The Reserve Record - Western Reserve Academy

VOL. CI....No. 9
The Reserve Record
WESTERN RESERVE ACADEMY, HUDSON, OHIO.
The longest-running
newspaper in historic
Hudson, Ohio
APRIL 2015
Broadway Backwards Beguiles
Students sing showtunes of the opposite
gender at the annual GSA gathering.
Coin: Practicality of Poetry?
Month of Metrical Madness
Senior Stars Stun at Sports
Centerfold celebrates students’ variety of Cat Berry races for Reserve, and the My- Peter Thewissen ’15 and Trevor Levin
verses in Reserve-related poems.
lotts demonstrate diamond dexterity.
’15 resume their written-word rivalry.
P AG E 3 | CO M M UN I T Y
PAGE 6-7 | C EN T ER FO L D
PA GE 8 | S PO R T S
P AG E 1 0 | TH E COI N
Reserve
Speaker John Hewko Captivates Student Body
Remembers
Joe Blanda
By GABE SKORA ’15
On April 9, Joe Blanda ’14 passed
away after a long battle with glioblastoma. He was 19 years old.
As a member of the Western Reserve Academy community for four
years, Blanda was unforgettable.
The impact Blanda had on the
world and on the lives of all of us
at WRA, even those of us who, like
me, did not know him very closely,
cannot be done justice in a single
article. Blanda contributed to life
at WRA in a plethora of ways, but
perhaps what many remember him
for were his athletic achievements,
and his irrepressible demeanor, inside and outside of the classroom.
Blanda especially impacted his
peers on the soccer field. “Joe never
had an off button, and I loved him
for that,” recalled Alec Rhodes ’14.
Kurt Haller ’15 reflected, “Playing
alongside Joe was always a good
time. Joe could always make you
laugh, even when you were in the
middle of play.”
During his junior year, Blanda
was part of one of the greatest soccer teams this school has ever seen.
His team went undefeated and tied
nationally-ranked St. Ignatius on
the way to a number one ranking in
the state of Ohio for Division III.
However, it was during this year, after a head to head collision during
a game against University School,
that he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a severe form of brain cancer.
But that didn’t stop him from playing the next year.
After his diagnosis, Blanda could
not continue to play center-back,
so he became a keeper. Throughout his transition, Blanda remained
upbeat, always showing up to the
summer open fields in a great mood
and ready to play. He helped along
the rest of the keepers in practice,
remaining a great example of confidence in the goal, despite suffering
from the effects of cancer treatment.
I think back to our game against
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, in which he was unable to play.
He was so fired up for that game,
trying to animate everyone beforehand, and shouting instructions
from the sidelines. Eventually, a referee told Head Coach Herb Haller
to tell his “assistant coach” to “take
it down a notch,” but Blanda would
not be contained. His irrepressible
attitude uplifted the team, despite
our loss—just being around Joe, his
good mood was contagious.
Blanda’s greatest contribution to
WRA has been. more than just the
undefeated 2012 soccer season, and
his legendary 400 meter times in
track. It’s his unparalleled attitude.
WRA has not just lost a former student, we have lost a friend.
COURTESY OF JOHN HEWKO
Waring Prize winner John Hewko ’75 speaks at an assembly in the Chapel about his global experiences.
By ANNA MCMURCHY ’15
When a speaker prefaces his talk
with an anecdote about the time he
once fell asleep in those very same
pews while listening to a guest
speaker during his own high school
days, you know you had better sit
up straight because he probably has
something interesting to say.
John Hewko ’75, Western Reserve Academy’s 2015 Waring Prize
recipient, certainly did not disappoint. Both motivational and aweinspiring, his message truly cap-
tured the attention of everyone in
the chapel.
The son of first-generation Ukrainian immigrants, Hewko spoke
about how much his parents valued a superb education. Taking full
advantage of everything WRA had
to offer, he used this school as a
springboard to launch himself into
a truly global journey of discovery
and activism. After completing a
special college program at Oxford
University, Hewko dedicated a few
years to exploring a bit more of the
world before attending Harvard
Law school. During this time, he
and several of his friends made their
way from northern France to South
Africa.
However, even after this adventure Hewko’s longing for travel
proved insatiable. He met his wife
in Argentina, and they spent many
years in Ukraine trying to construct
a stable government for its liberated
people.
Since then, Hewko has joined
Rotary International, a massive
organization that seeks to improve
the welfare of people everywhere
through acts of service and goodwill. One of their main missions is
the worldwide eradication of polio,
which Hewko has played an active
role in accomplishing. The number
of polio cases per year has fallen significantly since Rotary’s efforts began. Hewko stresses just how effective the effort of individual people
can be when they join together to
further the greater good.
While trying to obtain an interview with Hewko, I found it nearly
impossible due to the sheer number
of other people who kept coming
up to him to ask him questions and
to tell him how much his speech
meant to them. Countless students
have exclaimed that he is the best
speaker we have had all year, and
quite possibly the best speaker they
have ever experienced at Reserve.
It is safe to say that Hewko has
kindled the fire that burns within
many WRA students who long for
adventure.
We may not all speak six languages or plan on going to law school
at Harvard University, but Hewko’s
speech convinced us that those
things aren’t necessary for a successful and satisfying life. We all have
the power to make a difference in
one life or among many, if only we
can foster the courage and perseverance to do so.
Northwestern Hosts Model UN Conference
By LEO HOLLAND ’17
Model U.N. (MUN) is a unique
experience that provides meaningful life skills. The skills of public
speaking, quick thinking, relationship building and collaboration are
especially important in one’s success
at MUN and in life. When competing in a MUN conference you represent your delegation in a specific
sub committee of the U.N, and
each delegation writes a paper stating their position on three issues,
that will be addressed in committee
sessions. The fast paced nature of
the debates in committee sessions
calls for you to have a point of reference for yourself to remember what
priorities your country has.
The sessions follow parliamentary
procedure that mimics the procedure of the U.N., and, because of
this, the debate always changes direction. In sessions a debate opens
with a specific topic and speaking
time. The delegate who motioned
for the debate speaks first. After the
initial speaker a delegate will raise
his or her placard in order to be
called upon to speak by the Chair
of the committee.
Quick thinking and the ability to
articulate concisely hold great value
during these debates since the conversation moves very sporadically
and you don’t always have the op-
JENNY XU
portunity to speak your mind. You
may raise your placard to speak and
when you finally get selected what
you had to say may not be relevant.
However, you can remedy this situation if you react to the other delegates statement’s and formulate
your own statement within seconds.
The eventual goal of a MUN
committee is to pass a resolution on
the topics that the committee discusses. Delegates typically formulate these resolutions either in unmoderated caucuses (a formal break
from debate) or outside of committee sessions. The limited amount of
time to pass a resolution causes the
delegates to have to create friendships and alliances very early on.
During debates, delegates watch
for those who have similar opinions,
and then form a bloc of countries
that will sponsor a resolution written by one or two of the delegates,
or whip votes for that bloc. The
resolutions must first be submitted
as “working papers,” another name
for rough draft.
These working papers gave Ainsley Rhodes ’15 a great deal of frustration. “It took up so much time
following this procedure,” she as-
serted, “It got in the way of solving real issues. People suck, really.”
After the delegates submit the resolutions, they’re presented and then
revised. Throughout this process
talking to your fellow delegates secures the most support.
All resolutions are supposed to
be well-written resolutions, but
it would be remiss to not say that
some mediocre resolutions were
passed because the delegates involved produced good public relations. All of these skills can be
extrapolated to life, a compelling
reason these students signed up.
2
RESERVE RECORD NEWS APRIL 2015
The Reserve Record
Max Forsyth Editor-in-Chief
Trevor Levin Editor-in-Chief
Kevin Yang Managing Editor
Irina Kopyeva Associate Editor
Niraj Naik, Makena Hayes News
Harrison Ahn Community
Timmy Lund Arts
Ajay Dakappagari Entertainment
Max Borrmann Centerfold
Trevor Lin Sports
Jaret Skonieczny Opinion
Connor Semple Coin
Taryn Washburn World News
Jenny Xu Photography Coordinator
Russel Morrison Faculty Advisor
Established in 1925
The Reserve Record is the studentrun, monthly newspaper of Western
Reserve Academy and the voice of
and for the student body. It aims to
educate its staff, writers and photographers on journalistic style, format,
ethics and excellence, while entertaining and informing the student
body and providing its readership
a forum for community expression
and discussion. The editors and staff
have worked on every facet of this
publication.
The opinions expressed in the Reserve Record do not necessarily
represent those of the administration, trustees or student body. The
editors assume full responsibility for
the contents of the publication and
invite community responses.
Corrections
them. Additionally, it has come to
our attention that the writers credApril Fool’s Issue
ited for every article do not exist.
All of the articles in the April Fools’ Those articles were written by the
Day Issue were fictitious. We apolo- students listed in the masthead on
gize for our failure to fact-check Page 2.
WRA Class of 2019
Recruited, Admitted
By TREVOR LEVIN ’15
On March 6, the Western Reserve
Academy Admission Office sent decision letters to boarding applicants
(it sent day student letters in January), but that date hardly marked
the end of this year’s cycle. Since
releasing decisions, the office has
devoted its energies to convincing
students and parents that our community is the place for them.
Current students were most aware
of these efforts on April 6 and 7,
when the school flipped its Monday and Tuesday class schedules to
accommodate “Re-Visit Day,” a
chance for admitted students and
their families to return for another
look at WRA. In all, 24 families attended.
Re-Visit Day was the first of its
kind at WRA. According to Thomas Adams-Wall, an Assistant Director of Admission, the event was a
success: “All but one committed [to
WRA],” he said.
Dan Morrissey, Dean of Admission & Financial Aid, said the office
is “making a big effort to keep Ohio
boarding students in Ohio.” According to a 2013 report, “Ohio has
180 students that stay in the state to
go to a boarding school, 156 come
to the state to attend a boarding
school and 216 leave the state to attend a boarding school,” making for
a significant net outflow, Morrissey
explained. “Last year, [WRA] ‘lost’
six Ohioans to out-of-state boarding schools. This year, we lost two.
Yippee!”
Morrissey described other encouraging news: “Traditionally, students
who looked at WRA were choosing between WRA and ‘home’ — a
public or private day school in their
area,” he said. “This year, 19 of the
25 students who have chosen not to
attend WRA are attending boarding schools, so we are getting applications from students who are
seeking boarding schools. That is a
huge shift!”
The Admission Office made another case for WRA at the April
12 Open House, at which current
WRA students spoke on a panel
and gave tours of the campus.
Numbers like the acceptance rate,
the proportion of day students to
boarders and the gender breakdown
for the Class of 2019 “aren’t finalized yet,” said Morrissey.
Nightingale Opera Company to
Perform at WRA Featuring Students
By AINSLEY RHODES ’15
Six talented students of Western Reserve Academy have earned
a unique educational opportunity
that will provide them with experience in the arts: Danny Mylott ’17,
Sydney Preston ’17, Mia HerringSampong ’16, Grace King ’16,
Charles Prendergast ’15 and Caitlin
Fogg ’16. These musically-inclined
students had exceptional auditions
that proved them worthy of having the chance to collaborate with a
professional opera company.
Each year, the Nightingale Opera
Company, a northeastern Ohiobased nonprofit musical theater,
provides a program for aspiring
young musicians, chosen through a
selective auditioning process.
