T h e L a k e F o r e s t A c a d e m y

Volume 89 Number 5 February 25, 2011

S P E C T A T O R1500 West Kennedy Road Lake Forest, IL 60045

128-9 6See page 6 See page 8 See page 12

By Ariana BhatiaNews Editor

For those who are tired of lugging around pounds of textbooks each night, tablet technology may have found you a solution. As of December 2010, Kno Inc. began shipping its newest invention, the Dual Screen Tablet, in attempt to revolutionize the education industry. The Kno Dual Screen Tablet offers a lightweight and compact alter-native to the traditional set of textbooks. The new device opens like a book, but instead of pages a reader is greet-ed by two 14-inch-screens. While few may have heard of Kno, its new product has the potential to completely change the way students learn. The Dual Screen Tablet is being marketed as a “digital textbook.” After purchasing a tablet, students can download all their textbooks onto this one device. Instead of carrying around a 20 lb. backpack, all students will need

is their tablet. “Ithinkitwoulddefinitelyhelpstudentsbecause,for one, it obviously allows them to carry all their text-books with them... I don’t think its practical for the stu-dents to carry textbooks, not only to the classroom, but on athletic trips and other student trips,” said Mr. David Aykroid, LFA’s Director of Information Technology, “Consumers are going to demand that this technology is available.” Not only will they be able to read the tablet text-book in full size without scrolling, but also use the sty-lus to annotate the text or create sticky notes, highlight passages, and even look up words in the dictionary. The double screens were designed to allow students to read on one side while simultaneously taking notes or researching on the web on the other. In addition to texts the tablet can store study guides, handouts, or a student’s own work and back them up online, if necessary.

“This device has a stylus technology and there are studies that have shown that writing out hand written notes allows students to have better retention than notes that are typed,” commented Aykroid. The device was created with college students in mind; however, it already has the capabilities to download numerous textbooks used at LFA. While many see the ease of purchasing books digitally as a plus, this factor is also responsible for the wariness of publishers to the tablets. Aykroid mentioned that publishers are “con-cerned with the ease of duplication.” Students responded to the idea of using such a device with mixed feelings. “I like the concept of no actual textbooks,” said junior Matt Goad. “It’s genius!” junior Casey Coulter seconded. However others see possible downsides to such a technology.

Dual screen tablet future of textbooks

Academic dishonesty survey:39% of LFA students admit to cheating

Story continued on page 2

Photo Courtesy of Tribune News ServicesAccording to a survey taken by Lake Forest Academy students, the two most common ways of cheating is copying homework and discussing tests.

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Groupon

Comparing the aspirations of two LFA classes

LFA Oscar predictions

By Taylor JenkinsEditor-in-Chief

Students and teachers alike have been heard late-ly wondering about the extent of academic dishonesty at Lake Forest Academy. Some people think it is pervasive; some think it isn’t a problem at all. In an effort to clarify the possible problem, The Spectator staff recently under-took an online survey to discover the severity of academic dishonesty at LFA. In that survey, 39% of the students who responded admitted to cheating on something at LFA. The six questions on the survey – distrib-uted to the student body through surveymonkey –werespecificallydesignedtodiscovertheamount,meth-ods, and opinion of the LFA student population on academ-ic dishonesty. While the results are shocking, they should not be taken as an exact representation of the situation due to possible non-responses and false answers on questions. The survey found that 39% of all LFA students have done something that would be considered aca-demically dishonest. This means that approximately 2/5 students openly admitted to violating one of LFA’s ma-jor rules. According to the survey results, the two most prevalent ways to commit academic dishonesty were copying homework (23.7%) and discussing tests with

other students who have already taken the test (21.6%).Twenty percent of respondents also felt that at

least 1-of-5 LFA students have plagiarized from the inter-net. Plagiarism is described in the handbook as “… the use of another person’s words, thoughts, or ideas without cred-iting the source. Students are especially cautioned that us-ing and copying material from internet sites and presenting it as one’s own work is entirely dishonest and easily distin-guished by one’s teachers as the work of another writer.” “I’ve been almost forced to copy homework on multiple occasions because of the sheer amount of work we get. It gets to the point where I can’t possibly complete all of my homework so I am forced to get answers off other students in the class,” admitted an anonymous survey respondent. This was a very common response among students who admitted to cheating in one form or another. Many stated that they simply couldn’t complete all their work due to its sheer volume and that they viewed cheating as their only

option, other than handing in late work. Another surprising result of the survey was that 62% of those who responded felt that cheating was not a major issue around campus, yet 45% of respond-ers believed that at least 1/5 of LFA students have been academically Story continued on page 4

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february 25, 2011

World News RoundupAssembled by Sophia Salsberry

Photo Editor

Photo courtesy of www.kno.comThe Kno Dual Tablet allows efficient multitasking by using both LCD screens.

By Rickey Larke and Erica LewisOp-Ed Editors

Every February the LFA All-School Meeting is re-lated to the month-long celebra-tion of Black History Month, but this year the school decided to use the first ASM meetingslot to tackle the controversial film “Race to Nowhere,” di-rected Vicki Abeles and Jessica Congdon. The documentary dis-cusses the American School sys-tem, the increased emphasis on school tests and college choices, and the stress levels that causes for students and family mem-bers. It chronicled several fami-lies and students in California applying for college and strug-gling with class workloads. At-tendees viewed the film andthen had a frank discussion with school administrators present in the theater. A major critical point stated in the movie was that American schools are failing to educate students in critical thinking, a skill needed to bring new solutions to the world. “The American educa-tion system is a mile wide and an inch deep,” said Abeles, chal-lenging teachers and parents to findwaystobetterequipfuturegenerations to tackle new prob-lems. Abeles contends that more time is spent on learning to take tests than developing actual

educational skills in American schools. She said this is done because of the intense focus on getting into the “best” colleges. Even though the filmdealt primarily with public schools, Academic Dean Phil Schwartz felt the film was soimportant that he wanted LFA students and parents alike to view it. “As a school we are in-terested in the overall well being of our students,” said Schwartz. “The film raises questions thatour faculty and staff have been working to address over the past few years (stress, sleep depriva-tion, academic, etc.).” The film, which gar-nered mixed emotions from students, seemed to gain a lot of support from the crowd of par-ents who came to see it in the Cressey Center. “Thefilmwasspot-onfor me and my family,” com-mented one parent. “Especially the story about the third grade boy already under stress in the film.Thatmademeunderstandwhat the filmmakerwas tryingto show the audience.” “The film highlighteda lack of ‘love for learning’ in schools today,” said another LFA parent. “When I viewed it that way, it was very upsetting.” Most of the post-filmconversation centered on what students, faculty, and parents alike could do to make sure the

problems occurring in the filmdid not permeate the LFA com-munity. After hearing sugges-tions about making the school day longer or dropping home-work all together, Mr. David Wick, a Latin and English teach-er at Lake Forest Academy re-marked that: “Each problem is different for each family, so it’s hard to have one solution for a mass of kids.” “Just like all children in school are different, so are all institutions and teachers,” Wick continued, “but I think at LFA educators do a good job at cer-tain things and are able to con-nect and reach kids. However, we all do have things we need to work on to become a better insti-tution, but I’d like to think we’re making a good attempt to better ourselves already.” A few students attended the screening and they offered mixed feelings in the post-filmdiscussion. Sophomore Jane Strud-wick stated the movie was “spot on”, while others posed the question “Are we becoming too lazy?” Most students seemed to be able to understand both argu-ments and were committed, like their parents, to working with administrators to help change the school system in this coun-try.

“Race to Nowhere” stresses an overbearing pressure on students

“Ithinkitwouldbeefficient,butpersonally I like reading out of a physical book,” commented ju-nior Natalie Bernstein. “I feel like that would be a great idea. It would be much easier to carry. It would cost a lit-tle but in the long run it would be a lot cheaper than buying tons of textbooks every year,” said junior Aline Feijo, “but what worries me would be the E-waste that it could produce.” The technology depart-ment has recently been looking into the possibility of bringing such devices to LFA student life.

Tablet capable of changing future school materialscontinued from page 1

Affetto, the baby robotInformation from BBC news.

