The Review
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID HOUSTON, TEXAS PERMIT 9081
The Official Student Newspaper of St. John’s School Vol. 60, Issue 7
2401 Claremont Lane; Houston, TX 77019 | http://sjsreview.net | review@sjs.org
By ARVIND MOHAN On Friday, Feb. 21, Head of Upper School Kef Wilson sent out an email to all SJS parents, discouraging underclassmen from attending a party hosted by the girls of the junior class. “We knew that the party had no parental supervision whatsoever, so the Parents Guild and I felt that it was necessary to inform the parents of the Upper School about the party,” Mr. Wilson said. As a former Dean of Students from 2003 to 2006, Mr. Ted Curry has had experience dealing with the formals. “In the beginning, the parties were completely school sponsored and affiliated with the school,” he said. Mr. Curry said that students would collect money at the mother’s desk and hand out flyers and invitations at the school for these parties. According to Mr. Curry, the school decided to stop sanctioning these parties in 1997 with the arrival of Mr. Ben Williams as Dean of Students. Mr. Curry said that Mr. Williams stopped school sponsorship of all the parties, except prom, due to the liability risks. “Students were infuriated by this move, and some burned effigies of Mr. Williams on Skip Lee field,” Mr. Curry said. Dr. Dwight Raulston (‘71), former Head of Upper School, said that due to the liability risks and the potential for drinking
Track meet thefts prompt stricter security
Admin warns against off-campus party
By MELISSA YUAN
BRET VOLLMER | The Review
The Meridian Club in downtown Houston: the initial location of the “junior girls parties” and drunkenness at the party led to the school’s decision to refuse to sanction the parties. “If the school allowed its name to be used in that context, it could be argued that we were assuming responsibility [and] liability for what went on at the parties,” Dr. Raulston said. Dr. Raulston said that to enforce the new policy, the school told students who put up flyers to take them down and made it clear that students should neither hand out invitations nor
collect money at school for private parties. When Mr. Curry became Dean of Students in 2003, he made sure to communicate with parents at brown bag lunches to let them know that the “formals” are not school sanctioned. Since the 2006-2007 school year, SJS has been sending out an email to the parents during the fall of each school year to let them know about parties, that are termed as “formals” by the student body when
the administration realized that parents were not clear about whether or not the parties were school-sponsored. In February of 2007, Mr. Wilson sent out another email because the students started to hold the parties at nightclubs when they were formerly held at Pumpkin Park. The email sent on February 20, 2009 was not the first time Mr. Wilson has sent out See JUNIOR GIRLS on p. 4
School increases green efforts By ALLEGRA FRADKIN
Index News...........................2 Sports.........................5 Features.....................7 Photo Spread...........10 BeyondSJS................12 Opinions...................14 A&E.........................17
April 2009
From energyefficient l i g h t bulbs in the lower school to bottle and can recycling receptacles in the Upper School hallways, Greg Swan, Director of Finance and Operations, is doing his part to make SJS “greener.”
With the help of Food Service Director Anita Walker, Swan recently made the decision to switch from Styrofoam bowls and plates in the cafeteria to a product called Enviroware. Enviroware resemebles Styrofoam, but is made from recycled pulp-based material. It is 100 percent biodegradable and releases no harmful toxins into the environment. While comparable plastic items can take around 400 years to completely break down in a landfill, Enviroware degrades into carbon dioxide, water and methane within nine months. Walker is also taking additional measures to improve the cafeteria’s environmental efficiency. She is looking for ways to reduce phosphates in the dishwasher detergent as well as new ways to dispose of
cardboard and paper products. Walker is considering instituting a Waste Management trashcompacting system but is not sure if the cons of expense and hassle outweigh the benefits. “We all know we need to be more aware of what we’re doing to our environment,” Walker said. Walker has met with the middle school environmental group as well as Upper School ECOS to discuss future plans for environmental awareness both within and outside of the SJS community. According to Walker, SJS is committed to becoming more green, and environmental efforts are part of the school’s long-term plans. Swan would like environmentalism to be a school-wide program. He would like to formulate an “integrated, forward-looking approach with See GREEN on p. 4
Lacrosse and Literaure
Quality Queso
Read about published author Sam Chambers’s first forays into the world of literature.
The annual competition to make the best queso yielded tasty results
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page 19
During a large track meet on April 1 and 2, several SJS students had valuables stolen from unattended bags and unlocked lockers in the Smith Athletic Center. Since SJS is a school that houses 1,200 students in the urban setting of Houston, campus security has always been an issue and a threat that the administration continually warns students to take precautions against. “With 550 teenagers and their stuff filling our hallways and classrooms, people lose things all the time,” Dean of Students Dan Alig said. He added that although it’s heartening that students trust each other enough to leave their valuables unsecured, they should remember that the campus is open to the public once the school day ends. “An incident like this one reminds us that students need a reminder: the greater Houston area does not have an Honor Code. Students need to be more cautious and mindful when they’re on campus.” Dean Alig said. Because robberies such as this one have occurred in the past, Dean Alig said that while he was troubled by these thefts, he was not surprised. “We’re on an urban campus; during a large event like a track meet, we welcome hundreds of visitors to our facilities and literally open our gates to the surrounding community,” he said. Although the administration does not know who the culprits are, it conjectured that the thefts were made by students from others schools after students and staff reported seeing students from other schools in the vicinity of where the thefts occurred. As a result of these thefts, SJS has tightened security procedures in the gym during large events. However, Dean Alig said students should keep their belongings secure in the future. “I’m afraid that we can’t prevent all thefts, but we can continually remind, and have reminded, all students to secure their valuables during the school day and especially after the school day. After the school day, the entire St. John’s community needs to view the campus as a public space,” he said.
MavTV Mania
The duo behind MavTV discuss the future of the show. page 9