’d cooked in weeks, and it had to be perfect.

It was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself—rich, spicy, scented with tomatoes and paprika.

The complexities of dealing with open flame and hot metal while on Vicodin aside, I spent every evening that week trying something new.

I made dozens of soups and stews—some too thick to be sucked through a straw. But that is what hungry parents are for, right?

During that week I learned that the smell of a good chicken stew is enough to sustain human life...and perhaps the soul too.

For Chef Jeff ’s recipe, Chicken Cacciatore, see “Cooking in the Cave” at www.scdsoctagon.org

10Remainder CPR: Eytcheson cites recent successful fund drive, while The Octagon

April 24, 2012

Shattuck predicts ‘death spiral’ for jazz & classical music (Continued from page 2)

from 90.9.

It was replaced by news and information programs, and jazz began running in the evening from 7-11 p.m.

“Classical is my main love,” Shattuck said, “but jazz was part of the mission (of CPR), and a lot of people had worked very very hard to put KXJZ (the original jazz frequency) on the air so that there would be jazz.”

According to Shattuck, both changes resulted in “loss of quality of life for (CPR’s) devoted listeners.”

She appears not to be alone in her anger about the most recent changes.

Shattuck said she has received 87 emails and six phone calls from people thanking her for her letter in the Bee. “And if we assume, as is the rule of thumb in such matters, that nine don’t bother to write when one does, that’s no small number,” Shattuck said.

Eytcheson admits that there was some initial animosity towards the new CPR line-up, particularly from classical listeners who no longer have 24-hour coverage on KXPR. However, he said, “News and information listeners were very happy, and, for the most part, jazz listeners were too, basically because jazz stayed alive.

“It has disappeared from so many radio stations across the country that most are happy that jazz is still alive and vibrant (in Sacramento).”

Eytcheson explained that though some longtime listeners like Shattuck are upset by the programming changes, CPR needs to evolve, changing coverage and format in order to survive.

“Frankly, the biggest part of our audience is looking for news and information,” Eytcheson said.

According to Eytcheson, news and information listeners outnumber music listeners, by a 2:1 margin.

This appears to hold true for CPR listeners within the Country Day community.

While student listeners are in the minority, an overwhelming 71 percent tune primarily into 90.9. An additional 17 percent listen to both stations, but only 12 percent opt for the musical offerings of 88.9.

Music listeners are out-numbered among the staff as well.

Of 39 teachers and administrators polled, the majority—17 of the 27 who reportedly listen daily, often, or sometimes— chose 90.9 for its news coverage.

Unlike the students, however, the staff has been more cog-

nizant of the recent changes, and 16 of the frequent listeners support the decision.

History teacher Sue Nellis describes herself as an “avid” CPR listener and said she wakes up to the news every morning.

Though she says she is “certainly” not opposed to the programming changes, Nellis is doubtful they will have any real effect on her.

“I suppose I might catch more news now,” she said.

English teacher Patricia Fels is a daily CPR listener, tuning in for the station’s news programming.

However, she “never” listened to the station’s music programs and is happy with the new nightly news offerings.

“I used to hate it (at night) when it would all of a sudden switch to jazz,” Fels said.

“I would just turn the radio off.”

Fels no longer worries about the 7 p.m. news cut-off, and said she occasionally catches programs such as “Fresh Air” and “Insight” before going to bed.

English teacher Ron Bell, however, adamantly opposes the decision to reduce CPR’s classical offerings.

He believes that cutting classical is a mistake.

“It (classical) is your heritage, culture—it’s what you are,” Bell said. “You cannot raise a culture without its history.”

Though she was forced into the change by the elimination of evening classical, she has taken to the new format.

“It’s great—no commercials,” Bauman said.

Eytcheson doesn’t believe many CPR listeners will be long in adjusting to the new programming.

Results from the most recent CPR fund drive seem to corroborate this statement; according to Eytcheson, it was the most successful drive from classical listeners to date.

Shattuck, however, believes that, in the long run, CPR will receive fewer donations from its music listeners, giving the station cause for further reduction in airtime for music programming.

And that, she predicts, will lead to a “death spiral” for both jazz and classical.

news coverage, explaining that the decision was based partly on repeated listener complaints about the lack of nighttime coverage of breaking news. “(The board) has to do what’s best for the community in a way that allows the station to sustain itself,” Eytcheson said.

