Fall Forum: Students meet to discuss problems in schools

What is Occupy? Occupy Movement has had a great impact on the country

Eric Darnell ‘12StylE EDitOr

On November 22nd, multiple private catholic high schools cul-tural organizations came together for the Fall Forum, an event meant to tackle important issues in today’s teenage community.

Though it was not the first forum to ever be held, it was the biggest one held to date. Hosted by Elizabeth Seton High School’s Onyx Club, the forum included Dematha, Gonzaga, Bishop McNamara, and Georgetown Visitation. The two topics covered were Domestic Violence and ste-reotypes between various schools. Victoria Shorter, President of Bishop McNamara’s Black Cultural Alliance took part in the choos-ing of the topics and explained, “ We chose the topics because we felt that they were two important subjects that needed light shed on them.”

The Domestic Violence topic

was covered first and was led and presented by Mrs. Ada Clark-Edwards, Chief of Domestic Violence for Prince George’s County. It was easy to see that the presentation made by Edwards hit home by the dramatic mood shift that took hold of the room during the presentation. The session then shifted into a student led discussion on the negative effect social media plays in adolescent relationships before its conclusion.

The second portion of the forum on stereotypes was defi-nitely the more anticipated part of the forum and overshadowed the first portion. Students broke up into groups decided by the number on their name tags and were given ten minutes to write as many stereotypes they could think of on the school their group was given. Each group then pre-sented their poster and after each school took the poster with their stereotypes and got the chance to defend and disprove the negative

stereotypes. “We hope that everyone who

attended the forum not only learned something from it, but spreads their knowledge.” said

Brittany Boston, an official of Seton’s ONYX club. She contin-ued saying, “Incorporating dif-ferent schools into mediums like forums is crucial to building bonds,

helping diversity, and getting to know one another better.”

Amanda Wilson ‘13NEWS EDitOr

Signs, rallying, chants, and people protesting is not a new thing hat you see in Washington DC. But the tents and the hundreds of people camped outside of the capital is not something that you see on a typical day in Washington D.C.

The Occupy Movement has spread from Wall Street in New York to Washington, D.C. as well as many other places, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Atlanta are just a few. “The cool thing about OWS [Occupy Wall Street] is that no one person speaks for the group - everyone has diverse political view-points and different opinions but is happy to work together to try to bring about a more fair society,” said Stephanie from OWS, who I interviewed online. Stephanie is 27 and lives in Brooklyn. She works full time as a writer and editor. She is Italian and German-Jewish, she is agnostic, but was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school.

If you travel down to the na-tion’s capital, you will see many things. Among those things, you will see hundreds of tents and hun-dreds of people. Everyone down there has a license to be there and has permission to be there and protest. The only thing there that does not have a license is the food tent.

There are a handful of people that know what this protest is about and are interested in it. “When it first started, I was interested in it and wanted to know what it was about. I was interested in what they were trying to do. Whether you agree or not, their spirit seemed very alive,” said Social Studies teacher, Ms. Laura Keller.

But on the other hand, many people that live in or around the areas of this giant protest do not have any idea what this move-ment is and how or if might it affect them and their families. Well, this movement is huge and it most likely would affect these people in more ways than one if they knew what it was. On the Occupy Wall Street website, it states that, “Occupy Wall Street

is a leaderless resistance move-ment with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one things that we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic, [which is a series of protests and other demonstrations], to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants.”

So what exactly does this mean? The 1% that they are talking about is the 1% of Americans that are upper class and have it very easy. They have more benefits than the other 99% of Americans. That 1% has the money and pretty much ev-erything that the middle and lower classes need to survive. According

to Professor G. William Domhoff’s book, “Who Rules America,” “As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, profes-sional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remark-able 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the values of one’s home), the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 42.7%.” In other words, most of the wealth in this country goes to the richer 1% of the population, rather than the people who really need it. This is the reason behind the whole Occupy Movement.

The Occupy Movement is committed to being a non-vio-lent protesting. They are using the Arab Spring tactic which is a series of protests that involves demonstrations. “We’re commit-ted to nonviolent protesting. We want to call attention to economic injustice in this country, and we feel that a commitment to non-violence is constructive. While the camp in Zuccotti Park was raided by the police and no longer exists, we strove to create a model of the kind of society that we’d like to live in. We set up infrastructure to provide shelter, food, and medical help to anyone in need. We want to show a positive example of how we envision a more just society,” said Stephanie.

Continued on page 3

A sight at the local DC Occupy Movement taken one Saturday Morning (Luciana Rodrigues ‘12/THE STAMPEDE)

Students broke up into groups to name sterotypes about other schools as part of an exercise to overcome false judgements placed on one another. (Eric Darnell ‘12/THE STAMPEDE)

The STampede The official sTudenT newspaper of Bishop McnaMara high schoolwww.stampedenews.orgdecember 19, 2011

2 OpiniOn

cartoon by shannell smith ‘12/The sTaMpede

Carolyn Conte ‘14 OpiNiON EDitOr

A student is only ever going to use qua-dratic formula factor graphing if they

enter a very specific profession, such as horse-saddle-designing. However, every student must know how to balance a check-book or how to recognize business trends very soon in life. And yet, we are being taught the former.

I have heard that- although I’m not one of them- there are people in this world who enjoy such lessons as polynomial func-tions and will use them often in their careers. I accept this, but these students do not make up the majority of the school body. The number of their peers who will need to figure their taxes out is exactly... all of them.

Students have the option to take Personal Finance (math we will use) as an elective, granted they are willing to sacrifice a credit that they could have used towards a more fun class. Statistics is another useful class that could be substituted for math credits where many

a teenager has fell asleep in class wondering when they will ever use matrices. I do not understand why I am taking Algebra and learning about such methods when I could be learning more useful knowledge. According to my Algebra 2 text-book, parabolas are very crucial to “modelling a sports revenue.” I don’t even know what that means, and I am willing to bet a lot of parabolas that not even one out of a hundred students will be doing that. But, like I said before, all of them will need to know how credit cards work. They could still incorporate these skills of narrow purposes into a later course, but I think the school should first teach us things we need to live a basic life. The school’s mission states it will prepare us to succeed in life, but the valuable information needed to do so is an elective. And instead, the less useful courses are required.

