Octagon Issue March 2013

March 19, 2013VOL. XXXVI, NO. 6

THEOctagonArtistic senior Marisa Kindsvater finds her passion: glass blowing

Eccentric local eateries offer undiscovered culinary delights

PAGE 11:PAGE 2:

Imagine being in Ben Stein’s economics class from the

where the teacher droned on and

faces?

in the material instead of drowning

a recent Sacramento

ping’ class gain

classroom is a model which

based teaching to

Instead of lec

cording to the same Sacramento

room allows three important things

increase in

time with the

dents learning at their own pace and the

Faculty members say !ipped classrooms nothing new and they don’t completely work By Yanni DahmaniEditor-in-Chief

SCDSOCTAGON.COM

The decision was made

semester on drama and com

months than most people

Wells’s role coordinating the

ing forward to the change of pace from teaching freshmen

English classes trade teachers; Wells to have freshmenBy Garrett KaighnCopy Editor

Sixth graders Nate Jakobs, Adel Romman and Hank Harvego clean up wreckage after a March 2

attack of vandalism in the garden. Two arbors were broken in the incident, as well as a birdbath

donated by garden teacher Michael Covey and several small fences and signs. The attack mir-

(Photo by Will Wright)

.

Prom on the other

side of the tracks

Prom will be held on a Sacramento River Train com-pany engine on Saturday, April 13.The trains give 10- to 20-

mile per hour rides, traveling 16 miles between Woodland and West Sacramento, and back again.The theme will be old Hol-

lywood actors.The train is a private char-

ter with three open-air cars, two dining cars and a club coach car—students can dance in all of them. Only snacks will be available.Tickets are $50 but will

increase $10 on April 1. Students can’t buy tickets at the door.The photographer will take

pictures before the dance, so students who want pictures should arrive early.Students cannot arrive

late because the train leaves promptly at 8 p.m. and won’t be able to leave before 11 p.m.—unless they want to jump off a moving train into the rice paddies.

—Madison Judd

ofPoints

Interest

The basketball sports awards banquet was held March 6. Senior Mary-Clare Bosco

was Most Valuable Player on the girls’ varsity, as well as in the Sacramento Met-ropolitan Athletic League. Senior Morgan Bennett-

Smith placed in the 1st Team All-League and was named co-MVP on boys’ varsity with senior Donald Hutchinson. On girls’ varsity, sopho-

more Isabella Tochterman made 1st Team All League.Senior Alison Walter was

named Defensive Player of the Year and freshman Julia Owaidat the Most Improved Player. Junior Alexa Griggs received the Coach’s Award.As for boys’ varsi ty,

coaches David Ancrum and Gary Brisco gave junior Pat-rick Talamantes the Coach’s Award. Sophomore Skovran Cun-

ningham was named Most Improved.For JV, freshman Brad

Petchauer received the Coach’s Award.Freshman Jacob Durante

was named Most Improved Player, and freshman Jag Lally was the Defensive Player of the Year.

—Emma Brown

Sports banquet

announces winners

A

Students clamor for computer science; programming class sparks interestBy Emma WilliamsPage Editor

“If I ask them to watch a video before class, I think that some—may-be even most—won’t do it.”

–Glenn Mangold, physics teacher

See Flipped class

See AP Comp Sci

Vandals strike garden twice in one week

I don’t know what hell looks like, but I have a feeling

it is similar to what I am about to be shown.

Senior Marisa Kindsvater and I stand awkwardly

crunchy is underfoot, and the hot air smells like a mixture

window should have been, but it’s only enough to make

visible the large ceramic machines that clutter the corner,

you ready to see where it all comes from?”

I nod.

Without hesitation Kindsvater lifts the lid on the larg

Inside is a well of bubbling, writhing, radiating, bright,

“Glass,” Kindsvater says.

Welcome to Rainbow Glass, where they make all sorts

Kindsvater is there for the latter reason: this is her

make a vase.