Japanese roboticists Minoru Asada, Hisashi Ishihara, and

Yuichiro Yoshikawa have developed a robotic tabletop baby’s head,

Affetto, which means affection in Italian. Affetto was designed to

look like a 1-2 year old child with realistic facial expressions, life-

likeeyes,andamouththatopensandcloses.Affettoisnotthefirst

robo-baby, he follows Kindy and Noby, Diego, and CB2. The idea

behind Affetto is that scientists will be able to use him to study baby

development and is meant to be treated as a human being by caregiv-

ers.

Protestors force Egyptian President to step down

Information from BBC news.

After 18 days of protest, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

is removed from his position and the new ruling military council has

dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution. The higher

military council plans to set up a committee to draft a new constitu-

tion and then put it to a popular referendum. The military has stressed

that it would be best for Egyptians to return to work for a smooth

transition to civilian rule. Yet fresh protests and strikes from bank-

ers, transport and tourism workers, and policemen have erupted over

better pay and conditions from Egypt’s new military rulers. The mili-

tary’s biggest challenge will be staving off future protests and strikes.

China’s economysurpasses Japan’sInformation from BBC news

China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second biggest

economy, with Japan’s economy worth at $5.474 trillion and China

at $5.8 trillion at the end of 2010. Japan experienced a drop in ex-

ports and consumer demand, while China has hit a manufacturing

boom. At China’s current growth rate it is expected that it will replace

the US as the world’s leader in about a decade. Japan played down

thesignificanceoftheeconomicchangeinrankeventhoughthisis

thefirsttimetheyhavebeenreplacedastheworld’ssecondlargest

economy in four decades.

Photo courtesy of Tribune News ServicesEgyptian demonstrators protesting president

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March 2nd: Multicultural Day showcases LFA diversity By Hunter Johnstone

Staff Writer

One of Lake Forest Academy’s longstanding tradi-tions is Multicultural Day, a day on which both students and facul-ty get to learn about, and express the diversity of, cultures and tra-ditionsonecanfindattheschool.This year, the faculty overseers of Multicultural Day (Mr. Steve RyderandMs.LilyZhao)aimtomake Multicultural Day an enter-taining event for all through small changes to the day’s schedule, while emphasizing the same goal of cultural learning that the expe-rience was built upon. “We always do our best to make it fun for everybody and to offer a variety of activities,” saidRyder.“We’rejusttweakingdetails.” Ryder explained thatthey will continue to have the one-day language classes due to their success last year, and by re-quest they will now be extended to be 45 minutes. The booths rep-resenting different countries will now have a trivia game involved

to make it more interactive and fun. He also says at the end of the day there will be a surprise per-formance that he doesn’t want to give away. Other small changes are coming from student leaders, like senior Kenny Chavez, who is one of the proctors for Multicultural Day. “We will try to bring the Student Diversity Leadership Conference experience to LFA this year. We will do this with a series of activities that we have planned to promote a more di-verse and inclusive community,” said Chavez. Some people at LFA are still fond of the main activi-ties that are held every year. For example Mr. Justin Jones be-lieves the best part of Multicul-tural Day is the International Fair. Accodring to Jones, it gives international students a chance to not only try different foods from around the world, but also to “represent and be proud of their culture and where they’re from.” Others who’ve never experienced Multicultural Day have high ex-

pectations as well.“I hope it will be fun,

interesting, and culturally eye-opening,” said freshman Caroline Duckworth. Similarly, Ben Diaz, junior, expects a day of “globally pluralistic fun.” In all, the purpose of Multicultural Day has always

been to “celebrate the cultural differences we have here on campus,” as Ryder phrased it,but some want to make sure that this message is not received the wrong way. “We can’t just look at it superficially as ‘this is how di-verse LFA is,’ but we must recog-

nize the whole idea of having an opportunity to be exposed to all the different cultures and coun-tries represented here in prepara-tion for what one might encoun-ter in the real world,” said Dean of Pluralism Lusanda Mayikana. “Overall there’ll always be a ben-efit.”

New electives allow students to explore new fields of studyBy Natasha Patel

Op-Ed Editor

There are many new elective courses being offered this semester, primarily geared towards the seniors, as their last semester at Lake Forest Academy begins. These electives cover specific subjects in great depth,similar to college elective cours-es, and tend to be taken by very interested students. Ms. Lusanda Mayikana created a new English elective en-titled “Power and Politics in Hip Hop Culture.” “Hip hop is concerned with the major questions of phi-losophy, identity, ideology, art and existence, and it is essentially a study of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality and identity as they are lived by urban youth and their communities,” said Mayikana. “It foregrounds how oppressed people and marginal voices move into dominant cul-

ture and often create a space for themselves. So, it is necessary to afford students an opportunity to explore and examine these issues as they apply to what many see as commonplace in our everyday lives in order to bring them to the center.”

Mayikana’s favorite part about teaching this elective is “when students realize that you hear different things when you listen in different ways and shar-ing research about how Hip Hop incorporates culture and society – especially issues that pertain to representation and power.”

Mayikana was intro-duced to Hip Hop as an academic discipline through lectures and seminars run by the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard.

“My interest was piqued by the realization that most peo-ple listen to and participate in hip hop culture without taking into consideration the power and poli-tics that drive the industry,” she

stated, “and what role we, as con-sumers play, in the evolution that we have seen in hip hop culture since the 1970s.”

“I really like it so far,” said Zach Volland, a senior atLFA, who takes this elective. “We are basically learning about how rap music is misunderstood by a lot of people and about everyone who started the different forms of hip hop.”

Mr. Ted Stewart, Head Football Coach at LFA, has intro-duced an elective entitled “Sport in American History”. He has a master’s degree in Sport Ad-ministration and an undergradu-ate degree in American Studies. When asked what Stewart enjoys about the subject matter, he re-plied, “teaching an elective, be-cause there are no boundaries on what to teach.”

“In our course we hit on a number of different topics and try to bring everything together to answer two or three overarch-

ing questions,” said Stewart, who also enjoys interacting with stu-dents on an academic level.

Senior Jared Dimakos takes this elective and explained that the class began with dis-cussions on the development of sports by Native Americans and how they were used for more than simply entertainment. When asked about the course Dimakos said, “it’s a fun class and very in-teresting.”

Mr. William Murphy, an English teacher and head of The Spectator, established an elective called “Literature of Chicago.” It is brand new and was actually the idea of former English Depart-ment Chair, Jeff Bell, who asked Murphy to develop it.

When asked why he was interested in starting this elective, Murphy responded that he was attracted to the chance to teach seniors, because he usually only teaches freshmen.

Murphy commented that the class works on “connecting how literature that was created and written in Chicago was af-fected by the movements of dif-ferent populations into and out of Chicago.”

The class is working on several unique projects. For ex-ample, they recently took poems by author Carl Sandburg and transformed them into moving slideshows to illustrate their in-terpretations. “I really enjoy the class and I find it really interesting,”said Jess Kaminsky, a senior at LFA taking this course, “especial-ly because we not only examine poems and novels like a regular English class, we also get to learn a lot about the history of Chicago and why things are the way they are now. It’s almost like an Eng-lish and history class based upon right around where we live and go to school.”

Photo courtesy of Ruth Keyso

Students demonstrate an international dance during the talent show that follows the International Fair.

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By Mary Kate HayesNews Editor

Ever since September of this school year, the LFA library has attracted students, and their mixed feelings, to its three new, large touch-screen computers. Each computer has a cost of $3,000, which has created some criticism. “I think they’re kind of cool and work well enough,” said sophomore Brian Challenger. “But I question the actual practicality of them. I feel like a simple mouse could have worked just as well, if not better.” Most students interviewed for this story tended to agree with Challenger on the cost of the touch-screens versus the value they provide. “The school should cut spending on things such as touch-screens when the ones we have are doing just fine,” commentedsophomore Will Shoemaker. “[They should] put it towards furthering our academics and actual necessities.” But the computers are

not meant to be just novelties, as many students seem to believe. “I sort of feel like it’s just one of those things for the school to say ‘Look we have touch-screen computers,’” said Challenger. On the other hand, the computers bring a new level of technology to the library. “Although the money may not have been spent in the best way, now that we have them I think the fancy computers look good, work good, and are a great addition to the library,” said sophomore Clay Danly. Director of Library Information Services Grier Carson brings a new view on the investment to the table. “At this school,” commented Carson, “we pride ourselves with the privilege to experiment for the benefit ofstudents and teachers.” Although the touch-screens are fairly expensive, said Carson, because they are new technologies, they allow for presentations and group work to be “more effective and

impressive.” Another immediate benefit is that touch-screeninterfaces are the future of technology and the LFA community will already be adjusted to it. A positive aspect most students see is the easy access to printing. These computers don’t require the user to sign in, allowing students to print

assignments from email or heir school folders in little time. “I use them to print things,” said senior Michelle Moon. “That’s all.” The computers are constantly being used, and rarely produce technological problems. “Whenever I’m in the library there’s always someone on them,” said Grace Coburn. “So as long as they’re put to good

use, I don’t think it was a waste of money.” Students complain about the lack of privacy, but as Carson stressed, the computers arethereforspecificpurposes.He feels that the investment will be advantageous to the advancement of technology at LFA, despite some doubts of the student users.