Though less airtime is now devoted to music, Eytcheson insists the station has not lost its dedication to jazz and classical.

It has launched JazzStream and ClassicalStream on its website, capradio.org, and, according to Eytcheson, almost 6,000 users have taken advantage of the 24-hour streaming.

“Many people under the age of 30 don’t listen to over-theair radio” Eytcheson said, explaining that many have turned to other sources, like the Internet. “If we’re going to survive, we have to stay current and provide music in ways people want to hear it.”

English teacher Jane Bauman has already made the switch sicalStream.

Online Exclusives We just couldn’t fit these stories into this issue, so find them in “Online Exclusives” at scdsoctagon.org Discover why so many students are running Peek at the experiences of students with jobs What’s up with Cover the Night?

The Octagon

Community 11

April 24, 2012

School, American Style

Cissy Shi

Less stressful education draws Asian students

By Ryan Ho

Page Editor

S

ince its birth, the United States has been a shining beacon of hope for foreigners looking to get ahead.

Immigrants willing to pull up their roots and sail across the ocean could come to “The Land of Opportunity” and improve their lot in life.

Well, the American Dream lives on.

Thirteen high-school students have all abandoned (at least temporarily) their friends, family and country in hopes of a brighter future.

Eight are from China, four from Taiwan and one from Vietnam.

So why are foreign students choosing Country Day? The reason is that ever since the establishment of the school in 1964, the school has offered an I-20, a document required for foreign students to study abroad.

Being an independent high school in the Sacramento region known for academic excellence and offering the I-20, the school has attracted many foreign students.

region—so applicants from Peking have a better shot at getting into Peking University than those from the Tianjin Municipality.

In China, students take a two-day national test which covers every subject thus far covered in school. And this test alone decides a student’s college future. Each university and college has a set score—you are in only if you meet the required score.

According to senior Gordon Ho the Taiwanese college admission process is basically the same as China’s, and Ho favors the American admission system.

“You are allowed to show your personality to the schools and include the extracurricular activities that you do,” he said. of paper with your score on it.”

Also, Ho enjoys the fact that he has the ability to choose his own college in America.

Ho, who was recently accepted to seven American universities, would have had the option of going to only one university, whether he liked it or not, if he had stayed in Taiwan.

Daniel Kong

The Flood According to Lonna Bloedau, director of admissions, the school has been receiving an even larger number of enrollment applications from foreign students than in the past.

Sophomore Cissy Shi (second from left) poses with her best friends a few weeks befor her ninth-grade graduation in Wuhan, China. Her graduating class had 518 people in it. (Photo courtesy of Shi)

Sophomore Daniel Kong sings Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” with his punk band for a show they were putting on for the Guitar Club at Nanyand Model High School in Shanghai, China. (Photo courtesy of Kong)

Homesick None of the foreign exchange students live with their parents; some live with relatives while others live with a “homestay” family.

For example, Liu lives with math teacher Patricia Dias.

By living with Dias’s two children, Kaitlyn and Marco, Liu can further perfect his English— something he couldn’t have done if he’d lived with his Mandarinspeaking legal guardian in Elk Grove.

Liu also experienced being the elder sibling for

said, explaining that a growing number of families throughout Asia want their children to attend high school in the United States Favorite band: Linkin Park so they are better prepared most children miss out on for American universities. in China due to the oneMost students found the Favorite activity: sleeping child policy. school through friends or “We didn’t know how to relatives.

Favorite show: “The Big Bang Theory” share, and some people were Junior Wind Wu was inspoiled and self-centered,” Liu troduced to the school besaid. “Here, I’ve learned to be cause she studied at a Chipatient and kind.” nese private high school Freshmen Rio Liu, Lulu Wu— whose acting principal, Nanboth Chinese—and Ma also live with a homestay family. In cy Zhou ‘01, was an alumna.

Of the schools that junior Wanning Liu, also from China, fact, they all live together with one family.

Living in the home of Ting and Stanley Hung, parents of was considering, only SCDS gave him the opportunity of an a graduate from a Country Day School in New Orleans, the interview via Skype.

Normally, a prospective student has a shadow day—where the student tours the campus, attends some classes and takes culture.

Though Wu, Rio and Kong knew Hung’s family before an entrance exam. However, foreign students such as Liu coming to the United States, Ma had no previous relationcan’t just drop by.

