Jade K. Clark and Josh Medrano, News & Features Editorswww.whhscbox.com Issue CVII.7B

Walnut Hills High SchoolApril 9, 2013 Volume CVII, Issue 7B

Upcoming Event:

The FUNraiser A Chatterbox-Sponsored

Carnival

Who:This event is sponsored by the Chatterbox staff. It is open to all Walnut Hills students and faculty.

What:A carnival to raise funds for the Walnut Hills Chatterbox. There will be games, booths, group activities, food and drink, live music and FUN!

When:Friday, May 3 (the Friday before AP exams) after school Where:The “triangular courtyard” by the new music wing.

Keep an eye out for more information over the next few weeks!

People of the United States vs. the Marlboro CountryJosh Medrano, ‘13

They were once as ubiquitous as their catchy, unforgettable slogans. “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” is declared by one magazine as one of the best newspaper/television/radio jingles in the past century. Marlboro ad-vertising campaigns, including the “Marlboro man” and “Marlboro country” signatures and the femi-nist “Mild as May” slogan, are said to be some of the most brilliant of all time. Basically, cigarette com-panies were everywhere—in every newspaper, radio and television—that even a television program was named for a cigarette brand. Cigarettes were not merely a product, however; they were an insignia of social life. They were an indication of masculinity, coolness and social status. Mathematics teacher Michael Herald agrees; be-cause of peer influence and desire to fit in, Herald was dragged into the world of smoking. He smoked cigarettes mainly in social occa-sions and lit about a pack a day for 25 years. He started in the early 1970s, when he was already a college graduate and a lot of teenagers were smoking. In 1974, an esti-mated 31.1 percent of teenagers aged 12-18 smoked regularly, an eight percent increase from 23.1 in 1968. There would be a separate room for students and teachers who desired to smoke during the school day, according to Herald, who also remarked the ubiquity of cigarette machines in stores, where a pack cost 25 cents.

Cigarettes were, ironically, a form of treatment, especially for sore throats. One 1944 print ad for Philip Morris cigarettes stated, “When smokers changed to Philip Morris, every case of nose or throat irritation—due to smok-ing—either cleared up completely or definitely improved.” In addition, although more and more evidence was surfacing that smoking is linked to lung cancer, cigarette companies in the 1950s continued to promote their products. They also made new ones that they considered were “safer,” such as low-tar and filtered cigarettes. With the lung cancer revela-tion, people became more aware of the dangers of smoking. This, of course, began a series of legisla-tive and executive actions. In 1965, Congress passed the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, which requires the Surgeon General’s warnings on all cigarette packages. In 1971, all cigarette

advertisements were banned on television. In 1990, smoking was banned on all interstate buses and domestic airline flights lasting six hours or less. State legislatures have also moved to ban smoking in public spaces, especially in restaurants. Herald, who had a scar in his neck due to smoking, agrees that “people should be able to go to a restaurant without smelling like smoke.” Herald quit smoking 15 years ago, due to a mini stroke. How-ever, he first thought of quitting when his three-year-old son sat on the recliner and gestured as if he was smoking. His son told him that he wanted to be like his father when he grew up. Herald didn’t want him to. Today, cigarette companies have been generally unwelcomed in the United States. Warning from the Surgeon General that cigarettes contain carbon mon-oxide appears in a small font on

every cigarette package. Death from lung cancer is also still very prevalent. According to Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion, “[More] people die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer.” In 2009, over 200,000 people were diagnosed from lung cancer and almost 160,000 people died from it. Among teenagers, about 20 percent consider themselves to be regular smokers. According to the Surgeon General, for every person who dies due to smoking (about 1200 a day), at least two youths or young adults become regular smokers. The American Lung As-sociation reports that 3,800 kids try their first cigarette each day and that state governments fail to fund the tobacco prevention and quit smoking programs. But these statistics only occur in the United States, and ciga-rette companies now profit more by exporting tobacco to other countries. Although its usage has dwindled a lot, cigarettes still hold a moment in history where they were a treatment for basic medical problems, the most omnipresent commercial product, an emblem of life’s grandiosity. But Canadian comedian Dave Bradfoot makes a point: Isn’t a smoking section in a restaurant really like a peeing section in a swimming pool?