Touch screens in library receive varying reviews

By Taylor JenkinsEditor- in- Chief

The American Indian Foundation will be holding a dance marathon on campus on February 26th. Its main objective will be to raise money to help support underprivileged children in India. Participants are asked to find sponsorswhowill donate atotal of 25 dollars to those who take part in the dance. This pro-vides students a unique opportu-nity for students to support the all school symposium while still enjoying themselves at the dance. Money raised at this event will go to help children in impoverished areas of India. AIF focuses on important aspects of improving developing areas such as education, public health and social equity. “We had around 70 peo-ple come for past events. I’m not sure exactly but it would be nice to see more people,” is how Mills described previous events.

In the past the event has drawn approximately 70 people according to Adam Mills the trea-surer of the local AIF chapter. Both Mills and Sophia Smith,

Photo by Sophia SalsberryDespite mixed reviews students use the touch screen computers to access websites quickly.

AIFmember,seemconfidentthatthis event will draw more atten-tion for LFA students due to bet-ter advertisement and this year’s dance being located on campus.

“We wanted to get kids involved and a dance was a per-fect idea for that because it is something people would be will-ing to raise money for. Plus it’s fun,” said Mills explaining why they chose a dance for the fund-raiser.

For those considering

joining, AIF provides students an opportunity to help others their age in a major developing coun-try.

“Its catalyzing social change in India, in an age group closer to our own. It really shows that people our age can make a difference,” said Smith while ex-plaining why she volunteers at AIF. Those who would like more information should talk to Ariana Bhatia the Junior Board Chair or visit aif.org.

Photo by Ariana BhatiaStudents gathered for the AIF dance at CROYA in past years. This year it will be held at LFA.

AIF dance to help kids in Indiadishonest. This shows that, as a whole, students don’t feel that cheating is a major offense be-cause it is known that many do it and yet is still not believed to be a major issue. “I don’t feel like talk-ing about a test with a student from another class is a big deal. It does not hurt anyone and it’s not full-out cheating,” stated an-other source when asked about the lax feeling about cheating

among students. Academic dishonesty

has an entire section in the LFA Student Handbook dedicated to helping students understand what is and is not acceptable. It is viewed as a very serious of-fence in the eyes of the school and violators can often be sub-ject to disciplinary action up-to and including dismissal from

the school.

The Spectator cheating survey was completed by hundreds of LFA students

Cheating survey results revealedcontinued from page 1

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Rain BootsBecause the weather at Lake Forest Academy remains unpre-dictable, rain boots seem to be a perfect solution to the crazy tem-peratures. As the snow will soon melt, leaving the ground gross, muddy and slippery, rain boots easily tackle the dirtiness of melt-ed snow and thick mud. Coming in several different colors and patterns, these boots are often spotted around the halls of LFA. Rain boots overcome the hard-ships that come with uncertain weather, while simultaneously maintaining a sense of style.

Image courtesy of shopesolefood.blogspot.com

Gladiator SandalsWith the dress code strictly forbidding flip flops, gladiator- style san-dals give off the same sense of comfort while also remaining inside the guidelines for what is permitted shoe-wise. These sandals come in many different combinations of colors and patterns, styles and designs. Secure and comfy, the bright colors linked to these shoes are going to have a major presence for girls at LFA during the upcoming warmer months.

Image courtesy of 6z3.com

Image courtesy of shoes.com

Jordan CMFT 11 Viz AirsSpring is a time when colors are always abundant, so to “kick” off the new season Jordan brand is launching their new casual sporty “cross-over” the Jordan CMFT 11 Viz Airs. The Cross between the Air-Jordan XI and the Nike Air Maxes are unique twist on the usual spring tennis shoe. While the casual look appeals to most people just looking for a new pair to wear every day, the funky colors including Chlorine Blue and Black-Spark-Anthracite and the Original Jordan print will draw shoe connoisseurs alike. The date for the release of the shoe is sched-uled in mid- February with a retail cost of $110.00. Though the price is particularly expensive for most shoes, it is considerably cheaper than most new Jordan arrivals and is sure to be a very popular shoe in the coming months.

Image courtesy of undergroundsoles.com

Dio BootCreative Recreation may sound like a toddler play zone but this little known brand has begun to build great merit within the Sneaker Head community. The line previously only known for its casual and athletic sports shoes now ventured into a new realm of the shoe universe with their new line of boots. Though a causal boot/shoe it resembles their infamous slim sneaker style and is almost identical to the shoe except with the elevated heal and new suede and leather textures. The Boot which can be found in more colors than most of their shoes is most fashionable in the original Tan and brown mix and sports the gold logo on the top. There have already been sightings of this shoe in Atlass and is sure to continue to show up in the community. The boot will cost anywhere from 62.00 to150.00 depending on size and which distributer it is bought through.

MoccasinsThe snug, cozy flair of moccasins make them a very well-liked shoe among high school girls. These trendy shoes can match with nearly any outfit, coming in sev-eral basic colors like black or tan. moccasin style shoes range from tasseled boots to simple flats The flexibility of moccasin shoes al-low them to be worn during every season. Image courtesy of boots-sale.com

Spring into the season with new shoes The Spectator reports what shoes are hot for the spring seasonBy Rickey Larke and Erica LewisOp-Ed Editors

In a school where the dress code can restrict your ability to express your personal style, shoes serve as a way to remain in dress code as well as exhibit individuality. As the new spring season ap-proaches, and the old, winter boots seem to be going out of fashion, The SpectatorwritersRickeyLarkeandEricaLewislendtheirshoeexpertise to LFA students:

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Log on to Groupon

Recession? What recession? Teens are spending more carelessly than ever

Lucy EmeryEditor-in-Chief

Ask any child of this age of technology to sit on a Saturday morning and clip coupons, and they will give you a look like you just asked them to do the insane for several reasons, partly be-cause teenagers spend their Sat-urday mornings doing something much more meaningful, sleeping, and also because the computer and websites can email you cou-pons for stores you actually go to, all without having to spend hours wasting your time doing the te-dious. Sites like Groupon are pav-ing the path for new ways to shop. Groupon is a website that sends out daily emails to its subscribers about daily deals to stores that are in proximity to each user. Groupon sends its sub-scribers deals that are catered to certain geographic regions. Users canfilterthetypesofcouponssotheycanfindcoupons for thingsthey will actually use. They have localized markets in many coun-tries such as Canada, Brazil, Ger-many, Greece, France and UK. It was launched in 2008 in Chicago and now has 35 million users. Science teacher, Dr. Bar-ton, recently tried using Groupon forthefirsttimeandfoundtheex-perience to be positive. “It was a very easy ex-perience,” explained Barton, “I hadn’t used it before because I

Image courtesy of http://tonybradshaw.files.wordpress.comGroupon offers its users daily deals to stores and services that are in local to each user.

was afraid itwould be too diffi-cult, but I found it to be easy. I was sent an email alert-ing me about the sale. The only scary part is sending money.” Barton elaborated by saying that you just have to as-sume they will send you the gift card, which can be frightening. She also mentioned she would not initially use the website for large purchases, until she was sure it was safe.

