SHP Party Culture Fosters Social Split

Transcription

SHP Party Culture Despite Snafu Love Bugs Continue
Fosters Social Split
By Chandi Ingram ‘16
Heart Beat Staff Writer
Ironically, Sacred Heart
Prep is known for its hospitable
community, and is sometimes
even referred to as a big “family,”
yet for the second happiest place
on earth, many seem to think our
community has built up strong
walls that are dividing us. The culture of drinking and partying at
SHP has built a majority of these
divisions, as students are forced to
pick a side between two extremes.
It is known that drinking occurs,
and for many, is a part of their
high school experience of growing up, taking on responsibility,
and also having fun. However,
not many know how relevant the
drinking culture is in our community, and how much it affects
the social dynamic on campus.
In an anonymous online
survey conducted by the Heart
Beat, an SHP student observes,
“There is a huge divide between
people who drink and people who
don’t, and it is rare to see someone
in between.” The student body
has unconsciously divided into
two groups: one that parties and
drinks often on the weekends, and
the other that feels excluded or
has resentment towards the other
group. Those who are often not
invited to parties can never relate
or join into conversations of those
who are; therefore, on campus
an automatic separation occurs.
Although it is understandable
that those throwing parties can
only invite a limited number, and
reasonable to want to invite their
close, others still feel excluded
and left out. “It’s only the popular
people who get invited to parties,
so if you don’t have any connection or are only remotely friends
with one of those people, you
never get to go to parties, even
if you wanted to.” Some students
may oppose partying and drinking or are simply not interested
in such social gatherings; however, those who do want to branch
out and mix into that atmosphere,
have no ability to squeeze their
way into those tight circles.
Not only do Sacred Heart
students have trouble branching
out to their own peers, they also
avoid extending their community to other schools outside of
SHP. One student states, “When
it comes to allowing people from
other schools into our parties, our
school is terrible. I hardly ever
see students from other schools
at our parties, and when I do it
doesn’t take long for people to
start chanting “SHP SHP SHP
SHP”. Our school has become
isolated in its party scene, and
despite our strong school pride,
other schools find it snobby and
cliquey. A common stereotype
that has passed on to many SHP
students is the belief that all public school students are “sketchy”
or are bad influences who are
more likely to bring in unwanted
substances. Because hosts tend
to be inhospitable to strangers in
their home who could potentially
cause damage, SHP students rarely branch out to students at other
schools.
Continued on Page 6...
The Love Bugs serenade Mr. Bell in front of the whole school. Photo by Allison Harman ‘14.
By Jack Blaisdell ’14
Heart Beat Editor-In-Chief
The student body was up in
arms during Spirit Week, and it
wasn’t just about inter-class competition. Controversy swept the
campus as an executive decision
was made to postpone the muchloved “Love Bugs” performances
until after break, a decision that,
due to a lack of communication,
resulted in most students believing that they were cancelled altogether.
The tradition, founded by
then-student Douglas Hosking
several years ago, gives the ability
to any person on campus to “hire”
a quartet of young men to serenade any student or staff member
during class for a mere five dollars, which is given to charity.
In the past, these affectionate displays have been delivered
during Spirit Week around Valentine’s Day, but this year, due to last
minute planning and miscommunication, they had to be delayed.
According to Lovebugs member
Ted Caitlin ’16, “We were given
the offer to go around and do the
songs during only Office Hours
and lunch during Spirit Week,
so as not to disrupt class, but we
decided that in order to keep the
tradition, we could really only deliver the performances in the inti-
mate classroom setting.”
While a majority of students
responded to the news belligerently, breaking out in resounding
chants of “let them sing” during
Spirit Week events, dissent was
quelled when, after the return
from break, it was discovered
that the Love Bugs would indeed
be allowed to sing. Ultimately,
Caitlin and most of the student
body think that “it worked out
amazingly.” While exact dates and
timing haven’t been discussed yet,
it is reported that planning has already begun for the performances next year, to prevent a mishap
like that which was seen this year.
Week.
Exchange Program Expands with Goal IV Focus
By Charlotte Matthews‘16
The SHP Exchange Network has expanded greatly this
year, with “18 exchange students
arriving from eight different
countries during spring semester
2014: Australia, Spain, France,
Mexico, Peru, Austria, Canada,
and Ireland,” according to Deborah Farrington Padilla, Exchange
Coordinator. A few exchange
students like Marifer González
Gámez, Maëlle Daufresne, and
Romina Galarza have already
competed their unique exchanges
at Sacred Heart.
Academically, Sacred Heart
has a well-rounded program to
educate the student, explains
Marifer González Gámez, from
Mexico. “The Spanish classes are
at a good level that is both challenging and fun,” claims Marifer.
“I really love English class because
it’s nice that there are textbooks
and other books provided for students to use here. At my school in
Mexico, we don’t have textbooks
in all of my classes, which makes
it difficult.” Marifer’s school in
Mexico is also challenging, as she
reads the New York Times and
other famous American newspapers in her English class. With a
shorter school day that ends at
2:00 p.m., Marifer explains that
she doesn’t have lunch at school,
and instead eats at home. Marifer
takes seven classes each day, and
has 14-15 people in each class.
Maëlle Daufresne from
France feels that school in America is easier. “We have longer
school days in France, and if you
don’t do your homework, you are
penalized harshly,” comments
Maëlle. In France, school can
end as late as 5:30 p.m. Maëlle
can take as many as 13 classes in
one day, including three language
courses: Greek, Spanish, and English. There can be anywhere
from 15 to 35 students in each
class. Unlike SHP, where a majority of the students participate in
an after-school sport, students in
France do sports during the day
as one of their classes. The different sports they can take can range
from running to swimming to ice
skating to volleyball.
Romina Galarza from Peru
explains that, unlike schools in
America, her high school career is
only three years. In Peru, school
ends at 3:00 p.m., but on Thursdays students finish at 4:00 p.m.
for extra help, a practice that is
similar to Office Hours here at
SHP. Romina also plays basketball
at her school.
Having been at Sacred
Heart for a while, Marifer admits
that she loves nachos, but isn’t a
fan of Lulu’s Mexican restaurant.
“When I went to Lulu’s one day,
they had green tortillas, which
you would never find in Mexico,”
laughs Marifer. Maëlle’s favorite
American food is chocolate chip
cookies, but she doesn’t like granola bars. For all three exchange
students, English is the most
popular language to take at their
schools. “To graduate, you have to
have a certificate that states that
you can fully speak English,” explains Marifer.
Romina, Marifer, and
Maëlle all had unique surprises
when they came to America. “The
atmosphere is different in my
school, where there are only girls,”
comments Romina. “Sacred Heart
is also extremely big, compared to
my school, which is much smaller. There is a lot of walking in
between classes.” Marifer agrees,
“I love the big, green spaces here.
And all of the people here are very
school spirited, which is so funny!” Maëlle notices that girls and
boys are friendlier in France, and
boys here are much more shy than
French boys.
Marifer explains that American slang such as “that sucks”
and “oh my gosh” are also used in
Mexico. “A lot of people say ‘bro,’
which is funny to hear at both Sacred Heart and in Mexico.”
The exchange program kicked off at the club fair last fall.
Photo by Selby Sturzenegger ‘14.
Chorus On Their Way to Rome
By Matthew Blaisdell ‘16
This summer, from June 1422, members of the SHP Chorus 1
and Advanced Chorus classes will
visit Rome to participate in a choral festival. They will perform the
song “Vivaldi’s Gloria,” and visit
many fascinating areas of Italy.
In total, about 35 chorus
members along with their teacher, Mr. Skaff, and several parent
chaperones will embark on this
adventure. While at the choral
festival, the SHP chorus will combine with the Butler University
chorus and a couple other youth
choruses to perform “Vivaldi’s
Gloria.” In addition, the SHP
chorus will do its own concert in
Florence. As if this were not exciting enough, Mr. Skaff reports
many other activities in which the
chorus will participate. “Outside
of the festival we’ll be doing many
guided tours to the Vatican museums, ancient Rome, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and more,”
Mr. Skaff explains. The chorus
will even be experiencing Sacred
Heart half way across the world,
as they visit the RSCJ in Rome
and see Mater Admirabilis at the
steps.
Chorus members report
being extremely excited for the
trip. “I’m really thrilled to see all
the sites and sing in the festival
with my friends,” says Nick Conroy ’16, “The trip will be my first
time in Italy and will definitely be
a very memorable experience for
me.” Members of the SHP chorus
have kept busy by raising money
to offset the cost of this incredible trip. “We are doing all kinds of
fundraising,” says Mr. Skaff, “from
See’s candy sales to car washes,
and maybe our own talent show.”
Other fundraisers that chorus has
been conducting include three
Amici’s Pizza “Dine Out for SHP
Choir” evenings, a Jamba Juice
cart at Homecoming, and sales of
choir “Songs of the Heart” DVDs
and CDs. Exciting though the trip
may sound, it’s not all fun and
games. Vivaldi’s Gloria is an extremely complicated song, and it
is even more daunting without the
full choir present. “I’m a little nervous about having to know and
perform all the music,” says Nick.
“But I’m confident that in the end
we’ll be able to pull it off and give
a stunning performance.”
The SHP choir has proven itself more than capable and
their hard work will surely come
through in this amazing trip to
Rome. “It will be an incredible experience for our students to perform and tour Italy, where there
is such a wealth of music, art
and culture,” says Mr. Skaff. “We
are all very excited about it!” The
choir will be selling See’s Candy
for Easter and the third Amici’s
fundraiser will be held on Monday, April 7th. The Menlo Park
Amici’s will contribute 25% of the
proceeds from SHS purchases to
the chorus. As classmates of these
talented performers, it is important that we give them our full support and cheer for them and their
endeavors as they travel to the
Eternal City.
Advanced Chorus performs at the Holiday Treat. Photo by Mr. Roberts.
New Proccess for Class
Registration Begins
By John Desler ‘16
Although there are six
months until the beginning of
the next school year, Sacred Heart
Prep students have begun the process of signing up for next year’s
classes. In the past weeks, many
departments have sent out Google Forms to gauge the level of interest for several classes. Students
were supposed to fill out these
forms, but their answers didn’t
sign them up for the class they
chose. Instead the results were
used to determine the number of
periods of a class there should be
in order to fulfill each student’s
desires. Jack Materman ‘15 commented, “It can seem premature
to collect ‘course preference’ data
from the student body so early,
but I hope it raises the chances everyone will be satisfied when they
receive their schedules.”
Students will ultimately
choose their classes for the upcoming year when they meet with
their advisors. Freshmen and
sophomores will meet with their
academic advisors, and while juniors will talk to college counselors. The advisors should have already sent emails to their advisees,
inviting them to schedule a meeting during February or March to
plan next year’s classes. They will
personally input students’ course
requests. This is different from last
year, where students had to put
their requests into Net Classroom
in a confusing process. Academic
advisor Mrs. Bowe Ullman explained the change, “This year the
advisors are actually putting that
information in instead of yourself.” Many new classes are available to students for next year and
by meeting with advisors they can
ask questions about the courses.
New classes include a sports nutrition course in science, graphic
design honors, and intensive Latin. Ms. Filice explained that the
new classes “represent ideas that
came from students in their surveys.” With all the great choices
for future classes and approaching
deadlines to meet with the advisors, tudents should begin making up their minds on their future
classes at Sacred Heart Pred.
Michael Duane considers history
courses. Photo by Aubrey Gavello ‘15.
Spirit Week Recap: Craziest Time of the Year Does Not Dissapoint
By Michelle Galliani ’15
Spirit Week: an indescribable, high intensity, energy-draining set of days in which true competitors emerge and classes unite
in hopes of holding the highly
sought after class cup. Spirit Week
2014 brought new challenges and
even greater competition. The
freshmen, dressed as Aliens, had
only a minuscule idea about what
the week was going to hold. The
sophomores transformed SHP
into the wonderful world of Willy
Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The
juniors, proving they were “born
for this” crawled into the week as
an intimidating group of 154 babies. The seniors, the Spirit Week
veterans, boogied through the
week as legends of the 70’s. The
chosen themes reflected the creativity of each grade and allowed
for great diversity in costumes,
music, props, cheers, and more!
After a long day of lobby
building on Sunday, the classes
were welcomed back into SHP the
next day: Color Day. After the traditional opening ceremonies, the
crowd quieted to watch the class
movies, each unique in its plot
and approach. At the end of the
day, the classes competed on the
big screen in Super Smash. Monday brought the first upset of the
week as juniors Nikki Falkenberg
’15 and Rustin Baradar ’15 took
home first place for the rest of the
ecstatic blue class.
Tuesday brought even more
excitement as each class dressed
according to their themes. Freshmen sported “out of this world” attire and alien heads, sophomores
dressed as Oompa Loompas and
candy canes, juniors crawled in
onsies, bibs, and pacifiers, and
the seniors were decked out in
sequins, flare jeans, and crazy
prints. In the morning, each grade
danced and “sang” their heart out
in lip syncs. During lunch, SHP
was a busy place as the juniors
had their very own story time in
Koenig cafeteria, followed by an
Oompa Loompa flash mob, and
a spontaneous disco dance party.
In the afternoon, the classes met
in McGanney for the new event,
jousting. Individuals faced head
to head with large batons with a
common goal of knocking the
other opponent off the pedestal
and onto the inflatable bouncy.
Unfortunately, because the event
was new, time constraints caused
the game to be ended early. Ultimately, the juniors and seniors
tied for first.