The six WRA students have been
working diligently with the Nightingale Company’s stage director,
Fenlon Lamb, and Music director,
John Simmons over the past few
weeks. As a part of the Young Artist
program, these students will be participating in the company’s production of The Elixir of Love, a charm-
COURTESY OF NIGHTINGALEOPERATHEATRE.COM
A promotional image for the upcoming opera, which features students.
ing Italian comic opera.
In addition to the students’ performance, the group will be singing
alongside collegiate level singers in
Robin Rice’s master class, a highly
credited international chorus. Fogg,
who is also a member of the Academy Choir, beams, “The opportunity to be in a professional opera
is extremely unique for teenagers.
I am excited about working with
amazing instructors and growing
as a performer.” You can begin your
summer by supporting your classmates in their concert directed by
the renowned Robin Rice at the
Knight Fine Arts Center auditorium on June 13.
College Counseling and Boys
Lacrosse Welcome Ryan Polak
JENNY XU
By MORRISA CLAYMAN ’16
Ryan Polak, brother of recent
graduates McKenna ’14 and C.J.
’13, has arrived on campus to work
for the College Counseling office.
He is replacing Cam Smith, who
left to play football in Hildesheim,
Germany.
A native of New Jersey, Polak attended a public high school and
played lacrosse during his time
there. He played Division III La-
crosse for Washington College in
Maryland. Polak has a strong love
for the game of lacrosse: One of
his favorite parts about Western
Reserve Academy is helping out
Coach Audi Glass ’04 with the Boys
Lacrosse team this season.
The choice Polak made to pursue
a position Reserve and abandon his
previous “nine-to-five job” in sales
and marketing in Arizona was obvious. He explained, “I like kids and
coaching; it’s that simple.”
Polak currently resides in North
Hall with his dog Sampson. He is
planning on staying in our community for the rest of this year and returning next year. This coming fall,
Polak is considering coaching either
golf or football. In the winter, Polak
would like to coach hockey. Polak
already feels comfortable here in
Hudson. “It has an East Coast feel,
and it reminds me of home.”
Señora Sarah Sheneman Joins Ranks of Language Department
By NEEL RAMAKRISHNAN ’16
This year, multiple Spanish instructors have come and gone, so it’s
understandable if you find yourself
unfamiliar with some of the newer
teachers. The newest addition to
our campus is a Spanish III Honors
teacher, Señora Sarah Sheneman.
Sheneman has plenty of experience speaking and teaching Spanish from living in Paraguay’s capital
city, Asunción, for ten years with
her family during her childhood.
Sheneman remembers this amazing opportunity for how it altered
her perspective. She hopes to give
her children the same opportunity
soon.
While she was raised primarily
overseas, Sheneman was born in
Ohio, and returned to Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount
Vernon, Ohio to earn her Bachelor
of Arts Degree in Spanish Education. From there, she went on to
pursue her Spanish career, teaching the language in the Blue Valley
School District in Overland Park,
Kansas. Sheneman also earned her
M.S. in Instructional Design and
Technology from nearby Emporia
State University.
Señora Sheneman expressed her
gratitude for being welcomed so
warmly by the Western Reserve
Academy community. “I feel so
blessed to be a part of the Classical
and Modern languages department
here,” she said. “I love being a part
of a teaching team with high expectations — it is where I thrive.”
Her students seem to reciprocate
her enjoyment: Elizabeth Downing
’17 in her Spanish III Honors class
mentioned how much she enjoyed
Sheneman’s inclusion of games such
as Catchphrase to learn vocabulary,
and appreciates that through her
notecard system Sheneman encourages everyone in the class to speak.
Senora Sheneman truly has a pas-
sion for teaching Spanish, echoing
the message of Waring Prize winner John Hewko ’75: learning a
language is truly invaluable. She is
grateful for the esteem WRA has for
learning languages and instructing
students about foreign cultures. She
appreciates being able to take an instructive role in this process.
Sheneman also has taken the opportunity to join students in learning more about other cultures as she
explores her passion for the Spanish language, traveling to Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and the
Dominican Republic. She hopes
to have the opportunity to explore
more countries. She also enjoys
photography. Her two sons, Nathaniel, aged 5, and Zachary, aged
2, are her favorite subjects. Sheneman is a wonderful addition to the
Reserve community, and her language skills and experiences, stemming from living abroad, will undoubtedly benefit us all.
JENNY XU
3
RESERVE RECORD COMMUNITY FEBRUARY 2015
WRA Students Raise Awareness of Broadway Backwards:
A Night of Music,
Local Brandywine Creek Watershed
Rainbows, and Fun
By HARRISON AHN ’17
JENNY XU
WRA students went door to door educating homeowners about the watershed and how to help keep it clean.
By CASEY SEMPLE ’18
On April 19, around forty students
traveled through the Hudson neighborhoods to help educate the Hudson homeowners about sustainable
lawn care practices. The goal of this
project was to raise awareness of the
unclean local waterways. The group
of volunteers was comprised of students from Western Reserve Academy who informed citizens about
how to decrease the pollutants that
ran off their land. Groups of four
students walked door to door and
gave four-minute presentations on
maintaining a healthy Brandywine
Creek watershed.
There are many ways that everyone in Hudson can contribute to
the effort to sustaining the cleanliness of the local waterways. “The
things you do at home can have
an immediate effect on your local
watershed,” said Max Borrmann
’16. “Keeping our waterways clean
begins at home and even small
changes can have a large impact in
the long run.”
One way people can help is by
simply cutting their grass no shorter
than three inches. Many benefits
come with longer grass. Longer
grass has roots that reach further
down into the ground and absorb
more water. This reduces erosion
and runoff water from entering the
local watershed. Also, taller grass
can shade out weeds, which reduces
the need for weed killers filled with
chemicals that inevitably end up in
local waterways.
“Everything you do has effects on
the watershed. People are not aware
of the little things that hurt their
local streams,” Gracie Morgan ’16
pointed out. “Smaller steps in lawn
care can truly help keep our water
clean,” she added.
Something many people do during the spring is use fertilizer. The
unnatural chemicals in most fertilizers are very harmful to the environment. As the chemicals enter
the watershed, they mess with the
balance of the surrounding ecosystem. Using organic fertilizers is the
suggested remedy to this problem.
Morgan continued, “Water is in a
system, so everyone and everything
is connected. If one piece of the
puzzle is disturbed, the rest will face
the consequences. We must work
together to fix this!”
On Feb. 11, the Western Reserve
Academy Gender and Sexualities
Alliance hosted an event that was
all about music and fun: Broadway Backwards. Featuring flawless
chimp impressions by Simon Ong
’15 and impeccable crossdressing
by his brother Elliot ’17, Broadway
Backwards was a joyful time for the
community to get together to perform songs sung by the opposite
gender.
“The magic of Broadway Backwards lies in how much fun the
performers have,” Trevor Levin ’15,
GSA’s co-president, observed.
Indeed, they seemed to have
plenty of fun. Cat Berry ’15 and
Elliot Ong ’17 performed “Whole
New World” from Aladdin to the
audience’s glee; many thought
that the crop top looked surprisingly good on Ong. Graham Sell
’16 and Charles Prendergast ’15
harmonized on the delightful “Sisters” from White Christmas. Trevor
Levin ’15 furnished “Roxie,” from
Chicago, with his Harvard-worthy
voice and dance moves that recalled
the original.
The most memorable moment,
though, was “Defying Gravity,”
from Wicked, by Simon Ong ’15
and Colin Horgan ’15. Since it was
the grand finale of the event, the audience expected something spectacular, and they did not disappoint.
As Horgan’s voice rose through the
octaves, his shoulders rose to the
ceiling, as Ong lifted him on his
shoulders during the song’s climax.
Yuki Yamasaki ’16 said that he really enjoyed Broadway Backwards
and especially liked the “welcoming, laid back atmosphere” of the
event. It indeed was a great time for
both the audience and the performers. Taryn Washburn ’16, GSA’s
other co-president, agreed: “Broadway Backwards this year went extremely well. The show was fantastic—probably the best in my time
here at Reserve—and everyone had
a great time.”
Science Olympiad Team Excels,
Despite Relative Lack of Experience
JOSH ESTRADA
Accepted Students Visit
Campus One More Time
By ZACHARY BLOOM ’17
COURTESY OF WANDA BOESCH
Despite disadvantages, the members of the WRA team did well in February’s Science Olympiad.
By ANNA ANDERSON ’17
Western Reserve Academy competed in the Science Olympiad
on March 14, at the beginning
of spring break. The team placed
10th out of 24, an impressive feat
considering that the members, as
WRA students, didn’t have nearly
as much time to prepare compared
to the members of other teams. The
Science Olympiad covered many
areas of science, ranging from cellular biology to the physics of air
trajectory.
The planning phase proved to be
quite a challenge because the members didn’t know what to expect
from the whole ordeal. The prepa-
ration consisted of meetings once
or twice a week spent working on a
variety of projects, such as building
rubber powered airplanes, then testing them thoroughly.
Unfortunately, the team didn’t
have enough people. “We only competed in 19 out of 23 events,” noted
Giovanni Sabatino ’17. “Since the
overall placement is determined by
points earned in events, this was a
serious handicap for our team. Despite essentially going into Science
Olympiad blind, we placed tenth
out of twenty four teams.”
Most of the members enjoyed participating in the event. When asked
for her opinion, Alice Wu ’17 re-
marked, “It was a very meaningful
and enriching experience. I learned
a lot through the competition, and
I loved working in a supportive environment with my friends.” Alex
Waye ‘17 agreed, “The Science
Olympiad was a good experience. I
will definitely be doing it again next
year.”
The team was already excited for
the next Science Olympiad. “With
the experience we gained this year,
we will be able to prepare much
better for next year’s Olympiad,”
Waye said. Sabatino enthusiastically concurred: “We will be more
prepared for the events next year, so
we should do much better.”
On Tuesday, April 9, Western
Reserve Academy held a “Re-Visit
Day,” in which accepted students
visited the school with their families to make a final decision on
whether or not to attend the school
next year. In total, there were 60 attendees, 24 of whom were students.
Eighteen had already visited at least
once.
After arriving before classes began,
prospective students spent the day
shadowing current WRA students.
Their families attended informative
seminars. At lunch, all attendees
met in the south end of the Ellsworth Dining Hall to eat a specially
prepared lunch. In the afternoon,
the bookstore was open for Reserve
Green blazer fittings.
The Re-Visit Day day was beneficial to the attending families
and WRA itself. Prospective student Carson Harkins, who would
board from Columbus, Ohio, said
that his wish coming into the day
was to simply go to classes and “see
what WRA was really like.” Carson,
who was happy to have attended
the visit day and learn about WRA’s
community, said, “I am looking
forward to the whole idea of boarding school and the whole idea of the
school and everything it stands for.”
Out of the 24 families, 23 were
committed to WRA by the end of
the day. Dean of Admissions Dan
Morrissey was ecstatic at the success of WRA’s first Re-Visit Day,
although “92 [percent] is great, we
want to get 100.” He encourages
students, teachers, parents, or anyone else to send in suggestions for
the event next year. However, for
Mr. Morissey, the primary goal was
to “get students here and let them
feel how we interact with each other.”
