On November 28, the John Bur-roughs Bombers

traveled to the Edward Jones Dome to play the Oak Grove Panthers in the MSHSAA football State Finals game. Though the game did not end how the Bombers would have liked, both sides played great football throughout. The Bombers started out strong, get-ting on the scoreboard first thanks to a 53-yard touchdown from senior running back, John Moten, who finished his fi-nal season with a total of 2,566 rushing yards. The Panthers quickly answered with a score of their own, a rushing touchdown from Aaron Graham, who had 266 yards in the game, to even the score at 7-7. Instead of only relying on the ground game, Burroughs quickly turned to their passing attack, scoring two touchdowns of 30+ yards in less than five minutes. Senior quarterback, Tre Moore, who threw for 172 yards on the day, fired touchdown strikes of 35 and 34 yards to Ronald Smith and Nate Van Slyke, respectively. These quick scores increased the Bombers’ lead to a

solid 21-7. However, the Panthers were not done yet. Following two fumble recoveries in Burroughs territory, the Panthers quickly shortened the gap and eventually took the lead in the game. Going into halftime, the Bombers were still within reach of their first state title since 2001. The Panthers received the kick to start the second half and scored during their drive off of a 2-yard run from Gra-ham, but Burroughs quickly responded with another touchdown through the air, from Moore to Van Slyke, who had two receiving touchdowns on the day, this one from 15 yards out. With three pass-ing touchdowns compared to only one rushing, it was a different day for the Bombers, who normally rely on a heavy rushing attack from Moten. However from there, the game slowly became out of reach, with the Panthers eventually winning with a score of 49-27. Even though Oak Grove came out on top, the Bomber football team had an amazing season. They finished their regular season with only one loss, almost always dominating the competi-

tion through their high powered offence and fearsome defense. Seniors Tre Moore, Nate Van Slyke, John Moten, Kelvin Woods, Ry Gaffney, Michael Peters, Blake Bellestri, Justin Moon, and MJ Strawbridge all gave a lot to the program during their high school careers and should be proud of all they have accomplished during their four years. Quarterback Tre Moore played an amazing season, throwing 38 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions and leading the team to many wins. He played great in the state game to cap off a spectacular high school career. Nate Van Slyke caught 47 passes for 747 receiving yards and his two-touchdown game to end his career was a good way to go out. John Moten, who was named Metro Player of the year, had a career to be remembered, scoring 37 touchdowns and averaging 9.8 yards per carry on the season. Congrats to the football team on a great season and good luck to the seniors who will continue their careers in college.

The World“...unconditional love will have the final word.” - Martin Luther King Jr.Volume LXXXVII, Issue 5 Dec. 12, 2014

BURROUGHS

Tues. 12/168:30am History Final

Wed. 12/17

8:30am Science Final1:00pm Math Final

3:30pm Holiday Program

Thurs. 12/188:30am Language Final

5:30pm Holiday Program6:30pm Winterlude

7:30pm Holiday Program

Mon. 1/5Classes Resume

Tues. 1/6Fall Sports Award

Wed. 1/28Practical Arts Festival

WORLD

Thurs. 11/19Philae probe lands on comet

Tues. 11/24No-indictment announced by

Bob McCulloch in Michael Brown shooting case

Wed. 12/3No-indictment announced in Eric Garner’s death by

strangling

Sat. 12/6Hurricane Hagupit strikes

the Philippines

AT A GLANCEJulien wows audience Laughs and insight offered in Burroughs podium debut

On Tuesday, Novem-ber 25th, the John Burroughs student

body, faculty and staff had the privilege of hearing from one of our very own. Perry Julien ’15 was chosen by his senior class to give the annual Thanksgiving address during assem-bly. When people told Julien that they had voted for him to be this year’s speaker, he thought everyone was joking. How-ever, when Mr. Front announced at lunch that he had won the vote, he realized people were serious. At first, the senior had no idea where to begin, and he didn’t really have all that much time. So to begin preparing for the momentous occasion, he sought out Coach Harris to ask him for advice. It was Harris who gave him the idea to talk about his father in the speech, and so he went from there. Julien then worked with Mr. Pierson to come up with some anecdote ideas and how to incorporate his father. Over the course of a couple of weeks, he worked on different drafts and showed them to a few teachers. Once the speech was predominantly written, he practiced delivering it in front of Mr. Pierson in the audito-rium to hear how it sounded. Julien says “I can’t thank all the people who helped me pre-pare enough. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.” Believe it or not, that delivery was Julien’s first ever as-sembly announcement. Prior to this experience, the only real public speaking he had done before was at his sixth grade

graduation. Though he claimed to be nervous, he did an ex-cellent job and wowed the crowd with his intellect as well as great storytelling. In his speech, he talked about why he was thankful for his father and a business trip to Singapore the two had taken together. When asked about Singapore, Julien says that it was one of the nicest and cleanest places that he has been to. While he was there, he was enrolled in a summer camp with other students his age, where he learned some Mandarin and made some really cool friends. He was also impressed by the ar-

chitecture. “I remember being blown away by how modern, sleek, and technologically advanced Singapore was. As we walked through the city, I always looked up in amaze-ment at the skyscrapers and how cool the design for each one looked.” The two have also been to Switzerland, New Orleans, Seattle, and San Francisco. On a typical Thanksgiving, Julien and his dad usually go over to a family friend’s house to share a meal. Sometimes, he has family come in from New York, depending on the year. Besides the typical turkey, mashed potatoes and baked macaroni and cheese, his fa-vorite food item is a delicious piece of pumpkin pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. When asked about what he is most thankful for, he says “My dad. If it weren’t for him, I

wouldn’t have grown into the person I am today. He’s devoted to making my life the best it can be and I can’t begin to thank him enough for all that he has done for me.”

FARAZ AHMADEditor-in-Chief

SINCE 1928

Going DomeSecond in state, first in our heartsSAFI AHMADSports Editor

Inside this issue:Black Friday, Pros and Cons, p. 5

Music, Food, and Wintah! p. 12

What’s up with Mr. Nguyen?, p. 11

Message from the seventh grade class- “Give us chocolate milk!” p. 7

AHMAD

2 head to head The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014

In this era of digital, com-municative

technology that we are living in, denying students the opportunity to use cell phones during the school day is unrealistic and counterproductive. Many schools throughout the nation have realized this and are adjusting their rules to incorporate mobile technology into the school day. Burroughs should do the same. If students are being prepared for life after school, then they should be allowed to use the tools that they will be using in the outside world. How many jobs can you think of in which the use of a cell phone is not only allowed and encouraged but also extremely useful? The list is endless. In a world in which technology usage is only increasing, by the time students get out into the work force, the use of mobile technology will be even greater. Prohibiting students from using phones during the school day is in fact not preparing them for what is to come for

them. As many schools around the country are discov-ering, cell phones can be very useful tools in the classroom. Whether or not Burroughs prohibits cell phone usage during the school day, students are still going to bring phones to school, and use them. So why not put them to good use? At a school district outside of Chicago, students practice their French by calling each other via cell phone and speaking in the language. One science class in a Connecticut school engages in their labs by snapping photographs and taking notes on their phone. A teacher in an Ohio public school uses an app for mobile devices allow-ing her to ask the class questions which they answer anonymously. She can then project those answers live on the web. Hundreds of apps are designed for educators and students to use in the classroom; many educators have students use their phones dur-ing class as eReaders, sharing books and handouts through Dropbox or Google Docs. There is also Evernote for taking and organizing notes, and Coun-

tries Handbook filled with general information on over two hundred countries. Many schools around the country have found apps such as these useful and beneficial in the classroom. In this day and age, mobile technology is and will continue to be a central part of our lives. Bur-roughs needs to realize this and take advantage of it. Students could be provided with school laptops or tablets, but why not let us use the tool we will most likely be using the most in our future? The one most easily accessed in our pockets at all times.

