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1500 WEST KENNEDY ROAD, LAKE FOREST, IL 60045
VOLUME 91 NUMBER 2
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OCTOBER 26, 2012
Featured Stories NEWS
SIBS created to bond Freshmen and Senior Classes
page 3
Photo courtesy of LFA Flickr
LFA students help lift boxes of school supplies during this year’s first kick off event of the newly-changed Harvest Hope.
FEATURES
Nationwide Math Anxiety affects LFA
page 5
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Winter Musical: Carousel
page 11
OPINION AND EDITORIAL
Other Preps versus LFA: visitation in opposite sex dorms
page 12
Harvesting Hope changes its name, cancels Harvest Run By Yakov Shapiro Staff Writer
The popular social service club Interact announced that it has changed the name of its largest and most well-known service project, Harvesting Hope, and that it will not be sponsoring its highly popular Harvest Run this year due to numerous complications. The LFA service program will now be called “Harvest Hope,” a name considered more suited to the activities of LFA participants. “With Harvesting Hope, there was a connotation that the communities we were
helping didn’t have hope before we started helping them. We made the change to avoid the connotation and keep everyone happy,” explained Harvest Hope leader Bailey Ayers. Although no complaints were made against the name, the proposition to alter it was made to avoid potentially offending those who receive aid from the service program. The service group will now be called “Harvest Hope”, a name that leaders believe will be free of negative connotation. Last year, LFA graduate Spencer Friske thundered past the finish line of the last Harvest Run to come away
Police investigate LFA theft By Jenna Selati Arts & Entertainment Editor
SPORTS
Prep Hockey adjusts to a younger team
page 14
THE ORANGE
Check out the Caxy Match of Will Lavezzorio and Benny from Sandlot
back page
Lake Forest Academy’s hallways are often cluttered with the sports duffels, backpacks, and personal items of students. Most have never questioned the safety of the community, and LFA’s four pillars of Character, Scholarship, Citizenship, and Responsibility justify that security. However, recent incidents of theft have stained the trust of LFA students, faculty, and staff. Belongings have been snatched from the hallways and dorms, resulting in countless emails to and from the Dean of Students office reporting missing items. TI calculators, jewelry, electronics, and clothing are just a few of the items that have been stolen, and one incident in the dorms reported the theft of several thousand dollars. “It is not uncommon to have minor theft, but the incident in the dorms certainly isn’t
minor,” said Dean of Students Chris Tennyson. “It’s scary.” Theft not only results in heavy consequences from LFA’s Disciplinary Committee, but also serious charges outside of school. The Lake Forest Police are currently involved in the investigation of the dorm theft; they have taken the fingerprints of dorm students, but no significant breakthrough on the theft has been revealed yet. “As an institution we have to do our due diligence,” said Tennyson. “That’s the main reason we involved the Lake Forest Police. At this point (the theft) is so significant that we really needed to ask for their assistance.” Theft crimes at LFA not only jeopardize students’ roles in the community, but also their possible admission—or spot if they’ve already been admitted—to colleges and universities. Students’ college continued on page 4
with the first place trophy. Roaring applause greeted Friske at the finish line. According to run organizers, however, the friendly atmosphere surrounding the event concealed the unfortunate fact that the Harvest Run was not a successful fundraiser. “When you have a course that is open to the public, it has to be in perfect shape and very safe... preparing the course for a run takes quite a lot of money. Especially with construction on campus, getting a safe course set up is very expensive and very continued on page 4
Mock election:
Obama wins LFA By John Luttig Managing Editor
More than 300 students at LFA voted for their U.S. Presidential candidate of choice in a mock election held via survey on Oct. 8th. Incumbent Barack Obama won the election, with slightly more than half the votes, which emphasizes how important the independent or undecided voters may be in the real election in November. Equal numbers of male and females voters cast their ballots between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., but 60% of all voters were day students and 25% of all voters were international students. For those non-U.S. residents, this may have been their only chance to vote in a continued on page 8
THE SPECTATOR
News
2
World News Roundup
Compiled by Bailey Ayers
20th anniversary of Brazilian prison massacre During the week of October 3rd, hundreds of people in the city of São Paolo, Brazil gathered to remember the victims of the Carandiru Massacre. Riot police killed 111 inmates after entering the Carandiru jail to put an end to a riot. Prison riots are common in Brazil, the country with the fourth largest number of prison inmates in the world, but Brazil was shocked by this massacre in 1992. Due to the nature of the killing, relatives and human rights activists are demanding that the police involved be put on trial. The police protested they were following orders, but authorities have set a trial date in January 2013 for some of the police involved. The Carandiru prison had 10, 000 prisoners at the time of the massacre but was demolished in 2002.
OCTOBER 26, 2012
Mr. Kerr: ‘I’m incredibly lucky’ By Amy Krivoshik News Editor At midnight on Thursday September 6th, LFA Science Teacher Mathias Kerr regained consciousness in a Chicago hospital with no recollection of how he got there. Earlier that evening, he was riding his bicycle in Chicago by a gas station at the corner of Clark Street near Irving Park when he was hit by a car pulling up to the gas station. “I don’t know if I went headfirst into her car or if I flipped over her car,” he said, “The last thing I remember doing is texting my mom on the train and the next thing I know I’m waking up in the hospital.” He said a passerby called an ambulance and the driver stopped. “Apparently I was conscious in the ER but I don’t remember anything from it,” he added, “So I guess I was answering questions, but it’s kind of weird how my brain has just blocked all this out.” He spent two days in the hospital and sustained serious injuries, but he got some protection from his helmet and the backpack he was wearing. “My injuries- oh man, there’s a laundry list,” he said. “Broken clavicle, concus-
Photo courtesy of Mathias Kerr
Mr. Mathias Kerr’s triathlon bicycle was completely totalled after the collison with the car.
sion, fractured temporal lobe in my skull, laceration in my right ear canal which caused a blood clot so I couldn’t hear out of my right ear for a while...Three fractured front teeth. Then there’s a cut under my chin that had stitches between the inside of my lip and my gum…Now there’s all sorts of issues with my jaw from my jaw being jammed up.” In addition, the accident left his special triathlon bike completely totaled.
Photo courtesy of Tribune Media Services
One victum of the massacre still has a bullet in his head.
World rallies around girl shot in Pakistan Malala Yousafzai was a 14-year-old girl living in Pakistan under the Taliban rule. Since the age of 11 she has kept an Internet diary documenting her life and showing the importance for education for girls—the Taliban for this very reason shot her in the head during a failed assassination attempt. The bullet had to be removed from her skull. The world has rallied in support around Malala and she was transferred to hospital in England. The move was made because it is said that she will need to undergo neurological treatment and due to security a movement will be best. According to BBC News, The UK’s Foreign Secretary William Hague said the shooting had “shocked Pakistan and the world” and her bravery was “an example to us all.”
The windshield of the car was cracked during the crash.
Photo courtesy of Mathias Kerr
“The front wheel is at a ninety degree angle right now,” Kerr said, “There are four points where the frame of the bike buckled pretty much…I’m going to have to start looking for a new bicycle, which is a shame. I was a real fan of my bicycle.” He said he was glad he had his road ID with him so that the hospital staff could know who he was as soon as he arrived. “I’m a huge advocate for (them),” Kerr said, “I wasn’t a John Doe.” While he was out recovering for two weeks, the other members of the Science Department stepped in to help teach his classes. “It wasn’t too bad because we had a good substitute teacher, but he’s a really good teacher and our class really missed him,” said junior Rhyann Robinson, a student in one of his classes. Kerr said there might have been a camera at the intersection that possibly recorded video of his accident, but he isn’t sure he would want to see the footage. “That’s more for legal reasons for insurance and stuff,” he added, “There’s a part of me that’s very happy that I don’t know exactly what happened. I’m incredibly lucky.”
LFA students to travel to Disney World By Zunaira Arshad Editor in Chief This year there is a new addition to the roster of LFA spring break trips and it has created a buzz in the school hallways. Mr. Joe Ward, math teacher and track coach, will be taking a group of students to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Unlike previous spring break trips that have been arranged around academic experiences, with the focus to tie together sights seen with lessons learned in class, this trip aims to be more like a vacation. Senior Mercedes Nagel talked about why she was attracted to the idea of going to Disney World.
