Competition in Our Classrooms Rep. Ford Addresses Chapel

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Senior Lounge
Injustice
Mandatory Civic
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Oscar Roundup
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Rep. Ford Addresses Competition in Our Classrooms
Chapel
BY JESSE MAHAUTMR
Every MUS student in his
BY CLINT COWAN AND AN- knowledge and perspective of freshman year encounters John
our backgrounds and respon- Knowles’ A Separate Peace,
DREW MANUGIAN
sibilities: he initially challenged a novel in which the protagoFor the first time in several grades 7-12 to make use of our nist is compelled to push his
years, MUS was honored, on educational blessings to change friend off a tree because of an
February 11th, to receive U.S. our nation’s future. Ford’s intense competition he feels to
Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. theme was largely one of col- exist between the two. Initially,
Ford, the newly re-elected laboration; while delivering a this story did not appeal to me
Congressional Representative short message, he repeatedly greatly; as a freshman, I saw
for Tennessee’s ninth district, referred to group effort and co- the idea of students competing
met with students and faculty operation as the solution to against each other, especially in
in the Humphreys Administra- America’s social and economic terms of grades, implausible
tive Wing prior to taking the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 and ludicrous. Little did I know
stage at Hyde Chapel. Anticithat such
pation was evident, and Ford
competitive
took the podium with confisentiments
dence, relying on the oratorido permeate
cal skill and style that has
the halls of
worked so powerfully in the
MUS much
U.S. House. Rep. Ford began
more often
with encouragement to MUS
than they
for its work in the Memphis
should.
community. He, a former preIn
a
paratory school student at St.
t e a c h e r ’s
Albans, clearly possessed the
Rep. Ford talks with interested students dream, students would
MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
NON-PROFIT
go to classes and learn purely
6191 PARK AVENUE
ORGANIZATION
MEMPHIS, TN 38119-5399
for the sake of learning; howU.S. POSTAGE
PAID
ever, this scenario is called a
MEMPHIS, TN
dream for a reason. In almost
PERMIT #631
every class, our grades weigh
heavily on our minds: we pull
out calculators to see what we
need to make on the next test
to maintain an “A” average; we
ask our teachers whether
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
there’s going to be a curve; we
check our progress report
grades online and hope that
our parents forget to do so as
well. With the implications that
grades have on our futures immediately after high school, it
is only natural for us to develop
a mindset focused heavily on
the number at the top of the test.
But alas, having such a strong
focus on our grades sometimes
leads us to compare ourselves
with each other, which in turn
can create an unnecessary
competition in the classroom.
The period of time after a
test is passed back is usually
filled with the same series of
events: we look at our grade,
flip through the test to see what
questions we missed, and,
most of the time, engage in
conversation with those around
us to see how everyone else
scored. Usually this discussion
is merely an innocent way to
gauge how we did compared
to the rest of the class, to see if
the test was as easy or as difficult for them as it was for us;
however, every so often, our
competitive juices begin to flow
if we find out that someone
who supposedly “should not”
have scored higher than us did,
especially if the same individual
continues to do so on a consistent basis. Though we may
not like to admit it, thoughts
such as “I have to maintain a
higher average than he does for
the semester” periodically appear in the back of our minds.
If it is competition we seek, we
should contend with the material being learned: our opponent
should be the textbook, not the
guy sitting two seats down from
us. If our goal is to be above a
fellow student, to be ranked
higher than he is, then a mindset
may develop where the ends
justify the means; such a mode
of thought is dangerous, for it
condones the belief that the
path we take does not matter
as long as we achieve the desired outcome. However, if we
choose to contend not with our
fellow classmates but rather
with the material, then the
means will justify the ends; in
other words, putting in hard
work and striving to do our
best against the material will
determine the end result most
representative of us, and,
whatever it may be, we should
be proud of ourselves. Any
accolades, honors, or high
class ranks we may achieve are
nice but should not be our
goals; they should merely be an
indication of our effort, hard
work, and determination.
Now, I am no saint, nor do
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Editors-in-Chief
Clint Cowan
Andrew Manugian
Associate Editors
Ben Bleustein
Parth Sheth
Technical/Layout
Editor
Roger Chu
Michael Fong
Cartoonist
Zach Glover
News Editors
Alex Chinn
Charles Askew
Sports Editors
John Taylor
Josh Evensky
Viewpoints Editors
Warner Russell
Amusements Editors
David Minervini
Peter Zanca
Columnists
Marshall Bartlett
John Daniel
Preston Dennis
John Hammons
Walter Klyce
Aaron Struminger
Photographers
Neely Mallory
Mike Montesi
Worth Morgan
Hank Wynn
Faculty Advisor
Mr. N. Thompson
Quiz Bowl Buzz
BY CHRIS FREEMAN
This article concerns perhaps my proudest accomplishment as a student. For the past
two years, MUS has had a
Quizbowl team. The team became a reality gradually over
the course of last year. Through
pressure from its founder,
Sashank Karri, practice time
became regular, and teachers
became regularly involved. Our
efforts finally paid off when we
won third in our first tournament, giving us high hopes for
next year. This year, we lost a
brilliant competitor in
Austin Chu, but that
loss has not been the
only challenge: practices have been tough
to schedule, and participation is never constant. But despite
these obstacles, three
devoted seniors have
nursed this club into a
budding success.
Sashank
Karri,
The
founder and president, Chris Freeman,
vice-president and
captain, and Aaron Struminger,
vice-president, have been there
since the club’s beginning, and
thanks to our efforts, our club
now has three tournaments under its belt and a promising
group of juniors and sophomores that will inherit it next
year.
The members themselves
are not the only people working hard. Without the help of
the club’s coaches, it would
have been impossible to have
had the success that the club
has enjoyed in its tournaments,
in which the team has made it
to the final bracketed round
every time and garnered two
individual awards. These wonderful people have given up
their time to help us practice,
even when attendance is marginal. Mr. Berman has graciously hosted our earliest
practice; Mr. Russell has given
up his Wednesdays’ 7th periods; and Mr. Clifft has come
early Thursday mornings. The
administration has also been
highly accommodating by giving the team permission to
travel almost anywhere to compete and buying practice questions for it. The librarians have also
helped us by purchasing questions
and proctoring
when the coaches
were not available.
The best part
about our club’s
success, however,
is not the results of
the tournaments or
even personal
Quiz Bowl team practices with Coach awards, but the
Clifft official establishment and continu-
FORD’S VISIT
ills. Accompanying his theme
was a serious concern over
President Bush’s recent Social
Security proposals. Outlining
the program’s intended purposes (work-injury relief, survivor benefits, and retirement),
Ford warned of massive deficits: “The program, in the next
thirteen years, will be spending more than it takes in.” President Bush’s plans, according to
Ford, will require around two
trillion in borrowed funds to
begin the program of private
retirement investment. Rep.
Ford warned “If we don’t get
ation of the club. Nothing is final yet, but I can say that you
should look to see Quiz Bowl
as an official, faculty-sponsored club next year like
Knowledge Masters or
TEAMS. What started as one
person’s attempts to continue
something that he did before
MUS will soon become an official club and maybe even a
fixture that people will begin to
associate with MUS. Who
knows? And I get to say that I
had some small part in the
founding. This year’s seniors
will likely be remembered for
a long while, perhaps as state
champions, perhaps as the
smartest class to not get into
college. The class that started
MUS Frisbee? Again, who
knows? But these things are
just some of the marks we’ve
left on MUS (some good, and
some not). I doubt we will be
remembered as the founders of
Quiz Bowl, but I am proud that
I have helped make one of
those good marks on this
school, and my deepest gratitude goes to everyone who has
made the club possible.
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an answer for this thing, sooner
rather than later, then we could
find ourselves in a huge economic bind.” Taking into account recent tax cuts, rising life
expectancy, and U.S. war efforts, Ford held that the money
just isn’t there to undergo such
a massive change in infrastructure.