Cell phone ban is impractical--even detrimental

It’s nearly impossi-ble to go anywhere and not see people

on their cell phones. People scroll through Twitter as they walk down busy sidewalks, hipsters snap black and white shots of random bits of garbage, girls immortalize their Starbucks drinks on Insta-gram, awkward couples sit on phones and sip sodas in restaurants, and there’s always that lonely person in the corner pretending to text someone. Cell phones have changed the way we interact on a mas-sive scale, and it’s not always for the better. Yes, being able to communicate with friends and family no matter where we are still kind of amazes me, but I get sad when I see our generation choosing to stare at a brightly lit, digitalized screen rather than interacting with the tangible people around them. And no one can deny that they have been out with

friends before, and instead of just enjoying where they were

and who they were with, they turned to their phone. The purpose of going to school is to learn, and cell phones do not facilitate this goal very well. Cell phones in class would be a constant distraction, and no one would ever pay attention. I can hardly concentrate on whatever show I’m binge watching while texting, so how could we possibly expect our-selves to use our phones while also learning whatev-er our teachers at are trying to make us understand. Yes, the age old argument is that smart phones will help us in class with their easy internet accessibil-ity, but that point is moot because, should that need arise, teachers allow us to whip out those phones (which we of course do not carry in our pockets and have turned off at all times during the school day). So, the free use of cell phones in class is completely counter productive, and that’s without even getting in to the cheating possibilities that it brings to the table. That argument, I believe, is pretty much self- explanatory. OK, so no cell phones in class, fine. But how about free periods? Getting in touch with parents, googling to help us understand homework, and entertainment when we simply have nothing to do seems just fine, especially since we aren’t in class. But the truth is, restricting cell phone use, as mali-

cious as it may seem, is for our own good. We are a society that is entirely dependent on cell phones in all situations, and it’s making us awkward. Inter-acting with peers for real is a skill that we will need for the rest of our lives. Not having Google will make us ask actual people for homework help in-stead of copying the answers from some web page. No texting forces us to actually use our voices to talk with one another. A lack of social media pushes us to interact instead of getting lost in the world of technology. All in all, the Burroughs cell phone policy isn’t all that fun in practice, but is very beneficial in the long run. Don’t worry, that Kim Kardashian selfie will still be there at the end of the day. You’ll make it, I promise.

MARINA WILLIAMSWorld Contributer

MADISON SWANSONWorld Contributer

to use cell phones at school?

YES

NO

Burroughs should not ignore the opportunities provided by technology

Cell phone ban is good for us in the long run

BLOOMSTRAN

Burroughs provides needed reprieve from our constant technology use

In this era of digital commu-nication...deny-ing students the opportunity to use cell phones is unrealistic and counter-productive.

We are a so-ciety that is completely de-pendent on cell phones, and it’s making us awk-ward.

Should Burroughs allow students

There is a lot of pressure imple-mented by society to grow up faster

than we feel comfortable. Almost every middle schooler has a cell phone, Facebook, and Ins-tagram, and ideas of being older. Music videos feature women with heavy makeup and low-cut clothing, sex in television and movies is the new norm, and the stereotypical image of high school usually involves partying and drinking. By inviting ninth graders to Blue and Gold, we are supporting this standard that society set. Ninth graders don’t need us to tell them to wear revealing clothing, drink, go to parties, or start romances - the rest of the world is already doing that with the internet and media. They don’t need for us to present them with an event that has the possibility of making them want to or feel the need to grow up faster. Ninth graders need us to say, “You know what? It is perfectly fine to be yourself and grow up at your own

pace because you need to be able to find your own in a safe environment.” We need to support the gradual development of teens, not bombard them with accelerated standards. Ninth graders are pretty much still middle-schoolers. Only two months into the ninth grade year, they are practically eighth graders who have been on summer break for a while. They have not had sufficient time to figure them-selves out. If we were to include ninth graders at the Blue and Gold dance, we would be asking them to bring relationship drama back from the eighth grade: exclusion, friend groups, and self consciousness. They don’t need this. Heck, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders don’t need this, but we have had the space to figure out where we stand on certain topics, feel fine in the speed at which we are growing up, and have been to the party (or heard about it) enough times to know that the drama is miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Burroughs is a safe place for ninth graders

to feel comfortable in their own skin. Bur-roughs has made it this way so ninth graders can learn how to use their free periods wisely (instead of scouring the web for a dress), get to know someone better at a lunch table (instead of thinking about who will ask whom), and hang out with friends on Saturday (instead of going to hair, nails, and makeup appointments). Burroughs allows freshmen to discover what they stand for and become confident before the opportunity is presented to participate in a high school dance.

head to head The World, Friday, December 12, 2014

Should freshmen be allowed

WHITNEY GARTEN-BERGWebmaster

3

Dances such as Blue & Gold and prom bring the excitement of

sharing a unique and memorable night with your friends. They symbolize the high school experience, moving from the casual, heavily supervised dances of middle school to dances where you have more freedom, including who you go with, what you wear, and the expendi-tures and adventures of your night. The long-standing tradition at Burroughs has been that B&G and prom are dances for upperclassmen, with freshman having to wait until sophomore year to be able to attend the first or be asked by

a junior or senior to the second. But why is the ban on freshman attending these dances (B&G in particular) still implemented today, when the large majority of schools in the area allow and even encourage freshmen to come to homecom-ing? Public school districts such as Parkway and Rockwood, as well as that school two miles down the road, encourage freshmen to attend their homecoming dances. Although Burroughs is usually known to be a rather progressive school, when it comes to matters as relatively small and trivial as dances, it prevents its youngest members of the upper-school commu-nity from attending Blue and Gold. When interviewed about this issue, Mr. Ab-bott said that when freshmen were previously allowed to attend these dances (and only when invited to go by upperclassmen), the few fresh-men who were asked to Blue and Gold seemed to become regarded by their classmates as bet-ter than those who were not asked to go. The

dances started to promote an unhealthy envi-ronment of freshmen trying to get upperclass-men to ask them out, which was not what these dances were for at all. As a result, the decision was made to ban freshmen from going to B&G and Prom. Dances such as Blue and Gold should pro-vide a welcoming and fun environment where students do not feel lesser or higher than anyone else. Nonetheless, in preventing the freshmen class from attending this dance, Burroughs is making 25% of its upper-school students feel lesser and unequal. In addition, upper-class elit-ism is endorsed, causing freshmen to wonder if they are so insignificant as to be undeserving of a simple dance. The time has come to break with this outdated tradition and allow, once and for all, the entire freshman class to attend Blue and Gold, rather than banning the entire class or allowing only those invited to attend.

NO

at the Blue and Gold dance?

YES

VICTORIA SANSONEWorld Contributor

If we were to in-clude ninth graders at the Blue and Gold dance, we would be asking them to bring relationship drama back from the eighth grade...

Burroughs is making its students feel lesser and unequal...causing freshman to wonder if they are so insig-nifcant as to be un-deserving of a simple dance.

