The

The episcopal academy 1785 Bishop WhiTe drive, pa 19073 October, 2011Volume CXXI, Edition 2

Academy ScholiumThe Scholium seeks to serve the Episcopal Academy community by providing useful information,

timely news, and dialogue that fa-cilitates ethical engagement in the community and the larger world.

Inside This Issue

Following the September 11th at-tacks, the Federal Bureau of Investiga-tion has taken controversial new mea-sures to strengthen counterterrorism efforts, including William Gawthrop’s training session on the radical nature of Islam. Leaked PowerPoint slides of this speech have lead politicians, reli-gious leaders, and citizens to publicly demand these new measures to stop.

Based on the leaked PowerPoint presentations accompanying the train-ing sessions held in Quantico, Vir-ginia, Gawthrop clearly displays the message that more devout Muslims are more likely to be violent. The ÀUVW� VOLGH� VKRZV� WKH� WUHQG� HYLGHQW�with the followers of the Torah and Bible: devout followers of a chosen text become less violent through-out time. However, this is not the case with devout followers of the Quran. Instead, the slides show that, since the Medina Period of Muham-mad's life, the most devout Muslims have retained their radical nature.

These slides have caused uproar among both Muslims and non-Mus-lims. Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins have openly criticized the FBI for allowing Gawthrop to speak. They wrote, “We have seri-ous concerns that improper train-ing may not be isolated occurrences and could be detrimental to our ef-forts to confront homegrown ter-rorism...[the training] is both inac-curate and counterproductive."

This speech was part of a new FBI initiative to attack terrorism and the threat of radical Islam. Beginning a self-described “shift in resources” to deal with this threat, the FBI increased WKH� QXPEHU� RI � LQWHOOLJHQFH� RIÀFHUV��created the National Counterterrosim Center, and called for a higher level of education in counterterrorism.

The FBI now holds training ses-sions for counterterrosim at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. One such training sessions was the talk given by William Gawthrop in Au-gust, 2011. Gawthrop, an Intelligence Analyst, previous Counterintelligence 6WDII � 2IÀFHU�� DQG� DXWKRU� RI � ´7KH�Sources and Patterns of Terrorism in Islamic Law”, has previously been subject to great criticism. In a contro-versial interview published on World-NetDaily, he stated “Muhammad’s mindset is a source for terrorism.”

The FBI has since responded to this controversy by saying that “this particular training segment” happened “one time only, at Quan-tico and was quickly discontinued.”

Gawthrop's Speech

Sparks Controversy

Michael Quinlan '14

Challenging and Nurturing: Two Sides of the Same CoinVictoria Johnson '14Meredith McCarthy '14

high parent satisfaction overall but re-vealed a possible weakness in the area of nurture. According to Head of Upper School Geoff Wagg, “While EA is a generally nur-turing environment, there may be ways we could improve.” Susan Swanson, Head of Community Out-UHDFK��FODULÀHG��́ ,�ZDQW�to make it clear that the survey did not say that we are not a nurturing environment. By far

most people were very pleased with the Episcopal. Out of a score of ÀYH��PRVW�WKLQJV�ZHUH�D�IRXU�RU�ÀYH��where there were scores of 3.7 was

in the area of nur-turing, so we want to bring that up.” The nurturing com-mittee was cre-ated at the end of last year to address this issue. Swan-

son, and Samuel Willis, member of the English Department, were ap-

pointed co-chairs of the committee. The nurturing committee is com-prised of lower and upper school faculty who have expressed interest in joining the committee. Swanson stated that the nurturing commit-tee “[I]s going to look at how the parents, teachers, and our advi-sory system can be more effective.” Yet it still remains to be seen wether or not Episcopal really fails to nurture its students. “We have to see if it’s a

“While EA is a gener-

ally nurturing environ-

ment, there may be ways

we could improve.”

-Geoff Wagg, Head

of Upper School

Earth and Life Removed Honor Hall ClosedCurran Reilly '13Megan Kicullen'13 John Flynn '14

This year, the Upper School Science Department removed Earth and Life from Episco-pal 's curriculum. Previously, freshmen were placed in Earth and Life or Biology, according to either academic standing in Math and Sci-ence in e i g h t h grade or entrance e x a m r e s u l t s .

P a u l R o s e n -b u r g , C h a i r of the S c i e n c e D e p a r t -m e n t , s a i d , “ W e [the Sci-ence Department] made this decision due to the pres-sure of other schools.”

Episcopal is one of the few schools that offers something other than Biology for fresh-men, which caused many Earth and Life alumni to feel disad-vantaged. For freshmen who were not originally placed in Biology, taking an AP science class senior year required tak-ing a science course during the summer. Sarah Perkins, V Form Dean, agrees with this deci-sion, saying, “It is the respon-sibil ity of our school to con-sider parity with peer schools as well as student opportuni-ties in their senior years.” This new Upper School science system will al low all students to take AP sciences senior

year, rather than just those who were placed into Biology their freshman year.

While this decision is ben-eficial to the current freshman class, the current sophomores, juniors, and seniors, wish this decision was made long ago.

Carter Gantt ‘13 said she is "happy that they finally made

the deci-sion to c h a n g e " but is f r u s -t r a t e d b e c a u s e s h e " d i d n ' t have the o p p o r -t u n i t y to take B i o l o g y f r e s h -m a n y e a r , and wil l n o w

have to double up senior year if [she wil l] want to take an AP.” Similarly, Jack Florio ‘13 wishes that al l freshmen were originally placed in Biology, since those who take Chemis-try as juniors often feel behind.

The Science Department is also sad to see Earth and Life cut from the program. Leslie Trimble, member of the Sci-ence Department says, “Earth and Life was fun to teach, and offered a buffer year for stu-dents to mature and ease their way into high school science.”

Previously, regular track Episcopal students would have taken Earth and Life, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Stu-dents now can take Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and an AP science course their senior year.

Justin Brandon, VI Form Dean, said, “The Honor Hall was loud, distracting, and frankly dirty.” Charlene Shingle and Carole Tas-soni, Administrative Assistants in WKH�8SSHU�6FKRRO�2IÀFH��ZHUH�DOVR�

disturbed by the behaviors. Tas-soni said that “the activities in the Honor Hall were loud, distracting, and got a little out of hand.” Be-cause their of-ÀFHV�DUH� ORFDWHG�directly across from the Honor Hall, in order to get work done,

Shingle and Tassoni needed to close WKHLU�RIÀFH�GRRU��7KH�VKRXWLQJ�ZDV�often so bad that they could not hear conversations on the phone.

The Coote Honor Hall, a ORXQJH� RQ� WKH� ÀUVW� ÁRRU� RI � WKH�Upper School, is being converted into a study space due to repeat-ed accounts of inappropr i a te behavior and the need for a study space in the Upper School building. Geoff Wagg, Head of Upper School, plans to make the Coote Honor Hall the Upper School equivalent to the Middle School study room.

This change was brought about by the behavior of stu-dents in the hall last year, most of whom were VI form stu-dents who used the Honor Hall as an extension of their lounge.

See HONOR HALL on page 2

As a result of a lengthy strategic planning process, Episcopal's mission statement was re-written as follows: “Challenging and nurturing Mind, Body, and Spirit, we inspire boys and girls to lead lives of purpose, faith, and integrity.” A subsequent survey went out at the end of last year to determine whether or not parents felt that the school was accomplishing this new mission. The results suggested

See NUTURING on page 3

HALL OF DISHONOR: The Honor wil be convert-ed to a study hall due to rowdy behavior. Photo Cour-

tesy of Alexis Hawkins '12

BIG PLANS: The revised science cur-riculum places all freshmen in Biol-ogy. Photo Courtesy of Alexis Hawkins '12

EA Gets SMART Boards

Page 2

Meet the New Seeing Eye Dog

Page 3

Scheduling Woes

Page 4

ProBama vs. NoBama

Page 6

12 Angry Jurors

Page 7

Australian Star Athlete at EA

Page 8

Meet the New Teachers

Page 10

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Academy NewsPage 2 October, 2011

The Academy Scholium

Editors-in-ChiefCarly Cianci

Colleen Flynn

News EditorsJill Barton

Kristin Greenwood

Features EditorsGracey AustinLyssa Freese

Editorial EditorsErin McCarthyMatthew Vegari

Sports EditorsTimmy Freese

Katherine Howlin

Arts EditorsJulia Fay

Michele Herzog

Community EditorsJohn DurovsikMimi McCann

Photography EditorsAlexis Hawkins

Belle Kielty

Layout EditorMary Jarvis

e-Scholium EditorBrendan McManus

Faculty AdvisorAnne Barr

MissionThe Scholium seeks to serve the Episco-pal Academy community by providing useful information, timely news and dia-logue that facilitates ethical engagement in the community and the larger world

p l i e d t o f o r t h e 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2 y e a r . ” H a l l s a y s t h a t t h e g r a n t s “ w e r e i n t e n d e d t o f u n d i n n o v a t i v e w a y s o f t e a c h i n g a n d o p p o r t u n i -

t i e s f o r t e a c h e r s t o t r y n e w t o o l s o r r e s o u r c e s i n t h e c l a s s r o o m .”

B o t h s t u d e n t s a n d t e a c h e r s a r e e n t h u s i a s t i c a b o u t t h e n e w S M A R T B o a r d s . A c c o r d i n g t o G r a c e W i n g -f i e l d , H e a d o f t h e M a t h D e p a r t -m e n t , t h e s e “ i n t e r a c t i v e w h i t e -

HONOR HALLContinued from page 1

E A G e t s S M A R TTony Radcliff '14

T h i s a c a d e m i c y e a r , T h e E p i s -c o p a l A c a d e m y h a s a c q u i r e d e l e v -e n n e w S M A R T B o a r d s , f u n d e d b y a n I n n o v a t i o n G r a n t a n d t h e t e c h n o l o g y b u d g e t , i n o r d e r t o i n c r e a s e a n d f a c i l i t a t e i n t e r a c -t i v e l e a r n i n g a t E p i s c o p a l .

E p i s c o p a l d i s t r i b u t e d t h e S M A R T B o a r d S B 2 6 0 u n i t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e s c h o o l : f i v e i n t h e L o w e r S c h o o l , t wo i n t h e M i d -d l e S c h o o l , a n d f o u r i n t h e U p p e r S c h o o l . T h e s e 7 7 - i n c h , t o u c h s e n s i t i v e w h i t e b o a r d s t y p i c a l l y c o s t o v e r $ 2 , 0 0 0 , e xc l u d i n g t h e c o s t o f a c c e s s o r i e s . A c -c o r d i n g t o C a t h e r i n e H a l l , A c a d e m i c D e a n a t E p i s c o -p a l , “ T h e b o a r d s a r e p a i d f o r i n p a r t b y m o n e y f r o m t h e E A PA W i s h L i s t , a n d t h e r e -m a i n d e r o f t h e c o s t s w e r e c o v -e r e d b y E A ' s t e c h n o l o g y b u d g e t . ”

A c c o r d i n g t o H a l l , " t h e d e c i d -i n g f a c t o r i n t h e S M A R T B o a r d s c o m i n g t o E A w a s t h a t I n n o v a -t i o n G r a n t s t h a t E A f a c i l i t y a p -

b o a r d s ” f a c i l i t a t e h e r t e a c h i n g b e c a u s e , “ i n c l a s s e s , I c a n p o s t t h e n o t e s r i g h t a f t e r … W h e n I ’ m a b l e t o u s e [ t h e S M A R T B o a r d ]

i n c l a s s , I a l r e a d y h a v e t h e n o t e s s o i t m a k e s t h e c l a s s q u i c k e r a n d i t ' s e a s i e r f o r t h e s t u d e n t s t o f o l l o w a l o n g.”

