NEWS - Shady Side Academy

Volume 100, No. 5
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Pittsburgh, PA
SNEWSE
HADY SID
NEWSLINE
Prom Preview
This year’s Junior-Senior Prom will be held June 1 at the Lamont
Restaurant on Mount Washington. Tickets will be for sale for $50 a person
during review week.
Community Service
Courtesy of Communications Office
34 units of blood were collected on April 24 during the spring blood
drive. Over 100 units were collected in total from the three drives this year.
With this much blood donated, SSA students and faculty are helping over
300 individuals in the Pittsburgh community.
Seniors looking spiffy! New inductees of Shady Side’s Cum Laude Chapter smile with pride.
By Justine Kim
Observed every spring, each year
since 1929, the Cum Laude Society induction is one of the most appreciated
and respected traditions at Shady Side
Academy. Most of us have previously
had the opportunity to witness the ceremony and learn from the guest speakers. This year on April 16, Chapter
President Tom Southard welcomed 25
inductees and guests.
Chapter Secretary Scott McClure
then presented the 2008 inductees: Laura
Bagamery, Ayse Baybars, Jessica
Chang, Christine Currie, Joshua Diggs,
David Edwards, Joshua Falk, Katie
Falloon, Paige Ferrise, Hannah Foster,
Emily Harmon, Vijay Kedar, Neil Lax,
Tara Magge, Hina Mahmood, Jay
Parepally, Alex Petraglia, Charles
Phillips, Hadley Pratt, Varun Reddy,
Anna Rued, Gautam Sharma, Kristen
Slinkard, Rob Tisherman, and Caroline
Washburn.
After the induction, Senior School
Head Jeremy LaCasse introduced the
guest speaker, distinguished alumnus,
Henry (Hank) A. Cauley, class of 1973.
Since he graduated, Mr. Cauley says he
has taken advantage of all the opportunities made available to him.
After receiving his Masters Degree
in Chemical Engineering and an MBA
from Harvard Business School, Mr.
Cauley pursued other interests in Australia, as partner in the U.S. arm of Ecos;
he traveled around the globe utilizing his
business experience and has held various
positions as U.S. President of the Forest
Stewardship Council, Director of the
World Wildlife Fund’s Biodiversity
Conservation Network, and Country
Director for VITA in Somalia.
During the assembly, Mr. Cauley
congratulated and encouraged the 2008
inductees and the student body to pursue their dreams and overcome future
obstacles with confidence.
Photo by Kimberly Flit
Twenty-five join Cum Laude legions
CAFE Club lead by president Alli Rath sponsored a four square
tournament, April 11 and 18 in Curry Gym. The tournament cost $10.00
per team to enter. Teams Salt N’ Peppa (Nick Rossi and Martel Brooks)
and The Birkenstocks, (Olivia Seecof and Kasia Bobak) were in the final
round. Nick Rossi and Martel Brooks came out on top and won a cash
prize. Proceeds from the tournament will go towards women’s education in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. CAFE club is also sponsoring a drive to send
school supplies to Middle Eastern children.
During the Spring Musical, a new campaign was launched. The Cure
Finders Character Campaign collected $933, more than Fox Chapel Area
High School raised, to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The winning
characters were Lazur Wolf (David Gookin), Fruma Sarah (Ally Supowitz),
and Grandma Tzeitel (Samantha Rossi).
Date Rape
Guest speaker Katie Koestner spoke to the seniors in the Kountz
Theater on April 23 about date rape. She shared her personal experiences
from college while warning seniors to be careful during their college years
ahead.
Student Council Elections
Current Juniors Sean Hannon and Ali Mears have been elected to
serve as Senior President and Vice President of Student Council. Current
Sophomore Benjamin Ross has been elected as Junior Vice President.
Class representatives for next year’s Sophomore class are Brody Kelley
and Camille Scanga. For the Junior class, Karen Dawson and Nick
Rossi. Next year’s Senior class student council representatives are Kelly
Grote and Christian Petredis.
Photo by Josh Kalla
Prize Day 2008
By Varun Reddy
All for you! Smiling Untucked members pull raffle tickets for the Penguins jersey.
Better than “Better Than Ezra”
By Olivia Seecof
“Sister Hazel” was definitely better
than “Better than Ezra.” Ok, maybe
they were equally good, but I couldn’t
pass up such a great play on words.
Over 800 people attended the spectacular night that was Untucked 2008.
The McKnight Hockey Center was
full of fun festivities. There were games
like First and Ten, Skatter ball, and Frog
hop, not to mention the two giant Wii
screens projected onto the wall. In true
Shady Side style, there was also a dazzling abundance of food: burgers, hot
dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, Rita’s ice
and almost every imaginable type of
candy. Freshman Untucked 2009 member Ally Bernstein commented, “There
were M&M’s, tootsie rolls, tootsie pops,
and dots! It was amazing.”
This year’s main charity was Pittsburgh Steeler Charlie Batch’s Best of the
Batch. The Untucked proceeds also
benefited Riding for the Handicapped of
Western Pennsylvania and Crohn’s and
Colitis Foundation of America’s Camp
Oasis. The event raised about $18,000
this year, compared to last year’s
$17,000. Members of past Untucked
committees combined forces with current Untucked members and next year’s
Untucked members to orchestrate the
concert over many laborious hours.
Untucked 2009 member sophomore
Veronica Lee said, “There is a really
great group of students for next year, and
Mr. Chottiner commits so much to this
program every year.”
But let’s get down to business and
talk about the bands. There was a large
black curtain dividing the arena in half. In
front of the curtain were the activities,
but behind, students and “Sister Hazel”
groupies lined up to hear the jams. First
up was a band made up of seniors from
North Allegheny called “Frequency”.
Next was a preview of the rapper Ez
Mac, who came back to the stage for a
longer performance. “Capital Road”, a
band from Pine Richland, also played.
Then SSA’s own Jazz Combo, who
dubbed themselves “Brother Hazel”,
took the stage for a grand performance.
Carly Herman said of the Combo, “They
were really good, and the crowd was into
it. It was bomb.”
Former lead singer of “the
Clarks”, Scott Blasey, opened for “Sister Hazel” who finally took the stage at
8:30 P.M. for about an hour and a half.
Sophomore Lizzi Diggs commented, “I
was grooving to their music! They were
stupendous.”
Alli Rath, one winner of the V.I.P
backstage passes, said, “Meeting Sister
Hazel was amazing because I’ve been
listening to them since I was in elementary school, and I’ve always loved their
music.”
As amazing as Untucked 2008 was,
Untucked 2009 promises to be just as
good, if not better, as Untucked 2009
member sophomore Nick Rossi commented, “I’m so excited to begin working on next year’s concert--it’s going to
be off the hook!”
The Senior School’s annual Prize
Day was held on May 9 in Rauh Theatre.
Prize Day celebrates not only the academic achievements, but also the exemplary characteristics of the members of
our community.
English Department Awards
Harvard Club Award Victoria
Vercellotti
Brown Alumni Award Sean Hannon
Instructors’ Award Josh Falk
Independent Study Priyanka
Srinivasa
Bill Avner Creative Writing Prize
Alex Pitz, Hadley Pratt
English Department Achievement
Award Alexa Hunter
Publications Prize Laura Bagamery,
Ayse Baybars, Josh Diggs, Katie Falloon,
Emily Harmon
World Languages Department
Awards
German 1
Victoria Vercellotti
German 2
Charlie Rosenthal
German 3
Kevin Lemon
German 4
Trevor Scheid
German 5
Emily Harmon,
Jayant Parepally
World Language Department Prize
Josh Falk
George Byran Waldrop Latin Prize
Tara Magge
Josiah L. Goldsmith Prize Jack
Marous
First Year French Giovanni Zenati
Beginning Chinese Eric Bucklew, A.J.
Lewen
Peacock Chinese Prize Hina
Mahmood
Advanced Spanish Prize Neil Lax
Peter John Gray Language Prize
Frankie Costa, Alli Rath, Danny Rua,
Joe Tumolo
Mathematics Department Awards
M.A. Cancelliere Economics Prize
Alex Petraglia
Joseph P. Pavlovich Mathematics
Achievement Prize Josh Falk
Mathematics Instructors’ Prize
Adam Mirowitz, Ed Sheerer
Theodore R. Leaman/Anthony J.
Botti Math Science Improvement Prize
Christine Currie
Mathematics and Science Medal
Josh Lee
Science Department Awards
David R. Weill III Science Awards
Luke Elias, Elizabeth Ross, Lauren Williams
Science Department Prize
Ajay Kanak, Lauren Rabe
Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science
Award Brooke Gladstone, Victoria
Vercellotti
(Please see page eight.)
Opinions
2
Person first, future matriculate second
Shady Side News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
By Laura Bagamery
For the benefit of those rare species caught unawares (probably a
single News reader and the dog
whose bed is lined with this publication), neither I nor the other editorsin-chief will return to Shady Side
next year. Being the bright and ambitious seniors we are, we have all
received college acceptances, and
we have all happily—or otherwise—
committed to attend one of said colleges in the fall. Given the way that
I felt during the application process,
this is astounding. Huzzah to us all.
But, as a reader, your thoughts
hardly dwell on the fact that at least
one four-year college found a college prep school student appealing.
You’re wondering which one it was.
The odds are slim that you’ve honestly soldiered through an entire
page of the newspaper before discovering and succumbing to the notso-subtle charm of the massive list
of Shady Side ’08 graduates and the
colleges to which they’re matriculating, so you may already know. It
may well be the only reason you
have a copy of this paper. If not, I
commend your self-restraint, but
since I’m not going to answer the
one question that burns unanswered
deep within your soul, you might
need to check it now. Go ahead if
you must.
Don’t feel guilty, either; as any
senior can tell you, this weirdly intrusive curiosity is socially acceptable. Once any family friend, casual
acquaintance, or, yes, random
stranger latches onto the fact that a
teenager happens to be within the
last year of high school, he, she, or
it immediately switches to a set topic
of conversation: college. In fall, the
questions can relate to which ones
will be receiving applications and
which one is the “dream college.” In
winter, the interrogation turns to the
specifics of early action and early
decision. In spring, the student can
list acceptances or, finally, name the
college that receives a deposit.
Whatever the time of year, the subject can yield literally minutes of
nervous fidgeting that might otherwise be filled with pleasant chatter.
College is an ideal topic for gossip because no one can claim to
completely understand how it works;
any knowledge on the student is fair
game. There is ample room for speculation about both grades and standardized test scores. One can gush
about the plethora of extracurriculars
on the prospective student’s resume, or guess (with condescension) to what level the student is
willing to downright lie about his or
her activities. College is an excuse to
discuss the personal skills necessary for interviewing, the underhanded bragging skills necessary
for essay-writing, and, of course,
general intelligence, familial connections, and past scholastic scandal.
Nothing that doesn’t involve massive blood loss can be quite as scintillating gossip fodder.
In the futuristic dystopia of Max
Barry’s Jennifer Government, the
world is so dominated by corporations that people take last names
reflecting their workplaces; common
surnames include McDonald’s,
Mitsubishi, and Microsoft. Imagine
the convenience if a similar, collegethemed system could be enacted at
Shady Side. I would have time to
read for pleasure again because, in
the past two weeks, current students, former students, and teachers have all asked or referenced my
college options in the least appropriate of venues: by text message
(which is especially enjoyable if we
have never spoken), by instant-message, by whispering in the middle of
class, or, a personal favorite, by
shouting across a crowded area. As
an extremely private person, I’m
unusually sensitive to such prodding. But I also know beyond a
doubt that this constant barrage of
college questions has become an
invasion of privacy.
After a month of desperate soulsearching, plenty of advice, sought
after or otherwise, and just two college visits (that not only put a strain
on my small family but were also
cruelly dominated by ice-breakers
with other admitted students that
hinged on three questions: name,
hometown, and, yes, other colleges
that deemed me worthy), I have finally decided. A year ago, I never
would have imagined that my future
alma mater would either accept or
truly accommodate someone with
my eccentricities. After setting foot
on campus, I realized that it simply
“felt right,” that I wanted to think of
it as home. It’s the only way I knew
to make such a life-altering decision— to feel it. The sweating, swearing, and other exertions that preceded my thick letter have since
melted from memory.
Of course, however emotional the
ending has become, the means
hinged on the cold, calculated decision of a dark, shadowy admissions
committee, and I know that I owe all
of my appeal to the person that Shady
Side Academy has allowed me to
become. That committee’s choice
(and mine) was, in many ways, a
culmination of my high school career, but after a decade of SSA education, I’d like to be treated as though
I’ve accomplished something more.
