ARCHBISHOP WOOD CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL�S

VVOLOLUMEUME XIVXIV,, NUMBERNUMBER 11 STSTAFFAFF@@VIKINGVVIKINGVOICEOICE ..ORORGG WW EDNESDEDNESDAAYY,, OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

voiceThe vikingBush v. Kerry: Where they stand

>>>> AA SEMISEMI --MONTHLMONTHLYY JOURNJOURNALAL OFOF EVENTSEVENTS AATT WWOODOOD ,, ARAROUNDOUND AMERICAAMERICA ANDAND AACRCROSSOSS THETHE WWORLDORLD WW- 10/27/04- 10/27/04

INDEXEDITORIALS, COLUMNS 2-4LOCAL, WORLD NEWS 5 FEATURES 6-7SPORTS 8-9ENTERTAINMENT 10-12

> INSIDEEditor�s DeskThe senior class collectively raises itseyebrow as questionsarise over graduation.

> Page 2

Wood News

SkyView blew awaythe masses at Woodon Oct. 15. Exclusiveinterview inside.

> Page 2

Kate�s KornerThinking about votingon Nov. 2, but not sureif it�s worth it? Find outwhy it is in the Korner.

> Page 3

FeaturesYou�ve heard of LastComic Standing, buthave you seen LastTeacher Standing?

> Page 6, 7

EntertainmentGreen Day�s new CDentitled American Idiotis a blend of the clas-sic and the political.

> Page 10

Local News

Find out what the truebenefits of being avolunteer can be.

> Page 5

Sports

Find out what�s in storewith Mr. Joseph Setteas Wood�s new athleticdirector.

> Page 9

Cinema

Action-packed,humorous andharrowing, Ladder 49seems to have it all.

> Page 12

Pearl Jam rocks ‘Change’ concert

Reading, PA � Walking into theSovereign Center on Oct. 1, I wasn'treally sure what to expect, though Iknew I was about to see a Pearl Jamset as part of a concert series put onby MoveOnPAC.org to raise moneyin support of the DemocraticPresidential candidate, John Kerry.I, however, wanted to hear music, notpolitics- I wasn't disappointed.

The band stepped on stage ataround 9:20 to a standing,screaming, sold-out crowd. Theyopened the night with very energeticversions of "Love Boat Captain",

"Animal", and "Brain ofJ.", setting the pace forthe rest of the night.

After the fourth song,Eddie Vedder, leadsinger and guitarist, goton the mike and saidconfidently, �If you allparticipate in the elec-tion as well as you do insinging along, thenwe don't have to talkpolitics at all.� Theycontinued the first setwith a first ever liveperformance of "Sad",from the album LostDogs.

After the first set,which lasted around 50minutes, Eddie came outby himself and startedtalking to the crowd. He talkedabout the importance of voting, oftaking a stance and of being heard.Eddie also mentioned the lateJohnny Ramone, of the famous punkband The Ramones. He talked about

how they were the best of friends,and since Johnny was a hard-lineRepublican, they often disagreed onpolitics. Yet, they were able to havediscussions on political topics, agreeand disagree and find some sort of

middle ground.He related this story to our coun-

try, and how it is vital that we informourselves to the best of our ability onwhat is going on in the world.

�CHANGE� CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

BY SEAN WHALEN �05> STAFF WRITER

Politics has permeated almostevery aspect of our lives, andthe last place one would expectto find it would be in today�smusic � so naturally we sentour reporter to cover thepolitical �Vote for Change�concert first-hand.

WWW.SONYMUSIC.COM

Lead singer Eddie Vedder and guitarist Stone Gossard lead the band during the song�Animal.� The �Vote for Change� concert series wrapped up on the night of Oct. 11.

John Kerry:As president, John Kerry will lead

a �coalition of the able� (the UnitedStates and its Allies) against the ter-rorist threat.

John Kerry plans to transform theworld's most powerful military tobetter address the modern threats ofterrorism and proliferation, whileensuring that there are enough prop-erly trained and equipped troops tomeet our enduring strategic andregional missions.

As president, John Kerry plans todeploy diplomacy, the U.S. intelli-gence system, economic power, andthe appeal of American values andideas � to make America moresecure and prevent a new genera-tion of terrorists from emerging.

> EducationBush:

The president will reformAmerica�s High Schools by provid-ing $250 million annually to extendthe state assessments of studentreading and math skills.

During his term as President, hehas continued his efforts to improveearly childhood education throughthe Healthy Start, Grow Smart pro-gram, including his proposal tostrengthen Head Start. ThePresident will continue to expandthese programs in his next term.

Increase outreach efforts tominority families to better distributeeffective early childhood develop-ment strategies.

Kerry:John Kerry intends to establish a

National Education Trust Fund toensure that schools always get thefunding they need. They will alsoensure that No Child Left Behindworks for schools, states, and teach-

Open any newspaper, listen to the radio, orturn on any television, and you are bombard-ed with speeches by, voice clips from andimages of the presidential candidates.

These newspaper articles, radio reportsand television interviews tell you how muchtheir haircuts cost, where they like to vacation,what they eat on the campaign trail and whattheir wives will be wearing at their husband�snext fund raiser. While this information mayserve as a tool for the American public to �getto know� the candidates, for many voters thereports present information that is sorely lack-ing the one thing many of them want most �clear cut and simple answers to wherePresident Bush and Senator Kerry stand on theissues.

The staff of The Viking Voice thought it wouldbe beneficial for first time voters and theentire student population to know where eachcandidate1 stands on issues like national secu-rity, education, the economy and social jssues.

> National SecurityGeorge W. Bush:

The President hopes to work with Congress tocreate a National Intelligence Director who willbe the President�s principal intelligence advisorand oversee foreign and domestic activities ofthe intelligence community.

The President is hopeful that a NationalCounterterrorism Center will be established, andwill grow to be the government�s informationbank on terrorist suspects.

The President will build on the USA PatriotAct and renew critical provisions of the Act sothat law enforcement has the tools necessary todefend the country.

We�ve all heard the far-fetchedrumors and wild allegations that anypresidential election brings, but itseems that after six months of cam-paigning, few people understandwhere either candidate stands on theissues. Let�s sort all that out.

BY KATE LEGNETTI �05> NEWS EDITOR

HTTP://DEBATE-NEWS.WUSTL.EDU - EDITED BY TIM WISNIEWSKI

President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry have battled each other for months in an effort to capture the hearts, minds, and votes of the American electorate.

DECISION 2004

The Viking Voice asked 500

Wood students for whom theywould vote for in the election onNov. 2. The results are below.

BUSH 69%KERRY 31%

�ELECTION� CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

October 27 Issue; Printed Oct. 25

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

TOM SHAKELY �05

MANAGING EDITOR

KRISTA SZYMBORSKI �05

NEWS & EDITORIAL EDITOR

KATE LEGNETTI �05

SPORTS EDITOR

JOE TAYLOR �05

FEATURES EDITOR

JEN MCCANN �05

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

EDDIE GOODWIN �06

FACULTY ADVISOR

MR. WILLIAM DEVLIN

PAGINATION & DESIGN

TOM SHAKELY �05

STAFF & PRODUCTION OFFICE

NORTH BUILDING; ROOM 312

GENERAL STAFF WRITERS

SEAN WHALEN �05PHIL SCHWARZ �05JOHN MLODZINSKI �05EILEEN QUINN �05ANDREA ORZEHOSKI �05STEPHANIE BOAG �05JACKIE MULLINEAUX �05KEVIN BUCHER �05JACKIE MORLEY �05ED WADDINGTON �05GINGER BOER �05LIZ NORDEMAN �05BRIAN ZEIGER �05TIM MCLAUGHLIN �05TIM WISNIEWSKI �06TIM OSBORNE �06MAGGIE MARSHALL �06JEN MICKLOW �06KERRY DUBYK �06CHIP COATES �06ERIC CLAYTON �07MIKE ROONEY �07JACLYN SMITH �07MEGEN DONOVAN �07RENEE BRIELMANN �08

AWARDS

Catholic Standard & Times First Place� Best News Article� Best EditorialSecond Place� Best Layout� Best Photo (outside source)Third Place� Best Photography

Next Issue: [Tentative] Nov. 22

Production & DesignEach issue is laid out electronicallyin QuarkXPress 6.0 before beingsent to print at a minimum of fivedays prior to final release date.Further design inquiries can bemade via email.

Letters to the EditorLetters should be sent to:letters@vikingvoice.org. Yourname and year must be includedand will be printed unless youspecify otherwise. Letters may beedited for space and clarity.

DisclaimerMaterial appearing within theViking Voice (articles, editorials,online content, etc) reflects neitherthe views of the school administra-tion nor the views of the VikingVoice staff, but merely thephilosophy of the respective author.

The

Voice

Viking EDITOR’S DESK: WHY WITH OUR PARENTS?THE VIKING VOICE

This year the newspaper under-went a pretty thorough design over-haul. Most notably, the front-pagebanner has been changed (hopeful-ly for the better) to represent whatthe paper as a whole is becoming:a more edgy, bolder and hard-hit-ting source for all the news youneed, both in and out of Wood.

As far as content goes, some ofwhat we had last year remains,though a whole lot of new additionsare here. If you flip through, you�llnotice that certain writers now havetheir own columns, and that we�replacing a different emphasis onentertainment and sports. You knowas well as we that it�s impossible tocover events as often as the localpapers do � so don�t alwaysexpect that from us. Don�t get uswrong; many of our features willdeal with current stuff, but we�ll belooking at some things in retrospectas well.

The first issue of every yearserves as a sort of test. We like tosee what works and what doesn�tand accommodate accordingly. Tothat end, I ask you for your help.We can�t improve without yourinput.

Everyone on the newspaperwould appreciate it if you left ussome feedback, either directly(catch me in the hall sometime), orindirectly (jot down a few wordsabout what you liked and didn�tlike, etc, and leave it in our office, oremail me). Everyone�s busy, I know-but do us a favor, and we canimprove even further.

CHARITY GONE MIA?As I watched the latest develop-

ments concerning Terri Schiavo onCNN last week, it occurred to methat as her alma mater, Woodshould be supporting her in someway.

Terri is near a legalized death atthe hands of her husband (if yourreligion teacher hasn�t mentionedTerri, ask about her today), and herparents have run out of money tocontinue the lawsuits which couldsave her life, yet Wood hasn�t comeout to publicly support her.

It wouldn�t be hard for the CSC,

Pro-Life club and Alumni center towork together to get other alumnito donate to a �Save Terri� fund, sowhy hasn�t it happened? Granted,prayer is always foremost, but wepray to God for a solution, andHe�s presented us with one, albeitsmall, answer: the resources of ouralumni.

It�s one thing to say the schoolbelieves in promoting �the personof Jesus Christ and the Gospel mes-sage... through... deeds and notmerely through words�, but it�s quiteanother thing to actually upholdthat belief. As Catholics, though, it�sour duty to uphold that proclama-tion, and it starts with little thingslike helping Terri survive.

GRADUATIONDoes anyone else find it strange

that at our graduation we will beforced to sit not with our class- thosewith whom we�ve spent four yearsand are leaving forever- but withour parents, those whom we�ve livedwith for 18 years and will see formany, many years to come?

I can appreciate that graduationis as big of a moment for our par-ents as it is for us, but I for one amthoroughly disgruntled by this

assigned seating arrangement. Sotoo, apparently, are the seniors ingeneral. According to a representa-tive Viking Voice poll of 202 sen-iors at Wood, over 85 percentwould rather sit with their fellowclassmates than with his or her par-ents.

How this unusual seating methodcame about I don�t pretend to know.I do know, though, that the schoolran for at least 30 years by seatingthe graduates as a class, so this cur-rent arrangement is a relatively newthing.

I decided to ask my mom anddad, surely good people to ask,

what they would honestly prefer.When my mom (an alumna of Woodherself) heard that she would haveto sit with me she gave a wry laughand said �I would�ve hated that.�

From a parent�s perspective, shesaid, �Graduation is the last point inyour life that you get to spend as aclass. As a parent, there�s a certain

feeling you get when looking uponthose caps and gowns as a group-it�s one of pride and awe not only atwhat your son has done as an indi-vidual, but also what he�s done as apart of his class.�

When I questioned what else herlaugh had been caused by, she con-tinued, �It�s just doesn�t follow; a stu-dent�s graduation is supposed tosymbolize his entrance into adult-hood. How can you feel like an adultwith your parents sitting next to you,coddling you?�

My dad went on to make an evenmore compelling point, saying, �Forfour years, all high school is, is fac-

tions, social groups, cliques, but atgraduation you normally get to sitwith everyone, and just everyone. It�sthat one moment when all those divi-sions are wiped away, and you canreally just like everyone for who heor she is. I wouldn�t want anyone tomiss that.�

But the truth is, we, the seniors atWood, probably will miss that. Ourgraduation will not so much markour accomplishments or unity, but willserve as little more than anotherphoto-op for our family scrapbook.

Our graduation is meant to cele-brate the end of high school with thepeople we�ve experienced it with.That�s nearly impossible to do whenour parents are interspersed amongus.

