academic dean is a struggle “because people see you in a certain role and you have to establish yourself in a very dif-ferent job.” Mr. Ball acknowledges that his biggest test has been to view school issues through the lens of a principal, rather than the lens of an academic Dean. He shares, “I find myself in conversations on the same topics about which I was in conversations last year but now having to think about them in

Vol. CXVII Num. 2Friday, June 10, 2011

I n s i d eThis Issue

SPORTSOPINIONEducation Reform, pg. 3 Alumni Speakers, pg. 5

Graduation Attendance, pg. 6

NEWS A&ERetirees, pg. 7

Valedictorian Speakers, pg. 8Summer Movie, pg. 9

Beatstock, pg. 12Best Class IV Talks, pg. 12

Summer Plans, pg. 13

Best Sports Moments, pg. 14Athlete of the Year, pg. 14

Spring Season Recap, pg. 15-17

Today, Milton Academy welcomed back novelist Reif Larsen (’98) to speak about his own experiences in hope of lending everyone some helpful advice. At a mere thirty-one years of age, Mr. Larsen has achieved many

laudable accomplishments and wishes to impart the wisdom he has gained from these experiences to the class of 2011. Primarily, Mr. Larsen is a writer. Last year, he published his first book, The Selected Works of T.S. Spiv-et, a critically acclaimed novel widely admired for its use of drawings and fig-ures in the margins. The book received praise from Vanity Fair and was called “a treasure” by author Stephen King. The novel follows a twelve-year-old boy living in Butte, Montana on a thrilling journey east towards New York City, where he goes to accept a prize for his mapmaking. The boy, ac-cording to Larsen, is not based on the author, but there are still some similari-ties between the author and the charac-ter he created. Larsen first fell in love with the “Wild West” as a young boy when he “went on a couple river trips in Idaho” at the age of twelve. Larsen re-members, “When you’re on a seven or eight day river trip, your whole body starts to synchronize with the pace of

the river. You become pretty in tune with the river, and for an eastern kid like me, it kind of blew my head open.” Years later, Larsen returned to the western United States. In Montana this time, he became obsessed “with cowboys and why we have been so saturated with them in our culture for such a long time, and why sometimes our presidents try to be them.” Through his experiences in the West, Larsen found his muse. “It wasn’t until really a month or two into writing it that I really found the voice of the main character and really figured out he was 12,” said Larsen. The story-teller “started off as a 50 year old drunk narrating the book in retrospect from a French prison.” After “burning” the original story, Larsen hit his stride. When the manuscript was nearly complete, he came upon his original idea to include illustrations. After that, everything fell in place and the publishers came knocking on his door. Like he had done with the il-lustrations, Larsen was also able to in-

novate on the technological front with an interactive website to accompany The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. He believes that “every book nowadays needs some website or web presence” and he “think[s] that’s an interesting challenge,” for people who

Ben Scharfstein and Seth AugustEditor-in-Chief, Senior Editor

Novelist and Milton Alumnus Reif Larsen, ’98, Addresses Seniors at Graduation

Elliott Holt

Reif Larsen

At the beginning of the academic year, David Ball became Milton Academy’s Upper School Principal. From the moment he accepted the position in the spring of 2010, Mr. Ball has welcomed the role and has as-sumed the responsibility with thought-fulness, creativity, and care. While Mr. Ball has faced some challenges, students, faculty, Mr. Bloom and Mr. Bland share that his first year has been a resounding success. After graduating from Milton, Mr. Ball obtained an A.B. in history from Princeton University and an A.M. in history from Duke University. He then began teaching at Montgomery Academy in Montgom-ery, Alabama. He returned to Milton in 1999 and joined the History De-partment, while also continuing his love for public speaking as the Debate Team coach. From 2005-2010, Mr. Ball served as the Milton Academy Academic Dean. In adjusting to his new posi-tion, Mr. Ball’s experience at Milton Academy has been rewarding yet chal-lenging at times. Mr. Bland comments that an internal move to principal from

Gina StarfieldEditor-in-Chief

Mr. Ball Finishes a Successful First Full Year as Upper School Principal

Continued on page 9

Akanshu SrivastavNews Writer

Cum Laude Awards

Continued on page 9

different ways.” Yet, Mr. Ball has em-braced the challenge and his vast ex-perience at Milton has enabled him to evaluate issues from multiple perspec-tives in order to reach the best possible solutions. Mr. Bland comments that, al-though establishing oneself in a new role in the same institution can be dif-ficult, Mr. Ball’s transition has “been just natural.” Mr. Bland adds, “It feels like

Continued on page 8

On Tuesday, May 31st, thirty-four stu-dents gathered in Straus Library to col-lectively celebrate their high academic achievements. In a school whose stu-dents often have a reputation for fierce academic competition, these thirty-four represent the highest caliber of academic achievement. This extraordinary gathering of individuals and the unveiling of the plaque with their names in Cox Library cement them into the highest academic fraternity amongst high school stu-dents: The Cum Laude Society. The Cum Laude Society is a na-tionwide academic fraternity amongst high school students, modeled after the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity in the uni-versity system. Their dictum, in Greek, is to celebrate “Areté, Diké, Timé” or in English, “Excellence, Justice, and Honor.” Every spring, seniors with aca-demic excellence receive Cum Laude based on their marks in Class III, II, and the first semester of Class I. A Class II student with the highest grades also receives an award. It stipulates that no more than

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet

The cover of The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet

Graduation Issue

McKean Tompkins/TMM

Mr. Ball looking pensive at his desk

June 10, 2011 | Page 2 The Milton MeasureEditorial

News/FeatureRachael Allen ‘14

Danielle Cahoon ‘13Rebecca Chernick ‘14

Mallika Iyer ‘13Kitty Lan ‘13

Akanshu Srivastav ‘12Lisa Zhou ‘13

OpinionNIcole Acheampong ‘13

Ilve Bayturk ‘14Shannon Peters ‘13Nicole Rufus ‘12

Mykayla Sandler ‘14Charles Wang ‘13

Liam White

SportsJoshua Ellis ‘13

Jared Friedberg ‘12Tetsuhiro Higuchi ‘12Meghan Kelleher ‘12

Edward Nwachuku ‘13Joshua Pomper ‘13

Ari Spilo ‘13James Wang ‘12

A&E Olivia Atwood ‘13

Benjamin Bosworth ‘13Elana Golub ‘14

Alexander Lee ‘13Louisa Moore ‘14

Managing EditorWatson Leffel ‘12

Layout EditorHenry Arndt ‘12

Copy EditorSiddharth Raju ‘12

Senior EditorsSeth August ‘12

Nathan Daniel ‘12Matthew Lebovitz ‘12Stewart Pollock ‘12

*

Amanda Beaudoin ‘13 and Daniel Kim ‘13, News/Feature EditorsKatherine Ballinger ‘12 and Nelson Barrette ‘13, Opinion Editors

Louis McWilliams ‘12 and Catherine Kulke, A&E EditorJesse Pagliuca ‘12 and Tucker Hamlin ‘13, Sports Editors

McKean Tompkins ‘12 and Elisabeth Perold ‘12, Photo EditorsBrandon Daly ‘12 and Christian Castillo ‘12 Humor Writers

*

Larry Pollans, Faculty Advisor

The Mil ton M E A S U R Eest. 1894

Editors-in-ChiefBenjamin Scharfstein ‘12 and Gina Starfield ‘12

Photography Alexandra Aulum Pederson ‘13

Michaela Carey ‘12Alexander King ‘13

Jenna LeeGrace Li ‘13

Victoria Parker ‘14

Electronic Copies of The Milton Measure

If you would like to receive copies of The Measure via email, please send your email adress to

Benjamin Scharfstein or Gina Starfield at:benjamin_scharfstein12@milton.edu OR gina_starfield12@milton.edu

Letters to the Editors

Please either email our editors or mail to:The Milton Measure

170 Centre StreetMilton, MA 02186

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

CorrectionIn the Milton Measure Vol CXVII num. 1 the article titled “Milton Academy’s First Year Faculty” stated that Matthew Simonson earned “his Bachelors of Arts in math (concentrated on international studies)” from Williams College. We would like to clarify that Simonson graduated with a minor in international stud-ies and a major in math. In addition, Simonson did not “coach track and cross-country…at Williams” but rather he was a track and field athlete while studying at Williams College. We apologize for our mistake.

Please send all corrections to the corrections@miltonmeasure.org

Founded in 1798, Milton Academy is, by its very nature, a school rich in history. We pride ourselves on thirty-year faculty members, students of former students, and century-old build-ings. Yet, for all our history, we lack the fundamental traditions that have previously defined the character of our institution. In recent years, we have witnessed the continued decline of numerous Milton traditions. The end of some traditions, from a student’s perspective, has been unclear and controver-sial. Many feel that, in the past few years, the school has discon-tinued seemingly harmless, albeit sometimes disruptive, school traditions, such as the beloved senior dog day, senior skip day, unapproved senior pranks, and senior drive by. While many are quick to blame strict school administra-tors for the abolition of age-old traditions, the monochromatic filter of nostalgia with which we observe the past skews our judgment. We often forget why administrators, protecting the health and safety of students, have stopped these traditions. The Change-Over assembly—when class leadership is passed on to the rising seniors—was ended for several years after a violent Boarder vs. Day Student brawl broke out in the Change-Over of 2007. Senior Skip Day was canceled after much of the senior class chose to spend their day off at a party in Maine. Other traditions simply became outdated and unneces-sary. Our From the Archives article (Page 3) illustrates one such tradition—separate graduations for male and female students—that no longer exists. There has always been justification—sometimes petty, sometimes valid—to disallow prior traditions. Yet, by disman-tling senior traditions in an attempt to parallel society’s move-ment towards political correctness and avoidance of legal liabil-ity, we have stripped Milton of much of its personality. We, by no means, suggest that Milton should reinstate old traditions simply for the sake of nostalgia. Two years ago, the head monitors tried to restore the once beloved Space Day as part of spirit week with little success; even though Space Day was one of the most anticipated days during the time of teachers such as Mr. Ball and Mr. Heard, students simply did not partici-pate with enthusiasm. In the past few years, students have started new tradi-tions that meet the wants of students and needs of the school. Spirit Week, the week leading up to Nobles Day where students dress up in different themed clothing each day, promotes friend-ly inter-class competition and breaks up the monotony of the school day. Gotcha, another beloved school wide competition, achieves these same goals. If we cooperate with the administration, we can re-culti-vate Milton’s rich history and create new traditions of our own. Gotcha and Spirit Week provide an example of new, unique, and organic traditions, which are, perhaps, more tailored to Milton than simply stereotypical senior privileges. In a few years, dying enthusiasm, overeager students, or changing societal values could bring about the demise of these traditions. Today, however, we, the students of Milton Acad-emy, must carry on these traditions with pride and enthusiasm so we can recover the personality of Milton integral to the atmo-sphere and character of the school.

Milton Academy Tradition

June 10, 2011 | Page 3The Milton Measure Op-Ed

Dear Editor, I would like to comment on Milton’s practice of separate graduations for the Boys’ and Girls’ schools. Frankly, I find this somewhat baffling. At a school where co-education is supposedly a reality in almost all phases of social and academic life, it seems a curious anachronism to conduct two different ceremonies on two different days. Many students I have talked with here and at other schools—both public and private—are stunned that such a policy could still exist. Separate graduation is a misguided idea—an idea that has become so rigidly built into the system that the community tends to take it for granted. What is worse, an attitude has developed that twin ceremonies somehow maintain the identity and uniqueness of each school. In reality, I think this maintains a gap in school life that can only have a negative effect on total campus integration. Graduation is an occasion when the entire class should be brought together to share in something that is a really special experience for each senior. Student pressure was enough to implement a visiting privileges rule: I am confident that with similar support we can expect action on this issue as well.Sincerely,David Ajemian

From the Archives

1979: A Letter to the Editor

1979

In 1979, the Milton Academy boys and girls upper schools still had seperate graduations

On May 24, 2011, the New Jersey Su-preme Court ruled in a 3-2 decision that the State Legislature had reneged on its constitutional obligations by cut-ting funding for 31 urban school dis-tricts. The court’s solution: the state must increase spending on education in those districts by $500 million. This case has generated renewed interest in the condition of the American educa-tion system. Unfortunately, the court’s or-der, like so many other attempts at edu-cation reform in the United States, is a doomed stopgap measure. The real solution to the growing problems in the American education system—and all of the other issues which stem from these problems—has more to do with the way we allocate money to schools, and less to do with changes to our sys-tem of funding. The myriad of problems with public education in the United States should be clear. The results of the 2010 PISA report, a key barometer for the success of a country’s educational sys-tem, put the American students 14th out of 34 nations’ children in reading, 17th in science, and 24th in math. In other words, most other developed countries are outpacing the United States in aca-demic subjects key to an individual’s

and a nation’s success in the 21st cen-tury. More than that, the social effects of America’s education stagnation can be extreme, particularly for minority communities. In her 2010 book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, lawyer and activist Michelle Alexander cites several dis-turbing statistics on crime and its social effects, including the following: “A black child born today is less likely to be raised by both parents than a black child born during slavery... [also], if you take into account prison-ers, a large majority of African Ameri-can men in some urban areas have been labeled felons for life. (In the Chicago area, the figure is nearly 80 %.)....They can be denied the right to vote...and... access to education.” The implications of the pov-erty and lack of education in disadvan-taged communities are immense: stud-ies from the University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty have shown empirical links between the in-come and supportiveness of a child’s family and that child’s performance in school. In the real world, such academic considerations simply make sense; children whose families are without basic human necessities have far too much on their plate to perform well academically. But the relative poverty of cer-

tain children in certain, often urban, areas has another, even more nefarious effect on their quality of education. In the United States, most schools are paid for by local property taxes. Indeed, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, “...nearly half of all property tax revenue [is] used for public elementary and secondary edu-cation.” This system of funding has what should be an obvious flaw: poor communities can pay far less prop-erty taxes than rich ones, and so have less money for school funding. At this point, the State steps in for poor dis-tricts; thus, state and local revenue contributes to 92% of public education spending in the U.S. Unfortunately, cash-strapped states under governors like New Jer-sey’s tax-averse Chris Christie are making deep cuts to local education funding, leaving poor districts to fend for themselves. And where is the federal govern-ment? It’s providing 8% of the funding for public education, mostly for spe-cial needs students. In short, the Feds are not helping poor districts pay for education comparable to that of their rich neighbors, hence the large socio-economic and racial gaps in academic achievement from coast to coast. The main difference between the U.S. system and that of other de-veloped nations is where the money

comes from. In most European nations, regional governments are in charge of the particulars of education, but the central government foots the bill. The result: a (usually) more equitable dis-tribution of government funds, and a better education for everyone. The troubled experience of the United States’ locally funded schools highlights the need for a move to a more centralized system of educational funding. In such a system, certain taxes earmarked for education would be col-lected in Washington, and then distrib-uted to school districts based on the needs of their students. State and Local governments should not lose all power; occasion-ally, specific local needs require spe-cific local responses. But overall, an improved American education system would see most funding come from the Federal government. A system like the one described above would certainly not alleviate all of the problems of the American edu-cation system; issues like teacher inde-pendence, curriculum design, diversity, and others will still need to be tackled. In sum however, a more streamlined and logical method of funding Amer-ica’s public schools will go a long way towards creating a more educated, more motivated, and ultimately more egalitarian society.