Math teacher, Mrs. Ten-nyson has been using Groupon for around two years. “I have purchased a variety of different coupons. A few retail, some restaurants, and others for services like yoga or nails.” Explained Tennyson about what she usually buys. “My overall experience has been very positive.” Says Tennyson, “You have to be care-ful not to spend money you would

not have otherwise just because you are getting a discount. For example, if I wasn’t planning to buy anything at a certain store, I shouldn’t pay $25 for a Groupon even if it is worth $50, because that is still $25 more than I should have spent. You also have to ‘read the fine print’ and be aware ofwhen Groupons expire- but you can get some pretty great deals.” Another allure of the website is having a large period

of time to use the gift card they send you. Despite having a loyal users, Groupon’s monopoly in the market has been recently taken by another coupon website called LivingSocial. LivingSocial began to stir things up when they worked with Amazon to give users a pro-motionthatwasalltoodifficulttoresist for millions of users. The two companies are now fiercecompetitors and are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to ways to advertise.

Recently, Groupon hasreceived a lot of backlash for their Super bowl commercial, which many claim pokes fun at Tibet, which makes the race for the best deals even narrower, with many users looking towards LivingsSo-cial. “I would use the web-site again if I knew I would use the coupon I’m purchasing.” Ex-plained Barton about using Grou-pon again, “I like the convenience and knowing I’ll use what I am paying for”

To join this hit program, you simply have to sign up at groupon.com, and then find thedeals that appeal to you, and then you purchase them at a discount-ed price. If enough people pur-chase the coupon, then you will benotifiedandthenyoucanprintthe coupon and purchase whatev-er you want at a discounted price

An online coupon website could end up saving you hundreds of dollars on things you actually buy

By Lucy IrunguFeatures Editor What seemed to be a fun-filled Friday afternoon hob-by for most American teens has now become a national crisis. Teenage girls are turning in their dolls for credit cards and boys have become spending machines. Why has teen spending become so popular? The answer is quite simple. Teenagers don’t spend money anymore because they need things; they spend because they have this fervent desire to spend money whereever they go. For retailers around the country, this seems to be the answer to all their problems. It is the only thing that is keeping many companies above water in this struggling economy. Popu-lar stores such as Forever 21 and H&M have greatly profited from

this boost in teen consumerism. During the recession, stores were not meeting their sales mark for specific months, but in the lasttwo years, more stores have been meeting their quotas. Abercrom-bie and Fitch, which is a highly popular store amongst middle school teens, saw an 8% increase in sales in the past year, all due to teenage spending. The more time kids spend in the malls, the more they are subconsciously will-ing to spend money on unneces-sary items. Now that more teens are employed and have another source of income, they have more money to frivolously spend on items they don’t necessarily need, but want simply because they can now afford it. “Since I have had a job, I spend more on myself because I have the money to do so. Also, when I was younger I had a lot

more restrictions on how much I could spend because I only got money from my parents. I have more freedom to buy what I want when I want it,” said freshman Chinara Hill. Without the hefty load of bills and other expenses that adults have to pay, it only makes sense that with more money, teens will spend more. However, it becomes a problem when teens begin to spend excessively and stop saving for the future. “I think it is important that teens learn how to save in high school because it will help them better manage their money when they are older, says LFA freshman Hector Murrieta. “If they just continue to spend too much and not save, they will have a harder time adjusting as adults.” Many teens feel pres-sured by their peers to spend,

making it easier to justify that spending $600 on a pair of jeans is acceptable. At times, teens will buy things just because they feel pressure from their friends, even though it might be out of their budget. “It’s easier to spend money when you’re with your friends because they are probably spending as well, so it just feels alright,” says LFA sophomore Bea Hepkema.”It’s also awkward when everyone around you if spending money and you’re not. It makes you feel like you’re not part of the group.” Spending has become a method of “self-assurance”. In or-der to feel good about themselves, they look to spend money for that extra dose of self-confidence.Money has always been a part of high school social ladders across the country and has become of

even more importance over the past two years. “People are always judging you on how you look,” says Chinara. “I think teenagers feel that if they have nice clothes on people will view them differ-ently.”Chinara brings up a solid point. Teenagers spend millions of dol-lars on clothing every year be-cause they want people to think they are financially secure, eventhough that may not always be the case. “Teaching teens how to spend responsibly is very impor-tant because for example at LFA, it is so easy to sign a charge sheet and expect your parents to pay for it,” said LFA Dean of Multicultur-alism Lusanda Mayikana. “If we don’t start controlling how much teens are spending, the future of our economy will be at risk.”

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Poetry powerhouse Jamele Adams pays a visit to the LFA communityBy Georgiana Wagemann Managing Editor To most students, the word “poetry” initiates a roll of the eyes, an internal cringe, or anxiety about a future poetic analysis paper. But when Mr. Jamele Adams stepped onto the LFA stage earlier this month, the LFA community fell into an at-tentive and anticipatory silence. Immediately, he rocked the stage with a passionate poem spoken with precision and purpose. Ap-plause erupted following the per-formance, and Adams introduced himself to the audience with a ge-niality that highly contrasted the intensity he had employed mere seconds ago. Not only did Ad-ams intrigue the LFA community at All School Meeting, but he also taught a more intimate poetry sem-inar during Ms. Lusanda Mayika-na’s Hip Hop Culture class. What exactly occurred during this class? Senior Emily Kulas explained that he [Adams] made the class write spontane-ous Haikus about someone in the class. But that was not all. “We then had to pres-ent our Haiku to the class,” said Kulas, explaining that Ad-ams’ exercise emphasized the spontaneity of writing. Accord-ing to Kulas, Adams’ message was: “If you feel it, write it.” “We wrote pieces on whether or not we deserve to live,” recalled Mbasa Mayikana, a freshman who was present in

the class. “It made me think about what I say, before I say it more.” Although these exer-cises do have the tendency to put students out of their comfort zone, both Kulas and Mayika-na agreed that the exercises were enjoyable and advanta-geous in their growth as writers. Ms. Mayikana, who teaches the Hip Hop Culture class, was responsible for find-ing Adams to share his tal-ent with the LFA community. Ms. Mayikana was extremely pleased with the effect that Ad-ams had on the student-body. “He makes poetry ac-cessible and allowed students to let go of their inhibitions,” she noted. “Adams emphasized the idea of presentation and having an emotional outlet.” Regarding the in-class activities, Ms. Mayikana praises his techniques, stat-ing that he allowed people to let their guards down and be vulnerable to explore poetry. Most importantly to Ms. Mayikana, Adams stated that the classroom was a “safe space,” and that what was said in the classroom, stayed in the class room. This allowed stu-dents to be more willing to share their poetry and whatever emo-tions accompanied them, without worrying about their personal information being revealed fol-lowing the class. Adams empha-sized that spontaneous poetry is excellent because it is something

tangible, proof of one’s feelings at a specific moment in time. “A poem acts as evi-dence of your feelings at one pre-cise moment,” said Ms. Mayika-

na. “One could look back on a poem written passionately three months ago and not even recall for what purpose it had been con-structed. Therein lay the proof

that emotions had existed, feel-ings had been concrete and real even if they have faded.”

Image Courtesy of blogs.brandeis.eduPoet Jamele Adams captivated LFA students during an All School Meeting earlier this month.

By Eric Clamage Editor in Chief

On March 9 2011, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater will be visiting Lake Forest Acad-emy and performing Macbeth for students and faculty. The perfor-mance will be on a G-day after school. The Chicago Shake-speare Theater coming will be visiting the school thanks to Eng-lish teacher, Mr. William Murphy. “They’re coming in no small part because of Mr. Mur-phy – in fact, without his efforts these visits simply wouldn’t hap-pen. It’s a phenomenal accom-plishment to persuade a company of the caliber of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater to visit our school,” noted Mr. Jonathan Free-

man who is head of the English department. Last year, the company came and performed, The Com-edy of Errors. Sophomore Hannah Thuroff thought that, “It was one of the best all school meetings we had and I am looking forward to them coming on campus again.” Freeman is also excited for their upcoming performance noting that Macbeth has all as-pects of a good play, “murder, blood, guts, psychological tor-ment, witches, invisible daggers, sleepwalking, moving forests, a severed head – what’s not to like?” The freshman class is also reading Macbeth and Free-man hopes that teachers, “will get a chance to spend some class time discussing the way CST (Chicago

Shakespeare Company) present-ed the play. “If you believe in curs-es, don’t say the name of the play or its main character inside the Cressey Center. Call it “The Scottish Play” and call him “The Scottish Lord” instead. I have lots of actor friends – logical, intelligent, serious people – who believe absolutely in the curse,” explained Freeman who believes in the Macbeth curse. Most students agree that last year’s performance from the theater company was one of the highlights of the year and many are excited for their upcoming performance. “It was entertaining and fun last year and I am looking forward to seeing them perform again,”saidJuniorGraceRobin-son.

