By Alexander AllenThis year was the sec-

ond annual Feeding 2,000 Thanksgiving Harvest and Community Celebration between Hampton Roads Academy and the Southeast Community Day Committee.

Sponsored by the com-mittee and the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, the program aimed to feed 2,000 people Nov. 15 at the Mo-ton Community Center in

Newport News’s Southeast Community.

Last year was a major success with volunteers from HRA and the Southeast Community feeding more than 1,000 people.

This year they decided to raise the stakes and feed 2,000. The first step for HRA was giving all the funds raised by our Sadie Hawk-ins’s Dance to the Southeast Community. With volunteers coming from all of the high

By Sarah VogtCrispy turkey, sweet cran-

berry sauce, buttery mashed potatoes and creamy gravy all intermingle to create an in-imitable and glorious aroma. I am talk-ing about, of course, Thanks-giv-ing.

There is noth-ing better than care-lessly consuming an enormous amount of calories, coming mostly in the form of pie and turkey. The giv-ing of thanks and spending time with the people you love is not so bad, either.

But what is the ultimate Thanksgiving cuisine? The Compass surveyed Hampton

Roads Academy students and found that, after a long cam-paign, mashed potatoes won by a landslide with 43 votes, or 22 percent of the total.

Stuffing followed with 25 votes, or

13 percent. Pumpkin

pie and maca-roni

and

cheese were

close be-hind and tied

with 12 percent. The traditional holiday

meat, turkey, collected 11 percent of the vote. Rolls and sweet potatoes had 4 percent.

Voter turnout was 65 per-cent, with 197 out of 301 upper school students participating. Thank you to all who partici-pated in this landmark election!

Vol. VI, Issue II 739 Academy Lane, Newport News, VA 23602 December 2008

HRA students, staff help feed community

Potatoes mash competitors in survey

Seniors speak out on signing in

Page 2

OPINIONSOur exclusive

Ted Wang interviewPage 3

SPORTSHot styles for cold weather

Page 8

FASHIONThe most anticipated

movies of 2009Page 7

FEATURES

By Peter ChiappaAh, middle school. The days

of SHAP and a short lunch. Living an existence free of AP classes has left middle school students the time for numerous events throughout the year.

When asked, Mrs. Susanne Swain, head of the middle school, reported, “Our theme for the year is ‘Go-ing Green’.” The

the middle school has been in charge of recycling throughout the school. Later in the year, several architects and scientists will visit Hampton Roads Acad-emy to explain how solar energy and other green practices are being applied to new houses.

The middle school has also been involved in the recent election fun. During geography class, the seventh grade created a map that shows not only his-torical voting in each state, but

also how environment-friendly each region of the United States is. Using the result of a Forbes magazine survey measuring air and water quality and environ-mental policies, they determined that the South, in a band stretch-ing from Texas to Virginia, is the least green.

And just as the upper school held our own election, so did the middle school. During Home-room, Mr. Pete Teagle, Ameri-can studies teacher, explained

the Electoral College before it was revealed that McCain had won by 13 votes.

Finally, the middle school held its own dance. As part of their Halloween festivities, it was a half-dance and half-cos-tume party. They have two more dances planned: One will have a beach theme; the other is part of a ceremony marking the transi-tion from the middle school to the upper school.

HRA middle school students active, learning

Members of the HRA community served more than 2,000 Newport News residents during the school’s annual event with local charities.

Continued on page 6

Middle School Report

Vol. VI, Issue I 739 Academy Lane, Newport News, VA 23602 November 2008

hampton roads academy

the compass

By Samuel Brody-Boyd and Stephanie Margolin

As we all well know, the upper school of Hamp-

ton Roads Academy now has a new head, and her name

is Karen Gillespie. Previously, Mrs. Gillespie was the

head of the head of HRA’s foreign language department

and taught Spanish I, AP Spanish, and Honors Spanish

IV, before being asked by HRA Headmaster Thomas

Harvey to be the new head of the upper school.

She replaces Aaron Hill, who resigned the posi-

tion after seven years of service.

When asked about whether or not senior pranks

were un-banned since Mr. Hill. Mrs. Gillespie replied

that the seniors still do not

get to have senior pranks.

She added, “Think about

the fact that every person

who works in this building

gave up a career that would

have made them a lot more

money to help you achieve

your dreams, so at the end

of it is you’re going to

make their life difficult by

either messing the place

up or doing something to

make it a bad place for

them. Why do you want to

do that to the people who

have been helping you?” Mrs. Gillespie does support

“something festive on the day that the seniors are gone,”

but nothing that she says is “mean-spirited.”

Asked what challenges face HRA currently, Mrs.

Gillespie said that over-commitment was a big problem,

with students having too many things to do and not

being able to do them all. She added that this had been a

problem at HRA for 20 years, and that it can’t be solved

overnight. Regarding the dress code. Mrs. Gillespie says

that no changes will occur, but says that HRA is open to

new styles and reasonable requests by students should

something new arise.