Education Reform: A New Idea for an Old Issue

Nelson BaretteSection Editor

June 10, 2011 | Page 4 The Milton MeasureOpinion

Memorial Day reminds us to respect the dreadful power of war, and the harsh consequences of its use. Certain-ly, we have to admire the bravery of the men and women of the United States who put their country before their own lives. Who cannot help but think highly of someone brave and strong enough to leave their families and be thrown into the middle of a battle be-tween militaries, cultures, egos, and tempers! However, we must also re-member that war has consequences. In seconds, beautiful, lively human beings become corpses lying on the ground, covered with blood and mud. The families of the 4,454 Americans who lost their lives fighting, and the families of the thousands more wounded and emotionally scarred sol-diers returning from Iraq can only ask questions: Why did my loved one have to die? Why did the U.S. go to war? Is the war worth the consequences? In truth, the War in Iraq has be-come something it was never supposed to be. When former president George W. Bush declared war, he aimed to de-stroy supposed weapons of mass de-struction that never actually existed.

This act of disempowerment, he felt, would make a statement about America’s stand against terrorism. On March 20th, 2003, the war began. More than eight years later, no one has found the weapons. In fact, former Sergeant Camilo Mejia, who in 2004 went to prison for refusing to be redeployed, boldly declared that he, “realized that none of the reasons we were told about why we were in Iraq

turned out to be true. There were no weapons of mass destruction. There was no link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.” He continued, “We weren’t helping the Iraqi people and the Iraqi people didn’t want us there. We weren’t preventing terrorism or making Ameri-cans safer. I couldn’t find a single good reason for having been there, for hav-ing shot at people and been shot at.” People should not die for a cause that helps no one. A war once referred to as the principle theatre

of the broader War on Terrorism, has since adopted the name Operation Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. had to find a new way to explain why we are invading another country, causing the deaths of innocent civilians, and continuing a costly and brutal war 6,000 miles away from home. We have tirelessly promoted our capture and execution of Saddam Hus-sein as a turning point in the conflict.

The Iraqi people had good reason to hate a government that censored out-side information, limited personal free-dom, and caused as many as 200,000 deaths of its own people. However, in order to justify our own actions, we quietly disre-garded the people who recognized that Hussein used Iraq’s oil resources to make his nation wealthier, created campaigns to make more of his people literate, and ruled a country that lacked the wrenching religious conflicts and insidious terrorism groups surrounding

nations struggled to deal with. The United States has tried to install a democratic government in Iraq run by the people. Why then are we so hesitant to let the Iraqis run their new government independently? Memorial Day reminds us of the people who died fighting for a cause. Part of the reason it has taken so long for us to pull out of Iraq is that our original cause—to eliminate weapons of mass destruction—was never real, and so our present goals are built on a foundation of sand. Despite our questionable ac-tions to this point, we have a chance to better a now unstable nation, even if their instability is our fault. For me, it is simply an issue of pride. With our country’s power, size, and success, Americans have reason to think that, as long as we are in control, we can make things better. At some point, we need to let someone else show that they are ready to take responsibility for their coun-try. 4,454 dead soldiers should know that the cause they fought for not only demonstrated the strength of their own nation, but also truly helped the people of another nation prepare to rule them-selves.

Reflection on Memorial Day and the War in IraqLiam White

Opinion Writer

“Part of the reason it has taken so long for us to pull out of Iraq is that our original

cause—to eliminate weapons of mass destruction—was never real”

During the 2008 presidential cam-paign, first-term Alaska Governor Sar-ah Palin gained political stardom and notoriety after John McCain chose her as his running mate. In November, after McCain lost the presidential election, an ac-tive “Draft Palin” movement emerged. Ever since the egression of the move-ment, the American people, especially the American media, have asked: Can Sarah Palin win the 2012 GOP Nomi-nation? It is now 2011 and with the 2012 presidential election on the hori-zon Sarah Palin has already expressed some interest in running for the presi-dency of the United States. On February 6th 2010, Fox News asked Palin if she would be run-ning in next year’s presidential elec-tions and she replied, “I would be will-ing to if I believe that it is right for the country.” She then sparked even more rumors on her candidacy by respond-ing to a similar question, stating, “It’s time that a woman is president of the United States of America.” The odds of Palin declaring her candidacy are very likely, but the more important question is whether or not Ms. Palin stands any real chance of winning the GOP nomination. The short answer: no. Republican candidate from the previous presidential race: Mitt Rom-

ney, former Massachusetts Governor, will compete with the former Alaskan Governor for the nomination. In the 2008 elections, Romney lost the GOP nomination to Senator John McCain in 2008. In a poll last month, Palin had the second highest unfavorable ratings in comparison with other condidates tested. Another poll found that 62% of Americans said they would definitely not vote for Palin. If Palin hopes to even be considered a serious candi-date she will have to find a way around these dismal statistics. On the other hand, top Repub-lican strategists are worried that, be-cause of her ability to woo the public, Palin may end up winning the Republi-can nomination, ultimately causing the

GOP to lose the presidential election. There is some cause to be concerned, as Palin has attracted significant atten-tion from the media and has made pub-lic appearances in many states. The public, however, will not allow Sarah Palin to run this country. For her to even be considered a poten-tial candidate for the presidency, there are many things that she will have to learn and change. First of all, Sarah Palin needs to become more knowledgeable about policies. Two and a half years have passed since the last presidential elec-tion allowing Palin ample time educate herself about America’s political sys-tem, yet she has failed to do so. While she is a smart woman and served very well as Alaska’s gov-

ernor, she is unprepared to assume the rule of the United States President due to her lack of knowledge about world history and foreign relations. Palin will have to spend time studying the political leaders of every foreign country before she gains le-gitimacy. Palin will also have to learn how to represent our country without embarrassing herself. Some may recall her inter-view with CBS’s Katie Couric where she stumbled through many of her an-swers. Steve Schmidt, McCain’s senior campaign strategist and advisor, later reflected on the interview, calling it the “the most consequential interview from a negative perspective that a candidate for national office has gone through.” I predict Sarah Palin will not win the GOP nomination, let alone the presidential election. She has made too many public gaffes that have ruined her image and legitimacy as a poten-tial world leader. She lacks the basic knowledge that a president needs to interact with foreign countries and deal with global issues. The best move for Sarah Palin would be to save herself from the guar-anteed loss to Obama during the 2012 election and try again in 2016. Maybe in 5 years she will have improved her reputation and will be a more quali-fied candidate for the presidency of the United States of America. Only time will tell whether Palin can keep her high position in the nation’s spotlight 2016.

Will Sarah Palin be Able to Take the 2012 Elections?Charles Wang Opinion Writer

Flickr user sskennel /Used via CCL

Sarah Palin smiles for the press

June 10, 2011 | Page 5The Milton Measure Opinion

Erika Mobley graduated from Milton in 1986; Peter Scoblic graduated 1992; and now, Reif Larsen, Milton Academy Class of 1998. These last three gradu-ation speakers illustrate a recent trend. For several years now, the school’s graduation speakers have been exclu-sively Milton alumni. Although there are valid reasons for this tradition, there is also something to be said for allowing non-alumni to speak as well. For every successful, inspi-rational, and funny Milton graduate, there are literally thousands of others who never attended the academy, who could still captivate the audience just as well, if not better. For this reason, some in the community wish to hear the opinions of these speakers at an event as momentous as graduation. Famous

and successful non-alums, such as Bill Clinton, have been some of the most popular and well-remembered com-mencement speakers. However, for all that these people possess in terms of personal ex-perience, they lack a true understand-ing of Milton students’ experiences and expectations. Although bringing in speakers who did not attend Milton in-troduces a plethora of different voices, Milton alumni offer students a more direct view of what life after Milton Academy is like. A Milton alumnus or alumna knows the school well and can better connect to the graduating class. Ms. Everett, Director of the Communica-tions office, described this connec-tion quite clearly when she said of the alumni, “They know what the kids have been through; they know what the culture is like – they have a common bond. So, they start in the same place.” Although the Alumni Rela-tions office handles much of the gradu-ation planning, picking a speaker is a privilege given to the students. A group of seniors choose between Pulitzer-prize winning authors, political lead-ers, and artists of all stripes. Previously, Milton Academy hosted a series of speakers who were not in any way a part of the Milton bubble. However, seniors embarked on a new path when they picked David Lindsay-Abaire, Class of ‘88, as their graduation speaker in 2002.

This choice began a tradition that continues today. Students at the time reported on how refreshing it was to hear from a Milton alumnus. They saw on the podium not a famous but unconnected speaker meant to moti-vate; rather, they saw someone who had started in the same way that they had, who had then managed to make a name for them self. They saw tangible goals and personal inspiration with a speaker who had a real bond with the Academy. A speaker who is in no way connected to Milton may still deliver an amazing, encouraging speech. Nev-ertheless, there is something to be said for someone who understands, imme-diately, the balance of humor, honesty, and celebration that our seniors crave on Graduation Day. Last year, Peter Scoblic spoke to the school about his own incidents – and injuries – on Milton’s quad years ago, the very same quad where students sat that day, citing with witty candor the various locations of his un-fortunate accidents. Could a non-Milton speaker entertain the audience? Most likely. But in the end, these speakers would lack the connection that makes a grad-uation speaker great. Seniors look for someone who has walked in their shoes and Milton alumni are the per-fect source.

Alumni Graduation Speakers Add a Unique Perspective

Nicole AcheampongOpinion Writer

Students feel more connected to alumni speakers

CREDIT

CAPTION

Shortly following the death of Osama Bin Laden, I was browsing CNN.com, as I often do before classes. The front page contained the usual mix of important world affairs and pointless celebrity blather (I was somewhat disturbed to see “Justin Beiber’s new look” was trending above “Libyan Crisis”), and I was about to click away when I saw, in bright blue letters, “Death of the Birthers and Birth of the Deathers”. The article was a short piece, detailing the appar-ent rise of a new group of conspiracy theorists who believed that Osama bin Laden hadn’t been killed on May 2nd, and that the U.S. government was actu-ally perpetrating a massive conspiracy to hide the truth that he had either died several years ago, or that he remained at large. This was only a few days af-ter President Obama released his long form birth certificate, presumably to put aside any lingering doubts that he had been born in the U.S. Our coun-try lasted a grand total of one week without feeling the need to accuse the government of perpetrating a massive cover up. That is, if you don’t count the government faking the moon land-ings, the truth behind JFK’s assassina-tion, the secret communist conspiracy behind water fluoridation, 9/11 or, if

you believe English author and activist David Icke, alien lizards who control the government and are trying to use humans as food (sadly, I am not mak-ing this guy up. Google him). It would be easier to dismiss such outlandish speculation as the rav-ings of a few lunatics, were it not for the seemingly wide array of public fig-ures who throw their support behind these beliefs. Donald Trump’s claims about Obama’s birthplace, combined with his high profile efforts to seek the GOP nomination for the presidency, seemed to add a certain amount of le-gitimacy to what was otherwise a non-sensical argument. Of course, it didn’t seem to matter that Mr. Trump hadn’t the slightest shred of evidence to back him up. After all, the “Birthers” argue, the lack of evidence only furthers their ar-gument that there is a cover up by the government. Such outlandish claims are not endorsed only by those on the right, and some of the worst conspira-cy theories originate from the far other

end of the political spectrum. Since 9/11, many have claimed that the Bush administration demol-ished the Twin Towers and fired cruise missiles at the Pentagon, in order to garner support for an invasion of Iraq. Needless to say, there are many, many problems with the evi-dence or lack thereof which conspiracy theorists’ use to garnish their claims. However, the most trouble-some aspect of these theories is not their claims, but the fact that far too many people subscribe to them. A re-cent poll found that nearly a quarter of Republican voters belief that President Obama was not born in the United States. There are several key reasons for the continued popularity of fringe conspiracy theories. Part of the problem is people like Mr. Trump, whose career depends on how much media attention he can get, have no limitations on what they can say. While Mr. Trump is entitled to him opinions, the media seems to have forgotten that they are entitled to

ignore him. “The Donald” is not the only offender. In 2006, Director Spike Lee, on Bill Maher’s program Real Time, declared that the federal government had deliberately blown up the levee’s surrounding New Orleans during Hur-ricane Katrina. To support this view-point, he cited the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment, a 1947 test by the U.S. government on a small rural black town in Tuskegee Alabama, in which scientists deliberately withheld medi-cal treatment on victims of the disease to measure its effects. Mr. Lee argued that because of incidents such as Tuskegee, the government couldn’t be trusted not to withhold information from the people. This sort of argument relies on logical fallacies, as well as people’s inherent mistrust of government to work, how-ever. Another root of the problem is the fact that most people seem to hold the government in such low re-gard. The constant stream of scandals, gaffes, and partisan bickering seems to lend itself well to an atmosphere in which our country’s leaders, of both sides, are often seen as incompetent at best, and downright malicious at worst.

As a result, we, the citizens, are more willing to believe stories of secretive or villainous behavior amongst our po-litical elite. The media has only made

The Conspiracy of the Conspiracies: Why do Americans Love to Mistrust Everything?Stewart Pollock

Senior Editor

Though Milton Academy is known for its rigorous academics and bright stu-dents, we do not in fact choose vale-dictorians based on class rank. Instead, every year, the graduation speakers are elected by their peers. Although Milton does not hon-or the two highest achieving students with the opportunity to speak, we do have methods of honoring high achiev-ing students. Every year, 10-15% of the senior class is inducted into the Cum Laude society. Additionally, the Thursday before graduation features an award ceremony that honors all dif-ferent types of academic and extracur-ricular accomplishments. Having the senior class vote for its graduation speakers is a tradition Milton should continue. Choosing its own graduation speakers means being able to have the most memorable, al-beit not necessarily the highest achiev-ing, students speak at the graduation ceremony. In a school filled with rules and bureaucracy, electing their own speak-ers gives seniors the freedom to choose two talented classmates to represent the diversity of their class during the graduation ceremony. The fact that Milton Academy does not have academic valedictorians or announced class rankings maintains the school’s goal of being accepting of students with unique and diverse tal-ents, not just those who excel inside the classroom.