A look at cigarette smoking’s declining role in society

The state of study guides at Walnut Hills

Emily Friedman, ‘13

“When I was in high school...you had that big bright yellow color, and there was no mistaking it if you had it out in class,” says English teacher Dawn Wolfe of the original CliffsNotes. “But in theory you can now have it out

in class... [and] no one knows.” The advent of the Internet has digitized sources previously only available at bookstores or libraries, including CliffsNotes, SparkNotes and other study guides. 94 percent of 160 Walnut students surveyed said they have used a summary site at one time or another, and 77

JOSH MEDRANO/CHATTERBOX

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is currently the most searched study guide in Sparknotes, although 126 out of 160 Walnut students surveyed say they have read the novel.

percent have used that site in place of a reading assignment. “There really isn’t a difference, other than if you read the sum-maries you miss the details, so you also miss the deeper meaning,” says a SENIOR. “So it [reading the book] helps for essays.” When asked why they chose to read a summary in place of an assigned text, 37 percent of students re-sponded that they didn’t have time with their other work to do it. “A lot of people are busy, or too lazy, and don’t want to read the book. Using SparkNotes is an easier and more efficient way to get the as-signment done,” a junior explains. “I have choir rehearsal and soccer practice basically all year round, so spending free time reading can be difficult.” While 13 percent of students denied using a summary site in place of reading homework and 30 percent said they used these websites because they couldn’t understand the text, 21 percent responded that they simply didn’t

feel like it. With the predomi-nance of media at home via the laptops, TV, iPods, iPhones and other devices, it can be hard to break away from the ease of watching a screen and pick up a book full of complicated language. “I feel that most reading quiz-zes are too nitpicky. There’s stuff I miss when I only read, so I use SparkNotes to fill in the blanks...Especially with older writing,” says a freshman. The SparkNotes mission statement says, “As SparkNotes editors, our mission is to help you make sense of confus-ing schoolwork...We work with experts to create books, blogs, quizzes and flashcards that will help you master hard material.” They expect the site to be “read along with the books” analyzed in class. “We’re here to help you learn, not to help you cheat.” “I know the kind of quizzes I give,” says English teacher Saman-tha Gerwe-Perkins when asked about her reading evaluations. “But I don’t know what kind of

quizzes other teachers give. We haven’t actually looked at all of our reading quizzes.” Wolfe wonders if teachers could be to blame for stu-dents not having time for reading. “Does that mean the course load is too difficult? Does that mean that we need to do something else and coordinate things across the board?” she wonders. English teacher Blake Tay-lor disagrees. “It’s never the teacher’s fault that students read SparkNotes. I don’t think it’s the teacher’s job to plan for students to cheat,” he says. “My quizzes are almost always based on not only just a factual understanding of what happened to whom. They’re not plot based. They synthesize information. They have to build on stuff that we’ve talked about in class. They have to do analytical things that you cannot prepare for by reading SparkNotes or Cliffs-Notes.”

Read the complete article at <whh-scbox.com>.

BRANDON WAGNER/CHATTERBOXSmoking’s popularity has greatly decreased over time, especially recently.

April 9, 2013Page 2 Issue CVII.7B

VIEWPOINTS & SPORTSJaylen Hill and Austin Railey, Editors

Summer preview: Vans Warped TourKeMarca Wade, ‘13

Summer is 90+ degree weather under the hot sun. It’s pool par-ties, late nights, music and if you’re a SENIOR, the start of the rest of your life. What better way to celebrate graduating than listen-ing to bands from all over in one place live? Every year, the Vans Warped Tour comes to Riverbend Cincinnati with over 100 bands. From March 28 to August 4, 10:00am-8:00pm at each venue, these bands tour together all across the country. This year, the Vans Warped Tour will be at Riverbend on July 30. The genres represented are alternative, rock, metal, screamo, punk and rap. The bands range from big-name bands like Sleeping With Sirens, Black Veil Brides and Bring Me The Horizon, to lesser known bands, such as Art of Shock and Dose of Adolescence. There are around nine stages spread out where the bands play at scheduled times (there’s a larger-than-life blow-up schedule posted in the area for anyone who wants to know who’s playing when and where). The tickets are always cheaper the earlier they’re bought, and they