Wednesday was “Letter
Day.” The freshmen, with the letter F, dressed up as FBI agents,
complete with suits and ties and
aviators. The tenth graders, with
the letter T, escaped to the tropics, with sunscreen, swim suits,
and beach attire. The juniors,
given the letter J, threw it back to
the era of their infancy, the 90’s,
with all jean get-ups. The seniors,
assigned the letter S, made a very
timely decision to enter into the
world of the Winter Olympics
occurring in Sochi, Russia. Each
member of the class was assigned
a country and they dressed accordingly, complete with their
country’s flag. In the morning,
the seniors made an olympic entrance into Quiz Bowl. KMo led
the entire school in fun, interactive questions, which even involved teacher videos. Ultimately,
the seniors emerged victorious as
two-time quiz bowl champs. That
afternoon, the classes met for the
secret event: floor hockey. After
two full matches between the seniors and freshmen without any
goals scored, the refs elected to
break the tie with free shots. The
seniors defeated the freshmen
and were placed into the winning bracket. The same situation
occurred in the match between
the sophomores and juniors, but
Sloan Maples’ ’16 long free shot
finish sent the sophomores into
the winning match. By the end,
the seniors placed first, followed
by the sophomores, juniors, and
freshmen.
Thursday, arguably the longest day of the year for SHP students, was Crazy Day. Dressed
in silly hats, colorful tights, mismatched socks, and odd hair
styles, each class was eager for
the last day of competition. Each
class entered into Harman unsure
of what the amazing race had in
store. Visible on the large screen
in Harman were four locations in
which various tasks ranging from
chicken catching, to target throwing, to swimming the length of
the swimming pool daunted the
competing teams. The event was
intense, but finished quickly as
the teams sprinted into Harman
and were asked to stuff a plate of
twinkies into their mouths and
then complete a puzzle set. The
results corresponded with class
order. After multiple “Let them
sing” cheers were defiantly shouted by the four classes in unison,
the Love Bugs were invited onto
the stage to deliver their serenade. Despite their hoarse voices, the Love Bugs sounded better
than ever and only left the student body wanting more. Later
that day, the classes reconvened
for dodge ball, where the seniors
emerged victorious.
Finally, the week brought
Rock N’ Jock, the quirky, iconic
event of SHP Spirit Week. With
nearly all students in attendance,
decked out in their class colors,
Rock N’ Jock was the last hoorah,
the final chance for a student to
lose their voice. It is safe to say
people were their loudest, most
competitive selves that Thursday
night. After the first two games,
the freshmen were faced by the
sophomores, and the juniors were
faced by the seniors. After many
half-court shots by the “flamingos” and swooping plays by the
“superheroes,” the class of 2014
won Rock N’ Jock for the second
consecutive year. It was a night of
fun for all.
Friday was nothing but laziness as students came in sweats,
slippers, and robes. With hoarse
voices and ringing ears, SHP kids
are always their most tired the last
day of the week. The community
gathered in Harman for the last
time of the week for the closing
ceremonies, complete with a recap video, acknowledgements,
and the results. Both spirit and
most of the week’s event’s saw the
seniors in first place, juniors in
second, sophomores in third, and
seniors in fourth. The Class of
2014 finally got their hands on the
coveted class cup, allowing them
to lavish in the victory of their last
SHP Spirit Week and leaving the
rest of the classes excited for their
opportunities for victory in the
upcoming years.
Van Parking Sparks Controversy
Rough Moment in SHP’s
History Recalled
By Ted Catlin‘16
Heart Beat StaffWriter
SHP has a vibrant, rich history. There were, however, times
when the school was not as populated or successful as it is now.
Mrs. Elaine Barry, director of the
CSS, attended SHP in the 80’s and
graduated in the class of ‘87. Mrs.
Barry recalls many experiences
very similar to what SHP students
have today, such as playing tennis,
participating in drama productions, and running for student
council (and losing). She attend-
Parking signs in the Senior Lot mark new van spots. Photo by Megan Fishback ‘16.
By Lauren Glasby ’14
The new van parking in the
senior lot has caused a lot of buzz
in the Sacred Heart community.
The administration chose to move
the vans to prevent further damage, because they were becoming
worn due to dirt, animal feces,
and tree sap. Many students find
this to be a bad excuse and are unwilling to accept this as the reason
for the change in parking.
The vans take up over a
dozen spots of the senior parking
lot, and this has angered quite a
lot of the seniors, especially since
some of the vans are not being
parked in the new spaces allotted for them. Parking is already
limited, so now it is even harder
to find a place to park, especially if someone comes late or has
a free period first. Many seniors
are being forced to park in the
far end of the junior lot and are
frustrated that they can’t park in
their own lot. Victoria Nazari ’14
says, “There was nothing wrong
with the van parking beforehand,
and it worked for everyone. Why
fix something that’s not broken?”
Many seniors have chosen to park
in these spaces, anyway, until they
started receiving parking violations that amplified their anger.
Others are also concerned
about the larger class size of the
current freshmen and sophomores and how these classes will
fit into the senior lot in the years
to come. Though a lot of students
are upset by the van situation,
others are not bothered. Marissa
Cassar ’14 says, “We have a lot
of parking and half of the faculty
doesn’t even park on campus, so
we shouldn’t complain.” While
some students are upset about
having to walk from the end of
the junior lot, faculty and staff
members have to walk from the
church down the street, a significantly longer walk than that of the
students.
The change in location of
the van parking has sparked a
lot of controversy and has been a
hot topic in conversations around
campus. While some are outraged
and others indifferent, the administration has made up its mind to
move the vans into the senior lot
despite the debates that have arisen because of it.
but almost three times as many
boys were accepted. In his class
there were 18 boys and 38 girls,
much larger numbers than just
three years prior. However, with
those rising numbers, the available classrooms were dwindling.
The earthquake of ‘89 condemned
Main Building as dangerous, so all
the classrooms and offices there
had to be moved to McGanney,
Sigall, Morey, and a set of trailers.
Unfortunately, the campus was
not as gifted as the gators of today
to have the Homer Building, instead there was a softball field in
Remnants of an older Main Building remind us of our heritage.
Photo by Allison Harman ‘14.
ed SHP both when it was all-girls
and co-ed, giving her a unique
perspective. When boys were
brought into the school in 1984,
Mrs. Barry’s sophomore year, a
lot of action was being taken to
keep SHP going. Sacred Heart
was suffering economically, and
the head of schools, Sister Nancy Morris, decided that opening
the school up to boys would help
give the school the extra income
that it needed. The first year that
boys attended the Prep, they were
only brought in as freshman and
sophomores. In Mrs. Barry’s class,
there were 36 girls and 7 boys.
Mr. Kevin Morris ‘90, SHP
department chair of computer
science, also had a small class,
its place. The cafeteria was in McGanney, where the robotics room
is today, and assemblies were held
in Sigall. Mr. Morris also spoke
about the activities that the students participated. As the ASB
president, an editor for the yearbook, and member of varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball, he
knows a lot about juggling various
commitments.
In order to keep those
sports going, almost every boy
in their grade had to participate.
At that point, SHP was going
through some rough times, and
the leadership and commitment
by the students and faculty in the
80’s helped forge the smooth path
we tread upon today.
Kitsch Throughout the Ages
By Komal Kumar‘16
Hilarious, entertaining, exciting. These are just a few of the
adjectives used to describe one of
the most well known groups on
campus, Kitsch.
Kitsch was founded in
1999 by two SHP students, Joe
Brady, ‘00 and Briggs Hatton ‘01.
Originally established as a theatrical comedy troupe exclusive
to only serious drama students,
Kitsch has evolved significantly
over time. Mr. Brady, an English
teacher here at SHP, is the younger brother of Joe Brady and participated in the group during his
years at SHP. He says, “It’s almost
surprising to see how long Kitsch
has lasted and how much the has
group has grown. It was originally
established as a theatrical group
for students who were dedicated
to the art of improvisational comedy. Recently, it has become more
of a social phenomenon, more directly geared toward crowd-pleasing entertainment.”
A few things however, still
remain the same: the group’s
popularity and influence on the
SHP campus. When Kitsch was
first established, Mr. Brady says,
“The athletic and music programs
weren’t as developed as they are
today, so instead many more
kids were involved in the drama
and theater department. Around
50 kids would try out for a spot
in the troupe, which consisted of
roughly the same number of people as it does today- around 8-12
people.” Even back then, “Kitsch
was a popular group and everyone would take their friends in
groups to go and watch them perform.”
Students at SHP love going
to Kitsch performances, as Julia
Basnage ‘17 says, “You will practically never find a single person
that has regretted going to Kitsch.”
Paige Kelly ‘17 agrees, saying
Kitsch is a “nice way to get ones
mind off of school work, as well as
see how truly talented kids at SHP
are on stage.” Farbod Nowzad ‘15,
a current member of Kitsch, talks
about the fostering of community provided by Kitsch as well. He
says, “Kitsch is the best aspect of
SHP for me. The amount of fun
that we have at practice is unprecedented and the camaraderie that
the kitschers build is a huge part
of why I do it.” Mr. Brady sums up
Kitsch as a “Student-made, student-run, student-fostered, overall fun and relevant way to build
community, and a great thing for
a student community to do on a
Friday night.’’
The Kitschers of 2004 pose for Abercrombie and Kitsch.
Photo provided by Mr. Brady.
The Kitschers of 2012 perform in Harman. Photo by Andon Espeseth ‘12.
Dressed to Impress: Boys Soccer Athlete of the Issue:
By Will Mishra ’14
As many of you may have
noticed, the Varsity Boys Soccer team has some pretty amazing style. It is not just their style
on the field (the team is 13-1 in
league and already clinched the
league title with 3 games to play),
but also the style of their clothing.
For each game day, the members
of the team will come to school
decked out in whatever theme
they decide, no matter if it is 100
degrees outside, raining, or the
middle of December.
Like most sports teams, the
Boys Soccer Team has some traditions of their own. For example, every year for the first game
against Menlo, “Catalina Wine
Mixer” is the theme for school that
day. For many of you, the Catalina Wine Mixer may remind you
of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly
in Step Brothers, and that’s absolutely right. On this day, all the
guys on the team come to school
in khaki shorts, a dress shirt with
no tie, a sweater wrapped around
their necks, and Sperry’s. Oh, but
absolutely no wearing the Sperry’s without socks…it’s tradition.
As senior Danny Cody explained,
“You always know when the boys
play Menlo, they always wear their
Catalina Wine Mixer clothes.”
Similarly, every year the
Boys Varsity Soccer team will
wear Business Casual or Hawaiian Shirts for a few games. Usually the Hawaiian shirts come out
for games against Pinewood or
Crystal, but it changes from year
to year. Yes, many of you may be
wondering why anyone would
want to wear Hawaiian shirts in
the middle of January and February. Well, we live in California, so
frankly it is not that cold, and yes,
you guessed it, it’s tradition.
But, all these traditions
don’t mean the team ever comes
up with new ideas. In fact, a few
weeks ago Havana Nights saw its
debut on the SHP campus. So,
all the guys on the team came
dressed in Khakis pants, and Hawaiian shirt, and a white ribbed
tank top. Who knows, maybe in
the coming years even crazier
themes will come about. But, just
as Casey McDonald stated, “It
doesn’t matter what theme they
decide to dress up as, the soccer
team never disappoints. Everyone
loves it.”
SHP Dub Club to Happen Soon
By Mason Randall ’16
The Warriors Club, also
known as the Dub Clubs, was
founded last year by Kevin Donahoe ’13, Adam Marquardt ’13 and
Griffin Lee ’13. This year, the club
will be continued by Allison Harman ’14, Carter Kremer ’14 and
Will Walecka ’14. These three seniors are confident they will bring
the same level of energy that was
present last year.
Will, Carter and Allison expect to attract a large crowd and
better snacks at the upcoming
meetings. Carter comments,“I
think our success will ride with
the success of the team and how
often we host meetings. With this
year’s team and our level of commitment, I think that the club has
a lot of potential.” As of now, the
Warriors hold a record of 35 wins
and 23 losses and are sixth in the
Western Conference standings.
If the team continues at this level, they will most likely make the
playoffs and allow for exciting
Dub Club meetings to happen.
When asked about getting
females to come to the meetings,
The new leaders of the Dubs Club are excited to begin hosting meetings!
Photo by Kelly Willard ‘14.
Will said, “last year Adam talked
a lot about getting more female
attendees at our events, and I
think that’ll happen this year because we have a female club leader.” Since all club leaders are now
second semester seniors, they’ve
agreed to have more meetings.
Other than watching big Warriors games, the meetings also are
an excuse to hang out with your
friends on week nights. Allison
adds, “being a big Warriors fan, I
found the Warriors club last year
to be a very exciting way to watch
the playoffs with other warriors
fans. I thought it was awesome
that most of the fans at our school
came together to watch the big
games, despite grade level! I am
excited to continue this sense of
both school pride and warriors
pride with Will, Carter and all
of the other fans at school very
soon!” The leaders encourage all
fans to come to the meetings and
watch the big games together!
Frosh/Soph Girls Add to Varsity Teams
By Frank Bell ’16
The SHP Girls Varsity Basketball and Varsity Soccer teams
are extremely lucky to have a large
support from underclassmen. The
Girls Varsity Basketball team is
very lucky to have Riley Hemm
’16, Ma’ata Makoni ’16, Natalie
Zimits ’17, and Layla Waters ’17.