Much of Ford’s brief address, however, dealt with
American foreign image and
what can be done to increase
global cooperation. Hailing the
U.S. as “the greatest nation on
the face of the earth,” Ford
mentioned a great international
responsibility, one requiring a
foreign policy of mutual aid in
global improvement. Addressing specifically Iraqi reconstruction, Rep. Ford favored a
combination of resources, beyond the military, to incite the
participation of Iraq’s citizens
in democracy. “The military
can’t do it all alone” he stated
plainly; reconstruction in Iraq
“takes a combination of resources that will give everyone
ownership in what we’re doing.” Ford’s belief is that if we
as a nation can get Iraqi citi-
zens involved in their country’s
reconstruction, “bringing them
to the table,” we will see
strength and stability in the future.
Having a desire to involve
students and faculty in his message, Rep. Ford left plenty of
time for questions. Responding to a student’s concerns
about the Memphis City
Schools and failing students,
Ford declared that early childhood education must be the
priority: “From [age] two to five
brains develop in powerful
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Consolidate This
BY JONATHAN WOLF
As the governments of the
City of Memphis and Shelby
County together with the Memphis City Schools and Shelby
County Schools face near budgetary crisis, Memphis Mayor
Willie Herenton is advocating
the very controversial consolidation of the Memphis City and
Shelby County school systems
in the hopes of creating a more
cost-effective structure for public education. Opponents of the
Mayor’s plan claim that such a
maneuver would not only
achieve the direct opposite but
would be detrimental to the
County Schools. Critics also
claim that this unification of the
two school boards would be
the first step in Herenton’s admitted master plan for complete
consolidation of the Memphis
and Shelby County governments. School Board Member
Deni Hirsh even has hope that
Mayor Herenton would resign
to achieve consolidation.
The Mayor’s battle for consolidation will not be an easy
one. The County school board
along with its chairman, David
Pickler, is dead set against the
Mayor’s plan for consolidation. They fear that taxpayers
could actually end up paying
more in taxes if county salaries
had to be raised to equal those
of the city, as was the case
when Knoxville and Nashville
consolidated their respective
city and county school systems
years ago.
In the meantime, Mayor
Herenton and the City of Memphis have some tough decisions
to make. The City School system is reportedly running a
thirty million dollar deficit, amid
stories in the not-too-distant
past of proposals to spend
fourteen million dollars for airconditioning a single school and
millions in unbudgeted overtime
pay. Mayor Herenton has recently proposed withdrawing
another eighty-six million dollars from the City Schools. The
City itself faces a thirty million
dollar budget shortfall. In recent days the Mayor has pro-
posed layoffs of thousands of
City employees in an effort to
save. Even Memphis’ finest are
not immune to the slash and
burn budget tactics, as police
director Larry Godwin, in conjunction with Mayor Herenton,
proposes the abolition of the
“Thirty-year Captain” rank in
the M.P.D. The approximately
ninety affected police officers
are challenging the measure in
court.
Some politicians believe
that a property tax increase is
inevitable. Businessmen
counter that such a tax increase
will drive down property values, further aggravating the
need for even higher tax rates
and creating a spiral that kills
both investment and job creation in Shelby County.
It would appear that politicians should attempt to break
this vicious cycle by seeking to
eliminate duplication of services
and wasteful spending, while
identifying the best practices of
quality education for the students. Their goal should be assuring the citizens of Memphis
and Shelby County that their
hard-earned tax dollars are going to create the most efficient
school system their money can
buy, whether through consolidation, unification, or just good
old-fashioned management.
a bye in the third round, provided they advanced past rival
Germantown in round two.
However, in a match advisors
have described as “unfair,”
judges made a highly questionable ruling against the MUS
team. The guys from MUS
took quite a blow from the loss
of both of the captains. Despite
the loss, Team Q, the MUS B
team, rumbled on to round
three.
Round three treated the
MUS team surprisingly well. In
this round, the MUS defense
took the stand against the prosecution of St. Mary’s. After
much deliberation, the judges
ruled in favor of MUS. The victory was particularly nice for
the witnesses and attorneys
from MUS, for in this match
they had defeated the same
team who knocked MUS out
of the competition during last
year’s tournament. After having sent the Turkeys home with
nothing to comfort them but the
tears in their eyes, “Team Q”
took a night out on the town to
relax. Over several plates of
barbeque at the Rendezvous,
the team further discussed the
case material. Somewhere between the coleslaw and the
sausage plate, the attorneys
found several different angles
from which to attack. The guys
devised a few new objections,
thus putting a few tricks up their
sleeves.
After good preparation,
good rest, and good barbeque,
Team Q advanced to the semifinals of the city tournament.
MUS squared off against the
team from Westminster Academy. In a riveting match involving many objections, questionable extrapolations of the case
material, and passionate rhetoric, “Team Q” once again
emerged victorious. By defeating their rival, MUS now advanced to the city champion-
ship match.
The championship match
pitted MUS against St. Mary’s.
Although the Owls impeached
each of the St. Mary’s witnesses (showed that they had
lied on trial), won twice as
many objections, and held their
ground during cross-examination, the judge ruled against the
Owls in an unexpected heartbreaker. The Owls were
forced to settle for second
place in the city of Memphis,
but they have earned the right
to compete at the state level.
Now the Owls and the Turkeys will work together as
Memphis representatives in
preparation for the State Tournament in Nashville, which occurs in several weeks. Although the city competition
was bittersweet for the Owls,
the season is not over yet, and
we hope to hear great things
from Ms. Crosby and Team Q.
Trial By Combat
BY DAVID MINERVINI
After weeks of preparation
of case theory, legal proceedings, and case exhibits, the
MUS mock trial team entered
the county courthouse for the
Memphis High School Mock
Trial Competition. The Owls,
under the leadership of captains
Aaron Markowitz and Alex
Chinn, fielded two separate
teams in the tournament-style
competition. In order to keep
the judges of the competition
objective, each team and
school name was replaced with
a letter of the alphabet. What
had been previously known as
“the MUS A team” was renamed “Team P,” and what had
been previously known as “the
MUS B team” was renamed
“Team Q.” Thus, opponents of
the Owls were told that they
should always “mind their P’s
and Q’s.”
The first round of the com-
petition involved a pair of
matches between two teams,
with each team given a chance
to serve as both the prosecution and the defense. In round
one, both MUS teams defeated
their opponents soundly. Over
a span of two nights in the
courtroom, Team P defeated
both the prosecution and the
defense of the Hutchison team,
thus eliminating our female
neighbors from the competition
in one round. In the same manner, Team Q defeated both the
prosecution and defense of
Central High School, thus
quickly knocking the reigning
city champions out of the tournament.
Because of the stunning performance that each MUS team
offered in the first two matches
of the tournament, MUS became eligible to receive a bye
in the next rounds. Team Q
drew a bye in the second
round. Team P was guaranteed
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Mandatory Spanish:
Mal Idea
BY PARTH SHETH
Over the past school year,
I have heard students, parents,
and even teachers talk about
downsizing or removing the
MUS French and Latin programs to make room for a mandatory Spanish program
throughout the school. However, while Spanish is becoming more widespread throughout the southern United States,
there are several reasons it
should not be mandated at
MUS.
Latin I has been a requirement at MUS for many years.
This class not only provides
students with an introduction to
one of the most influential and
widespread languages ever
used, but it also helps their English skills, as much of English
vocabulary and grammar
comes from Latin. Furthermore, this class, one of the
hardest in eighth grade, serves
as a sort of rite of passage for
lower schoolers before they
can enter the MUS Upper
School. .
Mandating Spanish in ninth
grade at the expense of the
other languages taught at MUS
would also be a mistake. The
ability, for the first time, for a
student to choose which language he wants to take allows
him to choose the class in which
he is most interested. Removing this freedom to choose and
forcing students to take classes
they do not wish to take, especially when a viable alternative is available, will only turn
students against these compulsory classes. Students who
would rather take Latin or
French, but who are coerced
into taking Spanish, are much
less likely to have a genuine
desire to learn the language
and, as a result, will not put
nearly as much effort into
Spanish as they would have
into French or Latin.
Furthermore, the current
French and Latin education at
MUS is superb, and there is no
reason to discontinue instruction of these languages. More
important, both of these language programs often develop
in many of their students a
deep love for the language.