In the words of educator Ted Sizer,
“to find the core of a school, don’t
look at the rulebook or even its
mission statement. Look at the way
the people in it spend their time —
how they relate to each other, how
they tangle with ideas . . . judge the
school not on what it says but on
how it keeps.” In that spirit, then,
Re-Visit Day was a success.
4
RESERVE RECORD ARTS APRIL 2015
Theater Program Presents The Time of Your Life
GSA Visits
NCMC
Concert
By CHARLES
PRENDERGAST ’15
JENNY XU
Simon Ong ’15 and Lexie Dungan ’15 pose on stage as their characters, Joe and Kitty Duval. The Time of Your Life ran from April 24 to April 26.
By ZANNA LECIEJEWSKI ’17
First of all, I think it is necessary to make clear that this is not a
play in tribute to Green Day’s song
“Good Riddance (The Time of Your
Life).” Rather, The Time of Your Life,
a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by
William Saroyan, revolves around
the visitors to a San Francisco bar
and their longings to do something
more with their life.
The main character, Joe, played by
Simon Ong ’15, is a man of wealth.
He seems almost too wealthy, seeing as the play is set in the middle
of the Great Depression, leading
to wild interaction with other bar
frequents and the making of some
friends and evening enemies.
Saroyan was wary of the highly
educated and rich, so he chose a
shabby bar for the setting. The
characters want to find reason for
their lives, not solely based on intelligence or knowledge, but on
friendship.
Brendan Kelley ’15, who played
the antagonist, a Vice Squad member named Blick, remarked, “The
play has been a really great time
— a huge cast, ranging in all grade
levels, allowed me the chance to
strengthen relationships with some
cast members that I did not know
very well.” Elliot Ong ’17, who
played Harry, a failing comedian,
agrees with Kelley: “Although we
worked hard, we had fun and tried
to get the best experience out of it
as possible.”
The play moved not only the audience but the performers as well.
This was the seniors’ last chance on
the WRA stage. “Theatre has been a
huge part of my life at Western Reserve Academy, especially this year,”
said Student Body President Trevor
Levin ’15, who played Kit Carson,
an old man who lives a cowboy fantasy. “For Simon and me, this will
be the first school week since August without rehearsal. And there
were a few truly beautiful moments
that gave me this overwhelming
nostalgia, not just for the plays, but
for my life at high school.”
All of the actors worked hard, especially during tech week, April 2024. “It is a lot of work with memorizing lines and getting down where
and when to come in on stage,” said
Kelley, “but I am happy to have my
little sister [Brigie ’18] right beside
me as I am on the stage for the last
time.”
In Reserve’s last production of the
year, we saw some of the actors who
made us appreciate death in The Addams Family and fear “Three Blind
Mice” in The Mousetrap. Even some
new actors mesmerized the audience, like Joey Randazzo ’17, who
played Joe’s disciple and errand boy,
Tom, and Lexie Dungan ’15, who
played Kitty Duval, a streetwalker
who longs for a better life. We also
must recognize the tech crew, without whom these shows would never
happen.
Rather than looking at this performance with a sense of nostalgia
towards the year passed, instead we
can see it as a marker, showing us
just how far we have come. With
exciting words of advice and cheer,
we are ready to, even if just for a
small part of our night, have the
time of our lives.
Talent Show Looks to Enthrall WRA Community
By TIA FORSYTH ’18
Recently, you may have found
yourself strolling down Brick Row
and heard the words “talent show”
come up in a conversation. The rumors are true: with only a few more
weeks left of classes, the annual
Western Reserve Academy Talent
Show is right around the corner.
The talent show is an exciting,
student-run, annual showcase that
gives all members of our community the opportunity to perform
any talent of theirs on a larger, more
professional scale than performing on the stage in the Green Key.
The show is put on in the Knight
Fine Arts Center by the Live Music Club, but the performances are
not restricted to musical acts. Club
president Alec Wilson ’16 said of
the show, “There is so much to be
excited for this year!”
Since their sophomore year,
Anna McMurchy ’15 and Amanda
Sudilovsky ’15 have put on hilarious, Saturday Night Live-type skits
together where they poke a little
fun at our school administration.
McMurchy first came across the
idea when taking notes in math
class. She claims, “My favorite thing
has been bringing something a little
different to the show. Freshman
year, I noticed that all of the acts
were music based, and I thought it
would be nice to give the audience
more variety.”
McMurchy and Sudilovsky are
unsure which faculty they will be
playing the role of this year, but in
the past, their roles have included
Head of School Chris Burner ’80,
former Dean of Students Justin
Zimmerman, longtime Spanish
teacher “Señor” Jim Fraser and
Dean of Academics Matt Peterson.
Mission Impossible
ALAN DOE
McMurchy and Sudilovsky on stage in their skit for the 2014 show.
A few other students who may
perform this year are Jiji Kang ’17,
Mike Sun ’16 and Graham Sell ’16,
who will all bring something different and exciting to the stage. Ryan
Hassell ’15 said, “I have hosted
since my sophomore year, and it has
By Timmy Lund ’16
been great. I also love watching the
amazing talent that we have here
at Reserve and I am really excited
to see what people bring this year.”
Hassell ’15 will host again this year
with Isaiah Swoope ’16.
If you have ever wondered about
a hobby that the quiet kid who sits
next to you in English class has been
waiting to show off, this would be
the perfect opportunity to see it
live. All students are encouraged to
sign up for the show which will be
held on Saturday, May 16. Those
who do not plan on performing
should make sure to support classmates and peers to get a glimpse at
some of the amazing and unknown
talents that they have to offer. Make
sure to mark your calendars, and
until then, anticipate the great music and hilarious material that our
community has to offer.
For the second time this year,
members of the Western Reserve
Academy Gender and Sexualities
Alliance (GSA) bused over to see
the North Coast Men’s Chorus’
latest performance, free of charge.
The complimentary tickets were
provided courtesy of Eric Unhold,
a former Development Assistant at
WRA. Unhold is the chorus’s current second tenor section leader.
When the GSA traveled to Cleveland for the GLSEN Northeast
Ohio conference, they met many
members of the chorus, and were
able to reconnect with Unhold.
The North Coast Men’s Chorus
(NCMC) is a gay male choir based
in Northeast Ohio. Their singers,
who number over 100, prepare a
few performances. Most are lighthearted, but songs such as “In
Whatever Time We Have” and “No
One Mourns the Wicked” in this
performance proved their ability to
pull off different tones.
Earlier this year, the GSA attended NCMC’s Christmas concert, which club co-president Taryn
Washburn ’16 said “had to be my
favorite — the jokes, skits, dancing,
and costumes were all hilarious, and
the songs in between were flawless.”
After a formidable first impression
and another offer of free admission,
the GSA was thrilled to spend an
additional afternoon at their show.
This show was titled “Deliciously
Wicked: A Broadway Revue.” After a brief conversation with some
members of the chorus, including
Eric Unhold, the students found
their seats. The concert opened
with a performance of “Magic to
Do” -- which was appropriate, with
its lyrics such as “Journey through
our anecdotic revue.”
But despite the lyrics and a fantastic soloist, the thing that most stood
out were two members signing in
ASL to potential deaf audience
members. Interestingly, they didn’t
just stand and sign, but danced as
well, incorporating the signing into
their movement. This might answer a question that has likely been
posed numerous times: why would
deaf people go to the concert if they
can’t hear the notes? While replicating the actual music visually would
prove difficult, through dancing,
the signers were able to convey the
tone and feel of the singing.
The second song was the first
of five from the musical Wicked, “What is This Feeling?”. The
NCMC showed their versatility as
they moved into more dramatic,
then downright melancholy songs.
The concert went on in this fashion, culminating in “Raise You Up/
Just Be,” which was also the last
song in its original context, Kinky
Boots. The featured singer/dancers
performed sans pants and plus the
show’s titular high-heeled kneelength footwear.
The chorus left the audience
considering the message in the refrain of the song: “Just be who you
wanna be/never let them tell you
who you oughta be,” and succeeded
wildly with a glitzy and spirited but
still meaningful performance.
5
RESERVE RECORD ENTERTAINMENT APRIL 2015
Live Streaming Applications:
Fast and Furious 7
A Social Media Saga for the Ages Posthumously Honors
By PETER CAMPANELLI ’18
Many of us constantly post on
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and
countless other social media sites.
And, in return, we like to see what
our families, friends, and favorite
celebrities are doing with their lives.
But what if we could tap into the
real lives of these people? What if
we could watch them live? Would
people watch these live feeds?
Ben Rubin, iOS Developer, is
making this a reality. Rubin led the
development of the live-streaming
app Meerkat, which debuted at the
South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive festival in Austin, Texas.
Meerkat relies on the social media
service, Twitter, and uses their profiles to log in. The idea was a smash
hit at SXSW, with more and more
users “meerkatting.”
A few weeks later, Twitter cut off
Meerkat’s access to its social graph,
releasing it with its own app, Periscope, which Twitter had recently
acquired for a reported $100 mil-
Memes
ACROSS
1 Neckline ruffle
6 A large group
9 Wednesday is
____ Day
13 Thanks, ____!
14 Before
(archaic)
15 Where to pay
for parking
16 Niraj’s favorite
17 Boyz II ____
18 To delete
19 The home of
Adam and Eve
20 Never gonna
run around and
______ you
22 Dried grass
23 Spanish
contraction
24 Dawn goddess
25 Stupidity, to
the internet
27 Expiring
29 ____ the
variable
33 Poem of praise
34 Prefix for eight
35 Element 26
36 They’re easy to
catch
39 Welcomer
40 Half-____
(ill-conceived)
41 “Against” prefix
42 Fresh Prince of
Bel ____
43 Pencil’s
lion.
Both apps allow anyone with a
Twitter account and an iOS device
(Android versions are rumored to
be in the works) to stream a live
video to anyone who joins. Periscope is a simple design with an
emphasis on content and design,
whereas Meerkat uses a more busy
and complicated design but makes
up for it with a cute logo and higher
definition video.
Some of you might be asking,
how is this even useful? Or, isn’t this
kind of creepy? When I first heard
about these apps I thought those
same things, but after using them
for some time, there is something
peculiarly intriguing about seeing
someone live from across the world.
The app allows for hilarious comedians, talented musicians, and even
regular people, to share a slice of
their lives with the public.
Mika Takahashi ’15 remarked,
“I don’t think people care to see
the boring things that I see. I don’t
understand why people would use
that.” Gracie Morgan ’16, however, expressed the opposite opinion: “You get to share what’s going
on. A century ago, we couldn’t see
the world through everyone else’s
lens.” But even Morgan agreed that
there was no real practical use for
the idea. “No one cares that much
about you to see what you’re doing
at all times.”
Ethan Troyer ’15 weighed in on
one problem that could arise with
live streaming:
“You could very easily stream a
concert or sporting event. The artists and athletes are [then] performing for people who didn’t pay to see
the concert or competitive match .”
Morgan believed that it could
also bring up the issue of privacy:
“If you happen to catch someone in
your video [who] doesn’t know they
are being watched, it’s kind of invasive on their personal lives.” But as
of now, it is for the public to form
an opinion.
Both Periscope and Meerkat are
available on the App Store for free.