“I feel as though to be a kid again would be a wonderful experience,” she stated. For senior Josh Casper, the trip seemed as though it would be a chance to reminisce about the past. “Thinking about visiting Disney World takes me back to my childhood memories of going with my family. You cannot have a frown with Mickey Mouse around,” he recalled. Currently the trip plan includes an eightday, seven-night itinerary at the various Disney theme and water parks as well as a stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort all on Disney Property. Along with sightseeing the group plans to have a daily two-hour morning workout sessions using the
Disney Wide World of Sports facilities. The idea for the trip came about because of Ward’s prior, pleasant experiences taking athletes to train at Disney World. “In my previous two schools, some of our athletic teams would travel to Disney World over Spring Break for ‘Spring Training.’ I took our track program to Disney World twice and found it to be an immensely enjoyable trip for all who attended,” Ward said. Ward made sure to clarify the intent behind this year’s trip. “This trip for LFA is not a track trip but simply a trip for all of the students who wish to go to enjoy Disney World and make good memories,” Ward emphasized.
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 26, 2012
News
3
Prefects and GYLI students create senior-freshman sibling program By Bailey Ayers Editor-in-Chief
At a morning meeting earlier this Fall the senior class was asked to stay in order for the Prefects to announce their new program the SIBS initiative. Announced by All School President Charles Gallagher and the 2012 Prefects, the program was relatively well received. SIBS is an abbreviation of sibling— hoping to provide a better sense of community and relationships between the classes at LFA. The program is set up so that a freshman and a senior are paired up and considered “siblings.” The idea originated from the senior students who are a part of the GYLI program. While they were on the GYLI trip the LFA students interacted with students from the University School of Milwaukee, where they have a similar program. “Each year at GYLI, we devise a plan on how to improve our community in any way; SIBS is just one of the many things we have planned,” commented GYLI member and Prefect Allie Cedergren. “We thought of SIBS because the biggest issues we see in the school are the social norms, such as the freshman and seniors having a big gap and not many connections. So we wanted to integrate the two grades, like on a peer mentor program but more on a friend level and one on one,” explained Cedergren.
When the LFA students returned they went to the prefects to get help setting it up, according to Cedergren. During preseason the prefects met and decided how they should modify the University Schools’ program so that it better fit LFA. The program at LFA is very simple but effective. Each pair of students has three tasks to complete before the end of the year. First is to introduce your sibling to another LFA student they don’t know. The second is to share a meal. The third is to attend one school event (sports, musicals,
concerts etc.) either together or in support of one another. It was clear though that seniors were having trouble initiating contact with their siblings. At the time when the siblings were announced, the seniors did not know their siblings and the LFA Facebook was unavailable making it difficult for seniors to contact freshman. The prefects have realized the problem and “are working on ways to better implement the program,” according to Prefect Lauren Pugliese.
Campus News Compiled by Bailey Ayers
Harvest Hope kick off information Harvest Hope kicks off its Pack the Pod event and will announce which advisories will be collecting which items for the food drive at an upcoming morning meeting. Pack the Pod will be held on Saturday November 10th. Pack the Pod is an event in which volunteers help pack a pod unit full of the food items that the school has donated to help provide Thanksgiving dinners for the families at the AJK school in North Chicago. Enrichment Day will be held the following Saturday, November 17th. Enrichment day is a chance for students to be involved one on one with the students at the AJK School. For more information refer to the article on page 1.
Construction on new science wing continues
Photo by Bailey Ayers
Grace Coburn and Caraline Patterson spend quality sibling time together.
iPhone 5 hits stores and LFA By Justin Nasaku Feature Editor Lake Forest Academy is no stranger to Apple and the iPhone; people use and lose Apple products every day around campus. When Apple released the iPhone 5 in the U.S. to a record-breaking five million sales last month, it was reasonable to expect that many members of the community would be interested in upgrading. Math Department Chair Jeff Bateman got up at 2 a.m. to wait in line to buy the new iPhone and he thinks the product is “fabulous”. “I love it,” he said. “You have access to all the info you need. I especially love Siri. I can set appointments just like that using it. I can even use my phone without using my hands.” The iPhone 5 sold more than one million units more than its predecessor, the iPhone 4S, but it seemed to many critics and analysts worldwide that it did not hit its mark. Apple was projecting sales of 6 to 10 million and this latest member of their iPhone series had experts wondering if it might be an indicator that Apple’s growth has hit a
plateau. Not everyone in the LFA community felt that they had to have the new iPhone 5 right away. “If my contract wasn’t up, I probably would not have switched,” said Robert Haynes, a junior. “If I didn’t have the option to upgrade, I would’ve waited for the next iPhone.” Haynes’ contract with phone carrier AT&T had just ended and he was eligible to get an upgrade from his former iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5 for a heavily discounted price. For those who are eligible for upgrades through a major carrier, the 16GB iPhone 5 only costs $250. But for those whose contracts are not eligible for upgrades, like the customers who bought the iPhone 4S which was just released last year, the price for a 16 GB iPhone is $650. Last year, the iPhone 4S was released in 7 countries and sold 4 million units. This year, the iPhone 5 was released in 9 countries and sold 5 million units. Apple actually sold less units of the iPhone 5 in each country than the iPhone 4S. Apple’s products have sold extremely well over the past few iterations, but it seems like inter-
est in Apple’s products has declined and will continue to impact their sales.
Photo by Lauren Clamage
There was excitment around campus when a crane arrived to aid in the construction of the new science wing.
Year’s first concert for Coax and Vox There are several concerts coming up in the next month. Coax and
Photo courtesy of Apple.com
The new iPhone 5 is showing up around LFA.
Vox both have concerts in November. Coax did a five-song set at the parent’s weekend concert and had a strong debut with some new talent. Vox is performing an array of group songs as well as individual songs by members of the group in several different styles. The Vox concert is November 15th and the Coax concert is November 19th.
THE SPECTATOR 4
News
OCTOBER 26, 2012
Are colleges really going green? By Jane Xu Photo Editor It is the time of the year that college admissions departments start to make increasing contacts with schools and students. College brochures will fill senior students’ mailboxes every week. Many of the LFA seniors have complained that the brochures they have received could almost fill two trash bags. Applying students seem to feel that it is a contradiction that colleges advocate in their brochures how they are going green but keep sending paper brochures, along with electronic emails, to students as advertising of their schools. The brochures are almost identical for every single college; they all will have beautiful pictures of its campus and students, while extending their greetings to new applicants. All brochures try to convey the same idea: the recipient is a unique student who would be given great opportunities if they chose to attend the advertised school. Even worse, those college brochures vary in size, and the paper they use is sometimes thicker than normal, which can amount to a greater amount of paper waste. “The worst thing about it is that you are getting postcards and brochures from those schools that you are not even apply-
ing to,” said Tina Liu, a current LFA senior. “Then you will just directly throw them into the recycling bin.” “There is priority for a lot institutions to increase the number of applicants they get each year, and maybe that priority for the schools is more important than being green in their perspective,” said Mr. Andrew Poska, the Senior Associate Dean of College Counseling, explaining a reason why schools may send too many recruitment mailings. “I do think that the schools are over-marketing to students,” said Poska. On the other hand, in terms of college application, almost all of the institutions have started to utilize Naviance.com for students to submit college applications online. According to MNN.com, there are 414 colleges now that use the Common Application, a website that consolidates all essays, supplements, and recommendations and makes the admissions process much greener and more convenient. “Three years ago, we used paper,” said Poska, “and we are glad to be paperless now.” Maybe in the future, colleges should think more about impressing students with an environmentally-friendly recruitment communication plan rather than filling recycling bins.
The photos both above and below show the mail recieved in one day through mail and email. While colleges are sending more and more emails the photo above shows that one student recieved 13 hard copy brochures from colleges in one night. Photo above by Bailey Ayers. Photo below courtesy of Jane Xu.
Changes in Harvest Hope (continued from page 1)
time consuming. In addition, last year we didn’t really get enough runners to make a go of it.” said LFA Director of Service Learning Sarah Collins. Although the Harvest Run had difficulties supporting community assistance programs to aid impoverished North Chicago families, other parts of Harvest Hope worked so well they are expanding. The Northern Illinois Food Bank annual drive has been so successful that this year Harvest Hope plans to deliver as much as twice the amount of Thanksgiving meals to hungry North Chicago families without the economic means to purchase their own turkey dinners. “This year, we decided that to do something that really helps the organizations that we’re partnering with,” said Collins. “By
Enrichment Day, when LFA students visit the A.J. Katzenmaier Elementary School in North Chicago and help engage the local students in arts classes, will be facing several structural changes. “In other years, we would go and get kids to actually teach every course. This year, we’ll have volunteers and adult leaders teach courses while LFA students partner up individually with an AJK kid to make the day more meaningful,” explained Collins. Harvest Hope wants to include both the LFA football team and the student/teacher rock band, Co-Ax, to play a larger role in working with AJK kids this year. Collins hopes that both groups will be partly responsible in helping push the Enrichment Day theme that the AJK children should
expanding our help to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, we’ll be giving families double the amount of food they would usually get, which is amazing.” One of the first projects for Harvest Hope to help finance the expanded turkey dinners was hosting a different run/walk called Crop Walk, which was a 5K walk-athon located off-campus in the Old Historic district in Waukegan. Another LFA service tradition,
aspire to go to college. Enrichment Day will be held on November 17th, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. “We are searching for 50 more volunteers to help with the additional events added to this year’s Enrichment Day, in addition to the previous number of volunteers in years prior,” stated Ayers. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact either Ayers or her co-leader, Hillary Werner.
