Acorn; December 2010

ACORN December 13, 2010 1

December 2010

AC O R N

2

ACORN issue 3d e c e m b e r

Chief Editor: Eddy WangCo-Editor: Madeleine LaitzAssistant Editor: Zoe Rankin

Advisor: JAM

Art Editor: Ms. O

email: [email protected]

Facebook group: The Acorn

Twitter: harleyAcorn

On the cover:

From “Forest for the Trees” Series by Sean Sullivan ‘09http://www.passlifepracticeart.com

Sean is currently attending Par-sons at The New School in NYC. This is his sophomore year.

See page 6

The Harley School1981 Clover StreetRochester, NY 14618Dr. Timothy Cottrell, Head of School585.442.2770www. harleyschool.org

Table of Contents

Jason Tahir: 10 Questions ........................................4

An interview with Sean Sulli,van ...................6

Chips, Ben Kurchin ......................................................................8

Harley Sports update

Colette McConnell ....................................................10

Chris Duffy .....................................................................10

Caitlin Richard.............................................................11

Epiphany, Brooklyn Bianchi.................................................11

Harry Potter, Zach Palumbo ......................................12

Sensation, Anna Barbano ..................................................14

furry little beast, Ms. O ..................................................15

East or West, Andy Zeng .................................................16

Nazareth to Nassau, Maddie Laitz ....................17

ray’s-ism, Ray Chang ................................................................18

The End of Integrity, Maddie Laitz .....................19


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Izzy Hirtelen-Booker ‘13

4

1 0 Q u e s t i o n s With JASON TAHIRDuke U N I V E R S I T Y

Hey Jason! Congratulations •on getting a scholarship to Duke! What other schools were you consid-ering and what was the decision pro-cess like? Did you visit the schools, talk to the coaches, and spend a daythere?Andfinally,whydidyouchoose Duke?

-Thanks!Itook3officialvisitstoDuke, Michigan, and Illinois. The decision process was very stressful because I was being recruited since September 1st of 2009 till October of 2010. The coaches and players all spent a lot of time trying to convince me that their school was the best choice for me. I visited all three schoolsonofficialvisitsthroughoutSeptember and October. I ended up spending 2 days at each school touring the campus, athletic facilities, and meeting with the players and coaches. I chose Duke because it’s thebestfitforme.Thetennisteamis top 15 in the country and I only feel like the team is getting better. The academics are outstanding, and the smaller liberal arts education was appealing to me.

What has tennis done for •you personally?

- Tennis has done a ton for me per-sonally. It has gotten me into Duke; a school I would have never gotten into without tennis. Tennis has also

Jason Tahir is ranked 11th nation-ally, 2nd in the Middle Atlantic, and 1st in New York State, as well as be-ing a 5-star Blue Chip recruit.


taught me a bunch of life lessons like working for a goal, bouncing back from a loss, analyzing myself and my game, and many more. Tennis has also shown me many parts of the country and exposed me to many different people, many of whom I’ve made lifelong friends with.

Whydidyoufirststartplayingtennis?•

- I started playing tennis by accident at age 7. I was away on a vacation at a day camp and tennis was one of the activities. When I came back from the trip, I begged my Dad to play tennis but he didn’t want to teach a beginner. Eventually, he played with me though.

What are your plans for college? Do you want to be-•come a tennis professional?

- My plans for college are to help the team as much as possible. With the caliber of players we have I think we have a good chance of breaking into the top 5 in the country and com-peting for national championships. Personally, I’d like to become an All-American in singles and dou-bles and win an individual national championship. My ultimate goal is to get out on the tour and become a pro. The Duke staff believes in me and I know they will give it their best to help me achieve those goals.

How do you deal with being a tennis star and just a •normal everyday student at Harley?

- Balancing training and my school is really tough. Free time is hard to come by! But the Harley teachers have all been very helpful and supportive. Without them my school workwouldbeverydifficulttomanage.

What do you think are the most important things to •being successful in something? What has made you so successful in tennis?

- I think to be successful at something you’ve really got to want it. If you don’t have the desire to get better at some-

thing, the hard work won’t be enjoyable at all. I think I’ve been successful at tennis because I love it and I work really hard at it. All the training that I do is fun for me and I love being able to see all my hard work pay off.

Most people would think playing in New York gives •you a disadvantage than the players out West or down South because of the harsh climate. How have you been able cope with that?

