The VA VoiceVermont Academy, Saxtons River, Vermont 05154

“Discere verba et opera Dei”October 29, 2012 Volume 17, Issue 5

“Some of the News That’s Fit to Print”

IN THE MARGINThe Third Presidential Debate

President Barack Obama and for-mer Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney participated in their third presidential debate on Monday. The debate was moderated by Bob Schieffer, and centered on the issues of American foreign policy. The candidates frequently brought the conversation back to the economy.

Northeast Prepares for SandyHurricane Sandy, referred to as “Frankenstorm,” is projected to slam much of the east coast on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Authori-ties have already closed schools and evacuated low lying areas of cities like New York.

World Series ContinuesThe Major League Baseball World Series is underway in Detroit. The San Francisco Giants are pitted against the Detroit Tigers, and the Giants are up three games to none. If the Giants were to win the series, they would bring their world series total to nine wins. This is surely shaping up to be a memorable se-ries.

Picture Courtesy of Vermont Academy

Vermont Academy Hosts Jack BeattyBy: Mike ReillyLast week the Vermont Academy community had the great opportunity to listen to the political insights of Mr. Jack Beatty. Mr. Beatty is most well known for his role in the regular NPR program “On Point.” Beatty is also an acclaimed author. For fifteen years he served as Senior Editor for The Atlantic magazine. During his tenure, Beatty has also taught writing classes at Harvard, Dart-mouth, and Yale. Mr. Beatty joined us to talk about the politics of the current presidential election, and some over-riding themes of Ameri-can politics. Mr. Beatty focused most of his time on the idea of statism versus individualism and what these terms actu-ally mean. Statism is the philosophy that the state should provide for the people, an idea promoted by Democrats and Barack Obama. Individualism states that citizens should be independent from the state, and this idea is promoted by Republicans and Mitt Romney. Mr. Beatty talked about how throughout the course of American history, indi-vidualism has usually won over statism, but that an overriding theme of American government since the time of the New Deal has always been to provide assistance for the unfortunate.After his discussion, Mr. Beatty took some questions from students and faculty. He talked about a range of issues brought up by members of the community including the percieved contradiction between social and fiscal conservatism as well as the individual mandate put in place by The Af-fordable Care Act. After taking questions, Mr. Beatty enjoyed lunch with Vermont Academy students and continued discussing politics.I thought that Mr. Beatty was an excellent speaker. He was able to effec-tively talk about the election in an objective way, which is not an easy feat. Mr. Beatty gave some great insight into how the current party system de-veloped, and how that development relates to what America values today. On behalf of the Vermont Academy community I would just like to thank Mr. Beatty again.

Page 2 The VA Voice October 29, 2012

Making Friends with Mac Haddad

Picture courtesy of Mac Haddad

Making friends is not a science, it’s an art. One can’t just go from social outcast to being as socially outgo-ing as I am. You must hone your skills through disipline and prac-tice. I would recommend that you visit the downstairs of Shepardson so that you can meet new people. I will most likely not write another article for this esteemed paper, so good luck on your journey to make friends.

By: George AtkinsAn up and coming team this fall is Crew. This year there are 17 ath-letes, including 14 men’s rowers, 1 female rower, and two coxswains. The roster for the 1st Varsity boat is Garret Kogel, Bobby Ronacher, George Atkins, and Carson Burke, with Max Basescu as the coxswain. The roster for the 2nd Varsity boat is Salty Pennington-Fitzgerald, Will Sanger, Keenan Fisher, and Mike Caron, with Abby Hart as the cox-swain. The roster for the Novice boat is Aidan Therrien, Julian Stol-per, Matt Gendron, Max Gilbey, George Brown, and Jesse Gottes-diener, with Mikaela Paluszek as the coxswain. Mikaela is also the

only single rower. So far the crew team has attended four regattas and two scrimmages. At the second re-gatta, the New England Junior/High School Championship in Worcester, MA, all four entries did very well. The 1st Varsity received 3rd place, the 2nd Varsity received 3rd place, the Novice boat received 1st place, and Mikaela received 3rd as well. At the Head of the Charles on Octo-ber 21st, only the 1st Varsity rowed. They received 50th out of 85 boats, beating such teams as NMH, Brew-ster, Berkshire, and Brunswick. This further solidified crew as one of our most successful teams. The next race for crew is the Head of the Fish at Saratoga, NY, on October 28th.

