An assembly Dec. 1 launched a new plan for quarterly assemblies at the high school to acknowledge the academic and athletic achieve-ments of students.

The School Climate Committee, composed of staff, students and parents, came up with the idea of quarterly assemblies last year to celebrate student achievements, share stu-dent talents and review school goals, protocols and issues as a school community, Principal Har-ley Williams said.

At the Dec. 1 assembly, the band played a short piece to kick off the event as Williams walked to the podium to address the school.

“We believe it is important to gather occa-

sionally to celebrate, share, and review,” he said. “It makes for a better school climate and culture.”

All fall sports were recognized for their achievements over the quarter, and then the band played a few more pieces before Williams con-cluded the assembly.

The assembly will have a similar format for the next quarter, but the orchestra will perform in place of the band, Wil-liams said.

Williams explained that he looks to recognize students providing lead-ership and organizing for

charity during the upcoming March meeting.Art teacher Susan Powers explained that she

saw the assembly almost like a State of the Union address.

“I think it’s important…to recognize who’s

The school raised just under $1,000 for Charity Newsies from the Student Council sponsored Stache for Cash, a student-teach-er raffle and “Clash of Classes” during November.

Charity month chairs Meg Farrar and Bex Schulman were in charge of planning the school ac-tivities, Student Council advisor Mike Featherstone said.

The activities started Nov. 1 and ended Nov. 22, the day be-fore Thanksgiving Break, Feath-erstone said.

He added that raising money throughout the month of Novem-ber has been a tradition in the

high school and middle school.Featherstone said the activi-

ties were improved this year.“[Stache for Cash] didn’t re-

ally work well last year, but it was better this year,” Feather-stone said. “The student-teacher raffle was also better this year.”

Student Council also plans to build and continue to improve the activities for next year, Feather-stone added.

Schulman explained that Stu-dent Council has a lot of new ideas to implement.

“Later on in the year we are planning on doing Survival of the Richest for another charity,” Schulman said. “Another idea we have is that if students pay an in-terest fee for their study hall, they

will be able to watch movies or play video games.”

Schulman added that they al-ready have some plans for next November.

“Next year we can improve a lot, especially for Clash of the Classes, because I think a lot of people will want to get involved that didn’t get to this year,” she said.

Similar to Schulman, Feath-erstone also has new ideas for next year.

“From now on, we need to raise our target [financial] goal or we will not have the final event at all,” Featherstone said. “Either way, we will no longer be charg-ing admission [to Clash of the Classes].”

No School

1/16 Semester Exams

1/17-1/20 No School

1/23 Homecoming dance 8:30 p.m.

1/28

Volume 89 . Issue 4 December 16, 2011

1/10Late Start Day

COMING UPNEXT MONTH

326 S. Cassingham Road Bexley, Ohio 43209

E-reader grant suspended

Math classes help community

Ian Davis

Principal Harley Williams speaks at the Quarterly Assembly Dec. 1. These assemblies recognize students’ academic, musical and athletic achievements.

Ian DavisStaff Reporter

p8The Bexley Post

6-7BHS Board Game

Student achievements recognized

Emily RuffNews Editor

Chase SmithStaff Reporter

All grades participate in Charity Newsies wrap-up event

This school has a culture in celebrating the achievements we all have.

- Scott King-Owen, social studies teacher

Katlin Hiller

Sophomores participate in the “Clash of the Classes” tug-of-war game Nov. 22. Almost $1,000 was raised in November.

Keri PetersonStaff Reporter

see Quarterly assembly pg. 2see E-readers pg. 2 see Math charity pg. 2

Two charity programs are fea-tured in the math wing this month for students to support local resi-dents.

Math teacher Keary Ryan is coordinating “Mitzvahs for Christ-mas,” while math teacher Melissa McCreary is coordinating a program to donate money and toys to Frank-lin County Children Services.

“Mitzvahs for Christmas” has been running for over 20 years at Bexley, Ryan explained. The pro-gram was begun by former Bexley teacher Jimmy Ryan and has been continued by his son Keary.

It’s a play on words, Ryan said.“Mitzvah is a Yiddish term

meaning good deed,” he explained. Ryan attributes the usage of this

Yiddish term to the Jewish popula-tion at the school.

These “mitzvahs,” or good deeds, are then performed by Jews and Gentiles alike during the holi-day season.

This year, seniors in Ryan’s three Calculus classes are buying gifts for two families in need in the Franklin county area, Ryan said.

It’s not a food drive, Ryan noted. The gifts collected in the first three weeks of December will, on Dec. 17, be delivered personally to the families being sponsored, he ex-plained.

Wish lists from the families are given to the students, Ryan said. Students are encouraged to get these items but also other things they think the families would enjoy, he added.

“We try to get the kids some things that aren’t on their list…they need clothes but they also need

SchoolResumes

1/3

p

A grant to provide e-readers in the district’s libraries was suspend-ed because of concerns about unre-stricted Internet access.

Librarian Mike Nolan wrote the grant last spring and submitted it to the Bexley Education Foundation to be discussed and voted on.

Superintendent Michael John-son said that until technology pro-vides a way to restrict Internet ac-cess, he will not allow this grant to be approved.

“I would be supportive if tech-nology allowed us to restrict what students are able to do on [e-read-ers],” Johnson said.

Nolan said that his only obvious concern is unrestricted web access.

“Technology won’t allow us to restrict inappropriate sites outside of the school,” Nolan said.

However, the use of e-readers in the library would be completely le-gal as they would have students and parents using them sign an accept-able use policy and there would be no liabilities placed on the school district because of unrestricted web access, he explained.

Nolan said he firmly believes that e-readers can not only benefit students, but the library as well.

“It will give us the ability to pro-vide books on demand,” Nolan ex-plained. “It is a novelty and students are accustomed to this technology already.”

Johnson does not believe that signing a waiver for at home use would be enough because he feels accountable for students’ actions outside of school, especially when it comes to school property.

December 16, 2011

Maranda Gammage

Junior Ashley Hutchinson, senior Max Lee, juniors Rachael Jackson and Emma Arace, senior Scott Needles, junior Camille Pipino and senior Emma Seymour sing carols at the annual tree lighting Dec. 4.

Quarterly assemblycont. from pg. 1

“If a student does something on [an e-reader] that an average person would consider inappropriate, then I would be held accountable,” Johnson added.