Choosing our Valedictorians

Ilve BayturkOpinion Writer

“The most troublesome aspect of these the-ories is not their claims, but the fact that far

too many people subscribe to them”

Continued on page 6

June 10, 2011 | Page 6 The Milton MeasureOpinion

Graduation is a special time of year, commemorating the end of one seg-

ment of our lives while introducing us to another. We all anticipate our own graduations—albeit some far more eagerly than others. Graduation is es-pecially important at Milton because for most of us this school is our life. Half of us live here, and the rest of us might as well live here too. We spend so much time at Milton that we’re able to create relationships that are substan-tial and meaningful. Graduation is a time when we can celebrate our common experienc-es and congratulate other students on their achievements. Some may argue that not everyone forges a bond worth celebrating with people in the graduat-ing class, and ask why should they be forced to go to the graduation ceremo-ny? However, I believe attendance at graduation should remain required by all classes because it is a tradition, and

traditions help define Milton Academy. I will admit there have been times when I was bored to tears at graduation, but I still would not miss it for the world. Because Milton is such a small school, the graduating class truly does influence the lives of the younger stu-dents at Milton. Given our extremely diverse backgrounds—different states, countries, grades—it is surprising how easily Milton students can form con-nections. Katherine Bator (I), when asked about why graduation is re-quired, said “the reasoning for it is that it’s a way to show support for the grad-uating class. The tradition of a required graduation represents everything that Milton embodies. Milton is not a place which stresses the importance of an

individual; rather, we emphasize the community. Graduation is a chance for younger student to finally hear the opinions of two members of the student body, who aren’t the head-monitors or the class counselors. The advice of the two elected valedictorian represents the views of the graduating grade in a way that students with leadership posi-tions cannot. I will never forget my fresh-men year when a senior that I barely knew told me that she was “really glad that she had met me.” As a freshmen, that was amazing for me and since then it has been my goal to get to know younger Milton students. I love the idea that when I graduate from this place move on to a much larger world, there will be over 600 other students celebrating the moment with me.

As We Go On: All Students Required to attend Graduation Should StayNicole Rufus

Opinion Writer

On May 18th, 2011, Dominique Strauss Kahn, chief of the International Mon-etary Fund (IMF), resigned from his position, setting off a series of events across Europe which threatened the already unstable economies of many nations. The IMF helps negotiate be-tween nations, persuading the more successful to aid those struggling eco-nomically. Recently, the IMF has also been heavily involved with Europe’s economic crisis and the unified effort to provide relief to those nations af-fected. Without Strauss-Kahn, the mastermind behind the IMF, aid to struggling European nations will be delayed until a new leader is selected. In response, Prime Minister George Papandreou of Greece ac-knowledged that his country needs more outside help than anticipated, the S&P 500 warned that Italy could soon face a debt downgrade, Fitch Ratings announced the same of Belgium and stock markets in France, Germany, England, and the U.S. fell sharply. The question many Americans have in response to these recent events is: how will this affect me? America has its own domestic economic prob-

lems: huge government debt and high unemployment rates, amongst other issues. So, should we care about eco-nomic problems 3,000 miles away? The answer is yes. We simply cannot afford not to. Americans should be concerned with the recent economic crises in Eu-rope because it is a warning of what could become of America. Our eco-nomic situation, though much less dra-matic, is not all that different from that

of Greece. The problem in Greece is that the government that the people envi-sion is more expensive than what they are willing to pay for. Greek people expect politicians to be able to build a government according to their de-mands without having to pay thenecessary costs. Similarly, in America, the people want healthcare, social security, good schools, a strong army, etc., yet also want to cut taxes. It is impossible for a government to fund all of the pro-grams demanded by the people without

taking more of their money. If we con-tinue to demand that the government provide all of these services without raising taxes, America could poten-tially face the same crisis that Greek government dealing with now. Another reason the United States should be concerned with Eu-rope’s debt crises is because our cur-rent economy is, and always has been, dependent on the economies of nations around the world.

If economies across Europe decline further, the people will not have enough money to spend on American products meaning that money from sales overseas would diminish. Many people do not realize how interdepen-dent economies today are; however, the economic decline in Europe will directly affect our economy, causing America to suffer as well. Finally, the debt crises in Europe affect Americans because of the con-tagiousness of fear. When Americans see the effects of the recent events in Europe and realize that the U.S. is not

immune to these problems, they will begin to worry about their own money. People will lose even more trust in America’s economy and gov-ernment and will stop lending money to the banks. Though individually it makes sense to preserve your own money, this protectionist response will only hurt our economy further, creating a cycle of collapse. Rash attempts to avoid a debt crisis here in the U.S. are more likely to cause an economic crash than help the situation. For this reason, Americans should care greatly about the debt cri-ses in Europe. Our economy is depen-dent on the European economy, mean-ing that if Europe crashes, America will be next in line. Most importantly, Americans should worry because our current situ-ation is not much better than that of Greece. Though we are not facing the same magnitude of economic trou-ble as Greece is today, we very eas-ily could be tomorrow. In light of the recent events in Europe, the United States government needs to create a rigid plan to help us avoid these prob-lems, maintain a steady economy and a plan towards reducing debt.

Why America Should Care About the European Debt Crisis?Kate BallingerOpinion Editor

“Should we care about economic problems 3,000 miles away? The answer is yes.

We simply cannot afford not to.”

things worse, by continually attempt-ing to drum up ratings by focusing on fringe theories, instead of focusing on more mundane, but more important issues. This all perpetuates a cycle in which media attention feeds legiti-macy, and legitimacy feeds media at-tention. However, this problem strikes deeper than this. It is not just because of the media that we are inclined to pay heed to conspiracy theories. There is almost something comforting about believing that the government, or busi-

ness, or some imagined organization, is actually all powerful. It is easier than confronting the chaos and violence which we constantly see in the world. There is something inherently depressing about acknowledging that nature can simply wipe away entire cit-ies, or that religious fanatics from far away countries can bring the fruits of our prosperity down around us, while our government tries and fails to bring meaningful aid. Many people find comfort in the belief that somebody knows what they are doing.

Because the motivations be-hind conspiracy theories are so fun-damental to the human condition, we really can’t do anything to stop them. Some people really won’t be satisfied, no matter how overwhelming the evi-dence is. The once group which really can do something about these conspir-acy theories is the media. By focusing so much on these fringe movements, the media gives them an undeserved platform on which to preach their ideas. The media should do a better

job of filtering through their stories, and only report on a conspiracy if it has some evidence behind it, and is not merely the speculation of public figures. Hearsay and accusations do not make a valid case for any position. Hopefully the media will remember its civic duty, and put real stories ahead of unfounded and downright silly con-spiracies.

Conspiracy of ConspiraciesContinued from page 6

June 10, 2011 | Page 7The Milton Measure News

After 28 years of intensive involvement in the Milton community, beloved his-tory teacher Ms. Wade retires to her house in Vermont, where she will teach spring classes at the Mountain School. Ms. Wade’s departure is a great loss for the history department and Milton Academy as a whole. In a recent in-terview with the Milton Measure, Ms. Wade shared some of her thoughts on leaving the Academy. When asked about her most memorable experiences at Milton, Ms. Wade responded with memories of her students. “I have a lot of memorable students and when I think back all their faces are there and when I run into peo-ple I can almost always remember ex-actly what chair they sat in and some-times I can remember what they wrote their research paper on.” Ms. Wade shared. Ms. Wade also explained that she has stayed at Milton for so long be-cause “teachers here have a great deal of latitude as they write their courses and plan what they want to do with their courses.” In her response, Ms. Wade displayed a combined love for her stu-dents, for history, and for Milton, the kind of love which makes Milton a special place for both faculty and stu-dents. As a student of Ms. Wade, I can attest to the value she holds as a classroom teacher. She engages each student in class discussions and helps all students reach their full academic potential. Her complete knowledge of history allows her to create a curricu-lum conducive to exploring worldwide

historical relationships. Ms. Wade has been an instru-mental part in my assimilation to life during my first year at Milton. She was always willing to meet with me outside of class and grant me a retake when I needed it. When asked about her experi-ences with Ms. Wade, Libby Perold (II) spoke fondly. “She’s a great advisor. She’s extremely kind and warm and easy to talk to”. Libby added, “She def-initely loves her students, you can just tell. It’s very sad that she’s leaving.” Mr. Pollans, a fellow mem-ber of the history department, eagerly shared his words on the departure of Ms. Wade, commenting on her dedica-tion to history. “She has had her finger on the pulse of the American academic interest in the teaching of history since she got here”. Mr. Pollans explained that all students benefit from her love of teaching and concluded, “ She is much loved by her colleagues and will be much missed”. Despite feelings of nostalgia and sadness, Ms. Wade welcomed the next stage of her life, a stage when she will enjoy well-deserved time for her-self. In making her decision to leave, Ms. Wade found some solace in Hin-du doctrines. As Ms. Wade explained, Hindus believe in “four stages of hu-man life and each one of them is termi-nally important and necessary. There comes an understanding in the Hindu belief that there comes a time that be-ing in the center of the game just isn’t enough anymore”. Often, Ms. Wade said,“That time to think, time to ob-serve, time to put the pieces together gained over time is very appealing.” Not one to leave her cherished

students empty-handed, Ms. Wade carefully presented Milton Academy with parting words of wisdom. “This time in people’s lives seems to me to be a very great gift. The time when one doesn’t have to make a living and when one doesn’t have to think about advancement in the world or whether one can afford to buy a house.” Ms. Wade said that, as students, we have the opportunity to “absorb a great deal of knowledge and to think out loud with other intelligent people”. She concludes with final words of wisdom: “It just seems to me if folks recognized that and gave that preeminence in their approach to their lives right now they wouldn’t be sorry.” On behalf of the students at Milton, I would like to thank Ms. Wade for her passionate work over the last 28 years. Even though she will no longer be at Milton, Ms. Wade will continue to be a valuable member of the Milton community. I am truly grateful that I had the opportunity to be taught by her and wish her the best of luck in her fu-ture endeavors. Ms. Wade, you will be missed..

Ms. Wade, Member of the History Department, Says GoodbyeHenry ArndtLayout Editor

No two students on campus share the same opinion regarding summer read-ing – many commented that they think reading “sucks,” while others shared that they buy books for courses they aren’t taking next year simply because the books look like good reads. Never-theless, as both Ms. Apthorp and Mr. Smith emphasized, summer reading is an important way to prepare for the school year ahead. Mr. Smith said that the weight of the summer reading varies for each individual course, but regardless of which course, students must keep read-ing and asking questions over the sum-mer. Summer reading keeps stu-dents engaged in literature and gives English courses somewhere to start come September. Ms. Apthorp noted, “In my sections of American Lit, Dis-covering Lit, Philosophy and US His-tory, the summer reading is integral to the course. Each of the summer texts becomes the focus of an assignment – in some cases, of more than one”. Both teachers divulged that they can immediately notice when a student has not completed the summer reading. Mr. Smith also shared why many of the summer reading choices have remained the same for several years (incoming freshmen have been reading East of Eden for over thirty years!) Mr. Smith explained that, for English, the summer reading books have to be ordered to Cox Library be-fore teachers know which courses they are instructing next year; therefore, most teachers do not have the opportu-nity to change the books. Ms. Apthorp had an interesting stance on summer reading because she teaches both English and History, the two courses that usually require sum-mer reading. She noted that, in English courses, she has made use of the sum-mer books fairly consistently. Alterna-tively, in her U.S. History course, she uses the texts when they are relevant during the course of the year. She states, “A few years back, we used a book that zeroed in on the early years of the Republic. In other years we have used books that were broader in scope and offered interpretive perspectives on a long sweep of American history”. Mr. Smith also agreed that he believes summer reading gives new students an equal footing when they first arrive at Milton. Danielle Cahoon (III) reemphasized this idea when she said, “Coming into classes with an es-sential sense of being prepared was helpful.” This summer, some students will have only one or two required books to read, and others may have five or six. However, Milton teachers agree that consistent reading will make a huge difference during those first weeks of school when many students seem to forget what they have already learned.

Summer ReadingMallika IyerNews Writer

Elisabeth Perold/TMM

Ms. Wade smiles as she talks to a student

This coming year, Milton Academy will be without veteran Ana Colbert, as she retires after a 27 year tenure at Milton. The sole teacher of the Spanish 2/3 and Spanish 5AP courses, she will undoubtedly be missed within the Lan-guage Department. As a mentor, she leaves an even more profound mark on the student body. She has transcended her role as a teacher and shaped her students’ outlooks on life, instilling en-thusiasm for the Spanish language and endowing her students with an under-standing of the world around them. “I have never had a teacher like Sra. Colbert.” Louis McWilliams (II) testifies, “Every reading was her favorite.” Her love of Spanish litera-ture was infectious, and readings from “1500 to 1950” would all become “ap-preciated” texts in her classes. For most students, the hallmark of an excellent teacher is the ability to fully captivate an audience that would otherwise be relatively uninterested in the material at hand; Sra. Colbert mastered this art effortlessly. When asked for a simple de-scription of her current AP Literature

teacher, Nicole Baker-Greene (II) said, Sra. Colbert is “kind, excited, and spir-ited”. The atmosphere she creates for her classes is an enjoyable one, albeit productive and serious. “Her class is the hardest I’ve ever taken,” said Chloe Gianatasio (II), “yet I can never manage to get mad at her; I’m always finding that her class helps me in my other academic disci-plines. And, of course, she is so nice.” While the classes she teaches can be challenging, the immersive method with which Mrs. Colbert has taught has been uniquely rewarding for many of

her students. Ultimately, all the character-istics of Sra. Colbert’s classes—their worldliness, vigor, and light-hearted-ness—arise from the passion and open-ness with which she runs her classes. “She encourages us to express our viewpoints,” Nicole said, “and chal-lenges us to explore others.” Regard-less of the topic in discussion, Sra. Colbert always excites inquisitiveness in her students. “She will be missed” Nicole adds. The entire Milton com-munity and the Milton Measure echo this sentiment.