As Brothers of Holy Cross founder Blessed Basil Moreau said, “We do not want our stu-dents to be ignorant of anything they should know.” Why doesn’t our math curriculum abide by this law? It should.

The Seniors Cry, “Uncle!” A senior opines on the homework load

lEttEr

Oh, the Humanity!

Katherine Fry ‘12 StAFF WritEr

Jon and Kate’s task of raising eight kids- easy! Tom Cruise’s job in Mission Impossible- a trifle! All

of Indiana Jones’ adven-tures- child’s play! That is, when compared to the task facing all BMHS Seniors: homework, Senior Service Projects, co-curriculars, college applications, and everyday life! Let’s face it, homework takes time if done well. Co-curriculars take some

more. College applications by their very nature involve going to pains to impress someone. And everyday life -- who can really predict that? Therefore, seniors must get less homework.

The interminable applica-tion process takes up time. We have to choose between digging our way out from Homework Mountain or preparing for their SAT. Then comes the appli-cation. Now is the time that mistakes start emerging in the essay and brag list; not merely checking the “M” box when your name is Princess and all other official documents say “F.” Here, kids, as guidance counselor Clare Treichel says, “skip stuff.” Students deserve the time they need to do their work.

For activities, talk to Richard Burnett ‘12, senior football player. “Some days, I don’t get

home until eight o’clock,” he said. This has occasionally led to an entire night spent on home-work, followed by a one-hour nap before heading right back out to school. Richard says that nights like those are inevitable, “it’s going to happen.”

Then there is the Senior Service Project. Kevin McKeown ‘12 is finishing the paperwork now, and says it is, “like homework on top of homework.” Needless to say, in this predicament, he finds less homework favorable. The story of Courtney Moore ‘12 springs to mind. Only minutely procras-tinating, and already working for a while, she stayed very late to finish her work. Sadly, she fell asleep, slept past eight, and had to wait until someone could bring her to school. How can this continue on?

Justin McClain tEACHEr

As I type this, using a word process-ing system (which would have been

inconceivable just a few decades ago), I remain impressed by the numerous technological in-novations that have taken place over the last few decades. This technology has made won-drous improvements within modern society, including medicine, communication, and transportation, among others. Nevertheless, more impressive is the extent of good that human-ity is capable of, either with or without the presence of tech-nology. Mozart didn’t have an iPhone application to help refine

his exceptionally complex music. Shakespeare didn’t have a PC to write Romeo and Juliet. Harriet Tubman didn’t use Facebook to organize the Underground Railroad during the strife of slavery. In order for a society to truly prosper, critical thought, along with the more impor-tant embrace of wholesome ethical principles, must always be in place. Humanity should remain in charge of technol-ogy, not technology in charge of humanity.

As a Religion and Spanish teacher, I teach within the realm of the humanities (academic fields encompassing such classi-cal studies as theology, litera-ture, language arts, philosophy, history, art, music, and other areas). The humanities study

the full breadth of the human experience. As you high school students prepare to enter the ‘world’ upon graduation, think about how you can use the wealth of knowledge that you’ve acquired within the humanities, as well as within the likewise crucial fields of mathematics and science (including technology), to improve the world. With the Catholic principles that you’ve received here at McNamara, you can contribute to humanity positively, always in the hope of bringing greater glory to the Lord. As we reflect on the technological advancements that will continue to come in the 21st century, we would do well to remember the words of musician Stevie Wonder: “We can’t lose with God on our side.”

The STampedeSTUDENT NEWSPAPER

Matthew Nunez ‘12 • Copy ChiefLeslie Martin ‘12 • Design Chief

Luciana Rodrigues ‘12 • Assignment ChiefJerica Deck ‘13 and Carolyn Conte ‘14 • Opinion Editors

What dO yOu thinK? Send us your letters — we will print them. no anonymous submissions. Write to stampede.editors@gmail.com

from the Stampede onlinewww.stampedenews.org

“national Transitional council (nTc) soldiers shot the former libyan leader to death in a drainage pipe after he fled from his country.”

death of muammar Gaddafi, by Andrew Meyer ‘12

“no, it doesn’t have the right to relate hitler to a mother -- no matter how thoughtless her actions are. ”

abortion is not a yes or no position by Carolyn Conte ‘12

“i love the kids, the energy. They keep me young,” Ms. clare Treichel says, “if i had to choose one level only, it would be high school. ”

a tale of two College professors by Katherine Fry ‘12

School teaches Unnecessary Courses

More useful classes such as statistics should be required

3

by The Stampede StAFF WritErS

When asked by his girlfriends’ parents about what he would do with his English major, Matthew Buckley paused. He was working as a loss-prevention agent at IKEA at the time, but that wasn’t a good enough answer. After some thought, he said “I’ll probably teach.”

Flash forward a few years, and that once apathetic boy is now winning the honorable award of 2011 Veteran Teacher of the Year here at McNamara.

What was once just a nonchalant comment is now not only a profession but a passion. “I teach what I am and what I believe in,” Buckley said of his philosophy.

The award is voted on by McNamara’s staff. Social studies teacher Shawn Dougherty, who like Buckley teaches juniors, said, “I respect him. We get to collaborate on certain things. He is a good sounding board for ideas.”

In his 10th year of teaching, Buckley is known for his humor in the classroom. Students say he acts almost like a student with his wit and abundant humor, but paradoxically he earns his students’ respect because of this trait. Former AP English III student Eva Gonzalez ‘12 said, “He was good, fun, honest” and that “He is afraid of zombies. He probably has a zombie master plan.”

For Buckley, teaching English is not a job, because he likes discussing literature. Paraphrasing his colleague Ms. Patrice Wolfe, Buckley said, “I don’t love teach-ing, I love English.”