Alarming theft at LFA (continued from page 1) applications are often immediately rejected when high schools report charges of theft and dishonesty. According to Tennyson, while LFA dismisses students for proximity to, and involvement with, drugs and alcohol, colleges do not always weigh those charges as heavily if other positive aspects of a student’s profile offset the offense. However, they do consider major
to accuse anyone, because they very well may be innocent. Most of it is just part of investigating.” Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life and Activities Jonathan Freeman shared that the majority of thefts reported to him have been of belongings that were somehow left unprotected, whether in an open hallway or an
incidents of theft or academic dishonesty as reasons to deny admission. Faculty members have previously received anonymous notes hinting toward possible culprits. However, blatantly accusing students of theft or dishonesty is something the administration must regard with caution. “We follow up with those (notes and emails), and we have those conversations,” said Tennyson. “You don’t want
unlocked room. Though theft is—and will always be—morally wrong, students can help prevent these incidents by keeping better track of their possessions. “We try to make sure that students are being vigilant and are taking the appropriate precautions to protect their things,” said Freeman. “That doesn’t mean that theft is excusable, but it does mean that students must understand that they can control the situation.”
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 26,2012
Features
5
Math Aπx1ΣTY
Nationwide arithmetic stress also felt among Caxys of all grade levels
Photo by Meg Kennedy
Junior Cayman Kaurich and Math Instructor Meghan Cox posed for the Spectator to demonstrate how math anxiety has an effect at LFA.
By Mary Kate Patton News Editor According to the Journal of Instructional Psychology, 93% of Americans have experienced some level of math anxiety. The Harvard Educational Review defined math anxiety as negative emotions that interfere with the solving of mathematical problems. Educational experts report that students all across America are suffering from math anxiety in increasing numbers. Those increasing numbers include several students at Lake Forest Academy who can agree with having experienced some form of math anxiety as the high demanding curriculum that LFA provides can cause added stress on students, leaving little extra time to spend on getting math assistance. “What I have found in the years that I have had kids come through here with math anxiety is that somewhere along their line in grade school – especially – or maybe even middle school, they lost their confi-
dence,” said Mr. Jeff Bateman, the math-
ematics department chairman. “They had trouble early and math is one subject that builds on itself from there to where we are today…so confidence gets shaken and once your confidence gets shaken, it’s really hard to go back and reproduce everything that you need to.” Math anxiety is often linked directly to a student’s inability to understand certain math concepts, so it is not uncommon for a student with this anxiety to focus harder on other subjects and eliminate math from their everyday life as much as possible. An article in Education Week reported about the connection between students feeling the pressure to perform well at an early age, and if a student does not understand the concept, then their grade will strictly reflect this knowledge. “I think for some students that have struggled with math, just the homework or class is fine, but when they see an assessment, they immediately in their head are thinking ‘I have to do well on this assessment to improve my grade’ and that is counter productive,” commented Mrs. Loring Strudwick, dean of
admission and a math teacher. “So the minute they start thinking about they’ve got to improve, I’ve got to get this problem, but they aren’t thinking ‘just relax and do the problem, do like you did on the homework, do like you did in class’, then they experience trouble. The reason kids understand it better in math help (given on weekday evenings at LFA) is because its relaxed and I am not their teacher, so there is no pressure to just say ‘I totally don’t get that’…the anxiety is lessened when you don’t have the pressure of performance.” Not only does math anxiety have emotional impact on a student, but Mission College in 2009 linked physical symptoms, such as increased heart rate and light headedness, to students who experience math anxiety on a consistent basis. Students at LFA might easily relate to Stanton Cope, a sophomore taking APA, who attributes his math misgivings to large amounts of work and the frustration that comes with realizing you’re doing a concept or problem wrong. APA
is known as one of the most challenging math courses at LFA due to extensive amount of material it covers. Many researchers believe that math anxiety is a student’s inability to block out useless information, while attempting to understand topics that may not click right away. “I feel the most math anxiety when I re-learn things that I have already learned and the teacher presents it in a different way,” said Miranda Dunne, a junior at LFA taking pre-calculus, “so I usually put my math homework on the back burner because it never changes.” Different ways to tackle math anxiety vary from student to student and the area where the student feels they struggle the most. Bateman suggests taking extra time to practice and to focus on areas where students feel they lack the best understanding of certain concepts. Bringing final chapters to closure will also help moving forward in class. As they say, practice makes perfect!
Photo courtesy of Google images
Students across the nation deal with excessive stress caused by math.
g(x)f’(x)-f(x)g’(x) = _______________________ [g(x)]^2
Graphic by Jane Xu
THE SPECTATOR 6
Features
OCTOBER 26, 2012
LFA food allergies on the rise Hutch taking precautions By Nancy Wang Features Editor Entering Hutch with her friends during a typical lunch period, instead of waiting in line for the popular Caxy burgers sophomore Katrina Nielson walked straight to the salad bar and made the same salad she has been eating almost every day of her LFA career. Nielson is one of a small but increasing number of LFA students who have food allergies. “Because of my food allergies, I usually eat the same thing,” said Nielson, who is gluten intolerant. “I just eat a salad and rice. I can’t eat pasta or regular bread. Sometimes there is only one thing for me to eat.” According to Dean of Students Chris Tennyson, this year LFA has an increased number of students with medical conditions such as gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, and assorted food allergies. Although the conditions vary on an individual basis, maany of these students cannot eat much in Hutch due to their allergies. This mirrors a trend across the country; in response, many states (including Illinois) are enacting new school food laws that are causing school food providers to re-think their serving practices. “This is the highest number of students [with allergies] we have had in a few years,” said General Manager of Food Services Debbie Lindstrom. According to research cited by the
Chicago Tribune, about eight percent of children have some sort of food allergy, which is about 2 students per classroom. Although mainly referring to students of younger age, the research points out the potential danger in food sensitivity in a high school lunch setting as well. To cope with such risks, the State of Illinois enacted a new law last year to allow schools to use prescription medicine devices, such as epinephrine shots, usually known as EpiPens, to save students with severe allergic reactions. In addition, many public school cafeterias have removed peanut butter and nuts entirely from the menu to prevent incidents. Compared to public schools in Chicago that have altered lunch menus to assure students’ safety, LFA has taken more private and personalized actions so that specific reactions can be prevented. “We want to know what each student can or cannot eat and do our best to prepare food for them,” said Lindstrom. “We like when students communicate with us about their conditions and what requests they have for meals.” According to Lindstrom, in the beginning of this year, she met with students who had identified allergies with their parents, to go over every single item on Hutch’s menu, checking the ingredients in each dish. She then recorded a lunch schedule for specific student so that he or she would know what to eat during lunch every day. Lindstrom also noted that Hutch staff keeps bins with
Photo by Nancy Wang
Junior Jenna Selati posed for the the Spectator at Hutch to show her frustration with her gluten intolerance.
Photo by Meg Kennedy
Hutch has a special toaster in the kitchen for students with gluten intolerance.
students’ names on them and stores food such as gluten free pasta and cookies that the students bring in separately. “Sometimes students would email us at night and tell us he or she wants gluten free pizza for lunch fifth period,” said Lindstrom. “And I would get the email in the morning, and make sure the staff helps the student prepare it. They are always more than happy to help.” As an additional safety precaution, Lindstrom stores extra EpiPens in her Hutch office, along with laminated information on food allergy reactions that parents bring in, so that they know someone is there for their children if an emergency occurs. Fortunately, according to Lindstrom, she has never encountered an allergic reaction during her 22 years at LFA. Besides the individual plans for students with food allergies, the Hutch staff has also worked hard to prevent food contamination to protect food sensitivity in the cafeteria on a bigger scale. “We made a decision to put the peanut butter away from the general food serving
section so that it does not get contaminated with other products,” said Lindstrom. “We could not remove it entirely from the cafeteria because it is a very good source of protein.” Although Hutch has set up a few glutenfree products and can prepare food for students with need, Lindstrom said that only a few students have taken advantage of these opportunities. After being informed of the additional food options and help that hutch has to offer, junior Matti Franks said that she would take more advantage of these options. “It’s great that they could cook the stuff for me and I could probably take more advantage of that,” said Franks. “I wish there were more accessible options.” “A lot of kids are afraid to ask questions,” said Lindstrom, “but our door is always open and the staff are, by far, the nicest people you will meet in your life. I say that wholeheartedly. Please feel free to ask them your questions.”