Sra. Colbert, Member of Language Department, RetiresNathan DanielSenior Editor

Mr. White/Milton Academy

Sra. Colbert engages her class

June 10, 2011 | Page 8 The Milton MeasureNews

Every year at Milton, the senior class elects two students - one male senior and one female senior - to speak at graduation. This year, Yoshi Makishi-ma (I) and Sam Shleifer (I) have been elected as the Class of 2011 Valedicto-rians to address the Milton Commu-nity. Many students may recognize Yoshi Makishima for her role in “Chi-cago”, portraying the boisterous Prison Warden Mama Morton. Makishima

has been at Milton since her freshman year and shares that she was always an “artsy” person. Spending much of her time in Kellner, Makishima participated in plays, Speech Team, tech crew, and movie making. Although Makishima will miss the entire community, she ad-mits that she will “probably miss Kell-ner - and the people there - the most.” Throughout her time at Milton, Makishma has learned to be a critical thinker. She illustrates that, “because Milton requires students to examineboth sides of the same argument, and because you come in contact with so many different people at Milton with different ideas about the world,” she has learned to understand different points of views. Makishima adds that The Milton Performing Arts Department “stresses empathizing with your char-acter, no matter how different your character is from you as a person.” Her experiences with the Performing Arts Department, along with other stu-dents, teachers, and classes at Milton, have taught her “how to understand other people’s feelings and opinions,”

though she admits that she “does not always remember to do so.” Sam Shleifer, known for his position as an Editor-in-Chief of The Milton Measure during the 2010- 2011 school year, started his Milton career in sixth grade, when he was just eleven years old. During his time at Milton, Shleifer was a member of the Squash team and recently he took the stage as a German doctor in the Spring 1212 play, the “The Brothers Menaechamus.” Like Yoshi, Sam says that his experience at Milton was “incredibly powerful.” Shleifer says that, through his time at Milton, he has learned that effort produces positive results, a les-son which he learned both in the class-room and out on the sports field. Yoshi Makishima’s back-ground in public speaking has prepared her for today’s speech. From victory in Speech Tournaments to placing as the runner-up in the English-Speaking Union’s 2011 Shakespeare Contest for High School Students, Makishima has immense experience in the field of speaking. Makishima, however, has one fear: “I am one of the shortest speak-

ers in years, so they’re actually not sure if I’m going to be able to see over the podium. So whatever I say, it will prob-ably be said on top of several phone books.” After graduation, both Yoshi and Sam look forward to next year. Makishima will be attending Smith College in the fall, and she adds that Smith “alumnae include Joan Mitchell, Nancy Reagan, and Sylvia Plath.” She is “psyched to be going,” and she will be the second valedictorian speaker in a row matriculating at Smith. Shleifer looks forward to attending Yale Uni-versity next September.

Class of 2011 Elect Seniors Yoshi Makishima and Sam Shleifer to Speak at GraduationRebecca Chernick

News Writer

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Valedictorian Yoshi Makishima

Milton provides students with the op-portunity to participate in a program called School Year Abroad (SYA), a full year program as opposed to the semester program at The Mountain School. The program connects students with host families in order to fully im-merse these students into a new culture and a second language. Milton offers the SYA program in China, France, Italy, Spain, Viet-

nam, and Japan and sends about 3-5 students abroad each year. Nationwide, the SYA program accepts a maximum of 60 students. The core of the SYA program mirrors a normal academic year in the United States, offering math and English taught by instructors from U.S. schools. The program also offers History classes unique to the chosen country, language annunciation class, and a culture course. What peaks the interests of these students to independently spend an entire year away from friends, fam-ily and familiarity with the culture?

Emilie Trehu (II) was swayed by the richness of Italy’s art history and the classics program in Italy’s SYA pro-gram. “History and the classics are my main academic interests, and I love art, so the opportunity to study all those things on site in Italy seemed like an awesome of all those things into one,” Emilie shared. The host families with whom students spend the entire year are an in-tegral part of each student’s experience and of each student’s decision to apply to SYA. The SYA program matches each student with a compatible host

family based off of interests and ex-tracurricular activities. The host fami-lies range from newlyweds and empty nesters, to single parents and couples with multiple children. Victoria Chen expressed her love for her Chinese host family who had a child Victoria’s age: “I loved spending time with a Chinese girl my own age; I learned so much.” The students who come back from the SYA program gain a new, global perspective of school, life, and the world, along with a community of new friends, a new family, and a sec-ond home.

School Year Abroad Offers Milton Students a Unique High School ExperienceLisa Zhou

News Writer

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Valedictorian Sam Shleifer

it is a fit. He was really meant to do this job and is doing it very well.” Evan Garnick (III) shares this perspective, stating, “From what I can tell, he’s do-ing a great job. I haven’t heard of one student that has negative things to say about him.” Among the student body, Mr. Ball is known for his Monday morning assembly speeches where he addresses the community in, according to Mr. Bland, “a very David Ball-like way.” He speaks almost entirely extempo-raneously, writing down only a few phrases to remember word for word. In picking a topic, Mr. Ball draws inspi-ration from both eclectic and accurate sources. Danielle Fredrick (II) com-ments that, while his speeches may be long, “it’s interesting to see him con-nect historical anecdotes to our lives at Milton.” “I try to think in terms of sto-ries,” Mr. Ball explained, “where you begin your story, where you end, how you get there, and if people will want to keep going with you.” Michael Ber-ke (I) adds that during past assemblies

when Mr. Ball spoke, “I was engaged and enjoying those twenty minutes.” In picking a topic, Mr. Ball draws in-spiration from many sources— Mil-ton events, world issues, and “cheap tricks” as simple as the birthday of a significant figure. As he explains, “I try to think in terms of stories: where you begin your story, where you end, how you get there, and if people will want to keep going with you…” In his relationship with the fac-ulty, Mr. Ball has developed, as David Smith says, “a positive and purposeful atmosphere.” Mr. Smith elaborates, “Mr. Ball is an excellent listener with a very quick understanding of the issues in-volved in any situation.” Mr. Ball has been attentive to faculty needs and constantly communicates with them. Ms. HerrNeckar, who has worked with fifteen different upper school principals

at Milton, finds Mr. Ball to be “very supportive.” Mr. Ball has been open to every suggestion and complaint of faculty members but has also remained realistic. Ms. Marianelli comments, “I may not always get the answer I want but what I am saying is being heard.” From the Trustees’ perspective,

Mr. Ball was an excellent choice for Upper School Principal. Brad-ley Bloom, the Chairman of the Board, says, “The nice thing about

David is that he has known people on the Board for a very long time.” Mr. Bloom adds, “Mr. Ball has brought tre-mendous continuity to the position.” Mr. Ball and Mr. Bland have worked together in an organic manner. The entire community has recognized their unique, close-knit relationship. Mr. Bland shares, “From my perspec-tive, our working relationship has been fantastic. I could not have imagined it being any better, quite honestly.” The

two administrators communicate daily, mutually arriving at solutions to diffi-cult situations. Mr. Bland adds, “I have valued our collaboration but I want the com-munity to know that, although we work very hard, I appreciate how much fun I have with him.” Mr. Bland reports that he laughs every day at Mr. Ball’s “fan-tastic sense of humor and dry wit.” The entire community cel-ebrates Mr. Ball’s first year. Mr. Bland commented, “We wouldn’t be in as good a place come graduation, come the end of the year, without his steady hand, without his guidance, and with-out his care.” Milton is extremely lucky to have Mr. Ball as its Upper School Principal and, after a great year, the community looks forward to future years under his leadership. Mr. Bland concludes, “Mr. Ball has far surpassed even my highest expectations. What makes me most excited in thinking about years to come is that he is just getting started.”

Principal sets Ball Rolling Towards SuccessContinued from page 1

“Mr. Ball is an excellent listener with a very quick understanding of the issues involved in any situation”

- David Smith

June 10, 2011 | Page 9The Milton Measure News

have and have not read the book. The website can be reached at tsspivet.com. Larsen published his first works during his time at Milton. He was the Arts editor for The Milton Paper and printed several short stories in the Ma-gus Mabus. “I also did a lot of creative writing courses and I was really fortu-nate for the great teachers [at Milton] and really throughout my entire educa-tion,” he added. Another way Larsen has im-proved his writing is through his prac-tice of Zen, a school of Buddhism fo-cused on meditation. He believes that an important part of writing is gather-ing your thoughts. “I’ve talked to a lot of writers and it’s just not Buddhism or Zen Buddhism. They need a sort of balance to ground their practice in be-cause it’s very hard to concentrate on your writing. I need to calibrate the day for like twenty-five minutes because my mind will just race. Breathing sets my day on the right track so it’s just a hugely important part of my life.” When he is not writing or meditating, Larsen devotes his time to helping out disadvantaged children in Africa. During his college years at Brown, Larsen took a semester off to teach at two African schools—one in South Africa, and one in Batswana. It

was in Batswana that Larsen connected with the Maru-a-Pula school, where he now sits on the American board of di-rectors. “All these kids are so motivat-ed to really exceed…They have the fu-ture of the country and continent upon them, so they are really motivated to learn leadership skills,” said Larsen. At his marriage next week, Larsen will ask all the guests to make a small donation to the school’s schol-arship fund in lieu of typical wedding gifts.

Larsen is an inspiration for many Milton students who don’t nec-essarily feel atop their class. “I gradu-ated with some extraordinary people and often felt stuck in the middle.” said Larsen. “Not extraordinary at all. May-be that’s not such a bad thing at Milton, but I was not top of the class at all. Just know that it’s not necessarily the peo-ple at the top who go on to influence people. Let it be of comfort to those who were mediocre in high school.”

1998 TMM

In the 1998 Milton Measure Graduation Issue, Reif Larsen was awarded superlative of Hottest Guy

Reif Larsen: Graduation Speaker

Continued from page 1

Cum Laude CeremonyContinued from page 1

Being a part of the Milton Community, students, parents, and faculty can hard-ly imagine a world in which academic growth is inhibited. Yet, this is Ameri-ca, a world filled with many flaws in its public education system. Waiting for ‘Superman’, the all-school required summer movie, is a documentary that follows the lives of Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Diasy, and Emily as they try relentlessly to improve their education. Unfortunately, a better educa-tion is all a matter of luck. The movie explores the lottery system that ran-domly chooses which children will be admitted into charter schools for a better education. The system leaves the children, their families, and the viewers in tears: sometimes of joy, but many times of disappointment. As the head monitors for the 2011-2012 school year, Molly Gilmore (II) and Tom Schnoor (II), began their search for a summer movie or book, their objective was “to find a film [or book] that we would get something out of watching and that would generate

good discussion in the community,” said Tom. Neither head monitor was set on following last year’s trend of assign-ing a movie instead of a book. Molly “didn’t mind the books we had to read in previous years”. However, due to the amount of participation in the summer movie last year, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Tom and Molly decided that they could ensure high participation by choosing “a two hour movie [rather than] a book that might take several days or weeks to read”. Attending Milton, “it becomes

easy to forget how people outside of this community live,” commented Molly. Molly and Tom both hope that watching this movie will help students realize just how lucky we are. Students may ignore the re-petitive advice to appreciate what they have and may choose not to watch the summer movie, but Waiting for ‘Super-man’ is not a boring lecture about bet-tering our society. The movie teaches viewers about the flaws in the Ameri-can public school system as well as challenges one’s emotions through the, as Olivia Atwood (III) shared, “com-

pletely and heartbreakingly real” sto-ries of five children who you grow to love throughout the movie. Students who have already seen the movie agree with Molly and Tom’s choice. After watching the movie, Ol-ivia Atwood said, “I really appreciated our school more and all the resources I have here.” Lisa Zhou (III) explained that seeing the movie and realizing “that not everyone has a high-class education like us at Milton was like a reality check for [her].” Even those who have not seen the movie, acknowledge that it will en-rich their lives. Victoria Lee (II), who has yet to see the movie, believes “that the movie is a good way for us to pen-etrate the ‘Milton bubble’ and really begin to understand the [educational] systems that give some people an ad-vantage and make life harder for oth-ers.” On a final note, Molly added, “I hope this movie will open the door to some very interesting and relevant conversations about the education sys-tem and educational opportunity in America today.”

Waiting for Superman: a Required Summer movie for all Students

Amanda BeaudoinNews Section Editor

twenty percent of any graduating class can be inducted into the society, a re-quirement synonymous with an “A-” average here at Milton Academy. Ac-cording to Mr. Ball, the Induction Committee attempts to gather the max-imum amount of people into the soci-ety, loosely modeling the process on the “20%” condition. Due to the incredible number of people here who achieve that B+/A- borderline, he believes that the people who deserve to be on Cum Laude So-ciety achieve it. The 20% mark is “a good problem to have.” Each chapter has its own ec-centricities; for example, our chapter also selects one, two, or three juniors per year. With similar constraints as for the seniors, the junior(s) chosen display the highest academic average, if calculated. The only junior to be inducted this year, Gina Starfield (II), had the highest average throughout her junior year as well as her sophomore year. Each year at the reception, a faculty speaker addresses those indi-viduals. This year, the speaker was the beloved history faculty member Ms. Wade, who will be retiring from Mil-ton. She spoke upon the impend-ing changes for the majority of the se-niors, embarking upon new collegiate careers. Her theme was “What next?” and she described the “next steps” each person has to take upon the Hindu model of life and duty. Before defin-ing those steps, however, she took the time to ask each senior in the audience to consider: “What next? What will

I learn that delights? Consternates? What will I learn about myself? How will I use what I have learned at Mil-ton?” The first stage of life was “Living with the Brahman”, or complete devo-tion to studies, which the Cum Laude recipients exhibited so well. Next was “The Time of the Householder,” during which they pay devotion into their business and com-munity and make their work upon the World. Third was the “Stage of the Forest-Dweller,” in which each person meditates and discovers their wisdom and moves onto contemplation and solitude. Ms. Wade alluded to the final stage by saying “that I have not reached that point yet.” Ms. Wade shared that, through all four stages of life, self-re-alization will move each person duti-fully. After Ms. Wade’s speech, Mr. Bland presented each person with his or her certificate, signed with Mr. Han-sen’s artful handwriting. As Angela Berkowitz (I) viewed the unveiling of the plaque, she commented, “It’s nice to be recognized, and feel like I have left a larger legacy having worked so hard.” Lastly, Mr. Bland commented on the collective success, “offering his congratulations to this year’s class of scholars, who represent the very best of achievement and focus.” Altogether, the celebration was a quiet, solemn one full of mutual respect and camaraderie.

Gina Starfield/TMM

Student embraces academic opportunity

“I graduated with some ex-traordinary people and often

felt stuck in the middle.” -Reif Larsen

June 10, 2011 | Page 10 The Milton MeasureCenterfold

Tis the end of the year and all through the quad.People are listening to the wise words of Todd.We arrive here today to give cheer for ‘Eleven;I’ve waited for this since the wee age of seven.

The bright sun is too hot but the talks we adore.The grass of course green, that’s what you paid for!

Just a minute from freedom, kids full of elation.Forget the cigars and live with temptation?

As kids get diplomas, parents loudly celebrate,Two DC’s and three lawyers, at least she’ll graduate!

But Oh! It would be your kid that tripped right on stage.Quick, hide your face behind the Paper’s miz page.

We look so sharp in white dresses and ties,Pay close attention and try to be wise

For your name may be called at the ceremony’s endAnd you’ll win a bag of quarters, try not to misspend.

Now come the goodbyes and the tears start to fall,I’ll miss the strange stench of the quad above all.