While Buckley is beloved by his junior English students, he is also known through-out the McNamara community for his in-volvement in various school extracurriculars. Buckley has his plate full as an Assistant Coach for Girls Lacrosse, and moderator of both the Moreau Honor Society and the Poetic Justice Club. Buckley was a Moreau scholar himself, having graduated from McNamara in 1998.

“English teachers are born,” said Mr. Alfred Odierno, who taught Mr. Buckley as a freshman, and who said he could spot Buckley’s potential from a mile away.

So then, is teaching English a perma-nent interest for Mr. Buckley? Quoting from Casablanca, --- “the best movie of all time” he said --- Mr. Buckley answered only by saying “I don’t make plans that far in advance.”

Carolyn Conte, Laura Irwin, Dominique Palangdao, Breana Ross, Rochell Yacat, Emily Magruder, Andrew Feather, Megan Ardovini contributed to this report

“Guess i’ll probably teach”Buckley wins 2011 HSPA veteran teacher of the year

Photo by John Shryock

Occupy has spread very rapidly and is in many cities and states in the U.S. including New York; Orlando; Philadelphia; Lakeland, Florida; Milwaukee; Miami; Atlanta; Fayetville, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Seattle; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Kansas City, Missouri; Ashville, North Carolina; and Frankfort, West Virginia, as well as in the states of Alaska and Arkansas. This movement is not only in the

United States, but in other coun-tries around the world, including Canada, Spain, England, Italy, Taiwan, and South Korea.

This protest was meant as a peaceful protest, but others are seeing it as a riot and the people that are involved are being a public nuisance. Police forces have been brought in and as of now, many people have been injured or even killed from those police forces opening fire on them. One of the major occurrences that hap-pened just a little while ago was

the shooting in Oakland, which occurred on Thursday, November 10th, shortly before 5:00 p.m. The man that was shot was named Kayode Ola Foster, who was 25 years old. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Police have issued three eviction orders to campers since Friday, asserting that they are violating law banning open fires, overnight camping in public parks, and the use of propane, among other activities. Another incident, shown in a YouTube video, went up showing a former marine, Sergeant

Shamar Thomas, criticizing the NYPD for how they were acting around the protesters and the way that they were handling them.

There have been other inci-dents where police force has had to be used. Recently, police had to clear Occupy protesters from a park in New York, because the park was dirty. Also, the owner of the park, which is privately owned, did not want sleeping bags and tents in the park. The park was cleared at 1 a.m., making protest-ers very angry and unhappy.

No one knows where this movement will end and what impact it will have in the near or distant future. It has already made a big impact and who know whether or not anything will come from this, but people do hope that it will. U.S. History teacher, Ms. Laura Keller, said, “I hope it would somehow bring about questions, bring back discussion. I’m hoping there’s more dialogue because we’re in a serious financial crisis. We’re in a rut.” Only time will tell what this movement will change.

What is Occupy?

by The StampedeStAFF WritErS

As a child, Mary Martin would sit for hours in the basement with her younger sister, creating lesson plans and drawing up math worksheets. Long summer evenings spent generously teaching her sister the elements of mathematics led to Mary Martin’s discovery of her love and talent for being a teacher.

“Always, always, always, I knew I was going to be a Math teacher,” Martin said.

Ms. Mary Martin, of the mathemat-ics and science departments, has been named Bishop McNamara High School’s 2011 Novice Teacher of the Year. While Ms. Martin has taught for over 18 years, she has been at McNamara for 5, which is why she won the award for novice teachers. This award is given yearly after a vote by her colleagues.

Students enjoy her teaching, and find it effective. Current Algebra I with Lab student Tony Piazza ’15 said “When she gives us a test and I have a question, she gives me thorough directions on how to do it without giving the answer away. I love teachers like that.”

Looking back to his freshman year, senior Ian Jenkins ‘12 said, “I definitely still remember her clever math tricks that come into play when I have trouble factor-ing or something like that. She was always helpful.”

Ms. Martin’s colleagues in the math department also speak highly of her. “We exchange different ideas on how to grade and collect homework, and how to assess different topics,” Ms. Linda Corley said. Ms. Colleen Shull (Mullin) said that Ms. Martin “is great to work with, very supportive. She’s always there when you need her.”

Ms. Martin contributes to the school through other programs, like as moderator

for Cooking Club. Foreign language depart-ment chair Ms. Gina Bozzo mentioned that Ms. Martin has hosted Spanish exchange students twice.

Ms. Martin currently teaches Honors Conceptual Physics and Algebra with Lab. When introducing a new lesson, Ms. Martin explains, “I think it is very important for stu-dents to understand why things happen and why it is important to learn it.” She elaborates by saying, “I like to explain the ‘why’ of the math problem so my students can better understand what they’re answering.”

Her biggest challenge, Ms. Martin said, are “bright and teachable students who don’t do what they need to be successful.” She finds it frustrating when she has students that don’t seem to care.

Both of Ms. Martin’s own children have attended McNamara. Kyle graduated in 2011 and is studying at Christopher Newport University, and Leslie is a senior. “My chil-dren have always been in the same school I have.... I think [balancing mom and teacher] was a lot harder for them [children] than it was for me,” Ms.Martin said.

Kyle was proud his mother won the award. “She’s a hard worker. She spends countless hours after school is over, helping kids, and then a few extra hours grading papers and working on the next day’s lessons. This meant all my life I have been staying at school until 5 or 6 PM, waiting for my mom to finish her work, but I dealt with it.”

Of the award, Ms. Martin said “I am flattered because it’s an award chosen by my peers. It shows that they have respect for what I’m doing.” Although her daughter will graduate soon, Ms. Martin has no plans to leave teaching at McNamara. So that same person who once spent summers working on mathematics with her sister in the basement, will continue her award-winning work in the classroom today.

Mary, Mother, Math teacherPhoto by Luciana Rodrigues ‘12

Continued from page 1

neWS

Girls Who run the SchoolMore females than males in Student Council and Honor Council

Simone Miles ‘12 StAFF WritEr

In the past seven years, the female-to-male ratio of student council has been at least two girls for every male. Looking at our Student Council and also at our Honor Council at Bishop McNamara, you will see that there are more female students involved than male students. This has been a trend since LaReine High School joined Bishop McNamara in 1992, according to English teacher Mr. Matthew Goyette, who has also served as principal here. Honor

Council has also displayed the same trend for the past six years that its faculty adviser Mr. Geoffrey Molchan has been moderating the group.