-PlayingtennisinNewYorkisdefinitelymoredifficultthansome other areas of the country. In the winter it’s really tough to get a ton of court time. Most of my peers are get-ting around triple the practice time that I got in the winter months. The only thing I can do to cope with this is to give it my best every time I step on the court or the gym.

Other than •Duke, what is your proudest moment in ten-nis?

- I would say my proudest mo-ment in tennis is winning the state doubles title with Ben Guzick in 8th grade. We had some tough matches early in the tournament but we found our stride in the later rounds.

Have you gone through any trying times where you •had doubt about your tennis?

-I’vedefinitelyhadtimeswhereI’vedoubtedmytennis.Ihad a stress fracture in my playing hand in the summer of 2009 and that was really tough to get through. The sum-mer is the most important time of the year for a tennis player and I was out with an injury. I really worked hard after that to bounce back.

Whatkindofsacrificeshaveyoumadetoachievethe•kind of success you have had?

-I’vedefinitelyhadtomakealotofsacrificesformytennisgame. Almost every day I leave early so I can get more training time. I’ve missed a lot of school for tennis tourna-ments, and I missed prom last year.

6

SEAN Patrick Sullivan ‘09Interviewed by Ms. O

Sean Sullivan graduated from Harley 2 years ago and entered Parsons The New School at NYC. We hear he loves it and is excelling in photography. We are not surprised. December 8th 2010, I conducted a Facebook interview with Sean to see how things are going.

Me:IhearyouandParsonsfitlikeahandandglove.Isthis true?

SPS: Yeah, it’s going really great... I just won the Parsons photography grant, actually. So that’s exciting!

Me: Is that on your website? If so, I think I saw it! Con-gratulations! Is money involved?

SPS: Thanks. Yeah, I think it is... I got $2000 to work on my art.

Me: What was the biggest challenge for freshman year?

SPS: Umm, it was pretty seamless. I would say missing my sister and family was the hardest, but we all talked often.

Me: What was your most challenging course so far?

SPS:Mymostdifficultcoursewasfreshmanseminarbe-cause it required an enormous amount of time.

Me: How have your photography skills evolved?

SPS: You learn a LOT more about lighting because of the resources [available] so that has really helped my work. [And] really researching other photographers with such a skill for it, we have to take courses that all you do is research and memorize photographers.

Me: Was fashion photography your original goal?

SPS: I kept an open mind going in so I didn’t pigeon hole my self. I still do a lot of fashion work, but my biggest in-terestthislastsemesterwasinmoreofafineartdirection.Researching nude photographers for an assignment was re-ally what sparked my direction: Irving Pen, Mapplethorpe, Imogen Cunningham...

Me: Yeah I noticed all the nude work on your website (http://passlifepracticeart.com/) and remembered that the last time we touched base you were working with Jessica Yatrofsky - “I <3 Boy” Photography. Photographing nudes mustbesimilartofiguredrawingforpainters--itbecomesvery zen-like... lost in the beauty of the form.

SPS: Yeah for sure, I am actually mentioned in her book coming in February! Her work is very zen nude; she is re-ally amazingly powerful. I was introduced to her after do-ing a series of nudes, and was lucky enough to work with her over the summer!

Work from Parsons The New School of Design


Me: What is the sequence or progression of your nudes studies?

SPS: Umm...I started the year with “plant life”. Then Phalic Reality, Alone, Complacency, and Missing Pieces.

Me: Is your world all digital?

SPS:No,notatall.Freshmanyearisallfilmanditreallyteaches you the basics! I use about half and half; I am even taking a required view camera class, the old school filmcamerawithaclothoveryourhead

Me: And Hasselblad?Sean: Hahah I use a hassy often but my favorite is my Mamiya.

Me: Are you still able to work for Michael Kors and go to school?

SPS: Yes, I work 30 hours a week as a selling special-ist for MK as well as 20 hours per week of classes! Very busy, but it is an unbelievable opportunity that I would never pass up! I’m starting again at Headquarters in January, working in the retail development team, and visual merchandising.

Me: So that should be enough. I am going to do it inter-view style not narrative: Me: question You: blah, blah, blah; Me: question You: blah, blah, blah etc.

SPS: Haha great, thanks. Makes me feel fancy!

Ms O.