I have interests and experiences that
no other high school could have
ever allowed me to pursue, and I
have friends so close that I fear I will
go to college with social expectations that are simply too high.
But it always has to be about
college, even if my own saga has
ended. My status as a yardstick
against which younger students can
measure themselves and their college chances is already tangible. By
this time next year, my name will be
synonymous with the northeastern
collection of beautiful old buildings
where I reside, and I can be invoked
to annoy some other college applicant.
Just remember: once, long ago, I
was a person first and a future matriculant second.
McCain: the comeback kid
By David Jimenez
Almost a year ago, very few political
pundits would ever have predicted the
resurgence of John McCain. Once the
early favorites, John McCain’s campaign went to a point of near financial
bankruptcy, barely affording to provide
gas for the campaign bus. And conservatives were becoming increasingly skeptical of the independent streak of the
fourth-term Arizona senator and Vietnam POW.
In a move of diplomacy for some and
political suicide for others, John McCain
compromised with Democrats and attempted to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. For many
on the right, it was the final straw.
Yet, somehow, John McCain is now
the presumptive nominee, and, with the
internal Democratic bickering, a
frontrunner in the general election.
Much of it was beyond McCain’s
own control: Rudy Giuliani’s campaign
self-destructed due to his abortion record
and poor campaign management, while
Huckabee’s insurgency stopped Mitt
Romney from being the unifying candidate for the conservative bases. After
strong victories in New Hampshire,
South Carolina, and Florida and sealed
by Super Tuesday wins, John McCain
effectively locked up the nomination.
But many conservatives remain skeptical and pundits have not ruled out the
possibility of their staying home on
election day. Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator, even suggested that
she would support Hillary Clinton instead of him.
But the maverick streak of McCain
and the conservative fears are somewhat
exaggerated. On the issues, McCain,
barring campaign finance reform, global
warming, immigration, and torture, is in
lockstep with the Bush Administration.
He has adamantly supported the surge
in Iraq and is generally a fan of the Bush
foreign policy Doctrine. On the
economy, McCain supports Bush’s tax
cuts for the wealthy and is in favor of a
“free-market” health care system. Worrying many social liberals, McCain has
vowed to nominate Supreme Court justices in the mold of Scalia, Roberts, and
Alito. Identifying these links will likely
be the cornerstone of Democratic attacks, and McCain is depending on many
variables, such as a dramatically improved situation in Iraq and changing
American attitudes on the war.
For now, as Barack Obama’s Reverend Wright dilemma and Hillary Clinton’s
Bosnia comments undermine their campaign, McCain has received a virtually
free pass. But there are many questions
left to be answered. One is his age. At
the end of his eight years in office if
elected, McCain would be eighty years
old. Polls have found Americans are
actually more concerned about that than
any racial or gender issues. McCain is
also well-known in Washington for his
horrible temperament. In late April of
2008, the Washington Post confirmed a
physical and verbal fight between
McCain and an Iowa Republican senator. “There was some shouting and
shoving between them,” reported a spectator.
Then there is McCain’s “pastor.”
While McCain has criticized Obama’s
association with 60’s radical William
Ayers and the Reverend Jeremiah
Wright, McCain solicited, accepted,
worked for, and said he is proud of the
endorsement of John Hagee, who called
the Catholic Church the “great whore,”
said Katrina was a punishment from
God, and blamed Jews for anti-Semitism.
One of McCain’s signature strengths
has been his emphasis on his integrity
and freedom from special interests. For
example, while he said in a debate that he
never asked for an earmark, he in fact
requested $10 million for the University
of Arizona.
And there are plenty of other openended questions like why McCain opposed making Martin Luther King Day
into a federal holiday or one of his former
political adviser’s open praise of David
Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux
Klan.
The fact is, while McCain is wellrespected across the political spectrum
for his independence, many questions
remain. The senator can only hope that,
as the Democratic Party comes close to
self-destruction, the answers may not
be needed.
State of the mascot
By Josh Kalla
The mascot is an extremely controversial topic. To decide the appropriateness of the mascot, as a school, we must
examine what we stand for and see if the
mascot contradicts these beliefs. At Shady
Side Academy, the Guiding Principles of
honesty, kindness, responsibility, respect, and safety represent the fundamental beliefs our school is built upon. By
examining these principles and their relation to the Indian, we can determine
whether or not the Indian mascot upholds
or betrays our Five Guiding Principles.
Honesty: Defined in the handbook as
“the act of representing and articulating
thoughts, feelings, and actions to self and
others in an accurate and timely manner.”
One of the many problems with the
Indians is that it is a huge term. An Indian
is anybody who lives on the Southeast
Asian subcontinent or someone who can
trace his ancestry back to pre-Columbian
America. Therefore, the term ‘Indian’ in
the American sense includes everybody
from the Inuit in Alaska and Canada, to
the 561 tribes in the United States, to the
Aztecs, Incans and Mayans of South
America. It is dishonest to label all of these
millions of peoples with the same name.
Furthermore, any depiction would misrepresent the entirety of the Indian population. Just as someone from Denmark
looks and dresses differently than someone from Italy, an Indian living in the
Artic tundra looks and dresses differently
than an Indian living in Florida. It is
dishonest to project an image of an Indian
that is supposed to be all encompassing of
all of the various tribes. SSA may only
intend for the Indian to refer to the local
Pittsburgh tribes, but we are still perpetuating a stereotype by not specifying a
particular tribe and are being dishonest.
Kindness: Defined in the handbook
as “Thinking, speaking and acting with
consideration for others and oneself.”
To be considerate, one must look
through other’s eyes. Many Indian organizations stand against Indian mascots.
These include the Advocates for American Indian Children, the Affiliated Tribes
of Northwest Indians, the American Indian Movement, the Eagle and Condor
Indigenous’ People Alliance, the Great
Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, the National
Congress of American Indians, and the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. What this
demonstrates is that multiple national
organizations oppose the use of the Indian
mascot. But to be unkind and hurtful, only
one Indian needs to stand against the
mascot and be offended. No matter how
many American Indians are not offended
by the SSA Indians, the fact that there is
at least one Indian offended demonstrates
that we are not being kind. True kindness
cannot be based upon offending the least
number of people possible; it must be based
upon universal kindness.
Responsibility: Defined in the handbook as “The ongoing understanding and
acceptance that our beliefs, attitudes, decisions and actions have implications and
outcomes both positive and negative and
that we are accountable for our decisions
and actions.”
Every year, the SSA community makes
a decision to keep the Indian mascot. We
must then be held responsible for that
decision. The American Psychological
Association passed a resolution in 2005
recognizing the harmful effects of the
Indian mascot. They found that the mascot “undermines the educational experi-
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ences of members of all communitiesespecially those who have had little or no
contact with Indigenous peoples…appears
to have a negative impact on the selfesteem of American Indian children…
undermines the ability of American Indian Nations to portray accurate and respectful images of their culture, spirituality, and traditions… is a form of discrimination against Indigenous Nations that
can lead to negative relations between
groups… has a negative impact on other
communities by allowing for the perpetuation of stereotypes and stigmatization of
another cultural group.” Are these actions
that the SSA community wishes to be held
responsible for?
The suicide rate for Indians aged 15-24
is 31.7 per 100,000 compared to 13.0 per
100,000 for all other ethnic groups. According to the Center for Disease Control,
one of the leading causes of suicide is
loneliness. Because of Indian mascots,
Indian youths are not comfortably able to
connect to their history and people or
reduce feelings of loneliness. Either SSA
must be held responsible for these deaths
or change the mascot to something that
does not have harmful side effects.
Respect: Defined in the handbook as
“The attitude and behavior of valuing
people, their roles and the property of the
community by acknowledging their inherent value and treating them accordingly.”
At Shady Side and many other schools
that have the Indians mascot, we violate
and disrespect sacred Indian symbols. Let
me remind everybody that in the swimming pool there is a giant mural of an
Indian chief with headdress in a Speedo. In
Indian cultures, feathers, headdresses, and
tomahawks all have religious meanings.
We would not stand by idly if high school
students dressed up as Rabbis and threw
Bibles onto the football field. This would
be considered unacceptable behavior, yet
there is no difference between defacing a
Bible and inappropriately sporting feathers. Both lack respect for religious symbols. SSA must move beyond a mascot that
does not value the property of an ethnic
minority living here in the United States.
Safety: Defined in the handbook as
“To speak and act in such a manner that
allows self, others and property to be free
from risk of harm.”
By allowing one stereotype onto the
SSA campus, we allow in other harmful
stereotypes. These stereotypes violate
the Guiding Principle of safety because
they are inherently meant to harm. Racist
slurs are not meant as compliments, but as
psychological weapons. The SSA Indian
makes it acceptable for students to use
stereotypes and harm others since the
Academy at large condones the use of the
Indian mascot.
We must treat the Guiding Principles
as if they were the Constitution of Shady
Side Academy. We can do whatever we
want, so as long as they do not infringe on
any aspects of our Five Guiding Principles.
Just like a law is ruled unconstitutional if
it violates any number of clauses or amendments, so must an action be ruled inappropriate and unacceptable at SSA if it violates one of the Guiding Principles. It has
been thoroughly demonstrated that the
Indian mascot violates all of the five
Guiding Principles and in order to prevent
hypocrisy and maintain the integrity of
the SSA community, I conclude that the
mascot must be changed.
HADY SID
S NEWSE
All the news
that fits,
we print
Published by Shady Side Academy
423 Fox Chapel Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238 TEL: 412-968-3000
The Shady Side News welcomes responses and opinions from students, faculty,
and readers. All letters must be signed. News reserves the right to edit for content
if libelous statements are involved. If necessary, letters will be edited for length.
Editors-in-Chief...........Laura Bagamery, Ayse Baybars, Josh Diggs, Katie Falloon
News Editors..............................................................................Varun Reddy
Asst. News Editors ............................................ Anna Sabo, David Jimenez
Opinions Editors ..............................................Olivia Seecof, Rekha Toshok
Features Editors ...............................................Elizabeth Diggs, Justine Kim
Sports Editors........................................................ Zach Myers, Nia Phillips
Photographers..................................................Kimberly Flit, Nick Gasbarro
Faculty Advisors.............................................Angela Irvine, Guido Giuntini
Shady Side News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Opinions 3
What to do with the internet Puppy mills: don’t shop, adopt!
By Josh Kalla
He might not have won a Pulitzer
Prize (yet), but Jonathan Zittrain still
has several things in common with David
McCullough. Both are graduates of
Shady Side Academy and prolific authors. Jonathan Zittrain’s new book,
The Future of the Internet—And How to
Stop It, which was released early in
April, provides an easy-to-read history
of the Internet and computers, the current state of affairs, a dreary future, and
solutions to create a better future.
The book begins by differentiating
between two products made by Steve
Jobs: the iPhone and the Apple II.
Whereas the iPhone is what Zittrain
calls a “tethered appliance” which is
centrally controlled and cannot be tinkered with by the purchaser or a third
party, the Apple II was “generative” in
nature by having very few constraints
placed on it by the manufacturer. Just
as PCs are making this shift from generative to tethered, so too is the Internet. As
viruses and other security threats become more prevalent, Zittrain argues
that consumers will begin to trade in the
flexibility and innovation of the generative Internet for a safer, more sterile
tethered Internet.
Even though he paints a gloomy
picture for the future of the Internet,
Zittrain is still able to provide possible
solutions that find a middle ground between security and innovation. One
possible solution that Zittrain has begun
working on is a program called “Herdict.”
Herdict is the digital “volunteer fire
department or neighborhood watch
where, while not everyone is able to fight
fires or is interested in watching, a critical mass of people are prepared to contribute, and such contributions are known
to the community more broadly.” A
By Elizabeth Diggs
common theme throughout the book is
that solutions should come from the
Internet community at large and not
from a sovereign authority, the law or a
corporation. Wikipedia’s success at
correcting vandalism, copyright infringement and lies has not come from a central
Editing Board, but from the community
of wikipedians. In order to transform
the Internet into both a safe and generative Internet, the masses will need to
learn to take responsibility for the future
of the Internet and work together to
develop solutions.