Although McNamara used to be an all boys school, it was an immediate change when the girls from LaReine High School in-tegrated because they were more likely to run for student council positions and they began to domi-nate the leadership roles, explained Mr. Goyette, the principal at the time. Mr. Shin said, “For guys, leadership is more through ath-letics and not through things like

student council.” He attributes the high female dominance to the fact that girls are more independent freshman year and guys tend to stay within their groups.

Currently, the sophomore section of the Honor Council is all female. The junior section has one male student and the senior section also only has one male. The election process for Honor Council is different than Student council elections. The process begins with teacher recommendations, then the freshman class votes on who will be inducted. Typically more females are recommended by teachers. Mr.

Molchan accredits the female-to-male ratio to the fact that girls are usually a little more mature than boys freshman year.

Mr. Goyette pointed out, that it is not only our school, but many other schools displaying this trend. Mr. Molchan also noted, “When I was young, it was boys dominating the leadership positions, but now it seems the roles have reversed.” This trend leaves many wonder-ing: with females taking over, who we will see at the end of the next elections for student council, local government, or even President of the United States?

Michael BretonStAFF WritEr

From this year’s fall to next years’ spring and summer, the 20s will roar. From fashion to the stage, what’s obsessing right now is the prohibition age where everything was sober, green($$$) and golden and clear that life was good, unlike America today.

This December, Australian film director Baz Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge” and “Australia”) will pre-miere his much-awaited new film about a lovesick social climber called “The Great Gatsby”, which is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous novel of the same name published in 1925. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. An exciting new chem-istry one couldn’t wait for.

Speaking of “The Great Gatsby”, back in September during New York Fashion Week, American designer Ralph Lauren, who designed the costumes for the 1974 Gatsby film, designed

his whole spring 2012 collection around the 20’s WASPy elite, Hampton’s extravaganza with fluttering sequined and feathered dresses to the most glamorous day looks ever. Very Mia Farrow.

“Luhrmann’s costume de-signer wife, Catherine Martin, is in charge of the clothes for the new movie, but Mulligan and her female co-stars need look no further than Lauren when it comes

to red-carpet sparklers for the pre-miere circuit,” said Nicole Phelps of Style.com

Not only are the 20s’ inspira-tions making it’s way back into American Culture, the “golden twenties” of Europe shines again. For this season, Milan’s Prada was a sea of a pale, pinkish, sequined, checkered, snaked-skin, fur fantasy, a perfect wardrobe for a wild-card aviator heiress flying a jet across

the Atlantic or the most fabulous paillette evening dresses for the war wearied House of Windsor after WWI.

For the French cinema, a groundbreaking ovation is the new French film “The Artist”, a black and white silent film getting a lot of attention here in the U.S. This not only portrays the rise and fall of a 20s silent film star, butt it is literally bringing back the glamour of silent silver screens which means no dialogue, only music. Will silent movies make a comeback?

Even our very own McNamara flapped for a 20’s musical comedy for the first play of the school year. “Anything Goes,” set sail during the fall season and met rave reviews from the audiences.

The question is, why the 20s for 2011? While there is no real, specific answer, it seems that with so many dilemmas of our time that are unremitting, like the economic downturn, people just want to escape to a world when life seemed Jazzy, glamorous, shiny, and rich.

Michelle Weston ‘12 StAFF WritEr

Ms.Laura Keller was told that her voice was too low and would make students feel uncomfortable with her. Boy, has she proven them wrong! She develops some of the closest relationships with her stu-dents and she successfully teaches History, Psychology, Women’s Studies, and Popular Music at McNamara. Her personable teach-ing style makes it hard to believe that her career was yielded because of her voice. After a voice analysis, she was told that her voice was too raspy, almost too intimidating to become a successful teacher. Even though her lower-pitched voice goes against the grain of the dis-crimination of high-pitched voices, it still depicts how much people are judged by simply talking.

Studies have shown that people with high-pitched voices are taken less seriously in the work force than

people with a regular, more famil-iar pitch. According to erupting-minds.com, listening to the tone of one’s voice is one of the first things people do when meeting someone for the first time, after examining what they are wearing. The voice is judged almost as much as appearance... and we all know how society feels about appearance. “High-pitchers” generally are not chosen for lead positions because businesses see a high-pitched voice as appealing but not demanding, which could be a problem for a leader attempting to stir their employees in the right direction, according to the study.

One new study catapulted by this idea was conducted by a group of researchers lead by David Feinberg, director of Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital. The researchers recorded the voices of 123 women as they pronounced vowel sounds, “ah, ee, eh, oh, oo” and replayed the recordings back to

10 men. The men were asked to rate their attraction toward the women’s voices. The experiment proved that high-pitched voices were seen as significantly more attractive than low-pitched voices. It is still ques-tionable whether this experiment depicts the true problem with “high- pitchers” in the work force, because females with high-pitched voices were the only ones being studied. Judging by my discussion about voice pitch with Ms. Keller, who teaches psychology, there may be another component missing in Feinburg’s study.

“Body language can overpower voice,” Ms. Keller said. Feelings associated with voice pitch are a major factor of how people perceive the world around them, but a per-son’s confidence could be enough to shine through a squeaky voice. “I think sometimes young ladies can act cutesy,” she said, but if high-pitchers want to achieve respect, they need to change their

demeanor. An example of over-powering a high-pitched voice is recording artist, Macy Gray. Ms.Keller has a huge amount of respect for Macy Gray, considering she had to knock down the same barriers as she did in her singing career. Macy Gray was told that she would not make it too far in the music industry because her voice was too different. She has grown into a successful, well-respected recording artist.

