by Trent Pacer ’13

On Sunday evening, September 30th, a group of Western Reserve Academy students took part in the 9th annual Suicide Prevention Education Alliance “Into the Light Walk” at the Cleve-land Metroparks Zoo. The SPEA, founded in 1992 in northeast Ohio, is an orga-nization dedicated to saving lives by raising public aware-ness of suicide. It is active in schools throughout the area, educating students on how to recognize the warn-ing signs associated with suicide and how to seek help for themselves or others. The organization’s website states that “nearly one in five high school youth seriously consider suicide, and eight percent of teens actually

attempt suicide during their high school years.” Statistics like these make the work that the SPEA does imperative. WRA students walked in the event as members of Conor’s WRA Light Team with faculty member Kevin O’Brien. Students Christine Orosz ’13, Federico Silva ’13 and Sithara Thalluri ’13 helped in organizing the WRA student effort at the event. Reflecting on the event, Silva said, “It was a really emotional experience that brought everyone to-gether for a common cause.” When asked what she took away from the event, Orosz replied, “The Into the Light Walk was a touching experi-ence. Even though it dealt with a serious topic, it had a positive message: There is always hope for those who are struggling because of the people that love them.”

by Marin Valentine ’16

Last spring, the WRA student body was introduced to a myriad of new changes to the daily schedule, which were put into effect this fall. Perhaps the most radical change to the schedule was Saturday Acad-emy, which replaced traditional Saturday classes. The response from students was generally, “What are these ECHO mod-ules?” The specialized two-and-a-half hour classes allow students to learn in a way that is not possible during the typical Monday through Friday schedule. Students seem to

be reacting well to the change: “The ECHO modules are more fun and less intense than the weekly schedule,” stated Maria Papa-rella ’16. Adam Sneath ’13 agreed, saying, “It is nice to learn in a relatively stress free environment.” Students are offered a variety of different classes in order to explore new, and sometimes obscure, interests. Paparella, part of Matthew Peterson’s Culture and Horticulture of Apples module, describes how she planted apple trees and later made apple cider in her class. Another interesting and unique module is Systems Theory, a class about interconnectivity and reason-ing taught by Jennifer Rinehart. Rinehart said of her module: “I have [some] games up my sleeves that help make the study of a system more real.” Sneath is a member of this module, and says that having learned how to look at the big picture, he is look-ing forward to making a computer model of a system within a movie or television show. He explains, “My problem solving skills have already become more holistic now that I can identify all the elements in a ‘system’ and the direct and indirect relations between them.” About the change, Tricia Cunningham ’14 said, “At first I wasn’t

sure if I was going to like the new ECHO modules, but after going through Sociol-ogy this fall I realized that they are a great idea and I love having the opportunity to take classes that would not have been pos-sible with the old schedule.” Change may seem frightening at first, but according to these students, the switch to ECHO Modules appears to be for the better.

The New WRA Saturday: ECHO Modules at a Glance

Photo by Pavloff

The longest-running newspaper in historic Hudson, Ohio

All About the ElectionStudents and faculty share opinions

about the upcoming electionPAGES 4 AND 7 | CENTERFOLD

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 | VOL. XCIX : NO. 2

Honey Boo BooWhat a six year old tells us about

today’s societyPAGE 2 | OPINION

by Shivani Shah ’13

For the first time in three years, Homecoming kicked off the school dances for the year. Instead of starting with the Sadie Hawkins dance, as is typical at Western Reserve Academy, the Morgan Leaders decided that it would be more beneficial for the student body to have a Homecoming dance. To generate school spirit, the week leading up to Homecoming was filled with various themed dress down days, including Twin Tuesday and Tacky Thursday. Boys had a great time showing off their kilts on Monday, when they were able to experience Re-

serve Green dressed like a girl. Hyun Min ’14 said, “It was a little tight around my waist, but less restricting than pants. I’d love another wear a kilt day.” Another reason for the switch to Homecoming was to gain student support for the football team. Due to students’ rigorous academic and sports scheduals, it is hard for students to at-tend other sporting events. Homecom-ing will be a great opportunity for the entire student body to be cheering on our football team during the Home-coming game.

Students Welcome Back Homecoming

Chancellor Warhol makes a splash

at the Back-to-School bash

Murder Mystery Haunts CampusEilidh Jenness reports the facts of the

ghost who haunts WRA’s groundsPAGE 9 | ENTERTAINMENT

WESTERN RESERVE ACADEMY

Sophomores and Juniors show off their kilts on Brick Row during Spirit Week.

by Erin Cohen ’13

The Morgan Leaders program is a student-run group that works towards managing and improving various aspects of our daily expe-rience in the WRA community. Maggie Graves ’13 notes that the Morgan Leaders handle “everything from in the dorms to on the field to in the chapel; you name it, the Morgan Leaders probably have something to do with it.” However, this year the Morgan Leaders pro-gram has adopted a new approach to contribute more actively to the school community. As of this year, it is a group of councils; each council is run by one

or two of the eleven leaders and represents a different aspect of life at Western Reserve. The creation of these specialized councils allows the student leaders to be more effective in their specific areas. The leaders then regroup to share and imple-ment their ideas. For example the Athletics Council, headed by Nicky Waldeck ’13 and Mehar Bains ’13, organizes the featured game of the week. Additionally, this council works to showcase the talent of WRA athletes through the use of film. Similarly, the Arts Council, headed by Lindsey Wirtz ’13, cre-ates events such as Friday night student performances in the Green

Key. In addition to transitioning into their new roles, the Morgan Leaders established a funda-mental goal for this year which, according to Matt Hard ’13, is “to bring together all the differ-ent facets of the school” through student involvement. The pur-pose of the new Morgan Senate is to cater to each student, regard-less of the area in which their extracurricular interests may fall. Bains adds, “We want Reserve to be a fun place to live and to go to school. We want our community to be electric with enthusiasm and support for one another.”

The Morgan Senate: New and Improved Student Leadership

Phot

o by

Lund

SPEA Walk

Continued on Page 2

Apple lovers work on their ECHO module project.

Photo b

y Li

Raheja ’14 works with Aguilar during the forensic science ECHO Module.

ELECTION E

DITIO

N ELECTION EDITION

Editors-in-Chief: Megan Barsella, Sam ClarkManaging Editor: Rebecca CartelloneAssociate Editor: Max RosenwasserNews: Rylee Nelsen, Mitch PollockOpinion: Hannah McKenzieCenterfold: Abby HermosillaCommunity: Max ForsythEntertainment: Nate LundArts: Simon OngSports: Mehar BainsCrossword: Alex Wheaton Photographers: Tiffany Chung, Abby Hermosilla, Irene Li, Nate Lund, Tatiana Pavloff, Jenny Xu, Ashleigh Groves Writers: Lisie Andersson, Helena Ahn, Madison Bach, Megan Barsella, Molly Clark, Erin Cohen, Callie Crowder,

Hannah Gaspar, Eilidh Jenness, Kristina Kaszei, Peter Kuri, Gracie Morgan, Patrick Mylott, Trent Pacer, Charles Pearlman, Drew Perdue, Jessie Qin, Shivani Shah, Gabe Skora, Adam Tortelli, Griffin Trau, Marin Valentine, Selena Walsh, Maggie Wise, Annie Wyman, Kevin Yang,Katherine ZandeeFaculty Advisor: Russell Morrison

The Reserve Record is the student-run, monthly news-paper of Western Reserve Academy and the voice of and for the student body. It aims to educate its staff, writers and photographers on journalistic style, format, ethics and excellence, while entertaining and informing the student body and providing its readership a forum for community expression and discussion. The editors

and staff have worked on every facet of this publication.