Assistant Principal Kristin Robbins, like Nolan, feels that students would benefit from having access to e-readers in the library.

“Any additional technology that stu-dents can use in the school that parallels what they use outside of school is ben-eficial,” Robbins said.

She added that technology has be-come such a part of our lives that it is both convenient and necessary for schools to not only provide useful tech-nology but also to teach necessary tech-nology skills.

“Obviously technology is a huge part of [the school age] generation and any-thing that the school can do to build on that is pulling in life skills and making life-long learners,” Robbins explained.

Junior Gary Berestovesky explained that technology attracts learning and e-readers may attract more students to the library.

“I believe it would be beneficial for the school to provide [e-readers] because more technology would most likely attract more students to read in their free time,” Berestovesky said.

Freshman Duncan Isaac doesn’t think that e-readers would attract kids to reading because most students already have access to the technology they want or need.

“At the end of the day, it’s still reading a book, and kids who weren’t attracted to it beforehand won’t be at-tracted to it just because it’s electronic,” Isaac said.

doing what and what’s going on,” Powers said.She said that the assembly did a good job of

making students aware of the accomplishments of their peers.

“There are so many talented kids here,” Pow-ers said. “It’s really amazing.”

Social studies teacher Scott King-Owen, like Powers said it was nice to showcase the talents of the students.

“As a musician, I was very impressed with the music,” King-Owen said.

He added that the assembly did a good job recognizing a wide variety of accomplishments outside of academics or athletics.

“This school has a culture in celebrating the achievements we all have,” he said.

On the other hand, senior Olivia Sarver thought the assembly was unnecessary.

“Bexley is a small school. We don’t need to have a meeting to talk about things we’ve already heard about,” Sarver said.

She added that she would have rather seen more students talking in the assembly.

“[The assembly] didn’t seem sincere to people who did well,” she explained.

Junior Jacob Turner agrees with Sarver.“It was a lot of just reading names,” Turner

said.Turner added that he thought it was fun to see

the band play. However, he thought that changing the schedule of the day to an afternoon assembly schedule was unnecessary.

Junior Jessica Ada said she wasn’t sure what to think of the assembly at first.

“[At first] I thought the assembly was going to be boring,” she said. “I think [it] was awesome and fun.”

Sophomore Abram Blau said he felt that there are other times when student accomplishments can be recognized.

“I thought [the assembly] was wholly un-necessary,” Blau said. “I appreciate that [Mr. Williams] wants to recognize the students, but I thought [listing] every single student accomplish-ment was a little overboard.”

Blau, who is a member of the band, said he didn’t like playing in the assembly.

“I was forced to sit on the stage the whole time,” he said.

Blau, along with Sarver, thinks that more than just Williams should speak.

Even though Williams said he is open to the idea of letting students talk, he added that there isn’t enough time in the assembly.

“The 50 minutes I have are too tight,” Wil-liams explained.

Sophomore Maya Saar found the assembly in-formative and feels like the students were united as a whole student body, she said.

“[It was] a nice way to catch up with what goes on with students in and out of school,” Saar said.

Saar said the assembly made her feel like a part of the student body.

“As long as it’s once a quarter, I feel that it shouldn’t be an issue,” she said.

E-readerscont. from pg. 1

something cool-looking,” Ryan said.Ryan stresses the importance of the personal relationship

and feeling of giving to those in need. “You want [the students] to see how much it means to

these people,” Ryan said.The gifts will be wrapped Friday, Dec. 16 in class and de-

livered to the families the next day, Ryan said.Melissa McCreary said she had wanted to begin a charity

program but wasn’t sure where to start.“It was in the back of my mind and I said ‘okay, let’s do

it,’” McCreary said.Local media coverage of children in need finally encour-

aged McCreary to begin a charity program, she explained.McCreary said she had heard stories of children in need

of gifts, support and shelter on the news and in the Colum-bus Dispatch. She added that more children are removed from their homes and put in foster or shelter situations during the holiday season.

McCreary said that her program aims to help Franklin County Children Services, who will then direct the donations to children in need. The program is open to all five of her classes, she said.

While both programs’ coordinating teachers are soliciting donations from their own math students, they agree that dona-tions are welcome from anyone.

“We forget how fortunate we are,” Ryan said. “It’s won-derful to help others and it puts things in perspective.”

Math charitycont. from pg. 1

Students perform at tree lighting ceremony

My junior year of high school was one of the most emotionally and mentally chal-lenging years for me, with difficulties in overcoming obstacles in athletics and choir, and on top of that, my circle of friends be-gan to change. I felt like nothing in my life was concrete.

I started growing apart from my close friends, dealt with a road block in choir and a life-changing decision made by the Board of Education affecting my soccer team.

In situations like these, I always find myself turning to song.

Music has always been my most satisfying emotional out-let; it has never failed me. Find-ing a song that truly hits home is where I can ex-press myself.

As my mom and I were driving to the mall one afternoon, a new song came on the Christian radio; I listened carefully because I didn’t know the words.

After a couple seconds, I saw the art-ist’s name scroll across the digital display. Her name is Laura Story, and the words she sang have and will stick with me for my whole life.

She sang, “What if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you’re near? And what if trials of this life, are your mercies in disguise?”

Somehow this song has always come on the radio at a stressful time in my life.It has played after an uncomfortable and emo-tion-filled loss in soccer this season, which always led me to ask the question “Would that have happened if Scott (my coach of 13 years) was here?”

It played the day I realized I didn’t real-

ly know all the friends I used to, and the day I realized that I am grateful for the friends I do know and trust.

The song has come on while I was wondering where the friends who have graduated are and hoping that they haven’t changed too much.

This song reminds me that life is full of conflict, pain and fear but if I choose to look at the situation in a different light, it could turn out to be a positive experience; as one door closes another door opens.

There are many things, especially in high school, to complain about and stress over, but this song is a friendly reminder to breathe and appreciate my friends, where I am in my life and what I have.

So I encourage you to appreciate life and make decisions with no regret. Try and find the best in others, play with abandon and most importantly to do what you love.

Carpe diem–seize the day, as if this is all there is.

Everyone has their holiday wish list filled with all of the things they want this holiday season, whether it be new clothes, video games or the newest technological innova-tion. This is natural considering the constant advertisements for the upcoming blowout holiday sales or the new toy that every child has to have.