M e g a n K i l c u l l e n , V Fo r m , s a i d , " w e u s e S M A R T B o a r d s i n m y E n g l i s h c l a s s w i t h D r . Fo r s t e - G r u p p a n d m a t h w i t h M r s . A n d e r s o n …I r e a l l y l i k e t h e m b e c a u s e I c a n e a s i l y g e t t h e n o t e s t h a t I m i s s e s i n c l a s s o f f B l a c k b o a r d .” M a r i a B u r k e , I V Fo r m S t u d e n t , a g r e e d , s t a t i n g “ I l i k e S M A R T B o a r d s . T h e y ’ r e v e r y h e l p -f u l f o r t a k i n g n o t e s ! ”

A l t h o u g h n o d e f i n i t e d e -c i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g t h e p u r -c h a s e o f m o r e S M A R T B o a r d s h a v e b e e n m a d e , a c -

c o r d i n g t o H a l l , E p i s c o p a l “ w i l l b e e v a l u a t i n g h o w e f f e c t i v e t h e S M A R T B o a r d s a r e i n t h e d i f f e r -e n t c l a s s r o o m s t h i s y e a r a n d w i l l m a k e a d e c i s i o n b a s e d o n t h i s e v a l u a t i o n , w h i c h w i l l i n c l u d e t e a c h e r a n d s t u d e n t f e e d b a c k .”

OUTSMARTING THE COMPETITION: Mrs. Anderson uses her new Smartboard to teacher her Pre-Calculus Class. Photo Courtesy of Sydney Francis '13

The infamous events ranged from argu-ments between students in the lounge and those on the balcony above to play-ing lacrosse with paper balls. Destruc-tion of the furniture, including the fire-place, which was stained by a Gatorade bottle thrown by a student, was also a key factor in the decision to close the hall.

The plan to create a study space will also satisfy the needs of stu-dents who have requested a quiet area in the Upper School building. Stu-dents would be able to get work done, without needing to go to the library.

This plan to convert the Honor Hall was made during the final fac-ulty meeting in June. Acknowledg-ing the need for a quiet study area in the Upper School, the administration also found a solution to the disre-spectful behavior associated with the Honor Hall. Both Brandon and Wagg hope that students can begin to “uti-lize the space better than in the past.”

Students, on the other hand, are not so positive. A member of the VI form says that this change “ruins the expe-riences we had there last year.” A IV Form student feels that this is “unfair, because we are being punished for the actions of a small group of people.”

Wagg said that the Honor Hall ini-tially had no specific designation and that this can be a more efficient use of the area. New furniture, including a functional fireplace, is expected in October for the converted Honor Hall.

e d i n t h e y e a r s o f 1 9 8 2 t o 1 9 8 8 . H owe ve r , d e s p i t e t h e s u c c e s s

va c c i n a t i o n s h ave h a d i n r e d u c i n g d i s e a s e s , s o m e s t u d i e s c l a i m t h a t t h e r e i s a c o r r e l a t i o n b e t we e n va c -c i n a t i o n s a n d d i s o r d e r s s u ch a s a u -t i s m . I n o n e o f t h e m o s t f a m o u s s t u d i e s p u b l i s h e d i n a 1 9 9 8 i s s u e o f T h e L a n c e t , a h i g h l y r e s p e c t e d B r i t i s h m e d i c a l j o u r n a l , D r . A n -

d r e w Wa k e f i e l d s t a t e d t h a t h i s r e s e a r c h s h o w e d " t h e M M R v a c c i n e , a s h o t t o c o m b a t m e a s l e s , m u m p s , a n d r u b e l -l a , c a u s e d a u t i s m s p e c -t r u m d i s -o r d e r s . "

A f t e r t h e f i n d i n g s we r e p u b -l i s h e d , B r i a n D e e r , a S u n d a y T i m e s ( U K ) w r i t e r w h o f o c u s e d o n m e d i c a l i s s u e s , f o u n d t h a t Wa ke f i e l d h a d b r o k e n mu l t i -p l e e t h i c a l c o d e s , m a n i p u l a t e d

A l t h o u g h va c c i n e s h ave p r ove d e x t r e m e l y s u c c e s s f u l l y i n d e c r e a s -i n g t h e a m o u n t s o f va c c i n e - p r e -ve n t a b l e d i s e a s e s , t h e s a f e t y o f va c c i n a t i o n s f o r ch i l d r e n h a s b e e n a t o p i c o f d e b a t e t h r o u g h o u t t h e s c i e n t i f i c a n d m e d i c a l c o m mu n i t i e s .

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e C e n t e r f o r D i s e a s e C o n t r o l a n d P r e -v e n t i o n , " V a c -c i n e - p r e -v e n t a b l e d i s e a s e l e ve l s a r e a t o r n e a r r e c o r d l o w s . " M e a s e l s , f o r e x -a m p l e , h ave b e e n a l m o s t c o m p l e t e -l y e l i m i n a t e d f r o m t h e p o p u l a t i o n . F r o m 1 9 5 6 t o 1 9 6 0 , a b o u t 3 1 3 p e o -p l e o u t o f e ve r y 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 we r e a f -f e c t e d by m e a s l e s . H owe ve r , a f t e r t wo a t t e m p t s t o e r a d i c a t e m e a s l e s t h r o u g h va c c i n a t i o n s , o n l y 1 . 3 c a s -e s p e r 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e we r e r e p o r t -

"THIS WON'T HURT A BIT": Studies are being conducted as to whether vaccines are linked to higher instances of Austism. Photo found on www.cdc.org

D e b a t e A b o u t t h e S a f e t y o f V a c c i n e sRyan Quinlan '14

See VACINNES on page 3

Academy FeaturesOctober, 2011 Page 3

good idea because there are stu-dents at EA who may have prob-lems at home that need a teacher and a welcoming community to feel like they have someone to talk to and can connect with.”

Other students expressed their satisfaction with how Epis-copal has cared for its students in the past. Jackie Blickman ’12 stated, “As a senior, I can say that in my four years spent at EA I feel like I have been ade-quately cared for and have been given all the re-sources nec-essary to be success fu l .”

“Teachers really do care if I do well,” said Evie O’Brian ’15.

To some, the name “nurtur-ing committee” may send the wrong message. “It is kind of a mushy name, but nurtur-ing means something differ-ent to everybody. To some people, nurturing might mean letting a stressed out student take a test a day later, whereas

school is here for,” said Willis. According to Willis, the

agenda for the nurture com-mittee’s inaugural October 5th meeting consisted of reviewing each faculty member’s personal definition of what nurturing means. The committee’s next task is to divide into subcom-mittees. “One subcommittee will look at student support, another at the advisory sys-tem, and the others at our rela-tionship with the EAPA, other school’s techniques for nurtur-ing their students, and faculty/staff nurturing,” said Willis.

A new initiative to help freshman students feel more nurtured this year is a class called Study Skills 101, taught by Anna McDermott, member of the History Department, and Max Kelly of student sup-port services. The class teaches students organizational strat-egies, time management, and test and exam preparation along with other skills. “By the end of the year, the students will have gained confidence, taken own-ership of their own learning, and discovered how they can make themselves better over-all students,” said McDermott.

When asked if the school’s focus on nurturing is a good idea, Nyazia Martin ’12 said, “I think it could potentially be a

You "Neeta" Meet Her: Episcopal's Newest Canine Addition

Katie O'Reilly '15 Suzy Chen '14

M o s t s t u d e n t s a n d f a c -u l t y b e l i e v e t h e p r e s e n c e o f a S e e i n g E y e d o g i s a b e n e f i t t o t h e c o m m u -n i t y. C h e r y l M c L a u c h l a n , I I I Fo r m D e a n s t a t e d , “ I t i s t h e r a p e u t i c t o h a ve a

d o g t o p e t a n d t h e c o m -p a n y o f a d o g c a n h e l p s t u d e n t s t o f e e l b e t t e r . ”

F i v e y e a r s a g o, S u s a n S w a n s o n , t h e D i r e c t o r o f C o m m u n i t y O u t r e a c h , d i s -

c u s s e d t h e i d e a o f h a v -i n g a d o g o n c a m p u s w i t h H e a d o f U p p e r S c h o o l H a m i l t o n C l a r k , A n n e R a v r e b y M i d d l e a n d U p -p e r S c h o o l n u r s e , a n d t h e s c h o o l l a w y e r . T h e t o p -

i c w a s q u i c k l y a p p r o ve d , a n d i n 2 0 0 8 E p i s c o p a l h a d i t s f i r s t S e e i n g E y e p u p p y o n c a m p u s , Tr a c e y.

H a v i n g a d o g o n c a m p u s n o t o n l y p r o v i d e s a c o m -

N e e t a , E p i s c o p a l A c a d e -m y ’s n e w e s t s u p e r s t a r , h a s a c o n s t a n t c r o w d o f a d o r i n g f a n s h u d d l i n g a r o u n d h e r . Yo u w i l l o f t e n f i n d h e r l y -i n g o n h e r b a c k , r e c e i v i n g a t u m m y - r u b f r o m a s m i l i n g s t u d e n t . C a u s i n g p e o p l e t o s m i l e i s e x a c t l y w h a t N e e t a d o e s ; s h e a l l o w s b o t h s t u -d e n t s a n d f a c u l t y t o f o r -g e t t h e s t r e s s e s o f t h e i r l i v e s a n d s i m p l y e n j oy p e t -t i n g t h e c u t e n e w a d d i t i o n t o t h e E p i s c o p a l A c a d e m y c o m m u n i t y. O n e o f E p i s -c o p a l A c a d e m y ’s m a i n g o a l s f o r t h e 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2 s c h o o l y e a r i s t o d e ve l o p a m o r e n u r t u r i n g e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e p r e s e n c e o f a l o va b l e d o g t h a t b r i n g s a s m i l e t o e ve r y o n e o n c a m p u s i s a s i g n i f i c a n t s t e p t o w a r d s a m o r e h o m e y c o m m u n i t y.

C a r o l i n e H u n t e r , I V Fo r m , e x p l a i n e d , “ T h e d o g s j u s t b r i n g t h a t k e y e l e m e n t o f c u t e n e s s t h a t a d d s t o t h e h o m e y e l e m e n t o f E A .”