So now to answer the ques-tion, “Should we ditch the pitch?” the answer is no. People do not have to alter their voices to be ac-cepted. They just have to exude a certain degree of pride and demand respect. High-pitchers should not let their voices mold them into someone who is shy and meek, when they have so much more to offer. Don’t ditch the pitch, bring on the confidence.

taylor parker ‘12EDitOr

In a world of hierarchy, becoming the head of the food chain has become more of a right

than a privilege which is usually granted once they have done their time they are expecting to be rewarded with some perks. In the McNamara world, those perks are re-warded to students during their senior year, or so it used to be.

When students reach their senior year at McNamara, it’s supposed to be a time where they are cut some slack for their endurance through the previous three years. Administration aren’t as strin-gent, teachers are more under-standing and student council provides fun opportunities for their seniors, but recently juniors have been receiving the same treatment.

Everyone knows that the senior lounge may just be the highlight of a McNamara student’s high school career, but often times I find myself accidentally being bumped by a junior exiting the lounge during my lunch. Even after school I see them relaxing in our lounge as if they are actu-ally allowed in there.

Another highlight of senior year is finally being able to get out of those crowded uncomfortable bleachers and sit on the floor during Mass, but nevertheless I manage to find a few junior homerooms sharing my section of the floor. Now granted, space is the reason for this change but it’s the principle that I am speaking of. I don’t think it is fair that the juniors are able to experience senior perks already. As a junior I wasn’t allowed any of those things and I did just fine. The administration even showed sympathy to the juniors this year and gave them class t-shirts just because they didn’t get shirts for their sophomore service retreat and they wore them during class color day of homecoming 2011. Is this to bring equality within McNamara or are seniors are losing their grip and the senior perks not what they cracked up to be?

The 20’s roar Again!

Ditch the pitch? Studies show people with higher pitched voices taken less seriously in the work force

The Prada Fall-Winter 2011 collection, now available, is all about the 1920’s glamour of aviation. (Courtesy of Prada)

Juniors Are the New Seniors

4 Style & Culture

New Season, New path to the Championship

Anthony Brown ‘12 SpOrtS EDitOr

The Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Basketball teams look to repeat their stellar seasons, but this time with a championship. Let’s start with the Lady Mustangs. Led by guard Taylor Brown ‘11, the Lady Mustangs finished the 2010-2011 season with a record of 19-10 and a conference record of 12-7. They made it to the WCAC playoffs but lost in the semi-final round to the St. John’s Lady Cadets. Now that Brown has gone on to college to play ball at Georgetown University, the re-sponsibility is going to point guard Chanice Lee ‘12 to lead the team this season. Coach Gary Lee says that the coach-ing staff will put a lot of weight on her shoulders this season. Leadership is not limited to just one player though. He said the roster this year is loaded with seniors that can bring a lot of leadership and believes that because the team is filled with quality players this year, the bench is like the start-ers on the floor. It doesn’t seem like bench depth will be a problem this season and if players get injured he believes they’ll be fine. One strength that Lee pointed out was the speed of the team’s guards, which he hopes will make up for the lack of size they have at the forward positions. The team got off to a great start winning the Fall League Championship which accord-ing to Coach is one of the four goals he has set for his team.

The girls’ counterparts, the boys’ varsity basketball team finished with a record of 23-10 and a 11-7 WCAC record last season. Led by guard Marcus Thornton ‘11 (William & Mary) and Ibn Muhammad ‘11, the team reached the semi-finals of the playoffs before falling to Gonzaga. This year coach Martin Keithline is optimistic about his team saying, “We graduated nine seniors from last years team, for some of the younger players in our program to earn playing time. I am optimistic every year because I believe in our players and our system on both ends of the floor.” Like always, he expects the seniors to provide leadership and thinks it’s always interesting to see who steps up vocally and with actions to be leaders. One of the strengths Keithline sees is the team’s ability to be versatile. “We have players that can provide many different types of skills which allows us to keep teams off-balance who are trying to defend what we run on offense. We are quick, mobile, and energetic on the defensive end which is really going to be a key for us this season.” Keithline said. As far as the bench goes, he says that both the starters and bench players always need to be ready to play and that they use the players each game that give them the best chance to win.

Both Varsity Basketball teams have the potential to fill the shoes of their predeces-sors, and if they show up and show out every game they can do just that.

NBA BASKEtBAll

Back in Business2011 NBA lockout finally comes to an end

NFl FOOBAll

Manning for MVpThe injured QB has Shown his true Value to Colts

Jelani Scott ‘12StAFF WritEr

Were you wondering why some of your favorite NBA players had been sitting at home these past few months? No, it’s not because they’re lazy; it’s because their league had been shut down due to a lockout that began on July 1, after the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expired. This was the third Lockout in NBA history (‘95; ‘98-’99) and it lasted 149 days. It seemed that things would only get worse, as games had been cancelled through December 15th. However, on November 26th, after a 15 hour meeting between the NBA and player reps in New York, a tentative agreement was reached between the sides on a new CBA. These issues didn’t start overnight like some people may think; they were actually six years in the making.

In 2005, the NBA and the players’ union agreed to a new CBA after the 1999 agreement expired. A CBA is a legal contract between the league and the Players Association that determines the way business operates. In February of 2009, NBA commissioner David Stern and executive director of the players’ union Billy Hunter appeared at a news confer-ence to announce that both parties were

set to reopen talks on the CBA, two years before it expired. On August 5th, after a 3 ½-hour meeting between a group of 10 owners and player representatives, the NBA decided that a new deal needed to be created for the 2011-2012 season. On January 29th, 2010, the union received a proposal from the NBA that called for a significant financial change that revolved around players’ salaries and in February, following a two-day meeting, the union declined the proposal. On July 2nd, the union issued a counter proposal but it also failed. Following a series of failed proposals, the NBA officially locked its players out on June 1st, putting doubt in the minds of fans everywhere that there wouldn’t be a season.