Photo by Nancy Wang
Hutch staff provide boxes for students to store their gluten or lactose free food and also help them prepare the food if needed.
THE SPECTATOR
Features
OCTOBER 26, 2012
By Justin Nakasu and Carina Baker Staff Writers “Fighting without fighting” was how Mr. David Wick described the ancient martial art of kung fu. Wick has been a Latin teacher here at Lake Forest Academy for over 30 years, an accomplishment in itself. But this is not his only impressive achievement: he is trained in several different styles of martial arts. Wick has trained in jiujitsu, judo (the sport form of jujitsu), and several different styles of kung fu, including bagua, t’ai chi, lama, liuhapafa, and hsing-i. He has spent most of his time studying jujitsu, in which he has a black belt ranking, and the bagua and t’ai chi disciplines of kung fu. The kung fu styles Wick studies are known as internal arts; these disciplines are based on developing qi, the vital force that Taoist philosophy believes is inherent in all things. Internal styles, he explained, turn your opponent’s force against them.
of the Month “You get better at [internal styles of kung fu] as you get older,” Wick explained. “So if you find a really old internal master, you’ve found a really superior fighter.” “Everyone has something that is of paramount importance to them and mine is martial arts,” said Wick when asked why he was interested in martial arts. Wick explained that he was introduced to martial arts while watching a television series called Kung Fu as a child, and has been fascinated with martial arts ever since. “But not because of the fighting,” said Wick, “I was more into the philosophical aspect.” Wick explained that he liked the ideas and lessons he learned while studying martial arts more than the physical aspect of the sport. The discipline and sense of confidence is also what drew Wick towards martial arts.
He described how difficult it was to enter and study in a dojo; traditionally, teachers attempt to scare prospective students off, forcing them to demonstrate their commitment to studying the sport. “My teacher used to drive me out every single day when I first tried to enter his dojo,“ said Wick, “But if I got through that initial period, I could do anything.” “I used to enter Judo competetions as a white belt and defeat black belts,” Wick said. Wick explained how his master did not give out belts like other dojos. Wick was considered a white belt in com-
7 petitions, even though he was at the level of a black belt. Wick entered competitions such as the Illinois Prairie State Games on occasion. Wick didn’t usually enter competitions, but when he did, he was among the top contenders. Wick used to offer judo, the competitive form of jujitsu, as a sport here at Lake Forest Academy in the 1980s and recently taught Kung Fu as a club. “Martial arts have added discipline to my life,” Wick said, “I’ve gained a sort of resilient confidence from it.”
David Wick
Visit youtube.com/user/LFASpectator to see the full video!
Caxy Trends Every month the Spectator will look at up and coming fashion trends that are taking over at LFA!
Lace: an elegant and feminine style By Nancy Wang Features Editor A dazzling star of the 2012 summer fashion, lace continues to burst out sparks of maturity and femininity from young girls as it has definitely become a dominant fashion trend at LFA. In recent years, more and more lace designs have adorned popular brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Pink, attracting females and a big crowd of high school girls as a vibrant way to express themselves and show off their maturity. And when lace outfits, especially lacy dresses, finally hit young-adult brands such as Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, and H&M, the definition of lace style reached a whole new level, becoming the new dressy and classy look that a “fashionista” must have. As the runway celebrities present their
passion for the new fad, girls at LFA show their love towards this girly style as well. Senior Allie Cedergren said she picked a lace top for her senior portrait outfit over many other options because she loved the style. “I think lace is very elegant and more sophisticated,” said Cedergren, “It’s very easy to match lace with other things, too, especially with cream-colored lace because it gives a subtle pattern but it’s still a solid color.” Cedergren also mentioned that lace is very versatile in a sense it could be worn casually or formally. Other girls at LFA have shared a passion in lace with Cedergren. Senior Kalina Gajda claimed lace items to be one of her favorite musthaves. “My favorite part about lacy clothes is that they look cute but sophisticated at the same time,” said Gajda, who had
Photos by Jane Xu
Seniors Kalina Gajda and Allie Cedergren posed for The Spectator in their elegant lace outfits on a typical dress code day.
picked a short black lace dress for her senior portrait. When asked to give some advice for dressing up with lace, Gajda said that she would make lace the focus of her outfit and pair a lacy dress with plain flats or wear a black skirt with a lacy sweater. “I would probably wear a lacy dress or skirt to school or date while a lacy top or sweater can be worn more casually,” said Gajda, explaining the perfect occasions for a lacy look. “It depends on what piece of clothing it is and what color the
lace is.” Next time when you are shooting for something versatile, sweet, feminine, and mature to spice up your wardrobe, try to lace up a little bit!
Fashion Destination: Anthropology $$$ H&M $$ Forever 21 $
THE SPECTATOR
Election
8
OCTOBER 26, 2012
Elephants & donkeys: the
Obama wins LFA
Total student votes per candidate
(continued from front page)
U.S. election. The votes were sorted by male, female, boarding, and day students. Just over half (50.3%) of the voters chose Obama for re-election. Republican candidate Mitt Romney received 38.7% of the votes, while 11% of voters chose an unlisted or third party candidate. Compared to recent Gallup and Politico presidential election polls, the LFA voters strongly favored Obama for election in 2012. While the Politico polls suggested that both Romney and Obama had about 48% of the votes, the LFA mock election voters gave less than 40% of the votes to Romney. When deciding who is most prepared for the role as president, students took a variety of factors into account when choosing their candidate. “I consider honesty, reliability to the U.S. people, and how realistic their goals are,” said senior Jane Strudwick. Mrs. Suzy Vaughn, teacher of AP United States History, highlighted the importance for voters of objectively determining the importance of certain political stances that the candidates hold when deciding how to cast your vote. “It is important for voters to make a list
of issues that they find to be most compelling as a voter and see which candidate best reflects those values,” said Vaughn. “If certain issues are most important and only one candidate reflects those ideals, then the voter’s choice is pretty clear cut.” Student political focus groups at LFA seemed to have made up their minds on similar principles. The Libertarian’s Club, however, has its members divided in their choice of candidate. Despite Obama’s victory in the student election, the Young Republican’s Club stands firm in their unanimous support of Romney. “I prioritize economics over social issues because it is more important to have the country running well financially than adhering to every person’s needs at the cost of financial wellness,” stated senior Chris Shadek, president of the Young Republican’s Club. Other members of the community had a more pessimistic view of the candidates. “Choosing a candidate in this President election is like selecting the cleanest dirty shirt in the pile,” joked LFA All School President Charles Gallagher. “One might look better than the other, but they all stink just the same.”
Graphic by John Luttig
50.3% of LFA voters chose Obama, 38.7% Romney, and 11% another candidate.
Student votes per demographic
Graphic by John Luttig
Different groups within the LFA student population favored different candidates.
The road towards the White House
timelines of the candidates’ careers
Romney
2011: Officially announces his candidacy for the 2012 Presidential Republi-
formerly Governor of Massachusetts
1994: Unsuccessfully runs for U.S. Senator
can nomination
2007: Unsuccessfully runs for the Presidential Republican nomination, losing to Arizona Senator John McCain
2002-2006: Romney becomes Governor of Massachusetts
Obama
2008: Elected 44th President
currently President of the USA
1997-2004: Illinois Senator
2008: “Yes We Can” Presidential Campaign
2005-2008: U.S. Senator
2012: Governor Romney and President Obama debate in the first of the presidential debates. Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan debate. Romney and Obama debate twice more.
2012: Romney announces his Vice Presidential choice, Paul Ryan. Becomes the nominated candidate for the Republican party.