The opinions expressed in the Reserve Record do not necessarily represent those of the administration, trust-ees or student body. The editors assume full respon-sibility for the contents of the publication and invite community responses.

Please address any concerns, comments or requests to:

The Reserve RecordWestern Reserve Academy

115 College StreetHudson, OH 44236

wrarecord@gmail.com

2 Reserve Record October/November 2012Opinion

You Better Redneckognize: A Television Addict’s Commentary on “Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo”by Drew Perdue ’13 If you haven’t heard of, or seen, TLC’s new reality series “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”, you and your sig-nificant other need to stop spending your whole weekend in KFAC and watch. Many of my peers and teachers have gone on and on about how ter-rible the show is and how they simply cannot get over the family’s stupidity. I watch a lot of TV, and “The Learn-ing Channel” has actually lowered my intelligence. I sat down and watched some of the programming, episodes of “My Strange Addiction” and “Ex-treme Couponing” and “Long Island Medium” played over and over until I had successfully wasted my whole day. By that point, my IQ had dropped by a solid six or seven points, and I didn’t have many to begin with. I recently tried to divide fractions and totally hit a wall. I just had no clue. It was like someone asked me to try to belch “Gangam Style.” I think TLC stole

that from me because I know I actu-ally used to know how to do it. The belch thing, not the math thing. Then along came Honey Boo Boo. I sat and watched the Thompsons for hours. The only thing that ever comes out of Alana’s father’s (all the other kids have different daddies) mouth is chewing tobacco; he almost never says a word. Mama always looks like you paused the show in a really awkward spot, and the kids spend all of their time walking into convenience stores shoeless and bobbing for raw hot dogs to practice for an event at the Red-neck Games requiring one of them to bob for pig’s feet. One episode even showed the clan in the garage grind-ing a roadkill deer into sausage. In my opinion, Alana (Honey Boo Boo) and her family have redeemed reality television. You didn’t expect that, did you? The entire show is a paradox wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a family that eats road-

kill. What I take away from the show is a great deal of sincerity. The whole family, including “Mama”, “Sugar Bear”, “Chickadee”, “Chubbs”, “Pumpkin”, and of course, “Honey Boo Boo”, live in the same world as us, as-suming you’ve ever been to a Wal-Mart or have mild awareness of NASCAR. While only one family has nineteen kids (and apparently still counting), and only a certain group of people live in the Jersey Shore uni-verse, the Thompson family exists in the same world we do. Although not technically married, Sugar Bear takes Mama out to celebrate their anniver-sary, just like real life couples, and the kids help celebrate by decorating the whole house in toilet paper while they are out. The family pitches in to help around the house, especially when it

comes to going grocery shopping since Mama has a lot of coupons with which she needs extra assistance. At the end of the day, they are just one big, happy family, and that is just what TLC needs to show. In the words of “Honey Boo Boo” herself, “You better redneckognize” that this show has successfully brought back reality television.

by Megan Barsella ’13 A professional baker living in my own self-decorated apartment in Mexico City, I successfully moved from the United States, taking on my new persona as Camila Barsel-la in only six weeks. Throughout my time at Reserve, I’ve been waiting for my senior year when I wouldn’t have a single Saturday class. Last year, when they announced the intro-duction of Saturday Academy, I shared the general discontent with my peers, realizing I would no longer have Saturdays free during my senior year. Skeptical of the changes, I went to my Saturday Academy class where I was welcomed by ten students with whom I’ve never shared a class and a teacher whom I’ve never had. Without a word of Spanish in my reper-toire, Ms. Mitchell virtually escorted our class through experiences you would typical-ly encounter while moving to another coun-try. Using blogs to document my journey, I not only learned about the Mexican culture but also new skills on my computer. The class activities varied each day, ranging from tasting classic Mexican dishes to learning about the ways Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos). Al-though my actual knowledge of the Spanish

language is still limited to the vowel song and “¡hola, me llamo Megan! ¿Comó es-tás?”, our class learned many other lessons. We watched about being in a Mexican jail, were told of the dangers of drug trafficking, read about the different districts in Mexico City, learned how to talk to a landlord, researched the value of a peso, and found out what you do if there are cockroaches in your apartment. I am now able to put to-gether a resume for job application, upload videos on Youtube, and make a blog that’s had 93 pageviews from the United States, Russia, Germany, and Mexico! Despite my original skepticism, I thor-oughly enjoyed every minute of my ad-ventures in Mexico. I have no doubt in my mind that my next ECHO Module, The History of Time, will be just as great.

by Helena Ahn ’15 As many of the students and faculty in the Reserve commu-nity have recently noticed, all the paper cups in the dining hall have disappeared. The cups were a very important part of Reserve life. The cups not only hold hot chocolate or Gatorade, but they also hold cereal that students can conveniently carry around the campus. However, the cups are very wasteful; we throw them away after just one use. To manufacture and transport the cups, fossil fuels and other resources are used. Matthew Peterson, Sustainability Co-Coordinator, explains, “Cups are a very wasteful, very costly means to an end.” Eliminating the cups has made the Reserve community greener; we are now reduc-ing, reusing and recycling by utilizing other options. There are numerous opinions about not having cups in the community. Lily Liu ’14 enthusiastically says, “I think removing the paper cups is a great idea. I can make envi-ronmentally-friendly choices as well as spend some quality time with my travelling mug.” Jennifer Rinehart, Biology and AP Environmental Science

teacher, adds, “Cups? What cups? We had cups? I’ve been carrying my own coffee mug around for years...I wouldn’t be Rineharticus without one.” However, sometimes not having a cup can be a little annoying when you are trying to bring hot choco-late or cereal to your next class. Peterson suggests, “The alternatives - carrying a travel mug or sandwich bag, staying a bit longer in the dining hall to use a dish, or waiting until the next meal - are simple, eminently doable solutions.” As everyone is adapting to this drastic change, Peterson states that taking the cups away is a “decision [that] has ruffled some feathers, but it has also encouraged some to begin to think and live sustainably.” Personally, I think the elimi-nation of these cups was a great idea because I always felt like I was being very wasteful when I threw my cups away after using them just once. And when I think about it, taking the cups away does not dramatically impact my daily routine in any way that can-not be solved, so why waste my time complaining when I can be doing my part to help WRA become more environ-mentally friendly?

Saturday Academy: Senior Embraces Changes

Cuptastrophe

Photo by Hermosilla

Photo b

y Herm

osilla

“I want the great ‘Neer Nation in the bleach-ers,” explains Student Body President Mitesh Mehta ’13. WRA has not had Homecoming in the past partially because boys are more reluctant to ask a date to the dance. Despite this, the

senior boys have done a great job of setting an example for the younger classes. Earlier in the year, there were rumors of having a Homecoming Court. After enduring sev-eral complaints from the student body, the Morgan Leaders’ council decided to hold a vote, resulting in a unanimous decision against the idea. Overall, Homecoming was a smoking success.