By BLANCA LOPEZ ’16
Fast and Furious 7, the seventh
installment in the Fast and Furious
franchise starring Vin Diesel and
the late Paul Walker, was a hit at
the box office. The James Wan film
grossed almost $400 million during
its opening weekend. This movie
received much publicity because of
the death of Paul Walker, who plays
Brian O’Conner, the movie’s integral character. Ironically, he tragically died in a car accident with a
fellow professional driver, Roger
Rodas, on Nov. 30, 2013. At the
point of his untimely death, 80% of
the movie had been complete; consequently, Paul Walker’s two brothers, Cody and Caleb Walker, jointly
filmed Paul’s remaining scenes.
Fast 7 served as a follow-up to
Tokyo Drift, the fourth movie in
the series, and the directors did an
excellent job of using the beginning
scenes to illustrate this continuity.
Other actors, including Dwayne
“The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson had a memorable performance
that viewers will remember. All of
these characters have been featured
in previous films but Wan made an
effort to incorporate each character
into the finale.
In the film, the hacker, Ramsey,
amusingly described Vin Diesel’s
character as an alpha, and Ludacris
as a “tech guy”. The film was actionpacked: Diesel and Walker flew
through buildings, nostalgic over
the high-paced lifestyle of dodging bullets alongside each other.
Although much thrill clouded the
movie, there was a raw sense of loyalty and unity present within this
pack.
At the conclusion to the film,
there was a beautiful tribute to
Paul, supplemented with the main
cast sharing a moment together,
overlooking the family that Walker’s character had strived to create
throughout the whole 14 year series. This exemplified the idea that
the series had built itself around: As
Vin Diesel’s character proudly proclaims, “I don’t have friends, only
family.”
Renowned Hosts
Depart Comedy Central
by Makena Hayes ’17
permanent
cousin
44 Sign of a rash
46 Up to
49 Give off
50 Deli order
51 ____step
53 “Take On Me”
band
56 Swenson’s
employee
58 To eat
59 Riflery captain.
61 Charged atom
62 Pepe and
Kermit
63 Forever ____
64 Agreement, for
a pirate
65 Aspect
66 Well-known
musical
67 Lucy in the Sky
with Diamonds
state
68 Chasm
11 Flat-topped
landmass
DOWN
12 Predator’s
1 Kidded
target
2 Complied
15 Paris subway
3 I can see, ____!
20 Much wow, so
4 Yemen neighbor
shibe
5 Browned by sun 21 Take a break
6 Internet
24 Purposes
phenomena
26 Supple
7 Miner’s quest
28 Element 53
8 Cumberbatch
30 Animal house
9 A.I. romantic
31 Part of a foot
film
32 Computer key
10 Salt Lake City’s 34 Rower’s tool
Star, Paul Walker
By ADJOA TETTEY-FIO ’17
36 Day student
privilege
37 Paige Warner’s
bead quantity
38 Limited
39 Judicial hiccup
40 Curved
42 Continent and
’80s band
43 Tarantino’s
favorite fiction
45 Hammer or
Escher
47 Stupidity
48 Leg
strengtheners
50 With bones
removed
52 Record times
53 Jewish month
of joy
54 Strong
55 Shakespearean
“soon”
56 ____ Lo Green
57 Small coastal
boats
58 Dull
60 Dynamite
62 Agricultural
youth org.,
abbrev.
In the last several months, Comedy Central’s two most popular
hosts, Stephen Colbert and Jon
Stewart, have both announced that
they are leaving the channel to pursue new career paths. Neither of
these comedians are ending their
careers; rather, they are moving
onto new opportunities.
Stephen Colbert, comedian and
television host as well as writer,
producer, and actor has done much
work on Comedy Central, having
appeared on Strangers With Candy
and The Daily Show. Colbert was
the host of his own television show,
The Colbert Report, a spin-off of The
Daily Show where he played a persona also named Stephen Colbert.
Although real-life Stephen Colbert is a down-to-earth liberal, his
Colbert Report persona was an egomaniacal right-wing blowhard. On
the show, he famously eschewed
facts in favor of “truthiness,” a word
Colbert coined to describe what he
perceived as the increasing preference for gut feeling and wishful
thinking instead of reason.
After ten years of dedicated service, he announced his departure at
the end of an episode on Oct. 30,
2014. The show’s final episode aired
on Dec. 18. Colbert is set to host
The Late Show, from which David
Letterman will soon retire. “Simply
being a guest on David Letterman’s
show has been a highlight of my ca-
reer. I never dreamed that I would
follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s
lead,” Colbert said. “I’m thrilled
and grateful that CBS chose me.”
Jon Stewart has thrived as a standup comedian, television host, producer and more. Stewart is stepping
down from his role as the host of
The Daily Show, which he has hosted for 16 years. that “in my heart, I
know it is time for someone else.” At
the end of one of his shows, Stewart stated, “I don’t have any specific
plans, only a lot of ideas. I got a lot
of things in my head. I’m going to
have dinner on a school night with
my family, who I have heard from
multiple sources are lovely people.”
Stewart has no public plans yet as to
what he will do after his departure
from the show, but he announced
on April 20 that his last show will
be on Aug. 6.
Stewart’s fame grew as liberals
across the country became increasingly frustrated and often shocked
at the Bush Administration’s actions. The Daily Show’s signature
technique, playing contradictory
news clips of the same person,
showed countless politicians and
other public figures to be hypocrites. Stewart’s impressions and incredulity simply made it all funnier.
Fans of both shows have taken
to social media to wish the hosts
farewell and to reminisce on the
numerous memorable moments on
both shows with GIFs and pictures.
6
RESERVE RECORD CENTERFOLD APRIL 2015
April Showers Bring National Poetry Month
National Poetry Month
By ELIZABETH DOWNING ’17
John D. Ong Library Celebrates
National Poetry Month on Campus
By OLIVIA CHAN ’17
In honor of National Poetry Month,
the John D. Ong Library offers numerous interactions throughout the
month of April as a literary celebration. All of these events can be accessed through the library’s ONGoing News Blog. Poem readings
recited by Erik Gross ’17, Roo Lerner ’15, English teacher Jill Evans,
and more members of the Academy
community can all be found on this
blog.
However, to give an idea of what
offline activities to expect, here is
what you missed or can look forward to. Each week of April, the
librarians provided a new challenge.
Week one kicked off with spine
poetry. Now, this may raise a few
eyebrows, but fear not: spine poetry
is simply assembling a poem from
the titles of several books written on
their spines. Each title ends up representing a line of the poem. Spine
poems were displayed where students could find inspiration if they
wanted to create their own spine
verse.
Week two’s challenge consisted of
window pane poetry. Poems chosen
by any Reserve member were displayed on individual glass panes in
front of the building, greeting the
entering guests. As for the third
week, the library incorporated a
special treat. Now what would be a
celebration hosted by the librarians
without a guessing jar filled with assorted candy? As a commemoration
to National Library Week, students
guessed the amount of candy in the
jars and winners were announced
at the end of the following Friday.
To tie off National Poetry Month,
April 30th will be Poem in Your
Pocket Day. All through the day, the
library will be awaiting for a visit
to hand you a folded poem you can
carry around.
The WRA librarians dedicate
their time and creativity into finding unique activities students and
faculty can participate through. A
special thanks to librarians Jane
Spencer and Paula Campanelli for
organizing all the great events. All
their hard work and efforts should
be acknowledged, so show your appreciation for not walking out empty-handed, whether it is for a poem
or for candy.
If you have seen the recent posts
on the Western Reserve Academy
Facebook page, you may have noticed many of our own dear teachers
and administrators reading poetry.
Some of us may have even received
an email to participate in these
poetry readings. Also, most of Reserve’s English teachers have been
starting their recent classes with
a poem. Why this sudden love for
poetry?
Maybe you have heard or maybe
you haven’t, but it’s National Poetry
Month. Every year throughout the
whole month of April, the Academy of American Poets promotes
this celebration of poetry to increase
awareness and appreciation of the
art, a tradition inspired by Women’s
History Month, which is celebrated
in March. The celebration dates
back to 1996.
Every April, libraries, schools,
booksellers and even the White
House read poetry to promote the
month. People use this opportunity
to encourage others to start loving
poetry. Erin Dockery ’16 enjoys
how everyone especially appreci-
ates poetry this month: “People are
so complex and extraordinary that
mere letters cannot explain human
emotions or thoughts, but poetry
utilizes imagery, rhythm, and voice
to show the things that can’t be said.
I use poetry to connect to other
people and to understand the world
better.”
At WRA, the business office is
promoting the month by inviting
people into the Ong library to read
their favorite poem. Head of School
Chris Burner ’80, English teacher
Jill Evans, and many students have
gone in to read their poems. English
teachers for all grades are spending
a little extra time to study poetry
this month in class. According to
Katie Weinzierl ’17, “It has been refreshing that Mr. Sturgis has started
a couple of classes with a poem.”
Usually poetry is not studied until
junior year at WRA, so this offers
the whole school a chance to learn a
little more about it.
Continue this tradition and head
to the library and check out a book
of poems. You are sure to learn
something new and enhance your
appreciation for poetry, so grab
some friends and go read a poem.
Poetry From the WRA Community
The Pillar
Outside as the Leaves are Falling
By Noah Kontur ’17
Pillar, pillar up so high,
Man’s monumental to-the-sky,
A piece of all the best of us,
Tethered into stone.
Extend your life and place a brick,
So when you’re frail and deathly sick,
Your legacy it will outlast
Your life when it will surely pass.
Pillar, pillar shining on,
A beacon of our strength.
A sampling of the best of us,
Great in height and length.
In awe I see the works of my
Ancestors of times old.
Their legacy’s a lamp for me,
Great tales of them are told.
Pillar, pillar, what’s it mean?
A piece of something lost?
The pillar couldn’t stop the horrors
Of the Holocaust.
It couldn’t halt sick lust and death and evils of
before,
It only seemed to feed the hate
And foment strife and war.
Pillar, pillar, lonesome light,
Among a sea of gray,
Sick statue, you are subject to the terrors of decay.
The toil of millions, sweat and blood
Were all cast into you,
If they could see you turn to mud,
Their labour would they rue.
Pillar, pillar all alone, now lie in your grave-bed:
With all us gone, no audience, like us, you will be
dead.
By Alec Wilson ’16
Outside as the leaves are falling
Feel the wind and hear it calling
Summers gone and autumn’s creeping slower than the years before
We know the heat has left the ground
I’ve memorized the screeching sound
I’m mesmerized and terrified by winters pitch and bitter roar
Book spine poetry from the library.
Flashes
By Jiji Kang ’17
Time is ticking away
Way too fast
Please stop it
and give me a breath,
For I already learned
we are mortals
and we will soon be forgotten
in a flash of ‘no-more’.
Remember my voice,
my eyes, and the way they look at you
The love we feel would be unfelt
by the ones who come after,
The ones who would live
driven by selfishness
Just like us
and the ones before,
For we are mortals
and the world is rushing.
We compete to survive,
and it is beautiful.
Nothing Man
By Noah Kontur ’17
The content man sits static still,
He has no joy or pain.
He cannot feel the slightest drip
Of droplets in the rain.
His gears they halt from long disuse,
His soul no longer grows.
The content man, the nothing man,
Died long, long, long ago.
