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ScribblerVol. 51, No. 3

Hurricane Sandy Sweeps the East Coast

VAMUN: “Exciting, Difficult, and Educational”By Noori SrivaStava

By LiNdSay CayNe

By JaSmiNe GatteN

Although Thanksgiving is an important part of November for many, the month also contains other major holidays, including Veteran’s Day, Diwali, and the Is-lamic New Year.

Veteran’s Day, an official holiday in the U.S., honors the soldiers who died. This federal holiday falls each year on No-vember 11 to mark the signing of the Armistice, which resulted in the end of World War I.

Claire Baker ’13 said, “I think Veteran’s Day is meaning-ful because it’s important to re-member all the people who have given so much to our country.

She continued, “I find Vet-eran’s Day a day in which people connect through a common na-tionality and can simply value the phrase ‘god bless America.’”

Other countries that took part in World War I mark simi-lar holidays with titles such as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day.

Commonly known as “The

National and Religious Holidays Fill November

CoNtiNued VAMUN paGe 3

photo CourteSy JeNNi JuNG

The Model UN Club poses for a picture at the University of Virginia after par-taking in a successful meet.

This MonthElections - Page 4Elections and the Media DiscussionsElectoral College System ExplainedA & E - Page 7Restaurant Review: TeaismProduction of Pride and Prejudice

The Student Newspaper of the Holton-Arms School Monday, November 26th, 2012

On October 25, Hurricane Sandy bombarded the Caribbe-an, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast-ern United States and left land in disarray and people without power.

In Jamaica, for example, this Category 2 Hurricane caused millions to lose power, destroyed 200,000 homes, and brought about $55.23 million in dam-age. Flooding led to many food shortages and multiple deaths in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

At least 24 states were af-fected in the U.S. On October 29, the storm hit New York City hard and flooded the streets, tunnels, and subway lines.

Although the storm oc-curred two weeks ago, some students in New Jersey and New York (states in the U.S. with some of the worst damage) were out of school for weeks due to

the huge power outages.Hurricane Sandy had an im-

pact on both students and teach-ers at Holton, and the school was closed for two days.

Sammi Stroman ’14 said, “During the most intense hours of the hurricane when the winds were strongest, I stayed with my family in the basement. I was not majorly affected by the storm, but I did not have school for two days, so I had to take an AP Core test at home, which was a very unique situation for me.”

Jeanette Litschewski ’13 add-ed, “My house lost power. Board games and card games in the dark and coffee made on the grill was such a reality check.” Bob Tupper, a history teacher, said his family “kept power but lost cable. We had to make do with our stockpile of videotapes.”

Senior Sarah Lossing said, “Luckily, I didn’t lose power from Hurricane Sandy. Also, one of my colleges extended its dead-line, so I had two extra school-free days to work on all of my

applications. Sandy was really more of a vacation than a stress for me!”

Hurricane Sandy not only affected individual people but also had an impact on the voting process for the 2012 election be-tween President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

The storm disrupted Michi-gan residents’ plans to vote through absentee ballots. New Jersey officials allowed certain residents to vote by email. In New York, makeshift voting tents were built and heated with gen-erators, proving many peoples’ determination to vote in spite of the damage.

Certain polling sites left emp-ty, though, caused other ones to be more packed, leading to a rath-er hectic Election Day for count-less U.S. citizens.

“Although Sandy did de-press voting on Election Day in New York and New Jersey,” said

Tupper, “the results in those states would have been the same without Sandy. The storm also gave President Obama a chance to look presidential – and even bi-partisan with the [New Jer-sey Governor Chris] Christie-Obama huggings. That may have helped Obama in the national polls, but I don’t think it affected the election.”

Relief efforts exist to help clean up the destruction and put people back on their feet. The World Food Programme plans to send humanitarian aid to thou-sands of Cubans.

Organizations, including Disney-ABC Television Group, NBC, and News Corporation, have donated millions of dollars to the cause through their televi-sion stations and telethons.

Students of Holton declared a Penny-War to start in the up-coming month in order to par-ticipate in the relief efforts.

photo CourteSy Weather ChaNNeL

CoNtiNued NoVeMber paGe 3

Festival of the Lights,” Diwali is a five-day festival starting with Dhanteras, the first day, and ending with Bhaubeej, the last day. Diwali normally takes place sometime between October and November, and this year it oc-curred on November 13th.

This important festival cel-ebrates the return of Lord Rama from his fourteen-year-long exile and his vanquishing of the de-mon-king Ravana.

As tradition, the people of Ayodhya illuminate the capital with earthen diyas and set off firecrackers.

Senior Sachi Khemka said, “[Diwali] is a great time for fam-ily to get together. Our house door is always open, and relatives and friends are constantly enter-ing and exiting, sharing, and giv-ing blessings.”

She continued, “My family celebrates the Indian New Year by having a pujua, which is where we worship. We eat a special

From November second to fourth, members of the Upper School Model UN had a chance to apply their debating skill at VAMUN, an annual meet held at the University of Virginia.

Whether discussing internal conflicts in Sudan and South-Sudan or ways to bail out Wall Street, these students argued pas-sionately and effectively. In fact, Holton’s delegates won awards in all three categories.

Honorable Mention went to Camille Blum ’16, Amanda West ’16, Yasmeen Haider ’15, and Adia Robinson ’14. Senior Katie Kirk and sophomores Mira Gill and Ashley Willard achieved Outstanding Delegate. Finally, Kristin Bednarek ’15, Shanzay Khan ’15, and Alexandra Berthi-aume ’13 won Best Delegate.

MUN President Zahra Hu-sain ’13 and Head Delegate for VAMUN Samantha Coronel ’13 had been preparing for the meet since the summer. “I edited posi-tion papers along with other ex-ecutive board members and our advisors, Dr. [Lara] Wulff and

Mr. [Joel] Seltzer, and made fold-ers with forms for each Holton girl that attended VAMUN,” said Coronel.

First-time and returning stu-dents enjoyed VAMUN. Berthi-aume represented Russia in the United Nations Security Council, where she discussed ethnic vio-lence in Yemen and religious con-flict in Myanmar.

“Committee was great to get to speak more often than I have in the past,…[and] I really enjoyed getting a chance to take more of a leadership role in my committee,” said Berthiaume.

Blum and West, first-time members, served together on a

delegation in the United Nations Environmental Programme. On behalf of Russia, they deliber-ated about the Aral Sea Crisis and the Agricultural Biodiversity Crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.

In short, West’s experience was “exciting, difficult, and edu-cational.”

Blum added, “I loved fight-ing for Russia’s right to build a canal. Even though we didn’t get the resolution passed, there was a huge thrill in standing up for something you believe in.”

Yasmeen Haider ’15 was part of the Industry Summit on

The hurricane pummeled the eastern coast through flooding and heavy rain.