Awkward hugs with the teachers, snap pics with attitude,Last chance to reveal crushes, innocent or lewd.

An Ode to Eleven

June 10, 2011 | Page 11The Milton Measure Centerfold

After four long years of bad grades and frustration,At least I will be able to rage this vacation!

The seniors are going off and losing their email,And tonight to parties, with the deans on their tail.

They do nothing all summer; don’t let down your guardThose are not trees, it’s the Deans in your yard.

Things will be different now that seniors are gone,But 2012 has a mix tape and group dance, groove on!

We began this long year all full of Gilbert Grape,We’re glad we will end without legal scrape.Tell the Boston Globe we’re on the straight,

I swear, we had nothing to do with Weinergate.

But now lets get back to this sacred eventAnd bask in our memories of time well spent.

Parents, faculty and students, We’re all MA kin!Let’s fly the colors with this here orange and blue pin!

It was totally worth it to do that senior prank…Hold on a minute Why’s my diploma blank?

Have a Great Summer!

June 10, 2011 | Page 12 The Milton MeasureArts and Entertainment

On Friday June 3rd, Magus Mabus hosted “Beatstock.” This performance was the last of its kind for the 2010/11 school year. A play on Woodstock, Beat-stock provides students with a chance to enjoy the warm, late spring weather behind Straus Library and to appreci-ate the musical talents of their contem-poraries. For many years Beatstock has been a Milton Academy tradition spon-sored by Magus Mabus, Milton’s stu-dent run art and literature magazine. With an open and inviting atmosphere, Beatstock provides a stress-free envi-ronment for students from all classes to perform for the first time in front of an audience. For other more experienced performers, Beatstock allows for cre-ativity and welcomes original songs and poetry. Though the evening was slightly cooler than Magus had hoped for, the weather did not deter students. Beatstock was once again a success with “about 100 people or more” in attendance, according to Vincent Ken-nedy (II), next year’s Magus Mabus Editor-in-Chief. Some highlights include per-formances by Mike Godwin (I), who sang several slow country songs, and “Two Ins and a Bone,” a group con-sisting of Brandon Daly (II), Robin Chakrabarti (II), and Jay Sharma (II). “Two Ins and a Bone” performed origi-

nal pieces that the audience greatly en-joyed. With so many great perfor-mances and considerable student turn-out, Beatstock lived up to its fame. The always brilliant James McHugh showcased his skills as a sing-er and songwriter with several tunes he composed. Ian Kernohan (I) and Ka-thie Woodhouse (I) brought both music and comedy to this year’s Beatstock, performing the hilarious “Four Chord Song” by the Axis of Awesome. As fun as the night was, how-

ever, it had a sad undertone as the last Milton Academy performance for many seniors. Frequent Beatstock per-formers from the class of 2011 include Mike Godwin, Ian Kernohan, Kathie Woodhouse, Danny Lamere, Andrew Beaudoin, Andrew Nwachuku, Jo-vonna Jones, Joseph Reynolds, Isa-bella Frontado, Yael Acker-Krzywicki, Mariko Azis, and others. They will all be sorely missed. Yet, Beatstock also celebrated new beginnings. It was the first event for the new board and staff of the mag-

azine, which includes Vincent Ken-nedy (II) as Editor in Chief, Elizabeth Bennet (II) and Hannah Grace (II) as Literary Editors, Michaela Carey (II) as Art Editor, and Max Bennett (II) as Music Editors. The new staff has already in-stituted some changes, such as limiting Beatstock performances to ten minutes in order “to allow as many acts as pos-sible to perform” and “to showcase as much of Milton’s talent as possible,” as Vince shares. The incoming staff has some new and intriguing ideas for next year that it hopes will make Magus Mabus a more prevalent and success-ful publication on campus. Over the next year, Magus Ma-bus hopes to make music a larger part of its arts agenda, planning six musical cafes (including Beatstock), adding a Music Staff to the board, and begin-ning to incorporate student-recorded music on their new website www.ma-gusmabus.tumblr.com. Vince advises to “look for websites to become a big part of…Magus media next year,” and shares that Magus wants to start com-petitions around art and literature with rewards for excellence. Through these plans, the new board wishes to invest Milton students in art and literature, hoping to expose much of the art and creativity of stu-dents that often goes unnoticed. Over-all, Vince predicts that “next year will be a big year for Magus.” Look for-ward to the first issue in the fall.

Magus Mabus Hosts Final Music Cafe of the Year

Max Bennett

Robin Chakrabati and Brandon Daly perform at Beatstock

A rite of passage for all upper school students, Class IV talks have been a long standing Milton Academy tradi-tion. All freshman students must deliver a 5-7 minute speech on the top-ic of their choice to fellow classmates. At the end of the year, each student votes for the speeches he has enjoyed the most and the students with the most votes speak in front of the entire class. Last Wednesday, six freshmen appeared before the entire freshman class to recite their Class IV speeches for a second time. The wide variety of

topics, ranging from reincarnation to robots, displayed the diverse interests of Milton Academy students. The first talk, delivered by Cameron Park, introduced students to Space as “the final frontier.” Loaded with statistics and intriguing factual evidence, Cameron’s presentation was not only stimulating, but also incred-ibly informative. All class IV students received vast amounts of information on Space to which they had never been previously exposed. The second talk was a com-pelling speech on happiness, given by Emmie Atwood, a dedicated member of Milton’s Speech Team. Emmie’s lecture intrigued the crowd immediate-ly with its fantastically crafted struc-ture and extensive detail. She provided listeners with descriptive scenery in every sentence. She left her audience dazed by her por-trayal and complex unveiling of the true meaning of happiness. Contrary to Emmie’s smooth talk, Nate Bresnick stunned his class-mates with the raw subject of his speech. Nate first explained that he likes to build things, a seemingly sim-ple concept. Yet he began to divulge that he does not build simple things—legos,

shelves, or even chairs—as the audi-ence had expected. Nate builds robots. He explained that he began his first project one snowy day out of pure curiosity. Throughout his talk, Nate de-scribed building a robot in simple lan-guage, stunning his listeners. His posi-tive attitude, intriguing topic, and calm presentation left both students and teachers thoroughly impressed. Claire Russell spoke about re-incarnation. The opening line—“my mother is an elephant”—immediately caught the attention of the audience. While many are unacquainted with the concept of reincarnation, it proved to be a fantastic subject choice. Claire captivated the audience with her exceptional speaking skills. Poised and confident, Claire presented her speech clearly and cultivated the interest and belief of her classmates. Jack Cahill like Emmie, dis-cussed happiness, but took on a differ-ent view. Jack talked about happiness in the context of society, asserting that America is clearly not one of the world’s happiest countries. The cre-ativity of his topic choice helped him compose an enthralling presentation. The audience was thoroughly im-pressed and entertained by Jack’s writ-ing and speaking talents.

Finally, Eric Menna spoke about the difficulties of adaptation. In his presentation, he shared a story about personal family trauma.. The powerful and meaningful story that he shared sent a message to his classmates to stay hopeful and positive through seemingly unmanageable situations. He amazed his classmates with the pure boldness he exhibited by shar-ing such a personal experience. These six talented writers and speakers presented their Class IV Talks flawlessly and, without a doubt, stood out from all of the other speeches given this year. They provided a great end to a successful school year.

Peers Elect Freshmen Classmates to Perform their Class IV TalksElana Golub

Writer

Jenna Lee/TMM

Eric Menna and Nathaniel Bresnick

Jenna Lee/TMM

Emmie Atwood, Claire Russell, and Cameron Park

Louis McWilliamsA/E Section Editor

June 10, 2011 | Page 13The Milton Measure

One memorable summer, I stepped off a plane in Costa Rica and announced, in a rush of excitement, “I’m ready for this country, armed with my knowledge of Spanish!” A guard with an automat-ic rifle immediately approached me, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me out of the Customs line. “Are you armed?” he shouted. “Uh...uh...just with perfectly conjugated verbs,” I stuttered. He re-sponded by rolling his eyes and—to my relief—letting me go. I hold this experience among my most interesting summer ones. This past week, several other students across campus took the time to share their craziest summer stories before embarking on vacation. Mary Brown (III) stubbornly dismissed my questions. “Nothing happens during the summer; I work at Shaw’s.” When asked to describe her experiences there she nonchalantly replied, “I was once asked to model naked. I declined.” Mary Brown lives in West Barnstable, Cape Cod, and plans to spend most of her summer at work instead of the beach. Hopefully her summer will be just as eventful as those of years past. Another sophomore shares a traumatic summer moment. She de-tails the time when she, her sister and a friend went out sailing on a beauti-ful day, only to be caught in a violent

storm. After swimming for over an hour, they eventually washed up, ex-hausted, on a private beach. “It was the worst experience of my life!” she exclaims. “This year I’m going to be a junior CIT at a camp. No more sailing for me, hopefully!” Many students plan on volun-teering at various locations. One rising junior said that her sister is visiting Africa for a month to build schools, simply because she “wants to help.” In Grace Kernohan’s (III) spare time, she will teach at her dance camp. Several other rising juniors plan on working at daycares. Most juniors have college vis-its planned. “I’ll be going out West a lot and then maybe back around here,” a Class II male states. “I’m going to be pretty busy this summer.” A large number of Class II students will be occupied, according to an anonymous junior, “padding the ole’ college apps.” But it’s not just the juniors planning on college. Several sophomores are also visiting schools, though few of the show excitement. According to sev-eral Class III students, they will visit schools because their parents feel the need to give their summer some struc-ture. “I’m worried my kids will do nothing...maybe sleep in till passed noon, slip on their pajamas and, after several episodes of Family Guy, call it a day,” one concerned father explains. This father is not alone; many

parents fear muscular atrophy—a sum-mer of total vegetation. One parent remembers a summer hike: “It was in the Blue hills—a beautiful day, a gen-tle slope. After a quarter of a mile, my daughter just lay down on the trail, re-fusing to go another step.” Okay, the daughter was me. I was not exactly in top physical condition, so maybe those parents have a right to be concerned. Above all, summer allows Milton students to relax and let go of stress for a couple of months. Maybe we’re going to foreign countries, vol-unteering, job hunting, hanging pool-side, or touring future schools, but one thing remains certain: by next Septem-ber, we will all have lots of stories to tell.

Arts and Entertainment

As we approach the end of the year, most students focus on summer. Our wonderful teachers and peers in the Art Department, however, spend their final days planning for next year, a year that will be big for this department as they hope to find new ways to strengthen the program. The first big change next year will be the change in location of the vi-sual arts department from the art trail-ers behind Kellner to the now vacant Old Science building. Art for grades 6 through 9, Studio Art, and all painting and drawing courses will be located in the Old Science building, which will take on the new title of “Art and Me-dia Center.” The building already holds some photo labs and the Nesto gallery, so filling the building with the entire visual arts program will be a suitable continuation. Its large, empty rooms will be perfect for both classrooms and studios. When I talked with Mr. Chase, the Chair of the Arts Department, he shared that, “under the able coordina-tion of Jim Selman representing the Fa-cilities Dept., the main floor of the Old Science Building has been transformed in some basic ways”. Mr. Chase shares that the large labs have been divided into four “spaces for basic classroom use providing a lot more space and ceiling height.” The building will also be home to storage spaces, offices, studios and an “Art Lab”. The state of the art digi-tal photo lab will remain on the main floor and The Nesto Gallery will re-main in the basement. The upper level of the building will also continue to be used for other functions like Class IV study hall. Mr. Chase adds, “A lot of time and energy has been devoted to make the ventilation in this antiquated building work, to improve the lighting, and to begin to consolidate the Visual Arts - an effort in the works for over 30 years.” Mr. Chase sadly stated that the visual arts will still use separate build-ings on campus, with the 3-D classes in the RSG. He expresses that “so many opportunities would exist if the Visual arts lived in one house”. As Mr. Chase explains, young-er students could see older students work and benefit from the creativity of the older students. He also declares, “Student productivity would increase significantly with all the appropriate tools and work spaces closer at hand”. Hopefully in future years, Mr. Chase’s wishes will be attained. Performing arts will also make changes for next year. Mr. Parisi stated “We are not sure what we will be pro-ducing next year other than a small mu-sical, class IV play and student directed one-acts, dance concert, King Theatre productions, two 1212 plays, a spring dance concert and Improv night.” This leads the way for many surprises in the upcoming year as far as theatre goes. Whatever the performing arts depart-ment decides to produce, I’m positive we have a lot to look forward to.

Art Program

Summer has finally arrived, bringing with it a luxury rare to Milton students during the academic year: free time. Music fans searching for ways to fill their empty nights need not travel far because the Boston area will be a hub for live concerts this summer. Boy band fans are sure to be thrilled to hear that two old-school fa-vorites, New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, have reunited and will be playing at Fenway Park tomor-row, June 11th. After a long break dur-ing which many members have made names for themselves in areas other than music, both bands have returned to the stage and have earned rave re-views from critics. While last minute tickets may be difficult to come by at this point, audience members are guar-anteed a fun night out. A number of other concerts will keep Top 40 listeners satisfied. Arena pop returns to Boston on Satur-day, June 18th as Katy Perry takes the stage at the TD Garden. The dance-pop superstar is currently touring to promote her recent hit single, ET, and her concert is a must-see for all fans of black lights and glitter. Following Perry, Rihanna will perform at the Garden on July 24th in promotion of her latest album, Loud,

and on August 8th the downtown Boston venue will belong to Britney Spears. Spears, who finally transcend-ed her media-magnet status with the success of her latest album Femme Fatale, will definitely give audiences a show worth remembering. For those less interested in big-name pop artists, WFNX (101.7 FM) will host its annual clambake on June 16th at the Boston House of Blues. Entertainment will include local indie rockers Buffalo Tom and The Sheila Divine, as well as the British alternate-rock group Noah and the Whale. Un-fortunately for underclassmen, one must be over eighteen to attend the event. Younger alternative fans have nothing to worry about, however, be-cause the 2010 breakout Florence and the Machine is set to stun audiences of an all-ages show at the Bank of America Pavilion on Thursday, June 23rd. Fronted by style maven Florence Welch, the art rockers have taken the indie spotlight with their debut album, Lungs. The band, which hails from the UK, has become increasingly popular in the States and was recently featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. Indie fans should also check out hip hop and rock fusion artist Ma-tis Yahu at the Paradise on June 25th. While he has remained out of the spot-light since his 2006 hit King Without

A Crown, the solo artist’s 2009 album, Light, combines elements of Rock, Reggae, and beat-boxing that are well worth a listen. Additionally, in-die rock’s Matt and Kim will light up the House of Blues on Thursday, June 30th. July and August bring an en-tirely new slew of rockers into town. Taking Back Sunday, a post-hardcore band hailing from Long Island, New York, will play at the House of Blues on July 20th. Pop-punk chart toppers All Time Low will heat up the Bank of America Pavilion July 31st, followed by indie favorite Death Cab for Cutie on August first. Fronted by Ben Gibbard, Death Cab has won hearts (and top chart po-sitions) with their eloquent lyrics and unique melodies since their 1998 de-but album Something About Airplane. Their show at the Pavilion this summer is a must-see for all alternative listen-ers. While many students plan on traveling this summer, music provides a good incentive to stay in town. Frequent concertgoers should take advantage of the vast array of A-list musicians coming to the Boston area. Summer has always been an ideal time to try new things and explore cul-ture, and there is no better way to ex-plore this year than through music.