I�m not trying to merely lambastethe system here; I�m genuinely upsetabout our current reality, and I�mwilling to bet most parents (thoughsomewhat reluctantly), wouldrespond in a fashion similar to myown parents and the vast majorityof seniors at Wood.

I ask the administration andgraduation planning committee toact upon the wish of thestudent body and restructure theseating arrangement for our June 6graduation.

PPAAGEGE 2 | E2 | EDITDITOROR ��SS DD ESKESK & & WWOODOOD NN EWSEWS OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

- TOM SHAKELY; EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

TOM@VIKINGVOICE.ORG

�I always thought graduation was supposedto symbolize leaving high school, and thething I�ll miss most about it is the people. Iwould like to sit with them as a class one lasttime.� Senior Natalie Corey

SkyView electrified the masses

Backstage, Wood � Winslowwas playing on stage as webegan the interview. The guyswere visibly eager to get onstage for the crowd out front, butsettled down long enough (thoughDan Kervick was mysteriouslyabsent for a fairly long amount oftime) to gain some insights intowhat makes the band tick, andwhy they do what they do.

SkyView is composed of Justinand John-Paul Gentile on vocalsand secondary percussion andacoustic guitar, respectively.Wood Senior Dan Kervick coverselectric and acoustic bass whileJustin Phillippi does vocals and

electric guitar, with Ben Brown onthe drums.

SkyView as we know it formedafter Ben and J.P. combinedforces, and later incorporatedDan, Justin and Ben to round outtheir sound. They went on to writeand record their now famousABCD EP, which has landed thempaying gigs throughout the area.

"We've got more on the way,and we hope to have it releasedby December." said J.P., though hewarned, "The songs won't go outuntil we're 100 percent contentwith them, and that could take awhile." These new songs include"Boomerang," which most of theband declared as their favoriteof all their songs.

Success doesn't come easy,though, as SkyView knows. "Wepracticed every day in Ben'sbasement, and [it] became sort oflike an extra-curricular activity."said Ben. This devotion could payoff big, as they are currentlylooking to Figleaf Records in NewYork for tryouts.

Though theyoccassionally haveguest performers,the band has noplans to add anypermanent play-ers to Skyview.

"We've gotchemistry, and ourcurrent setupworks well for us."said Ben.

Sex, Drugs,and Rock and Rollmay be what wethink of when wetalk about bands,but SkyViewseems to escapethat mold, at leastto some extent.

"We pray,always, beforegoing live." saidJustin Gentile.

SkyView fanseverywhere pray, too, that theband finds success through itsmusic, and becomes the next

great band to join the likes ofsuch groups as Dispatch andO.A.R.

BY TOM SHAKELY �05> EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Senior Dan Kervick�s band�Skyview� rocked the SophiaFriedman auditorium Fri.,Oct. 15. Before the show, wesat down for an exclusiveinterview with the band.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Skyview members Dan Kervick (left) and JustinPhillippi (right) came out full force on Fri., Oct. 15.

OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 2004 E2004 E DITDITORIALSORIALS & C& COLOLUMNSUMNS | P| PAAGEGE 33

Help from HelgaGuten tag, Wood! I am your new

advice wench, Helga! My sisterOlga talked about you so much thatshe convinced me to sail over andserve you all. I must say, it's greatfun reading all of your letters, ja! Ihope I can assist you as much asOlga did! Let's try helping solve aproblem now, shall we?

Dear Helga,I'm a junior and all this talk of col-

lege is freaking me out! What do Ido?

- Help!

Dear Help!,As a Viking, you have the world

at your fingertips! The collegeapplication process may seem insur-mountable, but with a cool head youcan show colleges that you're worthfighting over.

When you get your results back,pay attention to any weaknesses youmight have. The PSAT is a diagnos-tic test: its entire purpose is not towaste three hours of your life, but toprepare you for the "dreaded" SATin spring. I suggest you take advan-tage of the fact that the March SATis being held in your very own terri-tory, Archbishop Wood!

If you're concerned about pickinga major, then evaluate your interests:what do you do in your spare time?Are you athletic? Do you prefer toperform, or would you rather teach?Even if you're unsure about an exactsubject, don't panic! Most collegeswon't require you to pick a majoruntil the end of sophomore year.Many students end up switchingmajors at least once, so you're notalone in your indecision.

Most importantly, use yourresources: see your guidancecounselor for even more information,and to arrange college visits. Goodluck!

Dear Helga,Should I bring a date to the

Homecoming dance?- Unsure

Dear Unsure,Ah, Homecoming: a time to

celebrate our warriors' returns ontall ships with ceremonies, rituals,and weaponry� or perhaps just aschool dance.

It can be very reassuring to havea partner to not only dance with, butalso to talk to. I suggest taking agood friend - it's much moreenjoyable than standing awkwardlywith someone you barely know untila Norse ballad comes on. Really, isthat how you'd like to spend threehours? I didn't think so!

Now, there's nothing wrong withtaking someone you're still getting toknow. Make sure you have a com-mon interest, such as epic poetry.

No matter whom you choose toaccompany you, have fun. Eat, drink(soda), and be merry!

SEND QUESTIONS TO HELGA VIA EMAIL:HELGA@VIKINGVOICE.ORG OR DROP

OFF QUESTIONS IN THE NEWSPAPER

BOX IN THE ACTIVITES OFFICE.

WHY VOTE? Voters decide our future pathDo you consider yourself a

Republican or a Democrat? Do youthink the war in Iraq is justified? Doyou think the USA Patriot Act hastaken the fight against terrorism toofar? Do you even have an opinion?These are questions that millions ofAmerican voters across the countryare asking themselves.

With the Oct. 4 new voter regis-tration deadline passed, hundreds ofthousands of new voters have signedup to have their voices heard. InBucks and Montgomery Countiesalone, over 25,000 new voters haveregistered. While the majority ofnew voters registered as either aDemocrat or a Republican many arestill unsure of who their vote will goto.

With campaigns like MTV�s Rockthe Vote and P. Diddy�s Vote or Dieprogram, young people are beingencouraged not only to vote, but to

get involved in the political process.The question many people are askingthis campaign season is why do theyouth of American not vote? "Thechief reason that young voters givefor not voting is that they thinknobody is listening to them," saidJack Doppelt, author of Nonvoters :America's No-Shows and associateprofessor of journalism atNorthwestern University, ��coupledwith that, they don't think politicianscome through on what they say,�. The1972 Election was the first time in his-tory that people 18 years old andolder could vote. That year, morethan 50 percent of 18 to 24 yearolds cast ballots, in 2000, however,that number fell to just 32 percent.Why should young Americans votethis year? The answer is simple: manyof the issues affect you.

Take, for example, the cost of acollege education. Many of us, who

are looking forward to the collegeexperience with in the next few yearsare acutely aware that the cost ofgetting a college education is at anall time high. With the increase in col-lege tuition, the number of collegestudents gradu-ating with stu-dent loans hasskyrocketed inthe lastdecade. Ifp o l i t i c i a n sagreed toincrease col-lege grants forlow- and mid-d l e - i n c o m efamilies, more students could receivethe economic benefits of higher edu-cation, and reduce the increasing col-lege debt burden on families and stu-dents.

Between 2000 and 2002, more

than 2 million Americans age 19-29lost their health coverage, adding upto more than 13 million 19-29 yearolds nationwide who have no healthcare. What does this mean? If youare young, you are twice as likely tohave no insurance. The �Family PlanGap� is one reason for this fact.Young people are frequentlydumped as dependents from theirfamily plans and government plansafter age 19 or on graduation day.Also, many part-time students cannotremain on family plans, and are noteligible for school plans or theirschools do not offer insurance.

While many voters thing of thedraft as a part of history, a debatehas begun as to whether the draftwill be necessary to keep enoughtroops in the military. Because ofrecent military commitments aroundthe world, the United States Militaryis stretched to its breaking point.

Sources today agree that a draftnow would be very different fromthat of the Vietnam era. In general,there would be fewer exemptions.For example, in the past, studentsworking toward a degree qualifiedfor deferment. However, under cur-rent law, students could defer onlyuntil the end of the current semester.

The issues and more will be decid-ed within the next four years.Whether you like the direction thiscountry is headed toward or not, youneed to vote. If you�re not 18, youcan still get involved. Answer phonesat your local political headquarters,pass out flyers on the street, orcontact your local representative.While the outcome of the election isstill unclear, one thing is certain: whatyou do will make a difference.

KATE�S COLUMN APPEARS IN EACH

ISSUE. SHE CAN BE CONTACTED VIA

EMAIL: KATE@VIKINGVOICE.ORG.

KATE LEGNETTI

KATE�S KORNER

STUDENT LETTER TO THE EDITORThe goal of any introductory eco-

nomics course in college is to makethe student understand one simpleconcept: the theory of supply anddemand. This concept proposes aneconomic structure consisting of con-sumers and producers.

As long as there is a clear needfor a product from consumers, a pro-ducer that has exclusive control overthe means of production and distri-bution of that product can set pricesto suit his or her own needs.

This theory applies even within the Archbishop Wood community,and the producers have, as of late,exploited their leverage over thecommon consumer in an unprece-dented effort to turn a profit.

Cafeteria prices have risen byrates as high as 50 percent, andthere seems to be no cap on thisgrowth.

Aramark, the company that sup-plies the Wood cafeteria with food,is a monopoly. It has exclusive con-trol over the distribution and sale offood within Archbishop Wood. Theonly limits to Aramark's power lie inthe vending machines.

Unless a student brings his or herown food every day (which onlyabout a fourth of Wood students do)that student has no choice but to buyhis or her lunch from Aramark.

In this way Aramark has createda monopoly over a market and hasthe ability to exercise their power asthey see fit through the dictation offood prices. This power has certain-ly not been overlooked.

One year ago Aramark installedan innovative system that would, intheory, shorten lines and make buy-ing food at lunch much more enjoy-able. With this new computer systemcame higher prices, a change thatmost Wood students were willing to

accept in exchange for shorter lines.The price of pretzels rose 10 cents,the same with French fries. However,the shorter lines have yet to becomea reality.

What is the relevant issue is thecontinued upward trend of lunchprices. Since last year the cost ofpretzels has risen 20 cents, anincrease of almost 50 percent. Thecost of French fries has risen 35cents, a growth of more than 30percent. Three small cookies costonly one dollar a year ago, nowonly two cookies can be bought forthe same dollar.

What's the justification for therise in prices? Most students wouldassume the cost of the computer sys-tem still hasn't been paid. However,assuming that three-fourths of thestudent body buys lunch every day,and that two-thirds of them would

buy a pretzel with their lunch, lastyear�s 10 cent increase would payfor at least one computer in only 17days (assuming each computer cost$1,000, and the 10 cent increasewent solely to the payment of thecomputers.)

After only 51 days of school, thecost of the computer system wouldbe paid and prices could go back tonormal. Obviously this never hap-pened, and Aramark has continuedto raise prices for the sake of prof-it.

Another possible explanation forthe recent rise in prices is a payraise that Aramark employeesrecently received. According to ananonymous source affiliated withAramark the employees onlyreceived a thirty-five cent raise perhour. If the twenty-cent raise in thecost of pretzels went directly toAramark employees then the sale ofa mere eleven pretzels could make

up this extra cost for the six employ-

ees within Archbishop Wood. At

these rates the freshmen in any lunch

period could make up for the pay

raises of the six Aramark employees

within Archbishop Wood and an

additional six employees outside of

Wood just through the pretzels they

buy every day.

Aramark's motives are clear, pro-

duction methods haven't change,

costs for production haven't

changed, the pretzels aren't bigger,

in fact they're smaller, and the mar-

ket for cafeteria food hasn't

decreased. So what's the justifica-

tion for the rise in prices? The most

logical explanation seems to be

profit. For every pretzel sold in the

cafeteria this year Aramark will

make 20 cents more than they did

one year ago, 20 cents that they

obviously don't need considering

their smooth operation through all of

last year. Twenty cents doesn't seem

like much, but it adds up rather

quickly. Assuming that three-fourths

of the student body buys lunch, and

two thirds of the lunch-buying stu-

dents purchase a pretzel with their

lunch, Aramark will make $120 of

pure profit every day from the 20

cent raise in prices. Over the course

of a school week that number grows

to $600. This reasoning seems as

good as any for a company to raise

costs, especially when they have a

market under complete control.

In light of Aramark's disregard

for the concerns of the student body,

a protest of some sort is certainly

reasonable. A boycott of all cafete-

ria food for just one day has the

potential to create such a gap in the

company's profits that they would

hardly have any choice but to listen

to the needs of their customers.

However, a simpler, and possibly

more effective solution to the prob-

lem could be reached through coop-

eration between the administration

and the student body. If the admin-

istration could negotiate with

Aramark and convince them to pos-

sibly reconsider, or lessen the raise

in food prices a boycott would be

unnecessary.

A raise in prices is inevitable to

some degree, but the excessive

increase of late is unreasonable and

unnecessary.

