The Index Eutαxia Swzein Dokei
Volume LXXIV, No. 2
october 2012
Haverford, Pennsylvania
There Aren’t Enough Lockers: A Problem at Haverford Jack Henderson ‘15 There has been a recent buzz about the school regarding the dissatisfaction among students’ current locker situations. There are currently 390 lockers available for the use of over 430 students. Some of these lockers are in poor locations, which are quite a distance from the central meeting points used by the student body. Additionally, for some students the lockers are relatively far away from the majority of their classes. The difficulty of using their lockers is the primary cause for most students’ dissatisfaction. The locker issue has become obvious for the first time this year because of the steadily increasing Third Form class each year. The Haverford School student body is growing, and most likely will continue to grow in the future. When the Upper School was designed and built, it allowed for a surplus of lockers in the case of more students. However, the school’s growth cannot be sustained by even the added surplus lockers. Mr. Fifer, Dean of Students, describes
wanted a locker next year. Students who indicated that they wanted a locker were then asked if they wanted to keep their current locker.” If the students preferred their locker, they were assigned the same locker this year. Mr. Fifer continues, “Students were also able to request a different locker location and were asked to designate which floor they wanted their locker to be on. In assigning lockers this year I honored Index Staff Fourth Former Tim Delany opening his locker. the requests of as many the process by which lockers were assigned students as possible. I used seniority as the this year: “At the end of last year I requested criteria for assigning lockers to those students faculty advisors to ask their advisees if they who requested an alternate location. Sixth
Math Department Goes Digital
Matt Larson ‘14 investigates the ongoing plans to bring the Haverford Math Department into the digital age. Find out what these changes may mean for you. Matt Larson ‘14 The Math Department is moving into the digital age — literally. When Mr. Joseph Sweeney became the chair of the Math Department, he asked other math teachers what they thought the division should be focusing on. At the time, he asserted, no one “[was] sure where the Math Department would be going.” So he made sure that it “aligned itself with state standards” to become possibly “the most complete math program in the country; [in fact, our] curriculum map can be used by other schools” as a way to structure their math programs. “Each component would serve students today and those in the future,” he commented. After this decision, the other math teachers and he “laid out a bold vision” to make “a digitally deliverable department.” As a start, over a period of two years, textbooks will be phased out entirely in math classes (to make way for the new initiative), a concept which is already being tested in Mr. Robert Upton’s Algebra I class. He said that having no textbook “is better for students not as strong in math, for there can be more practice.” In fact, he only had one concern – “for students, who learn visually, the textbook might be helpful.” In the place of textbooks and traditional ways of practice will be a new technological initiative. According to Mr. Sweeney, the Math Department will soon be using an “electronic homework and practice system.” Essentially, a large online math database will be created as a way to supply and answer questions. In this new platform, one is able to “receive instant
Also inside the Issue...
feedback for various math problems,” which includes how to solve problems step by step and other advice. There will be “video and demo work,” to help students learn concepts that will in turn help them prepare for class. The Math Department is aiming for “open source math” with this initiative.
Retrieved from wisepreneur.com
The decision to undertake a new way of learning math was not taken lightly. Mr. Sweeney and the other members of the math department gathered “significant research” through a large research-gathering undertaking before they started. Upper School Head, Mr. Matthew Green, mentioned that the decision was supported by research “for a new way of learning math.” He explained that “online learning is being championed as a road to greater efficiency...Math lends itself readily to online formats.” Continued on Page 5
Formers were reassigned first, followed by Fifth Formers, followed by Fourth Formers. All Third Formers were assigned lockers on the ground floor or the third floor. I was able to honor the requests for location changes for most fifth and sixth formers. Unfortunately, I was not able to honor the requests of fourth formers because I ran out of lockers on the more desirable [first and second] floors.” There are two options the school can take to remedy the issue: do not continue to grow the size of each grade and limit the number of incoming students, or make a permanent change in the infrastructure and facilities of the school. A large problem requires a large solution and, as Mr. Fifer explains, “The only real solution to this problem is to put more lockers in the building, which is going to be difficult given that we have already maxed out most of the space that could be used for lockers.” Because this option seems unlikely in the short-term, Continued on Page 6
Eating with Sam: Sam Goes to Philadelphia
Sam Bloch ‘13 heads into Philadelphia and discovers what he believes may be the best sandwich shop in all of the city, Paesano’s. Sam Bloch ‘13 In my last article, I promised a second part to my review of Honey’s. Sixth Form year has gotten in the way of my free time to write about food. I still plan on writing part two of my Honey’s, but not today. Today, I want to focus on a taste that is still fresh in my mouth. Last Saturday, I went down to the Italian Market in Philadelphia with my good friends Sixth Formers Drew Field and Travis Chou to get a great sandwich. Travis and Drew decided that we needed to go to Paesano’s, so we went. This was my favorite research trip to a restaurant I have done since I began writing this column. My friends got to see me at work. Drew commented, “It was great to finally see the legend at work.” The feeling there was mutual. I had a great time sharing my food experience with my friends. “Paesano” means pal in Italian, so it was fitting to go to this restaurant with my friends. Paesano’s is located near the corner of 10th St. and Washington Ave. in the heart of the city’s Italian Market. The small sandwich shop is surrounded by other food vendors that sell horrible-smelling fish. The awful smelling fish makes the smells at Paesano’s that much better. When you walk into the shop you are immediately met with the smell of fresh baked breads, sausages, and peppers. It smells exactly how I would want my grandma’s kitchen to
In early June, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Former Spanish students took a trip to Spain. Read about their colorful journey on page 5.
smell if I were Italian. Unfortunately, I do not get to enjoy smells like this one often enough. I decided that eating one sandwich at Paesano’s would not be enough. I wanted a full Paesano experience, so I ordered both a Zaweech and a Paesano. The Zaweech, a
Retrieved from grubstreet.com
classic Italian sausage sandwich, consists of a sweet Italian sausage doused with caramelized onions and peppers and covered with sharp provolone. All of this rests inside a soft, yet crispy, sesame seed-covered roll. The sausage oozes sweet juices with every bite. The sharp provolone covers every part of the sandwich and is perfectly melted. I am a believer that the bread can make or break a sandwich. This bread makes the sandwich for sure. The ratio of bread to sandwich is spot on. With some sandwiches I find myself wishing there was less bread because the large roll compromises the flavor of the sandwich. With other sandwiches I find myself wishing there was more roll because the sandwich gets too sloppy. Continued of Page 3
View recent Haverford sports coverage and analysis on pages 7 and 8. Retrieved from cbsju.edu
Article Sports Business Column Letter from the President Move Review Red-Blue Divide Artist of the Issue Obama vs. Romney New Driving Laws iPhone vs. Android Outdex
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Page 2 The Index - Editorials
Editorials
October 2012
Letter from the President Letter from the Editors Student Body,
Dear Reader,
Silence fell over the crowd as the Fords settled into their positions. Everybody watched this final play with nothing left. Fans’ voices were gone from cheering. Players’ energy was gone from battling for those last few yards. Nothing was present except for the unified heartbeat pounding to the same tempo as the clock ticked down the last seconds of the day. The hearts stopped, the final tick dropped, the siren rang, and the crowd erupted. The sea of fans crashed over the players. Emotions ran wild all over the field as people hugged each other with endless smiles. Fans screamed with joy, and the seniors cried because of the realization that this was their last EA Day. The passions, emotions, and feelings that were brought out in this 2008 EA Day football Index Staff game are the definition of school spirit. It President Michael Green. represents a community as close as a family. This school year has started off great. We’ve had many accomplishments already. The dance was awesome, and the Student Council and I would like to thank all of the chaperones, security members, and jean short and Hawaiian shirt-wearing-students who helped. Since I’ve been in the Upper School, I have experienced much school spirit, but nothing equivalent to that 2008 football game. Therefore, I want us, as a community, to come closer together and push our boundaries. Even if you don’t like sports, theatre, or loud noises, it would be worth your time to attend these events. The memories you will make and the emotions you will feel because of the acceptance at these events will remain implanted in your heads forever. With many events coming up, you have plenty of opportunities to seize moments that will affect you for the rest of your lives. I still remember games, performances, Open Mic Nights, competitions, debates, and even Bench Ball games that were exhilarating because the crowd was unified under one category: the Haverford family. Now, I understand that everyone is very busy, but I want you all to consider attending these events. If you see an announcement for a game or anything else, take out your calendar, and check to see if you can make it because there is no such thing as having too much Haverford spirit. Like Joe Ehrmann said, “The two criteria of masculinity are relationships and cause; how are you going to be remembered.” So, Haverford community, let’s make memories. Your President, Mike Green
As this will probably be the final Letter from the Editors before the December issue, it seems an opportune time to discuss what is likely the best celebration of Haverford school unity and spirit that occurs every year: EA Day. Each year The Index gets involved with the Day in its own special way. For the Third Formers and new students who have yet to experience a November issue, the entire issue is devoted to athletic coverage of EA Day, and the paper is traditionally released during the week of fun events preceding the Saturday competitions. Just like last year, The Index will host in-depth coverage with an entire page devoted to each sports team. There will Index Staff Grayson Sessa (left) and Jonathan Paras (right). be match-up articles that examine the Haverford players in comparison to their EA counterparts, and graphics that show the playing field where each player starts. This year the Outdex editors, Sam Bloch and James Tarte, took initiative and decided that they would run the EA Day issue Outdex. The added jokes will certainly not take away from the quality of the paper - usually The Outdex is a fan-favorite section - and since the jokes will all be athletics-related, it should actually add to the sports immersion. For all the Ford Fanatics out there, we are looking for sports bloggers to work with us on the website. We would like those in the “twitter-verse” and those who have advanced knowledge of this newfangled technology (we are newspaper guys after all) to speak with us on potential live game updates. We hope to do our part in encouraging school spirit, and we encourage you to make an effort on your side to do the same. Make sure all Fords come out to EA Day: it’s at home this year, so there is no excuse not to. Make the school spirit events the best they have ever been. And don’t forget to make everyone feel at home since this is truly a school-wide week of celebration. As always, we wish you the very best from The Index; remember to pick up the latest edition of the paper. Sincerely, Grayson Sessa and Jonathan Paras Editors-in-Chief
Careers: The Realities of Sports Business Jack Henderson ‘15 This is the first edition of a monthly column about interesting careers people have chosen. The goal of these articles will be to inform you as a student about the choices you have to be great at whatever you enjoy doing. There will be one featured career category each issue ranging from all aspects of life to give you a taste of what it would be like to have that job. If it sounds appealing, do some research and see what you can do to make your hobby become your job because who would not want to be paid for something they enjoy doing. It is not really work if you enjoy doing it. Are you a fan of being down in front – rink side, courtside, in the dugout, or on the sidelines? You can still catch all of the action up close and personal even if you do not have the rare athletic prowess required to be a professional athlete. Sports management allows you to take a lead role in – and financially benefit from – the exhilarating
world of sports from a business point of view. Sports management allows you to experience firsthand the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” This issue’s featured career category is sports management, which includes a field of education involving the business side of sports. This includes the front office system in professional sports, sport economics, and sport finances. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has a program called the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, which is a partnership among top-level business leaders, Wharton faculty, and students which creates and spreads information about the sports business industry through educational programs, student consulting, global forums, and research. The Wharton School offers a program in the summer called the Wharton Sports Business Academy, which provides an opportunity for rising juniors and seniors to study sports business leadership at The Wharton School. The WSBA investigates the fields of management, law, negotiation,
The Index
2012-2013 Staff
Grayson Sessa, Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Paras, Editor-in-Chief Erich Prince, Head of Photography Henri Mattila, Copy Editor Fisher Pressman, Business Manager Peter Thompson, News and Features Editor James Shecter, Sports Editor Will Tackett, Columns Editor Amar Patel & Manav Khandelwal, Arts Editors Jake Pechet, Opinions Editor Sam Bloch & James Tarte, Outdex Editor Manav Khandelwal, Graphics Editor Manav Khandelwal & Graham Gaddes, Website Managers Mr. Kellen Graham, Faculty Advisor
The Index is a student-run publication of the Haverford School that does more than bring news: it provides the diverse perspectives of the Haverford student body. It is an outlet for student writers to take stands on issues they deem important. It chronicles the daily struggles and accomplishments of the Haverford community. The Index also
marketing and leadership, relating to the sports industry, featuring intercollegiate, Olympic, and professional sports enterprises. If you are interested in this career path, you may want to pursue a sports management major in college. In this major you will not only study the actual sports themselves (usually just one or two in particular) but also the psychological principles involved with the sport and what role the sport plays in the community. Along with all of this the major includes a sturdy foundation in the branch of business, examining the connection between the worlds of business and sports and how to make that interaction more advantageous and lucrative for everyone involved. Mr. Tim McDermott is the Philadelphia Eagles Senior Vice President and Chief Managing Officer. Mr. McDermott, who is a Pennsylvania native living in West Chester, is responsible for strategizing and managing all marketing, advertising, merchandising, internet/new media, game entertainment, broadcasting, and brand extension efforts for the Eagles. During his first stint in Philadelphia
from 2004-2006, the Eagles brand strength increased 40% according to ESPN’s Sports Poll and was recognized by Forbes as the fastest growing brand in sports. He earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell. These days, sports provide significant entertainment and profitable interest in this country. Sports managers play a vital role in keeping the players, coaches, owners, and even the fans happy and able to interact (somewhat) cordially. They know how to market sports effectively and become an expert in the fields of sports publicity, coaching, and administration. Sports management also involves components of accounting, marketing, economics, law, and communications. Students who have majored in sports management often go on to pursue careers as agents, publicists, managers, and many others in the sports industry. Sports management is a broad discipline, and the information people acquire about both business and sports opens the door to a world of different possibilities.