Personally, I enjoyed French
and Latin so much that I was
willing to take six classes for
two years so that I could stay
in both languages; I took Latin
IV and am currently enrolled
in French IV. Of the approximately 20 freshmen in our 9th
grade French I class, 8 have
continued to AP French IV.
And 10 out of the 20 students
in Latin II (the first Latin elective at MUS) continued into
AP Latin IV. On the other
hand, only 3 students are currently enrolled in AP Spanish
IV, even though the vast majority of MUS freshmen take
Spanish. Forcing students who
are genuinely interested in
French or Latin to take Spanish would do nothing but prevent genuinely motivated students from further exploring
subjects that truly interest them.
As a student of both French
and Latin at MUS, I feel that it
would be a travesty for the
school to remove these outstanding language programs.
Injustice: Not a Lounging Matter
BY PRESTON DENNIS
About five weeks ago,
there was an incident between
the senior class and the lower
school. While watching a
movie in the senior lounge,
some of my fellow classmates
and I were quite surprised to
notice a large flock of seventh
graders crowded around the
bay window making noise and
staring intently at what was
happening in this sacred place.
Now, these actions were
merely distracting and not
worth any attention. But, when
one student decided to open
the lounge door, the line had
been crossed. We seniors
agreed that if these kids were
so mesmerized by the lounge,
they should see it in person. We
proceeded to grab two kids
who were walking by and
brought them into the lounge.
We did not hit them, throw
them in a trash can, or even
verbally abuse them. We
merely set them on top of the
two vending machines and told
them not to move or say a
word. Our actions only attracted more lower schoolers,
and numerous boys began
opening the doors. We
grabbed more kids but never
once hurt any of them. The
most damage done to a kid
was being sat on by a rather
large senior. For most, we
would pull them in and just let
them leave. However, these
kids began to taunt us and even
started to tell us which of their
classmates to grab. Everyone
was having a good time. By the
end of the incident, around 10
to 12 kids had been pulled into
the lounge. We seniors started
to settle back into our seats to
continue watching Blade 2
when, suddenly, Coach Ray
walked in, accompanied by
Mr. Broer, and asked us to turn
off the TV. He proceeded to
tell us that he had heard about
some lower schoolers’ being
pulled into the lounge. We
calmly confirmed this statement. He then asked which of
us had ripped one of the kids’
ties and broken another’s
watch. To this query we had
no answer. Not one kid while
in the lounge said anything
about a tie being ripped or a
watch being broken. Coach
Ray then told us to pick up the
trash in the lounge and “Vacate
the premises.” He also said
that we needed to find somewhere else to commune for the
time being. For the next two
weeks, the lounge was gone.
Back when I was in the
Lower School, my classmates
and I were very intimidated by
the seniors. Having to walk
through the Upper School to
go eat in the Clack was a harrowing ordeal. The Upper
School students would not do
anything but stare at us. I went
near the lounge maybe three
times each year I spent in the
lower school, and that was
only to buy pizza. We respected the seniors and even
approached them with a sense
of awe. So, what has happened to that sense of deference? Why, all of a sudden, do
the lower school students, in
particular the seventh graders,
have the idea that they can do
as they please? These kids are
just spoiled. Earlier this year
one seventh grader came into
the lounge after school and
took one of the DVD’s that a
senior had brought. When confronted, he initially lied, and
then finally said that he had
taken the DVD only because
he didn’t have any money to
go to Blockbuster. During the
1st semester, seventh graders
would take residence in the
lounge before school by playing Playstation 2, foosball, and
ping pong. In our lower school
days, had we even thought of
entering the lounge uninvited,
we would have been in a trash
can or put in our places in other
ways. Ask any alumnus and he
will remember seeing his classmates “B.F.I.’d” or thrown into
the holly bushes. I believe that
these kids are disrespectful
because they are not punished.
Natural law has been thrown
out the window. It’s no longer
survival of the fittest, but survival of who can tell his parents most quickly. The reality
of the situation is that these kids
have no sense of respect for
older classmates. Where past
lower school students knew
not to mess with the upperclassmen, these seventh graders think it is funny to push the
buttons of the seniors. So, as
Socrates put it, “What is justice?”
The senior class was not
formally addressed about the
loss of the lounge until the next
Wednesday. When Coach Ray
did explain why we lost the
lounge, we were surprised to
hear that the main reason
wasn’t the incident with the
seventh graders. In fact, we lost
the lounge mainly due to it being “trashed.” The senior class
was accused of not taking care
of the furnishings in the lounge.
This accusation proves that the
senior lounge has not been visited by the administration at all.
Last year’s senior class, if we
can call them that, thought it
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A Look Back at High School: Part 2
BY WARNER RUSSELL
After reading this article,
you are probably going to think
I am a professional brownnose, but what I am honestly
trying to express with this article is a point which is rarely
given enough attention. That
point is that the faculty of MUS
is a true blessing in every one
of our lives. The teachers I have
had have guided me in ways
that they won’t ever know,
both inside and out of the
classroom. While there are
over seventy members of the
faculty, I will attempt to show
their incomparable attributes
and characteristics with a three
short anecdotes: one serious,
one funny, and one scholarly.
I will begin with something
from earlier in the year. I sat
down at my computer to write
an article that many of you may
remember, “Chapels: A Christian Bias?.” After an hour or so
of writing, I had an article thoroughly lacking in substance.
The next day, after taking a class
cut in Christian Theology, I
asked Mr. Smythe whether he
had a moment to chat about the
article. He said he gladly would
have a few seconds to spare
to discuss what I had thus far.
Over an hour later I exited his
office with a new outlook on
how to write my viewpoint and
a new respect for a man I had
seen previously as quite distant.
In our discussion, he told me
things that shocked me as far
as MUS and his life were concerned. He honestly cared
about what this article meant to
me and showed a real desire
to help. He gave me ideas,
proofread my progress, and
attempted to make small
changes in the editorial. The
next day he even asked me
how the article turned out and
expressed his excitement to see
it in print. There are very few
people with whom I am close
who would help me to that extent, let alone someone with
whom I had never had a deep
conversation. To think that
someone as busy as an MUS
teacher would sacrifice the majority of an afternoon to do
something for which he would
receive no credit is nothing
short of amazing. That afternoon will forever go down as
one of the most meaningful experiences in my high school career.
Anyone who has ever had
Mr. Shelton as a teacher will
tell you the proper response to
the greeting “howdy” in the
MUS halls is no doubt
“doody”. The spring before my
junior year I applied, and
somehow gained admission, to
AP English. Not knowing what
I was getting myself into, I
bought the books and attended
Mr. Shelton’s 2nd period class.
A year later, I have a ticket out
of college English, a significantly lower GPA, and a
teacher whom I will never forget. In the spring, after having
coming out with an average “C”
for the 1st semester, I was
asked, along with the rest of
the class, to write an in-class
essay on Dilsey, the strongwilled servant of Faulkner’s
The Sound and the Fury. I did
what most students would do
if they had not read: I rewrote
the question as much as I could
and used copious amounts of
rhetoric, hoping merely to
scrape out an 80 or so. I turned
in about a page-and-a-half of
this rambling, and a week or
so later received a stellar 68 or
70. I wasn’t too upset. I mean
I didn’t even read so I guess I
got what I deserved. It wasn’t
until I looked at Jonathan
Barnes’s paper that I saw the
irony. I had written over a page
of intellectual words and everything, and he wrote a quarter of a page and in large
(roughly equivalent to
Microsoft Word 36 Font)
capital letters wrote “ouch” and
received a 78. His better grade
wasn’t a slap in the face as
many people would take it; instead, the event was simple
proof that B.S. never really
works, because teachers can
read directly through it and
perhaps resent you for making
them read so much garbage.
Mr. Shelton’s snappy, almost
unrecognizable witty remarks
made that class the highlight of
my day, every day, no matter
how bad my grade became. I
learned so much just by listening, and my AP exam grade
was all the proof I needed of
this instructor’s incomparable
quality.