Regarding the new car line procedure instituted

by Susanne Swain, head of the middle school, Gillespie

says that it was vital this year to increase safety in the

parking lot, and that the new

car line is more orderly, and

supposed to be even faster.

But, she admits, “I’m sure it’s a

work in progress.”

Even in light of her new

position, Mrs. Gillespie made

it clear that students can still

talk to her openly and that they

shouldn’t be intimidated by her

new title. “I’ve been sitting in

rooms with 16 and 17 year old

for 30 some years now. I feel

like I kind of know how your

minds work and it’s easier if

you talk about it.”

Gillespie to direct HRA upper school course

By Alex Allen

October 23, 2008, was an eventful day at

Hampton Roads Academy. A buzz circulated around

school about an assembly put on by Mrs. Jones’s

Advanced Placement government class. Finally the day

had come; we were

shuttled like we

normally were into

the auditorium for

another assembly

just like all the

rest. On stage on

the left were the

Republicans and on the right were the Democrats: Jason

Davis as John McCain; Nora Blalock as Sarah Palin;

and Katie McManus as Cindy McCain; Edward Smith

and Drew Small as Barack Obama; Minnae Chabwera

as Michelle Obama; Prateek Reddy as Joe Biden; and

Meagan Hilliard as Hillary Clinton. Finally, a lone

wolf sat along with the Republicans and a handsome

name tag. I speak of course of Rod Young as Ron

Paul.

The speeches began with a coin toss by

Courtney Kilo, with the opening speech going to the

Republicans. With a stirring introduction from Cindy

McCain, John McCain stood to give a speech that is

more rousing and interesting than the real McCain’s

best oratory. Discussing foreign policy and the

economic woes, he truly was the “ultimate maverick.”

Next on the podium was Sarah Palin. With a

long discussion of her track record and the classic hair

and glasses that we have come to know, Blalock did an

excellent job. Finally the Democrats were up. Drew

Smalls was the first Obama to present. With a speech

that would rival the real Obama, Drew moved aside

for Prateek to take the podium as Joe Biden. With a

good speech with a little poke at the end about SNL and

pitbull jokes toward Palin, the assembly moved on to

the town hall format.

With Edward Smith taking the podium as the

second Obama, and Jason Davis as McCain again, the

debate could begin. With two questions given to both

parties, and a third one that ended rather abruptly, the

first assembly came to a close. The second began with

around 20 questions posed to both the presidents and

their running mates. With a wide array of questions,

ranging from the war in Iraq to the economy, each

candidate had an informative answer. With a couple

mean burns against both parties, the debates ended with

both sides being represented nicely.

By Sarah Vogt

The Hampton Roads Academy community

mourns the loss of many beloved teachers and faculty.

But, with the beginning of a new year, we also wel-

come the arrival of five new upper school teachers:

- Ms. Maribel Gendreau joins HRA as an upper

school science teacher and will teach biology and

life sciences. She received her doctorate from the

University of Connecticut in bio-behavioral Science.

Ms. Gendreau will also be coordinating the Community

Service Program this year;

Mrs. Sue Ardelji, upper school English teacher,

is teaching junior and AP senior English. Mrs. Ardelji

earned a master’s degree in education from Old Domin-

ion University and taught at Smithfield High School

for the past five years. Mrs. Ardelji is also working

diligently with HRA’s yearbook staff as an advisor;

Mr. Christopher Joyce, upper school history

teacher, leaves our rival school, Walsingham Academy,

to teach United States AP History at HRA. Mr. Joyce

has received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees

from Emory University, and will help boys track this

spring;

Mr. James Lidington, upper school English

teacher, is teaching sophomore English as well as

journalism. Mr. Lidington has earned a bachelor of

arts degree in journalism from Northern Kentucky

University and will be using his experience at The

Virginian-Pilot, The Chillicothe Gazette, and The

Cincinnati Enquirer to advise The Compass, HRA’s

student-run newspaper;

Mr. Bryce Kiser, the new upper school Spanish

teacher, is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson

College, where he was able to study abroad in Argen-

tina. In addition to traveling, Mr. Kiser’s interests lie

in sports, so it is only fitting that he will be assisting

the football and baseball teams.

New teachers come to HRA upper school

Candidates square off in mock town-hall meeting

Gillespie

How has the economy affected

your pocketbook? Your family’s? The

Compass is planning for its next issue

a series of stories relating to this most

timely topic. Do you need a loan for

Sadie Hawkins tickets? Do you need a

second job to pay for gas for your car?

The Compass wants YOU!

Do you have a story to tell?

E-mail it to JLIDIN@HRA.ORG.