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Scribbler2 OPINIONS November 26, 2012

Editor-in-Chief......Angelina DiPaolo

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Caption Contest Winners:

After a While, Crocodile I look up at the ceiling as if

disco balls were shimmering the room with flashy lights.

While Pat Lawson-Muse and Jim Handly read off their tele-prompters, the camera slowly fol-lows our faces row-by-row, the participants of the Washington Informer City Wide Spelling Bee.

I rotate my head to look at the golden rays of light above, ignoring everyone else around me who is sitting face-forward and back-straight. Caught up in my surroundings, I naively forget that the tape will air on local tele-vision.

With the help of my coach and school psychologist Dr. Reid, I had made it as a finalist in the Regional Spelling Bee, which qualified me for the city-wide bee.

Now, as she sits with my mom in the audience, I feel the

cold sweat insulate my palms as the competition begins.

As names and numbers are called, I anxiously wait my turn among thirty-one spellers. A square paper sign hangs around my neck, imprinted with the number 21. I feel like a cow on the way to the slaughterhouse.

At the side of the stage, a petite woman stands, escorting people back to their seats who spelled their words incorrectly. Her job seemed unnecessary and petty to me. After getting out on the first round, the last thing you need is someone walking beside you, taking you back to your seat like a poor, misguided sheep.

Soon enough, I find myself timidly standing in front of the microphone.

“Your word is crocodile,” I hear her say deliberately. “Croco-

dile,” I repeat. With a sense of a calm but

vague uncertainty, I attempt to steady my voice and spell the word back, “C-R-O-C-I-D-I-L-E.”

Unfortunately, the sound of the infamous bell bing confirms my hovering feelings of self-doubt. “Sorry, that spelling is incorrect; the correct spelling is C-R-O-C-O-D-I-L-E.”

Before the escort lady can do her job, I abruptly jump off the stage on to the ground, feeling disappointed and humiliated as my eyes become a riverbank.

The hours I had spent study-ing with Dr. Reid after school and drilling myself on the words in my tattered Spelling Bee book had all come to waste over what seemed like such a simple word.

The more I think of my mis-

take, the more I frustratingly imagine the large, scaly green wide-toothed creature in my head. How could I spell croco-dile wrong but easily spell the more difficult words of people who were still in the Bee?

After the Spelling Bee ends, we all get plastic wooden trophies. On the trophy, I rub my finger over the slippery sur-face of the plastic bee figure standing on top of the spiral wooden pillar.

The index finger on his right hand is raised purpose-fully in the air, and a book is tightly pressed against his chest in the other.

I wish I could have been as happy as he. If only I had won the real trophy, or at least spelled the word crocodile right.

Two weeks ago, while walk-ing to the servery, I saw three Lower Schoolers putting away their plates.

One said, “Ew it’s gross!” as she dropped her tray on the ledge and ran away, frightened by her own leftover food.

She didn’t even put the tray on the conveyer belt.

It started slipping, so a friend of mine grabbed it and placed it on the belt.

What’s gross to me is the behavior that the conveyer belt seems to bring about.

Aside from this instance, I’ve witnessed upper school girls spill leftovers and drop trash on the side of the conveyer belt.

I appreciate its sleekness and its practicality, but I don’t agree with the principle of having it. It encourages the very habits it was designed to eradicate.

The emergence of the con-veyor belt has brought with it a decrease in the feeling of respon-sibility.

While students are now told to leave leftovers on plates to reduce the trash in the cafeteria, that same trash will end up in an-other trashcan, just one on the other side of the servery and out of sight.

Since I’ve been at Holton, we’ve moved away from the carts for trays to a busing station where students cleared their own plates

to a conveyer belt. The transition seems like a regression.

While the sight of the busing station trashcans was unappetiz-ing, it encouraged responsibility. After enjoying a lunch, students should do their share of the clean-up.

This year, with the new con-veyer belt, students are relieved of this small duty, but they don’t seem to appreciate the extra work someone else is doing on the other side of the conveyer belt.

Students don’t bother to throw away napkins or ketchup packets in the trashcans and lit-ter the floor instead. Considering the number of trashcans scat-

tered throughout the cafeteria, this behavior shows disrespect not only for the school but also for the cafeteria staff.

Any mess left at the end of lunch becomes someone else’s burden, and that’s not some-thing that we should accept.

The conveyer belt allows lunchtime messes to become someone else’s problem be-cause students can drop off their dirty dishes and leave.

Obviously, we aren’t going to get rid of the conveyer belt, but that means we need to ap-preciate what we have.

Neatly putting away trays, throwing away trash, pushing in chairs, and properly clearing

the table would prove that students care about the school and know to do their part.

We’re a community, and enti-tled behavior diminishes that sense of community.

Clean up after yourselves, and don’t say something’s gross because it’s only a mess that you made.

With a little appreciation, the conveyer belt can be an appliance of convenience, not an appliance of pretentiousness.

So please, clean up after your-selves.

Conveyor of Sleekness or Responsibility?

By CheyeNNe Coote

Librarian Anna Smink: “But Holly, you said you were living healthy and had become a vegetarian!”

Anisa LaRochelle ’13: “I’d rather call for take out...”

3NEWSNovember 26, 2012

From November second to fourth, members of the Upper School Model UN had a chance to apply their debating skill at VA-MUN, an annual meet held at the University of Virginia. Whether discussing internal conflicts in Sudan and South-Sudan or ways to bail out Wall Street, these stu-dents argued passionately and ef-fectively. Their engagement was displayed as Holton’s delegates

won awards in all three catego-ries. Honorable Mention went to freshmen Camille Blum and Amanda West, a dual delegation, Yasmeen Haider ‘15, and Adia Robinson ‘14. Mira Gill ‘15 and Ashley Willard ‘15, who served together, and Katie Kirk ’13 each achieved Outstanding Del-egate. Finally duo Kristin Bed-narek’15 and Shanzay Khan’15 and Alexandra Berthiaume’13

From NoVeMber paGe 1

Chatterbox What has been the most unique dish on your Thanksgiving table?

By SuSaNNah BaNe

Thanksgiving Assembly Highlights Sense of Cross-Divisional Community and Connections

meal, which includes a variety of Indian sweets.”

The Islamic New Year marks a new year in the Islamic calendar.

This year the Islamic New Year began on the evening of November 14 and ended on the evening of November 15.

This holiday also com-memorates the death of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, who was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calen-dar.

Typically Shi’a Muslims celebrate this holiday with pub-lic enactments of grief.

From VAMUN paGe 1

Every November before stu-dents and faculty reunite with family members and delve into the turkey, the Holton commu-nity takes a moment to recognize the cross-divisional bonds be-tween us and recognize all we are thankful for.

The Thanksgiving Assembly has been a tradition since Mrs. Diana Coulton Beebee’s time as head of school, and the assembly has grown into a cherished com-munity event.