Musicians Flock to Boston for Summer ConcertsCatherine KulkeA/E Section Editor

Max Bennett

Summer Sailing

Fun in the Sun: Milton Students Plan their Summer Vacations

Olivia AtwoodA/E Writer

Ben BosworthA/E Writer

June 10, 2011 | Page 14 The Milton Measure

With many incredible athletes to con-sider, the Milton Measure has chosen Benjamin Ticknor (I) as the Athlete of the Year. Hailing from Concord, Massa-chusetts, Ben was a tri-varsity athlete his senior year, contributing enormous-ly to the football, basketball, and track and field programs. Ben has impacted Milton athletics ever since he arrived as a new sophomore after leaving St. Paul’s, but his senior year has clearly stood out as his strongest at Milton Academy. After playing on Varsity foot-ball since sophomore year, Ben came into his last season at Milton with in-tentions to lead the team. At the begin-ning of the season, Ben was just one of the many athletes on the team. His strength seemed to be in his defensive position, the middle line-

backer. The majority of the offensive strength came from his close friend, Charlie Storey (I) at quarterback. How-ever, during the St. Sebastian’s game, Charlie hurt his foot, keeping him on the sidelines for a large portion of the season. Thinking back to the season, Ben said, “Obviously he was one of our team leaders both talent wise and vocally, and it’s tough any time a team loses a starting quarterback, which is the most crucial position on the field. All the seniors rallied in that game and over the course of the season to lead the team.” Despite Ticknor’s humble-ness, it was quite clear after the Riv-ers game, in which he rushed for 349 yards with 5 touchdowns, that his drive to lead the team had made him the new offensive power At the end of the season, Ben rushed in total for around 1000 yards, averaging 7 yards per carry. On de-fense, he had 64 total tackles, 2 blocked kicks, and 1 interception. When asked about his impact on the team, he re-sponded, “I like to think I made an impact on the football team not only statistically but also by helping some of the younger players come into their own.” Ben continued, “There are some very gifted sophomores who I know are going to step up big next year as juniors, and I think they know what they have to do to succeed.” Ticknor was voted MVP of the football team by

his teammates. He was also all-ISL and was selected to be on the New England Prep Team. His accomplishments in his last season at Milton showed Ben’s leadership, athleticism, determination, and genuine love for the game. A passion for athletics led Ben to branch off from his primary sport of football to successful endeavors in bas-ketball and track. Already accepted to colleges in the fall of his senior year, Ben continued to play Milton athletics and displayed a support for our athletic program which transcended his college interest. About his time on the Varsity Basketball team, he said, “I was never the most skilled basketball player but I think that I helped out my teammates by working hard in practice and help-ing them improve their own games.” “This was really a special year for our basketball program, with tal-ents like Dennis Clifford (I) and K.J. Pontes (I) and young guys like Ike Ngwudo (III) and Alec Brennan (IV) taking the team to heights that Milton has never seen before.” Despite Ben’s lack of experience with basketball, he set an example for the team with his leadership and hard work; in the end, Ben received the Coaches’ Award for this exemplar character. This spring, Ben participated in Track and Field for the first time, running the 100 meter and 4x100 events. Unfortunately, Ben suffered a back injury in the opening weeks of the season and was unable to compete

until the concluding weeks of the sea-son. Despite his injury, once he was able to continue running, Ben was out on the track getting back into running shape to prepare for the ISL tourna-ment. Sharing his thoughts on the new sport, Ben said, “Track was new to me this year but I tried to support vocally and did my best to help out our 4 x 100 meter relay team. It was a blast and it was great to see so many athletes from different sports coalesce and work to-gether.” Ben will go on to play football alongside Charlie Storey at Dartmouth College next year. “It’s a huge step up, as the Ivy League attracts talent from all across the country, so I’ll have to work my ass off if I want the chance to make an impact,” says Ben. As a Milton thletic star, Ben shares his final thoughts about Milton athletics: “I have loved my time at Mil-ton, and athletics have played a huge part in my Milton Experience. I’m very sad to leave the great programs I’ve been a part of and incredible coaches who’ve mentored me, but I’ll never forget guys like Coach MacDon-ald and Coach Reddicks.” While Ben is certainly deserv-ing of this award, there are many oth-ers who deserve recognition for their athletic prowess. Dennis Clifford (I), Pat McNally (I), Sean Dougherty (I) and Charlie Storey (I) were all finalists.

James WangSports Writer

Sports

As the summer vacation has arrived, let’s look back on some of the most memorable moments on the athletics field this year. The Girl’s Varsity Soccer team had a very successful season and their playoff win against the highly seeded BB&N gave the girls a spot in the top five. The Mustangs headed into the game against BB&N as an under-dog. Coach Lillis remembers “Vou-vouzuelas honking, large crowds, and perfect weather for fall soccer.” With Milton down by one late in the game, Abby Lebovitz (IV) guided a beautiful shot into the back of the net sending the highly contested game in OT. With OT winding down, Megan Kim (II), pounded the winning goal to give the Mustangs an incredible win, stunning the BB&N Knights. In the four spot, the Boys Var-sity Basketball team had another out-standing year under the guidance of ISL Basketball Legend, Lamar Red-dicks. The first of two games for the ‘Stangs was a convincing win against the Nobles Bulldogs. Milton dominat-ed the court in every aspect, defeating the embarrassed bulldogs 65-28. Head-ing to the playoffs, the team continued its dominance on its home court against Exeter.

With the crowd buzzing, the Mustangs pulled off another excellent win to push them to the Semi’s, 57-33. Unfor-tunately, the team went on to lose to a strong Choate team at the end of the season, but the real victory was domi-nating two different opponents on its home court to bring a strong sense of community around the game of basket-ball. In the spring season, the track team joined up with Mr. Darling’s workout program in hopes of creating a powerhouse to defeat all other op-ponents. Grueling practices and runs in the rain paid off when ISL’s rolled around. The strong dynasty that Mil-ton had built through Mr. Darling and Track and Field proved to be a success

as the Milton Mustangs took home a much respected third place in this years ISL contest against some of the best schools in the area. Every year the Milton-Nobles football games bring excitement to both communities, and this year the game between the two rival schools gets the second spot for the best sports moments of the year. In a game go-ing back and forth the entire way, the game went into triple OT. After a year of domination by running back Ben Ticknor (I) and Quarterback Charlie Storey (I), the team once again turned to them. Putting the team on his back, Ben plowed up the middle to tie the score at 45 with a chance for the win with the two-point conversion.

As he had done some many times throughout the season, Ben found the end zone to win the game. Fans and players rushed the field in complete chaos in what proved to be only the start of great athletic competi-tion throughout the year. Finally, in what many would say was the best moment this year and maybe even the past couple of years proved to be the success of the Boy’s Hockey team. The team had an incredible season and went to the post season for the second straight year. With fans like no one had seen before in the athletic center, the Mustangs grinded out, com-ing back from a two-goal deficit to force OT. In the finals of the New Eng-land Championship, the Mustangs faced Kent. Fan buses poured into the Ice Center in New Hampshire. Horns honking, bells ringing; the school spirit that was shown helped the Mustangs battle throughout the entire game. The Milton Hockey Team brought home the New England Championship beat-ing Kent 2-1. This year brought much suc-cess on the sports field, but also gave the community a real sense of school spirit. Although only a few of the sports teams were mentioned, every team fought hard in hopes of bringing home hard wear.

The Top 5 Milton Sports Moments of the 2010-2011 School YearTucker Hamlin

Sports Section Editor

Athlete of the Year, Ben Ticknor, Displays Athletic Prowess

McKean Tompkins/TMM

Ben Ticknor: Athlete of the Year

McKean Tompkins/TMM

Fans celebrate MA hockey win over Nobles

June 10, 2011 | Page 15The Milton Measure Sports

Spring Review

All around improvement marked the 2011 sailing season – both individual racers and the team as a whole ad-vanced to meet the competition. Sailing does not include sit-ting on fiberglass boats, aimlessly pull-ing ropes. On the contrary, high school sailing is a sport that relies heavily on tactics, plays, experience, and both mental and physical agility. In order to competitively race, one must know these basics of sailing, as well as pick up on the sport’s rules early in the sea-son. Our 2011 season from start to finish was competitive. Through-out the season, pairs of skippers and crews were constantly changing, and the three varsity boats were never con-stant. With strong leadership from the captains Katherine Wasynczuk (II) and Sam Madden (I), the spring break trip to Miami kicked off the successful sea-son. With new coach Mark Dinneen , who previously coached at Bowdoin, the team knew that the year would be complete with new plays and meaning-ful coaching.

The squad made it to New Eng-land’s for fleet racing at Tabor Acade-my, where the wind roared at over 25 mph and waves crashed throughout the harbor. While they did not qualify for nationals, qualifying for the O’Day Trophy at New England’s was a step up from the past 2010 season. After beating Sharon High, Cape Cod Academy, and Winchester High, the team record climbed to 4-1. It then faced the competitive teams from Portsmouth Abbey, Dartmouth High and Duxbury, Coach Dinneen’s Alma Mater. The Mustangs trumped Dart-mouth and Duxbury, but unfortunately met their match in the frigid waters of Bristol, RI. Going into Wild Card weekend for team racing, the team knew that it would face its toughest op-ponents, as the top two teams qualify for New England’s. After a long day of fast-paced racing in Manchester by the Sea, the Milton team unfortunately lost its second place spot by one race, end-ing with a final record of 6-3. The final record does not re-flect the improvements made by the sailing team this season. All racers im-proved their tactics, boat handling, and play recognition, and with the addition of new sailors next year, the sailing team will have what it takes to reclaim victory over the other New England sailing teams. With its informative coaches, helpful leaders, and overall team at-titude, the sailing team finished the spring season in high spirits; “We are tough as hell,” as our beloved Coach Dinneen stated at M Club. Watch out next year, Tabor.

Boys SailingMax BennettGuest Writer

Max Bennett

Smooth sailing in Boston Harbor

The Mustangs flew out of the gates by opening the season on a five game win streak, including a come from be-hind win over Thayer Academy in the last inning. After winning its first five games, the Mustangs fell to the unde-feated Lawrence Academy squad and continued to lose by falling in a game against Belmont Hill. The chance of an ISL championship was ruined, but se-nior captains Erik Jacobsen (I), Char-lie Storey (I) and Gregor Seidman (I) kept the team focused with outstanding leadership and poise. The Mustangs’ highlights of the year included coming from behind to beat the nationally ranked BB&N Knights baseball team and beating ri-val school Nobles. Against BB&N, Erik Jacobsen (I) pitched all seven innings while catcher Josh Ellis (III), right fielder Christian Hoxie (I) and centerfielder Jared Friedberg (II) came through with essential hits that pro-

pelled Milton to an inspiring 4-3 vic-tory. On Nobles Day, the Mustangs played their best game of the season by beating Nobles 11-5. Erik Jacobsen hit a home run in the very first inning to jump start the Mustangs. Outfielder Connor Johnson (I) had three hits in the game and Josh Ellis added a home run; Milton never let Nobles back into the game. The season ended with a feel-ing of success that should cascade into next year’s season.

Boys BaseballTyler StarksGuest Writer

Ms. Mimi Storey

Varsity Baseball smiles after a big win

Baseball (9 – 5)MVP-Erik JacobsenAll-ISL-Erik Jacobsen, Jared FriedbergHonorable Mention- Michael Da-vis, Josh Ellis2012 Captains - Jared Friedberg, Tyler Starks, Brooks English

Boys' Lacrosse (7 – 8)MVP: Sean DoughertyAll-ISL: Sean Dougherty, Jake TurrinHonorable Mention: Pat McNal-ly, Nicholas Gagnon2012 Captains: Nick Gagnon, Sam Wasserman, Harry Pearce

Boys' Tennis (14 – 1)MVP: Noah BraggAll-ISL: Noah Bragg, Matt Lebo-vitz, Bart Panarese2012 Captain: Matt Lebovitz

Boys' Track (8 – 4)MVP: Running - Andrew Beau-doin, Field - Steven PawlakAll-ISL: Henry Russell, Stephen Pawlak, Kelby Pontes, Vincent Kennedy, Travis Sheldon, Ben BosworthHonorable Mention: Andrew Beaudoin2012 Captains: Vincent Kenne-dy, Ben Bosworth

Girls' Lacrosse (4 – 11)MVP: Erin MartinHonorable Mention: Diana Per-ry, Kaitlyn Stazinski, Mackenzie O'Neil2012 Captains: Erin Martin, Sar-ah Evans, Carly Cummings

Co-Ed Golf (9 - 8 – 2)MVP: Sam Procter2012 Captain: Louis McWilliams

Girls' Tennis (9 – 3)All-ISL: Sophia PanareseHonorable Mention: Alexandra Lazarus, Ilve Bayturk2012 Captains: Natasha Bhasin, Alexandra Lazarus

Girls' Track (3 - 6 – 1)Honorable Mention: Olivia Ir-ving, Elly Day, Nicole Acheam-pong, Nalani Daniels2012 Captains: Kate Ballinger, Elly Day

Sailing (11th in New England)2012 Captains: Max Bennett, Alistair Hutchings

Softball (10 – 4)MVP: Jane GhublikianAll-ISL: Jane Ghublikian, Mad-die GallagherHonorable Mention: Alana Dovner, Delaney Flynn2012 Captains: Jane Ghublikian, Amy Chappel

M-Club Recap

The Boy’s Varsity Lacrosse team this year had a season of fluctuation to say the least. Finishing with a record of 7-8, this season was somewhat of a dis-appointment in relevance to the team’s actual capabilities, but still themselves nonetheless. Ranging from the absurdities of Dan and Cam Bowen (I), to the psy-chotic babblings of Matt Sullivan (III), the season was wrought with entertain-ment. In terms of the game-time per-formances of the players, the most con-sistent offensive threats included Jake Turrin (I), Pat McNally (I), and Nick Gagnon (II). From the defensive perspec-tive, the “meat-heads” of the team kept the boys alive throughout the vast ma-jority the games. Towards the end of the season, however, several injuries forced some of the other, often young-er, players to step up and score some points for the Mustangs. Some of the

few that made a late but definite impact on offense included Sam Wasserman (II), Kevin Lynch (III), and the only freshman, Jack Kahill (IV). There could be hours of dis-cussion surrounding the boys lax team this year, but from the first days of tryouts and the Florida lax trip, to the last minutes of the near-victory against Nobles, the boys had a great time, and the coaches were excellent as well, both in teaching the game and offering a relaxed, yet competitive atmosphere throughout the spring of 2011.