“I kept an open mind going in so I didn’t pigeon

hole my self. I still do a lot of fashion work, but

my biggest interest this last semester was in

moreofafineartdirection.“

8

C H I P S . . .My Chip BusinessBen Kurchin I have al-ways been interested in managing money. When I was in 6th grade, I had an idea. I noticed that after school on the bus loop, some of my classmates would ask if I could give them money to buy something from the vending machine. So I started bringing some of my money in my backpack to school. When people asked to borrow money, I had it. I lent them money, on the condition that they owed me an extra 25 cents for every day they didn’t pay. So if they paid me back the day after, 25 cents ex-tra. Four days later? A dollar extra. I remem-ber a few times when I collected more than 100% interest. I never had trouble collecting the money because the amount was so small. Sadly, this little busi-ness I had ended when I announced it at the dinner table one night, thinking my parents would think it was cool or something. My mom got ticked instead and


made me stop. Since then, my business sense has developed. In 8th grade, my mom and my older sister were raising money for a big bike race at Lake Tahoe called Team in Training by selling donuts during 1st short. Instead of buying some for myself, I told them that if I could get one free donut each day they did this, I would buy any donuts that they didn’t sell on that day. I never once had to buy any remaining donuts; they were all sold. I was kind of like insurance to my mom and sister. They gave me a recurring “payment” and I made sure they never lost any money by buying the leftovers. A couple times in 9th grade, I bought a bunch of small bags of chips from Wegmans and sold them at a markup price from my locker. This was under the ta-ble; my mom didn’t know about it. When I bought them, it was usually after a sports practice when I was getting picked up by someone other than my mom. I would stop at Wegmans on the way home and then bring them into schoolthenextday.Itwasdifficulttohidefromherthelarge quantities of bags that I bought, so I didn’t do this much. I was eventually caught anyways and my busi-ness endeavor was again put to a stop. In 10th grade, I made a compromise with her. She would allow me to sell bags of chips again if Idonatedhalfoftheprofitstocharity.IchoseHeiferInternational as my cause. It is an organization that collects money from donors and uses it to send livestock to African villages. I raised $135.25 for Heifer last year, and I have not yet chosen what to buy with it. This year, I am using the money to raise money for senior commencement, a job that is bestowed upon the junior class. As of now, I’ve sold approximately 1500 bags of chips. I keep track of the amount sold on a chart which I keep in my locker. I allow IOUs, which I keep track of onthesamechart.Iget25centsofprofitperbag,halfof which I myself keep, and half of which is donated. That means that for each bag of chips, 12.5 cents is do-nated to charity. Although this may seem like nothing, if you do the math, it amounts to something. I sell about 8 bags of chips per day, on average. As such, I sell about 40 per week, and 160 per month. That is $20 raised per month,thepriceofaflockofchicksforHeiferInterna-tional. Each month, I could provide a family with eggs, a significantimprovementtotheirinadequatediets. Ihavetriedtofindthenumberofhighschoolsin America online, but the number I found varied from 15,000 to 95,000. To be safe, let’s say there are 10,000 high schools in the US. If one student from every high school sold chips (or any merchandise, for that matter) in the same manner as I did, $200,000 could be raised each month. In other words, that’s a lot of chickens, especially considering the fact that there are a lot more than 10,000 high schools in the US. That could make a huge difference.

8Chip Bags Sold/day

40/wk

160/month

+1500 alto-

gether

+$135raised

for Heifer

Int.and

HarleyCom-

mence-ment

10

Chris Duffy

Swimming is a new experience for me, because I have never swam competitively in my life. Basically, in practice, you have to make your body hate you throughout the different drills and sets in order to gain endur-ance and speed. In meets, you have to make your body hate in a much smaller period of time so you can beat everyone else. The team is also very accepting of new-comers, and it adds a great deal of fun to the oth-erwise sometimes straining practices. Overall, I’d put the swimming team high on my list of things to do if I want to participate in a winter sport that’s fun, but also a challenge. And that’s a two sport list: swimming and basketball.

The 2010-2011 swim season is off to a great start for the HAC swimteam.OurfirstmeetwasonNovember 30th at Spencerport. This was a special meet called “Laps for Life” with teams from Spencerport, Albion, and HAC. This meet was held in honor of an Albion swimmer who was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. So, the swimming com-munity got together to raise money for the swimmer and his family. It was a successful meet; the girl’s teamcameinfirstplaceandtheboy’s team came in second place. The second meet was versus Newfane on December 3rd. This was a tough meet for both the boys and girls teams. The boy’s team swam very well and beat Newfane. This was the toughest team the girl’s will face this season. Unfortu-nately, the girls lost by only a few points, but the team is ready for a rematch at the Intersectional meet at the end of the season. The rest of the season for