- Anonymous

FROM OUR ARCHIVESThe following excerpt is taken

from the Feb. 1967 issue ofWood�s newspaper, then called�Crossroads.� We will be running�From Our Archives� pieces tocelebrate Wood�s 40th anniver-sary and give a bit of insight intowhat the school used to be like.

- Tom Shakely; Editor-In-Chief

�Woodsman� SoonVol. 3, No. 2 � February 1967

The Yearbook Staff, under thedirection of Phil Compton andJohn Lubicky, is busily preparingfor the publication of the book in

May. The first issue of�Woodsman� will be 128 pages.The senior class will be givenhard-bound versions.

All underclassman homeroomswill be pictured in the books.

The color motif of the bookwill follow the Boy�s Division offi-cial colors - black and gold.

Senior staff members willbegin taking orders from theunderclassmen in February. Thebook may be purchased by sub-scription for $5. A weekly pay-ment system has been set up sothat students may pay as little as50 cents for 10 weeks. Over-the-counter sales of the book in Maywill be $7.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Wood�s cafateria has become a source of discontent for at least oneArchbishop Wood student.

Over the years ArchbishopWood has had many alter-ations within the faculty.Although there are quite a fewmen and women that mighthave even taught your parentsstill teaching here, therealways seems to be a newface among the teachersevery year.Our new faculty members

include Mrs. BarbaraMatarese, teaching Theologyto freshmen. Mr.Walter Beard is our new

track two and threeTrigonometry/Pre-Calculusteacher for the seniors. Finally,Mr. Joseph Webb is takingover for Mrs. Linda Martin. Heis teaching Honors ChemistryStudy, to sophomores, andtracks two and three PhysicalScience to freshmen.

Welcoming new teachersalso means saying good-byeto others. Mrs. Maria Tull, sen-ior Theology teacher of threeyears, is now working with herparish ministry at St. Andrew's.Mrs. Linda Martin retired atthe end of September thisyear after completing thirty-four years of teaching at

Wood. In her time here shetaught Honors Chemistry tosophomores and tracks twoand three Physical Science tofreshmen.Finally, Mr. John Edwards, our

former Campus Minister,decided at the end of his firstyear of teaching to further hisown education. He returned toVillanova University to earn hisMaster's degree.Parting can be such a sweet

sorrow, but it is important totake the time to get to knowand welcome the newcomers.Feeling comfortable with hersurroundings, Mrs. BarbaraMatarese came ready to takeon her twenty-sixth year ofteaching. Before coming toArchbishop Wood, BarbaraMatarese taught theologyclasses at Immaculata andNotre Dame high schools. Adevout Christian, Mataresemoderated many religiousorganizations at Immaculatasuch as the Inter-faithHospitality Network and thejunior retreat, which is similarto Wood's upperclassmenretreat, Encounter. What struckher about Wood was thegrowing spirituality andtremendous school spirit.Whole-heartedly sheremarked, "The students reallyreach out to one another." Shehas optimistic thoughts that inthe coming months her studentswill accept her offering of

faith and respect. She expectsthat they will grow and maturefrom her example.Beginning his thirty-sixth year

of teaching, Mr. Walter Beardeases into this suburbanCatholic high school. Onewould think that transitioningfrom the Philadelphian publicschool system to a Catholicschool would be somewhat ofa culture shock. Not for WalterBeard. Comfort is drawn fromthe praise our school hasreceived from a number of ourdedicated faculty and staff,which helped shape Beard'sdecision to come to work here.With his new set of students, hehopes to see them, "grow asmath students, but more impor-tantly responsible students tosucceed at college level."Our up-to-date facilities and

above average status for theArchdiocese is what interestedMr. Joseph Webb in filling thespot that was opened with Mrs.Linda Martin's retirement. Hesaw this job as a good oppor-tunity to get into the field ofeducation. Fresh out of college,Joseph Webb is quickly adjust-ing to his new responsibilities."You learn to enjoy your freetime more," Webb reflected.These new teachers seem like

the right fit at the right time.Our school community willsurely benefit from their expe-rience and enthusiasm.

PPAAGEGE 4 | E4 | EDITDITORIALSORIALS && CCOLOLUMNSUMNS OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

When the bell rang on the firstfull day for students at Wood, thefreshmen were not the only newfaces in the building. With themwere seniors Allen Borovich andRobert Gray, juniors Alan Sloane

Barcelou, Whitney Depew, MichaelFeldman, Lisa Anne Ferleger,Jennifer Micklow, Jared Sidman,and Kaitlyn Suozzi, and sopho-mores Kaitlyn Briel, Carmen MarieFarina, Stephanie Favata, John PaulGonzalez, Paul Haviland, LauraKelly, Amber Lauff, Matthew Little,Ashley Shimp, Mirissa Smith,Samantha St. Clair, Nicholas Stout,and Michelle Wolfgang. Startinghigh school is hard as a freshman,and even as a sophomore, but itbecomes even more difficult whenyou are transferring into a new highschool as a junior or senior.

That first day was tough. Classes

are always challenging to getthrough during the first few days,but I found that dealing with thesimple things was where I had themost trouble. Trying to navigatemy way through the halls withoutlooking like a freshman was impos-sible. Even more impossible wasremembering all the names of peo-ple I met, something I�m still workingon.

As many of the new studentswould agree, there were a lot of adjustments we had to make.For example, Whitney Depew andLisa Ann Ferleger, both transferringfrom Upper Moreland, agree that

uniforms are the biggest change forthem. However, they said that thestudents here are very welcomingand respectful, an observation thatmost of the transferring studentshave made.

For Kaitlyn Suozzi and myself,both transferring from Villa JosephMarie (an all-girls school), we havefound that the biggest change ishaving guys in our school. This isdefinitely a positive change, but westill aren�t sure about walking fromclass to class in a school at leastthree times larger than our previousone.

Perhaps the most challenging

adjustment fell upon two seniors

who transferred to Wood for their

final year of high school. Robert

Gray, who transferred from

Wissahickon, said that the transition

has been easy because of friendly

students and supportive teammates

on his varsity ice hockey team.

While reasons for transferring

vary, most students agree that

Wood has offered them a chal-

lenging workload, many activities

and sports to participate in, and

an incredible student body that has

been extremely welcoming.

Starting over as an upperclassman

BY JEN MICKLOW �06> STAFF WRITER

People are nervous enoughwhen having to start atsomething new, but having tostart a new life as a student, ata new school no less, seemsalmost impossible.

The PoetryCorner�The way you make me feel�I love being wrapped up in your arms,away from all harm.You are my number one guy, and this isnot a lie.Whenever I�m sad you life me up, frombeing down.You could just smile and that would, wipeaway my frown.I�ve never felt about anyone like thisbefore, this I know for sure.You�re the most important thing in my life.I truly hope someday I will get to be yourwife.I�ve been in love with you from the verystart.That I hate whenever we�re apart.I see something different when I look intoyour eyes,and I know the things you say reallyaren�t lies.I hope you are never too far away,but by my side is where you always willstay.There�s something about you that makesme heart skip a beat.I�m just so happy we got to meet.I love how I�m not afraid to tell you any-thing.I can always trust you with everything.There�s something that makes you so gen-uine and true.There really is nobody else like you.I will love you until the end of timeBecause in my heart you will always bemine,so thank you for everything you dobecause my life would be nothing withoutyou.

Anonymous

For 17 days this summer, theOlympics returned to its home-land, Greece. The city of Athenswas the focal point of thegames, and hosted 11,099athletes, the largest numberever, and also the most femaleathletes ever. Over 200 coun-tries in all were represented,more than any other sportingevent ever.Four billion people watched the

games from all over the world,and 75 different countries hadeither a team or an individualathlete receive a medal.

America in particular enjoyeda great success earning 103medals in all with 35 gold, 39silver, and 29 bronze. Otherextremely productive countrieswere Russia, China, Australia,and Germany. Some of thesmaller countries at the games

to earn a medal were Eritrea,Syria, and the United ArabEmirates.

One of the mostpopular aspects ofthe Olympics is theshowcasing of thesmaller sports such asgymnastics, swimming,track and field, andvolleyball. Swimmingwas dominated byAmerica's MichaelPhelps and his quest tobreak Mark Spitz'srecord of seven goldmedals. Phelps failed to reachthat mark, but did break a dif-ferent record of Spitz's, medal-ing in eight different events.Other stars were Australia's IanThorpe and the NetherlandsInge de Bruijn.

Track and field saw a new

man crowned as the 100 meterchampion. America's Justin

Gatlin was an upsetwinner in the eventand can now refer tohimself as "TheWorld's Fastest Man."A big memory ofthese games waswhen the shotput washeld in the oldOlympia Stadium, asacred site for theoriginal Olympic

Games.Volleyball was a very

popular sport during the gamesthis summer with Brazil takingmen's indoor and China takingthe women's indoor gold in athrilling five set final.On the beach, the American

woman took the gold, and theBrazilian men eased to a gold

medal of their own.The biggest attention grabber

of them all though was the gym-nastics. Controversy dominatedthe men's all around final whichsaw America's Paul Hammawarded the gold medal aftera scoring mistake by the judges.In the women's all around final,Carly Patterson squeaked out awin by a tenth of a point. In themen's team final, the Japanese,surprisingly, won gold. In thewomen's team final, theRomanian's won.During the Olympics, the four

aforementioned sports dominat-ed the primetime coverage, andwere easily the most popularamong fans, which raises aninteresting question: Why arethese sports only on televisiononce every four years? Wouldfans tune in to a regular gym-

nastics meet? Would people like

to watch beach volleyball tour-

naments on a regular basis?

There will never be an answer

for certain until one of the major

television networks decides to

broadcast one of these sports

on a regular basis.

If poker, slamball, and dodge-

ball can grab big ratings, spon-

sorships, and many fans, don't

you think a sport like gymnastics

can too?

Only time will tell, but I don't

think anyone will be watching

any gymnastics again until the

2008 summer Olympics.

Athens Olympics reached 4 billion people

JOE TAYLOR

SPORTS IN REVIEW

JOE WRITES SPORTS COMMENTARY FOR

EACH ISSUE. HE CAN BE CONTACTED VIA

EMAIL: JOE@VIKINGVOICE.ORG.

New teachers right at homeArchbishop Wood addedthree new full-time teachersand a new campus minister.Leaving were some long-time Wood faculty members.

BY MEGEN DONOVAN �07> STAFF WRITER

Mr. Joseph Webb

Mr. Walter Beard

Mrs. Barbara Matarese

OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 2004 2004 LLOCALOCAL && WWORLDORLD NN EWSEWS | P| PAAGEGE 55

ers by rewarding those who meethigher standards and rewardingschools that turn around andimprove.

As president, John Kerry willoffer a fully refundable CollegeOpportunity Tax credit on up to$4,000 of tuition for every yearof college and offer aid to statesthat keep tuitions down.

> The EconomyBush:

President Bush will work tomake the tax code simpler fortaxpayers, encourage saving andinvestment, and improve the econ-omy�s ability to create jobs andraise wages.

President Bush will provideassistance to help America meethis new goal of creating 7 millionnew, affordable homes in tenyears

President Bush will help smallbusinesses in a number of ways,including allowing them to bandtogether to provide more afford-able health care for their employ-ees through Association HealthPlans.

Bush has also placed a higheremphasis on energy efficiencythrough his support of developinghydrogen fuel cells and otheralternative energies.

Kerry:In his first term as president,

John Kerry hopes to cut deficit inhalf. He wants to end corporatewelfare, roll back the Bush taxcuts, and impose a real cap tokeep spending in check.

Today, businesses are usingnew technology to manufactureenergy-efficient cars, high-gradesteel, advanced plastics and othernew products. This requires a big-ger skilled labor force to makethem. John Kerry and JohnEdwards believe we should investin these jobs and invest in the peo-ple who will fill them.

> Social Issues> Abortion

Bush:President Bush will vigorously

defend the Federal law banningpartial birth abortion.

President Bush supports theright of parents to be involved inthe decisions of their minor daugh-ters.

President Bush will developresearch-based best-practices foreducation, and will increase fund-ing for abstinence-only education.He will work with faith and com-munity groups to encourage par-ents and children to communicateabout these issues.

Bush has continued to supportending all funding of abortionclinics overseas by American tax-payer money.

Kerry:John Kerry will only nominate

individuals to the federal bench(including the Supreme Court)whose records demonstrate a fulldedication to pro-abortion poli-cies.

Kerry has said in the past thathe will not let his Catholic faithaffect his decision to support theslight majority of Americans whosupport abortion-on-demand.

> Social Issues> Gay Marriage

Bush:Bush has vigorously defend the

constitutionality of DOMA (theDefense of Marriage Act), whichwas passed by overwhelmingbipartisan majorities in Congressin 1996.

He continue to urge Congress tosend to the states for ratificationan amendment to the Constitutionto define and protect the institu-tion of marriage in the UnitedStates.

Kerry:John Kerry believes that the

Defensive Marriage Act violatesthe Constitution of the UnitedStates.

