AROUND THE POND
In Brief Novice Debaters Mark George, Marisa Ryan, Tory Ilyinski, and James Blanchard came in first at the 2002 Loomis-Chaffee Invitational Debate Tournament, novice division, in February. They competed against nine teams from seven other schools and were the clear winners in their novice category! “They worked hard preparing, though all were completely new to debating,” said adviser Rick Davis. “Their dedication and ‘learning under stress’ during the actual debates showed their innate strengths since they won every single round they were in!” The team hopes to attend several more tournaments this spring and build on their record, encouraging a more active debate program next year.
Able Engineers Thirty-two students participated in the national Test of Engineering Aptitude Math and Science (TEAMS) competition on March 4. One team tied for first, but lost in the tie breaker and the other came in third. In addition to plaques for each of the students, the teams came away with $1,250 in cash awards for science purchases for the school. The second, ungraded section of their tests were forwarded to the national competition in Washington. Competing on the two varsity squads were Somponnat Sampattavanich, Tharathorn Rimchala, Khanh DoBa, Kyle Dolan, Annabelle Razack, Henry Tsai, Norah Garry, and Jason Chen, along with Steven Ambadjes, Pea Phadhana-Anake, Tucker Serenbetz, Neena Qasba, Tom Hull, Natalie Ie, Allison Lesher, Samantha Hyner, and two JV teams.
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Taft Bulletin Spring 2002
Finding Fault with Suburbia Architectural critic James Howard Kunstler gave a provocative and entertaining talk at school assembly in February, challenging students to consider the ways in which architecture and atmosphere influence attitude and culture. He is the author of Home from Nowhere, The Geography of Nowhere, and The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition. Kunstler says he wrote The Geography of Nowhere “because I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, housing tracts, mega-malls, junked cities, and ravaged countryside that makes up the everyday environment where most Americans live and work. A land full of places that are not worth caring about will soon be a nation and a way of life that is not worth defending.” Home from Nowhere is a continuation of that discussion with an emphasis on the remedies. A portion of it appeared as the cover story in the September 1996 Atlantic Monthly. The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition, was published last December. “I thought what he said was not only interesting but also realistic,” Annie Owen ’02 told The Taft Papyrus. “Now I want to be a city planner.” Although his critiques got many students talking, not all were equally inspired. “He had a lot of good ideas,” said Shari Jessie ’03, “but he failed to give insight into how to resolve the problems. He also failed to show the good side of our country’s character.” Kunstler is a regular contributor to the New York Times Magazine and Op-Ed page, where he has written on environmental and economic issues. His visit was funded through the Paduano Lecture Series, which invites speakers to the school to share their provocative ideas, and to challenge the community to think deeply about issues of philosophical and ethical interest. Other guests this year were author Andrea Barrett, poet Donald Hall, Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery, and Yale University Chaplain Rev. Dr. Jerry Streets (right).
The final Paduano lecturer this year, architectural critic James Howard Kunstler warned students that modern architecture too frequently creates a “uniformly miserable environment” that “adds up to places that are not worth caring about.” SAM DANGREMOND ’05