KOYKKA

It’s no coincidence that I developed my love of tea at the same time that I fell in love with 19th century literature. I “watched” characters in all

social stations pause for teatime, linger in alcoves and soot-covered windows with their cups, and sip steaming beverages over their own novels and news-papers. But as much as tea is a nostal-gic, emotional link to my child-hood and the Dickensian or Aus-tenian days of yore (“yore” really does roll off the tongue more easily with a cup of chamomile in hand), I find that it is also the most practi-cal of items. A mug of tea is simul-taneously a hand warmer and a throat soother. And it invites me to pause for reflection (an invaluable invitation) as I sip and meditative dunk my Earl Gray or mint tea bag. If coffee is meant to jolt the drinker, to jumpstart her brain in the morning, and push her through a period of exhaustion as if it’s a drill sergeant screaming at a recruit to finish the last mile through the mud (my bias against coffee emerges) then tea’s delicate taste and aroma provide the clarity and rejuvenation of a yoga session (some hyperbole admitted). But it truly does calmly refresh, offer energy rather than the jitters, and allow the drinker (rather than the withdrawal headache) to determine when the next cup will be. Feel free to stop by for a mug the next time you’re near 108. The kettle’s always on.

4 head to head The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014

Long ago in Europe, coffee was deemed Satan’s drink for crusading reasons. That all changed when Pope Clement VIII reconsidered this blacklisting deal and, after trying it, decided to baptize the concoction. Proverbially, if you can’t beat them, join them. Coffee is the drink of the common folk here in America. The reason is simple:

the British lost and we had to keep anti-freedom out of our “precious bodily fluids.” Maybe you like that kind of thing, I won’t judge, but look at the countries that consistently rank highly in standards of living, places like Scandinavia and northern Europe. Not surprisingly, these countries have the highest per capita coffee consump-tion. It’s not difficult to understand why: people who live well and like nice things like the better drink. Oth-er than the British Isles, Europe likes their coffee. There’s a reason why you think you sound sophisticated when you order a coffee from Star-bucks; it’s in French or Italian. It’s a worldly drink. Hailing from Ethiopia, coffee cultivation was essential in colonizing South America as well as the Spice Islands on the other side of

the world. Even though tea drinkers still outnumber coffee drinkers, this is due to population sizes in the traditional homeland of tea, namely India and China. But interestingly, corporate coffee giants are making large inroads into the Asian market and increasingly more people are buying coffee. In other words, tea is losing footing in its own homeland. And that makes sense: the superior product sells better. In the end, even if you drink tea as you study, you know what you can trust to get you through that morning final. Coffee: doing the job, tastefully and boldly.

Conflict of the caffeinators: coffee v. teaCOLIN HARKINSWorld Contributor

DR. KOROPCHAKWorld Contributor

Fast food frenzy: battle of the giantsIf you like animal fats, buckets of Chicken-McNuggets, and 5,000-calorie entrées, McDonald’s may be the place for you. Since his immaculate concep-tion in the 1950s, Ronald McDonald

has marched across the globe in mile-long clown shoes, colonizing every country from Canada to Tuva. In terms of global hegemony, no fast-food chain will ever compare to McDonald’s. In an attempt to evaluate what endows McDonald’s with its stunning edge for monopoly of the consumption industry, I decided to take a trip down to the golden arches, which rise from amongst suburban forests like spires to the American dream of unrestrained gluttony. As I walked through glass doors dotted with greasy finger-prints, I knew that I had arrived at the right place. I ordered the Chicken McNuggets, a McTriple-Decker-Cheese-Burger with extra cheese and burger, a Happy meal, a McLet’s-Get-A-Heart-Attack-Slushy, and a Diet Coke. I consumed every calorie of this magnificent meal, and all for $5.48! Many argue that Taco Bell can rival McDonald’s in taste and food quality. However, after entering one of the shrines to the clown of consumption, I realized what sets McDonald’s apart. It’s difficult to articulate—it has that “je ne sais quoi.” Then, suddenly, it hit me. McDonald’s has the X factor: XXL. The sheer mass of a McProduct rivals that of the people eating it, and McProducts have something truly attractive about them, gravitationally speaking. McAmerica was formulated on principles of freedom, industry, and social mobility-- ideals that manifest in the McFranchise. No, McDonald’s doesn’t pay its workers a living wage or produce customer-friendly food. But at McDonald’s, it’s not about the individual employee or customer. It’s about how much you can fit in your stomach without exploding. It’s capitalism, and there’s nothing more American.

MACON

JOSHUA KAZDANNews Editor

As a fast food addict, this decision for a head to head challenge between Taco Bell and McDon-ald’s was extremely hard. Heartbreakingly hard. I love both places so much, it’s unreal. After sitting down at both places and eating both meals back to back (I told you that I have an addiction), I have decided that Taco Bell is better than McDonald’s. The ambience of McDonald’s is extremely unappealing. With the tiled floor that reeks of cleaning solution and sticky, loud kids running around, it’s close to impossible to enjoy my Big Mac and fries. The cashier, Caira, the woman who usually takes my order when I go to McDonald’s regularly, was also rude to me. I love food, and it takes a lot for me to become un-happy while eating food, especially McDonald’s, so when I’m angry after taking a

bite out of my Big Mac, that means the experience was horrid. Taco Bell’s variety of foods and options exceeds that of McDonald’s. McDonald’s menu barely changes, with the exception of the annual reintroduction of the McRib. With new foods coming out continuously, like the new Starburst Freeze and one-hand breakfast menu, Taco Bell increases their options throughout the year. The prices are unbeatable. You can have full a breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals for 2 days with only $20. Unreal. Taco Bell has a lengthy $1 menu that has some great food. They offer grande meals throughout the year, unlike Mc-

Donalds, with their occasional Super Bowl or World Cup meal. With authentic Mexican sarape’s hanging from the ceiling, the 90’s neon colored tables and chairs, and 104.1 playing over the speakers, I had a wonderful experience eating my Chicken Quesarito and Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Harvey, my usual cashier, was nice, as always, and we talked while I ate (backstory: I went to Taco Bell so much one summer that Harvey, who began working there just as I started regularly coming there, knew my order by heart). I left Taco Bell happier than I was walking in. Taco Bell’s dining experience is unique, classy, and relaxing. McDonald’s, in my opinion, is stressful, dirty, and just overall weird.

HUMZA AGHAWorld Contributor

LONG

head to head The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014 5

Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, is a day on which retailers have huge sales and open as early as 3 am to

lines of hundreds of customers who have been waiting for hours. Some of these eager shoppers have even waited since the day before, which just so happens to be Thanksgiving. Black Friday has become rather controversial as critics say that this consumer spectacular goes against the fundamental values of Thanks-giving; appreciating what you already have. I, however, think that this point pales in comparison to all of the day’s economic benefits. Black Friday profits not only the executives of big name companies who sell more on this one day than any other, but also regular people who are just trying to make ends meet. My family has never been into the whole Black Friday thing, but two of my cousins are, so I went with them one year. We were in line at Target, and a woman standing next to us had a cart that was overflowing with clothes. The line was tremendously long, so we began chatting with this woman, and we found out that she was a single mother with three kids. She said that she didn’t know what she would do without Black Friday because these sales allowed her to clothe her kids for half of what she would have paid, and she simply couldn’t afford to shop at full price. For this woman and millions of other Americans, Black Friday is not about purchasing excessive amounts of toys or electronics to spoil themselves or their kids: it is about being able to afford what is neces-sary for their families. I looked through the Post Dispatch’s Black Friday circulars to see just how much people really were saving, not just on toys but on things they really need, and I found that to a family with a tight budget, a lot of these sales really would make a difference. At Best Buy some computers were over 25% off, while at Dobbs, they offered $25-$75 of various break services and a buy one tire get another half off deal. At J. C. Penney, winter boots, normally $50-$90, were $19.99-$29.99 and at Wal-mart a combined car seat and stroller that normally

cost $200 was $100. Though Christmas gifts are not the sole benefit of Black Friday, many families are able to afford presents for their children that they never could have without the sales. I won’t go through all the prices, but just looking at the Wal-mart circular, hundreds of toys were half off or more. Giving kids the joy of opening just what they wanted on Christmas morning, and the pride that parents get from being able to make their child so happy is priceless. Black Friday makes that possible for a lot of people. Many critics argue that the workers in stores on Black Friday should not have to be taken away from their families during the holidays, and to that I have two responses. First, many, though not all, employees who work on Black Friday get paid at least time-and-a-half, if not more. Second, though workers have to come in early and stay late, even without Black Friday, stores would be open the day after Thanksgiving, and people would still have to work, but not for time-and-a-half, and without the benefits for shoppers. In conclusion, I think that to say that Black Friday is nothing more than a corruption of Thanksgiving values is not the truth. It is easy to look at it that way when you are not in a position in which you worry about clothing your family and being able to buy your child a Christmas present. But when you step back and see that, for people who do have to worry about these things, Black Friday is a great opportunity.