Resource: www.factcheck.org

1 Because Ralph Nader is not onthe ballot in Pennsylvania, TheViking Voice felt that it was not nec-essary to include him in this piece.A three-judge panel in Harrisburgdecided that Nader forfeited hisright to run as an IndependentCandidate by accepting the nom-ination of the National ReformParty. Pennsylvania law prohibitsanyone who is affiliated with apolitical party to run as an inde-pendent.

�ELECTION� CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1Eddie then went on to say, "We

support our troops, all of them, butthey are fighting to save democra-cy for a country where democracydoesn't exist. We need to fighthere at home to save democracyby choosing the most qualified can-didate."

After Eddie's speech, he per-formed a few solo acoustic songsbefore being rejoined by the restof the band. With the full band onstage, they performed an intenselyenergetic version of the Bob Dylansong, "Masters of War." Eventhough this was a concert to raisemoney for Kerry, this song and"Gimme Some Truth" were the onlypolitically charged songs aimed atPresident Bush.

Pearl Jam left the stage for asecond time, but the concert stillwasn't over. They came out for a

second encore to the delight of thesold-out crowd, starting with thepopular radio hit "Last Kiss","Daughter", and a cover of theDead Kennedys song, "Bleed forMe." In what seemed to be the endof the concert, the band played anincredible version of the song"Alive", from the album Ten. Eddiethanked the crowd for a greatnight and the band left the stage.Some fans started to leave, but themajority of people cheered evenlouder than before, begging theband to come back for one moreset. The stadium erupted once wesaw that they indeed had come onfor one last encore. Eddie Vedderthanked the fans for the incredibleenergy and started into a cover ofThe Who's "Baba O'Riley", or morecommonly known as "TeenageWasteland." Lead guitarist Mike

McCready and Eddie Vedder wererunning and jumping all over thestage; at this point the band wasjust having fun. The concert finallycame to an end with the song"Yellow Ledbetter". The bandembraced and bowed to eachdirection of the stadium, showingappreciation for the incrediblefans.

When it was all said and done,Pearl Jam had played for an elec-tric two hours and twenty minutes.As the crowd filed out of theSovereign Center, I started to thinkabout what lead singer EddieVedder had told us. Personally, Istill do not know who I am votingfor, but the message to be takenaway from this concert was clear:Get out and vote, make yourselfheard, because as Eddie said,"Indecision is dangerous."

�CHANGE� CONCERT COVERAGE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Christ’s Home: Kids helping kids

Tutoring.It�s a word some take one look

at and decide to run and hidefrom, but it�s only half of whatWood students do at Christ�sHome For Children. So that leavesthe question: what�s the other sideof the coin? It�s rather simple.

Maybe it turns out that you�renot exactly the smartest kid inyour class, making the thought oftutoring someone almost repelling.The great thing about volunteer-ing at Christ�s Home is that it does-

n�t matter whether you�re numberone or 280 in your class. A simplepat on the back after finishing adifficult math problem, or help inspelling the word �charity� canput a smile like no other on a littlekid�s face. Who doesn�t have theability to do that? That�s what wedo at Christ�s Home.

It�s not just another activity toput on those never-ending collegeapplications, or a tedious in depthlook at a particular subject a childis studying, but rather it�s aboutkids helping kids. Not only doesone get a feeling of pride atwatching his or her buddy (as we

call them) get a B+ ona quiz when beforehe would have scoreda C, but we also getthe benefit of seeingour buddy�s happinesswhen he opens thedoor to start ourweekly hour or twohour visit.

With this program,our buddies benefitfrom our tutoringassistance, but they,and we included, getthe benefit of spend-ing time with someonewho cares about theother for an extrahour a week, whichcan make all the dif-ference in the world.

Christ�s Home maynot be a program thatmany are familiarwith here at Wood,but with the help ofMr. Keener there areabout a dozen of us

who volunteer our time to helpchildren less fortunate than weare. We go once, sometimes twoto three times a week and helpour buddies, ranging from agesfive to 16, with their homeworkand life in general. It�s not unusualto digress from the subject of divi-sion of fractions or the AmericanRevolution to what our buddy hasdone during the day or an up andcoming exciting event in their life.Additional bonuses are the hugsmany of us receive and even anoccasional invitation to watch ourbuddy in an event at school or ina program that he is involved in.Not only do we get the benefit ofwatching and helping these chil-dren work to their full potential,but we get the reward of makinga close friend, regardless of age.

If you were to ask anyone ofthose who participate in volun-teering at Christ�s Home why he orshe is involved, I doubt you wouldhear responses such as, �Oh, it�san extra activity to list�, or �Mymom made me join,� but rather �Iwanted to help a little kid�, or �Ilike spending time with my buddyand making a difference in hislife.�

Christ�s Home for Children isn�ta place where one needs specialtalents and brains, but instead aheart to care about someone whoneeds all the extra care they canget. That is what Christ�s Home hascome to mean to me, as well as allthose who have had the opportu-nity to become involved in it.

BY ANDREA ORZEHOSKI �05> STAFF WRITER

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Christ�s Home has operated in Warminster since 1903, serving as a loving environment for youth in needthroughout the area.

Few people even seem to follow national politics anymore, but with such a critical election before us,

The Viking Voice asked a student from each year:

ARE ANY OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES WORTH VOTING FOR IN THIS ELECTION?

CCHAHATTERBOTTERBOXX :: Election fever strikes Wood

CHATTERBOX IS A STUDENT SURVEY FEATURE THAT APPEARS IN EACH ISSUE OF THE VIKING VOICE. PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY TIM WISNIEWSKI.

Kerry, because Bush does a bad jobrunning the country with the war, andnothing's helping. There are stillAmericans dying in Iraq.

- Freshmen Kim Larner

I think that Bush should get re-elect-ed because he sticks to conservativevalues, while John Kerry is a flip-fopwimp.

- Junior John Kil

Mr. Tarrant would make a greatpresident because he's all about Jesusand peace and with that, the worldwould be a better place.

- Sophmore Ashley Guidone

George W. Bush is worth voting for,because even if you don't understandthe reasoning behind what he says,you know where he stands.

- Senior Phillip Schwarz

STUDENTS SIGN UP FOR CHRIST�SHOME SERVICE AT THE BEGINNING OF

EACH YEAR WITH MR. KEENER.

PPAAGEGE 6 | F6 | F EAEATURESTURES OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

Well, it�s October, and the fall sportsare winding down. Everyone has gotteninto a pretty comfortable routine.

Freshman, you have just about fig-ured out where you are going andyou�re probably getting to classes ontime. Sophomores, oh how quickly youhave forgotten about last year. (Now doyou realize how ridiculous you lookedwith tho

Juniors, you�re probably excitedabout early dismissal. I�m sure you�reusing the time wisely and studying hard-er, ha, yeah right! The life of an upper-classman is like no other, the freedomyou are intrusted with and the responsi-bility that goes along with it is extraor-dinary.

Finally, the seniors. Our attitude is:�Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.�We are comfortable with our current sur-roundings and look to the future withhope, fear and excitement.

Just as many things in life, I feel thathigh school is over before it even began.Ithink the countdown to graduation isonly some 225 days. So kick back withyour beverage of choice, relax, andenjoy my thoughts on high school:

Somewhere between the home-work�and the projects� working�and playing sports�

I learnedthat pretendingto be happydoesn�t makeyou happy�

Somewherebetween the�c o m p l a i n i n gabout crushes�getting overcrushes� andfinding newcrushes�

I learnedthat you can�t control falling in love�and it�s impossible to make yourself fallin love�

Somewhere between the phonecalls� and the text messages�the �Ilove yous�� and the �What are wedoing tonights?�

I learned that it�s okay to mess up�it�s okay to ask for help� and you�reallowed to feel crummy�

Somewhere between Pathmark andPerkins� curly fries and the popcornchicken�

I learned that sometimes the thingsyou want the most, you just can�t have�

Somewhere between all the class-es� and skipping classes� the studentcenter� and the cafeteria�

I learned that it�s not that easy to for-get about the past�

Somewhere between the makingplans� having plans� and ruinedplans�

I learned that sometimes the thingswe just want to walk away from� arethe things that we need to sit down andtalk about.

Somewhere between the studying fortest� pretending to study for test�and the down right not studying fortest�

I learned that just when you think itcan�t get any worse� it does� but withthe love and support of your friends�you survive�

Somewhere between the fights�and the grudges� the rumors� andsecrets�

I learned who to trust� and when tokeep my mouth shut�

Somewhere between all the chang-ing, growing, laughing and loving�

I learned that when you start feelingbad about losing touch� those that youlost touch with are feeling the sameway�

I learned that my friends both oldand new� are the most important peo-ple to me in the world� and withoutthem I wouldn�t be who I am today�

I�m learning every day that thegreatest thing about high school isn�tclass or study hall� lunch or gym� theparties� the concerts� or thedances� it�s the friendships that youmake along the way.

To sum it all up: Enjoy high school; itflies by. Live life to the fullest andremember that it�s never to late to menda friendship.

SeniorView

JEN MCCANN

WOOD CHIPS

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05Chris Hanson (left) and Steve Bednarik act out a scenefrom Hamlet in Mr. William Devlin�s 5th period English class.

Shakespeare in action

Warminster, PA � ThePhiladelphia ShakespeareFestival launched a new Artist-in-Residence program here atArchbishop Wood on Monday,September 20.

A team of actor-teacherscreated an exciting programthat brought Shakespeare tovivid life in the classroom.

These professional actorsheld andmore than displayed a

strong foundation inShakespeare's text and per-formance.

With open minds, and greatexpectations, actors HeatherKrause and Forrest McClendonentered Mr. Brodbine�s and Mr.Devlin's classrooms.

Their lesson plan began witha question and answer sessionabout Shakespeare andHamlet, followed by the capti-vating "Fifteen-Minute Hamlet"which explained the tragedy ina short and easily understoodmanner.

"It was nothing less thansparkling; brilliant-the kids andteachers were on fire.", saidForrest after the first day.

As the week went on studentslearned the art of piecingtogether humorously perfect

Shakespearean insults such as:"You saucy tickle brained mam-mering onion-eyed canker-blossom!" They learned andexamined both the positive andnegative traits of each charac-ter and the significant roles ofeach in the tragedy.

The true success of this pilotprogram was seen as the stu-dents themselves performedthe "fifteen-minute Hamlet" onthe final day.

I had the great opportunityto interview Forrest andHeather after class. Heather,who is originally from theWarminster area, performedon Wood's stage onThanksgiving 1999 in the origi-nal cast of �The Word,� agospel opera written by BillMonaghan.

Both wish to thank Mr. Veltenfor a lovely experience. Thisbeing the first program of itskind they were glad that thestudents were so receptive, and

willing to volunteer, as well ashave a good time. And theyhope to return next year, with asimilar program.

BY JEN MCCANN �05> FEATURES EDITOR

Actors in association withthe annual PhiladelphiaShakespeare Festival visitedWood and showed studentssome quick and classyacting skills.

Mr. SolonynkaQ: What High School did you attend?A: Roman Catholic High School in the early 60�s.

Q: Why did you go into education? And why at Wood?A: Corny as it sounds, I�ve always liked working with kids,its kept me younger. I�m 73 and I don�t look a day over 58.Young people are America�s future and I want some say inhow some of them turn out.

Q: What is the most unique aspect of your classroom?A: My toys. I have a tank with a praying mantis which justlaid eggs and the crickets needed to feed them; my best friend the skeleton and allmy other models�come by and visit! See the guy with no abs� no, not me, theskeleton!

Q: What is the funniest thing that has happened to you as a teacher?A: I had a hearing-impaired eaf student in class, great kid, good student, excellentathlete. He could read lips very well. So one day I just mouthed some nonsense. Hejumped up and without batting an eye (old folks term) and said, �Thanks for lettingme go home early Mr. Sol,� and left the room. The class and I went nuts laughing.He did come back, but it was funny, I guess you had to be there�

Last Teacher StandingMr. SmithQ: What high school did you attend?A: Father Judge, 1963-1967

Q: What subjects have you taught?A: Spanish 1,2,3,4, French 1,2,American History and World History.

Q: What is the most unique aspect ofyour classroom?A: I try to create a fun learning envi-ronment. I vary my classroom activities, incorporating what my stu-dents enjoy doing. I know my students well and am aware of theteams, clubs and organizations that they are members of. I attendtheir events whenever it is possible.

Q: What is your most embarrassing moment as a teacher?A: While at Wood (my first year), I bent over to pick up adropped piece of chalk. I totally blew out the seam in the rear ofmy dress pants. My daughter had given me �Sponge Bob� boxingshorts for Christmas. She used to say to me �Dad, you never wearthem, why not?� I made the mistake of wearing them that day, tokeep her happy. Thanks to ripping my pants, my students found outthat I had �Sponge Bob� boxing shorts! Oh well!

Ms. BlasticQ: What high school did you attend?A: I attended Archbishop Wood from 1971-1975

Q: What subjects have you wanted to teach?Why?A: As a theology teacher, I sometimes miss teach-ing English literature. I believe the more studentsread, the more they expand their minds, (aid) theirability to communicate and finally (develop)human compassion.