Annually celebrated near the beginning of Thanksgiving Break, the assembly consists of students and faculty from Lower, Middle, and Upper School gath-ering together in the Lewis The-ater to hear from student speak-ers and join in school-wide songs.

While the seating arrange-ments can become cramped, se-nior Morgan McNair does not mind the close quarters as they allow her to remember her pre-vious assemblies. McNair remi-nisced about her third grade as-sembly, saying, “Sitting on the risers on the stage, I looked out into the theater at the Middle and Upper Schoolers. They all seemed so big and scary!” Now, McNair “can’t believe it is 2013’s last year.”

This year the assembly in-cluded three student speakers: sixth-grader Kelly O’Connor,

eighth-grader Maryam Gilan-shah, and senior Abby Hsieh. After introducing herself and sharing what she was thankful for, O’Connor discussed the ef-fects Hurricane Sandy has had on New Jersey, a state she is visiting for Thanksgiving. Gi-lanshah also shared all she was thankful for and described what her family’s Thanksgiving meal is like. Finally, Hsieh expressed the sentiments of the senior class at their last Thanksgiving Assem-bly and noted that sometimes we forgot to be thankful for the smallest things, such as walking.

Another tradition is Mr. Bob Tupper’s guitar-accompa-nied rendition of “All the Good People,” with lyrics pertaining to the graduating class. His-tory teacher Tupper started the tradition at least ten years ago, and appreciates the time to think

about “why we’re grateful to have this specific group of people be a part of our community.”

After first hearing the song at a folk festival in Norfolk in the mid-1990’s, Tupper was moved by how everybody joined in and sang together. When he cre-ated the same sense of unity at Holton by singing with music teachers Mary-Jane Pagenstecher and Ann Vaughn, Tupper admit-ted he “spent most of the song trying not to get so choked up I couldn’t sing.”

This year Tupper was joined by Upper School Director Lisa Pence, teacher Steven Cutts and Vaughn. Senior Julia Peiperl re-membered that “last year I start-ed freaking out in the audience a little when I realized that next year Mr. Tupper’s “All the Good People” seniors’ verse would be for us.”

In fact, this year, Cutts add-ed his own song, “Give a Little Thanks,” to the repertoire.

Following in the vocal tra-dition is the school-wide per-formance of “Now I Walk in Beauty.” The a cappella piece is sung in rounds by the Lower, Middle, and Upper School Cho-ruses. [Fine and Performing Arts Director Mary Jane Pagen-stecher and Lower School Music Teacher Ann Vaughn] started the tradition about twenty years ago. The words are from a Na-vajo Prayer.

Isabel Cabezas ’13 said, “I always get goosebumps during ‘Now I Walk in Beauty.’”

The Thanksgiving assembly has been a central and memo-rable part of many girls’ Holton experience. Junior Cecily Spin-del noted that she “loves the as-sembly because everyone in the school is together. We feel like one school and not just three different divisions.”

Senior Zahra Husain re-membered a lower school mo-ment when “all of us were crammed onto the bleachers on stage, but during commu-nity singing we all put our arms around one another and swayed back and forth.”

Memories like Husain’s are symbolic of the importance of the assembly and as Husain said, “I will truly miss it.”

Defense Contracting. She repre-sented a defense contractor, L-3 Communications.

Haider elaborated, “I was the only girl in my committee, and my favorite part was how the boys were surprised by my knowledge of weapons. We discussed the role of non-state actors against governments, for example Al Qaeda and Anonymous. We had a great time with over 12 differ-ent crisis situations, including receiving threats from and being hacked by Anonymous.”

Everybody’s hard work paid off. As Coronel stated, “Hearing that it was fun for [the students] was rewarding...I was also sur-prised at how many people from our school won awards.”

“Banana bread pudding with ice cream and hot banana sauce.”

-Rebecca Fisch ’16

“Two years ago we were snowed in and couldn’t pick up our turkey, so we went to Taipei Tokyo and picked up some sushi!”

-Kendall Turner ’15

“Birthday cake! My birthday is some-times on Thanksgiving, like it is this year, so I get to be thankful for chocolate cake and frosting!”

-Julia Peiperl ’13

“Goose!”-Morgan McNair ’13

“Barbecue ribs.”-Ashley Holder ’14

“Marshmallowed yams!”-Vania Canales-Canales ’14

photo CourteSy SaaChi NaNGia

Senior Abby Hsieh represented her class at the annual Thanksgiving assembly.

The Presidential Election of 20124

Media Portrayal of Election Sways Mindsets of American VotersThe 2012 election, like many

others in the past, was marked by a never-ending slew of campaign ads. Many thought that most of these ads attacked opponents of a particular candidate rather than arguing in favor of one.

Commercials barraged citi-zens through movies, television shows, and radio stations.

Though the advertisements may seem trivial to some, the media can have a large impact on voter beliefs and may even contribute to a swing state such as Virginia learning toward the left or right.

Aside from campaign ads, other media plays a role in America’s perception of candi-dates. Comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live (SNL) recre-

ated memorable moments from interviews and debates.

On October 31st, the Young Democrats and Young Republi-cans held an assembly to talk about the upcoming elections and share opinions.

As part of the assembly, the upper school student body watched a series of clips of poli-ticians and then the satire ver-sions from Saturday Night Live.

Students enjoyed seeing the contrast between clips.

“I usually just watch the SNL version, so it was good to see the real version as well,” se-nior Ayesha Lilaoonwala said.

Of the clips and the show in general, Lindsey Thaker ’13 believed, “Sometimes SNL can skew perceptions because they do exaggerated reenactments that may lead some people to

believe it’s actually true.” Senior Isabel Cabezas said,

“I think SNL ridicules the in-cumbent party more.” In dis-cussions after the video, some students maintained that the show is more liberal.

Sophomore Lilly Lyn-ham recalled that right before Obama’s inauguration the Washington Post held a caption contest on pictures of Presi-dent George W. Bush.

“I thought it was unfair to have an article about the Presi-dent in this regard. It doesn’t matter what your political views are, but how the media twists and turns things negatively shouldn’t be acceptable,” she explained.

Senior Zoe Andris said, “How can we tell who is the best candidate for president if

Bob Tupper described the system: “Voters choose a slate of elec-tors,” and “states make sure that the winner gets all the electors in order to maximize their influence on the decision.”

Today, 538 electoral votes are distributed among the states based on their populations. The Found-ing Fathers believed this indirect system allowed participation from everybody but ensured only in-formed citizens would make the final decision.

Thus, the popular election is held on the first Tuesday in No-vember, and the selected electors meet on the Monday after the sec-ond Wednesday of December to cast the official votes.

These votes are then sent to the President of the Senate, who reveals them on January 6th. To win an election, a candidate must receive 270 votes, over half of the electoral votes.