A glass vase? On the fourth class?

side. It’s something I would easily buy in a store, no ques

tions asked.

tures to the other

works that crowd

the outdoor work

“You don’t have

rienced to make

many of these

“With the right

instruction, any

one and everyone

can blow glass.”

And that’s ex

actly what Rain

anyone and every

thingLocated at 4556

Auburn Blvd., the

store’s façade is

hints at the busi

ness run inside.

The owner, Phil,

leads me through

the inside work

when sheets of

glass are combined,

weight.

sudden Renee breaks out of his conversation with Kinds

vater. In a cool voice he scolds her.

“Calm down, slow and steady!” he says, resting his

hands on her shoulders.

like that.”

they all come together to make something you never

Around this time, she walks over to Phil and me as we

stand by a low ceramic machine called an annealer. She

and Phil talk for a bit and he hands her a name tag. And

then I ask the obvious question: what exactly is an an

nealer?

machine.

they’re all the same.”

chair, and breathe.”

the rhythm, and his hands, which have been guiding

isn’t your traditional dance.

this lecture.

“Oh, no I’ve heard this so many times, but this is

what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she says,

gesturing to the student in front of us who’s now al

Next year, Kindsvater will attend California Col

younger ones, who actually mean it,” she says.

meet someone young who has big dreams of not doing

something normal, it gets your adrenaline going.”

what I want to do.”

But right now it’s her turn to make the vase she set her

sights on at the beginning of class.

ing it like a miniature bottle neck.

Then she heads to the workbench/

the same dance Phil conducted.

There, she uses the wooden “block”

“Touch the glass so softly there is no

muscle it.” She gathers again and

After that she inserts the rod

into a glory hole, the machine that

heats the glass. These glory holes

contain the same insulation used in

the only kind that will allow for such

art gets color from glass frit, which

heat, block, blow.

And all the while she is rotating the rod evenly, always

glass down by her shins, and then quickly swings the rod

similar in diameter to the rod itself.

blower.

Renee does this for her, and simultaneously Kindsvater

neck she just formed.

Renee, still constantly rotating the rod, calmly gives

the end of the knife and lightly knocks the end of the rod

Sighing in relief, Kindsvater turns to me and exclaims:

“Done!”

after watching that, I certainly doubted my ability.

ing, as you just saw, you actually get to make the object,”

Kindsvater said.

a beautiful drawing but you can’t do anything with it,” she

can go in any direction you want.”

But I have to ask: how easy is it to burn yourself?

Phil laughs as he walks away towards his next student,

dent’s fault.

But Kindsvater isn’t so cavalier.

cause I was focusing on Phil, not my work,” she said,

laughing, as she showed me her right forearm. The little

hairs have almost fully grown back.

2Feature The Octagon March 19, 2013

By Madeleine WrightEditor-in-Chief

Senior explores glass art

-

(Photo by Kelsi Thomas)


St. Francis High School and Jesuit High

test.

should interest arise.

War II class to

stacles standing in

both Nellis and

in college.

cording to Nellis.

though.

NewsThe Octagon March 19, 2013 3

Alum sees big money in programming

AP Comp Sci: Baird could add intro to programming to teaching schedule

no.

said.

Flipped class: teachers fear students won’t watch videosTheGist

NO

Hom

ewor

k

Teachers record video

lectures instead of

lecturing in class

Students watch

lectures at home in lieu of homework

In class, students

participate in activities and exercises to demonstrate

“They’ve done it at a few universities. The stu-dents don’t work until the last minute, and you end up relecturing.”

–Alan Beamer, chemistry teacher

22%

22%

26%

30%

“(Programming gets people into a new meth-od of thinking and gets many kids out of their comfort zones.”