These underclassmen add to an
already skilled group of upperclassmen, predominately seniors.
Both Riley and Layla are starters
on the team, and Riley averages 12
points a game. With such a great
group of underclassmen girls the
entire Sacred Heart community
should be excited to see what this
team can do over the next couple
of years.
As for the Girls Varsity
Soccer team, there are eight underclassmen on varsity. Emma
Johnson ’16, Carey Bradley ’16,
Cameron Gordon ’17, Olivia
Athens ’17, Mckenna Angotti’
17, Tierna Davidson ’16, Katie
Harrison ’17, and Riley Shanahan ’16 have a big role on the team
as the younger players. The team
has been doing great, and Tierna
Davidson ’16 says, “I absolutely
love being an underclassman on
the soccer team. I really enjoy
making friends from all the grade
levels.” Similar to the basketball
team, the soccer team is looking
towards the next few years with
this large group of underclassmen. “With such a strong underclassmen group adding to the experienced upperclassmen group,
our team has become quite good,”
Tierna says. “It’s also nice to know
that as the seniors graduate, and
then eventually the juniors graduate, our underclassmen group
will become a very strong group
of upperclassmen and hopefully
lead the team successfully.” Tierna’s positivity towards the future
is shared by many of the soccer
players. All of these underclassmen girls are making a great impact on their teams, and should
make Sacred Heart excited for the
future of SHP Girls Varsity Basketball and Soccer.
Blair Hamilton
Blair Hamilton ’14 clears the ball out. Photo provided by Smugmug.
By Tara Ritchey ’16
Blair Hamilton ’14 is
known for her fantastic soccer
skills. “I have been playing soccer
ever since I can remember,” Blair
says. Her favorite part of the game
is getting the chance to meet new
people and bond with them over
soccer. As a student-athlete, Blair
loves having the chance to play on
the soccer team at Sacred Heart.
Blair plays soccer year-round on a
club team as well. Blair loves playing really close, intense games, especially if her team wins. “I love
the camaraderie and competitiveness of the game,” exclaims Blair,
“It is so much fun!” One of her
favorite parts about the Sacred
Heart team has been meeting the
amazing underclassmen. “Blair
sets a great example as a senior on
the team,” Riley Shannahan ‘16
says, “she is a fantastic, supportive
teammate.”
Blair’s competitive drive
and love for the game continues
to motivate her to constantly improve and excel in soccer. As the
goalie, she does not get to play in
the field that much, but she enjoys
“the chances to play on the field
and help the team with at least a
couple of big plays.” She has many
goals in mind as the season continues.
“This season I really hope
that we do really well in CCS,”
says Blair, “especially because it’s
my senior year.” The team looks
strong this year and Blair believes,
“At the rate we are headed I really
think our team can pull through
and do really well in the next couple of weeks”.
Bumpin’ it with the
Pre-Game Mixtape
By Kohki Kitano ’14
Scientists have proven that
listening to up-beat songs before
sporting competitions can in
fact help an athlete to focus and
get energized. Before the season,
senior guard Ryan Galvin and I
gathered to create a playlist that
we believe would be most efficient
in warming up and energizing the
hoopers on the Sacred Heart Prep
basketball team before each competition. “The songs pump me up
because it gives me a chance to
dance during the pregame warm
ups,” junior guard Mitchell Martella ‘15 says, “I think my dancing intimidates our opponents.”
Pumping up the players is the
main focus, but the basketball
playlist speaks to more than just
the fourteen guys wearing the
uniform, it is also about the fan
experience. Most often, the first
song that is in our playlist is for
the players but, after numerous
requests from the leaders of Gator
Nation, we have added “Animals,”
“Seven Nation Army,” and much
more.
When you see “Chicago Bulls” and “Michael Jordan,”
many immediately think of “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project, which is commonly referred
to as “The Bulls Theme Song”.
Now, when one thinks of the Sacred Heart basketball team, many
think of “Type of Way” by Rich
Homie Quan, which is turning
into the basketball team’s theme
song.
After every win, the basketball team plays this song in the
locker room to celebrate the hard
work and success of each of the
members on the team. Inspired
by the Michigan State Spartan’s
locked celebration at the Rose
Bowl, the Nae Nae is also incorporated in the song as the team
gathers in a circle, with one player
dancing in the middle; his mind
empty, and his body controlled by
the natural beat of the song.
Athlete of the Issue: SHP’s 6th Man On the Court
Corbin Koch
By Taylor Oliver ’14
Heart Beat Sports Columnist
Sacred Heart basketball
games have become a cultural
phenomenon here at the Prep.
Students fill the gym game in and
game out making the Swamp one
of the toughest places to play. The
Sacred Heart 6th Man has become
so hostile this year that a group of
about fifteen seniors students had
to have a meeting with Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Quattlebaum, and Mr.
Bell in order to try and tame the
beast that is our 6th Man. When
teams come to the Swamp, fear
covers their face as soon as they
see the stature of the 6th Man.
Recently, there has been
some controversy over the administration’s decision to prohibit
some of our cheers. Mr. Rodriguez said, “The student fans have
gotten caught up in the moment
and not thought about the safety
of their friends cheering beside
them nor the high standard of
sportsmanship that is the expectation at our school.” In contrast
to Mr. Rodriguez, the students believe that the administration has
cut down on cheers to the point
where it is becoming ridiculous. It
is a Sacred Heart tradition to yell
during free throws and to turn
away from the opposing teams
players when they are announced,
but all of a sudden, the administration has banned these cheers
and traditions.
Students love going to
games because they feel that they
make an impact on the game.
“The best part about being a part
of the 6th man is screaming as the
other team shoots,” Julia Buchsbaum ‘14 states, “Even though I’m
not sure if they hear me, I think
it’s funny. At the Pinewood game
they missed 10 shots in a row as I
screamed.” Blake Marcus ’16 added, “Going to the basketball games
builds community and lets people
forget about things for a few hours
by screaming and cheering.” He
continued, “My favorite moment
this year was when the players let
us in the locker room after the
Menlo game and we sang along to
‘Type of Way’ with them.”
Sacred Heart’s 6th Man
loves getting rowdy, but after
recent events, it has become increasingly difficult. We’ve been set
back, but there is no doubt we will
bounce back and Rep the Prep
during CCS Playoffs. The first
game of the CCS Tournament is
tomorrow, Saturday March 1, at
the Kaiser Permanente Arena in
Santa Cruz. See you all there!
Corbin boxes out a Menlo Knight during an intense game.
Photo provided by SmugMug.
By Jessica Koenig ’15
It would be an understatement to say that Corbin Koch
’15 has had a good season. He
has had an amazing season, and
earned the Palo Alto Athlete of
the Week recognition most justly.
Corbin, a shooting guard, started
on last year’s 2012-2013 Varsity
basketball team as a sophomore.
With his obvious talent, Corbin
contributed immensely and made
a definite mark on last year’s basketball team. His evident skills
on the court last year were very
impressive, thus establishing
some pretty high expectations for
him this year. In order to fulfill
these expectations, Corbin really worked on ball handling and
strength and conditioning with
Coach Henry during the off-season. Corbin has surpassed all
high expectations, and his stats
show just how great of a year he
has had so far. Corbin has averaged 17.7 points, 7.9 rebounds,
and 2.4 steals per game. In one
very intense game against Harker,
the Gators won 52-48, and Corbin
managed to score 24 points, including three three-pointers and
one outstanding dunk. Despite
Corbin’s natural talent, he said,
“I still definitely need to work to
improve my game, and this year
I’m focusing most on improving
my defense, and doing a lot of
drills that will help me react more
quickly on defense.” This season
Corbin has impressed us all, and
as the season progresses Corbin
will definitely continue to wow us
with his genuine talent and skill.
Charlie Duane ’14 leads the famous “Parting of the Red Sea” cheer at a home game. Photo provided by SmugMug.
Mavericks 2014: International Stars Take On Half Moon Bay
By August Howell ’15
Heart Beat Surf Columnist
On January 25, 2014, I was
fortunate enough to witness the
2014 Mavericks Invitational on
the water right next to all the action. The day started out overcast
but cleared with incredible waves
continuing to break over the
reef. The ominous south winds
that were forecast did arrive later in the day, making the critical
drop at Mavericks all the more
challenging. Since the Mavericks
beach was closed, my father and I
kayaked out the long way to reach
Mavericks, which involved a three
mile paddle around a channel that
rarely had breaking waves except
for the biggest of swells. That
journey paled in comparison to
the massive waves at Mavericks.
The lip of the wave would hurl itself, creating a barrel big enough
to drive a bus through on the larger waves. A few days previously,
Brazilian Alex Martins suffered a
brutal two-wave hold down, and
withdrew from the event, reminding everyone of how dangerous
Mavericks truly is.
This year the contest was
held in much better conditions
than the previous one. “It was
a great contest. It was slow, but
when it came it was really gnarly,”
said San Clemente’s Nathan
Fletcher. “It wasn’t as big as the
2010 event [which is widely believed to be one of the largest bigwave contests ever], but it was still
incredible.” Indeed, it was not the
largest day for Mavericks, but it
still had its fair share of wipe-outs
and breathtaking drops. I witnessed Nic Lamb, one of the best
young surfers in the next generation of Santa Cruz pros, take two
back-to-back brutal poundings
when he tried to stick drops that
were just not meant to be.
Not only did Body Glove
and Go-Pro claim sponsorship
of the event, but for the first time
ever, the contest was televised for
national TV, specifically Universal Sports Network. “It was really
cool that Body Glove stepped up
and supported the event,” said
Pacifica local Colin Dwyer. “We
are all really appreciative that they
supported it.” As usual, the Mavericks Festival at the Oceano Hotel contained a variety of things
for spectators to do, from skate
parks to checking out the latest
Go-Pro videos. “I think it’s a lot
safer, and people get really hyped
up because we are all in one place”
said Nick Becker ‘16, who attended the festival. “Plus the waves are
better [than last year], so people
are getting more excited.” When
the final heat approached the
waves became less consistent but
larger. The final heat consisted of
six men:
6. Anthony Tashnick, who won
the event in 2005 when he was 18.
5. Greg Long, who won in 2008
and is a full time big wave surfer.
4. Tyler Fox, from Santa Cruz and
one of the best goofy-footers at
the event.
3. Ryan Augenstein, one of the
cutting edge new wave Santa Cruz
surfers at Mavericks.
2. Shane Dorian, who competed
in his first ever Mavericks Invitational this year, and is hailed as
one of the best big wave surfers of
all time.
1. Grant “Twiggy” Baker, a South
African surfer who had just won
the previous Big Wave World
Tour event in Spain.
But he wasn’t satisfied with
just one win. He claimed back-toback wins on tour upon winning
the 2014 Mavericks Invitational.
With this win, Baker takes a substantial lead in ranking on the
Xpreshon Big Wave World Tour.
Classic Mavericks.
Waves in Half Moon Bay roll in for the Mavericks Invitational.
Photo provided by August Howell ’15.
Does SHP Limit Our Right To Party?
By Chandi Ingram ‘16
... Continued from Page
Drinking enters everyone’s life
at some point, and during one’s
high school experience, adolescents range widely in their levels
of comfort. Despite this reality, many students do not realize
the pressure they can be putting
on friends. Those who are more
cautious with the idea of drinking are forced to stay away from
the party scene in order to avoid
unwanted pressures and maintain
their freedom of choice. As parties grow more common in junior
and senior years in the SHP culture, drinking is almost expected
at parties. The pressure builds up.
The statistics of the number of
students drinking match up with
this reality. With the pressures
at parties, conformity shines at
its finest. Under the influence,
any ridiculous chant becomes
enticing and can cause people to
pressure friends into doing things
they are uncomfortable with. Going into parties, a student sees
how “people give into pressure
that they almost make up in their
head to drink,” before they are
even put in a pressured situation.
A majority of SHP students have
been involved with scenes of alcohol at some point in their high
school experience. Even if they
are drinking responsibly outside
of school, their actions may be inadvertently affecting their peers.
Drinking is as integrated in the
“I think teenagers
are going to drink
no matter what.”
Sacred Heart Prep culture as any
normal high school, but unfortunately it has created an unintentional divide in the school
that many may not realize. SHP
may be a family, but the students
can become increasingly distant, as judgments are passed on
each other’s choices and actions.
We, as a collective student body,
should be aware of the environment around us and be sensitive
to what is going on in our community, whether we are involved
directly in them or not.
“People at Sacred Heart are way more
exclusive about their parties. Invite
only? Please. You have plenty of room.
The public school parties I’ve been too
are way more inclusive than SHP’s.”
All quotations taken from Heart Beat survey. Students were
granted anonymity to ecourage frank and honest dialogue.
Run Like the Guggenheim
By Alex Mitchell ‘14
Heart Beat Creative Writer
What follows is a first person
narrative and a fictional account
of a party that did not exist. I am
not the main character, and, for
argument’s sake, we can name him
Steve. Please do enjoy.
I arrived at the party at 9:41
PM. That’s a good time for a party
to start, late enough for it to feel
like it could rage all night, and
early enough for when we inevitably finish at midnight. I had
power-walked about a half mile
with the guys, along the rolling
roads of Portola Valley to get to
the house. Making sure that anyone driving by just thought we
were going for a casual, 9:30 PM,
night-time stroll.
Why’d we park so far away?