A curse to arrive at LFA: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre is coming to LFA to perform Macbeth

Image Courtesy of Michael McNamaraMacbeth wrestles with the prophecy given to him by the witches in Chi-cago Shakespeare Theatre’s

2001Duane Jackson, a former

member of The Spectator staff, knew ten years ago that he want-edtopursueacareerinfinance.While at LFA, he founded an investment club called the Junk Bond Society in his Sophomore year. That club served as a forum for him and others to explore ca-reersinfinanceandbusiness.

He currently works at the U.S. Department of the Treasury where he makes and manages in-vestments under the Emergency Troubled Asset Relief Program.At the Treasury, he assisted in the management of a portfolio of more than 500 investments in banks across the country totaling

$35 billion and helped to struc-ture a program designed to sup-port lending in low-and-middle income communities.

He has remained involved in the LFA community as a mem-ber of the Alumni Coucil. He even came back to LFA for his wedding.

“Myfiancefellinlovewiththe Formal Garden and insisted that we get married on campus, which we did in July 2009,” said Jackson.

Right now he plans to re-turn to college to pursue an MBA in the fall and re-focus on his in-terest in developing a career in private equity.

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Looking back...A look at the class of 2001

A decade apart:

Comparing the aspirations of two LFA classes

Adam Levin left LFA thinking that he was going to go into medicine. In the end, he took a completely different path and decided to be a musician. He is now an accomplished classical guitarist who performed at LFA recently.

His advice to any cur-rent seniors is to: “Work at 100 percent with the flexibility ofmind that your goals may change through your course of study.”

Levin spent the past two-and-a-half years in Madrid re-searching and playing Contempo-

rary Spanish music. He received the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship for Community Service to work with seniors and students and to introduce them to classical guitar music, something they might not ordinarily encounter. He has re-ceived numerous fellowships and scholarships as he continues his studies. He has also won many top prizes in international guitar competitions. He still keeps in touch with his close friends from LFA. Just last January he came back and held a concert with vio-linist William Knuth here at LFA.

Anita Bhardwaj gradu-ated from Lake Forest Academy in 2001. Since then she went on to college in order to further her goal of becoming a family phy-sician. “I always saw myself becoming a family doctor, and having my own private practice somewhere in the Chicago com-munity,” Bhardwaj said when asked where she saw herself as a high school senior. Knowing exactly what

she desired to be and where she wanted to be after LFA, Bhardwaj went after her goals and attended the University of Misouri’s BA-MD program. She completed her residency through Rush University andis currently practicing family medicine in Chicago’s northern suburbs. As for her non-aca-demic attainments, Bhardwaj has been married for two years and she has been a new mother forfivemonths.

Margaret Kelley left LFA with only a vague idea about what she would wind up doing; she was interested in education. After earning her Master’s De-gree in Montessori Elementary Education, she went on to receive two other post-graduate degrees in education and is currently pur-suing a Master’s in Literature.

“I still don’t feel that much older than I did in high school,” she admitted, even

though 10 years have passed.She now works as the

AlumniRelationsDirectorfortheschool she attended before com-ing to LFA. She also takes care of her eight-month-old son. She has enjoyed reconnecting with LFA teachers, occasionally, and has kept in touch with a few of her old classmates.

She said, “It is special to have friends whom I have known for so long.”

This page was produced by all the members of the Journalism I class: Zunaira Arshad, Carina Baker, Sarah Clark, Grace Coburn, Hunter Johnstone, Mimi Moses, Phil Pray, Matt Stevens, and Jane Xu. Astheclassof2011progressesthroughitsfinalsemes-ter at LFA, the seniors prepare to take the often-scary step to college and to their futures. The LFA class of 2001 was in the same position ten years ago, and today’s seniors might be sur-prised to learn that many of those alumni didn’t end up where they had originally planned when they left LFA.

The Spectator contacted several members of the LFA class of 2001, and their experiences might serve as a guide to this year’s graduates. Looking back at their own goals as LFA seniors 10 years ago, and the lives they have built since then, these alumni know exactly what the class of 2011 is going through now. The current senior class has collected a variety of peo-ple with diverse interests -- including aspiring performers, in-vestors, and engineers -- all with concrete ideas of where they hope to be in 10 years. The seniors of 2001 had pursued simi-larhopesandfinallyarrivedatsettledlivesadecadelater.AsThe Spectator compares the two classes, our staff hopes that this information will help the college-bound seniors, showing them how plans can change and how futures turn out.

Adam Levin

Duane Jackson

Photo Courtesy of www.commentsyard.com

Anita Bhardwaj

Margaret Kelley

2011 Casper Clausen, found-er of the LFA Jet Engine Club, member of the Robotics Club,and a student in Computer Sci-ence, may just be planning a fu-ture in engineering. “I hope to see myself possibly at the start of a long leg-acy of technical innovators,” said Clausen when asked where he sees himself in 10 years. “I would focus on creating seamless inte-gration between man and technol-ogy to make it an indispensable part of our daily lives.”

Clausen is particularly interested in material science and the creation of ‘memory metals’: those that can be returned to their original shape through heating. Clausen’s goals have alsobeeninfluencedbyhisfam-ily (his grandfather and cousins are engineers), Albert Einstein (a role model of his), and Lake Forest Academy, which helped him “develop the conscience for a need for new technological in-novations in a positive way.”

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...Looking forwardThe future look of the senior class

A decade apart:

Comparing the aspirations of two LFA classes In 10 years, Lamees Es-

mail sees herself just out of grad-uate school, working on a “unde-termined” career somewhere in the Middle East. Esmail is still uncertain about what that career will be, but said she is interested in “science and math mainly” and might go into pharmaceutical sci-ence. “Right nowmy thoughtprocess is still focused on col-lege,” explains Esmail, who also said she continues to show inter-est in her schoolwork despite be-

ing a second-semester senior. A prefect, Esmail has excelled in the LFA community with teachers and students and continues to show her school spirit through her dedication to academics. Having considered going to a day school back home in Saudi Arabia, Esmail feels she made the right choice in coming to LFA. “At LFA I feel like my op-portunities were broadened and I was able to excel in areas I didn’t expect I would.”

Senior, Jenna Madeley is well known around the LFA community through her active participation in the Fine Arts Program. In 10 years, Madeley hopes to see herself as a suc-cessfulactress,possiblyinfilms.After college she wants to move to Los Angeles, but she already plans on working as hard as pos-sible in college, by going to audi-tions in the summer, and getting an agent. “I’m just not going to get knocked down by this really

tough industry that I’m trying to make a living in,” Madeley said. Madeley’s acting inspi-ration is Kate Winslet, an actress who knew, like Madeley, that she wanted to act from early child-hood. Madeley also admires Leonard DiCaprio as an actor who challenges himself and is passionate about the art of act-ing. Madeley also points to her mother and great-grandmother for their example on how to love life.

“Iwanttofinishcollegeand get an engineering major,” said LFA senior Nate Pabrai about his life over the next ten years. “If Idon’tfindimmediatesuccess,Icould see myself going back to school to get an MBA, or I could see myself at Goldman Sachs six years further down the line.” Pabrai is primarily inter-ested in business (shown through his participation in the Investment

Club) and hopes to see himself “on top of a company” or starting a hedge fund. .” George Soros, a billionaire hedge fund manager, has served as a role model to Pab-rai in this area. “I think it’d be fun to run a hedge fund,” said Pabrai. “It’s not necessarily to make money, but it’s much like a game, a very elaborate game, and I am going to win that game.”