What people have to remember is the old adage that the holiday season is a season of giving, not receiving; one of not only giving to one’s loved ones, but also to those less for-tunate.

During the holiday season, it is easy to get caught up in the extravagance of the never-ending shopping and consumerism that reaches its peak during the month of December. Last year, according to “Forbes,” the average American spent $750.68 on gifts, including $119.82 spent on his or herself. Meanwhile, according to the National Pov-erty Center, 15.1 percent of all people lived in poverty during 2010 which, according to the Census Bureau, means these people were living with between $11,344 and $26,023 an-nually, depending on family size.

While many Americans spend over a $100 on “gifts” for themselves, this is over one-tenth of a single impoverished person’s monthly income. This $100 could instead be donated to charity, making a larger impact on somebody in need.

Volunteering is a great way to give back to your community and those less fortunate, benefitting those who are directly helped from volunteering and also the volunteers themselves. According to the United Way, volunteering can help a volunteer “learn or develop skills, enhance [one’s] resumé, build self-esteem and self-confidence, [and] im-prove [one’s] health.”

Giving back is also easy. While some may not have the time to go out and vol-unteer this holiday season, there are many easy ways for anyone to give back just by being conscientious during the holidays. By choosing to buy a gift from Gifts that Give, an online-shopping site with “more than 100 top brands,” 20 percent of the proceeds are donated to a shopper’s charity of choice.

Most children’s idea of Christmas morn-ing is coming down the steps to a bundle of presents under the tree and a full stocking left from Santa during the night; but this is not the reality for the 2,663,750 children in

Ohio living in poverty, according to Nation-al Center for Child Poverty. According to a survey by “Consumer Reports,” 19 percent of Americans said they expected to return at least one gift. By donating only a fraction of the gifts that are returned each year to organi-zations like Toys for Tots, many underprivi-leged children can receive gifts this year.

While drinking eggnog, decorating the tree or lighting the menorah this year, peo-ple should remember to be conscientious of those less fortunate. Together, we can make this holiday season a happy one for every-one.

To fall senior athletes’ final home games... don’t go down without a fight!

EDITORIAL

TorchthePublished by The Torch staff

Bexley High SchoolBexley, OH 43209

Harley Williams, Principal

CSPA — Gold MedalistNSPA — All-American

Quill & Scroll — Gallup AwardOSMA — All-Ohio Award

Co-EditorsMeredith Margulies • Alec Robins

Ivy Tran

News EditorsKatlin Hiller • Emily Ruff

Opinion EditorsLane Beachler • Michael Hayes

Olivia Price

In-Depth EditorsAnna Reman

Sydney Turoff

Feature EditorsRyder Douglas • Nikki Seletz

Sports EditorsBrynna Davis • Jon Parker

Sara Prater

Backpage EditorsAnne Adams • Kellie Dempsey

Graphics EditorsIsaac Hecker • Aaron Pelz

Franklin Cain-Borgers

Graphics StaffEvan Gutter • Max Kalef

Sarah McBride

ReportersJill Clark • Carlin CoffeyIan Davis • Alex Dennis

Daniel Ellman • Meg FarrarPaige Fosnaugh • Max Fournier

Maranda Gammage • Colleen GastJacob Hodge • Sierra HumphreyMallory Kassoy • Katie Marsh

Lindsey Mathews • Jesse Mendel Justin Meyer • Will Moses

Emmy Myers • Keri PetersonJohn Philips • Katherine Philips Camille Pipino • Annie Reagan

Emily Reed • Hannah SchmelzerPhilip Schuss • Natalie Schwager

Chase Smith • Niki Urell Luke Wilhelm • Katie Wittig

Adviser Julie Horger

&

ROARS

The Torch is an open forum for student expression. The Torch is not subject

to prior review by the administration. Content of the newspaper is determined

by the staff. The Torch requests that letters to the editor be signed, and

ideally be 250 words or less. The Torch reserves the right to edit letters for

length. Editorials express the opinion of the editors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty or the

administration. Corrections are made in as timely a manner as possible, ideally in the next issue. The inclusion of an

advertisement does not signify its endorsement by The Torch or the

Bexley City Schools. All photos are used in accordance with copyright and

fair use laws.

SNORES

December 16, 2011

Music serves as outlet for student’s stress, emotions

Holiday season provides opportunity to help others

To the zoo lights...looking bright for the holiday season.

To taking down Christmas lights...maybe in March.

To the “last year of our lives”...make it count.

To Urban Meyer...looking forward to the next football season.

To the iBoss filter...because Google images was explicit.

To the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” sequel...way to ruin more songs.

Sara PraterSports Editor

When my 13-year-old four-legged best friend had to be put down last April, I was completely devastated and informed my parents that we would not, under almost any circumstances, be getting another dog. My persistence on this issue was only able to last until mid-June.

My mom, whom one would probably not describe as technology-savvy, managed to find a dog through Google Images.

The puppy, now literally almost as big as I am, is a golden retriever-lab mix who was for sale through a puppy rescue program called Heaven to Earth Rescue, a 501c3 orga-nization located in New Phila-delphia, Ohio.

All of the dogs in the pro-gram are kept in foster care un-til they are brought to a central location to meet prospective

new owners.As was the case with the past few Google Image dogs

who were supposedly “for sale,” I didn’t think much about my mother’s latest find—there was no way that this dog was actually for sale, let alone anywhere near us or for a price that fit my family’s practically nonexistent pet-budget.

I was wrong.Less than 12 hours after my mom first found the gold-

en puppy for sale on Google Images, I was in the car with my family, speeding slightly, on Interstate 70 East, on our way to New Philadelphia to meet this possible new family member.

An hour after we arrived at Heaven to Earth Rescue’s meeting location to play with and pay for our newest fam-ily member. We were on the road again and I had a new puppy in my lap.

It took almost the entire two and a half hour drive home for my mom, dad, sister and I to agree upon a name

for the new puppy, but when we got out of the car in our driveway in South Bexley, a little yellow fluffball named Adie was carried immediately to the back yard to go potty.

Since we adopted her in June 2011, Adie has gained over 30 pounds, grown vertically about two feet, has found out that ocean waves are quite scary, that mouse traps aren’t scary at all and that our back yard is a great place in which to dig holes.

Adie loves to chew everything, from bones to chair legs to socks, and is especially fond of pretending to chew a bone, then quickly moving her mouth to chomp down on whichever of your unlucky body parts happens to be within her reach. She is afraid of the basement and ap-pears to be under the impression that the furniture in our living room belongs to her.