Though some changes have been made to the Electoral Col-lege system since it was first estab-lished in 1787, it remains much the same. Some believe one problem with the system is that the electors do not always vote for the candi-date their state citizens want them to. No law requires these electors to follow their citizens’ requests, and 87 times in the past the elec-tors have voted against their citi-zens’ wishes. These votes, howev-er, have never swung an election.

Another issue some have

By SaaChi NaNGia

Electoral College System Presents the End-all-be-all in Elections

found in the system is that ev-ery state, except Maine, employs the winner-take-all method, in which all the electoral votes go to the candidate that receives the majority of the popular vote in the state. If a candidate wins a majority, however small, he re-ceives all the electoral votes.

If some areas favor one can-didate but that candidate doesn’t gain enough support elsewhere in the state, he cannot get any of the electoral vote.

In addition, some believe the system does not recognize all American citizens.

The American territories do not receive any electoral votes because no Constitutional amendments recognize them. Unlike those in Washington, D.C., who received the right to vote in 1961 with the 23rd Con-stitutional amendment, the 4.4 million people in the territories still do not receive any electoral votes, even though they are con-sidered American citizens. The system does, however, allow

On November 6th, millions of Americans across the country cast ballots for the next presi-dent of the United States. These votes, however, are not direct votes for the president. Instead, the Electoral College system ul-timately decides who wins each election. Although President Barack Obama won both the popular vote and the major-ity of electoral college votes in this election, presidents in the past have won solely on elec-toral measures without a popular majority. So does the individual vote carry much weight?

As Sarah Lossing ’13 ex-plained, “The electoral college system was originally set in place so that the general population didn’t really have a say in the election of the president.”

The system was established as a compromise: some believed a purely popular election was too risky while others objected to Congress choosing the presi-dent. Instead, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention set up a system in which the gen-eral population votes for electors who then select the presidential candidate. In the case of a tie, the House of Representatives decides the president, and the Senate chooses the vice presi-dent.

AP Government teacher

citizens who are living abroad in regions other than the American territories to vote.

Only four times in American history have the popular votes and electoral votes not agreed.

In 1824, John Quincy Adams received fewer popular votes than Andrew Jackson, but since nei-ther candidate had a majority in the Electoral College, the House of Representatives chose Adams.

In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the presidency by winning the Electoral College by one vote but losing the popular vote by 264,000 votes. In 1888, 23rd President Benjamin Harrison lost the popular vote but won the electoral vote by 65 votes.

In the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Bush won despite Gore hav-ing over a half a million popular votes over Bush. The election depended on Florida, which has a winner-take-all rule. The Su-preme Court ruled that Bush had won the state by 537 popular votes, so he won all the electoral

votes from Florida and thus won the election with 271 votes, just a vote over the necessary number.

Although Tupper said the “debate over the electoral college is moot” since “no Constitutional amendment to change it would have a prayer of getting 2/3 of each house of Congress,” cases such as these have caused ques-tioning about the Electoral Col-lege system.

Senior Mackenzie Adelberg said, “It’s really weird that some-one can win the popular vote but still lose the election because isn’t our country really a democracy? Shouldn’t the common people nominate the president?”

Lossing argued, “A popular vote would probably make more people vote because then people in states like Maryland, whose electoral vote always go Demo-crat, would have more reason to vote rather than assuming that their vote doesn’t matter.”

Steven Cutts, eighth grade American government teacher, agreed, “Without [the Electoral College], presidential candidates would shift to concentrate their campaigning on urban areas [thus tipping the balance to urban ar-eas]...Still the process would be much more straight forward if we just added up voters’ wishes and declared a victor based solely on the popular votes.”

By Zahra huSaiN most of what we hear in daily media simply bashes the op-ponent? I would like to hear more of the positives of each candidate to really know who to vote for.”

This year, some believed that an overdose of campaign

ads and the ubiquitous negative per-spective of news reporters isolated the American people.

Instead of listening to the me-dia, many people started to question the efficacy of such tactics, and we may see a shift in the media’s role in elections in the coming years.

photo CourteSy aLex BohaNNoN

photo CourteSy SaaChi NaNGia

FaCtS CourteSy CoNGreSSForkidS.Net

The Presidential Election of 2012 5

During C Day assembly on Halloween, the Young Repub-licans and Young Democrats gathered together in a biparti-san effort to educate the Holton community about the Republican and Democratic presidential can-didates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

Claire Baker ’13, co-president of Young Republicans, explained that the Young Republicans and Young Democrats shared the same goals for the assembly: to clarify Republican and Democrat party platforms, bring attention to how the media can influence voters, and illustrate how the me-dia can take things out of con-text.

Aimee Jones Wilkerson ’13, co-president of the Young Dem-ocrats, added that the purpose of the assembly was to show stu-dents how the media and satire can change perceptions of politi-cal candidates. She commented, “I think students benefited from the assembly and discussion be-cause they were able to learn about each party, have some fun laughing at the quirks of past

presidential candidates, and de-bate the influence that the me-dia has on our society.”

Senior Sam Coronel said, “My favorite part [of the assem-bly] was watching the Saturday Night Live skits. I thought this presentation added a humorous aspect to the political discus-sions.”

After the assembly students broke into small discussion groups to further analyze the candidates and their party plat-forms.

Grace Ann Brew ’13, co-president of Young Democrats, believes that the group she led went well. She said, “I had a lot of people in my group who were familiar with Saturday Night

Young Democrats and Young Republicans Elicit Student Debate By haiLey CayNe

Live (SNL), and they were able to bring up other skits that weren’t in the video we showed...It was nice to see people from both par-ties put the issues aside to talk about politics in sort of a fun way that relates to all of us.”

Baker commented, “I thought one of the best parts of the discussion was that regardless of whether people were Repub-licans, Democrats, or didn’t fol-low politics, we could all agree on how big a role media plays in elec-tions and how much influence it can have on what we think.”

When asked how she thought students benefited from the group discussions, she noted that students, particularly seniors who could vote, got to hear crucial

information about the party plat-forms. She added, “I hope that it cleared up any confusion as to what each party believed.”

Ashley Morefield ’14 recalled, “I think the discussion groups are pretty interesting since they’re always random. It gives a lot of perspectives I’m not used to hear-ing with my typical friends.”

Alexa Thomas ’14 stated, “I thought it was interesting how everyone in my group agreed that they didn’t care which candidate was being put down by the media, and we all just wanted just wanted it to stop.”

Senior Alex Bohannon said, “I thought that the political dis-cussions were really a chance for people to express their views

and debate their opinions. People were really engaged in my group, and we all held one thing in common: our shared hatred for the incessant politi-cal ads.”

Nikky Grover ’13 said that her discussion group was able to delve into important is-sues. In her discussion, she ex-pressed her disbelief in Rom-ney’s view on abortion, stating, “I believe that women should have the choice of whether or not to have an abortion. I don’t think anybody has the right to inflict their own beliefs on someone else.”