Continued from page 1

Homecoming (cont.)

by Kevin Yang ’15 Recently, as passersby have stridden by KFAC at night, they may have heard mellifluous sounds flowing out of the KFAC auditorium. These sounds are the voices of the cast of “Les Mis-erables”, a musical based on Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name. Taking place in nineteenth century France, “Les Miserables” (or “Les Mis”, for short) follows the freed prisoner Jean Valjean, played by Jack McKinzie ’13, in his quest to make amends for his past crime of looting bread to sustain his nieces and nephews. Meanwhile, his parole officer, Javert, played by Rishav Ba-nerjee ’13, tries to recapture him in the midst of the student-led June Rebellion. And let us not forget the love triangle of Cosette, Marius, and Eponine, played by Lindsey Wirtz ’13, Davis Johnson ’14, and Miranda Fetterman ’14, respec-tively. That is a lot of material to condense into one musical, but McKinzie summarizes it in three words: “Tragedy, love, and revolution.” Timing in at about two and a half hours, the “Les Mis” School Edition is by no means an easy musical to prepare for. “The big thing is that the action never stops,” Margaret Karam ’79 Chair of Fine and Performing Arts says,“scene/time changes have to occur in the given time and the actors have to really work to help that along.” When asked what the hardest part of the musi-cal was, McKinzie responded, “All of the songs I have to memorize. I’ll have three or four pages in a row where it’s just me singing.” In contrast to the long solos of “Les Mis”, there are also plenty of scenes in which the entire cast participates. And of course, it would be foolish to neglect the fact that almost the entire musical is sung. “It’s really not that hard as long as you don’t forget to breathe,” jokes Colin Horgan ’15. It has been established that “Les Mis” is definitely up high on the list of difficult musicals, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to a lugubrious effort. On the contrary, rehearsals are pretty hilarious: the KFAC stage is home to a plethora of funny mo-ments ranging from the occasional slip-up of words to the men of the resistance struggling to haul a corpse out of sight. To have these silly moments, the actors and actresses must to be close to one another, which they most definitely are. “The cast is more dynamic when it’s big,” Simon Ong ’15 says, “you get a lot more variety in the cast.” This variety is expected when a slew of students from every grade and of every type of personality plays a role in “Les Mis”. As Emma Presley ’14 says, “We’re all from dif-ferent groups of friends, but we come together.” So what does happen when you put a bunch of talented singers and actors together on a stage? Well, for starters, you get a pretty amazing production, but you also get a few hooligans. “The cast definitely has a bond,” says Banerjee, “and everybody’s usually talking during rehearsal.” Talking isn’t necessarily a bad thing: it’s what makes the cast so interwoven,

but there comes a point when all the socializing results in what Trevor Lin ’15 calls a “Ms. Karam face”. When asked what their favorite parts of the musical were, the cast members had a variety of answers to offer. “I think my favorite part is how shockingly applicable to our lives it is,” says Fetter-man. “It deals with family, love and the things you care about.” “Les Mis” will definitely prove to be a touching musical, as McKinzie can attest to: “Hope-fully, everyone watching is as emotionally moved as I am participating in it.” While the production itself is an honor to be a part of, it is just as exciting to interact with so many talented people. The movie version of “Les Mis” is coming out this Christmas, which is undoubtedly exciting, but nothing can beat the thrill of watching it live: with all of the talented singers in this year’s fall musical, it will almost feel as if you are on Broadway—but you won’t be, because you will be in KFAC, which is much less of a walk. With that said, I leave you with these words that the cast feels are the best words to describe “Les Miserables”: Intense. Beauti-ful. Edgy. Graceful. Exciting. Sad. Heart-warming. Tear-jerking. Memorable.

Reserve Record 3October/November 2012 Arts

“Les Mis” Debut

by Selena Walsh ’14 Whether in the classroom, on the soccer field or in front of a piano, Till Bethge ’14 has striven for excellence within the WRA community in the past two months. Specifically, his musical talents have made a strong impression on WRA students, fac-ulty, and staff. Bethge found the piano and began taking lessons at the age of eight after first trying out five other instruments. He describes his favorite part of playing the piano to be “when you play a song with the understanding of what the composer is trying to say through their music.” Bethge has an immense respect for classical music as well as composers, emphasizing that “the classical compos-ers have the best ideas”. Bethge was taught how to play classical music by an instructor, but his father taught him how to

play his favorite genre, jazz. He was able to share this love during a Friday night performance earlier in the year featuring many jazz songs including one of his very own compositions. Bethge characterizes his songs as his own thoughts, adding, “Everyone should try to make music. It is a great way to free your mind and it makes you happy.” In addition to the piano, he is in the academy choir and admits he wants to learn how to play many more instruments. Bethge not only writes music for himself but also for his band, “That’s It!”, which recently participated in a band competition in which it rose to the semi-finals. Although jazz is his favorite music to play, Bethge enjoys listening to all genres of music. Bethge says, “I like anything with a good idea, but I really like classic rock, especially Pink Floyd.” The WRA community hopes

to hear many more performances from Bethge throughout the year.

Artist Spotlight: Till Bethge

Impressionist Work Influences Painter’s Nature Portraitsby Kevin Yang ’15 I would venture to say that not many of you have seen the Moos Gallery. Perhaps you have walked through it, but not actu-ally paused to examine and think about the art. Honestly, I had never fully looked at the artwork either, but the oil paintings of this month’s featured artist, Jance Lentz, are definitely worth seeing. The way Lentz brushes and blends the oil paints results in a fusion of colors, but the scenes she paints are still clearly depicted as boats, flowers, and a multitude of other objects of natural beauty. “I really want to concentrate and depict beauty and gardens,” says Lentz. It may seem like focus-ing mainly on gardens would make many of Lentz’s paintings similar. However, this is not the case. Over the years, she has travelled all across Europe, spending time in countries like England and France, locations that have inspired her paint-ings, such as an old boat port in Honfleur, France. The paintings of Giverny, Normandy, and even Point Lobos in California are astounding, but by no means do

they overshadow the paintings of the scenery around her studio in Kent. “I pretty much find inspira-tion and beauty anywhere I am,” says Lentz, and her son Joshua can attest to that, too: “It’s wild to see paintings from here where I grew up.” The artist, who has painted a thousand paintings, has an intrin-sic love of art. “I have always want-ed to be an artist,” Lentz explains. “I love to draw; I love to paint; so I majored in it and got my master’s degree in studio painting.” When she paints, Lentz wants them to feel a “sense of gladness or joy or spirituality.” When I first saw her work, I experienced the same warm sensation that she wants her audience to feel. Her subtle blending of the artwork, the bright shades of color pop out from the darker shades and everything leads to the focal point where a fountain or a house may lie. Lentz is “very aware of contem-porary art, whether it’s abstract or political commentary,” but she is most influenced by the artists of the impressionist era, such as Sisley, Monet, and Renoir. Like her heroes, she also enjoys oil painting. “I like the richness, the luminosity,

the plastic quality,” Lentz says of her preferred medium. She relayed to me an anecdote which makes clear why she prefers oil paints: Lentz was painting trees near her studio last winter, when, as can be expected of Ohio weather, it started “snowing like crazy.” For-tunately, oil paints allow the artist to “push around paint for a couple of days,” so rather than completely scratching the work, she obscured the trees to mimic a snowy day. “Go with what nature does,” she says. Lentz’s mindset is dynamic, which works quite well with the weather we have here in Ohio dur-ing the winter. Lentz has returned to her studio already, but hopefully you will have time to check out some of her pieces before the exhibit ends on November 11. There is plenty of diversity in the scenes she painted, from a cliff overhanging a sea to a field of flowers, so everyone should be able to find a particular piece of artwork that makes their day. And for the aspiring artists reading this, Lentz has this advice to give: “Try to be businesslike, work really hard, and follow your dreams.”