Compass seeking economic feedback

from HRA community

Students dress down HRA code

Page 2

OPINIONS

A tough project in ‘The Big Easy’

Page 6

NEWS

Nick Mobley, ‘Love Monkey’

Page 6

FEATURES

New Cold War Kids CD: Hot?

Page 7

FEATURES

2 OPINIONSLifesavers®: candy & counselors

December 2008Vol. VI, Issue II

Mastering the sign-in: A simple solution to a complex problem

By Brendan FrantzA shiny trophy case that

displays the countless achieve-ments of HRA, a hallway that leads almost directly to the senior lounge, hand sanitizer dispensers and the fresh air of the outdoor courtyard are just a few of the many distractions that keep me along with many other seniors from signing back in.

It is not that we don’t want to sign in, or that we aren’t actually back at school, but the

times after lunch tend to be jovial times and there are many things to deter us from the quest that they call signing back in. “Well thanks for that colorful narrative,” people may say, “But what can we do about it?”

Well, I am here to give a viable solution to the problem that seems to plague the senior body. We all can infer logically that the longer the trek, the more distractions there will be. Know-ing this I have come up with two

possible solutions to solve our dilemma.

Solution #1: Unlock the commons entrance during lunch. This will eliminate the walk that we have to take around the building to the main entrance, increasing sign-ins.

Solution #2: Place the sign-in sheet at the main entrance to the school! Not only will this increase senior sign-ins, but if security is a problem with the first solution, it will eliminate all the folks who try to get a friend to open the door into the com-mons entrance because the logi-cal route would be to go directly to the main entrance.

Putting the sign-in sheet in either of these locations would not only save the freedoms of the seniors but it would elimi-nate congestion in the senior hallway, so Mrs. Burnett, who is already busy enough, doesn’t have to walk from class to class to find the unfortunate souls who didn’t sign in.

All of this being said, I think it is safe to say that the entire senior body would agree that sign-ins are a problem.

Senior Brendan Frantz “begs” for forgiveness from Mrs. Burnett, upper school adminstrative assistant and the keeper of the sign-in log.

Contributing Writers

Chul ShinFaCulty advisor

Mr. James Lidington

The Compass Contributors

The CompassStaff Listings

editors -in- ChieFSamuel Brody-Boyd

Sarah VogtneWs editorsLexi Glagola

Stephanie MargolinFeature editorsAlexa AndersenJohn Quarsteinsports editorsDai Young KimStefan Le Noachlayout editorBrendan Frantz

graphiCs editorsAlexander AllenKenya Mawusi

By Stephanie MargolinThe first semester of

senior year is the most difficult semester of the seniors’ lives. Not only do they have to work on assign-ments varying from simple exercises in a workbook to large papers or projects, but the seniors also have been working diligently applying to colleges. What, might an underclassman wonder, must one do in order to apply to college? Well, my friends, it’s no simple task.

After answering a plethora of questions varying from “On what day did your mother reg-ister to vote?” to “What is your Social Security number?” -- not that you haven’t already pro-vided this information for them in the four previous pages -- you must answer essay questions. Some applications allow you to provide an essay on the topic of your choice, while others require you to write about your favorite word, a recently read book, or to “describe something you like but pretend not to.” Furthermore, most seniors are applying to an average of six

schools each, while some are applying to as many as 13. As you can imagine, this process is extremely tedious and stressful.

To aid in this difficult pro-cess, each student is assigned a college counselor.

If you thought it was dif-ficult to balance school, sports, a social life and cleaning your room, imagine trying to balance a lesson plan for each day, grad-ing multiple tests and papers, paying bills, reviewing hundreds of essays due the next day (note to underclassmen: procrastina-tion is NOT advised) and at-tempting to maintain a social life outside of school.

On top of these activities, college counselors also have to write letters of recommenda-tion for each student, and, often, review each individual applica-tion. Each application packet includes the student’s resume, high school transcript, letters of

recommendation, a secondary school report form, community service letters and information about the school. There are 78 students in the senior class, and thus far, the college counseling office has sent more than 330 packets … and that’s just for early action.

The college counselors have worked extremely hard to pull everything together, but none of this would be possible without the help of Mrs. Theresa Rinder-er, guidance administrative assistant. She, along with the college counselors, has worked many late nights compiling each student’s packet.

Mrs. Rinderer and the col-lege counselors are being bom-barded constantly by students requesting information, deliv-ering information, raiding the Lifesaver stash and freaking out. Throughout the past few cha-otic months as the seniors have

moved through the college pro-cess, this saintly quartet of in-credible people -- Mrs. Rinderer and Mrs. Heather O’Toole and Mr. Ben Rous, directors of col-lege counseling, and Mrs. Elaine McDermott, college counselor -- have been there to offer the seniors everything from a stern warning on procrastination or quick feedback on an essay, to a warm hug and a carefree laugh, assuring each student that in the end, everything will be okay.