Even though I still miss my first best friend, BlueBon-net (yes, as a 3-year-old I named my dog after butter), I have come to love, cherish and make room in my heart for Adie, the Google Images dog.

PRO

Roving Reporter

AT ISSUE:December 16, 2011

Colleen Gast Staff Reporter

Hannah Schmelzer Staff Reporter

CON

School has dutyto protect students

Association doesn’t justify punishment

Student finds new puppy, companion through Google Images

Katlin HillerNews Editor

Whether it’s the preplanned Saturday night “rager,” or the Friday night “smoke sesh,” these activities often lure students into illegal activities. Consuming alcohol or us-ing drugs can lead to unsafe, irrational decisions, and the school is responsible for protecting students from these harmful activities. To protect students, the school should punish students who are around drugs or alcohol, whether or not they actually used these illegal substances.

The illegal substances at the Saturday night rager can often lead to encounters with the police. If the po-lice arrive at the party and take the names of students and then give them to the school, the school immediately has grounds for suspecting the students’ engagement in ille-gal substance use. School administrators can punish stu-dents on the grounds of using illegal substances whether they can administer proof or not. Students should be al-lowed to be removed from extra-curriculars for being in the presence of illegal substances, whether or not they decide to partake in the activities, because they are put-ting themselves at risk.

By making these students at risk for punishment, ad-ministrators are deterring students from associating them-selves with these dangerous activities. Many students disagree with this policy because it may seem unfair, yet there is one simple way of avoiding punishment: don’t put yourself in a situation where others are participating in illegal activities.

Athletes stand at a higher risk than others for their actions at parties. When athletes are around illegal sub-stances, they are not only putting themselves at risk, but jeopardizing their team. By being in the presence of ille-gal activities, athletes can face a suspension for five com-petitions or two weeks of competition or ejection from the team.

Students believe the school should not be involved in their personal lives, but when students fail to protect themselves from the dangers of substance abuse, it is the school’s responsibility to defend them.

“No, because they should not be held accountable for dumb things their friends do.”-Freshman Chris Yee

“No, if they aren’t partici-pating in the illegal activ-ity then they shouldn’t be punished.”-Sophomore Katie Butler

“No, because no punish-ment should be initiated if the student is a bystand-er.”-Junior Jimmy Kahan

“No, because you shouldn’t get in trouble for things your friends do around you.”-Senior Robert Gold

“Yes, it’s always best to live above reproach.”-Teacher Jason Willcoxon

Should students get in trouble for being around illegal substances even if they don’t use them?

Should students get in trouble for being around but not participating in the use of illegal substances?

High school is the period in one’s life to enjoy youth, hit the books periodically but balance the work with an adventurous social life full of parties. However, parties can create consequences for students if illegal substances are involved.

The school’s policy states that it is the administration’s responsibility to take positive action to combat the use, possession, trafficking of alcohol and drugs, but should a student be punished for being at a party with illegal sub-stances? They shouldn’t, as this is an unfair conviction of innocent students who don’t participate in illegal activi-ties.

If a student is strong enough to resist the peer pressure of drinking or smoking, they shouldn’t have to face the same consequences as those who aren’t. Guilt by asso-ciation is unjust to those who weren’t involved in illegal activities.

Furthermore, why would the school punish a stu-dent for making a wise decision? Additionally, students should not be punished for being around their friends even though their friends partake in these activities. Being so-cial should not be a punishment.

One student cannot control another student’s actions, and a student who makes a wise decision not to partake in these activities shouldn’t be punished for their friends’ decisions. Every person has to make their own decisions, and one cannot control or impose their own morals on their friend’s morals. Someone who is at a party where illegal activities are taking place shouldn’t be punished for decisions that they abstained from making themselves, even if there is suspicion that they participated in the il-legal activity as well.

Students should be aware that being around illegal substances has its risks; however, the school should not assume the responsibility of punishing students for their decisions to hang out with their friends who partake in il-legal activities even though they’re strong enough not to do so themselves.

Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill is a newly opened restaurant not far from home that is sure to satisfy anyone’s big Buckeye appe-tite.

Located on Goodale Boulevard in Grandview, Buckeye Grill is just 15 minutes away. The restaurant is large, with six vast rooms. Two of the rooms have seating along with a bar, while the third has a pool table. The fourth is taken over with a 10-foot television and is perfect for small parties.

Because of its 40 hi-definition TVs, you won’t miss a second of any game when dining there. Each room is full of Ohio State University memorabilia, including Archie Griffin’s Heisman Trophy award. There are authen-tic OSU football helmets in cases, splitting one of the eating rooms in half. The Grill is licensed through OSU, so all the gear, tro-phies and awards are genuine. Along with the unique indoor seating, there is a patio on the side of the restaurant with a big fire

pit for warmer weather occa-sions. I went to the res-taurant the night of the OSU vs. Duke bas-ketball

game, and the atmosphere was very lively. Fans came dressed in their scarlet and gray uniforms. The wait staff was very friendly and brought food fast. Although the restau-rant was extremely busy due to the game, the staff managed to keep up speed when bringing out orders. They check up often to make sure customers were satisfied and gave exceptional opinions and ideas on what to order. Our waitress made sure to tell

us about the Tuesday $5 burger night and the happy hour half-priced appetizers.

The menu was large and included a variety of food. We ordered the chicken quesadillas for an appetizer, which were tasty, but the three sides (salsa, guacamole and sour cream) were small and gone quickly.

For dinner, I or-dered a spinach sal-

ad which had slices of strawberries, feta cheese, pecans and a vinaigrette dressing. The salad was decent and large. Entrée prices ranged from $8 to $25 and consider-ing the enormous portions, they are pretty reasonable.

Although the menu is large and has many different options from a variety of cultures, the food doesn’t stand out from any other typical grill. The french fries were less than warm, did not have much flavor and lacked crunch. I found that the flavors of the salad were not cohesive; the feta cheese threw it out of balance. Also, one of the chicken quesadillas had nothing but cheese in it.

Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill provides a great atmosphere for OSU pre-game din-ners. I would recommend going before a game because the restaurant gets you into game mode, the food comes quickly so you can get in and out in time for the game, and it’s a mere 10 minutes away from campus.