WRA Haikus
The Chubbies are out
The trek to Hayden
Spring is in the air
You can see lots of toned legs
Albeit
a
long
journey
Time for Adirondack chairs
Spring season is here
Promises beauty
Squirrels everywhere
-Ajay Dakappagari ’16
-Kevin Yang ’15
-Anna McMurchy ’15
The Reserve Record
A historic path.
Sprinting, red bricks blur.
A soul-crushing newspaper
My green tie flaps in the wind. It’s raining on Mt. Fuji.
I wish I was dead.
A chapel stands tall.
It’s 8:24.
-Trevor Lin ’15
-Max Borrmann ’16
-Connor Semple ’15
What shall I do now?
Hi friends, the Fall shouts.
Our best memories,
Don’t all need to be made here, Kill me, scream Winter exams. Wait, I’ll pull an all nighter!
It’s the only way.
Miss you, whispers Spring.
It will get better.
There is no silence.
-Max Forsyth ’15 Even in the dewy night,
-Colin Horgan ’15
-Makena Hayes ’17
The interstate howls.
Three sports required
Starts more fights than all else
Nor solitude, then.
On the lawn’s wide sweep
Even in an empty room
The iPhone beckons.
-Irina Kopyeva ’15
7
RESERVE RECORD CENTERFOLD APRIL 2015
Follow the red brick
path to class each day and fill
your hours with learning.
Class is done today,
Frisbees fly across the lawn,
No homework to do.
I can’t seem to start,
the art room seems much duller
on Fuji, it rains.
-Timmy Lund ’16
No nature, either.
Gaze up at the trees,
Forests only can exist
Relax on the lawn’s wide sweep
Where we permit them.
Live in the moment.
-Trevor Levin ’15
-Max Borrmann ’16
My Reserve Green tie
has egg stains and worn corners.
It’s served well; farewell.
-Max Forsyth ’15
Math test coming soon,
One more dang haiku,
Spanish essay due by noon,
These centerfolds always seem
Eats ice-cream instead.
To take the most time.
-Cat Berry ’15
-Taryn Washburn ’16
Untitled
By Erin Dockery ’16
The zoo down the road
was closed last Saturday,
due to an unfortunate event in the gorilla cage,
it seems one of those beasts,
One who carries a baby high on its back,
crushed its skull with a single metal beam,
one that was supposed to be for swinging,
and it seems the blood spattered across the glass,
forming something resembling a zookeeper,
A single 22 year old nobody with khaki pants and
a stick-on nametag,
but the image, up there on the glass,
never made it in the newspaper,
though it was certainly
A masterpiece,
a body composed of the blood of a beast,
smudged by child’s prints and jelly.
Inside I am safe and free
But peeking out my door I see
The rushing wind will scatter white and frigid terror on the floor
Autumns gone and time is frozen
Doors are locked but shops are open
Now I button up the final button til I know at last I’m warm
Now I see the hiding grass
But dawning through our frozen past
Spring has sprung while outside I can see the flying figures soar
I know the best is yet to come
I feel the warmth I see the sun
The heat will rise and I will spend my free time on the sandy shore
Harshly hot the sun will scorch
We hide from summer on the porch
But what has happened to the frigid terror that I need and now adore
I miss the leaves and halloween
The sun has changed from friend to fiend
I need the frigid frozen wonder that I love but feared before
And More
By Jiji Kang ’17
Male.
Christian.
Black.
Gay.
Female.
Criminal.
White.
Broke.
Vegetarian.
Mutated.
Obese.
Young.
Asian.
Loaded.
Tall.
Straight.
Anorexic.
Suicidal.
Transgender.
Short.
Buddhist.
Vegan.
Old...
Born.
Two Runners
By Max Borrmann ’16
Two feet pound the concrete as one,
Two hearts beat as one,
Two breaths fog the cool air as one,
Stride by stride the runners go,
Two runners, running as one,
No words are shared,
Both are deep in thought,
Together but apart,
A cosmic connection,
Bound by mutual suffering,
Traveling as one unit,
Through a silence broken only by the
rhythmic pounding of their feet,
Then they stop.
Cars speed past absorbed in their own
enclosed world focused only on where they
are going not the journey.
The runners wait.
They stand and catch their breath.
They breath as one.
Go.
The stream of cars is broken momentarily
And the runners seize the moment knowing the stream will not break for long.
They speed up as one,
Two feet pound the concrete as one,
Two hearts beat as one,
Two breaths fog the cool air as one,
Stride by stride the runners go,
Two runners, running as one,
No words are shared,
Both are deep in thought,
Together but apart,
A silence broken only by the rhythmic
pounding of their feet,
Then they stop.
They are done.
The run is over just as quickly as it had
begun.
They nod to one another,
The only acknowledgement of their silent
odyssey,
Which has so abruptly ended.
They go their separate ways.
Perpetually together yet infinitely apart.
Two runners.
All photos by Max Borrmann
8
RESERVE RECORD SPORTS APRIL 2015
Berry Breaks Records, Mylott Twins Lead Baseball Squad
Brings Back Wins
By ANDREW BONIFACE ’18
By DELANEY FOWLER ’17
Track has not always been a part
of the life of Catherine “Cat” Berry
’15; this is only her fourth year running. Berry decided to take up the
sport her freshman year because,
from her point of view, it seemed
to be what all of the older kids were
doing. She figured it would be a
“social sport” and thought it might
be fun.
Though she found the social aspect immediately, it took some time
for her to warm up to the physical
aspect of being part of the track
team. Berry joked, “Running and I
don’t usually mix very well.” But all
jokes aside, the captain insisted that
after her first competition, she fell
in love with track. She enjoys. how
close the team becomes by the end
of each season and finds that with
every challenge she and her teammates must overcome, they grow
closer as a team.
Berry also emphasized how her
coach, Eugene “Geno” Thomas
’68, has been a big part of her experience on the team: “He’s really
pushed me to do different things
that I never thought I’d do.” Not
ALAN DOE
only has he encouraged her to run
in different events and strive for
faster times, but he has also been
patient and supportive of her in all
of her pursuits.
Berry is proud of her many accomplishments since she joined the
team. She has been a varsity runner
all four years of her career and was
delighted to be named a captain for
the 2014-15 season. Her freshman
year, prior to coming to Western
Reserve Academy, her 4x100 meter
relay team placed in the state tournament. Her sophomore year at
WRA, both her 4x100 meter relay
team and 4x200 meter relay teams
broke the school record, while her
4x400 meter relay team made it on
the top five list. Among her other
achievements, Berry also made note
of the spirit award she won her junior year.
Thus far, Berry’s best season has
been her sophomore season, and
she has been pushing herself ever
since to become an even better runner. In her senior season, the captain aims to post even better times
than she did during her impressive
sophomore season. In the past two
years, she has managed to reach a
relatively consistent range of times
in her events, though she hopes to
break these walls as her final season
winds down.
Despite her talent, Berry does
not plan to continue running track
in college. She conceded, however,
that this plan may change as she
finds track to be an addiction. For
aspiring runners or anyone considering trying out the sport, Berry
advises that, “though the first few
practices might seem terrible, anybody can and should stick with with
it. There is no greater satisfaction
than pushing yourself to levels you
never thought possible.”
Major League Baseball
Kicks off 2015 Season
By COOPER KAPLAN ’15
It has been just about three
weeks since Jon Lester hurled the
first pitch to start the 2015 Major
League Baseball season in his new
Chicago Cubs uniform. With some
teams starting to find their identities and some still searching, this is
a great time of year to predict who
will make it into October come
postseason time. Here’s a quick
summary of the first three weeks.
In the National League, the
New York Mets just keep winning.
They’ve won 11 of their last 12 and
hold a 4.5 game lead in the East.
Meanwhile the Los Angeles Angels,
San Diego Padres, and Colorado
Rockies are neck and neck in the
West, with all three teams showing
no signs of falling back. The Padres, who finished eight games under .500 last year, feel ready to make
a long run in the postseason. They
added five new bats to the lineup,
most notably Matt Kemp, Will
Meyers, and Justin Upton, along
with a solid starter in James Shields,
and a solid closer in Craig Kimbrel.
In the Central, the Chicago Cubs
are posting a winning record for the
first time since 2009, thanks in large
part to some much-needed additions including new manager John
Madden, a man who seems ready
to finally provide the fans something of which to be proud of. The
Cubs also are supplied with starting
pitchers Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta, who threw several late inning
no hit threats last season. They’ve
also added some depth to the lineup with leadoff man Dexter Fowler
and catcher Miguel Montero. While
these additions are already paying
dividends for the Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals continue to dominate
the division.
Over in the American League,
The Houston Astros are, surprisingly, atop the West. The league’s
worst team from a year ago has
Joey Mylott ’15 and Patrick Mylott ’15 have impacted Western Reserve Academy in countless ways
throughout their four years, but
some might say their largest impact has been on the baseball field.
While both athletes shined on the
basketball team as sharpshooters
(an experience which they say has
“made them better overall athletes”), baseball is their game.
The twins captain this year’s baseball squad and both play key roles
on the team. The captains are versatile: Joey is a first baseman, pitcher,
and outfielder, while Patrick switches between the infielder, outfielder,
and catcher positions. Though they
are looking forward to college, the
twins know that they have unfinished business on the baseball field
here at WRA. Patrick explained that
the team has high hopes for their
2015 season: “We have a tough
schedule with this year, but our
goal is to post at least a .700 winning percentage.”
Having grown up together, the
twins share many memories of
being on the field together. One
of the plays they both remember
most vividly happened when they
teamed up to turn a double play.
Patrick stepped on third base after
successfully fielding the ball. He
then turned and threw the ball to
Joey to get the out. Joey caught the
ball with the web of his glove and
tagged the opponent on his helmet. The captains work especially
well together when Joey is pitching
found a spark, led by second baseman Jose Altuve, who is hitting
.315, and leads the team in RBI’s
and hits with 11 and 23, respectively. Over in the Central, the Kansas City Royals, who are currently
tied with the second best record in
all of baseball, have some hot bats
right now with five starters hitting
over .300. They also are led by a
solid rotation including Yordano
Ventura and newly acquired Edinson Volquez. The Detroit Tigers
are not far behind in second, and as
the season progresses they are likely
to challenge for the top spot.
Finally, in the East, all teams are
within a two game lead of one another with the Yankees in front and
Orioles at the bottom. The Red Sox
and Rays are tied with the Yankees
and the Blue Jays are just one game
back. At this point, it seems to be
anybody’s race to the top.
Seeing as it is only April, there is
still plenty of time for any team to
get hot and make a run at the postseason, which is five months away.
In this year’s particularly even start,
the 2015 MLB season is sure to be
an exciting one.
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
PHOTOS BY ALAN DOE
Joey (left) and Patrick (right) competed in a home game during 2014.
and Patrick is catching; one of their
favorite strategies is to run down
the man at first base and get him
out. These types of plays can often
change the momentum or outlook
of the game.
The captains both noted that a
former coach by the name of Matt
Carpenter, who led their summer
team, had a very positive impact
on them. He coached them in their
hometown of Aurora from ages 12
to 17. Carpenter helped establish
both their high baseball IQs and
their love for the Great American
Pastime. With the help from their
summer coach, their hard work
has led to tangible results. Joey has
improved his batting average from
.261 to .440 in a year while accumulating fewer strikeouts. Patrick has
improved his batting average from
.308 to .380 while cutting his strikeout total in half.