–Carter Brown, senior

Of students (except

seniors) say they

would take a comp

sci class if offered

Of the seniors said

they would have

taken a comp sci

class if it were

offered

Of students (except

seniors) said they

might take a comp

sci class if offered

Of students say

they’ve already

taken a comp sci

class

Of 118 students

polled

[[Tyler Trussell, ‘09

Soccer

league game Tuesday against Buckingham

The Cavs lost to Western Sierra Collegiate,

Freshman Emma Belliveau was a bright

She scored these goals to nearly equalize in

has been a major issue for the team, accord

“It’s been hard to

Madeleine Wright

“It’s kind of hard to win games when you have no subs,”

early to tell what the team is going to look

Returning senior Natalie Polan said the

“This year, we don’t have that level of

The real start of the season is Tuesday,

Baseball

gave a similar message: the team has im

game being called one inning short on ac

though the team’s ranks were bolstered by new, ath

the season they’ll learn the

was mostly due to the inability of the team

runs and driving in four, while senior Donald

Track

few weeks of track, attendance has fallen

the academic rigorousness, I might not do

4Sports The Octagon March 19, 2013

“It’s hard to play whole

games. We aren’t in shape

enough to run for 80 min-

utes.”

–Natalie Polan, senior

It’s the same thing that they told my brother Miles and

all the teams we could, and this is essentially what we’ve

It’s a debate that’s been argued throughout Country Day’s

uated and walked on to the Stanford basketball team, even

It’s the administrators who decide how many teams to

whatever athletic interests they might have, regardless of

!ree sports too many? Not if it means more playing time

ByMorgan

Bennett-Smith

Commentary

Caroline Mehta Troy Hoddick

Caroline Mehta is the number-one

singles player for the tennis team

and competes as part of the Cavs’

number-one doubles team. Mehta

won both her March 14 singles

matches, 6-0.

Troy Hoddick, the Cavs’ sole la-

crosse goalie, had 14 saves in the

March 9 match against St. Mary’s.

Hoddick has made 36 saves in the

past three games.

Teams struggle with retaining players but see early victories

Above, freshman Aidan Galati drib-

bles the ball past her opponent from

Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Cavs

lost narrowly, 3-2. (Photo by Connor Martin) At right, Cavs’ pitcher Mor-

gan Bennett-Smith winds up in a

March 12 game against Faith Chris-

tian. (Photo by Cissy Shi)

5 SportsThe Octagon March 19, 2013

SPRINGSPORTS


(Photo by Cindy Crain)

(Photo by Dar-by Bosco)

(Photo by Cissy Shi)

(Photo by Cissy Shi)

Performance is life or death for an athlete. One bad perfor-mance and hopes of scholarships and college admissions may evaporate. In recent years the struggle to be stronger, better and faster has led teens to turn to supplements that promise to boost muscle growth and performance. But these compounds are largely untested and carry real risks.

“After a hard workout, I took protein to help build my muscles and allow them to recover. It had no positive effect on me, though, so I stopped.”

—Mary-Clare Bosco, senior

CAMPUS PERSPECTIVEWhat appeals to you about using athletic

supplements?

Risk r Reward?A Closer Look at

Supplements

Caffeine

DMAA(1,3-dimethylamylamine)

Ca!eine, a diuretic, promotes urination. It removes "uids from the body, temporarily reducing body weight. However, this loss of "uids can result in de-hydration, and no fat loss occurs.

Derived from geranium oil, DMAA is used to promote mental focus and “amp up” the user. However, possible side e!ects include ar-rhythmia, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.

16.4%#e percentage of U.S. teenage athletes who say they’ve used creatine

1MILLION. #e number of 12- to 17-year-old Americans who have used performance-enhancing drugs

After senior William Wright purchased creatine pills a month ago, the GNC sales clerk handed him a sample of OxyElite Pro dietary supplements.

Wright, an avid rower being recruited by UC San Diego, eagerly took the sample.

The clerk told Wright it would “amp him up” when he worked out, adding that he shouldn’t worry if it made his face tingle.

Another customer in the store suggested that Wright should start with a half dose to see if he could “handle it.”

The clerk didn’t tell Wright that the supplement was only for those over 18, nor did she say that physician clearance is “mandatory before use.”

Then the clerk handed Wright 10 samples of Ripped Freak weight loss supplements to “share with friends.”