Escape logistics. If the cops were to
come (a problem that has plagued
high school party-goers since the
beginning of time. In fact, even in
Plato’s time Homer was noted as
doing multiple keg stands in one
night, and then having to call his
parents to get a ride home when
the cops came) we would be set.
There are, ultimately, two options
for partygoers to choose from:
You can either:
1.Stay
2.Run like the Guggenheim
There is an important discrepancy to illustrate between the
two options, so let me iterate:
1.So you’ve decided to
stay. Most likely you’ve been
hushed into an annexed room
of the house with all drunken
and sober guests. One individual is on a repeated meditation of
“shh,” so lengthy that you think
you’re listening to white noise. A
few drunk partiers insist on making sounds so the cycle of “shhs”
roars on. Inevitably the hosts will
inform you that the police have
discovered the party, and one by
one the guests need to exit the
room. Interestingly enough, even
those who were sober are now
stumbling out into the hall. The
police can be seen at the door, politely holding back and suggesting
that the party should probably
come to an end. No one will be
arrested because, ya know, we’re
wealthy and most-likely white.
You are told to call your parents
for a ride, and, for some reason,
you called Über instead. As you
leave you give the host the customary, “if there is anything I can
do to help-- ” because, like everyone, you want to be invited to the
next party. Finally you meet the
Über driver, he knows not to ask
any questions, and you’re in bed
before midnight.
2. Welcome to running like
the Guggenheim, aptly named
because I could not use another
word. You heard the word “cops”
and saw the field behind the
house. You went for it. You took
off with a friend, or a cute girl if
you were lucky, but most likely it
was the chubby kid with asthma.
You throw your bottle off into
the brush, and drop to the floor.
A few minutes later and nothing
has happened, you start to crouch
along the field in the night. Your
feet are deep in mud, your khakis
are now beyond repair, and you
can’t decide when to go to the
road. Thank God you parked five
blocks away. You reconvene with
whatever partygoers who also escaped, you’re at your car. You feel
like you’ve just cheated the entire system. You’ve broken out of
prison. You’ve won. So you drive
home, you’re in someone’s bed by
midnight.
At this point, we’re through
the front door of the party. The
majority of individuals bob
around the front door. A few nods
are given as we move through the
party. There are text messages on
phones:
“Hey, can you get me in tonight?”
“Dude, you owe me one.”
“Ask her if it’s alright if I
come?”
We know the words of these
texts so well because we’ve written
a good number of them ourselves.
In the bowels of the party
now, tucked somewhere in the
belly of the beast, all the high
school stereotypes are happily
flowing. Malt liquor, vodka, whiskey, rum, Bud, Coors, Fireball,
all the friends are here. Weed is
pleasantly being puffed outside.
Music is rumbling behind raucous alcohol-infused conversation. The non-drinkers are either
operating within the drunks, or
have annexed themselves to the
balcony, where, unfortunately, they have run into the weed
smokers. (Important clarification:
Sacred Heart does not have “weed
smokers,” but instead has students
who smoke weed. A world of difference.) You can paddle through
the spilled alcohol, watching
individuals give what I like the
call the “Urkel Nod.” (The Urkel
Nod: when an individual with
two hearty glasses of a beverage
attempts to make as much eye
contact with other party-goers
as to confirm that he is, in fact,
at this party). There is customary
beer pong, as one would expect. If
it is a class-exclusive party, there
are a number of hookups that will
be jovially recounted for years to
come. But all such parties follow a
certain tacit equation.
(Drink + Speak)4
One must drink and speak
an equal amount, in alternating
intervals, in order to avoid being
maligned as either too much of an
alcoholic or to completely dry.
Ultimately, the party will
quiet down, and the partier,
much like South, will insist that
he or she will rise again. Whether
you love them or you hate them,
and whether you attend them or
you don’t, parties will affect the
benchmark experiences of your
high school career. So should you
attend or not? That’s the decision
to make every Friday night. It’s
your choice to do what you want,
and the greatest mistake that I’ve
seen, and occasionally made, is
having others make that decision
for you.
and people who don’t. Rarely do
you get someone in between.”
Students militantly in the
anti-drinking camp are quick to
label party-goers as “divided and
cliquey,” “elite and superficial,”
and even “f***ing morons that
should get high on life instead.”
On the other hand, a large portion of students believe “Sacred
Heart needs to stop caring about
parties” and that “it’s none of their
business and they need to let people live their own lives and learn
from their mistakes.”
Clearly there is a sizeable
disparity in both opinion and
lifestyle among the student body,
but the fact of that matter is that
kids drink. Excluding the freshmen, over 50% of the student
body is consuming alcohol on at
least a monthly basis according
to our survey. An understanding
and mutual agreement must be
reached, because frankly the level of hostility expressed in these
comments could not be less consistent with the goals set forth in
our school’s mission. The taboo
and silence that surrounds this
phenomenon is getting us nowhere, and the only alternative is
for us to let go of our reservations,
put it on the table, and talk about
it.
It’s Time to Talk
By Jack Blaisdell ‘14
Alex Bourdillon ‘14
Allison Harman ‘14
Selby Sturzenegger ‘14
Heart Beat Editors-In-Chief
The graphs show the results of two of the survey questions sent to the Student
Body. All anonymous quotes are taken from the survey as well.
Images provided by Survey Monkey.
An undeniable allure surrounds the high school party
scene. The drinking, the exclusivity, the rebellion of the act: together they form the perfect cocktail
for relieving the pressures and
mundanity of ordinary teenage
life. But such a hot topic invariably generates contention. From
the perspective of an anonymous
commenter on our school-wide
Survey Monkey, “There’s a huge
divide between people who drink
In Defense: It’s for the Best
By Veronica Louise Mendoza ‘15
Heart Beat Section Editor
Two weeks ago, the Heart
Beat sent out a SurveyMonkey to
the entire school to gain student
input on the “party scene” at SHP.
Two hundred and forty-four students were accounted for.
In the additional comments
section of the survey, many students expressed a feeling that the
party culture at Sacred Heart Prep
is exclusive, and also that the administration should not have to
deal with what students do during
outside-of-school events. Additionally, many comments express
concern with how huge parties
are often shut down and how
hosting a party can often be a hassle for students and their families.
It is clear that students do not like
having the school interfere with
our outside social lives; however,
many of us are missing the point.
People do not think straight
when they are under the influence, and this unfortunately leads
to regrets in the morning, bad
hangovers, and dysfunctional
teenagers. Most would argue that
this party culture is just part of
the “high school experience” and
it is inevitable. But complaining
about how the administration is
taking action when large amounts
of their high-schoolers are being
putting their health and lives in
danger because of collectively bad
decisions is not justifiable. Additionally, underage drinking and
the drug usage are illegal anyway.
Having the school monitor and
take action when large parties
take place prevent run-ins with
the even more draconian laws.
Remember our values. Sacred Heart is an institution where
our high school career cares about
educating the whole child. This
means teaching the five goals to
us through our academic, athletic,
and artistic education. This means
having a strict zero-tolerance policy when we are on campus. This
means looking out after us even
when we do not want it.
They’ve all been our age.
They know what it’s like and it’s
no secret, either. But, objecting
to the choices of our administration when it comes to things that
are illegal, dangerous, and cause
irreparable damage to the entire
community, it’s no question why
they look out after us.
“I don’t think that parties are meant
to be exclusive. If everyone was invited, the cops would come and people’s
houses would be trashed.”
The Bi-party-san Effect
By Emma Catlin ‘14
and Ted Catlin ‘16
Heart Beat Staff Writers
When we sat down to write
an article on partying, we were
slightly daunted because neither
of us are your stereotypical partiers or have much experience with
partying in general. I mean, when
your parents’ motto is “You party, you die,” what are you going
to do? In order to be able to write
this article, we did a fair bit of “research,” and listened to our classmates’ views on partying. What
we have witnessed is that when
confronted with the topic, many
people have strong opinions on
partying versus not partying. The
student population is split pretty
evenly between those who party,
and those who don’t. We obviously fall into the latter category.
I (Ted) think that parties by nature are highly exclusive, creat-
ing tension among friend groups
and rifts between partiers and
non-partiers. On the other hand,
I (Emma) think that parties are
more of a non-issue and are not
the deciding factor on who you sit
with at lunch.
After having a heated debate (with Alex Mitchell ‘14 as
our moderator), we came to the
conclusion that, while partying versus not partying may be
a non-issue, it does affect our
community. Partying creates different sets of shared experiences,
instead of a unified high school
experience. Diversity is necessary
for a healthy community, yet it
is not healthy when the divide is
nearly 50/50. Parties are going to
happen, and they aren’t necessarily bad. We just need to recognize
the possible rift they can create,
especially at a school that values a
strong community like ours.
3-19 SUBSTANCE ABUSE POLICY
“SHP has a zero tolerance rule for drug use and alcohol
at school or at school sponsored events. The possession,
use, or sale of alcohol or drugs on campus or at any
school-related activity is strictly prohibited. Students may
not attend school, school-sponsored functions or be on
the SHS campus while in possession and/or under the
influence of drugs or alcohol. Any student in violation of
the SHS Substance Abuse Policy jeopardizes his or her
position in the school community. The student is subject
to immediate expulsion from SHS.”
Red cups: the staple of the high school party experience. Photo provided by Google Images.
To Drink Or Not to Drink?
By Blake Freitas ‘14
What seems like a simple
question does not seem to have
such a simple answer. There are
many reasons why people both
do and do not drink, all of which
are completely valid. Oftentimes
for people, drinking has nothing
to do with drinking at all and everything to do with what drinking
represents: as a means to an end.
After talking to people
around the school, it was interesting to see some reasons that were
given for both why people do and
do not drink. For example, several people claimed to drink for
reputation. Some think people
drink to be seen as “bad,” in the
good sense of the word, and some
don’t drink in order not to be seen
as “bad,” in the bad sense of the
word.
It became clear that people
look at the same thing in two different lights. Alcohol changes the
way you act if you drink enough,
and some people take this opportunity to talk to that cute guy or
girl they’ve had their eyes on, or
maybe try something new knowing they have the excuse “I was
drunk” in their back pocket. It
was clear there are people who
subscribe to the notion that all
you need is a swig or five of the
liquid courage and you’re good to
go. Others, however, view actions
taken while drunk as generally
rash and irresponsible.
There were also, of course,
the answers that may be considered obvious such as “It’s fun”
from those who do drink and
“I’m just against it” or “I have fun
sober so why drink?” from those
who don’t drink. And then there
is the whole thing about how underage alcohol consumption is
illegal. But one observation on
the minds of both sides was that
drinking creates just that, sides.
To paraphrase Yoda, you do
or you do not drink, there is no
kind of. Many said they drink to
feel like they were part of something bigger, or because others
were doing it. They felt that it was
a way to have common ground
with someone and feel accepted. I guess there’s just something
about forcing yourself to swallow
small, or large, amounts of the
good stuff with a few friends and
cringing together as it goes down,
or kickin’ back and crushin’ a few
brews with your friends. At the
same time as it is creating these
bonds, or at least attempting to, it
also leaves people on the outside
who may not be in the social position to drink, or just haven’t tried
it so they don’t connect with the
people who have. Drinking creates two groups and can no doubt
divide people.
All in all, whether to drink
or not is an entirely personal decision, but that decision can frequently affect the dynamics between you and everyone around
you, whether you realize it or not.
The Administration’s Policy on Parties
By Dr. Everitt
Heart Beat Guest Writer
In a recent conversation
with the editors of the Heart Beat
I learned that some students wonder about SHP’s zero tolerance
policy regarding drug and alcohol
use and the SHP Administration’s
willingness to look the other way
when we learn about weekend
parties and alcohol related incidents that occur off campus
and outside of school sponsored
events. I was a little surprised to
hear that some students think the
school should do more monitoring of weekend student behavior.
Some high schools do
choose to include a 24/7 behavior
policy that could impact a student’s enrollment. As a rule, we
have chosen not to do that. Our
lack of interest in this type of policy is in no way related to our deep
concern about the types of choices that some students make on the
weekends. It is our respect for the
role of your parents in providing
the type of supervision and discipline that leads to personal growth
and maturation that supports our
current policy. However, I do call
parents when I hear that a party
is going to be held in their home.
In those situations the purpose
of my phone call is to make the
parent(s) aware of the party (in
case they didn’t know), to provide some suggestions for how
to reduce some of the risks associated with hosting parties, and
to encourage the parents to communicate with the other parents.
In most cases my call is received
positively and the parent is appreciative of my communication.
There are other situations that are
a little trickier. If I am told that a
parent served alcohol to minors,
I call the parent(s) and ask him/
her (them) if they are aware of
the laws and the liabilities that are
associated with serving children
alcohol. I also remind them that
they have chosen a Sacred Heart
education and that we do not support practices that undermine the
positive development of health
and responsible decision-making.
When a family repeatedly hosts
parties that allow minors to consume alcohol I have threatened
to withhold their child’s enrollment agreement for the following
year. To date, I have not had to
follow-through on such a threat.
Despite what students
might think, we adults support
fun weekend activities that promote positive social growth and
community building. We were
young once too and most of us
still enjoy a good party. We obviously become concerned when
students use drugs and alcohol
because the consequences can be
devastating on many levels. Our
educational philosophy, particularly as it is articulated in Goal V,
aims to develop in our students a
deep respect for the human person as expressed in self-discipline,
responsible decision-making and
accountability. These virtues are
obviously difficult to cultivate
when a student is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
I would welcome an ongoing conversation with students
about SHP party culture, drugs
and alcohol and the risky behaviors that result from their use.