After graduating from Shady Side
Academy, Jonathan Zittrain studied at
Yale University, Harvard Law School
and the Kennedy School of Government. He is currently the Professor of
Internet Governance and Regulation at
Oxford University and co-founder of
Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center
for Internet and Society. His other
books include Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering and The Torts Game: Defending
Mean Joe Greene. The Future of the
Internet—And How to Stop It can be
purchased online at amazon.com for
$19.80.
Baby Mama Rama
By Joe Tumolo
‘Erratic and weak’ seem to be the
choice words to describe Baby Mama, a
new comedy starring Saturday Night
Live favorites Tina Fey and Amy
Poehler. Built on the frame of an ‘Odd
Couple’ comedy, Baby Mama promised
a lot, but simply did not deliver.
The story begins with thirty-sevenyear-old Katy Holbrook (Fey), a corporate executive at a company called Round
Earth, a chain of organic grocery stores.
Desperate to have a child and unable to
conceive, Katy turns to surrogacy. That
is when she meets Angie, her surrogate
mother from South Philadelphia who
lives on junk food and alcohol and claims
to “read people’s energy.” The fun
begins, or should have begun, when
Angie’s common law marriage abruptly
falls apart, and she is left with no place
to live. Desperate, she turns to Katy and
moves in.
Screenwriter Michael McCullers,
another SNL veteran, made his off-camera debut, and frankly, it shows. It is said
that he collaborated with Ms. Fey, who
gained fame writing the script of Mean
Girls, one of the top ten comedies of
2004; evidently she was not involved in
the creative process nearly as much as
she should have been. The framework of
this movie should have allowed for ninetyseven minutes of constant laughter, but
In June 2007, Amnesty International
released a collaborative album as part of
a campaign to help save Darfur. Many
well-known musicians ranging, from
bands such as Green Day and U2 to solo
artists such as Christina Aguilera and
Avril Lavigne, covered John Lennon
songs, which were sold to spread awareness about the genocide in Darfur. Proceeds from the CD sales go to Amnesty
International’s campaign, and the songs
spread the message of peace and tranquility to anyone willing to listen.
As for the music itself, it is tastefully
done with a wide variety of artists,
which makes it appeal to a plethora of
people. The musicians don’t simply
belt out the same old tunes; they actually
utilize their creativity and make these
songs their own by adding personal flair
treated like livestock and kept in extremely small cages, which do not
offer freedom, recreation, or even a
solid surface to stand on. Their paws
easily become infected and bleed incessantly due to the excess amounts
of urine and feces that contaminate
the bottom of each cage. The animals
are so confined that many panic and
run in circles for hours. Their fur is
matted; their teeth rot, and their eyes
develop ulcers.
In an article written for The New
York Post in 1996, Laura Italiano
writes, “Separate investigations by
the ASPCA and the Post found the
deplorable conditions of puppy mills
hidden away in picture-postcard Pennsylvania Dutch country, the fastest
growing puppy breeding region in the
eastern United States. Inside one
dark, fetid metal shed inspected by
The Post last week, about forty puppies ...werelocked in ....cages a single
dog would find cramped. Many were
unresponsive to a visitor’s presence
and voice. Most had coats matted
with feces. There was no apparent
escape from the shed’s darkness and
stench.”
Most often the cages are located
outside, so the dogs are not protected
from inclement weather. They freeze
during the winter and swelter in the
summer. Dogs in puppy mills are also
debarked by ramming a steel rod down
their throats to rupture their vocal
cords. However, the cruelty does not
end here.
Mother dogs are forced to breed so
often that they are not even given time
to heal after each litter. Their puppies
are prematurely stripped from their
care, and they are left empty and
barren. When the female adults can no
longer reproduce, they are either shot,
hit in the head with a rock, or ultimately die mercilessly at the hands of
their oppressors. By this time, a
mother may have had as many as one
hundred and forty puppies.
According to the Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, PA,the number one
state in America for puppy mills is
Pennsylvania. Thousands of inhumane kennels exist in this state, and it
is primarily due to one variable: the
Amish.
The Amish community in Pennsylvania is responsible for a large
number of puppy mills because the
Amish treat the puppies as though
they were cash crops. To them puppies do not require love, attention, or
mental stimulation.
In an article in the Seattle Times,
Libby Williams, the founder of New
Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop
Abuse, said, “Amish country is synonymous with puppy mills, and
Lancaster County is the capital of
Pennsylvania puppy mills, with more
than two hundred kennels.
Dogs…should not be treated like
chickens, penned up in coops for their
entire lives just to breed.”
It seems that that the majority of
puppy mill breeders demonstrate a
blatant disregard for animal rights.
Laura Italiano in her article also writes,
“Inside the picturesque barns and
wooden fences of Amish country,
pedigree puppies are bred by the tens
of thousands, many living in a hellish
world of filthy, crowded cages. They
are ‘puppy mill’ puppies and they
bring in four million dollars a year for
the one hundred Amish and Mennonite farmers.”
When talking to an Amish man on
trial for a “factory of dogs” in Washington County, PA, Judge Nancy L.
Butts bluntly says it best, “If you
need to grow something to sell it,
don’t grow animals, grow vegetables.”
I know what you are thinking. The
solution is simple. We should buy all
of the animals in the pet stores, give
them food and love, and the problem
will be solved. Bad idea. If you buy
a puppy from a pet store, you are
only profiting the abuser. In order to
shut the puppy mills down, they
must go out of business. So don’t
shop, adopt.
Almost every city in America has
a Humane Society, an Animal Rescue
League, or an Animal Friends. These
locations are full of adoptable, adorable, and needy animals that are
searching for a loving home. Plus,
when shopping at a pet store all you
will get in return is an emotionally and
physically damaged puppy. Some
even argue that you will spend more
money on medical bills rather than the
actual purchase of the animal.
So, once again, don’t shop, adopt.
Who knows, you may just be saving
a life.
Prices at the pump
McCullers did not take the script far
enough. That is not to say that Baby
Mama was entirely without amusement;
it did have its moments, just not an hour
and a half’s worth of them.
On the flip side, both Tina Fey and
Amy Poehler show great potential as
silver screen comedians, and, given the
right script, they could be a quite capable
and comedic duo.
Despite its flaws, Baby Mama has
done well at the box office, and one
would expect it to, given the promise of
the film. If it’s been a really bad day,
maybe Baby Mama will be worth the
price, but you can’t say that you weren’t
warned.
Music for peace
By Pooja Tripathi
Yes, I watch Oprah. I consider it
my guilty pleasure. Every weekday
I tape the broadcast, which I know
comes on at four, and then throughout
the week I sift through my recordings
and watch the episodes that interest
me. One Saturday morning with a
glass of orange juice in hand, I sat
down on the couch and began to comb
through the tapings.
I had decided that I could delete
“Nate’s Decorating Tips” (I am not
interested in home décor) and that
maybe I would watch “New Spring
Fashions 2008”another day.
One show, however, did catch my
eye. It was entitled “Lisa Ling investigates puppy mills.” “What is a
puppy mill?” I asked myself. It
didn’t sound good. After all, Lisa
doesn’t report on the flowery stuff.
Too much wickedness exists in the
world to waste time.
I watched that show four times. I
was mesmerized. Every time I
watched it, I underwent different
waves of emotion. First it was disbelief, then it was sadness, then I was
livid, and finally an overwhelming
sense of helplessness devoured me.
Never before had I seen the human
race demonstrate such a high level of
brutality towards any living being let
alone man’s best friend.
I was not just appalled; I was
horrified. I was not just disgusted; I
was sickened.
Before this show even aired, I knew
I had a low tolerance for animal abuse
of any kind considering my long history as an animal lover and an avid fan
of Animal Planet, but puppy mills
should not only scream injustice to
animal lovers but rather to humanity
as a whole. However, before I delve
into the immorality that is puppy
mills, let me discuss the specifics.
Puppy mills are inhumane breeding facilities that mass-produce puppies for a profit. According to the
Humane Society of the United States
of America, hundreds of thousands of
puppy mills exist in the United States,
but only ten percent of them are legally authorized. A vast majority of
the puppies are sold to online brokers
or to pet stores like Petland, according to the Wisconsin Puppy Mill
Project.
Inside puppy mills, the dogs are
and originality. Really, it’s the perfect
mixture: timeless John Lennon songs
with talented, modern artists. The chemistry between the two groups is apparent in the natural and free-flowing ambiance thatq exudes from the music. The
CD contains such a diverse selection,
and the message rings clear in the lyrics
of each track.
I was relatively late in buying this
CD as it came out almost a year ago, but
I am so glad that I happened to notice it
sitting on the shelf at Barnes and Noble
because it is a wonderful addition to any
music collection. I would highly recommend Instant Karma to anyone who
enjoys music regardless of what variety
they prefer. It is refreshing to know the
important things in life haven’t been
forgotten, and that peace will, if nothing
else, live forever through music.
By Sara Murali
For any of you readers with your
driver’s licenses, you all know what it’s
like to take the trip to the gas station and
fill up the tank. In fact, many of us fairly
new drivers are realizing exactly how
much we are paying to drive our cars
every day.
Just last week, during a trip to the BP
in Fox Chapel, I pulled up to the pump
and got ready to fill my car’s tank. As
the tank was filling, I glanced at the
screen showing how much I had to pay
for the gas. The numbers sped past
$30.00, then $40.00, then even $50.00
dollars, until finally resting at $52.00
dollars.
Suddenly, my mind started calculating all kinds of sums. $52.00 dollars per
tank would most likely last me about a
week, I figured. $52.00 dollars per week
is equivalent to roughly $208.00 dollars
per month, with is also equivalent to
approximately $2,500 each year. If I
apply this to each car that my family
owns, we pay about $7,500 annually for
gas. Seems pretty high, I thought to
myself. After coming to this somewhat
frightening conclusion, I decided to find
out exactly why gas prices have climbed
so high to where they are today.
According to the U.S. Energy Department, in 2007, Americans spent 26
billion dollars more on gas than we had
in 2006, which is a 16% increase in just
one year. In fact, many energy experts
are convinced that these prices will not
stop growing in the future.
So, why must these prices keep increasing? Oil companies, of course,
prosper due to these rising prices. However, the levels of the prices for gas are,
for the most part, determined by the
laws of supply and demand, as with any
other commodity. When demand increases at a greater rate than gasoline
supply, which was what happened between 2006 and 2007, the price of gas,
naturally, increases.
Where then, does the money that we
put into receiving gas go? A large part of
it (over 50%) goes towards the production of crude oil, or petroleum, the base
material of gasoline. As for the rest of the
money, about 25% goes towards taxes,
15% goes towards refining, and almost
10% goes towards the distribution and
marketing of gasoline.
While these increasing gas prices may
make the price of fuel in the U.S. seem
rather expensive compared to other countries, the opposite is, in fact, true. Surprisingly, the U.S. has some of the cheapest fuel prices among other developed
nations around the world (the fortyfifth cheapest to be exact).
So at this point, the big question on
everyone’s mind is most likely, how do
we beat the high cost of gasoline? According to some experts, the answer to
this question is ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is a fuel derived from biomass, the
byproduct of various types of agricultural waste. Burning ethanol instead of
gasoline reduces carbon emissions by a
whopping 80%, which can do wonders
for the environment and greatly reduce
the cost of fuel.
So is ethanol the answer to the energy
dilemma? Only time will tell. In the
mean time, remember that saving on
energy and reducing the use of conventional fossil fuels can only help us in the
future.
Toon!
Cartoon by Nick Barnes
School News, etc.
4
A symbolic silence Juniors proudly strut their stuff
Shady Side News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
By Rekha Toshok
By David Jimenez
tion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a
Christian perspective.” Some claim that
public schools have a double standard in
terms of free speech; while a school in
San Diego allowed several Day of Silence events, it suspended one student
for wearing anti-homosexuality t-shirts.
Here at Shady Side Academy, the
Gay-Straight Alliance, in conjunction
with the Office of Global Education,
organized the event, which also featured
several after-school activities and discussions, with over 46 students and
faculty participating. But some students claim that the Day of Silence does
little to address the problems it seeks to
solve. “I don’t think that the day of
silence really does anything for those
who are abused. I mean there are many
better ways to stop these actions besides not talking,” says freshman Peter
Donahue. Supporters claim that the
Day of Silence is supposed to be symbolic, a way of showing support and
sympathy. “The Day of Silence is a
symbol not a remedy,” explains Lisa
Perry, Director of Community and Global Education. ”We were able to use the
day to have many reflect on the issue of
violence, harassment, and bullying that
goes on in our society and causes many
to lead fearful lives. We had an opportunity to live out two of our most important guiding principles: safety and respect.”