When University of Minnesota researchers surveyed 2,800 middle and high schoolers about sports supplements, one

ed using them, according to The Boston

dents say they’ve used protein powder

out supplements, such as OxyElite Pro.Protein supplements usually contain

protein derived from whey, casein, egg or soy and are designed to provide the body with proteins and amino acids necessary for muscle growth.

user’s mental focus and motivation to

supplements.

creatine, a compound found in red meat, to promote muscle growth.

Creatine supplements are also com

ments, such as the pills Wright originally purchased.

Wright didn’t pay attention to the warning labels on either sample.

And he would have used them, had they not been brought to Michelle Myers, PE department head.

Upon analyzing both samples, Myers said, “Why in the hell would you hand that to a teenager?

lants that will add stress to your organs.”Kellie Whited, science department

head, who has a Ph.D. in nutrition, agrees.

Pro and Ripped Freak startled Whited. A daily dose of OxyElite Pro contains

Whited said that if the user had addition

high.And, according to Whited, the “pro

prietary blends” in each product are a concern because, while they list their ingredients, they do not list the amount of each ingredient.

ing creatine supplements for six months. Unfazed by safety concerns and possible

Senior Donald Hutchinson now sticks with protein powder but has used creatine in the past. He stopped using it be

ter to make them look bigger,” he said. “It wasn’t actually making me stronger.”

out supplements, such as OxyElite Pro, “are awful for your body.”

Hutchinson, Myers and Whited are not the only ones concerned about the

supplements, Jack3d, contains a com

that is under scrutiny after two deaths at a U.S. army training camp.

In April 2012, FDA sent out warning letters to 10 supplement manufacturers

products. All warnings were ignored and the supplements remained available for

DMAA are now banned on U.S. army

compound that increases the user’s meta

is becoming popular as a replacement for

“party pills.”

Because certain countries, such as Australia, have placed a ban on DMAA, USPLabs has created new versions of both Jack3d and OxyElite Pro, replacing DMAA with higenamine.

This new version of OxyElite Pro is what Wright got from the GNC clerk.

Higenamine, according to WebMD.com, has been tested on lab mice but has not yet been studied in people and may cause cardiac arrhythmia.

“I am outrageously surprised to hear about this,” Wright said. “If I knew about

Myers and Whited questioned why Wright was given supplements reserved for use by those over 18.

Wright said that the GNC clerk did not ask any questions regarding his age or any possible disorders or abnormalities.

“As an employee of GNC, they should

ers said.A GNC employee said that, according

to her training, she is required to check the customer’s ID to verify that they are 18 years of age or older.

She also said that GNC employees give out samples similar to the items purchased.

And that can mean providing custom

products.Skylar Waidhofer, a senior at Vista del

Lago High School, said he’s used athletic

supplements since his freshman year. Waidhofer rows with Wright on the Capital Crew team.

He began using products such as Jack3d

year. But Waidhofer wasn’t happy with the

“I quickly stopped taking Jack3d be

Waidhofer said he had friends who took more than the recommended dose of Jack3d, which caused their heart rates to increase excessively, requiring hospitalization.

While Waidhofer said that he, too, felt his heart rate increase when he used Jack3d, he never worried that it was at a dangerous level.

Repeated calls and emails to USPLabs LLC. and PharmaFreak Sciences Inc. regarding the safety of their products were not returned.

Senior Anthony Valdez favors recovery supplements, which are high in glutamine, to reduce soreness and recovery times.

times a week. He says the supplements make it easier to bike without rest days in between.

Sophomore Claire Pinson, a swimmer, shies away from chemical supplements in favor of a more natural supplement: des

Pinson’s coach recommended the liver, which is supposed to increase the user’s

of an individual’s body to transport and

Pinson said she feels comfortable taking it because her parents did extensive research before giving it to her.

After two weeks on the beef liver, she noticed that it was easier to hold her breath for longer swimming pieces.

Myers supports natural supplements such as desiccated beef liver and believes

tein products that are safe for use by teens.