the swim team is looking very good. The team is training in Orlando, Florida over December break. The team will be swimming for four hours a day in an outdoor 50 meter pool. It is going to be a good trip with lots of swimming! After the holidays, things get pretty busy on the swim team. The HAC Invitational meet will be held at the Harley Pool on January 8th, 2011. The Genesee Region League Championship meet will be on Janu-ary 29th, at the Gates-Chili pool. These meets, along with sectionals for the boys and the Akron Inter-sectional meet for the girls, are the biggest meets of the season. The last meet of the season for the girls is the Akron Intersec-tional meet on February 4th. The boys team has sectionals at Bath February 10th-12th. Following sec-tionals are states, which hopefully many swimmers will make it to.

The swim team loves fans! Come to the home meets on these dates:

December 14th vs. Alexander 4:30 pm January 4th vs. Byron-Bergen 4:30 pm January 8thHAC Invitational 11 am January 11thvs.Oakfield-Alabama4:30 pm January 14th vs. Wheatland-Chili 4:30 pm January 29th GR Championship @ Gates-Chili 4 pm February 4th Girl’s Intersectional Championship @ Akron6 pm February 10th-12thBoys Sectionals @ Bath5 pm & 11am

HACSwimming

Colette McConnell


Brooklyn’s Epiphanies

B rook l yn B i anch i Over break I went to one of Nick Coykendall’s hockey games. The game was intense, and I struggled to remem-ber all the rules, but I still enjoyed every second of it. Feeling the excitement of the fans made me jealous. I secretly wished I could be out there on the ice playing. Sitting there in the stands, reminded me of my childhood. I hadn’t been to a hockey game since I was in elementary school, back when my parents were still together, back when I lived in a nice house, back when my life seemed much simpler. I grew up living next door to a houseful of boys. Corey andKamdenweremybestfriends.Wewouldconstantlyfightandwrestle,playsports,goonadventures,andjustdoboythings. Corey played ice hockey, and I would always go to his games and play hockey with him in our cul-de-sac. He taught me how to skate by letting me borrow his roller blades and by showing off so much I became determined to keep up with him. Kam and I would race up and down the street everyday, skating until we had blisters. The three of us and my brother would play knee hockey in their living room. I got so competitive one time I broke a plastic hockey stick over Corey’s arm. When I would go to Corey’s games, he would include me in his conversations with his hockey friends and then check me into snow banks on the way out of the rink. I loved it. I got beat up, bruised, and bullied, but I had so much fun. I told my parents I wanted to play hockey, but my dad said that it wasn’t for me. When I repeatedly pestered himaboutit,hesaidthaticehockeyisn’tforgirls.Myheartwasbroken,butIjustletitgo.Iwassatisfiedwithplayinginthe neighborhood with Corey and Kamden, until eventually we moved away from each other. Our friendship is now some-what distant, but I still wish things could go back to those days. Back then, I was the happiest I’ve ever been, without a care in the world. I was just one of the guys. There was no one who could put limits to what I could or could not do. Outside of where I grew up, things are a lot different. People judge you for how much money you have, what race you are, what gender you are, what clothes you wear, etc, etc… Why can’t everyone be who they want to be and not worry about what everyone else thinks? Why can’t I play football or ice hockey like I’ve always wanted to? I don’t like taking crapfromanyone,butsometimes,withoutrealizingit,youchangeinordertofitin.Sometimeswedothingstomakeother people happy, or we just go along with what we’ve been taught instead of questioning things and doing what we truly want. After sitting under the red heaters that give off no heat pressing my cold hands between my legs and the old wooden bleachers, I suddenly decided that I would play hockey. I think I’ll always regret not playing if I don’t. Before I graduate, I’m planning on playing in an organized league of some sort. I know I’ll probably suck, but I don’t care. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I won’t let anything or anyone stop me from doing what I want any longer. So, I ask you, have you ever wanted to do something that you never got around to doing? What’s stopping you? Think hard… I bet there’s something. My advice to you is: just go for it!

Girl’s BasketballCaitlin Richard

We started out our season by crushing South Seneca at their own home. We hadn’t beaten them in thirteen years, so it was a great way to pump us up. In fact, their coach had told them to not “run up the score to much” before the game. Well, we showed them. Our next game was against Northstar Christian. Although they weren’t afraid to foul us,wemanagedtobeatthembyfiftypoints.Wenowhavea2-0recordgoingintooneofthebiggestgamesoftheyear;Bloomfield.But,Ithinktheywillreallybesurprisedbysomeofourplayers,becausethewolvesareheretowin.