Perhaps we can organize some
lunchtime conversations? Let me
know if you are interested. Dr.
Everitt is the Principal at SHP.
Photos
Provided By:
Gillian Belton ‘15
Yeon Cho ‘16
Kate Churukian ‘15
Allison Harman ‘14
Lulu Kerrigan ‘14
Drew Learner ‘16
Ellie Moultrup ‘14
Natalie Palmer ‘15
Hannah Sadat Tehrani ‘15
Kelly Willard ‘14
Spirit Week Affects Bystander Intervention Model
Inter-Grade Couples
By Alex Bourdillon ’14
Heart Beat Editor-In-Chief
By Charlie Duane ’14
and Danny Cody ’14
Heart Beat Love Columnists
Spirit Week. Although it is
looked forward to by all and can
be considered one of the most fun
and exciting weeks of the year, it
can be a major hassle for students
engaged in cross-grade relationships. Throughout Spirit Week,
tension between grades increases
ten-fold, and those in relationships must find a way to balance
schoolwork, events, dressing up,
cheering, and their love lives.
For some, Spirit Week becomes a priority, thus forcing
their relationship to the sidelines.
In this instance, the love for one’s
class and success outweigh the
love they have for their significant
other, and can lead to major problems. Prioritizing is key during
Spirit Week, and one needs to figure out what is most important to
them in the weeks prior to Spirit
Week if they do not wish to lose
everything due to carelessness.
For others, the fun nature
of Spirit Week is understood, and
they are able to participate in the
activities, but also know when he
or she has to make time for their
significant other. Spirit Week pits
grades against one another, but
those in cross-grade relationships
need to realize that, although they
are competing against one another, they can still be their normal
selves around each other and not
let Spirit Week come between
them.
Spirit Week Veteran Noah
Kawasaki ‘14 has been able to
find the perfect balance between
the craziness of Spirit Week and
making time for his junior girlfriend. “My girlfriend and I joke
about how we are enemies during
Spirit Week, but at the end of the
day, we both know we are on the
same team,” says Kawasaki. Noah
clearly has been able to make
his relationship work this Spirit
Week, despite his girlfriend being
in a rival grade.
In the corner of a buzzing
room a guy brings a girl upstairs.
Her sight is so blurry she can’t
walk. Her head is so heavy she
can’t think. Downstairs and upstairs blur together.
One in five women are sexually assaulted in college.
This issue’s Smack discusses
the implications of party culture
on our community, but partying
exists well beyond this school’s
community, where it becomes a
human rights issue. While those
outside communities may handle
harassment in their own ways,
SHP should learn to address it
among its body of young adults
who will enter these communities
in the near future.
Regardless of whether sexual harassment is an issue at SHP
now, behavior that leads to it already takes place in our commu-
nity. It’s important to start planning for or at least thinking about
situations in which harassment
could occur. For underclassmen,
who statistically party less –
Freshmen, 12%, compared to Seniors, 63%, according to a recent
voluntary and anonymous survey
conducted by the Heart Beat –
this could mean being more conscientiously aware. For seniors
this could mean considering one’s
own position as we immerse ourselves into college independence.
Many colleges and institutions are promoting bystander
intervention model as a means
of reducing or preventing harassment. The model revolves around
training students to identify and
stop potentially dangerous situations from escalating. One director of a program admits that students “need to be creative about
outmaneuvering aggressors” to
successfully divert the situation.
Researchers are also saying that
the many assaults are acts of care-
lessness, not deviously plannedout plots. Bystander intervention
has the power to protect both the
victim and the otherwise decent
peer before things get out of hand
and catastrophe lands on both.
A girl being dragged upstairs is
not in a state of mind to decide
for herself, even if she doesn’t say
“no.” This is when an objective bystander should step in.
The goal is for bystander intervention to have as much
impact as the designated driver
campaign launched by Mothers
Against Drunk Driving in the
1980s. I see bystander intervention as being a community and
personal learning experience.
What better community is
one in everyone looks out for each
other. If nothing else, bystander
intervention programs stimulate
greater awareness for our peers
and friends. Of course, we will
carry this skill as we immerse
ourselves in future communities
as citizens of the world.
For the Price of the Game
Practice Gym: Not Green?
By Savannah Kazempiour ’17
The arrival of the practice
gym has thrilled many basketball
and volleyball players upon its
completion this January. While
most athletes love the new gym,
some question whether or not it
compromises the green space on
campus.
As Sacred Heart students,
we are blessed with a beautiful
campus that has been compared
to “a small city” by sports competitors from other schools. With an
outstanding aquatics center, four
huge academic buildings, a theater, and even a farm, what more
could we ask for? The problem is
that all these wonderful buildings
take up a lot of space that was
once considered “green.” While
some believe it is counter-culture to have so few green areas on
campus when we have cultivated
ideas of conservation and sustainability in Homer and at the farm,
I disagree.
Sacred Heart is a big and
growing school. Our freshmen
class alone has 160 students and
at least 70% of them are athletes.
Personally, I play water polo and
swim, so the gym hasn’t directly
impacted me. However, I’ve heard
from my friends, such as Kyle Stalder ‘17, who plays basketball,
that “it’s a great place to practice
shots” in order to hopefully beat
rival teams such as Menlo and
Pinewood. Despite what many
say, the gym was a necessary addition to the campus. With the
farm and new garden that Mr.
Slafter says will be built over the
summer, we will have even more
green space than we do now. I
can’t think of another school that
has a farm on which students
raise chickens and milk goats. Sacred Heart is already ahead of the
game regarding environmentalism. Although there are protests,
I think the practice gym is a positive addition to the campus.
The new practice gym awaits all the eager basketball participants.
Photo by Juliana Clark ’16.
The Sochi Opening Ceremonies were marked by a technological mishap, as one of the rings did not work properly.
Photo provided by Google Images.
By Sean Stevens ’16
The Sochi 2014 Olympics,
hosted in Southern Russia from
February the 7th to the 23rd, has
turned America’s head to the recent rise in the collective cost of
sporting events. The Olympics
bind the international community through humanity’s universal
love of sports, at least in theory.
Some worry how focused (or not)
the Russian government is on this
athletic bonding, a worry that
Americans might take to reflect
on major sports events’ evasion
of “the love of the game” on a national level. The whole purpose
of sports matches is to promote
friendly competition between two
different sides. However, the producers of these high-stakes events
like the Super Bowl and the Sochi
Olympics often cloud this meaning and shift the focus to money
and appearances.
The Super Bowl’s advertisers and commissioners don’t always do their jobs purely because
they love the football event; they
do them for the profits found in
one of the largest broadcasts of
the year. As it was hosted this year
in one of the most expensive areas
of the US, the greater New York
metropolitan area, it is inherently
money-driven. The Metlife stadium,where it was held, is the most
expensive stadium in the world
($1.6 billion). It is the producers’
goal to get more viewers, which
means more advertisements,
which means more money. In
2013, an average of 111.5-million
total viewers tuned in to Fox. The
well known Super Bowl ads take
up an equal amount of time to
that of the game itself, with one
30-second spot costing approximately $4 million. So much money is poured into the Super Bowl
that it’s not hard to see that the
organizers are in for the money.
And that is when the meaning of
the game gets lost in a done-up
ad-fest.
The Sochi Olympics had
little to do with the Russian government’s love for international
sports. Rather, they were simply
a fervent display of nationalism
and corruption. Instead of admitting that their efforts to plume the
2014 Olympics were for saving
face in the international community, the Russian government
chalks up their spending to love
and support of sports. Compared
to other Winter Olympic’s costs,
such as 2002 Salt Lake City’s $2
billion, Sochi’s plods over with a
ridiculous $50 billion, 25 times as
much of that of Salt Lake’s games,
and 4 times the original budget!
Clearly not all of the money is
going to just the event. In fact,
only $6 billion, 12% of these federal funds, are to directly Olympic-related projects, such as the
stadiums, the building of the ski
tracks, etc. The rest go to “infrastructure.” Russia asserts that they
were planning to spruce up Sochi
and surrounding area anyway, but
their $8.7 billion highway from
Sochi City to the Krasnaya Polyana Mountains raises some eyebrows. It smells of a cover-up to
boost Russia’s national image. All
of this smoke-and-mirrors image
fumble is evident of the Russian
government not caring less about
how sports can tie countries together.
The creators of these events
have forgotten their mission to
elevate elite athletes and have
thrown the money into the spotlights, podiums, and their own
pockets. The thirst for considerable sums of money in these remarkable events have pushed the
true meaning of the event towards
the sideline, while the advertisers,
commissioners, and government
officials take their victories.
Is Spirit Week Too Awesome?
By Karim Ullah ‘16
Hopefully by now, your
voice has recovered from the continuous screaming that accompanies the friendly competition
between classes that we call Spirit
Week. I am sure that you had a
great time watching all the events,
experiencing shorter classes,
dressing up in psychedelic costumes, and taking numerous tests,
all of which in some way proves to
the other classes that you are very
spirited. Teachers are perhaps put
under more stress as a result of
Spirit Week, creating tests that fit
the shorter class time, losing valuable lecture periods, and dealing
with overexcited teenagers. Not
fun.
Though it may not seem
like it, teachers have important
stuff to jam into your brain, things
that will help you in the long run,
or at least until you graduate from
college (I heard trigonometric
identities are good for picking up
a date in Caltech bars). Reducing
the time they have to teach us
all these wonderful things is the
price we have to pay to accommodate for Spirit Week. The purpose
of this special February week is
to unite people within their respective classes towards a common goal, most effectively done
on Color Day when students are
color-coded, and you finally realize, “That guy is a Freshman?”
Spirit Week builds community,
but it is restricted to your class. Is
creating community only within
a class worth the lost class time?
I say yes, because if it is possible
to unite a class, why not the whole
school, or your neighborhood,
office building, research lab, refinery, foundry, anywhere? Baby
steps are a good way to learn anything, from music to mathematics
(which are more related than you
may think, but I’ll hold off on that
for now…).
What else is Spirit Week for
besides community? It may give
students a reason to persuade
their teacher to reduce the homework load, though not really, because a loss of class time should
result in more homework based
on logic. It is also just a good
mental break. Of course, Winter
Break is just after Spirit Week,
providing a full week of nothing,
but, as my good friend Sherlock
Holmes says, “The best rest is a
change of work.” Students are still
working hard during Spirit Week,
focusing on winning and doing
everything they can to prove that
their particular class is the most
spirited. Spirit Week is definitely worth the lost 10 minutes per
class, as every student on campus
would agree.
The Fluc Debate
Is Plain Silly
By Katie Putnam ’14
Heart Beat Senior Columnist
Did everyone forget about
the Justice Teach-In we had two
months ago on wealth, class, and
privilege? Yes? No? I certainly
haven’t and certainly won’t, but
this whole Fluc debate has got me
thinking that all the discussions
we had during that week have
gone out the window.
A few weeks ago, as I lay in
my bed, tired after the first day of
have Fluc than becoming passionate and active participants in the
Second Harvest Food Bank, after
school tutoring, etc (granted, I
know this is not the case for all
and most of the SHP students).
This debate just seems silly and self-centered. This is not
some noble protest against Epicurean. If people were truly upset with Epicurean’s prices they
would have boycotted it long ago
and brought bag lunches. This uproar is high school kids wanting
The State of Human Empathy
By Francesca Burlington ’15
My dog passed away on
Friday, February 7th, 2014. My
wonderful Labrador, Lucky, lived
to be eleven and had a full life. He
was loved, and loved others, so
his death impacted me greatly (I
apologize for this perhaps playing
a part in my lackluster performance during Spirit Week). I had
my opportunities to say goodbye,
to pray, and think about what his
life has done to mine. At the same
time, I thought about the overall stance of human empathy. It
seems a little bit of a stretch, to
jump from a beloved pet’s death
to this overarching theme about
what makes us feel, but I will explain.
Why is it that we bawl our
eyes out for pets, for the loved
ones in our lives, who die and suffer, yet we do not always cry for
those who experience injustice
and, in some cases, suffer even
more? One should not cry for the
loss of a loved one, but rather the
fact that they may have suffered.
Yet, when we find those who have
suffered even more, we often don’t
cry or feel any remorse. I am not
saying that we cry for every life
lost (we would never stop crying),
or that we can never get mad or
feel remorse when a life goes to
waste because of injustice. We
pick and choose. In many cases,
we get more angry or saddened
over someone gossiping about
our friend than rape culture or
human rights abuses. We may be
aware of the greater issues, but we
always find some reason to justify
our own behavior for taking care
of something lesser than taking
care of something bigger. Usually,
they are valid points. I can understand why people don’t want
to cry for all the HIV-infected
people in sub-Saharan Africa, because it seems so abstract.
All too often, however, we
act in such a way that views other
humans as abstract. We all know
that there are 7 billion people on
this Earth, but that is so inaccessible. We don’t know 7 billion
people and we haven’t seen all 7
billion people; we just know that
they simply exist. Statistics are
overwhelming, yes, but at times
they lack a story. For example, I
know that there are millions of animals who are abused, yet, when
the SPCA ad comes on, I’m bawl-
Francesca’s late dog, Lucky, lounges on a pillow, chilling after a long day.
What a lucky pooch! Photo by Francesca Burlington ‘15.
ing more than I did at the end of
Toy Story 3 (we all did, admit it).