Their work on the field turned
the heads of many college coaches,
and, at press time, both were considering continuing their athletic careers at the Rochester Institute of
Technology. Located in Rochester,
New York, the Division III school
would give the twins a chance to
continue playing baseball in the
Liberty League.
Regardless of where they choose
to go to college, Patrick plans to
study electrical engineering while
Joey plans to focus on biomedical
engineering with a minor in business. As they continue their studies,
the captains share the same sentiment that their lessons learned on
the baseball field will always aid
them in all walks of life.
Track Teams Run in
Longstreth Relays
By JAE HOON LEE ’16
On Saturday, April 4, the 59th Annual Longstreth Relays took place
at Western Reserve Academy. The
bleachers were filled with students
in Reserve gear, excited to watch
the track team perform, this being
Pioneers’ first and only home track
meet of the season.
The sun was out but everyone was
bundled in warm clothes from the
vicious wind. Despite the cold, the
boys performed exceptionally well,
placing third out of eight teams
while the girls placed eighth out of
nine teams.
Runners from both teams posted
personal records on the day. The
shot-put trio of Tyson Oliver, Mat
Haemer and Ryan Omais placed
first with a total of 117 feet, 4.25
inches. Although this was the only
event that won first place, it was
the consistency of second or third
place across all events that made it
possible for the boys to earn third
place overall.
ALAN DOE
Ajay Dakappagari ’16 explained,
“I was really surprised by how well
we did considering there were so
many good teams at the meet and
they all had much more time to prepare for the meet while we had just
returned from break.”
Emily Cremer ’16 shared, “Lots
of the key runners graduated so we
had to switch up some positions
with the roster to put all the runners at their best events. But this
was only our first meet so everyone
was still getting used to their events.
Girls still ran well under those circumstances.”
Runner Tim Lund ’16 reflected,
“This is my first year running track
so I wasn’t sure of what to expect,
but it was nice to see so many people out on the track to support the
team despite the cold weather.” In
the face of a lack of preparation
time and frequent adjustments in
the roster, the Pioneers had a great
start to their season and look forward to future success.
9
RESERVE RECORD OPINION APRIL 2014
U.S. Attempts to Nuke Iran’s Nukes
By YING KA LEUNG ’18
The nuclear deal framework
agreed upon with Iran is a benchmark in Washington and Tehran’s
complex relationship, aiming to
stop Iranian nuclear progress. But
it was briefly overshadowed by the
antics of 47 Republican senators led
by Tom Cotton. In a patronizing
letter to Iran, these senators claimed
that future presidents could revoke
the deal in an effort to sabotage it.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad
Zarif promptly schooled them on
international law. The framework
wasn’t a bilateral agreement with
the U.S., but was signed with the
P5+1 coalition. Instead of being a
“mere executive agreement,” the
deal would involve five other countries and a U.N. Security Council
resolution. Revoking the agreement, one that guarantees regional
stability and fosters international
cooperation, would violate international law and spell doom for the
prospect of peace.
Also involved is lifting economic
sanctions currently against Iran--a
decision that will increase crude
oil supply. The Energy Information
Administration predicts that the
deal could slash oil prices by $15 a
barrel, a win-win situation.
Hawkish foreign policy attitudes
are nothing new among Republicans. Many have advocated war
against Iran for the past decade, and
they have been increasingly vocal.
Sen. Mark Kirk likened U.S. negotiators to Neville Chamberlain, the
British Prime Minister involved in
Nazi appeasement. A fallacy exists
within the neoconservative doctrine: war is inevitable, so we might
as well start bombing them anyway.
Iran’s motive for its quest for
nuclear weapons is similar to the
American motive for clinging to
its stockpiles: deterrence. Look at
the nasty business from the Iranian
perspective. It is a lone Shiite country surrounded by hostile Sunni
nations and bloodthirsty insurgencies and neighboured by five nuclear powers, one of which is Israel,
A Plea for Brevity in
Candidates’ Speeches
By JARET SKONIECZNY ’17
LOGAN SN
ELL
which has a track record of preemptive strikes. Across the Persian Gulf,
Saudi Arabia is avowedly anti-Shiite
and was the world’s largest weapons
importer in 2014.
Having its democratically-elected
government overthrown by a CIAorganized coup in 1953 during the
Abadan crisis, Iran has since lived
under the constant threats of a superpower. In 1988, an American
warship venturing into Iranian waters shot down Iran Air Flight 655,
killing 290 civilians. Bush openly
contemplated another “regime
change” in Iran, branding it the
“axis of evil.”
Wouldn’t a rational actor also
pursue nuclear weapons in the Iranian position? Iran hasn’t invaded
anyone in the last 200 years, an
achievement its antagonists are unfortunately unable to claim. Jingoism only serves to generate Iranian
hostility and threatens to sever the
minuscule thread of trust President
Obama has managed to preserve.
Yet Iran remains at the negotiating
table, thanks to Obama. Bombing
Iran would lend credibility to Iranian claims that its nuclear infrastructure is necessary.
And diplomacy, to ease Iranian
fears, is the way forward.
Despite the framework, the GOP
still mocks Obama’s foreign policy
legacy. Republicans frequently
complain about his successful
handling of foreign affairs, which
they call “soft,” but they cannot
suggest an alternative other than
those involving explosives or even
lost American lives. Occasionally,
one must walk away from predetermined “red lines” in order to
make rational decisions, decisions
where Republicans fail to consider
the consequences. One wonders
whether the GOP’s sanity falls below that of Iran’s.
Tom Cotton suggests a week-long
bombing campaign, but fails to answer this question: What’s next after the bombing ceases? Former defense secretary Leon Panetta notes
that not only would it motivate the
Iranians to speed up deeper underground, possible Iranian retaliation
could escalate the Middle Eastern
conflagration to a conflict the world
would regret.
Finally, a legitimate target for
the House Un-American Activities
Committee: Senate Republicans.
accepted, so they push their limits
in order to be the best candidate.
We, as a society, feel that college
holds the secrets to our futures. Today, people believe that the college
you attend will determine the path
of your life and will define your person. I refute this claim, but whether
this is true or not, it is unhealthy to
think this way.
We students push ourselves to
extreme limits for our college application. We want to boost our
grades because grades are the first
things colleges look at. We involve
ourselves in too many extracurriculars to handle, some of which
do not interest us, because “if you
can juggle all these commitments in
highschool, you will achieve amazing feats in college.” However, while
working into the early mornings
and loading on the extracurriculars,
we become worn out, and we do
not fully enjoy all the activities we
pursue. Over time, we associate our
interests with hard work and perseverance rather than the pursuit of
happiness. But this does not need
to be. If college was not constantly
looming over our shoulder, we may
even enjoy the things we once called
our passions.
We should enjoy our interests
and not obsess over them. Malcolm
Gladwell shares his plain college
application experience in “Getting
In,” an article comparing the strenuous and college process in the U.S.
with the simplified one of Canada.
Gladwell, a staff writer for the New
Yorker and author of five books, applied to college like any other Canadian. During his senior year, he
chose a top three, wrote down a list
of his activities, and his high school
sent his transcripts. He didn’t have
to worry about college for three
or four years of his time in high
school. That wasn’t the culture in
1980s Canada. The real challenge
was graduating from college instead
of getting into one.
In the end, Gladwell never went
through today’s traditional college
process, and he turned out to be a
wise, successful person.
Just like Gladwell, high school
students should be able to focus less
on college and more on their high
school experience while it lasts. If
we constantly strive for future success, we will never enjoy what we
pursue.
Since the student body president
elections, I have thought about the
purpose of each candidate’s speech.
They should not be a long spiel;
in fact, the speeches should be no
more than two minutes long.
Take this year as an example, in
which there were thirteen excellent
candidates. Each one drew numbers
to see in what order they would take
the podium. The entire ordeal took
an inordinate amount of time, and
many people were starting to become antsy after the eighth speech.
The people who gave speeches
near the end were at a serious disadvantage, because many of the things
they said had already been heard
many times. Their earnest appeals
began to blur together into one generic speech.
Sure, there are differences, but
many of them are minor and do not
lead to any kind of differentiation
between the students running. Sure
some speeches stood as out as interesting, funny or creative, but really,
the election should not be about
how good your speech is; rather, it
should be about who you are and
what you have done already, not
what you say you are going to do
in a speech.
After all, few of these promises
usually come true. Sure, the intent
of the candidates is most likely genuine, but when you are elected, you
have a lot more on your plate than
you originally planned: things that
actually matter, like being a SAC
member, running Morning Meetings and planning engaging events
for the whole student body to partake in. You probably won’t actualize your grand vision.
With that in mind, the speech’s
only purpose should be to establish
yourself to the underclassmen and
new students who may not know
you and to give a very brief list of
the qualifications that make you a
fine candidate for the position of
student body president. If you cannot stand on the merit of your character and instead have to rely on the
proficiency of your speech to garner
votes, you probably should not run
for student body president.
I suggest that the speeches be
capped at two minutes. This lets the
candidates introduce themselves,
demonstrate their public speaking
ability and give a very brief summary of what they have accomplished.
The process will be much shorter
and more enjoyable for everyone,
and it will result in more qualified
student body presidents.
U.S. Should Embrace
National Healthcare
LOGAN SNELL
College Ruins High School Experience
By MAX FORSYTH ’15
College is said to be one of the
best chapters of life, but why do we
put so much stress on college before
we even apply?
Starting when I was just 12 years
old, my parents’ friends would ask
me what I wanted to be when I
grew up and where I wanted to go
to college. I knew I wanted to be an
architect, but I had no clue where I
wanted to go to college. After all, I
was only in middle school. My next
step was actually high school, not
college!
The pressure put on today’s youth
is astounding. At Western Reserve
Academy, we assign college counselors to students during their sophomore year. But don’t blame the college counseling office. In American
society, we must introduce students
to the college process early on, so
they can prepare for a stressful process and keep up with the competitive pool of applicants.
The problem lies within the system. Students (and their parents)
are more competitive than ever
before; many students judge themselves depending on where they are
By GEORGE MERRIOTT ’15
Apart from the “beautiful” English summer and the amazing cuisine, one of my favourite parts of
British culture is our pride in the
National Health Service (NHS).
Established shortly after WWII, the
NHS is one of the longest-lasting
social health care programs in the
world. No matter your age, race, or
social class, the NHS will treat you
with some of the finest care in the
world, and it has created the foundations for a society of equality and
compassion. It is now time for the
United States to follow a similar
path for two reasons: it is economically viable and morally just.
The economic foundations for
the NHS are very strong. While
“Obamacare” has helped introduce
the concept of becoming insured to
all citizens, it does not go far enough
to provide for a healthy nation, and
a healthy nation is a productive
one. Nationalized healthcare is a
significant investment for a govern-
ment, but the money for a socialized health care plan could simply
be redirected from what Americans
currently spend on insurance. This
would streamline the insurance and
healthcare industries greatly, reducing corruption and waste.
Even if you ignore economics
completely, moral reasoning supports the notion of social healthcare. A recent Harvard study suggests that 45,000 Americans die
every year because they don’t have
adequate health insurance. Some
may call it survival of the fittest, but
it must be inhumane to let someone die purely because they cannot
afford treatment. In the modern,
Western world, it is a fault of society if someone doesn’t see a doctor
purely for financial reasons; people
are struggling because someone else
(namely, an insurance company)
wants to make mega-bucks. Technology is changing to allow new
and amazing treatments; it’s time
for society to progress with it.