Photo by Walsh

Phot

o by

Xu

Phot

o by

Her

mos

illa

4 Reserve Record October/November 2012Centerfold October/November 2012 Reserve Record 7Centerfold

Red, Blue and Everything in Between: 2012 Presidential Election Coverageby Abby Hermosilla ’14 and Connor Semple ’15

Photo manipulation by Hermosilla

Sam Clark ’13: Romney’s economic plan seems to lack foundation and I dis-agree with his views on social issues.Rahul Basu ’ 15: I disagree with Romney’s tax ideas, specifically tax cuts on the wealthy.Ajay Dakappagari ’16: I think that Obama understands the middle class better than Romney, while Romney’s policies are geared towards improving condi-tions for the rich.Akeyla Jordan ’14: I am a Democrat and for this election and I am supporting Obama. My political views are mainly based from my family’s beliefs; I guess you can say growing up with a Democratic family influenced my political views. However, now that I’m older I realized I also do identify more with the beliefs of Democrats than Republicans.

Overall: Supporters of Obama feel strongly about his policies on social issues and his plans to help the middle class, fearing that a Romney ad-ministration would be too concerned with and dependent on the wealthi-est of Americans to help the rest of the country.

Brett Kramer ’ 15: I think that Romney’s previous business experience makes him more qualified to stimulate the economyMichael Curtin ’14: I think Romney will balance the economy with re-duced spending.Drew Perdue ’13: Obama’s policies include spending money that we don’t have, a concept that doesn’t make sense.Audrey Brown ’13: Just like most people, I have the same political views as my parents. My parents have been hard working business owners their whole lives, and want someone like Romney who understands their strug-gles with the current Obama administration. All the news I get about the election comes from either my dad, or what small bits I can catch on Fox in the morning before school. I just got into politics this year, thanks to Mr. Gerber’s AP Government class. Now I actually understand how elections work and everything that goes into them.

Overall: Republicans think the Obama administration has taken part in wasteful spending that has hurt the economy, and see promise in Romney’s plan to cut the budget.

Reserve Republicans

Dem Donkeys

Photo manipulation by Hermosilla

Students Faculty

As the heated debates between Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama plaster the media’s many walls with criticism and hope (especially in good ol’ swing-state Ohio), Americans are faced with a great and eventful decision: the future of the United States of America. Although it may feel like we are involved in our own little world here, at Western Reserve Academy, we grow to further understand our position as citizens and comprehend the fact that in a few years we’ll be handed the same decision our parents and elders face today. We interviewed and surveyed the student body and faculty to see where the political views differ and compare between young adults and experienced scholars.

Halle Sovich ’14: Honestly, I don’t really have a strong opinion either way because it seems like they [the Presidential Candidates] put so much effort into campaigning; then, they be-come president and it seems like nothing much gets done. So I really dont think I have much to say about it because I think the election is actually pretty shady.Irene Li ’13: I think that politicians should spend less time pointing out and criticizing the flaws in their opponents and spend more time evaluating how they can help their constitu-ents.Jeff Tonge ’13: It doesn’t matter who gets elected, they both will do nothing.Nora Ferguson ’15: I’ve been really intrigued by both parties and I wish there was a candi-date that was between two extremes.Eric Buehler ’15: I feel like both candidates need to push aside their extremist views to meet in the middle.Gracie Morgan ’16: I believe both candidates are poor choices for this presidential election. But, I sway more towards Barack, and I think he’ll win.

Independent Introspectives

From what source did you form your political views?From what source did you form your political views?

Your Parents/ FamilyPeers

Commentary Shows

News (Print/Broadcast)

I don’t have political views

Facebook/Twitter

Your Parents/ Family

Peers

News (Print/Broadcast)

Commentary Shows

I don’t have political views

Facebook/Twitter

How often do you read up on the progress of the Presidential Election?

How many debates have you watched? How many debates have you watched?

How often do you read up on the progress of the Presidential Election?

Once or ten times a day

Every other day

Once a week

Whenever I can

I dont care

Once or ten times a day

Every other day

I dont care

Whenever I can

Once a week

All the debates

Only the Presidential

One or two

I flipped through them

Debates? What debates?

I don’t care

All the debates

Only the Presidential

One or two

I flipped through them

Debates? What debates?

I don’t care

by Maria Palparella ’16 Western Reserve Academy’s mission is to strive for excellence, live with integrity and act with compassion, but how many of us have ever thought of Reserve from an apple grower’s standpoint? Several locations on campus would and have been great locations for apple grow-ing. These locations include the David Hudson house, certain parts of the backfields, the Old Hudson Township cemetery and the current location behind Pierce House. We know many apple trees and one orchard have been planted on the land that is now our campus, since the 1800s. A map drawn by Nathan P. Seymour in 1841, in a letter to his father, indicates that an orchard was grown in what is now the cem-etery. The David Hudson House, in particular, would have been an ideal past location for apple growing because there is a spring right in the backyard. This spring probably drew David Hudson there because of the abun-dant water supply. Based on the presence of a stable barn, we know that Pierce House once had a horse pasture, abundant in ma-

nure, creating perfect soil for apple growth. The apples that are currently grown on campus in the orchard behind Pierce House include Stayman, Winesap, Fuji, Macintosh, Jonah Red, Ida Red and Empire. Finally, the higher elevations of the back-fields, like the cemetery, also creates a near perfect atmosphere for the apple trees. This is where the future orchard will be located. Apple trees and apples have played an important role on campus and the history of WRA for the past 200 years, and they will likely continue for 200 more.

October/November 2012 Reserve Record 5Special Echo Insert: The Appleseed Project

by Griffin Trau ’14 Interdependence between apple trees and the human race stems from a common desire to survive. Charles Darwin’s introduction in On the Origin of Species, asserts that “there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence” among all living things. Consequently, every being adapts to its environment so that it might live on. The apple tree, as we know it, evolved drastically from its ancestral roots in the forests of Kazakhstan. In the Malus genus, which contains apple trees, myriad fruits of all shapes, sizes and tastes result from the diverse genome of the apple. As the tree evolved sweetness, an indication that it was not poisonous but was, in fact, safe and nutri-tious, humans began to recognize its value in maintain-ing their health. Since its discovery as a food-source, we have introduced the apple tree to five continents beyond its Asian origin. The trees benefit from human propa-gation and, in turn, we enjoy the fruits of this labor. Though neither species intended the symbiotic rela-tionship between man and apple, both have benefitted immensely. In the modern world, we have made drastic changes to the relationship we share with the apple tree. Though we do not depend on the apple as a primary food-source, it remains an integral part of our culture. To glean an economic advantage, planters have committed centu-ries of genetic and agricultural research into providing the most marketable crop. As a result, trees no longer contain vast genetic diversity. Using grafting techniques, every new tree originates from some ideal mother tree. Once incredibly diverse, apple orchards have become rows of genetic copies. Though each tree shares desirable traits, they also have common flaws. One blight could potentially wipe out an entire population. Here humans have implemented spraying techniques with chemicals designed to fight nature’s battle. For the time being, we have successfully shielded apple trees from the inherent weaknesses we created. Our innovation continues to protect the apple, as it continues to provide us with the fruit of our desires.