Boys LacrosseRyan HeathGuest Writer

Mr. Gagnon

Boys Lacrosse at boat dance

June 10, 2011 | Page 16 The Milton Measure

Girl’s Varsity Lacrosse is coming off of an emotional season. Although fin-ishing with a disappointing record of four wins and eleven losses, the team fought hard the whole year. The girl’s record does not accurately represent the time and effort the girls put forth every minute of the spring season. Brighid Noone (II) reflected this sen-timent when she exclaimed, “I was proud of the way we fought in every game this season, win or loss.” Four of the team’s losses were decided by one goal. On May 14, the team faced off against St. Mark’s. With 5 seconds remaining, Milton was down by one goal when sophomore Lillie Si-mourian netted her 4th goal of the game to send the teams to overtime. Despite strong goaltending by Sarah Evans (II), with 12 saves, Milton lost in the sec-ond overtime. “That game was tragic,

a real heartbreaker,” remarked Nicole Donato (II). In another overtime thriller, Milton met Tabor in a duel of will. But the Stangs wanted it more, earn-ing their way to an exhilarating 15-14 win. Eleven players got points, and this April 22 game was the “beginning of us working as a team,” said Simourian. However, it was on the 25th of May that the team pulled off its, according to Simourian, “Best win of the season.” Going into the game, the girls were confident, but conscious of Groton’s conquests. The Groton squad had handily defeated Thayer Academy, a perennial powerhouse, earlier in the year. The Mustangs knew that they had to give it all they had to secure a victory. At halftime, the score was 9-9, and the team was fired up. Senior Hannah Jenkins, who will be playing lacrosse at Wesleyan University next year, was a force on face-offs, succeeding with help from captain Kaitlyn Stazinski who will attend St. Anslem College in the fall. The offense moved the ball with grace and speed, focusing all throughout the game, the Mustangs won with a score of 16-13. The team will miss the seniors’ energy, speed, intensity and “crazi-ness,” according to Lillie Simourian, but it hopes to build on this year’s im-provement and utilize its experienced players to compete with the top teams in the league.

Milton Academy Track began the sea-son with the mantra “Track is back!”, hoping to reclaim a position at the top of the ISL. Combining Darlings with Track infused the Track team with a plethora of new talent that included K.J. Pontes (I), Dennis Clifford (I), and Travis Sheldon (II). The influx of strong newcomers, combined with many successful veterans, made for an

impressive year. The Track team went 8-4 for the season, scoring points in myriad of ways. In the field events, Sean Sylva (IV) and Clifford made a freshmen-senior javelin duo that routinely scored near the top. Clifford also steadily scored points in the High Jump. While many players boasted high scores in field events, Stephen Pawlak (I) was the most dependable, always placing at the top in the pole vault. Pawlak was named field MVP, proving his worth in a variety of ways, including setting the Milton pole vault record at 13’ 8”. Pawlak also mentored Kevin Lee in the pole vault event, coaching him to become another habit-ual scorer. Not only did Pawlak excel at the pole vault; he was part of many placing relay teams as well. In terms of track events, many people contributed to the team. Vincent Kennedy, Pontes, Benjamin Ticknor, and Sheldon all did well in the shorter sprinting events, progressing as the sea-son went on. By the end of the season, Sheldon was a speed demon, placing

third in the 400 at ISL’s, garnering the attention of various colleges. Though the entire team helped through encour-agement and participation on the track, runners Henry Russell, Ben Bosworth, and Andrew Beaudoin stood out on the track. Henry dominated long dis-tance events such as the 1500 and 3000. Bosworth proved a versatile run-ner, placing multiple times in the 400 and competing in the 1500. Of all the athletes, Andrew Beaudoin helped the team the most, and was named track MVP. Beaudoin led the team in overall points, always performing well in the 400 and the 800. He proved unselfish too; at ISLs, he sacrificed a gold medal in the 400 in order to help the team get more points. His unselfish act helped secure the team 3rd place, Track’s best finish since 2003. Beaudoin also set a Milton record in the 800, finishing with a time of 1:56.59. Overall, the season was very rewarding. MA Track is back!

As the spring season draws to a close, many sports are being celebrated for their achievements in a variety of of-ficial manners. Ultimate is not one of these sports. Despite being an interscholastic sport by definition (the team competes with other schools), the team is often regarded as illegitimate or at least “in-tramural” by the athletic department. Thus, in the past, the team has been kicked off its practice field numerous times by more “official” teams such as middle school lacrosse. However, this year the team kicked off the season with improved relations with the athletic department, receiving funds for tournament fees and ordering jerseys through the cage. Traditionally, the team con-sists mainly of seniors, but this year the team was left with only two: captains Clint McSherry (I) and Josh Berman (I). Returners were also sparse. Thus, the majority of the players this year were sophomores who were new to the sport, making the team very young in every sense of the word. Yet the new members quickly picked up the nuances of the sport and became proficient at throwing with the help of the unofficial throwing coach, Caleb Warren (III). Disappointingly, many games were cancelled due to harsh weather. The few games that were suc-cessfully scheduled saw strong per-formances by the captains, Warren and Walton Lee (II) acting as handlers (guys who are dished the disc to make bigger throws). Sky Williams (II) and Mike Sheehan (III) were among the most athletic players on the team, scor-ing majority of the points. Hopefully the team will come out in full force with 13 returners next year.

Sports

Spring Season Recap

Boys TrackJesse Pagliuca

Sports Section Editor

Sam Barrett-CotterSports Writer

Girls Lacrosse

Hannah Jenkins

The girls lacrosse team shows spirit

Ultimate DiscWalton LeeGuest Writer

Michael Berke

Milton Track is back in both track and field

Sid Raju/TMM

Captain practices outside of Forbes

Boys Tennis

The Boy’s Varsity Tennis team had another extremely successful season this past spring, finishing with a 14-1 record and 2nd place finish in the ISL. The boys commenced the sea-son with a strong start, winning their first five games by a combined score of 68-6. This dominance gave the team a lot of confidence going into the tough stretch of the season. In their sixth game, the boys played Belmont Hill on the indoor courts at Milton. The team started off the match by sweeping dou-bles The team then split the rest of the singles matches to win 9-6 over its hated rivals. After the win versus Bel-mont Hill, the boys had two easy vic-tories against Thayer and Lawrence. However, the season hit a road-bump in the next match against Roxbury Lat-in. In this match, the squad won two out of the three doubles matches, but stumbled in the singles and dropped the match 10-5. Bragg and Panarese played very well, but, overall, the boys did not show up to play versus a very solid team. After this mishap, the boys finished out their schedule without a loss, beating a tough St. Paul’s team and their archrivals, Nobles in tough contests. Due to a technicality, Milton was unable to compete in the New England championship; however, the boys were still extremely proud of their season. With only three graduating se-niors, the team looks to continue its success into next season and beyond.

Matthew LebovitzSenior Editor

June 10, 2011 | Page 17The Milton Measure

The 2011 Varsity Softball season began with six consecutive wins, granting the team an early shot at an ISL title and a profile in the Boston Globe. Key wins over Brooks and Rivers, traditionally competitive teams, made Milton tough competitors for league leaders, such as Governors and Nobles. Coach Hickey loved to tell the team, “we are the team no one wants to play,” due to the team’s strong offense and ability to make comebacks late in the game. With an ISL title in its sights, the team suffered its first loss 8-7 to the bats of Lawrence Academy. Despite determination to rebound from the

shattering of an undefeated title, the

loss of two key players, Catcher Mad-die Gallagher (I) and 1st Baseman Kate Couturier (II) due to illness and injury, left the squad’s defense weakened for the highly anticipated game with ISL powerhouse Governors. With almost every player in an unfamiliar position, the defense was unable to measure up to the strength of Governors’ bats and the Stangs suf-fered their second loss. Despite the dis-appointment of the losses in such im-portant games, the Milton softball team was able to maintain a winning record of 7 ISL wins and 4 losses, and a total record of 10-4 including tournament and non-ISL games. The battle with Nobles in the team’s last game of the season served

as a culmination of all of the hard work of the Softball team. Up 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh, the team owed credit to both the solid defense and the pitching by Jane Ghublikian (II), a force on the mound. Despite a hard fought game, several well-placed hits from the No-bles offense put them in the lead 7-6 for a final victory. In a group huddle following the loss, Coach Hickey wisely pro-claimed “that’s life kid” while Galla-gher and Amy Chappel (II) performed an old drama piece. Both events put smiles back on the girls’ faces. The team could give play-by-plays of every game, but the defining characteristic of the season was the team’s chemistry. Led by Captain Al-ana Dovner (I), every member of the team held a vital role whether contrib-uting to the games, practices, or team dynamic. Practice was never boring and the energy was unsurpassable. The chemistry and support throughout the team as the girls cheered for “Canada” or “the girl who fell” remind everyone that despite difficult losses, the softball team continues to be the family that each member looks forward to return-ing to every spring season. The softball team would like to thank Coaches Amy Hickey and Ted Carroll for another great season as it looks forward to success in the spring of 2012.

After a slow start due to snowy weath-er, Girls Track ended up having a strong season filled with many great performances. Two amazing captains, Lauren Kee (I) and Olivia Irving (I), led the girls. The team finished third in its first two meets at Tabor and at home. Some highlights from Tabor included Kate Ballinger’s (II) win in the pole vault, Abbie Higgins (III) and Danielle Frederick’s (II) one-two finish for the grueling 3000 meter, Kee’s gold in the strenuous 1500 meter, and Irving’s win in the 400 meter. The Nguyen sisters, Kee, and Irving performed remarkably in the first home meet of the season. When the team took first place at St. Paul’s there were many first place winners: Jovonna Jones (I) (Shot and Disc), Tif-fany Nguyen (II) (Jav and 100 hurdles), Danielle Cahoon (III) (Triple Jump), Irving (400 and 200), Nicole Acheam-pong (III) (100), and the girls 100

meter team of Kasia Ifill (III), Irving, Nalani Daniels (III), and Acheam-pong. Despite three canceled meets, the team went on to ISL’s and New England’s with great optimism. The ISL and New England team featured Irving, Daniels, Acheampong, Ifill,

Ballinger, Elly Day (II), Jones, Tiffany and Tatiania Nguyen, Danielle Ca-hoon, Elya Reznichenko (III), Carson Gaffney (II), Lindsay Atkeson (III), Kee, Frederick, and Higgins. Among the various strong fin-ishes, Frederick set a personal record at 11: 18 minutes for the 3000 meter.

Reznichenko pole vaulted her way to a third place finish and a personal record at 7 feet 6 inches. Ballinger also tied for third in the pole vault. When asked to reminisce about the season, Coach Simonson offered many remarks. He describes Irving as “indomitable” and Jones as “the calm and collected rock of our throwing pro-gram”. He also noted that the Nguyens are very versatile and that Reznichen-ko improved tremendously, especially considering she was a first time pole vaulter. Moreover, working through an injury, Ballinger never gave up. Si-monson noticed ample amounts of en-thusiasm from the distance team. The girls were never afraid to run through muddy woods or to “The Top of the World”, fighting off Rott-weilers on their way. A lot of new elements were introduced to the team this year as the team experienced a completely new coaching staff, but overall a unity grew between the girls, resulting in an unfor-gettable season.

Sports

Girls TrackAbbie Higgins and Danielle Frederick

Guest Writers

Michael Berke

The girls bolt down the track

Girls SoftballMaggie WalshGuest Writer

Maddie Gallagher

Varsity girls softball 10-4

Girls Tennis

Coming off a disappointing season, the Girls Varsity Tennis team bounced back very well this past spring. The team started off the season with high expectations as star-player Sophie Panarese (I), ranked fourth in New England, returned to the team after a one-year hiatus. Georgetown bound Panarese summed up the goals of her team, stat-ing, “We went into the season look-ing to kick some serious ass.” The girls started off the season on a high note, winning their first three games by a combined score of 33-12 versus competitors Rivers, St. George’s, and Brooks. However, after this impressive beginning, the team suffered a short losing streaking, falling short in their next two games against Middlesex and Thayer. Despite strong performances by seniors Emma Borden (I), Panarese, Susannah Lavigne (I), and Nikita Bha-sin (I), the girls fell short, losing 9-5 and 8-7 respectively. After these tough defeats, the girls bounced back nicely, winning five of their last seven matches to finish with a 10-4 record, third place in the ISL. Led by new captains Natasha Bhasin (II) and Lexi Lazares (II) and coached by Troy Crichlow, the team looks to remain strong and continue off their success from the past year. Even though four seniors are leaving, the fu-ture is optimistic and Coach Crichlow seems to be building a true powerhouse in the ISL.

Matthew LebovitzSenior Editor

Spring Season Recap

June 10, 2011 | Page 18 The Milton MeasureSenior Projects

One of the most high-profile senior projects this year was The Brother-hood, an student produced thriller film directed by Kaito Hara and starring Dan Bowen, Tyler Edwards Nikhil Bhambi, and Stephen Paw-lack. The film, set in the seedy Boston underworld, draws clear in-

fluence from recent crime-themed movies, such as The Town and the Bourne series. The film depicts Bowen and Edwards as a pair of assassins trying to uncover a plot against them. The film also features a large ensemble of Milton students. Stephen Pawlak plays the film’s

Russian-gangster villain. The film featured plenty of fistfights, gun-fights, and explosions, the latter courtesy of extensive special effects by Hara, and the audience was cer-tainly not disappointed, giving the film a minute-long ovation.

In a school overflowing with talented musicians, the Hip-Hop sensation, The Academy, has become the most popular student group on campus. This past Wednesday, the members, Andrew “Dru Classic” Nwachuku, Josh “Sprinkles” Jordan, and Nick “J. Esco” Alves displayed their talents in King Theatre for their senior project. Starting off the event, Kah-deem Ralph showed his documentary on the group’s formation, including the history of Milton musicians, such as James Taylor, the Black Spades, and Cookie Dough. The movie also involved inter-

views with students and faculty, asking their opinions on the super-group. To end the documentary, Ralph shared an artist biography for each member of the group with pictures of his child-hood and stories of experience with music. Following the short documen-tary, The Academy stormed the stage to perform three of their favorite songs: Time, Truth, and The Divided Line. The presentation was an en-joyable experience for all present, and definitely a highlight of the 2011 Se-nior Project presentations.

