The Pa n t he r Pr in ts Informing and educating the Pinewood community and the surrounding area for 25 years June 1, 2012
Volume I. Edition 6.
Senior Edition
The Red Carpet Arrives at Pinewood CAMILLE POLSTER STAFF WRITER Complete with a glitzy red carpet, a silent auction, and famous Hollywood guest stars, Pinewood Performing Arts’ benefit concert, “Godspell,” opened in real Hollywood style on Friday, May 25. Running for two nights at Pinewood’s Upper Campus Theater, the show not only featured Pinewood students and faculty such as English teacher Sabrina Strand and theater teachers Spencer Williams and Doug Eivers, but also three celebrity guest stars, David Yost, Emily Bergl, and Brad Ellis. Tickets ranged from $25 to $150, and the $15,000 in proceeds went to funding the Performing Arts Scholarship Fund, which will offer financial aid to students who wish to attend Performing Arts trips, such as the upcoming choir trip to Rome. Directed by Pinewood’s own G. Scott Lacy, the show proved to be a great success. The show contained all but one song from the original musical, “Godspell,” written by Steven Schwartz, who is also the composer of the Broadway smash hit, “Wicked.” Some of the crowd pleasers included “Light of the World” which closed the first act, “Turn Back O Man,” which featured Bergl’s solo performance of the night, and “By My Side,” performed by junior Jenny Paz and Strand. “My favorite performance of the night was Emily Bergl’s song. It really had a great energy to it, and she was able to get a lot of audience interaction. It was fantastic!” sophomore Courtney Copriviza said. “The longer you work in this industry, you are always searching for sources of inspiration to keep going. Tonight, and the work you have all done, is that for me. A huge inspiration. Thank you for your great work and for having us!” Bergl said. Not only was the show enjoyable for the performers and audience, but it also showed itself as being a great experience for the Pinewood
students who were able to take part. Any Pinewood students that auditioned were ensured at least a role in the chorus; however, many were able to earn a solo performance. These student solo performances included “Day by Day” sung by Lindsay Riches, Sarah Barrus, and Vasudha Goel, “All Good Gifts” featuring Talmage Wise and Andie Huebsch, and “Light of the World” with Carson Robinette, Ben Montrym, and Rachel Brenneman. “My favorite experience was actually watching the guest stars interact with the students. It made me really happy to watch them share their experience with the young performers,” Lacy said. “Working in ‘Godspell’ was an opportunity I am glad to have experienced. I was able to speak with the professionals and get a true insight into how the world of theater really works at a professional level,” sophomore Talmage Wise said. Not only was the benefit financially successTOP: The cast poses for for a picture on the red carpet. BOTTOM: The actors sing one of the many ful, but it also proved to be an amazing opmusical numbers in the performance. Pictures taken by Michael Hunter (www.michaeljhunter.com) portunity for everyone involved. Ticket sales, donations, and the silent auction were able to bring in thousands of dollars for the scholarship fund and put the benefit well into the black. This experience had a great impact on the cast, and hopefully it will become a lasting Pinewood tradition. “I think we should do another concert version of a show. I’m not sure if the event will be the same, but I think that we should do a concert version of a show to try and earn money for the performing arts,” Lacy said. “‘Godspell” will be one of my most memorable moments from this past year. I was able to make new friends and meet some truly incredible people. I learned some great lessons from this show that I think will help me later on in my life. I hope Pinewood will put on a similar event next year, and I look forward to being able to participate in it again,” sophomore Quinn Foster said.