In the past few years, Mr.
McCarroll and I haven’t ever
really had a conversation outside of simple greetings, but in
9th grade, as a lowly freshman,
I had one of my most heated
debates in his class. I don’t
even remember how it started,
but before I knew it the entire
class was listening to Mr.
McCarroll and I discuss the
morality and ethics of homosexuality. It wasn’t that we were
ever going to get each other to
believe the same thing. That
seemed evident. It was the fact
that he listened so intently to
what I had to say that shocked
me. For all he knew, I was
some kid that had no idea what
I was talking about, but instead
of dismissing me as uninformed, he paid honest attention to my view and, in turn,
gave me his sincere opinion.
When I attended other schools,
I, being the stubborn, opinionated person I am, often found
myself in similar arguments;
however, my former teachers
and administrators often took
the approach opposite that of
Mr. McCarroll. While they dismissed me as an uninformed
kid and went about their business, Mr. McCarroll gave me
ample time to express my
views. I don’t even know
whether anybody outside of
myself remembers this class
period, but having a such a
friendly, yet extremely intense,
debate with such an intelligent
man my freshman year showed
me that MUS is a place that
encourages such interaction.
This exchange stimulates the
mind and makes the students
feel respected by the teachers.
The faculty and administration of MUS genuinely care
about each of us. They,
whether we think so or not,
want what’s best for us. These
three instances are only a sampling of how great the teachers
here are. Don’t take these
people for granted, because
they are here out of a love for
MUS and its talented students.
COMPETITION
I pretend to be one; I too in
the past have harbored competitive feelings, and thus I
speak on such a topic with experience. However, in recent
years, I have come to realize
that how others do on tests
does not and should not affect
my grade in any way. I now understand that I essentially con-
LOUNGE
FROM PAGE 4
would be hilarious to break
everything in the lounge,
smashing a hole in the back of
a TV, breaking every couch
and a Playstation 2, and destroying the legs of the ping
pong and foosball tables. The
couches have not been able to
withstand the constant sitting in
their weakened states. As the
famous poet Johnny Cochran
said, “ If the glove don’t fit, you
must acquit.” Had the administration seen the lounge after
last year, they would agree that
we have tried to make the
lounge look decent. Worth
Morgan even donated an expensive ping-pong table, and
many other seniors have
brought in posters, movies,
and Playstation 2’s or Xboxes.
The senior class merely issued a warning to these kids. I
think I speak for the whole
class when I say that losing the
lounge was an injustice. The
seventh grade students deserved more than what they
received, and we merely gave
them the attention they obviously crave. Instead of being
punished, we seniors should be
recognized for teaching the
young boys a life lesson. We
merely showed them what
could and will happen if they
continue to be a nuisance and
ignore the respect upperclassmen deserve.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
trol my own destiny; if I put in
my best effort and strive to
master the material, I can rest
knowing that everything will
take care of itself. I firmly believe that if we at MUS seriously examine our approach to
grades, we can take huge steps
toward preventing the malevolence described by Knowles.
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Commit to Serve Through Requirement
BY HARRY MAYFIELD
A few years ago, MUS had
a civic service requirement that
asked students to give a certain number of hours during the
year for various community
services. Hutchison and St.
Mary’s have this requirement,
so why shouldn’t we? Dr. Rick
Donlon, a guest speaker at the
recent Service Over Self
(S.O.S.) Retreat, really
challenged our definition of service. As a resident of
Binghampton, he argued that
service was not cute little
Christmas baskets that we donate to the Salvation Army
once a year or a one hour
clean-up session downtown.
Those things make us feel better and send our conscience on
vacation until next holiday season, but we really have not
done anything to help our fellow Memphians. In fact, Dr.
Donlon believes that acts like
these hurt those in need rather
than helping them. No, service
takes form in a larger, more
meaningful commitment to our
community. And I truly feel that
we at MUS can make this commitment with a civic service requirement. As the third principle
of our Community Creed, service plays a large role in defining what it is to be an MUS student.
Ideally, every MUS stu-
At the recent SOS retreat, Dr. Rick Donlon
challenged students’ views of service
dent would be filled with a
sense of social duty that would
eliminate the need for a service
requirement. But this is not the
case: there is simply not enough
participation in projects like
Emmanuel Center and KIPP
Academy tutoring. I understand that athletes cannot
squeeze tutoring in with practices after school, but there are
plenty of other students who
can give an hour or two of their
time but just do not want to do
it. It is tough to beg people to
come to events like these and
a service requirement would
solve this. Participation would
increase and we could honor
our long term commitments to
institutions providing the most
critical, elementary-level education. Regardless of whether
or not people would want to
do service work, there would
Service Comes From the Heart
BY PRICE EDWARDS
Civic Service has always
been one of the pillars on which
MUS has laid its foundation.
Our Community Creed states
“An MUS student contributes
his time and abilities to the welfare of his school and of the
greater community.” I think the
key word there is “contribute.”
Oxford English Dictionary
states that to contribute is “to
give or supply in common with
others,” and this is what
MUS’s service is all about.
Giving our time, our resources,
and our abilities to help others
is the essence of service. Nowhere in MUS’s creed of service are the words “mandated”
or “required” used. The fact
that MUS’s service is voluntary
makes this service truly meaningful.
There are many critics of
MUS for not requiring service
hours each year. There are
many other private schools in
the area that require service
hours each year for grade
completion. What I think these
schools are ignoring is the most
important aspect of service: it
is voluntary. Service is about a
person freely giving of his or her
resources to help someone
else. I guess there are positives
for required service hours like
having good public relations for
the school, teaching the joys of
service to its students, or even
the school’s genuinely wanting
to help people, but MUS
should stand strong in its conviction that service should not
be required. I would love to
see everyone willingly involved
in service, but I would certainly
not require it.
MUS has tried to create a
school where self-discipline is
necessary to survive. Self-discipline is required to keep up
in readings when no one is reminding you, finish a workout
when no one is watching, or
independently get up early on
a Saturday to tutor. Throughout life, service, although expected, is not something that is
required of MUS alums. These
alumni spend time in their community helping many who are
less fortunate than they are
through programs like STAX,
SOS, and many smaller programs. Whether an MUS student should serve his commu-
nity is not the question. Instead,
the question is whether to require the student to serve. I believe that a group as blessed as
MUS should help as many
people as they can, but I do
not think helping should be a
requirement.
I feel as an MUS student
that I am sometimes running
down a checklist. I have to
make the grades, have solid
extra-curricular activities, and
be involved with the school.
Having a required number of
service hours would only add
to this disease from which
many already suffer. Service is
a chance for a student to give
out of his own heart, and I hope
it stays that way.
be more bodies helping out.
And I believe that this requirement would spark enthusiasm
among students (especially underclassmen) who have
thought about participating but
never followed through on their
thoughts. By being placed in
service roles, students could
see first-hand the joys of community involvement and even
develop a lifelong love for those
less-fortunate. It is also probable that enthusiasm would
snowball over the years, eliminating the need for a requirement.
I do not think that service
is a big enough part in our lives
at MUS. In reality, not just in
the ideal form of the Community Creed, this involvement
should receive the same emphasis we currently place on
honor and scholarship.
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Swim Team Dives Into Competition
BY HAYDEN PENDERGRASS
The least respected sport at
MUS has again proved worthy of its varsity status in the
athletics program. This year’s
group of ragtag PE-dodgers,
professionally known as the
swim team, has proven to be
the most formidable lineup
since the addition of swimming
as a varsity sport in 2002.
The MUS Varsity swim
team finished the county swim
season with an overall record
of 46-4 and a second place finish at the county championships, which ties the highest finish at the county meet in the
team’s history. The only losses
were to the annual powerhouse
Christian Brothers, who has
had the dominant team in the
county for the last several
years. Another impressive fin-
ish included fourteenth place at vitation to the Germantown
the McCallie Invitational. MUS Winter Invitational. These high
was the only team from west finishes were all due to the exTennessee to earn an invitation, tra effort that the team gave as
and in their first trip to the pres- a whole this year. However, intigious meet, fourteenth place dividual efforts were just as imwas an impressive finish in a pressive.
