thereview VOL. 64, ISSUE 2
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL
OCTOBER 2012
SPEED RACER
Granberry takes fast, furious track
Senior races wacky ‘lemons’ BY IMAN CHARANIA Erin Granberry ended her first car race with a body gash and a broken lip. And that was just her car. Granberry suffered these damages while driving in 24 Hours of Lemons, a junk-car endurance race that took place Sept. 29. According to its website, 24 Hours of Lemons sponsors “nationwide series of endurance races for cars that cost $500 or less.” Race rules also require that “vehicles must be acquired and prepared for a maximum of $500.” Granberry is following in her father’s tire tracks. Jeff Granberry has been racing in Lemons for four years. Mr. Granberry took home the National Championship in 2009 and was named Driver of the Year. One of the race’s quirks is the car décor. Teams go out of their way to create cars with interesting themes. Granberry’s car was the Mick Jaguar, a Saturn with a bright red mouth and a tongue sticking out on the front grill, reminiscent of the Rolling Stones insignia. “They say that you can’t spend more than $500, but everyone cheats and bribes the judges. They usually get a brand-new engine and just throw some dirt on it. The judges even have a stamp that they’ll put on your car that says ‘bribed,’” Granberry said. Even with the $500 limit, safety is paramount, and money spent for safety gear is not included in the $500 budget. Granber-
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ry’s safety gear alone cost more than $2,500. “You have a lot of fire-resistant clothes, and then you also have a cool suit, which is basically a shirt with pipes in it that has water running through them to keep you from overheating,” Granberry said. Participants have to be 16 years or older with a valid drivers license, and the rules do not require COURTESY OF JEFF GRANBERRY participants to have any Life is a highway While her peers may avoid 60 mph highways, Erin Granberry drives at speeds up to 95 mph. Acformal training. Granbercording to Mr. Granberry, “Erin’s time on her first race was better than any of her teammates’ first race times.” ry wanted to prepare, so she took lessons over the Granberry said. failures. summer at a track and raced her own car. Granberry struggled due to the road “They wheeled me over to the awards Despite her preparation, Granberry track’s clockwise layout, requiring all right on a toilet as my punishment,” Granberry drove only two laps on the first day of the turns instead of the traditional countsaid. race, dubbed “Gator-o-Rama,” because she er-clockwise ones she had practiced. Although Granberry did not get to finish was hit twice and spun out both times. She decided to try again on Sunday, and her first race, she enjoyed her driving “I thought I was making a bad impresshe raced with no snags until the last ten debut. sion on the judges even though most minutes of the race. After she had spun out “It wasn’t fun so much as it was excitracers spin out a bunch in their first race,” twice, the judges yanked her car from the ing,” Granberry said. “It’s the entire expeGranberry said. race and gave her a punishment. rience that you get, and especially if you’re While turning, another car ripped off the “We were so close to finishing, but when an aggressive driver, you get to vent all of bottom lip of her Rolling Stones tribute I spun out twice, they just pulled our your frustration at the track. It’s fun to get and also tore open one side of her car. car,” Granberry said. The judges punish out there and compete.” “The first time I was hit, my car took drivers in need of retribution, giving them some damage, but I kept going while the tongue-in-cheek penalties for driving guy who hit me spun off into the grass,”
ACROSS THE STREET
With Lombardi in New York, Middle School makes adjustments BY TIFFANY YUE Students are not the only ones taking classes. Head of Middle School Eric Lombardi is taking a year of leave to attend Columbia University. Mr. Lombardi is working toward a master’s degree in the Klingenstein Fellowship at Columbia’s Teachers’ College. “I am about as lucky as anyone has ever been to have the chance to be in this program while SJS is saving my place back in the Middle School,” Mr. Lombardi said. The Middle School administration adjusted to accommodate his absence, appointing Dean Megan Henry as Interim Head.
“Everything is new, but it’s been very professionally and intellectually exciting and stimulating for me,” Ms. Henry said. To replace her as Dean, Ms. Henry wanted someone interested in leadership. “When you’re in a position like this, the level of trust you have with your administrative team needs to be very high,” Ms. Henry said. History Teacher Marty Thompson (’91) is now Interim Dean of Middle School. “I miss the classroom routine a lot, but some of the things I’ve gotten to do are important, too,” Mr. Thompson said. Since Ms. Henry is expecting a child,
she will take a maternity leave in December. Mr. Thompson will assume primary leadership of the Middle School. The students notice only a slight difference in the administration. “It feels just like last year. With a new Dean though, there is a bit of excitement and curiosity,” eighth grade student Max Blekhman said. Mr. Thompson said, “It’s like a sports team when somebody is injured. Everybody else has to pick things up and change a little bit of the way that they function.”