Jo s h O w s a n y, I I I f o r m , s a i d , “ T h e d o g s c a n m a k e t h e s c h o o l d a y m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g .”

f o r t f o r t h e s t u d e n t s , b u t i t i s a l s o b e n e f i c i a l f o r t h e d o g. T h e g o a l o f t h e p r o -g r a m i s t o t r a i n t h e d o g s t o h e l p d i s a b l e d p e o p l e a f t e r o n e y e a r s p e n t a c c l i m a t i n g t o p u b l i c p l a c e s o n E p i s -c o p a l ’s c a m p u s . M c L a u c h -l a n , w h o h a s t r a i n e d t wo d o g s , s a i d , “ I t ’s g r e a t f o r t h e d o g s t o b e e x p o s e d t o s u c h a d i v e r s e c o m m u -n i t y a t s u c h a y o u n g a g e .”

M a n y d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f p e o p l e o n c a m p u s a p p r o a c h a n d i n t e r a c t w i t h t h e d o g s . T h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n t o s u c h a d i v e r s e c o m m u n i t y o f p e o -p l e h e l p s e a s e t h e p u p p y ’s t r a n s i t i o n f r o m t r a i n i n g t o b e i n g a f u l l t i m e S e e i n g E y e d o g. S i n c e E p i s c o p a l h a s s o m a n y b u i l d i n g s a n d d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s o n c a m -p u s , i t i s t h e p e r f e c t p l a c e t o i n s t r u c t d o g s o n h o w t o b e h a ve p r o p e r l y i n d i f f e r -e n t s i t u a t i o n s . T h e d o g s h a ve l e a r n e d , f o r e x a m p l e , t o s t a y r e s e r ve d a n d q u i e t w h e n t h e y a r e i n t h e l i -b r a r y d u e t o i t s p e a c e f u l a t m o s p h e r e . A s C a s s a n -d r a K e i t h , a s c h o o l l i b r a r -i a n , e x p l a i n e d , “ I n p r e v i -o u s y e a r s t h e d o g s h a ve s p e n t m u c h t i m e i n t h e

l i b r a r y a n d h a ve l e a r n e d t o r e l a x . We p r o v i d e d a g a t e s o t h e s t u d e n t s w e r e n o t d i s t r a c t e d b y t h e d o g w h i l e t h e y w e r e s t u d y -i n g a n d a b e d s o t h e d o g c o u l d l i e d o w n a n d r e s t . ”

T h e S e e i n g E y e D o g o r -g a n i z a t i o n ’s m i s s i o n i s : “ To e n h a n c e t h e i n d e p e n -d e n c e , d i g n i t y, a n d s e l f -

c o n f i d e n c e o f b l i n d p e o p l e t h r o u g h t h e u s e o f S e e -i n g E y e d o g s .” S t u d e n t s a n d f a c u l t y a l i k e h o p e t h a t E p i s c o p a l A c a d e m y ’s c o m -m u n i t y w i l l c o n t i n u e t o s e r ve a s a l o v i n g a n d w e l -c o m i n g f o s t e r f a m i l y f o r y o u n g d o g s t o m a t u r e i n t o r e l i a b l e S e e i n g E y e d o g s .

N U R -

T U R I N G continued from page 1

reality that we’re not nur-turing, or if it’s just a percep-tion. Or is it just a few kids that we’re missing, and if we’re missing them we need to find them, because we don’t want anyone to slip through thecracks,” said Swanson.

With so many different in-terpretations of the word "nur-turing", a challenge for the committee was to come up with a cohesive definition to move forward with. “The committee’s first assignment was to send me their personal definitions of what nurturing means to them,” said Swanson. One such defi-nition of nurturing came from Kris Aldridge, member of the History Department, who said, “Challenging and nurturing are two sides of the same coin.”

Willis explained his initial apprehension about taking on this project. “There’s no doubt that at first I was a little over-whelmed because nurturing is such a broad topic, but now I can say that I’m excited to be able to focus the school’s attention on bettering the lives of its stu-dents, because that’s what the

ON THE GREEN: Episcopal's newest Seeing Eye

dog-in-training loves to relax on the campus green.

P h o t o C o u r t e s y o f B e l l e K i e l t y ' 1 3

NEETA: Following

in Zelda's footsteps?

Found on e-scholium.org

somebody else might think that the best way to nurture is to make the student take the test that day,” Swanson explained.

With the challenges that the school has traditionally provided coupled with the new goal to be more supportive, the school hopes that students will be able to achieve their full potential.

“We have the challenging part down, the academic rigor. And many students do feel nurtured. What we don’t want is students who are stressed out. We want to figure out if there are ways to support our students that we’re not doing, and we want to do them,” said Swanson.

NURTURING: Does Episcopal need

to improve its learning environment?

Found on EpiscopalAcademy.org

VACCINES continued from page 2

e v i d e n c e , a n d h a d u n d i s -c l o s e d c o n f l i c t s o f i n t e r -e s t . A s a r e s u l t , T h e L a n c e t p a r t i a l l y a n d t h e n f u l l y r e -t r a c t e d t h e p a p e r a n d t h e G e n e r a l M e d i c a l C o u n c i l f o u n d h i m g u i l t y o f p r o f e s -s i o n a l m i s c o n d u c t .

D e s p i t e T h e L a n c e t ' s r e -t r a c t i o n o f Wa k e f i e l d ' s s t u d y, t h e d e b a t e r e g a r d -i n g va c c i n a t i o n s ' r o l e s i n c a u s i n g a u t i s m p e r s i s t s . Fo r e x a m p l e , t h e c h a r -i t y g r o u p Au s t i s m O n e a s -s e r t s t h a t a u t i s m i s c a u s e d b y t ox i n s i n t h e v a c c i n e s a n d c i t e s t h e r i s i n g q u a n -t i t y o f v a c c i n e s f o r c h i l -d r e n w i t h t h e i n c r e a s e d a m o u n t o f a u t i s m c a s e s i n A m e r i c a . Po l i t i c a l l e a d e r s Ro b e r t a n d Jo h n K e n n e d y a l s o s u p p o r t e d t h e b e l i e f t h a t a u t i s m a n d u s e o f v a c -c i n e s a r e d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d .

D e b a t e r e g a r d i n g t h e s a f e t y o f v a c c i n e s h a s e x -i s t e d s i n c e t h e f i r s t s m a l l -p ox va c c i n e i n t h e 1 7 7 0 ' s . A l t h o u g h s c i e n t i s t s a s -s e r t t h a t t h e y h a ve f o u n d n o l i n k b e t w e e n va c c i n e s a n d a u t i s m , m a n y b e l i e ve t h a t t h i s d o e s n o t m e a n t h a t t h e r e i s n o c o n n e c -t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t wo.

Academy FeaturesPage 4 October, 2011

Gracey Austin '12

The Academy Scholium Launches Online Component

Scheduling: You Can't

Always Get What You WantAlex Leto '12

Scholium is excited to be able to expand its readership with an on-line publication. Viewers can expect short, entertaining video clips of var-ious school activities, such as Open Mic Night, and photos from numer-ous sporting events. The Episcopal community can also view the print version of Scholium each month by GRZQORDGLQJ� WKH�3')�ÀOH� OLQNHG� WR�

e - S c h o -l i u m ’ s p a g e . Col leen F l y n n , '12, and C a r l y C i a n c i , '12, Ed-itors-in-C h i e f of the Academy Scholium, s a i d , “ T h e p u r -pose of e - S c h o -

lium is to inform the Episcopal Academy community as an ex-tension of the newspaper and fa-cilitate community engagement."

You can visit e-Scholium, which will be routinely updated in con-junction with the monthly distribu-tion of Scholium, at e-Scholium.org.

T h e s c h o o l s c h e d u l e : o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t c o m p o n e n t s i n t h e l i f e o f a h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t . N e r v o u s f r e s h m e n h e l p l e s s l y c l u t c h t h e c r i s p w h i t e p a p e r o n t h e i r f i r s t d a y o f h i g h s c h o o l . J u n i o r s m o a n r e l e n t l e s s l y a b o u t

W K H � J U X H O L Q J � O D E � E O R F N V � � � 6 H Q L R U V�c o u n t t h e i r f r e e s , p l a n n i n g t o u s e t h e i r s e n i o r p r i v i l e g e s i n t h e m o s t e f f i c i e n t w a y p o s s i b l e . H o w e v e r t h i s J u l y , w h e n m a n y s t u d e n t s o p e n e d u p t h e l a r g e w h i t e e n v e l o p e t h a t c o n t a i n e d t h e i r s c h e d u l e s , c o u n t l e s s E p i s -F R S D O � $ F D G HP \ � V W X G H Q W V � O R R N H G�w i t h d i s m a y u p o n a s c h e d u l e t h a t d i d n o t m e e t t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s .

T h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 2 0 1 1 -2 0 1 2 s c h o o l y e a r b r o u g h t m a n y s t u d e n t s , t e a c h e r s , a n d a d m i n -i s t r a t o r s t o c a m p u s b e f o r e t h e c o m m e n c e m e n t . S t u d e n t s w h o w e r e u n h a p p y w i t h t h e i r c l a s s e s h o p e d t o c h a n g e t h e i r s c h e d u l e b e f o r e t h e b e g i n i n g o f t h e y e a r . J o s h W i l s o n ‘ 1 4 , n o t e d , “ L a s t y e a r w h e n f i l l i n g o u t c o u r s e s e l e c -t i o n s I c r o s s e d o u t L a t i n o n t h e s h e e t , y e t w h e n I g o t m y s c h e d u l e i n t h e m a i l i t h a d m e s c h e d u l e d W R � W D N H � L W � � , �Z D V � Y H U \ � V X U S U L V H G � µ

I n a n a t t e m p t t o s o r t o u t t h e s c h e d u l i n g d i l e m m a s b e f o r e t h e b e g i n n i n g o f s c h o o l , s t u d e n t s s c h e d u l e d m e e t i n g s w i t h t h e i r d e a n s d u r i n g J u l y a n d A u g u s t i n o r d e r t o f i x t h e i r c l a s s e s b e f o r e t h e y e a r b e g a n . T h i s n e w w a y

o f h a n d l i n g s c h e d u l i n g m i s -h a p s w a s i m p l e m e n t e d t h i s y e a r L Q � R U G H U � W R � P D N H � W K H � S U R F H V V�m o r e d i r e c t r a t h e r t h a n u s i n g e m a i l s a n d p h o n e c a l l s t o a d -d r e s s s c h e d u l i n g i s s u e s . B e f o r e t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e s c h o o l y e a r , f o r t y m e m b e r s o f t h e s e -n i o r c l a s s a l o n e m e t w i t h t h e i r

f o r m d e a n a b o u t t h e i r s c h e d u l e . D e s p i t e t h e d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n

t h a t m a n y s t u d e n t s h a d w i t h t h e i r s c h e d u l e s , i t i s i m p o r t a n t W R � N H H S � L Q � P L Q G � W K H � G L I I L F X O W \�o f t h e s c h e d u l i n g p r o c e s s . T h e S U R F H V V � U H T X L U H V � K R X U V � R I � Z R U N�a n d a t t e n t i o n b y d e a n s , t e a c h -e r s , a n d t h e o f f i c i a l s c h e d u l e o v e r s e e r , G e o f f Wa g g , H e a d o f U p p e r S c h o o l . T h e c o m p l e x p r o c e s s i s b a s e d o f f a s e t o f r u l e s , “ R u l e n u m b e r o n e i s t h a t e v e r y s t u d e n t n e e d s t o b e a b l e t o m o v e o n i n w h a t e v e r t h e i r F R U H � F R X U V H V � D U H � µ � V D L G � :D J J �

T h i s i s t h e m a i n p r i o r i t y o f t h e s c h e d u l i n g p r o c e s s a n d m o s t s t u d e n t s f i n d n o t r o u b l e i n t h e s c h e d u l i n g o f t h e s e r e -q u i r e d c o u r s e s . “ I t ’ s r e a l l y i n t h e e l e c t i v e p i e c e [ o f s c h e d u l -i n g ] t h a t t h e q u e s t i o n c o m e s X S � R I � Z K D W � F D Q � \ R X � W D N H � D Q G�Z K D W · V � D Y D L O D E O H � µ � V D L G � :D J J ��

I n o r d e r t o s o r t o u t e l e c t i v e c o u r s e s , t h e c o m p u t e r m u s t f i n d a c l a s s t h a t d o e s n o t m e e t d u r -i n g t h e s t u d e n t ’ s c o r e c o u r s e E O R F N V � � O H D Y L Q J � I H Z � R S W L R Q V � W R�t h o s e i n s p e c i a l i z e d c l a s s e s . 7 K H � E O R F N V � I R U � H O H F W L Y H V � D U H � G H -

W H U P L Q H G � E \ � F K R R V L Q J � D � E O R F N�w h e r e t h e m a x i m u m n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t s w h o r e q u e s t e d t h e c o u r s e a r e a v a i l a b l e , t h u s l e a v i n g o u t s o m e s t u d e n t s i n t h e p r o c e s s . T h i s i s b a s e d o n “ t h e p r i n c i p l e o f t h e g r e a t e s t g o o d f o r t h e J U H D W H V W � Q XP E H U � µ � V W D W H G � :D J J ���

O n t h e t o p i c o f c l a s s s i z e , t h e r e a r e b o t h t a r g e t s a n d c a p s . T h e t a r g e t f o r l a n g u a g e c l a s s e s i s f o u r t e e n a n d t h e t a r g e t f o r a l l o t h e r c l a s s e s i s a b o u t s i x t e e n s t u d e n t s p e r c l a s s , w h i l e t h e c a p i s a r o u n d e i g h t e e n s t u d e n t s p e r c l a s s . F o r s o m e c l a s s e s w i t h o n l y o n e s e c t i o n a n d h i g h i n -t e r e s t , s o m e s t u d e n t s w i l l n o t P D N H � W K H � F X W � � � 7 K L V � L V � E H F D X V H ��a s Wa g g m e n t i o n e d , “ W h e n y o u r u n t h e c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m t o S O D F H � N L G V � L Q � > W K H V H � W \ S H V � R I �

F O D V V H V @ � � L W � L V � O R R N L Q J � I R U � J H Q G H U�b a l a n c e a n d i t r a n d o m l y s o r t s E D V H G � R Q � V W X G H Q W � , ' � Q XP E H U � µ�

T h e m o s t c o m m o n s c h e d u l i n g i s s u e h a s t o d o w i t h f u l f i l l i n g r e l i g i o n a n d a r t r e q u i r e m e n t s , w h i c h m a n y s t u d e n t s l e a v e u n -t i l t h e i r s e n i o r y e a r t o a c c o m -S O L V K � � ´ > 6 F K H G X O L Q J � L V @ � O L N H � D�J L D Q W � S X ] ] O H � H Y H U \ � \ H D U µ � V W D W H G�Wa g g , “ T h e r e a r e a l w a y s a f e w N L G V � W K D W � Z H � Z L O O � V S H Q G � K R X U V�t r y i n g t o f i g u r e o u t t h e u n i q u e c o m b i n a t i o n o f c l a s s e s t o g e t W K R V H � I L Y H � R U � V L [ � N L G V � H [ D F W O \�w h a t t h e y n e e d , t h e n w e c a n E X L O G � W K H � U H V W � R I � W K H � V F K H G X O H V � µ�

T h e c o m p l e x s c h e d u l i n g p r o c e s s r e q u i r e s m u c h t i m e , e f f o r t , a n d c o o p e r a t i o n f r o m s t u d e n t s a n d W H D F K H U V �D O L N H �W R �V D W L V I \ �W K H �O D U J -e s t n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t s p o s s i b l e .

This past month, on September 25th, The Academy Scholium launched its new online publication, e-Scho-lium. This website is a supplement to the print edition of Scholium and contains all articles from the print edition as well as additional media. �0LNH�-DKQOH�·���FDPH�XS�ZLWK�WKH�

idea when he was appointed layout ed-itor for the 2010-2011 s c h o o l year. He was never able to bring his plan into c o m p l e -tion be-cause he was both the layout editor and editor of e-Scholium, an over-whelming respons i -bility for one person. This year, in order to bring his idea to life, Scholium created a new editorial position, edi-tor of e-Scholium, which was given to Brendan McManus ’12. Over the sum-PHU��0F0DQXV�ZRUNHG�RQ�WKH�ZHEVLWH�design using Wordpress and Photo-shop and e-Scholium�ZDV�ÀQDOO\�ERUQ�

SCHEDULING: Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.Photo Courtesy of John Durovsik '12

CHECK IT OUT: Visit e-scholium.org to view pic-tures, videos, and the print edition of the Scholium.

Academy EditorialsOctober, 2011 Page 5

Courtney Carpinello '15Amanda Paolino '15

“Wow, you go to Episco-pal? I heard the new campus is bigger than most college campuses!” These words run through my brain as I strug-gle to keep my balance on a chair that I am sharing with three other girls.

English philosopher Thom-as Malthus once speculated that

population growth would one day cause the Earth to become too small for its inhabitants. This notion has already be-come a reality for the members of the Episcopal community.

In 2008, the Episcopal Academy relocated to a high-ly anticipated new campus. Episcopal’s campus has main-tained its reputation of luxury with its beautifully groomed grounds and well-designed buildings equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The community has been blessed with a wonderful campus in which all parts of the school are integrated; however, it remains clear that many ar-eas of our new location were not built for the ever-increas-ing size of the student body.

“They just built a new cam-pus, so why isn’t there enough room for me to change in the locker room?” asked Reilly Dugery, III Form student. The locker rooms cannot seem to fit the hoard of Upper School stu-dents, and it’s virtually impos-sible to find a place to put your bags down, let alone change. The school did, however, make an attempt to ameliorate the situation in the Middle School.

Two years ago, in order to reduce crowding in the locker

room changing areas, 8th grade students were given separate locker rooms that were for-merly team rooms. This “solu-tion” resulted in 8th Graders having changing spaces slightly larger than closets that lack both bathrooms and mirrors.

Yet with all the problems the locker rooms might pose, the dining hall remains the true plight of students at the new campus. Robyn Farrell '14 remarked that “it is dif-

ficult to get food in the caf-eteria, and hard to eat with it being so crowded.” The caf-eteria, renamed “The Dining Hall” upon relocation, is too small, and the round tables, which were designed to pro-mote conversation, have been rendered impractical for seat-ing the student body. Brady MacManus '15 expressed his ir ritation: “It’s just annoying, because clearly not everyone has a seat, and no one wants to go outside when it’s cold or raining.” Dining Hall staff member Diane Fahy believes that the lunchroom is very congested and difficult to nav-igate, causing people to push each other and spill drinks.

Episcopal’s beautiful new campus is not being used to its potential. These prob-lems have solutions, but it will require effort to imple-ment them. One solution to the problem in the cafete-ria is giving more students Z block free and requiring them to eat at that time. To fix the crowding in the locker rooms, Episcopal should require stu-dents to change in shifts dur-ing Domino Block. Episcopal has yet to act efficiently and practically on these issues, and the time has come for change.

Chester Thai '14Roshan Ravishankar '14Matt Robinson '14

A Crowded Community

“A world-class education is the single most important factor in determining not just whether our kids can compete for the best jobs but whether America can out-compete countries around the world,” said President Barack Obama in his educa-tion address on July 18th. The American education system is struggling. According to the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Survey, re-leased by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States ranked 14th overall among the 34 members of the OECD. The U.S. placed 14th in reading, 17th in science, and a dismal 25th in mathemat-ics. How can it be that the world’s num-ber one economy has mediocre academic performance? One answer may lie in the heated debate over No Child Left Behind.

In 2001, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act. This act sought to improve the quality of edu-cation in the United States by reducing the achievement gap between whites and minorities. It seeks to offer help to chil-dren who require assistance, improve teacher quality, uti-lize technology, and provide a drug-free environment for schools. The act is most well-known for its rigid enforcement of standardized tests and strict punish-ments if certain stan-dards are not met. While well-intentioned, the No Child Left Behind Act suffered from serious flaws which undermined the U.S. education system. First, the act al-lowed states to impose unrealistic expecta-tions and ineffective punishments on their schools. While high standards are essential, it is unreasonable to expect a school in which a majority of the students are under the poverty line to improve so quickly. For

example, 89 schools in Pennsylvania were found to be cheating on standardized tests. Mr. Bryant, Chair of the History Depart-ment, remarked, “The problem is much more complex than just one of teachers and students.” Indeed, a plethora of factors, including poverty, hunger, and inner-city vi-olence, contribute to the poor performance of schools. As a result, teachers are forced to “teach to the test", stressing rote memo-rization and superficial understanding over creativity and mastery. In essence, No Child Left Behind, while holding schools ac-countable for the students’ performance, muddles up the true purpose of schools: to encourage creativity and critical thinking.

In addition, the standards set as a re-sult of the No Child Left Behind Act do not properly prepare children for global competition. According to Salerno, simply studying reading, arithmetic, writing “will not cut it” in today’s competitive economy. Today, a high school diploma is not suffi-cient. The competitive jobs in today’s world demand a bachelor's, and sometimes even a master’s degree. In the United States, many jobs are being outsourced to China and India because people with the necessary

education simply cannot be found here.The countries ahead of the United

States have diverse educational philosophies and policies that have enabled them to be successful. Ranking at the top of all three categories in the recent PISA rankings, Chi-na seems to have become the powerhouse in education. Their education system takes a strict approach, allowing time for sleep dur-

ing the middle of the day so that students can study more efficiently and prohibiting long hair for girls in order to avoid distraction from academics. However, as described in the new documentary, The Finland Phenom-enon, Finland takes a very different approach. Ranking in the top six of all three PISA cate-gories, Finland has fewer classes, gives barely any homework, rarely tests students, and has shorter school days. Tony Wagner, writer of The Global Achievement Gap and narrator of the film, attributes Finland’s success to the fact that teaching is a very desirable position in Finland. This success contrasts with the failings of the American education system.