Individual efforts accounted
field of twenty-two teams that
included the annual Georgia for the school records that
and Tennessee state champi- were smashed this year. The
ons, Westminster of Atlanta two hundred yard and four hund r e d
a n d
McCallie,
y a r d
freestyle
as well as
relay
m a n y
times
other elite
were
swimming
broken
programs
f o u r
f r o m
times
around
Captain Hank Wynn adds each. At
the Chatsignificant depth to the Aquatic t h e
tanooga
Owls
county
a r e a .
More impressive was the sec- meet, when the four hundred
ond place finish in our first in- yard relay time was broken for
the last time, the relay team
broke their own record by five
seconds, an incredible improvement. The two hundred
yard medley relay time was
also broken this year. Individual records broken this year
included fifty and one hundred
yard breaststroke records broken by team captain Hank
Wynn and one hundred yard
freestyle record broken by
Daniel Harriman.
Some of the most impressive stats from this season are
the county and state qualifying
times accrued by the team. The
thirty-one swimmers combined
for 141 county qualifying times,
and everyone had at least one
event that he qualified in. Of the
thirty-one, eight swimmers
combined for twenty state
qualifying times, a number
which dwarfs last year’s total
of three state cuts. With the increased participation at the
state meet, the team hopes to
make their best showing yet.
With this season coming to
a close, one must begin to look
to next year. Although the swim
team will lose many seniors
(Hank Wynn, Cody Mayer,
Aaron Struminger, Tommy
Horton, Parth Sheth, and
Jonathan Barnes), this season’s
incredible improvements over
last season make next season
even more promising with current juniors Daniel Harriman
and Dex Witte as well as current sophomores John Goldsmith and Erim Sarinoglu.
Hopefully they will finally be
able to give CBHS a formidable challenge at the county
meet. The future looks very
bright for the Aquatic Owls.
Carlsen Takes Third at Racquet Club
BY WORTH MORGAN
The titans Roddick and
Haas fell as Mirnyi rose to the
occasion. Once again this year,
at the newly sponsored Regions/Morgan Keegan Tennis
Championships, the top seeds
failed to reach the finals.
Roddick and Haas, both formerly ranked #2 in the world,
were the highlighted players in
the men’s draw. Roddick, the
crowd and tournament’s favorite, attracted thousands of fans
with his powerful playing style
and trucker hat attitude. Also
entering the tournament with
wildcards were Zach Dailey,
former MUS standout, and
Brian Baker, a young gun from
Nashville. I was particularly
impressed with the play of both.
Zach Dailey came into the tour- Baker lost 7-6 (1) 6-7 (1) 7-6
nament ranked 851st in the (9) with three unconverted
world (usually a player ranked match points. For those of you
100 will still need to qualify) but who have no idea what those
numbers
was able to
mean, that’s
hold his
own against
as close as a
match can
a very good
Ginepri in
get. Even
though he
the first
failed to win
round.
a match, the
Brian Baker
1 7 3 r d
opened
eyes across
ranked
Brian Baker
the tennis
circuit with
had a great
tournament
his first
appearround loss
ance, and I
to the #8
was personseed, Max
Photo Courtesy of Regions/
Morgan
Keegan
Mirnyi. The
ally glad to
Kenneth Carlsen took his
loss was exthird ATP title with a win see his sucpected, but
over Max Mirnyi cess, given
my past experience with him:
just six years ago I beat his
younger cousin Adam Baker
while Brian watched in total
despair.
As anticipated, Roddick
cruised through his first two
matches and was well on his
way to a third until he turned
his ankle in an awkward misstep. At that critical moment the
crowd fell silent. Although he
struggled through the rest of the
match and came away with a
close victory, Roddick, with
much apology, withdrew from
his semifinal match against the
87th ranked Kenneth Carlsen
from Denmark. On the other
side of the draw, Mirnyi
struggled through every match
on his way to the semifinals
while Haas waded across his
side of the bracket. Although
Mirnyi’s style consists of little
more than a rare serve and volley combination, he was able
to dismiss Haas with ease in order to advance to the Men’s
Finals. Carlsen then defeated
Mirnyi 7-5, 7-5 in a not-soepic final match, claiming the
third ATP title of his rapidly ascending career. Under new
tournament director Phil
Chamberlain, the pro tournament had yet another record
year in ticket sales and increased prize money for the
players. The tournament’s chief
success, though, lies in its continued support of the St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital.
I believe every fan in attendance can be proud of that
special legacy.
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Giving Fans the Cold Shoulder?
BYAARON STRUMINGER
For the first time in almost
one hundred years, Lord
Stanley’s Cup will not be
awarded to the best hockey
team in the National Hockey
League. Unfortunately, on
February 16, 2005, the NHL
owners decided to cancel the
season because of labor disputes. Leading up to the cancellation, the negotiations
seemed to be reviving, and a
season appeared to be in the
American hockey future. However, the hopes of Mario
Lemeiux, Wayne Gretsky, and
others did not amount to any
agreement by Saturday, February 11. Now, the season,
instead of a Jaromir Jagr slap
shot, has definitely been put
“top shelf.”
The heart of the dispute was
a salary cap and a revenuesharing program that the owners wanted. Instead, the players wanted things to remain the
same. On one side, the own- to the bargaining troubles,
ers were losing money, televi- many of the players had alsion ratings had plummeted, ready started playing and makand the owners did not have ing a living overseas. The
enough money to pay salaries. leagues in Russia, Finland, and
On the other side, the players many other countries decided
did not want a salary cap, and to give the players what they
they refused the revenue shar- wanted. Especially in Russia,
ing program that the owners where huge companies back
wanted. Eventually, the own- hockey teams, teams started
ers dropped the revenue shar- giving players only a small pering program, and the players centage less than what they
agreed to a salary cap. In the were making in the NHL. In
end however, the two sides addition, the foreign leagues
were about 5 million dollars per were willing to let the NHL
stars visit home
team away
throughout the
from reaching a
year and to give
deal. That
the stars many
money might
extras that the
seem minusNHL would have
cule, but when
expected their
you multiply
players to pay for
that by 30
themselves.
teams, the
These foreign
sides end up
leagues have
being about
been very suc150 million dolPhoto Courtesy of AP
lars apart.
Fan bids NHL a sad cessful because
farewell hockey has better
In addition
fan support around the world
than it does in the United
States.
Although hockey does have
better international support
around the world than in the
U.S., America can offer one
thing that many other countries
cannot—revenue. Television
contracts, advertisements, and
the price of tickets make
America the greatest country in
which to have professional
sports. However, the lockout
has made many owners lose
customers. Many fans, especially in the North, have expressed their spite of the NHL
by purchasing “End the
Hockey Lockout” bumper
stickers. They have also written local and national newspapers saying that they will never
buy tickets for a hockey game
again.
So, the question becomes,
“Who should get the blame?”
In this type of situation, both
sides are to blame. Having
said that, in my opinion, the
players should have accepted
the last deal proposed by the
owners before the cancellation
of the season. Ticket prices
have skyrocketed because of
the owners’ need to pay the
player’s salaries, but the players do not seem to realize that
fact. The NHL is losing money,
and someone has to pay; whatever its source, the greed must
stop.
Hockey in America has
changed before our eyes.
There used to be superstars
like Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe,
and Wayne Gretsky. Now
relative “no namers” like Brad
Richards, Martin St. Louis,
Danny Heatley, and Jerome
Iginla rule the sport. Hockey
as we used to know it is now
dead in North America, and
the question for the owners and
the players is whether it will be
revived. Only an end to the
lockout will answer that question.
Mulder and Tim Hudson, and
it has a staff of unproven arms.
The Rangers’ offense remains
one of the most powerful in the
game, but its weak pitching staff
will keep them from contention.