12

Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows: Part 1 ReviewZachary Palumbo All right, let’s get something out of the way, right now. I am a massive Harry Potter fan. I’ve read and adored every single book (Order of the Phoe-nix may have dragged a bit, but it was still very good). I waited overnight to beoneofthefirsttoentertheHarryPotter-themed amusement park in Orlando. I also own a wand and a robe, amongst other various Harry Potter-themed merchandise. So yes, it’s safe to say that I’m rather obsessed with this franchise, and as such, I cannot promise a completely unbiased review. Those of you who dislike Harry Potter should probably take this review with a grain of salt. On second thought, take this review with several truckloads of salt. First, let me provide some back-story. I arrived at the movie theater building at 5:00 PM on November 17th, wand in hand, dressed in my Ravenclaw robe which I purchased from The Wiz-arding World of Harry Potter. The movie was to start at twelve. I was accompa-nied by my mother and sister. I walked in feeling somewhat self-conscious because (as far as I could tell) I was the only one in full wizard-garb. As we made our way past the couple of tables that were already waiting, I tried my best to avoid eye-contact. I sat down at a table and extracted my FST textbook from my backpack, hoping that I could complete that night’s assignment while waiting. I quickly gave up on that. The chatter and excitement were too over-whelming to be worrying about a silly math assignment! After I put away my book, my sister and I began discussing A Very Potter Musical (for those of you who are unfamiliar, A Very Potter Musical is

a brilliant fan-made musical spoof of the Harry Potter franchise that can be watched for free on YouTube). When I suggested to my sister that most people waiting in the theater didn’t know about the musical, I was quickly proved wrong. Before long, my sister, myself, and many other wonderful people whom we met at the theater were all singing along to songs from A Very Potter Musical and having a wonderful time! Hours passed like minutes, and before I knew it the time had gone from 5:00 to 9:00. It was time to enter the actual theater and continue our wait there. Turns out, the euphoria was only compounded in the theater, and we continued to sing. After a while I decided to attempt my homework again, but it didn’t take a minute for me

to realize that I was being absurd. How could one possibly attempt schoolwork at a time like this? Myself and a couple of others then began to attempt ridicu-lous crossword puzzles that seemed to expect us to know the exact names and spellings of various rivers in the Middle East. Of course, time whizzed by again. The theater lights dimmed. We cheered wildly. This was going to be good. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hal-lows: Part 1 is the seventh installment in one of the biggest movie franchises ofalltime.Itisthefourthfilminthefranchise to be directed by David Yates, who has carried the Potter torch since thefourthfilm,The Goblet of Fire. I am a fan of the work he’s done on the lastthreefilms,butinmyopinion,they

have never quite reached the heights achievedbythethirdfilm,The Prisoner of Azkaban,untilthisfilm. For me, the previous Harry Potterfilm(The Half-Blood Prince) was a bit of a disappointment. It was still averyenjoyablefilm,butitfelttoofluffyandlightwhencomparedtothebook, which was one of the darkest of the series. Actual events of importance were fairly spread out, and though it was by far the funniest of the series, I felt that it missed a great opportunity to fully explore Voldemort’s past. With the exception of one scene, I never felt that the characters were in any real danger. That is absolutely not the case with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hal-lows: Part 1, where every single scene sees the characters running, hiding, or fightingfortheirlives.Morehappens

inthefirsttenminutes of this filmthanthefirsttwohoursof the previous film.Thetensionis pumped sky-high, and you will constantly be on the edge of your seat as thefilmpro-gresses. But the most impressive thing about this

filmisthatdespitethepackedaction,it manages to be the most personal of the series. This is thanks to the wonder-fulmidsectionofthefilm,whichseesHarry, Ron, and Hermione camping out in the woods as they attempt to evade the Death Eaters. This section has received some criticism for be-ing slow-moving, and I can see why it would seem so to people who are not fans of the series. However, if you are as invested in these characters as I am, youwillfinditincrediblyrewardingtosee them developed so well. In fact, the entiremidsectionofthisfilmisapurecharacter piece. No chases or gratuitous special effects sequences, just pure character development. This section also gives Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Wat-son, and Rupert Grint a chance to show