Without them, seniors wouldn’t be able to function. A simple thank-you could never express our gratitude for ev-erything that they have done, but until we go on to college, achieve great success and return bearing lavish gifts to the little office in which our futures were secured, it will have to do.

3 SPORTS

By Stefan Le Noach Hailing from the Zhe Jiang province near Shanghai, Zemn-ing Wing (a.k.a. Ted Wang) is new at Hampton Roads Acade-my this year and is ready to tear up the basketball court. Ted came to America through the International Student Ex-change program; his friends and family helped him in the pro-cess. All of his family lives in Chi-na at the moment. Ted doesn’t have any brothers or sisters and is currently living with Head Basketball Coach Max Gillespie and Karen Gillespie, head of HRA’s Upper School, both of whom he likes very much. Besides basketball, Ted also enjoys watching football on television. Standing 6 feet, 11 inches tall, Ted has been play-ing basketball for four years and hopes to play NCAA Div. I basketball in America. He’s very excited about the upcoming season and HRA hoops fans are glad he’s on the court. To get pumped up before a game, Ted bumps to some T.I. Observers who have seen Wang play have remarked on his abilities. His formidable pres-ence in the paint this year will have everyone with high hopes for the basketball team.

By Stefan Le Noach Basketball season has arriveed, and as an amateur player myself, I have decided to take on the responsibility of educating the Hampton Roads Academy community on the moves and happenings that might go on the court this season.

The Crossover This fundamental move is meant to allow you to blow past the defender guarding you. The ball goes from the left hand to the right hand or vice versa. If done correctly, this move will fake out the defender, embarrass him and disgrace his family.

The Stutter Step This move is done by running at the defender and then suddenly stopping as you are right in front of him, “stuttering” your feet as you do so. The move will freeze your defender, fake him out and/or put him on his derriere. A variation of this move involves cupping the ball and swinging the hips at the instant you would normally stutter your feet. This not only confuses the defender but embarrasses him as well.

The Hook Shot The hook shot is to basketball as Latin is to spoken languages. Once the quintessential move of the sport, the hook shot has become a lost art of basketball. Unblockable, sexy and the definition of old school, the hook shot was most popular during the 70’s and 80’s. To be most effective, the hook shot must be performed wearing high tops, an afro, high socks, short shorts and a pair of goggles, proven by the basketball stars of the era who popularized the shot.

The Slip N’ Slide This move, first given a name in the videogame “NBA Street,” is rough on the knees, but makes the defender look like a clown and you like a pro. To perform the maneuver, dribble the ball between your legs to your right hand. Then start to spin clockwise and, as you do, lower your backside to the ground, letting yourself down with your left arm. You should have your backside and the lower part of your back touching the floor. Roll over on the floor and onto your feet, helping yourself back up with your left arm.

The Dunk Nasty, sweet, ugly, beautiful, and catastrophic to the defender’s self-esteem, the dunk is all of these. Formerly known as a “dunk shot,” the term “slam dunk” was created by L.A. Lak-ers announcer Chick Hearn. Dunking was outlawed by the NCAA from 1967-76. Many have attributed this to the dominance of the then-college phenomenon Lew Alcindor, now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Consequently, the no-dunking rule is sometimes referred to as the “Lew Alcindor Rule.”

Hoop it up in 5 easy steps Hi,I’m Ted

HRA’s Ted Wang dwarfs the 6-foot-1-inch-tall Dai Young Kim.

Vol. VI, Issue II December 2008

4 Photo PageHRA’s cast of characters

December 2008Vol. VI, Issue II

Student Jamie Phipps wore a hanbok, a native Korean dress, as part of the Multicultural Club’s annual Korea Day lunch.

Hampton Roads Academy Students, from left, Carter Gilmore,Hannah Cole, and Sophie Kingsbury took part in the Halloween Parade.

Second-grader Sean O’Connor is dressed as an character from the movie The Incredibles.

Makayla Majors, pre-k, takes a moment to pose for a picture.

Princess Brianna Ilas carries a Halloween candy basket to hold her goodies.

Fixing her tiera, kindergartner Emily Chang cannot wait until she gets to eat her candy.

Even the parents like Mr. Paul Davies got into the Halloween spirit by dressing up.

5FeaturesFree radicals and mad Swedes

December 2008Vol. VI, Issue II

By Alexander AllenSince this is my first CD re-

view ever, I’ve decided to work on a fairly simple format. I don’t know why, but I’ve decided to use a marital motif. What can I say? Women and music go hand in hand. The four CD categories that I’m going to review are: “Something New,” “Something Old,” “Something Borrowed,” and “Something Blue.”