Is that because we finally see what
we’re dealing with? Do we finally
connect with an idea? Do we temporarily forget the overwhelming
problem and realize that this one
specific creature has experienced
unimaginable neglect and pain?
Or do we realize the great power
that people like ourselves have to
do harm? I have no idea, but what
I do know is that when an idea
is abstract, we can poke fun at it.
Because rape, murder, terrorism,
sexism, death, and so many awful things are abstract to so many
people, they can be the topics of
jokes because they aren’t widely
known. One isn’t likely to make a
joke about something they know
very personally. So then, if we truly do express empathy, why don’t
we seek to learn better? Why do
we defend our apathy for such
horrible acts?
My dog Lucky loved everyone (I’m not kidding you, he even
loved all the dogs that bit him), he
knew when anyone was sad, and
though his death in many ways
was sudden, and in many ways
gradual, it was scarring. I feel
guilty. He gets to go to a better
place, and we know that he lived
well, yet I’m experiencing sadness. This is a normal response, I
understand, but then, why don’t
I, a member of the rather sympathetic human species, cry for the
animals who get beaten and neglected every day? I do not know.
Human empathy is odd, and quite
frankly human nature is strange
in general. We can give up our
lives for the ones we love, yet we
can also go around and spread
hate about those who irk us. I
just wish that I could understand
it better, in order to better honor
others, myself, and my late dog.
Alex Mitchell ’14 and Farbod Nowzad ’15 of KSHS pose with the creator of
Fluc after interviewing him on the SHP Radio. Photo by Ted Catlin ‘16.
Spirit Week, I tuned into KSHS
to listen to Alex Mitchell ‘14,
Jack Blaisdell ‘14, and Dr. Everitt
talk about Fluc. By the end of the
discussion I was, to say the least,
peeved. Perhaps I am seeing this
one-dimensionally, but I think
I know why this Fluc debate has
become such a big deal. Quite
simply, we as Sacred Heart students think that, for some reason,
we have the right to order food
from local restaurants and have
it delivered to us. We have this
“privilege.” But is this really how
we should be using and channeling the privilege we have?
More than anything, it
makes me upset to see the student
population more passionate about
whether or not we are allowed to
some tasty food, and that is silly. I
know this debate may seem small
and trivial, but this is the time we
learn about what we should care
about in the future as we mature
into young adults. Let us all take a
minute to think about the power
we have to impact the world and
how we want to do it. I know I
hope to use the privilege I have
for selfless acts, not selfish ones.
I love Sacred Heart. I love
the goats we get to see in Spirit
Week videos and the relationships
I have with my teachers. I think
we are all blessed to be offered
food that is healthy, organic, and
not fried. If you disagree, then
perhaps it is time to start bringing
your lunch from home instead of
complaining.
The Editors-In-Chief of the Heart Beat order a Crepevine feast, using Fluc.
Love Bugs Pull Heartstrings
By Natasia Pelowski ‘16
Adding to the excitement of
spirit week, SHP’s Love Bugs have
been a great tradition during this
festive time. Love Bugs are a special SHP way of celebrating Valentine’s Day and telling a special
someone you cherish them.
The Love Bugs are a group
of four guys who serenade SHP
students for a few days around
Valentine’s Day with cheesy love
songs from the 1950s. “Teenager
in Love” is a classic student favorite. Usually, students can order
love bugs for friends to tell them
how much they care about them,
or for the shier crowd, Love Bugs
can also be given anonymously.
Alec Bradford ’14 talks
about the fun of being a Love
Bug, “It’s awesome. It is great to
get to skip a few days of class to
sing to everyone at Sacred Heart.
Everyone at school seems to enjoy
seeing us perform and it is fun to
entertain.”
His favorite part about being a Love Bug is “seeing the recipients’ reactions to them singing. A
lot of people get uncomfortable
and that's kind of funny.” Alec was
a Love Bug last year for the first
time and is excited to be one again
this year. SHP and Love Bug alum
Gray Gotcher ’13 comments “traditionally it looks like we practice
a lot ahead of time, but in reality
and from what other former love
bugs have told me we pretty much
throw it together in three practices. There’s lots of procrastination
involved.”
However, not just anyone
can be a Love Bug. The auditions
consist of guys singing different
parts together while the Love Bug
returnees decide on which singers
will make the cut.
Throughout the Love Bug
years at Sacred Heart, there have
been many wonderful memories.
Drew Learner ’16 comments, “It’s
so cute! It’s always fun to watch
friends get serenaded. I think the
whole anonymous part makes it
more exciting.” Marggi De Lusignan ’16 says, “I think they are
super cute and funny! It’s a great
way to show someone you care
about them in a creative way. I got
one last year and was so embarrassed. Later, my friend Michelle
[Galliani ’15] told me she had sent
it. My birthday is the day before
Valentines Day, so it was a super
fun surprise.”
Love Bugs suit up (left) for performance (right). Photo by Mr. Roberts and Kelly Willard ‘14.
KSHS Mobile App
Promises to Revolutionize
Listening Experience
By Justin Foster ‘15
A new project is underway to develop an application
to stream the KSHS shows live.
Juniors Sean McWilliams and
Carter Boughton are heading
up the development of this new
app along with computer science
teacher Kevin Morris.
The goal of the app is to
make listening to KSHS broadcasts more accessible since it currently “isn’t the easiest thing to
do,” according to Carter. Sean and
Carter are using an iOS app builder called Xcode for the project.
The app will have the ability to
tune into the current live broadcast, display a schedule of upcoming shows, and hopefully keep an
archive of previous shows.
The process is just underway. When asked how far the
app has come, Sean said that they
“just started so there isn’t much to
show.” Currently, Sean and Carter
have completed the basics of the
menu bar. The next task is to create a way for the app to pull information from a webpage so it can
accurately display broadcasts. The
most difficult objective, tackling
the actual streaming aspect of the
app, will be saved for last.
Ideally, Sean and Carter
want to complete the app around
April. However, they both agree
that this is just a rough estimate
and that extracurricular activities
will slow down the process and
extend the completion date.
The new app, when completed, will enable KSHS listeners even greater flexibility when
listening to Sacred Heart’s own
radio station.
Screenshot of original KSHS Mobile
App. Photo from iTunes.
Students Treat Nuns to Spirit Week Showcases SHP Artists
Oakwood Variety Show
By Maddie Leupp ‘16
By Matthew Hao ‘15
Looking for a great opportunity to share music, poems, stories, or any other type of art? The
Oakwood Concerts, also known
as The Oakwood Variety Show, is
the perfect place for this! Whether singing a cover song or an original piece, juggling fruits or acting
out a scene, reading a poem or a
personal story, the nuns will always welcome everything with
open arms and huge smiles on
their faces!
The monthly Oakwood Variety Shows started about three
years ago when Mr. Lacayo first
came to Sacred Heart. Previous
band directors had taken people
over periodically, and Mr. Lacayo
wanted to continue that tradition.
Before last year, there were only
two opportunities to perform at
Oakwood; once during the holidays, and once during the springtime.
Last year, Mr. Lacayo “decided that wasn’t enough,” and altogether expanded the concerts to
a monthly series. Last year alone,
six performances were put on,
with over two hundred acts participating in all. Although previously a music show, the concerts
have become a variety filled event
with all different kinds of art. Ac-
cording to Mr. Lacayo, the variety
shows “open up more opportunities for students outside of the
music groups.” Different students
perform at each show, with an
exception of a few students who
enjoy performing at almost every show. Ally Hinson ’15 notes,
“I sang Let it Be with the ukulele club. It was really fun, and the
nuns loved it!” Even if students do
not want to show off any artistic
talents, many enjoy attending to
support fellow classmates and socialize with the nuns.
On performance days,
parents bring refreshments, and
there are usually twenty-five to
fifty people present during each
performance. All the nuns are extremely supportive and grateful,
and some sisters never miss a performance! Brenten Brandenburg
’15 notes, “It’s really fun performing for the nuns; I also love seeing
their faces while performing and
talking with them after!” Mr. Lacayo mentions, “The nuns are the
friendliest audience in the world
and are very outspoken in a good
way!” Although the performances
are at Oakwood, everyone from
faculty and staff, to parents and
alumni are encouraged to attend!
With each performance, about
twenty-five to fifty people attend,
but Mr. Lacayo “hopes that it
keeps getting bigger!”
Spirit Week is hands down
the most eventful week of the year
at SHP. Months of anticipation
and preparation prelude this week
of screaming, cheering, and competition, but most people don’t
even understand all the work that
goes into the week.
After the first Google form
to vote for the class theme is sent
out months in advance, class student council representatives work
nonstop to make spirit week be
a success. T-shirts have to be
designed, lip syncs have to be
choreographed, lobbies have to
be built, and movies have to be
filmed. Much work has already
been done, by the end of the first
semester.
Libby Muir, sophomore
class president, said, “as the week
approaches, it is important that I
stay in constant communication
with the entire class and make
sure everyone feels like they play
a role in the planning process.”
People are delegated to their certain areas of expertise; for example, Megan Texido '16 and Drew
Learner '16 are both involved
with the lobby building as they
are both very artistic. “I am working on creative preparations of
the lobby with Meghan. We have
to help overlook building days,
especially when the spirit chairs
have to work on other aspects of
the week” says Drew Learner.
Each grade gains more experience and knowledge with every spirit week, learning how to
improve for the following year.
For freshmen, it can be very hard,
especially for the spirit chairs, to
prepare for the week. Freshman
spirit chair, Brock Salzman '16
says, “It is really hard to be a spirit
chair freshmen year. Most freshmen don’t get what spirit week is,
so you get very little class participation.” Although the week causes much stress and anxiety for
class leaders, it sure brings a lot of
smiles to people’s faces by the end
of the week.
Second floor hallway in Homer, or magical wonderland? It’s hard to tell the difference. Photo by Kelly Willard ’14.
Scott’s Best Blockbuster Beats
App of the Issue: Pictohunt
By Kimberly Tsiang ‘16
Movies with quality soundtracks. Photo provided by Google.
By Scott Fitchen ’16
Heart Beat Music Columnist
A movie’s soundtrack can
be what makes or breaks the film.
The choice of music can spoil an
otherwise good movie or enhance
a film to make it truly something
else. With the Oscars coming up
this weekend, there’s no better
time to discuss the best movie
soundtracks.
5. Daft Punk, TRON: Legacy (2010) Despite a poorly-written script and lackluster characters, TRON: Legacy was a visually
stunning movie with an equally
stunning soundtrack by Daft
Punk. With futuristic, unabashedly electronic rythms iconoclastic to Daft Punk, it almost felt as
if the movie was created in accordance to the soundtrack. Along
with completing the movie’s sleek
façade, the soundtrack is a pleasure to listen to sans the colorful
motorbikes.
4. Arcade Fire, Her (2013)
Her was absolutely one of the best
movies of 2013, and Arcade Fire’s
original score for it is equally
magnificent. Also featuring Karen
O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s on
“Moon Song,” Arcade Fire managed to write a breathtaking film
score that was on par to their other studio releases.
3. Various Artists, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) Say
what you want about the Twilight
films, but the soundtracks in them
are gold. Although other installments in the series boast contributions from the likes of Vampire
Weekend and Iron & Wine, New
Moon had a truly unforgettable
soundtrack. Featuring Death Cab
For Cutie, Radiohead’s Thom
Yorke, Lykki Li, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Sea Wolf, Grizzly Bear, and
Beach House’s Victoria Legrande,
New Moon was chock-full of talented artists. Their contributions,
while not perfectly fitting into the
movie, are wonderful songs on
their own. The soundtrack manages to pack in a ton of talent and
diversity into only a couple of
songs.
2. The Chemical Brothers, Hanna (2011) Hanna was a
decently good action flick with
a great lead actress and an invigorating plot. However, the
soundtrack made this movie
one of my favorites of all time. It
brought the movie from a solid B
to an A+ with pulsating rhythms
and grating synths that enhanced
and emphasized the gorgeous cinematography like no other.
1. Trent Reznor and Atticus
Ross, The Social Network (2010)
My absolute favorite movie of all
time, The Social Network, is an
extraordinary, perhaps defining,
film of the 21st century. Nine Inch
Nails’ Trent Reznor and producer
Atticus Ross created a score that
matched the sharpness and meticulousness of the movie itself
using an unconventional blend
of electronic beats with graceful
instrumental sounds. Each song
in the soundtrack seems to grow
with anticipation and intensity, evoking a sense of suspense
and paranoia that isn’t directly
conveyed in the script itself. The
music serves as a way to evoke an
intangible, unexplainable feeling
rather than just being there to
break the silence. On a side note,
it makes for excellent instrumental music to study to.
Wonderful Winter Break Destinations
By Katherine George ’16
Winter Break comes right
after the rumble and tumble of
Spirit Week, and with teachers
cramming tests and papers before the week off, everyone needs
some time to relax and sleep.
However, sleeping is not all you
could have done over the break.
After all, one of most amazing
things to do in the winter is go
skiing or snowboarding. Tahoe is
only about four hours away, and
has some of the best resorts in the
country, so lots of people traveled
up to the mountains!
If you weren’t feeling the
snow, you could have headed to
the beach. Santa Cruz and Carmel
are only an hour or so south. You
could have easily spent a few days
there, walking to the beach each
morning to relax and watch the
surfers.
Although we live right next
to it, barely anyone ever takes a
trip to San Francisco. However,
some may have took a day trip and
stopped by Ghirardelli, headed to
Pier 39, walked up Coit Tower, or
drove or walked across the Golden Gate. The city looks incredible
lit up at night as well.