The Mariners are coming off a
ninety-nine loss season and the
Angels should once again reach
the playoffs.
greatly improved its pitching
staff with the addition of Tim
Hudson. The Mets opened
their checkbooks with the
signings of Pedro Martinez and
the most sought after free agent;
Carlos Beltran. The Phillies
should rebound from their disappointing season last year,
and even the Nationals could
pose a threat. But the Florida
Marlins are the best team by
far. The signing of Carlos
Delgado adds power to an already speedy lineup, and the
team’s pitching staff remains the
best in the majors. The Marlins should win the division.
The NL Central is basically
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
The National Pastime
BY ZAK KISBER
This winter has been a roller
coaster ride for Major League
Baseball. After the Red Sox
stunned the world by winning
their first World Series title
since 1918, things stayed just
as exciting. Although talk
about the steroid controversy
dominated the headlines for
much of the winter, this
offseason saw its fair share of
trades. Many big name players relocated, shifting the balance of power across the
league. Now, with spring training finally underway, it’s time to
start thinking about predictions:
The AL East has the peren-
nial contender: the New York
Yankees. But the Yankees
might have their work cut out
for them this season in defending their division title. The Baltimore Orioles added Sammy
Sosa to an already potent
lineup and will be a major
threat, not to mention that the
Red Sox are fresh off a World
Series title. However, since the
Devil Rays and Blue Jays are
non-factors and the Red Sox’s
and Orioles’ pitching are still in
question, the Yankees will win
once again.
Next up to the plate is the
AL Central. This division has
three teams with legitimate
shots at the crown.
Cleveland’s well-balanced offense and solid rotation could
bring them back on top. The
White Sox added Orlando
Hernandez and Jose Contreras
to their rotation and could also
make a run at first place. Although Minnesota lost a lot of
its big names, its rotation makes
for one of the best in the majors and will lead to yet another
division championship in 2005.
The AL West should be
quite entertaining this season.
Last year’s AL West race went
down to the last day of the season. This year, however, it
should be much easier for the
L.A. Angels to win the title.
Oakland shipped off Mark
My AL Wildcard: Boston
Red Sox
The National League
should be quite competitive this
season. After a very active winter, the NL East is by far
baseball’s most improved and
toughest division. Atlanta
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Swords and Projectiles
BY WALTER KLYCE
I’m sometimes amazed at
how many things go unnoticed
at this school. Last week, several students spoke to me expressing their interest in the
Mock Trial team; until then,
they hadn’t realized what it was
all about or, in some cases, that
we even had a team. Although
the MUS student body eagerly
supports the football and basketball teams, far fewer students can attest to having actually been to a baseball game
or a tennis match. And meanwhile, other sports pass completely under the radar.
Specifically, I’m referring to
two sports: the fencing team
and the Frisbee team. Although the fencing team is far
PASTIME
a two-horse race. Cincinnati
and Pittsburgh should have better years, but still are too young
to make that big of an impact.
Although they still shouldn’t be
ruled out, Houston lost many
of its big names, including Jeff
Kent, and it also has many
questionable pitchers. The defending champs, the St. Louis
Cardinals, added Mark
Mulder to an already good
pitching staff, but expect for
Chris Carpenter to have a soso year. Their middle infield is
bad both offensively and defensively, making room for the
Cubs to win the division. With
a healthy pitching staff anchored by Kerry Wood and
Mark Prior and a more balanced offense, this team might
finally break the curse and dethrone the Cards.
The NL West also saw a lot
of player movement this
smaller, it is probably more
well-known, thanks to team
captain and club president
Greg Jones’s showdown during halftime of the CBHS basketball game. Despite Greg’s
unlucky defeat in this epic
epee battle, the crowd was
supportive and excited. Since
its founding last year, the fencing club has been practicing
every Saturday each semester;
furthermore, the team placed
well in a tournament at Rhodes
last fall and is looking forward
to several more this semester.
The team originally began training with foils, the lightest weight
and strictest style of fencing
sword, but quickly focused in
on epee, the more popular and
mainstream blade. However,
club member Joe Hooker has
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
offseason. The Rockies are a
no-name team full of rookies
that will have another rough
season in Colorado. The Diamondbacks are hoping to improve from their 111-loss season with the additions of
Shawn Green and Troy Glaus.
The Padres added speed to
their lineup, but their pitching
staff has no real ace and will
struggle. The defending champion, the Los Angeles Dodgers received a major face-lift,
adding Jeff Kent, J.D. Drew,
and Derek Lowe, but the Giants will be too much. Moises
Alou should have a major impact, and their dominant starting rotation will clinch the division title.
shown his fervent desire to
dash his opponents with a saber, the heaviest and most brutal fencing weapon. Nowadays, points can be recognized
by an electronic system which
registers each hit. At this time,
the team has about six fencers
and is coached by local champ
Brad Kroeker, who has placed
third at the national level. If
you’re interested in joining up,
see junior Greg Jones for an
application form (he’s the tall
guy).
The Frisbee team is currently entering its second season as a club sport. Although
the official season began just
this Saturday, at the annual
Jamboree Kickoff, these guys
can be found playing Ultimate
outside the lower school every
single week of the year. Now
that the season’s actually
started, practices will be held
every Wednesday and Friday
after school, in addition to the
games themselves (on Saturdays), to ensure that both our
Varsity and JV teams make a
good showing in the Memphis
Frisbee League. Under the
leadership of Coach David
Stenberg and several hotshot
seniors, such as Jordan
Crawford, Hank Wynn, and
Parth Sheth, each team has
done well in the past and will
hopefully continue to flourish.
For more information about the
League, visit the official league
website, memphisfrisbee.com,
or simply ask one of the players.
Now comes the real ques-
tion: when will these teams become recognized MUS
sports? School policy requires
that a club sport exist for two
years before being recognized—by fall 2005 this will
hold true for both fencing and
Frisbee. Both sports have club
fees, official uniforms, qualified
coaches, and scheduled practices. And clearly, these guys
are representing the school just
as well as anyone. Perhaps we
should consider acknowledging their efforts and showing
that we appreciate them too.
It happened for swimming and
lacrosse—maybe it’ll happen
for fencing and Frisbee, too.
Wrestling Grapples State
BY FRANK JEMISON
This year’s wrestling season culminated in a great individual state tournament. MUS
wrestling has reached new
heights this year, winning its
first state match and finishing
above CBHS, and we have
done it with a varsity line-up
that combines first-year wrestlers with five-year veterans.
Despite all this success, the
entire team knew the true test
was to come at the state individual tournament. We went
into the competition with many
medal-hopefuls. Top-ranked
wrestlers Andrew Gordon and
Mason George had their eyes
on state championships, while
My NL Wild Card: St. many other wrestlers sought
Louis Cardinals
lesser places. The tournament,
which was double elimination,
began on Friday morning.
Throughout the morning MUS
and CBHS were neck and
neck in team points, yet there
would be three MUS heartbreaks before the day was
over. Andrew Gordon (275
lbs), who had entered the tournament ranked number one,
lost a close match that made
his prospective state championship impossible. Nelson
Rainey (152 lbs), who had
looked as though he would
medal, suffered a concussion
as a result of a head butt. Mason George, ranked number
two, also sustained a head butt
that, besides slicing Mason’s
brow open, caused him to lose
a heartbreakingly close match.
Both Mason and Andrew went
on to take third place, while
Nelson was too injured to continue. Seniors Josh Hall (145
lbs) and Joey Friend (215 lbs)
both fought their way to fourth
place, while Senior Sloan
Abernathy (171 lbs), despite
being unable to practice for
several weeks due to a broken
nose, took fifth place. The final medal was for sixth place
and went to sophomore Zach
Gordon (160).
Although only the top-six
places receive medals, eighthgrader Barrett Folk (103 lbs),
sophomore Ken Haltom (119
lbs), and junior Frank Jemison
(140 lbs) finished in the topeight. These nine wrestlers, as
well as the others, helped
MUS secure its seventh place
spot, the highest team ranking
MUS has ever received at the
Individual State Tournament.
Thanks to the coaches and
wrestlers (particularly the seniors), this wrestling season
has been one of MUS’ best!
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Digital Music Creates Opportunities For Everyone
BY ANDREW OLINGER
Since the millennium, the
way people create music has
been drastically revolutionized.