Strive Two Survive

by Peter Kuri ’16 In Northeast Ohio, people often misconceive the apple’s history and the contributions made by John Chapman, more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed. During the early history in this region, most apples were used for hard ci-der—not to be confused with the sweet cider at your grandmother’s. The high alcohol content, good taste and long shelf life of hard cider aided western expansionists through long Midwestern winters. Contrary to popular belief, Johnny Appleseed did not grow apples for eating, pie-making and innocent sweet tastes; in fact, the majority of his apples were for making cider, hard enough to last the cold Ohio winters. Despite his modest image, John Chapman was a wealthy man. By traveling ahead of set-tlers and planting trees for later sale, he intro-duced the apple to the heart of America. Selling the trees and land to incoming pioneers, Chap-

man would make a substantial profit and move on to new uncharted lands. As his namesake suggests, Johnny Appleseed grew all of his trees from seed. Interestingly, when grown from seed, the new plant almost never resembles the original tree. In essence, the apple falls extremely far from the tree. This growing methodology makes Johnny Appleseed special as he helped develop the many variet-ies of apple we have today, meaning “America witnessed what has sometimes been called the Great Apple Rush” (Pollan, The Botany of Desire). Surprisingly, in this aspect, today’s pop-culture correctly depicts John Chapman. In the modern world, where movies and television shows change history, we must have awareness of our roots in order to progress. If we don’t, we could lose a piece of our pioneering heritage.

Johnny Appleseed: Separating the Good Apples from the Bad

The WRA Orchard is a walk through history to appreciate the present. Our orchard of roughly 40 trees honors the essential role apples played for pioneers and homesteaders 200 years ago. It also offers nostalgic release and repose for WRA students today.

Orchards are blissfully pastoral, veritable walks in the Garden of Eden, where wildness and cultivation meet. This is absolutely so in our orchard, populated by conventional varieties like Honeycrisp and Sansa; along with heirloom varieties like Ashmead's Kernel, Ribston Pippin, Esopus Spitzenburg, Wickson, Pomme Gris and Hudson's Golden Gem. There are 21st-century apples, 17th century apples and prehistoric apples from Kazakhstan (malus sieversii). At the heart of our orchard, literally and figuratively, is our centerpiece, certified scion from the last known living tree planted by Johnny Appleseed, a Summer Rambo.

Apples and WRA: The History Behind The Couple

A carved apple captures the essence of the project

photo by Lund

Drawing by Ashleigh Groves ’14

photo by Groves

6 Reserve Record October/November 2012Special Echo Insert: The Appleseed Project

by Wren Zandee ’16 When students walk into a typical grocery store, they can see around a dozen varieties of apples. What most don’t real-ize is that there are an estimated 15,000 North American apple varieties. However, instead of selling even a moderate number of these apples, most grocery stores only offer the top ten apple varieties, which take up 80% of apple production. In the past few years, many farmers have noticed the situ-ation and begun to grow more varieties of apples in their farms, hoping to capitalize on the demand. Some farms have up to 500 different varieties. Apples such as the Sheepnose, the Amer-ican Mother and the Lady Sweet can once again be found on a local or even national level. This is great for both the consumer and the farmer. Consumers have more choices, and the farmers have greater income, as heirloom varieties sell for a higher price. At Stotler’s Orchard here in Ohio,

heirloom apples are offered as a “U-Pick” option, so as to increase availability and fun. Some farmers are taking the demand for heirloom apples as a personal challenge, and have begun to work tirelessly at resur-recting the most obscure apples trees. Creighton Lee, Jr. has recently composed a list of 1,800 antique apples he calls “Old Southern Apples.” When he sees an apple tree he can’t identify, anywhere, he’ll offer to trim or help the tree in exchange for a bud, so he can grow the apple himself. Overall, heirloom apples seem to be in the market to stay, if not grow, as the owner of Stotler’s Orchard says. As grower John Bunker says in the Huffington Post: “If we’re smart about it, we can redevelop a whole system of local varieties all over the place. So like France has its wines in each district we once again could have apples in each district.”

Heirloom Apples: What? Where? How?

by Kristina Crowder ’13 People everywhere crave apples in every shape, color, texture and form. Some prefer them baked in a pie or dumpling and others prefer the raw juiciness of an apple picked straight off the tree. Many know the tastes of apples, but few people actually realize the effort that is put into the grow-ing process. Beckwith Orchards, located in Kent, Ohio, is only one of the 59 orchards in Northeast Ohio. They have been growing their orchard since the farm was bought in 1878 by Mr. Beckwith’s grandparents. With 27 different varieties of apples, they have to be wary and keep an eye on them constantly. One of the difficulties they face is pest management. Two common pest management systems are the Michigan System (the one preferred by Mr. Beckwith), and IPM (Integrated Pest Manage-ment). With IPM, the farmer waits until he or she sees damage before they spray with pesticide. This method is a test in risk management: it creates a less pesticide-saturated crop but creates gaps in protection that one successful disease or pest could infiltrate to kill off an entire crop. The Michigan System is a calendar system where farmers spray during specific times in the year to ensure that the pests can’t begin to invade. Beckwith had been a licensed pesticide applicator for 41 years until he

switched ownership over to his daughter; he believes firmly in treatment before damage. Deer also enjoy snacking on the younger trees and buds while scratching the velvet off their antlers by using the bark of the tree, hurting the tree. To deter deer, some farmers use electric fences while Beckwith Orchards hangs dryer sheets from trees to persuade the deer to go elsewhere for their tasty treat. It is difficult to keep creating new types of apples. Only about 1 in every 500 apple trees planted from seeds are what most people would call “tasty,” but the rest are spitters (apples that are too bitter or sour to actually eat). This is why growers will graft trees (cut a bud off a culinary tree and placing it inside a crack of a young growth) to produce the genetic clone of the original. This being said, there are still many new kinds of wonderful apples that come around all the time. Mr. Beckwith said that “[t]he worst thing that can happen to an orchard is the trees growing old with the owner.” This is why he, and his family, keep up with new varieties.

What kind of apples that are grown doesn’t matter much if the weather isn’t coorporative, however. One year, the orchard couldn’t mow the grass around the farm for fear that it would create a fire because of the drought. This would have lost them all their trees and not only the crop for that year but for many years to come. The difficulties of growing apples are great, but the satisfaction of a delicious apple is more than enough reason to work hard.