Q: What is the most unique aspect of your classroom?A: My classroom is so much more because we � the students and myself �� allshare it. It is also lovingly refereed to as the Vineyard where our labors serve theKingdom. It speaks of comfort, warmth and is adorned by most things the kidshave contributed. We face each other and share all together. Perhaps the mostunique aspect of our classroom is found at Christmas (a Senior Secret Project).

Q: What is your most embarrassing moment as a teacher?A: Last year as I walked out of the faculty lunchroom into the cafeteria I slid on abottle cap and down I went before I knew it. The best part was that so many ofthe kids came to my assistance, and only a few laughed!

Ms. GarofaloQ: What high school did you attend? A: Archbishop Wood, first freshmen class! When Wood opened,we had freshmen and sophomores only. The sophomores hadattended McDevitt as freshmen.

Q: Why did you go into education? And why at Wood?A: I switched my major five times until I found something I liked. Iwent to four colleges for undergrad and one for graduate School. Ihad many jobs but I felt most comfortable teaching. I wanted to dosomething I liked, something that made a difference. Why notteach at Wood? Teaching at Wood makes me feel at home. I start-ed as a freshman, coached Wood�s swim team during college, andonce I started here I never got out.

Q: What was your favorite subject in high school? Why?A: I didn�t really have a favorite subject in school. I was into music but we didn�t have a music class.Sometimes I liked a class but not because of the subject, but because the teacher made it interest-ing.

Q: What is your most embarrassing moment as a teacher?A: During a test the first student in the second row and the first student in the third row looked atme then each other and laughed. I gave them my best mean-teacher look. They stopped, but theydid it four other times during the test. They were laughing so hard they couldn�t speak when Ilooked at them. The girl pointed to my shoes. I looked and my shoes matched, so I couldn�t figureout what was so funny. I looked again and saw that I had two �Cling Free� sheets on the bottom onmy slacks. It was embarrassing at the time but its funny to me now!

You've seen their faces; you've heard their names, but how well do you really know the "man and his skeleton," or the "woman in charge of thevineyard"? It is about time we learn about the people who put up with us day in and day out. And that is precisely what we intend to do in thenext few issues. However, to make things a bit more interesting, we have proposed a friendly competition among seven of Archbishop Wood'sfinest faculty members. We call it the Last Teacher Standing. Each teacher has been asked a series of questions and students will be polled onwhat teacher's answers they liked the best. At the end of the school year, we will see who received the most votes and won The Viking Voice'sLast Teacher Standing award.

FF EAEATURESTURES | P| PAAGEGE 77OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

Paparazzi

in action

Car Troubles- Jessica Simpson with assistant CaCeeCobb stalled in her Mercedes SL500 inBeverly Hills. Before going to a gas sta-tion, they went shopping at Saks. Later,paparazzi put down their cameras tohelp push her car off the road to the gasstation.- Macualay Culkin was pulled over forgoing 70 in a 60-mph zone and improp-erly changing lanes. In the car policefound marijuana and prescription drugs.After spending two hours in an Oklahomajail, he was released for $4, ooo.

Off the Market- Kevin Costner and Christine Gartnerwere married on Sept. 25 in Aspen; itwas a million dollar wedding.- Amazing Race runner-up Colin Guinnproposed to Christie Woods of CBS's TheEarly Show with a 2-carat Harry Winstonsapphire ring.- Jennifer Garner brought Ben Affleck to

her hometown of Charleston, WestVirginia to meet her mom and dad afteronly two months of dating.- Desperate Wives' Eva Longoria and JCChasez made their relationship publicafter six months of secretly dating- Usher and Naomi Campbell are dating.

Keeping the Stork Busy- Tim Hasselbeck (Washington Redskins'quarterback) and Elizabeth Hasselbeck(The View CO-host) will have their firstchild in early spring.- Billy Bob Thorhton and Connie Angland,,his girlfriend, had their first child, Bella, inLos Angeles on Sept. 22.

Moving in for Millions- Leonardo DiCaprio bought and apart-ment in Panorama Towers for million dol-lars. It is a 33-story glass high rise in LasVegas.

Celebrities Speak Up- "I think that the commander-in-chief isdoing a really great job," says BruceWillis, who joined by Angie Harmon,Shannen Doherty, Elizabeth Hasselbeckand Stephen Baldwin, plans to vote forBush in the up coming election.- "A vote for John Kerry and JohnEdwards is a real patriot act," commentsSarah Jessica Parker, who accompaniedby Leonardi DiCaprio, Selma Blair, BenAffleck, Mena Savari and NataliePortman, is backing Kerry all the way.

How Much Would You Spend?- Elvis' Bible has a high bid of $5,300.- Justin Timberlake's half-eaten Frenchtoast was sold for $1,025.

JACKIES MULLINAEUX & MORLEY

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Shakespearean insults such as:"You saucy tickle brained mam-mering onion-eyed canker-blossom!" They learned andexamined both the positive andnegative traits of each charac-ter and the significant roles ofeach in the tragedy.

The true success of this pilotprogram was seen as the stu-dents themselves performedthe "fifteen-minute Hamlet" onthe final day.

I had the great opportunityto interview Forrest andHeather after class. Heather,who is originally from theWarminster area, performedon Wood's stage onThanksgiving 1999 in the origi-nal cast of �The Word,� agospel opera written by BillMonaghan.

Both wish to thank Mr. Veltenfor a lovely experience. Thisbeing the first program of itskind they were glad that thestudents were so receptive, and

willing to volunteer, as well ashave a good time. And theyhope to return next year, with asimilar program.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival�s Forrest McClendonrehearses lines from Act II of Hamlet with Denise Mallon andSteve Bednarik.

Shakespearean word searchTHINK YOU�RE GOOD AT

SOLVING WORD SEARCH-ES? TRY YOUR HAND AT

FINDING PHRASES

SHAKESPEARE WOULD

USED.

CLAUDIUS, DAGGER,DRAMA, GERTRUDE,GHOST, GOBLET,HAMLET, HORATIO,I AM THE KING,KING, LAERTES,MURDER, NOT TO BE,OPHELIA, POISON,POLONIUS,SHAKESPEARE, SKULL,SUICIDE, TO BE

onynkahool did you attend?c High School in the early 60�s.

go into education? And why at Wood?nds, I�ve always liked working with kids,er. I�m 73 and I don�t look a day over 58.America�s future and I want some say in

turn out.

ost unique aspect of your classroom?e a tank with a praying mantis which just crickets needed to feed them; my best friend the skeleton and all

�come by and visit! See the guy with no abs� no, not me, the

nniest thing that has happened to you as a teacher?g-impaired eaf student in class, great kid, good student, excellentread lips very well. So one day I just mouthed some nonsense. Hethout batting an eye (old folks term) and said, �Thanks for letting

y Mr. Sol,� and left the room. The class and I went nuts laughing.k, but it was funny, I guess you had to be there�

incorporating what my stu-well and am aware of theey are members of. I attend

oment as a teacher?ent over to pick up a out the seam in the rear ofn me �Sponge Bob� boxing

o me �Dad, you never wearwearing them that day, topants, my students found out! Oh well!

Ms. FitzgibbonsQ: What high school did youattend?A: John W. Hallahan-1960-1964.

Q: What subjects have you taught?A: Physical Education/HealthAwareness

Q: What is the funniest thing thathas happened to you as a teacher?A: �Ms. Fitz Clone Day�, where thestudents dressed like me. A student arrived late, wearing pants,shorts, sneaks and a whistle, attendance card etc. She conductedclass using the same gestures and same �sayings� I did.

Q: What is your most embarrassing moment as a teacher?A: Student bringing to my attention hat I had two differentsneaks on-Happened early in the day and I was self-consciousall day.

Mrs. CiabarraQ: What high school did you attend? A: Little Flower in the 1950�s. I like to tell my students that I�m nearly 70,look good for 70!

Q: What subjects have you taught?A: Biology, Geometry, Physical Science, Health and Chemistry.

Q: Why did you go into education? Why at Wood?A: I have a love for learning and I love to work with people. When I wasoffered a job in Warminster, I had never heard of it. I soon discovered abus would take me there from Philadelphia. I�m still taking it after 40years.

Q: What was your favorite subject in high school? Why?A: Math, Science, American History and Music. I was good at them.

Q: What is your most embarrassing moment as a teacher?A: Reporting to my Junior chemistry students that I got a 97 in a recent advanced graduate studiesin chemistry. A young man raised his hand and said, �does that mean that 3 percent of what youteach us is wrong?�

Mr. KeenerQ: What high school did you attend?A: La Salle, �68 grad.

Q: What subjects have you taught?A: 3rd, 5th and 6th grades-all subjects,Algebra I, II, Geometry and Trig.

Q: What subject shave you wanted toteach?A: Psychology � my original field ofinterest and my master�s degree.

Q: What is the most unique aspect of your classroom?A: Brainteaser Fridays � years later, that�s the only thing my ex-students remember.

Q: What is your most embarrassing moment as a teacher?A: Some student comes up to ask to go to the nurse, and while I�mwriting a slip, promptly gets sick on my desk and roll book.Needless to say, they went to summer school (kidding, psyche!), it�sfunny in retrospect.

You've seen their faces; you've heard their names, but how well do you really know the "man and his skeleton," or the "woman in charge of thevineyard"? It is about time we learn about the people who put up with us day in and day out. And that is precisely what we intend to do in thenext few issues. However, to make things a bit more interesting, we have proposed a friendly competition among seven of Archbishop Wood'sfinest faculty members. We call it the Last Teacher Standing. Each teacher has been asked a series of questions and students will be polled onwhat teacher's answers they liked the best. At the end of the school year, we will see who received the most votes and won The Viking Voice'sLast Teacher Standing award.

Photographs by Tim Wisniewski

PPAAGEGE 8 | S8 | SPORPORTSTS OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

Warminster, PA � The year is2004, and it is the 40th anniver-sary of Archbishop Wood HighSchool. Wood's athletic programlooks to celebrate the anniver-sary with quite a few CatholicLeague championships.

Wood is favored in basket-ball, wrestling, and boy's soccer.The basketball team returns fourkey players from a team thatcame so close to defeatingnationally ranked CardinalDougherty in the quarterfinalround of the PCL (PhiladelphiaCatholic League) playoffs. Thefifth starter is a senior transferfrom Abington Friends. Thewrestling team also returns manykey starters from a team that fin-ished second in the PCL whilemost teams were hit hard bygraduation. Boys soccer is cur-rently in first place in the PCLNorth with a record of 7-2-1(their only losses were to La Salleand Ryan), and they are current-ly ranked sixth in SoutheasternPennsylvania.

Wood also has several otherteams that have a legitimate shotat winning a league title. Thegirls soccer team is currently 11-2-2 and has tied the team that

has handed them their onlyleague loss.

The volleyball team has fin-ished their season, falling to adominant O�Hara in the PCLChampionships.

Wood's baseball team alsohas a chance to make a run at thechampionship as they return fivestarting position players andthree starting pitchers from ateam that beat three playoff con-tenders at the end of last season.

Lastly there is the footballteam. The football team is cur-rently 5-2 in league play withtwo games remaining. Theyfaced Conwell-Egan Friday night,which was an important match upthat assured good playoff seed-ing.

All of these teams posses thenecessary qualities to be winners,however, the biggest differencefor Wood will be its fans. TheArchbishop Wood student body,a.k.a. the "Warminster Wackies"may be the rowdiest and mostintense crowd in the Catholicleague.

The "Warminster Wackies"were established at the start oflast year's basketball season.The name was invented by seniorDoug Martin who said, "I tried tocreate something like they had atDuke, where they call themselvesthe 'Cameron Crazies' becausethey play in the Cameron IndoorArena."

Many athletes believe that the"Wackies" play a key role in theirsuccess. Angela Rostelli-Kent, co-captain of the Girls Soccer team,

says, "the fans are a big part ofa team's success, because it isencouraging when the playershear their fans cheering. Thatencouragement motivates playersto play their hardest."

"The fans provide a lot ofenergy and a big confidenceboost," claims football quarter-back and co-captain, ChrisHanson.

There is also no doubt amongthe athletes that the "Wackies"are the best fans in the PCL. MikeMurnane, senior stopper and co-captain of the boys soccer teamsays, "we definitely have the bestfans in the league, because they

support us no matter who we playor if it's home or away. They arealways there supporting us."

The "Wackies" are led mostlyby seniors such as Andrew Sharp,Doug Martin, Mike Piselli, andCorey Filer. "It feels great toknow that the athletes appreciatethe fans coming out and support-ing them," said Sharp, "I love thehype, on both sides, whether I'min the crowd or on the [tennis]court receiving the cheers."

Another thing that makes the"Wackies" so unique is that theygo and support every team fromsoccer to volleyball to wrestling.Filer says, "Volleyball, one of the

lower profile teams is the mostfun event to attend." He alsobelieves, "being a fan is likeplaying a sport. It requires ded-ication and loyalty to your teamand you always have to bealert."