Abortion was only one of the many political issues that students debated.

This November marked the 57th United States presidential election: an election that se-cured a second term for Presi-dent Barack Obama.

President Obama beat Gov-ernor Mitt Romney in a close race; some radio stations, televi-sions, and talk shows discussed how the results of the election couldn’t be predicted until Elec-tion Day.

The Election Day results showed that Obama garnered 323 electoral votes to Rom-ney’s 206, and Obama won the popular vote by 3% or 3 million votes.

Senior Barbara Samaniego said “This election was really inspiring! It was a time of both excitement and apprehension for not only the candidates but for the citizens of the United States.”

She continued, “The future of our country came down to only a few votes.”

Along with the presidential race, there were elections held for Congress and gubernatorial

U.S. remains tangled in the Mid-dle East crisis. Also, the removal of troops from Afghanistan is on the minds of many Ameri-cans.

Beyond turmoil in the Mid-dle East, the U.S. must also main-tain its delicate relationship with China.

The economy is a huge con-cern for most Americans be-cause it affects each citizen.

Senior Courtney Wiegand believes that “the economy is a vital backbone in America and I think that the economy needs to be fixed to restore balance in this country.”

Problems with unemploy-ment, tax rates, and defect spending are also issues that the government must handle.

Differing beliefs exist on how to steer the U.S. on the right track. Compromise will be a must in Obama’s second term.

Senior Danielle Jones said, “Hopefully all the Republicans, Democrats, and Independents can band together rather than disagree and help create a more cohesive union.”

seats. Of the 33 senator seats

available, 23 went to Demo-crats, eight to Republicans, and two to Independents.

All 438 House of Repre-sentatives seats were open for election. Of those 438 posi-tions, 195 Democrats won, and 233 Republicans won.

Of the 11 available gover-nor positions, seven were won by Democrats, and four were won by Republicans.

Along with elections for governmental positions, there was also an election on referen-dums in our state of Maryland.

In Maryland the referen-dums Question 6, Question 7 and the Dream Act were all passed. Question 6 addressed legalizing same–sex marriage in Maryland, and Question 7 was about expanding gaming and gambling in Maryland.

The Dream Act was an initiative to allow undocument-ed aliens living and attending school in Maryland to be eli-gible for in-state tuition rates at universities and colleges around

the state. Each of the November

elections highlighted many of the changing opinions of the American people on critical is-sues in society today.

Citizens have made clear what they expect from the presi-dent in the coming four years, including a decreased unemploy-ment rate and debt, so Obama faces obligations to make deci-sions that please the wishes of many.

His most significant policies will focus on health care, the en-vironment, foreign affairs, and most pressing, the economy.

Some find health care in America one of the most complex issues that President Obama must address.

Health insurance can be considered a necessity for many, for lacking insurance can in-flict harm on a citizen with the inability to pay for remaining healthy; however, problems arise as health care remains expensive and deemed unaffordable to many.

In Obama’s first term he

introduced the Patient Protec-tion and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” to help address such issues.

Obamacare aimed to re-duce the number of uninsured Americans. Some think that his plan could lead to unseen con-sequences in the business and economic sectors. Obama must find ways to increase the amount of health care available for all Americans while not negatively impacting business or the econ-omy.

The environment also re-mains a concern among many United States citizens.

Such worry, however, ranges from global warming to a search for other sources of energy. Some remain unsure of the eco-nomic impact of aggressive en-ergy policies.

A major task is looking for new energy sources. Many peo-ple want to move from depen-dence on oil and move to other resources such as coal, wind, or electricity.

Foreign affairs plays a large role in the U.S. government. The

President Barack Obama Returns to Oval Office with Many Critical Tasks Ahead By tiFFaNy oNyeJiaka

photo CourteSy SaaChi NaNGia

As History teacher Ruth Hummel's wall depicts, many issues surroundeed the 2012 election. Students learned more about the topics at a C Day assembly.

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FEATURES November 26, 2012

By CheyeNNe Coote

Thanksigiving Basket Project Offers Leadership Roles and Time for Reflection

Improv Troupe “Goes with the Flow”

6By JeNNiFer Guo

Every Saturday morning, from 10 to 12:30 pm, Holton stu-dents and faculty come to school for the weekly figure drawing class conducted by drawing and painting instructor Lee New-man. This class allows students to sketch a live model and learn important elements such as line, proportion, gesture, and mass. Students can take the class as ei-ther a single semester or a full- year course.

Historically, figure drawing has provided a crucial founda-tion for artists and has the repu-tation of being one of the most difficult disciplines in drawing and painting. Famous artists such as Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Edgar Degas have all produced well-known works of figure drawing. The theory be-hind figure drawing is that the human body has such a variety of movements and variations that if one can draw the human figure, then one can draw almost anything else.

Figure Drawing Provides Unique and Advanced Opportunities

(Left) Lexi Butler ’13 and Barbara Samaniego ’13 help assemble the 80 thankgsiv-ing baskets; (Right) Holton's completed thanksgiving baskets pile up.

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Newman, a figure drawing expert, noted that Holton’s fig-ure drawing course was “an im-portant part of the art program that induced [him] to come teach at Holton.” He explained that Holton’s class “covers all the ba-sics of a college course” and that “AP credit is the goal of the course.”

Many of the figure drawing students have found the class re-warding and useful. Carolina Wet-zler ’14 decided to take the class because she “wanted to improve [her] drawing skills.” Wetzler de-scribed the classroom as “a com-fortable environment [in which she can] work with people of dif-ferent ages.”

Maddie Krips ’14 said that she “knew [the class] would be an amazing opportunity,” and as she pointed out, the timing of the class allows “enough time to really get into your work…and you are not thinking about all the stresses of school.” Krips noted, “I need to start building up my portfolio for when I apply to college, so I

wanted the extra time to work.”For college preparation,

Newman explained that some colleges “require life drawings not only for fine arts applicants but for photography students and ceramics students as well.” He pointed out that in some cas-es students who have taken the course can use the credit to join more advanced art classes in col-lege.

For example, Jenna Milstein, who graduated in 2012 and also took the class, utilized her “brief exposure” to figure drawing to “gain advanced placement in a course usually reserved for art majors in their junior year.” Mil-stein raved that Holton’s figure drawing class “is great for an artist” because the class allows students to “capture the gesture of the figure, seeing not just the pose but what the figure is do-ing.” She added, “Holton is su-per unique for having a course like this… [as] not many high schools have that kind of re-source.”

By iSaBeL CaBeZaS

Games such as film noir, taxi, and freeze introduce Improv per-formances about once a month at Holton and Landon. Many stu-dents find Improv a convenient way to spend a Friday laughing with friends and meeting new people.