During the near five month long dispute, 69 players had gone to play over-seas in places like Turkey, China, and Israel, leaving many fans disgruntled. During the lockout, I was able to ask a couple students what their opinions were. When asked “How do you feel about the Lockout?”, Henry Small ‘13 said, “I feel that the players, as far as the revenue split [goes], are being greedy because they are so used to being handed a bigger piece of the revenue that once they are handed something slightly smaller than what they previously had, they are upset. Personally,

if my boss wanted to give me and my co-workers 50% of a multi-[billion] dollar industry, I would take it.” Brandon Nelson ’12 said he felt that “the players are making enough money as it is, so they should just go out there and play.” Julian Hammett ‘12 thought that the owners were being “very stingy,” and that the players do deserve more money because “they are the ones playing [and] putting their bodies on the line while the owners sit in the press box, eating and drinking like modern-day Romans at a Gladiator match.”

After months of teams and cities losing money, a 50/50 revenue split, proposed and denied frequently during the stoppage, was finally agreed upon. A new 10-year CBA was created and the sides have an option to opt out after Year 6. It’s been confirmed that free agency will begin on December 9th and there will be a 66-game season, beginning on December 25th. The three slated games are NY Knicks vs. Boston Celtics, L.A. Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls, and Miami Heat vs. the defending champion, Dallas Mavericks. So dust off your jerseys, open your gifts early, and tune in on Christmas Day because the NBA is finally back!

Andrew Feather ‘13EDitOr

National Football League Most Valuable Player Award; it is an award sought after by almost every boy at least once in their childhood. It is also an award misunderstood by almost every fan of the NFL, even as the real meaning sits right before their eyes. Most Valuable Player; not Best Player or Player of the Year, but Most Valuable. As this season has progressed, one player has shown his true value: Indianapolis Colts’ Quarterback Peyton Manning, and he has done so without playing a single down.

As a result of three neck surgeries since the Colts fell from the playoffs last year, Manning, an eleven time Pro Bowler, has not and prob-ably will not see the field this season. Due to his absence in the huddle, the usually stellar Colts have fallen upon an 0-11 record and a spot at the front in the Andrew Luck sweep-stakes. Because of the impact that Peyton so obviously has on the team, he should be the 2011-2012 NFL MVP.

People will argue that a player that hasn’t played shouldn’t win MVP, and that the award should go to a player like the undefeated Green Bay Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers, who is set to shatter many

single-season NFL Passing records, or New Orleans Saints’ QB Drew Brees who has led his team to the top of the NFC South and is on pace for his sixth straight season of over 4,400 passing yards. But are they really as valuable as people think?

Sure Rodgers has been playing at a level seen very rarely in history, but look who he is surrounded by. He has a very talented, albeit young offensive line protecting him

from the rush and his receiv-ing corps, which includes Pro Bowlers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, is undoubt-edly the best in the league. Not taking anything away from Rodgers spectacular play this season, but if you put a high school quarterback behind that offensive line and give him those receivers, watch him look very good too.

Although Brees doesn’t have the incredible amount of talent around him that

Rodgers has, the Saints are still one of the National Football Conference’s better teams. The thing about his stats though, is that plays in the most pass happy offense ever to be seen in the National Football League. His team has almost three passing yards for every one they get on the ground, so while there is no doubt that he is a top five NFL quarterback, its easy to start to wonder whether those numbers are him or just the system he plays in.

Now Manning is one of few if not the only quarterback that can run the Colt’s current and complex offense. Under it, he receives multiple plays from the coach and after reading the defense, he decides what play will be run. Most people just do not have the football IQ to be able to make the reads that he does, or have the success he has.

Both Rodgers and Brees are great choices for the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, an award that specifically is made for offensive prowess, but neither seemingly have the ability to single-handedly turn their team from contend-er to win-less. But Manning has proven he can time and time again. So while they, or any player, might be the star of their team, they are not more valuable than Peyton Manning.

5SpOrtS

NFL Quarterback Peyton Manning (Courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts)

Matt Nuñez ‘12EDitOr-iN-CHiEF

I recently attended a concert for acoustic rock start-up Ray LaMontagne. It was an evening full of acoustic guitars, fiddles, pedal steels, and country beats, but it wasn’t country. Although the acoustic sounds of Ray LaMontagne and his band, The Parriah Dogs, formed a melodic, mellow atmosphere, the real hit of the evening was opening act, Brandi Carlile and her band, who received numerous standing ova-tions from the crowd during their set. I had never seen a response like that to an opening act before and it got me thinking about the changing scene of American rock music and how it came about.

Brandi Carlile began her set with a short cello-fiddle duet before breaking out into an acoustic rock song. The perfectly-tuned voice features a unique little trill between falsetto and normal range, along with a pair of brothers behind her harmonizing. By definition and general sound, Carlile can be clas-sified as rock, but when the fiddle and folk guitar sounds are added, something a little more interest-ing is born.

Modern acts such as Ke$ha and Bruno Mars rely on visually stimulating presentations of their songs to make a solid live show. The unique difference between these acts and those such as Brandi Carlile is the passion in the music. It’s not only evident in the sound, but it’s visible on stage as well. Take recent phenomena Mumford & Sons for example. Their debut album, released in early 2010, went quietly in the U.S. for about a year before the band caught the attention of those viewing the 2011 Grammy Awards. Many claim them as one of the best acts

of the night and the force behind their music was unprecedented. Although only using an acoustic guitar, a banjo, a double bass, and a keyboard, Mumford & Sons made their presence known with a pas-sionate performance of “The Cave.” Constantly swinging along to the tune and pounding their feet (or instrument) to the music, the band sent a message that there would be a new wave of artists taking over the future.

Mumford & Sons are one of the bands taking charge of the

“Americana revolution” as SPIN Magazine dubbed it. Americana is a term that focuses on the American roots of the music and how they are being incorporated into the modern context of digital and synthesized music. Instruments such as the banjo, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, and pedal steel among others have been used primarily for bluegrass, folk, and country in the past, but are becoming more and more common in rock clubs around the country. “[Americana is] col-laborative, rooted in harmony, and designed, like all folk music, for singing along to,” describes SPIN writer Amanda Petrusich. The difference is, though, that the formality of old American music (folk, bluegrass, etc.) is being lost in exchange for the looser “ jam” style of punk bands or even jazz to an extent. And while the banjo may be the hottest instrument on the market nowadays (See “Winter

Winds” by Mumford & Sons), the rock instrumentation is still there, arena-style drums and all. Imagine The Clash playing an upright bass, an acoustic guitar, and a harmonica in a small British club. Americana is something like that.