A Taste of Senior Projects

Emma Borden, Sophia Sopuch, and Sloan Devins mesmerized a crowd of about twenty-five onlookers as the girls gracefully jumped, twirled and leaped across the dance floor in the Kellner Dance Studio. The hard work put into their senior project manifested itself in the syn-chronization of their movement. Although the performance

was short lived, Borden and Devins continued to teach a dance class of about fifteen students who signed up in advance. The dance class was extremely homogeneous, con-sisting of only one male student. The performance was a great way for the girls to end their careers at Milton.

Hallowell seniors Sarah Lyn, Audrey Keathley, and Shannon McHugh teamed up with Robbins senior Doriane Ahia in learning about the arts of kickboxing and yoga. During their project the girls wanted not only to learn self-de-fense, a skill they felt was essential given their gender, but also “to get fit during projects” said Lyn.

While their main focus was, in fact, kickboxing, they under-went other training in their pursuit of becoming fit, including but not limited to, conditioning, flexibility, and core strength. In order to com-plete their project, the quartet was required to give an instructional session on what they had learned. And while they lamented that they

could not squeeze in all that they had accomplished into their given time slot, their session effectively went over the basics. Packed into the wrestling room, a slew of fe-males of various ages—including prominent faculty Bridget Johnson and Heather Sugrue—and a lone male junior participated in a simple workout set up by the team. After

some light conditioning and core work, the students proceeded to learn about jabs, crosses, knee hits, and kicks. After going through the motions and sacrificing the well-being of the punching bag, the disciples went into some relaxing yoga. It was an incredible instruc-tional session by the girls and an amazing senior project.

Sarah Lyn, Audrey Keathley, Shannon McHugh

Emma Borden, Sophia Sopuch, Sloan Devins

Andrew Nwachuku, Josh Jordan, Nick Alves

Kaito Hara, Dan Bowen, Tyler Edwards, Nikhil Bhambi, Stephen PawlakKaito Hara/The Brotherhood

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Watson Leffel/TMM

Siddarth Raju/TMM

June 10, 2011 | Page 19The Milton Measure Prom

Prombiance:Senior Prom 2011

This past Saturday marked the annual Senior Prom for the class of 2011. Prom, the most famous and highly anticipated high school dance, was a great success, meeting the expectations of the graduating class The entire experience of prom collectively consumed at least twelve hours of each student’s day. Some dates gathered at friends’ homes with smiling and nostalgic parents to take pictures. Others waited until the entire senior class met on the quad at around 6:30pm to take formal pictures with dates, friends, parents, teachers, and even Mr. Bland. At past Milton proms, senior girls wore longer and more formal dress-es while juniors and other underclassmen guests wore shorter dress in order to respect the graduating girls. This year, however, short and long gowns proved popular amongst seniors and underclassmen. A common trend of females from all classes was the white “goddess-like” full dresses. Memorable ensembles included but were not limited to: Hannah Jenkins’s (I) regal full length purple dress, Claire Whitman’s (I) white goddess gown hand made by her mother, Sophie Panerese’s (I) beautiful one shouldered black mini dress, Ariana Lee’s (I) classy long black and white gown, and Mariko Azis’s (I) stunning floor length ruby red dress. After taking innumerable pictures, students stepped on to the trolleys and later arrived at the Radisson Hotel. Upon walking into the ballroom, students saw many white dinning tables decorated with black and gold balloons that were centered around a dance floor and DJ table. Dates began to claim their tables, marking them with purses, blazers, and heels. As dates snapped pictures while awaiting dinner at their tables, Marvin Gaye’s “Aint No Mountain High Enough” projected from the speakers and Kahdeem Ralph (I) ran across the dance floor to fellow dorm mate Cam Bowen (I). The two danced in what was easily the night’s most memorable duet performance. Following the impromptu performance, students enjoyed an extravagant three-course meal and then proceeded to hit the dance floor. Throughout the night, when dates needed a break from dancing, they lined the outside hallway and enjoyed the tables of small pastries, fruit, and cups of water. Senior Claire Whitman recalled her prom experience as “an awesome night.” At one a.m., the DJ played the last song and students departed in trolleys on a much calmer and quieter ride than the one before. When students arrived back at the Student Center, flashing colorful lights welcomed them into the “Boardwalk” themed prom after party. Girls and boys traveled to their respective changing areas where everyone shed their formal at-tire and donned sweatpants and t-shirts for the remainder of the morning. The bottom level of the student center held tables of pizza, crab rangoon, and spring rolls while the upper level housed the board walk games, a frozen drink tiki bar, a cappuccino stand, a cotton candy machine, and a caricature art-ist. Inside Wigg Hall, students could also enjoy the moon bounce, the inflatable obstacle course, or the human Velcro wall. After a few hours, the excitement of “post prom” began to wear off, and stu-dents dozed off in all areas of the building. Students could be found asleep in the freshman booths, all corners of the sophomore cave, the hallway to the book store, on the floor, and on couches of the upper level of Stu. Prom goers even slept on the moon bounce, the Velcro wall’s platform, and the obstacle course. Finally, at five a.m., groggy, sleep deprived students in various states of dishev-elment left the student center. Students in pajamas, some with make up or dress shoes still on, carried their wrinkled dresses and tuxes out of the student center as they departed for a long, lazy day of sleep and recovery. All in all, this year’s Senior Prom met the expectations of a great send off for the senior class of 2011. We wish them the best of luck for next year!

McKean Tompkins/TMM McKean Tompkins/TMM

Dr. Patricia DeGroot

McKean Tompkins/TMM

Kaitlyn Stazinski

by Watson Leffel, Managing Editor

June 10, 2011 | Page 20 The Milton MeasureMatriculation: Class of 2011Yael Acker-Krzywicki: Binghamton UniversityMariam Agaeva: University of ChicagoDoriane Ahia: Harvard UniversityRachelle Alfred: Tufts UniversitySarah Alliegro: Georgetown University Nicholas Alves: Boston CollegePhilip Alves: George Washington UniversitySamuel Ames: Union CollegeMariko Azis: Cornell UniversityJohn Bailey: Harvard UniversityAshley Bair: Mount Holyoke CollegeKatherine Bator: Dickinson CollegeKatlyn Bean: Kenyon CollegeThomas Beaudoin: Williams CollegeAlice Becker: Carnegie Mellon UniversityRobert Bedetti: Harvard UniversityLoxley Bennett: Columbia UniversityMichael Berke: University of PennsylvaniaAngela Berkowitz: Harvard UniversityJoshua Berman: McGill UniversityNikhil Bhambi: Boston UniversityNikita Bhasin: Columbia UniversityRachel Black: Gap Year, Brown UniversityEmma Borden: Cornell UniversityCameron Bowen: Fairfield University Daniel Bowen: Junior Hockey LeagueJulianne Brady: Gap Year, Ithaca CollegeNoah Bragg: Bowdoin CollegeJulia Brown: University of EdinburghKatherine Caine: Georgetown University Charles Casper: Colgate UniversityWayne Chang: Washington University in St. LouisMichael Char: Tufts UniversityNatalie Chaves: Trinity CollegeWilson Chen: Harvard UniversityZhen Zhen Chen: Brandeis UniversityLauren Cheng: Fordham UniversitySidney Chiang: Georgetown University Mark Chu: University of MiamiDennis Clifford: Boston CollegeJaclyn Coffey: College of the Holy CrossSarah Costello: George Washington UniversityElias Dagher: Columbia UniversitySolana Davis: Tufts UniversityGenevieve DeGroot: Wesleyan UniversityRebecca Deng: Barnard College Aaron Deutsch: Amherst CollegeMary Devins: University of South CarolinaSean Dougherty: Williams CollegeAlana Dovner: Connecticut CollegeCaitlin Dutkiewicz: Georgetown UniversityTyler Edwards: Lehigh UniversityRobert Elias: College of William and MaryDelger Erdenesanaa: Bowdoin CollegeConor Feagan: New York UniversityAylin Feliz: George Washington UniversityIsabella Frontado: Wellesley College Jasmine Gale: University of Southern CaliforniaMadison Gallagher: Gap YearChristopher Ganss: Air Force AcademyNicolette Gendron: Occidental CollegeMichael Godwin: Saint Lawrence University Lydia Green: Tulane Unviersity

Marco Barber-Grossi: Gap Year, Harvard UniversityN’dea Hallett: Tufts UniversityKaito Hara: New York UniversityBenjamin Hawkins: University of MichiganAlexander Healey: Amherst CollegeNoelle Hiam: Wesleyan UniversityChristian Hoxsie: Claremont McKenna CollegeWoodruff Hudson: Gap YearChinenye Ikoro: Johns Hopkins UniversityOlivia Irving: George Washington UniversityErik Jacobsen: Bowdoin CollegeKunal Jasty: University of ChicagoNaveen Jasty: Cornell UniversityHannah Jenkins: Wesleyan UniversityConnor Johnson: Harvard UniversityJovonna Jones: Emory UniversityJoshua Jordan: Salve Regina UniversitySamuel Karlinski: Columbia University - Juliard Exchange ProgramAudrey Keathley: George Washington UniversitySarah Kechejian: University of VermontLauren Kee: University of RochesterIan Kernohan: College of WoosterEsther Kim: Boston UniversityCleopatra King: Boston CollegeBrian Kong: Massachusetts Institue of Technology Richard Kong: Cornell UniversityBrian Krantz: Columbia CollegeWarren Lam: Vanderbilt UniversityDaniel Lamere: Washington University in St. LouisCameron Lamoureux: Yale UniversityJosette LaRochelle: Brown UniversitySusannah LaVigne: University of RichmondAriana Lee: Brown UniversityCarolyn Lee: Yale UniversityDavid Lee: Emory UniversityYoona Lee: New York UniversityIsabelle Lelogeais: Rice UniversityIsabel Lester: Claremont McKenna CollegeZakiya Lewis: Harvard University Shan Lin: Dickinson CollegeSarah Lyn: Mount Holyoke CollegeJane Ma: Colby CollegeRobert MacKay: Tulane UniversitySamuel Madden: Tufts UniversityElisabeth Makishima: Smith CollegeCharlotte Malone: Sarah Lawrence CollegeSonia Manssen: Bowdoin CollegeHannah Mason: Bard CollegeDevon McCready: Boston CollegeShannon McHugh: Fairfield UniversityPatrick McNally: Harvard University William McSherry: McDaniel CollegeJohn Meek: University of VermontChelsea Mehra: University of California, Davis Caitlin Melendez: Furman CollegeDaniel Merenich: Amherst CollegeJames Meresman: Washington University in St. LouisNicole Meyers: Gap Year, Bucknell UniversityChloe Michaelidis: Earlham CollegeBrittany Miller: New York UniversityPatrick Miller-Bartley: University of Colorado, Boulder

John Mitchell: University of ChicagoScott Murphy: Cornell UniversitySamantha Noh: Harvard UniversityAndrew Nwachuku: Amherst CollegeSeowon Oh: Carnegie Mellon UniversitySean Okita: Trinity CollegeCaroline Owens: University of ChicagoWilliam Palmer: Middlebury CollegeSophia Panarese: Georgetown UniversityTanya Panicker: University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignGeorge Pantazopoulos: Tufts UniversityStephen Pawlak: Cornell UniversityElizabeth Peabody: University of Southern CaliforniaDiana Perry: Haverford CollegeKelby Pontes: Wheaton CollegeJaclyn Porfilio: Williams CollegeNikolas Powers: Wesleyan UniversityXiaoyin Qiao: Washington University in St. LouisCarolina Queszada: Earlham CollegeKahdeem Ralph: Wesleyan University Yuleissy Ramirez: Harvard University Charlotte Reed: Kenyon CollegeJoseph Reynolds: Pomona CollegeAinikki Riikonen: University of St. AndrewsAnais Rodriguez-Thompson: Columbia UniversityHenry Russell: Dartmouth CollegeThomas Schneider: Skidmore College Daniel Schwartz: Gap Year, Harvard UniversityGregor Seidman: University of MichiganSamuel Shleifer: Yale UniversitySofia Silverglass: Middlebury CollegeHannah Smith: Guilford CollegeSophia Sopuch: Indiana UniversityKaitlyn Stazinski: Saint Anslem CollegeCharles Storey: Dartmouth CollegeAndrew Strang: Clemson UniversityAlexandra Stratouly: Boston CollegeConrad Taylor: Boston CollegeMadeline Thayer: Wellesley CollegeBenjamin Ticknor: Dartmouth College Satto Tonegawa: Massachusetts Institue of Technology Victoria Trippe: Cornell UniversityZachary Trkla: Bates CollegeJackson Tse: Johns Hopkins UniversityJake Turrin: Amherst CollegeMarshall Tyler: Occidental CollegeFarzan Vafa: Harvard UniversityAnika Wasserman: Grinnell CollegeIsabel Watts: Evergreen State CollegeJessica White: Illinois Wesleyan UniversityClaire Whitman: Wellesley CollegeArianna Williams: Washington University in St. LouisKatherine Woodhouse: Dickinson CollegeJoycelyn Yip: University of Southern CaliforniaChristian Yun: University of Southern CaliforniaRobert Zindman: Trinity CollegeAlisha Zou: Rice University

Harvard University 13Cornell University 7Tufts University 6Boston College 6Amherst College 5Columbia University 5George Washington Unversity 5Georgetown University 5Washington University St. Louis 5Wesleyan University 5Bowdoin College 4New York University 4University of Chicago 4University of Southern Cal. 4Brown University 3Dartmouth College 3Dickinson College 3Trinity College 3Wellesley College 3Williams College 3Yale University 3Boston University 2

Carnegie Mellon 2Claremont Mckenna 2Earlham 2Emory 2Fairfield 2Gap Year / Undecided 2Johns Hopkins 2MIT 2Middlebury 2Mount Holyoke 2Occidental 2Rice 2Tulane 2University of Michigan 2University of Vermont 2Kenyon College 2Air Force Academy 1Bard College 1Barnard College 1Bates College 1Binghamton University 1Brandeis University 1

Bucknell University 1Clemson University 1Colby College 1Colgate University 1College of the Holy Cross 1College of William and Mary 1College of Wooster 1Columbia College 1Connecticut College 1Evergreen State College 1Fordham University 1Furman College 1Grinnell College 1Guilford College 1Haverford College 1Illinois Wesleyan University 1Indiana University 1Ithaca College 1Junior Hockey League 1Lehigh University 1McDaniel College 1McGill University 1

Pomona College 1Saint Anslem College 1Saint Lawrence University 1Salve Regina University 1Sarah Lawrence College 1Skidmore College 1Smith College 1Union College 1University of California, Davis 1University of Colorado Boulder 1University of Edinburgh 1University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1University of Miami 1University of Pennsylvania 1University of Richmond 1University of Rochester 1University of South Carolina 1University of St. Andrews 1Vanderbilt University 1Wheaton College 1

By The Numbers