And of course, there’s always Disneyland. A short twohour flight away, Disneyland is
the happiest place on earth, and
always makes great memories.
But then again, there is the
ever classic: staying home. Sleeping in, catching up on your TV
shows, and just being lazy was one
the best ways to spend the break.
After surviving the beginning of
the semester, and the craziness of
Spirit Week, we all deserved it. So
wherever you went, and whatever
you did, we hope you enjoyed it!
The beach and San Francisco were hot destinations during Winter Break.
Photos by Selby Sturzenegger ‘14 (left) and Alex Bourdillon ‘14 (right).
SHP alum Rachel Grau ‘12,
recently launched an app in the
App store! Pictohunt combines a
bit of Snapchat and Draw Something into one exciting, interactive app. Pictohunt allows you to
take pictures of objects or people
around you and send them to
all of your friends. Sounds like a
Snapchat copycat, right?
Wrong. Here’s where it gets
interesting: along with the picture, you can send a scrambled
word that correlates with it, and
Can you guess the answer?
Photo provided by Google.
Photo provided by Google.
the aim of the game is to see who
can unscramble the most words
and send the hardest words to
unscramble. It’s a perfect game
to play with all of your besties
and see who can get the longest
“streak,” which is Pictohunt lingo
for the word that takes the longest
to unscramble. Words can range
from directly describing the object in the picture, to obscure inside jokes that only a lucky selected few will understand.
It adds a cool, unique spin
to image sharing. The only problem is that you need to have
friends who also own the app.
Of course, you can always invite
them to join. Pictohunt is an awesome way to connect and have
fun with your friends, or become
friends with someone you wish
you knew better. Recruit a bunch
of your friends to download the
app and start unscrambling!
The Hunt for Fresh Sushi
By Andrew Daschbach ‘16
Heart Beat Food Columnist
Naomi’s Sushi
If you are a sushi lover and
you haven’t made it to Naomi’s
Sushi, I advise you to make a trip
to 1328 El Camino Real, Menlo
Park, as soon as possible. Naomi’s
Sushi has been serving up some of
the freshest, most delicious sushi
in the area year after year. Some
even consider their sashimi to
be the best in the Bay! Not only
does Naomi’s offer a wide variety
of delicious sushi, they also offer
mouth-watering meats, including
teriyaki chicken and barbecue
beef. If you are vegetarian looking
to take a break from your healthy
style while maintaining your vegetable ways, they have phenomenal tempura-style mixed vegetables! If you are a Japanese food
lover, I assure you that Naomi’s
Sushi will not let you down.
Suisha house
Over the past 5 years, Suisha House has blown up on the
sushi scene, quickly becoming
a local favorite of many Sacred
Heart Prep students. One of the
many pros of Suisha House is its
location. Located on Broadway
Street in downtown Redwood
City, Suisha is in the center of
this great downtown area. As
you walk in, you are met by one
of Suisha’s many genuinely kind
servers, who seats you at your table. The servers are quick and on
top of things, serving you one of
their many Japanese style sodas
or water depending on what you
order. Another one of Suisha’s
many positives is their amazing
food! At Suisha, it is very tough
to go wrong when ordering. They
have great variety, all at a reasonable price! If you are looking for
a great Japanese meal, you cannot
go wrong with Suisha.
Delicious sushi you can get at one of these two great restaurants locally.
Photo provided by Google Images.
Libby Muir: Lax Legend
By Joe Armstrong ‘15 and
Nicholas Becker ‘16
Imagine being a sophomore in high school, 16 years
old, having your license, and already knowing where you will
be attending college. That is what
Libby Muir 16’ is experiencing!
She will be attending Stanford for
lacrosse, one of the many interesting and fun activities she participates in.
Libby realized after trying
many sports in 8th grade, such as
soccer, basketball, volleyball, and
lacrosse, that her favorite was lacrosse.
Libby has moved around a
lot in her life, seven times in fact.
She went to middle school in Delaware, at the 10th oldest school
in the country, founded in 1748.
When asked about her favorite
parts of SHP she responded saying, “I love our athletic tradition
and commitment to excellence,
both academically and athletically. I am surrounded by people that
are striving to be their best each
day, and push me to do my best.”
Libby also loves Spirit
Week. Although everyone wants
to experience the feeling of victory at the end of Spirit Week, Libby
focuses more on “The opportunity to come together as a class... I
cherish this week, and my classmates.” Adding to Libby’s busy
life, she also takes on the role of
being President of the Class of
2016. Being a serious athlete (Libby has been invited to tryout for
the U-19 National lacrosse team,
an incredible honor), being the
president of her grade, and also
having a heavy load of homework,
Libby “[finds] that the busier
[she] is, the more organized and
efficient [she] has become.”
Libby has always had a
bright future with her academics
and athletics, but SHP has played
a huge role and will still continue to help her pursue her goals.
“School has provided me the avenue to find my passions.”
Justin McWilliams: Our Own Spielberg
By: Nick Oliver ‘16 and
Yadira Ayala ‘16
Prior to this year, Justin
McWilliams had been working on
films entirely outside of school,
but this year’s Documentary Film
course has allowed him to share
his talents within the Sacred Heart
community. Outside of school, he
works for a production company
in Half Moon Bay. His film’ topics cross
through all genres, his favorites
including narrative short films
and music videos. Unfortunately, due to the hectic schedule and
events that come with being a junior, he lacks the surplus time required to make films on his own.
He has, however, been planning
a few and is getting really excited
for them. One is a music video
dedicated to a friend. Last sum-
Whether you first saw him
wearing a fashionable scarf, beating his best friend in ping-pong,
or winning his first award at
Honors Convocation, there is no
doubt that Jack Pleasants ‘15 has
captured the attention of the entire student body.
We all know who Jack is,
but we don’t know much about
him, other than the fact that he
has impeccable style as well as incredible intelligence. Though he is
only a freshman, Jack has already
made a huge mark on the SHP
community, not only through his
academics and his involvement
in clubs, but through his positive
and enthusiastic energy. Self-de-
then seeing the final outcome unfold. Even if it doesn’t turn out as
planned, it’s an awesome feeling
to be able look back upon a video and remember everything that
went into it. Mostly, although this
is kind of obvious, I just hope that
people end up enjoying the final
film.”
Making all these films at the
level Justin does is no easy task,
and it requires lots of dedication.
His number one struggle with
making films is definitely finding
a large group of people that are
as dedicated to the project as he
is. Without a solid team, it can
be nearly impossible to produce
anything up to Justin’s standards.
As filmmaking requires a ton of
work, it is a labor of love for Justin, and while some people may
consider it to be work, Justin
views filmmaking as be a privilege
and something to look forward to.
Shaughnessy: Around the
World in 6,570 Days
By Will Ritchey ‘16 and
Marggi de Lusignan ‘16
Heart Beat StaffWriters
Libby battles for the ball.
Photo courtesy of Libby Muir ‘16.
Justin flashes a smile.
The Most Pleasant Kid You’ll Ever Meet
By Rhys Lewis ‘15 and
Alex Behrens ‘16
mer, Justin and a couple of friends
partnered up in making a music
video at a film program in New
York. This was an incredible success, resulting in an appearance in
the Top 10 on the hit TV show, X
Factor, this season.
Before filmmaking, Justin
was, and still is, really into photography, thanks to a seventh
grade photography class. This
was a natural segue into filmmaking, and over the next couple of
years, he fell in love with it. Movies, short films, and TV shows
inspire Justin, as well as random
stories about people he learns of
and experiences throughout his
life. On top of the satisfaction
his final products bring him, the
road to perfecting a great film is
Justin’s true passion. Justin commented, “I guess I really like just
being with a big group of friends,
having fun while filming, and
scribed as “grateful, spontaneous,
kind of weird, fun, and creative,”
Jack has proven that he will not
leave Sacred Heart without making an impression.
His love of sports led to his
decision to co-create the PingPong Club with his friend Arthur.
He and Arthur are trying to expand the club, and are “looking
forward to creating annual tournaments with Menlo.” Though
Arthur says Jack “destroys” him
every time they play ping pong,
they have created a carefree place
where any and all SHP students
can go to have fun.
In addition to making a
great impression outside of the
classroom, Jack is killing it academically. During the last Honor’s
Convocation, Jack got an “Intro to
Catholic Christianity” award and
Jack hopes you have nothing but a “thumbs-up” kind of day
Photo by Mckenzie Lynch ‘14.
an “Algebra 2 Trig Honors” award.
When asked about it, he responded with genuine modesty, saying,
“Personally, I did not expect them
at ALL, but when it happened
I felt incredibly grateful, honored, and appreciative. Honestly
though, the uniquely outstanding
teachers we have here at SHP are
the ones that deserve the awards!”
After the creation of his last
app (yes, he also codes), a score
counter for coaches, had about
200 downloads, Jack realized
he needed to change something
up and create an app that more
people would download. Jack
revealed that his new app, Compactr (which can be downloaded
in the IOS App Store), is doing incredibly well. In an almost casual
manner, Jack revealed that, “it’s
only been out for a few months,
I think--and it’s already had almost 10,000 downloads. It was
the #1 app for kids in its category
in Hong Kong and Macau.” Jack’s
excitement about Compactr is
contagious, but the one thing that
makes Jack truly incredible is that,
in addition to his style, charisma,
and intelligence, he is genuine
and modest. As his friends told
the Heart Beat, his favorite thing
to say is “thank you.” I’m sure that
the writers of this article are not
alone in our desire to thank Jack
back, for being an incredibly positive and unique addition to the
Sacred Heart community.
Most of you probably know
Claire Shaughnessy 14’, as she is
truly a child of the Sacred Heart
in more ways than one. Before
starting high school, Claire lived
in Belleview, Washington where
she attended Forest Ridge School
of the Sacred Heart. Claire feels it
was a great middle school for her.
Forest Ridge differs from Sacred
Heart in one major way: it is allgirls. This gave Claire a chance to
focus on academics for four years
in a smaller environment. Claire
moved to California the summer
going into her freshmen year. She
notes that many of the same traditions can be observed at both Sacred Heart schools, such as honors convocation, the goals, and
the thoughtful teachers and students. Although Claire has taken
up her Sacred Heart education
in a different location, she still
has ties to Forest Ridge primarily
through the immersion programs
that the SHS network offers.
Forest Ridge has an immersion trip to Israel that has been
going on for about four years.
This winter break, four girls from
our own Sacred Heart, Atherton,
Don’t be afraid to smile and say “hi”
next time you pass Claire in the halls
Photo by Hana Jenks ‘14.
planned to join them for ten days
in the country. They had been
prepping for the trip with weekly
lunch meetings discussing current events and by having Skype
dates with the Forest Ridge girls.
Unfortunately, weather resulted
in their flight being cancelled, and
the trip had to be postponed until
Spring Break. This is the second
time the trip had to be rescheduled, as last year was supposed to
be the first trip to Israel, but the
situation was deemed unsafe at
the last minute.
Instead, Claire spent the
break in Hong Kong with her
family, where her Dad grew up.
According to her, it was “a really
interesting metropolitan city with
lots of sightseeing, and we went to
the Disneyland there, which was
pretty funny.”
As a senior, Claire has had
more time to pursue things that
time has not allowed in the past.
Every week, Claire visits Nazareth Classic Care in Menlo Park
to volunteer, where she has been
working ever since her grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She would love to have
more people visit with her and the
group of friends she goes with if
they could! Although an avid Seahawks fan, Claire also volunteers
with the 49ers Foundation.
In her time at home, she
loves discovering music (she
even went through a heavy metal
phase!) and spending time with
her Chihuahua-Pug, Lola
Claire, a spectacular individual, has made her mark on
the community in more way than
one. If you see her in the halls,
don’t be afraid to ask her about
her time at Forest Ridge, her future immersion trip, or about any
number of the other wonderful
activities she is involved with!
The Ethnic Scholar
By Eshan Govil ‘15
A, A+, A++. The only three
letters available in the dictionary
of grades of the ethnic scholar.
Hi, I am Dr. Eshan Govil,
and I have a PhD, MBA, MMD,
and ABC in how to survive school
as an ethnically diverse student.
You might be wondering, “Doesn’t
high school present the same variety of challenges to a student of
any denomination, race, ethnicity, cultural background, etc?” No.
You are wrong. Well, sort of.
Coming from a background
known (in the context of Urban
Dictionary) as “brown,” life has
presented me with lemons that
aren’t quite the same as the rest
to make lemonade with. In fact,
more often than not it’s mangos,
not lemons. As Gandhi once
may or may not have said, “You
must be a doctor or an engineer.
Get money get paid. Yolo is a lie,
#reincarnation #swag.” His wise
words encompass a doctrine followed by millions, nay billions, of
ethnic scholars from around the
world. Day in and day out, our
kind struggles to maintain top
notch marks and represent the
very best of the best in academic
success. “Coolness” is not a scale
of how popular you are or how
amazingly baller you are at, well,
balling, but of how many math
awards you have won or how
many intellectual clubs you are a
part of. For us, life = school, and
school = get to college; therefore
by the transitive property, life =
get to college.
And of course, once you are
out of college, what is left for there
to do? Be a doctor or engineer.
Gandhi wasn’t playing no games.
You might be wondering, wait a
second, what’s motivating you all
to do all of this? Cue...the Parents.
