A Public Forum for News, Opinion, and Creative Thought of The Governor’s Academy
MAY 20, 2009 VOLUME 50, ISSUE 11
Commencement Speaker Mabry: A Biography
IN THIS ISSUE:
by Gabriella Riley ‘09
EDITORIALS
Listen Up Seniors!
2
www.yourspacecorner.com
Perez and the Media
OPINION
AP Exams
2
3
http://ih.ca.campusgrid.net
Unity Days
3
FEATURES
Beyond Byfield
6
Lockdown!
5
The 2009 Commencement
Speaker, Marcus Mabry, is a
distinguished man indeed. A
Stanford grad, Mabry quickly
rose up the journalism ladder
to become the Chief of
Correspondents and a senior
editor for Newsweek, where
he oversaw the magazine’s
domestic as well as international bureaus. Currently he is
an editor at The New York
Times.
In 1996, Mabry won the
OPC’s Morton Frank Award
for Best Business Reporting.
He also won the New York
Association
of
Black
Journalists award for Personal
Commentary, the New York
Association
of
Black
Journalists 2003 Trailblazer
Aw a rd, and a Lincoln
University Unity Aw a rd in
Media. He is also a former
Edward R. Murrow Fellow at
the Council on Fore i g n
Relations, for the years 1999
and 2000.
Message from the Presidents 6
He gained public acclaim
after the publishing of his
memoir, White Bucks and BlackEyed Peas: Coming of Age Black
in White America. His latest
book,
a
biography
of
Condoleezza Rice, is called
Twice As Good; Condoleezza Rice
and her Path to Power. This
book has been critically
acclaimed, with one re v i e w
stating:
“Marcus
Mabry
uncovers what has never been
shown before – what some
suspected didn’t exist – the
personal Condoleezza Rice. A
tour de force!”
“ M a rc Mabry epitomizes
the great American success
story,” says Headmaster
Marty Doggett. “Coming from
modest circumstances, he took
maximum advantage of his
abilities, talents and opportunities.
After
impressive
c a reers at the Lawre n c e v i l l e
school
and
Stanford
University, he has become an
accomplished author and a
distinguished journalist working for Newsweek and now
the New York Times. He is a
Marcus Mabry
http://digest.stjohns.edu/
regular contributor to cable
and news shows. His latest
book on Condoleezza Rice has
garnered strong reviews. Marc
also served as the Chairman of
the Board of the Oliver
Foundation, an organization
A Tradition Lives On
by Annie Quigley ‘10
Photo by Bonnie Xia ‘09
Commencement
SPORTS
Michael Crabtree
BACKPAGE
Fun Summer Ideas
7 and 8
9
16
This issue of The
Governor is printed on
30% recycled paper.
that places talented students
of color into independent
schools. I'm very pleased to
have this former student and
accomplished journalist as our
commencement speaker.”
Some students say that
weekends at TGA are often
lacking in the activities
department (evident in that
most of the candidates for
Student Body and Senior
Class president ran on a platform of “more activities every
weekend”). The weekend of
May 8 -9 , however, was surely an exception. As the school
year winds down, two greatly-anticipated events, the
Spring Guild and the hypnotist, finally rolled around—
and they didn’t disappoint.
Friday night, students Last Guild Performance of Governor seniors: Andrew McLain and Alex Brierley ‘09
Photo by PJ Lin ‘09
swarmed into the beachvided
even
more
laughs
than
some
laughs
and
mixed
up
themed PAC to enjoy music
the
spontaneous
break
dancthe
music.
Hosted
by
Connor
and dance at The Guild. Each
of the 15 acts represented a MacLennan and Dylan Press ing performance at the Guild.
wide range of styles, from a (who sported Speedos for the Although the hypnotist act, a
guitar rendition of “Bro w n second half of the show…), TGA tradition, featured a
Eyed Girl”, to an ingenious the Guild was a good mix of new performer this year, it
version of “Right Round”, to great music and entertain- didn’t disappoint. Several
seniors volunteered to embaran energetic techno dance per- ment.
The
hypnotist
performrass themselves for an hourformance. Between acts, talent
ance
the
following
night
proand-a-half
and, as usual, the
shows and MadLibs provided
Opinion:
results were hilarious. The
highlight of the night was a
selection of songs (fro m
Michael Jackson to some really awkward song entitled
“Booty”), to which the hypnotized students, on cue, flexed
their muscles, impersonated
Flo Rida, sang “YMCA”, and
generally acted ridiculous.
Audience members agre e d
that the show was certainly
what they expected and more,
although some confused participants may disagree.
With the year becoming
busier as it comes to a close,
the Guild and the Hypnotist
p rovided much-needed distraction from AP Exams,
finals, and projects. All in all,
before prom and commencement roll around, most students thought the weekend
was a great last regular-weekend hurrah of the school year.
Op/Ed
THE GOVERNOR 2
Opinion:
A Message to Seniors
A Public Forum for News, Opinion, and Creative Thought of The Governor’s Academy
APRIL 8TH, 2009 VOLUME 50, ISSUE 9
Editors-in-chief:
Gabriella Riley ‘09
Julia Blanter ‘09
Will Kavanagh ‘09
Managing Editors:
Katharine Brine ‘09
Dylan Press ‘09
Jen Migliore ‘10
Photography Editors:
Bonnie Xia ‘09
Abby Wallman ‘10
Maiki Kaneko ‘09
Editorial Advisor:
Ms. Judy Klein
Back Page:
Lindsay Grant ‘10
Staff Writers:
Shaan Chatterjee ‘10
Lindsay Mackay ‘10
John T. Aleixo ‘11
Skylar Frisch ‘11
Kayla Jenson ‘11
Nora Kline ‘11
Katherine Reilly ‘11
Rachel Cabitt ‘12
John Damianos ‘12
Annie Quigley’10
Emma Rausch ‘10
PJ Lin ‘09
Anna O’Neal ‘09
Jon Bird ‘10
Ariel Shaprio’09
Abby Wallman ‘10
David Lim ‘10
Taylor Angles ‘10
Cam Means ‘12
Editorial:
Perez Hilton and the Media
Our country is obsessed with celebrities,
but has it gone too far? You can't walk into a
supermarket or a CVS without being hit in the
face with tabloids with headlines like "Farrah
Fawcett on her Death Bed" and "Madonna
loses Adoption, Now Crushed." It seems like
it's not just stories like "Inside the Newest ItGirls Closet" anymore; tabloids are now going
into these people's lives to sell magazines and
keep their readers entertained. The fascination
that our country has with celebrities is understandable (at least half the girls at our school
read Perez Hilton) but Perez tends to post the
funny thing or make things funny. It seems
like lately many celebrities have been feeding
into this, when they have kid, weddings or
any sort of big thing they wait for a tabloids to
offer them money for the first pictures from
these events, and then they choose whomever
is giving them the most money. Celebrities
make millions of dollars, so why would they
need to sell pictures of themselves. Why not
put that money to good use? One in eight peo-
ple are without food in our country, so instead
of spending a million dollars on buying
Angelina's baby pictures, why not give the
money to someone who needs it because I'm
sure that Brad and Angelina will be fine without it. It's not just the money thing that it troubling, it's also things like "Eva's Baby Bump."
She really wasn't pregnant, a couple of days
later the story read, " Desperate Housewives
co-stars defend Eva's Weight gain". A tiny
woman gains weight, and it is assumed that
she must be pregnant. Here’s a quote from a
gossip blog about Eva's "Baby Bump": "If she's
not pregnant, she needs to fire her stylist.
Control-top pantyhose, anyone?". Really? It is
estimated that eight million Americans have
an eating disorder, eight million people, and a
tabloid saying that a skinny woman is fat is
not helping that. Tabloids are fun to read
every once in a while but what are they really
doing to our society?
-KB
The editors want to wish all of the seniorsand
their families a safe and happy Commencement
Weekend
by Gabrie3lla Riley ‘09
As the year winds down, and the seniors get ready to leave
GDA and their high school experience behind, I exhort all of
my fellow seniors to keep in mind that the friends you made
here are unique. High school is a transformative experience:
there is a marked difference between incoming freshman and
leaving seniors. The four years you spend in high school mark
the biggest change in four years that you will ever experience.
High school is a time of firsts – your first love, first really bad
grade, first time trying drugs or drinking (or not…), first time
winning a championship, first time having a dance solo, first
time performing on stage, first time having to go to study hall
on a Saturday morning. The friends that you have in high
school have experienced these same firsts at the same time that
you did, and that binds you all together in a very special way.
These friends have been through the ups and the downs
with you. They have been there when you almost collided
with a police car because you were going the wrong way
through a Wendy’s drive through. They have been there when
you went to a Brooks dance and was confused because no one
was dancing with each other, or when you got separated from
the library because you had dared to eat a bagel in the computer lab. They were there when you went to your first ever
baseball game during Senior Skip Day. They were there for
that thing, with those people, remember that? They were there
for that horrible night when you were in Rome and you all
thought it would be a good idea to stay up all night and only
drink espresso and by five a.m. you were so tired but then
you had to go through security because your flight was leaving at 5:30. They were there to ring in the New Year with you
by dancing erratically to Sandstorm. They were there that time
you took one game from Bancroft, the best team in the league,
in the volleyball championships – and they were there that
time when you lost your concentration and stepped out of the
shot-put circle and therefore were disqualified. Your friends
have been there through most of the formative events of your
life, and that means that, even though you all are going separate ways, it is important to keep close. Never again will you
meet someone who was there the first time you tried coffee or
cried at the Sistine Chapel.
So I urge all of the departing seniors to take a minute and
make a plan to stay in touch with your friends. Get a facebook
if you don’t already have one, or a screen name, or a Twitter
account. Please, don’t write off your friends that you made in
high school for the friends that you will make in college. In the
immortal words of Tyrese:
“Stay in touch
So I can feel you still love me
Don't you know that I'm the one who cares
Stay in touch”
Shaan’s Shock Factor: Consumption Junction,What’s Your Function
by Shaan Chatterjee‘10
For a Democrat, President Obama
puts a lot of faith in big banks and corporations. Now dominated by
Democrats, Congress willfully passed
his proposed solutions to the current
economic quagmire. His solution?
Massive, unprecedented Keynesianstyle deficit spending to revive productivity
and
consumption.
Moreover, we do not live in a time of
surplus; the national debt as of May
13, 2009, was $11,267,088,357.
Obama’s economic pro g r a m s ,
however, do not give money to middle and working class consumers. Big
companies are eating up all the
dough. Companies like American
Express, Capital One, Goldman Sachs,
KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley, PNC and
Bank
of
New
York
Mellon
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/
24/business/24lobby.html) re c e i v e d
most of the public money which the
government pumped into the money.
These bailout plans, intere s t i n g l y
enough, resemble the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, who favored
trickle-down economics. This system
is also known as Reaganomics, of
which Obama was very critical on his
presidential campaign. Trickle-down
economics advocates government
w e l f a re to major businesses and
wealthy individuals, which, according to proponents of this theory, will
eventually trickle down to the general
population.
The rationality of trickle-down
theory mirrors that of Obama’s current economic policies. If we give big
banks money, he claims, they will give
out more loans and people will start
buying houses again. If we give
monolithic conglomerates public
cash, they will not have to lay off
workers. The problem with this reasoning is that the government does
not have this money; we’re up to our
eyes in debt. The government could
print money, but that would incur
inflation and higher prices, which
would further inhibit consumption.
On the other hand, the government
could tax people and businesses to
pay for these bailouts. Taxing people,
however, reduces their disposable
income and the national consumer
demand. Consumers have less money
with which to buy products, businesses have lower profit margins, and lay
off workers. If we tax businesses
directly, we take away their profits
directly, which has the same effect. So
for the love of Obama, what do we
do?
Money does not trickle down from
the rich to the poor. This theory only
helps one group of people, and it certainly isn’t the poor. In this consumerbased recession, what the government
has to do is help consumers rather
than businesses. If we increase consumer demand, businesses will profit
d i rectly
and
Continued on Page 3
Op/Ed
THE GOVERNOR 3
Opinion:
Unity Days
by Nora Kline ‘11
After three months of beach days, waking up late, and no homework, the last
place teenagers want to be is back in high school. With new classmates and old
friends the school year starts with a weekend of “Unity Days” filled with bonding
activities and trips. It is seen as a good way to ease into the school year and get to
know the class that you’ll be spending your high school career with. However
some of the activities that are chosen and scheduled result in unhappy and bored
high-schoolers.
Past Unity Days have included a whale watch, trips to Boston, trips to
Newburyport, bowling, and other events. Freshmen year the groups for the activities are chosen prior to the class arriving at school. The first day is filled with
awkward bonding activities and forced “getting to know” each other games; however it is a good way to meet the people in the grade before actual classes start.
Sophomore year Unity Days are also a good way to meet the new 20 or so people
coming into the grade. However, it would be better if the students had a say in the
activities that they were going to partake in rather than just having the teachers
choose for them. The students know what they like to do and know how they can
have fun and the Unity Day activities usually do not reflect that.
That said, junior year is known to have the best Unity Day event. The juniors take a trip to the Roller Palace where they dress in retro and vibrant clothes
while roller skating to dance music. While the juniors are roller skating, the seniors take the annual trip to Brantwood, which consists of sleeping in cabins, hiking, and class bonding activities. Seniors usually come back with mixed emotions.
Some say the trip brings out the cliques in the grade while others say they’ve never
felt so close as a class. For juniors and seniors there are usually not very many new
additions to the grade, making less need for getting to know each other. Unity
Days truly are a good way to ease into the school year without jumping right into
classes. They would be even better, though, if the students were able to choose or
at least have some sort of say in the activities. Stilla weekend of hanging out with
your class, not worrying about classes or homework, is a good way to start the
year.
Opinion:
Are AP Classes Worth It?
Chris and cranes
Photo by Bonnie Xia ’ 09
Letter to the Editor:
Mandy and I decided to do something nice for Lent this year.
Rather than giving up chocolate or pizza, we decided to make 1000
cranes as a graduation gift to the Class of 2009. The cranes really are
an incredible metaphor for this rite of passage. You are all the birds
leaving the nest, you are flying away, you are full of hope, think how
many more you can come up with - corny as some may be. The paper
we are using is also part of the metaphor. We are using an old road
atlas- the maps make beautiful cranes and are symbolic of all the
places you will go. The rest of the cranes are folded from old GDA stationery that I found - so it is a piece of the school and a green initiative as well.
We invite everyone to take a crane with them graduation weekend. Please bring them out into the world. If you go somewhere cool
or even your new dorm room at college perhaps you will send a picture of where the crane and you go. Just like the traveling gnome- our
gift to you is a crane to take on the journey and the hope of a great
future.
-Chris Robinson
by Emma Rausch ‘10
When I started writing this article, I spent awhile trying to come up with some
good things to say about AP classes.
It didn’t exactly work out.
Truth be told, AP classes are not a very enjoyable experience. You have to do
unhealthy amounts of reading and whatever other homework the teacher can
come up with. The number of in-class essays is a little ridiculous and most of the
tests are just depressing. You spend an extra hour and a half in class every week,
and if you don’t think that’s a long time, trust me. It is.
Even better, our school doesn’t let us skip other classes on the day of the exam.
So if you fail an exam in the morning, you better get over it fast—you’re still
expected to show up to your next block, homework in hand.
And then there’s your GPA. Most schools will reward the suffering of AP students with some sort of a boost, but not The Governor’s Academy. If you spend
hours studying for AP history and still get a C, it’s staying on your transcript and
going into your GPA as is. It’s especially fun when all those kids who float
through easy classes end up looking much better than you do at the end of the
semester.
So why do students keep putting themselves through this long exercise in
unrewarded suffering? The answer isn’t that complicated: this is a prep school,
which means that whatever your parents tell you, you aren’t just here to have fun.
They sent you here to give you the best chance of getting into a good college, and
AP classes are part of that. There are plenty of kids all over the country and the
world who are willing to tough it out, put in the extra study time, and take APs.
If you decide not to, you probably will have a better high school experience, but
you’re also going to have trouble competing in the college admissions process. At
the end of the day, if you can send off a transcript with a few APs scattered on it
in the fall of your senior year, you’ll have a better chance of getting good news in
the spring.
So in the long run, APs are probably worth it. Just don’t expect to enjoy
it much. And if you don’t get recommended for any, don’t worry—you can have
a good time laughing at all the kids who spend the first two weeks of May studying while you were actually having a life.
The Right To Offend
Continued from page 2
expand, which will necessitate a
larger labor force. Employment
will rise, workers will have
money in their pockets, they will
go out and buy products, and so
on and so forth.
This cannot happen, though,
through Keynesian welfare programs. Not only does deficit
spending leave us with a crushing national debt in the future,
but it forces the government to
tax consumers later on. Taxation
always decreases disposable
income and reduces consumer
demand, whether we impose
taxes on individuals or businesses. What we need is major tax
cuts on the middle-class. The stabilizer of society, the middleclass consists of consumers and
skilled workers. If we help them
out, we help businesses and
laborers out, as well, because we
i n c rease consumer demand.
Sure, this will cut into government profits, but it can afford it.
The ones that can’t afford it are
middle-class families and businesses.
A major platform of Obama’s
campaign was to reverse the elitist policies of George W. Bush.
While Obama has reversed many
of the latter’s foreign policies—
such as in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq,
Iran, and Cuba—he has continued Bush’s corporatism, the corporate welfare that benefits only
the
bourgeois
oligarc h y.
Reaganomics and trickle-down
theory might work in a production-based crisis in which there is
a shortage of goods (and they
did during Reagan’s presidency).
But the current economic downturn is an consumer-based recession, so bailing out affluent producers won’t help. Wealthy people usually buy European rather
than American goods, anyway,
so aiding prosperous consumers
wouldn’t work either. It is time
to help out the workers and middle-class masses of America.
P resident Obama has a gre a t
opportunity to finally represent
the people. After eight years of
corporate control, it would be a
shame if he turned out to be a
half African-American version of
Bush.
Features
THE GOVERNOR 4
Stemming The Flow: Obama’s First
100 Days in Office
Breaking the Artistic
Frame with Balance II
by Lindsay Mackay ‘10
by Will Kavanagh ‘09
The tradition of tracking a
new president’s first 100 days
in office finds its origins with
President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. FDR assumed control of the Oval Office during a
time of extreme economic disaster, the Great Depression.
Roosevelt promised action
within his first 100 days in
office and, true to his word, his
New Deal legislation package
was passed before 100 days
had passed. Since then, the
New Deal and FDR’s other
early initiatives have served as the
standard for all new presidents’ first
few months in the White House. Fast
forward to 2009, when Barack Obama
took the Oath of Office amid arguably
the most severe economic unrest the
country has seen since the Gre a t
Depression. The United States, and the
world, waited to see how Obama’s
“freshman year” would compare to
Roosevelt’s.
The serious bleeding of the economy began last fall, before Barack
Obama was elected to the highest office
in the land. Banks were hemorrhaging
cash, the stock market was crashing
and burning, large companies were
laying off workers by the thousands,
and, across the country, states were
reporting enormous foreclosure statistics. On October 15, 2008, the Dow
Jones Industrials Average dropped 733
points, the index’s largest drop (percentage wise) since 1987. Then, on
November 4, the nation elected Barack
Hussein Obama II, the junior Senator
from Illinois, to be its 44th President.
He ran his campaign on the promise of
change for America. And, true to his
word in his victory speech, most of the
change has been put on hold while he
and his administration have been
working to stop the economic bleeding.
To help stimulate the national economy, President Obama and other
Democratic party leaders pushed for
the
American
Recovery
and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, a package
which included federal tax relief as
well as funding for unemployment
benefits, welfare, education, health
care, and infrastructure. The act also
imposed federal regulations on the
executive compensation in banks
www.snarksmith.com/
accepting government bailout money;
the same regulations that led to public
outrage surrounding AIG executive
bonus payments. The Obama administration has enacted some other policies
to aid in the rebuilding of the economy.
Amidst all of the damage control
from the crisis that his predecessor left
him, President Obama has made some
notable changes in his first 100 days. In
his first week working at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue, Obama signed
three important executive orders: one
ending the Mexico City Policy, which
banned funding of international
groups that provide abortion services,
another which ordered the closing of
the US military prison at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, and a third that explicitly
banned use of torture and waterboarding as military interrogation tactics.
With growing concern that our efforts
in Afghanistan were failing, the
President announced on February 19
that the US forces there would be reinforced by another 17,000 troops by this
summer. Just over a week later, Obama
announced that all combat tro o p s
would be withdrawn from Iraq by the
end of next summer.
Sure, Obama didn’t live up to the
FDR standard, but then again, no other
President ever has. To be sure, Barack
Obama came into power with a very
steep uphill battle to fight. He continues to deal with cleaning up various
messes left by the previous administration. Some change has come to
America so far and, if you take Mr.
Obama at his word, more is on the way.
Entering the Remis Lobby
of The Performing Arts Center, a
variety of colorful assemblages
meets the eye. Composed of layers of various materials, the
works reach out to viewers and
draw audiences in so that all of
their three dimensions are
a p p reciated. Each piece is
abstract, yet architectural and in
perfect aesthetic balance. These
“Stratagraphs” are the works of
Newbury local, Mr. John
Strother, father of junior Aldous
Strother.
John Strother currently
works as an Associate Principal
at CBT Architects in Boston. He
studied at Penn State University
in the architectural pro g r a m ,
working in carpentry and technical theater. When he was in college, he developed a presentation
format for building elevations
using layered drawings using
foam board and colored Mylar.
Over the past 23 years, he has
elaborated on the process until it
became his own creative escape.
He
coined
the
name
“Stratagraphs” to describe his
work, literally “layered drawings.” In August of 2008 Mr.
Strother had his first solo show at
the
Newburyport
Art
Association, that he called
“Balance I.” The current exhibition in the Remis Lobby is his
second study, entitled “Balance
II.”
The process of making one of
his smaller pieces takes Mr.
Strother between 30 to 40 hours.
Seven steps must be taken to
p roperly complete each work.
Though the task is somewhat
wearisome, Strother says that he
finds using his creative energy is
“beneficial and in the end very
personally rewarding.”
An interesting point about
Mr. Strother’s Stratagraphs is
“ Flying Fish”
photo by Bonnie Xia ‘09
that each piece was meant to be
held to light, or placed in front of
an LED light to get a similar
effect of light shining through on
both sides. Most pieces contain
colored glass so the light shines
through the multiple layers, creating
beautiful
reflections,
images, and colors. “This completely changes how the art
works,” says Mr. Strother. “If you
get a chance, take a small piece
off the wall and hold it up to the
light.”
“I try to use compositions that
are generically non-rational or
n o n - realistic, allowing each
viewer to interpret the composition through his or her own personal filter and generating his or
her own aesthetic,” Mr. Strother
says in describing his motivation
and process. “I like to think that
if my art work is successful, then
the viewer's eye will continuously move around the composition
without stopping at any particular element, shape, color or
space, creating a visual affect of
compositional BALANCE.”
Balance II will be on exhibit
until June 1. Most pieces are for
sale.
Our New Presidents
Sources:
CNN
CNBC
A Big Thank You
To Everyone Who Donated Prom Dresses
Photo by Bonnie Xia ‘09
To the Fairy Godmother Project!
Cam Poole and Luke Henneberger were elected Student
Body President and Senior Class President, respectively, last
week. Look for their message to the community on page five!
Features
THE GOVERNOR 5
LOCKDOWN!
By John Damianos ‘12
S i rens blared and cell phones
rang in unison all over campus as a
simulation lockdown drill began on
April 29. Each student, along with
their parents, received an email and
text message informing them that a
lockdown was taking place. Sirens
from security cars signaled the drill
to begin. Teachers then locked their
doors, instructed their students to
close the window shades, and to sit
in the middle of the room.
“I feel that there was good communication with students, faculty,
trustees, staff, and families prior to
the drill,” said Dean of Faculty and
c o o rdinator of the drill Lynda
Fitzgerald. She believes that it went
well, with only a few small details to
improve upon. “We have systematic
things to work on, but overall we
were pleased with the drill and the
community's cooperation.”
In the Parsons building, according to Latin teacher Jeff Kelly, things
went smoothly, “My students handled it very well, and realized how
serious a situation like that could be
for real.”
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_33510.aspx
The StockMarket in China
In the Frost building, the connecting doors between classrooms made
the drill difficult. “If one door is left
unlocked, then everyone's safety is
compromised which is exactly what
happened... I got my own classroom
door locked at the sound of the alarm,
but neither Mr. Searles nor Mr. Wann
w e re in their rooms to lock their
doors, which meant that I had to run
into their rooms to lock up,” said
English teacher Maud Hamovit.
Freshman Cam Means agreed with
Ms. Hamovit that it wasn’t perfect. At
the time, he was in the math and science building. “We weren’t prepared
enough. Our teacher didn’t have the
papers [to signal full attendance], and
we students didn’t know what to do.”
With each drill the school performs, improvements are made. “We
are refining the protocols and making
progress,” says Mr. Abusamra, French
and Spanish teacher. Ms. Fitzgerald
believes that these drills are beneficial
for the safety of The Governor’s students, and so that they know how to
respond in an emergency situation.
A Message from
the Presidents
by PJ Lin ‘09
Based on indicators of A Chinese invester watching the stock
www.daylife.com
improving Chinese manufacturing activity, commodity
stereotype that the Asian conand stock markets recently sumer is particularly thrifty,
surged in the Pacific Rim. It but in particular, the Chinese
appears that China's recession- have a re c o rd of stashing
fighting policies are being money away from expendijudged successful. The 41 per- ture. In traditional Chinese culcent rally in Chinese stocks in ture, “saving” is considered as
2009 from the 2008 lows dwarfs a moral value; hence, over the
the single-digit rallies in the US t h ree thousand years of
and Europe. With Western Chinese history most disposeconomies still sluggish, eyes able income have been saved
are turning eastward for solu- as cash or transportable equivtions to the global economic alents such as jewelry and
riddle. At the moment, China gold. This traditional value of
represents the strongest cure to the Chinese is the switch to the
the world economy, with such huge dam of economic potena large population, a vast con- tial. The problem with savings
sumer momentum lies in the is that saved money has no
heart of this nation. But the effective economic value and
cure does come with one catch; z e ro chance of reviving the
the Chinese are not big on economy. However, the bright
spending money. It is common side right now is that the new
generation, or so called “the
phoenix generation” of the Chinese
are willing to spend without a second thought. And this trend is
beginning to show up in official statistics, China’s GDP grew 6.1 per
cent in Q1 2009, with consumption
contributing 4 of those percentage
points. Retail sales grew 15.9 per
cent in that period, while urban disposable income rose 11.2 per cent
(with the six pockets fuelling the
remaining 4.7 per cent in high street
sales). For the first time ever,
Chinese auto sales have overtaken
the US, making China the largest
car market in the world. Another
piece of evidence that points out
this mentality is from a consumer
survey recently administered by
the Nielsen survey company. The
survey results showed that
amongst 50 countries around the
world, it is apparent that the
Chinese consumers are now the
most confident in the world. They
believe that the slowdown will lead
to bargains, and that now is the best
time ever to shop.
And in ten years time, the
phoenix generation will reach a
stunning 700 million, and over 450
million of those will be aged 20-40,
spending more than their total
income consuming products, in
what will then be the second largest
economy in the world. So whether
or not the world economy can be
saved, the upcoming ten years
would be critical to our future
developments.
by Cam Poole ‘10 and Luke Henneberger ‘10
Dear Governors,
When asked to individually address the GDA
community, we responded with a resounding
“nay.” Instead, to demonstrate our commitment
to unity, we decided to offer a conjunct letter outlining our plans and objectives for the forthcoming school year. Of course, we all want to have
the most exciting year possible including, jam
packed weekends, new activities, and fervent
school pride…you know, outrageous fun.
In terms of politics, one of our main goals is to
unite the school. In order to involve the entire
student body with the student government, we
plan to email polls and meeting synopses after
each student council gathering. This should offer
those who decide not to attend meetings to stay
in touch and still have their opinions heard.
We hope that you will all share in our excitement for the upcoming year and ask that you aid
us in improving our school throughout our
tenure of leadership,
Photo by Bonnie Xia ‘09
Features
THE GOVERNOR 6
Beyond Byfield
by Gabriella Riley ‘09
Middletown, Connecticut
T h ree thousand students at
Wesleyan University were ordered
to stay indoors for nearly two days
while a gunman targeted students,
especially Jewish ones. Stephen
Morgan, 29, is thought to be the
gunman after his diary was found
at the place where a student was
murdered. His diary contained the
line “It’s okay to kill Jews and go
on a killing spree.”
Paris. France
France is cracking down on illegal downloads. The
government has created an agency to track and punish people who download music and films without
paying for them. Anyone who has been caught pirating files for a third time will have his or her internet
services cut off for a year. France is said to have some
of the worst Internet piracy in the Western world.
http://www.newsspoiler.com/
Tehran, Iran
Roxana Saberi, the
Iranian-American journalist who was sentenced to
jail for eight years for
“spying” and “tre a s o n , ”
was freed from jail last
week. The appeals court
reduced the charge to only
possessing classified information and released her to
her exuberant parents.
Saberi is going to return to
North Dakota before
deciding what to do next.
Beijing, China
China had its first
reported case of swine flu
http://www.methodshop.com
last week, sparking a campaign by health officials to
contain the illness. Anyone
who has been in contact
with the patient has been
quarantined. Since the
patient had just traveled
f rom
Minnesota
to
Chengdu (in southwestern
Chinese official comfirmed the fisrt swine flue case China), hundred of people
Hubble docked in the Atlantis Cargo Bay
http://www.Shanghaidaily.com
http://www.trekunited.com
have been quarantined.
Houston, Texas
Swine flu is far less harmful
After chasing it for two days, the space shuttle Atlantis has finally caught the Hubble Space
than Avian flu, but extremeTelescope. Atlantis used its robot arm to lift the Hubble onto its cargo bay for five days of repairs.
ly contagious. There have
Two-person teams of astronauts will do five spacewalks to replace a camera. This mission is the
now been 4,700 confirmed
space program’s fifth and last chance to repair the telescope before the shuttle is phased out.
cases of swine flu in 30
countries.
Sources: CNN.com and The Week
Fashion Forum:
Back to Basics
headbands for good. The idea is to
take the theme and mix it up a little.
From “The Clash” to “Duran
Duran”, t-shirts in the eighties displaying rock names could be seen on
the proud chests of rebellious teens.
Although the bands nowadays aren’t
as notorious as those in the eighties,
this grunge look can still be seen
strolling around America. Exotic
prints and patterns were a staple of
the style of the eighties, and of course
have returned to the new age of the
21st century. Whether it’s as simple as
stripes or as bold as bright neon
designs, prints are as popular as ever.
Trends are fashions that will eventually die out, but if versatile enough,
they can make comebacks. The fads of
the eighties have lived longer then
their life expectancy, and that is a sign
that they are definitive. Who knows?
Maybe the styles of 2009 will make an
appearance in the year 2040!
Distinction and definition are the key
parts to success and obviously the
essential parts to starting trends.
by Rachel Cabitt ‘12
“Back to the basics” is this year’s
fashion motto. The trends of 2009 have
gone through a time warp and landed
back into the retro 1980s. To many, it
may seem as though time is repeating
itself, as both the recession and the
fashion are back. The back of your
parent’s closets are now your new
shopping mall, but without the
expense.
Digging
for
those
“Wayfarer” sunglasses and off the
shoulder shrugs might be a bit of a
struggle, but in the darkest of places is
where the treasure is hiding.
It’s easy being a “girl who just
wants to have fun” when there are
countless opportunities in front of
you. If you’re a “material girl” or a
punk rocker, now is your prime time
to shine. Lash out that leather jacket,
those skin-tight leggings, and that
chunky jewelry. But don’t take the
eighties idea too seriously. There were
the good and bad trends in the eighties. For everyone’s sake, it would be
best to put away the neon leotards and
http://obsessee.typepad.com/
Commencement
Christine Alli
Drew University
Luis Alvarez
Middlebury College
Laura Beohner
Babson College
Ray Boghos
U of Hampshire
Alex Brierly
Rollins College
Katharine Brine
Univ. of Vermont
Anna Chai
School of Visual
Arts
Patrick Diamond
Brittany Caruso
Simmons C.
Danielle DeMartini
GeorgeWashington
U.
College of William
and Mary
THE GOVERNOR 7
Nils Bergman
Illinois Institute of
Technology
Julia Blanter
Brandeis Univ.
Linley Block
Syracuse Univ.
Nicole Cahill
Clark University
Carlota Caicedo
Florida State U.
Colin Canty
St. John’s U.
Elizabeth Cieri
Trinity College
Abigail Collins
Skidmore C.
Amanda Correnti
Williams College
Patrick Cronin
Eckerd College
Marc DiCroce
Olivia DiFronzo
Rollins College
MaryLeah DiNisco
Lehigh University
Caroline Dwyer
Hannah Fitzpatrick
Rollins College
Wake Forest U.
Raphael Durand
Hobart and
William Smith
Madalyn Durgin
Holy Cross
Brian Durkin
Bowdoin College
Michael Gardner
Carnegie Mellon U.
Jonathan Getz
Bryant University
Jason Goodwin
Trinity College
Patrick Harper
Colby College
Dan Hines
Bates College
Trevor Hines
Babson College
U. of SanFrancisco
Alex
Gurfeyn
R ochester Institute
of T e c h n o l o g y
Lisa Hoopes
Colby College
Rory Hamovit
Bard College
Michael Ivey
Pepperdine U.
Kaela Duff
Hobart & William
Smith
Rebecca Block
Syracuse Univ.
Max Caron
Bates College
Chad Darcy
U. of Hampshire
Eric Dunstan
Cornell Univ.
George French
U of Hampshire
Hope Fried
Smith College
Jamie Hansen
Boston U.
KatyHaran
UNC-Wilmington
Emily Jacobs
Boston U.
Bryce Johnson
S. Methodist U.
Commencement
Maiki Kaneko
Chapman U.
Sungbin Lee
Johns Hopkins U.
Adam Marshall
Merrimack College
THE GOVERNOR 8
James King
Franklin& Marshall
Kraison Kingthong
U.S. Air Force
Academy
Ryan Leavitt
Rebecca Lindmark
St. Anselm College
MandyLudeking
Drew Univ.
Connor MacLennan
Ohio Wesleyan U.
Dominic Malerba
Merrimack College
Derek McCarthy
Bentley University
Tim McGrath
Villanova U.
Andrew McLain
Union College
Chris Menard
Trinity College
Jeff Menard
Trinity College
Jacob Newton
Santa Clara U.
Anna O’Neal
Vanderbilt U.
Arianis Perozo
Drew University
Dylan Press
American U.
Erin Quinlan
Syracuse U.
Ariel Shapiro
Dartmouth
Svyatoslav Sivov
Rochester Institute
of Technology
Jenika Smith
Stonehill College
Priscilla Somogie
Florida Atlantic U.
Dan Spillane
Elon University
Ariana Vlachos
Bucknell Univ.
Chris Webster
Trinity College
Marc White
Brown Univ.
Abbey Karin
LouisianaState U.
Will Kavanaugh
Villanova Univ.
Jae Hoon Kim
New York U.
Demetra Leone
Miami U
Ping-Chu Lin
EmoryUniversity
Alex Matses
Wentworth Institute of
Technology
Peter Metcalf
Villanova U.
Ryan Moores
Middlebury
Blake Riley
U. of Virginia
Gabriella Riley
Fordham Univ.
Joshua Stavis
Bentley Univ.
Carson Stevens
Clark University
Yu Xia
U. of Rochester
Xiameng Xiao
U. of Redlands
Kevin Sullivan
Univ. of Denver
George Tsakirgis
U. of Rhode Island
St. Anselm College
Features
THE GOVERNOR 9
Geek Beat:
Swine Flu
by Anna O’Neil ‘09
As things wind down for summer
at the Academy, another thing has
started to wind people up. A recent
April outbreak of Swine Influenza in
Mexico led to the outbreak of a similar
strain of the flu in the U.S. which
raised the concern for an epidemic to a
level 5 out of 6.
The swine flu is a specific strain of
the regular influenza virus that usually infects swine (pigs). This year, those
strains are found in the C virus and the
subtypes of the A virus and are known
as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2 and
H2N3 (Swine Influenza). Usually there
is no transmission of the swine flu
f rom pigs to humans and though
undercooked pork can cause problems
like trichinosis (brain worms) consuming pig meat has no link to getting the
flu. During the 1918 flu epidemic that
killed millions, the flu was also causing pigs to become sick. The same
thing has happened this year but,
thanks to modern medicine, there
have been far fewer deaths.
Although there were several hundred deaths in Mexico, it appears that
the U.S. is experiencing a less virulent
strain as there have only been five
deaths in the entire country. The mass
hysteria that the pandemic produced,
A Mexican couple kissing with their masks on
http://gnews.com/health
however, caused food to fly off the
shelves at grocery stores, and gallons
of gas to be purchased at the gas stations. People started wearing hygienic
masks on their faces, and here at the
Academy a student with a fever could
expect to be forcibly quarantined by
the health center. For many, it induced
a obsessive compulsive hand-washing
and purel-use. Maybe it is because of
these precautions that the threat of the
disease exploding seems to have died
down quite a bit, as has the hysteria
involved.
Center for Disease Control Director
Richard Besser is concerned about the
post-summer presence of the Swine
Flue, however. “We are not seeing any
sign of this petering out. We are still on
the upswing of the epidemic curve.”
It is important as the fall season
returns, bringing with it a potentially
more virulent strain of the swine flu
than we are seeing now, that we take
care of our bodies and keep an eye out
for the symptoms. The CDC has listed
these as fever, cough, sore throat, body
aches,
chills
and
fatigue.
Unfortunately, since these symptoms
are almost identical to the regular flu
that many are vaccinated for every
year, it has been mostly a patient’s history that has truly diagnosed the probable cases of the swine flu. A confirmed case requires lab testing. To
protect yourself, it is important to
wash your hands frequently. Alcoholbased hand sanitizer can help to kill
bacteria and viruses. If you think you
have the flu, swine or not, it is important to stay away from the public and
seek medical help immediately.
Though it is unlikely healthy individuals will die from the infection in the US
this spring, it will be a different story
in the winter.
And of course, don’t become a pig
farmer.
Academy Celebrates Fine Arts
by Katie Reilly ‘11
“The thing that binds us is the two buildings at
the end of Elm Street. This is our place to be ‘Us.’
This is our home.” With these remarks, Christopher
D relich, newly appointed Head of the Art
Department, began the annual Fine Art Excellence
Awards Ceremony on April 30. His words were followed by those of a few seniors, reminiscing about
their past four years and their involvement in the art
program. Bryce Johnson, Gabriella Riley, Marc
DiCroce, Hope Fried, Rory Hamovit and Mandy
Ludeking all took their place on stage to share their
memories with their peers. All of the seniors
expressed their gratitude and appreciation for their
many art teachers.
The awards began with Irina Okula presenting
the Ceramics awards. For her “motivation and
determination with clay,” Milan Gary received the
freshman award. There were two sophomore art
award recipients: Felix Emiliano and Brendan Lang.
For the “wonderful design” she creates on her
work, Alice Tonry received the junior award.
Joe Repczynski took the stage next, saying “The
PAC is an active, thriving center.” He recognized the
seven PAC Proctors who keep the building “safe,
clean and happy:” Aldous Strother, Sarah Hardy,
Alec Buchbaum, Abby Collins, Taylor Angles,
Bonnie Xiao, and Kaitlyn Mullin. The freshman Tech
Award recipient was Andrew Coleburn. For taking
care of the “small details of the largest shows,” sophomore Eloise Willemsen received the next award.
For her “eye for color and scale,” Taylor Angles
became the junior award recipient. Finally, Mr.
Repczynski presented an especially significant
award, The Grace Ann Repczynski Aw a rd ,
dedicated to his stepmother, a director, producer
and seamstress. In her passing, she made a donation
to the school and asked that she be remembered
with an annual award to a student in the art department. Sophomore Ryan Kelly, who is “always ready
to step in,” was honored with this award.
David Oxton, photography teacher, was next to
present. Sarah Boone won an award because of her
“especially good portrait work.” For the “dark tension” in her photographs and the “moments caught
and held decisively,” Michelle Gallipeau received
the sophomore photography award. Mr. Oxton then
described a student who has photographed horses
consistently for the entire year and has done so successfully, presenting Camilla Jerome with the junior
Photography award.
Christopher Drelich took the stage again to present choral awards. Freshmen Emma Conry,
described as “bright and talented,” and Kim
Uggerholt, whose “bold voice matches her sense of
style,” both received music awards. Abby Matses,
whom Drel described as “absolutely one of the most
talented people to come through here in a long
time,” received an award. Sophomore, Eliza Bradley
was presented with an award for being a “talented
singer, actor and musician.” From the junior class,
Grace Barlow and Auriana Johnson were the chosen
recipients. The Director’s Award, given to a male
who has a great deal of energy, was given to Chad
Martin of the freshman class. Previous recipients
include Bryce Johnson and George Perez, who are
both members of The First.
Moving on to another creative medium, Mr.
Brace presented three freshmen with Film awards.
John Damianos was first among them because of the
“purpose in every step he takes.” Alyssa Tay, for the
“edgy and soft quality” of her work, received the
next award. Finally, because a film “lives or dies in
the cutting room,” for his work as an editor, Dylan
Hardy became the final Film award recipient. In
another area of art, Mr. Brace gave Mike Morrissey
the Architecture award because he “embodies the
essence of what an architect is.”
“The best thing in the whole wide world is The
Arts.” With this, Kristen Miller took the stage to
announce four awards each in Orchestra and Jazz
Band. Tina McGrath received an award for her “natural talent, dedication, and for being a role model,
even though she is only a freshman.” Madison Tsao,
a “dedicated and multi-talented” musician, received
the next award. Recognized next was junior Kevin
Tung, who has an ability to “compose really emotional and expressive music.” So Min Lee was the
final Orchestra Award recipient for her “hard work,
which is shown by her commuting into Boston to
play at the New England Conservatory.” In the category of Jazz Band, Grant O’Brien received an award
for his “solos that keep getting better and better and
better.” Jeremy Gold was honored for being the “goto guy.” Richie Aversa was described as being a “rising star.” Finally, Jade Adams was awarded for
becoming a “rock in the rhythm section.”
Paul Wann was next in presenting awards for
drama. His words were few, but memorable. “Great
acting work is a mystery. Here are three riddles:
Christine Lee, Nora Kline, and Shaan Chatterjee.”
Pam was next in presenting the dance awards.
Freshman Megan Mullin received an award for her
“confidence and enthusiasm throughout the rigorous winter season. Christina Schwertschlag received
the Sophomore Award because of her ability to
accomplish “difficult tasks with an air of confidence
and ease.” Finally, for being an “impressive individual and an impressive dancer,” Lindsay Mackay
received the junior award.
In the final medium of art, Belle Struck
announced the Studio Art Awards. For her “curiosity and natural drawing ability,” freshman Katie
McKay received an award. Zoe Mackay’s “hunger to
learn” and characteristics of a “passionate, intelligent, young artist” earned her an award. Finally,
Milee Lyoo received an award because she is an
“artist in her very DNA.”
Headmaster Marty Doggett concluded the
event by saying, “Art is the window to our soul. It
has the ability to enrich, nourish and sustain us by
reminding us what it means to be human beings.”
First Person Perspectives
The Trip of a Lifetime
by Jon Bird ‘10
Imagine the trip of a lifetime: a journey where
you learn about both yourself and the world all
while having the best experiences of your life.
This is exactly what TGA juniors Molly Connors,
Hanna Bird, Lyle Nelson, and I, Jon Bird, experienced during the entire month of March when
weventured to the East African country of Kenya.
Accompanied by teachers Mark Gerry and Dr.
Susan Olesko-Szuts, the student contingent was the
second group of students from TGA to go on the
Kenyan exchange trip. Due to some political unrest,
last year’s Kenyan exchange was cancelled; the conflict ended through government negotiations so
Kenya was more than safe for the students to travel
to this year. First established in 2007 by Mr. Perry
Nelson, the trip focuses on immersing the students
and faculty in Kenyan life and culture by creating
long lasting memories and experiences.
Upon arriving in Kenya our group was greeted
by a giraffe walking around the outside gate of the
airport. Though we initially assumed that, like the
g i r a ffe, Kenyan society would be unfamiliar to
them, we were surprised by just how similar
American and Kenyan cultures are. Performers who
are popular in America, such as Chris Brown, Lil
Wayne, Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Rhianna, and 50cent,
all find similar success in Kenya. Like music, films
popular in America are also popular in Kenya. The
people too were very easy to befriend. Upon the
Photo Courtsy of John Bird ’10
group’s arrival, the Kenyan students were incredibly welcoming and considerate towards their new
peers. Becoming friends with Kenyan students, like
Lydia, Lesley, and all of their friends, was one of the
best parts of the trip. It was amazing to see how easy
it is to find similarities and become friends with people who live across the world. We all agree that saying goodbye to our new friends was one of the most
difficult parts about leaving.
For a majority of the trip, the group stayed in
Kenyan boarding schools. Molly, Hanna, and Dr. O
stayed at Kenya High School for Girls, an all girls
school just outside of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, while
A Chorus Member Looks Back
On registration day, freshman year, Drel
was one of the first people I met. As I signed
up for piano lessons, he urged me to sign up
for chorus. He seemed absolutely intent that I
should sing, even though both my parents and
I told him, repeatedly, that I am incapable of
carrying a tune. “That’s ok!” he said, “Join
chorus!”
Gratified that Drel wanted me in his group,
but half believing that he would kick me out
after he heard me sing, I showed up to the first
day of chorus.
It was far from neat rows of girls dressed in
black and white. Along with the usual delegation of nervous freshmen girls and talented
upper classmen, there was a huge contingent
of enormous boys, and various other people
who seemed unlikely to be in chorus.
Although many people openly admitted to
joining chorus in order to raise their GPA,
almost everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Who wouldn’t? What other chorus gets to
sing Coldplay and an obscure American folksong comparing Jesus to a carpenter and Satan
to a sailor? What other men’s section would
sing Backstreet Boys on year and “Be a Man,”
from Mulan the next? What other chorus, with
very few qualifications and no extraordinary
talent has attempted to sing the Hallelujah
chorus with a full orchestra? (During this particular performance, an extremely tall kid
stood in front of me and I could not see my
music. I became utterly lost around the second “Hallelujah”).
No other chorus has Drel for a director. No
other chorus would have a member who
would take a bite out of the director’s donut
and then replace the donut into its bag. No
other chorus gets to hear Drel’s tragic stories,
one of which involved his spending over an
hour attempting humanely to trap a chipmunk scurrying around his office into the
wild, only for Drel to witness the chipmunk to
Lyle, Mr. Gerry and I stayed at Alliance High School
for Boys in Kikuyu. Molly and Hanna were assigned
as Lydia’s new roommates, and Lyle and I were
roommates at Alliance Boys, though we spent most
of every day with Lesley. While at the schools, it was
compulsory that the TGA students be enrolled in
three subjects. Though academics are very important to Kenyan students, there were only about four
days when we just attended classes. Traditional
Kenyan classes are similar to US classes and include
math, English, physics, biology, chemistry, history,
and foreign language courses. The only class we
found that was new to us was Kiswahili.
Classes in Kenya are run a bit differently than
classes in the US. Students in Kenya study in hopes
of doing well on their national exam. Doing well on
this exam is key to attending a university, for all students get ranked and their scores are sent to universities. On our first day in Kenya, the results of the
national exam were announced, and students from
both Kenya High School and Alliance Boys High
School found themselves placing among the highest
scorers. Velma Mukhongo, who some students may
remember from her visit to TGA in 2007, scored the
highest score out of all of the female test takers, and
a student from Alliance Boys received the highest
score. Kenyan students need to attend two mandatory study periods, one early in the morning, and
one starting at around 7:30 and ending at 9:00.
Kenyan students stay in the same classroom with
their 30 or so classmates for all but two class periods
a day (for foreign language
Continued on Page 14
PRIDE Goes to Washington
by Cary Trinidad ‘10
by Ariel Shapiro ‘09
The Chorus at Spring Concert
Photo by Mr. Oxton
be scooped up by a hawk. Another involves
D rel accidentally preventing an elderly
woman from entering the handicapped
entrance, only for her to tumble down the
steps and an ambulance to be called. Also, we
probably have the only chorus director with a
stellar collection of gophers.
We can be a feisty chorus. For instance, we
once nearly mutinied rather than sing a song
from “Phantom of the Opera.” We also complained almost incessantly about “Soon I Will
Be Done,” and several other songs we have
sang over the years. Sometimes we have lackluster rehearsals, but we somehow manage to
bring it to the “HNL” as Drel calls it, during
performances.
Before my first candlelight performance, I
realized that, as a Jewish girl, I knew very few
of the words to “Holy Night,” and “Silent
Night.” Yet walking down the aisle was still
beautiful and moving.
That is why I have given up half my lunches for four years. The Academy Singers
embodies my favorite thing about The
Governor’s Academy: you don’t have to be
the best to have the best time. The energy and
the exuberance of our chorus almost erase my
self-consciousness at being (still) unable to
carry a tune. No one cares if you’re a good
singer. We’re all just in it for the good time.
THE GOVERNOR 10
We set out for the Holiday
Inn Express in Largo, Maryland
around 3 o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, and didn’t
arrive until sometime after
midnight. Mr. Isaiah Suggs,
with the help of former
Governor Dummer Academy
alum Ray Wallis Casey and his
wife Sharon, arranged for a
group of PRIDE members to
travel to Washington D.C and
explore the city. PRIDE (People
Really Into Diverse Education)
is a multicultural group on
campus whose objective is to
educate the community about
the importance of diversity
both inside and outside of the
c l a s s room. Mr. Suggs hoped
that the students going on this
trip would “take advantage of
the opportunity” and learn
more about the world, the
country and even themselves.
With Mr. Suggs driving one
van and Ms. Leslie Turner driving the other, Javier Va rg a s ,
Christine Alli, Tori Weisman,
Cassandra Va l a rezo, Arianis
P e rozo, Raphael Durand,
Aboubacar
Okeke-Diagne,
Bryce Johnson, Jason Goodwin,
MikeIvey, Prisca Mbiye, Felix
Emiliano and I soon found ourselves in Washington D.C. On
our first day, we toured the
White House. It was massive
and completely breath taking.
We had to pass through about a
dozen metal detectors but once
we were inside we were
speechless. We also went to the
Senate and got to sit in the
office of none other than
Senator Ted Kennedy. It was
while sitting in that office that I
came to feel like part of the
country, like once I turn 18 my
vote will matter and like the
decisions I make can affect others. Going to the Senate was
probably my favorite part of
the trip; however, I also liked
touring the Howard University
campus. Howard is an HBC or
Historically Black College and
its campus is beautiful.
Howard provides a multitude
of opportunities for its students
to excel and provides internships and scholarships to those
who need them.
Our visit to D.C. also consisted of a trip to FedExField,
home to the Washington Red
Skins. We got to see the locker
rooms and training rooms of
the players. We also went to
the AMC Magic Johnson
Capital Centre in Largo,
Maryland, a plaza Johnson
spent millions of dollars out of
his own pocket to build.
The Washington D.C trip
was filled with laughs and
memories I will keep with me
long after the end of my GDA
career. The opportunity to travel to our nation’s capital and
visit the places where our
founding fathers once were
gave me hope that the new
Obama administration will
help bring this country out of
the recession and on to better
times.
Reviews
THE GOVERNOR 11
Review: ABC’s ‘Private Practice’
by Abby Wallman ‘10
“Private Practice” just might be
better than “Grey's Anatomy” this season, its hospital-drama twin. Both
shows, written by Shonda Rhimes,
chronicle the crazy, hectic, and albeit
unrealistic lives of a bunch of doctors
in their personal and professional
lives. “Private” began as a spin-off of
“Grey's” two years ago, taking Seattle
Grace's premier neo-natal surgeon and
plopping her into a completely different world of medicine at a small
upscale medical practice in Southern
California. Shonda Rhimes and producers were sure taking a risk with
Addison Montgomery in this plotline,
banking on the fact that viewers loved
the character enough to follow her to a
different time slot in a different city
with a completely different set of people! However, this risk paid off, as the
show continues to draw good ratings
and ABC has recently picked it up for
its third season. Addison came from
Seattle Grace hospital in Washington,
leaving on the tail end of a bitter separation and ready to start fresh.
Unlike this year's “Grey's” and
most medical dramas as their TV runs
progress, “Private Practice” still maintains a good balance of character
drama and medical drama, interspersed in a way that often involves
the characters' private lives in their
own professional cases, sometimes
teetering on the edge of being com-
http://yetanothertvreviewpodcast.blogspot.com
pletely unrealistic but all the more fun
to watch. At first, “Practice” was slowstarting, picking up speed ever so
slightly. Halfway through the first season, it was only hanging by the thread
of the smile of Kate Walsh, the actress
who plays Addison, and her stunted
relationship with Pete Wilder, played
by Tim Daly. However, Rhimes built
up her other characters well, and the
cast now includes a seasoned board of
equally interesting doctors including
an endocrinologist, pediatrician, psychiatrist, internal medicine specialist,
and alternative medicine specialist.
Season two had the practice abuzz
with such storylines as a new job offering, bankruptcy, pre g n a n c y, and a
medical malpractice on the brink of
disaster. The biggest diff e re n c e
between “Practice” and its most comparable competitor, “Grey’s”, is the
nature of the doctors and their cases.
Creator Shonda Rhimes took Addison
into a much different medical environment. She seems to be scurrying
between “OR 1” and “OR 2” much
less; in fact, Addison is much more
involved in the lives of her patients
and often embodies that perfect mix of
doctor and friend. At Oceanside
Wellness, the “ritzy” medical practice
where the five main doctors work, it’s
easy to see that there is a certain element of self-contained interd e p e n dence among their medical unit, far
more than one would see in a large
hospital drama. As they live and work
in such a setting, this close-knit family
concept has helped the show to find a
balance, one that Shonda Rhimes may
have finally decided is worth focusing
on. Each episode, similar to “Grey’s”,
usually plays around one or two main
medical cases, ones that almost always
pose heart-wrenching, tear- j e r k i n g
moral dilemmas. However, the show
also has its faults: Aside from the
dramedy in all of the characters' love
lives, there is also much to be seen
within the walls of the practice, a lot of
which most viewers have pro b a b l y
seen before, and, if not, they can see it
coming from a mile away. It's true,
sometimes the child-like, mid-life crisis-type antics that make each episode
work can get a little old and annoying,
but these doctors are also some of the
smartest out there, and some of the
best at what they do, so maybe we can
forgive them for all their annoying
side stories. Beneath all the fluff, an
episode of “Private Practice” usually
centers around a great medical case, a
close-knit group of smart and funny
doctors, and every now and then, the
scenery of beautiful sunny Southern
California.
A Flower That Doesn’t Smell So
Sweet: ‘Daisy of Love’ Disappoints
by Gabriella Riley ‘091
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/
Review: ‘A Knight’s Tale’
by David Lim ‘11
If you are lover of knights
and are partial to tales set in
medieval times, then you are
sure to enjoy A Knight’s Tale.
Heath Ledger plays the main
character, William, who is just
a lowly peasant. With the
help of his friends, Roland,
Wat, and Chaucer, he trains in
the art of jousting and makes
fake identification. He pretends to be an actual noble
knight in order to participate
in the competition. William is
victorious in the competitions
and
becomes
a
hero.
Meanwhile, he falls in love
with a beautiful noble girl,
Joselyn, who believes that
William is a noble knight.
William continues to be triumphant and makes to the
final round. However, he is in
danger of losing his eligibility
since his strong arch rival,
Adhemar finds out that
William is a lowly peasant.
Fortunately, Prince Edward
saves William from danger by
bestowing him a knighthood
and gives him another
change to compete. Finally,
William defeats Adhemar
and the movie ends with the
happy ending.
A Knight’s Tale is full of
music, comedy, action and
love. Its unique setting of
medieval times makes this
movie exceptional. Also it is
interesting to see Heath
Ledger playing a totally different character than that of
the joker in The Dark Knight. A
Knight’s Tale is enjoyable
movie for anyone and highly
recommended.
VH1’s newest reality dating show, Daisy of
Love, is in the same vein of “Rock of Love”,
“Flavor of Love”, and “A Double Shot of
Love”. All of these shows feature one person,
either a minor celebrity such as Bret Michaels
or a VH1 veteran such as Tiffany Pollard (also
known as New York), and their quest for love
t h rough getting drunk with a bunch of
groupies/tools/fame seekers.
However,
“Daisy of Love” is slightly different than its
counterparts: its main character (and yes, in
these clearly scripted shows, the participants
can be called “characters”), is not appealing at
all. “Rock of Love” had Bret Michaels, lead
singer of the 80s band Poison. Even though
Michaels is clearly shallow and will apparently not date a girl who has smaller than a C
cup, he has a certain charm and sincerity
about him. He freely admits his shortcomings,
and even though he seems like he is actually
looking for love, does not take the competition
too seriously. Even Flavor Flave, the self proclaimed “black-chelor” who constantly wears
a clock and asks his girlfriends if “they know
what time it is,” is appealing: the viewer
wants him to find true love, even if that true
love is a girl nicknamed “Something” who
pooped on the stairs during one elimination
ceremony. (Just kidding, she isn’t his true love
- she was eliminated a couple of episodes in.)
However, Daisy de la Hoya, has not charm,
grace or even appeal: she is just crude and
whiny. Not even a celebrity in her own right,
Daisy was the runner up in season two of
Rock of Love: apparently Bret did not appreciate the fact that she was still living with her
“ex” boyfriend when she went on Rock of
Love. Now Daisy has her own show, along
with “Flipper,” who, well, does backflips; “12
Pack”, who has previously been on “I Love
New York” and “I Love Money”; “Torch,”
who has red and orange hair; and “’84, ’85,
’86,” who are triplets from Sweden who want
to “share” Daisy. It is the usual cast of characters, except for Daisy. The viewer’s patience
with Daisy is very short lived - there are a
number of things that are irritating about her:
first of all, all she seems to do is complain
about the men, except for the part where she is
making out with them. She also thinks that
she is a rock star, Continued on Page 14
4 out of 5 Govs
http://www.vh1.com/shows/daisy_of_love/series.jhtml
Reviews
THE GOVERNOR 12
‘White Bucks and Black Eyed Peas’ Provides a Mirror for Some
by Taylor Angles’10
Though I’ve only read Mabry’s memoir up to his
high school years, for now. I think of it as a secret
blessing rather than an impediment. Mabry is, for
me, echoing my voice back to me, but with the
added perspective of an adult reflecting on his adolescent experience. So while I can’t exactly provide
a complete review for White Bucks and Black Eyed
Peas, Coming of Age Black in White America, I can very
confidently note the surprising parallels between
Mabry’s childhood through his high school years
and my own.
The decision of how to educate me, private
versus public school, was difficult for my parents for
many reasons. First was definitely the cost. Next
was the college perspective. Finally, on a separate
plane altogether, was the issue of diversity. When
looking at prospective schools, my parents would be
sure to ask about diversity. One school rep once
answered my mother with, “Well, we try to bring in
kids off the street.” The worst part was, he was completely sincere. Needless to say, there were no more
questions, and the application was never considered. My mother would peruse school websites.
“Five Black students and counting,” she’d say.
“Hmm, but at least two are likely graduated already.
And only two boys. Neither son-in-law material.” I
would choose that moment to politely exit the conversation.
Even outside of school, pride in my Blackness
was encouraged to the point of obsession. My mother would drive me into the city to participate in
activities arranged for Black preteens and teens,
awkward, forced get-togethers arranged in all likelihood for the sole purpose of the parents congregating to discuss how life was stranded somehow in the
“New England White.” There was a forced nature of
these get-togethers were, best case scenario, we sat
Photo by Bonnie Xia ‘09
in a windowless room where we would hear another lecture on Black history, and in the absolutely
worst case, the teenagers would disappear to make
out and leave us socially inept middle schoolers to
struggle haplessly at avoiding eye contact with the
opposite sex. In other words, these events had all
the enthusiasm and appeal of an arranged marriage.
While being pushed together, we felt an increasing
sense of claustrophobia. While being forced to stare
our Blackness in the face, and love it, we began to
feel a mild sense of irritation at the realization that
most of our white friends at home and school probably never had their racial identity drilled into their
heads every waking moment. It wasn’t fair. And
those evenings spent in the living room of some
Black family most of us had never met, watching old
black and white movies and listening to the adults
confer in the next room, did more to drive us even
further into isolation than they did to bring us
together. We were together in our isolation. We
were the reluctant bearers of the burden of our race’s
existence. And that, for me, was middle school.
High school was when I began to sincerely regret
my parents’ decision to forego Olivia’s tenth birthday party to drive me instead to an open house at
The Pike School in Andover, a private middle school
in which I was the only Black kid in my grade. The
only one. Entering high school, I had already
resigned myself to being a minority. I had resigned
myself to being equal parts awkwardly stared at,
pitied, and ignored during the history classes in
which slavery was discussed. One history teacher
had looked pointedly at me and made sure to say
plenty loudly and emphatically, “Slavery was
wrong. But America isn’t like that anymore.” The
awkward goldfish feeling was a sort of mild disfigurement I had come to accept. Like a recurring pimple, or a mole. And then, entering high school, I was
faced with the confusing task of selecting between
two separate forces that desired to squeeze me into
the more familiar stereotypes of Black identity.
There was the ghetto stereotype that most kids were
accustomed to, in which I would play the scholarship kid brought in from the streets who spoke like
50-cent and emanated MTV. But I had a mostly private school education, had grown up sheltered in
the ‘burbs with Southern Baptist parents who
shunned such televised and radio-bro a d c a s t e d
stereotypes. Then there was the Oreo stereotype.
Kids would call me the “whitest Black kid” they’d
ever met. I couldn’t decide whether I should be
angry or pleased. After all, what were “white” and
“black”? Races or social and intellectual statuses? It
was intended as a compliment for the most part, but
the sting of demeaning my race to a bunch of hicks
and gangsters still felt like a slap in the face. How
could I escape either of these two identities without
risking popularity, without risking friends? It
seemed the only means of expressing myself, or conveying or explaining my presence to my peers was
through whatever lens they desired. My distinctness from the stereotypes to which they had been
accustomed, I felt, made my expressions and ideas
and personality hopelessly lost to translation.
“…under all these screens I have difficulty to detect
the precise man you are,” said Emerson in his essay
Self-Reliance. But how to transcend the screens? I
Bob Jaffe ‘70 Visits the Academy
by Katharine Brine ‘09
A few weeks ago, Alum Bob Jaffe visited
the Academy to perform a play to pro m o t e
awareness about hunger. Before his performance he sat down with The Governor.
Governor: What initially got you into acting?
Jaffe: It’s interesting, I got into acting and
then I got back into acting. I started acting
h e re, when I was a student, I was here fro m
‘66 to ‘70, and when I was here I acted I
d i rected I stage managed. My senior year, I
played Oedipus in the play Oedipus, and that
was the last time the I acted for a long time.
I then started working professionally as a
stage manager, both outside and inside New
York, and then I left the Theater after about
eight years working as a stage manager. I left
the theater and did lots of other stuff, I
worked in Business, I worked as a consultant, I owned a restaurant for a while, and
then I met my wife and started a family. I got
back into the theater about 15 years ago, initially producing, and directing and then I
returned to acting and that was about 10
years ago.
G: If you could have lunch or dinner with one
person dead or alive who would it be?
J: That would be an easy answer for me and
that would be Samuel Beckett.
G: Why would that be?
J: When I was 16 I saw a production of Wa i t i n g
for Godot, which really started a relationship with
though I am not on the board anymore .
The executive director of the food
bank, who is a good friend, came to see
one of my plays in New Yo r k .
Afterwards he said I want to develop
something specifically related to
hunger and related to hunger, with a
particular interest on debunking the
myths on hunger, that hunger isn’t just
related to homelessness.
G: What other productions or pro jects have you been involved in that
you feel passionately about?
J: In the theater the thing that interested me most is doing plays by living
playwrights.
G: In this play about hunger you
portray 13 diff e rent characters. Is that
difficult to do?
J: Yeah, it is very difficult, even
though I have done solo theater before ,
but I had never done it when you have
to change characters in a second on
stage. I worked very slowly over time
Courtesy of Bob Jaffe
c reating these characters from the
inside out. We didn’t start with the
Beckett’s work, although I never met the man.
walk or the voice or the persona. We started every
G: What made you want to inform people more character as me, so when we finished and I entere d
the character, the changes would be subtle and
on the issue of hunger?
J: I do a lot of work with non-profits. Among easy. So I got to built their personalities internally.
those I was on the board of the Rhode Island Food I didn’t go to any of the interviews because I knew
Bank, as Vice President of the board for eight that the characters would be composites of diff e ryears, so it has been a issue that I have been inter- ent interviews, (we did 100 interviews and have 13
ested in for a long time and have been actively characters) so that I could create the character
been involved in at that time and since then, even myself.
Sports
THE GOVERNOR 13
Michael Crabtree Drafted
One of Our Own
Signed to the NFL
by Cam Means ‘12
At approximately 10:30 p.m. on
November 1, 2008, Texas Tech Sophomore
Michael Crabtree caught teammate
Graham Harrell’s desperation touchdown
pass with one second left, propelling Texas
Tech over rival Texas 39-33. Texas, the
nation’s number one team, was stunned as
they watched over 2,000 ecstatic Texas
Tech students rush onto Jones AT&T stadium in Lubbock, Texas. In the postgame
interview, Crabtree was asked what he
was thinking when his team began their
drive with only one minute and 29 seconds left in the game. “I was thinking we
had to do our job,” said an exhausted
Crabtree, “we gotta go out there and score!”
Fast forward to a smiling, Roger Goodell,
the Commissioner of the National Football
League, looking into the suspenseful audience
in New York’s Radio City Music Hall April
25th, And announcing: “With the tenth pick in
the 2009 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers
select Michael Crabtree. Wide receiver, Texas
Tech.”
Going into the 2008-2009 college season,
Texas Tech sophomore Michael Crabtree was
projected by NFL scouts as the top overall pick
at last April’s NFL Draft. Since then, Crabtree’s
numbers took a hit; he went from being a
guaranteed number one to someone who was
almost not taken in the top ten, all because of
a poor performance in his team’s loss to
Mississippi in January’s Cotton Bowl and a
broken foot that kept him from participating in
the combine and Texas Tech Pro Day. Since
Crabtree showed no convincing evidence of a
“Hall of Fame career,” pro teams became skeptical while the same scouts who once called
him “the next Randy Moss” started to question his ability to adapt from his school’s
spread offense and lead a team in a big game.
Every year, football fans anticipate the second weekend in April when they sit in front of
their television sets only to be disappointed by
http://thegameison.files.wordpress.com/
their favorite NFL team. Every year the draft is
organized into seven rounds (224 picks) in
which each team has one pick per round. The
first round, however, is where the elite tier of
college stars finds their new homes. Time and
again this pressure of a pro team having a top
ten pick leads to a poor choice in which millions of dollars are spent on a player who does
not even last five years in the league. Fans find
themselves frustrated because their team
invests in guarantee player instead of going
out and getting the popular receiver that
everyone loves. This same example came
when teams like St. Louis, Cincinnati, Oakland
and Jacksonville passed up on Crabtree who
fans desperately wanted. At the beginning of
the year Crabtree had been number one; he
was now considered to be drafted under other
Wide Receivers. This group that could have
potentially passed him included: Darrius
Heyward-Bey (Maryland), Percy Harvin
(Florida) and Jeremy Maclin (Missouri). After
a long hour passing, the 49ers were able to get
their guy whom they believed will help them
for many years to come while helping to
rebuild a franchise which is rich in football tradition.
Though the drop to pick ten was not nearly as significant, Crabtree was compared to
http://multimedia.heraldinteractive.com
Rob Francois '04 signed as a free agent with the
Minnesota Vikings following the NFL draft this
week. He has a three-year contract at the NFL
minimum salary. Four teams were interested in
Francois when he chose the Vikings. Francois is a
2008 graduate of Boston College who has been
doing graduate studies at BC this year.
Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn who was edged as the top pick by LSU
J a m a rcus Russell in 2007 and ended up falling to pick 22 wi
Cleveland. When asked of this small drop, Crabtree only said that
was satisfied with what happened and was excited of the opportunity
play in San Francisco.
Governor’s Girls Varsity Tennis
by Skylar Frisch ‘11
The Governor sat down with the head coach of the
girls varsity tennis team, Mr. Bill Quigley. Team members believe that much of this season’s success has
come from the enthusiasm and knowledge Mr.
Quigley brings to practice each day as the new head
coach .
Governor: How was your first year coaching experience?
Mr Quigley: I've loved it: the tennis, afternoons
spent outdoors, the competition, and, most of all, time
spent with the girls on this team. They're a lot of fun.
G: What were some of the goals for the season and
were they met?
Q: The girls defined our team goals early in the season. With still a week to go, no doubt we've met or
we're working well to meet all of those goals. We've
added sprinting and the short loop into our workouts
to improve our conditioning; we've stayed positive
through ups and downs, wins and losses, in a very
competitive league; we've competed hard and with
good sportsmanship; the girls have definitely raised
their tennis games, working methodically on technique and strategy, and (mostly) without whining (yes
ber of the team, she and the other seniors -- A
Vlachos, Anna O'Neal, and Madalyn Durgin -- set t
most positive tone, and I thank them sincerely. Most
all, I'll miss their good-natured sense of fun. Wi
Maddie and Hannah around, there's sure to be lots
good laughs.
G: Does the team have any rising talent?
Q: Absolutely! We have two rising senio
Christine Goglia and Kaitlyn Barnett, who've gain
valuable experience and sharpened their games pla
ing strong opponents at #2 and #3, respectively, th
spring. And I'm thrilled to have FIVE sophomores f
two more seasons: Julie Kutchin, who has played com
petitively at #1 all season, and Skylar Frisch, Dev
Team Captain Hannah Fitzpatrick ‘09
Photo by Mr. Oxton Harrell, Jen Basow, and Katie Wolfe who have compe
ed variously at #s 5, 6, 7, & 8. I foresee this corps ge
-- one of their goals was to refrain from whining); and,
ting better and better, especially if they play a lot th
most importantly, we've indeed had fun together. With
summer, providing a strong core to our tennis progra
11 members, our tennis team is large, and one of my
in the years ahead.
goals has been for everyone to compete in matches,
G: Is there anything else you would like to me
and we've achieved that goal quite well, too.
tion?
G: What will you miss about the seniors?
Q: I want to acknowledge and thank the girls' pa
Q: Hannah Fitzpatrick has been a great team capents for their enthusiastic and generous support.
tain. In her positive spirit and support for every mem-
Sports / Features
THE GOVERNOR 14
Trip of a Lifetime
Continued from Page 10
and physical education classes, students leave their
classroom) as their teachers come in and teach.
The schools also put a lot of focus on athletics.
Students in Kenya participate in sports such as soccer, rugby, cross country, tennis, basketball, volleyball, swimming, track, and field hockey (for both
boys and girls). While in Kenya, Lyle played a game
for the school’s soccer team. I played in a game for
the school’s basketball team and played in a few
pickup volleyball games. Mr. Gerry got to referee
one basketball game, and Molly and Hanna were
able to attend a day long swimming gala. Attending
and competing in athletic events was a fun part of
the trip because both the players and the fans get so
into the competition. Students practice one sport
year round, showing an amazing amount of dedication to their game.
Doing too much schoolwork can be a tad tedious,
but time at the school was not solely devoted to academic studies. Most days the students would go on
day trips to various locations around Kenya.
Locations that we went to include a dance center
called The Bomas of Kenya, a giraffe center, a national park named Nakuru, the University of Nairobi,
and various restaurants and markets in the city of
Nairobi. On many days we took a form of public
transport called a Matatu into the city of Kikuyu and
ate lunch. One of the our favorite trips was to the
Ngong Hills. At times these seven harrowing hills
proved complicated to climb, and by the end of the
nine-mile trek the group was extremely exhausted.
The amazing view made up for the hard work need-
ed to climb the hills. On another day trip the students traveled to the Kibera slums. Home to over
1,000,000 people, Kibera is the largest slum in all of
Africa. Visiting Kibera and entering one family’s
home opened the students’ eyes to just how fortunate they really are.
The TGA group also went on a safari to the
Maasai Mara. Their safari (safari means “journey” in
Swahili) lasted for three days and two nights. At
night, we stayed in a hotel located just minutes away
from an actual Maasai village (the Maasai are a
Kenyan tribe). While on the safari we got up close a
variety of African wildlife such as lions, giraffes,
crocodiles, elephants, hyenas, hippopotamuses,
warthogs, baboons, water buffalo, gazelles, and
zebras. Other animals like dik-dik, impala, and a
vast variety of birds also called the Maasai Mara
their home. Combined with the tremendously twisted trees, giant grass, high hills, and pleasant plains,
the animals and nature formed serene scenery that
the students will remember forever.
Another memorable experience was the trip to
Mombassa, a Kenyan city located on the coast. The
beautiful beaches, laidback lifestyle, and sultry climate created an unbelievable environment for the
group to simply enjoy themselves. Most memorable
Mombassa moments include a snorkeling trip where
the group got to view lots of sea life (Lyle and Hanna
even got to scuba dive on the reefs), a trip to the old
part of Mombassa and more specifically Fort Jesus,
an architectural beauty carved from coral that has an
amazing view of the Indian Ocean, and just having
fun watching the entertainment in the hotel. The
visit to Mombassa came towards the conclusion of
the trip and served as an amazing end to the voyage.
Though the trip was full of lessons about Kenya,
it taught the students a lot about themselves as well.
Never having left the U.S before the exchange, I
believe that trip has instilled in me a new sense of
responsibility and a realization that the world is
much bigger than I once thought. Even though I, at
first, was hesitant about going through with the voyage, I think that every junior should seriously consider applying for the Kenya trip, even if they have
never traveled before. It is only through going out of
your comfort zone that you are able to truly learn
more about yourself. Visiting different places opens
the traveler up to new cultures and new life lessons,
drastically changing their view on the world and the
people who inhabit it for the better.
Molly, Hanna, Lyle, and I would like to thank
everybody who made this trip a possibility. We
would like to specifically thank their chaperones, Dr.
O and Mr. Gerry, Mr. Ndege for all of the arrangements that he made for them, Lesley, Lydia, and all
of their other Kenyan friends who made the trip
such an adventure, and Mr. Doggett and Mr. Nelson
for making this outstanding trip a possibility. If anybody has any questions about the trip, don’t hesitate
to ask Molly, Hanna, Lyle, or me. Even if we have
never spoken with you before, we would love to talk
with about the trip that made their March so extraordinary.
‘White Bucks’ Review
Continued from Page 12
wondered. It seems the ideas of those lecturers on my proud Black history, the
rappers banging out their street life on the radio, and every Black person or reference in between was illustrating a different standard or identity and some of
them managed to contradict one another, while in some areas they even managed to overlap. The uncertainty suffocated me. What was I supposed to be?
How was I supposed to relate to my race, and how were my peers supposed to
relate it to me? “My isolation,” Mabry wrote, “increased from all sides.”
Reading his memoir is for me like finding a friend, someone who has surprised
me by declaring those same insecurities, the same fear of “the constant balancing act between everyone and everything, white and Black”. I find myself,
despite Mabry’s stern words “Do not read this memoir for conclusions”,
plagued by a desperate desire to search through his shared experiences for conclusions, a guide, a lesson on how to find my place amidst the tension of conflicting and separate ideas of my race and the American Dream. Some might
suggest that I live my life in ignorance of race, that race is irrelevant and that the
world would be a better place were race ignored. But the world has a history
of race-related conflict, a history that has taught us to value our race and respect
all others. We cannot imagine away these past conflicts or we risk repeating
them. I can’t simply pretend away the struggle of my people. That’s disrespecting their fight, their victory that was intended more to empower than to
burden me and future Black Americans. Would you tell a Jew to forget the
Holocaust, or an Armenian to forget the Armenian Genocide?
I am going to finish Mabry’s book because it provokes these questions,
and contrary to his avowed dispossession of any real answers I find some
because his similar experience causes me to reflect on mine. This book examines every person’s life, everyone who has struggled with a heritage that has at
times made them feel isolated. I get a surge of inspiration when I think that
someone who has found such success experienced many of the same issues I
face now, from peer pressure to pressure from family and one’s racial community. You don’t have to be Black to read this book, I’m sure. This book is knowledge. And knowledge happens to entertain or pertain to everyone regardless
of race, class, gender, etc. It is a story about the struggle to find one’s place,
which everyone more or less faces at some point in their life, or at various points
for that matter, and I cannot wait to finish reading it.
Track Doesn’t Quit
by Kayla Jenson ‘11
The Governor’s Academy track team
entered the championship season on with a
strong re c o rd under its belt. The girls
were fourth out of 13 teams , only three
points behind the third place team, St. Paul ' s.
The boys finished strongly in second out of 12
teams , only six points behind the winner,
Belmont Hill. With New Englands at Williston
Northampton just a week a way, the Governor’s
athletes continue to train well for a good closer
to their season.
Head Coach Mr. Tim Weir commented that
t h e re will be “stiff competition” at New
Englands, but there is no doubt in his mind that
the team members will reach their goal of
returning with plaques. This is Mr. Weir’s last
season coaching the Govs athletes and it will
indeed be one to remember. “I have mixed feelings about ending my career at Governor 's,"
said Mr. Weir."I am very excited about my
upcoming adventure in Switzerland and at the
same time sad because coaching track is what I
love most about my job. I have very fond memories of former athletes and stay in touch with
many of them today. It has been wonderful to
follow their collegiate athletic careers and I do
hope that I played some small part in shaping
them as athletes and people.”
There were many terrific performances at
ISL’s. Jason Goodwin received the Coaches
award and won the 300-meter hurdles; Alanna
McDonough won the triple jump and set a meet
record; and Alison Travers won the 300-meter
hurdles.Brett Riley won the 400-meter dash
whileJames Gomes won the 200-meter race. “I
am very proud of the effort this past weekend,"
said Mr. Weir. "I really felt that both teams were
going all out for a plaque. It has been a great season so far, and everyone has improved steadily
throughout it.”
Although all performances were outstanding, the team is still improving and will be at its
peak for New Englands. In the words of the legendary Mr. Abu, “They will be flying.
Daisy of Love
Continued from Page 11
even though her voice is terrible and she does not have a
record contract. Finally, she is under the impression that a
pink bra and sleeve of tattoos constitutes clothing, even
though she is clearly mistaken.
Yes, Daisy is annoying, and the whole “celebreality
dating show” is a little old. However, I still am going to
watch Daisy of Love. On Sunday nights at 9, there isn’t much
on (well there is Desperate Housewives, but I like to watch
that on my computer), and truth be told, the antics of Daisy
and her suitors are entertaining, at least until Rock of Love
Bus returns.
3 out of 5 stars.
Sundays at 9 on VH1.
Seniors: What Will You Miss Most?
THE GOVERNOR 15
I'll miss not being
referred to as
"Mario" on a daily
basis.
Drama, AP Photo, Thursday night in Kaiser, Mr. Wann, Mr.
Oxton, Belle, Drel, Hope!, Chris and afternoons at the bookstore.
Tight community, knowing people and having friends everywhere with almost all
of the students and teachers.
Mike Ivey
I'm going to miss living in Eames, those
Wednesday night talks in the dorm with
Robertson, all of my friends, the inside jokes,
and the across-the-bridge breakfast crew.
My final thoughts:Where did
Eggs Benedict Fridays go? Alonzi,
you sly devil, you! But seriously,
who knew high school could be
so much fun!
A strong community environment filled with people of a
verity of backgrounds and with a wide range of talents.
JV Boys Hockey
errbody, teachers, morning
meetings, dorms, teams, student performances/concerts/sporting events/chapel
talks, awkward moments,
09'ers, the Dummer in our
name, trips, and anything
forgotten
The Back Page
THE GOVERNOR 16
Happy Birthday In The Summer!
Seniors
Kyle Doherty
Sam Sherman
Freshman
Blake Riley
Juniors
Sam Doherty
Thatcher Furnald
Min-Sung Kim
Carson Stevens
Jason Kwon
Chris Brown
Hannah Jacobs
Sam Davis
Renee Xiao
Sang Yoon Lee
Lyle Nelson
Daisy Bodman
Sara Alonardo
Chris Webster
Eli Robinson
Kaity Mullin
John Riley
Maria Leone
Anna Chai
Caitlin Toomey
Kelly Lavallee
Mike George
Peter Hines
Tim McGrath
Hanna Bird
Kwesi Boakye
Ho Wai Yuen
Christain Cavametta
Connor Maclennan
So Min Lee
Cassandra Valarezo
Victoria Caruso
Matt Karin
Pat Cronin
Jake Cotreau
Grace Barlow
Ali Grenier
Sean Scerbo
Erin Quinlan
Pete Wells
Jimbo Dickerson
Jan Baslow
Richie Aversa
Amanda Correnti
Sam Benfey
Nicole Martin
Julie Kutchen
Isabel MacLOeod
Alex Gurfeyn
Remington Pope
Joe Monteforte
Jeffe Skaff
John Damianos
Olivia DiFronzo
Ellie Clayman
Jillian Cardarelli
Eloise Willemsen
Megan Mullin
Mike Gardner
Mike Orloff
Catilin Rossi
Laura Beohner
Sophomore
Kyle Pattoie
Laura Andrews
Chris Hodgeman
Hannah Rausch
Jason Goodwin
Shaan Chatterjee
GregRoone
Zoe Mackey
Emily Shea
Elizabeth Cieri
Alioson Travers
Mike Gooberman
Kate Leary
Megan Sommers
Slava Sivov
Corey Lyons
Anthony Cambece
Hayley Poole
Noah Sherman
Pj Lin
Alice Tonry
Taylor Pirie
Jeremy Gold
Andrew Coleburn
Kate Healey
Jack Ceglarski
Will Davis
Milan Gary
Mike Ching
Michelle Gallipeau
Byrant Wilkinson
Chris Russell
The Entire Governor’s Staff wants to say
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER !
Peer Advisors
The following individuals have been
selected as New Peer Advisors for 2009-2010.
All candidates were highly qualified.
Unfortunately the program is limited with
respect to numbers. The Peer Advisors are
grateful for the overwhelming interest in the
program and wish all the applicants the best.
Newly selected members:
John Durkin
Felix Emiliano
Cole Forbes
Michelle Gallipeau
Lindsay Grant
Luke Hennenberger
Molly Houston
Julie Kutchin
Quincy Livingston
Annie Quigley
Taylor Reeh
Katie Reilly
Caitlin Toomey
Kevin Tung
Sarah Weichselbaum
Jessica Xu
Summer Ideas To Recapture Your
Childhood
They will join returning Peer Advisors:
Jon Bird
Molly Connors
Christine Goglia
Kelly Lavalle
Jason Maier
Michael Morrisey
Mary Morrisey
Lyle Nelson
Cameron Poole
Franklin Reis
Cassandra Valarezo
Many thanks to the graduating members:
Ray Boghos
Anna Chai
Mary Leah DiNisco
Raphael Durand
Carlota Caicedo
Elizabeth Cieri
Madalyn Durgin
Hannah Fitzpatrick
Lisa Hoopes
Tim McGrath
Arianis Perozo
Jenika Smith
Ariel Shapiro
Joshua Stavis
George Tsakirgis
1. Build fairy houses in the backyard.
2. Start a nature scrapbook.
3. Canstruction.
4. Play chalk games. or draw pictures with chalk on the sidewalk.
5. Make mud pies and have a tea party.
6. Have a real tea party with some friends and tell stories.
7. Play with rice.
8. Make a yummy salad and eat it.
9. Paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
10. Work a jigsaw puzzle.
11. Copy a famous painting.
12. Get your bicycle out, clean it up, and get it ready for
summer.
13. Practice folding a shirt.
14. Make a poster collage.
15. Make some playdough.
16. Preschool Paper Crafts
17. Mix 2 cups water with a little food coloring, add 6 cups of
cornflour/cornstarch to make goop.
18. Cut out and play paper dolls.
19. Watch a familiar DVD dubbed in a foreign language.
20. Make a house of cookies.
21. Volunteer to help a neighbor for free—just because.
22. String beads on dental floss to make a necklace.
23. Listen to Peter and the Wolf and act it out.
24. Make a milkshake or a smoothie.
25. Start this “childhood in a jar” project.