are all-access passes. As of right now, the tickets are around 42 dollars. With 100+ bands playing, that’s only a few cents per band! Imagine only paying 42 cents to see Falling In Reverse or Allstar Weekend. Pre-order tickets online or buy them at the door, but make sure to get them before they sell out. There’s more than just music to enjoy, though. When I went last year, I enjoyed the food, the dancing, meeting my favorite artists and having them sign me and the overall fun of just being with others who love your favorite artists. The only downside would be deciding what to wear! Typical attire comprise of shorts, a band shirt or t-shirt, gym/tennis shoes (with socks, please!) and other band merchandise you might have. There are multiple ways to keep cool; for example, ladies, a swim top can be worn under shirts. For guys, no shirt is good if you don’t mind a tan. My personal favorite is a swim top under a tank top with shorts and gym shoes. If you’re not doing anything else this summer, make sure you come to the Vans Warped Tour because it’s definitely going to be the best concert of the year.

Striking up for new competition

Austin Railey, ‘13

Starting in his fourth year of coaching and looking to improve on his teams losing record in what was the Fort Ancient Valley Con-ference (FAVC), Eagles’ baseball Coach Dan Finley comes into the new season with solid expectations with his current roster of nine returning SENIORS and several underclassmen with prior varsity experience. “He’s a good coach—we’ll do very well this year,” says SENIOR Sam D’Alessio. In the group of returning SENIORS is Thomas Rohlfer, three-year varsity starter and 2012 FAVC Second team all-conference member who will lead the baseball team into a new season. Rohlfer has high hopes that the Eagles can improve on their past success: “I believe last year we had high ex-

pectations and didn’t meet them, but we have those same high expectations this year, and I think we can meet them,” says Rohlfer. “We’ve been working really hard this offseason,” says SENIOR AJ McSwain. He believes the team will win at least 17 games this year. Competition will also be expected to improve with movement to the ECC (Eastern Cincinnati Conference) in which several teams from the old FAVC will have moved to the new con-ference. One of these teams being Milford High School who led last year’s league (FAVC) with the best win to loss record at 13-3 in the conference. Returning this year is SENIOR starting pitcher/outfielder Jake Desch who returns to the team having recovered from an injury

he received prior to this baseball season. He had suffered from mi-cro tears in his flexor tendon and ulnar collateral ligament which led to removing himself from the football team this past season. Desch looks to begin and end his SENIOR season healthy. “My arm strength isn’t where it had been in the past but I feel strong and healthy,” says Desch. “We’re more focused than in previous years,” says SENIOR Evan Riffle, who believes the Ea-gles have what it takes to compete in this year’s new league. The team began its home game competitions with three back-to-back games at Roselawn Park, with one against Ross and two against Glen Este. Game recaps can be found online at <www.whhscbox.com>.

Isaiah Johnson, ‘13

The Eagles varsity track and field teams are pumped for the upcoming season. The girls’ track and field team was successful last year by win-ning the FAVC league title. They also returned the FAVC Runner of the Year SENIOR KelseyCornett, Iowa State commit and three-time FAVC & District 800m Cham-pion SENIOR Maryn Lowry and District & Regional Discus Champion Chelsea Carpenter, ‘14. “I feel like this year is going to just get better and better,” says SENIOR Kelsey Cornett. Two team members to keep an eye on are SENIOR Alijah Car-penter, who has been a member of the state qualifying 4x100m and

4x200m relay teams her entire high school career. The other is Hannah Schroeder, ‘15, who, according to her coach, is second only to Lowry in the 800m.The team is coming into this sea-son looking for “redemption after a mediocre year,” says SENIOR Jonathan Avant III. The boys’ track and field team finished last season 5th in FAVC. The individuals to watch for are throwers SENIOR D’Avon Adkins and Ellery Lassiter, ‘14; sprinters SENIOR Kessashun Ar-thur and Amani Russell, ‘14 and hurdler SENIOR John Avant.“I am really excited about this year,” says head coach Bill Valenza-no, “we have a lot of SENIOR leadership and several new athletes with much potential.”

Spotlight on track and field

COURTESY OF MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

SENIOR Jonathan Avant III (right) runs through hurdles during a meet. Hurdles are just one of the many events in track and field.