whatfineactorsthey’vegrowninto,andtheyallturnintheirabsolutebestperformancestodate. Infact,there’snotonebadactorinthisfilm.AlanRickman,asSnape,isdelightfulasalways,thoughweunfortu-nately only get to see him in one scene here. Ralph Finnes is deliciously evil as Voldemort, and Helena Bonham Carter is incredibly entertaining to watch as she plays the gleefully twisted and maniacal Bellatrix Lestrange. Evanna Lynch is hilari-ous as Luna Lovegood, and newcomer Rhys Ifans does an excellent job playing her father, emulating her mannerisms perfectlywhileaddinghisownflairtotheperformance.Eventhecomputergeneratedcharactersseemstrongerthistimearound, especially Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones). I’d feel remiss if I didn’t also mention Hazel Douglas as the absolutely terrifying Bathilda Bagsot. I’dalsofeelneglectfulifIdidn’tmentionthegorgeouscinematographybyEduardoSerra.AllofthePotterfilmshave been beautifully shot, and this is the best-looking one yet, with countless shots of incredibly pretty vistas as the trio campsout.Thewholefilmhasasuitablydarklookthatisveryatmospheric. Oneneedonlywatchasceneabouttenminutesintothefilm,inwhichaninnocentwomanisbroughttoatable,taunted, and murdered by Voldemort and subsequently devoured by a huge snake to realize that this is easily the dark-estfilmofthefranchisethusfar.Thisisn’tthefun-loving,whimsicalPotterthatyourememberfromTheSorcerer’sStone.Thesearenolongerfilmsmadeforkidsinhopesthatadultswillalsoenjoythem.Thisisafilmmadeformatureaudiencemembers, and as such, some of the more adult themes of the series are brought to the forefront here. One such theme is theparallelwiththeholocaustthatRowlingcreatedinhernovels.Youwouldn’tbeblamedformissingitinpreviousfilms,butYatesabandonsallsubtletyinthisfilm,whichseesVoldemortlookingtoexterminateall“mudbloods”(peoplewhoarenot of pure magic blood) and create a world full of “pure-bloods”. Myonlycomplaintisthatthisfilmdoesn’tfeellikeaself-containedexperienceliketheothershave.Afterall,thisis Deathly Hallows: Part 1.Thereisstillanotherhalftocome,andassuch,thefilmdoesn’treallyfeellikeitends.Thefinalshotallbutwrites“Tobecontinued...”uponthescreen.However,thisisn’tentirelyabadthing,asitgetsviewershugely hyped up for Part 2. ThishasbeenthelongestreviewI’vewrittensofar,andIhaven’tevenmentionedtheawesomeinfiltrationofthe Ministry of Magic, the great score by Alexandre Desplat, or the brilliant animated sequence in which the story of the DeathlyHallowsistold.ThereissimplytoomuchthatIlikeaboutthisfilmformetodiscussitall,soIleaveyouwiththis: if you are a Harry Potter fan and for some reason haven’t seen this movie yet, go out and do so right now! It’s an incredibly satisfying penultimate chapter to the epic saga, and it absolutely should not be missed. *4.5 out of 5*

14

Responses: “To look on the bright side, her cubs will have food for the next week.” “I’m sorry to have to tell you, Joe, but it’s time for some heads to roll around here.”

The water’s rushing whispers swell inmy ears, a thousand icy hands pushing against me,pulling my body in tight curls beneaththe ocean’s evasive surface.Pounding water spins me around and around again.Heartbeat screaming, telling me I’m still alive.Suddenly, my head crashes throughthefluidprison’swall,plungingintohot air, rolling off my tongue lapping thankfullyat sticky summer breeze.I open my eyes, looking around atthe ginger sand and screeching gulls as ifforthefirsttime.I drag myself just barely onto shorewhere the waves can’t switch me mercilessly,like a child who’s muddied his new Sunday clothes.Shivering, I watch the ever-free waterscrash triumphantly,laughing in it’s husky manner,flauntingitsbiggestwave,crashingits

foot down wildly, a horse that refuses to be broken.I smile at my untamed playmate, forever victoriousin our wrestling games, always tossing meback to shore coughing, little more thana ragdoll.Sucking in sinful amounts of air,I grin with weighted eyes over the horizon.The ocean, forever whispering its old tales,kisses my toes, gently, beckoning.I think a part of me will always belong to the sea.Andwiththatfinalthought,Iletthewavessweep me up in many arms, whisking me outto be free again.

sensationAnna Barbano


You are so funny!What are you thinking?

Tummy up, paws extendedafloatbetweenasleepandawake--

Are you dreaming abouta rustling breeze tickling your fur?

Supine on the bedlegs outstretched, jaws apart--

Are you greeting the day aheadyour enduring hope to be fed?