This page was produced by all the members of the Journalism I class: Zunaira Arshad, Carina Baker, Sarah Clark, Grace Coburn, Hunter Johnstone, Mimi Moses, Phil Pray, Matt Stevens, and Jane Xu. Astheclassof2011progressesthroughitsfinalsemes-ter at LFA, the seniors prepare to take the often-scary step to college and to their futures. The LFA class of 2001 was in the same position ten years ago, and today’s seniors might be sur-prised to learn that many of those alumni didn’t end up where they had originally planned when they left LFA.

The Spectator contacted several members of the LFA class of 2001, and their experiences might serve as a guide to this year’s graduates. Looking back at their own goals as LFA seniors 10 years ago, and the lives they have built since then, these alumni know exactly what the class of 2011 is going through now. The current senior class has collected a variety of peo-ple with diverse interests -- including aspiring performers, in-vestors, and engineers -- all with concrete ideas of where they hope to be in 10 years. The seniors of 2001 had pursued simi-larhopesandfinallyarrivedatsettledlivesadecadelater.AsThe Spectator compares the two classes, our staff hopes that this information will help the college-bound seniors, showing them how plans can change and how futures turn out.

Casper Clausen Lamees Esmail

Nate PabraiJenna Madeley

Photo Courtesy of www.commentsyard.com

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As, LFA seniors, I’m pretty sure we all know how to write a check. Say for example, you write a check out to Lake For-est Academy; you would put the payee, LFA, the date, the amount, and your signature, but imagine leaving out one significant de-tail, the memo, the sole reason

for writing the check. Would you feel secure that your money will be used for its actual intention, or would you be a bit skeptical? As LFA seniors, we also have pride in seeing the LFA se-nior class gift. It is a joy to be able to physically see the past senior class gifts and to antici-pate what visual mark your class will make on campus, but imag-ine having a giant sweepstakes

with pride. From the Formal Gar-dens to Fitzsimmons, there are contributions from senior classes. They add character to the campus, and allow the graduating seniors to leave a visual mark on the LFA campus. To discontinue any tradition at LFA would be a dis-appointment to those who carry it on sense LFA is a community so strongly built upon tradition. 2. Funding without repre-sentation- No one wants to give money to an organization with no idea what it will be used for, and/or no physical evidence of its use, even if the organization is LFA. LFA seniors trust the judgment of the school’s administrators; how-ever, it human nature to want to see the results of money spent, or else we would all be writing

Caxy Rant: Is leaving our mark out of the question?

By Takia BroomfieldA&E Editor

check with a huge amount and no memo at all, and under it, “Courtesy of the Class of 2011”. Recently, there havebeen discussions in the senior seminar classes about making the senior class gift monetary rather than allowing us to contribute something that can be physically seen on campus. There seems to be an evident controversy. When the issue was brought up in some classes, smiles turned into frowns and looks of skepticism almost immediately. There seems to be three main reasons why seniors are against making the senior class gift more transactional:1. Tradition- The senior class gift has been a tradition for years now at LFA. As you tour the campus, the gifts are displayed

blank checks with no memos. 3. Equal representa-tion- LFA seniors come from all different types of economic backgrounds. Some may not be able to give as much as others. Having a visual senior class gift allows each senior to be repre-sented equally no matter what dollar amount they contribute. With all of this being said, the seniors would love for the senior class gift to be an ac-tual gift, one that comes from our hearts rather than just our wallets or our parents bank ac-counts. However, the decision is ultimately left up to the adminis-tration. Hopefully, they take our concerns into great consideration.

Caxy Rant:

So you’re on a mis-sion to get back into shape after vegetating in front of the televi-sion screen with a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, watch-ing a plethora of mindless Jer-sey Shore reruns, and what do you find out? The weight room,the only no-nonsense, Snooki-proof room on the entire LFA campus is banned for students

who do not participate in the Fit-ness P.E. class until after 5 p.m.. Now, I like cozying up on the couch, doing absolutely nothing for hours at a time, just as much as the next girl, but for the days I feel like getting up to work out, this rule really just destroys all the motivation I built up on my walk from my dorm to Crown. Not only does this rule get in the way of my preparation for the spring sports season, but it also hinders a

Senior Takia Broomfield expresses her concern with Senior Class Gift ideas. Photo by Sophia Salsbery

lot of other students who have opt-ed to take a sport season off to fo-cus on their academics, or merely just to have more free time. Imag-ine yourself walking all the way to Crown Fitness Center in the frigid cold only to be told that you can’t even step foot in the weight room even though the place is de-serted, and nothing is being used. There are two problems

with this scenario. First, if the entire weight room is not being occupied by students in the P.E. class, then why shouldn’t students who feel like working out be al-lowed to do so? And secondly, what was the point of building a new and more spacious gym if not everyone can have access to it when they want? I understand that priority should be given to those

students who have signed up for the Fitness P.E., but if I feel get-ting my weekly dose of GTL then so be it. Here’s a suggestion for you, LFA: if you’re going to spend tons of money renovating build-ings to make things better for stu-dents, make sure we all have open access access to it when it’s open..

The welcome sign given by the class of 2008. Photo by Sophia Salsbery

The statue given by the class of 1975.Photo by Sophia Salsbery

By Lucy IrunguFeatures Editor Senior Lucy Irungu expresses frusteration about the Crown fitness center hours

Photo by Sophia Salsbery

Fitness center workout hours aren’t working

STAFF LISTEditors-in-Chief Eric Clamage Lucy Emery Taylor JenkinsNews Editors Ariana Bhatia Mary Kate HayesManaging Editor Georgiana WagemannFeature Editor Lucy IrunguSports Editor Chris BoudreauxArts & Entertainment Editor Takia Broomfield Andrea ShenOp-Ed Editors Rickey Larke Natasha Patel Erica LewisEntropica Editor Mark YinglingPhoto Editors Kathleen Kennedy Sophia Salsbery Staff Writers Matt Stevens Grace Coburn Carina Baker Phil Pray Zunaira Arshad Jane Xu Sarah Clark Mimi Moses

Faculty Adviser William Murphy

PUBLICATIONThe Spectator is published eight times per year by the stu-dents of Lake Forest Academy and is a forum for student ex-pression. The views and reporting herein are the sole product of The Spectator’s student reporters and in no way reflect the official views of Lake Forest Academy faculty, staff, adminis-tration or Board of Trustees.

EDITORIALSOpinions of the staff are presented in the form of unsigned editorials. Personal views are bylined or presented as formal dissents.

SUBMISSIONSThe Spectator welcomes submissions from the community. If you would like to write an article, please see Mr. Murphy (please note: if space is limited, priority goes to journalism students). We also welcome short stories and poetry for our “Featured Writers” column, and we are always interested in publishing student artwork and photographs. Please send all submissions to Mr. Murphy via e-mail at wmurphy@lfanet.org, or hand them to him directly.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORSThe Spectator welcomes responses to its articles in the form of Letters to the Editors in addition to letters on subjects of the author’s choosing. Please e-mail Letters to the Editors to Mr. Murphy at wmurphy@lfanet.org.

“In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs forever and ever”-Oscar Wilde

AWARDSThe LFA Spectator has been awarded several very prestigeous journalism awards in recent years.2008 The American Scholastic Press Association... 1st Place 2008 The Kempler Moraine Press Association... 1st Place 2009 The American Scholastic Press Association... 1st Place 2009 The Kemper Moraine Press Association... 1st Place 2010 The American Scholastic Press Association... 1st Place

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february 25, 2011

S P E C T A T O R

quote of the month

Tensions began to rise as high as the snow banks on Thurs-day, February 1 as people real-ized the severity of the impending storm. But the LFA community is to be commended for the way it battled the elements, and the work those elements caused, with tre-mendous strength. Our response to “snowpalozza” brought out much of what is creditable at LFA. The faculty members were of specific note as theyworked to help and support the students, and even members of the Sodexo staff. As there were, at times, only 2 Sodexo kitchen staff members on campus, Ms. Lusanda Mayikana, Mr. Kyle Koncz and Mr. Jason Koenig all gave generous amounts of their valuable time to help wash dish-es in Hutch. In addition, Mrs.