COURTESY OF TRACI D’ALESSIO

The Eagles will begin their new season March 30 against Taylor in the Reds Futures Showcase at Roselawn.

The great adventures of Robin Eagle

COHEN WALKER/CHATTERBOX

Follow my adventures online at <whhscbox.com>.COHEN WALKER/CHATTERBOX

Hitting the books hard in the CIC!

COHEN WALKER/CHATTERBOX

I learned Beethoven’s symphonies when I was just a chick.COHEN WALKER/CHATTERBOX

I call this one “Eagle on Display.” It’s a vintage.

FINE ARTS & STYLEJenna Weber and Hannah Shaw, Editors

April 9, 2013Issue CVII.7B Page 3

Arts spotlight: Adrienne TongAbrena Rowe, ‘14

Totally focused on the game, drowning out everything around him, screaming out various chants that exemplify Walnut spirit: this is how SENIOR Austin Carpenter spends his time during a typi-cal Eagles game while in front of the Nut House student cheering section. These fans are extremely dedi-cated to their team and it shows when they are on the sidelines during the various games that they attend. You can find SENIORS Austin Carpenter, Brendan Franke, Charlie Hatch, Evan Riffle and Cohen Walker, in the student sec-tion at every game painted up in blue and gold leading the crowd. They’ll get everyone pumped up and encourage the team to vic-tory. They scream and shout their own cheers, cheer along with the cheerleaders, and even wear shorts during the cold weather. With the 2013 basketball sea-son specifically, the Nut House has gone to new heights. If you have

gone to any of the games, you’ve seen the big cardboard heads of the players that the fans pass around in the student section and the glow sticks that they waved around as well as the light show that occurred against St. Xavier. The Nut House has made the basketball games an event for the Eagle fans by including half court shot contests, Chick-fil-a eating contests, and throwing t-shirts into the crowd. Throughout the season they’ve also held different nights where the Nut House would encourage the fans to come out in a certain color, and they would peg these nights as “White-outs,” “Gold-outs” or “Blackouts.” Students would go to the extremes sporting morph suits, jazzersise attire, and one even wore a white tuxedo. Nut House vice president, Charlie Hatch, states “The whole goal of the Nut House is to have the school come out and support the athletes as much as we can. The basketball team has received a lot of hype, especially because they’re doing so well this

year.” Throughout the development of the Nut House it has grown into something great. From the start in 2008 to now; this group has gone from a small establish-ment that sold t-shirts and ap-peared in small sections at a few games to a large hoard of students who walk around campus bearing clothing that reads ‘Nut House’ and show up at games in flocks. “The Nut House goes beyond just a group of students together cheering on our teams,” Nut House president SENIOR Clara Smith says. “It is a time when Walnut students can really act as a sixth man on the floor or another person on the football or soccer field. And other people really start to care about one another and come together as a community.” Josh Hardin, the Assistant Athletic Director who oversees the Nut House explains, “It shows the support that we have for our great school. To see all of those students together jamming—it’s amazing.”

Walnut fans go nuts

The Chatterbox Editorial StaffCharlie Hatch and Jonah Roth, Editors-in-Chief

Emily Friedman, Senior Managing Editor Garretson Oester, Junior Managing EditorJoe Schmidlapp, Design Editor KeMarca Wade, Online Content ManagerMartine Williams, Business Manager Cohen Walker, Assistant Business Manager

Page EditorsJade K. Clark, News Editor Josh Medrano, Features EditorJaylen Hill, Viewpoints Editor Jenna Weber, Fine Arts EditorAustin Railey, Sports Editor Hannah Shaw, Style & Culture EditorCeleste Kearney and Zoe Cheng, Peanuts Editors Brandon Wagner, Arcade Editor