So relaxed, so languid, so tranquil;one well-rested puppy--

Furry little beast,what are you thinking?

Furry little beast Ms.O

16

East or WestAndy Zeng

Yes, I am from the other side of the world (Chi-na), where it is called the east, or the Far East, where things just don’t work the same way as here. Despite the fact that I have been here for no more than half a year, the tremendous cultural differences have shocked me so much that I cannot wait to share them with you, my dear readers.

1. Anger

People from the west are more straight up with their emotions than people from the east. It is not rare to see people going down the hallway with their fistsstrainedandanupsetface.However,inChina,itis really hard to make other people angry, at least hard to make them look like so. When compared, Chinese peoplearedefinitelymoreintroverted,andyoumightnot even notice that somebody has hated you for a longtime.Mostofthetime,theytendtoavoidfightsrather than trigger ones.

2. Party

At parties, America people tend to hang out with people they like, but in Chinese parties people hang out with other people. Chinese people have always valued the influenceofstickingtogether.Drinking,eatingandjokingare the public entertainments that Chinese people think should be shared. In many restaurants you can notice big round tables with many people sitting in circles. Circles also resemble perfection and completion in Chinese culture.

3. Solving Problems

When Americans meet problems, they tend to try to overcome them. In other words, they are more likely to seeksolutionstothespecificproblem.However,Chinesepeople avoid stepping into trouble. They like to do things the easy way. When faced with problems, the government officialsalmostalwayspassthebucktosomebodyelse,because they are afraid of responsibilities. There are many heroes in American culture in comic books, in the news, andineverydaylife.Youcanfindpeoplereadytosacrificein America, but in China, when troubles take place on the street, it would be really rare for people to step up. In cities filledwiththousandsofmillionsofpeople,peopletendtobe more careful for themselves.


When you wake up to an e-mail from the conductor of the Nazareth Chamber Ensemble asking if you’d like to go to the Bahamas in two weeks, you simply don’t say no. After three rehearsals on several challenging pieces, one of which was Mozart’sCoronationMasstobeperformedwiththeNationalYouthChoiroftheBahamas,weflewtoNassau.Oncethere,wewalked around Paradise Island, instruments in tow, and strolled through Atlantis, a massive resort with suites that cost as muchas$25,000anight(withaminimumfour-nightstayrequirement)andarebookedsolidforfiveyears.Hugefishtanksfromfloortoceilingwindtheirwaythroughthelobby,filledwithmantarayssolargethatfivepeoplecouldeasilysitononeof their backs. The resort itself was surrounded by turquoise water and white sand so pristine that it looked like it had been photo-shopped. Wehadarehearsalthefirstday,takingabustothebeautifuloldchurchinwhichweweretoperform.Enormouswooden beams crisscrossed the ceiling like a vast and intricate spider web, the stain glass windows accentuating the setting sun so it bathed the church in a warm red glow. Perhaps one hundred people were lined up in rows by the altar, and when they sang, it was wonderful. The choir had recently returned from a tour of Europe, and the Nazareth group bought several of their CDs. Ourfirstconcertwasthenextnight,withlargecamerasandmicrophoneshangingfromtheceiling,andmeninsuitsshaking hands all over the place. It was unnerving to know that we were being broadcast live on Bahamian television, and had been in the paper that morning. After our second concert the next night, the choir came back to our hotel, sang some Bahamian folk songs, and danced with us in the lobby into the early hours of the morning. Thewholeexperiencewasmagical,anditwasfuntohangoutwithcollegekids,thoughIhaddifficultyattheopenbar convincing the bartender that I really did want virgin strawberry daiquiris, and had to dump my fair share of real ones into thetrash.IdohopetheNazarethorchestragoestotheBahamasanothertime,andthattheyfindthemselvesshortaviolinistonce again.

From Nazareth to NassauMaddie Laitz

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Ray’s-ism - capital punishmentray chang Before the judge, every murderer states that he was out of his mind when he committed a crime. According to him, can a murderer not kill someone with his right mind? Are there always insane people around victims? If true, then did an attempted murderer fail to murder because he was not as insane as the “successful” ones? Do you think I was sane while I wrote this paper? Therearesomanydifferenttermsforbeingmurdered:beingkilled,sacrificed,executed,mar-tyred,slaughtered,crucifiedandetc.However,theresultisalwaysthesame,dying.Then,aretherea-sons to be killed as vary as those terms? What are the reasons for getting rid of someone’s sons, daugh-ters,mothers,fathersandloversfromthisworld?Caniteverbejustifiedeveninthenameofthelaw? Capital Punishment is the ultimate denial of human rights.