Most shows start out with a game of freeze. Two perform-ers are given a situation and make a scene out of it. When one of them has a comical pose, the em-cee sends a performer up to re-place one of the students in the scene; then that performer comes up with a different scenario, and the game goes on. Improv alter-nate Kelsey Spencer ’13 enjoys “playing freeze the most because it kicks the show off by incorpo-rating everyone on the troupe.” Performer Robbie Hefferon, ’14 likes the game “ding,” where the “emcees press the bell in the middle of your sentence and you have to change what you just said because it usually leads to some crazy, nonsensical story lines.”

In each performance, a facul-ty member performs. Past Holton guest stars include Mr. Chris Lee, Mrs. Tiffany Reddinger, Ms. Me-linda Salata, and Mrs. Shay Squeg-lia. Landon teachers include Dr. Ardis Danon and Coach Rob Bordley. Most students would agree with Landon senior Adam Freed, who thinks that “whether it’s a teacher from Landon or Holton, it’s always a treat.”

Improv auditions take place in mid-September. Hopeful troupe members play games, just like they would in a normal performance. The audition sheet usually in-cludes random information such as your species and favorite pick-

up line. After a week, fourteen students make the troupe, and about eight are considered alter-nates. Landon co-president Isa-iah Edwards ’13 said performers “must obey the rules of Improv, meaning they must never say no and always give status, not take it.” He explained that performers must listen well “because in Im-prov listening is just as important as speaking.”

Holton Improv Co-president Morgan McNair ’13 gives advice to make a good scene. She said, “You cannot think. Everyone says, ‘Just think on the spot,’ but there is no time to think. You just have to act impulsively to create a smooth-flowing scene.” Junior Mary Sheers said that “it’s hard to stay in character” when the scene gets so hilarious that everyone in the audience is laughing.

Hefferon added that “most people in Improv would agree that its difficult to do a scene with sophomore Josh Copito because his energy level is just so high. He is so funny in all of his scenes that it’s tough to concentrate on what you're doing and not break up laughing.”

Performances take place on Friday nights in either Holton’s Black Box or Landon’s Corcoran room. The latest show occurred on November 16th at Landon.

For the holiday season, the Holton community celebrated Thanksgiving activities with fam-ily and friends and also helped those who are less fortunate. Holton aimed to foster student initiative in creating a truly mean-ingful Thanksgiving through giving to others. Students spent Thanksgiving celebrating in vary-ing ways outside of school as well.

This year the Holton com-munity partnered with the Com-munity Ministries of Rockville in order to collect and distribute food to families-in-need as part of the Annual Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive. The orga-nization provides a Thanksgiv-ing meal for various businesses, schools, and individuals in the area.

Each advisory created a “basket” for a family by follow-ing a list of specific Thanksigiv-ing items. This year the initiative was more student-run. For ex-ample, one girl from each advi-sory group organized the group’s giving.

Ayesha Lilaoonwala ’13, who is “supportive of Holton’s ef-forts to create donation baskets for less fortunate families,” vol-unteered to organize her advi-

sory’s contributions. As Lindsey Thaker ’13 ex-

pressed, the basket drive “was fantastic because it allowed peo-ple who maybe can’t make the meal themselves to have the same experiences with their family” and provided a “nice distraction from the struggles they face on a daily basis.”

Jacqualine Asuquo ’15 added, “It was a way to help out others in need and make them and their families happier on Thanksgiv-ing.”

In addition, many members of the Holton community looked forward to spending time with their families over Thanksgiv-ing. For Lilaoonwala, the holiday is about tradition. She and two other families with whom she is

close join up every year to bring the familes’ own “specialty” to the feast. Despite the small event, Lilaoonwala loves “gather-ing around the dining table and sharing what we value most.”

Similarly, Thaker cited Thanksgiving as her favorite holi-day.

She travels to California to visit her Indian family, where “over forty people gather at [her] grandma’s house” to enjoy a cul-tural combination of both Indian and American food. The day usually ends with a huge game of Trivial Pursuit, which Thaker said reminds her of how “smart the people in [her] family are.” She enjoys all the “different types of food …. and being reunited [with family] for a whole day.”

This year senior Julia Peiperl had an atypical Thanksgiving. Usually her family has a “big family dinner” at her great-aunt’s house, but since Peiperl’s birth-day fell on Thanksgiving, her par-ents allowed her to do “whatever [she liked] for dinner.” She said, “It’s odd having my birthday on a holiday,…but at least it’s only some of the time.”

Alex Bohannon ’13 celebrat-ed Thanksgiving this year in D.C with Indian food.

Usually, she would spend the holiday with her cousins who also live in D.C. After dinner she and her aunt “make rounds in her neighborhood and all her friends’ houses,” where they eat pumpkin pie that amounts to six slices of pie each.

In senior Delancey Wu’s fam-ily, the tasks vary on Thanksgiv-

ing. While “‘[the] cookers of the family make the Thanksgiving feast, my cousins, my dad, and I play video games.” She likens their games as football but more “interactive and fun.”

Jasmine Zhu ’14 spent Thanksgiving dinner with a “bunch of family friends, doing a potluck of all different kinds ranging from rice to turkey.”

Zoe Swinson ’13 traveled to Ohio for a “huge [family] din-ner.” She valued the opportunity to “bond a lot, watch home mov-ies, go shopping, go to museums, and visit friends.”

No matter what the Thanks-giving traditions are, as Swin-son described, Thanksgiving is not only a “great vacation” but also a “nice way to get away - something that we all value the Thanksgiving break for.”

photo CourteSey oF SaaChi NaNGia

The latest Improv show took place at Landon on November 16th.

7ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTNovember 26, 2012

Teaism: A Tea-Lover’s Heaven By iSaBeL CaBeZaS

ISCF Leaves Sound that “Echoes through National Cathedral”By aLLie GreeNBerG

Preparation for the Inde-pendent School Choral Festival (ISCF) begins for the Chorus at the beginning of the year. The Women in Blue practice for ISCF, which occurs at the Washing-ton National Cathedral, by first mastering songs with each other and then by singing with other schools in the area. Students that participated came from Landon, Sidwell Friends, Bullis, Maret, National Cathedral School, St. Albans, Potomac, and George-town Day School.

The concert started off with “Alleluia” by Paul Basler, the all-women’s piece conducted by Holton’s Director of Fine and Performing Arts Mary Jane Pa-genstecher.

An all-men’s piece followed this song. Each school then went on to perform individually. Holton presented “The Stars Are With the Voyager” by Eleanor Daley. The concert ended with the mass pieces “Halleluja” by H.L. Hassler and “Thou Motive of the Stars” by Dan Forrest.

For most seniors, it was their fourth time singing at ISCF. Katie Kirk ’13 said, “As a senior, ISCF was an incredibly moving experi-ence. It was a fabulous debut per-formance for the Women in Blue. ‘The Stars are with the Voyager’

rang out and was so beautifully haunting, and finishing with ‘Thou Motive of the Stars’ was the highlight of the concert and I’m sure will end up being one of the highlights of my year. I ended the evening crying, sad because it was over but still so grateful that I had the opportu-nity to be a part of it.”