2010: Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) into law
2009: Inaugurated President, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
9 v o N ctio Ele
2011: Repeals “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell”
2010: Obama signs the Compromise tax plan which
extends the George W. Bush era tax cuts; Health
Care and Education Reconciliation Act
2012: The Federal Pell Grant for college financial need; 2012
re-election campaign; Obama is re-nominated by the Democratic Party for President
Graphic by Carina Baker and John Luttig
THE SPECTATOR
Election
OCTOBER 26, 2012
9
e battle for the Presidency
on
g
Mitt
Romney
candidate for the Republican Party
By John Luttig and Yakov Shapiro Staff Writers Following an unsuccessful run for presidency in 2008, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has been selected as the 2012 presidential candidate for the Republican Party. Romney had a rough start to the presidential season, with fellow conservatives labeling Romney as too "moderate" and unable to make up his mind, and Democrats criticizing him as an extreme conservative. Finding it difficult to unify his party and to maintain concrete stances on several issues, Romney might have felt his hopes of moving into the Oval Office seemed slim in the months following the primaries. However, a strong performance in the first Presidential debate has pulled Romney ahead in many polls. In CNN’s poll, for example, Romney is almost even with incumbent Barack Obama. Romney dominated his first Presidential debate by maintaining strong conservative positions against the Estate Tax, which affects those who inherit more than $3.5 million. He also op-
posed the Capital Gains Tax, a tax on income from investments. This is consistent with the Republican Party’s platform, which encourages a tax system that is less progressive and has lower rates. Romney also expressed his intentions to reduce subsidies to government funded media, specifically arguing against the funding of PBS and NPR. He emphasized the importance of limiting government when the budget is constrained. In fact, like many other Republicans, Romney signed a pledge that would add a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. The Republican Party is adamantly against budget deficits, which can be prevented by cutting “non-essential” parts of the government budget. "I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I like PBS, but I'm
not going to keep on spending money on things like this that we have to borrow money from China to pay for," he stated. While tackling a lot of issues, Romney placed particular emphasis on his intention to repeal Obamacare, which is currently set to take effect in 2014. Like other Republicans, Romney supports the notion that Obamacare is unconstitutional because of its requirement for every American to purchase healthcare. Romney also believes that the current manifestation of Obamacare will be largely inefficient. “When you
versus
By Zunaira Arshad and Amelia Moses Editors-in-Chief
The party beliefs are centered on the idea that government involvement should be for the welfare of citizens. Areas in which government involvement is called for include health care and education reforms. Incumbent President Barack Obama plans to revitalize the economy by helping the middle class to grow. The Democratic belief is that by expanding the middle class and bringing up more jobs in the private sector—in the last year the Obama administra-
Since the 1930s, the Democratic Party has promoted a liberal and progressive view for America’s future.
tion has created 4.6 million jobs— more families will be able to improve their economic status and this will
narrow the gap between classes.
The Democratic Party platform includes an emphasis on moving America forward; in order to do so Obama has put an emphasis on educational reform. The party aims to have education plans which make everything related to education more affordable while still maintaining a high-quality experience in the classroom. Democrats place an emphasis on math and science education, but are also recruiting graduate students of any subject to expand research in specific fields. Also, Obama believes that the No Child Left Behind Act, passed under the Bush Administration, must be tweaked to improve the accountability of schools while also supporting their efforts, rather than penalizing them. President Obama feels as though it is only fair if everyone “has a seat at the table.” Also in correla-
look at Obamacare, the Congressional Budget Office has said it will cost $2,500 more per year per person than traditional insurance," Romney said. Romney’s message appealed to many of the undecided debate viewers as he immediately rose in the Gallup, Politico, and NBC polls.
tion to human rights, he was the first sitting president who openly announced his support for gay marriage. His belief is that LGBT Americans should be treated with equality. Democrats also plan to build an economy that lasts. In economic expansion of the middle class, Obama believes in quality and more affordable health insurance. In hopes of putting a stop to unfair insurance companies, his administration created Obamacare to provide healthcare for all Americans. With that, The Affordable Healthcare Act is requiring that insurance companies revise their standards for coverage and that all Americans obtain coverage to make the new plan viable. In efforts to promote a stronger presence in the world and a safer presence at home, Obama has followed through on the Democratic Party’s promise to end the war in Iraq and bring home American troops. His administration also worked to create a plan to help the returning troops get back on their economic feet called the “VOW to Hire Heroes Act.”
candidate for the Democratic Party Barack
Obama
Graphic by Carina Baker
THE SPECTATOR
Election
10
Who are you voting for? “[I support] Obama; I think he learned the realities of being president and the wisdom will help him. You can’t get much done during one term.” -Edward Shaughnessy, Physics teacher
“I have watched the debates and one thing I don’t like about both of the candidates is that they like to pick at each other rather than focus on more important things... I still don’t know who I’m going to vote for.” -Katie Reid-Anderson, LFA senior
“I am voting for Obama, because I vote for the presidential election based on the impact the president will have on the Supreme Court. The President has power for four years but those elected to the Supreme Court hold power much longer.” -Christian Dozois, History Department Chair and Assistant Dean of College Counseling
“I don’t agree with Romney on a few key issues, but I’d rather give him a chance to do something different for four years instead of allow Obama to keep running this country in a way that clearly isn’t working.” -Mantas Ivanauskas, LFA senior
How it all works:
The Electoral College
By Carina Baker Managing Editor At first glance, the Electoral College system seems like a bewildering and roundabout way to elect a president. The process can confuse even voting Americans and leave international onlookers completely befuddled. Voters who take to the polls on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November (of years divisible by four) aren’t actually electing the president. Instead, they’re voting for electors who have been chosen by a political party. These electors later cast their votes for President and Vice President. Popular vote within the states determines which party’s electors vote, effectively awarding states to either party; a state with five electoral votes and a Democratic popular majority will then cast those five votes for the Democratic candidate (excepting Maine and Nebraska, which operate on a proportional system).
Each state is granted a number of electors equal to its members of Congress, and it takes a majority of 270 votes out of 538 to elect a president. California has the most electors, with 55; the smallest allotment is three electors. Illinois has a comparatively larger number of 20 electors, having lost one elector since 2008 to reflect population changes determined in the 2010 census. The majority of states tend to consistently favor one party over the other. Others, called swing states, remain uncertain until Election Day. Voters in these states, such as Ohio, Colorado, and Florida, are inundated with advertisements, and presidential candidates often make repeat visits. The Electoral College is not without its opponents: many are quick to point out that
OCTOBER 26, 2012
the system enables candidates to win the Electoral College without a popular majority. This has happened four times, most recently in the 2000 election when George W. Bush won the Electoral College but Al Gore won the national popular majority. However convoluted the process may seem, it was designed with a specific set of goals in mind. The United States of the 1780s had no political parties (a development later accommodated by the 12th amendment), no national campaigns, and very strong state loyalties; it was designed to reflect these facts, according to the Federal Election Commission. At its heart, said the FEC, the Electoral College selects for breadth of support over depth of support. However, the process hasn’t stuck around for centuries without being challenged. According to the National Archives, over the past 200 years more than 700 attempts to change or eliminate the Electoral College have been made.
Graphic by Carina Baker
Swing states (left to right) Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, and Colorado are worth 10, 6, 18, 13, 6, and 9 electoral votes respectively.
The recession and the election By Emily Shanley-Roberts Orange Editor
Unless you’ve been off-planet for the last several years, you probably know that the lingering effects of the last great recession and what the Obama Administration has done (or not done) to help the United States economy recover from the recession are the crucial questions in his year’s Presidential race. But what is a recession? A recession is generally defined as a period of two or more financial quarters of declining gross domestic profit (GDP). The job of defining when recessions and recoveries occur is taken by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which is widely accepted as the authority on economic cycles in the United States. The NBER refers to a reces-
sion as “a period between a peak and a trough,” wherein “a significant decline in economic activity spreads across the economy and can last from a few months to more than a year.” Recessions are parts of economic cycles, which include peaks, troughs, expansions, and recessions. A peak is the end of a period of economic expansion, or growth, and is the beginning of a recession. A recession continues until the trough of the cycle, at which time the economy begins repairing, or expansion. According to the NBER, there have been 14 recessions since August 1929. Recessions, just like expansions, are integral and typical parts of economic cycles. The latest recession began with the peak in December 2007, following a 73-month period of expansion beginning in November 2001. The recession continued until a trough in June 2009, when the fall of the economy stopped. It is obvious that the economy has
not returned to anywhere near its previous strength – a major point in the Republican platform this election season– but it continues to repair and expand, something the Democratic party is focusing on. Part of reparation and expansion is the growth of the labor market. The Republican view during this Presidential race is that the current administration has not done enough to grow jobs and aid the expansion. As shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was an increase from 4.6% unemployment in 2007 to 9.6% in 2010. By the end of 2011, the unemployment rate decreased to 8.5%. As of September 2012, the unemployment rate was 7.8%. Though gradual, the Democrats contend that the economic improvement shows positive growth in the economy. The recession has been over and the economy has been expanding since June 2009.