Advisors: Samantha Gerwe-Perkins and Dawn WolfeIllustration by Sarah Davidoff

The Chatterbox Policy Statement The Chatterbox has been guaranteed the right of freedom of the press through the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The administration of Walnut Hills High School is thus bound to support and protect the Chatterbox’s inalienable rights as a free press. As an integral part of the Walnut Hills High School community, The Chatterbox has the responsibility to report in the most comprehensive and objective manner

possible. Students, parents, faculty, and administrators are encouraged to use this publication as a forum to express any ideas or concerns, whether they be personal or of local, national, or international scope. Journalists are required to work under established guidelines. Invasion of privacy as a means of news gathering is prohib-ited. Articles found to be discriminatory, libelous, or unnecessarily obscene (as determined by the editors or the advisor) will not be published. Finally, journalists

are granted the right to keep private the name of a source from whom they received information with the understanding that the source was to remain anonymous. The role of the newspaper advisor will be to provide counsel and criticism pertaining to the newspaper’s content and production. Although both the advisor and the admin-istration hold certain powers regarding the Chatterbox, both must respect the paper’s autonomy. No student shall be prevented from joining the staff on the basis of sex, race, creed, or national origin.

Questions or comments?We would love to hear your thoughts! All feedback and corrections for the Chatterbox should be directed to

<cboxwalnut@gmail.com>. Written feedback and submissions can also be dropped off in Room 2307.

Jenna Weber, ‘13

“All kids draw pictures. I just never stopped.” This is how Adrienne Tong, ‘14, describes her entrance into the world of art. Her father is a graphic designer and got her involved in weekend classes at a young age. From there, her love of art blossomed. Tong considers pens, along with acrylic paints, her “signature mediums.” Though it is her first year working with acrylic, she has been doing pen and ink work for a while. Tong also enjoys working with colored pencils, which were her favorite up until this year, and she calls spray paint “so much fun.” Tong also puts a unique spin on photography. Because she describes her photos as often “not strong enough to stand alone,” she uses other materials to give them a different look. Tong usually uses Photoshop (or other digital programs) to edit her photos, does pen and ink work, or sews on top of her photos. This year Tong is taking AP Studio Art 2D Design. AP Art students are required to declare an area of concentration for their work that year, and Tong’s

is bones. When asked why she chose the rather unusual topic of bones, Tong explains, “The thing about bones is they’re like a person, without being a person.” She continues, saying that bones allow more freedom since the art-ist doesn’t have to worry as much about getting a person’s features right. Tong has enjoyed her experi-ence so far in AP Art, saying that, “at the beginning of the year, I was just a kid who did art, now I’m an artist.” She would defi-nitely recommend AP Art to other aspiring artists; however she adds emphatically that “they need to be warned: [AP Art is] so demand-ing.” Students are usually required to produce one new piece each week. One goal of Walnut Hills is to get students thinking about col-lege early, and Tong has some very firm ideas about where she would like to go. She calls the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning “ridiculously appealing.” This program within UC consis-tently appears on national and international lists of top artistic schools. Tong is also looking at Rhode Island School of Design, another top-ranked school.

ADRIENNE TONG

Adrienne Tong, ’14, says “bones [are] like a person, without being a person.” Bones are her area of concentration in her AP Studio Art 2D Design class.

KYLE CHASE/CHATTERBOX

World-renowned saxophonist speaks to jazz students

Jonah Roth, ‘13

On Friday, March 15, world-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis stopped by Walnut for a one-hour question and answer session with jazz students. The Schott Recital Hall was packed: administrators, teachers, parents, and both jazz bands had taken their fourth bell to take advantage

of this opportunity. Marsalis had no set agenda. Every question he answered was posed by teachers and jazz band students. A recurring theme in his answers, however, was his prefer-ence for older forms of jazz and music in general.

View the complete article online at <whhscbox.com>.

Branford Marsalis shrugs as he answers questions from the Walnut Hills jazz students. He visited the Schott Recital Hall last month.

AUSTIN RAILEY/CHATTERBOX

Nut House members paint up for a game. The Nut House has risen to new heights during the 2013 season.

April 9, 2013Page 4 Issue CVII.7B

ARCADE & PEANUTSBrandon Wagner, Zoe Cheng and Celeste Kearney, Editors

Cardinal SurvivorBrandon Wagner, ‘13

Acorn Hills #4:Google Pretati Shawntez Robertson, ‘13

Ask Piper Peanut: Dances

Dear Piper Peanut,

It’s getting to be the end of the school year, and there are a lot of parties and dances going on. The Twilight Ball is coming up soon and it makes me nervous. Do I bring a date? I have been invited to some Bar and Bat Mitzvahs along with some birthday parties, but I’m not sure if I should go. If I go, do I go with friends? Go alone? What if I get invited and my friends don’t? Or the opposite? What do I wear? What does “semi-formal” mean? All of this makes me feel very nervous. I could really use some advice. Thanks!