December 16, 2011

compiled by Carlin Coffey

What is your New Year’s Resolution?

Atmosphere of Buckeye Grill pleasesEmmy MyersStaff Reporter

“Everything is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer takes an interesting approach towards the Holocaust. Be-cause it has multiple points of narration, one of which speaks broken English, the plot of the book can be difficult to keep up with and requires much patience on the part of the readers.

The movie with the same title that was adapted from the book is easier to follow. The subtitles for the characters who speak Ukrainian help viewers understand the events occurring in the movie. In contrast, the subtitles can also distract viewers who are not used to reading them.

The movie is a well done, artsy flick. The director, Liev Schreiber, successfully manages to incorporate much of the complicated plot line of the book into a short hour and 45 minutes.

It is evident that the director paid attention to detail and composition within each of his shots. The best scene is one in which the director switches back and forth between an actor and the tip of a Nazi’s gun.

This scene demonstrates the director’s success in em-

phasizing the severity of the plot line without overdramatizing it. The movie also incorporated Ukrainian culture by using Ukrai-nian music as a transition between scenes. The book lacks this addi-tional cultural element.

Humor is present in both the book and the movie but it is more clear in the movie when you should be laughing. Schreiber manages to make the humor much easier to grasp than Foer because he is more focused on entertaining the movie viewers.

In that way, if you are looking for an amusing way to spend an afternoon, the movie would be the better choice. But, if you are look-ing for an art form that challenges your previous conceptions and presents the Holocaust in a unique way, the book would be more apt.

The language and writing style of the book can, at first, be hard to adjust to. You will find yourself reading and re-reading certain sections so that you are sure you under-stood it completely.

Though it can be hard to keep up with, the book is worth it in the end. If you see the movie without reading the book, you will miss out on a lot of additional characters and scenes.

Additionally, the book is structured differently from the movie. Foer’s three main plot points consist of a cor-respondence between the two main characters, the travels that the characters experience together and historical back-ground.

The movie, on the other hand, is based around an ad-

venture that the characters go on together. However, the movie fails to go as deep into the ancestral history of the characters that the book does.

The screenplay writer selected certain scenes of the book to highlight in the movie, rather than dealing with the complexities of narration that are in the book. In this case, like many other movie versus book arguments, the book wins.

Foer layers dozens of themes in the plot line of “Ev-erything is Illuminated” that make it more interesting than your average, modern-day book.

It is impossible to delve into the complexities of the book if you are not prepared to be patient. In the end, it is worth the additional hours to devour the story completely as it is told in the book, but if you want a little taste, you can opt to see the movie.

Book provides fresh writing style, adapted movie explores one aspectMeg FarrarStaff Reporter

Buckeye Hall Of Fame Grill

Buckeye Grill receives 2.5

stars because the atmosphere

had a fitting theme, but the food was noth-ing out of the

ordinary.

Alan Corn -- Latin Teacher“My New Year’s resolution is to drive a Bu-gatti on the Autostrade in Italy in July.”

Emily Munch -- Sophomore“My New Year’s resolution is to obtain a job so I can raise money for the Vocal Ensemble Europe trip in June.”

Adrianne Butler -- Senior“My New Year’s resolution is to start being serious about school so I can get into a good college.”

Truman Haycock -- Junior“I’d like to do more community service be-cause it’s good to give back, and it’s good for college.”

Andy Ingwersen -- Freshman “My New Year’s resolution is to do better in school and get my homework done.”

The patio and front entrance of Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill.

Emmy Myers

Fair use from hmhco.com Fair use from warnerbros.com

The Book The Movie

The book gets four stars be-

cause of its complex plot struc-ture and

impressive writing style.

The movie gets three stars be-cause it was well done but left some-

thing to be desired.

December 16, 2011 December 16, 2011

Graphics by Isaac Hecker, Franklin Cain-Borgers and Aaron PelzCompiled by The Torch Staff

December 16, 2011

Students establish alternative, humorous publication

“Underground parking garage to be built.” “South Bex-ley threatens secession.” “Occupy Cassingham wreaks havoc.”

These, and more, are stories that have been broken by a brand new “news” source at the high school: The Bexley Post.

The Bexley Post is based off of The Onion, a satirical news source that injects humor into its stories, sophomore and co-founder Ian Kellogg said.

“We thought it would be funny if the school had a newspaper similar to The Onion,” Kellogg said.

Sophomore and co-founder Alex Meyer said part of the inspiration for The Bexley Post came from Journalism class.

“This year Ian and I began taking Journalism and learn-ing how to write news stories,” Meyer said. “We enjoyed reading The Onion, and those two things sort of came to-gether through this idea.”

Kellogg said new issues of The Bexley Post come out bimonthly.

“Everyone should follow us on Twitter @BexleyPost,” Kellogg said. “On Twitter we pretty much just tweet what-ever we find funny. It could be a random headline or an ongoing story. It’s basically whatever comes to us.”

Meyer said they go through a few steps to make issues.

“First we think up ideas,” Meyer explained. “Once we have enough ideas I put them up on Word. Next, I transfer them to Photoshop and make it look like a newspaper.”

Kellogg said he and Meyer talk together about what to include.

“We narrow it down to two main stories,” Kellogg said. “We include short, funny stories that we split up and write. We let other people send us stories that we put in, too.”

Junior Issac Phillips said he reads The Bexley Post to take a break.

“I read to escape from math class for a few minutes,” Phillips said. “I think it’s hysterical.”

Junior Libby Davis started reading The Bexley Post be-cause of the signs she saw around the school.

“I was so curious because of all the flyers around the school,” Davis said. “I wanted to see what it was about, and if it had anything different to offer compared to the Torch.”

Students also enjoy the fake advertisements in The Bexley Post. Davis said the false ads are her favorite part.

“I don’t really know why, but they especially make me laugh,” Davis said.

Phillips also enjoys the fake ads.“They always make me chuckle,” Phillips said.Freshman Miranda Fosnaugh enjoyed one story in par-

ticular from The Bexley Post.“My favorite article so far has been the one about Jalen

[Robinette] skipping college and going straight to the NFL to play for the Colts,” Fosnaugh said. “It’s completely bi-

zarre and hysterical.”Kellogg said he finds people’s reactions to the newspa-

per the most satisfactory part of writing The Bexley Post.“The most rewarding part is seeing people laughing and

enjoying themselves while reading the paper,” he said.Meyer agrees that this is the most pleasing part of the

paper.“I really enjoy seeing people react to the paper,” Meyer

explained. “Sometimes people understand the paper and start laughing but others think that the stories are true and get confused, which is equally gratifying.”