The “New” category is pretty straightforward; I’m just going to review something that has come out in the last month or so. I’m not a big fan of some of the new music out there so I’ll probably get help on these. “Something Old” is something that is a stone-cold classic, any-thing from the 50’s to the 80’s. “Something Borrowed” is a re-view of something that a friend of mine has given or loaned me, or even told me that I should check out. The final category is anything about the blues. I con-sider myself a fairly competent bluesman, so this category was a must.

The new CD is the latest release from the Jonas Brothers,

“A Little Bit Longer.” The Jonas Brothers are the creation of Disney. Although not bad, they come from the genre of what I have dubbed “Disney Pop,” meaning that they have super-catchy lines and riffs, but cannot be listened to when you’re more than thirteen. With “LoveBug” and “Video Girl,” the Jonas Brothers pick up the pace with up-tempo pop-rock. Singing about girls with that sort of Dis-ney tale charm, they have you hooked from the beginning of the album. Get it if your adoles-cent sister is on your back about

A talented mix of varied artistsBy John Quarstein

This time in the Media Player, I’m going to focus on the debut release of the indie band Ra Ra Riot and the multi-media artist Saul Williams.

The debut release of Ra Ra Riot is an incred-ible collection of songs about life, love and death. While that sounds cliché, it manages not to be. The band’s sound is best described as an indie-rock mix of the styles of Vampire Week-end (well-worded pop songs) and Arcade Fire (indie with classical influences and string players). This album is one of the strongest debuts of the year; however it is marked by tragedy. Last July, the band’s drummer, John Pike, went missing after a show. The next day his body was found in a bay nearby, he is believed to have drowned; De-spite this loss the band contin-ued on and decided to soon after to begin their first album.

Many of the songs on this album were at least in part writ-

ten by John Pike, and also the band dedicated it to his memory. In fact, one song,“St. Peter’s Day Festival,” has a sample of his playing at its end. Every song on the album is an ex-ample of their strength as a band to create stories. Some of the highlights of the album are the opener “Ghost Under Rocks,” which begins the album on a strong note that it keeps through every song. Another high point is “Dying is Fine,” which serves as a great example of their style and energy. On a side note for that song, some of the lyrics were adapted from the writ-ings of poet e.e. cummings. The song “Can You Tell” speaks of

a man’s crush on a girl and the story of that song almost seems

to continue into “Too Too Too Fast,” which has a very ‘80s feel to it. The story seems to come to an end with “Oh La,” which shows a man begging a girl to keep their relationship going.

it or you just want a little bit of catchy ear candy. Beyond that, I would say listen when it’s on the radio, but don’t go out and buy the album.

The old CD that I’m go-ing to review is a live CD; The Who’s “Live at Isle of Wight 1970” is an amazing live album. Including songs from “Tommy,” the acclaimed rock opera by Who guitar ace Pete Townsend, the “Isle of Wight” is filled with songs from that album. With “Young Man Blues,” the band starts off with a heavy blues, with heavy bass and ungodly-good drums, they continue on to “My Generation.” To end the concert, they do a small selec-tion from Tommy. The concert is simply amazing and is a must-have for anyone that wants an amazing live concert album to be added to their collection.

The borrowed CD is a soundtrack from the movie, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” A friend of mine is an avid fan of the movie, so much so that he went out and bought the soundtrack. He has loaned me both the CD and the movie

itself. An amazing movie with an equally amazing soundtrack, “Life Aquatic” has original pieces made just for the movie, as well as classics from David Bowie, Iggy and the Stooges, and The Zombies. I hear the soundtrack or any of the original pieces, all I can think about is the film. It’s a unique film with an equally unique soundtrack. If you have never seen the movie, go out and see it! Once you see it, buy the soundtrack.

The blues album for this is-sue is actually more of a psyche-delic album. The album, “Tio Bitar,” is from the Swedish band Dungen. It’s one of the only recent albums that I have lis-tened to that has an overture. It’s pretty much the opening track that gives a feel for the whole album. With expansive sound-scapes and exquisite drumming, the whole album feels like it’s been ripped strait from 1969. With “Familj” and “Et Skall Att Trivas,” the band lays down some jazzy beats with some per-fect guitar work and vocals.

Also on the album the band does a cover of the Kate Bush song “Suspended in Gaffa.” The album overall is incredible and a must-have for anyone who likes indie music.

Next up is Saul Williams, a very talented poet, rapper and actor who has worked with such

other talents as Serj Tankian, Rick Rubin, Trent Reznor, Nas and even Allen Ginsberg. As a writer, he has written four books of poetry, three of which are still in print: “She,” “said the shot-gun to the head” and “The Dead Emcee Scrolls.” The best of these books is “said the shotgun to the head,” which describes a need for both internal and cul-tural spiritual change.