ASB Decided By Thin Margin AUSTIN LIANG STAFF WRITER Friendly competition was in the air during Pinewood’s 2012 Associated Student Body (ASB) Elections. Taking place at the terrace during lunchtime on Friday, May 4, the candidates, who were all juniors, gave one-minute long speeches in order to attract votes. After the speeches, ballots were handed out to eighth through eleventh graders. Claire Witze pulled ahead of Jack Hochberg for President, Lindsay Riches beat Garrett Biggs for Vice President, and Haley Longbottom won unopposed for Secretary. Posters were put up around campus, with some going the traditional route such as “Vote Claire for Pres,” while others went a more unorthodox route like Riches’ “I like spirit as much as I like chocolate!” with a baby picture of a enthusiastic girl with chocolate smeared on her face. “Campaigning during election week is always filled with stress and anxiety but what really intrigues voters is being that example and reaching out to everyone around you. It is important to make everyone feel noticed and important,” Riches said. This year we saw an increase of candidates “branding themselves.” Vice Presidential candidates Riches and Biggs both spread their logos across the school. Biggs had a very clean GBVP logo in classic Pinewood colors, printed on hundreds of stickers. Riches, on the other hand, had several kids wearing Lindsay for VP t-shirts. During lunch, students gathered around the terrace to listen to the candidates’ speeches. The speeches were
about why they were qualified as candidates and policy changes and ideas that would be enacted if they were elected. Hochberg dressed in a dinosaur costume to spread awareness, and Riches sang a song for her speech to the tune of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.” This group of students became the first single-gender administration in recent Pinewood history. Witzke and Riches were in tight races though, winning by three and two votes, respectively. Hochberg and Biggs who lost the elections landed on their feet: Hochberg was named ASB commissioner and Biggs as Senior Class President. “I was honestly so happy that I won and I just feel so honored to represent the student body of Pinewood next year,” Riches said. Though the new ASB has not had a formal meeting yet, they already have a few goals in mind next year. “We hope to have a social mixer with other high schools in the area. We also look to continue some of this year’s highlighted events, such as “Gatorade” and our annual Jamboree. I am striving for an increase in student body participation, and I hope that I can especially reach out to the new incoming students and to show them how much Pinewood has to offer,” Riches said. “Our goals mainly revolve around good communication from ASB to the school to keep everybody spirited and aware of what exactly is happening because once everybody is excited about what is going on at school, then it helps everybody out a lot with spirit points, student council, and just increasing the schoolwide enthusiasm. I am hoping for some new spirit days and redefined lunchtime activities for holidays,” Longbottom said.
Emergency Assembly Called GARRETT BIGGS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: Claire Witzke, ASB President; Lindsay Riches, ASB Vice President; Haley Longbottom, ASB Secretary;
Students gathered in the gym for an emergency anti-bullying assembly, on May 11, trying to put a clamp on anti-Semitic comments being made by several students throughout the school. School President Scott Riches and Principal Mark Gardner expressed immense disappointment in the students for these comments. “Less than a year ago, we were having another assembly on what? Respect,” Gardner said to the student body in reference to the anti-gay bullying assembly held last year. Multiple sources have confirmed that this assembly was triggered after two sophomores read a post from the Internet titled “10 Ways to Spot a Jew” on a class field trip. After the administration was informed of this and other anti-Semitic comments made by a group of eighth graders, they jumped to action by calling this assembly. Most students agreed with the decision to talk to the school. “I think it was necessary because I’ve definitely been feeling a drift of anti- Semitism around Pinewood lately,” junior Tudor Iovan said. However, most students were completely unaware of this troubling trend. “I did not realize that these kind of comments were being made around the school. When I was a junior high kid I don’t think I ever heard people saying things like this,” sophomore Annie Daines said. At one point when speaking to the students,. Riches alluded to a personal instance with his Latin-American wife. As a high-schooler, she wassurrounded by students who used racial slurs, not knowing of her Hispanic heritage. This reinforced his point that students do not always know who are offended by their actions. Gardner also mentioned an instance where Pinewood kids were supposedly calling Jewish students and giving them “near-death threats” anonymously. He referred to their actions as “cowardly” and explained the punishments to anyone caught doing this. This surprised Pinewood students more than anything else. “It simply was shocking and appaling,” Daines said.