You run down the stairs Christmas morning and crawl under the tree to find all of the presents neatly wrapped. You make latkes and light the menorah at dinner with your family. You show your respect by praying throughout the day.

While some might think that one would celebrate either Christmas, Hanukkah, or Eid, for several students, celebrating mul-tiple is what they’re used to.

Senior Jake Steinberg is one of those students who has parents who practice different religions. Steinberg’s father was

raised Jewish, and his mother was raised Catholic.

Steinberg said the holidays are a big deal in his family.

“My family celebrates ‘Chrismukkah:’ eight days

of presents, followed by one day of many presents,” Steinberg said. “I always feel closer to my fam-

ily during the season. After all, ‘tis the sea-

son.’ There is the occasional reference to the friendly neighborhood ‘Hannac-lause.’”

Sophomore Hope Stewart also has a Jewish father and Christian mother and said that having different religions makes a big-ger impact when the major holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah roll around.

“I go to family’s houses to celebrate each,” Stewart said. “We have big family get-togethers and all that stuff.”

Junior Jocelin Stern has a Christian step-dad and Jewish parents.

“I practice a lot of the Jewish holi-days,” Stern said. “I get forced into going to church Christmas night.”

Freshman Eman Jallaq has a Chris-tian great-grandmother and Mus-lim parents. Jallaq said her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian holidays.

“As a Muslim, I fast during Rama-dan,” Jallaq said. “I’ll miss school if there is a Muslim

holiday on a school day. For Christmas, we get together at my house and give gifts to my grandma. On Easter, we put out eggs.”

Steinberg said his family has important traditions for celebrating the holidays.

“My older brother, Jess, and I tear through wrapped presents,” Steinberg said.

Stern said that her family has traditions for the major holidays.

“We go to a family friend’s house for all of the Jewish holidays,” Stern said. “For Christmas, I go to my step dad’s family’s house.”

For the Islamic holiday, Eid, Jallaq has special traditions with her family that in-volve her grandma.

Eid is a holiday that is celebrated two different times of the year, Jallaq ex-

plained. The first time is at the end of Ramadan, and the second time is at the end of Hajj, which are the

10 days of the year where Muslims do the pilgrim-age to Mecca, Jallaq added.

At the end of the second Eid, Jallaq ex-

plained, her family sacrifices a lamb. She said her grandma is involved in this cel-ebration.

“[My grandma] will give us money and go out to eat with us,” Jallaq said.

Stewart said that she enjoys celebrat-ing two different religions and the holidays that go along with them.

“I like celebrating both holidays,” Stewart said. “It’s fun to have multiple re-ligions.”

Stern agrees with Stewart and explained that she likes celebrating two religious hol-idays.

“I get presents for Christmas,” Stern said. “I am okay with that.”

Sophomores Ian Kellogg and Alex Meyer work on the latest edition of The Bexley Post.

Justin Meyer

Families of different faiths celebrate multiple holidays, traditions

Justin MeyerStaff Reporter

Emily ReedStaff Reporter

You step off the plane and immediately break a sweat from the unseasonable heat. You inhale the smell of the salty ocean and look around to see that you’re surrounded by palm trees. The last thing on your mind is the thought of freezing, harsh winds.

Junior Bex Schulman is one student who prefers warm weather for winter break.“The warm weather allows me to improve my inner goddess by getting a great tan,”

Schulman said.Schulman has vacationed in Florida, Hawaii, California, Mexico and Israel. She

explained that she will be staying with her grandparents in West Palm Beach for 12 days this winter break.

“My Grammy and Pop know how to have a good time,” she said. Schulman said her typical day in Florida includes going to the beach, laying out by

the pool, going on a run at the golf course and eating lunch at the Beach Club.“At night I walk on the beach with Grammy and toss the frisbee with Pop,” she

said.Sophomore Ethan Goodstein also enjoys warm weather vacations.“I prefer warm weather vacations because I can get a chance to experience a com-

fortable climate, whereas in Bexley, the weather often changes,” he explained.Goodstein has traveled to the Bahamas, France and Mexico.“I was in the Bahamas two years ago during Winter Break at the Atlantis resort,” he

said. “It was really relaxing; there were fun water slides and other attractions.”Goodstein said that coming home from vacation is hard.“Knowing I’m coming home to cold weather and school makes me anxious,” he

said. “I hate the transition back.”Junior Jacob Rubin also enjoys escaping the cold weather by traveling to warmer

locations.“There’s nothing like 80 degree weather after two months of winter,” he said.

“Warm weather vacations are great because I get to lie out all day and get my tan on.”Rubin has traveled out of the country to many places, including Panama, Cozumel,

St. Martin, Italy and Israel.“My trip to Panama was awesome because I got to play drums with the

Native Panamanians,” Rubin said.Freshman Rachael Rice explained that the hardest part is

coming home after a vacation.“It’s hard getting settled at home after a vacation,

especially when my family and I travel someplace in a different time zone,” she said. “But mainly it’s hard having to transition back to the cold weather.”

Rice has been going to the Isle of Palms, South Carolina ever since she was little.

“It’s always warm there, year round,” Rice said. “And because Bexley’s so cold during the winter, it’s nice being able to go someplace warm.”

December 16, 2011

Warm destinations hot for winter Snow enhances tradition of holidayNatalie SchwagerStaff Reporter

The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And since we’ve no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

However, for some students, the weather in Columbus is not so frightful, and for winter break they have to travel elsewhere for more snow.

Junior Emma Arace goes to Connecticut with her family for winter break almost every year. Although Arace may or may not go again this year, her whole family lives in Windsor, Connecticut and she goes there most years.

“It’s a huge family get-together,” Arace said, because her mom is one of seven and her dad is one of eight.

Also going north for break is sophomore Simon Horn. He spends time with his family in their cottage on Lake Michigan.