Shopping not always about excess

Black Friday undermines the meaning of Thanksgiving

Black Friday, an American tradition since the 1960’s, is considered the start of holiday sales for most retailers throughout the country.

To outsiders, this utter infatuation with material goods and capitalistic ideals must seem grotesque. To most Americans, however, racing through gigantic Walmarts and suburban malls at 4:30 in the morning is a beautiful way to lose calories after gorging on potatoes and turkey the night before. Black Friday is a dangerous and unjust holiday that has hypnotized the wallets of America for too

long. First, Black Friday is notorious for

causing unnecessary violence and, in extreme cases, death. Though measures have been taken to reduce injuries and other dangers, bruises, sprained ankles, concussions, and car accidents are still

common during Black Friday chaos. To put this into perspective, a Black Friday shopping experience has the potential to be more dangerous than a full game of competitive basketball.Black Friday also takes away from Thanksgiving festivities by gearing people towards spending their money, instead of spending time with their family. Intro-ducing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, otherwise known as a giant com-mercial to get people to go out to Macy’s the next day. The holiday promotes overspending as well as poor treatment of retail employees, who are often required to come into work on Midnight or as early as 10:00pm on Thanksgiv-ing to ring up crazed customers.In summation, though Black Friday encourages gift giving and marks the start of the cheerful holiday season, the “holiday” creates reckless and dangerous situations, takes away from the Thanksgiving holiday, and supports unnecessary and extravagant spending.

OLIVIA SMITHWorld Contributor

LUCY HANAWAYWorld Contributor

SURESH

Should American storeshave Black Friday sales?

For many Americans, Black Friday is a crucial chance to purchase necessities

YES

How can we be thankful for what we have as we scramble to get more?

NO

For...millions of Amer-icans, Black Friday is not about purchas-ing excessive amounts of toys or electronics to spoil themselves or their kids: it is about being able to afford what is necessary for their families.

Black Friday is notori-ous for causing unnec-essary violence...and gears people towards spending their money, instead of spending time with their family.

candids The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014 6

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY BART-NETT, SEIBEL, AND NIEBERLE

community The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014 7

Most of the stu-dents at Burroughs would likely

consider the school a place with equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of gender—but recently, the girls in the Class of 2019 have complained about the structure of the 8th grade P.E. department. These complaints arise from a perceived gender inequality and preference because boys are allowed to specialize in a sport and girls are not. In the fall of 8th grade, instead of rotating through the differ-ent fall sports in P.E. as the girls do, the boys who play football spend the entire fall unit specializing in football, receiving additional skill development from the varsity football coaches; in addition, those boys not competing in football spend unequal amounts of time in all other fall sports. Girls, in contrast, are not allowed to specialize and must spend an equal amount of time rotating through each fall sport. Cary Smith (’19), a leader in this fight to provide equal opportunity for both boys and girls in P.E., says, “Burroughs cannot stress the importance of equal opportunity and then let boys choose what sports they want to specialize in without letting the girls do the same.” However, at least to Coach Trzecki and Coach Tasker, the specialization for football players is not a matter of gender preference but of safety. While other middle schools sports, such as field hockey, volleyball, and boys’ soccer, have after-school programs that allow their players to practice mul-tiple times a week in preparation for games against other schools, Coach Tasker argues that it would

not be feasible to operate a functioning after-school middle school football team without risking harm to its players. “One way we could [balance the playing field for both genders] is we could push football to look like all the other sports and push it after school; in other words, have a short unit of it and then, if you want to play more, you can play after school. What’s hard for us is: where do we find the coaches for them after school that understand the kids enough that they can keep it safe?” Coach Trzecki admitted, “In a perfect world, all our team sports would operate after school,” before adding, “The risk of a catastrophic injury in the sport of football raises a unique set of circumstances and should fac-tor in to how best to manage the program. We have elected to err on the side of safety and use the exper-tise of our high school coaching staff to oversee the delivery of teaching the fundamentals to ensure the safety of the players.” The P.E. department used to allow all eighth graders to select sports in which to specialize. Bur-roughs athletics decided such specialization was no longer needed and might have been in opposition to its multi-sport philosophy. When discussing why the P.E. department changed the system, Coach Trzecki said, “With the fact that the after school program grew to offer interscholastic competition, to offer additional practices and more offerings, then it became why would we need to specialize. Or does that even fit into our philosophy at the upper school, where we’re saying that we really don’t want stu-dents to specialize? We want them to have a multi-sport experience.”

The current 8th grade girls have taken steps to raise their concerns with Coach Trzecki, the middle school athletic director. During this school year, about 40 of the girls went to meet with Coach Trzecki in order to discuss this issue. While the meeting did not resolve all of the concerns, both sides seemed to think the meeting was somewhat beneficial. Cary Smith said that she thinks that the girls “showed him that the girls deserve the same opportunities.” Coach Trzecki believes that “as the conversation developed and they heard some of the rationale behind it, I think some of them left with a greater understanding. Maybe they don’t agree with it, but, at least, they understood the reasons behind it. I think they saw it as a favoritism towards boys and they hadn’t considered the other pieces to it.” Cary Smith did express that, despite the meet-ing, the girls will continue to advocate for equality: “This year, our goal is to have the athletic depart-ment agree to let the girls choose in the spring. But, for next year, [the goal is to] have the girls choose in the same season as the boys. We just want at least one season to specialize in.” Whether or not this change will occur, Coach Trzecki says, “The major goals for athletics is about skill development, about participation, and about character develop-ment. Those are the three major themes as we look at, not just the athletics side, but also the physical education side of it. And I think another caveat is, at least for P.E., continued exposure to all of the sports we offer in high school so that students, when they reach 9th grade, are able to make an informed deci-sion in their best interest.”