10
APRIL 2015
The Coin
Practical Pursuits Keep Civilization Alive
of our modern-day capitalist society
and thus are more important.
In his seminal paper, “A Theory
of Human Motivation,” psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed
the famous theory of a hierarchy of
needs. The concept is simple: we as
humans have a variety of necessities
for physical and mental well-being.
These needs can be represented
hierarchically as a pyramid, with
more fundamental needs (such as
By PETER THEWISSEN ’15
On the popular political quiz
“The Political Compass,” proposition number 47 states “The businessman and the manufacturer are
more important than the writer and
the artist.” At the risk of appearing
a philistine, I am writing this article
to argue in favor of the aforementioned statement.
However, I would like to preface my argument by saying that I
have immense respect for the arts;
indeed, I believe that expressions of
human creativity, more than anything else, are what make us human.
But the question at hand is not
whether or not the businessman
and the manufacturer are better
manifestations of human nature
than the writer and the artist. Rather, the emphasis is placed on who
is more important. And the fact of
the matter is that while the artist
and writer may embody the more
romantic and intellectual values of
civilization, the businessman and
manufacturer are the foundations
food and water) forming the base
of the pyramid and less fundamental needs (such as self-esteem and
self-respect) forming the top of the
pyramid.
From bottom to top, the levels are
as follows: Physiological (physical
requirements for survival), Safety
(financial and physical security),
Love/Belonging
(Relationships
with friends, family, or significant
others), Esteem (Feeling respected),
and finally Self-Actualization (The
desire to realize one’s potential).
What is the significance of
Maslow’s Pyramid in the discussion
of businessmen and manufacturers
versus writers and artists? Businessmen and manufacturers allow us to
fulfill our most basic needs, those
represented by the lower levels of
While the artist and the
writer may embody the
more romantic and intellectual values of civilization, the businessman
and the manufacturer
are the foundations of
our modern-day capitalist society and thus are
more important.
the pyramid, while writers and artists fulfill those at the top. Thus,
businessmen and manufacturers are
more important.
Let us consider a famous and influential writer, say Ernest Hemingway. In the form of his books and
short stories, Hemingway contributed much to the world. But the
questions I have to ask are: Did
Hemingway make his own clothing? Did he himself manufacture
the pens he wrote with, or the paper he wrote on? Did Hemingway
grow all of the food he ate? Did he
personally print every single page of
every single copy of every single one
of his books?
The answer to all these ridiculous questions is, of course, no.
No, Hemingway did not have time
to make all of his clothing. He did
not have time to manufacture all
of the pens and paper with which
he wrote. He did not have time to
grow all of the food he ate, and he
certainly did not have time to print
every single copy of every single one
of his books published during his
lifetime. Yet without these tasks being done, Hemingway would have
been unable to have the impact he
had on the world.
The truth is that a businessman
or manufacturer somewhere in the
world performed all of these tasks
for him. Without them, Hemingway would be nothing. You and I
wouldn’t have heard of him, and he
may not have even been alive long
enough to write a single page.
Writers and artists depend on the
businessmen and manufacturers
of the world to take care of their
fundamental needs (those lower on
Maslow’s Pyramid) so that they can
provide the rest of us with the inspiration for self-actualization (the
very top of the pyramid). While
self-actualization is incredibly important, it is not as important as
food and water. We as humans can
survive (albeit unpleasantly) without the former; we cannot survive
without the latter.
A society without artists and writers would be a sad society indeed.
However, it would still be a society
with people in it. A society without businessmen and manufactures
isn’t even a society. It is a collection
of brilliant pieces of artwork and
pieces of writing surrounded by the
bodies of their creators who were
unable to meet the most basic needs
for survival.
Artistic Expression Makes Life Worth Living
By TREVOR LEVIN ’15
The teenage boys crowd around
their teacher, played by Robin Williams, as he delivers one of the most
powerful monologues in American
cinema. “We don’t read and write
poetry because it’s cute,” he begins.
“We read and write poetry because
we are members of the human race.
And the human race is filled with
passion.” The students nod, hanging on his every word. “Medicine,
law, business, engineering — these
are noble pursuits, necessary to
sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love — these are what we
stay alive for.”
These are controversial words.
In the Robin Williams flick, Dead
Poets Society, one character’s father
so despises the notion that “soft,”
decidedly unlucrative pursuits like
poetry, art and theatre should ever
take precedence over preparation
for medical school that he forces his
brilliant son into military school.
(It’s a bad idea. No further spoilers.)
Dead Poets Society’s Welton Academy is far more authoritarian and
unpleasant than WRA, which, in
my experience, has demonstrated
respect for the arts and humanities. But society writ large considers
careers in those fields not only less
practical than those in business and
science but also immature, or even
selfish.
Partly because of the deification
of the field of economics, people
believe that the worth of a profession can be explicitly measured in
dollar terms, that is, its salary. Wall
Street employees and petroleum
engineers, then, are doing a great
public service; poets and painters
are merely indulging their fantasies,
and unless they’re lucky enough
to be financially successful, they’re
dead weight, dragged along by
those of us responsible enough to
choose a six-figure job.
Of course we need businessmen
and manufacturers. We need food,
water and shelter, and we generally want the staggering material
comforts brought to us by the industrial revolution. But in various
eras in human history, and, indeed,
in poorer areas of the world today,
people who are denied these basic
necessities look to the arts to keep
their hopes and spirits alive.
The opposite scenario, material
prosperity without the arts, occurs
far more in fiction than in real life,
a testament to how central artistic
expression is to human life. Books
like Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 present us with appallingly
empty, uncaring, despicable societies; it is no accident that governments in both books have banned
literature and other forms of art.
These fictional universes so deprive
their protagonist of meaning that
they call into question the primacy
of the “bottom of the pyramid”
in the hierarchy of needs: in both
books, the protagonist would rather
risk or end his life than live in his
soulless world.
To German philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche, art was everything. After
what he saw as the collapse of religion as the central moral force of
the Western world, he believed the
only thing that could take its place you can feel that affirmation in the
was life-affirmation, and the best chords of the Rolling Stones, the
verses of Tupac, the strokes of Picasso or the words of Frost.
Books like Brave New
But you don’t need to be a worldWorld and Fahrenheit
famous artist to create meaning for
yourself, or for others. Throughout
451 present us with apthe year, students at WRA, like
pallingly empty, uncarKevin Yang ’15 and Erin Docking, despicable societies. ery ’16, have shared their original
They so deprive their
music, poetry and other forms of
protagonist of meaning
artwork. At Morning Meeting a
that he would rather risk couple weeks ago, Austin Rand ’15
or end his life than live in read a stirring original poem about
surviving in bleak circumstances
his soulless world.
with friends. (How’s that for the hierarchy of needs?) That’s how these
way to achieve that was through students find meaning in a logically
art. Nietzsche criticized the “deca- meaningless world. How could we
dence” of the rationalist, or “Apol- live without that process?
lonian,” European culture: even
Whether we become businesspeothough the businessman, scientist ple or engineers, writers or artists,
and manufacturer had given Eu- we all have a fundamental need to
rope an unprecedented economic find purpose in our lives. If we don’t
boom, they had also left it soulless have artists, we must become them.
and meaningless. Nietzsche herald“To quote from Whitman,” Wiled the music of Richard Wagner as liams continues, delivering the thethe “Dionysian” salvation of the in- sis of the movie, “‘O me! O life!... of
creasingly mechanized world of the the questions of these recurring; of
19th century.
the endless trains of the faithless...
I, like most modern readers, am of cities filled with the foolish; what
appalled by Wagner’s anti-Semi- good amid these, O me, O life?’
tism. But when I hear “Ride of the Answer: that you are here; that life
Valkyries,” I hear the same awesome exists, and identity; that the powerpower, the same soaring passion, ful play goes on, and you may conthe same distillation of the human tribute a verse. That the powerful
experience, that Nietzsche did. And play goes on and you may contribute
even if Wagner isn’t your cup of tea, a verse. What will your verse be?”
Comics by Logan Snell ‘18, Portraits by Max Borrmann ‘16
11
RESERVE RECORD THE COIN APRIL 2015
Three (Required) Sports Are Too Many
By LEO HOLLAND ’17
Everyone knows that the three
sport requirement is an important
part of life at WRA. Why, then,
would I believe that all students
should be able to participate in alternative sports, as opposed to varsity athletics?
Students should have this freedom
because being forced to participate
in a sport has no beneficial outcome
unless the participant is enthusiastic in his or her activity. Forcing
students to play sports they are uninterested in creates a bad mental
state for both the player in question
and the team at large. The physical
benefits of a sport can be hampered
by this bad state of mind. For this
reason, I believe that Reserve’s athletic requirement needs reform.
Many freshman enter WRA with
previous athletic experience. Some
freshmen achieve Varsity level participation, and others Junior Varsity, but for the most part, freshmen
line the ranks of “C-squad” athletics. For some, this arrangement is
perfect, as they are placed into a
sport that they enjoy with players of
their skill level.
However, some students do not
benefit from the requirement. Some
freshmen arrive at Reserve without
extensive athletic experience and
are thrust into a world where athletics occupy a large portion of their
afternoons. They may have some
vague idea of how to “sport,” but
generally they range from unethusiastic to apprehensive, and most are
full of anxiety.
When students arrive at preseason, the overwhelming qualities of Reserve appear in full force.
With this added level of dread, the
entire week and beginning of school
can be heavily tainted by negativity.
Unathletic students will likely not
enjoy participating in a sport until
they improve. However, the students’ discomfort at being forced
onto a playing field may forever
hold them back. Because of this
psychological effect, it is very easy
for C-squad athletes to become fixated on how horrible their situation
is and miss out altogether on the experience of playing the sport. These
negative feelings tend to cause an
air of awfulness during the season.
In addition, negative feelings towards a sport can transfer to negative feelings towards oneself. Spend
five minutes at any C quad practice
and you will hear students lamenting their situations with cries of,
“This sucks!” or, worse, “I suck!”
Forcing unathletic students onto
the playing field can create humiliating circumstances and result
in low self-worth. Our self-image
is extremely vulnerable, especially
in new settings like a new school,
and performing poorly is a very easy
way to damage it.
Negative feelings towards a sport
hamper improvement of ability and
teams, players who want to participate get more playing time, and the
cohesiveness of the team improves
because of the positive energy surrounding them.
The three sport requirement also
prohibits students from pursuing
scholastic extracurricular passions.
Other high schools allow students
to meet for hours after school to
participate in clubs such as Model
U.N, Debate, and Mock Trial. At
Reserve, however, students must
settle for abbreviated versions of
these activities which are crammed
into a short Activities period once
every week. There is no question
that the three sport requirement deters some perspective students each
year who feel that WRA does not
cause a negative self-image. This put enough emphasis on academic
negativity spreads like a virus: one extracurriculars.
kid or many kids that share this
negative mindset can affect the
morale of the whole team. When Negativity spreads like
students openly bash the sport that a virus: one kid with a
they are playing, it can hurt play- negative mindset can
ers who enjoy the game and inspire affect the morale of the
conflict. A low morale or a divide
whole team.
within a team can lead to worse
play, and will affect a team’s level of
Students who do not want to
success during the season. One student who doesn’t want to be there participate in sports will be much
can inspire dissent and upset the happier too. They will be free to
pursue passions of their own durwhole egg basket.