But Whited is more conservative.“I think if you have a healthy balanced

diet and you get exercise, then there’s no reason you should try to cheat the system,” she said.

“(Supplements are) full of stimulants that will add stress to your organs.”

–Michelle Myers, PE department head

my muscles with water. It wasn’t actually making me stronger.”

–Donald Hutchinson, senior

By Connor Martin ]Oxyelite proOxyElite Pro, made by USPLabs, is one of the most popular athletic supplements contain-ing DMAA. A new ver-sion of OxyElite Pro replaced DMAA with higenamine after the safety of DMAA was questioned.

Jack3dJack3d, made by USP-Labs, is the most popu-lar athletic supplement containing DMAA, according to National Public Radio. Even though minors are not supposed to use this product because of the DMAA, many do.

]chemicalsin

question

RippedFreak

Ripped Freak, made by PharmaFreak, contains stimulants, such as caf-feine and various esters, to promote weight loss. #e stimulants also pro-mote adrenaline in the body. Red pepper ex-tract is used to provide a warming e!ect.

“Before using supplements, I was really skinny. Since begin-ning to take protein, I’ve gained 25 pounds even though I’m not consistent in my use.”

—Brandon Mysicka, senior

siren call of supplementsthe

**statistics from a recent study by the Mayo Clinic

! "#$%#&'()$%*+#,-.%/0($ 12/&.+,345,6738

Onions to. . . those la-

crosse players who

throw balls against the

mural wall. It’s incredibly

annoying to dodge fly-

ing rubber balls as we

walk to and from the

gym.

Orchids to. . . the

installation of aw-

nings in front of the

h igh-schoo l o f f i ce

building. We don’t have

much use for them

now, but we’ l l save

them for a rainy day.

The Octagon is published eight times a year by high-school journalism students of Sacramento Country Day School, 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, Calif. 95864. Phone: (916) 481-8811, ext. 347. Email: [email protected], Web address: http://www.scdsoctagon.com.

The Octagon

My Angle

ByConnorMartin

I was nauseated. My stomach tingled and I was starting to get dizzy.

“Just go do it,” I told my friend. “Start telling everyone.”

“Are you sure?” my friend said.“Just do it; I don’t even care anymore.”That was a lie. But considering the trouble simply

“acting gay” had caused me since elementary school, I was wary of making my sexuality official.

I wasn’t worried about being called a faggot or a homo—after eight years homophobic insults don’t faze me.

No, I was worried about social shunning or avoid-ance.

But fortunately, I have experienced the exact oppo-site since my coming-out. My friendships have been strengthened and new ones have been formed.

A few teachers have approached me to express their congratulations.

These reactions made me highly optimistic. Every-thing was getting better. And everything would continue to get better.

Until recently, I had assumed college would be more or less without homophobia, as I plan on attending a liberal arts college.

But, that’s not the case apparently—at least not ac-cording to Parker Murray, ‘10, who recently wrote a col-umn for Swarthmore College’s Daily Gazette.

Murray attended a fraternity party at Swarthmore, where he is a sophomore, shortly after he came out.

There a “hulking” and “slightly intoxicated” frat member threw him out of the party telling him, “No fags allowed.”

Five or six frat members looked on, one of whom was Murray’s good friend, and said nothing.

Swarthmore of all places. Somehow I thought liberal arts colleges were devoid of this mentality.

I mean, I’m sure there are a few bigots, but shouldn’t someone have said something?

Most of the responses (there are over 100) to Mur-ray’s story strongly supported him.

But, regardless, it’s demoralizing. Liberal arts colleg-es are supposed to be, well, liberal—perhaps the most liberal communities in the U.S.

Each comment on the story can be “liked” or “dis-liked” by other readers. While each of the positive com-ments had many likes, they also had several dislikes.

Four readers “disliked” this comment: “Thank you so much for sharing your story, Parker. That took a lot of courage. I think what you said is going to have quite a lot of impact.”

I guess no matter where you go, some people can’t move past their basic insecurities.