One must note, however, that the United States is very different than other na-tions. Bryant stated “The selectivity of edu-cation systems in countries such as Finland and China makes it so that a comparison between the US and those countries is like comparing apples to oranges.” The United States is taking on a broader challenge than most countries, as universal education is a fundamental philosophy of our country. As Thomas Jefferson said, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” Nevertheless, this cannot

become an excuse to not to improve in today’s world. The United States must abandon its test-and-pun-ish policy, and instead create a student-cen-tered approach that promotes creativity and innovation. Salerno de-clares that the country is failing to

fix the “deep, entrenched problems of the education system,” but instead “rearranging deck chairs on the titanic.” The community as a whole, from teachers, to curriculum design-ers, to school districts, must work together to find a solution. The destiny of our na-tion on the global compass, and of the lives of our children on a moral one, rests in our ability to adapt and not be left behind.

A n E d u c a t i o n i n N e e d

LUNCHTIME CHAOS: Eating has never been so stressful.

Editorial: Are Episcopal Students Feeling the Love?

To read an editorial by An-

thony Thai on the 9/11 cha-

pel service, scan this QR

code or visit e-Scholium.org.

Episcopal’s new initiative to fos-ter a more nurturing school environ-ment should be primarily based on the feedback of its students, rather than solely on the parent survey is-sued at the end of last school year.

The survey was designed to assess to what degree the school has been suc-cessful in adhering to its mission state-ment: Challenging and nurturing Mind, Body, and Spirit, we inspire boys and girls to lead lives of purpose, faith, and integrity. While the vast majority of parents agreed that Episcopal has been successful in IXOÀOOLQJ� DOO� DVSHFWV� RI� LWV� PLVVLRQ�� WKH�

results indicated that “nurturing” was the area most in need of improvement.

To address the issue, a committee comprising Middle and Upper School faculty was formed. The committee was then broken down into sub-committees WR�WDUJHW�VSHFLÀF�DUHDV�RI�LPSURYHPHQW��

Not only did the school fail to include students in their assessment of Episcopal’s success in realizing its mission statement, but currently students have no represen-tation on the committees designed to im-prove their own experience at Episcopal.

Shouldn’t the student body be con-sulted on an issue that directly concerns

them? The students, not the parents, have the clearest sense of the degree to which Episcopal nurtures its students. Further-more, the students should have a say in how their experience can be improved.

Episcopal should increase student in-volvement in the nurturing initiative by surveying students about their thoughts on the degree to which the school chal-lenges and nurtures them, and including student members on the nurturing com-mittees. By giving students a hand in this process, Episcopal can more success-fully take the actions necessary to holisti-cally improve its educational experience.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: A failure to fix

problems in the American educational system.

Academy EditorialsOctober, 2011

Marissa Moyer '12

N O b a m a

Page 6

vest igat ion on how and why the loan wed in the f i rs t p lace. “Many of us th ink he was tr y ing to get the mon-ey out the door perhaps for pol i t ica l reasons, and in the end taxpayers lost over ha lf a b i l l ion dol lars,” sa id Rep. Cl i f f Stearns, chair man of the House Energ y and Commerce Subcom-mittee on Overs ight and Invest iga-t ions. Whether the loan was cor r upt or honest , $528 mi l l ion came out of taxpayers ’ wal lets. Addit ional ly, the administrat ion str uctured the loan to Solyndra so that pr ivate investors got pa id back before U.S. taxpayers d id .

Obama declares that he is b ipar-t i san, yet he is one of the most one-s ided pres idents America has seen in years. The Pres ident and his admin-is trat ion openly oppose any and a l l Republ ican or conser vat ive thought . Obama passed the heal thcare re-for m despi te the res is tance and loud object ions of ever y Republ ican in Congress. As a resul t of Obamacare, hea l th insurance rates have spiked by nine percent (as of September 27, 2011) , according to a s tudy by the Kaiser Family Foundat ion and the Heal th Research and Educa-t ional Fund. The Pres ident and the Democrat ic major i ty of the Congress complete ly shut out Republ icans un-t i l the e lect ion of Scott Brown, and Obama’s administrat ion makes at -tempts to demonize Republ icans and Tea Par ty members. Vice Pres ident Joe Biden went as far as to accuse Tea Par t iers of “act ing l ike ter ror is ts.”

Al l in a l l , Obama and his adminis-trat ion have had a widespread nega-t ive effect on not only our govern-ment , but America as wel l . The only

way to escape is to not re-e lect h im. That sounds l ike a change we can bel ieve in . Ronald Reagan once sa id , “Government exis ts to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond i ts l imits i s in de-c id ing to protect us from ourse lves.”

Pres ident Obama promised Amer-ican c i t izens change in his cam-paign and e lect ion, but so far h is “change” has negat ive ly impacted the U.S. economy and i ts c i t izens.

Forbes magazine declares that , eco-nomical ly, “Obama is the worst pres i -dent of the past s ixty years.” Accord-ing to World Bank data , in his f i rs t two years of pres idency, the U.S. annual GDP g rowth dropped to -2 .7 percent as soon as his s t imulus package was in i t ia ted. Obama’s unwaver ing tr ust in Keynes ian economics ensures a r i s -ing unemployment rate in the United States. In 2009, Obama promised that the American Recover y and Reinvest -ment Act (ARRA) would help “save and create” jobs and unemployment would only peak at 8 .5 percent . Now, two years la ter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Stat is t ics repor ts that the un-employment rate to be 9 .1 percent .

The bi l l that Obama and House Democrats passed “consis ted rough-ly of two-thirds spending and one-third tax cuts," according to the New York Times , and ass is ted only a smal l percent of Americans who were un-employed. However the economic re-cover y package, which was or ig ina l ly a $825 bi l l ion plan, was decreased by $6 bi l l ion when Democrats were forced to “drop severa l provis ions that Republ icans had s ingled out for der is ion.” These included funds to refurbish the Jefferson Memoria l and for fami ly p lanning prog rams.

Obama once sa id , “The tr ue en-gine of economic g rowth wi l l a lways

be companies l ike Solyndra .” Solyn-dra is the solar energ y company to which the government loaned $528 mi l l ion. Once the company declared bankr uptcy in ear ly September, the House Energ y and Commerce Sub-committee launched a fu l l -b lown in-

Michael Smerconish '14Rohan Rajagopalan '14

P R O b a m a(Perry, Romney, Cain, Gingrich, Paul, Bach-mann, Santorum, and Huntsman) are op-posed to full marriage rights for same-sex couples. Although these stances may be the key for success for the republican nomi-nation, how can these views possibly win voters when only 40 percent of America is opposed to same-sex marriage? Candidates like Rick Perry, the current leader of Repub-lican polls, also share a common conserva-tive stance against evolution, which Perry has called a “theory” with “some gaps.”

With respect to global warming, Perry

stated that he would not “put America’s economy in jeopardy on a scientific the-ory that is not settled yet.” However, 71 percent of Americans believe that global warming should be on a medium to very high priority for the president. Despite these statistics, the economy remains the most prominent problem up for discus-sion. When asked in a recent debate if they would support a 10-to-1 reduction in spending coupled with tax increases, all of the republican presidential candidates said no. Again, this stance is rather surprising considering recent polls that show 64.5 per-cent of Americans to believe that the deficit should be reduced through tax increases.

Such statistics make it clear that the Republican candidates are solely focused on appealing to the dedicated, conserva-tive, Tea-Party republicans who will have the biggest voice in deciding the republi-can nominee. However, if the candidates continue with this mindset, Obama will have a significant advantage in the gen-eral election when both Democrats and Independents are added to the equation.

Barrack Hussein Obama: everything about the man, down to his name, di-vides the nation into separate camps.

The President has come under tremen-dous pressure to fix an ailing economy and has been criticized for his seemingly slow prog-ress. The various bailouts he has promoted have stirred controversy. In fairness, would a Republican president have done differently? It is impossible to say what would have hap-

pened without the bailout, but there was a distinct possibility of a greater depression.

Obama has also taken a harsh stance on Al-Qaeda, and he led the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. More recently, he has declared his disapproval of the lead-ership in Yemen, something George W. Bush failed to do for about seven years.

The United States' reputation as a re-spectable nation was repaired as a result of Obama’s election. There were celebrations in the streets of foreign cities and the Unit-ed States was once again a global country. Obama took many steps to promote peace and international dialogue and was eventually rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize. Obama’s presidency has been far from perfect.

Obama’s greatest weapon going into the presidential race is his competition, or lack thereof. In an election that will most likely come down to the 20 percent of indepen-dent voters in the country, it seems that many of the Republican candidates do not have the more moderate views necessary to win the race. For example, all of the lead-ing eight republican presidential candidates

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Deep in thought,

the Democratic candidate seeks re-election next year.

P h o t o f o u n d o n P r o j e c t C e n s o r e d . o r g

T H E R A C E I S O N : A p l e t h o r a o f R e p u b l i c a n c a n d i -

d a t e s a l l h o p e t o d e f e a t P r e s i d e n t O b a m a i n 2 0 1 2 .

P h o t o f o u n d o n T h e C o n s e r v a t i v e T r e e h o u s e . c o m

Academy Arts & Entertainment

The theater program at Episcopal requires wide community involvement, whether as actors, technicians or - just as vitally - spectators. Lori Reed, the new Chair of Theater and Dance for EA’s Upper, Middle, and Lower Schools, is enjoying her role this vital environment.

Reed considers herself a native Philadelphian, but has called Dallas, Amsterdam, and Tulsa her homes. She has been a middle school drama teacher at Haverford, as well as a theater teacher at other independent schools such as Baldwin and Delaware County Christian School over the past ten years.

Reed has always had a love of per-forming, having been surrounded by the arts from a very early age by her mother, a dance teacher. “But I was the worst danc-er in my mom’s class,” she said, laughing. “That helped me decide not to be a danc-er, and I focused on theater.” Throughout her years as a student, she took drama classes, describing them as, “the moment I looked forward to the most every day.”

About a month into teaching at Episcopal, Reed noted, “Everyone is so polite here! Everyone is ready to work and have fun, which is a good balance, but mostly I’m impressed by everyone’s kindness. And there’s really a difference between politeness and kindness, and I’ve felt that EA is truly kind, not just polite.” Overall, it’s been a smooth transition. However, she jokes, “I’m going to have to get used to rooting for EA! I’m ready, I put all of my Haverford gear away, but it’ll take some getting used to!”

When asked if the theater department will undergo any major changes under her supervision, she replied, “We’re going to introduce a 'One Act Play Slam' where we’re inviting other schools to perform their original one-acts alongside ours here at EA. It’s based on poetry slams, but with original one act plays.” Reed loves to focus on these original works of her stu-dents, explaining, “More than anything, I love seeing their work go from the page to the stage...We want to focus on having the voices of the students be heard more.” The school will also be introducing a way to buy show tickets online, through show-tix4u.com, as well as a season brochure previewing the school’s productions.

Reed’s love for what she does is evident in the way she speaks about theater as part of education nationwide. “Theater programs really are important for schools,” she said, “so that there is an opportunity for every student to have a voice and be heard. It gives them a chance to create, gives them an op-portunity to think outside of the box, outside of their comfort zone.” She looks forward to her new position and to the upcoming year with excitement, because in her opinion, Episcopal has all the marks of a successful theater program. “What it comes down to,” she explained, “is a faculty that works as a team, and facilitates collaboration with students to, in the end, produce great art.”

h e r m o r e t i m e t o p a i n t s e -r i o u s l y i n t h e s t u d i o l i ke s h e d i d i n g r a d u a t e s ch o o l .