Graphic by Jane Xu
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 26, 2012
Arts and Entertainment
11
Carousel by Rodgers & Hammerstein
announced as winter musical By Jenna Selati Arts & Entertainment Editor Lake Forest Academy’s winter musical is consistently one of the most anticipated events of the year. Previous performances of Pippin, The Sound of Music, and The Secret Garden have dazzled and impressed the LFA community, and this winter’s musical will be no exception. The Performing Arts Department has chosen Carousel, a heartwarming story of love and redemption, for this year’s production. The directors have wanted to produce Carousel for a number of years; thanks to the script’s current availability, this beautiful show will finally make its way to the Cressey Theater. Written in the 1940s by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein (book and lyrics), Carousel follows the story of Julie, a young woman who meets and falls in love with the town carnival’s carousel barker, Billy Bigelow. He falls in love with her as well, and the two get married. However, their marriage comes with a price,
J&
costing both their jobs and resulting in scorn from the other townspeople. Billy is believed to be far below Julie; he is a petty crook. Julie drops her friends to live with Billy, who, unbeknownst to her, agrees to participate in a robbery of a mill with the intent of supporting her and their unborn child. The attempt fails and Billy is ultimately killed. The story is told in flashbacks from Billy’s perspective. He is attempting to earn a spot in Heaven by committing an act of redemption that will benefit his family back on earth. Director of Performing Arts Mark Dryfoos and Director of Music Timothy Plambeck chose the show to be the 2012 winter musical because the elaborate story—combined with the beautiful music—makes for an impressive and entertaining performance. “We’ve been talking about it for a number of years and the script became available,” said Dryfoos. “It has great songs, very catchy tunes, and it is a beautiful show.” Auditions are being held October 29th and
urant Revi a t s e R J ew
Photo courtesy of pophistorydig.com
The cover of a cast album from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, which premiered in 1945.
30th, the last week of October. The variety of both singing and speaking parts add to the uniqueness of the show. Students interested in participating are encouraged to au-
dition. The dramatic element of Carousel sets it apart from the musicals chosen by Dryfoos and Plambeck in previous years, and its LFA debut will surely be a hit.
Unable to eat gluten, Jenna was in heaven. Having the ability to order and eat anything on the menu was an experience she is not accustomed to. Aside from that luxury, she really enjoyed everything she tasted. In addition to the unique appetizers and entrées served at In the Raw, the fresh smoothies and juices are tasty and refreshing. Smoothies and juices are made upon
request, and the creative combinations listed on the menu are heaven in a glass. In the Raw serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with hours ranging from 7 am to 10 pm. While the prices are not the lowest, you certainly get what you pay for. In the Raw offers a healthy, fresh, and tasty gluten-free and vegan menu in a crisp, refreshing atmosphere.
By John Luttig and Jenna Selati
In the Raw is “raw”ly good Nestled in a corner of downtown Highland Park, “In the Raw” offers an array of vegan and gluten-free dishes that make it an interesting dining experience. Nothing the restaurant serves is cooked above a temperature of 110˚F, the maximum for food to be considered raw. The kitchen does not have an oven, strictly enforcing the rules of raw. All dishes are made fresh upon order, and the chefs put creative vegan and gluten-free twists on classic recipes. Pizza, pasta, and tacos can be found on the menu, though none are what is expected. The crust of the Veggie Pizza is formed with a purée of walnuts and hemp; the marinara sauce is infused with truffle oil, and the toppings include a flavorful mixture of marinated mushrooms, bell peppers, and caramelized onions. The lack of cheese follows the vegan philosophy and does ab-
solutely nothing to compromise the taste of the pizza. The Pasta ‘Primavera’ dish is not pasta at all, but rather a generous helping of finely shredded zucchini. The “pasta” is tossed with a delicate macadamia “cheese”, basil, mint, and cherry tomatoes. The spicy bean filling of the tacos is wrapped in a soft corn tortilla and embellished with red cabbage slaw, guacamole, and mango salsa. Although the tacos contain none of the ingredients traditionally found in the classic Mexican entrée, the mango salsa and spicy bean filling prove to be respectable substitutes. As a meatetarian, John was initially reluctant about the experience. However, he warmed up as soon as he tasted the complementary hummus-like appetizer. Complementary appetizers, people. What’s not to like?
John’s spicy bean tacos topped with mango salsa.
Photo by John Luttig
The Wrap Pricing: $$$ Taste: Service: The Bottom Line: The food is fresh, tasteful, and “strange” (as described by John).
THE SPECTATOR 12
Opinion and Editorial
OCTOBER 26, 2012
Caxy Rant: Shirts vs. Skins
By Michelle Whitehead Op-Ed Editor When it gets warm out, they swarm the grounds. Everywhere you turn, you see them running, playing Frisbee, and playing basketball with their friends. I’m talking about shirtless guys. Whether they are at practice or a sporting event, guys can’t seem to resist an opportunity to throw their shirts to the side and flaunt their abs. The boys’ cross country team has even been known to play shirts vs. skins running games. There have been many occasions when I, or another cross country girl, have tried to run in just our sports bras at practice. Every time, our coaches have made it clear that this isn’t acceptable and told us to put our shirts back on. Why should the boys get to run shirtless when the girls have to stay covered up? This double-standard stretches beyond the cross country teams.
The volleyball girls have been told that they can’t walk around in only spandex before and after practice. Meanwhile, the track and cross country guys are allowed to wear ridiculously short shorts as uniforms without any sort of cover-up. I think the running shorts are at least as inappropriate as spandex and yet coaches haven’t said anything about them. Shirtless guys have become the social norm at LFA. On the school website, there are pictures of male sports fans wearing body paint instead of shirts. This is considered to be school-spirited and completely acceptable. If a group of girls wore sports bras and painted themselves with school colors, would their picture even be on the school website? Or would they get sent back to their rooms to put on shirts? I got my answer when the administration would not allow
Other Preps versus LFA:
Illustration by Jane Xu
LFA does not have dorm room visitation hours, unlike Exeter and Peddie, which allow visitation as long as the “three-feet rule” is followed.
By Hannah Vivienne Thuroff Op-Ed Editor No Boys Allowed. Boys are bugs; we must squish them. These are two phrases every female boarder has heard Ms. Suzy Vaughn say repeatedly throughout their time spent at Lake Forest Academy. Many boarders have personally struggled with the strictness by which LFA handles visits by the oppo-
site sex in each other’s dorms. During the grueling winter months, students are still forced to stand outside in below freezing temperatures, rather than in the comfort of the warm commons. Now it is understandable that LFA wants to hinder students from engaging in intimate activities (since they are against the school rules), but it’s important to remember that we are
Photo courtesy of lfanet.org
Photo by Meg Kennedy
Junior Michelle Whitehead points out the double-standard involving shirtlessness on campus. This picture was created in Photoshop using a photo of body-painted students found on the school website.
a photo of girls in sports bras to accompany this Caxy Rant. Part of the problem is that, just like the dress code during the school day, there are many interpretations of what is appropriate to wear to sports practices. The LFA student handbook states that “outside the academic day,
students may wear clothing of their own choice as long as it is in good taste.” The vagueness of the phrase “in good taste” is doing more harm than good. Some coaches are more relaxed than others about the rule and, whether or not it is being done intentionally, boys are getting away
with wearing whatever they want. I think there should be a discussion among faculty members and a single decision should be made: either let us girls run in sports bras and spandex or tell the guys to put some clothes on.
This month, Hannah compares visitation in dorms of the opposite sex at various other prep schools with LFA’s rules. Hannah will be spending this year looking at LFA’s rules and codes of conduct and comparing them with other prep boarding schools around the country to see if anything we do can be improved. teenagers and too many restrictions will just lead to more problems. Phillips Exeter Academy, located in New Hampshire, and the Peddie School of New Jersey have similar rules concerning dorm visitations that I find to be much more rational than LFA’s. Most boarding school students are very familiar with the term “open commons”. On Friday and Saturday nights, one of Atlass, Field, Ferry Hall, Warner or Mac opens its commons for two to three hours to watch movies, play games, or make crafts but most of the time no one shows up. LFA has made the concept of visiting the op-
posite sex’s dorm such a taboo that students are afraid, and even embarrassed, at times to do so. But for what reason? The Exeter handbook “recognizes that students need opportunities for socializing and for a degree of privacy” but that visitations are “not intended for sexually intimate behavior.” Both Exeter and Peddie require students to abide by the “three feet rule,” which means that three feet must be on the ground at all times, while the opposite sex is in one’s room. The doors also have to be kept at least halfway open at Exeter and completely open at Peddie, and the light
must be on at all times. Visitations are also only allowed during certain hours. For example, Exeter allows visits from 7 to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 8 to 10:45 p.m. on Saturdays. Peddie’s scheduling is a little more complex, dividing the visitation hours up by grade. Of course I see why LFA wouldn’t want to take the responsibility that comes along with these visitations but with the appropriate restrictions and limitations, visitations of the opposite sex’s room could be beneficial for both the staff and especially the students.