Sharp believes that this will beone of the biggest years forWood in athletics in a while. "Wehave the talent to win a lot ofchampionships, and the best fansin the PCL to help them get thesechampionships." So in what couldbe Wood's biggest year in sports,the "Warminster Wackies" mayhelp decide many titles.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05Wood fans scream with delight at halftime at the prospect of seeing Boy�s varsity soccer come back onthe field to win the match againt Archbishop Ryan on Thursday, Sept. 23 at UGH.

Wood takes fandom to a whole new levelTeams must have talent towin, but there is no doubtthat a team�s fans have a bigimpact on performance aswell. Wood fans unite.

BY KEVIN BUCHER �05> STAFF WRITER

Viking football storming through PCL blue

Warminster, PA � The footballseason is in full force right now aswe come into the ninth week ofthe season. The Archbishop Woodfootball team is looking strongwith a 5-2 record in the CatholicLeague Blue Division. Under theirnew head coach, Joe Powell, theVikings look more and more likelast years championship team.

After starting the season withtwo close loses to CardinalO�Hara and West Catholic,respectively, the team hasrebounded to become a con-tender for the Catholic LeagueBlue Division Championship.

This Saturday the Vikings willface St. Joe�s Prep for the annualhomecoming game after winningthe biggest game of their seasonagainst heated rival, Conwell-Egan High School. The Vikingsmanaged to keep their winningstreak alive. (Conwell-Egan has avery impressive running back,who will play for Maryland nextyear.) The Viking�s defense wasable to shut down the premierrunning back and they plan ondoing it again this year. Jimmy

Harrigan is one of the linebackerson Wood�s defense and he stat-ed, �We stopped Slaton last year,and there [was] no reason not tostop him again.�

Facing St. Joe�s Prep for thisSaturday�s homecoming will be atest of wills, as St. Joe�s currentlysits atop the PCL Red division. Theoutcome of this game will have anenormous impact on the psyche ofboth teams, coming from seperatedivisions, and with each withsights set on a championship.

Joe Powell has been nothingbut a positive force for all of theplayers on Wood�s football team.Tight-end Ryan Dolan said,�Coach has taught me a lot thisseason, [both] on and off thefield. I was pleased to hear last year that he was going to be the

new head coach, and my feelingshave yet to change.�

Coach Powell has been acoach for many years and this ishis second head-coaching job. Hewas a head coach for HarringtonHigh and was also an assistantcoach at Ursinus College.

Joe Powell has taught theteam how to work together, playtogether and how to have faith ineach other. Now, with the seasonwinding down, the Vikings haveanother goal in mind: to repeatwhat they did last year and winthe Catholic League Blue Division.

> For those interested in attendingthe final two games before play-offs, they occur: against St. Joe�sPrep this Sat., Oct. 30 at 1pm,

and on Sat., Nov. 6 at 1pm againstNeumann-Goretti. Both games willbe played at William Tennet HighSchool.

WWW.ARCHBISHOPWOODFOOTBALL.ORG

The Viking Football team has been looking more and more like last year�s winning team, as new coachJoe Powell has settled into his new position as head coach.

BY EDDIE WADDINGTON �05> STAFF WRITER

Though the Viking footballteam started off shakily, theyquickly gained momentumand are showing signs ofdominance in the PCL BlueDivision.

WOOD FOOTBALL

SEASON STATS

@ Cardinal O�Hara* L 12-28@ West Catholic L 12-20Kennedy-Kenrick W 41-7@ Archbishop Carroll L 14-27Cardinal Dougherty W 33-10North Catholic W 35-0@ Bishop McDevitt W 16-6@ Conwell-Egan W 23-13St. Joseph�s Prep* Sat. 10/30Neumann-Goretti Sat. 11/6

*Non-League Game

Blue Division Record: 5-2

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Viking football players (from left to right) Jim Harrigan, Ryan Dolanand Eddie Waddington show some of their Viking pride.

OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004 SSPORPORTSTS | P| PAAGEGE 99

Sette named as Wood’s new athletic director

Viking Voice: Why did you wantthe vacant athletic director posi-tion?

Mr. Sette: I think it was importantto have someone in the building,because when you have [thingslike] cancellations, you have to getthat information to the studentbody.

I also have over 25 years ofcoaching in the league so I knowhow the system works. A thirdpart of it is that I want to stayinvolved in athletics, and I'm notsure how many more years I'llcoach basketball. So when I crossthat bridge and maybe decideit's time to stop with boy's basket-ball, I'll still have my hand inathletics.

Voice: What are the types ofthings an A.D. does?

Sette: Well, basically what I'vedone is met with every headcoach of every sport starting withthe fall teams and moving on tothe winter and eventually to the

spring teams. We go over anyconcerns about scheduling ofgames, transportation to andfrom games, scheduling officials,and any other concerns the coach-es may have. My job is to makesure it all gets done and goessmoothly.

Voice: What sports, besides bas-ketball, do you particularly enjoy?

Sette: Actually I was better atfootball then I was at basketball.

I think I like most sports, if notall sports, simply because I lovethe competitiveness.

My first month on the job hasbeen an educational experience,because there are certain sportsthat I don't have a great deal ofbackground on, specifically fieldhockey, which I'm finding out as Igo along, but that's all right.

I think the sport I really like isvolleyball, because there are ele-ments of basketball and footballin terms of power and athleticism.

Voice: What are your plans for thefuture of Wood sports as A.D.?

Sette: My concern is to strengthenthe programs that we have rightnow. I'm trying to get a sense ofeach program's strengths andweaknesses and I want to improveupon those strengths.

Maybe there is also the possi-bility of adding another teamsomewhere down the road.

Voice: There was a problem lastyear with Tennent and they took usoff their schedule for every sport.Is there anything that can be doneto bring back this rivalry?

Sette: Yes, I think that we will bediscussing things with Centennial'sadministration and I think that wehave to go on and not continue todwell on what happened lastyear.

Voice: Is it hard to balance yourteaching with all of your work asA.D.?

Sette: No, I mean, I don't like tostay in this office all day. I'm notan office person. So I enjoy goingand teaching my classes, thencoming back and doing what Ineed to do in the office.

School's over at 2:15, [and] Imight do an hour of work, butthen I'll look at the clock and it's3:30, and I may go watch socceror field hockey. That gives me theperfect out to say 'I'm going to gowatch a game.' So I still get toteach my classes and do my workin the office.

Voice: How do you feel about thesupport the student body gives itsteams?

Sette: The one thing I really loveabout this place is the enthusiasmof the kids. When the studentbody is called upon to support

their athletic teams, I would saythere aren't very many Catholicschools that can beat Wood'sfans. Now there is the occasionaltime when the kids do tend topush the envelope a little bit, butthat's only a small fraction of the

fans.I know that boy's basketball

always got a lot of support, butnow that I'm getting to see all theteam�s games, I am seeing thatthe support is for every team.

BY JOE TAYLOR �05> SPORTS EDITOR

Mr. Joseph Sette becameWood�s new athletic directorat the start of this schoolyear, and we sent our sportseditor out to interview himabout his new job.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Mr. Sette relaxes with Father Walsh at the Boy�s varsity soccer gameagainst North Catholic on Friday, Oct. 8 at Munro Field.

Oh Jaay, OJay-OJay-OJay

With his pulse pounding, thegoalie watches as the oppositionspeeds past the fullbacks towardthe goal. Sweat beads fall into hiseyes, the goalie tenses his musclesfor the shot as the ball is rocketedthrough the air.

That's the view Jay Halbreinergets numerous times during the typ-ical Wood soccer game. The start-ing goalie for the varsity team, Jayreceived First Team All-Catholic forhis more than proficient abilities.

When asked about his reactionto receiving the award, Jayreplied, "I honestly thought that Iwasn't even going to get secondteam All-Catholic, let alone first. Iwas very happy."

Thanks to his great work ethicand the support of his team, Jaywas able to achieve more than hisanticipated goal. But this all-starathlete hasn't always played theposition of goalkeeper.

It all started when Jay wasabout eight or nine years old. Thatwas when he started going to hisolder brother's games. Jay likedthe sport and decided to take it uphimself. He was a formidable mid-fielder but than his travel teamneeded a goalie. That's when hemade the switch and started play-ing the position that made himfamous.

Jay�s favorite goalie is NewJersey native Tim Howard, theworld renowned goalkeeper forManchester United. He aspires tobe like Howard, and they havevery similar careers. Just like Jaycame out of the blue to earn firstteam All Catholic honors, TimHoward became the EnglishPremier League�s overnight sensa-tion, earning goalie of the year inhis first year in the world�s toughestleague.

One of Jay's most memorablegames was when he played for theState Cup Championship when hewas twelve years old. He wasn't theonly Wood student on that CouncilRock team though. Joining him onthe team were Joe Taylor and MattDeLuca. This was just one of Jay�sfour state titles that he would earnat the club level. Jay�s skill has alsotaken him all over the country tocompete against the best teams inAmerica, most notably the DallasCup which is held every year inTexas.

Jay's soccer playing days prob-ably won�t end with his last highschool game, though. He hopes toply his trade for one of the numer-ous colleges that he has applied to.His list includes the University ofDelaware, Penn State, Holy Family,American University, and Villanova.

Despite the interest he�sreceived from many division oneprograms, Jay is still maintaining tokeep his focus on the task at hand,winning a PCL championship, some-thing this school has never done inboy�s soccer. His play is one of thebiggest reasons why the team iscurrently sitting at the top of

league.Though you won�t hear Jay talk

much about his outstanding talents,his teammates are more then will-ing to compliment Halbreiner. �Jayhas been the best goalie in theleague for the past two years,�said teammate Joe Taylor.

�Having him back there givesthe team the extra confidence weneed to know we can attack andnot have to worry about gettingcountered.�

As captain, Jay has also showedwhat a great leader he can be.During the summer he called for aweek long two-a-day mini-camp toprepare the team for the comingweek of tryouts.

That extra week may go a longway toward taking the Viking�s totheir first league title, and theyhave Jay to thank for that hope.Then again, putting in the extrawork is nothing new to Jay.

Jay Halbriener is routinelycheered on by Wood soccerfans when he saves a goal,and it�s that skill that couldhelp open up many doors forhim in his future.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Jay Halbriener has consistentlydefended his team in the game.

The thought of defending achampionship title may proveintimidating to some. The 2004Archbishop Wood Girls'Volleyball Team, though, rose tothe challenge. As the 2003 PCLNorthern Division Champions,expectations were high, and witha near flawless record in theirPCL division, the girls haveproven they are still a dominantforce in the league.

Led by Coach Tim Kilian andcaptains Jen McCann and Kristen

Pollock, the 2004 season wasa highly succesful season for them

The Lady Vikings' confidence isevident on the court, and stellarperformances have given theirlarge fan base something tocheer about. The large crowds athome games are a testament tothe great spirit volleyball bringsto the school. The girls say thefan�s great support motivatesthem to perform at their best. Thegirls also view their relationshipsoff the court as a key to their suc-cess. "Being friends helps us playbetter together," says sophomorehitter Jen Pollock.

The team faced stiff competi-tion from Kennedy-Kendrick intheir second match up this year,but the Vikings were once againvictorious, winning by a close twogames to one margin. The LadyVikings were finally defeated atArchbishop Ryan, but theyrebounded a week later bybeating Cardinal Dougherty andMcDevitt, clinching the NorthernDivision title once again.

The PCL title was in sight, andthe team remained optimistic asthey head into the do or diestage of their season. While theleague heavy hitters, such asO'Hara and Carroll have demon-strated their prowess on the vol-leyball court in past years, thisequally skilled Wood teamfought it�s way into the CatholicLeague finals. To reach the finalsthey beat a very tough Carrollteam in the semifinals.

With powerful returning sen-iors Kate Senneff, Kristen Pollock,Jen McCann and Kristen DeLucia,the Vikings had all the experi-ence needed to get them throughthe tough playoff stretch. Juniorsand up and coming underclass-men are also a key component ofthis team and have made manyimportant contributions during thisrun to the semifinals and hopeful-ly beyond.

The Lady Vikings fought hardin the championship match atCabrini, but in the end fell to adominant O�Hara team in twosets.

BY JACLYN SMITH �07> STAFF WRITER

Northern divisionchamps again

BY MIKE ROONEY �07> STAFF WRITER

The Lady Vikings of volley-ball repeated as NorthernDivision Champions and fellto O�Hara at CabriniCollege after a tough twoset loss.

PROFILE

PPAAGEGE 10 | E10 | ENTERNTERTTAINMENTAINMENT OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

OAR rocked the stage at Millersville University

Millersville, PA � On Sept. 10,Eric Snyder, Tom Shakely, MattKuhner, and I attended an O.A.R.concert in MillersvillePennsylvania. Millersville waskicking off its 150th anniversarycelebration. Before the concertbegan, there was a block partyon campus. Many groups hadtables and were trying to recruitfreshman for their causes.