Maggie Tennyson and Koenig both cleaned tables in Hutch and helped out with small tasks, such as restocking the fruit available to the students. Mr. Tennyson sacrificedhistime,aswell,asheshoveled outside of Hutch so that students would not have to climb through the frigid snow for a meal. Without the caring and openhanded community here at LFA, students would have had a very uncomfortable and harsh couple days. It is certainly not everywhere that one could findfaculty so willing to help and contribute, making the feel-ing on campus warm and spe-cial despite the surrounding cold weather. Mr. Mark Dryfoos even hosted two members of the So-dexo staff at his home for a few

chilly nights, an act of kindness that deserves great admiration.Teachers did not have to be so helpful and accommodating, yet with their efforts, students were actually able to have an enjoy-able day off. The genuine desire of the faculty to lend a hand was apparent and, more importantly, greatly appreciated by all, espe-cially the boarders. When fac-ulty and staff are so passionate about their community, a school becomes much more than simply an institution, but rather, a sec-ond home to everyone. The fac-ulty at LFA is irreplaceable, and the student body is very grateful to be so lucky as to have such a reliable, outreaching, gener-ous and approachable commu-nity led by such a great faculty.

Editorial:Cold outside, but...warm inside our hearts

Catchy Cartoon Captions

Students can submit their own witty cap-tions for the cartoon by emailing them to wmurphy@lfanet.org and will then be eli-gible for a prize. The staff will select the best caption for the cartoon to the right and pub-lish it in next month’s issue.

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ra r t s & e n t e r t a i n m e n t 1 2 february 25, 2011

Best Picture

Amy Adams in “The Fighter” 25.0%

Helena Carter in “The King’s Speech” 33.3%

Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” 11.5%

Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit” 27.1%

Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom” 3.1%

Christian Bale in “The Fighter” 45.3%

John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone” 3.2%

JeremyRennerin“TheTown” 11.6%

MarkRuffaloin“TheKidsAreAllRight”8.4%

GeoffreyRushin“TheKing’sSpeech” 31.6%

And the Academy Award goes to...

LFA predicts Oscar winners Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars! On February 27, stars will hit the red carpet for the highly anticipated 83rd Annual Academy Awards, which will be hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway. This year has shown a promising and diverse selection of movies, from the animated “Toy Story 3”,

AnnetteBeningin“TheKidsAreAllRight”3.1%

NicoleKidmanin“RabbitHole” 2.1%

Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone” 4.1%

Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” 85.6%

Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” 5.2%

Actor in a Leading RoleActress in a Leading RoleJavier Bardem in “Biutiful” 2.0%

Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” 12.1%

Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” 30.3%

Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech” 45.5% James Franco in “127 Hours” 10.1%

Actor in a Supporting Role Actress in a Supporting Role

to the psychological thriller “Black Swan”, to the mind-blowing sci-fi“Inception”.But2010mayprovetobetobeayearofthebiopics, as a stammering monarch and an internet mogul lead this year’s race for the Best Picture Oscar. LFA took a crack at predicting this year’s Oscar winners, and here are the results.

Page by Andrea ShenA&E Editor

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19.1% `How to Train Your Dragon 30.9% Inception 17.0% The King’s Speech4.3% 127 Hours 28.7% The Social Network

“Coming Home” from “Country Strong” 31.3%

“I See the Light” from “Tangled” 21.9%

“IfIRise”from“127Hours” 8.3%

“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3” 38.5%

Best Director

Animated Feature Film

Visual Effects

Music (Original Score)

Music (Original Song)

16.7% How to Train Your Dragon5.2% The Illusionist 78.1% Toy Story 3

Inquiring PhotographerBest PictureTrue Grit“Original and gripping, [True Grit] brought back real western movies.”– Andrew HaddadBest supporting actressHailee Steinfeld“[Steinfield]playedastrongwoman and played the role perfectly.”– Andrew Haddad

Best PictureThe King Speech“I loved it[The King Speech]. You have to go and see it. It is the best I’ve seen for a long time. My top favorite.”– Ms. Noelle Balson

Best PictureThe Fighter“[The Fighter] seemed like a well done production of a true story with really inter-esting characters. Christian Bale’s performance was out-standing and believable. The character development and realism made it the best pic-ture.” – Mrs. Teresa Zaiff

Best Visual EffectsInception“Thefightsceneswereallre-ally fascinating in Inception. The animation was amazing, as well as the entire concept.” – Emma Haupt

Best ActressNatalie Portman“[Portman] did a really good job in Black Swan.” – Aline Feijo

Alice in Wonderland 13.3%

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 21.4%

Hereafter 2.0%

Inception 51.0%

Iron Man 2 12.2%

“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky 37.1%

“TheFighter”DavidO.Russell 7.2%

“The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper 18.6%

“The Social Network” David Fincher 29.9%

“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen 7.2%

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By Amelia MosesStaff Writer

All LFA community

members are aware of the

recent improvements and en-

hancements to the Lake Forest

Academy athletic facilities.

The new Crown Fitness Cen-

ter hums with activity every

afternoon as students work

out with their teams or physi-

cal education group. Faculty

members can be seen using

the facilities before school

begins or in the evenings.

But most students

don’t know much about one

of the main improvements at

the Crown – the new strength

coaches from Effective Fit-

ness Training. LFA is now

providing two new trainers,

Dan Timmers and Asia Ev-

By Sarah ClarkStaff Writer

Despite the many chal-lenges they have faced, this year’s competitive cheerleading team continues to have success. Un-der new coaches Kristen Paisley and Brittany Roel, the team hascompeted against larger schools, worked through injuries, and made new strides as a program. This year, the team took part in two competitions in the Medium Varsity Division, placing them on the same level as many of the local public high schools. According to senior captain Jess Kaminsky, LFA teams of previ-ous seasons had been competing in only the Small Varsity Division for private schools. This step up made the season more difficult,but in invitationals at Jacob’s High School and Lake ZurichHigh School, they earned seventh and third place finishes, respec-tively. “The squad did pretty well in competitions,” said senior captain Alexa Wilson “We went up against squads with more girls

Cheerleading competes in challenging competitions

than us, so naturally it’s harder to score as well as them; but in one competition we did have the least number of deductions for our di-vision!” The small size of the 14-girl team wasn’t the only obstacle that had to be overcome. Accord-ing to Coach Paisley, this season has also been riddled with injuries for the team. This has forced the girlstobeflexiblewithroutines..

“Because of injury we’ve had to rearrange our rou-tine for every competition,” re-marked Paisley.

After one injury, the team was forced to cancel its appearance at a competition in Grayslake. Nonetheless, the cheerleaders have continued to look forward toward improving as a group with the help of former Eastern Illinois University cheer-leader,CoachBrittanyRoel.

Roel, who Paisley calls“extremely experienced”, has helped the team has made great progress. Her experience, and a growing number of cheerleaders, has allowed the team new oppor-

tunities, including a new atten-tion to the development of more difficulttumblingskillsandstuntwork. “We’ve had more girls than in past seasons and so have been able to do bigger and better stunts and routines,” stated Wil-son. This season has also led to further performance opportu-nities for the squad on campus. They were able to display one new routine to the LFA community at a recent Morning Meeting. Also, forthefirsttimeinmanyseasons,theCheerleadingteamfinisheditswinter season with performances on February 8th, 11th, and 16th at half time during the Boy’s Var-sity Basketball games. Although they faced many challenges this season, the cheerleading team has had a successful and productive season that they can continue to build on in the future. “The team worked hard and stayed positive no matter what,” said Paisley. “We faced many barriers but hope to findnew opportunity in the future.”

ans, to support and promote the

development of the school’s

athletes long-term fitness

goals. Timmers graduated

from Sonoma University with

a bachelor’s degree in Exer-

cise Science. He now works

for EFT to bring cutting-edge

programs to athletes at LFA.

A former member of the Uni-

versity of Illinois’ Track and

Field program, Evans earned

a bachelor’s degree in Sports

Medicine while in Champaign.

Both trainers have en-

joyed working with numerous

the LFA sports teams and have

appreciated their hard work

and persistence with the dif-

ficultexercise routines. Most

students value the personalized

guidance of these profession-

als, but some students still pre-

fer to work out on their own.

“I think the train-

ers are a good addition to the

athletic department to help

kids out with technique, but

sometimes I just want to do

my own thing,” explained

freshmen Chris Siemasko.

“They are really fun-

ny and enthusiastic about what

they do. They are really help-

ful and make a great contribu-

tion to the students who are

working on strength training,”

stated cheerleaders Hillary

Werner and Izabela Tyszka.