“It’s relaxing,” Horn said. “We like going in the winter because we can ski.”Senior Sophie Martin stays in Ohio, but she and her family also ski. She enjoys skiing

because “it’s a family tradition on the holidays.”Martin has been skiing since she was 7 years old and refers to herself as a “seasoned

skier.”“You can go off jumps, and you don’t fall like snowboarders,” Martin said. For each of these students, being with family is a theme in their snowy winter break.Arace said that her favorite part of going to Connecticut is being with her family, be-

cause they only go once a year. “My aunt goes crazy with Christmas decorations, so she enlists the whole family to help

decorate,” Arace said. Horn said that spending time with his family at their cottage is relaxing.“There aren’t things we need to do there,” Horn said. “We get away from our busy

lives.”Martin described her skiing trip as a “family thing.” “It builds our relationships with a fun activity,” Martin said.Horn and Martin have both had unique experiences only possible at their snowy des-

tinations.Horn described the time he and his family were stuck in their cottage.

“The first or second time we went up to there, there was a lot of snow and ice,” Horn explained. “My uncle rented a Lincoln Continental,

and it couldn’t get up the hill, so we were stuck in the house.” Martin’s sister had an interesting experience the first

time she went snowboarding.“She hit an ice patch and latched onto the guy in

front of her,” Martin said. “They started snow-boarding together.”

Arace explained she prefers cold weather as opposed to warm weather during winter

break.“I’m a traditionalist when it

comes to the holidays, and it feels weird to me,

being in a warm place for Christ-

mas,” Arace said.

Mallory KassoyStaff Reporter

Do you prefer spending break

in the warm weather or the cold weather?

“I prefer the cold because it wouldn’t feel natural to not have a white Christ-mas.”-Junior Emma Arace

“I like spending break at a cold place so I can go skiing and enjoy the weather.” -Sophomore Simon Horn

“I like going to the warmth to have a nice, fun and relaxing vacation.”-Sophomore Ethan Good-stein

“I prefer the warmth for I love soaking up the sun and drinking virgin piña coladas on the beach.”-Junior Bex Schulman

Take downs. Lifting. Conditioning. Technique.These are just some of the pillars of wrestling, but the

high school squad hopes to perfect all of them in order to succeed in the upcoming season.

Senior Derek Cain is excited to see how this season will play out.

“We have two people coming back that made it to dis-tricts last year, so we should be decent,” Cain said.

Senior Jake Colvin hopes to make it far in the tourna-ment.

“I’m hoping we get to states, but regionals would be awesome,” Colvin said.

Cain and Colvin both agree that Whitehall is going to be the team’s biggest competition this year.

“They compete in a lot of the same tournaments as we do, so we see them a lot more than other teams,” Colvin said. “Some of us who have been wrestling a little longer actually know the guys on the other team which encour-ages competition between us.”

Sophomore Daniel Lee has high hopes to place at dis-tricts.

“Sectionals and districts are going to be really chal-lenging this year,” Lee said. “People will be competing very intensely for the titles.”

In order to make it far in the tournament, senior De Jay Jones said that the team “[will] have to work hard in prac-tice.”

“Practice is normally an hour and a half,” Jones said. “But it’s a very intense hour and a half, a lot of sweating going on.”

Cain said that on top of their intense practices, the boys on the wrestling team also have to manage to stay in their weight class, either gaining or losing weight.

Lee said the most difficult part of wrestling is staying in his weight class.

“We diet and work hours on end to lose weight,” Lee said.

On the other hand, senior Cameron Stewart thinks stay-ing in his weight class isn’t too difficult.

“It’s easy for me to lose weight because I work hard every day in practice,” Stewart said.

Colvin said he watches his calorie intake and like Stew-art, works hard at practice in order to stay in his weight class.

“Sometimes we have to wear multiple layers during practice to lose more weight,” Colvin explained. “It may not sound that bad, but it gets pretty hot in that little room.”

Colvin added that being able to keep his strength while trying to lose weight will be one of his biggest challenges this upcoming season.

Sophomore Gage Hendrick said he wrestles because it keeps him in shape.

“I joined [the team] because I thought it was going to be good conditioning,” Hendrick said. Colvin likes wrestling because of the challenge he gets out of each match. “I can truly pour my entire heart into each moment,” Colvin said. “When I get on the mat with an opponent, I put my entire being and every ounce of effort into beating him.”

There are multiple reasons Lee enjoys wrestling, in-cluding that he can’t play basketball.

“I also enjoy hurting other children,” Lee added.

Sophomore Sam Shorr described his least favorite part of wrestling as losing, “especially when I feel like I could have won, but my favorite part is feeling the accomplish-ment when I’m able to beat my opponent.”

The reason Cain wrestles is that he has grown to love the independent aspect of the sport.

“I really like the fact that you have to rely on yourself and your capabilities instead of relying on other teammates to do their jobs,” Cain said.

Team cheers echo around the natato-rium before the first swimmers step up to the blocks. The starting official’s whistle sounds and the swimmers take their posi-tions.

“Take your mark,” the official barks. Silence follows the only real silence of the meet.

A loud beep sends the swimmers diving into the water, and the race begins.

Senior Kris Baker, who has been a part of the swim team for two years, said that the start of a race is his favorite part of swim-ming.

“When you get on the block, before the starter begins the race, your blood is pump-ing,” Baker said. “I’ve never felt anything like that. You are standing by people you have raced against for years and you know how good they are.”

Baker added that having new swimmers is an advantage to the team for upcoming seasons.

“We have a lot of new swimmers which is good, because we like to keep the pro-gram going with new interested swim-

mers,” Baker explained.Junior captain Sarah Jones explained

that after losing many members from last season, the team is young.

“We are a really young team,” Jones

said. “We lost a lot of seniors last year and have a small amount of seniors this year. I think we will progress and then next season we will be good.”

Jones added having such a young team

allows the team to strengthen as a whole when practicing.

“This year is more a rebuilding year,” Jones explained. “We are working on tech-nique, getting closer as a team and working on where we all fit in.”

Sophomore Carly Berndt, a two year swimmer, agreed this year is about teaching and placing the new swimmers.

“There are a lot of new people like freshmen who have never swam before,” Berndt said. “So [this year is about] teach-ing them what to do.”

Berndt added that the Academy meet is all relays, but since the team lost people, they had to mix up swimmers of different skill levels which doesn’t turn out well.

Berndt said her favorite part of the swim team is being able to talk to her team-mates since they are the people she spends the most time with, and being close to them is comforting.

Jones agrees that the strong bond the team has is her favorite part.

“The team is a different group of peo-ple,” Jones said. “It’s not the cliché sports team. It’s co-ed and a young team so you meet and become friends with people you normally wouldn’t.”