Title IX v BurroughsALISON GILLAssistant Sports Editor

We all know that the John Burroughs middle school is only allowed

to have chocolate milk on Wednesday. Personally, I think that this is a biased and unfair rule. And I’m not the only one who feels this way either. When I interviewed a fellow, Sandeep Amaranath (’19), he had quite a few words to say. “Yeah dude, I think it’s kind of unfair that we only get to drink chocolate milk on Wednesdays. The middle school and high school should be equal.” Kate Stengel (’19) quickly added, “Plus, some people who wouldn’t drink regular milk, but would drink chocolate milk, and they don’t get to have the health benefits of drinking milk.” I vigorously nodded my head in agreement, won-dering why middle schoolers were denied chocolate milk and its calcium which helps your body grow. And we all know that it wouldn’t hurt for the middle school to become stronger, bigger, and of course hopefully taller. We would get an advantage against

other sports teams who would be weak because they don’t get to drink the delicious nectar of the gods known as chocolate milk. Another one of my friends, Drew Hardwick (’19) said, “I wish I could have some chocolate milk today (Monday), because the last time I had it was about a week ago!” My friend and some others then launched into some kind of interpretive dance and started chanting, most likely to protest the regulation of chocolate milk. From this interview, I deduced that most of the middle school was on board for milk equality. If asking a few rag tag students doesn’t seem like credible sources on why the middle school should get chocolate milk, then perhaps a prominent and wise social studies teacher, Mr. Nicholas, will suf-fice as a good source, indeed sires and ladies. A few reasons why this great man is a good source is because he drank a gallon of milk every day in his youth and now he is smart, tall and strong, plus he understands the government, history and all the constitutional rights type of stuff. When I asked him

he stated, “Yes, they should, because your parents pay the exact same amount of money as those in the high school, so it’s stealing if you give high school-ers chocolate milk every day and not to middles schoolers.” He then continued about subsidizing and whatever type of stuff that is, but it is clear that if a sagacious teacher who has taught at the well-established institute of John Burroughs for many years thinks that the middle school should have chocolate milk every day, then that means it must be a smart and fantabulous idea. In conclusion, the middle school should be able to drink the succulent juices of the cocoa bean every day to help them get taller, which we all know is important, make sure our parents get their money’s worth in our lunches, and of course to have equality between the middle school and high school. It is time for everyone one to have equal chocolate milk rights.

MATTHEW FANWorld Contributor

John Burroughs: robbing students of chocolate milk since 1923

The seventh grade

class held elections for President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer on Tuesday, November 11 . Brandon Miller, the recently elected president for class of 2020 told the World his goal as President: “I ran because I wanted to make the 7th grade a better experience,” he said. President Miller also said he ran so he could “present his ideas”. Vice President Ari Krupnick has similar goals for his new office, saying he would like to “better the class” of 2020 in hopes of making this one the “most swell year ever”. Krupnick, who ran on the slogan of “You won’t be

sorry if you vote for Ari,” told the World he thought he “could make a difference” and is “100% ready” for the challenges that he will face as Vice President. Finally, the World sat down with the seventh grade class’ newly-elected Secre-tary-Treasurer, Carrie Zhang. Carrie said that she ran “to help organize the class”. She already has ideas for the Valentines dance, saying she “wants to ask people what they want” for the activities. The election is one of the main starting points for the class of 2020, as Brandon Miller, Ari Krupnick and Carrie Zhang are their first student officers. This is a big step for them, but they all say they are ready to make this year great for the 7th grade, and the whole student body.

Seventh grade elects leadershipJORDAN JOE and GABE FLEISHERWorld Contributors

SEIBEL

You’ve probably seen or read one of the numer ous sport profiles in past issues of The World about outstanding student athletes. But have you read about people whose talents extend that of the sports realm? Enter Nick Kime (‘18), banjo extraordinaire. Although Nick has only been playing the banjo for a couple of years, his near expertise at the instrument makes it seem like he’s been playing his whole life. However, he modestly claims that once you learn how to play the style, you can easily perform a va-riety of new songs. “Learning how to play the style,

though, is the hard part,” Nick said, recounting how it had taken him hours of practice to finally get the Clawhammer style down. One of Nick’s favorite parts about playing the banjo is going to jam sessions. Appalachian folk jam sessions include a variety of characters, Nick being the only young person there. Others include, “die-hard forty year-old folk people” and “seventy year-olds who somehow all know each other.” Together they make up a bandof the fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and other exotic instruments. The group plays some pretty wild folk songs, including “Spotted Pony,” “Mississippi Sawyer,” and “Arkan-sas Traveler.” Nick’s musical talent doesn’t only extend to

playing the banjo however. He is a musical prodigy, having mastered the piano, guitar and ukulele, and dabbling in the harmonica and pan flute. Although he won’t admit it, he also has an impressive falsetto and singing voice. Recently, he played the guitar in a band with Collin Smith (‘18) and Kelly Schas-chl (‘18) at Quad-a-Palooza. The band performed “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day. The three hoping to perform more together in the future. Nick hopes to learn more instruments and styles of banjo in the future and continue playing until he’s a seventy year-old at his jam session, helping the awkward teenager in the room learn to love the instrument.

Quadapalooza, Rock-N-Roll in the Grassy Knoll, Commons Cafe, or

simply, the event that refuses to choose one name, is one of the best events at Burroughs. One chilly night a year, the Burroughs community gathers and watches their friends showcase the many musical talents that they have. This year, the acts ranged from singing while playing the piano, to a rock band getting the whole crowd on their feet, making the event enjoyable for everyone. As sophomore presi-

dent Ethan Orchard said, “Quadapalooza is among the best events at Burroughs. Performing in it is one of the coolest things you can do. The atmosphere is awesome because the JBS community is all bundled up close, happy, and listening to their friends ‘ball hard’ on stage.” The many performers can expe-rience a safe environment to share their talents. Kelly Schaschl, who played the guitar and sang, said “This was my first Quadapalooza and it was so much fun! I did two performances and even though I messed up a couple of times, the crowd was so

nice. I look forward to more performances in the future!” This event is a great example of the open community that the students of Burroughs have created. As guitarist Nick Kime put it, “I embraced the year of the trust fall and decided to perform in Quadapalooza, even though I had never really played in front of big groups of people. Playing in front of my friends and the rest of the school was much easier than I expected and I enjoyed it a lot.” Overall, Quadapalooza is an amazing event which shows how amazing our school can be.

8 community The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014

Commonsa-quada-palooza MAX KRUPNICK World Contributor

SARAH TAYLOREditor-in-Chief

VICTORIA SANSONE and KELLY SCHLASCHLWorld Contributors

Harrison makin’ jokesA lot of students know that Macon (’16) is a pretty funny guy, but what they

might not know is that he’s taken his talent to the next level to pursue humor in a much more serious way. Macon has been writing down his own original material for a little over one year, but this past sum-mer, he took to the stage and began performing for audiences on a weekly basis at an open mic night at the popular restaurant and bar Fitz’s found in Uni-versity City. Although it was a huge leap of faith to put himself out there like that, Harrison says that the experience has been rewarding in the fact that he’s gained skills in crowd interaction and has learned how to balance the fine line between presenting rehearsed jokes and improv-ing on the spot. Humor being arguably one of the most difficult forms of performance, it’s not always true that everything will go exactly according to plan. Harrison reflects on a couple very different experiences he’s had while giving a show: “The second time I performed I did really well and nailed it, so I went on to my third time thinking it was going to be awesome but when I got up there, the crowd was just totally silent. You never know if it’s the crowd or if it’s you, whether they’re just tired and it’s a Thursday night, or if it was your material and execution.” But he goes on to say about failure, “No comedian hasn’t bombed. All the greats have

bombed, so you just have to tell yourself that no one has ever killed it without having experienced the opposite. You just have to rise from that. Be com-fortable with the aspect of failure, because if you aren’t comfortable with failure, you’re never going to overcome it.” What better message could anyone possibly send to the student body at John Burroughs? In this year of the trust fall, everyone should be encouraged to improve on their talents and expand their skill sets because when you push yourself out of your com-fort zone, the resulting experiences can be extremely worthwhile. Harrison agrees in saying that the best part of performing is “hearing people laugh and re-ally feeling that connection with this random group of strangers that you otherwise wouldn’t know sit-ting in the audience. And I would have never know that feeling if I didn’t just jump in and start trying to pursue this dream of mine.”