Sarah Lasky ’13 said, “ISCF has always been one of my fa-vorite performances of the year. I felt that this year was the best performance yet because of the mature sound of all the students, even those from the other schools. My favorite part of ISCF every year is the all-female piece.”

Zoe Andris ’13 said, “It’s really interesting to see what kind of repertoire schools like

This fall, Holton and Land-on brought the love story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Ben-net to the stage. From Novem-ber eighth to eleventh, a group of students produced Jane Aus-ten’s classic Pride and Prejudice.

Directed by Elizabeth Zitelli and adapted by Jon Jory, the play starred senior Morgan McNair as Elizabeth Bennet and Robbie Hefferon (Landon ’14) as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.McNair performed Elizabeth Bennet’s evolution of character through body motions, voices, tones, and facial expression.

Earlier this month, students in the Holton Upper School used flex time to explore the story and themes of Pride and Prejudice.

Students first watched a scene from the 2005 Hollywood movie, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen, and then compared the video to the Holton-Arms stage version

and a 1994 Colin Firth version. Students partook in discus-

sions with the cast and learned how to dance and how to prop-erly use fans in terms of the 19th century English customs. The flex-time brought the play to life for many of the students not participating in the production.

The play opened with a view of the Bennet family sitting in their parlor and discussing the arrival of a new neighbor, Mr.

Bingley, played by Stephen Bau-er (Landon ’14). Mrs. Bennet, played by senior Polly Feldman, was excited by the possibility that one of her five daughters could marry a man of great wealth.

Her excitement soon turned to delight as Jane Ben-net, played by Sarah Lossing ’13, and Mr. Bingley fell in love.

Complications arose, how-ever, as Mr. Darcy separated the two because of Mr. Darcy’s

By kate youNG

Amidst the hustle and bustle of cosmopolitan DC lies the com-forting, serene restaurant Tea-ism. Teaism’s website states that its purpose rests in “infus[ing] the cultures of tea and the ide-als of teaism with the informal-ity and casualness of America.”

As its name suggests, Tea-ism is a shrine to tea. Interest-ingly, there are no teabags in the restaurant; instead, boxes behind the register are full of loose tea mixed with spices. With over two dozen varieties, the cafe is a tea-lover’s heaven. While there is a focus on tea, customers can also enjoy unique drinks such as gin-ger limeade or zhenzhou pearls, a drink similar to bubble tea.

At lunchtime, the line is al-ways long, and the joint’s popu-larity serves as a testament to the food’s authentic taste. While some dishes may have exotic names, such as the palak pan-eer, the menu describes exactly what is in the food so that a customer is never left confused.

A bento box is a great remedy for a hungry stomach.

Each variation has differ-ent sides, depending on its main dish, which can be salmon, chicken, tuna, or vegetables. Each includes a small portion of sticky rice, which is topped with an oriental seasoning.

For a lighter meal, consider

the slightly tangy Oregon Bay Shrimp Salad. To finish your meal, try the chocolate salty oat cookie. It crumbles easily, and the taste is unlike anything else.

There are four loca-tions: Penn Quarter, Du-pont Circle, Lafayette Park, and Old Town Alexandria.

Each of the restaurant’s lo-cations makes efforts to promote sustainability, such as serving its take-out drinks in biodegradable cups and posting signs that en-courage customers to use metal cutlery if dining in and only using plastic ware if orders are to go.

St. Albans and NCS, Maret, and Potomac have and how their singing dynamic is differ-ent than ours because we’re all girls. The music is always spec-tacular, and it was bittersweet this time around because it's my last!”

Nothing makes the Cho-rus happier than when fellow students come to the perfor-mance to cheer them on. Ju-nior Mary Sheers commented, “I am not in Chorus, but I go to the concert every year to support my friends. The con-cert is always amazing. My favorite part is always the last song where all of the choruses sing a final piece together be-cause it is a beautiful piece that echoes through the Cathedral for minutes after it is over.”

objection to the Bennet fam-ily, namely Jane’s sister Lydia and her mother Mrs. Bennet.

But despite his disap-proval, Mr. Darcy eventually found that his growing pas-sion for Elizabeth overcame his disapproval with her family.

McNair displayed Eliza-beth’s dislike of Mr. Darcy’s judgment. He awkwardly pro-posed to Elizabeth, a scene that permeated the theater with ten-sion as Mr. Darcy was rejected.

After an evolution of feel-ings and series of misunder-standings, however, Elizabeth learned of her wrongs in judging Mr. Darcy too harshly. Her feel-ings towards Mr. Darcy slowly changed from hatred to love.

Junior Mary Sheers, a house-keeper in the play, said of her experience, “I love that the play was Pride and Prejudice this year. I cannot wait to read the novel in the spring, having al-ready been in the play. It makes

the book more real and helps me picture all the characters.”

Additionally, Clare Specht ’14, who played Mr. Darcy’s sister Georgiana, said, “I love Pride and Prejudice, and I think everyone had many great ex-periences participating in it.”

“Also,” she added, “I have gotten to know people in the cast, both girls and boys, whom I might not normally interact with on a day-to-day basis.”

Holton and Landon’s production of Pride and Prej-udice was a great success.

In addition to Zitelli and Techincal Director Mark Rob-inson’s support, recognition for the play’s achievements goes to choreographer Sarah Roney, costume designer Eliza-beth Reeves and the costume/wardrobe manager Elisa Perez.

Additionally students who worked on lighting, stage man-agement, sound, props, and costumes were all instrumental.

Pride & Prejudice Captures the Evolution of Feelings

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photo CourteSey mary JaNe paGeNSteCher

photo CourteSey SaaChi NaNGia

Julia Pieperl ’13 (right) played Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Annika Puth (seated) played her daughter in the Holton/Landon production of Pride and Prejduice.

The senior members of the Holton-Arms Chorus pose on the apse steps in the National Cathedral for the traditional senior picture at ISCF.

photo CourteSey WaShiNGtoNiaN.Com

Teaism serves sticky snacks (top) as well as bubble tea (bottom).

8 SPORTS November 26, 2012

By LeiLa aNduZe

The question of gaining en-ergy without consuming a mass ive number of calories has posed a never-ending issue among run-ners.

Do the benefits of protein and whole grain outweigh the harm of caloric intake?

Sports bars such as Cliff Bars and Balance Bars and drinks like Vitamin Water and Five Hour Energy help us with a needed “boost,” but not much attention is put into what is actually con-tained in these energy foods.

For example, one bottle of Dragon Fruit Vitamin Water has enough calories to require 475 sit ups to burn.

Essentially, you’re regaining the need to work out again by drinking Vitamin Water, an ener-gy drink that is supposed to help with your workout.