Sincerely, Nervous Norman

Dear Norman,

It is okay to feel nervous about parties. They can be a lot of fun, especially when you go with a group of friends. For the Twilight Ball, don’t worry about finding a date. A group of friends will be a lot more fun anyway. Bringing a

date adds unnecessary pressure, plus you don’t have to find a date until at least high school (and not even then, unless you want one). If you don’t get invited to a party, don’t worry. It is okay to not go to every party. Crashing parties is never a good idea! If you are invited and your friends are not, it can be a great opportunity to make new friends. It can be helpful to know if anyone else you know is going to the party besides your typical group of friends. When deciding what to wear, check the invitations. Invitations generally tell you what type of clothing to wear. Most of the dances for us are semi-formal or casual. For casual, wear jeans or khaki pants and a polo or button-down shirt. Girls can wear jeans, a nice skirt, or a casual dress. Semi-formal means dressing up a little more. Wear nice pants and a shirt with a collar. Ties might be appropriate, depending on the party. Girls will most likely wear dresses or skirts. It can help if you check with your friends and other people going to the party so you do not dress up too much or too little, but just right. Remember to be comfortable; the party will not be as much fun if you are wearing uncomfortable clothes. The purpose of parties and dances are to have fun. So relax, don’t worry too much about what you’re wearing, and have a good time breaking out your cool dance moves.

Your Friend,Piper Peanut

Have a question you want Piper to answer? Send your question to <peanutschatterbox@gmail.com> and the answer may appear in the next issue!

SHAWNTEZ ROBERTSON/CHATTERBOX

Parties can be a lot of fun. There’s no need to stress, if you take my advice.

Junior high boys lacrosse starts their season Zoe Cheng, ‘15 Celeste Kearney, ‘15

The frigid, forty-some degree air whipped at the players’ bare knees as it rolled across the field. Above them, the cloudy sky stirred with the promise of rain. Parents, gloved and bundled, cheered from the side. And in the center of it all, a player in a blue-and-gold jersey ran down the turf and scored a goal. It was March 18th and the first game of the junior high boys lacrosse season. Playing the Blue Jays on the Clark Montessori soccer field, the Walnut boys ap-peared fierce and competitive. After their victory, the boys celebrated and broke their huddle with a “Go Eagles!” cheer. They slumped on the field amid heaps of duffle bags and lacrosse sticks, exhausted, sore and victorious. “I look at middle school la-

crosse as being the training ground for anybody and everybody who wants to come out and play,” says junior high boys’ lacrosse coach John French, who has been coach-ing lacrosse for three years. “There are combinations of basketball, soccer, football... you name it, you can find it in lacrosse.” Paul McGinnis ‘18, the goalie for the team, adds “it’s a good team sport.” Kai Kremer, ‘17 describes lacrosse as being “just fast-paced and fun.” “Two thirds of my team has never played the game before, so we are working on a lot of basic skills [at practice],” French says. “I have a bunch of ex-football players who are playing defense. I have, you know, my small fast guys up running on attack. There’s a spot for everybody on lacrosse.” “We have a lot of first-year [lacrosse] players [on our team],”

says Kremer. Even though the season is just a few weeks old, the boys have al-ready developed a sense of friend-ship and familiarity with each other through practices. French describes practices as consisting of “a little bit of offense and some good team defense.” “[The team is] like a brother-hood,” says Kremer. McGinnis “[has made a] lot of friends on the team and [sees] other kids making friends too, even though kids are only playing on this team first year.” French says that “[his] experi-enced players have been very good about teaching the guys who don’t have any experience how to play.” Witnessing the team’s fast bonding makes him “extremely happy.” “Everyone’s kind of working well together,” says attack player Joe Smith, ‘17.

CELESTE KEARNEY/CHATTERBOX

Walnut’s defensive players guard the Blue Jays’ offensive player as he nears the goal. This is the first game of the Walnut Hills junior high boys lacrosse team’s season.