The Challenges Facing Beckwith Orchard and Other Apple Growers

by Lisie Andersson ’14 Deep in the forests of Kazakhstan in a place called Almaty, Philip Forsline tastes hundreds of different kinds of apples while exploring the birthplace of the apple. Alma Ata, or literally “father of the apple,” is considered to be the place of origin of the apple—the apple’s Garden of Eden. Philip Forsline, former curator for US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Plant Genetic Resource Unit, with an enormous collection of apples that has important genes and traits that breeders use to improve current varieties. Philip Forsline’s voyage to Kazakhstan in 1993 with a team of three other scientists was an effort to find germplasms of the Malus (apple) in its native soil. Forsline tasted hundreds of different types of apples, only one or two percent of which were at all satisfying. Of the hundreds of thousands of different species of apples in the forests of Almaty, Forsline collected about 130,000 seeds and 900 different species. Some apples he collected were the size of small pumpkins, some the size of grapes--he even found some that looked supermarket-ready. The apples have grown accustomed to Almaty’s harsh, cold weather, leaving them with immunities apples in the US don’t have. The genes found in Kazakhstan apples are unlike any apple genes we see in the US. Along with protection from harsh winters or spring frosts, Kazakhstan apples

and apple trees have an incredible resis-tance to predators such as deer and fruit flies. Forsline brought his new collection of Kazakhstan seeds back to the orchard in Geneva, New York, and now has an un-paralleled collection of apples to go along with the 2,500 different varieties already thriving in the orchard’s fields. Yet there is still a lot of work to be done by horticulturalists before they can start crossing the Kazakhstan apple with a domestic US apple. Dr. Thomas Chao, the current horticulturalist for the Kazakhstan apple in Geneva, helps put the process in perspective: “Since the M. sieversii from Kazakhstan have only been here since the 1990s, they have not been integrated into any new apple variety yet. It will take min-imum 10 years to develop a new variety.” He says it may take 20-40 years between initially making a cross and its release to the public. Growing a new apple tree takes time, and many of the crosses will not even taste good. It will take many years of experimentation with this unfamiliar apple before we see traces of it at Heinen’s grocery. Nevertheless, these valuable traits from Kazakhstan combined with traits that have been built up here in the US will make our apple an irresistible creation, that of which we at WRA may get to experience in the future with our own set of Kazakhstan apple trees.

The Origin of the Apple

by Kristina Kaszei ’16 The Western Reserve Academy vision is to have an apple orchard with about forty to fifty trees of twenty-five varieties of apples. The orchard has been made possible by the generosity of Mr. David Golden ’51 and it will have many variet-ies of apples including heirloom and Kazakhstani apples that will be scattered on the north side of the orchard. Mr. VanBlarcum gave our class a tour of the campus where he has planted apple trees, and where there have been apple trees in the past. He also gave some tips for our apple orchard, and he will help start and maintain the WRA orchard . Mr. VanBlarcum has acquired an apple tree that is Certified Scion from the Ohio Horticul-tural Society, grafted from the last known living

tree planted by Johnny Appleseed; it’s a Summer Rambo. He will put the tree in the center of our orchard. Taking care of the orchard will take great effort by WRA students to partici-pate in because there will be a lot of responsibility in this project. Another vision we have for the future could be an adopt-a-tree program in which we could share about ten to fifteen Kazakhstani apple seeds with alumni and the Hudson community. Even though the apples that will come from Kazakhstani trees will probably be spitters (bitter and sour tasting), we will still get the satisfaction of growing our own apples. Also, even though the trees will not fruit for a while, it will be nice watching them

grow bigger every year. WRA students met with Mr. Beckwith from Beckwith Orchard. He grew up on the orchard and told his guests everything they ever would need to know about apples. When we went to the orchard, we learned about grafting apples and the different kinds of conventional and heirloom apples we could grow in our orchard. Heirloom apples might not look the same as apples you would get from the store; they may have lumps or knots on them, but those don’t affect the taste. Beckwiths’ longevity is an inspiration, and WRA students hope our orchard will begin its long life with fruit on the trees in a few years.

The Vision Behind the Orchard

Trau ’14 and Groves ’14 hang out with Beckwith at his orchard

Phot

by

Gro

ves

8 Reserve Record October/November 2012Community

New Clubs at Western Reserve Academy

by Hannah Gaspar ’13 Among the many new changes implemented this year, College Counseling also received some altera-tions. The new director of College Counseling, Mr. Jeffrey Neill, shared his thoughts on the develop-ing department. Previously employed at Northfield Mount Hermon, his alma mater, for seven years, Neill had a variety of roles including girls varsity soccer coach, English teacher and college counselor. He says that his previous job prepared him for his position at Western Reserve because “the role of a college counselor requires a broad and thorough understanding of many areas of school life, and so [his] previous experience in schools has been quite helpful”. Neill also discussed his long and short term goals for College Counseling. His main goal is to be-gin the college process earlier in Reserve students’ careers due to the fact that applications can be due very early. However, Neill does say that “there is a proactive, healthy way to go about working with freshmen and sophomores to get them to think about their futures”. Beyond the several small changes College Counseling has made, the larger transition is “a four-year, comprehensive standard-ized testing program”. This will include changes for each of a student’s four years at Reserve. For fresh-

men this means taking the PSSS based on the SAT and the EXPLORE which is based on the ACT. Sophomores will be taking PSAT, as usual, but will add the PLAN test which is the ACT equivalent to the PSAT. In addition to the usual PSAT, juniors will also take the SAT and the ACT mid-year. Neill believes these changes will “help students maximize their opportunities to achieve the best testing results possible”. When asked how responsive the student body has been to the various forms of communication College Counseling has recently utilized including Facebook, Twitter, and a blog, Neill said, “it seems that the word is spreading slowly, but the anecdotal feedback has been that those who know about these new initiatives are benefiting from them. I would certainly say that the results are not yet what I would ideally like to see among the students”. Despite the limited student responsiveness, Neill notes that the new social media communication has been very helpful in communicating with colleges. It should also be mentioned that College Counsel-ing is considering implementing a Pinterest board as well. Also joining the College Counseling team is Ms. Kelly Hedgspeth, formerly of the Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts. There, she

worked as a Unit Leader for their summer Fay Discovery Program and as a Dorm Parent for their International Student Program. Hedgspeth attend-ed the University of Michigan where she majored in Vocal Performance. She was a member of the School of Music, Theater, and Dance and spent a great deal of time performing choir concerts and operas. Hedgspeth says her college counseling expe-rience “was very positive”. As an intern in the col-lege counseling office, she hopes to “offer students a fresh perspective on college and to support them along their application process”. Excited about her new position, Hedgspeth is enjoying the Reserve community and beginning to feel like a member of of the WRA family.

by Gracie Morgan ’16 Beach Volleyball Club, started by Alec Rhodes ’14 and Joey Durr ’14, is among one of the new clubs to join Western Reserve’s repertoire of extra-curricular activities this year. When interviewed about the creation of this club, Rhodes stated, “We both have so much fun play-ing in the summer [so] we thought we’d play during the school year and share our sport with the Reserve commu-nity.” The duo managed to share their passion of volley-ball with many students when an impressive 100

people signed up at the Club Expo. Approximately ten percent of those people attended the first practice, about which Alec comments, “Not bad for a first year club I’d say.” Alec and Joey wish for their club to continue with practices, host a plethora of weekend activities, and enter the Beach Volleyball Club team into different tourna-ments. In the future, they also hope to have a court built on campus for greater convenience. All in all, the leaders certainly have exciting things planned for their new club.