Williams received a bachelor of arts in philosophy at More-house College and then went on to receive a master’s degree

for acting at NYU. His first claim to fame was his role in the Sundance-Award-winning film “Slam,” in which he played the lead role and received a writing credit, probably mainly for the poems the character writes and reads in the film. He also will be in the upcoming film “New York, I Love You.” Williams has produced two albums of spoken-word versions of his poems, including “Saul Williams,” with a hip-hop focus and his usual degree of political commentary.

Another album, the title of which can’t be printed in this space, is even more politically focused and was done with the almost constant help of Trent Reznor. It was released similar to Radiohead’s “In Rainbows,” first online for free only. This is also the superior of the two albums with a distinct Reznor edge to it. Also many of the lyr-ics from the album were taken from his last book, “The Dead Emcee Scrolls.” He is truly an artist to be seen, read and heard.

6 FeaturesObama milestone inspires

December 2008Vol. VI, Issue II

Economy to affect college picks?

By Kenya MawusiAmerica has had a very

tumultuous history. Many people were brought over as slaves, some of them had land stolen from them, some of them are still be-ing looked at as unworthy, ungodly and disgusting for thinking they’re normal and the list goes on.

A few weeks ago, a milestone was reached: For the first time in the United States a black man was elected to be the president. Barack Obama and his fam-ily not only represent the hopes of American Africans in this nation, but they stand for every single person who believes that it is time that change happened in Ameri-ca. Personally, I have heard so many explanations as to why Obama was chosen over John McCain. Appar-ently, some people felt it’s “just because he’s black,” while others were wooed by his charismatic speeches, and swooned at the sight of him.

As for McCain, he did his part by drafting a female running mate and kissing up to his faithful legions of “Joe Six-Packs.” However, even this did not help him win the election.

So many thoughts scream to be released from my mouth each time I hear that the election is over.

By Lexi Glagola As the stock market contin-

ues to plummet, many families are wondering how it will affect the many facets of their life.

This year, like every year, the college counseling office is a flurry of activity, as it helps high school students, especially seniors, in the college process. “Is the financial crisis going to affect seniors’ college paths?” is a question on many people’s minds.

So far, the only change Director of College Counsel-ing Mrs. Heather O’Toole has seen is that more students are applying to in-state publics or small private colleges in order to keep more options open. Many students are looking into small,

in-state, private schools because they offer excellent merit-based scholarships and financial aid services.

Mrs. O’Toole said if the financial crisis is going to affect us, it will do so “more in the final decision-making, not the application process.” Right now, no one is sure how much of an influence the financial crisis is having on actual college deci-sions.

All of the college-bound seniors have been working very hard meeting deadlines, writing essays, taking ACTs and SATs over and over again. In other words, they are doing every-thing in their power to improve their chances of getting accept-ed. There is no telling how the

unpredictable market is going to affect whether or not seniors will go to their top choice.

The college counseling team including Mrs. O’Toole, Mr. ben Rous, and Mrs. Elaine McDer-mott has reiterated that there is no perfect or “right” path to col-lege. While the looming finan-cial crisis paints a bleak future, there is no doubt that if a student really wants to go to college they will get there, one way or another. The college counselors encourage students to spend lots of time applying for small schol-arships or applying to small col-leges with really good financial aid programs. In the end, it is not the college that defines what the student becomes; it is the character of the student.

I don’t have to wear an Obama button any more.

Really? Really. Honey, it’s just beginning. And, I love you guys, but my parents didn’t think they would live to see this reality -- scratch that -- my grand-parents didn’t foresee this happening in their lifetime. I think the fact that our parents and grandparents either grew up or were born into the age of segregation between blacks and whites, and can now feel a sense of pride for our country after eight years of George W. Bush is amazing.

I have never in my life seen so much excitement over a presidential election. You know what I’m talk-ing about: the close race between Obama and Hillary Clinton in the primaries, then the long campaign trail all over the world, all of the speeches and opinions, and

antics from the candidates that spread like wildfire (The Palin wink and “TVs in 1930s”). You can’t ignore that kind of stuff. Some call it stupidity, while others make fun and turn it into a performance (Thank you, Tina Fey). And, I know some of you stopped every-thing you were doing, ready to get in someone’s face when they said something you think or know is dead wrong.

Admit it: “If you think about it, the American peo-ple were able to elect a man with revolutionary ideas completely different from the current president,” says a fellow Compass staffer. “The U.S. will hopefully change many of their poli-cies when Obama takes of-fice. The U.S. had a revolu-tionary election without any violence and we have earned the respect of many other countries in the process.”

Now to be serious: yes Obama won the election, and I think it is the most gratifying feeling when you work so hard and put so much effort into getting your community involved, and succeeding. There was a lot of time put into these cam-paigns: so many emails, so many chat rooms and those television advertisements. But, I think it’s important everyone realizes that just

high school classes, they got the word out to the commu-nity by passing out fliers in the pouring rain.

The next step was a dress-down day to collect funds and cans for the feast. More than 750 dollars was raised from both the dress-down day and the dance.