Sean Sullivan


The End of IntegrityMaddie Laitz

The Chronicle of Higher Educa-tion recently published an article by Ed Dante (not his real name), the man writing the papers of today’s students. It is a short narrative describing his experiences working as a writer for a company that thrives on the despera-tion of students. In this job, Dante has written everything from admissions es-says to term papers, for undergraduate and graduate students, even composing hundreds of pages for dissertations, all of them submitted… under the student’s name. Dante’s career began in college, when his teachers denied him an inde-pendent study to work on editing his finishednovel,claimingtheschooldidnot offer such amenities and suggesting he take his tests and graduate before worrying about becoming a published author. Disappointed, Ed Dante failed tofindmeaninginhisothercourseswhen what he was passionate about was unsupported -- that is, unsup-ported by teachers. His fellow students soonsawthebenefitsofhisskillsandtook advantage of them, commission-ing papers and handing them in as their own. Dante was suddenly achieving his dream: being a paid writer. After ten years, he still writes not for publishers, but for the kids who are the future of this country. When pressedtochoosethefieldwhosestu-dents most often sought his help, Dante answered Education. I’ve written papers for students in elementary-education programs, special-education majors, and ESL-training courses. I’ve written lesson plans for aspiring high-school teachers, and I’ve synthesized reports from notes that customers have taken during class-room observations. I’ve written essays for those studying to become school administrators, and I’ve completed theses for those on course to become principals. In the enormous conspiracy that is student cheating, the frontline

intelligencecommunityisinfiltratedby double agents. Thus, the future police of plagiarism are the very people who are using his services today. Perhaps what drives these kids is the fear of failure that society has impressed upon them, forcing students of all ages to resort to such egregious cheating rather than being taught that failure is simply one step on the way to success, and a necessary step at that. Such a fear of inadequacy leads this new generation of con artists to employ ever more unethical means of success. The author argues that the high standards for excellence and low tolerance for ineptitude that make up today’suniversitiesisaflawedsystem,creating an environment for students in which struggling, and thereby learn-ing from their struggles, is not allowed. Students have low enough self-esteem as to think they will never be able to create on their own what a teacher would deem A-worthy, or perhaps even B-worthy, and so, out of desperation, they contact people like Ed Dante. It is not Dante himself who fosters the widespread epidemic of cheating, but the teachers who force students to ever more corrupt means of reaching their personal goals. They are driven into Dante’s arms, afraid to admit to their incompetence born of years of inad-equate teaching. “You did me business eth-ics propsal for me I need propsal got approved pls can you will write me paper?” Possibly the most disturbing piece of Dante’s article is his verba-tim e-mails from students, begging for help on their next assignment. He talks of trying to decipher the virtually incomprehensible e-mails from prospec-tive clients, and then piecing together reports from Wikipedia, Amazon Books, and countless other sites. He churns out anywhere from 20 to 30 pages

in a single day, and when once he received the above request for a 75-page proposal, he accepted, resigned to days of endless study and typing. In the succeeding hours, twelve more e-mails from the same girl appeared in his inbox, all frantic for reassurance of his capabilities in writing this business ethics ‘propsal’. “did u get the sorce I sendplease where you are now?Desprit to pass spring projict” After two days of work, the student’sassignmentwasfinished,andDante sent it back to her for approval. In the interim between completion and waiting for her reaction, Ed Dante had written several hundred more pages of original, untraceable work for other clients. Finally she responded, “Thanx u so much for the chap-ter is going very good the porfesser likes it but wants the folloing sugges-tions please what do you thing?: “’The hypothesis is interesting but I’d like to see it a bit more focused. Chooseaspecificconnectionandtrytoprove it.’ “What shoudwe say?” After writing back to the teacher for the student, Dante set about expanding his work until the whole proposal was 160 pages. Gener-ating such incredible amounts of text is only part of Dante’s job description, and he does it quite willingly, with a yearly salary of almost $70,000. For this pro-posal, Dante made $2,000, the student desperate enough to give up that much money so they wouldn’t have to put themselves in a position to be criticized or risk failure.Whenthestudentwassatisfiedwiththework,Dantewashappytoseeherfinale-mail and know that other assignments from her were not in his future. “thanx so much for uhelp ican going to graduate to now”.

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Acorn; December 2010