While these people may be the
most hospitable people you have
every met, while they may make
the best tasting Indian food out
there, while they may be perfectly
‘normal,’ don’t be fooled. They are
cunningly, nay devilishly, good at
motivating you through the most
evil, cutthroat, practical, and sensible approaches you have ever
seen. Do they have the best in
mind for your future? Of course.
Do they want you to perform well
and impress people? Definitely.
But it’s that very parental love that
sickens us, and makes us dread
every moment of the hard, torturous homework they say we should
do because it’s supposedly “going
to get you somewhere in your
life.” Psh.
When the Average Joe
thinks of the ethnically diverse
student, he (or she) thinks, “Wow
that person is smart” or “their life
must be hard.” Response: true and
not so true. TBH (to be honest),
our life on this side of the white
picket fence isn’t much different
than yours. Sure, we might know
a few more languages, love cricket
an abnormal amount, and kill it
in math, but in the end, all of us
students are all one and the same.
So next time you are traversing
the halls and see an ethnic scholar, think of these three words: all
is well. Don’t ask why. Just think
of it.
Being an Underclassman on Varsity
By Connor Moses ’16
As some of you may know,
I am one of four sophomores who
made the varsity basketball team
this year. Headed into playoffs, I
wanted to recap my experience
of being an underclassman on a
varsity team. Fitting in with the
team on the court was easy, but
trying to fit in socially and in
the locker room took some serious butt kissing. In order to get
even the slightest recognition
from my teammates, I would go
to the extreme to make them like
me. I have recollections of carrying Corbin over my shoulder to
Country Corner (not an easy task
for someone with a slight frame,
such as myself), bringing breakfast to Kohki’s doorstep (he lives
in Hillsborough), and walking to
and through the frozen tundra
know as Saratoga to bring Stephen his laptop which he forgot
By Corbin Koch ’15
It was lunchtime during my
freshmen year and everything was
going all right. Being the only student from my middle school and
not really knowing anyone yet, I
sat and joined the cluster of guys
who I assumed were my friends,
despite a lack of any genuine interactions. Regardless, conversation was flowing within the cluster
and laughs were exchanged. Feeling bold and desperately wanting
to add to the conversation, I took
a risk and jumped in. Suddenly,
as words started to flow out of my
mouth I realized that my story
was irrelevant. But it was too late
to abandon the thought; everyone
had gone silent and was staring at
me while they listened.
I decided, no, this situation
was still salvageable. It was the
wrong move. I foolishly believed
I could think of a good punch
line and continue this story at the
same time. Everyone would be in
fits of laughter and I would be the
coolest kid on the block. So I kept
talking. My brain moved swiftly
and came up with what I thought
at the moment was a hilarious
punch line that would surely win
He’s on your basketball team…”
Casey: “Oh that sophomore?
Ha!”
Casey is such a jokester,
gotta love that guy. Clearly, there
is absolutely no question that I’m
fitting in. I mean, I didn’t even
come to mind as someone who
wouldn’t. I really look forward to
next year, and including the underclassmen in the same way that
the upperclassmen did for me!
*All recollections and the interview are fictional.
Connor Moses ‘16 makes a shot!
Photo provided by Smugmug.
The Overglorification of Starbucks
By Justin Galvin ‘15
Scroll down your Instagram
newsfeed. Scroll down a little bit
more. There you go. Pay attention
to how unreasonably artsy some
of the pictures are. These are
things that do not live up to what
the picture makes them out to be.
Particularly, notice the cups
of hot beverages. Each day I see
a picture of a Starbucks cup that
is set upon a petite little table
looking perfect with a cute little color filter and a caption like:
~~*Sheer Bliss*~~. It is as if the
The Misfortunes of a Deficient Comedian
my popularity with this group.
“Everything is going to be okay,”
I told myself, and as the moment
for the knockout arrived, I enthusiastically let loose, saying, “And
then my Dad said, ‘Corbin why
are you drinking so much milk?’”
I broke out in a terrible
giggle. Crickets. Nothing. No
one else was laughing. I just sat
there with a smile on my face but
no one’s face even twitched. Then
the gravity of the situation hit
me. I committed an act of social
suicide, which is the execution of
such a bad joke. It’s something
that we’ve all done, but despite
this fact, everyone acts like they
haven’t, so after I said my genius
at school.
Some people may think
that I am taking this “fitting in”
thing to the extreme, but personally, I believe this time spent
bonding with my teammates is
well worth it. For example, last
weekend Walker and Ryan were
hanging out and they asked me
to come hang out with them. Although they used me as a footrest
while they played Xbox together,
I really think that us hanging out
brought us closer as friends, and
this kind of bonding really translates to the court. Just to prove
that the guys on the team would
agree that I am fitting in very
nicely socially, I had a friend ask
Casey about me.
Interviewer: “So Casey, what
do you think about Connor? Do
you think he is fitting in well with
the team?”
Casey: “Who?”
Interviewer: “Connor Moses.
line, everyone kept looking at me
with their eyes saying “yes, go on.”
I had nothing else to say; I was
mute. I picked up my lunch and
milk carton, and journeyed to
the third story bathroom, where
I’ve resided for every lunch since
then. At first it was hard. I was
alone, but as the weeks went on,
other victims of bad jokes began
to file in. Eventually, we formed
a colony of bad comedians on
third story of main building. We
now stand strong in numbers and
commit acts of insufficient humor on the daily but, instead of
participating in the harsh outside
world, we laugh feverishly at it.
Justin Harmon ‘16 executing a good joke. Photo by Alle Cacchione ‘16.
person who posted it is drinking
this coffee while ascending into
Heaven as Lynard Sknynard plays
“Sweet Home Alabama,” while
bathing herself in the glory of her
grande medium roast. No, ma’am,
I would actually bet money that
your experience with your little
drink was nothing close to what
you portray in this picture.
The likely scenario is that
you gulped the thing down while
sitting in your groggy, claustrophobic room on that Sunday
morning. You probably even
spilled some on your textbook
that you were sweating over for
Sunday homework, or the new
sweater you were wearing, making you really ticked off and causing you to throw the “angelic”
Starbucks cup right into the trash
can. At least for me, those stupid
drinks make me feel pretty sick to
my stomach, with all that caffeine
and sugar. I bet most of the people who post them don’t even like
the drink; they just do it to look
cool! Now that I think about it, I
have a suggestion: why don’t all of
you just take that Chai Latte, and
shove it right up...
Actually, not gonna go
there. It’s really not that bad.
By Victoria Garrick ‘15
any romantic endeavors with anyone but each other. This is usually
something that isn’t even conversed about, even though both
people mentally acknowledge
the semi-seriousness of the relationship. You are serious enough
to be a “thing” because you don’t
want to see other people, but not
serious enough to fully accept
that you really, really, really can’t
see other people. Also, a “thing”
is easier to end and get out of because you can just stop talking to
the person, as opposed to when
you’ve classified yourself as “boyfriend and girlfriend,” which entails an official breakup.
Therefore,
couples
in
“things” are scared of the seriousness of a “relationship” and
prefer the more casual, alternative
relationship. The bottom line is,
what may have been the normal
relationship status in our parents’
day and age of “boyfriend and
girlfriend” has been escalated to
a higher status, and the old fashioned casual form of “boyfriend
and girlfriend” is now referred to
as a “thing.”
Contemporary
Love: The Thing
In our generation, so many
customs have become over-complicated. For example, couples
can’t just be in “relationships” anymore or be “dating,” because the
seriousness of the title “boyfriend
and girlfriend” has been escalated
to a whole new level. For those of
you who aren’t aware (most adults
reading this article), a “thing” is
when two people are consistently talking to each other, seem to
really like one another, and most
likely have kissed each other before. Although, two can be in a
“thing” if they haven’t kissed, it is
rare and usually a middle school
idea of a “thing.” Additionally, because being in a relationship and
being known as “boyfriend and
girlfriend” comes when one institutes the title to the other partner,
one might ask, “How is a ‘thing’
initiated?”
Well, I have the answer. A
“thing” has officially begun when
both partakers subconsciously
agree that they will not initiate in
The Media and Parties:
A Dsyfunctional Relationship
By Farbod Nowzad ‘15
Heart Beat Section Editor
“Turn up!” this is a phrase
that can be commonly heard in
the presence of today’s youth and
teenage population. The likes of
MTV, “I’m Shmacked” and other
various media outlets have served
as a catalyst in promoting the lifestyle and glamour of party culture by appealing to the millions
of people not even old enough to
legally purchase alcohol. Binge
drinking and the abuse of other
substances have almost become
routine in the social scene and
are extremely prevalent topics of
conversation within most circles.
Popular culture has built a fantasy
lifestyle, which portrays partying
as the most essential element of
happiness. Thumping house music is played over slow motion
videos of large concentrations
of young people, freely dancing
through raging house parties.
But these images don’t reflect reality. Displays of unbe-
Meh.
lievably good looking people and
bottles of Ciroc set obtainable
standards for today’s youth that
many people strive to achieve.
For example, many contemporary
rap songs advocate having a reckless nature consisting of smoking
blunts and drinking Cristal. The
fast paced, glamorous lifestyle of
celebrities goes hand in hand with
the inherent depiction of their
lives as full of constant partying
and endless fun. These representations, which juxtapose with
our routine, mundane lives, stir
adrenaline and emotions of fascination. Idolized by their many listeners, rappers and their stories,
whether true or false, set a precedent for the characteristics of a
teenager’s weekend.
In attempts to achieve the
greatest realms of baller status,
students reach to recreate the ultimate party, however such a scene
is nothing more than just a disillusioned dream. Through the many
trials of binge drinking and substance abuse, teenagers keep fall-
Hot
Section Editors
Love Bugs Postponed
Bangerz
[Disclaimer: The views in
this article may not reflect those
of all parents, or any for that matter. No Mr. and Mrs. Homebodies
were harmed in the writing of this
article.]
As we have found through
our extensive partying experience, there are three main species
of parents when it comes to teen
drinking at parties. The first is Mr.
and Mrs. Homebody. These are
parents who are highly territorial
and allow their offspring to drink,
but only in their own habitat. The
parties, or ragers, will most likely
be found at Homebody residences. Sometimes, the issue becomes
less about drinking and more
that the parents are so invested in
their children having active social
lives, resulting in an apathy about
whether their children are drinking, so long as a good time is being had. However, these parents
are not always happy-go-lucky
party hosts; if they find you intoxicated and nearly passed out on
the couch, they will often revert
to the animalistic state of Mr. and
Mrs.
Give-me-your-keys-andstay-the-night.
The next category is Mr.
and Mrs. Blindeye, who, as their
name implies, may turn a blind
eye and prefer to not get involved.
Often these parents would rather not hear about the shenanigans that their children get into,
because they already know. The
Blindeye’s have a common history
of wild nights in high school, giving them unique insight into their
offsprings’ minds. Remembering
sneaking out of the house as teenagers, they know that whether
they allow their kids to go out and
party or if they ban it, the partying will still be had.
The last main category is
Mr. and Mrs. Clueless, who are
completely unaware that their
children party on the weekends
(and sometimes weekdays). So,
the relationship between the parents and their cubs is always precariously balanced, and they are
always about to emerge from this
species and evolve into the raging
Ty-parent-asaurus Rex.
From our personal experience, there is a fourth, small
species that is steadily growing
and will soon not be categorized
as endangered: the Mr. and Mrs.
Catlin. They live by one philosophy when it comes to partying. Mrs. Catlin threatens with
extreme punishment, including
“you party, you die.” Mr. Catlin
takes a more humorous yet slightly more worrying tactic of, “you
party, you’re out of the will.” So,
wish us luck, for after our extensive partying research for this article, we may be out of the will.
David Ferranti
Robert Larson
Katherine Flessel
Maddie Morgan
Gillian Belton
Karim Ullah
Kimberly Wong
Alex Mitchell
News Editor
Not
Meh
By Emma Catlin ‘14
and Ted Catlin ‘16
The Editing Staff
Dan Brady’s Engagement
Baby Goats
Dream Team
California Drought (still)
Spirit Week Withdrawals
goto fail;
ing short of the fantasy party and
lifestyle that is so often portrayed
in popular culture. One anonymous student on SurveyMonkey
said, “The only thing stopping
some students from getting drunk
is the thought of throwing up everywhere and being hungover in
the morning”.
People are willing to go to
great lengths to have a night to
remember (or not remember).
Seventeen year old kids can never
live like Juicy J or throw a party
like Thomas did in “Project X.”
Such expectations are naïve and
result in nothing more than an
ongoing thirst for impractical desires. Constant daydreaming and
the envisioning of music video
caliber parties cloud one’s reality,
while building standards of pseudo-happiness that will never be
fulfilled. Media’s use of lifestyle
propaganda instills an infatuation
within today’s youth to pursue
something that really cannot be
grasped.
Parents of Party Animals
Reviews and
Op-Ed Editor
GOATS!!!!
Photos provided by:
Riley Shanahan ‘16, Natalie Palmer ‘15, Hannah
Sadat-Tehrani ‘15.
Photo Editor
Photo Editor
Sports Editor
Arts and Events and
Spotlight Editor
Layout Editor
Creative Assistant
Jack Blaisdell
Alex Bourdillon
Allison Harman
Veronica L. Mendoza Selby Sturzenegger
Farbod Nowzad
Wizard of Dark Magic
Smack Editor
Editors-in-Chief
Pun of the Issue:
What happened when the
cow tried to jump over a
barbed wire fence?
Answer: Udder destruction

SHP Party Culture Fosters Social Split

Transcription

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