Many clubs lent a hand. The Spanish Club provided delicious desserts, and Op-eration Smile and Key Club provided more than 150 turkeys. The actual feed-ing of the 2,000 happened on Nov 15. The event was a huge success; they fed more than 2,010 people. They might have fed even more than that, but they ran out of tickets. “The most satisfying thing was to see the students work and learning to give to their community,” said Dr. Maribel Gendreau, HRA’s community service coordi-nator. If you see any of the 100-plus HRA volunteers. be sure to thank them.

HRA students reach out, feed needy Continued from page 1

because Obama won doesn’t mean that things are going to magically become fine. America needs to stand to-gether, become more united and help our president- elect begin to help us. Only we know what we want and what we need; he’s just go-ing to help us get there.

Now in closing, I want to give a shout-out to all of you who voted for the first time, those that got out there and voted even though you could have done so eight years ago and those who contributed in any way. This election is a memorable moment for us all; we wit-nessed history in the mak-ing. I can’t even say it better than Michelle Obama, future first lady: “Wow. What a country we live in.”

By John QuarsteinOver the summer, one of the

greater movies of the past few years, “The Dark Knight,” was released. The film was nearly perfect in every way, particular-ly Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker.

The film had a shadow placed on it when Ledger died on Jan. 22 of a prescription drug overdose, six months before the film was released. This caused an extra degree of buzz to form around the movie and, even at that early date, spawned peti-tions for the actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award for his performance.

While I have seen the film and completely support those petitions, I found it ridiculous that the petitions were going around that early. I remember hearing some rumors about these petitions before his un-timely death at the release of the

very first image of Ledger as The Joker. While these images were quite provocative and al-luded to the film’s wildly differ-ent take on The Joker, they still did nothing to credit a nomina-tion bid so early.

While Ledger’s credibility as an actor had been growing substantially since the release of “Brokeback Mountain,” which earned the Australian an Acad-

emy Award nomination, and the more recent Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There,” he still had never won an Oscar for any of his performances. However, as I said, it would be shocking if the movie received no nominations in any category after being so successful, both critically and financially.

Ledger’s performance did stick out because of the sheer

quality of it as well as the media storm surrounding it. His ver-sion of The Joker was an incred-ible mix of anarchy, viciousness and nihilism. In every scene he was in, there were many great moments and lines attributed to The Joker.

However, recently word has been leaked that the film will be rereleased in January of next year at the height of Oscar nomination season. “The Dark Knight” will not be the final film featuring Ledger; before he died he had begun filming Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.” However unlike the Batman film, Ledger did not finish his performance and therefore his remaining scenes will be acted by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Far-rell.

7FEaturEsLedger’s performance deserving

December 2008Vol. VI, Issue II

Upcoming films ‘transform’ 2009 box officeBy Samuel Brody-Boyd and-

John QuarsteinIn the coming year, many

movies will come out as they do every year but certain ones stand out amidst the sea of sequels and remakes.

“Heart”: This movie will likely slip under the radar to a certain extent but the start-ing idea of the plot is enough to get me interested and keep an eye on it, with a girl finding a gun and list of names in her long-time boyfriend’s room and beginning to think the worst of their relationship and him.

“Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince,” “Trans-formers: Revenge of the Fall-en,” “Angels and Demons,” “Terminator: Salvation” and “Star Trek”: Do I really need to say why these films will do well financially? They’re some of film’s biggest series!

“Sherlock Holmes”: I haven’t been able to di0g up much about this film yet with a tentative release date of fall 2009, however Robert Downey Jr. signed on to play “The Great-est Detective” himself. Consid-ering his degree of excellence with his recent films and his way of subtle humor, this will be very interesting to watch.

“Where the Wild Things Are”: Directed by Spike Jonze, this adaptation of the famous children’s book has a very good chance at success.

“The Lovely Bones”: Peter Jackson’s first film since King Kong is different from his other works in that it seems to be more of a drama than action.

“Coraline”: This is a stop-motion animation film along the lines of “Nightmare Before Christmas,” with a story about a young girl who finds another world through the walls of her house and new parents waiting for her who turn out to be differ-ent then they seemed. I person-ally have high hopes for this one, which is based on a novel by Neil Gaiman.

“The Soloist”: Another Robert Downey Jr. movie, this one seems to have heart to it and will likely be nominated for awards unless it completely fails both financially and critically.

“Public Enemies”: This movie will likely be a fairly large success with both Chris-tian Bale and Johnny Depp in the leading roles in a story about the infamous John Dillinger and the FBI agent trying to catch him. Direction by Michael Mann also ensures a certain degree of success.

“Avatar”: Directed by James Cameron, this possibly is the most ambitious film of the year. It’s sure to gather atten-tion for its storyline of a man living his life remotely through an alien body. The film will use 3-D and CGI extensively and is sure to be worthwhile viewing experience.