Photo courtesy of Peddie School Handbook
Peddie School has a schedule for dorm room visitation based on grade.
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 26, 2012
Opinion and Editorial
Editorial Clean up your mess! Lake Forest Academy students walk into a spotless Hutchinson Commons up to three times a day to enjoy a meal with friends but leave it with napkins, utensils, and a variety of food from the day’s menu strewn across the floor and tables. The carelessness with which many students have treated Hutch has become a common discussion topic across campus, so why is it that changes still have not been made? The Hutch staff is not your mother; it is not their responsibility to clean up after you. If you haven’t heard this, then you may have been the one saying it. But the reality is that there is not a single student that would treat their house with the blatant disregard they treat Hutch with at times.
Now, of course the occasional accident occurs—a drink may be knocked over or a plate may be dropped—but when did it become socially acceptable to throw food or napkins across a dining hall? The classic “cafeteria food fights” should remain comical scenes of movies; they should not be executed by the LFA student body. One of the most disturbing aspects of the Hutch mess is the disrespect. When Sonia stops you and asks you to bring up a cup or throw away a napkin, it doesn’t matter whether or not it’s yours. Don’t argue with her and DO NOT run out of Hutch. Be the courteous person your parents raised you to be and just do it. At most it takes an extra 45
seconds. In the time you spend arguing who it belongs to, you could have thrown it out 10 separate times. Show regard for yourself and the other people who use Hutch and clean up the mess you and your friends produced. It is important to remember that while you may not be cleaning up the mess you created, someone else is. The Hutch staff works vigorously to provide you with three hot meals on a daily basis; it is not their job to clean up after you. When you are sitting in Hutch and you have that uncontrollable urge to throw a chicken finger at your friend, pretend your mother or father is sitting next to you, because you know you would never dare to do such a thing in front of them.
Personal Opinion To heat or not to heat?
ing wearing sweaters to school and filling myself up with hot tea at lunch. I have even attempted to speed-walk to my classes in a last-ditch effort to generate enough body heat to
F o r e s t
S P E C TAT O R
STAFF LIST Editors-in-Chief
Managing Editors News Editors Feature Editors Sports Editors Arts & Entertainment Editor Op-Ed Editors Orange Editor Photo Editors Staff Writer Faculty Adviser
Zunaira Arshad Bailey Ayers Grace Coburn Amelia Moses Carina Baker John Luttig Amy Krivoshik Mary-Kate Patton Justin Nakasu James Paige Nancy Wang Brian Ahern Margaux Boles Jenna Selati Hannah Vivienne Thuroff Michelle Whitehead Emily Shanley-Roberts Lauren Clamage Meg Kennedy Jane Xu Yakov Shapiro William Murphy
PUBLICATION
The Spectator is published eight times per year by the students of Lake Forest Academy and is a forum for student expression. The views and reporting herein are the sole product of The Spectator’s student reporters and in no way reflect the official views of Lake Forest Academy faculty, staff, administration or Board of Trustees.
EDITORIALS Opinions of the staff are presented in the form of unsigned editorials. Personal views are bylined or presented as formal dissents.
By Michelle Whitehead Op-Ed Editor When someone says “air conditioning” the first thing that comes to mind is July, not October. That may be the case in most places, but not LFA. Even though temperatures outside aren’t getting above 65 degrees on the warmest days, the air conditioning is running in almost every campus building. The history wing is one of the coldest areas, rivaling the math wing, with classrooms chilling out in the mid-to-low 60s. These are temperatures that would seem like overkill even if it was July. In my opinion, LFA is way too cold and something needs to be done about it. This issue goes way beyond simple discomfort; it’s causing me to lose focus in my classes. I am shivering and shaking and cursing the world for being so cold and I end up missing an important comment about mode of discourse or the product rule. I have tried everything, includ-
T h e L a k e A c a d e m y
13
SUBMISSIONS The Spectator welcomes submissions from the community. If you would like to write an article, please see Mr. Murphy (please note: if space is limited, priority goes to journalism students). We also welcome short stories and poetry for our “Featured Writers” column, and we are always interested in publishing student artwork and photographs. Please send all submissions to Mr. Murphy via e-mail at wmurphy@lfanet.org, or hand them to him directly.
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS The Spectator welcomes responses to its articles in the form of Letters to the Editors in addition to letters on subjects of the author’s choosing. Please e-mail Letters to the Editors to Mr. Murphy at wmurphy@lfanet.org.
AWARDS Photo by Meg Kennedy
Seniors Jaclyn Meyers and Dani Mendoza bundle up to do homework.
get me through a class period. None of this ever works. It only succeeds in making me uncomfortably warm in the student center (which has somehow managed to remain a sauna). Although October isn’t a time for air conditioning, it’s not usually a time for heating either. If you told your parents to turn on the heat in your house right now, they would most likely laugh in your face and tell you to put on a sweater. However, temperatures are rapidly decreasing and
I think that it’s time to reconsider how cold is “cold enough”. During first period, temperatures are typically in the mid-to-high 40s. That is usually when people start wearing coats to school. In my opinion, if it is cold enough for people to be wearing coats, the heat should be turned on. Or, at the very least, the air conditioning should be turned off. If classrooms were a few degrees warmer, students would be more comfortable and focused instead of cold and distracted.
The Spectator has been awarded several prestigious journalism awards in recent years. It has consistently taken first place in competitions against schools of similar size held by the American Scholastic Press Association and the Kempler Moraine Press Association.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs for ever and ever.” -Oscar Wilde
THE SPECTATOR 14
Prep Hockey By Brian Ahern Sports Editor The Lake Forest Academy Prep Hockey
Sports
OCTOBER 26, 2012
Young team embraces the LFA experience under the strong leadership of upperclassmen team has started the 2012-13 season strong with a record of 7-2-2. Despite the success reflected in the record, Head Coach Darren Madeley described his team’s start to the
Photo by Lauren Clamage
Senior Andrew Purdom faces off against a Milwakee Phoenix player at a recent home game.
season as “inconsistent.” This speaks to the high standard of play that the Prep Hockey program has set at LFA over the last few years. With a combined record of 65-12-4 over that past two seasons, the bar has been set high for the 2012-13 edition of the team. Reaching that standard this year may be difficult, according to Madeley, because this year’s team does not have the experienced cadre of players that it has had in the past. “It will take some time for the younger players to adjust to the pace that (coach Andrew) Poska and I expect out of them every night,” stated Madeley. Though young, the Caxys’ talent level is there as evidenced by this season’s quick seven wins. “When we are on, we have the potential to be a very good hockey team,” said senior captain Andrew Purdom. “Our line is clicking well.” The optimism of Purdom is matched by junior Nate Chase, who is looking forward to bonding as a team and continuing to grow with the other juniors who have already spent a year at LFA. Madeley does admit that his team does have some growing to do. However, he
was encouraged by the fact that the Caxys are not weak in any one area. “I have been impressed with our goaltending in particular,” said the coach. The aspect of the team that has most excited Madeley is how they have embraced the whole LFA experience. “They seem to be kids that know they want to be here as LFA students who play hockey,” he said. An interesting story for this season is the return of senior Josh Casper. After spending his freshman and sophomore year at LFA, Casper left during last year and attended Lake Forest High School. Upon his return, Casper has had an outpouring of support from his coaches and teammates. “There is nobody I would rather have back there getting out pucks. I am glad he is on our team,” said Purdom. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, some of the most notable games of the fall come October 27-29 when the team heads to South Bend (IN) to play a tournament in the brand new Notre Dame hockey arena, the Plymouth Center. The Notre Dame showcase will be a great stage for individuals to gain national recognition, and it will be a great time for Prep to grow as a team.