Regardless of one’s opinion, the Day
of Silence at Shady Side remains unlikely
to go away, and neither will the questions and controversy.
Photo courtesy of Josh Falk
While the recent Day of Silence at
Shady Side Academy has broadened
itself to include all people whose culture, lifestyle, and beliefs have been
oppressed, the traditional national Day
of Silence has historically sought to
bring attention to the problem of antiLGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender) sentiment in the United
States. But, as with most things, the
event has brought controversy from
across the political spectrum.
The Day of Silence, originally an
event at the University of Virginia, has
extended nationwide, with 7,500 high
schools and colleges participating this
year. The protest seeks to raise awareness of anti-LGBT bullying. According
to a 2006 National School Climate survey by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight
Education Network, 64 percent of homosexual students felt unsafe at school
and 75 percent of all students reported
commonly hearing anti-gay slurs. The
impact of the bullying is certainly not
minimal. Victims of bullying were reported more likely to skip school, have
poorer grades, and be far less likely to
plan on attending college.
Many Conservative Christian groups
claim that the event encourages homosexual behavior. “The Day of Silence is
a misnomer, because what is truly being
silenced is the truth,” claims Richard
Land, a leading Southern Baptist leader.
As a response to the event, the Alliance
Defense Fund, a conservative legal group,
launched the Day of Truth, an event
taking place a few days after the Day of
Silence, claiming to “counter the promo-
High-Q: losing a legacy?
Cluck cluck. Three Shady Side Academy students won the
championship game of KDKA’s high school quiz show
Hometown High-Q, in an episode to air on Saturday, June 14.
Junior captain Charlie Rosenthal and seniors Josh Falk and
Laura Bagamery posed with the official rubber chicken after the
match. SSA has swept the competition for four consecutive
years, and has taken home the giant $10,000 novelty check in
five of the past six seasons. As a result of its recent
successes, the team will not be invited to participate next year.
The history corner
By Justine Kim
Antithetical to first impressions,
Areté Diké Timé is the motto of the Cum
Laude Society, signifying Excellence,
Justice, and Honor respectively. An old
and esteemed tradition of Shady Side
Academy, the induction of Cum Laude
members is celebrated every year during
the third trimester. This society was
not, as some may believe, founded by
those at the Academy and involves hundreds of other schools in the United
States and several in Canada, England,
France, Spain, Puerto Rico, and the
Philippines. In 1929, the Academy
purchased a charter and became a part of
the Middle States region of the Cum
Laude Society. Since then there have
been one thousand two hundred and
sixty-seven inductees from Shady Side.
The Cum Laude Society, founded in
1906, celebrates the academic achievements of students in secondary schools.
The founders modeled it after Phi Beta
Kappa, which is the nation’s oldest and
most widely known academic honor.
Made up of three hundred and fifty
chapters, the majority of which is comprised of independent schools, the soci-
ety is also an integral part of almost two
dozen public schools.
Originally named the Alpha Delta
Tau fraternity, the Cum Laude Society
adopted a stylized version of the Greek
letter Tau, the nineteenth letter of the
Greek alphabet, as its logo. Despite
being renamed in the 1950’s, the society
kept the logo.
For all participating schools, the Cum
Laude Society provides an opportunity
for those students who excel in their
studies to be applauded and recognized
for their efforts. It also serves to encourage future students to work and learn.
As Billy Zane said in the movie
Zoolander, “It’s a walk-off!” That is
exactly what happened as many students, relatives, and friends gathered on
April 12 to watch members of the junior
class strut their stuff for the Prom Fashion Show, which benefits this year’s
Prom.
The Prom Fashion Show is an annual
tradition at Shady Side, and this year’s
junior class kept the tradition alive by
delivering another awesome production.
While the girls modeled prom dresses
and after-prom fashion attire from Saks
Fifth Avenue, the boys flaunted colorful
formal wear from Top Hat Tuxedos.
Designers showcased at the show included BCBG, Laundry, Marc Jacobs,
Juicy Couture, Ferragamo, and
Lacoste—just to name a few.
Philip Pellusi from the Waterworks
sent three stylists to style hair while
Saks Fifth Avenue provided some of its
very own make-up artists to do makeup.
One Brilliant located in Aspinwall was
generous enough to donate some pieces
of jewelry for the occasion as well.
Emceeing the fashion show this year
was junior class president Sean Hannon
and student council representative Ali
Mears. While Sean and Ali introduced
the models and their outfits, they, too,
had their chance to catwalk down the
runway. Our very own juniors Erik
Zentgraf and Jason Deal, who went by
the names of DJ Ez and DJ Vanilla Thug,
provided the music.
Sean Hannon says of his experience
on the catwalk, “I had a blast. I felt good
wearing a tuxedo, and it really got me
excited for prom. I was a little nervous,
but I tried to keep it real on the runway
since everyone was watching. Anyway,
it was a great experience, and I enjoyed
my ten seconds of fame. If I can say so
myself, I looked pretty good.”
The show was very successful, and
it gave the students a little sneak peak
into the exciting yet crazy world of
modeling. Some girls even admitted that
the show reminded them of the hit reality TV show America’s Next Top Model.
After it was all over, the models and
their guests were invited to a luncheon to
celebrate all of the hard work that went
into planning the show and to draw
tickets for the raffle prizes. As the
models walked out onto the runway for
their last appearance, a roar of applause
broke out in the audience, signaling not
only the event’s end, but also its tremendous success and overwhelming appeal.
As junior Sara Murali remarked, “The
fashion show was really funny. Everyone looked so cute!”
Katie Vincett sums it up when she
says, “Prom is going to be awesome. I’m
so glad that I participated in this event.
It was so much fun.”
Don’t get SAD...get glad!
By Mitch Mason
“Does the weather really change our
moods?”
Yes, some people are content as can
be with their tanning sessions outside of
Scott Commons, but others are dragging
through school with their heads held
low. Did this answer my question? No,
my results left me no clearer than a world
without Claritin. I got to thinking that
even though our everyday attire does
not contain heavy coats, our
community’s moods are the same as
they were in the dreadful winter. As
fellow sophomore Gauri Joshi stated,
“Maybe if I were not in school, I might
be able to enjoy this weather.” This led
me to another question: Could school be
the reason for my uneasiness? Doing
work inside, while the sun is shining
brightly outside could make anyone
unhappy. Everyday there will be problems such as forgetting about a test and
not doing well, fighting with a friend, not
getting into a good college, or my personal favorite, not getting selected for
the Untucked Committee for 2009.
So, I guess I do not have SAD, but
next winter season I urge you fellow
student to hold your head up high and
make the best of 2009.
By Katie Falloon
Sophomore Zach Myers, an audience
member, said of the show, “It was a
really great concert, and everyone sang
well.”
This year’s concert featured a number of individual performances, ranging
from piano solos to violin duets, as well
as a number of senior solo performances.
Ally Supowitz, winner of the National
School Choral Award, sang the upbeat,
“Blue Hair,” while David Gookin, also
winner of the National School Choral
Award, sang the beautiful, “Danny Boy.”
Other seniors showcased include
Nomin Buuch and Jaimie Szuhay on the
violin, Katie Falloon on the piano, Emily
Wampler singing the German “Gretchen
am Spinnrade,” and Josh Falk, accompanying Emily on the piano. Said Ayse
Baybars of Josh and Emily’s perfor-
mance, “It was absolutely scintillating.”
Senior performances were a crowd
favorite. Emily Harmon, one of the
winners of the National School Orchestra Awards, along with Jaimie Szuhay,
said, “Although I was disappointed that
the choirs did not dance, the group musical selections and especially the senior
solo pieces made up for it.”
The concert was a success. Many
seniors, however, felt a little sentimental, especially during the traditional final
number, “Lonesome Road,” which featured senior Brendan Eisenbrandt.
Kristen Slinkard said, “I was really
happy that it was the last time I had to
wear that black dress, but I was sad it
was our last concert.” Nevertheless, the
concert, in the words of Josh Falk, “was
the awesomeness.”
Choir: scintillating and sensational
Our love may be here to stay, but this
year’s seniors won’t be. The Senior
Honors Choir and String Concert, held
on May 7, 2008 in Rauh Theatre, was
the final concert for the fifteen seniors
graduating this year.
The concert included a wide variety
of songs, from the last song Ira Gershwin
ever wrote, “Our Love is Here to Stay”
to Mozart’s “Divertimento, K. 134.”
Audience members got to hear lots of
Gershwin, including the Concert Choir
boys singing, “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin,”
and the Concert Choir girls singing,
“Someone to Watch Over Me,” with a
solo by freshman Ahono Gildersleeve.
The audience also heard songs sung
in Italian and Latin and music by
Beethoven, Schumann, and Schubert.
War on drugs is war on truth
By Chad Rosenbloom
The United States federal government spends tens of billions of dollars a
year in an attempt to eliminate the flow
of illegal substances onto our city streets.
Dubbed the “War on Drugs” by [former
President] Richard Nixon, this new offensive has not succeeded in reducing the
widespread use and distribution of narcotics. An obvious question emerges in
light of this fact: why, if the drug war has
been so unsuccessful, do our lawmakers
and politicians continue to carry it out as
official policy?
It’s a simple question that entails a
simple answer: because big business in
the United States actively profits from
and participates in the illegal drug trade.
American banks and chemical industries
profit immensely from the drug offensive and have been for much of last halfcentury, as reported in the Senate Committee Report on Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy chaired by
Senator John F. Kerry.
A study by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development) estimates profits from
the international drug trade at almost a
half a trillion dollars a year, of which over
half circulates through the U.S. financial
system. This means that American
banks are handling over 56% of the
profits generated by narcotics-trafficking. The origins of this phenomenon
date back to the early days of the Reagan
presidency. In 1979, massive sums of
money had just begun to arrive in Miami
banks as the cocaine racket was gaining
traction in Latin America. The government launched Operation Greenback,
targeting those banks that were involved
in the drug trade. This state of concern
was to prove only temporary, however,
as the operation was called off in 1982
by Vice President George Bush. Because of his actions, we don’t have any
additional information on the estimated
260 billion dollars of drug money that
pours into the American economy each
year.
American chemical industries also
profit from the drug trade. In 1989,
Columbian authorities seized 1.5 million gallons of chemicals used for cocaine
production, most of them carrying U.S.
corporate logos. As it happens, the
Congressional Research Service found
that more than 90% of the chemicals
used for drug production come from the
United States. Clearly it was not the
intention of our leaders to accomplish
the stated goals of the War on Drugs. If
it were, then serious questions would
have been raised long ago regarding our
own participation in the sale and distribution of illegal substances.
Apart from the obvious material
benefits that narco-trafficking offers the
American elite, there is a much more
subtle and insidious reason for the prohibition of certain substances. It’s essentially a tool for controlling the domestic population. It is widely understood by elite sectors in the United
States that if marijuana, cocaine, heroin
etc. are criminalized, then the police
aren’t going to be arresting rich white
people. Prisons in the United States are
overflowing with inmates, most of whom
were charged with victimless crimes such
as drug offenses, and most of whom are
poor Black and Hispanic people. His-
torically, these substances were
criminalized simply because they became associated with poor and working
people. So take, for example, cocaine.
The drug most often used in the ghettos
is crack; in the white suburbs, it’s powder. Well, the way the laws are crafted,
[possession of] powdered cocaine gets
much less of a sentence than crack cocaine. This is a textbook illustration of
class warfare and constitutes a direct
attack on working people in America.
Although I certainly can’t speak for
everyone reading this article, I wasn’t at
all surprised when I found out that the
American government is and has been
running coke. If anything, I felt like we
should have seen it coming. American
foreign policy over the past half-century has been nothing but an endless
succession of invasions, bombings, massacres, coups, and slaughters. We’ve
propped up some of the worst human
rights violators on the planet and have
done so shamelessly. We didn’t commit
these crimes for democracy, liberty, and
the pursuit of justice. It was for capitalism, the state, and the pursuit of American empire.
It would seem that participation in
the drug trade would be low on the list
of abuses carried out by the United
States government. However, as the
prisons continue to fill up and the drugs
continue to cross the border, one can
only imagine how long it will take before
people wake up and realize that drug
trafficking isn’t just a product of the
hoods and ghettos in American inner
cities. It’s big business and capitalism
that are at fault. It’s the American way.
Shady Side News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Beloved faculty say farewell
Physics and fries?