Senior Tiffany Onyejiaka stated, “It’s a little misleading. You’re expected to believe that these drinks will help pump you

up during your work out, but in reality you’re just gaining back all the calories you burned—all thanks to these drinks.”

Onyejiaka advised, “I think people should really reconsider. The drinks are really nothing but sugar. If you really need some-

Energy Snacks Offer Costs and BenefitsBy LeiLa aNduZe

Hinnerichs, is being recruited for track. She explained that the pro-cess has taken about six months.

She sent her stats to several colleges to show her interest. She said, “My summer was spent call-ing coaches, talking about my interests, and figuring out if the college was a good fit. I looked at the team, school records, coaching staff, and the academic opportuni-ties.”

She continued, “I narrowed down my search to a handful of colleges that I would have conver-sations with weekly or every other week.”

In the fall, Hinnerichs started visiting colleges to meet with the team and coaches, see the facilities, visit the dorms, and meet academ-ic advisers.

The farthest college she vis-ited was in Hawaii.

She said of the recruitment process, “You find out earlier than others who sent in applications, but it’s still a really long process, and you have to put a lot on the line.”

Nina Cohen ’13, who was recruited for swimming, agreed, stating, “The hardest part I would say was finding a school that was a perfect fit both academically and athletically.”

She continued, “But probably the most rewarding part was being done with the college process early and having that weight lifted off.”

thing to keep you going, just drink water and eat something healthy. That way you’ll have energy without the unnecessary sugars.”

Sports bars pose similar is-sues. Popular snacks such as Cliff bars and Balance bars claim to

give energy during a power work-out. Again in reality, these snacks occasionally have enough carbs and sugar to supplement a meal.

Elizabeth Kitt ’14 stated, “I think that if you are just looking for something quick to eat, then energy bars are fine, but that’s it. I do indoor track now, so I don’t think it’s wise for me to depend on these snacks to keep me ener-gized since it’s all carbs and calo-ries.”

Many students suffer from afternoon fatigue after a long day at school. While they may feel as though they can’t make it through the rest of the day and sports practice, resorting to a quick fix of five hour energy may not be the best solution.

Five hour energy, a small en-ergy shot that’s filled vitamin B, provides fuel to stay up and alert.

But as studies show, these energy shots could not be the safest solution.

One shot of 5 hour energy

can have up to 8333% of vita-min B12, so drinking more than two of these shots in a 24-hour period can lead to fatality, as has happened in a few cases.

Sophomore Jacqueline Asu-quo said of the drink, “Yes, I drank it once. I noticed that hours later, I started to feel really jittery. Then I crashed as soon as six hours were up. In the end, yes, it helps you stay focused, but I don’t really think it’s worth risk-ing your health. You really don’t know what kinds of chemicals they put in those drinks.”

So if you really need energy for a workout, plan ahead.

Make sure to get at least eight hours of rest beforehand and eat healthy foods throughout the day.

Then you’ll have all the ener-gy you need and could have got-ten from the energy foods—mi-nus the sugars, carbs, and health scares.

Fall Sports Banquet Awards Students for Athletic ProwessBy aNGeLiNa dipaoLo

On Tuesday, November 13th, the athletes and coaches of the fall season gathered to recog-nize students of exceptional ath-letic achievements.

The annual Sports Banquet began with the Holton Athletic Association (HAA) inductions. The current HAA members en-tered holding candles.

HAA president Anabel Kel-so introduced each new member with a poem of the athlete’s ac-complishments.

The cafeteria boomed with the applause of students and par-ents as inductees rose one by one to the sound of their names.

Then each of the fall sea-son’s teams gathered and awaited award recipients.

The junior varsity tennis team was called first. Yann Au-zoux discussed its season of suc-cess. Elise Lovett ’16 received the Most Valuable Player Award, and junior Anya Lilaoonwala, also the captain of the team, earned the Coach’s Award.

Athletic Director Julie Treadwell called the cross coun-try team up next. HAA president Anabel Kelso received the Most Valuable Player Award.

On the junior varsity soccer team, Olivia Thomas ’16 won the Most Valuable Player Award while the Most Improved Player Award went to Freshman Eliza-beth Bragale. Kerry Deleon ’16 received the Coach’s award.

IT Department member and varsity soccer coach Ousman Sallah introduced his team with descriptions of not only accom-plishments but also losses.

“This was a team full of in-juries. At one point in the season, we had more than half of our players unable to kick the ball ad-equately.”

But, he said, the team pulled through despite its setbacks. He continued, “I can tell that this team has great potential, and I can’t wait to see how its members improve next year.”

He named sophomore Anna McDonough the Most Improved Player Award and gave junior Megan Meyer the Coach’s Award.

The junior varsity field hock-ey team was recognized next. Junior Perry Eisemann earned the Most Valuable Player Award, Gigi Mensah ’16 won the Most Improved Player Award, and ju-nior Kat Castillo was recognized with the Coach’s Award.

Varsity field hockey mem-

bers Katie Burgamesca ’14 and Blair Greenwald ’14 earned the Most Valuable Player Award and the Coach’s Award, respec-tively.

Junior varsity volleyball players Emani Ilam ’15 and Kendall Turner ’15 shared the Most Valuable Player Award and the Coach’s Awards.

Following was the varsity Volleyball team. Senior Grace Ann Brew won the Most Valu-able Player Award.

The varsity tennis team closed the ceremony. Coach Yann Auzoux recognized the team for its ISL Championship title for the fourth year in a row. The Coach’s Award went to both senior Angelina DiPaolo and Sophomore Lilly Lynham.

Senior Kaelin Brittin earned the Most Improved Player Award while Gabriella Chen ’13 received the Most Valuable Player Award for her four-year undefeated number one doubles team title.

Student athletes who have achieved a high level of perfor-mance are often recruited by col-leges earlier than other students, a privilege that many seniors must wait until the spring to fig-ure out.

Anisa LaRochelle ’13 is be-ing recruited for her skills in la-crosse.

She said, “The process is very tedious and varies by sport. For lacrosse, you participate in tournaments every weekend in the fall and summer while the college coaches watch you. You email them asking if they’re in-terested, and they tell you which list you’re on (first or second).”

Depending on whether the school is Division 1 or 3, specific rules exist about contacting the college.

While Division 1 colleges are primarily concerned with athletic abilities, Division 3 col-leges weigh the athletes’ GPA, standardized test scores, and tal-ent.

Though the process is de-manding at times, she continued, “In the end, you realize that this is the sport that you want to con-tinue in college. You find that you’re really willing to put effort into the recruitment ordeal be-cause it is what means a lot to you.”

Another senior, Natiaha

The Holton Athletic Association (HAA) inducted 12 new members at the banquet.

Students “Put a Lot on the Line” in College Recruitment

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The Holton snack bar offers a variety of energy drinks, including different flavors of Gatorades.

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