Trainer Tayler Oswald joins the LFA community By Margaux Boles Sports Editor Mrs. Tayler Oswald is new contractor at Lake Forest Academy serving as an assistant to Mr. Scott DeGraff, athletic trainer. Oswald has been exposed to medicine since a young age through her mother’s job and has always had a passion for sports. She knew she wanted to help people and be around sports everyday, making sports medicine the perfect job. “My mom is in the medical field. She is a nurse that works under a doctor in Kankakee. I feel like I have been exposed to that environment with my mom, kind of growing up in the clinic,” said Oswald, who grew up in Kankakee, Illinois and graduated from Trinity International University in the spring of 2012. “I always had an interest in helping people and being around sports and athletic training is definitely one of those environments where you have both sports and opportunities to help people.” Oswald is an employee of Athletico, a national company that supplies trainers to places like LFA. Oswald also worked at
LFA last year during the second semester. When he was looking for an assistant, DeGraff requested of Athletico that if Oswald was available that she fill the position. Her previous experience at LFA made the transition easy for both everyone. “If it was someone completely new, then yes I would have some difficulty trusting them with our athletes,” said DeGraff. “She had a good relationship with a lot of the coaches and kids already so it made for an easy welcome for her.” “Having an assistant allows athletes here to enjoy everything we have to offer in the athletic training room,” stated DeGraff. “When it was just me I would go to a game and the training room would be locked and nobody could use it. Now with Tayler here there is always someone in the training room.” Tayler is very passionate about her job and wants to continue practicing athletic training. “This is something I want to do for the rest of my life. I get a lot of fulfillment and satisfaction out of it. I think that that is something important,” said Oswald. “I wake up every day wanting to go to my job
Photo by Meg Kennedy
Oswald (right) streches recovering senior soccer player Kyle Skinner (left).
and I never come home complaining about my job. I think the most important part of waking up is wanting to go to your job to begin with, just really loving what you do, and being passionate. I am just extremely passionate about this job.” Students and faculty are fortunate to have
a new addition to the athletic department and they look forward to seeing what she has to offer to the training center at LFA. DeGraff is thankful to have an assistant to help keep LFA athletes utitlize the facility and to maximize personal attention.
THE SPECTATOR
Sports
OCTOBER 26, 2012
15
Varsity field hockey has impressive season with strong comraderie By Grace Coburn Editor-in-Chief LFA’s varsity field hockey team has had a very impressive season
this year with a record of 16-5-1. Going into the season, the team’s goal was to be seeded as one of the top six squads in the state. The Caxys were able to accomplish
Photo courtesy of Alexandra Campbell
Junior Caroline Duckworth clears the ball in a game against Loyola.
this goal by defeating large public schools such as Glenbard West, Glenbrook South, and Deerfield. The Caxys were able to compete evenly with the top four teams. Part of that ability to compete with the best teams came from an early preseason. This year, the field hockey team joined football in an earlier preseason than usual. The team used this extra week to develop team dynamics before other athletes arrived on campus, as well as to improve team play and communication. As for team chemistry, captain and senior Lauren Stevenson can’t say enough about her fellow teammates. “We are, in a sense, one big family. I have so much love and respect for my team,” said Stevenson. “In all of my seasons playing field hockey, this is by far the closest team I’ve been on. We all have each other’s backs.” Junior Caroline Duckworth agrees with Stevenson, believing that the close team dynamic improves their skills on the field. “The team is extremely close this year and we’re able to push each other to get better and com-
pete against each other,” said Duckworth. As for the new additions to the team, the underclassmen have proved to be a force to be reckoned with. English teacher and Assistant Coach Ms. Kathleen Schlosser is pleased with the team’s competitive edge and desire to improve. Freshman Lexi Silver, for example, doesn’t start but has become one of the team’s leading scorers. The freshmen effort doesn’t go unrecognized by the upperclassmen of the team. “The underclassmen have been a great addition to the team this year. They’re eager to help out in any way they can, and they work hard during every practice to improve their skills,” said Duckworth. Other standout performers on the team include juniors Margaux Boles and Mary Kate Patton, as well as seniors Mercedes Nagel and Stevenson. These players have been noticed as athletes who are able to adapt to new positions. “Margaux who made the switch from outside back to center back [has done] a really good job of organizing the defense,” said
Schlosser. “Mary Kate has had a number of assists playing at right forward and Mercedes, who has had an excellent season overall; we’ve moved her around a bit, she’s a very consistent player who plays really hard defense, she’s a very determined player.” Stevenson continues to prove her abilities on the field, not only as a leader but also as a threat to other teams. “Lauren continues to be our strongest player,” said Schlosser. “She’s our primary hitter on corners, she has a number of assists, and she really anchors the middle and distributes the ball which is a huge part of our defense.” The team has achieved their season goal, by ranking 5th in state this year. Stevenson, Nagel, Patton, and sophomore Amanda Bozorgi have been selected for the All State team. The team finished its season after a heartbreaking loss against Highland Park High School. The team ended with a score of 2-1 as Highland Park High School scored within the last few seconds of the game.
Ward named new track head coach By James Paige Staff Writer Mathematics instructor Joe Ward was recently appointed as the new Head Coach of Lake Forest Academy’s outdoor track and field program in the spring. He will be replacing Mr. Christian Dozois, the new History Department Chair. While Ward will have high standards to meet, his experiences and successes in coaching this sport promise excellent results. “Mr. Ward has the experience and knowledge to lead the track program. He has big shoes to fill with Mr. Dozois turning the program over to him but we have full confidence that he can help us continue to produce strong track teams,” said Director of Athletics Darrin Madeley. Ward is not new to the sport. Having been a decathlete himself in college, Ward has had great
successes in coaching track and field; most notable is his coaching of Minnesota’s current 100 meter record holder and Olympic BStandard sprinter Ibriham Kabia. Kabia was born in Sierra Leone but immigrated to the U.S. with his family after escaping a civil war. Ward was his coach at Champlin Park High School as well as the University of Minnesota. Kabia’s personal bests include 6.63 seconds at the 60 meters; 10.35 seconds at the 100 meters; and 20.96 seconds at the 200 meters. Ibrahim trained under Ward for the 2008 Olympic Trials. He met the B-Standard and made Sierra Leonean’s Olympic Team. However, a last minute government decision to reduce the number athletes going to Beijing resulted in Kabia being cut. Last year, Ward coached both the indoor and outdoor track and field sprinters. Matt Goad, Class of 2012, excelled at the 100 meter
under Ward’s training. Goad won the 100 meter at the Lake County Invitational with a personal best of 10.7 seconds. His time is currently the 100 meter record for both the indoor and outdoor
teams. “Track and field is a great sport. I really hope to generate more interest among student athletes. They’ll benefit from it because track and field incorporates all
New track head coach Joe Ward is all smiles for the upcoming season.
athletic feats; its speed, strength, and coordination,” said Ward. Ward is also spearheading a trip to Disney World, where he is offering training sessions at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
Photo by Lauren Clamage
The
range
All natural and organic Freshly squeezed, WITH PULP
Mitt Romney, a compassionate candidate By Emily Shanley-Roberts The Orange Editor “Mitt is a sweet boy,” said his mother in a press conference yesterday. “My boy loves everyone – I raised him well.” It’s true: Governor Romney is supportive of all American citizens. “I’m concerned about the very poor,” he said in January, 2012. “But at the same time, corporations are people too. My job is to worry about all people.” It’s evident that Romney values all voters: from the 47% of the country that relies on governmental help to those whose taxes pay for that governmental help, Rom-
Photo courtesy of vectorstock.com
Photo courtesy of rollingstone.com
Presidental candidate Mitt Romney makes a compassionate speech.
ney appreciates all. Romney says he plans on help-
ing citizens develop “personal responsibility” and to learn to “care
Each month, the Orange will publish a collection of “LFA Problems” inTwitter format. Topic or idea submissions are welcome at eshanley-roberts@students.lfanet.org.
#LFAproblems
for their lives,” as he stated in May, 2012. The governor also takes time to personally relate to all voters. In visiting Detroit, he showed his support for the auto industry. “I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in America,” he said in January, 2012.
As a currently unemployed man, he can relate to other unemployed Americans – the ones struggling to find the American dream. He also supports neutralizing illegal immigrants, especially those who can provide something to our society. All in all, Governor Mitt Romney is, as his mother says, “a sweet [man].” He stands for all Americans and for what he says. “I’m not familiar precisely with what I said, but I’ll stand by what I said, whatever it was,” Romney said in May, 2012, showing confidence in his platform and beliefs. This is not a true story or based on a true story. Do not regard this story as fact.
Caxy Match
Photo by Lauren Clamage
Photo courtesy of freewebs.com
The Spectator Staff agreed that sophomore Will Lavezzorio and Mike Vitar, who played Benny in the 1993 movie The Sandlot, bear a very strong resemblance. Will is pictured on the left and Benny is on the right. LFA Spectator memes are produced in collaboration with Palmer Taylor on memegenerator.net.
Caxy Cartoon: Math Anxiety
By Jane Xu