By Ben Cohen
combination,” remarks Max Rosen, a
Concepts of Physics student. Many
students were upset with the rain and
having to carry around papers and stopwatches all day.
There is still one part of Kennywood
that hasn’t been covered —the delicious
food. Although fried oreos and the
Potato Patch are not among the healthiest of selections, a trip to Kennywood
is never complete without something
fried.
Students indulged this year in their
Kennywood favorites, but a significant
weight was lifted off of the shoulders of
the Concepts of Physics students as
they handed in a portion of their final
exam.
Photo by Katie Falloon
Shady Side Physicists set out for the
infamous trip to Kennywood amusement park for a day of fun-filled physics
on May 8. The Concepts of Physics
students were paired up with classmates and were given worksheets to
complete. They used measurements
taken from the rides at the park, along
with the knowledge acquired from the
Concepts of Physics course, to complete the worksheets, which reportedly
took about two to three hours.
The weather that day was less than
satisfactory, and, as we all know, the
weather at an amusement park can make
or break the experience. “Taking kids to
a place like Kennywood and making
them do that kind of work is a bad
Under the Sea! Seniors Charlie Phillips, Alex Petraglia, and Jamie
Egan, students in William Diehl’s Advanced Biology class, inject sea
urchins with potassium chloride to induce them to release gametes.
Residential Life
By Anna Sabo and Pooja Tripathi
As the school year comes to an end,
the boarders have been wrapping up the
year with a string of activities.
Through a highly competitive selection process with interviews and a lengthy
application, the new prefects for the
2008-2009 school year are Sujay Busam,
Shivam Gosai, Ian Knepshield, and Brett
Provance in the Croft boy’s dormitory
and Megan Achille, Raediah Lyles,
Morgan Polley, and Olivia Seecof in the
Morewood girls’ dormitory.
The boarders enjoyed an off-campus
night of entertainment in which they
saw the new feature film 21. Freshman
Shannon Achille said of the event, “It
was such a magical experience to get out
of the dorms. The movie made me want
to learn how to play cards better.”
To top that off, the boarders attended their annual Pittsburgh Pirates
baseball game on May 6. This exciting
night, adorned with countless hot dogs
and Buffalo wings, was “super duper”
according to sophomore Adele Pultan.
Although activities off-campus have
been exciting, the residential life community also has been having numerous
activities on our very own turf. Besides
enjoying the picturesque natural surroundings on campus, the boarders have
been participating in games such as Capture the Flag and Frisbee on the quad.
Junior Croft resident Shivam Gosai
said of the events that unfolded, “Thursday night Capture the Flag has developed a rivalry in which Chris Wei plays
a key reconnaissance role.” The boarding community will soon wrap up the
year with their annual residential life
dinner with family, friends, and food and
a special farewell to the graduating seniors of the community.
Seniors: At Band’s End
By Haley DeJulio and Nia Phillips
Where was the only place where
you could hear Love Theme from Godfather, Pirates of the Caribbean: At
World’s End, and Low Rider all in the
same concert?
On April 30, 2008 the Shady Side
Academy Concert, Jazz, and Symphonic Bands took their listeners on
a musical adventure. The concert
began with great performances by the
Flute and Clarinet Choirs. Other chamber groups involved in the concert
were the Brass and Saxophone Ensembles, consisting of students from
all three bands.
Following the clarinets was a trilogy of numbers by Shady Side
Academy’s newest ensemble, the
Concert Band. Aside from their interpretation of the crowd favorite Love
Theme from The Godfather, they
played Emblem of Courage and When
the Saints Go Marchin’In.
The Symphonic Band began its
portion of the concert with Finlandia
by Jean Sibelius. A Touch of Jazz
featured sections highlighting the seniors. Demonstrating both their great
vocal and instrumental skills, the band
concluded its section with a dazzling
performance of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, causing students across campus to be humming
School News 5
the tune for the weeks to come.
A performance thatconductor Stan
Nevola and many others were also
greatly anticipating was a piano solo
by senior Jessica Chang. Jessica astonished the crowd with her beautiful
rendition of Liebestraum No. 3 by
Franz Liszt, which she described as
“one of my favorite pieces”.
Always a crowd favorite, the Jazz
Band and Combo concluded the concert with The Look of Love featuring
soloists Jayme Satterwhite and Emily
Wampler, Low Rider, Mr. PC, Joy
Spring, and Mood Indigo.
Reflecting on the performance, senior baritone saxophone player Ayse
Baybars said, “Christian Petredis’ solo
was amazing—especially because he
had to play the marimba while Mr.
Nevola was moving it!” The concert
concluded by honoring all of the
departing seniors and the presentation of the John Philip Sousa and
Louis Armstrong Awards. Ross
Ruffner (‘02), previous recipient of
the John Philip Sousa Award, aided
Mr. Nevola in their announcement
and distribution.
Awards were presented to Josh
Falk, Stacey Mates, Ryan Gurrentz,
Trevor Scheid, and Remington Jackson. Good luck to the seniors next
year. We’ll miss you!
By Mahima Chablani
For many years and across courses
and classes, Shady Side faculty have
profoundly shaped their students and
how they view the world through creativity, hard work, humor, and sheer
brilliance. This year, a number of its
members are leaving, but their impact
will remain for generations.
William O. McConnel, a legend at
SSA, will retire at the end of this year
capping a distinguished 40 year teaching
career. MAC would like to sum up his
time here by saying, “Shortly after the
‘days of Red October/Cuban crisis’ there
came the opportunity to first step down
from the cockpit and venture, once more,
over uncharted waters into a new profession which has forever born perpetual change from 1963 (Blair Academy) /1967 (SSA) to the present. The
moment to once again take flight is very
much now akin to that awaiting many
graduating seniors, about to launch high
above uncharted waters, in search of
some creative end. For those you leave
behind, do show gratitude for whom you
have been so greatly an investment of
time, on this campus and, especially, at
home. May you remain aloft, hereafter,
in your quest for creative time and space,
to benefit, especially all others. Alors,
bon voyage et bon courage à tous, les très
chers amis!”
Timothy Vincent has been a part of
the English Department at SSA for more
years than any member of the student
body has been alive. Although currently
on leave to teach at Duquesne University, this coming fall term would have
been his twenty-third year at SSA.
His plans for the future are to teach
at Duquesne University, write, read,
keep tabs on his two grown children, and
work on his “terrible golf game.” When
asked if he has any final words of wisdom to share with the school, he said, “I
do know that three things get much more
important and necessary with time:
books, beautiful music, and loyal friends.
If you keep these things at the center of
your life, you will find a way to be
happy.”
Jeffrey Suzik, the Upper Form
Dean, is going to be the Assistant Head
at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country
Day School (MICDS) in St. Louis,
Missouri. The school is very similar to
SSA as it has about 1250 students from
kindergarten to twelfth grade. Essentially, he is going to have the same
position as Mr. Trigg at SSA.
Unlike most teachers, Dr. Suzik had
a spontaneous start at SSA, since he first
started subbing for a teacher who never
came back. Having been a part of SSA
for nine years, he is incredibly grateful.
He has been given an array of opportunities including History Department
Chair, Director of Residential Life, and
the Upper Form Dean. He says, “SSA
has changed my life.” While he initially
wanted to pursue higher academia, he
found that his “heart and soul was in
working with high school students.”
When asked if he had any final words of
advice he would like to give to the school,
he said, “SSA is an incredible school
with a really proud and long history. I
feel fortunate to be a small part. Think
about your small part in this community.”
Peter Hoffman, a history teacher,
came to Shady Side in 2002-2003, thus
making this his fifth school year. He is
going to miss “the diverse student body
and the strong spirit that the entire
school has.” He will especially miss his
long chats with fellow students and
colleagues in the History Department.
This is also the fifth year of Dudley
Parr, a teacher in the Science Department. He is off to the seminary and is
looking to change his career, thus showing that it is never too late to try new
things. His main advice to the student
body is that, “it doesn’t matter where
you go to school but what you put into
your experience.” He recommends that
all students board for at least a term, for
the personal growing experience.
Virginia Maddux has been the Director of College Counseling for four
years. This coming fall, she will be the
Director of College Counseling at Montgomery Bell Academy, an all-boys
school very similar to SSA in Nashville,
Tennessee. Before coming to SSA, she
worked at Harpeth Hall, which is the
sister school to Montgomery Bell Academy. Her final thoughts to members of
the Academy, “Life doesn’t all go as
planned and isn’t always easy. Make
decisions that are right for you and your
families. Sometimes what you thought
is not always the divine plan. Look at the
doors when they open.”
Kristin Pardini, the Associate Director of College Counseling and Head
Form V Advisor, has been living her life
by the motto, “Jump and the net will
appear.” Five years ago, after finishing
studies at the International School of
Prague, she came back to the United
States for new adventures, which she
was obviously able to find in her hometown of Pittsburgh. After completing
her fourth year at SSA, she will be going
back to school to study Education and
School Psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as she is very
curious about the brain. She knows she
will find it hard to leave SSA with its
“wonderful colleagues, kids, and things
to learn.” She will also miss “watching
SSA kids blossom!”
The wonderful faculty is undoubtedly the backbone of our school. All
students are so lucky to be instilled with
knowledge both in and out of the classroom on a daily basis.
Sophomore Ali Gumberg has a positive outlook on the departing teachers:
“SSA has literally been a second home to
my two older brothers, my parents, and
me. Although I may not see some of my
favorite teachers when I revisit in the
future, the knowledge I have gained from
them will never leave!” Whether they
are our advisors, teachers, mentors, or
simply friends, these seven individuals
will be sorely missed.
a minute attempt at momentary sympathy. After all, you most likely told yourself all the while, “It could never happen
to me, right?” Well, it could, no matter
how educated, kind, careful, or wealthy
you may be.
Homelessness is different from any
other dilemma the world faces today in
that it affects all ages, races, and genders.
And why are most people homeless? The
common image that comes to mind of a
lazy person or a drug dealer is highly
inaccurate. In actuality, most homeless
people are in their current situation because of unexpected additional costs, lack
of affordable healthcare and housing, sudden loss of employment, mental illness, or
natural disaster.
One of the many sites we visited during
the week was the Canon Kip Senior Center
of San Francisco, a senior center for
homeless or previously homeless elderly
individuals. A high school student from
Chicago described a war veteran she conversed with at the senior center, “He
knows both Spanish and Korean because
he was stationed in Korea… He wasn’t
bitter about the war taking away his
home… He went to college and had a
degree in biology. You never would have
guessed that he ever lived on the streets
because he was so well-spoken and truly
intelligent.” This is just one person out of
many who had a good college education
and was extremely intelligent, yet became
homeless. Another student relayed her
experience with an elderly man who, before becoming homeless, was extremely
wealthy. A successful businessman and
jeweler, this man lived a luxurious life and
had enough money to buy an expensive
new car every year. During his second
marriage, his wife suddenly developed medical issues that led to great expenses, and he
spent everything on medical care. He is
just one person who was wealthy and fell
into unexpected poverty.
We also visited Glide Memorial Church,
which contains one of the largest soup
kitchens in San Francisco while simultaneously providing free social and medical
services tothe homeless . Open 365 days
a year for breakfast, lunch and dinner,
Glide serves over 2,000 meals daily. Brown
University junior Laura Thompson, a
counselor and a frequent volunteer at
Glide, spoke of the agency, “One of Glide’s
mottoes for their food program is, ‘If
people are hungry, feed them.’ Anyone
who shows up and is willing to wait in line,
no matter where they come from, what
they’re wearing, what their sexual orientation, ethnic background, etc. may be,
will be given a warm meal… ‘To be
spiritual is to love everyone’ is written on
the wall of Glide’s front staircase. And
that is what they do.” Have you ever seen
the film The Pursuit of Happyness starring
Will Smith? The man whose life the
movie was based on, Chris Gardner, used
Glide’s services numerous times. In fact,
Glide was so important to him that some
of the movie was filmed there.
So how can we, the Academy, filled
with intelligent and fortunate students,
teachers, and families, connect to such a
seemingly distant predicament? As evidenced by the previous examples,
homelessness can truly happen to just
about anyone. Although not as obvious as
the current genocide in Sudan or starving
children in Bangladesh, hunger and
homelessness in the United States is a
major dilemma. While it may seem like
you as an individual can not do much about
the current situation, you can keep an
open mind towards homeless people and
work to overcome any stereotypes you
may presently possess about these unfortunate people.