The 2011 Grammy Awards were a milestone in the progression of Americana, and a full-fledged baptism of sorts into the world of popular music. While Mumford & Sons carried their own just fine, it was the mix of artists in their performance that gave the show

(and Americana) its breath of life. The slot was three-fold, begin-ning with The Avett Brothers, a folk piano driven group, going to Mumford, and ending with both bands backing up the godfather of folk-rock, Bob Dylan himself. The 70 year-old musician has constantly been admired for his songwriting and simplicity with songs such as “Lay Lady Lay” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” but most bands have used Dylan as a springboard for heavier, harder rock (Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, etc.) but now it’s Dylan’s humble folk roots that are becoming more prev-alent in the music scene. Just take groups such as The Head And The Heart for example. This acoustic group centers their music around the acoustic guitar and croons away folk songs, making them sound fresh, raw, and popular. While Mumford & Sons threw the banjo into a whole new realm

of popularity, another group, Needtobreathe, was using the in-strument for a heavier rock sound, delicately balancing the banjo with the loud power chords of the elec-tric guitar. Even Ray LaMontagne, the acoustic based musician, uti-lizes the pedal steel (slide guitar) in many of his songs (“Empty”) and brings a more folk/country-like feel to his music. Before LaMontagne took the stage that evening, Brandi Carlile unloaded a powerful ren-dition of “Folsom Prison Blues” with a guitar-fiddle battle and loud rock beat, all while citing “One of my favorite artists - Mr. Johnny Cash!” So to say that Americana is completely new wouldn’t be ac-curate. It’s just making a revival from the forefathers of rock music in America.

While Americana may not be ruling the airwaves at the moment, its success is still unprecedented in retrospect. Not only has an almost ancient style -- not genre -- of music fought its way through the tides of the “futuristic sound,” but it has become a sort of homecom-ing for American rock musicians. Beginning with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the Mid-Sixties, rock and roll became the dominant style of music across the Western world. Before this time, the blues heavily influenced rock music but the genre never made a big cultural splash. With the “British Invasion” of the Sixties, rock and roll took on a new meaning with more of a pop-driven focus. Granted, there were still bands experimenting with dif-ferent styles (e.g. Pink Floyd), but the radios were ruled by the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Led Zeppelin, all of whom were British. They got rock underway in America, and influenced later acts of both sides of the Atlantic. The Seventies saw an arena-rock scene that featured

big guitar and drum sounds, and can be traced back to The Who. The Eighties continued this trend but brought the big “Hair” scene with it. Metal was also born around this time and served as a theme among rock artists of the time. The Nineties brought the grunge scene (Nirvana) that was influenced both by the “pure rock” mentality of the Eighties as well as the underling punk scene of the Seventies (The Ramones). As the Noughts (2000s) came, rock became lost in transla-tion and the popular side of the genre shifted more towards pop music. Now, Americana is making a revival and is wiping out over 50 years of rock history with its purely American roots. Want proof that it’s spreading? Mumford & Sons are British. Music is not oriented by who plays it, but rather by where it comes from. When a banjo is making its way around London music clubs, it is a true sign of American prowess.

So where is Americana heading? Judging by its explod-ing popularity, I’d say nowhere but up. The energy and raw emotion of the songs are enough to make a good show, but how can that be captured on a CD? Well, curiosity and creativity are the two driving forces that are propelling sales sky-high for Americana music, and that creativity comes from the use of almost ancient American musical styles - folk music. To put it simply, sometimes you have to go back-wards before you can go forwards. Taking it 80 years backwards is quite dramatic, but the results have proved successful thus far. So expect more acoustic guitars, more harmonicas, and heck, even more banjos in the future. Bob Dylan would be so proud.

Bringing rock Back to its rootsrock music is becoming purely American again

Mumford & Sons performing at Dot to Dot Festival in Bristol, UK on May 23, 2009. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

“Music is not oriented by who plays it, but rather by where it comes from. When a banjo is making its way around London music clubs, it is a true sign of American prowess.”

6 muSiC

Winter restaurant GuideWashington DC offers Spanish, Ethiopian and Mongolian style fare

Dukem

Entrees $13-21 Appetizers $4-8

I had high expectations of Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant; most online reviews were upbeat and “Best Ethiopian Restaurant in DC” certainly didn’t give the place a bad name. Walking through the doors, I was impressed by the mood of it all. The numerous windows allowed light to pour into the dining area while Ethiopian music quietly played in the background. However, the good reputation van-ished when the food came out.Being that this was my first time at an Ethiopian restaurant, I was shocked by the lack of utensils. So I think to myself, “Um, where are the forks...?” Mimicking other people around the room, I begin to pick up the messy food with my hands. I politely address my waitress,“Excuse me, is this the correct way to eat this? It’s my first time here.” She gives me a stale look and replies with a “yes” that is drenched in attitude and an-noyance. This will be my lasting impression of Dukem-- somehow selected “the best Ethiopian res-taurant in DC” since 2008, accord-ing to a Washington City Paper readers poll.

The attitude of my waitress was only the beginning of my not-so-great experience. Respectfully, I can say that Ethiopian food just isn’t my forte. I ordered an entree that consisted of: beef tibs, lamb wot, and chopped ground beef sea-soned with garlic, all served with injera (bread). The beef tibs were the only thing that didn’t light my mouth on fire and the injera, which was presented as a consumer

favorite on the website, was flavor-less and soggy. Even if I did enjoy the meal, the small quantity of food was not worth the twenty dollars I paid for it. Trying something new was interesting, but honestly I would never choose to go back. -Rachel Harris ‘13

BD’s Mongolian BarbecueEntrees $12-14

At BD’s Mongolian Barbecue in Bethesda, MD, you have complete control of what you are eating. Various meats and vegetables are laid out raw in a salad bar-like setting, and customers go through and pick their ingredients, which are then stir-fried by the chefs right in front of them.