Nick Kime, banjo extrordinareNIEBERLE

AHMAD

The nation of Israel was founded in 1948, right after the British mandate

expired. The UN had approved the division of the land into two countries, one Jewish and one Muslim. Immediately upon declaring indepen-dence, Israel was attacked by its Arab neighbors Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq. The Jewish state of Israel prevailed, and the defeated Arab powers never were able to establish a Palestine in the territory they controlled. Since then, Israel has had to defend itself in a hostile area. In 1948, Israel was a small, developing, poor country struggling to absorb Jewish refugees fleeing from Arab countries and Holocaust survi-vors from Europe. Today, despite the continuing troubles, Israel has become a first world regional power, and unique to that area, a democracy. Over Thanksgiving break my family, some close friends, and I visited Israel for my Bar Mitzvah. I have been to Israel before, but this time we went for a specific purpose and at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East. A week before I ar-rived, four Rabbis and a policeman were brutally murdered by terrorists, and the country was clearly on edge. The first thing you notice when you arrive is how calm and peaceful everything seems to be. People are going about their business, traffic in the streets is normal, and you would never suspect you are in a conflict zone. We had the luck of arriving in the middle of the heaviest rains in twenty years, which was great for water starved Israel, but not so good for touring. The initial plan for my Bar Mitzvah was to have

it outdoors at the famous Western Wall, but be-cause of the rain we had to have the ceremony in a nearby synagogue. All went well and I was relieved to finish such a strenuous process. After the service we had a chance to tour the country more extensively. We based ourselves in the capital, Jerusalem. Our hotel was within walking distance of many sites including the old city, the Arab and Jewish markets, and the holocaust museum. On Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, the city effectively shuts down so we drove down to the Dead Sea and saw the ancient fortress of Massada (climbed it in 37 minutes!) and went on camel rides near the ancient city of Jericho. The trip ended way too soon, but even during this brief visit we saw a lot and had a chance to interact with the people who live there. Among the things that struck me was the way high-tech and ancient tradition exist side-by-side, and the way Israelis manage to thrive and build their country despite the many chal-lenges they face. Israel is a unique place and I look forward to visiting there again.

community The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014 9

Last month, the Bur-roughs community had the pleasure of

hosting Republican Congresswoman Ann Wagner in assembly. Her speech focused on her life experiences and her journey from grassroots political orga-nizer to ambassador to Luxembourg to United States Congresswoman, so we wanted to delve deeper into her political ideology and work in Congress. Congresswoman Wagner’s interest in politics was sparked by her strong beliefs. When asked what being a Republican meant to her, she focused on limited, localized government, a strong defense, a balanced and debt free federal budget, and protecting people’s hard-earned money. The Congresswoman decided to run for office when she returned home from Europe to find these values threatened by, in her words, a “tremendous overreach (of government) at the federal level… I was worried about the American dream.” This vision of the quickly fading American dream is what Congresswoman Wagner strives to protect in her work every day. Amongst her initiatives to build a stronger America is the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation (SAVE) Act. Along with four other pieces of anti-sex traffick-ing, the SAVE Act criminalizes all adver-tisement of sex trafficking and prostitution. Before the 113th Congress, no new legisla-tion on human trafficking had been passed in 13 years, so “it was time to crack down in a criminal way on these folks that were profiting from the selling of little girls and boys,” she said. The bill passed 392-19 in the House of Representatives, and though it has not moved in the Senate, Congress-woman Wagner hopes “after this election we’ll get some responsible co-spon-sorship, and this is a bill that should fly through the Senate and eventually end

up on the desk of the President of the United States.” Through her work in politics and in Congress, Congresswoman Wagner has also advocated for proportionate representation of men and women in all levels of government. Upon entering congress, the Congresswoman was shocked by the fact that out of 234 Republican representatives, only 19 were women, while women make up 53% of the American population. To support her position that the government should be closely in tune with the people, Wagner has worked to ensure that American women are represented as directly as their male coun-terparts. She believes “that the American people are looking for solutions, they

want us to get things done; they’re tired of gridlock and stalemate, and I think one of the good traits that women have is we are do-ers.” Thus, the Congresswoman has worked on a bipartisan basis to elect more women into Congress by campaigning for other female candidates and encourag-ing women to run for office. In the 2014 midterm election, despite two Republican women leaving office, five more were elected, in addition to many Democratic female candidates, showing the success of her efforts. When asked what she would like to tell the Burroughs community, Congresswom-an Wagner urged that we stay involved in our government, stay informed about the issues, and search for the truth in all situ-ations. This is the way to build the Ameri-can future that we wish to see, she said. Her final wish and advice was this: “it’s your American dream, it’s your future, so make sure you put the right people in place to have a real shot at all of those opportu-nities that your parents and grandparents had.”

An elephant for us allRepublican Anne Wagner addresses students in assemblyLUCY HANAWAY and SYDNEY TISCHLERWorld Contributer and Features Editor

Jon takes to the Sky heading eastThe Sky family goes from Bellerive to Tel AvivJON SKYWorld Contributer

NEWMAN

SKY

10 community The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014

On Monday, November 24th, at 8:15pm, a crowd of demonstrators gathered in front of the Clayton courthouse and Ferguson Police

Department headquarters, awaiting the St. Louis County grand jury decision on the case of Michael Brown. Three months following the shooting of Michael Brown, emotions were still running high. In the mass of thick winter coats and scarves, an air of tense anticipation saturated the air. At a distance, policemen and armored vehicles patrolled the area, authorized by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, who had declared a state of emergency the week before. Soon, the deci-sion was released: Darren Wilson had not been indicted. Members of the grand jury “were presented with five indictments ranging from murder in the first degree to involuntary manslaughter,” Robert McCull-och, chief prosecutor in the case, stated in his speech announcing the grand jury decision. According to Missouri State Code, nine of the twelve members must agree to indict. The unanimity of the decision is unknown, as McCulloch re-fused to reveal further details during the speech. The probability of grand juries returning no indictment is low. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “U.S. attorneys prosecuted 162,000 federal cases in 2010, the most recent year for which we have data. Grand juries declined to return an indictment in 11 of them.” The grand jury consisted of nine whites and three blacks, representative of the county’s population. “They met on 25 separate days in the last three months, heard more than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witnesses and reviewed hours and hours of recordings of media and law enforcement interviews by many of the witnesses who testified,” McCulloch states.

Minutes following the release of the grand jury decision of no indictment, President Obama issued a formal statement, encouraging acceptance of the decision and advocating peaceful demonstrations. In his statement, Obama reit-erated the words of Michael Brown’s father: “Hurting others or destroying prop-erty is not the answer. No matter what the grand jury decides, I do not want my son’s death to be in vain. I want it to lead to incredible change, positive change, change that makes the St. Louis region better for everyone.” Obama further stated “we are a nation built on the rule of law. We need to accept that this deci-sion was the grand jury’s to make.’’ Following the decision, a full transcript of the grand jury was released to the public, an act atypical of grand jury proceedings. “From the onset, we have maintained and the grand jury agreed that Officer Wilson’s actions on August 9 were in accordance with the laws and regulations that govern the procedures of an officer,” Wilson’s lawyers state. This brings to question the legitimacy of the laws currently governing our law enforcement. When exactly are officers justi-fied to open fire? Hoping to avoid similar tragedies in the future, Brown’s parents and support-ers petitioned for a “Mike Brown” law in August, requiring all police officers to wear body cameras. The law would “not only deter police misconduct” but also “ensure that all police are following procedure, and to remove all question from normally questionable police encounters.” The petition eventually garnered 154,474 signatures. In response to the grand jury decision, the Brown family is-sued a formal statement: “We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions.”