Homelessness is a wake up call for
society: we must begin to care for and
accept each and every individual. An
attitude like Glide’s, which is loving everyone despite differences, is ultimately
the missing piece in American society.
William O. McConnel
How homelessness hits home
By Anna Sabo
After a two-hour layover in Detroit
and a three-hour flight, I sleepily exited
the stuffy Northwest Airlines jet and took
a deep breath. Immediately my fatigue
transformed into a feeling of pure excitement as I beheld the week’s coming adventures. Who wouldn’t be excited to enjoy
the warm weather and beautiful bays of San
Francisco, California over their spring
break?
Traveling to my home for the next
week , I peered out the window and saw
such magnificent sights as the Golden Gate
Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, and
endless shopping boutiques. However, my
trip to San Francisco was not cut out to be
a vacation. I was in this taxi with a college
student from Brown University and a
handful of high school students from all
across America, and we were all there to
participate in a program through Northwestern University called Civic Week:
San Francisco. This group, lead by a
teacher from Monterey, California and
the college student from Brown, had one
goal for the week: to learn about and
overcome the many common stereotypes
of homelessness while serving the hungry
and homeless. So why were we in San
Francisco of all places?
San Francisco, although a beautiful and
popular city, surprisingly holds one of the
highest homeless populations in the United
States. In San Francisco alone, there are
approximately 6,377 homeless individuals on any given day. However, the United
States’ calculated homeless population
recently was somewhere between 847,000
and 3,470,000 Americans. That is a much
greater number of people than Pittsburgh’s
entire population.
Have you ever thought about
homelessness? Chances are you may have
seen a homeless individual on the streets
in a big city sometime during your life
before, but your thoughts on the matter
probably did not span much further than
Sports
6
ESPN: the lockup
Shady Side News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
By Zachary Myers
Clemente, Mean Joe Greeen, and
Lemieux. My bobbles should come with
interchangeable heads. What do you do
with a Colby Armstrong and a Jason
Kendall? They even gave me Recchi’s
the day he left.
What it must have been like back
then! What has changed to make sports
today so chaotic? How many of you can
name the starting eight on the Pirates?
It’s often said that sports are a reflection
of our society. The Romans fought war
after war, but I doubt they played field
hockey.
TV, media, and the money have
changed the way that sports work and
directly impact the greed and selfishness
of its participants.
The teams make millions of dollars.
The sports television companies make
millions of dollars. The cities that own
the teams make millions of dollars. The
list goes on and on. So who in their right
mind would want to stop this run away
moneytrain? Consider that ESPN is the
most profitable and largest cable television network of all time.
The genie is out of the bottle, so what
do we do? Who can take back the game?
Perhaps it’s time for the fans to take
the game into their own hands. As long
as we tolerate the Terell Owens and the
Pacman Jones, nothing will change.
The day the fans boycott a Cowboys
game is the day that Jerry Jones will get
the message. Imagine how sick the first
dad is going to be who hears little Johnny
saying, “Daddy, I wanna be just like
Pacman Jones when I grow up.”
If sports are truly a reflection of our
society, then strip clubs must be making
a killing.
Photo by Nick Gasbarro
Hey batter batter! Senior Andy Giallonardo aims for the fence during a varsity baseball game.
Boys baseball brings it home
By Sean Hannon
The Shady Side Academy baseball
team, led by Head Coach Bob Grandizio
and Pitching Coach Cappa is having one
of its best years in recent memory.
The boys are 13-7 and 10-2 in section
play and are heading into the playoffs on
a roll. The team finished second in the
section just one game behind Greensburg
Central Catholic.
The chances of the team going far into
the playoffs are good. Behind the strong
pitching of junior co-captain Tim Giel
and senior muscle man Arlen Greenberg,
the team has one of the strongest pitching staffs in the playoffs.
As co-captain Jake Cohen said, “Our
pitching is definitely one of our strong
points, especially when I am not on the
mound, but it is our hitting that we need
to continue to work on.”
Softball Seniors. Andrea Chavlovich, Nia Phillips, Rachel
Balog, and Samantha Rossi smile on Senior Day.
Softball shows true grit
Despite losing every game this season (0-15) the SSA girls’ softball team
showed their mettle in the final game of the season by playing hard and losing by
only a small margin. Coach Frank McCarthy speaks the truth when he said that
the spirit of the team was more important than the record.
Mascot
debate goes on
By Remington Jackson
We are the Shady Side Academy
Indians. Originally, our nickname was
the Blue and Gold, up until the 1920s.
The nickname/mascot was changed,
however, because it was believed that
Chief Guyasuta had his encampment on
the Senior School campus. Though this
nickname has been widely accepted,
almost as long as it has been changed, it
has come into question the past decade
or so.
The question has become: is it really
okay to have a whole race of people as
a mascot? Indians, if nothing else, are
widely known for the hardships that
they endured while losing their land and
being forced onto reservations by way
of the Trail of Tears.
Those in favor of the mascot say that
it’s honorable and respectful to use the
Indian as our mascot, that we mean them
no harm. In fact, the opposite is true: we
are honoring and respecting the Indian
for what they did to try to keep their
land. But, is it really honorable to run on
a field or court dressed in war paint and
stereotypical Indian garb, making noise
and banging drums as we play a game?
They gave their lives for their land and
yet it seems like we are only belittling
them. Furthermore, many of the sym-
bols we depict are religious or spiritual
in nature. Though our intent may not be
to offend, if it does offend, do we stop
or do we continue claiming that we are
not?
Is it okay to present these stereotypes and generalizations as if these are
all they have ever been and will be
remembered for? Though our intentions
may not be to offend and only to honor,
should we not try to look at it through
someone else’s eyes? It is offending to
them, even if it is just a small percent.
That dressing up as a stereotypical version of the Indian race for the enjoyment
of scalping your opponent and wearing
war paint, banging a drum and making
“Indian” noises isn’t that worth it? And,
in the end, would we want that applied
to everything and everyone, to every
race and creed, especially our own?
Some may say “yes,” and that is okay;
it’s their opinion. Some may say “no,”
that we need to change it and that is their
opinion.
In the end, regardless of the mascot,
we are Shady Side Academy. And
whatever our mascot may be, we should
always give our best effort on the field
and represent our school, our teammates, and ourselves in the best light
possible. Go SSA!
Starting shortstop and vocal leader
of the team, Scott Royston also said
that, “In order to make it far in the
playoffs we will need to clean up some
of our play in the field and minimize the
errors that we commit.”
The team has done well so far, but
their work is definitely not over. Billy
Nickel, who suffered a shoulder injury
while playing basketball, is coming back
strong and will be needed to hit and pinch
run off the bench if the team plans on
making it to states this year.
Seniors Drew Singer, Ben Kander,
and juniors Sean Hannon, Tim Giel, and
Zach Jones will also need to continue to
help out on the offense front as well.
I would be remiss if I did not mention
the excellent play by Andy Lewis behind the plate all year and the offensive
opportunities that he has provided with
his speed on the base paths.
Scott Royston, who has filled in
nicely for the injured Garrett Peternel, is
probably the greatest defensive asset to
the team at this point and has turned in
some great defensive plays to keep the
opposing team off the board. Bo Stewart
and Andy Giallonardo, who also start
for SSA this year, have contributed
nicely to the winning efforts of the team
thus far. Be on the look out to hear about
the team’s playoff run and come out and
support the team whenever you can
because the dynasty of Shady Side baseball has just begun.
JV and Varsity players like Matt
Giel, Eddie Sheerer, Spencer Svoboda,
Brian Nickel, Joel McCullough, and Sam
Colletts are rising stars and will be key
contributors to the team’s success next
year.
The shady, shady sideline
By Ryan Gurrentz
Shady Side’s Ultimate Frisbee team
this year has made great strides and has
proven to be one of the top teams in
Pittsburgh. The boys’ team went 4-1 in
the regular season and is ranked fourth
going into the playoffs. The girls’ team
improved greatly from last year by gaining senior Hannah Foster and winning
games, finishing 5-4.
The real force behind the boys’ team’s
success is the support given by the
Shady Sideline. The Shady Sideline is
comprised of everyone in Frisbee except
seniors J.P. Menniti, Jay Parepally,
Amar Rao, J.R. Fisher, and Tom Sprague
and juniors Phil Stahfeld and Ben
Lawrence. It is led by self-appointed
senior JV Captain Ryan Gurrentz, Brian
Burnett and also senior Lucas Herman.
“The Shady Sideline is not only shady,
but it’s a sideline,” said Brian Bradley
Burnett, who leads cheers fearlessly.
“Those guys make me kick my shoes off
in a fit of joy,” said Sprague about the
Shady Sideline. Coach Matt Weiss
commented on the Sideline saying, “The
Sideline was great, even though I yelled
at them. You could really see the players
respond to the Shady Sideline’s support.”
Both teams were led this year by Mr.
Weiss. “This season is a culmination of
a 2-3 year effort,” says Weiss, “We
finally brought enough new people in to
make a difference.” The boys’ team this
year had many senior rookies such as
Brian Burnett, Ryan Gurrentz, Lucas
Herman, Mark Reynolds, and Rob
Bennett. These people also led the JV
team to an upset win over Hampton and
a strong season overall.
Weiss commented on the girls’ team
saying, “We developed three strong
handlers in Jayme Satterwhite, Stacey
Mates, and Kelly Casey. The highlights
of this year included Jayme throwing a
Frisbee is catching on! Freshman David Jimenez doesn’t play
for the frisbee team, but one day hopes to.
25 yard hammer for a touchdown.”
P.E. Ultimate saw its highest attendance in recorded history. “It’s bittersweet this year,” said Weiss, “I have to
say goodbye to a lot of strong players.”
Most of the girls’ team players are
seniors; however, the boys’ team has a
strong nucleus of underclassmen ready
to step in.
Mr. Weiss encourages all to join next
spring, and try to play pickup games or
play in outside leagues until then.
Photo by Justine Kim
Photo by Tom Rossi
You wanna know what I hate? I hate
it when little girls who couldn’t reach the
sink without a steppy stool can outdrive
me. I hate it when I watch Sid the Kid
pull an outrageous out-of-this-world
dangle that I can’t even dream of pulling
on the best of nights. I hate it when my
twelve year old cousin with a broken arm
soars a swoosh right over me. But more
than anything else I hate it when the top
story on ESPN starts with today’s police blotter instead of the top ten plays.
I was thinking, maybe ESPN should
start a new channel. Forget about ESPN
Ocho, say hello to ESPN The Lockup.
In today’s news, Commissioner
Roger Goodell announced that the week
12 Bengals/ Steelers matchup has been
moved to provide the Bengals with a
home field advantage. Therefore, the
game has been moved from Paul Brown
stadium in Cincinnati to the Ohio State
Correctional facility.
Is it me or are our nation’s favorite
pastimes going downhill faster than
Roger
Clemens
can
say,
“Inevertooksteroids”?
My dad and his friends talk about
back in the day. I wonder what it was
like. Maybe it went a little something
like this:
- Players like Dwight White used to
be nicknamed after dogs, not fight them.
- Players like Joe Namath would
sleep with a hundred women, not beat
them.
- Watergate made the front page over
the Steeler’s win, while Spygate now
makes the front page over Barack
Obama’s win.
- The bobbleheads in my dad’s days
were for the heroes who lasted forever,
Shady Side News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Why GNU/Linux matters
How would you describe your relationship with your computer? Perhaps
you only use it occasionally to do up
papers in Microsoft Word, or maybe
you’re a creative type and use Mac OS
all the time for your video editing. This
is basically the extent of the average
person’s knowledge of operating systems: there’s Microsoft Windows just
about everywhere and occasionally
Apple’s Mac OS. The part that most
people don’t realize, however, is that
there is a third operating system out
there, and it is better than Mac and
Windows combined.
I’m writing, of course, about GNU/
Linux. Not only is the operating system
completely free of charge, but it is also
what is called “free and open source,”
meaning that anybody and everybody is
free to look at the way it works and
submit their changes. This is what
makes it such a good operating system;
millions of people all give their input,
contribute suggestions, and determine
fixes to evolve and improve it much
faster than a proprietary operating system. By the way, a proprietary operating system is one in which you can’t look
at the source code and are legally restricted from making any changes. Both
Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Mac
OS fall squarely into this category.
But this isn’t the reason why you,
the average computer user, should care.
In fact, unless you are a really experienced hacker, the previous paragraph
probably made very little sense to you.