But, that’s not what I’ve encountered here. And I thank everyone at the school for making it that way.

Coming-out,Country Day style

Orchids to. . . mid-

dle-school teach-

er Laura Monahan for

handing out free slices

of pie on Pi Day. We

love how we can al-

ways count on you to

celebrate this “holiday.”

Onions to. . . stu-

dents who park in

front of the bus stop on

American River Drive.

Some cars have already

received angry notes.

Respect the law and

make everyone happy.

In today’s digital age of exponential technological growth, computer programming is an undeniably useful skill.

-neering students take in college, and those who know

Just ask Tyler Trussell, ‘09, who majored in com-puter science and made more money even as an in-tern during college than his friend, a college graduate who was working in marketing (See story, p. 3).

With the increasing demand for programmers and tech-savvy employees in general, it seems logical to begin teaching the topic in high school.

As of now, the school does not offer any courses re-lated to computer science—the closest is the Invent-ing Your Own Computer Games elective, though that teaches little in regard to actual programming skills.

The former Word, PowerPoint and Excel require-ment was meant to introduce students to computers, but students now learn these skills through their life experience.

Instead, the school should offer the opportunity to learn new computer skills (that aren’t often picked up naturally by high school) through a computer science class.

An obvious option would be the College Board’s AP Computer Science A, which could, of course, grant college credit.

Some may prefer the idea of an easier course in-stead, but the AP Computer Science A course does not actually require prior programming knowledge.

The College Board describes the class as an “intro-ductory” course in computer science, requiring basic algebra and problem-solving knowledge, along with, unsurprisingly, a computer.

And there’s plenty of interest, too—according to a recent Octagon poll, 40 percent of juniors said they would be interested in taking it.

One big question is who would teach such a class—bringing in a new teacher for just one class is unreasonable.

Teacher Bruce Baird is an option, as he already teaches the computer games elective and has some programming background from engineering.

However, Baird would have to drop his History of World War II class to make time in his schedule, and assuming there is also interest in this class, a choice would have to be made.

Maybe there’s no way it could work out next year, but this class is something the school will eventually need to offer—and the sooner the better.

No one denies that computer skills are vital, but Word, Excel and PowerPoint simply do not cover the scope of useful computer skills.

It’s time SCDS teaches students the skills necessary to achieve true mastery over these machines that are quickly taking over the world.

Onions

Orchids

8 Editorial The Octagon March 19, 2013

&

EDITORIAL: In preparing students for a digital age, Country Day needs to keep up

Editors-In-Chief

Jeffrey CavesYanni Dahmani

Madeleine WrightCopy Editor

Garrett KaighnBusiness Manager

Jeffrey CavesNews Editor

Yanni DahmaniEditorial Editor

Ryan HoCommunity Editor

Darby BoscoCenterpoint Editor

Madeleine WrightFeature Editors

Connor MartinKamira Patel

Opinion Editor

Emma WilliamsSports Editors

Micaela Bennett-Smith

Morgan Bennett-SmithSkovran Cunningham

Online Editor

David MyersPhoto Editors

Kelsi ThomasWill WrightReporters

Annie BellZoe Bowlus

Emma BrownElise DeCarliEric Hilton

Madison JuddGrant Miner

Aishwarya NadgaudaMax ShukuyaManson Tung

Foreign Correspondent

Margaret WhitneyCartoonist

Shewetha PrasadAdviser

Patricia Fels

9Community The Octagon March 19, 2013

Last year’s Jazz Band was a

Nick Samson

Richard Whitney

Nick Samson, Richard Whitney still keeping the beat at Cornell, WilliamsBy Ryan Ho

Page Editor

Although students enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of the library, most of them were not reading. Junior Kerina Blue (above right) works on her computer while seniors Hana Owaidat (above left) and Mary-Clare Bosco and Donald Hutchinson (below) amuse themselves on their phones in the library’s Lava Lounge. (Photos by Will Wright)