Nowadays, people have become increasingly dependent
upon computers for their everyday lives. If people will use
computers for everything from
shopping to sexual satisfaction,
why not use the computer to
create music? Any musician
knows that music in its simplest
form is a combination of
rhythm and melody. When
people turn on the radio, they
often pay attention to the lyrics
of the music, disregarding
rhythm, chord progression, or
melodic development. One of
the foremost genres of music
in pop culture is hip-hop.
When the radio is tuned to a
rap station and Snoop Dogg is
blaring, people listen to the
rhyme scheme, but the musical
arrangement is often ignored.
Pop culture has forgotten the
simple fact that essentially, Rap
and hip-hop are just groups of
beats put together to create a
catchy rhythm. On the other
hand, alternative rock tends to
place musical emphasis upon
the melody. But whether you
ride down the street bumping
Snoop Dogg or the Foo Fighters, people generally assume
that musicians create the music using instruments and a recording studio.
The first genre of music to
utilize computers for making
music was (appropriately
named) Electronica. Electronic
music combines the heavy
rhythms of hip-hop with the
captivating melodies of rock
and roll. The driving beat of
electronic music (often known
as Techno) makes it a style of
music that suits many different
scenarios: one can run, dance,
drive, or work out to Techno
music. Not only is the music
appropriate for many situations, but it also can evoke a
wide range of emotion. The
enthralling melodies can make
techno either relaxing or exciting. When most people think
of rap, hip-hop, techno, or any
other genres of music, they
usually assume that musicians
made the music in a recording
studio. That assumption is not
always true, however.
In reality, one does not need
to be proficient in an instrument
to compose electronic music.
There are many computer programs on the market that allow
people to create rhythms and
entire songs simply by clicking
the mouse on their computer.
Such programs include Fruity
Loops, CuBase, and Acid Pro.
As opposed to dedicating
years of practice to mastering
an instrument and spending
thousands of dollars on recording equipment, one can reap
the benefits of technology and
make music from the comfort
of one’s home. After a few
quick tutorials someone can be
well on his way to making
unique and expressive music.
Personally, I am experienced in creating music both
digitally and manually. For creating music electronically, I use
the program Fruity Loops. The
premise behind this program is
to have multiple “loops” of
music that are played at rhythmic intervals to compile a song.
Fruity Loops, unlike similar
programs, is very user-friendly
as well as versatile. It is generally convenient to begin by creating drum loops and bass
lines. Then one can adjust the
timing and the accents on dif-
ferent beats to make the
rhythm more complex and realistic. The drum rhythms in
Fruity Loops are often so realistic that it becomes difficult
to tell the difference between
digital and live music. The
melodies in Fruity Loops are
also simple to use but just as
impressive. Within the program, the instrument, pitch,
note length, and overall blend
are each adjustable. There are
an infinite number of ways to
generate melodies and then
manipulate them to your liking.
Once the rhythm and melody
of the song are established, one
can spice up the music using
digital effects. When it comes
to effects, Fruity Loops has it
covered. There is a wide array
of effects at your fingertips such
as reverb, flanger, phaser,
“wah”, filter cuts, beat slicers,
and parametric equalizers.
Each of the effect in Fruity
Loops manipulates the sound
wave in such a way that it can
add a personal touch to any
song. If a person is not interested in creating an original
song from the ground up, Fruity
Loops can accommodate.
Fruity Loops allows users to
import previously recorded
sound clips and manipulate,
add to, or distort these files.
For example, a person can import music from the Sesame
Street soundtrack, add a heavy
techno beat, slice or distort the
vocals, and add effects to create “The Club Vortex Sesame
Street Techno Throw-down”
remix. By using Fruity Loops
you can customize your music
in a whole new way.
Fruity Loops, Cubase, and
Acid Pro have revolutionized
the way the professional world
thinks about music. For people
who are tired of the same monotonous music on the radio,
Fruity Loops provides an opportunity for a person to create his own music. Opinions
vary concerning the new age of
digital music. While some
would say that these programs
are pandering to a society that
is already lazy enough, others
feel that with new levels of technology, new levels of creativity
can be attained. Personal opinions aside, the programs are
entertaining at the very least.
For more information, search
for these programs and others
on the Internet.
Robert Rodriguez (Once scheduled to come out May 6.
Upon a Time in Mexico).
Unleashed: This underKingdom of Heaven: Rid- ground British crime flick stars
ley Scott’s second war-epic, Jet Li as a pit-fighter who has
but this one is based on the cru- been trained as a mob boss’s
sades in the 12 th century. dog his entire life. After Li’s esSooner or later, the public will caping, a pianist played by
have to realize that epic war Morgan Freeman takes him
scores and trailers don’t nec- under his wing and shows him
essarily mean the movie will be what it means to be
good. Stars Orlando Bloom human...until the boss comes
and Liam Neelson, and is looking for revenge.
Star Wars: Episode III –
Revenge of the Sith: Hopefully, it will be better than Episodes I and II, and the trailer
looks pretty cool. Nathalie
Portman, Ewan McGregor,
Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden
Christensen star in the third
movie of the second Star Wars
trilogy. Debuts May 19.
Scarlett Johansson in the third,
and most likely the worst installment of the Mission Impossible series. The plot twists
have been just too obvious
since the first movie. Opens
May 25.
Movie Outlook
BY BEN BLEUSTEIN
Sin City: The most anticipated film of 2005 opens on
April 1. Based on the graphic
novels by Frank Miller, Sin City
looks to break new ground in
filmmaking. It brings black and
white back to the screen with a
little bit more…also, it has
Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba,
Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen,
and Nick Stahl. Directed by
The Hitchhiker’s Guide
to the Galaxy: Based on the
Bestselling Sci-fi Adventure
Mission Impossible 3: novel of the late and great DouTom Cruise is back with glas Adams. Stars Warwick
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
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MOVIES
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Davis (he played an ewok and
Leprechaun in the Leprechaun
series, also professor Flitwik in
Harry Potter.) Opens June 3.
Batman Begins: Batman
Begins tells the story of Bruce
Wayne’s venture into crime
fighting. It is the most highly anticipated Blockbuster of the
summer and has an all-star cast
including Christian Bale,
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe (Last
Samurai), and Liam Neelson.
Many expect this movie to be
the best Batman installment yet.
Opens June 17.
War of the Worlds: Based
on H.G. Well’s Sci-fi Action
thriller, and also considered one
of the biggest Blockbusters to
date, War of the Worlds stars
Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning
(the little girl in Man on Fire),
Miranda Otto (Eowyn in Lord
of the Rings), and Tim Robbins.
Directed by Steven Spielberg,
War of the Worlds opens June
29.
Fantastic Four: Another
feeble attempt at turning a great
comic book into a movie. We
can only hope it’s more like XMen and Spiderman and less
like The Punisher or the Hulk.
Stars Jessica Alba and FX’s
Michael Chiklis (The Shield)
and Julian McMahon (Nip/
Tuck). Opens July 1.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Tim Burton’s latest movie, based on the imaginative novel by Roald Dahl.
Johnny Depp stars as Willy
Wonka. Burton’s taking a radically different approach from
the classic, and I don’t think
Depp can fill Gene Wilder’s
shoes. Opens July 15.