by Annie Wyman ’13 Halloween festivities appear to be on the mind of many students as dis-cussions of costumes, Haunted Wood House, and the annual parade are heard echoing throughout campus. Many students brainstorm costume ideas as soon as the leaves begin to change—this year is no different. Sydney King ’15 looks forward to dressing up as a Detroit Lion profes-sional football player, representing her hometown. King’s friends Anna Ballard ’15, Ketty Nolan ’15, Joanna Malson ’15, and Charvi Malhotra ’15 also plan to dress up as football play-ers from their respective hometowns. Ronni Balko ’14 and Nina Tekelen-berg ’15 anticipate dressing up together as ninjas on October 31st. Amongst the costume drama, the Wood House Freshmen boys envision an eerie environment for the annual Haunted Wood House. Otto Bohan ’16 promises to make Wood House “real freaky” that night, as he plans to raise hairs on “as many teachers as possible.” The Wood House guys are reluctant to release any more infor-mation about their haunted house- how shockingly suspenseful! There remains a question about what the senior class theme will be this year. However, whatever theme they choose will, without doubt, be clever and creative! Be on the look-out on Halloween Day for all the exciting costumes.

by Madison Bach ’16 Western Reserve Academy has add-ed many new exciting clubs this year, one of which is Ski Club, lead by Niko Sawan ’15 and Peter Thewissen ’15. Niko stated recently, “I think this is a great idea, because boarders who love to ski will now be able to do so [during school, not just] when they are on breaks.” The club will be

taking trips every Saturday afternoon to Boston Mills or Brandywine, two small ski resorts near WRA, and hope to ski and snowboard as much as possible. They will also try to take a couple of trips to other ski resorts in Pennsylvania and possibly even Colorado. Anyone who would like to join should contact either of them.

New Club Leaders

New Faces in College Counseling

Halloween Traditons at WRA

by Maggie Wise ’14 If you like singing, dancing, or just listening to music and having fun, then Glee Club is the club for you. Headed by Maansi Raheja ’14 and Akeyla Jordan ’14 this organization focuses on learning about differ-ent types of music, writing original

songs, choreographing pieces of music, and having fun just being yourself. No matter what your experience with singing or dancing, if you are a music fanatic looking to have some fun, come on out and join the Glee Club.

Beach Volleyball: An Ace of a Club

Garden: It’s Easy Being Green

Glee: A Musical Whirlwind Comes to Campus

Ski: WRA Now On A Slippery Slope

by Jessie Qin ’16 Western Reserve Academy’s Gar-den Club started in the middle of the 2011-2012 school year. It was cre-ated by Leila Barbeau ’13 and Matt Hard ’13, the current leaders, with the original purpose of helping run the Community Garden and overseeing the greenhouse. Barbeau and Hard want to get people involved in help-ing the community and expressing their love of plants and nature. They also want to promote awareness of the importance and utility of plants to students. Having already gone on one hike this year, Garden Club plans to care for the Community Garden, take care of the WRA Truck Farm, and possibly refurbish the greenhouse on campus. They also plan to volunteer at a local nursery, among other events throughout the year. When asked how he felt about the club, Hard said that “Garden Club is a way for me to still take care of plants, but I get to do it here on campus.” He urges students to get involved and become more active with the club. In addition, he encour-ages students to “take an interest in what they like... and it doesn’t have to be Garden Club.”Ph

oto

by L

und

Phot

o by

Doe

Photo by Hermosilla

Club leaders Alec Rhodes ’14 (left) and Joey Dur ’14 (right) and member Audrey Brown ’13 (mid-dle) pose at their Club Expo booth, evidently pumped up for an exciting season of beach volleyball.

Sophomore girls sport their Halloween cos-tumes for this year.

ACROSS 1 Snatches 5 Sailor’s “hello” 9 Abbreviate (abbr.) 13 Iran’s neighbor 14 Frighten 15 A Hint 16 Handsome (French) 17 Danger 18 Nippy 19 Salted sausage

21 Annie Carter’s homecoming date 23 Species of Antelope 25 Christmas carol 26 Summer mo. 29 Comedian with a chin 31 Has on 34 Card game 35 Fresh 37 Points 39 Not Sandy but... (1998)

41 “Tomson __” 42 Leafy part of a flower 43 Opening in the skin 44 Shoot clay targets 46 “All Hallow’s __” 47 Bird homes 50 Supermarket in Hudson 51 Fasten with stitching 52 Took to court 54 A long poem 56 Become visible 59 Embeds 63 Three of something 64 Detection by sound 66 Water (Spanish) 67 Grain storing building 68 Plant seed 69 Dinner bread 70 Lose appeal 71 Leader of 1944 assasination plot 72 Capped joint

DOWN 1 Ends of quills or fountain pens 2 Region 3 Canaan god of fertility 4 Noise made by a bird 5 Playing card 6 String instrument 7 A Constellation 8 Color of autumn leaves 9 Medal or achievement

10 Coalition 11 Large quantity 12 Also a color of autumn leaves 14 Arachnid 20 Ground covering 22 Confederate general 24 Dimensions 26 Hop 27 Yankee side 28 “__ Dame” 30 Japanese city 32 Cords 33 Ward 36 Portion 38 Killed 40 Sewage collection site 42 Large ceramic mug 45 Variety of apple 48 Day of the wk. 49 Time of year 53 Herd or flock of animals 55 Twins born on Halloween 56 Opera solo 57 Medicine dose 58 Ignore 60 Competition at the Greek games 61 Christmas season 62 Discount 63 Cooking measurement (abbr.) 65 Lager

October/November 2012 Reserve Record 9

by Eilidh Jenness ’13 As night encroaches upon cam-pus earlier in the evenings and cool breezes hurl red leaves across the bricks like splattered blood, the ghosts of Western Reserve Academy escape from their cracks and tunnels in the walls to begin their eerie month of haunting: October. Multiple accounts of paranormal activity have recently been reported. One faculty member confesses that she’s sure a ghost resides in her basement. She comments “the [sensual] energy is creepy and you can sometimes feel as though something is pushing you up the stairs and doesn’t want you to stay.” Squealing wood-house boys swear that there’s a ghost in their basement as well. Numerous alumni cite Hayden as the primary dwelling for ghosts on campus, but others doubt these claims. “The moans in Hayden have nothing to do with ghosts,” one faculty member af-firms. Spirits in Seymour House have been known to torment our speakers and guests, rattling pipes and stealing their slumber. There are many speculations of ghosts and spirits at WRA, but does the history of our campus support them? Apart from those buried in the cemetery located on Chapel Street, not many deaths have been documented. With the help of (Head Librarian) Mrs. Spencer, I dug up the

1887 edition of “Fifty Years and Over of Akron and Summit County” and found the record of a murder that took place in front of Pierce House, where Mr. Burner now lives, on June 16th, 1860. John Maloney, a young Irishman who worked for the Cleveland & Pittsburg railroad, was avoiding Hud-son after “loving not wisely but too well” and impregnating Ms. Bridget Calman, a Hudsonite and an acquain-tance of John (851). When John asked his good friend Michael Stepleton if Bridget was still in town, Michael lied and said no, eager to have John join him for a drink on Main Street. Evidently Bridget and her friends ran into John, and they “instituted legal proceedings against him,” forcing him to wed her (851). In 1860, it was il-legal to have a child with a woman

without also being married. Michael claimed he didn’t knowthe reasons behind John’s aversion to meeting her and apologized. Five weeks later, the annoyed and newlywed John argued with Michael upon meeting but seemingly settled the dispute after a few minutes and agreed to a drink with other mutual friends. John left early, bidding them all a pleasant goodbye, and Michael escorted a few of his friends back to their homes. One of those friends, Ms. Ellen Ryan, resided in Pierce House at the time. When Michael led her to the door, a man later identi-fied as John suddenly approached and clubbed Michael to death before run-ning away. The news of the homicide “spread from house to house with great rapidity and, as might have been expected, caused the most intense

excitement among the staid and peaceful denizens of Hudson” (852). He was found that night in bed with his new wife and later charged with second degree murder, meriting a lifetime in prison. The town pardoned him six years later and he slowly as-cended society. It is now believed that the ghost of Michael Stepleton wanders around the campus at night, searching for liars to warn and punish. His laugh echoes in the evening around the time he escorted Ellen home, but it quickly turns to tortured cries the moment it is heard by a liar. If you’ve told a fib lately, listen for the eternal warning of consequence as you walk back from the library.