“Watchmen”: After his success with the adaptation of another famous graphic novel “300,” Zach Snyder has moved on to a far more worldly and better-written graphic novel to bring to the screen. The book is an incredible experience that leaves the reader with many ethical questions about the characters and their actions. The movie will be mind-blowing for audiences and if the story is handled right could be put on the same page as “The Dark Knight” for comic-films. This also will be probably the first movie out for you to see, as it has a release date of March 6 at the time of writing.

While the first six months of 2009 are chock-full of exciting movies, the rest of the year is no slouch either.

Next is “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.” Based on the popular toy line, the movie features all the favorites like Snake-Eyes, Duke, Scarlett and Cobra Com-

mander. Seeing how well the first “Transformers” movie did, I think this one will make boatloads of money, because ap-parently people these days love seeing their favorite 80’s toy line/animated series updated for the big screen.

Finally, with no specific release date other than 2009, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is sure to be a huge hit at the box office. The story revolves around an immortal who leads a traveling theatre troupe and made a deal with the devil, who comes to col-lect. What’s going to send ticket sales through the roof is that it stars Heath Ledger in his final role, which he was was unable to complete before his death. In his place for the scenes he didn’t finish are Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The movie sounds intriguing, to say the least, but the chance to see all these A-list actors together in one movie is one opportunity nobody should miss.

With a lineup of films like this, we’re going to be saving every penny to see all the great movies coming out next year. Now, if anybody needs us, we’ll be sleeping outside of the near-est movie theatre.

8 FashionDecember 2008Vol. VI, Issue II

By Alexa AndersenCold weather: some people dread it, others embrace it. It is the time of the year when shorts are no longer practical and pants, boots and scarves are hauled out of the back of the closet. Winter fashion is generally thought of as pants, long sleeves and anything that will keep you warm. Because of the dress code at

Hampton Roads Academy there are some restrictions on what you can wear to stay warm, like hooded sweatshirts. I am here to guide you to stylish and accepted alternatives.

Summer style, Winter (fashion) wonderland

A winter staple for girls this season are leggings. You can take a dress or a skirt that may be meant for the summer and turn it into a winter outfit. The leggings give more coverage and keep your legs warm on those chilly winter days. There are a variety of colors and styles of leggings ranging from clas-sic black to patterns to magenta to other colors of the rainbow. An accessory that both boys and girls can wear is scarves.

Scarves can be worn with outerwear and with regular outfits. They keep your neck warm and can help dress up an outfit. I recommend wearing a brightly patterned or colored scarf with a simple shirt; use a scarf like jewelry to accent an outfit.

I think one of the best kept secrets of winter is the sweater vest. It is classy and very versatile. Sweater vests can be worn by both men and women and are always sophisti-cated. You can wear a vest to school with khakis or with a cute pair of jeans on the weekend. There are a number of differ-ent shirts you can wear under it, like a long-sleeved t-shirt, polo or a button-down shirt.

One of my favor-ite trends this winter are boots. Boots can be incorporated with almost every outfit. Pair them with skinny jeans, leggings or dress pants; you can never go wrong with a good pair. Popular boots include leather boots, Uggs and velvet boots with heels. They are practical for winter because they keep your feet warm. A tip for wearing boots with pants is to wear them with more fitted pair of pants or jeans, if you are going to tuck them in. If you are going to

wear pants with a flare, leave them un-tucked or be sure to tuck them in well so you don’t create a muffin effect. Another secret of winter is to embrace the Ugg boot. Even though they are not the most attractive shoe in the world, they are worth the comfort your feet feel.

The final fashion advice I am going to give an the alter-native to the hooded sweat-shirt. Though it is one of my favorite pieces of clothing, I have discovered other ways to accomplish the same goal: to stay warm. Fleece is the closest option. It is lightweight and keeps you warm, serving the same purpose as a hoodie without the rule-breaking hood. A second, dressier op-tion is a sweater. This could be a button-down sweater. It has thicker material than plain long sleeves, but is still stylish and serves its purpose.

I have chosen to share what I believe are good fashion tips for the winter. Obviously pants and coats are appropriate for the cold weather, but don’t be afraid to try something new while acces-sorizing or, instead of wearing tennis shoes, go wild and see if you can find a nice pair of boots. You also can dress up an outfit with funky jewelry or a scarf. Incorporate your personality into what you wear and stay warm!

Marshall Pierce is happy he choose to be fasionable and wear a sweater vest.

Cello Pierce is prepared for those rainy winter days with stylish rain boots.

Kate Donaldson shows off her fleece alternative to the hooded sweatshirt.

Robyn Becker rocking the perfect winter outfit.

Boots are the must-have item of the winter. They are so versatile everyone is sure to find a pair to fit his or her style.