Therefore, Bloedau, Sue Nellis, head of high school, and ship with the Hungs or his other three “housemates,” and English teacher Jane Bauman used Skype to interview Liu. had the school establish his living situation with them.

The two-story house they live in looks American on the The same was done for several other students who couldn’t outside, but as soon as one takes a step into the house, a subvisit.

According to Bloedau, the individual interviews are supe-

Favorite activities: cooking, reading and thinking about life Favorite subjects: physics and math Dream school: MIT

pots, Buddha statues and lots of paintings.

Ahead But Behind For these students, Country Day academics can be both guage barrier proves challenging. Yet in math and science, the fast-paced teaching of the Chinese education system puts the foreign students ahead of the curve. For example, Chinese sophomore Shi demonstrated her talent for physics during freshman year.

In order to challenge herself and pursue her passion, she decided to selfteach herself Physics B in the middle of the year with help from physics teacher Glenn Mangold.

“Physics is my favorite subject, and freshman physics was a little easy for me,” Shi said.

Shi said that she had already learned about 50 percent of the materials covered in Physics B from her school in China.

She went on to receive a 5 on the AP Physics B test.

Bloedau is impressed with the dedication and hard work that the foreign students put into school.

“They not only come from another country, but are also able to compete with the native speakers,” she said.

She listed several Asian foreign alumni who have gone on to prestigious colleges such as Washington University in St. Louis (David Han, ‘06), University of Chicago (Brooklin Mao, ‘09), College of William and Mary (Jiwon Oh, ‘11), New York University (Soya Sung, ‘10), University of Washington (Quyen Uong, ‘08), Temple University, in Japan (Amelia Phouiphanith, ‘09) and University of Pennsylvania (Minji Kim, ‘09). in, the school has not published a single advertisement targeting foreign students. In fact, the school has turned down several applications from foreign students to maintain proper academic and social balance, she said.

Bloedau said that the school, ideally, will accept only three or four foreign students per year starting next fall.

The school is looking for mainly freshmen and sophomores who are willing to complete the rest of high school at Country Day because, not staying “doesn’t give them quite enough time to reap the full value of a Country Day education,” Bloedau said.

as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) because they tell the school more about the students than does the test.

Why They Come So, with all this extra work, why is it worth it for Asian students to come to America?

“Asian families notice and value the American emphasis on problem solving, critical thinking, discourse, dialogue and debate,” Bloedau said.

But students mention other reasons.

Sophomore Daniel Kong gave a common one—to escape from the rigorous Chinese education system.

“In China, there was too much homework,” he said. “We have tests at least twice a day. There are nine classes with seven to eight subjects.” He said his school in China starts at 7:20 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.

Liu echoed Kong’s complaint.

“The whole education is about tests, tests and tests,” he said. “We don’t have other activities. It’s boring.”

Kong was also attracted by the less-competitive American system of college education.

According to Chinese junior Johnson Ma, only about 100 students in as big a city as Shanghai actually get into Peking University, a top university in China. This is because priority

Kevin Wang Favorite sport: golf One word to describe Americans: “open” Favorite activity: playing with computer software and hardware Sophomore Kevin Wang stands with his father behind native Taiwanese fold-dancers.

They performed at the hotel where Wang was staying in Nantou, Taiwan. (Photo courtesy of Wang)

Dream school: Caltech Favorite artist: Adele

12 Feature

The Octagon

Way more than ‘27 Dresses’ By Patrick Talamantes Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to enter Nordstrom with nothing but your wal-

Reeves, who teaches indoor cycling classes “Once I hit the weight room and started throw-

And like a maternal aunt, Reeves tries to help out students, giving them a little leeway when

In addition to the cycling lessons, Reeves On days when students are already late but Reeves to let them park in her spot so they can

high school, engages in these surgical strike mis-

Most students know Reeves as the smiling on a bike, and there are birds in the air and the assistant Kristy Peoro while she was on maternity However, when Peoro decided to make the

ride in a double century in the Reeves is also intrigued by sky-

—Sue Nellis, head of high school

In a previous job, Reeves worked in the learnhelped residents to prepare resumes and get was teaching applicants that they should look “Residents would come to me and say that

Reeves said, adding that she spends so much time working, she sees the students more

For Reeves, the cause is personal, as her mothOnce, a woman was watching Reeves going school as a temp last year, she was nervous that through the clothing racks, impressed by her

April 24, 2012