Crossword Puzzle

Entertainment

A rare angle of Pierce House from the late 1800’s.

Top Ten Halloween Moviesby Molly Clark ’13 and Charles Pearlman ’14

1. It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown2. Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie3. Halloween4. Sleepy Hollow5. Rocky Horror Picture Show6. Casper the Friendly Ghost7. A Nightmare on Elm Street8. Hocus Pocus9. Night of the Living Dead10. Halloween Town

Ghosts on the Grounds: Murder Victim Haunts WRA

Photo from W

RA

Archives

by Patrick Mylott ’15 Nicky Waldeck ’13 has been a staple on the pitch for the Western Reserve Academy girls soccer team for four years. Over her tenure she scored over 100 goals and has won the vast majority of the games she played. Though her future is bright, Waldeck asserts that she will always fondly remember her time wearing the green and white. She explains, “My soccer career here at Reserve can be best de-scribed as a journey. We have such an incredible class graduating. Pauline [Van Dijck ’13], Audrey [Brown ’13], Virginia [Carter ’13], Andie [DiBiase ’13] and Lindsey [Wirtz ’13], we’ve been through it all.” She also added, “I would most like to thank our coaches

Mrs. Morris, Deebs and Nate Stifler. All three are role models for the girls on the team and are an incredible support system for each player in the program.” In response to how the team played this year and how she felt about breaking the all time career goals record for both men and women Nicky deflected her accomplishments to the team as a whole. She replied, “I was so proud of our team this year; we have some really special girls in our program. There seemed to be a lot of hype following me this season and a lot of players are overlooked because of that.” Waldeck is quick to acknowledge the talents of her teammates who were essential to her success. Waldeck comments,

“Pauline is the best feeder I’ve ever played with, and Zoe McCor-mick’s [’15] passes are so clean and precise it would be embarrassing if I didn’t score 40 goals this season.” However, it is Waldeck’s love for the game that fuels her. She beamed, “Soccer is the most beautiful game in the world; I go to sleep dreaming about it and wake up anxious for practice. Stats and records are just numbers. I play because it’s my passion, and I love it.” Waldeck also looks forward to continuing her stellar soccer career at the University of Michigan. Regarding her college choice, Waldeck commented, “The University of Michigan is my dream school; I am so incredibly blessed. I can’t wait to start the next chapter of my life. It’s just the beginning for me.”

10 Reserve Record Sports

Reserve RecordWestern Reserve Academy115 College StreetHudson, OH 44236

Non-profit org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 6

Hudson, Ohio 44236

October/November 2012

by Gabe Skora ’15 The WRA boys’ soccer team enjoyed a dominant season that will be envied for years to come. With just twelve goals conceded, an undefeated record, and a number one ranking in the Ohio Division III coaches poll, the season has been one to remember. The key to the team’s success has been a mixture of veteran leadership, explosive talent and fantastic chemistry. The squad has five starting seniors: CJ Polak ’13 along with the four captains Fede Silva ’13, Jack McCormick ’13, Rishav Banerjee ’13, and Scott Schultz ’13—all of whom have contributed greatly to the season. David Ma ’14, winner of last year’s MVP, is still dominant in the mid-field, and sophomore Ryan Hassel ’15 leads the team in scoring for the second year running. When asked about the secret to WRA’s success,

McCormick commented, “I think that we have all been striving to achieve a common goal this year of going undefeated, and that has united us in a way that makes us successful.” They have succeeded. The Pioneers have rolled to a 21-0-2 record which includes wins over Hawken, Walsh, CVCA, and archrivals University School. Their most impressive result however, may be their dramatic 1-1 tie against St. Ignatius, a nationally ranked all boys school that usually dominates state play. Going into the fall, anything short of an undefeated season would have been a letdown. The Pi-oneers were undefeated at this time last season, only to fall short against Lake Forest Academy. That disap-pointment drove them through the finish line strong this year. “Not finishing last year undefeated hurt.

We used that as motivation for the entire off season, and we’re com-pelled not to feel that way again,” stated Schultz. The team ripped through their competition this year and had fun while doing so. “This season has been a great bonding experience with all my teammates and it has been awesome having the opportunity to play with the kind of players that make up our team,” declared Silva. The result of this will to win mixed with such an enjoy-ment of the game led to a better, more mature and resolved squad that will be remembered as one of the best to ever take the pitch in WRA history. On October 27th, 2012, the WRA Boys Soccer Team acheived historical status as they defeated Kiski School 5-0 and finished the season undefeated.

Boys Soccer Achieves Ultimate Goal

Back and Better than Never: Some Things Just Don’t Change

by Adam Tortelli ’13

Well Browns fans, it’s finally that time of year again. After an eventful nine months, optimistic and desperate pleas to a divine power for an even decent football team have been forcefully silenced. Many experts and fans brainlessly expected Lake Erie’s favorite football team to be the surprise squad of 2012. This momentous offseason included an influx of rookie players at three of the most important positions on the field: a potential superstar running back, a quar-terback starting his career at the same age most others begin to approach their peak, and giant question mark with supernatu-ral athletic abilities at wide receiver. And don’t forget that the team has officially been sold to Jimmy Haslem III in excess of $1 billion. Why someone would spend that much money on a team that has only made the playoffs once this millenium still amazes me. However, last year, the offense and team owner reached a level of hatred generally reserved for Art Modell or He-Who-Resides-In-Miami. With the dramatic changes on both the field and the front office, it was difficult not to jump on the summer bandwagon. And then reality hit C-Town hard; our Brownies were winless through the first five games and the “wait until next year” sta-tuses and tweets are dominating the virtual world once again. On one of the few bright sides, the offense is not as pitiful to watch as usual and it may be possible that Cleve-land will finally stop the running number of starting quarterbacks (now at 17) which have dominated the sports talk since expan-sion in 1999. After their victory against Cinncinati, the city responded in a way that one may think that the Browns had won the Superbowl, and not just their first game of the year. Hopefully, Mr. Haslem’s new regime will include a new coach who isnt dazed and confused every time he is shown on camera and “wait until next year” will fi-nally become a legitimate threat as opposed to a hopeless statement.

Varsity Girls Tennis: 7-8

Varsity Volleyball: 16-8

Varsity Girls Cross Country: 1-0 (and Tournaments)

Varsity Girls Soccer: 15-1-1

Varsity Boys Soccer: 21-0-2

Varsity Golf: 10-3

Varsity Football: 2-8

Varsity Field Hockey: 9-6

Varsity Boys Cross Country: All Tournaments

Fall Finale: Varsity Records

Athlete Spotlight: Nicky Waldeck

Seniors excel at their sports

phot

os b

y D

oe

Phot

o by

Chung