We arrived early so we couldwalk through the block party. Onour way through campus wenoticed a large blue bus sittingalone in a parking lot. Weassumed that this was O.A.R.'stour bus, because it looked partic-ularly nice. We waited outside thebus for about fifteen minutes andfinally, Jerry, who plays saxo-phone and guitar, came out.Naturally, we strode over to himand asked him if we could take afew pictures with him. He was sur-prisingly friendly, consideringwhat some say about rock starpersonalities. As we were talkingwith him, two students walked byand yelled to us, "Hey, did you

guys know that bus is O.A.R.'s tourbus?" Jerry simply gave a ratherwry smile and gave us a look ofsilent understanding.

We waited for another ten orfifteen minutes and soon Mark,the lead singer came out. Healso agreed to take a few pic-tures with us. He had to leaverather quickly , though, since hehad to go to the soundcheck.

We went into the gym, whichbegan filling up quickly, and theshow started at around 7pm.O.A.R. came on stage to get set-tled. The crowd began to pushup close to stage, all of themyearning to be closer to theaction. O.A.R. began to warm up,playing a few chords beforeaddressing the crowd. "We'revery glad to be here and happywe can help you celebrate your150th anniversary", said Mark.Then the show really started.

The show began with a bangand O.A.R. opened with twocrowd favorites, �The Wanderer�and �Whose Chariot.� Then, dur-ing a Pearl Jam cover, the crowdstarted to get rowdy. A groupfrom Penn State began pickingpeople up and sending themcrowd-surfing to the front. Theydid this so that when the peoplewere grabbed by security, theywould move closer to the front.Then Mark asked them to stopand, suprisingly, they did.

The show continued, and theyplayed some old and some new

songs. They played �Anyway,��Hey Girl,� �Black Rock,� �OldMan Time� �Man in the Road� andmany others. The set lasted forabout an hour and a half, and westeadily moved closer to the frontthe crowd. We had gotten to with-in twenty feet of the stage whenO.A.R. stopped playing.

Chants of "O.A.R.," and "Twomore songs� drifted through thehot gym. Many people began to

leave, thinking that the concertwas over. We were determined tostick out for a few more minutes inthe hope that they would play anencore. O.A.R. left the stage forabout five minutes, then theyreturned for their encore. Theyonly played two songs in theirencore, but they were classics.First came an acoustic rendition ofI�Feel Home.� Then came O.A.R.'smost well known song, �Crazy

Game of Poker.� This was thelongest song of the night, lastingabout 25 minutes.

This concert marked the endof a successful tour for O.A.R. thatbegan earlier this year at theElectric Factory in Philadelphia.The band will return home toMaryland for the winter, andhopefully be releasing some morenew music before we know it.

BY PHIL SCHWARZ �05> STAFF WRITER

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Frontman Marc Roberge leads saxophone player Jerry DePizzo and drummer Chris Culos in concert atMillersville University on Sept. 10. OAR came to play as part of their 150th anniversary celebration.

Millersville University waspacked with students eagerto see OAR live on Sept. 10.The concert was fun, lively,and not without a bit ofneeded raucousness.

ESRB Content Rating: MatureRating: B-

"Fable" was a highly anticipat-ed action/adventure role-playinggame that after four years in themaking, finally came out in Sept.2004. Hype, though, is often adouble-edged sword that can eitherelevate a game to greatness ordestroy it. "Fable", unfortunately,set a pretty lofty bar for itself andin the end it just couldn't jump highenough. Now "Fable" (originallycalled "Project Ego") is a gamewere you start out as a boy, yourvillage is ransacked by bandits, andyour family is murdered in theattack. This iswhere thegame is "putinto yourhands" as youdecide howyou want togo aboutavenging yourfamily. Yourchoices are:helping atrader cross a creature infestedmarsh in exchange for some infor-mation he has on where to find yourfamily's murderers, or go into townand attack everyone you see.

The hype generated about thisgame was all about the freedom togo anywhere, and do anything,which is exactly where the gamefalls short. First off, the game, whilegorgeous to look at and quite largeas a whole, is actually made up ofmany smaller areas which are pret-ty cut and dry in terms of where youcan go (i.e. you can't stray from thedirt path while traversing throughthe woods) and which are brokenup by constant loading times whichsomewhat hamper the epic feelingof the game.

The actual fighting system in thegame is pretty good. You can use amelee weapon, bow and arrow, ormagic. After you thwart your foe,you collect experience orbs whichyou can cash in to level up yourrespective stats in each of the threedisciplines.

One of the game�s main boast-ing points was that it has veryadvanced AI where each villagerwill have his own opinions and mem-ories of you, which, while true, doesnot deliver to its fullest potential asyou cannot really interact with peo-ple beyond either attacking themor using one of the game's learn-able "expressions."

The game does, however, offera lot of character customization andit also has quite an impressiveamount of stuff you can do in townsuch as: getting married, buyingproperty, kicking chickens, or goingto hang out at a tavern.

You can beat this game in abouta weekend, but the amount of sidequests and extras will give you asizable chunk of extra playtime.

If you have an Xbox I would high-ly recommend that you at least rentthis game. Overall, this is a goodgame that just got over-hyped. Ify o u ' r elooking foran epic,g r o u n d -break ingadventurego play a"Legend ofZ e l d a "game, butif you wantto go savea damselin distress, get intoxicated andspend a night sick at the local pub,it's all possible in "Fable," for Xbox.

CHIP COATES

GAMING

‘Fable’ for Xbox

Available for $44.95on amazon.com.

With the release of AmericanIdiot on Sept. 21, Green Day isback. This is their first CD in overtwo years. Most who listen to theCD will realize that it is much differ-ent from Green Day's past CDs,however, there are many parts thatremind you of the Green Day ofold.

The first song and most popularsong, �American Idiot,� is also thecurrently released single. In the pastthe band has usually released songsfrom the middle of the album firstand waited to release the first song,if they did at all. Once the firstsong is over you really begin tonotice the difference in this CD.Instead of most of the songs beinga constant speed, as was the casewith most of their other music, theyreally mix it up, sometimes evenwithin one song. Within the fivepart second and twelfth songs,"Jesus of Suburbia" and"Homecoming," respectively, thespeed changes quite a few times.

This time around Green Day usesother instruments, in addition totheir normal set of guitar, bass anddrums, very effectively. They makegreat use of bells, chimes, piano,congas, timpani and even a steeldrum. Billie Joe plays much moreacoustic guitar. They also makemuch more use of their backupvocals. As opposed to the backupsinging the words with Billie Joe,they will sometimes hold a single

note for a portion of the song.If you listen to American Idiot a

few times from beginning to end,you will notice that each song ispart of a continually developingstory as the CD progresses. Thetheme is a young person growing upin today's world. The person is notyet sure of himself, but is findinghimself from inside. He seems to beangry and confused, and is con-trolled by his emotions as the CDprogresses he becomes more sureof himself and has found himself. Hehas better control of himself. Notsince The Who's �Tommy� has a CDof this nature met with such success.

Throughout the CD you haveflashbacks to previous Green Daysongs. When the first song comeson you immediately recognize someof the similarities. It starts out hardand fast with a single guitar for thefirst line, and then the rest of theband joins in. There are some pointswhere only one instrument is play-ing while Billie Joe is singing andothers where he sings along withMike Dirnt and Tre Cool. Tre�sobnoxious drumming is obvious withthe constant fills and changingbeats and patterns.

All the songs on this CD are awe-some, however, one song that is

worth checking out is �Boulevard ofBroken Dreams.� It tells of a personalways being by himself withnowhere to go, but always lookingfor someone to rescue him. Themusic appropriately conveys thefeeling of the lyrics in this song.Everything flows very smoothlythroughout. This track deserves tobe number one on the charts if itbecomes a single.

Overall this is a really good CD,and I really think anyone can listento it, whether or not you are aGreen Day fan. It is astonishing howbig they have become in today'sworld compared to where theywere 15 years ago playing inunderground clubs and what not.Now they make a record challeng-ing our thinking on today's politicsand world events. Some people saythat Green Day shouldn't have got-ten involved in politics. I disagreewith that sentiment. I think they canexpress their feelings any way theywant. If those people don't likewhat is being expressed, then don'tlisten to it.

Once again Green Day has notlet down on its ability to write andrecord music. We can only hope itwon�t be another two years beforewe get more of Green Day.

BY JOHN MLODZINSKI �05> STAFF WRITER

GreenDay isback

WWW.GREENDAYAUTHORITY.COM

Green Day has produced and agressively marketed albums like�Dookie,� �International Super Hits,� and �American Idiot.�

OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004 EENTERNTERTTAINMENTAINMENT | P| PAAGEGE 1111

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)Rating: B+

To start, this picture was verydepressing. The overall "memoryerasing" idea isn't a happy one. Toits credit, I enjoyed every otheraspect of it. Much of this film takesplace inside the dream world ofJoel (Jim Carrey) and the cameratricks that add to that effect arestunning.

The story-line is extraor-dinary, andthe actorschosen wereperfect fortheir parts. Itseems asthough subtlescenes wereplaced in per-fect sequence, leaving plenty ofroom for our vivid imaginations totake their course.

The memory erasing may seemfarfetched, but the directorattempts to make it more "realworld" with a shiny metal helmetaccompanied by complex jargon.Sure, this story would never happenin this day and age, but that iswhat makes Eternal Sunshine of theSpotless Mind so original.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)Rating: C-

From anyone who�s a film buff,you'll hear the original is alwaysbetter than the remake. What I cantell you is that this remake is at theleast entertaining. Sure there wereholes in the story, typical romance,and a pure shock factor at all theblood and gore. These "qualities"can only be expected from a main-stream horror movie. The factremains that it was based off of aclassic horror film.

One of the more decent partsincludes a bus that they "rig" usingwall reinforcement, barbed wire,and even an opening on the sidethrough which to yield a chainsaw.They can then plow through theMilwaukee streets without worryingabout those zombies, who can be areal pain in the neck.

If you want to see an original,scary work of art, watch the origi-nal Dawn of the Dead, but if youwant to see people one-handedlyshooting guns that weigh more thanthem and thrive off of gore, see theremake.> Dawn of the Dead was availablefor rent or purchase yesterday.

TIM WISNIEWSKI

RATED RENTALS

Eraseyourmemory

MOVIES REVIEW SUGGESTIONS CAN BE

MADE TO TIM EITHER BY DROPPING A

NOTE IN THE NEWSPAPER MAILBOX IN

THE ACTIVITIES OFFICE, OR VIA EMAIL TO:TIMW@VIKINGVOICE.ORG.

Trendsetters, Innovators & LaggardsHave you ever wondered who

the first person to put her hair inpigtails was? What about the firstto wear their hat backwards? Or,who exactly was it that thought legwarmers would be a good idea?

So Yesterday, a new novel byScott Westerfeld, is about ateenager named Hunter, who hasthe coolest job ever. He's a "CoolHunter," or Trendsetter. His job isbasically to walk aroundM a n h a t t a ntaking pic-tures of thingshe thinks are"cool" andthen to sendthem to hisboss, Mandy.These �cool�things arethen tested ina focus group,and later sold to big-name compa-nies, going on to be the next bigtrends.

One day while cool-hunting,Hunter spots a girl with especiallyintriguing shoelaces. Her name is

Jen, and she's an Innovator.Innovators think up somethingentirely new, and cool-huntersdepend on them to think up futuretrends. Hunter and Jen soonbecome friends (maybe more?) andquickly get caught up ina kidnapping mysteryinvolving Mandy, whoworks for a certain shoecompany that has a veryswoosh-like logo.

While looking for her,he finds a huge stock ofsneakers in an old,abandoned building.These shoes end upbeing knock offs thatare, in fact, better thanthe originals. These shoesand the company thatmakes them mean trou-ble... unless Hunter andJen can stop them; cool itself is inserious danger.

This book will really change howyou view fashion and trends. Afterreading it, you'll question whysomething is considered cool andwho actually decides that.

To read this book, you need toknow your brand names. No copy-righted names are mentioned. (Inother words, Westerfeld didn'tbother to get permission to use thenames.) Hunter gives hints about the

names, and itcan be fun tofigure out whathe means.

Another veryinteresting partof this book isthe idea of a"cool pyramid."At the top of thispyramid are theInnovators, likeJen. They don'tusually look cooloverall but some-thing about themmakes them dif-

ferent, for example, Jen'sshoelaces. The next level downwould be the Trendsetters; whatHunter is. They are the second peo-ple to catch on to future trends, andthey make those trends happen.

Next is the Early Adopters. They

are those people who always copywhat the Trendsetters are doing.For instance, people who constantlychange their cell phones to get thenewest, flashiest model. They usual-ly find the trends once they hit mag-azines. Below them are Consumers.They're people who see things onTV and in clothing stores beforethey buy them. The last, and leastcool, are the Laggards. They stay inthe decade they went to HighSchool in, and never change nomatter what the latest trends mightbe.

It's a cool idea, isn't it? The actu-al storyline, however, was very dis-appointing. It's confusing and someparts seem to come out of nowhere.The ending, too, is very uncharac-teristic of a mystery; it's hardly sur-prising or shocking.