Grand jury decision shakes St. LouisOLIVIA LONGOpinions Editor

Using our voicesContrary to media portrayals, the Ferguson protests are not solely crowds of angry people flipping cars and attacking the

police. From first hand experience, we can say that this is not the protest that we had, nor is it the predominant experience of those partaking in the protests of the last 4 months. The clergy, as well as citizens of all races and ethnic backgrounds have been out in full force to support the movement for peace, justice, and equality for all races. The one thing that most people agree on is that everyone deserves to feel safe in their own communities. Tuesday, November 25, marked 24 hours since the decision to not indict Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting case was announced. It also marked the 2nd day of heavy and oc-casionally violent protest due to Bob McCulloch’s controversial announce-ment of the decision, which many felt to be biased. So with Ms. Love in tow, Gabby Ivy and I traveled to Ferguson to join a peaceful protest in front of the Ferguson Police Depart-ment. There was a line of the National Guard on one side of the street, and on the other was a line of people mill-ing about. Some with signs, some just gawking, and the occasional person just snapping a picture and leaving. All sprinkled with news stations like CNN, MSNBC, and other interna-tional news agencies. In front of us were two priests from Ohio who had traveled to St. Louis Monday night to join the movement. You could also smell the alcohol on those who had come just to stir the pot. Later, students from a nearby high school came by and began to lead chants like “No Justice No Peace” as another man in a face mask handed out water bottles to people in the street. Soon the protest had grown so much it began to spill into the street. More chants were shouted and other protestors began to direct traffic so that people could continue to move about the area. After a blue car had driven by for the 2nd time, it stopped in the middle of the protesters. The gentleman in the vehicle exchanged course words with the protesters and reached out of the car at them while others attempted to reach into the car to get at him. This was the only “violence” we personally saw that

night. One protester led a chant. “Who do we want? Darren Wilson! How do we want him? Dead!” In reaction to this, several protesters, including us, crossed the street to show our disapproval of this chant. Minutes later police came out in full riot gear and formed a line in the street to block protesters. This happened around 8 o’clock, and we left. It was only later we saw on the news that people had been teargassed and arrested where we had stood only shortly before. For three hours this protest remained peaceful and that night was one of very few incidents out of the hundreds

of protests around the world. The only way we can truly see is through experience. The experience we had that night was truly enlighten-ing. The media fails to show us the truth of situations; they show the neg-atives and ignore the positives. This issue is more than race, it is about equality for all; for us to be granted the freedoms we are guaranteed as citizens of this country. Despite the no indictment decision, the Fergu-son community has banded together. Out of my entire life of living there, I [Gabby] have never seen us come together so strongly. Many of these ideas are expressed throughout the community in paintings. Along South Florissant in Ferguson are paintings and murals dedicated to what it is that we want as a community. People from all over the St. Louis area have come to express their feelings and views. The main focuses of their work are solidarity, peace, freedom, and the power each individual holds within.

These actions and give us something positive to see in the midst of anger that erupted many months ago. Many people of our Burroughs com-munity do not know this because many have not taken the opportunity to see it. How are we to learn without experience? We cannot depend on the media to give us information because we miss many key moments that help shape our opinion. We saw the fire and the violence on TV, but neglected to see positive creativity done by these people. It is necessary for us to explore the world in which we live to gain an understanding and in return we can use our voice; our power.

JHARNAE LOVE and GABBY IVYWorld Contributors

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

-Aristotle

LOVE

Burroughs students’ experience attending a peaceful protest in Ferguson

community The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014 11

“Can anyone fill the solution set? Anyone?” “There are no solutions, Mr. Nguy-en.” I replied. “Superb analysis, sir! Does every-one concur? The solu-tion set is empty, just like our lives. Now, let’s break for manda-tory celebrations.” With his wry sense of humor and intel-lectual prowess, Tuan Nguyen, sometimes affectionately referred to as TWinnyp(H)re$h (dwell on it, kids), typi-fied the brutality and brilliance of the John Burroughs mathemat-ics program. Two years ago, after teaching an infamously difficult Pre-Calculus Honors class, Mr. Nguyen retired. “It is not the case that I decided to stop teaching at Burroughs,” he said. “I love learn-ing and needed to go back to school to learn some more.” Nguyen’s desire for knowledge led him to Peabody College, part of Vanderbilt University, where he is currently working toward a PhD in Leadership, Policies, and Organiza-tions, a graduate degree program geared toward producing leaders in the field of education. “I hope to use what I learn to help others learn,” Nguyen noted. “Beyond that, I do not have any career aspirations. I am not sure if I will come back to Burroughs, but I would not rule it out. I learned about engaging with the students. If you do not engage with students, then the rest of it is just not that meaningful.” When asked what he missed most about Burroughs, Mr. Nguyen laconi-cally replied, “Teaching and making fun of students.” But after giving more

serious thought to the question though, he added, “I miss teaching Algebra I the most, particularly the Mathematical Induction unit. Teaching was a very challenging but rewarding time of my life. I would not change anything. But do I ever regret leaving? Yes, some days.” Closer to home, Mr. Nguyen has also had a second child. “Mira,”

he says of his older daughter, “just turned four a few weeks ago. She is… peculiar. And snarky. I do not know why that is. It is going to be interest-ing explaining to her when she is older that she cannot prove that I love her… Well, that sounds mean when I put it that way. Math is not particularly interesting to her right now, but I am not concerned. She loves books and scary stories and her little sister, so math can wait.”

Nguyen continued with an uplift-ing encouragement: “Study what you love or care about and good things will probably happen. It is impor-tant to plan on what classes to take so that you will finish your degree on time and without a mountain of debt. Take classes in philosophy, sociology, education, and environmental policy—classes that give you a perspective on how you can contribute to society. There is not just one ‘right way’ to contribute.” “Mr. Nguyen, is the solution set still empty?” I asked. “Are our lives still as empty void of answers? Does S.S. = ø?”With a grin that seemed to penetrate the chat window, Nguyen replied, “The solution set is only empty if you want it to be.” With that, I think we can all concur.

In it to Nguyen itJOSHUA KAZDAN andSAMUEL OHNews Editor and Asst. News Editor

JEREMY SMITHBackpage Editor

Ike Ike BabyRetired teachers: where are they now?

“I don’t feel like I’ve retired permanently from teaching,” said Barry Albrecht over a Facebook Chat. A graduate and former English teacher at Burroughs,

Albrecht resigned two years ago in order to pursue his own literary career. “I left Burroughs because I wanted to write a novel that has been living in my head for fifteen years. I needed to see if I could get it out.” Although he enjoys his work, Albrecht nostalgically recalls his time at Burroughs. “I miss quite a bit about Burroughs: the brilliant faculty in par- ticular. There are some truly remarkable people working at that school.” Mr. Albrecht has not retired permanently. A talented teacher and writer, Albrecht reported his ultimate desire to resume his pedagogical ca-reer. “There are some truly remark-able people working at Burroughs, and I hope to return to teaching some day.” One of Albrecht’s men-tors and friends, Michael Dee, terminated his teach-ing career last spring in order to support his wife

as she attempts to effect a drastic statewide overhaul of education. Simultane-ously Mr. Dee hopes to continue his own spiritual development. To kick off his retirement, Mr. Dee embarked on a “vision quest in the New Mexican desert, the centerpiece of which was a 4.5 day fast, absolutely alone in the desert, equipped with nothing more than a tarp, sleeping bag, pad, camp chair. In my area were three distinct packs of coyotes, deer and cougar.” Mr. Dee returned rejuvenated, and ready to tackle Missouri’s broken educational system. He is

cur- rently in New York supporting his wife through the release of her new book, Speaking of

Fourth Grade. Dee has also volunteered to become a submission reader for Decem-ber, “a renowned literary journal recently resuscitated by my friend and parent of Burroughs alumni.” After twenty years of teaching, Mr. Dee has continued a dif-ferent type of personal education. How-

ever, after a highly-successful twenty-five year career, Mr.

Dee does not rule out teaching in his future.