provides a forum for discussion of pertinent issues, such as student culture, academic policy, and Haverford’s place in world affairs. The Index presents new ideas and aspires to influence constructive change. All opinions and viewpoints expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of The Index or the school. The Index is designed and produced digitally. Photographs may be retouched. Submissions and letters to the editors regarding any and all articles are welcomed at hsindex@gmail.com. The Index, a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, is composed on Mac OS X, using Adobe InDesign CS5.5. Its surveys are conducted via SurveyMonkey and are advertised on Facebook to current Haverford students. School Publications Company of Neptune, N.J., prints 200-400 copies of each issue, and its editorial staff distributes them in the Upper School on the day of release. The Index serves the needs of a total school population of 1091 community members, consisting of 975 students and 116 faculty members. Contact The Index: 450 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041 hsindex@gmail.com http://www.haverfordindex.com/ (610) 642-3020 x. 1222 Volume LXXIV, No. 2 - October 12, 2012
Page 3
The Index - Columns
Columns
October 2012
Apple’s Reality Distortion Field: “It’s Magical” Part 1 In light of the record sales and excitement stemming from the release of the iPhone 5, columnist Chris Wong ‘14 takes a look at Apple’s corporate success and his personal relationship with the company’s products. Chris Wong ‘14
“When something exceeds your ability to understand how it works, it sort of becomes Magical” - Sir Jonathan Ive, SVP of Industrial Design, Apple Inc. If you ask anyone who knows me, I’m an Apple “Fan Boy.” I’ve owned every iPhone, a ridiculous number of iPods, and carry around a 17” Macbook Pro. Yet, the longest I’ve used an iPhone for was 6 months following the launch of the iPhone 4. It would be fair to say I’ve had a diverse phone history, beginning with the Motorola Krzr, through phones like the Microsoft Kin, a slew of Android-powered phones, and ending with my current Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which I love dearly. As I attempted to talk my Dad into lining up at 4:00 AM for the launch of the Galaxy Nexus at a UPenn Verizon store in the middle of winter, I seemed a little crazy. Every couple of minutes he would text me saying, “Are you sure you want this phone this badly?” and I would reply “Thanks so much.” I was happy with my phone, it did everything I wanted and did it well.
entire English class of notes. Despite my bewilderment, just two days later, I was up at 2:40 AM to pre-order the iPhone 5 before anyone else. As I write this, I’m furiously refreshing my inbox waiting for a tracking number, so I can stalk my order as it’s shipped across the It all changed. At 1:00 PM on September country. When did one company’s press 12th, I turned on my laptop, pointed my conference and details about processor browser to TheVerge.com, and started speed, camera quality, and pixel density watching. My English class’ discussion on suddenly become mainstream? At what Old School rapidly faded into the background point did people start yearning for the as the lights dimmed and Apple’s CEO said release of an aluminum and glass box the words, “This is that lights up? This is the “An iPod, a phone, iPhone 5.” With the story of iPhone, and the birth of crowd erupting and a what is known as Apple’s Reality an internet mobile list of features on the Distortion Field. screen, I wondered communicator. An iPod, a On January 9, 2007, Steve why people cared Jobs the stage at the phone, an internet mobile annualtook so much about this MacWorld conference phone. By 6:00 communicator.... these to announce what would be the PM that night you influential project of that are NOT three separate most couldn’t escape the time. With the launch of the buzz surrounding iPhone, Apple combined three devices!”’ this seemingly products into a “This is ONE device, and quintessential “new,” “game new class of devices. Apple stood changing product.” we’re calling it iPhone” alone at the self-proclaimed Apple had apparently intersection of Liberal Arts -Steve Jobs “reinvented the and Technology. Just five short phone” once years later, Apple set the record for world’s again. Somehow one company’s product most valuable company at $621 billion with announcement had taken over the front page media coverage of its product announcements of every local newspaper, headlined on CNN, exceeding that of the Republican National Fox, the WSJ, and caused me to miss an Convention. With the announcement of the
Apple headquarters.
Retrieved from siliconangle.com
iPhone 4s and iPhone 5, Apple revenue continues to shatter records, further increasing the company’s value. But will Apple’s current level of innovation be able to keep up with an ever-growing market and increasing consumer demand? Innovation has been key to their success ever since the company was formed. It is easy to point to their past success and make the argument that legitimate innovation is occurring. Recently, though, Apple’s inventiveness appears to be declining. Take, for example, the underwhelming iPhone 4s and iPhone 5. This is where the illusion comes into play. Apple’s Reality Distortion Field and the army of fanboys it creates could be what is driving recent success, leading to the belief that Apple’s current level of triumph in its market is just as uncertain and, thus, temporary, as the attention of its fanboys.
De Libris: The Absolutely True Movie Reviews: Clerks II Diary of a Part-Time Indian Noah Cutler ‘14
Niticon Davis ‘13 Sherman Alexie wrote an extremely poignant novel about a substantial part of American culture so often forgotten: NativeAmericans/Indians. In 2007 Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was published. It is a first-person, semiautobiographical novel detailing the life of Arnold Spirit Jr., nicknamed Junior, a 14-yearold Native-American born with various medical ailments and a penchant for drawing cartoons. Growing up on a Spokane Native-American reservation, Arnold’s life is full of hardships such as poverty, the grief caused by death, and the alcoholism that seems almost endemic to his people. Seeking to find a better life for himself, Arnold transfers from his reservation school to an elite, allwhite high school in the neighboring town Reardan. In this new environment Arnold is forced to overcome much adversity, from racism and bullying to establishing his own identity and simply fitting in. The entire book is filled with Arnold’s cartoons, illustrated by Ellen Forney. Each being equally funny and emotive, they serve to add to the plot and give the reader a glimpse into Arnold’s mind. The novel originally started as a section of Sherman Alexie’s family memoir, but after the persistence of a Young Adult literature editor he decided to use it as a basis for his first Young Adult novel (Rick Margolis). He wrote this book to tell the story of his life and the story of so many others with lives like his, and he absolutely nailed it on the first try, writing a story that appeals to all. Arnold’s story will have the reader completely engaged and feeling grief, sorrow, joy, and empathy right alongside him. One subject in Arnold’s life that receives much treatment within the novel is his struggle to establish a unique self while trying to live
in both the Native American world of his “rez” and his all-White high school. Alexie handles such a difficult topic with relative ease and finesse, which is no surprise since this was the climate in which he grew up. Alexie so well articulates the difficulty of forming an adolescent identity in the face of peer pressure and societal as well as familial expectations. Despite how heartbreaking the story is, he still manages to make it hilarious, most likely because of his background as a comedian. I can recall many parts in the book that had me
Sixth Former Niticon Davis.
Index Staff
rolling with laughter. Another main focus of the novel is dealing with death. Alexie writes, “Jeez, I’ve been to so many funerals in my short life. I’m fourteen years old and I’ve been to forty-two funerals” (Alexie, p.200). Arnold loses many loved ones throughout the course of his life and deals with an immense level of grief, from which it is almost unimaginable that one could recover. However, through the love shown to him by the people around him, he is able to endure it. Alexie writes, “They wanted to help me with my pain. I was important to them. I mattered. Wow” (Alexie, p. 212). I truly believe that the world would be a better place if everyone were to read this book. It would not only serve to inform readers about the oldest part of American culture, one much too often neglected, but it would also generate a considerable amount of empathy in readers. Plainly stated, it is an incredible book, simplistically elegant in form and lacking nothing in substance.
Kevin Smith’s Clerks II (2006) is a Genre: Comedy raunchy comedy of epic proportions. Sequel to the Duration: 97 original Clerks, Clerks II min. takes place in New Jersey Rating: R where fellow slackers and Score: 9/10 best friends Dante and Randall move on to new occupations, as fictional fast food restaurant “Mooby’s” employees, when their beloved Quick Stop convenience store burns down. 10 years later, Dante and Randall, now with a few years in the fast food business and several co-workers, spend most Retrieved from wikimedia.org from their conversations, of the movie the same way they do in the first watching the first movie first is, although installment and seem to split apart. Randall recommended, not needed to fully enjoy the banters about movies and social issues from movie. race and religion to Star Wars with crude twists The overall tone of this sequel is a bit more, of comedy mixed in, while Dante moves onto for lack of a better term, serious. This may bigger things with his new fiancé. In Dante’s be due to having an actual plot for the movie. place, Elias, an awkward teen played by Trevor This slacker comedy is more than just potty Fehrman, frequently partakes in debates with humor; underneath it all, there is a actually a Randall throughout the entire movie. story of the endurance of a friendship. The As with nearly all of Kevin Smith’s movies, only problem with this movie is the duration. the cast is largely comprised of his friends. My The thought of a movie with a relatively static Name Is Earl’s Jason Lee, Men in Black II’s plotline (at least for the first half of the movie) Rosario Dawson, and even Ben Affleck are may seem off putting to some viewers. To featured in the cast, as well as the recurring combat this, Smith throws in a few somewhat duo of Jason Mewes and Smith, himself, as Jay cliche plot points, including the ending, to and Silent Bob. balance everything out. However, Clerks II Although it is a sequel, due to the nature of still comes through as yet another Smith“Clerks,” which had nearly no plot line aside manufactured comedic gem.
Eating with Sam (cont.) Continued from Page 1 This bread soaks up the sausage juices and the juices from the peppers and onions perfectly to keep the sandwich from getting too sloppy. After eating half of my Zaweech, I moved onto my Paesano sandwich. The Paesano is beef brisket, fried egg, roasted tomatoes, horseradish mayo, and sharp provolone. I love brisket. Usually I prefer a thicker cut of brisket, but I really enjoy the thinly sliced brisket on this sandwich. It melted in my mouth with every bite. The brisket is complemented by the fried egg with its oozing yolk. I hate horseradish, so I was worried about ordering a sandwich with a horseradish component. I am also not a huge mayo fan. I found that the horseradish mayo was present but was not a dominant flavor in the sandwich.
Even though I really do not like horseradish, I liked the way it was used in this sandwich. The roasted tomato spread tastes like a fresh tomato sauce. It adds a sweetness that pulls the sandwich together. Unlike the Zaweech, this sandwich is really messy. It’s a different sandwich eating experience, but it’s still enjoyable. You need to make sure you have some extra napkins for this baby. Paesano’s makes one of the best, if not the best, sandwich in Philadelphia. I cannot wait to get back to South Philly to try more of Paesano’s creations. If you are in the city craving a Paesano’s sandwich but cannot make it down to Paesano’s, do not worry. Paesano’s now delivers to almost anywhere in the city. This is one of the best food spots in a great food city. Head down to South Philly and grab some great sandwiches from Paesano’s.
Page 4 The Index - News
News
October 2012
Haverford’s Red-Blue Divide: Where the Students Fall Greg Boyek ‘14 uses The Index’s poll data to evaluate the positions of Haverford students on the 2012 election. Greg Boyek ‘14 As part of The Index’s ongoing role as the voice of the student body, questions relating to the election and political parties feature prominently in this month’s Index poll. The national presidential election is a close race and poll results have remained tight. Many Haverford students closely follow political news and form opinions well before they are eligible to vote. National and global awareness is an important part of Haverford curricular and extra-curricular activities. According to the poll conducted by The Index, 63% of Haverford students support Mitt Romney (R) in the upcoming presidential election and 30% support President Obama (D). The position held by Haverford students differs significantly from that of Americans as a whole. According to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, 50% of Americans support Obama while 44% support Romney. More locally, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Obama leads by 11 points in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania 6th and 7th
Districts, which include much of suburban Philadelphia, have historically voted for the Democratic candidate in the previous three presidential elections. However, the 6th and 7th districts both currently have Republican Congressmen. Haverford students appear to view the national situation as favoring Obama, with 59% of students stating that they think the President will win re-election and only 37% believing that Mitt Romney will win. 75% of Haverford Students eligible to vote stated that they intended to vote in November. This is significantly above the average national voter turnout rate of 56.9%. In the 18-24 year old age group, less than half turn out to vote, showing what an anomaly eligible Haverford student participation truly is. In the 2008 election younger people firmly backed President Obama, with 66% of college-age Americans voting Democrat. However, Obama may lose this edge due to some unemployed young voters backing Romney. According to recent Gallup polling statistics, voters, particularly Democrats in swing states, are very enthusiastic about voting
Farewell to Mr. Matthew Deasey
Jake Pechet ‘15 remembers beloved science teacher and water polo coach Mr. Deasey, who has gone on to medical school. Jake Pechet ‘15
When Mr. Matthew Deasey notified the Haverford School administration that he would not be returning for the 2012-2013 school year, opting instead to attend Temple Medical School, Haverford lost not only the oldest member of its student body, but one of the greatest and most popular teachers to grace the classrooms of Wilson Hall. Speculation had long run rampant over whether or not Mr. Deasey’s future plans included Haverford, and at last, students have a definitive answer. Mr. Deasey has left his position as a science teacher and water polo and basketball coach to pursue a career in medicine, and Haverford wishes him the best of luck. He will be missed but certainly not forgotten. Remarks Fourth Former Connor Atkins, a Physics student of Mr. Deasey, “I will remember Mr. Deasey as not only a ridiculously smart teacher who clearly loved science and loved to teach but also as a friend and mentor who was always willing to talk and help me get through my freshman year.” Despite holding a full-time teaching position and coaching two sports teams, all while attending graduate school, Mr. Deasey maintained an energy and charisma in the classroom that made him one of Haverford’s most beloved teachers and a trusted confidant. Fifth Former Chet Bickhart, a member of the water polo team, concurs, “I will remember Mr. Deasey as being a great mentor who always, no matter what was going on around him or what was going on at the school, stood for what was right. He didn’t care who you were, he just knew what was wrong and how to fix it.” And Mr. Deasey certainly met his fair share of wrongs that needing fixing, including a notorious altercation between players in a water polo match against Malvern during the 2011 season. Regardless of the situation, he always handled himself with class and dignity. He set an admirable example worthy of emulation both in and out of the classroom, firmly holding fast to his sometimes unconventional beliefs. These views are not just relegated to
students either. Notes Mr. Thomas Trocano, chemistry teacher and Science Department Chair, “Mr. Deasey’s potential as an educator was outstanding. He was able to relate to the boys exceptionally well while constantly backing up his opinions and principles with
in this election. However, overall voter enthusiasm has been on a downward trend since 2004. Haverford students also differ from the national average in terms of political ideology. 42% of Haverford Students describe themselves as conservative, 21% liberal, 9% libertarian and 19% independent. Nationally, 27% of people describe themselves as Republicans, 35% Democrats, and 36% as independents, according to Gallup Polling statistics. foxnews.com A Republican elephant and a Democrat Donkey. The Libertarian Party has grown since Gallup Poll. However, according to the same the 2008 election, unlike the Democratic and poll, nearly 46% of Americans feel that there Republican parties which have shed members is a need for a third party. Generally, the in the past four years. Gallup Polling indicates percentage of those who actually vote for a that the shift towards third parties has come third-party candidate is often significantly at the expense of Mitt Romney more than lower than the percent who said they supported President Obama. Haverford Independents, them in a poll. however, appear to be more likely to vote for Haverford students present a unique and Mitt Romney, as 63% said they supported Romney but only 42% described themselves as diverse set of political opinions. It is important for us as students to realize that every vote conservative. counts and that remaining politically-informed 14% of students state that they support and active are important duties that we must a candidate other than Obama or Romney. perform in the future as citizens and leaders of This number is significantly higher than the the United States. national average of 6% according to a recent
Club Spotlight: The Quiz Bowl Team
Will Tackett ‘14, a member of the Haverford Quiz Bowl club at Haverford, explains what the group is involved in Will Tackett ‘14 What year was the Magna Carta signed and who signed it? What Norwegian made the first complete transit of the Northwest Passage and later beat Robert Scott to the South Pole? If you can answer questions like these or are interested in learning obscure, yet fascinating, trivia consider joining the Quiz Bowl team. At the moment the team consists of Sixth Formers Erich Prince, Henri Mattila, Jason Tabas, Fourth Former Will Tackett, and Mr. Jamison Maley as faculty advisor. Quiz Bowl generally meets at lunch any day or sometimes after school, and participates in a couple tournaments throughout the year. The Team was started by former biology teacher Mr. Stewart Alford. He was the definition of a polymath, a renaissance man, and the Quiz Bowl team strives to keep that spirit alive in both the heated competitions and in the calm practice environments. In official National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT), teams consist of four players and face each other in head to head matchups. Both teams have the opportunity to
answer a toss-up question followed by a series of lightning round questions all of which relate to one another are which are asked exclusively of the team that wins the toss-up. Here is one example of a question: “One of this man’s plays involves the young trumpet player Levee stabbing Toledo. Another play sees Bernice and Boy Willie argue about selling the title instrument, and a third is about former Negro League baseball player (*) Troy Maxson’s relationships with Rose and Alberta. For 10 points—name this African-American playwright of the Pittsburgh Cycle, author of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, and Fences. Answer: August Wilson Source: naqt.org If you are interested in joining or have any questions, please feel free to talk to any of the aforementioned Quiz Bowl members, Mr. Maley, or see the NAQT’s website, www.naqt. com for more details.
Camping out for the iPhone Major Tepper ‘15 Mr. Matthew Deasey.
haverford.org
actions. Whether expressing his belief that we can make ourselves heard loud and clear by how and where we spend our money or when stressing the importance of changing your eating habits to live a healthier and more satisfying life, he constantly tried to show that individuals can make a difference. His devotion to the boys and to the community was admirable and very substantial.” Some may remember Mr. Deasey as that crazy teacher who showed up to school on a bike, others may recall him as the teacher who played about ten seconds of college basketball against UNC, and still others may look back on him as the guy who did not eat the chili on chili in a bread bowl day, but one thing’s for sure; everyone at Haverford will remember Mr. Deasey as one of the most sincere, transparent, and truly caring teachers Haverford has seen in its 128 years of existence.
A line for the iPhone 5.
Retrieved from haverford.org
It was 4:00 in the morning on a late September Friday. I was in my car outside the Suburban Square Apple store in the thick of yet another Apple-product-launch-camp-out. I had been there since 3:00 the previous afternoon and was finally caught in a deep sleep, something that is hard to do when your anticipation and excitement level is through the
roof. I was woken up by Ms. Nicole Brewer of CBS-3 Eyewitness News, who politely asked for an interview. At first I thought to myself, “I was just woken up by a supermodel Miss Pennsylvania 2005 news reporter asking for me...this must be a dream.” I thought I was delirious, I even smacked myself a little to confirm that it was real life. Anyways, I got out of the car half awake, introduced myself to her, and sat down in my fold-up chair that was placed just feet from the store entrance. This place, being the same plane of concrete that I had slept on as a younger child back in 2007 for the original iPhone and many other iPhones, brought back a flood of memories from the past. She started to ask me questions as the bright camera light shined in my just wokenup, confused-looking face. Obviously her first question, as well as the other 10 news companies, radio shows, and newspapers who interviewed me the night before, was: why? Why would you miss a few periods of school, numerous hours of sleep, and even sleeping in normal confines for just a phone?
Page 5
The Index - News
News
October 2012
Summer 2012: Haverford Students Travel to Spain This past summer a group of Spanish-studying Haverford students went to Spain, in particular, Barcelona. Jackson Simon ‘15 recounts his fantastic time there. Jackson Simon ‘15
This summer, a group of 14 Haverford students and I embarked on a trip to Spain for language study and cultural immersion. Led and organized by Sra. Mateos-Hirshman, Mr. Zack Murtha, and Ms. Emily Hulme, we excelled whether it was in the classroom, in the kitchen, or on the soccer field playing in a heated game. On June 9th, just three days after the last day of school, the following group of boys departed for Madrid: Fourth Formers Jack Henderson, Jake Pechet, Curran Aiyer, Gage Bowser, Teddy Selverian, and I; Fifth Formers Angelo Brutico George Avetian and Garrett Largoza; and Sixth Formers Alex Dawejko, Jake Mullin, Austin Merritt, JJ House, and Patrick Somers. We drove from the airport in Madrid to Salamanca, our foreign home for the next two weeks. Well, at least it was foreign for us with the exception of Ms. Mateos. She is very familiar with the city as we witnessed upon arrival. In fact, she had studied law at the University of Salamanca. Salamanca is a beautiful city and one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. From the classic Spanish dishes to the musicians on the street, this little college town “embodies the best that Spain can offer culturally,” says Sra. Mateos. Everything is in
walking distance and this environment gives you a feeling of intimacy. We stayed with a host family with whom we would eat breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner. The host families served us a wide variety of traditional Spanish dishes. The food turned out to be one of the most memorable aspects of the trip, as we enjoyed the Paella, Papatas Bravas, and Tortilla Española. We actually had a cooking lesson and all mastered the preparation of the Tortilla Española. Maybe “mastered” is not the right word-we attempted to learn and had some fun with it. The typical weekday was comprised of touring, school, and other exciting activities that changed on a day-to-day basis. From 9 AM to 1 PM, we would attend Spanish classes at a high school for foreign travelers. We took classes with students from as far away as China and Moscow, which forced us to communicate in Spanish, as we did not know Chinese and Russian and they did not know English. The quality of the Spanish program was extraordinary; the teachers were highly experienced and spoke genuinely about their language and culture. Being linguistically restricted from communicating in English provided a great environment for learning. After school and lunch, we took the traditional
Spanish Siesta. Later in the day we would complete our homework and participate in activities such as soccer, climbing the cathedral, tours of the university and city, Salsa dancing; one day we even got to see a 50 acre farm where they raise bulls and horses. Coinciding with our arrival was the start of the Euro cup. Every night in which Spain was scheduled to play, we would experience the Spanish passion and fanaticism for soccer as plasma televisions were lined up all along the square. Everyone would get dressed up in their Spain gear and cheer enthusiastically. We would buy our hats, jerseys and noise makers at the local soccer shops and cheer during the games. Nobody could differentiate us from all the extreme soccer fans; we successfully blended in with the Spanish crowd until of course we started to converse with others and expose our American accents to confirm who we really were: American tourists. At one point in our stay, a stage was set up in the square and we had the option to enjoy concerts every night until our curfew at midnight. This aspect of the trip was by far something that everybody appreciated. Whether it was meandering through the city, exploring the different shops, or getting lost, this sense of freedom was definitely something we had not experienced here on the Main Line. This feeling of independence and freedom was part of the reason why Sra. Mateos chose Salamanca. Everything is within walking distance and small cobble stone streets truly gave us that
Spanish and European feel. It was nice to be in a place where it was rare to see cars driving around. Pechet summarizes this feature of the trip in saying, “It is difficult to pinpoint one experience as my favorite, but I really enjoyed walking around Salamanca every day after classes and getting lost in the city.” On the first weekend, we traveled to Segovia and La Alberca. In Segovia, we saw the castle that Walt Disney modeled his castle on. We saw an ancient monastery and Roman aqueduct. Our wonderful tour guide spoke in Spanish, which on one hand made it harder to understand the history, yet on the other just added to the whole immersion experience. La Alberca was a small medieval town high up in the mountains. Here we visited some small shops where the majority of us would buy local nuts and honey jars for the cooks in our family, which for almost everyone turned out to be their mother. After two weeks in Salamanca, we returned to Madrid where we spent 3 days visiting the Prado, seeing Flamenco, and shopping. In the end, as Sra. Mateos put it, “The trip not only improved all of our Spanish skills but instilled in us the desire to learn more about the Spanish and Hispanic culture.” Thanks to Ms. Mateos, Mr. Murtha, and Ms. Hulme, we were able to enjoy the trip without the anxiety of scheduling or planning; they worked so hard to provide an authentic experience for us. In the end, they are the ones who collaborated to make this trip possible, and we are very grateful.
The History of and Plans for Apple Camp-Out (cont.) the Student Lounge Jonathan Paras ‘14 profiles the development of the coming student lounge in the community room. Jonathan Paras ‘14 Ah, the “student lounge”...the words that conjure mental images of TVs, leather sofas, lay-z-boy recliners, and perhaps a foosball table. Students may also remember hearing these words as the number one campaign promise of many hopeful student councilmen. With eloquence rhetoric, they attempted to woo their classmates with thoughts of such amenities, a place where one can relax. The story unfolds similarly year after year. The student council gets elected, it fails to fulfill its promises, no fancy furniture or foosball table arrives, and the students do not have anywhere to go. There is, however, one issue with this viewpoint. The student body has collectively made the assumption that there is no student lounge, when in fact, it has been hiding in plain sight: it is, in fact, the community room. The community room (apart from the numerous works of art hung about) may seem unfurnished, and eerily open, but in an interview with Mr. Fifer, it was discovered (or rediscovered) that the community room is, and has always been intended as, a student lounge. When Wilson Hall was originally built, the planners had taken into account a need for a communal space. So why is it not furnished to capacity with reclining lay-z-boys and other such objects? This too is another common misconception. It was a modestly furnished area with chairs and ping pong tables, however the community room often gets appropriated for dinners and speeches so the furniture
initially placed in it was moveable. It had to be light (so unfortunately no leather sectionals) and useable by the community. But problems arose. According to Mr. Fifer, “There was not any traditional furniture down there...and what happened to the furniture is that it got destroyed. There were broken styrofoam balls everywhere and an overall lack of use of the space.” This occurrence would certainly explain the difficulty in trying the experiment again and why the recreational furniture was withdrawn originally. With the café open during the day (where one can Retrieved from lazyboy.com certainly talk as loudly as they please) and a lack of care for the privilege of having a student lounge, it should not really come as a surprise. With all the sudden popularity, is it possible that once the community room does get upgraded, demand for it will simply die down as it did a few years ago? At present, it is impossible to tell. The difference is that this time the Haverford community can certainly strive to maintain the new refurbishment of the community room. It can be proven to the administration that the Upper School can care for the community room upgrades just as well as it can for any other aspect of the school. It is a communal environment, hence its designation as the community room, and if the community treats it with the respect it deserves, it will undoubtedly become a place where students can simply lounge.
Continued from the previous page My answer replicated the previous 10 answers I had given and will continue to give every time that question is asked: “I do this because it’s more than for just the phone... it’s the experience, it’s the tradition. These people around me have been here through and through. We know each other from past launches, and we look forward to seeing each
other every Major Tepper was the 1st to get the iPhone 5. time. We have stuck together through the terrible rain that hit during the iPhone 4 release, and we celebrated together under the beautiful June night of the first iPhone. These experiences
my brother and I shared before he moved out to USC were the times that shaped our childhood. This was our common ground for our interests.” She enjoyed the in-depth answer and followed up by asking me how I was handling my first launch without my brother Fitz Tepper ‘12 by my side. I responded by simply picking up my iPad and revealing to the camera its screen. It was Fitz; he was being “facetimed” in from the University of Southern California. By now, she knew how much we loved this. Then she brought up something that happened during a 96.5 interview with radio personality “JP” the night before, when I was offered a Samsung Galaxy S3 for my first spot in line. She Retrieved from delcotimes.com commented on how fast I was to decline despite the large amounts of money I was offered. When she asked me if I was insane, I responded, “Nope, that’s just the cost for saying that you have one of (if not the) first iPhone 5’s sold in the United States.”
Math Department Goes Digital (cont.) Continued from the Front Page Mr. Sweeney is quick to mention that with this new program the Math Department is not “making school online.” The “instructorstudent relationship is very valuable.” Mr. Green added that this initiative will simply be a “blend of human instruction with online platforms.” Mr. Upton also mentioned that “while the ability to have instant feedback is a huge plus, there is no way [online] to judge a student’s thought process while answering the question,” which is why teachers are important. To make up for potential lost interaction, there will be more group work in class between students.
How far along is this program? Well, according to Mr. Green, “there are still many decisions to make.” Mr. Sweeney acknowledged that “parts are being tested,” and Mr. Upton explained that “a series of courses are being written.” To prepare those in the Math Department, Mr. Sweeney remarked that the teachers “learned about a great number of tech initiatives.” There are other technological resources the Math Department is looking into, including iPads (iOS software), app development programs, and new learning games. Even though this new way of learning math may not be online for a while, the Math Department is still at the forefront of education.
Page 6
The Index - Arts
October 2012
Arts
Artist of the Issue: Poet and Actor Michael Green Louie Brown ‘15 profiles Michael Green, who is a talented poet and actor as well as a member of this year’s Sixth Form class. Louie Brown ‘15 Many of us know Sixth Former Michael Green only as Upper School President, but he is also an important part of the Haverford Arts community. Although he could be described as an all-around man, dabbling in pottery, singing, the drums, and more, he is best known for his work in theater and the literary arts. He has been a part of many Haverford productions, is a chief editor for Pegasus (to which everyone should submit their prose, poetry, or art), and will be hosting the Open Mic Night this year. Green uses his character and hard work to craft his roles perfectly and write exceptionallygripping pieces of poetry as well as being a charismatic and energetic part of the Haverford community. His acting career began almost ten years ago, during his third year at camp. Urged on by his brothers and friends, all of whom were auditioning, Green figured, “Why not...I auditioned, I got the role as the flying monkey in Wicked, and I just loved being on stage. It was just one of the best experiences of my life.” This first experience of acting has stuck with him ever since, and every time he gets on stage reminds him of why he loves acting.
Although he has spent thirteen years at Haverford, Green did not begin acting here until his Form I year when he was cast as an understudy for Dave Harris’ ‘12 Nerds 101. Fortunately for Green, one of the actors dropped out, and he got the role of Johnny,
Michael Green (center) as seen in Twelve Angry Men.
Fall Play: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Many Fifth Formers read this play in English class. With some interesting changes to the stage layout, this play promises to be memorable. Kyle Bowman ‘15 The Haverford School has gone mental! This year’s play is going on a trip to a mental institution with the production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was originally written as a novel in 1962 by Ken Kesey as a fictional account of his experiences with mental patients. The book was later adopted into a play by Dale Wasserman, and its first show on Broadway ran in 1963. The play follows Randle Patrick McMurphy (Sixth Former Tyler Brooks) as he is transferred from a work farm to a psychiatric ward. When McMurphy arrives, he comes across the warden of the hospital, the cruel Nurse Ratched (Lower Merion’s Sarah Schieffelin). McMurphy takes it upon himself to teach the other patients that they can break free of Nurse Ratched’s tyrannical control. McMurphy’s rebellion, although a failure, helps portray the theme of the book: who is really sane, and who is really “sick?” This year’s cast features many students having their first large role on the Centennial
Cast of One FLew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Hall stage. Along with these newcomers are many seasoned veterans performing one of their last shows on the Haverford stage. The
Open Mic Night Promises to Excite Manav Khandelwal ‘15 Like playing an instrument? Love reading poetry? Want to perform a skit with friends? Luckily for you, there is the Haverford School Open Mic Night, a bi-annual event at which Haverford’s arts program opens up its stage to anyone and everyone. The event is planned for November 15th, but the exact time and location are yet to be determined (more information will be coming out as the event approaches, so continue to check haverfordindex.com and haverford.org periodically). Sixth Former Michael Green, student body president and this month’s “Artist of the Issue,” has taken over responsibility for the event’s production from Dean Feinman ’12. Green, a previous performer at the event,
is excited about its possibilities, saying, “It is going to be great; I’m so excited. It’s a great way to interact with people who share similar interests and to get people involved in something they never thought they could do.” All students from Haverford, Baldwin, and Agnes Irwin are welcome to perform; in fact, as Green puts it, “Talented people who enjoy literary art, music, and other performances” are always welcome. He expects this year’s event to build off of past performances from Feinman, Steven Molitor ’12, and Brennan Kensey ’12. So, if you have an artistic talent that you would like to share – whether it be poetry, music, arts or theater – come out and join the group! Even if you do not, come out and support your fellow classmates at the 2012 Fall Open Mic Night.
Arsenic and Old Lace. Although he starred in the show as Dr. Einstein, it was his involvement in the behind the scenes aspects that were new to him that really made the experience for him. He was a co-costume designer, and “even though the dresses came [out] really, really bad, it was still a great experience, and it was just cool to see how much work goes into putting on a production.” Following that, his favorite experience acting was in the same show as Dr. Einstein. He says that it was his favorite role “just because I got to be as ridiculous as I wanted to. And I love being ridiculous. I really got to make the character my own.” This fall, Green will be acting in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as Billy Bibbit, a nervous and shy young man with an intense stutter. He says of this, “It’ll be a really challenging role, but it’ll be really interesting, and I’m excited to play him. We have a lot of surprises for the play that are going to be really cool, and we have a great cast of both guys and girls. It’s going to be really fun, really interesting, and everyone should come out to see it.” For those that may be hesitant to get into theater, Green says emphatically, “Do it, because you won’t regret it. It’ll help you realize who you are. It’s hard to describe in words, but it’s an Chris Compendio amazing experience.”
the “cool kid who teaches the nerds how to meet girls and be popular.” He says of Nerds 101, “It really showed my growth as an actor, and it was just a really cool experience.” Ever since, Mike has made it a point of being a part of every Haverford show he could be in, from Three Musketeers in Form II to last year’s Upper School musical Hairspray. Of all the plays he’s been a part of at Haverford, Green’s favorite show was last year’s Theater III production of
patients include the stuttering Billy Bibbit (Sixth Former Michael Green); the overly paranoid Chief Bromden (Fourth Former Kory Calicat); the homosexual and insecure Dale Harding (Sixth Former Max Schmidt); the childish and hottempered Charlie Cheswick (Fourth Former Ian Riley); Scanlon, a man with a plan to blow up the whole world (Fifth Former R.J. Meiers); Anthony Martini, a small Italian who hallucinates often (Fourth Former Manav Khandelwal); and the lobotomized Ruckley (Sixth Former Mario Maggio). Fifth Former Toney Goins is Aide Warren along The Haverford School Drama Department with Fifth Former Justin Chermol, who is playing Aide Williams. Dr. Spivey, the ward’s lead psychiatrist, is played by Sixth
Former Ben Rohr. Mariana Cappizi and Maddy D’Angelo of Merion Mercy play Nurse Flynn and Candy Starr respectively while Baldwin’s Charlotte Morris plays Sandra. Fourth Former Louie Brown is the Technician while fellow Fourth Former Chauncey Simmons is Aide Turkle. This year’s play comes with a new twist. It is being played in the round, which means that the entire play is performed with the audience completely surrounding them. This gives Mr. Cloran the arduous task of figuring out blocking and scene changes that will best allow every audience member to have a great experience with the show. It will be interesting to see how the members of the cast and crew are able to pull off the theater in the round. With this type of a show, all the audience members will be seated on bleachers surrounding the acting space, and because the audience is on stage, there will only be around 100 to 200 people per show. Please come out and see the actors perform Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on October 24th (7:00), 25th (7:00), 26th (7:30), and the 27th (7:30). Due to the reduced amount of seating available per show, it is advised that you buy your tickets as soon as possible, so you can guarantee yourself a seat at one of the performances.
Continued from the Front Page Mr. Fifer had to come up with an alternative solution. “In a recent advisory period I asked students to inform me if they were not planning to use their assigned locker in hopes that dormant lockers could be assigned to those students who wanted a locker but did not currently have one. I was also hoping that my request would free up some lockers in highly desirable locations (first and second floor) that could be reassigned to students who wanted to change their locker location. My request did yield about 10 lockers that I then reassigned to students in need.” Although this solution is better than nothing, it certainly will not be sufficient in the long-term, as the student body inevitably continues to grow. With the possibility of the school becoming
too crowded and unable to compensate for the increased student population, Mr. Fifer remains “confident that the school will address this issue and add more locker space if the school continues to grow. At our current enrollment number I think that we will be able to work with the locker facilities that we have. Typically not all students want a locker, which allows us to offer a locker to all students who want one. As far as I know, as of right now all students who want a locker in the Upper School building have been assigned one.” For now, the problem is small. However, five or ten years down the road, the student body will likely expand, at which time the issue will become much larger and hopefully Haverford will have a solution ready to be instituted that will more permanently satisfy the needs of the students.
Special from the News Page: Lockers Situation
Page 7
The Index - Sports
Sports
October 2012
Fords’ Golf Living Up to High Expectations Jack Henderson ‘15 As the Haverford Golf Team approaches the climax of its season, they have fine-tuned their games and are preparing to peak for the important matches that can make or break the year. The team is currently undefeated, consistently shooting markedly lower than the opponents. There are high hopes for the rest of the season as the team’s roster is stellar from top to bottom. So good, in fact, that Coach Gerard Rooney considers it “the best team [he has] ever seen at Haverford.” From a longstanding member of the Haverford School and golf team community, that means a lot. The difference between this year and years past is undoubtedly the depth. Fords golf has traditionally had four or five exceptional golfers. However in many years past, there would be a large drop-off, which would deeply hurt the team’s overall score. This year is different. The team has about 16 players who can consistently shoot below 40, something no other team in the area can say. Fifth Former Jake Van Arkel added, “I expect this season to go well because of our deep lineup and highly competitive roster. Each week is a battle for who will play and who won’t, constantly forcing everyone on the team to put in their one hundred percent effort week in and week out.” Some people believe the depth of the team can actually be negative for the team: their feelings are that the players on the bubble should not be chosen by just one shot in one
practice round. Most believe the contrary - that competition is great for a team because it keeps everyone on their toes and allows whoever is hot that week to continue their streak. While everything matters in a season, nothing is viewed more importantly by the golf team than the match on November 10th, EA Day. Generously hosted by Merion East, home of the 2013 U.S. Open, Haverford and EA will start off the day facing off in highpressure conditions at one of the best, yet most difficult, courses in the world. Fifth Former Ryan Tetrault commented, “It is amazing that we get to play such a fantastic course on such an important day. It will be unforgettable and we are very lucky that we get to play on such a highly regarded venue.” Merion is just one of the incredible courses in the area. Fords golf has experienced a large amount of Top 100 Courses, including Merion, Aronimink, Gulph Mills, Sunnybrook, Philly Cricket, Waynesborough, Huntington Valley, and Rolling Green, all outstanding courses by famous designers, maintained to pristine conditions. Jack McAleese, a Fourth Former, stated, “Suburban Philadelphia is a great golf area, and we are lucky [because] we play all of the top private courses in the area. These courses are all great fun to play, and challenging.” Jake Van Arkel went on to say, “The amount of courses we play aids us because it allows us to adapt to the changing golf courses per each match. Different shots are valued more on certain courses, and our great relationship with Gulph Mills and
Merion allows us to get a step ahead for practice and competition.” Due to the large interest in playing golf for Haverford, the coaches created three different teams to accommodate for the high demand. With three teams who play about Otis Baker Fifth Former Cole Berman in a match against The Hill School. four days in a school week, it is extremely competition. He is a great role difficult to keep everything organized. Rides model and leader for our team and will guide for underclassmen over to the courses, us for many seasons to come.” McAleese confirming course availability, match lineups, added, “Coach Rooney is a great guy with a and re-stocking equipment, among others, are great knowledge of the game of golf.” None of just some of the tasks a golf coach has to do what the golf team does would be possible if on a daily basis. Mr. Rooney, along with Mr. it were not for Mr. Rooney and the rest of the Gui Costin ’85, Mr. JD Hall ‘08, Mr. Robert coaching staff. Upton, Mr. Stephen Cloran, Mr. Greg Ressler, At the end of the day it still always comes and Mr. Bill Strong, has perfected the art of down to the win-loss column. The future of coaching golf. Van Arkel said, “Mr. Rooney is Fords golf is bright and it depends if the team an exceptional coach. He is well organized and can live up to its own expectations. So far, prepared to take any steps necessary in order they have done so, and they continue this year for our team to succeed. He is passionate about to fight for yet another Inter-Ac title and to golf and emphasizes respect for the game and defend the sweater on November 10th.
Football Turns Around Slow Start For Powerful Push
Joseph Solomon ‘13 and Stewart Denious ‘13 discuss the team’s rebound from a tough season opener to their current string of successes. Joseph Solomon ‘13 and Stewart Denious ‘13 A sluggish start and a string of injuries have turned around for the Fords football team. They have picked up momentum heading into the second half of the schedule. The Fords (32, 0-0 Inter Ac) dropped the season opener to 4A powerhouse Pennridge in Perkasie, PA, in their first game with an entirely new offensive line, quarterback, and backfield. Key offensive injuries in the scrimmage the week before led to massive changes along the offensive line the week of the game. Thus, during the game itself, the Fords’ offense just couldn’t get things going. In Week 2, the Fords turned to local
powerhouse Cardinal O’Hara, a statement game that could have turned the season around. After a flawless defensive first half and solid performance by Fourth Former Phil Poquie, including a 74 yard touchdown run, the Fords led 12-0, and the score remained that way heading into the fourth quarter. The game turned with a controversial fumble on the Fords’ 2 yard line in which Quarterback Steve Fitzgerald’s arm almost definitely exhibited a throwing motion, but was called otherwise. The fumble was picked up and taken into the endzone by O’Hara to cut the lead to 12-6. After a rather untimely Fords’ fumble, O’Hara drove down the field and took the lead, 13-12, with under a minute remaining. The
The Football team in a September practice.
Index Staff
heartbreaking loss would end by that same score, and the Fords fell to 0-2. Week 3 marked a turning point for the Fords as they headed to New Jersey to play the Lawrenceville School. Sixth Former Matt Galambos was moved from TE to RB for that game after Poquie was injured the prior week. Galambos rushed for 206 yards, including a 57-yard run in the fourth quarter that gave the Fords’ the lead for good, as they took down the Lawrenceville School 20-13. Fitzgerald had one TD rushing and another in the air to fellow Sixth Former Chris Morgan . The Fords’ then shifted their attention to Kennett High School, who was then 3-0 and looking to improve on their record. After missing the first three games with injuries, Sixth Former Sema’j Reed and Fourth Former Tim Aikens returned to the offensive line, a move that added substantial amounts of experience. Sixth Former Stew Denious was moved from TE to offensive tackle and likewise Tom Curry was then moved to guard. With the return of Reed, Sixth Former Joe Solomon was moved from tackle to center, and Aikens returned to guard to replace the injured Steve Tellez (‘14). With the newly revamped offensive line, the Fords’ offense clicked and performed well at Kennett High School, with Steve Fitzgerald and Matt Galambos running the show. Galambos had 125 yards rushing and a TD while Fitzgerald tallied up four total TD’s on the day. However, the Fords’ defenders were the stars of the game, forcing 4 turnovers on the day, including 3 interceptions by Galambos, Morgan, and Darren Watson (‘13) as well as a fumble recovery by Sema’j Reed. The defensive
performance was spotless other than the opening drives in both halves by Kennett, and the Fords took the win 35-14, moving to .500 on the season. Next up for the Fords was Penn Wood High School in the last home game before the league schedule begins. The Fords came out of the gate very well, scoring a TD on the opening drive, but the offense’s first half performance was summarized by that score, mainly due to key injuries to three offensive starters, incluing quarterback Steve Fitzgerald. After a snap went out of the endzone on a punt, cutting the Fords’ lead to 7-2, Sixth Former Aron Morgan made a touchdown saving tackle on the 3 yard line on the ensuing kickoff. The Fords’ defense then rose to the occasion and forced Penn Wood to turn the ball over on downs. On the next play, the Fords’ fumbled on their own 7 yard line and the Fords’ defense stepped up again, holding the Patriots to only a field goal, taking a 7-5 lead into the half. The Fords came out and the second half and stepped up their performance, with running touchdowns by Matt Galambos and Fifth Former Christian Giubilato. The Fords’ defense remained stout through the game, and the Fords took the game by the score of 21-5, moving above the .500 mark for the first time this season. The Fords will now end their non-league schedule with a Friday night game under the lights at the Salesianum School, currently ranked as the #1 team in Delaware. The squad hopes to carry their current momentum through the remaining non-league games and into the league schedule, which begins on October 13th against SSCHA at Sabol Field.
Soccer Update: Looking Towards Inter-Ac Title James Shecter ‘13 offers a profile on where the soccer team stands in their Inter-Ac and statewide goals. Be sure to keep coming out to their games. James Shecter ‘13 In their early stages of the Inter Ac season, the Fords Soccer team currently sports a record of 7-1 (1-0 league). Back on September 11 against Shipley, Sixth Former Brett Campbell scored the game-winning goal, after Sixth Former Danny Rubenstein drew a late-game PK, to earn the Fords’ third win of the year. Several impressive multi-goal wins later
(against St. Joe’s Prep, The Hun School, and Gilman), Sixth Former Sam Bowen was the hero against Lawrenceville: Bowen scoring a stoppage-time beauty to give Haverford a 1-0 win. And on September 28th, Haverford earned its first Inter-Ac win, 2-1 against the streaky SCHA. One month into their season, the Fords have notched a stellar average of 2.6 goals per game, while only allowing barely over 1 goal per
Goalie Jeff Green in practice.
Index Staff
game. The defense owes a lot of its success to the underclassmen talent in the brothers Bradley (Third Form) and the brothers McBride (Fourth Form) as well as brick-wall goalie Jeff Green (Sixth Form). The players are all optimistic that an Inter-Ac Title is in their future, and they are ready to work hard and play well to ensure that happens.
Page 8
The Index - Sports
October 2012
Sports
Water Polo Team Jumps Out Cross Country Determined to Fast Start To Beat Last Year’s Record George Hall ‘15 discusses some of the changes on the water polo team this year, including a new head coach, new training plans, and a new schedule. George Hall ‘15
thriller. With seven saves from goalie Sixth Former Harry Rosenberg, Sixth Former Despite losing many talented players Reilly Hupfeldt scored the game winning goal from last year’s water polo team, the 2012 resulting in an 8-7 win. squad is still ready to make their mark. With “Right now we’re in the middle Andrew Helber ‘12, Kevin Zipf ‘12, and Max of a three and a half week Whitehead ‘12 no longer playing for the break between games,” said team, younger players look to fill the roles Somers. “A break that, in of these previous players. This year, the team years past, was broken by The captains Sixth Former Pat Somers and Fifth Beast of the East Tournament. This Former Alexander Heldring look to lead the year our coaches decided to opt Ford’s to a successful season. The one thing out of the tournament to make sure this year’s team has already proven is that we were in shape and polished by they fight all the way to the end of games. our first Inter-Ac game in October. Three games deep into the season, Our new head coach Kevin Van Haverford has configured a 2-1 record. Such has worked us harder than Unlike last year, Haverford has been ever - starting to end practice with exceptional at closing tight games. Somers rigorous treading sets and, for the addressed this issue: “Looking back at our first time, lifting afterwards.” results last year, most of our losses were by Somers added, “It’s really one or two goals; our weakness was finishing comforting to know that my games. But we seemed to have already solved teammates trusted me to be this problem with two overtime wins in just a captain. There, of course, is couple of games.” pressure on me; we’re Haverford first played the Loyola Blakefield right in the mix of things of High School where the game resulted in a 20-7 things in the race for the loss. But the Fords quickly bounced back for Inter-Ac title. But it’s a another away game against Mt. St. Joseph’s. supporting pressure that This game was a close battle until the end, Sixth Former Colin Meehan. Index Staff has really pushed me but Haverford fought harder and managed a to do everything I can 12-11 overtime victory. to make sure our season plays out in all of our This is the first season that these Sixth hopes.” Formers have not been coached by former Finally, Heldring discussed what makes this Haverford Water Polo coach Mr. Deasey. years team so special: “What is special about He was replaced by assistant swim coach this team is that we are finally acting like an Mr. Kevin Van Such. Heldring commented: actual team where everyone is out to be make “The team without Mr. Deasey is working each other better, unlike in the past where terrifically. Everyone loves our new head we have always had problems with fighting coach, Kevin Van Such. He’s great because he between upperclassmen which has hurt our is not the kind of coach who yells and screams team’s success. This year’s upperclassmen at you. He is very intense but he keeps cool have shown much better leadership than in the with the more intense players and helps them past because of their preparation and effort refocus.” during practice.” Haverford then hosted the Lawrenceville The Fords start their Inter-Ac schedule on “Big Red” in a triple overtime sudden death October 2nd against Germantown Academy.
Eric Petersen ‘15 reports on the Sixth Form Captain Lucas Elek’s efforts to rally the team in preparation for EA Day. Eric Petersen ‘15
year include Spencer Rappaport, Eric Petersen, Ross Higgins, and Avery Weiss, along with Haverford Cross Country gives runners Third Formers Guy Wuollet, Cameron both individual glory and team pride. While Cummins, Peter Merhige, and Juan Eckert. running several When asked about miles every day the prospects for the is a strenuous Cross Country team, and demanding Captain Elek said, “I activity, the think that this team Fords’ runners has a lot of really great never give up potential. We will because each day have a very exciting and practice is and interesting year. crucial. Running We have a lot of great requires both new talent and old mental and returning talent.” He physical strength, went on to say, “We and to finish have been building this first at a race is team since the end of Mrs. Ann Glavin Runners from the Haverford Cross-Country Team an incredible my Fourth Form year.” feat. Winning The Cross Country a cross country race results from the five top team has already raced twice this season with runners finishing in the top-several spots, thus better results than the previous season. In accumulating the fewest amount of points. the first meet of the season against Episcopal The first place finisher will receive one point, Academy and Shipley, Haverford finished second two, and so on. in 2nd place behind EA. While some may The team has high expectations for this consider the result to be a failure, the numbers season as it has grown in numbers and quality suggest otherwise. At EA Day last year, from last season. After last season’s loss to Haverford finished with a disheartening 47 EA and disappointing 5th place finish in the points, while EA won with 16. During this Inter-Ac, the runners are determined to make season’s race, EA bested Haverford by only this season a more successful one. With a a one-point margin - 27-28. With the home 1-5 record in the 2011-2012 season, it seems course advantage, it seems that beating EA that this year can only get better. The roster is certainly achievable. According to Fourth this year will be different with the addition of Former Spencer Rappaport, “We can win several upperclassmen. The Fifth and Sixth absolutely. Without a doubt.” Haverford was Formers include: Lucas Elek, Eamon Glavin, also successful against Shipley with a 15-50 Michael Zivik, Josh Collins, Grayson Sessa, win, sweeping the first seven places. During and Evan Kuritzkes. The underclassmen also Haverford’s second meet of the season, The show tremendous amounts of promise because George School Invitational, Haverford’s of their performance and numbers. Led by varsity finished 4th out of 12. Haverford’s JV Fourth Formers Formers Alex Kim, Greg squad also had an impressive 3rd place finish. Kirwan, and Peter Rohr on the varsity squad, Overall, Haverford’s Cross Country team has a the underclassmen have done well. Other great chance of success this season against EA Fourth Formers that are set to contribute this and a higher finish in Inter-Ac standings.
Are the “Dream Team” Eagles An Illusion? Thomas Gravina ‘16 pens his opinion on the future of the Eagles and why the stacked roster has yet to see great success. Thomas Gravina ‘16
If you were to go and read Andy Reid’s record as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, it would include the following; 46 more wins than losses, eight division titles, and one Super Bowl showing. A closer look at the statistics will show that the Eagles came out 2-0 for only the second time in the Andy Reid era, the only other time coming in 2004, the season in which the Eagles went to Super Bowl XXXIX. Their roster is stacked top to bottom with talented rookies, proven veterans, and other perennial Pro Bowl players. They also recorded their first home opening win since the 2008/09 season against the Baltimore Ravens, a team that has been suggested as a Super Bowl contender. These statistics would lead the non-football fan to the conclusion that the Eagles are poised for a Super Bowl contending campaign, but show this fan to the actual tape of the games, and he might take a different view. Their first game against the Browns was an unconvincing victory. Quarterback Michael Vick turned the ball over four times alone and almost blew the game by fumbling in the final drive. After an all-pro campaign last year by running back LeSean McCoy, expectations were that Andy Reid was going to
finally balance out the pass-to-run ratio - the ratio that has always been so lopsided towards passing during his tenure as coach. That never even came close to happening as Vick dropped
back to pass an astounding (even for Andy Reid) 56 times. Still, they managed to eke out a win against the lowly Browns by one solitary point. Vick’s showing against the Ravens was more impressive; he lowered his interception
total to two and orchestrated a game-winning drive as the clock wore down. Still, turnovers almost cost them the game, and Michael Vick walked a fine line for the remainder of the battle after throwing an interception on the first drive. The bottom line after is that, even after a whole offseason of promises, vows, and bold statements (see Vick’s dynasty quote), we
Retrieved from 1.bp.blogspot.com
still are not seeing the results expected. The only person to blame for this is Coach Reid. While his record in the regular season as coach is outstanding, his game day play-calling is questionable at best. What else can even the
most passionate Eagles fan say when we watch a less talented team in the New York Giants sneak into the playoffs twice in the last six years and go on a run to win the Super Bowl? The Giants display the traits that are key to winning the big game and are exactly the traits that Andy Reid-led Eagles teams fail to exhibit. These traits are toughness, determination, and the ability to pull together as a team when it counts. I hate to admit those things, especially about the Giants, but the more the Giants pull out miracles as they did in 2006 and now 2012, the more I am led to believe it. No Eagles team in the Andy Reid era has overachieved on their expectations while that is all the Giants have done. Maybe this is because our expectations are too high to exceed, but when Michael Vick is quoted saying, “I think we have the chance to develop a dynasty,” it warrants high expectations. The Eagles could win every game from here until the end of the regular season, but the expectations for Andy Reid, Michael Vick, and the rest of the squad should be based on what happens in January and February. Expectations should also be tempered because every game they trot out a quarterback who has a high chance to get hurt on any down. They are as talented as any team in the NFL, but if they are really the team they preach to be, then they must show they can perform in the last couple of weeks. For 16 games this season the Eagles will likely form the best fantasy football team in the NFL, but the key to winning for them is not being a “dream” team that only shows up on paper. For them to really fulfill expectations this year, they need to be the team that shows up on the field to get the W.
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The Index - Opinions
October 2012
Opinions
Haverford Students Take Sides: Romney vs. Obama Romney Obama Stewart Denious ‘13 This coming election is the most important election of our lifetime. After four years of big government, higher spending, and Chicago Politics in Washington, DC, it is time to return to the Republican values that made this nation great. Mitt Romney is the man for this job. Mr. Romney is a confident, experienced leader with a distinct plan to get this country back on track. His experiences in both the private sector as an extremely successful businessman and in the public sector as Governor of Massachusetts have given him the ideal skill set to lead America back on the path to prosperity. As Governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney took a state budget that had a three billion dollar shortage and by the time he had
Former Governor Mitt Romney.
left had managed to turn the state around to the point of a two billion dollar surplus simply by cutting spending. This is the kind of leadership needed in Washington today. Right now our national debt is well over 16 trillion dollars; Mr. Romney has prioritized this as a major issue of his campaign and has cemented this fact by selecting Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate. Mr. Ryan is a well known budget hawk whose tenure in Congress has been highlighted by his two major plans to overhaul the entitlement system in American and stop our crippling debt from slowing down our economy. Mr. Ryan’s aptly named “Path to Prosperity” budget provides a welcome respite to the ridiculous previous budgets of Mr. Obama and the Democratic Senate’s refusal to pass a budget in over 1250 days. Under Mr. Obama’s plan the public debt as a share of the economy will be almost 350% by 2050. This figure may seem rather absurd, and it is. If Mr. Obama’s budget is accepted, then this crushing debt will decrease living standards and jobs and have other huge impacts on the way we live our lives as Americans. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan government office, attempted to use computer models to simulate the economy under these conditions and the program crashed at 2037 because the program could not conceive a scenario in which this debt does not break down and destroy our economy. Under the Romney-Ryan budget, the debt does not come anywhere close to that level. It returns spending to the historical level of less than 20% of the economy and sets up America for long term fiscal sanity. However, these cuts in spending have led to allegations that this severe debt reduction will hurt the American people. This could not be further from the truth. The spending reductions in the RomneyRyan budget have actually been criticized by more conservative Tea Party members as not enough. The Romney-Ryan plan pays off the debt over the next few decades and leads to a balanced budget with a surplus around the year 2050. People have also criticized the budget for not spending enough to help the poor or misfortunate. The response to this is rather simple once the facts are revealed. Next year
under Mr. Obama’s plan, the government will spend 68 cents of every tax dollar collected from your family on interest on the debt as well as entitlement programs. By 2025 it will be every dollar at the current rate being spent on these programs. How much can a government really help its people if its only concern is paying off its debt rather than reducing it? The Romney-Ryan plan allows for eventual lower taxes and simultaneously more money to those programs in need. This idea really boils down to the overarching question of “How can we help America’s poor if America itself is poor?” The independent experts agree Medicare is the top driver of these unsustainable costs. If we do nothing as proposed in Mr. Obama’s budget, Medicare spending will nearly double over the next decade, emptying its
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remaining funds. The Romney-Ryan plan transforms Medicare into a sustainable long term program that puts the patients in charge of their health care rather than Washington. A common battle cry of the Democrats used to attempt to scare senior citizens is that this plan will “end Medicare as we know it.” This is in all honesty a terrible criticism. Firstly, the plan proposed in the RomneyRyan Budget does not affect people over the age of 55; it would be ridiculous to ask them to change life plans because of poor government planning. Secondly, one should hope Medicare would end as we (the younger people) know it. It is an unsustainable program well on its way to failure and bankruptcy that keeps being bailed out by taxpayers. If the Democrats want to keep “Medicare as we know it,” I question how serious they are about balancing the budget. In the choice between Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama, one must consider who is putting forth real plans that set America on the path to economic reason and logic and the one who is putting forth no plan at all or a plan dooming American people to a debt crisis not unlike the one seen now in Europe. Mr. Obama has brought Chicago politics to Washington over the last four years, and the American people have paid the price. From his Attorney General being held in contempt of Congress, to not attending security and jobs briefing at important times, to his refusal to meet with the Prime Minister of Israel during a time of great tension in the Middle East, Mr. Obama has seemed out of touch and distant to the real issues that matter to the American people. His own campaign manager could not honestly say that the average American person was better off than four years ago when Mr. Obama took office. His policies have failed, his message of change and hope has failed, and it has been replaced by the word “forward,” but this leaves open the very obvious question of “forward to what?” More debt, more spending, more pain for the average American? As I said at the beginning, this is the most important election of our lifetime, and we must see the obvious choice as a well-qualified Mr. Romney to lead us back to prosperity.
Jonathan Paras ‘14 In 2009 when school districts around the country were struggling, Obama helped pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided almost $100 billion to the struggling districts. Last year the school district of Philadelphia received almost 20% of it’s revenue from the Federal Government. That’s over a whopping $550 million in federal dollars. Contrast that with Romney who opposed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Imagine if Mitt had won the election four years ago. Many school districts would have had to make drastic cuts. What if one needed to pay for college? Under the Romney-Ryan platform all I have to say is: good luck. They want to cut Pell Grant’s massively by a full 15 billion dollars. That’s nearly half the program. Low income, high achieving students will be the ones most hurt by this extreme cut. I personally plan on taking out a Federal Student Loan to help pay for college, but under Paul Ryan’s budget plan, I will have to pay a higher interest rate. Romney also plans on ending the American Opportunity Tax Credit, a tax credit put in place under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help make paying for college easier. President Obama, on the other hand, has worked hard to make paying for college a little bit easier. His student loan plan works to cut interest rates while it simultaneously works to make sure students don’t default on their debt. Rather than cut the Pell Grants, President Obama has worked to expand them, providing additional aid to the students who need it most. If one is still not convinced about Mr. Romney, they need only look at his record as governor. While governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney cut state funding for higher education by 14% over four years. That’s over 140 million dollars. Students in Massachusetts had to pay more for college. Shouldn’t Mitt Romney have been working to make it easier, not harder, for students to pay for college? Both Obama and Romney claim to care about education; however, when it comes to affordability and access, it’s hardly a competition. Obama has worked to make education more accessible and more
it prudent to trust a candidate who can so easily flip-flop on his policies in order to simply pander to different voting blocs? Governor Romney also criticizes Obama on the handling of the economy. He cites on his own website that “Since President Obama assumed office three years ago, federal spending has accelerated at a pace without precedent in recent history.” This first point is flawed. The Congressional Budget Office with has announced that now, at the close of fiscal year 2012, the budget deficit is approximately $1.1 trillion dollars. While Romney’s proponents will point out that this seems colossal, taking into account two wars, a massive financial crisis, and a global economy in the throes of economic turmoil, it could easily have been worse. The CBO also mentioned that under Obama’s Pay As You Go Act, another 200 billion was cut. So not only is the President going to cut the deficit by 35% by the year 2013, he has had one of the slowest Presidential budget growth rates in almost 60 years. At 1.4 percent during his Presidency, this is a record low in comparison with Ronald Reagan’s 8.7% in his first term and H. W. Bush’s 7.3 % in his first term. Their platforms are similar to Governor Romney’s, and he holds them in high esteem, and yet they have done what he has accused Obama of doing: accelerating federal spending at unprecedented levels. To widen the scope, according to CBO, the US GDP is expected to grow 2.3% in total by the end of fiscal year 2012 and 2.6% by 2013. This may sound mediocre, but relative to the rest of the world, the economic crisis was weathered well under Obama’s current fiscal policy. He will certainly carry this forward into his next term of office. Looking at Europe, Germany’s GDP is expected to grow a meager .7%, France is back in recession, Spanish unemployment is at 25% and the amount of assets that are set to be sold off are worth $4.5 trillion dollars. This, according to the IMF, can cause the breakdown of the European Union due to its inability to confirm to a budget policy of growth, like Obama’s, versus their large spending cuts, which have hampered the ability of the European economies to bounce out of their recessions. Other countries expected to do well have had a decaying growth as well such as China and Brazil. Romney’s economic policies mirror
This graph argues that Obama has only increased federal spending minimally.
affordable. Mitt Romney has not. This also extends beyond the range of education. Romney’s plan to cut the deficit and simultaneously provide $5 trillion dollars in tax cuts is not only contradictory but was already denied. If one recalls the first Presidential debate in early October, Governor Romney ignored the fact that any of his tax cuts would increase the deficit he railed so hard against, and he failed to provide in-depth insight into what programs would get axed in order to make up for this large lack of funding. Everything from PBS to Social Security is on the table. Is
an all too well known austerity march that could lead the United Sates to the same fate as Europe. President Obama plans to grow the economy by reinvesting our GDP back into technology fields that keep the US competitive and ahead. Spending cuts with a promise of growth did not work for Europe, and they will not work for the United States, neither will denying this generation a solid education. These are no longer topics that seem far removed from Haverford students and one should take heed of such policies that will certainly affect their future.
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The Index - Opinions
October 2012
Opinions
Haverford Students Take Sides: Gun Control Pro Gun Control Anti Gun Control Joseph Solomon ‘13 Gun ownership in the United States has gotten to the point where the lives being lost annually to gun violence must be a serious talking point in the upcoming presidential election. While the American public is naturally more inclined to look towards the fiscal issues in the upcoming election, the recent tragedies in Aurora, Colorado, and at a Sikh Temple in Minneapolis, Minnesota serve as painful reminders of an issue that must soon come to light in American policy decisions. One key argument of pro-gun supporters is that having a gun in the home serves as
The states with the highest rates of gun voilence.
personal protection. However, two studies by the New England Journal of Medicine have concluded that having a gun in the home makes it 2.7 times more likely that somebody will be a victim of a homicide, not an act of self-defense, in that home. While those statistics speak for themselves, I will offer additional commentary. Over the past few years, I have held many a gun debate with a gentleman who shall remain unnamed, whose main argument point is that it is the constitutional right of the people to bear arms in order to protect themselves from the formation of a police state. It simply seems ironic that the guns that are supposedly used in order to protect people give those same people a statistically higher chance of being killed by a gun. Perhaps even more alarming is the pure volume of guns that American gun-owners are procuring. The following statistic almost makes my argument for me: although the United States accounts for only 5% of the global population, around 50% of all the guns on this planet are in circulation in this country, and only 40% of Americans own guns. Furthermore, 20% of those gun owners own 65% of the guns in the country. To tidy that argument up, 0.4% of the global population owns 32.5% of all the guns on the Earth. Now if that statistic does not suggest the need for gun control in the United States, then I do not know what will. Rather than worrying about defending ourselves against a police state, maybe we should be more worried about defending ourselves against the 8% of Americans that own 65% of the guns in the country. These statistics are according to readersupportednews.org. Though similar to an argument I made in a related debate last year, I must address a key argument made by those against gun control. Pro-gun advocates are quick to point out that Switzerland, the country with the highest percentage of households with firearms at around 35-40%, has a much lower crime rate than the United States, but such a claim is misleading. The population of Switzerland is nearly 100 to 110 times smaller than that of the United States, so of course there will be less crime. However, the fact of the matter is that even with the extremely strict gun laws in Switzerland, where any gun-owner must carry a permit that requires them to be take gun safety courses and take tests demonstrating their knowledge of gun laws, the amount of
intentional firearm deaths per 100,000 people in Switzerland is the second highest in the world, behind only, you guessed it, the United States. These statistics are according to reason.com. In fact, there is an obvious trend relating to the percent of households with firearms and the amount of firearm deaths per 100,000 people. It is no coincidence that six of the top seven countries in percent of households with firearms constitute the top six countries in firearm deaths per 100,000 people; in fact the top three in percent ownership, Switzerland, the US and Finland are #2, #1 and #3, respectively, in deaths by firearm per 100,000 people and those same three are #2, #1 and #3 in homicides per 100,000 as well. In fact, the United States has the highest rate of homicide per 100,000 at a shocking 3.98, about 3 to 4 times higher than Switzerland at number 2, with the United States losing around 8 to 10 thousand lives a year to murders committed with Retrieved from theliberalcurmudgeon.com firearms. Finally, a key anti-gun-control laws argument made by pro-gun advocates is that if guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have them. While this argument may seem convincing if you compare guns to illegal drugs, in that illegal drugs are still circulated even though they are outlawed, the argument is entirely misleading. Guns in the United States nearly always start off as legal, and then some way, somehow they enter the black market, which is where criminals are able to obtain those guns. In fact, nations with very strict gun control laws, like the United Kingdom and Japan, have tremendously low firearm homicides per 100,000 people (around 0.15 and 0.02, respectively). In fact, somewhat embarrassingly, the rate of homicide by firearms in the United Kingdom is 30% lower than the United States even after you factor in the population difference. There were 8,775 murders by firearm in 2011 in the United States as compared to only 58 (adjusted to 290 for the population difference) in the United Kingdom. In my opinion, that statistic is embarrassing for this country, in that countries that simply enact strict gun-control are able to reduce their firearm violence thirty fold; yet the United States refuses to hear any such argument because it would “infringe” upon a nearly 300-year old amendment that was passed when the best weapon available could be fired 3 times a minute and the United States faced the immediate threat of war from Great Britain. To sum up the argument, I turn to the statement “guns don’t kill people… people kill people.” Saying this is exactly like saying “glasses don’t see…eyes see,” which in itself seems like a reasonable statement; however, it is entirely incorrect. Without those glasses, those eyes, in fact, do not see. Those glasses provide the means of seeing for the eyes. Such is the case with guns and people, in that guns provide the means of killing for the people, providing those means around 10,000 times a year. The basis of the preceding argument is that while pro-gun supporters will argue that guns are not the problem, but that it is the people, the truth is that the problem is, and will always be, the guns. Until the United States realizes the urgency of this problem and installs strict gun-control, we will continue to lose around 10,000 Americans every year.
Brendan Burns ‘15 The following might sound familiar: The United States is a statistical anomaly: a developed country with an extreme homicide rate due to its failure to restrict citizens’ access to firearms. After Columbine, Virginia Tech, the near-death of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and, most recently, the Aurora theater shooting, it is about time this nation’s politicians got their heads out of the clouds and implemented a common-sense based set of restrictions on guns. In this day and age, guns are purely instruments of crime, and the United States has failed to implement the gun control that is so desperately needed. But is all of this actually true? Are lenient gun laws actually to blame for a perceived excess of gun crime? Should Americans be stripped of their right to bear arms? In 1997 in Dunblane, England, a single man armed with four handguns gunned down 15 children in a horrific turn of events. Soon afterward, the United Kingdom put into place legislation that banned practically all types of handguns (for reference, 86% of gun-related crime in the United States is committed with handguns according to the DOJ). Immediately, hundreds of thousands of handguns were handed over to the British government by law-abiding citizens, seemingly making the UK a much safer place in which criminals no longer had the means to massacre innocent people. In fact, close to the opposite was true. In the decade following the passing of the two Firearms Acts by Parliament, gun-related crime in Britain saw an 89% increase, with a 40% increase in handgun crimes (British Crime Statistics). The rise in crime in Britain was partly blamed on heightened gang violence as criminals were increasingly willing to use illegally-obtained handguns to commit crimes, knowing that the general population had been disarmed and was more vulnerable. However, this also served to demonstrate the ineffectiveness that disarming the population has against crime. This was proven again in the United States with the passage of the Federal Assault
crime. Indeed, research conducted by the Department of Justice has shown that nearly 95% of gun crime is committed with illegallyowned firearms, often in conjunction with gang violence. A significant portion of these criminals fall into a critical group of “career offenders,” who have had repeated firearms transgressions. It has been repeatedly proven that gun control measures are ineffective at restricting their access to firearms, as firearms are relatively easy–too easy–to buy illegally. Politicians ought to focus their efforts on solving this problem–the problem of repeat offenders obtaining firearms or even being on the streets at all. Instead, politicians debate the merit of stripping upstanding citizens of their right to protection, which, besides being a massive overreach of government, does not decrease crime, as was seen in Britain. Thus, the cliché, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” although an oversimplification, is true. It is neither a secret nor a falsehood that the United States has more gun crime than some other developed nations, although the statistics regarding this are often skewed (for example, the United States had significantly more gun crime than European nations before any restrictions on guns were introduced in either the U.S. or Europe). However, many politicians in this country have been too quick to put the burden of this problem on the lawabiding public in the form of regulations. Techniques that have been proven to reduce gun crime include lengthier prison sentences for convicted criminals. This is often credited for halving the United States homicide rate between 1990 and the present as more criminals and repeat offenders were in prison instead of on the streets. It is important that we focus on the “95%” of gun crimes (a) that can be prevented without infringing on the rights of upstanding Americans and (b) cannot be prevented with gun control legislation. With all the facts aside, there is one final and perhaps most important argument in favor of less restrictive gun control laws. Is it responsible, or even morally correct, to leave law-abiding citizens defenseless in their homes or places of work? Is the right to protect oneself with the necessary means an inalienable right, or should people be
This graph compares the firearm ownership rate with the homicide rate.
Weapons Ban (AWB). The AWB was passed during the Clinton Administration with the aim to lower gun crime rates and with provisions to ban firearms labeled as “assault weapons” that were considered to be too deadly for civilian ownership. The ban had absolutely no effect on gun crime for the ten years that it was in place (this was affirmed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives). It was not renewed by the Bush Administration and only served as a bureaucratic hurdle for law-abiding citizens for the time that it was in place. The evidence that gun control has any relationship with crime control is always either circumstantial or nonexistent. According to a recent study, in fact, Concealed Carry Weapon permit holders (those who are permitted to carry a concealed handgun in public, which is legal in 49 states) are 13.5 times less likely to commit general offenses than the general public and six times less likely to commit violent
Retrieved from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
increasingly forced to seek protection by an ever-growing and overreaching federal government? Should people have to prove that their lives are in danger to have the right to protect themselves? Are those who buy, carry, and own guns criminals, guilty until proven innocent and needing to be stripped of their arms? Our Constitution explicitly says “no” in the Second Amendment of our Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court of the United States has also said “no” twice in the past decade. And ever-increasingly, the American people say “no”: the percentage of Americans that support stricter gun control is decreasing. They do not want to be stripped of one of their fundamental rights. The NRA may be a partisan lobbying group, but there is a reason that hard-working Americans, many of them hit hard by the current state of the economy, give it their hardearned money: there is no guarantee that the Federal Government will protect their right to bear arms. There is something wrong with that.
Page 11
The Index - Opinions
October 2012
Opinions
Are the New Penn DOT Driving Laws Worth It? Will Tackett ‘14 Recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation enacted a set of laws aimed at improving road safety, specifically in regards to “junior” or teen drivers. They went into effect last December. The changes include increased driver licensing agreements, restrictions on the number of passengers in the car of a junior driver, and seat belt requirements for passengers under 18. The first rule changes the previous fiftyhour driving requirement for learner’s permit holders to sixty-five hours. Ten of those hours are supposed to be dedicated to the practice of nighttime driving and five are dedicated to driving in poor weather. I agree with the decision to recognize practice in adverse conditions as something that must be done in order to be considered a capable driver. I can imagine a situation where these conditions are avoided by a teen still learning how to drive but are then encountered later without someone to guide him or her. It makes sense to stay away from these conditions at first, but eventually everyone needs to learn how to drive in bad weather or during the night at some point. While I agree with the emphasis on driving in less than ideal conditions, I disagree with the increase in hours. Fifty hours is a long enough time as it is. I spent almost every day I was home in the summer practicing
driving a little bit and my total number of hours only reached about twenty-five. Aside from the inconvenience it causes, the increase in hours does little to improve the driving skills of permit-holding drivers. It is essentially impossible for the Department of Transportation or the DMV to account for the hours each individual driver spends practicing. The purpose of these extra hours is to ensure student drivers practice enough so that they are ready to tackle the open road by themselves, but the new law does not do a better job of that simply by adding more hours. Most people I have spoken with say they will likely not fulfill this requirement but still take the license test anyway. Instead, the DMV should have more rigorous tests to make sure the knowledge and skills of an adequate, safe driver are there and not simply order more practice hours. Take, for example, the test for the DMV in Frazier, which has three phases. These are: checking if the driver being tested knows how to use all the safety devices of his or her car (lights, hazards, windshield wipers, etc.), parallel parking, and about 100m of driving on a somewhat busy road. In other words, 90% of what you need to know comprises only a third of the test. The actual driving portion should be longer and contain challenging situations. The problem with this solution is that it requires more hours from DMV testers and and, therefore, a great deal more in taxpayer dollars.
Haverford Students Take iPhones Austin Krell ‘15 The first time I saw the iPhone, I saw a universe full of possibilities inside of an object that, with the iPhone 5, is 4.87 inches by 2.31 inches. A brand new world of technology was available at the touch of a button and the slide of a finger. That was almost seven years ago. In seven years, the iPhone has developed into the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, and now the 5. When it first came out, this technology could play games, play music, take pictures, record videos, take notes, give directions, send emails, send text messages, and make phone calls. But with iPhone 5. every new generation, there have been some additions and subtractions, and of course, some modifications. Each iPhone has improved its photography and is now at the point where it can take pictures that digitally are as good as that of a Nikon camera. The additions have been a very effective compass, a great map, a Youtube app, a game center (not the app store), a Newsstand, and a few new tidbits. When Steve Jobs died of cancer, he left behind a line of products including the iPad, iPhone, iMac, and iPod series. But, the iPhone went deeper than just the above. It has been enhanced to the point where a blind person could use it with relative ease. Yes, a blind person. Siri, a voice that activates the phone and acts as a secretary that caters to one’s every need, now makes the iPhone a disabilityfriendly device. Someone who is blind simply has to hold down the home button, and Siri is at their service. Anyone can use this phone. A person can have an entire career from this phone. The iPhone can also multitask. A person can have a phone call, click a button to pull
up an email, and read it to the person they are talking to (assuming they are on AT&T). A child in America can have a video chat with her father, who is on tour in Iraq. In the app store, there are millions of games with a number of different categories for those who love video games. One can download a four hour movie and watch it all on the iPhone. A high schooler can do all of his homework from this small device.
The second rule change involves the number of passengers a newly-licensed driver can have. A junior driver’s license holder cannot have more than one passenger under the age of eighteen who is not an immediate family member. This provision is an attempt to curtail the number of peer distractions a new driver might have to deal with. I think it will be effective and reduce crashes among teens. Something I do not understand is the Index Staff A student driver on his cell phone. distinction between family members wholeheartedly agree with this. Wearing a and friends under eighteen. It seems to me that seatbelt is just common sense. If you want a sibling could potentially be as distracting, if proof, look no further than simple physics. not more so, than a friend. The best part about According to gdu.edu, a collision at just thirty the whole rule is that it gives new drivers miles per hour a passenger wearing a seatbelt the opportunity to earn a greater number of decelerates 20 g’s, or 197 m/s/s, with a force passengers. After six months, if the driver has of 14274 Newtons, or about 1.6 tons while a not been partially or fully responsible for an passenger without a seatbelt decelerate 150 accident or convicted of a driving violation, g’s (1474 m/s/s), with a force of 107059 N (12 they can then carry up to three passengers tons). eighteen or under. This will encourage more The ultimate goal of these laws is, of cautious driving while not severely limiting the course, to save lives and it is hard to disagree freedom of teenage drivers. with that objective. But with it being too early The final provision is an increase in the for reliable statistics regarding change in seat belt requirements. Passengers (and accident rates in Pennsylvania, it remains to be drivers) under eighteen must wear a seatbelt seen whether these laws are in fact effective at and children under the age of eight must accomplishing that goal. be “fastened in a child restraint system.” I
Sides: iPhones vs. Androids Androids Louie Brown ‘15
Xbox vs. Playstation, iPod vs. Zune, Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD. All of these have been incredible rivalries within the tech and entertainment industry, but none have raged as brightly as the iPhone vs. Android debate. Now, a bit of history. On July 29, 2007, the original iPhone was released, garnering acclaim as the most popular “smartphone,” and, piggybacking on Apple’s success with the iPod and iMac, achieved success – regardless of the phone’s $600 release price. Yet that was more than five years ago, and since then, Google’s open source mobile operating system, Android, has stormed into the industry and into users’ pockets around the world. Android came out of the gates slowly with the first official android phone – the HTC Dream – being released in October 2008. In January 2010, Google and HTC partnered to release the Nexus One, Android’s flagship smartphone. Available on more than one mobile network – as opposed to the iPhone’s then sole partnership with AT&T – and almost entirely equivalent to the iPhone 4, which was released almost half a year later than the Nexus One, the Nexus One blasted Retrieved from blogcdn.com the Android OS into the spotlight, enjoying Steve Jobs conceived one of the smallest but instant success. According to IT firm Canalys, most productive devices ever. He wanted to by the end of 2010, Android had skyrocketed give everybody a compact object that could to a total of 33.3% of the worldwide give them games, songs, movies, directions, smartphone market, more than doubling the communication and so much more. He iPhone’s 16.2%. As time went on, Android wanted everybody to be able to use it, and continued to innovate and improve their with the introduction of Siri, it became phones and their markets – despite Apple’s possible. This object attempts to can help some people ceaselessly cripple work and do their the Android job from the most market with flimsy confined places. Mr. copyright lawsuits. Jobs left the world In June of 2010, with a computer that twenty days can hold anyone’s before the release life for $700. Apple of the iPhone 4, is the present and the HTC Evo 4G future of some of was released, the the most impressive first commercially technological available advances in history. smartphone The iPhone is the running 4G in smallest in size, but the U.S. By Q2 Retrieved from adroidauthority.com the most prominent in 2012 – right about Samsung Galaxy 3 (left) and an iPhone (right). impact.
now – Android sits securely at 68% of the global smartphone market, four times the 17% of Apple according to research firm IDC. Now, history and statistics aside, let us see a direct comparison of the two competing systems. We will be comparing the Samsung Galaxy S III, a phone released four months ago, and the iPhone 5, a phone released only a few weeks ago. The S III sports a 4.8 inch diagonal screen and a crisp 16:9 aspect ration with a higher resolution than the iPhone 5’s 4 inch screen. Hardware-wise, the S III’s 1.5 GHz dual-core and 2GB of RAM – double the iPhone 5’s – leads to an incredible performance boost seen with the Android phone. Now, this tech-jargon may seem unimportant to the reader, but consider the S III’s ability to switch from a game such as Temple Run or Angry Birds to a text faster than an iPhone 5, or its ability to process and run videos with more consistency. Take The S III’s 128 GB storage space (with SD card) alongside a 50 GB Dropbox deal available to all who buy the phone, and that leaves you with 114 additional GB of space to hold your music, games, pictures, videos, and more. Although the 4-month old Galaxy S III is clearly superior hardware-wise, the operating system is what is really being questioned here. Now, this is of course entirely preferencebased, but in this writer’s opinion, the Android offers a smoother, cleaner, faster, and more responsive operating system than OSX. The Android’s multitasking capability far outdoes that of the iPhone, and the fact that Android is an open source OS leaves incredible room for customizability – being able to add countless features to the already incredible OS. Now one might say, “I can just jailbreak my iPhone!” Even so, Android users do not need to go through the hassle of such a procedure that can leave your phone useless and still reach an even higher level of customizability. It is plain to see that even months ago, Android had already captured the smartphone market with phones better than even the most up-to-date ones of any competitor. It is no surprise that today there are over 650 thousand apps available on Google Play – Android’s app store. The Android OS and its carriers show that a legacy of products, such as that of Apple’s, is no match for superior products. The Android system has overthrown the reigning king and cemented its spot as the leader in mobile phones.
Page 12
The Index - The Outdex
The Outdex
October 2012
Recently at The Haverford School... Sam Bloch ‘13, James Tarte ‘13, Jake Mullin ‘13, Noah Cutler ‘14, and Mike Green ‘13
This week on Twitter: (All real tweets!) “Haha Heldring drives a mini van” “cant stop listening to Lucky by Brittany Spears... arguably the greatest song ever #nojoke” “the first step is admitting it, I use twitter as a way to escape the reality in which i need to do homework” “When I see Mrs Krieg walk up to a group of kids in the library the jaws music plays in my head” The Diplomacy players need to realize that their game is fake and that they are not real diplomats. Their game is getting annoying. Jon Paras is one of the chief editors of The Index. For some reason, this title allows him access to the Outdex writers Facebook group. Jon’s contributions to this month’s issue are as follows:“ This just in, the SAT is no longer required for any college admissions” and thank you Jon for contributing this knee-slappers.
The writers of the Big Bang Theory recently revealed that Haverford science teacher Jamison Maley was their inspiration for famed character Sheldon Cooper. James Tarte has decommitted from Lafayette and will now play his college hoops for Yeshiva University. Mazel Tov James!!
Coach Murphy has decided that Matt Galambos will play all the offensive and defensive positions for the remainder of the season. Everyone else has been cut, and the team now consists of Matt, Aron, and Roby.
Index Staff
If Bowen were any meatier, he wouldn’t be allowed on the soccer pitch.
Mike Green’s name is Mike Green, and he’s seriously cheesy.
In rebuttal to the Seniors’ Fifer Friday, Mr. Fifer will be wearing jorts and water wings to school.
Fifer Friday.
Ms. Lisa Snyder
Index Staff
Wisdom from JPau: Why wear a watch when you can stare at the sun like I do and just tell time by the placement of it? (Real quotation) Recent graduate Chris Dibello ‘12 is wanted by authorities for stealing Joseph Solomon’s neck.
Haverford