Nick Samson, ‘12, (standing) rehearses the tune “Three and One” by Thad Jones with the Cornell Jazz Band. The song features Samson on the baritone saxophone along with a trumpet and bassist. (Photo used by permission of Samson)

“You see stories of famous artists who are still playing in their mid-80s and you go, ‘Well, there’s no way I can stop now.’”– Nick Samson ‘12

See Musicians

O

were

Not reading across America:students study, text insteadBy Manson Tung, Madison

Judd, Emma Brown and Zoë

Bowlus

Reporters

Richard Whitney, ‘12, (second from left) performs with his a cappella group The Springstreeters. (Photo used by permis-sion of Whitney)

10 Remainder The Octagon March 19, 2013

We thank

Lisa Wible Wright

The Myers Family

Lee Tait

The Williams Family

The Martin Family

The Kong Family

Sutcliffe LLP

The Nadgauda Family

Williams College.The Springstreeters is one of nine a cappella groups at

Company and sang in multiple musicals.

Whitney had to audition for the group.

throughout the performance.Whitney is also the assistant music director of the group

that he is a composer.

he said.

and the professor leading it is fantastic.

(Continued from page 9)

Editors:While I am usually a supporter of your literary

endeavors, I find it odd a newspaper of your caliber would pass judgement on something before experienc-ing it. In your second-to-last issue, published during first-semester finals, I noticed that in your Orchids and Onions piece, you gave onions to the fact that the high school finals were now taken on larger desks, not smaller ones. However, this piece was written before finals were taken! I find it very unprofessional of you to pronounce judgement on something before expe-riencing it. In fact, the very next issue published a far superior article, and the poll included showed the majority of high-school students either did not care or preferred desks! In the future, I would appreciate if your paper did not prematurely render a verdict on these issues. I would like to see this paper maintain its reputation.

Grant Quattlebaum, junior

Letter to the Editor

Musicians: alums pursue jazz, singingRichard Whitney, ‘12, sings the lead in “Runaround Sue” with The Springstreeters. To see the performance,

go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYkHXKEdbck. (Photo used by permission of Whitney)

By JeffreyCaves

There is a historical theory to explain the relative genetic simi-larities in most mod-

ern humans. Historians theorize that at

some point in our history, hu-manity dwindled down to per-haps a few hundred individuals living along the coast of South Africa.

And what sustained them when humanity was in its dark-est hour? Shellfish.

That’s right. In all likelihood the savior of our species is the same thing now dipped in batter and unceremoniously fried.

Okay, so the shellfish them-selves probably didn’t take a very active role in saving us, since being plucked from the rocks by a cave man isn’t exact-ly praiseworthy.

But nonetheless, we owe the bivalve a debt of gratitude.

And unlike most debts, that is a debt best paid by cooking and eating them, ideally while they are still alive.

I know it sounds harsh to cook these poor creatures while they still draw breath (in a mol-lusk sort of way), but it’s not so bad when the creatures in ques-tion have no nervous system and no brain.

Now how do you tell if some-thing is alive or dead when it is merely a hollow sphere of cal-cified material with some goo inside?

Well, it’s simple. If it’s open, you are dealing

with a deceased mollusk and potentially some of the worst food poisoning imaginable.

I speak from experience—if a mussel is open before cooking or closed after it, don’t eat it. Period.

Yet I still eat shellfish, and not merely because of our his-torical association.

I eat them because they are delicious, particularly the noble clam.

The clam gets a bad rap. People think of them as tough, tasteless little things.

But a clam cooked correctly, just until the shell opens, is a mollusk truly worth eating.

However, even linguine and clams is not really about the meat inside the clam.

In fact, nothing with clams is about the meat inside the clam. It’s about the sauce.

It is about the pasta. It is about the wonderful, as-

tounding taste of the sea that each clam releases and how this taste coats every strand of that pasta.

Linguine and clams is about what this liquid elixir does to the pasta.

It is about the delicate and heady sauce that can come only from a divine mixture of clams and wine and spices and citrus.