This restaurant is all about choices. They offer about 7 dif-ferent meats, (e.g. strip steak, sausage, and calamari), 13 differ-ent vegetables (e.g. bean sprouts, red peppers, and baby corn), and

20 different sauces (e.g. pad thai, teriyaki, and shiitake mushroom). They also offer an assortment of spices, including ginger, cayenne pepper, and rosemary.

The restaurant staff recom-mends you go easy on the spices, and they couldn’t be more right. Sure, the red peppers give the dish some flavor, but at the end of your meal, you won’t be able to feel your taste buds.

After filling your bowl with your favorite ingredients, you get to pick from over 20 sauces to be mixed in with your meal. Although some of the exotic sauces are hard to pronounce (I’m still trying to sound out “szechwan”), they’re easy to love, and they add an extra bit of uniqueness to your bowl.

Bd’s Mongolian Barbecue defines itself as an “interactive casual dining experience that focuses on fun, choice, and control”, and it does just that. It offers an amazing eating experience to its customers, and if you don’t like it, it’s literally your fault”

Shannell Smith ‘12ö

La TascaEntrees $5-8

If you are looking for something with spice, then go to La Tasca. La Tasca is an authentic Spanish restaurant located on 7th street in Washington, D.C.

La Tasca is perfect if you don’t want to limit your meal and try new things. Tapas are dishes served in small proportions; ranging from seafood tapas to poultry tapas to vegetable tapas, each tapas is flavorful.

Brocheta De Pollo is one of the tastiest dishes and is perfect if you do not want to try something strange, but still try something new. Served as a Kabob, 5 pieces of chicken on a stick grilled, sounds simple right? What makes this dish so tasty is the Andalusian spices and red pepper.

Each Tapas range from $6.50 to $7.00 so if your tired of the turkey and holiday cookies, make a trip to La Tasca.

Calamares or simply just Calamari is a perfect starter for your meal served with a side of Cilantro dipping sauce. Some Calamari is almost too rubbery, or too crunchy but at La Tasca, the calamari is fried and battered where its just crunchy enough, and the wait for the dish is bearable.

The restaurant itself is uniquely decorated with two floors connect-ed with beautiful spiral staircases. Special events are held, including Salsa dancing on Thursdays and Fridays.

This restaurant not only gives you a different style and taste of eating, but also provides a beautiful environment and a friendly staff to serve you.

Elise Nagy ‘12ö

BOWie iCe arenaBowie, Maryland

Best prices

located in allen pond park in Bowie, Maryland, this rink has the best food prices.when looking for a place to ice skate, cost always seems to play a major role in the final decision. if you’re looking to save money on food and admission, Bowie ice rink is the best place to go. The downside is, although the food is cheap, it’s not very delicious. My suggestion if you plan on going to this rink is to eat before or after, something that shouldn’t be hard with all the restaurants in the area.

Capital CluBhOuSe waldorf, Maryland

rock wall & soccer field

The prices at this rink are average, the staff is approachable, the food is average, but the great thing about this rink is all the other activities besides simply ice skating that it offers. when you’re done skating you can go rock climbing, walk up the stairs and workout in the gym, or even walk a few feet down the hall and enjoy an exciting indoor soccer game.

tuCKer rOad iCe rinK fort washington, Maryland

Bumper cars

The Tucker road ice rink has a very nice at-mosphere. The staff is very amiable and the crowd is moderate, but there are two things that really make this ice rink sparkle. The first, are the casual pickup hockey games that anyone can participate in. The second, are the bumper cars it offers. The ice bumper cars are great and give your feet a break from the not-so-comfortable ice skates in one of the most fun ways imaginable.

OutdOOr rinKsilver spring, Maryland

Best atmosphere

The Tucker road ice rink has a very nice at-mosphere. The staff is very amiable and the crowd is moderate, but there are two things that really make this ice rink sparkle. The first, are the casual pickup hockey games that anyone can participate in. The second, are the bumper cars it offers. The ice bumper cars are great and give your feet a break from the not-so-comfortable ice skates in one of the most fun ways imaginable.

ice ice BabyAn in depth look at some of the ice skating rinks in the area and what they have to offer

What is “life Before 18”? an entertainment guide with fun, exciting and new ideas for people 18 and younger, to get them away from the screen and out into the world.

Elise Nagy ’12 EDitOr

There are always plenty of holiday movies to come out during Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are also some movies that have come out that you might have overlooked as being different from the other holiday movies. The Family Stone directed by Thomas Bezucha is a holiday screwball comedy that has as many laughs as tears. A polar opposite couple played by Sarah Jessica Parker and Dermot Mulroney spend the holidays together for the first time. An uptight conserva-tive business woman tags along with her supposedly supportive boyfriend, to meet what is de-scribed as a normal family.

Waiting in his smal l hometown, Everette’s family anxiously awaits to meet his uptight girlfriend. His mother Sybil (Diane Keaton) his father Kelly (Craig T.Nelson), his brother Ben (Luke Wilson), his gay and deaf brother Thad (Ty Giordano), and sister Amy (Rachel McAdams) all create a hostel environment to await his girlfriend. When first meeting Meridith, Everette’s girlfriend, the family automatically gives her more than a hard time.

The family dinner scene isn’t all warm and welcom-ing, but is nicely topped with a heated fight between the family and girlfriend. The most famously tense scene between Meredith and the family is when Meridith unintention-ally questions the homosex-ual couple about adopting a child.

The use of a diverse family leaves the movie unpredictable, and viewers will enjoy the ex-periment of an uptight person-ality clashing with a group of free spirited personalities.

The expected happy ending occurs, but there is a twist. The movie delivers more than your average stupid holiday humor, since there is more at stake than a simple Christmas meal. Viewers will learn there’s more to a present than its wrapping.

Pphoto

Courtesy of BD’s Mongolian Grill

Holiday Clash of the Family Stone

8

Christin Coleman ‘12

life BefOre 18