The reason you should care, however, is
that GNU/Linux is just as good a choice
for the average user as it is for the
experienced hacker. There are many
reasons why GNU/Linux is a better
choice than Windows or Mac OS:
Usability and Productivity: Even
though GNU/Linux may sound complicated or unfamiliar, it is just as easy to
use as Mac OS and far more easy to use
than Windows. The idea behind
GNOME, the most common graphical
user interface, is that everything is laid
out according to a series of simple rules;
as soon as you learn how these rules
work and get a basic feel for how the
interface works, you can do anything.
This beats Mac, whose famously simple
desktop is actually quite cluttered and
illogical beneath the surface, and Windows, whose insanely complicated interface is not only confusing, but a pain
to use as well. Another big argument for
GNU/Linux is productivity. A large
portion of Mac’s new marketing cam-
paign is that it’s designed to facilitate
creativity. This may be true, but GNU/
Linux has a definite advantage in this
respect as well. This comes from the
“GNU” part of GNU/Linux. GNU is a
huge collection of software that’s all free
and open software as well. This is what
gives GNU/Linux its edge: there is a
piece of free software to do just about
everything, including every task that
Mac OS X can do. This includes movie
editing, sound mixing, photo editing,
chatting, and word processing. This is
software not developed by J. Random
Programmer sitting in his office somewhere, but constantly being developed
by people who are both expert programmers and experts in the field the software
is designed for. Imagine a software
program that could easily outperform
Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Aperture,
and Microsoft Office/iWork, and cost
you nothing. Wouldn’t you be interested?
Other Benefits: Aside from the
obvious benefits of ease of use and
power, there are other reasons to make
the switch. Because GNU/Linux is
designed by people who are all using
different kinds of computers, it is naturally designed to be as platform-independent as possible, or at least to have
a specific type for every computer model.
Therefore, I guarantee that GNU/Linux
will run on your computer, no matter
what type it is. Another benefit is
security. As just about everyone knows,
there is a lot of Windows malware out
there, and while Mac claims to have no
viruses, its security has yet to be tested.
GNU/Linux, however, is built off of
UNIX, a powerful operating system
designed for mainframe computers that
have to run for months or years at a time
without crashing. GNU/Linux also runs
on over 80% of the world’s
supercomputers and servers. Wouldn’t
you like to have the security and dependability of a web server on your
desktop? Another reason why people
are reluctant to switch from the operating system they have is because they
fear that the upgrade will be too complicated. Nowadays, nothing could be
further from the truth. Recent GNU/
Linux distributions have streamlined the
installation process, and I can personally say that installing GNU/Linux now,
particularly a user-friendly distribution
like Ubuntu, is much easier than it was
before. So, now that you know that
GNU/Linux exists and why it’s better
than the OS you have now, go forth and
switch!
RUUUUTUUUU! Jarkko Ruutu lays a shot on Flyers goalie Martin Biron.
Go home Flyers, go home
By Olivia Seecof
As round three of the playoffs come
to a close, Pens fans are wondering if the
team is destined to win the Stanley Cup.
As many fans pray to “Lord Stanley”
about winning the cup, I know I am
asking that we get past the Philadelphia
Flyers. With a solid sweep of the
Ottawa Senators, and a series win at
home in game five against the New York
Rangers, the Pens seem like they are well
on their way to winning the final game.
Pittsburgh’s key players need to
stay strong and healthy. Our team has
been fortunate in the area of injury with
only two playoff injuries. Scary Gary
Roberts injured his groin in round one,
but has returned, while Max Talbot
suffered a broken foot due to blocking a
shot. He definitely took one for the
team, and is expected to be ready to play
against Philly.
Despite how talented Sid the Kid and
Geno are, many fans and critics believe
that the key to the finals is who you have
in the net. Lately the 2-9er, and no, I do
not mean Phil Borque, has been everything the Pens could ask for and more.
Marc-Andre has had two shutouts compared to Philadelphia’s Martin Biron’s
lone shutout in game almost a month ago.
As long as Marc-Andre keeps up his
brick wall quality, and both offence and
defense stay strong, the Penguins can
out play the Philadelphia Flyers. However, it is the physical aspect of the game
that has me praying to Lord Stanley.
Philadelphia is knows for their downright dirty play, but that is why the Pens
have Georges Laraque. Lets go Pens!
Photo by Nick Gasbarro
Boys lax does not lack talent
By Jeff Caruso
The 2007-2008 Boy’s Lacrosse
Team enjoyed one its best seasons in
recent years. Playing one of the hardest
schedules in Western Pennsylvania, the
Indians saw themselves ranked as high
as third in Western PA and a possible A
bracket bid for their Mid-West Tournament in late May which has never been
done in school history. Although the
team had a great deal of veteran leadership from senior captains Chase Fisher,
Seth Bernstein, Brendan Eisenbrandt,
and Jeff Caruso as well as other seniors
Phil Soeder, Dave Gookin, and Sam
Heuk; many new faces appeared in the
line up. The defense was led by an
experienced three year starter Beau
Bergman which also included sophomore Jeff Shogun and first year pole Phil
Soeder who picked up the position
quickly. Together, they proved tough
against the opposing offense. Mike
Fisher was also dominant between the
pipes and helped the Indians in goal
proving to be one of the top keepers in
the area. The midfield, the deepest
position on the team, was led by seniors
Seth Bernstein and Brendan Eisenbrandt
who proved to be a force on both sides
of the field with their skill and athleticism.
Others to note include juniors Jason
Deal, Christian Petredis, and Sam Leff as
well as sophomores Mont Pooley and
Ben Cohen who all have the ability to
push the ball in transition to create plays
on offense. Tanner Jones helped out
defensively on the midfield playing long
stick despite suffering an injury in his
freshman year which caused him to sit
out his freshman season. The attack
included seniors Jeff Caruso and Chase
Fisher, junior Andrew Viehe, and sophomore Peter Dieseroth. The attack worked
very well together as each player was
able to bring something different. Pete
was the feeder from behind the goal as he
was able to distribute the ball to Viehe on
the right and Caruso on the left. Although young, Deiseroth and Viehe will
be back next year and will be big part of
the offensive. Offensive Coordinator
Richard Rattner said, “We have needed
a good x guy for a couple of years now
and Pete has filled that void and has done
an excellent job. We have tried to create
a balanced offense that was able to score
in any position. With athletes like Seth
and Eisey, they could get our offense the
ball. In past years, the defense has been
keeping us in games so now it is our time
to put up some goals. With a high
powered offense and a great defense,
that makes for a great team and a special
group of guys”. Although the season is
not over yet, the Indians led by Co-Head
Coaches Chuck Dinardo and Jeff Young
have a few more games to play and are
looking to make some noise in Western
PA and in the Mid-West Tournament.
By Rohan Menon
match, “That was awesome...by far the
best match I’ve seen this year. It’s a
privilege to be on the same team as Mr.
Mengel and it’s definitely comforting to
know that the best singles player in
WPIAL is playing for us.”
The team entered the playoffs as the
6th seed with a chip on its shoulder.
After an easy win vs. Central Catholic at
home (5-0), they met 4th seeded Peters
Township. Feeling like they had something to prove and with their backs
against the wall, the players responded
with a 4-1 victory. With the win, the
team earned a spot in the semifinals
against the #2 seed: Fox Chapel High
School.
Chris Mengel won easily, beating
Jon Jordan (6-0, 6-1), as Josh Ferraccio
took care of Rico Certo in straight sets.
Dan Shaffer and Rohan Menon beat Jon
Hahalyak and Sal Certo in three sets as
the resilient SSA team avenged their
prior defeats in a decisive 3-2 victory,
sending the cross-road rivals home, ending their season.
In the WPIAL championship, SSA
fell 3-2 to Upper St. Clair (Mengel,
Shaffer-Menon), but then came back
with a strong 4-1 win against Erie
McDowell in the first round of the State
Playoffs.
The team heads to Hershey this
weekend to continue their journey with
the prospect of playing Upper St. Clair
in the finals.
Boys tennis dreams of Hershey
Shady Side Academy’s boys’ tennis team had high hopes entering this
year after a premature departure in last
year’s PIAA state tournament. With
the addition of coaching legend Tom
Mercer and a few freshmen studs, the
’08 season looked extremely promising.
Sophomore Chris Mengel held on to
the #1 singles spot this year, going
undefeated and winning many key
matches against some of the top players
in the state. Senior Josh Ferraccio, who
also had a solid year, and freshman Ben
Cohen filled the 2nd and 3rd singles
spots. Seniors Dan Shaffer and Rohan
Menon represented Shady Side Academy as the #1 doubles team, while Senior
Jack Marous and Freshman Justin Hunt
played #2 doubles. Mike Anthony
filled in when an injury caused a vacancy
in the roster. Craig Pentrack, Asher
Saperstein, Nandeesh Prasad, and Sam
Miller also contributed to the team’s
success. The team had to overcome
some devastating injuries along the way
(Dan Shaffer—broken forearm, Rohan
Menon—Broken Foot/Ankle, Chris
Mengel—Upset Stomach, Jack
Marous—Broken Heart) but it was able
to perservere and pull through when it
counted.
The regular season for the team ended
with a 10-3 record and with two disappointing, but humbling, 3-2 losses to
rival Fox Chapel. Senior Jack Marous
said, “Those two matches brought us
down to earth and pulled our team closer
together. From that point on, we knew
what it would take to take our game to
the next level...we saw Fox Chapel celebrating after being victorious, and that
image made us want [to win] it that much
more..” In the only other loss that the
team suffered (at Pine Richland), Chris
Mengel handed nationally-ranked Casey
Watt his first high school loss of his
career. Freshman Justin Hunt said of the
Photo by Kimberly Flit
By Nicholas Barnes
Sports, etc. 7
Scoop Social! Senior Environmental Science students Rachel
Balog and Dan Gordon serve Earth Day Cones.
Feeling a little green
Class in the dark occurred on April
22 while participating in a “blackout
hour.” An attempt to encourage the
Shady Side Academy community to
think about the how much energy is
consumed each day, the “blackout hour”
involved turning off classroom lights,
shutting off idle computers, and taking
classes outside. Earth Day was being
celebrated all over campus. Seniors
Addy Mistick and Kay C. Byrnes headed
many of the activities and came up with
the clever idea of Earth Day Cones. All
students on campus enjoyed their ice
cream while contributing to saving the
planet.
8 College choices
Shady Side News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Spectacular SSA seniors make final college choices
By Josh Diggs
At many schools,this was the year of
the rejection letter,the year of broken
hearts and shattered dreams,the year
that will go down in history as the most
competitive year of college admissions
yet.
The admissions rate of Harvard
dropped to a record low of 7.1%. To put
this in perspective, Harvard rejected
every 93 out of 100 applicants, many of
them having a perfect grade point average, perfect standardized test scores,
glowing teacher recommendations, and a
plethora of extracurricular activities.
This trend, however, is not limited to
the nation’s top universities; it can be
found in colleges across the country.
According to Virginia Maddux, Director of College Counseling at SSA, two
things contributed to this year’s unprecedented admissions rates: more students are embarking for college than ever
before, and these students are applying
to more colleges than previous years.
For example, SSA’s College Counseling office processed 1,221 applications to 243 different schools, or roughly
10 schools per senior.
Whether they applied to 10 schools
or 1, as did many who took advantage
of early notification, or whether they got
into all of them or just a few, each senior
should be proud of his or her choice. The
News Staff would like to congratulate
the Class of 2008.
Sophia Aivaliotis: Drexel Univ.
David Allen: U. of Dayton
BobbiLyn Anthony: U. of Pittsburgh
Laura Bagamery: Princeton Univ.
Rachel Balog: U. of Pittsburgh
Kaitlin Bauer: St. Mary’s College
Ayse Baybars: Columbia Univ.
Andrew Begg: Playing Junior Hockey
Robert Bennett: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Hannah Berkowitz: George Washington Univ.
Seth Bernstein: Wake Forest Univ.
Gregory Bidula: John Carroll Univ.
Alexandra Bodnarchuk: Ohio Univ.
Kurt Brendel: Princeton Univ.
Jeffrey Broad: Furman Univ.
Marissa Brooks: Syracuse Univ.
Brian Burnett: Penn State Univ.
Katherine Byrnes: Cornell Univ.
Nomin Buuch: U. of Pittsburgh
Jeffrey Caruso: Skidmore College
Jessica Chang: Stanford Univ.