Ong Bak: A Thai-nacious Thriller
BY ANDREW MANUGIAN
champion, and when a henchman of a ruthless Bangkok
The trailer for Ong Bak crime boss steals the statue’s
promised Tony Jaa to be the sacred head, Ting promises to
new martial arts superstar, reclaim his village’s pride and
comparing him to the likes of joy. Of course, this exposition
Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and finally takes under ten minutes—just
Bruce Lee. At first, I was more enough for me to do my math
than a little skeptical, not only homework and be back before
of this rising star, but also of the the movie really started. Ting
claim that all his stunts and goes to Bangkok and meets
martial arts are done with no George, a native villager who
computer graphics, no wires, has abandoned the religious
and no safety nets. After view- rural life for a fast-paced one
ing it, I can say that Ong Bak of scamming in the city. I’m sure
is one part Fists of Fury, one there’s some sort of prodigal
part Rumble in the Bronx, and son story embedded in his exone part Kickboxer, and it de- istence, but by this time, the
livers. I, for one, disapprove of director must have realized that
the growing Hollywood trend most of the audience will be
towards digitally enhanced almost asleep. To compensate
fights scenes. Admittedly, I for an initially slow plot, the diliked Hero and House of Fly- rector makes sure that Ting, on
ing Daggers, but this trend his quest to recover the
towards ridiculous wire-fu and Buddha’s head, gets forced
implausible fights stops with into various scraps in fight clubs
Ong Bak. The lack of effects and the streets of Bangkok with
gives the movie a gritty feel not seedy men, each with strange
unlike some of Bruce Lee’s hair, aviators, Serpico t-shirts,
best, and the focus on raw or any combination of the
fights and physical ability dis- aforementioned. The contrast
plays physicality not seen in between the simple life of the
most Hollywood attempts at village and the dirty back-alley
life of Bangkok crime syndikung-fu.
Ong Bak tells the story of cates is actually done quite
Ting, an orphan raised at the well. Admittedly, Ong Bak may
temple of Ong Bak, a Buddha not win Best Screenplay; like
statue in rural Thailand. Ting Jaa, however, the film gets the
has grown into the village’s job done without an ostentatious
presentation.
Viewing Ong
Bak enabled
me to
see firsthand the
merits of
Jaa, the
Photo Courtesy of movies.yahoo.com
Tony Jaa prepares for mortal combat n e w
martial arts superstar touted by
critics as the “new Bruce Lee.”
After seeing this movie, I don’t
doubt that some critics will be
calling Bruce Lee the “old Tony
Jaa,” and I can see this talented
individual being a big star in his
future, which may be short
judging by the risks he is taking with his own stunts. However, he has by no means
reached the amiability of a star
like Jackie Chan, for he is generally soft-spoken and
uncharismatic in his acting. This
unassuming demeanor is completely cast aside when he
fights, for he becomes a visceral fighting machine. The
most striking element of Jaa’s
martial arts is his almost uncanny speed and brutality, and
his eagerness to show the world
his mastery of Muay Thai fighting style is quite apparent. The
driving techno beat that exists
in every fight is plain, but the
soundtrack choice proves effective for the waves of goons
through whom Jaa skillfully
cuts. Throughout many of the
actions scenes, I could not believe what Jaa was doing to
both his body and those of the
unfortunate stunt goons he
thrashed: throwing himself and
them through windows, tables,
walls, and floors, kicking a man
with legs on fire, and even
kneeing a man off of a moving
motorcycle.
Obviously, my expectations
were not high for the plot, and
since the movie is pretty much
an exhibition for Jaa’s raw
physical ability and gravity-defying kung-fu, I was somewhat
glad the story was meager and
rushed. The fights are where
Jaa’s acrobatic physicality really shines, from one of his first
with a man who could only be
described as Weird Al on steroids to his climactic fight in
front of a Buddha statue with
the crime boss’s henchman, a
villain reduced to a frenzy by
strength-enhancing drugs. Jaa
is lightning fast and the scenes
were delights to view: the
movie promised no Hollywood
action, and the fights seemed
as if I were watching a live extreme martial arts event. The
stunts were also very impressive, especially in a chase scene
on foot where Jaa jumps over,
under, and through just about
anything one could imagine. I
was a little thrown off by the
footage of moves and stunts
repeated from multiple angles
(reminiscent of Walker Texas
Ranger’s spin kicks), but some
of the absurd stunts actually
warranted two or even three
viewings. Even though Jaa’s
stunts are expertly choreographed beforehand, the uncanny dexterity of the man is
enough to put special effects
guys out of business. One buzz
killer in the movie’s fast-paced
action was the less-than-highspeed vehicle chase through
the city: call me jaded by big
budget effects, but a chase at
15 mph just doesn’t excite the
typical action moviegoer. The
boss’s voice was also more
annoying than intimidating, and
his evil plot was completely
nonsensical. Minor setbacks
aside, Ong Bak is the pure action movie fans have been
awaiting, and hopefully, bigtime Hollywood directors
might take a hint from the unrefined action Tony Jaa offers.
Andrew’s give the film
4 out of 5 buzzards.
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Peter Zanca’s Oscar Roundup
Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
Laura Linney, Kinsey
Virginia Madsen, Sideways
Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda
Natalie Portman, Closer
Best Cinematography
The Aviator
House of Flying Daggers
The Passion of the Christ
The Phantom of the Opera
A Very Long Engagement
Best Supporting Actor
Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
Alan Alda, The Aviator
Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
Jamie Foxx, Collateral
Clive Owen, Closer
The supporting actress award was a tossup between Cate
Blanchett and Natalie Portman. While Portman’s performances
get better with every role she plays, Blanchett’s incredible portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator won her the Oscar. She successfully embodied Hepburn’s mannerisms and
gave her character great depth.
Best Animated Film
The Incredibles
Shark Tale
Shrek 2
Thomas Haden Church’s performance in Sideways was both
entertaining and well done. However, the Academy very seldom gives awards to newcomers. This year’s supporting actor Oscar went to veteran actor Morgan Freeman for his performance in Million Dollar Baby.
Best Picture
Million Dollar Baby
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Ray
Sideways
Best Actress
Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
Annette Bening, Being Julia
Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace
Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake
Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
While Annette Bening and Imelda Stauton both gave terrific
performances, Hilary Swank was the heavy favorite in the best
actress category. Swank won the Oscar for her portrayal of a
scrappy boxer in Million Dollar Baby.
Best Actor
Jamie Foxx, Ray
Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda
Johnny Depp, Finding Neverland
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator
Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
While all five of these men played terrific roles in their movies,
Jamie Foxx’s tremendous portrayal of Ray Charles won him
the best actor Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay
Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind
The Aviator
Hotel Rwanda
The Incredibles
Vera Drake
Best Adapted Screenplay
Sideways
Before Sunset
Finding Neverland
Million Dollar Baby
The Motorcycle Diaries
This past year was an excellent year for cinema. Although each
of these films was great, Million Dollar Baby was by far the
year’s best film and fittingly won the best picture award.
Best Director
Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
Taylor Hackford, Ray
Mike Leigh, Vera Drake
Alexander Payne, Sideways
Martin Scorsese, The Aviator
This category became a head-to-head competition between
Clint Eastwood, who has had a stellar directing career to follow his incredible acting career, and Martin Scorsese, who
has been nominated for this award five times, but has never
won. In the end, Eastwood’s superior work in Million Dollar
Baby won him the best director award.
FORD’S VISIT, CONTINUED
ways; the question we have to
answer is what to do for kids
who don’t have a [parental]
support system at that age.”
Ford feels that much of our
city’s learning problems occur
because small children are neglected, left without mentally
stimulating interaction with parents. But, he cautioned, “until
the outcry gets loud enough,
and people are willing to spend
money, we will be asking these
same questions [about educational gaps] for awhile.” Ford
went on to address Mayor
Herenton’s consolidation plans
and stated plainly that he, as a
fellow taxpayer, understands
the outrage of many citizens.
Stating that no one would
refuse to pay for performing
schools and services, Ford
shifted the blame to government and moved to focus on
how to improve the delivery of
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
services.
Equality in Memphis was
also a focus of Ford. Extending his theme of collaboration,
he outlined his plan for government investment in America’s
youth. Ford’s Aspire Program
would allocate $500 to each
person at birth, depositing the
funds in a government account
to stimulate parent/child investment in lower- and middleclass homes. “When you bring
people to the table, giving them
ownership,” Ford stated, “they
will act differently.” These citizens would then, at age thirty,
return the $500, showing allegiance and responsibility to the
country. “We gotta get people
something earlier in life, something they can build on and use
to compound,” he said;
throughout his description, the
goal of giving kids a head start
was apparent.
Ford’s message encouraged every student to take seriously his role in America’s future. The responsibility is ours
“to create a more perfect
union” and make America better, both for its citizens and in
the eyes of the world. Rep.
Ford’s challenge will certainly
remain in our minds for years
to come.