VA Crew Team Competes at Head of the Charles

Picture courtesy of Garret Kogel

By: Ari BeauregardThe Varsity Field Hockey team participated in the nationwide field hockey fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. Play 4 the Cure took place on Friday October 26 against Proctor. The game was intense right from the start and senior for-ward Samantha Gillingham scored to lead the game 1-0. Unfortunately

Pink on the Field Game: A Fight Against Cancer

the Proctor team was able to score in the early minutes of the second half and win in overtime. Despite the loss, the girls’ team was able to raise over 600 dollars for Play 4 the Cure. The team would like to thank everyone for their support with the cause and for their support at the game.

Picture courtesy of Vermont Academy

Page 3 The VA Voice October 29, 2012

Tell us about where you’re from.

What are your opinions on car-rots?

Who is your least favorite actor or actress? Why?

Claudia Tappe There is a reality TV show about my state. I live next to Princ-eton.

Too dry. I don’t like the texture.

Jennifer Anis-ton. She plays the exact same role in every movie.

Michail Eggel-hoefer

No. They make you see better in the dark. It’s a fact.

I don’t hate ac-tors.

Dr. Cohn Do you know that “Funky-town” by Lipps, Inc. is a song about wanting to get out of Min-neapolis, MN?

I enjoy them because they are crunchy and nutritious. But sometimes there’s a weird spicyness.

Nicholas Cage. Because he’s a terrible actor and he’s whiny and very un-atractive.

Questions Around Campus??? By: Ross Holzschuh

VA VOICE STAFF

Editor in ChiefEamon O’Keefe

Assistant EditorsRoss Holzschuh, George Atkins

Student ContributorsMac Haddad, Mike Reilly, Ross Holzschuh, Ari Beauregard, George Atkins, Salty Pennington

FitzGerald,

Faculty ContributorsMr. Hearon

Faculty Advisor: Mr. Frey, Dr. Cohn

10. Ask Mr. Tesar to fell a beauti-ful birch tree and fashion a classic dugout canoe from the trunk. Chris-ten the vessel, the USS Thoreau, in honor of your shared affection for the naturalist poet. 9. Ask Mr. Sorci to sic his hairy hounds on the dreaded beast called Sandy. We will all be saved!8. Ask Mr. Echanis if one of his slick robots could be programmed to dig trenches, carry sandbags, and construct large moats around your dorm. 7. Ask VA’s greatest nocturnal de-fenders, Barry and Larry, to pull double-shifts and protect the school against the hurricane both day and night.6. Ask Mr. Nelligan to issue a de-tention offense against “Sandy” for failure to comply with his instruc-tions to NOT inundate the region with wind and rain. Saturday night Detention for you, Sandy!

5. Ask Mr. McCardle to film the im-pending storm so that you have kill-er raw footage of the “perfect storm” for that big doomsday project you have been planning for Filmmaking Class. 4. Ask Mrs. McNealus and her AP art students to stop the storm in its tracks so that they can capture it on canvas for the next big VA Arts Show.3. Ask Mrs. Hepburn to quickly cre-ate a huge clay vessel that our lo-cal sorcerer, Mathieu, will then use to magically capture all the water falling from the sky in his greatest feat to date: the infamous Canadian Crock Pot Trick.2. Ask Mr. Hearon to cancel classes due to the impending storm. Stuff his pockets with cash, ply him with gold and silver, do anything to avoid class in the basement of Alumni and Fuller. Treading water and tak-ing notes at the same time is sim-

ply not possible, despite what Mrs. Parkhurst claims.1. Charge your phone, put fresh bat-teries in your flashlight, and break out that Scrabble board. We are go-ing old school here at VA. Maybe even some Twister during H block advisory? Blissful tech-free envi-ronment = higher GPA’s!!!