Andrea Chavlovich: Allegheny College
Benjamin Cohen: U. of Pennsylvania
Jacob Cohen: U. of Georgia
Molly Cunningham: Duquesne Univ.
Christine Currie: Columbia Univ.
Jennifer Dawson: Furman Univ.
Vishal Desai: Carnegie Mellon Univ.
Kara DiBiase: Miami Univ./Ohio
Joshua Diggs: Emory Univ.
David Edwards: Yale University
Jamie Egan: Villanova Univ.
Brendan Eisenbrandt: Sewanee; U./
South
Stephen Epple: Carnegie Mellon
Univ.
Joshua Falk: Stanford Univ.
Katie Falloon: Yale Univ.
Michael Farrell: Penn State Univ.
Joshua Ferracio: Univ. of Colorado Boulder
Paige Ferrise: New York Univ.
Chase Fisher: St. Lawrence Univ.
John Fisher: Stanford Univ.
Linda Flaherty: Miami Univ./Ohio
Hannah Foster: Duke Univ.
Luke Franchuk: Westminster College
Andrew Giallonardo: Westminster
College
Max Ginsberg: Wesleyan Univ.
David Gookin: Bard College
Daniel Gordon: Boston Univ.
Lauren Greco: U. of Miami/Florida
Arlen Greenberg: Amherst College
Ryan Gurrentz: U. of Miami/Florida
Brendan Hannon: Lehigh Univ.
Emily Harmon: Princeton Univ.
Carolyn Hepler-Smith: U. of Pittsburgh
Lucas Herman: Alfred Univ.
Natalie Herrington: Allegheny College
Samuel Heuck: Kenyon College
Joan Hilton: Hobart and William
Smith Colleges
Peter Hirsch: U. of Virginia
Alexa Hunter: Univ. of Delaware
Remington Jackson: College of
Wooster
Evin Jethroe: George Washington
Univ.
Benjamin Kander: Emory Univ.
Vijay Kedar: Harvard College
Andrew Klein: Bucknell Univ.
Ross Lampl: Valley Forge Military
College
Neil Lax: U. of Pittsburgh
Margaux LeMaster: Ithaca College
Alexander Lemberg: Wake Forest
Univ.
Tara Magge: Duke Univ.
Hina Mahmood: Northwestern Univ.
John Marous: Emory Univ.
Stacey Mates: U. of Michigan
Kristen McKnight: Penn State Univ.;
Schreyer Honors College
Owen McLean: New York Univ.
John Menniti: Carnegie Mellon Univ.
Rohan Menon: George Washington
Univ.
Joanna Meyer: Ithaca College
Diana Miller: Washington and
Jefferson College
Katharine Miller: Allegheny College
Vincent Miller: Wesleyan Univ.
Nicole Mino: West Virginia Univ.
Adriana Mistick: U. of San Francisco
Elizabeth Modoono: U. of Delaware
Hallelujah! Senior Hannah Berkowitz celebrates with other
classmates on the curb outside McCune Dining Hall.
Matthew Moran: Wake Forest Univ.
Julie Nelson: Culinary Institute of
America
Edwin Niederberger: Allegheny College
Kelsey Olander: Fordham Univ.
Jayant Parepally: Boston Univ. Accelerated Medical Program
Morgan Paul: U. of Pittsburgh
Alex Petraglia: Rhodes College
Charles Phillips: Bucknell Univ.
Nia Phillips: Wellesley College
Alexandra Pitz: New York Univ.
Gina Poerio: Syracuse Univ.
Hadley Pratt: U. of Pittsburgh
Amar Rao: Carnegie Mellon Univ.
Varun Reddy: Duke Univ.
Mark Reynolds: Wake Forest Univ.
Daniel Rooney: Dartmouth College
Samantha Rossi: Northeastern Univ.
Christine Rua: Davidson College
Julian Rudolph: Rollins College
Anna Rued: U. of Richmond
Jayme Satterwhite: U. of Kentucky
Trevor Scheid: Stanford Univ.
Daniel Shaffer: U.S. Military Academy-West Point
Gautam Sharma: Stanford Univ.
Prize Day 2008
Surviving the senior slump
By Ayse Baybars
a third-term senior is: why didn’t you do
a senior project? This brings up an
excellent point in that Shady Side offers
an incredible opportunity to all seniors.
However, just as the course of true love
never did run smooth, the course of a
senior project proposal never did run
smooth, either. There is the issue of not
being able to drop classes third term (all
teachers must give their consent to dropping their class and sign the proposal)
and being required to be present every
day for an Advanced Placement class.
Also, there’s the minute detail of writing
up the drafts of the proposal and attaining the committee’s approval. But say
that all of that did run smoothly. Well,
that’s great! But this doesn’t happen
too often (there’s always some obstacle),
and plus, it seems to me that most
seniors don’t even consider it (if you
haven’t seen the thickness of the senior
project proposal, you really should take
a look—Frank McCarthy has them in
the math office).
And we’re back to the problem of
senioritis-stricken seniors. I’ve heard
the argument that we ought to be here
because April and May are still part of
the academic year, and thus, still part of
our high school education. True, but are
we really getting an education if no one
is willing to learn?
Most would agree that seniors deserve to be rewarded in some form third
term for all their toil over the past three
years. However, if not just by virtue of
our hard work, seniors need to be cut
some slack just because we are an impediment to the rest of the student body
from a truly beautiful education. Not
only do we not attend our own classes,
but we also don’t hesitate to snidely
remind underclassmen that we don’t
have to care anymore, but they do. Thirdterm seniors are a distraction to the
entire community. Something must be
done!
Dean David Szlachetka mentioned
what he thought would be a viable option: “I’d like to see the school move
towards having a more accommodating
schedule for the seniors so that we don’t
have a final third term stage, but instead,
strengthen our final senior project program, where the seniors would have the
(Continued from page one).
Photo by Justine Kim
There seems to be one major event
(other than the big kahuna—graduation)
in the life of a Shady Side senior: hearing
back from colleges. Every year, other
than the handful of lucky students who
are accepted into their dream school
early (in December—nice Christmas
present, right?), every senior awaits
spring break with a deadly mixture of
dread, anxiety, and excitement. Once
that day that seals our fate passes, everything changes. Seniors enter real
third-term senior mode, and the senioritis
sets in.
Arguably, there are many members
of the student body who have been
experiencing similar sentiments before
third term, even before senior year.
Recently, in a statistics survey, some
seniors even claimed that it was the end
of the U.S. paper that had triggered their
senioritis.
Regardless of when each senior started
feeling the senioritis creep in, it’s now
official: we’re third-term seniors past
Spring Break, we’re in to college, and
we’re less than a month shy of graduation. Without a doubt, we are entitled to
our senioritis. No one wants to work. In
fact, seniors all over campus are blatantly not doing work (skipping
class…skipping school altogether…).
Ironically, my mother felt the need to
inform me on the first day back from
spring break that the school had emailed
senior parents, asking them to make sure
their children still came to school and
didn’t slack off. Obviously, the school
is aware of the third-term senior state of
mind (after all, it’s infamous for its
laziness and relaxation, and it’s the Holy
Grail of all third-term freshmen).
This happens to the graduating class
every year. We become lazy (or lazier
than we were before), we stop being
students, and all we want to do is graduate. And the teachers don’t particularly
want to deal with us anymore. Librarian
Reed Williams has many a time regretted
leaving organizational responsibilities
to third-term seniors during library
events, saying “third-term seniors just
have other priorities.” So the question is:
why do we have to stick around?
The immediate response to complaining about being at school and being
Seniors Owen McLean, Hina
Mahmood, Steve Epple and
Michael Sternberg enjoying their
well-deserved senioritis.
opportunity to intern and explore career
areas. It would be a culmination of
everything the seniors have learned during their years here, rather than just
having them continue going to class as
they normally would.”
Other high schools have different
policies for seniors after spring break.
Seniors at Pittsburgh Central Catholic
High School have a shortened year, where
their last day of school is in mid-May.
Seniors at Amos Alonzo Stagg High
School, a public school in a suburb of
Chicago, don’t have to take final exams
as long as they maintain an A in the class.
Other schools only ask seniors to take
classes they truly want to take, ones that
they will actually attend during the last
bend before graduation. Out of all of
these, I trust that Shady Side has enough
wisdom to choose some special case for
our seniors, to formulate different requirements for third-term seniors where
we will no longer be a distraction to daily
school life, an annoyance to teachers,
and an annoyance to ourselves for having to wake up every morning and drag
ourselves to class.
On the other hand, as third-term
seniors, we now have the ability to slow
down and truly take in Shady Side and
everything it has to offer as a community. Savor the last drops of high school,
seniors; we’ll never get to do it again!
Dhiren Shetty: George Washington
Univ.
Drew Singer: Lafayette College
Pamela Singh: Washington and
Jefferson College
Kristen Slinkard: Grove City College
Philip Soeder: Washington and
Jefferson College
Thomas Sprague: Bucknell Univ.
Michael Sternberg: Rochester Institute of Technology
Lianne Sufrin: Hofstra Univ.
Allyson Supowitz: Northwestern
Univ.
Glenn Sutula: Denison Univ.
Jaimie Szuhay: U. of Pittsburgh
Robert Tisherman: Carnegie Mellon
Univ.
Kenneth Toler: Loyola Univ. Chicago
Emily Wampler: Loyola Univ. Chicago
Caroline Washburn: Brown Univ.
Andrew Weber: New York Univ.
Katie Williamson: U. of
Gloucestershire/UK
Merle M. Alexander Prize
Laura Bagamery, Ayse Baybars,
Jessica Chang, Jayant Parepally, Varun
Reddy, Robert Tisherman
Miller Award Laura Bagamery,
Ayse Baybars, Hannah Foster, Vijay
Kedar, Neil Lax, Jayant Parepally,
Varun Reddy, Robert Tisherman
History Department Awards
George Baton Scheetz History Prize
Andy Weber
Robert D. Abercrombie Prize in
American History Brooke Gladstone
Instructors’ Prize in American History
Josh Kalla
Sauers Prize in History
Meredith Lackey
Art Department Awards
Thornton Oakley Memorial Award
Chase Fisher, Carolyn Hepler-Smith,
Peter Hirsch, Lynn Nguyen
Skidmore College Art Prize
Justine Kim
William C. Nealon Award
Linda Flaherty, Lucas Herman,
Katie Miller, Addy Mistick
National School Orchestra Award
Emily Harmon, Jaimie Szuhay
National School Choral Award
Dave Gookin, Ally Supowitz
John Philip Sousa Band Award
Josh Falk, Stacey Mates
Louis Armstrong Jazz Award
Ryan Gurrentz, Trevor Scheid
Nondepartmental Awards
E. Bruce Hill Jr. Memorial Prize
Luke Franchuk, Andrew Klein, Emily
Wampler
Gargoyle Club Award
Veronica Lee
SHADY SIDE ACADEMY
423 Fox Chapel Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
Gargoyle Society Awards
Emily Harmon, Nia Phillips, Anna
Rued, Tom Sprague, Lianne Sufrin
Special Gargoyle Awards
Greg Bidula, Alexandra Bodnarchuk,
J.R. Fisher, David Gookin, Ryan
Gurrentz, Carolyn Hepler-Smith, Addy
Mistick, Jayme Satterwhite, Ally
Supowitz, Jaimie Szuhay
Roy Arthur Hunt Senior Computer
Science Prize
Amar Rao, Robert
Tisherman
Dartmouth Award Benjamin Chappy
Kander, Kelsey Olander
Raphael M. Sotack Honors
Form VI: Rachel Balog, Jeff Broad, Brian
Burnett, Josh Falk, Luke Franchuk,
Kristen Slinkard
Form V: Andrew Ellis, Tim Giel,
Katie Sasinoski, Alex Stevens
Form IV: Nick Ciesielski, Peter Ellis,
Deliah Loughrey, Molly Marous, Mary
Rooney, Laura Woll
Form III: Nick Barnes, Latif Elias,
Delaney Fischer, Kimberly Flit, Sam
Miller, Katherine Prochownick, Noah
Schoen, Tierney Weitz
McCollum Jones Boarder Prizes
Raediah Lyles, Owen McLean
Williams College Book Award
Josh Kalla
Walter Martin Lester Memorial
Award
Seth Bernstein
Stephen Michael Shenkan Memorial
Award
William Rutherford
Yale Award
Sean Hannon
Centennial Class Award
Vijay Kedar
Aurelian Award Stacey Mates
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