Many of you prob-

ably feel as though you are studying extraordinarily hard right now, and doubtless you are, but Ike Irby seems to have one-upped us all. Once a beloved member of the JBS science and athletic departments, Mr. Irby has been extremely active in pursu-ing his studies since departing the Bur-roughs faculty fol-lowing the 2011-2012 school year. Attend-ing graduate school at the College of William and Mary, he entered a joint degree program in which he is working towards a Masters in Public Policy at the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy while concurrently earning his PhD in Marine Science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The combination of the knowledge that he acquires in these fields will help him pursue his interests of science advisory and the process of science policy development at the national and international levels. Guided by his passions, Mr. Irby managed to secure an intern-ship this past summer with Execu-tive Office of the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) at some research facility in Washington called the White House. While at OTSP, he worked with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on developing reports to advise President Obama on a number of relevant issues in science and tech-nology, including combating antibi-otic resistance, enhancing the role of education technology in skilling and reskilling the nation’s middle-skill workforce, and a review of the

National Nanotechnology Initiative. He had the honor of being the only intern on the PCAST committee. Overall, Mr. Irby took full advan-tage of his White House experience, having the opportunity to converse with the great Bill Nye, working at a showcase for many of the countries up-and-coming young innovators, and even getting the chance to be

asked by the Secret Service to fill a seat during a Presidential Address in the East Room. Irby says of his experience, “The opportunity to work at the White House under a President that places science and technology in such high regard was an incredibly motivating experience that will guide me headlong into future endeav-ors.” Mr. Irby’s PhD

research in the BioCOM Lab has been just as impressive as such

an acronym would suggest. His experimentation in the BioCOM Lab (Biogeochemical Circulation Ocean Modeling) “involves utilizing a sophisticated 3D biogeochemical-hydrodynamic model to evaluate human impact on oxygen levels in coastal ocean waters and is combined with the future potential impact of climate change on coastal water qual-ity”. He lost me at “sophisticated”, but rest assured that this research is at the forefront of a very important and relevant issue confronting the world today. Clearly, Mr. Irby has a bright future ahead of him in science. Mr. Irby’s graduate advisor, Marjo-rie Friedrichs, best summed up his endeavors when she remarked, “Ike’s background in ocean modeling and policy will open so many doors for him after he graduates. I can’t wait to see what path he chooses.”

Secret life of Dee and AlbrechtJOSHUA KAZDANNews Editor

NEWMANIRBY

12 community/backpage The WorldFriday, December 12, 2014

On March 23, 2004, New York-based MC,

MF DOOM and California-based producer, Madlib, under the guise ‘Madvillain’ released their debut collaborative album, “Madvillainy.” With a total run time of 46:10 divided among 22 tracks, this album is regarded highly as one of the most revered Underground Hip Hop albums of all time. There is no overarching theme or narrative that makes Mad-villainy so captivating, but the chemistry between DOOM and Madlib is undeniable. Madlib’s eclectic sample choices and infectiously groovy instrumen-tals combined with DOOM’s witty and sometimes comical wordplay throughout his rhymes are what really make this album stand out. Madvillainy takes the traditional and radio-friendly “intro, verse, hook, verse...” formula and turns it on its head, featuring

some songs with no hook or lyrics whatsoever. With the exception of 2 songs, the tracks on this LP are 2:30 or less, which is fairly short. Fear not, because you’ll find that this works very well in the context of the whole album. DOOM’s flow, however, can get redundant. For some, it is an acquired taste. Person-ally, I can’t get enough of it, especially accompanied by Madlib’s soulful instrumentation. I can’t recom-mend this LP enough and I hope you’ll take the time to check it out and discuss it with me.

Rating: 11/11 Favorite Song(s): Accordion, Eye (Ft. Stacy Epps), All Caps Other albums to check out: MF DOOM - Operation: Doomsday, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib- Pinata

Derek reviews MadvillainyDEREK TAYLORWorld Contributor

‘Twas the night after finals, when all thro’ the Lou,

Not one party was shaking, not one mouse squeaked in Ladue; The students were sad that after hard work, winter fun wasn’t there,Until they read this World article, which helped them live their winter in flairWell, that’s enough of my rhyming,But real talk, here’s a shortlist of some worthwhile winter things to do: In the long days of winter I categorize activities into two different boxes: hot and cold. I suggest hot activities for those who are craving a toasty vacation in the tropics, but are confined to polar vortex territory this break. Begin by attending a hot yoga class, at either Bikram Yoga in Clayton, with temperatures up to 110˚F or my favorite, Yoga Six, off Hampton, with temperatures up to 100˚F. I am talking to the fellas too: I promise you will work up a sweat in there! Visit the Clim-a-tron at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, where the simulation

of humid rainforest climate and lush foliage is so authentic you will feel lost in a whole other tropical location. If all else fails, head into the toasty climate of your house and host gingerbread assembling contests, or feast on the créme de la créme of holi-day episodes on Netflix, which I have conveniently included for you here: The Office-”Moroccan Christmas” (S5), “Secret Santa” (S6), 30 Rock- “Christmas Special” (S3), Community- “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”, Gossip Girl- “Roman Holiday” (S1), Portlandia- “Winter in Portlandia” (S3), Parks and Rec- “Citizen Knope” (S4). On the other hand, cold activities can be just as fun if not more so, if you are able to push yourself out of your toasty comfort zone of 70˚+ tempera-tures. Visit the St. Louis Zoo at 2 pm on Sundays to party with the animals, when the penguins are let out of their barriers to parade around. While you’re there, explore Forest Park, especially if it’s snow-ing—cross country skiiers and the skating rink may inspire you to take on an active winter activity and shed some winter pounds. While you’re out there, don’t forget to collect and save snowballs in your

freezer for a warmer day (mwahaha). Attend the Loop Ice Carnival (January 18-19) to appreciate an artistic salute to winter. If you are yet to be satisfied, there is always more...you can quite literally plunge into the cold, just join a Polar Bear Plunge, which take place at lakes throughout MO. They provide a thrill and profits go to the Special Olympics! And if you are really and truly frozen after all this, do NOT grab a packet of Swiss Miss… go to Kakao in Maplewood and prepare to let their “kakao” melt you to the core. If you are not thawed yet, well... the hot cocoa is on me. But finally, whether you want to or not, buckle up your boots and embrace the intensity of winter, we only have three months left to enjoy of it... Happy holidays!

Sub-32˚ in the LouJESSICA RYANAsst. Features Editor

On a tight budget? Have a secret santa gift to purchase? So desperate for ideas that you’ve resorted to reading the backs of monthly newspapers? Well look no further! -1 microgram of 24 carat gold -shards from the screen of an iphone-3.5 cheese puffs (prechewed)-an awful poem written with the best of intentions-regift an ugly sweater from your grandma-malaysian trumpet snail-the Hope Diamond -a list of every time they were right in an argument-get their face tattooed on top of your face -train their dog to pee in chevron patterns-make hundreds of instagram accounts and like all of their photos-furby/fergie

-a partridge in a pear tree-members of the backpage under their christmas tree-ikea hot dog-ikea cold cat -$75 worth of dimes with note “hunny, u a dime”-12 tiny shirts-a high 4 (do I look like I’m made of fingers?)-a secret no one knows about santa-Evander holyfield’s ear-a “Bic for her” pen-a pre-made notecard for physics honors-pretend to forget to buy something and prepare a long winded excuse

Upper school boys participate in “No-Shave-November” to raise awareness for patchy facial hair

Perry Julien successfully ignites campaign to rename Landfill containers “Gar-baj” (“straight garbáge”)

Patrons of JBS’s production of

No Exit deceived by title, still

unable to leave