W h e n s h e wa s yo u n g , K n e ch t ’s f a m i l y ow n e d a p r i n t i n g p r e s s , g i v i n g h e r a b a ck g r o u n d i n g r a p h i c d e -s i g n a n d p r i n t i n g f r o m a n e a r l y a g e . “A t 1 4 a n d 1 5 , i n s t e a d o f b a by s i t t i n g , I wa s wo r k i n g i n t h e a r t d e -

p a r t m e n t ,” s a i d K n e ch t . S h e we n t o n t o i n t e r n a t T V G u i d e m a g a z i n e i n h i g h s ch o o l a n d l a t e r h e l d s u m m e r j o b s t h e r e w h i l e s t u d y i n g a t U n ive r s i t y o f Pe n n s y l va n i a , w h e r e s h e e a r n e d a BA i n F i n e A r t s a n d A r ch i t e c t u r e . T h e s e y e a r s b u i l t t h e f o u n d a -t i o n f o r a f u t u r e o f t we l ve -y e a r s a s a n a r t d i r e c t o r .

A f t e r s h e g r a d u a t e d , K n e ch t we n t t o N e w Yo r k C i t y a n d b e c a m e t h e a s s i s -

Michele Herzog '12

An Art i s t ' s Journey: Naomi KnechtGonzalo del Peon '11

Page 7October, 2011

E p i s c o p a l s h ow s o f f o n e o f i t s ow n a s N a o m i K n e ch t , M i d d l e S ch o o l a r t t e a ch e r , b r i n g s h e r wo r k t o t h e C r aw f o r d C a m p u s C e n t e r G a l l e r y t h i s O c t o -b e r. T h e 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2 s ch o o l y e a r i s K n e ch t ’s 2 0 t h y e a r a t E p i s c o p a l a n d t h i s s h ow w i l l b e “ a c e l e b r a t i o n w i t h e ve r yo n e ” i n t h e E A c o m -mu n i t y. “ S i n c e t h e ch a p e l t h e m e t h i s y e a r i s ch a n g e , I ’ m t r y i n g t o s h ow t h a t a s a n a r t i s t , ch a n g e h a s t o b e p a r t o f t h e p r o -f e s s i o n ,” s a i d K n e ch t .

T h e e x h i b i t , c a l l e d “A n A r t i s t ’s Jo u r n e y,” t a ke s t h e v i e we r t h r o u g h K n e ch t ’s a r t i s t i c c a r e e r t h u s f a r . “ I t h i n k o f [ t h e e x h i b i t ] a s t h e b e g i n n i n g , m i d d l e , a n d t h e p r e s e n t ,” s h e s a i d .

T h e “ b e g i n n i n g ” e x -p r e s s e s h e r l i f e i n g r a d u -a t e s ch o o l a n d b e yo n d , e a r n i n g h e r M FA i n Pa i n t -i n g a t t h e M a r y l a n d I n -s t i t u t e C o l l e g e o f A r t , a n d m ov i n g o n t o b e -c o m e a g r a p h i c a r t i s t i n N e w Yo r k a n d P h i l a d e l -p h i a . T h e “ m i d d l e ” r e p -r e s e n t s h e r l i f e i n t h e 9 0 s wo r k i n g a s a t e a ch e r a n d r a i s i n g h e r d a u g h t e r . “ I wa s n o t p a i n t i n g s e r i o u s -l y. I wa s p a i n t i n g m o r e o n t h e f l y,” s ay s K n e ch t . T h e “ p r e s e n t ” t a ke s u s t h r o u g h h e r l i f e t o d ay : a g r ow n d a u g h t e r a n d y e a r s o f t e a ch i n g h ave g ive n

t a n t a r t d i r e c t o r a t Ro l l -i n g S t o n e M a g a z i n e , w h i ch wa s “ a n e xc i t i n g b u t t u r -b u l e n t a t m o s p h e r e ,” a n d a l s o d i d s o m e p u b l i s h i n g f o r S a t u r d a y N i g h t L i v e .

K n e ch t ’s ow n i n s p i r a -t i o n f o r h e r a r t c o m e s f r o m N e i l We l l i ve r , a wo r l d -r e n ow n e d l a n d s c a p e a r t i s t a n d K n e ch t ’s t e a ch e r w h i l e

s h e a t t e n d e d t h e U n ive r -s i t y o f Pe n n s y l va n i a . H e t o o k h e r u n d e r h i s w i n g a n d e n c o u r a g e d K n e ch t ’s b o l d , t h i ck s t y l e o f p a i n t -i n g a n d c o m p o s i t i o n .

To d ay, K n e ch t ’s wo r k i s m a n a g e d u n d e r c o n t r a c t by a g a l l e r y o n L o n g B e a ch I s l a n d c a l l e d “ W i l d f l ow -e r s To o ! ” H e r wo r k h a s b e e n e x h i b i t e d i n p l a c e s s u ch a s t h e L o n g B e a ch I s -l a n d Fo u n d a t i o n f o r A r t s ,

Reed Me!

fects their perspective on a par ticular case, showing the fragi l i ty of the justice sys-tem,” explained Daniel Clay, Upper School theatre teacher and director of the fal l play.

The fal l play has always been unique in composit ion, consist ing of only a small en-semble cast of about f ifteen students. This year, i t has be-come even more student driv-en as the technical aspects of the show are being both de-signed and built by students.

“Students are par t of the whole creation of the set , not just the last two steps,” explained Kelly Leight-Ber-tucci , Upper School techni-cal theatre teacher and coor-dinator of technical theatre for Middle and Upper School productions. “I get to enjoy and share the love of design-

This fal l , students g rasp the reins of Episcopal the-ater more t ightly than ever in the Upper School pro-duction of Twelve Angr y Ju-r ors . Adapted from Reginald Rose’s play Twelve Angr y Men , Twelve Angr y Jur ors is a con-temporary drama that fal ls in l ine with Episcopal ’s theatre theme for the year, which is a focus on diversity and accep-tance. The play fol lows the decision-making process of twelve jurors as they decide the fate of a man accused of murder, and the ensuing con-f l icts of prejudice and ethics.

“Jurors is about a g roup of people from different socio-economic classes, edu-cations, races, and different l ife experiences that come together, and how al l this af-

Amanda Molitor '14

Twelve Angry Episcopal Actorsing, rather than just bui lding.”

Upper School students are designing the set , props and costumes for Twelve Angr y Ju-r ors , a tough task considering

the show’s setup. Twelve An-gr y Jur ors wil l be performed “in the round”, with the au-

dience seated on al l s ides of the set . This poses a new chal lenge for the student de-signers, one that highl ights detai l and accuracy. With the audience less than two feet away, there is a new level of commitment for the actors. The intimate sett ing wil l be a new experience for the small cast . They must mas-ter a subtle acting style in order to better depict their characters in such close proximity to the audience.

The show wil l be per-formed in the Ridgeway Blackbox Theater on Fri-day, October 28th at 7:30pm and Saturday, October 29th at 2pm and 7:30 p.m. Tick-ets can be purchased on-l ine; see the Theatre and Dance page of the Episco-pal website for more detai ls.

t h e Way n e A r t C e n t e r , t h e M a i n L i n e A r t C e n t e r , t h e D e vo n H o r s e S h ow, a n d t h e S t o n e H a r b o r A r t C o n t e s t S h ow. B e -s i d e s t h e f a c u l t y s h ow -c a s e s , K n e ch t h a s n e ve r h a d a n e x h i b i t a t E p i s c o -p a l . “ Te a ch i n g ke e p s m e b u s y a n d I ’ m h a p p y a t my L o n g B e a ch I s l a n d G a l -l e r y, b u t t h e n e x t s t e p i s t o f i n d a g a l l e r y a r o u n d h e r e ,” s a i d K n e ch t .

“A n A r t i s t ’s Jo u r n e y ” f e a t u r e s a p p r ox i m a t e l y f o r t y p a i n t i n g s , t wo c e -r a m i c p i e c e s , a n d s e ve r -a l g r a p h i c d e s i g n p i e c e s. H a l f o f t h e p i e c e s a r e p a r t o f h e r p e r s o n a l c o l l e c t i o n a n d a r e n o t f o r s a l e , a s t h e y a r e m o d e l s o f h e r p a i n t i n g s t y l e a n d h ave s e n t i m e n t a l va l u e . T h r o u g h W i l d f l ow -e r s To o ! , t h e o t h e r h a l f o f h e r p a i n t i n g s a r e f o r s a l e . “ I n a d d i t i o n t o s e -l e c t i n g ‘ t h e b e s t ’ [ p i e c e s ] , I a l s o s e l e c t e d wo r k t h a t I h o p e w i l l b e i n s p i r i n g a n d i n s t r u c t i ve t o t h e s t u -d e n t b o d y. T h e r e w i l l b e s t u d i e s w i t h l a r g e r p a i n t -i n g s a n d I p l a n t o w r i t e a s h o r t n a r r a t i ve f o r s o m e o f t h e p i e c e s. A s a n a r t e d u c a t o r , I s e e t h i s a s a wo n d e r f u l o p p o r t u n i t y t o s h a r e t h o u g h t s a n d e x p e r i -e n c e s w i t h s t u d e n t s ,” s a i d K n e ch t . T h e e x h i b i t w i l l b e o n d i s p l ay f r o m O c t o -b e r 3 - 2 8 a f t e r t h e o p e n i n g r e c e p t i o n o n O c t o b e r 5 t h .

IN THE GALLERY:"An Artist's Journey" will be on display

from October 3-28. Photo courtesy of Alexis Hawkins '12.

BICKERING IN THE BLACKBOX: The cast of 12

Angry Jurors practicing in the

Blackbox. Photo courtesy of

Daniel Clay.

Academy SportsPage 8 October, 2011

Katherine Howlin '12

Georgia Wassall leads

EA Girls Cross Country

T h i s y e a r , o n e o f E p i s c o -p a l ’s f o r e i g n e xch a n g e s t u d e n t s i s b r i n g i n g m o r e t o t h e s ch o o l c o m -mu n i t y t h a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x p e r i -e n c e s a n d c u l t u r e . G e o r g i a Wa s -s a l l , Au s t r a l i a n e xch a n g e s t u d e n t a n d m e m -b e r o f t h e V Fo r m i s b r i n g -i n g h e r a t h l e t i c p r o w e s s t o E p i s -c o p a l ’ s c r o s s c o u n t r y a n d t r a ck t e a m s .

C r o s s c o u n -t r y c o a ch L a u r i e S m i t h s a i d , “ We a r e ve r y e x c i t e d t o h ave G e o r -g i a o n t h e t e a m . S h e h a d a s t r o n g f i r s t r a c e a n d i s o n l y g o -i n g t o g e t s t r o n g e r .” T h i s s e n t i m e n t wa s e ch o e d by g i r l s c r o s s c o u n t r y c a p t a i n K r i s t i n G r e e n wo o d ‘ 1 2 , w h o i s e xc i t e d t o we l c o m e s u ch a t a l e n t e d r u n -n e r t o t h e t e a m . “ S h e w i l l h e l p o u t a l o t ; s h e c a m e a t t h e p e r f e c t t i m e b e f o r e o u r b i g g e s t r a c e s .”