Mr. Hearon’s Top Ten Tips on Preparing for Frankenstorm Sandy

Picture courtesy of CNN

Page 4 The VA Voice October 29, 2012

It began during the fall of my freshman year at Vermont Academy. Every time I walked down the top flight of stairs in Fuller, I would get a strange feeling as I saw that square, floor level window. How easy it would be to miss a step, fall down the stairs, and simply roll through that rectangle of death. During lengthy geometry classes in Fuller 302, I often contemplated the number of broken bones one would receive from the fall. This fear may seem sinister and random, but for some reason, it has re-mained with me over the years, lodged somewhere in the back of my mind.Recently, I jokingly informed a friend, Bobby Ronacher, about this fear, and I was surprised to learn that he too ex-periences it. He is currently utilizing his extensive Latin skills to come up with a scientific name for it, but for now I think Fallingdownthestairsand-outofawindowphobia will suffice. The fact that a friend shared this fear made me feel better about it, and realize that

maybe I am not that weird for having it. When I came to Mr. O’Keefe with the idea for this article, he was thrilled, and immediately began divulging his great-est irrational fear: ordering a sandwich at Subway. “There are way too many choices, and the sandwich makers won’t just make it for you, you have to choose what goes on it!” he said. “How am I supposed to know what kind of cheese I want on my BLT?!”During the process of developing this article, I accidentally made an inter-esting discovery: People like sharing their irrational fears. It is a good way to open up to other people and discover things you have in common. It is also hilarious to hear how ludicrous some people’s irrational fears are. So I chal-lenge you—yes, you, the Voice reader who actually took the time to read this article—to share your irrational fears with your friends. You will learn some weird things about people, and you might have some fun doing it.

Outside my WindowWeekly writing promptBy: David PershaI hear winter coming with all his mightHis tremendous strength at handLock the windows close the doorsBecause he’s right outside my window

At first there’s snowflakes one by oneThen rush the scene with whiteFour feet of snow too deep to goTrudging through the nightSo I stay inside free yet cagedLooking out my window

The next day the sun comes outBut only tantalizing tastesFor I know snow will come backSo inside I must make hasteRunny nose and freezing toesAwait outside my window

The sun is gone! No dusk no dawn!Just the blandness of the greyYet who’d have guessed in dark green dress The pines that were here to stay.Now two colors green and white compete to and froAs I watch warm and snug, right outside my window

The warmth of flame, the chirp of the kettleThe calling of my chairAll enticing things all priceless thingsYet I’m caught in one more snareAdventure roars a mighty soundAn invitation I must acceptThe only problem is I have to take the first and only stepJust right outside my window

Quite simply, the Writing Center is the greatest thing to happen to Vermont Academy since the removal of the tab-let program. What is it? If you ask this question you are one of the many stu-dents who don’t read their email. But have no fear; the Vermont Academy Writing Center will amaze even the most uninterested of students. Located in the heart of the Vermont Academy Learning Center, it employs the help of teachers and students alike to im-prove other students’ writing. Whether you’re working on a college essay, an essay for class, or maybe a response to Dr. Cohn’s writing prompt, the Writ-ing Center can help you improve your writing. Faculty and student writing tutors ask you to read your own work so that you are able to hear your own language. The Writing Center is partly Dr. Cohn’s brain child, and through her valiant efforts, it has transformed itself

from a thought in the doctor’s mind to a real program with a real classroom. In discussion with Dr. Cohn, she says that it “gives students a chance to get input on their writing from knowledgeable members of the community.” The goal is to improve students’ writing skills because “the ability to write well will enable them to succeed in college and beyond” says Cohn. So don’t wallow in literary mediocrity and sign up for an appointment in the book by the door of the Writing Center; you’ll be glad you did.

Irrational Fears: by Salty Pennington-FitzGerald III

VA Writing Center