Overall, LFA stu-

dents seem pleased with

the new developments in

the Athletic Department

and have benefitted from

the motivation and instruc-

tion of its new trainers.

EFT strength coaches prove to be ahelpful addition to the crown center

Photo by Kathleen Kennedy EFT Coach Dan Timmers helps senior Greg Major with his workout.

Photo Courtesy of Ruth KeysoCaptain Jess Kaminsky being thrown in the air during a football game earlier this season, noting that the season was a success.

“Philbert and Casey lead the team on to a

great season, and next year we are looking

at accomplishing even greater success.”

-Sophomore Mantas Ivanauskus

s p o r t s 1 5lfa

spe

ctato

rfebruary 25, 2011

Swimming completes fantastic season:Team to return many veteran swimmers next year

Photo Courtesy of Alex CampbellMembers of the swim team pose for a team photo after practice. The team had a succesful season with an impressive 3-1 duel meet record.

By Zunaira ArshadStaff Writer

LFA’s Boy’s wrestling team has just completed one of its more successful seasons in recent years. According to Coach Mathis Kerr, this season was ex-tremely important for the wres-tlers’ personal records and prog-ress in the sport. A majority of the Caxy wrestlers, being new to the sport, were able to show ma-jor improvements in their tech-niques throughout this season. The team consisted of seven wrestlers: Cole Adler, Bri-an Parmenter, Dylan Scandinaro, Taylor Jemilo, Matt Payne, Hec-torMurrieta, and ReggieWhite.Since there were only participants in seven weight classes out of the overall fourteen, the team would start off each match at a major point disadvantage. Due to the fact that they had no representa-tives in seven weight classes, they automatically forfeited those class and gave up 35 team points at the start of the competition. “The season went well,” said Kerr. “We started off

with a list of ten goals and were able to complete four of them.” According to Kerr, much of what the wrestlers encountered was relatively new to them, but it offered a major learning oppor-tunity for all and they respond-ed with continuous improve-ment as the season progressed. “I’ve always liked teaching and coaching entry level wrestlers,” said Kerr. “New wrestlers are able to develop quickly. They experienced some frustration, because everything was so new. They were required to learn so many different moves, which they did, willingly.” Although the captain, Matt Payne, is graduating, the team’s few new wrestlers will be able to contribute to the team for years to come. Freshmen, Cole Adler and Brian Parmenter, who have also had previous wres-tling experience at their middle school, will be able to return to the team and will provide a nucle-us for success for years to come.

Winter Sport RecapsAs the winter sports season draws to a close, it is clear that LFA’s sports teams have been tremendously succesful. Every sport has enjoyed the chance to participate inexciting games and matches with good fan support.Boys Varsity Basketball:Record : 18-4Coaches: Matt Vaughn, Kyle Kuncz, Dickey Simpkins Highlights: Big win over rival Lake Forest High School, Winning North Chicago Invite

Girls Varsity Basketball:Record: 6-14Coach: Chris TennysonHighlights: Defeating rival Woodlands Academy,

Boys Varsity Hockey:Record: 18-3Coach:TomSeputis,DarrinMadeley,RobertKleinHighlights: Winning the Glacier Cup, Defeating New Trier High School

Girls Varsity Hockey:Record: 14-11-3Coach: Jen Cloutheir, Kim ClouthierHighlights: Finishign strongly to make the championship game in the playoffs.Additional: The championship game against Glenbrook South was played on February 22nd.

Prep Hockey:Record: 38-9-3Coach: Darren Madeley, Andrew PoskaHighlights: Winning Midget AAA Championship Game, Winning Madison Caps TournamentAdditional: MPHL Playoffs begin on February 25th.

Wrestling season provides the team with experience:Successful season provides wrestlers with new personal records

By Chris Boudreaux

Sports Editor

The LFA boys swim-

ming team finished its season

this month, and it was certainly

a season to remember. Despite

not having any senior team

members, the Caxys finished

the season with a dual-meet

record of 3-1. In addition to

the impressive meet record,

the team finished 2nd at the

Metro Relays, 3rd at the Mid-

west Prep Invitational, and 5th

at the Nowicki Sprint Meet.

The team was led

by captains Philbert Tong

and Casey Coulter, who gave

the team both strong leader-

ship and several great per-

formances during meets.

Their success was recognized

by fellow swimmer sopho-

more Mantas Ivanauskaus.

“I was not able to

swim the whole season but

Philbert and Casey lead the

team on to a great season, and

next year we are looking at

accomplishing even greater

success,” said Ivanauskaus.

A junior with previ-

ous swimming experience,

Tong was so competitive this

year that he broke the school

record twice in the 200m

freestyle. Coulter, also a ju-

nior, had a great season and,

although new to swimming,

was a major part of the team.

“Casey was new to

swimming, but he worked hard

all year and was able to lower

his times substantially,” said

Coach Eric Turner, who added

that hard work and determina-

tion seemed to epitomize the

team throughout the season.

“This season was

unbelievable. We worked ex-

tremely hard and everyone im-

proved so much” said Coulter.

“Both Coach Turner and Coach

Jennifer Madeley were awe-

some and taught us so much.”

The whole team

made a substantial amount of

progress as the season pro-

gressed and according to Turner

Jay Shin, Yousef Kadir, and

Qiankang Zhou were among

those who improved the most.

Looking forward to next

season, the team appears ready

to improve upon great season

they had this year. The team is

still very young and the outlook

for the future of the LFA swim-

ming team is very promising.

“We worked ex-tremely hard and

everyone improved so much.”

-Junior Casey Coulter

january 28, 2011

e n t r o p i c aT h e p l a c e w h e r e s t u f f h a p p e n s

lfa

sp

ect

ato

r

Photo by Sophia Salsbery

Where’s Wagemann?

Caxy Match

This edition’s look-alike is a comparison between a LFA faculty member and a famous actor. The head of the library, Mr. Carson, and actor, the Allstate commercial representative known as “Mayhem.”

Top 10:Worst ways to Ruin a St. Patrick’s DayBy Mark Yingling

Entropica Editor

Saint Patrick’s Day is “a wee bit away,” as a true Irishman

would say - I know it’s corny but just go with it. It is always a fun

day and many people get ridiculously excited for it. The holiday’s

highlight is definitely the parade downtown, where the streets

are filled with people wearing temporary tattoos of clovers and

pots of gold while garbed in as much green as possible. Also, the

river is dyed green, which is always a lot of fun- but not for the

fish of course. Personally, I would not like to be taking a bath

when suddenly someone comes along and pours slime into the

water- but hey, that’s just me. So since the holiday is coming

up, it’s time to start getting into the spirit and start to plan your

awesome St. Patrick’s Day. However, there are some things that I

would reccommend staying away from doing....

10. Swim in the green river, not as fun as it seems, trust me – it is

really hard to wash out of your swim suit.

9. Claim that you are Irish even though you aren’t, because with

the app “Ancestry.com” people will definitely call you out.

8. Steal a freshman and dress him up as a leprechaun.

7. Look for gold at the end of rainbows because it’s just a waste of

time, most of the time.

6. Have too many Shamrock Shakes; you will have to brush your

teeth at least 20 times to get the green out of your mouth.

5. See a Saint Patrick’s Day movie, mainly just because they don’t

exist.

4. Wear the shirt “kiss me I’m Irish.” It’s creepy and you’re trying

too hard.

3. Buy the cereal “Lucky Charms”; you’ll never catch “Lucky,” even

on St. Patrick’s Day. If Rickey wasn’t fast enough to catch him,

you definitely won’t be.

2. For boys, cuffing your pants to look like a leprechaun. (Yes

Johnny Malusa, that means you).

1. Order Chinese food.

Here’s “Where’s Wagemann” again and this time she is in the school store display win-dow right by the Student Center. Try to find her but be careful, she’s sneaky/creepy.

Photo by Kathleen Kennedy

Photo by Kathleen Kennedy

Photo courtesy of mustangforums.com

“I Spy”To continue the theme

of trying to find people/things around school,

we have taken a picture of this object that is lo-

cated somewhere within the school. This will test your knowledge of how

well you really know your school. Where/what is it?

Answer: This clock is located in Mr.Murphy’s English classroom, you can tell be-cause it’s the only one in school that is half hanging down.