December 16, 2011

Wrestling team foresees titles, big victories for upcoming season Jill ClarkStaff Reporter

Abundance of young, new swimmers provides for variety on swim teamBrynna DavisSports Editor

Senior Henry Warren lifts sophomore Daniel Lee in the air during wrestling practice. The wrestling team’s next meet is a tri-meet against Whetstone High School and St. Charles Prepatory School at St. Charles Dec. 21 at 6 p.m.

Jacob Appelbaum

Junior Sebastian Parra practices his breast stroke, preparing for his up-coming meets. The swim team’s next meet is Dec. 17 against Eastmoor and South High School at the St. Charles pool at noon.

Carlin Coffey

December 16, 2011

Indoor Madness

“[Hamchester] expects to go undefeated and score 10 goals a game,” sophomore and player Sam Ehrlich said.

Ehrlich’s outlook for the season is bright be-cause of Hamchester’s roster.

“We have phenomenal athletes and have the drive to win,” Ehrlich said.

Ehrlich also explained the root of the tension in the league.

“The tension is mainly coming from us and the worst team, which is the most embarrassing excuse of a team, the ‘Green Tractors,’” Ehrlich said.

Hamchester United

Senior captain Brian Podlasiak said he will be leading Broatia in their debut season. Podla-siak said he created the team for the enjoyment of the game and for more competitive reasons. “I actually started my indoor team just for the love of the game and to beat up on the junior team [The Green Trac-tors],” Podlasiak said.

Podlasiak is hesitant to make any preseason predictions for his squad.

Broatia

“[We] are feeling very confident and opti-mistic about this season,” junior coach Justin Meyer said. “We have many bright young play-ers on our team.” Although the team is young, Meyer has big expectations for this upcoming season.

“I expect to win every game except for one, which is against the Green Tractors,” Meyer said.

His expectations have been formed by the skills of his players. “Our team has mastered the art of bicycling,” he added. “Other teams will have a tough time defending this.”

Green Tractors F.C. Developmental Academy “The new addition of several players has

given the Tractors the expectation of be-ing undefeated,” junior team captain of the Green Tractors F.C. Aaron Sugarman said. Sugarman expects perfection because of several key aspects of the team. “We look at ourselves as a band of broth-ers,” Sugarman said. “Our chemistry is amazing.” Sugarman also commented on the Green-Tractors’ feelings for the new teams in the league: “[The Green Tractors F.C.] have no allies in this league, especially Hamchester, which is expected to be a game for the ages.”

Green Tractors F.C.

The passion. The tradition. The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat. The emotional roller coaster that is in-door soccer.

Although the name “indoor soccer” may imply that there are many similarities to outdoor soccer, players cite some key differences of indoor soccer that attract them to the game.

Junior team captain of the Green Tractors F.C. Aaron Sugarman likes that indoor soccer is more physical than outdoor soccer.

“I think they are completely different games,” Sugar-man said. “Indoor has walls and therefore becomes more like hockey and becomes more physical. This is what makes indoor better.”

Junior coach of the Green Tractors F.C. Developmen-tal Academy Justin Meyer likes the faster pace of indoor soccer.

“You have to think more quickly because it is a small-er field and there is less [time] stoppage,” Meyer said.

Junior Green Tractor player Gary Beretstovetsky said that indoor soccer rules are significantly different from outdoor soccer rules.

“There is no slide tackling, there is a blue card that works like a penalty box and takes you out of the game for a certain amount of time,” Beretstovetsky explained. “The ball cannot touch the ceiling, and there are no off-sides.”

Sugarman said the length of the season is nine games over 10 weeks with one “bye week” and each player on the winning team receives a t-shirt that says “Sports Barn Champion.”

The atmosphere in the indoor soccer league changes from team to team, with some teams developing rivalries and tense relationships, while others just want to enjoy the game, Meyer said.

“There is a budding rivalry between Hamchester and the Tractors,” Meyer said. “There has been a lot of trash talking between the teams.”

Sugarman explained the rivalries between the two teams.

“It’s extremely tense,” Sugarman said. “You feel a lot of pressure to win. No one wants to lose. When you put on a Tractor uniform, there is a lot of pressure to it.”

Sophomore Hamchester player Connor Flood appre-ciates the venue.

“The atmosphere in ‘The Barn’ is fantastic,” Flood said. “The players all want to win but most of all they want to have fun.”

Indoor soccer league has unique atmosphere with rivalries, intense gameplay

Sophomore player Connor Flood is less preoccupied with being competitive this season and more focused on enjoying the game of indoor soccer.

“This year we expect to have a winning record, although we expect to lose some games to the try-hards,” Flood said. “Chances are there will be more cart-wheels and bicycle kicks than wins.”

Flood’s relaxed outlook on the season is reinforced by the other players. “Team America will most certainly stand out the most,” Flood said. “Our play-

ers are ready to make people laugh and still come home with some wins.”

Graphics by Sarah McBride. Photos courtesy of Aaron Sugarman, Justin Meyer, Connor Flood, Brian Podlasiak and Sam Ehrlich. Compiled by Will Moses.

Will MosesStaff Reporter

Team America

Compiled by Jacob Hodge, Max Fournier, Katherine Philips and Lindsey Mathews

“‘Transformers 3,’ for sure. I love action and the robots’ slow motion fighting scenes.”

- Junior Jack Fowler

December 16, 2011

Best Movie

Best Movie Adaptation from a Book

Best T.V. Show

Best Song

“‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two,’ because it was cool to see the end of the series.”

- Senior

Zach Holling-sworth

“My favorite TV show of 2011 is ‘Modern Family,’ because it

is very hysterical.”

-Freshman Julia Apple-field

Other“Rolling

in the Deep,”

Adele

“Look at

Me Now,”

Chris Brown“Party

Rock Anthem,”

LMFAO

“Give Me

Everything,”

Pitbull

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

“The Help” “Diary of a Whimpy Kid”

“Breaking Dawn”

“Water for Elephants”

“Modern Family”

“NCIS”

“Jersey Shore”

“Glee”

“Dancing with the Stars”

“‘Party Rock Anthem’ is the best song of 2011.”

-Sophomore Eleanor

Reagan

Fair use from wikipedia.com

Fair use from Interscope

Fair use from wikipedia.com

Graphics by Sarah McBride