Wa s s a l l , w h o w i l l a t t e n d E p i s -c o p a l t h r o u g h D e c e m b e r , h a s b e e n r u n n i n g f o r a b o u t f i ve y e a r s b u t o n l y s t a r t e d r u n n i n g c r o s s c o u n -t r y l a s t y e a r w h e n s h e " g o t i n t o i t

a n d g o t g o o d a t i t .” T h e a c c o m -p l i s h e d a t h l e t e r u n s y e a r - r o u n d , c o m p e t i n g i n t r a ck a n d f i e l d , c r o s s c o u n t r y, a n d e ve n t r i a t h l o n s. S h e s a i d t h a t h e r c o a ch g e n e r a t e d h e r i n t r e s t i n t r i a t h l o n s b e c a u s e s w i m m i n g a n d b i c y c l i n g a r e g o o d way s t o c r o s s t r a i n f o r c r o s s c o u n -t r y a n d t r a ck . D e s p i t e p a r t i c i p a t i n g

i n a nu m -b e r o f d i f -f e r e n t r a c -e s , Wa s s a l l s a i d t h a t t h e 8 0 0 m e t e r i s h e r f avo r -i t e e ve n t . I t wa s i n t h e 8 0 0 m e t e r r a c e t h a t s h e c a m e i n s e c o n d a t t h i s y e a r ’s A u s t r a l i a n N a t i o n -a l s , a m e e t s h e e q u a t e s t o s t a t e s . W a s s a l l a l s o p l a c e d t h i r d i n t h e 1 5 0 0 m e -t e r r a c e a t A u s t r a l i a n N a t i o n a l s .

W a s -s a l l ch o s e

t o c o m e t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a f t e r t a l k i n g w i t h S o p h i e M e e r e , o n e o f E p i s c o p a l ' s Au s t r a l i a n e xch a n g e s t u d e n t s f r o m l a s t y e a r . S o p h i e ’s p o s i t i ve e x p e r i e n c e a t E p i s c o p a l , e s -p e c i a l l y w i t h r e g a r d s t o s p o r t s c o m -p e l l e d Wa s s a l l t o c o m e t o E p i s c o p a l .

Wa s s a l l ’s f u t u r e i s p r o m -i s i n g i n b o t h t r a ck a n d c r o s s c o u n t r y. “ [ I wa n t t o ] ke e p r u n -n i n g a n d t r a i n i n g , a n d m ay b e r e p r e s e n t Au s t r a l i a o n e d ay.”

Junior Golf Captains Lead

Team into First Fall Season

T y p i c a l l y a t E p i s c o p a l , i t i s t h e s e n i o r s w h o t a k e o n l e a d e r s h i p r o l e s , e s p e c i a l -l y a s t e a m c a p t a i n s o n t h e p l a y i n g f i e l d . T h i s i s n o t t h e c a s e f o r t h e g o l f t e a m a s A l e x D u p r e a n d S e a n F a h e y , b o t h i n t h e V F o r m , a r e t h e c a p t a i n s f o r t h e n e x t t w o s e a -s o n s .

“ I t ’ s a g r e a t h o n o r t o b e c a p -t a i n s t h i s a n d n e x t y e a r , ” s a i d D u p r e . T h e c o - c a p -t a i n s a r e f r i e n d s t h a t h a v e e n -j o y e d p l a y -i n g t o -g e t h e r f o r m a n y y e a r s , a n d n o w h o p e t o l e a d t h e i r t e a m t o m a n y v i c t o r i e s .

T h e V F o r m c a p t a i n s h a v e n o t t a k e n t h e i r l e a d e r s h i p r o l e s l i g h t l y , a n d a r e s t e p -p i n g u p t o t h e p l a t e . A c c o r d -i n g t o F a h e y , t h e t w o w o r k e d o n t h e i r g a m e t h i s s u m m e r t h r o u g h w o r k o u t s a n d t o u r -n a m e n t s . D u e t o t h e i r o f f -s e a s o n e f f o r t s , t h e y c o n t r o l

t h e t o p p o s i t i o n s o n t h e t e a m . “ T h e y a r e c l e a r l y t h e t o p t w o d o m i n a n t f o r c e s o n o u r s q u a d , ” s a i d D r e w D e -B a c c o ’ 1 4 . T h i s y e a r D u -p r e a n d F a h e y l o o k t o e x -c e l n o t o n l y o n E p i s c o p a l ’ s t e a m , b u t i n t h e e n t i r e I n -t e r - A c a s w e l l . B o t h F a h e y a n d b o y s ' g o l f c o a c h D o u g B o r g e r s o n t h i n k t h a t t h e t w o c a p t a i n s h a v e s e t a n a t -t a i n a b l e g o a l o f p l a c i n g a t

t h e t o p o f t h e I n t e r -A c a s w e l l a s b e a t -i n g H a v e r -f o r d o n E A / H a v e r -f o r d d a y . P a r t i c i p a t -i n g i n E A /H a v e r f o r d d a y w i l l b e a f i r s t f o r E p i s c o p a l ’ s g o l f t e a m , a s t h e s h i f t f r o m a s p r i n g t o a f a l l s e a s o n m e a n s t h a t t h i s y e a r ’ s g o l f p r o -g r a m r e a c h -e s t h e e n -t i r e l e a g u e .

B e c a u s e t h e r e i s n o t a n a g e g a p o n t h e t e a m , D u p r e n o t e d t h a t , “ w e a r e o n e b i g f a m i l y . ”

M a t t R o b i n s o n ‘ 1 4 a g r e e d , s t a t i n g , “ T h e y a r e c l o s e r i n a g e t o u s s o w e k n o w t h e m a b i t b e t t e r . W e h a v e a b e t t e r r a p p o r t w i t h t h e m a n d t h e y a r e l e s s i n t i m i -d a t i n g t h a n b e i n g a f r e s h -m a n w i t h s e n i o r c a p t a i n s . ”

Richard Palazzese '14Dean Avgerinos '12

HARD WORK: Junior Golf Captains

Practice with each other everyday.

P h o t o C o u r t e s y o f J o e C h a m b e r s

HUSTLE: Georgia Wassal Came in Sec-

ond place at this year's Australian Nationals.

Photo Courtesy of Georgia Wassall '13

The Philadelphia Eagles so-called “dream team,” up until this point, has been non-existent. Constant hits on Michael Vick have plagued the Eagles offense. On Sep-tember 18th against the Falcons, Vick suf-fered a concussion when a Falcons defender pushed Vick into Eagles teammate, offen-sive lineman Todd Herremans. Vick’s helmet made contact with Herreman’s and Vick hit the ground with a thud. Looking exhausted, Vick was spitting out blood as he left the ÀHOG��9LQFH�<RXQJ��WKH�(DJOHV�VHFRQG�VWULQJ�quarterback, was also hurt with a hamstring injury. These two injuries left Mike Kafka,

the Eagles third string quarterback, to lead the Eagles offense against the Falcons. De-spite the efforts of Kafka and the Eagles, they fell short to the Falcons 31-35 that Sunday.

Vick missed a few practices due to the concussion injury and spent time with a per-sonal neurologist and an Eagles trainer. After a series of examinations he was cleared to VWDUW� RQ� WKH���WK� DJDLQVW� WKH� ULYDO�1HZ�<RUN�Giants. Despite playing more conservatively than usual, Vick was still hit numerous times by the Giants defense and suffered an injury to his right hand. After a throw to Jeremy Maclin, Vick was hit by Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty, and Vick stumbled to the ground before OHDYLQJ�WKH�ÀHOG��2ULJLQDOO\��LW�ORRNHG�OLNH�9LFN�had broken his hand, but x-rays showed he only suffered a bad bruise. Vick sat out the fourth

TXDUWHU� DQG�.DIND�ÀQLVKHG� WKH� JDPH� IRU� WKH�second week in a row. Due to Vick’s injuries in the pocket, the Eagles offensive line is feeling the pressure of trying to defend their quarter-back, who seems to get hit on every play. Vick, who was hit regularly throughout the game, is crucial to the success of the team. After the game Vick expressed his frustration with his injuries, and said that they were misfortunate situations and the referees need to do their job.

The Philadelphia Eagles were once again faced with a tough choice for their game against the San Francisco 49ers on October 2nd. The team entered the game feeling so FRQÀGHQW�DERXW�WKHLU�DELOLW\�WR�ZLQ�WKDW�WKHUH�was conjecture that Vick would not play, taking a week off to recover. However, head coach Andy Reid chose to start Vick, in hopes that it

would be an easy win against the 49ers, a team said to have the worst offense in football at the time of the match-up. Prior to the game, the team’s record was 1-2, and the worst in the NFC East; however, after a disappointing loss to San Francisco, the Eagles have success-fully gained distrust from much of their fans.

Vick claimed he was “100 percent ready” for the October 2nd game, despite coming off two subsequent weeks with injury. Though KH� VXIIHUHG� D� VPDOO� ÀQJHU� LQMXU\� LQ� WKH� ÀUVW�half, his statement proved correct, as he was able to throw for a career high 416 yards, and ran for 75 yards in the game, but it was not enough to pull out a win over the 49ers.

As the Eagles gear up for their future games, they will be under pressure to pull out a win and prove that they truly are the 2011 “dream team.”

E a g l e s F a i l t o L i v e u p t o t h e H y p e

John McDermott '14Dimantha Andrehenedy '14

Academy CommunityOctober, 2011 Page 9

Although new students entering the freshmen class can take comfort in the great number of other new students in the same position, a little advice can never hurt. Its safe to say that entering Episcopal in ninth grade is a challenge for anyone. To add to the challenge, there is a daunting new rite of passage for all incom-ing freshmen: the notorious, six day North Carolina Out-ward Bound course. Though the anxiety felt by all stu-dents entering a new school can never be entirely allevi-ated, the trip does help ease some of the awkward ten-sion among new classmates who were formerly strangers.

When it comes to easing DQ[LHW\�� RQH� VWXGHQW� UHÁHFWV�that “Yes, [Outward Bound] GHÀQLWHO\�GLG�HDVH�WKH�WHQVLRQ��I met some of my best friends on that trip and we still stay friends even though we don't have any classes together.”

Another student said that Out-ward Bound helped her become ac-quainted with her new classmates because “everyone had to work to-gether with the activities and you got to be yourself.” True character is re-vealed when placed in an unfamiliar environment for almost a week, giving students no choice but to put differ-ences aside and bond with one another.

However others, such as Meghan Hubley ’13, have had different experiences.

“I went into it knowing someone in my group, so I didn't really branch out. And it was disgusting!” Hubley, echoing the opinions of many student-athletes, also said, “I didn’t like going into pre-

season right after the trip, it didn’t make for a very positive bonding experience."

Regardless of its role in forg-ing new relationships between stu-dents, at the very least Outward Bound gives everyone in the grade something in common. If nothing else, it’s a good conversation starter.

Another key to making a smooth transition into a new school is play-ing a fall sport. As Kaitlyn Dimarco

’13 said, “You get to know people be-fore you start school and you know them in a different environment other than just the classroom. And you get to know upperclassmen, in-stead of just people in your grade.”