All in all, it was a good book.Although the story could have beenbetter, it was written well and it waseasy to read. It moves so fast,you're surprised when it's over.

So, what level of cool are you?

RENEE BRIELMANN

THE BOOKSHELF

Available in stores andon amazon.com.- $11.89

Christopher Reeve (52)1952-2004

Reeve was hospitalized for aserious infection and soon afterentered into cardiac arrest. He fellinto a coma and died the next dayat the age of 52. His familysurrounded him during his finalmoments on this earth.

Born Sept. 25, 1952 in NewYork City, Reeve made his firststage appearance in The Yeomanof the Guard at the age of 10. Hewas in many films beforeSuperman, the film by which we allknow him was released in 1978.

Reeve soon found he enjoyedhorseback riding. During anEquestrian competition in May of1995, his horse stopped unexpect-edly, sending him flying off thefront to make the landing that

changed his life completely. Histwo top vertebrae broke his falland left him with a damagedspinal cord and a severe case ofparalysis.

Reeve was very depressed inthe first few post accident days,but this did not discourage him forlong; he won an award for actingin Hitchcock's Rear Window. Hebegan to take an interest in stemcell research and became a signif-icant supporter. After the mobilityof his index finger in 2000 becameapparent, he vowed to walk again.

Though Reeve may not haveaccomplished that goal, so manymore were in the rest of his life. Avery important part of the film andsuperhero industry, he gave a rea-son for hope to paralyzedAmericans across the country.

Rodney Dangerfield (82)1921-2004

On Thursday, Oct. 5, 2004,flowers lay on the HollywoodBoulevard star labeled RodneyDangerfield. After 18 months ofbad effects from complicationsafter heart-valve replacement sur-gery, this one-of-a-kind comicpassed away at the age of 82.

Born in 1921 on Long Island,"Dangerfield's" real name wasJacob Cohen, but after a nightclubowner's suggestion he called him-self the name by which we all knowhim, Rodney Dangerfield. Hisfather was a comedian who diedat an early age, and he describeshis mother as "overbearing."

"My parents never loved me -my only bath toys were a toasterand a hairdryer," remarks

Dangerfield during standup.At the dawn of his career,

Dangerfield starred as a singingwaiter going by the name of JackRoy. He soon moved on to standupcomedy. A big break was finallyawarded to him in 1967, calledThe Ed Sullivan Show. Two yearslater, he opened his own New Yorkcomedy club called Dangerfield's.He released his first comedy albumtitled No Respect in 1981, whichreceived a Grammy within a fewyears.

Now you can find Dangerfieldin hit comedies such as Ladybugs,Easy Money, and Caddyshack.Much was accomplished in the 82years of his life, and he will be for-ever remembered as a classiccomedic legend.

- Tim Wisniewski �06

Reeve, Dangerfield pass away in Oct.

Trenton, NJ � On Sept. 28,Lynyrd Skynyrd came back to theTri-state area when they performedat the Sovereign Bank Arena inTrenton N.J. It was an incredibleshow, and if you think you knowwhat they sound like by listening totheir cd's then I suggest next timethey come around you go checkthem out.

Before Skynyrd came on, theMarshall Tucker Band played. Theywere amazing in every sense of theword. They played some of theirlesser-known songs. Prior to the lastsong they got everyone all pumpedup by saying Skynyrd was up next,then finished with an awesome ren-dition of Can't You See. The entirecrowd sang along. After they fin-ished they got a huge ovation fromthe audience.

After a short break LynyrdSkynyrd got ready to come on.They played a short cartoon show-ing the band getting ready andeveryone was going nuts. Then theycame on and the level of excitement

rose even higher. Johnny Van Zant,the younger brother of former frontman, the late Ronnie Van Zant,thanked everyone for coming to theshow. After playing a couple songs,Van Zant talked about the troopsand how he had met one who washere for two weeks then was goingback to Iraq. He told everyone togive an ovation for all the troopsand the place went wild again.After that they played a song salut-ing the troops.

A few songs later they played"Simple Man," while commemoratingoriginal front man Ronnie Van Zantwho had died in a plane crash in thelate 70's. Then they played some oftheir other popular songs such as"Gimme Three Steps," "What's YourName," and "Sweet HomeAlabama." As they were finishingup they thanked everyone for com-ing and then all walked off togeth-er. The stage went black. Everyonebegan chanting, "Free Bird, FreeBird, Free Bird," as loud as theycould. They had not played thatsong. Suddenly, everything gotsilent for a minute. Skynyrd cameback on and the place explodedinto pandemonium. They started

playing "Free Bird," their vintagesong. Everyone was singing alongwith them as they played.

As they ended they showed abanner of all the original membersin the band. It was such an intense,heart-stopping version that whenthey were done it went silent for asecond as if everyone was catchingtheir breath. Then the place wentwild, more than before. Once againthe members of the band walkedoff together.

Never have I seen such a show

where everyone is hanging on everyword of every song. Not only wasSkynyrd doing this, but the MarshallTucker Band was too. No one want-ed to get up, afraid they might misssomething spectacular. It is amazinghow they are still such a high caliberband even after losing three of theiroriginal band members. I for oneknow that next time they are in townI will be at their show again, alongwith the 20,000 other diehard fansthat were there that night too.

WWW.SIHOPE.COM

Lynyrd Skynyrd has rocked on through good times and bad, evenafter Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines died in 1977.

Lynyrd Skynyrdlive in TrentonBY JOHN MLODZINSKI �05> STAFF WRITER

PPAAGEGE 12 | E12 | ENTERNTERTTAINMENTAINMENT OOCTCTOBEROBER 27,27, 20042004

‘Friday Night Lights’ inspires

Philadelphia, PA � It�s almostimpossible to attend a FloggingMolly show without having a greattime. The whole night is one bigparty filled with original rock musicand Irish jigs. You can�t help butdance or at least tap your feet tothe sweet sounds of the Irish- rockmusic.

The night started with two open-ing acts. The first performance wasby �The Briggs� and the second wasby �The Street Dogs.� Althoughboth bands did a great job per-forming, The Street Dogs definitelymust be given credit for really get-ting the crowd into the show. Theyalso did an awesome cover of theClash�s �Career Opportunities,�which was definitely the high pointof their performance. By the endof their set, the audience was full ofenergy and more anxious then everfor Flogging Molly, the main attrac-tion.

Between The Street Dogs andFlogging Molly, there was about ahalf hour intermission. During thistime a video by �Punk Voters� wasplayed for the attendees. It

seemed to be simply a tapedesigned to brainwash impression-able young kids into hating theirpresident. Sadly enough, it seemedto work. The biggest problem withthis was that �Punk Voters� didnothing but make hating Bushappear to be the �cool� thing to do.

After the intermission had endedFlogging Molly hit the stage. Thecrowd went absolutely insane withenergy as the band opened with�The Likes of You again.� King hada very laid back attitude and did alot of talking and joking with thecrowd. The band played oldfavorites like �Drunken Lullabies,��Rebels of the Sacred Heart� and�What�s Left of the Flag.� Theyalso played an equal amount ofsongs off their new album, �Withina Mile of Home,� like �Light of aFading Star� and �Seven DeadlySins� which the crowd loved just asmuch as the older songs.

The greatest thing about beingat a Flogging Molly show is that(unlike many other shows) you don�thave to be the least bit familiarwith any songs to have a greattime, you don�t even have to beIrish. The music and energy thatFlogging Molly generates is justplain fun and entertaining. If youever get a chance to see FloggingMolly live, don�t pass it up. It�sguaranteed to be one of, if not thegreatest, show you�ll ever see.

Flogging Mollyrocks to the beat

BY ELIZABETH NORDEMAN �05> STAFF WRITER

This is one Irish band thatknows how to captivate acrowd and rock out at thesame time.

COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thorton) leads the Permian High Pathers of Odessa, Texas to the state play-offs in this book-to-movie adaption.

Pride, discipline, determination-most people would use these wordsto describe football players."Friday Night Lights" reveals thetruth behind this description.

"Friday Night Lights" is a docu-mentary about the Permian HighSchool Panthers in Odessa, Texasand their dream of winning the fifthstate championship in the team'shistory. It's not just their dream; it'sthe entire town's dream.

Everyone has complete faith inthe Panthers winning the champi-onship. The players believe they

are invincible, and the season opensonly after the entire town cele-brates. In their first game, theteam's key player is injured and theteam loses.

The Panthers eventually learn toplay as a team and not depend onone player. Together they becomethe outstanding football team theyare known as and even make it tothe championship game. But withouttheir coach, played by Billy BobThornton, it may not have been pos-sible. He has such faith and deter-mination in the team, even whenthey are in a slump. The playersrespect him greatly and listen toeverything he suggests.

This depressing story shows how

this tiny town is based solely onfootball. To many people, it's allthat matters. Every game night, theentire town shuts down and thestands are full of cheering fans. Tomany boys on the team, winning achampionship is the only hope ofescaping the town limits.

Based on a book by BuzzBissinger, this true story reveals notonly the violent side of football, butalso the challenges teenagers facetoday concerning drugs, alcohol,and sex. It also demonstrates theeffects of different types of parent-child relationships and examines theracial tensions that permeateOdessa, Texas.

BY KRISTA SZYMBORSKI �05> MANAGING EDITOR

Going into Ladder 49, I was notexpecting much than a very for-gettable, albeit entertaining actionflick. However, I was very pleas-antly surprised. Though featuredpredominantly throughout, thismovie is not about fires, explosions,or harrowing experiences. It isabout people, and the events thataffect and shape their lives. Itopens with fire fighter JackMorrison (Joaquin Phoenix)trapped in an old burning highrise, incapacitated by a fall from acollapsed floor. Meanwhile, mem-bers of his squad led by CaptainMike Kennedy (John Travolta)frantically try to get him out. As helays wounded inside the building,Jack recalls his career as a firefighter through a series of flash-backs. We see him go through hisfirst day at Ladder 49 and

through other important periods inhis life. His marriage, children, andmany a night out with the guys arerecounted in these flashbacks. As Isaid before, this movie is reallyabout people. It shows that fire-fighters can be heroes, but theyare still very much human. Theyargue, annoy, and fight with eachother just like regular people. Italso shows the impact of a firefighters job and how they really hithome.

I really liked this movie. Bytelling the story through flash-backs, you follow two stories atonce: Jack's harrowing ordeal atthe burning high rise and his life asa fire fighter. The acting was welldone, though at times a little overthe top. The action was ever pres-ent and the movie even had anelement of humor in it, which was agood addition. I would recommendthis movie if you like action moviesor if you just want a fun movie towatch.

WWW.THEMOVIEBOX.NET

Ladder 49 reminds us that people spend their lives making sure westay safe, and that firefighters are normal people too.

BY TIM OSBORNE �06> STAFF WRITER

‘Ladder 49’ tellsan emotional tale

SkyView’s hit, the‘ABCD EP’

The ABCD EP � not just a ran-dom group of letters but an awe-some CD by the band SkyView, aband that recently played at Woodon Oct. 15.

This is the band's first CD andcontains six completely originalsongs. The band has a pop-rockfeel about it, and all of the songsare positive and upbeat. The addi-tion of bongos in the songs adds adiverse and unique element andmakes the music that much better.The group consists of Ben Brown on

drums, Justin Gentile with vocalsand auxiliary percussion, John-Paul,a.k.a. J.P. Gentile with vocals andacoustic guitar, Dan Kervick onelectric and acoustic bass, andJustin Phillippi with vocals and elec-tric guitar. SkyView is most similarin sound to bands like O.A.R. andDispatch, although their sound is alltheir own. On occasion the bandeven invites guest instrumentalists toplay the saxophone or some otherinstrument, but this CD is allSkyView.

�Let You Go� was the band's firstsong and is also the first track ontheir CD. The moving lyrics describedancing with angels during reunionsin heaven. �De Jesus� is a powerfulsong about faith in Jesus and hav-ing the courage to show it. �BetterDays� has a great beat, almostJamaican in style. �When I Go� isanother awesome song with greatharmony. �Your Own Direction� has

a cool blend of instruments and amessage of personal redemption.

�If You're Ever Coming Back� ismy favorite song on the CD. Itdescribes the story of one manhelping a woman through a difficulttime. The fantastic beat and excel-lent lyrics of this song prove to be agood end to the CD.

SkyView has plans for anotherCD to come out soon, if, that is, it'sup to the band's high standardsand each member is content. Thenew CD will have a song that thewhole band is excited about, enti-tled �Boomerang.� Along with theiroriginal songs, SkyView can doamazing work singing DaveMatthew's Band, Dispatch, andOasis songs, among others. SeeingSkyView live in concert is awesome,and definitely a fun time. Whetheror not you�ve gotten to experiencethat yet, pick up the A.B.C.D. E.P. It�sdefinitely a good investment.

Most fans of SkyViewalready know all the benefitsof owning the band�s first EPrelease. Here�s something toconvince those who don�t,but should.

BY ERIC CLAYTON �07> STAFF WRITER