Shellfish: our ancient saviors

11ReviewThe Octagon March 19, 2013

Hungry chickens and people alike gather in

stores and gas stations at the corner of Arden

boards add a bit of enter

the restaurant in

‘Hole-in-the-wall’ restaurants deliver delicious cuisine

(Photo by Darby Bosco) (Photo by Vaibhav Nadgauda)

(Photo by Maxwell Shukuya)

(Photo by Vaibhav Nadgauda)

“The bat-tered cod

was fresh, fried to perfection and relatively free of oil as well. ”

Cooking in the Cave

Menus along the road less traveled

Go to www.scdsoctagon.com and click on Cooking in the Cave to find Chef Jeff’s recipe for Linguine and Clams.

Think back to last Thursday’s episode of “Glee.”

Did you see anyone you knew?

Former Country Day student Ginny Gardner

played freshman Katie Fitzgerald, Ryder Lynn’s love

interest.

Gardner attended Country Day from kindergar

ten to eighth grade, beginning in 1999. Ten years

ago, she was just one of thousands of little girls

dreaming of making it in Hollywood.

hasn’t given up on her childhood dream.

Gardner began her acting career at SCDS by star

Frishman, head of the drama department, directed

Gardner from sixth to eighth grade.

“She played the same type of part: a pretty girl

was what came naturally to her,” Frishman said.

Although Gardner’s parents occasionally asked

Frishman for advice about her career, Frishman ad

mits that they didn’t need much direction.

“Her mom had been a newscaster, and they had

enough money to where they could support her am

bitions,” he said.

Gardner moved to Los Angeles with her mother

once she started to be more successful and able to

handle herself, she moved into her own apartment

and began to live on her own.

Gardner would have been entering her junior

year at St. Francis when she moved. Although most

would be skeptical of the change, Gardner maintains

that it was better than the alternative.

down, rent a car, drive home and go back to school.

without even thinking about the cost,” she said.

However, it wasn’t until she faced an ultimatum

broken.

quit or take this 100 percent.’ They gave me the op

portunity to make this a career.”

Rather than attend school, Gardner took the Cal

Gardner previously guest starred in an episode of

“Hart of Dixie” in December 2011 and an episode of

sue modeling, taking on various jobs and appearing

in this month’s issue of “Seventeen.”

Caught up in modeling, Gardner admits that she

was close to putting acting on a permanent hiatus

just weeks before she heard about the “Glee” audi

tion.

said that everyone was welcoming.

was really amazing and down to earth,” Gardner

said.

Although she’s been on other sets, Gardner went

through a completely new experience on “Glee.”

For actors, you have a line coach who will stay on

book with you. They give you little corrections for

the line.

Gardner said earning the spot on “Glee” validated

acting rather than modeling.

Although she can’t say much about her “Glee” fu

ture due to her contract, Gardner teased that her

sode.

ByAnnie Bell

12Feature The Octagon March 19, 2013

Thursday’s episode worked perfectly

for Ginny. She adequately depicted

the “hot” and advice-giving girl dis-

covered over instant messaging by

one of “Glee’s” young bachelors. It’s a

small part, and the most we see of her

is half her face and some online pro-

nonetheless her voice

hope that the part does not inevitably

transcend to mere cheesiness.

—Mollie Berg, ‘12

I don’t think it’s going to last because

the plot right now is for Jake, Ryder and

Marley. Honestly, we all know how

love triangles work. Although I could

see her character lasting for three or

so episodes, I don’t think it’s going to

stick. I think that a lot of people are

rooting for Marley and Ryder because

he cares about her.

—Kelsi Thomas, senior

okay, that’s kind of cool that he has a

new love interest.” But later you kind

of get this feeling of how this is sketchy

when she askes for more shirtless pic-

tures and she never responds when he

asks to meet up with her.

—Savannah Symister, junior

The skinny on Ginny

Making it on the small screenPh

oto i

llustr

atio

n by

Kam

ira P

atel

Octagon Issue March 2013

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Transcript of Octagon Issue March 2013