Forging good relationships with upperclassmen can be very helpful to a new student. As Claire Knei-zys ’13 described, “Preseason was a major factor in adjusting to high school and getting advice from all of the players on your teachers, school work, and how to manage time.”

Along with having the reassur-ance of knowing upperclassmen from sports, many freshmen have older siblings at Episcopal. Ali Rushton ’15

Candy, and Kids, and

Costumes! Oh, My!

The end of October is one of the most awkward times of the year for teens everywhere. While all the kiddies excitedly grab their Firefly catalogs, un-able to decide between an Egyp-tian princess and a McDon-ald’s Cheeseburger, teenagers nostalgically tweet about their best neighborhood pillages and the scariest haunted houses.

Do you remember that neigh-bor who obviously forgot what the date was and handed out Ziploc bags filled with popcorn? Or how about the dentist who, after giving a lecture on dental hygiene, handed you a tooth-brush and apple slices? There was always the quaint el-derly couple that lured you in with cookies and hot apple cider while regaling you with enter-taining sto-ries about Hal loweens past. The ul-timate score was the person who leaves the whole basket outside with a note that says, “Please take ONE," prompting you and your friends to grab the whole thing.

For teens, Halloween night usually begins at a friend’s house, trying to decide what to do. Trick-or-treating is obvious-ly out of the question. Scoffing at trick-or-treating and laughing at how crazy the little kids look, the secretly sentimental friends sit and watch Amityville Horror. However someone fidgets after ten minutes and mutters that they would rather be trick-or-treating. The room is silent for a split second before everyone jumps up and grabs either cat ears or a baseball hat. Odd looks are given by parents who open the door to a gang of sixteen or seventeen year-olds, but a quick reassurance that siblings are not far behind becomes the go-to lie.

Each year, everyone attempts to act like they will be origi-nal with their costume choices. Powerpuff girls? Too juvenile. Rocket Power? Already taken. Young Money? Too awkward.

Being too creative can be contro-versial, so once again the cat ears come out. The guys throw on an Eagles jersey and they transform into Michael Vick for the night.

Anybody can fall victim to an awkward Halloween. Two years ago my friends and I decided to watch The Orphan (I don’t rec-ommend it), and I found myself unable to lift my head up from behind the pillow. It was truly terrifying. It took little persua-sion and only fifteen minutes of the horror movie to convince my friends that we were not above trick-or-treating, and soon we were scouring the house for cos-tumes to compliment our sweat-pants and Ugg boots. It took

about three minutes to complete my transformation, with a pair of knee-high socks and a tat-tered baseball hat topping off my “Major League” look. With plastic target bags clutched in our freezing hands, we headed out into the night. Eagerly wait-ing for our first fistful of candy (but not too eagerly; this is high school), we were disappointed when the first few houses were dark and empty. We could have sworn we heard footsteps in one or two homes, but it must have been a ghost. Eventually doors began to open and parents un-comfortably handed us mini Reese’s and slammed the door.

The minute I had candy at my disposal a sugar coma ensued. I hardly remember anything until two hours later, when I found myself nuzzled against two sleeping friends on the couch. There was a pile of candy wrap-pers to my left, (“did I eat all of those?”) not to mention an empty tub of popcorn resting on my lap. I managed to convince myself everyone else ate it un-

til I noticed a buttery glaze all over my fingers. Free candy is everyone’s guilty pleasure. It’s a proven fact. Why else would there be a holiday for it? So, in case you had any doubts, it is totally justifiable to mooch off of your kind-hearted neigh-bors for as long as possible.

This year, Halloween will not be any different. Trick-or-treat-ing will be avoided for as long as possible, seeing as high school-ers should be mature enough to look at candy and not want to gorge themselves on it (yeah, right). So, Halloween night, go out and enjoy yourself however you decide to, trick-or-treating or creating a haunted house. It is a night of fun and excitement, and everyone should take advan-tage of it for as long as possible.

Willow Fredrick '13

Kali Kilmer '13

DIÀUPHG� WKDW�´KDYing Matt '11 as an older brother has really helped be-cause I knew all of his friends from EHIRUH�ZKLFK�PDGH� WKH�ÀUVW� GD\� QRW�as stressful as I thought it would be.”

Many students wish there had EHHQ�D�VRUW�RI �XQRIÀFLDO�UXOHERRN�WKH\�FRXOG�KDYH�UHDG�EHIRUH�WKHLU�ÀUVW�GD\�RI �school. One junior admitted that she was confused by the schedule. No one ever told her to read down, not across!

Another confesses, “This is kind of embarrassing but I honestly didn’t know how to open my locker.”

A sophomore said the initial dress code in-formation was mislead-ing. “It makes it seem like you can only wear navy or white sweaters,” she said. Many students wish they could relive their ÀUVW� GD\�� NQRZLQJ� ZKDW�they do now. But fresh-men still have the chance to take advantage of up-perclassmen advice, as it is still early in the year!

While they are ben-HÀFLDO� WR� VRFLDO� FRPIRUW� OHYHO�� PDQ\�older students recommend not to take on too many extra-curricular activities when beginning at Episco-pal. School, sports, homework, and studying take up plenty of time, and many underestimate the amount of homework that is assigned. However they also recommend not to get too caught up in the competitiveness and academic rigor of the Episcopal life-style. If anyone feels overwhelmed, or behind in a class, know that teachers are always ready and willing to help. At Episcopal, there is a wealth of great advisors and counselors. As wisely advised by a member of the senior class, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help!”

Marian Prim '12

New Students: You're in Good Company

E Q V: T h e c h a l l e n g e o f l i v i n g u p t o t h e " E s s e Q u a m Vi d e r i " l i f e s t y l e l o o m s o v e r t h e h e a d s o f n e w s t u d e n t s . Photo Courtesy of Alexis Hawkins '12

TRICK-OR-TREAT: Halloween is not for teens. Photo found on Myremoteradio.com

Comm-Post

Join the DaVinci Club! DaVinci is a fun and cre-ative club that will help bring life and more of the arts to EA. To learn more, join us every Wednes-day in Mr. Sigel's room. Hope to see you there!

DaVinci Club

Auditions for this year's Musical, Seussical (based on the stories by Dr. Seuss), will be held on November 2nd

and 3rd from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.Information meetings will be held on October 17th (Domino block), Wednesday October 19th (Activity

block) and Friday October 21st (US Lunch). See Mr. Clay with questions.

Theatre

Academy CommunityOctober, 2011Page 10

Meet the New 2011-2012 Upper School FacultyCarli Grims '14Brendan McManus '12

Mrs. Chris AndersonHometown: Hunterdon County, New JerseyCollege: University of West VirginiaMajor: Business, Marketing and StatisticsTeaching: Functions and Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus ABPrevious Employment: Sewickley Acad-emyMost anticipated EA events: the Jingle Bell Run and EA/Haverford/AIS weekend

Mr. Max KellyHometown : Devon, PACollege : Occidental Col legeMajor : Diplomacy in World Af-fairsTeaching : Study Ski l ls 101, ful l - t ime subst i tute teacherPrevious Employment : Epis-copal as a par t t ime subst i tuteMost anticipated EA event : Spir i t Week

Mrs. Sunshine O'DonnellHometown: Bensalem, PACollege: Arcadia University and University of East AngliaMajor: EnglishTeaching: World literature, American litera-turePrevious Employment: Carson Valley School, Germantown Friends School, and Arcadia UniversityMost anticipated EA events: Spirit Week and EA/Haverford/AIS weekend

Dr. Thomas GoebelerHometown: Malvern, PACollege: Shippensburg University and the University of VirginiaMajor: MathTeaching: Pre-Calculus, Honors Pre-Calculus AB and BC, AP Calculus BCPrevious Emploment: Ursinus CollegeMost anticipated EA events: Math Club, EA/Haverford/AIS weekend, and Michelle’s Miles

Mr.John DilworthHometown : Drexel Hill, PACollege : Villanova University Major : EnglishTeaching : World Literature, Intro-duction to LiteraturePrevious Employment : The Rox-borough School in PhiladelphiaMost anticipated EA events : Football season and EA/Haver-ford/AIS weekend

T h e E p i s c o p a l A c a d e m y i s c o n -s t a n t l y c h a n g i n g a n d e vo l v i n g t o p r o v i d e t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e l e a r n -i n g e n v i r o n m e n t f o r i t s s t u d e n t s . W h e t h e r i t w a s t h e m i g r a t i o n t o t h e n e w c a m p u s b a c k i n 2 0 0 8 o r t h e r e c e n t i n s t a l a t i o n o f S M A R T b o a r d s t o t h e c l a s s r o o m s , t h e a d -m i n i s t r a t i o n h a s a l w a y s h a d t h e s t u d e n t s b e s t i n t e r e s t s i n m i n d . W h i l e E p i s c o p a l i s r e n o w n e d f o r i t s i m p r e s s i v e f a c u l t y, t h e s c h o o l r e a l i z e s t h a t i n o r d e r f o r t h i s e d u c a t i o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t t o c o n -t i n u e t o g r o w, n e w m e m b e r s m u s t b e a d d e d t o t h e c o m m u n i t y e a c h y e a r . T h i s y e a r i s n o d i f f e r e n t . Wa l k i n g t h r o u g h t h e t h e h a l l w a y s o f t h e U p p e r S c h o o l t h i s y e a r , i t i s a l m o s t i m p o s s i b l e t o i g n o r e t h e n e w a n d u n f a m i l i a r f a c e s o n

c a m p u s . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e s i x -t y - f i v e n e w s t u d e n t s t h a t h a ve j o i n e d t h e U p p e r S c h o o l c o m m u -n i t y t h i s y e a r , E p i s c o p a l h a s w e l -c o m e d f i v e n e w f a c u l t y m e m b e r s . T h e s e f i v e t e a c h e r s e a c h b r i n g s o m e t h i n g n e w t o t h e t a b l e a n d w i l l s u r e l y e n r i c h o u r s c h o o l w i t h t h e i r u n i q u e p e r s p e c t i v e s . B o t h C h r i s A n d e r s o n a n d T h o m a s G o e -b e l e r b r i n g va l u a b l e k n o w l e d g e t o t h e M a t h d e p a r t m e n t , w h i l e M a x K e l l y t e a c h e s S t u d y S k i l l s 1 0 1 t o m e m b e r s o f t h e f r e s h m a n c l a s s . S u n s h i n e O ' D o n n e l l a n d Jo h n D i l wo r t h j o i n t h e E n g l i s h d e -p a r t m e n t t h i s y e a r t e a c h i n g f r e s h -m e n a n d s o p h o m o r e l i t e r a t u r e .

T h e f e e l i n g o f e n t e r i n g a n e w c o m m u n i t y i s f a m i l i a r t o e ve r y o n e h e r e a t E p i s c o p a l , a n d t h i s f e e l -i n g i s j u s t a s t r u e f o r t h e i n s t r u c -t o r s . B e s u r e t o g i v e a w a r m w e l -c o m e t o a l l o f t h e s e n e w t e a c h e r s !