If students of all grade levels were ing the time of the day that they
allowed to pursue alternative ac- normally would have nightmares
tivities, this epidemic of bad morale about. Everyone’s morale improves
would be cured. By allowing stu- with the freedom to choose whether
dents who simply do not want to or not to play a sport. I feel that the
play to participate in activities that “three sport requirement” should be
are more interesting to them, you changed to a “three activity requirecreate smaller teams. With smaller ment” for all ages.
Three Sport Requirement a Real Winner
By ELIZABETH DOWNING ’17
Most of us remember the moment
in our budding Reserve careers
when we heard someone, perhaps
an administrator or a tour guide,
utter the following words: “We
have a three-sport requirement for
underclassman.” Some among us
might have internally rejoiced, “Finally! Now I don’t have to take gym
class,” while others worried, “Three
sports? I don’t even play one!”
The three-sport requirement is
an integral part of Reserve, and for
a lot of people it isn’t a problem.
Some students even played more
than three sports at their old school.
Yet every year we all hear about upperclassmen who wish to just play
one, or even zero, team sports and
underclassman who find loopholes
to escape certain athletic seasons.
Students can be heard lamenting
their plight with the following excuses: “I want to condition in the
weight room for another season,”
“I have an injury and just want
to manage another sport,” “I have
tried all the sports this season and
can’t play any of them.”
While there are certainly people
who have legitimate reasons for being unable to play a sport, Reserve
students shouldn’t try to weasel
their way out of athletics. Whether
you have enjoyed it or not, the three
sport requirement is a vital part of
a Reserve career, and one that will
benefit everyone in the long run.
Team sports encourage students to
meet new people and create lasting
bonds. Although this idea is cliché,
interact with their friends in a way
not clouded by academics. This allows for true bonding. We all know
people who hide in their dorms all
day and refuse to make connections
and friends. Having a sport requirement forces those people to create
bonds with others, enhancing their
Reserve experience.
In addition to creating new friendships, athletics teach behavior that
can benefit students off the playing
field. Those who dislike the athletic requirement claim that sports
take away from study time, however, sports teach certain intangible
qualities, such as time management
skills, competition, and determination, that benefit students in the
classroom.
According to studies conducted
by The American College of Sports
Medicine, fitter students earn significantly higher scores on standardized tests. The American Heart
Association recommends that all
humans spend 30 minutes doing
physical activity each day. It is posReserve is truly a community. The sible that students could account
more people you know, the more
you can get out of it. Every Reserve
student knows the people from the Doing three different
dorm and in their classes. However, sports allows students to
there is not much variety in this meet three new and difsocial environment: you are forced ferent groups of people
to interact with the same faces for
that they may not have
the entire school year. Playing three
different sports allows students known otherwise.
to meet three new and different
groups of people that they may not for these minutes in conditioning,
have known otherwise.
however, we all know that there is
Athletics can also allow students to no coach and no teammates in con-
ditioning who can push you to succeed. As a result, it is very easy for
students to lapse into laziness. The
best way to ensure a happy, healthy
student body is through a three
sport requirement.
Many students avoid sports by citing a desire to earn admission into
a better college. In the best case scenario, this earns students an extra
two hours between 4 and 6 o’clock
every afternoon for studying. More
realistically, however, a very small
portion of this time would be spent
studying. By the time a student returns to the dorm, they will most
likely be too tired from a hard day
of classes to start studying immediately. There are also the inevitable
distractions of music, Snapchat,
and other classmates.
Besides, playing a team sport
looks better on a college application
then a 0.2 rise on your GPA during the winter of your sophomore
year. Playing a sport makes for a
more well-rounded college application, even if you are only playing CSquad Soccer; it shows that you are
willing to put more effort into your
activities than someone in conditioning.
I know that evading the athletic
requirement in the spring is tempting, but think about the long run,
both at Reserve and in the future.
Sports encourage students to meet
new people, learn life skills, get better grades, be healthy and improve
their college applications. Participate in sports at Reserve before you
graduate. Before you know it, your
time here will come to an end, and
you will be left wishing that you
had spent more time playing on the
lawn’s wide sweep.
Comics by Logan Snell ‘18, Portraits by Sandra Spurlock ’17
12
RESERVE RECORD WORLD NEWS APRIL 2015
Reach of ISIS Expands, A New
Race for Presidential
with Alarming Speed Direction
Candidates Speeds Up
By LOGAN SNELL ’18
and TREVOR LEVIN ’15
If you have turned on the news in
past weeks, you have probably witnessed a discussion between various
“experts” and former politicians going on about potential candidates
and contenders for 2016 presidential election. While we’re still early
in the race for the White House,
several candidates are, in fact, already running.
Ted Cruz, a Republican Senator
from Texas, was the first major-party candidate to declare his run for
office when he announced his bid
at Liberty University on March 23.
Cruz is widely known for his “diehard” conservative views. Kentucky
Senator Rand Paul is also running
for the Republican bid. Paul aims
to appeal to both young Republican
and Libertarian voters.
Jeb Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush, is
considering running. Bush is not
your typical GOP candidate: unlike most conservative politicians,
Bush publicly “respects” same-sex
civil unions and supports Common
Core education standards.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio announced his campaign on April 13.
If he defeats his Republican rivals,
he would be his party’s first-ever
minority nominee. Other potential Republican nominees include
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker,
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Governor John Kasich,
former Fox News correspondent
Dr. Ben Carson and even businessman Donald Trump.
While the Republican Party seems
to have endless potential candidates, very few Democrats are being considered serious contenders.
Hillary Clinton, who has served
as First Lady, Senator, presidential
candidate and Secretary of State,
is the most obvious choice for the
Democratic nomination. She announced her long-anticipated run
in a video on April 12.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
announced his candidacy on April
30. Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, will presumably
challenge Clinton for some liberal
support in the party, but most pundits give him little chance of winning the nomination, due to his
outspoken, left-wing views.
No other Democrats have formally challenged Clinton, but some
names have received attention: Vice
President Joe Biden, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley
and former Virginia Senator Jim
Webb are rumored to be considering a run.
The shooting of Michael Brown
in Ferguson, Missouri was followed
by riots and, in the eyes of many,
police brutality. Michael Brown, an
18-year-old African American man,
was shot and killed by a police officer, Darren Wilson. Brown was
shot in broad daylight at noon; six
bullets brought him down. Darren
Wilson pleaded not guilty and was
not indicted, leaving a lot of people
to question America’s judicial system.
Months after the shooting of
Michael Brown, the Department
of Justice released an eye-opening,
102-page report about how the
African American community has
been treated differently from the
white minority in Ferguson. The
DOJ report confirmed many things
that had been merely assumed before. The report found that 93%
of arrests made in Ferguson were
of African-Americans. The report
By ALEC WILSON ’16
COURTESY OF WASHINGTON POST
By COLIN BARSELLA ’15
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,
ISIS, is a Sunni rebel group that has
control over large territory in both
Syria and Iraq. Under the leadership of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the
group has proliferated since 2010.
With the collapse of the Al-Assad
Syrian government, ISIS has been
able to gain more territory in Syria
in the chaos caused by the civil war.
The Islamic State is capitalizing on
Syria’s unrest and has been able to
capture Syrian territories and oil
fields.
Now, with anywhere from
30,000-50,000 troops throughout
Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State is
gaining more insurgents and more
territory each day. These insurgents
include 150 United States citizens,
Mohammed Emwazi (A British citizen featured in many ISIS beheading videos), and countless others
from around the world.
ISIS uses many tactics to attract
COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA
these new fighters, the main aspect
of which is a social media presence
that includes a Twitter account and
many dark websites dedicated to
finding new converts. Once a new
recruit is under their control they
try one of two things: they teach the
also says “Ferguson’s law enforcesoldier how to carry out a terrorist
ment practices are shaped by the
city’s focus on revenue rather than
by public safety needs.” This policy
towards policing forces officers to
meet a quota on arrests and tickets
issued.
The DOJ report showed that in
2013, there were 32,975 outstanding warrants. And in a city with
21,000 people, that means citizens
had an average of 1.5 warrants per
citizen. The report also shows that
blacks were 68% less likely to get
their cases dismissed in court.
All the numbers and statistics
have painted a picture that is extremely hard to ignore: our judicial
and law enforcement systems are
plagued by systematic prioritizing
of racism and creating revenue before protecting the people.
It will be very interesting to see
not only what Capitol Hill does —
if it does anything at all — but also
what small communities will do address this failure.
Dept. of Justice Report
on Ferguson Stuns U.S.
By FRANCISCO BLANCO ’18
for Iran
attack on their own in the country
they currently live in—the most infamous example of which was the
Charlie Hebdo Attacks that took
place in Paris earlier this year—or
transfer the new recruit into ISIS
territory to carry out various different tasks.
The main goal of ISIS is to implement Sharia rule in its captured
territories and spread its influence
throughout the world. For funding,
The Islamic State carries out many
illegal acts, such as ransoming hostages and stealing Iraqi oil. It has
even raised revenue by implementing taxes on the estimated 8 million
people they control.
In response to the growth of the
Islamic State, many governments
around the world have dedicated
themselves to stopping the terrorist
group. The Jordanian government
has stepped up involvement after
an ISIS video surfaced of a Jordanian pilot being immolated. The
U.S. government has also increased
its involvement in past months by
ramping up its drone strikes and
bombings of ISIS territory. In the
short term, all the world can do is
keeping the group from expanding
and hoping that the situation does
not escalate to full-blown war.
Since 2003, Iran has allegedly attempted to build a nuclear bomb.
The United States, fearful of what
Iran might want to do with one, has
tried to find a way to stop its construction. Attempts have included
economic sanctions and diplomatic
pressure. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and focused on
nuclear energy.
In the last several months, U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry and
other diplomatic officials have negotiated an agreement with Iran in
which Iran would sacrifice much of
its nuclear program and allow for
foreign inspections in exchange for
a reduction in the severity of the
sanctions.
Congress recently invited the
prime minister of Israel, Benjamin
Netanyahu, to speak in Washington. Netanyahu stated “Iran poses
grave danger” to Israel and the
rest of the world if they succeed
in building a nuclear bomb. The
Prime Minister later told CNN
that he thinks that “there’s a third
alternative” to the situation: he
proposed that the U.S. should continue waiting and “ratcheting up
the pressure” until the US receives a
better deal from Iran. However, he
believes that Iran “cannot be trusted” and may still continue to build
the bomb even after an agreement
has been reached.
The mostly Shiite nation of Iran
would be a threat to more than
just Israel by obtaining a nuclear
bomb. Sunni countries like Syria
and Saudi Arabia would most likely
respond to Iran by also building
nuclear weapons.
The key question is, “Can we trust
Iran?” While Netanyahu believes
that Iran is still “accelerating the
arming of its terror proxies to attack
Israel,” Mohammad Javad Zarif,
Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,
wants to “remove all the restrictions
that have been imposed on Iran unjustifiably.” The details of the treaty
are still being sorted out, but some
progress seems certain.
Iran wants to be seen as a “regional power,” not as intransigent. Its
people may soon have the chance to
pursue economic development by
trading with the West.
COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA