katrina forces student exodus

S I N C E
1 9 4 7
www.gradyhighschool.org/
southerner.html
An upbeat paper
for a downtown school
HEALTH
ACADEMY
A New
Home for
HOSA
p. 12
NEWS
Grady meets
NCLB
Standards
PIEBAR
Diverse food
draws
diverse crowd
p. 16
p. 8
VOLUME LIX, NUMBER 1, SEPT. 15, 2005
HENRY W. GRADY HIGH SCHOOL, ATLANTA
KATRINA FORCES
STUDENT EXODUS
A
Israelis pull
out of Gaza in
peace attempt
I
See ISRAEL page 7
NEWS
BRIEFS
Grady’s SAT verbal
score 5th in the state
Junior John Helsel
published in journal
Grady junior John Helsel, in
collaboration with Georgia State
University professor Douglas Gies,
was published in the June issue
of Astrophysical Journal. The duo
studied the movement of the sun.
A BLESSED FIELD GOAL FOILS BLESSED TRINITY
Junior running back Dexter Barnett blows by a Blessed Trinity defender,
for a 25-yard reception of a fourth-quarter screen pass during the Sept.
3 game. Because neither team could score in regulation, the game went
into overtime, giving each team one possession to score. Grady won the
game 3-0 after a booming 29-yard field goal by sophomore Noah Shaye,
who had missed an earlier field goal attempt. The Knights, currently
undefeated, are hoping for a season to remember. See story page 20.
BY EMMA DIN & HANNA GRIFFITHS
lina Maleski had just
finished unpacking. It
was sunny and the sky
was beautiful. It was her first day
at Tulane University. So, when
she was told by an administrator
that she had to evacuate, Maleski
thought it was a joke.
Maleski
graduated
from
Grady last spring and is a Tulane
freshman. Tulane officials, alerted
of impending Hurricane Katrina,
mandated that all students
evacuate the campus by 6 p.m. on
Saturday Aug. 27.
“Literally, as I sat down my minifridge, the head of the dorm came
and told me that the school would
be evacuated,” said Sean Corley,
also a freshman at Tulane and a
2005 Grady graduate. “Within 15
minutes we had left the campus.
… We picked one [of my friends]
up, then my brother, and I left.”
As Tulane students fled, just a
block away Dr. Ray Rampolla of
the ICU at Charity Hospital was
gearing up for what would be
many days of mental and physical
exhaustion. With just two teams
of nurses at hand, 12-hour shifts
would soon be required.
Meanwhile, mass evacuations
led to major traffic jams on
the Louisiana highways. A
combination of slow movement
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Grady community is
collecting funds during firstperiod classes and at the gates
of Grady football games.
Donations can be made out
the Red Cross and dropped off
at Mr. Legagneur’s room, C407,
or Mr. Pilson’s room, E212.
For more information,
contact Mr. Legagneur
at flegagneur@atlanta.k12.ga.us .
and urgency forced the conversion
of several major interstates into
one-way routes out of New
Orleans. Even so, Lori Fisher,
Maleski’s mother, said cars were
bumper-to-bumper.
“All of a sudden, it went from an
‘it’s-not-a-big-deal hurricane’ to a
mandatory evacuation of the city,”
Maleski said.
Though Tulane students were
already leaving town Saturday
afternoon, Loyola students were
settling into the college life.
Matthew Baughman, another
former Grady student, had just
arrived in town. As the storm
closed in, Baughman partied at a
frat house.
“We had no idea it would be
See KATRINA page 14
MacBrien adds fresh enthusiasm to magnet program
BY MATT WESTMORELAND
hroughout the franticness and commotion
surrounding the scheduling process
during the first weeks of school, the warm,
welcoming face of Carrie MacBrien served
as an inviting presence for magnet students
at every turn. The hiker, dog owner, and
film lover whom students met stood
prepared to help everyone as best she could.
Ms. MacBrien, former freshman journalism
teacher, succeeded Naomi Grishman as
coordinator of the school’s magnet program
in July, eight months following Ms.
Grishman’s appointment as assistant principal.
Although Ms. MacBrien took hold of
the reigns just over two months ago,
she approaches her new position full of
vision and ideas for the magnet program.
“I look forward to building on Ms.
Grishman’s record of the last 11 years
T
CURRY ANDREWS
Grady’s 2004-2005 senior class
boasted a combined average SAT of
1100. The class’s verbal score was
fifth among state public schools.
SCOTT KING
BY REBECCA GITTELSON
srael pulled out of Gaza and
parts of the West Bank in midAugust, marking the first time
Israel has ever given up territory
that is part of the biblical land of
Israel. The areas had a majority
Palestinian population before the
disengagement, with Gaza home
to approximately 1.5 million
Palestinians and about 9,000
Jewish settlers, who are Israeli
citizens.
Gaza will become a large part of
a potential Palestinian state as Israel
grants the Palestinians immediate
civil and criminal control over
the area, which includes the nowdeserted Jewish settlements. The
Israeli government is now in the
process of demolishing the Jewish
settlers’ former homes, schools and
synagogues.
“[Because of the] amount of
money that they [the Israelis] have
been spending protecting such a
small number of people [and] the
terrible toll it takes on the soldiers
that have to defend the settlers, it
[the disengagement] is definitely a
good thing for the Israelis,” said
Alta Schwartz, senior program
associate for the Middle-East
Peace Education Program in
Atlanta.
MACMAGNET: Ms. MacBrien finds time to talk with junior
Hanna Griffiths in spite of her multiple responsiblities.
and strengthening ties with members of
communication industries and bringing
them into the school,” she said.
After growing up on a small farm in rural
Connecticut, Ms. MacBrien left New England
in search of “new experiences.” She earned a
B.A. in English and an M.Ed. from Emory
University. After graduating, Ms. MacBrien
taught at Crim High School for six years,
then moved to Harper Archer High School in
2001 where she taught and served as chair of
the English department. The following year
she went to Carver High School, where she
also taught and served as chair of the English
department before coming to Grady in the fall
of 2004. After all of her teaching experience,
Ms. MacBrien believes she’s found her home.
“I love Grady,” she said. “It has such
a thriving education program, and I was
happier last year than I’ve ever been.”
Ms. MacBrien feels her new position
combines all of her interests and love of
education into one job.
“I have toyed with the idea of being a guidance
counselor or being involved with curriculum
See MACBRIEN page 13
c o m m e n t
2
Sept. 15, 2005
THE SOUTHERNER
SINCE 1947
EDITORIAL BOARD
CHELSEA COOK
ALLISON FARNHAM
SARAH MARRINER
ELIZABETH SCHENCK
MICAH WEISS
MATT WESTMORELAND
Announcement abuse
The new school year has brought with it many revised policy changes
to Grady in attempt to make the school the efficient, timely, disciplined
atmosphere the administration wants it to be. Unfortunately, a good learning
environment has suffered with the installation of these new changes.
Most of the controversy stems from the new tardy policy, which promises
to the late student a Saturday Work Detention on the first offense. What’s
worse, if a student is even a few seconds late, they now have to wait upwards
of 45 minutes for a class for a pass. Shouldn’t this time be better spent in class
learning? Timeliness is a virtue, but to deprive students of class time for a slipup, especially one that may be beyond their control, is ridiculous.
And once class begins, we need to all work together to ensure teachers
and students can interact for a class period free from announcements and
other disruptions. While there are certainly times during the school day with
announcements are warranted, minimizing these interruptions should be the
goal of administrators, teachers, and students.
We understand that discipline is important for a strong learning
environment and a productive school, but the current situation is creating the
opposite affect. Continuing educational success should be and is the main goal
of all Knights. We all just need to ensure we work together to make the school
year run smoothly. ❐
Detectors a mere ruse
Safety in our schools is touted as a main priority for the Atlanta Public
School System. The metal detectors at the official entrances to the school
in the morning are supposed to make our school safer. It is widely known,
however, that these detectors are more for decoration than practical use.
Two metal detectors are placed at either side of the cafeteria. In theory,
teachers are assigned the additional responsibility of thoroughly checking each
bag as it comes into the school and checking students if they set off the alarm.
In reality, the detectors have been unplugged several times this year. Many days
have passed when students walk, unchecked, underneath the powerless arches.
Other days the detector has worked, but no teachers are in sight. On days
when the system is semi-functional, students enter the school through one of
three open entrances from the courtyard, escaping detection all together.
The school building can never be 100 percent secure. There will always
be loopholes in the system and ways around the detectors and checkers. But
there must be a better way for Grady’s students to enter the building every
day than under the watchful eye of metal detectors, bag checkers, and body
searchers.
Grady’s students shouldn’t be subjected to criminal-like treatment every
morning as they come into school to receive an education. Teachers, no longer
required to fulfill additional obligations having nothing to to with teaching,
could ues the their “duty” time to prepare for the day’s classes. Either give new
meaning to the term “lockdown” or do away with it for good. ❐
On May 8, 2005, the Southerner
received its Columbia Scholastic
Press Association evaluation of its
performance for the 2003-2004
school year. Even though the staff
received a Gold Medal, CSPA’s
highest rating, the evaluator
suspected plagiarism in many of
our stories, particularly Kimberly
Hagan’s November 2003 article,
“An Army of One.”
The anonymous judge wrote:
“I have a hard time believing any
HS student uses phrases like, ‘...an
ill-fated precedent,’ let alone do
research on the laws of the Geneva
Convention!”
In response to these accusations,
managing editor David Suitts
wrote a letter of protest to CSPA.
AJC editor Cynthia Tucker wrote
a column praising Hagan’s work
and admonishing the judge for
his/her false allegations (“Scooped
by students? Believe it,” Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, May 18).
CSPA President Edmund Sullivan
responded to Tucker’s column
in a letter published on May 23.
Sullivan characterized Hagan’s
story as a “piece of enterprising
journalism that deserved the praise
it has received.” Hagan and advisor
Dave Winter appeared on CNN
Live Saturday on May 28.
The series of events generated
the following letters to the
Southerner:
Southerner staffers to go
far in journalism careers
Dear Editors,
Please give my warmest regards
to David Suitts and Kimberly
Hagan. I recently read Cynthia
Tucker's
excellent
editorial
regarding the ridiculous comments
by an obviously bigoted judge.
When I was their age, I faced
similarly ageist prejudices. The
good news is that your writers have
a rare and highly marketable skill
that will only improve with time.
Someday they will look back with
amusement on the ignorance of
an arrogant judge and go back to
counting their royalty checks.
You are all to be commended,
and I hope that none of you ever
lose your love of the power of
language.
The Rev. C. Joshua Villines
Ph.D. Student
Vanderbilt University
Judge’s allegations an
indirect form of praise
Dear Editors,
I have long admired your
paper, but this thing I read
about in today's AJC is your
finest hour. I agree with Suitt's
take: this judge's suspicion is
in truth a twisted kind of praise.
Congratulations to your staff
on being implausibly brilliant!
Jim Veal
Newspaper Adviser
Peachtree Ridge High School
Suwanee
Staff
Managing editors: Chelsea Cook, Matt Westmoreland
Design editors: Alex Daniels, Duy Lam
Copy editor: Chelsea Spencer
News editors: Allana Neely, Robert Sanders
Comment editors: Sarah Marriner, Elizabeth Schenck
People editors: Allison Farnham, Shearlon White
Sports editors: Patrick McGlynn, Woody Morgan
Special Section editor: William VanDerKloot
Photo editor: Chelsea Spencer
Nexus managing editor: Micah Weiss
Hagan defies common
“microwave” reporting
Dear Editors,
I read Cynthia Tucker’s Op/Ed
piece today and was somewhat
surprised. I think the judge’s
sentiments reflect something
that’s happening in journalism,
something I like to call “nuked
journalism,” by which I mean
microwaving old stories.
It reflects a general laziness to
do anything interesting or that
requires effort to investigate.
Too many editors and educators
encourage a “rock star school
of journalism” but no actual
journalistic WORK. No digging,
no prodding, no interviewing,
or asking tough questions. It’s all
personality profiles or reheating of
national stories with B roll (for us
broadcast kids).
Commend your reporter who
wrote the piece and encourage her
to continue her dedication to tell
the stories for which other people
simply don’t have the marrow.
Ben Mayer
University of Georgia
An upbeat paper for a downtown school
Staff: Lee Allen, Curry Andrews, Jessica Baer, Asa
Beal, Max Beeching, Erik Belgum, Leah Bishop,
Chloe Blalock, Andrew Bracken, Lena Brodsky,
Jeffrey Carpenter, Alastair Carter-Boff, George
Demeglio, Emma Din, Lily Feinberg, Rebecca
Gittelson, Ramika Gourdine, Hanna Griffiths,
Carson Hale, Sean Harrington, Stone Irvin, Sam
Johnson, Travis Jones, Kenny Jones, Robinson Levin,
Sarah Beth McKay, Greg O’Donnell, Julia Oliver,
Carson Phillips-Spotts, Madeline Webb, Sally Zintak
Photo adviser: Dawn Wadsworth
Adviser: Dave Winter
Print staff: Alvin Hambrick, Harlon Heard,
Michael Jackson, Adlai McClure, Charlotte
Napper, Benjamin Shaw
The Southerner, a member of GSPA, SIPA, CSPA
and NSPA, is a monthly student publication of:
Henry W. Grady High School
929 Charles Allen Drive.
NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
The Southerner welcomes submissions, which
may be edited for grammar, inappropriate
language and length. Please place submissions in Mr. Winter's box in the main office.
Subscriptions are also available. For more
information, please contact Mr. Winter or a
member of the staff.
We can be reached at dwinter@atlanta.k12.
ga.us
THE SOUTHERNER
c o m m e n t
Sept. 15, 2005
3
Local stores come up short with IKEA, Target opening
This summer I tried to get a job at
the Home Store Futon Gallery in Little
Five Points. The hours were perfect,
the location was convenient, and what
teenager wouldn’t kill for a summer
job in an air-conditioned room with
a bunch of beds? Sadly, however, my
dreams of spending the summer in
MADELEINE WEBB
such a relaxing fashion were squandered
when I was told that my help wouldn’t
be needed at the store. After moving through every rejectee’s
initial stages of self pity and doubt, I finally moved into the
phase of shifting the blame onto a third party. The culprit,
you ask? There are actually two sources of my resentment: the
newly opened IKEA and the Super Target on Moreland.
Both new, enormous, overstocked, and underpriced, the
two mega-stores were opened in locations lacking a chain retail
store. IKEA at Atlantic Station, a multi–story mini-mall of
furniture and home décor, is the first IKEA in the Southeast
and the third largest in North America. Known for its modern
and often unusual design, IKEA furniture is dubbed the
“affordable Pottery Barn.” Consumers flock to IKEA from out
of state for the Swedish shopping experience. The first person
in line at the new Atlanta location had been there a week.
IKEA has raised the bar of retail shopping to an unparalleled
level – the IKEA catalogue is supposedly the second most
widely distributed book after the Bible: They print a hundred
million copies of the catalogue annually.
IKEA also has a Swedish café inside the store where one
can sit and enjoy a hot plate of Swedish meatballs while they
admire their acquired bounty. And the Target on Moreland is
following suit, featuring a Starbucks and a food center. One
could practically lock themselves in either mega-store and
survive.
Intowners from Inman Park to Oakhurst are reveling in the
convenience factor of both chains. Wendall Rob used to drive
as far as Marietta to find a decent Target, gushing that the one
on Moreland “has been a great shopping experience, and it’s
here in the city!”
But what about local businesses? Small independent stores
throughout Atlanta are feeling the effects of the Big-Chain
Massacre, including The Home Store Futon Gallery. Most of
their business this time of year comes from college students
who are setting up camp in dorms or apartments. The store
has seen a large drop-off in this demographic this year as the
young and budget-conscious shoppers head to where the grass
is greener…and the prices cheaper.
“The response we’ve gotten from a lot of people who were
former customers or new customers is that they (Target and
IKEA) have a lot of things that we don’t,” says Chris Beuchner,
who owns the Gallery with his four brothers and nephew.
Anyone who hasn’t stepped into the Gallery in over a
month will be shocked to see the interior of the trendy Little
Five Points store. The floor is packed with almost twice as
many futons folded out in response to the competition, and
Beuchner says that they plan on implementing more effective
marketing and advertising.
The Gallery will have to adjust to keep bringing in Atlanta
futon-buyers in the face of such economic predation. “In a
small retail business there’s constantly modes of adaptation,”
Beuchner said. “So whether it’s dealing with the economy or
another store or trends in furniture, you’re always changing.”
While Beuchner may be right, a change in the Gallery is
exactly what some of us Little Five Pointers fear. The Gallery
as been a central spot in L5P for 21 years and is a crucial staple
establishment of the square. The hip family-owned-andoperated Gallery is more than a futon store– it is an oasis, a fresh
urban outlook on new-age style and peaceful surroundings. It
is a marker of L5P’s diversity and independence as a strong
standing area for independent business.
But all this may change as the Gallery swings into the
defensive, modifying based on consumers’ needs. “If you stay
the same you’ll get buried,” Beuchner says, gazing around the
showroom. “This is just another challenge for us to create our
niche.” ❐
Scheduling flaws create
frenzy among freshmen
It was like
kindergarten
all
over
again, only
this
time
I was the
one holding
the camera
RAMIKA GOURDINE and talking
about how
fast time flies. It was my twin
brothers’ first day of high school,
and as much as I tease the two of
them I still have a serious bigsister complex. For that reason
I was enraged when I heard that
they didn’t have schedules come
Monday morning.
It made matters even worse
when I learned that they were not
the only ones. Reasons ranging
from a lack of know-how on the
computer to lost files forced more
than 30 freshmen to go without
schedules for the first week of the
school year.
Grady was prepared to neither
accommodate all the incoming
students, nor explain why they
were still in the gym. The affected
students sat in the gym for half of
the day before they were informed
of their situation. Left to their
own devices, fear of wrongdoing
and thoughts of having to go
back to middle school filled their
heads.
I understand that the 20052006 school year will be one of
change and struggle for Grady.
We’ve gone from a school
with empty classrooms to one
necessitating floating teachers. I
know that Ms. McClain was ill
over the summer. At the same
time, couldn’t the rushed and
unfinished scheduling have been
handled better if it had been
started earlier? Several students
attempted to register or check
on files sent from middle schools
two to three weeks before school
began; they were turned away,
told to return the last week of
summer. If the administration
knew Crim was coming in
addition to the usual newcomers,
why didn’t they give themselves
the extra time they needed?
It seems that Grady was ready
to welcome new students who had
attended Crim, but overlooked
those who have been headed to
Grady for years.
“My happy level just went
from 10 to zero,” my brother,
Earl, said when asked about his
first day. He was not alone in his
sentiments. A number of affected
freshmen exhibited a feeling of
insignificance. They expressed
that being forgotten made them
feel unwanted. The school was so
worried about not allowing some
to be left out, that they left out
others.
As cliché as it sounds, first
impressions really do last the
longest. Memories of that first
day of being herded into the
practice gym, or of the days that
followed, shadowing sophomores,
will stick with these students for
a while.
Many share thoughts that
Grady is unorganized.
“I’m just going to be a nobody,”
Earl said. “I can’t get help if I need
to be helped.” Although it may
be unconscious, these students
have a different view of Grady’s
administration. A certain respect
and pride will be missing.
This decreased morale will
worsen an already bad situation.
As if they weren’t frustrated
enough, these freshmen have
ventured into class a week behind.
Some wouldn’t have expected it,
but the first week held homework
and quizzes in numerous classes.
Many of those students have
returned to the anxious state of
that Monday morning, only now
they wonder if they can succeed.
The time and stress involved
in Grady’s transformation can’t
compare to that of the students
it overlooked. Like many others,
they have awaited schedule
changes. There is but one
difference—these students don’t
believe they will ever receive
them. ❐
Sheehan forgets price of peace
"Mr. President, my name
is Cindy Sheehan. On April
4, 2004, my son, Casey was
killed in Iraq. He was only 24,
and he died in his best friend's
arms. Casey was so good…and
so honest. Why can't you be
honest with us? You were wrong
SARAH MARRINER about the weapons of mass
destruction. You were wrong
about the link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. You lied
to us, and because of your lies, my son died. You said
he died for a noble cause. What cause? Mr. President,
I want to tell you face to face how much this hurts.
I love my country. But how many more of our loved
ones need to die in this senseless war? How many more
soldiers have to die before we say enough? I know you
can't bring Casey back. But it's time to admit mistakes
and bring our troops home now."
The above is a script for a television ad sponsored
by Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization
dedicated to bringing America's troops home from
Iraq. This advertisement, in protest against President
Bush, is one of many things in which Cindy Sheehan,
cofounder of GSFP, has become involved to get
her message of peace across to the nation. Most of
America is familiar with Sheehan due to the recent
press coverage of her anti-war demonstration near
Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Her efforts have sent
her message across the nation. But just as the ad poses
all these questions for Bush, I have a couple questions
for Sheehan and Gold Star Families for Peace: "Which
is it? Do you want peace or do you want our troops to
come home now?"
Taking troops out of Iraq right now would only
cause chaos and do nothing to create peace between
the United States and Iraq. War cannot be resolved
by just abandoning what has already been done; peace
doesn’t come easy. Sheehan and GSFP know that it's
impossible to have peace and bring our troops home
on the next flight.
I do, however, sympathize with Sheehan. I can't
imagine how hard it would be to bury your own child,
to have your son killed for a cause whose validity you
question. I believe Bush has an obligation to answer
her questions.
Like Sheehan, I am against this war. I agree we
should not have troops in Iraq. I too want this conflict
to end quickly so our soldiers can come home. I also
realize, however, that the only way to establish a
lasting peace is to keep the soldiers in Iraq for now.
Though Sheehan and President Bush differ in
opinion on many aspects of the war, they agree on
more than they disagree. Neither wants any more
soldiers to die. Both are striving for peace and want
a quick resolution to this conflict. Both want to see
our troops come safely home. The only question that
remains is how to achieve a lasting peace as quickly as
possible. Sheehan believes that by removing the troops
now, the war will end. It's not that simple. If she wants
our soldiers home now, it will be at the price of peace.
If she wants her organization to be taken seriously
she needs to decide which is more important to her,
American troops coming home or peace in Iraq. ❐
c o m m e n t
4
THE SOUTHERNER
Sept. 15, 2005
Amish not as innocent,
gentle as thought to be
A n n a
Slabaugh
was born
into
the
Swartze n b u r g
A m i s h
district. She
recounts
CHLOE BLALOCK
b e i n g
beaten with
pieces of wood for misbehaving,
and when she turned 11, her 19year-old brother started molesting
her. Next her 17-year-old brother
started raping her. “He would put
a lot of pressure on my top so I
couldn’t breathe.” Anna finally
used an English family’s phone to
call a battered women’s shelter, and
a social worker came to visit her
home, yet she was left defenseless.
According to Anna’s statement
to Nadya Labi of Legal Affairs
magazine, the social workers “say
you’ll have to be hurt by them
before we’ll do anything about
it.” Her parents started locking
her in her room after she tried
to run away. She was taken to a
doctor who found Anna’s eardrum
collapsed from blows to the head.
When a massage therapist noticed
scars on Anna’s legs, Child Youth
Services was notified, but they
didn’t take her into protective
custody. When Anna’s mother
found out about the CYS visit, she
took Anna to an Amish dentist
and had all her teeth pulled out.
Anna recalls her mother replying:
“I guess you won’t be talking
anymore.” Days before her court
appearance was scheduled, Anna’s
parents threatened her into
revoking her accusations. Her
parents were never charged.
The Amish have typically
upheld their reputation as the
ideal, god-fearing, hardworking,
morally strict and saintly people
that originally gained them
freedom from the law. Because
they have been awarded a closed
community, they are mostly
ignored by law enforcement and
the government. The Amish do not
serve jury duty, their kids do not
attend school after eighth grade,
child labor laws do not apply,
and traffic laws become pointless,
since they drive in horse-drawn
buggies. But this immunity leaves
the bigger issues uncontrolled. In
the last five years, horrible cases or
rape, incest, beatings, and extreme
secrecy have brought to light a
much darker side of the “gentle
people,” but the government has
yet to step in.
The Amish society is driven
by a “forgive and forget” policy,
inspired by Jesus on the cross.
The idea is to confess your sins,
be shunned and forgiven. In
the most severe cases, people
are excommunicated, cut off
completely from anyone in the
Amish community. The twisted
part is, when John Byler raped
his sister for 13 years and then
confessed these sins, he was
banned from church activity
for several weeks and made to
publicly ask for forgiveness, “the
most severe punishment under
Amish tradition.”
Once a sinner has confessed and
his repentance deemed genuine,
every member of the Amish
community must forgive him.
Any person who refers to a past
misdeed after the Amish penalty
for it has ended can be equally
punished.
“My windows were always
locked…then they started taking
off my door,” Mary Byler told
Labi of her brothers John and Eli.
When abuse continued, Mary
went to her mother, to which
she replied, “You don’t fight hard
enough and you don’t pray hard
enough.”
Mary was later excommunicated
for threatening to press charges
if her younger sister wasn’t
protected.
The Amish also believe
uncompromisingly in women’s
submission to males and the
sanctity of marriage. Women
cannot drive buggies, they do
not hold jobs with enough pay
to support themselves, and if they
leave the community, they do not
take their children with them, and
they do not come back.
I typically believe in the
freedoms
America’s
First
Amendment promises. Allowing
the government to control what
people say, read, or in this case
believe, is way too 1984 for me.
But when the abusive underside
of a supposedly “gentle” society
is exposed, where do you draw
the line between protecting people
and stifling them? Where does
religious freedom end? ❐
Bush relaxing on vacation just
when America needs him most
When student council
officers neglect class work,
beat up foreign exchange
students, and manage to lose
all the funds in the treasury,
they get the axe. When World
leaders, do the same, however,
they go on vacation.
With our president on
STONE IRVIN
vacation at his ranch in
Crawford, Texas, I would
assume that we are not fueling our deficit, no war is
being waged, and the Iraqi reconstruction is coming
along nicely. Whether Bush sees progress or not, his
vacations keep coming.
According to CBS broadcast journalist Mark
Knoller, since his first year on the job, the president
has taken 49 vacations to his Crawford ranch and
has accumulated 319 full or partial vacation days,
roughly 20 percent of his presidency. He has broken
the record for presidential vacations.
Some believe President Bush is receiving too
much criticism for his trips to Crawford. The
pressure of running a country is obviously high,
and everyone deserves a break. Strangely enough,
however, there was a little-known president by the
name of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who managed to
pull this country out of the Great Depression, lead
us victoriously through the largest war in history,
and gain a popularity great enough to win him
four presidential elections. With the added pains of
polio, it is strange that he took fewer vacations in 12
years than Bush took in less than two.
But Bush does not bring to mind images of FDR;
he is more like Herbert Hoover.
The economy has lost more jobs than it started
with in Bush’s first term, the only president since
Hoover to hold that dubious honor. Bush has
an edge over Hoover, though, with the most
bankruptcies in U.S. history. Strangely, Hoover has
been demonized by U.S. history as the poster child
for political ineptitude, while Bush has gained a
popularity that would make many former presidents
envious.
Even with criticism from protestors, Bush enjoys
a solid base of support. Even with the country so
closely divided, it is clear after his re-election that
Bush is in control of the majority. His ever-changing
reasons that the war in Iraq is justified have kept the
masses pacified for too long.
There were no WMDs, no link to Sept. 11, no
uranium from Africa. The hopes for democracy
are becoming dimmer while Bush chooses to relax
in Texas. With the parts of the Iraqi constitution
ensuring women’s rights all but sunk, Bush has come
up with a new reason to shed more blood while he
vacations: America owes it to the dead veterans to
keep on fighting.
With every other rationale leading to a dead end,
Bush has finally justified death with more death. If
we follow such a flawed and unforgiving outlook,
then the United States may as well say we owe it to
the dead soldiers of the Civil War to keep on killing
our neighbors to the north.
Whether it’s right or wrong to use the dead to sow
the seeds of death is up to you. Perhaps I was even
unfair in my comparison of Bush to Hoover… after
all, Hoover wasn’t re-elected. ❐
Ban on pranks will fail to stop strong-willed seniors
My first day of
senior year started
out
ordinarily
enough.
After
sitting
in
the
stadium, under the
hot sun, for a good
half an hour, each
class was broken
ALASTAIR
up for “grade-level
CARTER-BOFF
meetings.” As I filed
into the cafeteria with my fellow seniors, an
air of nervous excitement around us, I could
tell this was going to be a good year, or so I
thought. Sure, nothing seemed out of place
at first. There were the obligatory lectures
on proper attendance, the importance of
community service, why the SAT matters,
and finally, a particularly amusing section
on proper attire.
Just as we were getting ready to go to
homeroom, Mr. Arnold hit us with it. He
told us, the senior class of 2006, that, due
to last year’s senior antics, no senior prank
would be allowed. While everyone knows
that senior pranks are never “allowed,” they
are expected. I will admit that last year’s
seniors may have gotten a little carried
away (OK, so maybe they got more than
a little carried away). The administration
should have known, however, that by
explicitly prohibiting this year’s seniors from
conducting a senior prank, it only made the
idea of a prank all the more enticing.
Senior pranks are a rite of passage for each
graduating class. It’s a way of leaving a mark
(even if only temporarily) on the school, a
way to leave ourselves at the school, even
when not physically present. I consider
senior pranks to be a somewhat sick,
misguided form of affection and admiration
for one’s soon-to-be alma mater. It’s a way
for seniors to pay Grady back for all those
wonderful spring days when Piedmont Park
seemed like heaven, but instead of frolicking
barefoot through the grass, we were stuck
indoors, under cheap fluorescent lighting,
watching cheesy ‘80s-era instructional
videos about safety in the chemistry lab
or learning how the U.S. Supreme Court
operates. Yes, that’s what a senior prank is:
affection and admiration disguised as petty
vandalism.
Grady has tried to ban things before; most
vivid in my mind was freshman year, when
Mr. Foreman tried to outlaw dragging, to
little effect. While dragging the freshman
may not be as conventional an initiation
as being shoved into a locker, and while
being dragged may bruise more than an ego,
it’s tradition, and, from what I remember,
as soon as it was decreed a punishable
offense, it only gained more popularity.
Mr. Foreman’s ban on senior pranks uses
the same general formula that the ban on
dragging did, and, thusly, it will have the
same end result; although the ban may scare
us away for awhile, once we get a really,
really good idea (or at least what seems like a
good idea at the time), we’ll just come back
with more intensity, and, if we time things
just right, every senior will graduate. ❐
THE SOUTHERNER
c o m m e n t
Sept. 15, 2005
5
False American perceptions revealed on trip abroad
Thinking back on
the past three months
of my life, I realize
that I was given the
most amazing and
enjoyable summer
I could have ever
asked for.
ELIZABETH SCHENCK
Not only was I
fortunate
enough
to take part in the
typical American family vacations that
are taken throughout the course of the
summer—trips to the beach, weekend
stays in the mountains, days spent and
dollars wasted at various amusement
parks—but I was also handed a passport,
spending money, and numerous disposable
cameras and ventured out of the country
twice, spending the last three weeks of
my summer vacation in England with my
church choir.
The trip was to the colder, more western
part of Europe, full of unending fun, oncein-a-lifetime experience, and unforgettable
memories and moments. It was also an
incredible, enriching cultural experience
that served to shock me and the rest of my
American comrades, impressing upon me
new ideals and viewpoints. I will forever
look differently at our country and its
interaction with the rest of the world.
Lying on my not-quite-twin-sized bed in
a small, dorm-sized room shared with three
other people at the Baden Powell House in
London, trying to get some sleep at 9:30
at night (it had been a long day), I heard
what sounded like a gaggle of young teens
talking amongst themselves in the hall.
Freezing, dressed in my summer pajamas
with my wet hair draped on my shoulders,
I got my friend, Juliana Strack, to go out
into the hall with me and see what all was
going on. We, along with five or so other
girls from my choir, ended up spending
almost two hours talking to a bunch of
English boys from the Isles of Man, who
were finishing up their school trip in
London.
Conversation carried on as usual as it
does between teens. Then one of the boys
asked in all seriousness why we all weren’t
extremely obese, if we all had guns in our
homes, why we all adore Bush so much,
and if the schools in America were really as
dangerous as his teachers purported them
to be. We were all quiet, not sure of how
to respond to this. I was both insulted and
surprised by how people around the world
perceive Americans and American culture.
I might not have given this a second
thought if similar comments had not
come from other, older, wiser, and more
educated people whom I met on this trip.
Our tour guide, who remained with us
throughout our entire stay in England,
informed my friends and I that it was
generally felt among local Englanders that
Americans are a highly uneducated group
of people that go this way and that, making
wrong decisions and messing everything
up, wholly uniformed about everything.
He added that while nearly 90 percent of
Europeans travel abroad, only 20 percent
of Americans own a passport. He did
compliment our group, however, telling
us that we were not how he imagined
American teenagers to be—we were able
to “communicate” our thoughts and ideas
effectively and we presented ourselves in
a mature and adult manner in public. A
member of the head staff at the Marriott
Hotel in Bristol, England, where we stayed
for a week, had similar feelings.
It is no wonder as to why we all tried to
be on our best behavior from that point
on—we wanted them to begin to view us
and our culture in a more positive way. We
wanted to leave England feeling that we
did the best we possibly could to set forth
positive ideals about America, especially
American teens. Fortunately, we felt we
had accomplished this before the end of
our stay. But although we might have
changed the minds of some, England is
an international hub full of millions and
millions of other people.
Although I realize that some are not
willing to change their views, I feel that
it is our duty as Americans to try to
present ourselves and our country in a
more positive way. At least we know deep
down that we are doing everything we can
to better our position in the international
world and to be held with more respect
by other countries. Even though traveling
abroad can be expensive, it wouldn’t hurt
if more of us had a passport with the
possibility of a trip across the ocean in
mind. And if this is still not possible for
some, we should better inform ourselves on
what is happening in our world, whether it
be by reading a book about the history of
Nigeria or watching the evening news on
CNN. Whatever it may be, we need to do
something. ❐
Andy Milanokis Show
an insult to intelligence
Smoking ban ridiculous, unfair
Eighteen to vote, 18 to
go a strip club, 18 to order
OxyClean off infomercials,
and now 18 just to get a
basket of my favorite chicken
fingers?
The
recently
passed Georgia smoking
ordinance
prohibits
me
LEAH BISHOP
from patronizing my favorite
neighborhood establishment,
Manuel’s Tavern. For years I’ve accompanied my
parents to Manuel’s, or what they jokingly refer
to as “National Headquarters,” for soccer-league
meetings, Sally Foster fundraisers and even political
rallies. A central spot for watching the World
Series and World Cup, eating good American bar
food with friends, and blowing quarters on pinball
and Golden Tee Golf, Manuel’s has been the site of
many of my childhood memories.
This all changed for me, however, when Gov.
Sonny Perdue signed the law which permits
restaurants and bars to allow smoking only under
the condition that they don’t serve or employ
people under the age of 18 unless they have a
smoke-removing ventilation system. This law is
meant to prevent second-hand smoke and under-
age smoking by not giving minors the opportunity
to be in a smoked-filled facility. The ban, however,
concurrently excludes paying customers who are
just as deserving of a hamburger as someone about
to light up.
While I am a non-smoker and I believe that
second-hand smoke is detrimental to a person’s
health, I also believe that the government
should not micromanage people’s personal
habits nor exclude hungry patrons from certain
establishments. I am given enough orders by my
parents and teachers as it is, so the last thing I need
is for Georgia lawmakers to regulate where I can
and cannot eat. The ban not only harms minors
like myself, but also smokers who now must
research beforehand the restaurants in which they
are allowed to both grab a bite to eat and smoke at
the same time.
Instead of this law that affects everyone across
Georgia, there was an alternate quick-fix solution
that would have been much simpler and less selfish:
people opposed to second-hand smoke should
avoid frequenting restaurants that are notorious
for it. As for now, until my 18th birthday, my hot
wings will have to be to-go and my pinball skills
will have to be practiced elsewhere. ❐
“I
rock
peas on my
head, but
don’t call me
a peahead.
Bees on my
head, but
don’t call me
SEAN HARRINGTON a beehead.”
This
is
but
one
part of the offbeat beginning to
the MTV’s new show, The Andy
Milonakis Show—a seemingly
innocent program about a boy
in his early teens who somehow
doesn’t go to school and instead
acts like a complete imbecile,
especially when the elderly are
around. At first glance this is just
a cleaner, more off-the-wall show
following in the steps of Jackass and
Wild Boyz, featuring people doing
comically stupid things to draw an
audience. After a few minutes of
mindless entertainment, I began
to wonder why this little boy
was allowed to act like a fool on
national television.
It turns out, he’s not a little boy
at all. Andy Milonakis, although
looking and playing the part well,
is not an ADHD-afflicted teen.
He was born on Jan. 30, 1976 in
Queens, New York. So America
can’t even watch a show about a
crazy 14-year-old; we get to watch
one with a grown man playing the
part of a 14-year-old. I don’t know
who to feel worse for, the duped
masses or the man playing a child.
At least he gets paid.
This isn’t, however, Milonakis’
first time being in front of a
national audience. Jimmy Kimmel,
the creator of the show, recruited
Milonakis to appear on his show,
Jimmy Kimmel Live, for the 20032004 season. Since that show was
aimed towards adults, Milonakis
was virtually unknown by his
audience when his show debuted
on MTV, which temporarily held
off the information about his age.
As for the plot of the show,
there isn’t one. At all. Milonakis
just roams around outside his
apartment, asking old people
ridiculous questions and messing
with their heads. Maybe he’ll dress
up as a robot and waddle down
the street blurting out random
comments to the passers-by. Or
perhaps he’ll be in his house,
playing games with his much-older
friend Ralphie, who appears to be
quite lacking in the intelligence
department. Then again, it could
be any random thing, such as
“Jesus Cat,” a very short scene in
which Milonakis’s cat is dressed
up as Jesus and sits at a long table.
Occasionally celebrities, such as
Lil’ Jon, Fat Joe or the Ying-Yang
Twins, will drop randomly into
a sketch. It’s always interesting to
see how such revered people will
act, but these sketches are too few
and to have a major impact on the
overall effect of the show.
So why is this show so popular?
What is it about this chubby little
“teenager” that makes him so
endearing to the American public?
Is it his torment of the elderly?
His ability to instantaneously act
the part of a hyperactive teen?
Is it the complete absurdity and
randomness of the “plot”? Or is it
that the show is on MTV, and so
many of our teenage brethren will
accept whatever comes on that
channel as a sacred part of their
devotion to pop culture?
Whatever the reason, some
people do like this show, otherwise
it wouldn’t continue to be on
MTV’s heralded Sunday Stew.
I can’t say I like what that says
about what tickles America’s fancy
nowadays. In the time of reality
shows and pop culture, the Andy
Milonakis Show scrapes the bottom
of the barrel as far as quality goes. I
just hope that it will continue to be
the exception and not the rule. ❐
n e w s
6
Sept. 7, 2005
THE SOUTHERNER
BY CHELSEA SPENCER
The 2005 Georgia Smokefree Air
Act, which took effect July 1, has
had little impact on the continued
success of the restaurant and bar
business. Opponents to the new
law, however, are concerned about
the future of individual liberties
and private property rights.
The new law prohibits smoking
inside most public buildings,
including places of employment,
but includes a number of
exceptions. It permits restaurants
and bars to allow smoking if they
do not allow persons under the
age of 18 to enter the premises.
Public and occupation buildings
may also provide smokers with a
separate, enclosed room with an
independent ventilation system.
A person found smoking in any
area designated as “smoke-free” can
be charged with a misdemeanor
and fined between $100 and
$500.
Sponsors of the law, led by Sen.
Don Thomas, R-Dalton, designed
the new act to reduce exposure
to second-hand smoke, especially
among children. A recent spike
in concern over the dangers of
smoking has led legislators to
take action in an attempt to
create a safer and cleaner life for
Georgians.
“I think that it will help prevent
children’s exposure to secondhand
smoke,” said sophomore Caitlin
Lemmond, although she has mixed
feelings about the new law.
Many, including restaurant and
bar owners and everyday citizens,
however, strongly oppose the law.
The Act’s detractors believe that
it unfairly restricts individual and
private-property liberties.
“The government is becoming
more and more involved in running
private business,” said Patty Canbe,
manager of The Vortex Bar and
Grill in Midtown. “They have no
business in telling you how to run
your own business.”
In accordance to the Air Act,
the Vortex has recently restricted
their clientele to those aged 21
and older. Although the law only
requires the minimum age to be
18, the restaurant aims to prevent
underage drinking as well.
“It hasn’t affected us at all. We
still have designated smoking and
nonsmoking areas,” said Canbe.
“Smokers are actually happy that
they have somewhere to come.”
Canbe felt that The Vortex has
received very few negative reactions
to the change.
“People with families that come
to the door [without knowing
about the new restriction] are
disappointed,” she said, “but
people that are still able to come
CHELSEA SPENCER
New act excludes minors from select restaurants
DO NOT ENTER: Signs like the one above at the Vortex in Little Five Points alert restaurant patrons to an age limit where smoking is
allowed. Following the Smokefree Air Act, other popular local hangouts have also been closed off to those who aren’t of age.
are glad to not have kids running
around.”
Although The Vortex and other
restaurants, such as Manuel’s
Tavern,
never
considered
restricting
smoking,
some
restaurants—such as The Majestic,
Moe’s and Joe’s Bar and Grill, and
Waffle House—have decided to
stop allowing patrons to smoke
inside their restaurants.
Others have compromised.
Many restaurants serve minors
during daylight hours and do not
allow smoking, while at night
they refuse to admit minors and
allow smoking. Legislators claim
that this is not how the law was
intended to work, but such a
practice is not stipulated in the
law.
“I think that it’s a smart idea,”
sophomore Caitlin Lemmond said,
“but if they want to stop [secondhand smoking], they should
have forced all restaurants to be
nonsmoking.” ❐
Grady enrolls in Georgia’s
new Virtual High School
CHELSEA SPENCER
JUST TO GET BY: Orion Wiliano and David Swank wait to approach a passer-by for any change they are willing
to spare. Despite his financial adversity, Wiliano plans to meet an evacuee of New Orleans in Florida.
New law limits panhandling
BY JESSICA BAER
Former Atlanta city councilman Derrick
Boazman called it a sad day for Atlanta as he
and six fellow protestors were escorted from
the city council meeting about the proposed
anti-panhandling law. In the face of fierce
protest efforts by many homeless advocacy
groups, the bill passed and became law with
Mayor Shirley Franklin’s signature.
Of the 200 people crammed into the
council chambers Aug. 16, around 80
spoke, dragging the meeting on for hours.
The controversial vote finally came down to
a 12-to-3 vote after being delayed at three
previous council meetings.
The law makes it a crime to ask for food or
money around the new Georgia Aquarium,
the new World of Coca-Cola, or Centennial
Olympic Park. The area around the King
Center was added during that meeting.
Also included in the bill are restrictions on
panhandling anywhere in Atlanta at night or
near public phones or ATMs.
First offenders of the new panhandling
ordinance will be given a warning and will
be referred to a city resource center upon the
second. The law allows for a punishment
of up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine
for the third offense. The anti-panhandling
ordinance requires officers to refer those
who appear to have substance abuse or
mental health issues to a facility where they
can receive help.
The anti-panhandling law was proposed
to the council by downtown businesses
that feel panhandling is a major problem.
Reaction by citizens calls the ordinance a
superficial solution to the 7,000-to-12,000
homeless people in the city of Atlanta on
any given day. Senior Brandon Sheats feels it
will only push the homeless into residential
areas.
Despite protests and the angry response of
the homeless, Mayor Shirley Franklin feels
the bill can only benefit a downtown which
has long been avoided for its reputation of
crime and aggressive panhandlers.
Sheats, a former downtown resident,
is constantly confronted by panhandlers.
“Every single time I was downtown for
more than an hour this summer some guy
would come out asking for food or money,”
he said. He fears the vagueness of the bill
will cause less aggressive panhandlers to be
unfairly punished. “They don’t give a good
definition of panhandling.” ❐
BY ROBERT SANDERS
With the advent of the Internet and the
success of University of Phoenix Online, many
traditional brick-and-mortar colleges have
added online courses to the their educational
repertoire.
“Online learning is huge, a lot of teachers
here get their degrees online, a lot of teachers
in the state of Georgia get their whole degree
and never see a teacher,” said Erin Davis, math
teacher and online course facilitator.
This trend of online education has trickled
down from higher education to public school
and is now here at Grady. Gov. Sonny Purdue
signed legislation that created the Georgia
Virtual High School that allows students
from anywhere in the state access to more
than 60 different online courses, including
12 Advanced Placement courses. Students
can take classes that are
required to graduate
such as 10th-grade
literature and economics
or study areas of interest
such as Introduction to
HTML. Not only is the
Virtual High School
praised for providing
students with classes
that would otherwise be unavailable in certain
parts of the state but also for its flexibility and
convenience.
“I really like the flexibility of the class and
being able to work at my own pace,” said
senior Courtenay Riggins, a Virtual High
School health student.
Since students are not restricted by class
availability, many seniors are able to take
classes that they have missed or failed that
would prevent them from graduating on
time.
“I’ve always said school shouldn’t be a place
to fail students,” Principal Vincent Murray
“
said. “Sometimes students don’t get it one
way so you have to present it to them another
way, and to me this is another way that the
material can be presented to students so they
can master it and be successful.”
Still some raise a doubtful eyebrow to this
new technological advancement in learning.
Many assume that cheating, especially
work duplication and plagiarism, is more
undetectable and should be a cause of concern.
But Dr. Murray has faith in the new program.
“I don’t think that the governor would enroll
[schools in] something that almost would be a
way for students to go to school without going
to school.”
Ms. Davis, the local Virtual High School
will observe student progress, answer questions
and monitor for any cheating. Davis, who
volunteered for the position, would like to
one day delve deeper into
online learning. “I would
love to learn the other
side of it, too, and be an
online teacher so I can
understand more of the
process,” Davis said.
Each
participating
school in the Georgia
Virtual High School is
given a certain amount of slots based on
enrollment. Five of Grady’s six slots are filled
with students taking five different virtual
courses. They meet every day in a designated
computer lab and log on to their class’s page
to receive a posted assignment. Students are
required to log on a minimum of six-to-10
hours a week to receive work. Some, like
senior Jessica Brandon, hope to get more out
of the course then just a good grade: “I feel like
the class will be a good experience for college
because it’s more independent, and you have
to be really diligent to get all the work done
on time.” ❐
I’ve always said school
shouldn’t be a place to fail
students.
Dr. Vincent Murray
THE SOUTHERNER
n e w s
Sept. 15, 2005
7
Israel gives up Gaza Strip in attempt to secure peace
MAGELLAN GRAPHICS
Although many of the settlers left voluntarily
after receiving eviction notices from Israeli
soldiers on Aug. 17, hundreds in Gaza refused
to leave their homes. They were joined by
protesters from other parts of Israel, who snuck
past the Israeli checkpoints into the settlements
over the weeks preceding the disengagement.
There was much less violence than
expected,
but
emotional scenes
were still common
between soldiers
and protesters.
“I was really afraid
of blood,” Wagner
said. “Thank God it
didn’t happen.”
Although
the
soldiers
received POINTS OF CONTENTION:
training to help After Israel gave up Gaza and
them deal with the parts of the West Bank, some
barrage of insults and Palestininans feel that they
entreaties expected should be given the holy city
from the protesters, of Jerusalem next.
many had trouble
coping with the pressures of evicting their own
countrymen. Rather than lashing out under the
attacks of the protesters, many soldiers joined
the settlers in prayers, tears and dancing before
handing over eviction notices. Later, soldiers
and policemen had to carry some of these same
protesters out of their former homes.
One of the few violent standoffs between
protesters and soldiers occurred in Kfar
Darom, the oldest settlement in Gaza, as
REBECCA GITTELSON
from page 1
The disengagement is the most recent
attempt for peace between the Israelis and
Palestinians since the second intifidah, or
uprising, broke out in 2000. Although
controversy erupted in Israel over support
of the disengagement after Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon introduced the plan last year, a
majority of Israelis supported the pullout from
the settlements.
Supporters of the pullout argue that the
Israeli government has needlessly spent
millions to protect the few thousand settlers
who moved to Gaza and West Bank after
the six-day 1967 War, in which Israel
claimed the territories after defeating enemy
Arab countries. The supporters also cite the
disproportionately large number of soldiers
who have died defending Gaza and West Bank
from Palestinians.
But some settlers, many of whom are
religious Jews, believe that the territories are
part of the Land of Israel that God gave to
the Jews in the Bible, and should remain part
of modern-day Israel. Although the Israeli
government is paying the settlers for the value
of their houses, some settlers feel that they have
a right to the land that has become their home
since they were encouraged to move to the
territories after the 1967 War.
“It is terrible to be driven out of your home
by the same government who urged you to
settle there 30-odd years ago,” said professor
Zipora Wagner, an Israeli-American who
teaches Hebrew at Georgia State University.
about 160 protesters barricaded a synagogue
in the settlement on Aug. 18, The New York
Times repoted. The young protesters, most
from outside of Gaza, stood on the roof of the
building pointing water cannons and caustic
liquids at the unarmed soldiers and police on
the ground. In the four hours it took to remove
most of the protesters from the synagogue, 44
policemen and soldiers were slightly injured.
Although the Israeli government did face
some hurdles in pulling out of the settlements,
the disengagement, which officially ended
Aug. 23, took much less time than expected.
Israeli officials originally predicted it would
take at least a month.
Until the Palestinians receive full military
power in late October, the Israelis will
remain in control of the airspace, borders,
and travel restrictions in Gaza and the West
Bank. Palestinians, however, will be awarded
more freedom of movement and civil control
immediately.
As the end of the disengagement neared,
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
spoke over the phone about their mutual hope
that the pullout would bring the Palestinians
and Israelis closer to peace.
It is unclear what will happen next in
the peace process. U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice recently began pressuring
Israel to withdraw from more of the West
Bank. The West Bank settlements, however,
which are considered illegal by the United
Nations, continue to expand. According to
Dov Wilker, a representative of the Israeli
Consulate in the Southeast United States,
Israel has no plans to withdraw further from
the West Bank.
Everyone, however, agrees that peace
between the Israelis and Palestinians is the
ultimate goal.
“We all know what the end status should
look like,” Schwartz said. “[But] we just can’t
seem to get there.” ❐
BY GEORGE DEMEGLIO
connecting the teacher’s computer
The much-anticipated projectors to the screen. The projector can
finally arrived at Grady for the show the class anything that
beginning of the new school year. the teacher brings up on their
With the addition of the new computer, from streaming videos to
technology, teachers no longer Power Point presentations. Grady
have to borrow televisions to watch students have different opinions on
educational videos and editions of the Grady projectors. Some people
the Grady News Network.
think that the projectors are helpful
Many believe the projectors will while others think they won’t make
help with the education of students much of a difference. Senior
by showing things difficult to Brandon Sheats thinks that these
explain. Science teacher, Matt new projectors really enhance the
Mihordea, capitalizes on this by learning environment.
using the projectors to “display
“[The projectors] are being used
objects that students find difficult in the math department,” Sheats
to visualize like atomic orbitals and said, “but not by many other
pi bonds.” He also says that while teachers.”
the projectors are very simple to
He thinks that the projectors
use, they do generate “clutter in will be well worth the wait if the
some places.”
teachers use them. He has been
Many teachers have already pleased with them thus far and
begun to use the new projectors. hopes more teachers use them
The math department has used in their classes. Some students,
the projectors to help with student however, believe the projectors will
learning. Math teacher Andrew not help with student learning.
Nichols plans to use the projectors
“I think the projectors are fun,
to show definitions or theorems but that is all that they really are,”
that the class will be using yearlong. junior Rafael Velez said. Velez
The language arts department has thinks that they will be a hot item
found the projectors useful as well. to use every once and a while, but
Spanish teacher Richard Buerkle won’t change how teachers conduct
plans on using the projectors class.
to show assignments and have
Grady's administration sees
students insert
the projectors
The whole class can be as a key to
the
correct
answers
on
continuing
participating at once.
the computer,
success during
so they will
the
school
appear right
Mr. Richard Buerkle day. Assistant
on the screen.
principal
He also plans to broadcast the news Naomi Grishman believes the
and show movies.
new technology has already been
“There are hundreds of online beneficial to both Grady's staff and
activities in Spanish that I can the students.
throw on the wall at any time,” Mr.
“[The teachers] are using [the
Buerkle said. “The whole class can projectors] in a very professional
be participating at once.”
manner to enhance the classroom,”
The projectors work by Grishman said. ❐
“
SALLY ZINTAK
Grady projectors installed
MARTA GETS “SMARTA”: New safety measures will affect all MARTA passengers, including those on this Arts Center Station bus.
MARTA boosts safety measures
BY SAM JOHNSON
Following the July terrorist
bombings
in
London,
the
Metropolitan
Atlanta
Rapid
Transit
Authority
has implemented new-andimproved security measures.
The Department of Homeland
Security gave MARTA $6 million
in government grants to pay for
some of the items and manpower
needed for the system to function
as safely as possible. The Georgia
Emergency Management Agency
pledged another $2 million
to the cash-strapped public
transportation authority. These
additional funds will be added
to MARTA’s current $24 million
security budget.
All these new measures,
however, haven’t dampened the
fears of MARTA passengers.
“I think that the whole thing
is a scary situation,” said local
MARTA rider Cornell Patrick.
“Usually we see this kind of stuff
on TV, but when you see it in
person, then it hits you hard.”
The new security measures
took effect after four bombings
on passenger trains, buses, and
stations in London on July 7.
The attacks left 37 dead and
more than 700 injured. The
Department
of
Homeland
Security’s decision to raise
the terrorist alert level from
code yellow to code orange
put MARTA security staff on
overtime, costing the system an
extra $10,000 a day.
Responding to the attacks,
MARTA chief executive officer
Nathaniel Ford issued a press
release saying that they have
already put in new safety
measures and their police force
would be working extra to ensure
passenger safety.
MARTA has purchased items
including bombproof trash cans
and Transportation Security
Administration trained bombsniffing dogs. These new trash
cans should disable bombs
similar to the ones set off on the
London terminals. The bombsniffing dogs are mainly used
around the airport terminal.
Other measures have also
been implemented. The free
parking that MARTA offers
to its riders will have stricter
regulations against improperly
parked cars. Cars parked in a
suspicious manner will be towed
immediately. Photography is also
prohibited.
MARTA has also enlarged
its police force to more than
300, with new cars and new
equipment. These officers, along
with 35 support staff, have been
working 12-hour days. While
MARTA Police Chief Gene
Wilson has expressed concern in
a recent release that he has been
working his men too hard, he
promised riders the force was the
best line of defense against any
suspicious activities.
Patrick says he looks forward to
the day when he doesn’t have to
worry about defense precautions
on MARTA.
“All of these safety measures
don’t make me feel safe,” he said.
“Having it all end will make me
feel safe.” ❐ 
n e w s
8
Sept. 15, 2005
Johns Hopkins selects Grady to test literacy program
CHELSEA SPENCER
BY EMMA DIN
A group of caterpillars crawl around the rim
of a barrel following a strand of silk. When
the strand breaks, they continue circling for
three days and starve until one finally leaves
the path and they all follow. What does this
suggest to you about caterpillars?
Though this question may seem pointless,
it was important to Grady’s freshmen who
took a diagnostic test on the second day of
school. Johns Hopkins University selected
four APS high schools to participate in a
national research study. As a result, the ninthgrade class found themselves in testing early.
“This program came about because
there’s an awful lot of research now
concerning the quality of academic ability,”
English teacher Marva Greene said. “The
average high school person and below [are]
not doing well.”
The study is an adolescent literacy project
targeted at high school students, to improve
reading skills and develop vocabulary. The
study aims to implement a program offering
two periods of English. The course has
already been designed. As a research project,
each participating school must use identical
teaching methods and materials.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Derek Han,
a freshman English teacher new to Grady
who is heavily involved in the program. “It
seems to be focused and targeted on active
reading skills.”
The four main faculty members involved
in the program are Han, Greene, Betty
Foster, and Marian Kelly. Mr. Han and Mrs.
Greene each teach two English classes, sixth
and seventh periods, and third and fourth
periods, respectively. Ms. Foster assists
both teachers, while Ms. Kelly observes the
progress.
CHANGE OVER TIME: Freshman Yesica Cuevas, a participant in the Johns Hopkins literacy program, makes a timeline of Malcolm X’s life . Cuevas enjoys taking her two required English classes and hopes to become a teacher.
“I’m just so excited that we’re getting
to participate in this,” Ms. Kelly said. “I
love reading, and it’s really sad that [many]
students don’t share that love.”
Mr. Han and Ms. Greene represented
Grady at two all-day training workshops,
and will also attend follow-up sessions later
this year.
There are three levels of participation
for schools in the project. John Hopkins
University selects a school’s level at random
to ensure valid results. All schools involved
receive the first level, teacher training. The
second level adds obtaining free reading
materials, while the third level sends the
school a coach for the project.
Grady was selected for level two. As a
result, the study has covered the cost of the
diagnostic test administered to Grady’s ninth
graders, as well as the cost of all reading
materials for the program, which arrived at
Grady the second week of school.
“We will have hard data to show what kind
of gains our students made,” Ms. Kelly said.
The course is assigned for two semesters.
The first semester, called Strategic Reading,
will focus on reading comprehension,
literature
analysis
and
literature
interpretation.
“Strategic Reading is highly structured
and aims to give students an opportunity to
accelerate their reading in an age-appropriate,
motivational, and innovative classroom,” Mr.
Han said.
The second semester will focus on
composition, grammar and ninth-grade
literature skills, to prepare students for success
on the End-of-Course Test. Ms. Greene and
Mr. Han will cover Georgia’s standards
necessary for succeeding on the test.
“I just think it’s going to be genuinely
beneficial,” Ms. Kelly said. “I don’t want
Confusion over NCLB leads
to frustration, fear in schools
BY ROBINSON LEVIN
Despite the apprehension felt by the Grady
community, the consequences of Grady’s performance
last year on the No Child Left Behind Act were
anything but dire. Grady met all its NCLB targets for
2004-05 and is no longer in danger of landing on the
“Needs Improvement” list.
Many were worried about Grady’s recent failure in
maintaining adequate yearly progress, a status often
abbreviated as AYP.
“Grady as a whole was not deficient,” social studies
teacher Louis Sartor said. “It was just a small subgroup
of students who failed on specific questions.”
Although the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 was designed to create accountability for the
performance of America’s schools, many are left
wondering exactly what the act demands of schools,
teachers and students. This confusion, combined with
the act’s perceived power, has caused people to fear it,
resulting in harsh criticism of the act by those who do
not fully understand how to interpret the results.
Marian Kelly, NCLB coordinator and chair of
Grady’s Language Arts department, says the intent
of the act is good. “Everybody needs a quality
education,” she said.
But some in the Grady community question even
the ways in which the act judges schools.
“I have strong issues with standardized testing,” said
Jane Modica, two-year president of the Grady Parent
Teacher Student Association. “Schools need some
standard to grade students by, but I’m concerned that
teachers may choose to teach towards the test and
instead of educational material.”
No Child Left Behind requires AYP to be made
by every school to avoid placement on the “Needs
Improvement” list. “Adequate Yearly Progress”
consists of three things: participation rate in the exam,
performance on the exam, and a “second indicator,”
which for Grady is the graduation rate. The test
for Georgia is the Enhanced Georgia High School
Graduation Test.
For evaluation on the exam, Grady is divided into
what are known as subgroups, which are assessed
individually. Ninety-five percent of each subgroup
must take part. A subgroup consists of any school
demographic that represents at least 40 people or
more than 10 percent of the student body. Grady’s
subgroups are whites, blacks and the economically
disadvantaged.
Of the 95 percent of the subgroup that takes the
exam, certain percentages must pass the math and
English portions. These percentages vary from year
to year. For the 2004-05 school year, they were 62.3
percent for mathematics and 81.6 percent for English.
A certain percentage of the graduating class’s size must
also receive diplomas, which was 87.2 percent for the
class of 2005.
To be placed on the “Needs Improvement” list, the
same subgroup must fail the same portion of the AYP
assessment two years in a row.
When a school does go on the “Needs Improvement”
list, administrators take several measures to both
minimize the failure’s impact on a child’s education
and to improve the status. Parents of students will be
allowed to decide whether they want their children to
remain at the school or to be transferred to another
school that met AYP. After a second year on the list, the
school must start offering tutorials over the summer
and before and after school. If this fails to improve
the school’s performance, then a reorganization of the
school may occur, in which many teachers can be laid
off and new ones hired.
Despite the ambiguity of the new law, some at
Grady support it. Social studies teacher Mary Carter
Van Atta believes the school benefits from this yearly
assessment.
“Grady, as other schools, has real challenges in some
subgroups,” Mrs. Van Atta said. “The NCLB data is
useful to help us identify issues we need to work on
with these groups.” ❐
anyone to think it’s a remedial course. It was
designed for high school students. It’s really
a perk.”
Because students will have classes for the
program everyday, they will receive two years
worth of lessons in just one year.
“It’s truly block schedule,” Ms. Foster said.
“The students won’t miss out on anything.”
Grady teachers are not the only ones
excited about this program. The freshmen
who are involved are optimistic as well. They
do not feel isolated from other students or
feel they are receiving special treatment
from teachers. The goal is for participants to
increase two grade-reading levels.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to learn
things we don’t know yet,” said freshman
Te’Erica Richards, who will be participating
in the course. Richards added that the
program is good because it greatly expands
students’ formal English vocabulary.
Freshman Yesica Cuevas agreed, but
admitted, “I’m a little nervous.” Cuevas
is Hispanic, and English is her second
language. For her, the program presents
a dual challenge: completing the intense
academic course, as well as overcoming the
language barrier.
The students have enjoyed the various
activities so far, from the hands-on activities
to the guest speakers. They are also enthused
about having these classes every day.
“I hope that by the end of the class I’ll be
volunteering to read aloud,” Cuevas said.
The four teachers have similar thoughts
and hope that by the end of the course all the
students will be comfortable volunteering to
read aloud for the class.
“I’ll learn more in this class,” freshman
DeMarkcus Joiner said, “than I did in all my
years of middle school.” ❐
THE SOUTHERNER
Sept. 15, 2005
h a b i t a t
f o r
THE SOUTHERNER
h u m a n i t y
9
Grady welcomes new volunteer opportunity
BY SARAH BETH MCKAY
It isn’t often that Grady students, teachers,
and parents find something to agree about.
But when they do, amazing things can
happen—things like Grady’s own Habitat
for Humanity program. This fall, volunteers
will work with the Atlanta Habitat for
Humanity chapter to raise funds and build
a house for a deserving family in the Atlanta
area.
“What’s really great is that teachers,
parents and students will be working
together, side by side,” said Mr. Jeff Cramer,
the volunteer coordinator for the teachers.
“This is a community effort.”
For seven weeks starting Nov. 12, Grady
will provide 30-35 people 16 years or older to
build a house from scratch. Workers will do
95 percent of the construction—everything
from roofing to painting to plumbing.
“I hammered a whole bunch of nails and
painted a whole lot of trim,” said junior
Jessica Lambert, who worked on a Habitat
for Humanity house with her friends
when she lived in North Carolina. “The
experience was cool and working for the
community with a group of people makes it
worth so much more.”
Habitat for Humanity makes it easy for
anyone to volunteer.
“You don’t need to have any technical
skills before you come—we’re used to
working with volunteers who have never
seen a hammer,” said Valarie Smith, who
manages house sites. Smith emphasizes that
anyone who comes will have something to
do. “My goal is to have you tired by the end
of the day because your exhaustion means
that we accomplished a lot.”
Building the house, however, is only part
of the Habitat for Humanity experience.
“It’s not only a good way to get
community service hours, but it’s interesting
to meet the families,” junior Helen Peterson
said. Peterson worked on a house with her
father alongside a family from El Salvador.
“It was more fulfilling that they were there
and I saw that they were a really deserving
family.”
The Atlanta Habitat for Humanity
chapter, founded in 1983, focuses on giving
the people that go through their system the
best possible chance of succeeding once they
become independent. They are the secondlargest chapter in the United States and have
between eight and nine projects running at
the same time.
“It’s a really great organization that has
the interest of the community,” said Susan
Muntzing, one of the parent coordinators
whose husband got the idea for a chapter at
Grady from Clark Howard’s radio program.
“Habitat doesn’t just turn houses over—
there are in-depth screening processes, the
houses are initially rented for a year, and the
homeowners learn how to manage a house.”
The Habitat for Humanity process is
unique and very effective. Before they are
chosen, homeowners must prove a steady
source of income, have good credit, and
be a family of more than two. Once the
house is built, the family pays a $500 down
payment and leases the home for the first 12
months. If the house passes inspection after
the first year, the Atlanta chapter issues the
homeowners a no-interest mortgage, at no
profit to themselves. There have only been
11 foreclosures out of nearly 800 houses
built in the last two decades.
DON’T TOUCH THE MERCHANDISE (right): Larrie Del, Curry
Andrews, Jeff Cramer and Jill Redman display Habitat for
Humanity clothing apparel. More than 30 students, parents,
and teachers from the Grady community are expected to
volunteer in the program.
HOUSE RULES: Junior Curry Andrews stands alongside what
will become part of a Habitat for Humanity home. On Nov.
12, Andrews and others will begin construction from the
ground up on a house that will aid a needy Atlanta family.
BIG JOHN: Grady physics teacher Jeff Cramer looks over a toilet to demonstrate its
inner-workings. Volunteers were taught basic skills, such as the fundamentals of
plumbing, at the Habitat for Humanity warehouse.
HAMMER TIME: At the warehouse, workers construct a pre-fabricated wall that will
later be raised at the building site. Habitat for Humanity allows for volunteers that
have little or no construction experience to participate.
HELPING HEADS: Head of construction Ray Maynard and executive director Larrie
Del pause from their busy day to discuss plans for the Grady Habitat program.
PHOTOS BY SARAH BETH MCKAY
Teachers, families take
part in new Habitat for
Humanity program that
will aid needy family
“Most homeowners have never lived in a
house, and most of them are single moms,”
said Larrie Del, executive director of Habitat
for Humanity Atlanta and mother of two
Grady graduates. In order to remedy this
inexperience, Del and her coworkers offer
crash courses on how to take care of their
house without the help of other tenants,
professionals or the superintendent. The
Atlanta Habitat for Humanity’s simulation
room gives new owners hands-on experience
in working and fixing appliances and
plumbing, basic interior and exterior repair,
and even changing light bulbs and fire alarm
batteries. They also provide every family
with a toolbox.
Homeowners generally participate in this
seminar at the end of a series of required
classes on managing a home and improving
the areas where they live. Local leaders
and experts hear lectures on budgeting,
maintaining credit, getting involved in local
public schools, landscaping, and cooperating
with and helping local police.
“Since they are receiving so much,
we expect homeowners to take back the
community where they are living, because
the neighborhoods are usually pretty
rough,” Del said.
Junior Curry Andrews, who is
coordinating student participation, is
looking forward to the project.
“We don’t know the family, we don’t know
the location, but we know there is a lot
somewhere and there is a family in need,”
Andrews said. Before the Grady program
can even be assigned a homeowner, there is a
lot of prep work to be done.
“We want this project to be funded,
organized, and performed by the whole
Grady community,” Andrews said. The
Grady Habitat for Humanity committee has
already raised $35,000, but still has $30,000
to raise before late October. Plans are being
made for a community-wide fundraising
event, where committee members hope to
gain support from both inside and outside
the school. Interested students can sign up
in their homeroom or see Andrews.
“Whoever you are, we all have an
obligation to give back,” Andrews said.
“Other schools have already participated.
And now it’s Grady’s turn.” ❐
SALLY ZINTAK
SALLY ZINTAK
‘03 LIVES ON: Members of the Class of 2003 left their legacy
along the steps from the student parking lot to the gyms.
pranks. Last year, Grady’s Class of 2005
decided to leave their mark on the school by
doing a series of pranks over the course of
two days. On the evening of May 17 and the
morning of May 18, seniors put goldfish in the
school’s bathroom sinks, put soap all over the
bathroom floors, hung a dead possum from
the arch at the school’s entrance, and toiletpapered the courtyard. A second group came
later that morning and spray painted “2005”
in the newly finished student parking lot On
the evening of May 18, a third group of seniors
painted over the teacher ID card scanners so
that the teachers were unable to enter through
the front door, smashed exterior surveillance
cameras, put caulk into 15 door locks so that
keys would not fit, and spray-painted around
campus.
Grady’s administration was upset about the
scandalous acts committed against the school.
One major problem is that the severity of senior
pranks has increased in recent years. They have
gone from completely harmless
pranks
were
to punishable by law.
filmed by the
“I think that within the
school’s interior
past five-to-six years, they’ve
surveillance
[senior pranks] gotten to be
cameras.
The
misdemeanors and acts of
second and third
vandalism,” said Principal FLOWER POWER: Remnants of where seniors put groups were never
Vincent Murray. “When you flowers marking their class year in the courtyard. detected, in part
destroy something, that’s not a
because the third
prank…it’s a criminal act.”
group destroyed the surveillance cameras. The
The students who pulled the first set of pranks caused a significant amount of damage
WOODY MORGAN
topic this year. Seven Jonesboro High
students accused of vandalizing their school
on May 24 were charged with felonies and
ordered to spend a night in jail. The group
of boys allegedly spray-painted throughout
the building, stuck dead opossums behind
vending machines, and damaged a baseball
field. Ten students wearing ski masks and
dark clothes were arrested at Mount Zion
High School for clogging door locks with
caulking guns, although no major damage was
reported. They were jailed and charged with
misdemeanor vandalism. The charges were
later dismissed because police failed to show
probable cause.
Grady has had its share of costly senior
BY MICAH WEISS
The class of 2005 may well have been
one of the best that Grady has ever seen.
The best and brightest were among their
ranks, winning honor and recognition for
Grady throughout their four years. But the
class’ established reputation of excellence
was tainted by their
final legacy to Grady:
toilet-papered
trees,
caulked door locks,
spray-painted windows,
ripped-up flowers and a
dead possum. Because
of their senior prank,
a select few seniors’ last
contribution to Grady
was a huge mess and a
$371.23 fine apiece.
Last year’s graduating
‘06 TAKES THE REIGNS: This year’s seniors adorned the stadium with
this banner the first day of school before learning of the new ban. class was not the first
class to pull a senior
prank, or the first to destroy school property;
you can still see faded “2003’s” permanently
painted on the stairs between the gyms. But
last year’s prank was the most-damaging and
least-creative prank in the escalating struggle
for each senior class to “outprank” the
previous one. But all
the class managed
to accomplish was
a whopping $8,000
in damages.
Senior
pranks
have not always
been the norm at
Grady.
“Senior
pranks
weren’t
really popular until
DAMAGED GOODS: Members of the class of 2005 spray-painted the
recent years, maybe
newly-refurbished student parking lot the night before school ended. the last half decade
of so,” said Marian
Kelly, who has been working at Grady since
1970, longer than any other Grady staff
member, and is an eyewitness authority on
the past 35 years of Grady history. “I have
no idea why they got so popular all of a
sudden,” she said. “Everyone started trying
to outdo the last class.”
Betty Smith, a retired Grady faculty
member, who started working at Grady in
the 1950s, also had no recollection of senior
pranks while she was at Grady.
Senior pranks at Grady began in 1997,
when the names of all the seniors were spraypainted onto each of the parking spaces in
the parking lot. The seniors knew that the
parking lot was being redone, so the prank
didn’t do any permanent damage and was a
way to leave their mark on the school.
The Class of 1999 followed up with one
of the most controversial and memorable
pranks at Grady. Seniors that year released
three chickens into the school labeled one,
two, and four with the administrators names
SALLY ZINTAK
BY ALLANA NEELY
For every senior, the end of the school year
comes with its perks—the prom, Senior Skip
Day and commencement exercises. But one
of the most memorable experiences in the last
year of high school is the highly anticipated
senior prank. After the completion of more
than 12 years of school, many seniors feel the
need to celebrate their success by leaving a
memorable mark on the school. But whether
it’s letting wild animals run loose through the
school hallways, spray-painting their year of
graduation on school property or draping
the schools’ trees with toilet paper, all senior
pranks come with a price.
Senior pranks have seemly become a hot
tape out of the player. The perpetrators were
not allowed to walk at graduation and were
suspended. They weren’t charged with a
crime. “Technically it was distribution of porn
to minors, a felony,” said an eyewitness who
requested anonymity. New rules restricting
student access to machines were formed.
One senior tradition at Sprayberry High
in Marietta led to dire consequences. Some
seniors in the class of 1997 wanted to
establish their dominance over other classes.
For 1997’s Homecoming Week at Sprayberry,
it is a traditional prank for students to haze
one another. Freshman Sabrina Tonkin
was no exception. According to Court TV
Library, seniors Ashleigh Best, Jadie Burch,
Leslie Caron, and Rachael Ford were caught
“rolling” Tonkin’s home with several others.
Brett Tonkin, Sabrina’s father, began to follow
the car full of girls after they tried to flee.
As Mr. Tonkin tried to catch a view of the
license plate number, Best lost control of her
car, killing three passengers and injuring two
others.
Best was charged with vehicular homicide
and reckless driving. She plead guilty to both
and received two years community service
and had her drivers license suspended for
three years.
Mr. Tonkin was charged
with
vehicular homicide
but was accquitted of the
charges. He was found
guilty of numerous traffic
violations and had his licensed
suspended for one year.
GA v. Tonkin was more
than an infamous prank; it
helped spark an assault on
teen driving laws. The prank
prompted the state legislature
to pass the Teenage and Adult
Driver Responsibility Act of
1997, which withheld full
diver’s privileges from teens
under 18.
Like Alexis Yoculan, a senior
at Athens Academy, stated to
the Associated Press, “If it’s
something that’s harmless... it
can be funny and cute,” she WRITE IDEA?: Two classes have used the
said. “Some things get carried pencil on Charles Allen for their pranks.
way of out hand.” ❐
WOODY MORGAN
BY CURRY ANDREWS
The subject of senior pranks is one about
which most school administrators won’t
talk. This is not surprising considering that
the most infamous senior pranks in Georgia
have led to arrests, controversy and, on
one occasion, death. Most administrators
redirected the interview requests to another
hesitant administrator.
Chris White was an exception.
“Doing pranks of any kind can always
lead to consequences,” said White,
communications coordinator for Clayton
County Schools.
Last spring, seven seniors caused $12,000
worth of damage to the school, according
to the Clayton County Department of
Maintenance.
The “Jonesboro Seven,” as they came to be
known, spray-painted slogans throughout the
school, overturned and destroyed picnic tables,
and trashed the baseball diamond, costing
$5,000 to the parent group that maintains it.
One of their most disturbing acts consisted of
students hiding dead possums throughout the
building after breaking into the school.
Jonesboro High School and Clayton
County Schools have a strict, no-tolerance
policy on pranking.
“Some individuals made some bad
choices,” White said. “Bad choices that they
thought were funny at the time, but had rolls
of consequences.” The seven boys spent one
night in the county jail, before getting out on
bail, and were charged with interference with
government property, a felony.
Chamblee High School served as the venue
for another recent prank. Every morning at
Chamblee, the news is broadcasted around
the school from a master video player in the
media center. On the morning of May 11,
2004, the usual morning news video had been
swapped for a graphic porn video. When the
video started playing the entire student body
got a glimpse at what the vice principal called
“a bad feed,” according to the Atlanta JournalConstitution.
Teachers turned off the TVs as soon as
they noticed, but it took some teachers up
to three minutes to figure out what was
going on. According to the AJC, classrooms
viewed the footage for a few minutes until
Becky Chambers, vice principal, took the
to the school and those caught were ordered to
make restitution.
Grady’s administration had adopted new
rules to discourage senior pranks in the future.
Those who decide to pull a senior prank this
year will not be allowed to participate in the
graduation ceremony and will be turned over
to legal authorities and punished to the fullest
extent of the law.
“I think that the rule is an OK idea,” senior
Brandon Sheats said. “It does make people pay
on labels around their necks. Thomas Jones
and Roosevelt Foreman loved it, Naomi
Grishman and Ms. Kelly hated it.
A solid favorite with the Grady faculty was
the 2000 prank in which the seniors wrapped
the newly-constructed pencil out front in
plastic, transforming it into a giant condom.
The class of 2001 followed suite by wrapping
the pencil in paper, making it into a giant
joint that said, “Smoke one for 01.”
Two years later seniors brought the first
permanently destructive prank to Grady with
the painting of the stairs in-between the gyms.
In an effort to outdo all before them, the
class of 2004 pulled off a number of pranks,
including spray-painting handicapped signs
in all the parking spaces in the student lot
(which was to be replaced again), and hanging
a variety of signs from the Grady arch and the
stadium light towers. The funniest sign read,
“Grady learned us good.”
An impressive legacy had been built up
in the short span of seven years. We’ll never
know what exactly drove 2005 to its actions.
Maybe the pressure was too much. But why
exactly do seniors do senior pranks, and for
that matter, what is a senior prank?
Art teacher John Brandhorst has developed
a set of criteria for a good senior prank. “A
senior prank should have minimal impact
on custodians,” Mr. Brandhorst said.
“They shouldn’t be forced to clean up your
mess. Be poignant. Have humor, because
the word prank implies humor, the prank
should express the class’s intelligence and
appreciation of the school.”
Senior Marquis Way doesn’t quite agree
with Mr. Brandhorst’s criteria. “A senior
prank is something seniors do when they’re
trying to get back at the school for all the
rigors of hard labor,” Way said. “Seniors do
it because it’s fun, and they want to leave
their mark.”
Mr. Foreman’s definition came with some
not-so-subtle advice. “A senior prank is
students getting involved in activities that
will not damage school property by showing
off their graduation year,” Mr. Foreman
said. “Students do pranks in order to be
remembered for that year.”
Ms. Grishman provides the most analytical
answer for why seniors do pranks. “Whenever
people separate from an environment or go
through a transition, they have the idea
to leave their mark,” Ms. Grishman said.
“Psychologically, people feel like they need
to rebel against their current environment to
feel that they are ready to move on to the next
stage of their life.”
Whomever’s definition you look at, the
idea of legacy is central. Senior pranks are
about leaving a legacy and trying to be
remembered. In that snese, the 2005 prank
succeeded. Their failure isn’t whether they
will be remebered but rather how. ❐
for the stupid things they might do.”
Despite the new rules and procedures being
taken to prevent senior pranks, some students
are still convinced that someone will still try to
break the rules. The administration, however,
is calling for a total abolition of senior pranks,
harmless or not.
I really think the best course of action is
to eliminate senior pranks altogether,” Dr.
Murray said. “There’s always going to be
someone that takes it too far.” ❐
h e a l t h
12
a c a d e m y
Sept. 15, 2005
THE SOUTHERNER
GRADY GETS A CHECKUP
But Sanders wasn’t the only
Grady student busy this summer.
Senior Leronica Lindsey became a
patient care technician and wants
to some day become a registered
nurse. “I really enjoy helping
people, making them feel better
and helping society,” Lindsey said.
The course she took lasted nine
weeks. Lindsey learned how to
draw blood, start an IV, insert a
catheter and care for a patient with
a tracheotomy.
Sanders attended classes at
Therrell High School. She learned
how to make a hospital bed,
perform CPR and check for vital
signs like temperature, respiration,
blood pressure and pulse.
“We went over everything,
and I had some good teachers,”
Sanders said. Near the end of the
program, Sanders had to take a
state certification test.
Throughout her time in the
course Sanders applied her nursing
skills at Sadie G. Mays Nursing
Home. “I gave someone a bath,
and I fed someone,” Sanders said.
Sanders said that the workers at
the nursing home were grateful for
help. “They [senior citizens] get
treated so badly,” she said. She
remembered the experience of
having to bathe an older lady. “Her
scent was so strong, and she was so
dirty,” Sanders said.
Sanders made friends while
working at the nursing home, and
particularly remembers a lady by
the name of Matilly. “She was so
adorable,” Sanders said. “I didn’t
want to leave her there.”
Senior Xavier Cain took time
out of his summer break to become
a pharmacy technician. The classes
he attended lasted 10 weeks.
Cain went to orientation at the
CVS training center, attended
classes at Atlanta Technical
College, and interned at a CVS
pharmacy.
“We learned the policies of a
pharmacy, how to count pills, and
we observed the pharmacy and the
pharmacy technicians,” he said.
While Cain feels that his
experience was “exciting and funfilled,” he doesn’t want to become
a pharmacist. He does, however,
entertain the idea of owning a
pharmacy since his career goal is to
become an entrepreneur.
Though these students lost their
free summer, they all feel that
they gained invaluable experience,
something more worthwhile than
a day at the pool. ❐
VITAL EDUCATION: Instructor Sandra Ukah examines a mannequin patient with
students during class. The Health Academy has existed at Grady for eight years.
SALLY ZINTAK
BY SHEARLON WHITE
Some of the many joys of getting
out of school for the summer
include staying up late, relaxing by
the swimming pool under the hot
sun, having no schoolwork, and
for one Grady student, becoming a
certified nursing assistant.
Senior Khrishawnda Sanders
enjoyed becoming a certified
nursing assistant even though the
program lasted the entire summer.
To receive certification, Sanders
participated in the Partnership
Academy for Technology in Health
Science program.
According to Ms. Sandra Ukah,
director of the Health Academy,
PATHS’s purpose is to try and
introduce students to the various
health-care careers and teach them
skills that they can use for postsecondary education as well as the
workplace. Ms. Ukah feels that this
program will be very helpful to the
students even if they don’t pursue
health as a career.
“It will make them better
consumers,” Ms. Ukah said.
It takes six months to a year
to become a certified nursing
assistant, but some students took an
accelerated course, allowing them to
become certified in nine weeks.
CHELSEA SPENCER
Health students spend summer gaining
medical certification, work experience
CHECKING IN: Senior Khrishawnda Sanders checks Maurice Brooks’ spulse and
blood pressure. Sanders earned her nursing assistant certification this summer.
Grady health department expands with addition of new equipment
BY LENA BRODSKY
Throughout the Grady Health Academy’s
eight-year existence, director Sandra Ukah
has been waiting for a lab. With Grady’s
recent renovation, the lab finally includes
high-tech equipment, including two
$7,000 mannequins.
“The mannequins simulate real patients
with fake heartbeats, breathing sounds,
they can hold liquids, such as fake blood,
and they allow for students to practice reallife medical methods,” Ms. Ukah said.
Ms. Ukah came to Grady in 1997 after
a committee had planned the new Health
Academy program. With the expectation
that she was going to be a teacher in the
program, she was handed a box on her
arrival and pronounced the director. She
was taken by surprise, but in the past eight
years she has risen to the job above and
beyond all expectations.
To purchase equipment for the new
Health Academy lab, Ms. Ukah was
allotted $55,000 to simulate an actual
hospital room. Although $20,000 worth
of her purchases has yet to arrive, the new
lab includes the mannequins, hospital beds,
advanced skeleton models, new computer
training programs and much more.
“The new mannequins allow us to
practice taking care of patients,” senior
Taquilla Leaks said.
This kind of hands-on training is
important, especially for the juniors,
because the seniors in the Health Academy
perform internships in the medical field.
“Seniors take the opportunity of
interning at Atlanta Job Corps, doctor’s
offices, veterinarians offices, or almost
anywhere they want that applies to medical
training,” Ms. Ukah said.
There are 110 students enrolled in the
Academy this year. Those students like
Leaks aspire to become surgical technicians,
neurologists or pharmacists.
To join the Health Academy, students
apply in their freshman year. They must
obtain teacher recommendations, have a
GPA of at least 2.3 and have no suspensions
on their record.
To help fulfill the graduation requirement
of 75 community service hours, the students
in the Health Academy sponsor the Health
Fair and the blood drives at Grady. They
are also involved in volunteer services at St.
Jude Hospital.
The Academy provides real, hands-on
training, which appeals to students that
already know their post-high school plans
as well as those unsure of them.
“A lot of people start not knowing
what they want to do, but once they see
the different career options, they become
interested,” senior Gwen Cummings said.
Cummings and other students have
looked forward to using the mannequins
and other equipment since before they
arrived.
“In the past we had to improvise and
work on each other, so now with the
mannequins the lessons and training will be
clearer,” she said.
Though not as well-known as some of
the other programs at Grady, the Health
Academy offers opportunities for Grady
students to prepare and train for careers as
physicians, veterinarians, medical lawyers,
and many other positions in the medical
field. The new lab simply adds to this
expanding and enriching program. ❐
PHOTOS BY CHELSEA SPENCER
FACES FROM THE
Leronica Lindsey
senior
Jada Glasby
senior
Angelica Perez
senior
Gwen Cummings
senior
THE SOUTHERNER
p e o p l e
Sept. 15, 2005
13
THE SOUTHERNER
from page 1
essential traits for working in a
development,” she said. “I love diverse school.”
school, and I enjoy working with
Dr. Murray indicated that Ms.
students. This position is a way MacBrien’s experience ensures she
for me to incorporate all of that.” will be successful.
Administrators, teachers and
“When she was a teacher before
students were quick to praise she came to Grady, she worked in
Ms. MacBrien’s record and look challenging communities with
forward to working with her for students who had challenging
years to come.
educational needs, and she
“I’m delighted with a capital surmounted those needs,” Dr.
‘D,’” said Assistant principal Murray said.
Naomi Grishman, who served
He was also impressed with
as coordinator for the magnet the reports he received from her
from 1994 until Ms. MacBrien students from all her schools.
was named as her successor. “It’s
“Before she came to Grady, I
a relief to have someone of her heard about her from transfer
caliber selected for the position.”
students who would talk about
Students around campus are all they learned from their English
impressed following their first teacher,” Dr. Murray said. “Since
interactions with their new she came to Grady, I have seen
magnet coordinator.
students engaged when she taught
“She was really helpful in that were not engaged otherwise.
figuring out my schedule,” senior To be that effective with that
John Watson said. “She showed diverse of a classroom makes you
me all of my options and seems a teacher. She is truly an asset
willing to do anything she can to and is truly the right person for
ensure I have a successful senior the job.”
year.”
Both Dr. Murray and Ms.
Yearbook advisor Carolyn MacBrien share the same joys,
McCarthy had only praise for the concerns and vision about the
promotion of her fellow educator. magnet.
“I was incredibly delighted when
Dr. Murray’s primary concern
I heard [about the selection],” for the program is reversing the
Ms. McCarthy said. “I hope the dropout rate among minority
magnet will continue to support males.
the yearbook program and make
“They either don’t continue for
G r a d y
academic reasons,
She is truly an asset and or they don’t have
graduates
b e t t e r
is truly the right person the opportunity
prepared as
to connect with
for the job.
they enter
people to serve as
the
real
mentors,” he said.
world.”
working
Dr. Vincent Murray “I’m
Principal
towards equitable
Vincent
diversity. They
Murray also had positive words for apply and are selected. They can
his new administrative colleague.
do it. I need to find the key in
“Ms. MacBrien’s qualities are helping them to be successful.”
universal,” Dr. Murray said.
Ms. MacBrien has thought of
“She embodies the thinking of some possibilities for tackling the
the school and the diversity of issue.
the student body. She exhibits
“I think pairing students who
“
CURRY ANDREWS
MACBRIEN replaces Grishman as head of the magnet
CALLING THE SHOTS: Settling into to her new office, new magnet coordinator Carrie MacBrien works on schedule changes on Aug. 28.
MacBrien was selected from an pool of eight candidates. Each candidate interviewed before a panel of administrators,teachers,parents,
students and community members. The Atlanta Board of Education approved the panel’s recommendation at its July meeting.
need mentoring with business
people from the communication
field and members of the Grady
community will make them feel
welcomed.”
Both administrators were quick
to dismiss any misunderstandings
they believe people have of the
program.
“The misperception at Grady
is that the magnet students get
special treatment,” Ms. MacBrien
said. “I hope we can dispel that
by opening opportunities and by
providing rigorous instruction
for everyone. I think the Arts
Academy is a fantastic start, and
I hope there are more academies
and other such programs to come.
My goal is that there will be
something for everyone.”
Dr. Murray strongly supports
that sentiment.
“People think [the magnet] is
for one kind of student and it’s
not,” he said. “It’s about students
who have the work ethic and
want to do the work, want to be
successful, and are not afraid to
ask for help.”
Dr. Murray and Ms. MacBrien
also look forward to seeing the
program grow in the future.
“I would like to see the program
expand the opportunities it offers
as it relates to communication,”
Dr. Murray said. “We’ve never
done radio journalism. We’ve
thought about it a lot, but it’s just
an area we haven’t yet explored.
We are also looking at other
fields of communication. We have
already started with set design,
and there are still so many other
opportunities to explore.”
Ms. MacBrien’s plan for
the future also consists of
incorporating the ever-changing
world of communications.
“I think the Internet is a great
place to showcase student work,
and let the web be a vehicle for
student expression,” she said.
“I think this is something we’ve
started thinking about and now is
the time to implement it.”
Given Ms. MacBrien’s depth of
experience, Dr. Murray hopes that
one day her role as an educator
will extend to the entire school.
“In the future, I would like
to see her working within our
diverse school outside the magnet
program,” he said. Ms. MacBrien
didn’t waste anytime in showing
her interest.
“I have a responsibility as
coordinator of the magnet to
strengthen the school as a whole,”
she said. “My job is not just
ensuring magnet students advance
but ensuring everyone succeeds. I
believe that Grady is the model
of what public education should
be.” ❐
BY ALI FARNHAM
Along with the freshman, these fresh faces
will be feeling their way while learning the
ropes at their new school.
“I wanted a change,” said Ms. Nikki
Palmore, the new media specialist, “I wanted
to work with older students.”
Palmore comes to Grady from Dobbs
Elementary as a fourth-year media specialist.
Ms. Palmore helps students and teachers
integrate technology into the classroom.
Another new face around campus is that
of health-and-fitness teacher Tracy Wilson.
“When I parked my car, Grady was the
place I knew I needed to be,” she said.
Ms. Wilson originally wanted to become an
athletic trainer and coach professional boxers,
but with the advice of great mentors, she
decided to pursue teaching.
Four flights of stairs away from Ms.
Wilson resides another new teacher. Francis
Legagneur, who teaches world history and
Individual and the Law, came to Grady after
six years at South Atlanta High School.
“Doors,”Mr. Legagneur replied when asked
why he likes Grady. “I got a door. People keep
looking at me like I’m nuts, but South Atlanta
has no doors. It was a big thing.”
Mr. Legagneur, a self-acknowledged “sports
nut,” hopes to get involved with Grady’s
DAVE WINTER
New teachers with diverse pasts join Grady’s family
ALL STAR LINE-UP: Bookended by teacher Diana Porter (far left) and Principal Vincent Murray (far right), 17
of Grady’s new teachers and staff are introduced to students Aug. 15 at the first-day assembly in the stadium.
various sports teams. Like Ms. Wilson, Mr.
Legagneur gives extra-credit for supporting
Grady’s sports teams.
Down the hall is fellow world history
teacher Amour Alexander. Ms. Alexander
has long dreamed of becoming a teacher. She
expressed interest in helping people and has
found a way to do it through teaching.
“Well, when I was five years old,” Ms.
Alexander said, “I was looking up at the sky,
and I was saying to myself, ‘What did God
put me on this Earth for?’ It was to help
people.”
Mario Herrara, forensics coach and
communications teacher, is new to both
Grady and teaching. After serving in
healthcare for 10 years, Mr. Herrara received
his teaching certificate last May.
“I particulary like working with the
freshmen,” he said. “I like the energy, I like
the fact that they tend to be more honest, and
I like the fact that they are maybe ready to
listen a little bit more.”
Mr. Herrara, also a choreographer for a
show choir for 18 years, will be involved in
Grady’s drama programs and is currently
helping with the 2005 talent show.
The art department also celebrates a
new addition. Photography teacher Dawn
Wadsworth comes to Grady after teaching for
five years at Morrow High School in Clayton
County.
“Grady is a lot different,” Ms. Wadsworth
said. “You have the Grady environment, and
it’s really more than a school because a lot of
people who work here live right around here.
And so it becomes almost like a lifestyle.”
Another addition is Derek Han, who
teaches Journalism I, ninth-grade English,
and communication skills.
Mr. Han is part of Teach for America,
subgroup of Americorps, that works with
Atlanta Public Schools. A resident of Atlanta
for five years, Mr. Han is in his third year of
teaching. He became a teacher to follow in the
footsteps of his father.
“My father’s a teacher,” Mr. Han said.
“He’s the head of a math department in West
Virginia.” ❐
p e o p l e
14
THE SOUTHERNER
Sept. 15,
from page 1
this bad,” Baughman said.
The next day, Loyola University
began their evacuation process.
Baughman became separated from
his classmates and was sent to the
Superdome. On Sunday night there
weren’t many people, but lines were
everywhere, Baughman said.
“It was mostly the lower classes
that went to the Superdome,”
Baughman said referring to the
thousands of impoverished people
who would end up filling the
stadium. “For most people, the
Superdome was a last resort.”
Baughman spent one night at the
dome before Loyola arranged for
him to take one of the last flights
out of New Orleans. With only two
pairs of pants and three shirts, he
arrived in Atlanta hours before the
storm hit.
Ramika Gourdine, a Grady
junior, and many other Grady
students have family in the
New Orleans area. Gourdine’s
cousin, Gerald Mickens, similar
to Baughman, also had a narrow
escape. When he found out a couple
of friends were driving to Atlanta,
he made a spur-of-the-moment
decision to tag along, taking only
the clothes on his back.
“I’ve been through a lot of
storms,” Mickens said. “Something
about this one just told me to
leave.”
Katrina made its second, and
most deadly, landfall on Monday,
Aug. 29 in Buras, La., at 145 mph.
A Category 4 hurricane, the eye
of the storm barely missed New
Orleans.
The hurricane broke the levees,
letting loose catastrophic flood
waters from Lake Ponchartrain
and the Mississippi River. To
complicate matters, the water was
unable to drain from the bowlshaped city.
While former Grady students
were fortunate to get out, many
New Orleans residents and Grady
students’ family members were not
so lucky.
“Initially we thought that it
wasn’t too big of a deal, just a few
days. … We’d be back in school
by Sept. 7,” Corley said. “But
when the levees broke, I was like
‘Oh crap, this is going to ruin my
semester.’”
While helicopters began slowly
taking patients out of the hospitals,
a large portion of Gourdine’s family
waited atop their roof for rescue.
“I had definitely accepted that
they weren’t going to get off that
roof,” Gourdine said. “I accepted
that they were going to die.”
Gourdine’s family was later
rescued by the Coast Guard.
“I’m disappointed that I can’t go
MATT WESTMORELAND
KATRINA redirects college paths for Grady graduates
FIRST COME, SELF SERVE: Cars crowd the Exxon gas station at Ponce de Leon Avenue and Monroe Drive Sept. 1 in attempts to get gas
as prices swelled because of Katrina. Local drivers panicked about whether gas would be available through Labor Day weekend.
to Tulane for a semester,” Melanie
Wagner, another 2005 Grady
graduate said, “but it’s so sad what’s
going on down there—people’s
houses are destroyed—that I can’t
complain.”
Luckily, colleges all across
the country are opening up late
admissions to students unable
to attend their college due to
Hurricane Katrina. Grady enrolled
as many as 10 evacuees from the
hurricane-affected area. Most of the
Grady graduates plan to continue
to return to their Louisiana colleges
as soon as possible.
“I’m going to take just enough
credits [wherever I go] to graduate
in four years [at Tulane],” said
Corley.
Maleski and Wagner are both
currently attending the University
of Georgia for a semester as fulltime students. Corley is deciding
between enrolling at Georgia State
University or Georgia Institute of
Technology. Baughman is thinking
of going to another Jesuit school or
Georgia State University.
Mickens hopes get a job in Texas
and later return to New Orleans to
help with cleanup efforts.
“I wasn’t planning on staying
in New Orleans my whole life,”
Mickens said, “but I just wasn’t
ready to leave like this.”❐
Remakes dominate
summer box office
EMMA DIN
WONDER FROM DOWN UNDER: “America is interesting, it’s got a history,” Sam Keating said. Keating enjoys Mr. Hatcher’s sociology
class and chatting with classmates, juniors Sam Barksdale (top right) and Archie Lister (bottom right) when not working diligently.
Foreign students welcomed at Grady
BY HANNA GRIFFITHS
Many people come to America
to see the famous landmarks: the
Grand Canyon, the Hollywood
sign, and the Statue of Liberty.
Veronika Kurdiova, however,
came for the language. She
humbly admits that she only
speaks “a little bit of English.”
Her host sister, Elizabeth
Schenck, however, is confident
in her ability to learn.
“It is nice because it is like
having a sister my age,” said
Schenck.
Sam Keating, of Australia, says
that he isn’t sure why he came to
the United States.
“Interesting country, I wanted
to travel and get the experience,”
said Keating.
Kurdiova and Keating are two
of many exchange students here
at Grady, most of whom didn’t
know anyone in the America and
were not fluent in English.
Even though she is having
fun, Kurdiova misses her family
quite a lot. “My grandparents
live a block away. … I [used
to] see them almost every day,”
Kurdiova said.
Keating agrees that it is hard
to be away from his family, but
isn’t so homesick because his first
week here has gone smoothly.
If exchange students are missing
their families, host families are
missing their elbow room. “It’s
so hard to communicate simple
things,” Schenck said. “We have
a small house, and now six of us
have to share one bathroom!”
Even though Schenck may be
missing her counter space, she
is excited about Kurdiova living
with her. “It is a really good
experience [for me] because I
know she is going to have so
many new experiences,” she
said.
Senior John Watson, an
exchange student to Spain last
year, said that he was supposed
to be living with a family.
Instead he ended up living with
a 60-year-old masseuse who had
never been married or had kids,
and had been hosting exchange
students for about 20 years.
“It was great,” Watson says. “It
was the single most influential
experience of my life.”
Kurdiova
shares
similar
opinions and said that if given
the chance, everyone should
experience being an exchange
student.
Both Keating and Kurdiova
agree that their countries are very
similar to the United States. But,
Kurdiova says, “Schools are much
harder [in Slovakia]; sometimes
we have five tests a day.”
Keating said that the only
sports at his all-boys school are
Aussie football and soccer. “[The
U.S.] is just like the movies,”
Keating said. “Nothing has really
surprised me, but I’ve got five
months left.” ❐
BY L EE A LLEN
Three of the biggest and
most-anticipated movie releases
of this summer were remakes.
The War of the Worlds, Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, and
The Bad News Bears are remakes
of movies from the 1950s and
1970s. Studios are continuing to
produce these movies, showing
that there must be a market for
them. Are Americans craving the
comfort of movies they’ve already
seen 20 years ago when the
originals were first released? Are
studios having trouble bringing
in audiences? Do remade movies
have a built-in audience? Or are
filmmakers just not as creative as
they used to be?
The first and most obvious
remakes studios are producing
are old American films like
Ocean’s Eleven. Many have the
same storyline but with bigger
explosions, lesser-clad women
and rougher language.
One thing about originals of
recently remade movies is the star
actors that were either unknown
or up-and-coming at the time.
Now it seems studios are casting
actors with well-known careers.
For example, Alfie (1966) starred
a then-unknown Michael Caine;
the remade version starred Jude
Law, complete with a fan base,
in the same role.
Along with the standard
American remake is the remade
foreign film. The Japanese
horror film trend is churning
out movies like The Ring.
Dedicated Japanese horror fans
(or J-Horror, as it is commonly
called) dislike this trend because
the American versions are said
to be less scary and made to be
more like box-office hits than
works of art. Some remade
foreign films are not received
well at all. Swept Away (2002),
starring Madonna, is a remake
of an Italian film. The original
was well-received by critics. The
remake didn’t fare too well.
The last main category is the
movie remake from a TV show.
These are films made just like
the sitcom they are portraying,
like The Dukes of Hazzard,
which is the same premise as
the 1970s show, except perhaps
a little raunchier. Some studios
produce slightly more creative
films by expanding the premise
of the movie. For example,
Bewitched,
starring
Nicole
Kidman, was a remake of the old
TV show, but the movie involves
a man who is making a sitcom.
Another notable remade sitcom
is The Brady Bunch Movie. A
satirical version of the worldfamous 1960s and 1970s TV
show was made in 1995. The
story is also set in 1995, and the
Brady family is stuck in a timewarp, thinking they are still in
the ‘70s.
Following their success and
in an effort to keep audiences
filling theaters nationwide, the
recent spike in movie remakes
is unlikely to change any time
soon. ❐
THE SOUTHERNER
p e o p l e
Sept. 7, 2005
15
BY JULIA OLIVER
John Taylor was singing before
he could talk.
As Taylor grew up, music
became his life. He not only has a
natural talent for singing but also
a passion for music to back it up.
Taylor was born into a musically
talented family.
“Music is a very big thing to
my family,” Taylor said. That is an
understatement. An incomplete
list of the instruments his family
can play includes “the piano, the
harmonica, the clarinet, the cello,
and the organ.” Then he added,
“Oh, and everyone sings, too.”
It was almost as if Taylor had
no choice but to enter the musical
world. Lucky for Taylor, that
suited him just fine.
“I’ve always enjoyed singing,”
Taylor explained. He participated
in chorus until third grade, when
he switched to the clarinet until
eighth grade. While he didn’t take
chorus his first semester at Grady,
Taylor was placed in chorus
teacher Kevin Hill’s homeroom.
After Mr. Hill got word of Taylor’s
talent, he approached him about
singing, and Taylor happily sang
for him. “He’s been in chorus
ever since,” Mr. Hill said. Taylor’s
singing has improved since he
came to Grady. Last year he was
one of two Atlanta Public Schools
JULIA OLIVER
John Taylor known for his music in all aspects of life
SINGING SENSATION: Junior John Taylor sight reads in Kevin Hill’s Advanced Chorus class. Taylor’s has joined both the Grady chorus
and the Grady gospel choir since coming to Grady in fall of 2003, and was Grady’s sole singer in Georgia’s All-State chorus last year.
students to make the All-State
Chorus.
“It’s nice to see him improve,”
Mr. Hill said. “He doesn’t limit
himself, which is both encouraging
and inspiring for a teacher.” Hill
believes Taylor is not only an
inspiration for teachers but his
fellow chorus members as well.
“He has a very strong voice,” Mr.
Hill said. “He is very bold and
confident when he sings, which
helps others to sing out.”
Besides the chorus at Grady,
Taylor also joined the Gospel
Choir, directed by Ms. Janet
Milton.
“He has an ear for music,”
Ms. Milton said. “He joined the
Gospel Choir in the ninth grade
and was a wonderful asset to our
choir.” Ms. Milton acknowledges
that Taylor has done more than
just sing with the group. “He
actually has directed the choir in
my absence,” she said. “And he
plays keyboard parts to assist in
Perilous prices at pump
pressure Grady drivers
The drastic price hike caused
by the hurricane obscured an
already-inflated price for gas.
As the cost of “filling up”
climbed higher every day
throughout August, many Grady
drivers were astonished at how
much money it took to keep their
cars fueled, especially on a high
school budget.
“It’s expensive!” said Lambert,
even before the hurricane drove
gas prices up even further.
Lambert added that her parents
pay for her daily commute to
school but that she has to pay for
any non-school-related driving.
Senior Sarah Evans also shares
the price of gas with her parents.
“I baby-sit to help pay for my
gas,” Evans said. “Sometimes my
mom says, ‘Hey, here’s five bucks,
put gas in the car,’ because I take
my sister places.”
Younger siblings can play a
factor in determining who pays
for gas. Junior Sarah Muntzing
splits the price of gas with her
parents.
“I pay for half my gas,” she
said, “since a lot of the time I’m
shuttling around my sister or
grocery shopping for my parents
or something.”
Parents aren’t the only ones
who help out with gas money.
Senior Marcus Brooks splits the
cost of gas with his brother, with
whom he also shares a car. To pay
for his portion of the gas, Brooks
has a job at a Barnes and Noble
bookstore. Brooks said that gas
has gotten far more expensive
since he began driving to school
Freshman’s
funny puppy
wins $100K
DUY LAM
BY LILY FEINBERG
A source of annoyance and
frustration before Hurricane
Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, gas
prices caused panic for Grady
and metro Atlanta drivers
alike following the hurricane’s
landfall.
Grady drivers didn’t realize
what an impact the recent
hurricane would have on the
price of gas. On Wednesday,
Aug. 31, flooded refineries and
destroyed pipelines caused an
enormous surge in gas prices and
pandemonium in metro Atlanta.
Traffic swelled as drivers rushed
to get the cheapest gas because
they believed the stations would
start running out.
“The QT was $2.89, but then
they sold out,” junior Jessica
Lambert said. “I was driving by
a lot [of gas stations] and $3.05
was the cheapest.” Other Grady
students didn’t get such a “good”
price.
Junior Chris Goodine went
with his brother that Wednesday
afternoon to put some gas in his
brother’s Jeep. “Gas prices are a
killer.” Goodine said. “Now I
have to catch the bus because
we’re not going to drive unless
we have to.”
The exorbitant gas prices are
causing drivers to rethink how
often they drive and how much
gas they can put into their cars.
“It cost $80 to fill my brother’s
truck,” Goodine said. “Twenty
bucks used to fill it up. Now $20
gets you from the ‘E’ to, like, the
first bar.”
the teaching of songs.”
Gospel was nothing new to
Taylor; it’s his favorite type of
music to sing. “I like gospel
music because of its variety,”
Taylor explained. He described
singing gospel in small groups
such as quartets, and in large
groups, or as he puts it, “oldschool gospel.” He currently sings
in four different gospel choirs
at Bethlehem Church of God
Holiness, where he and his family
attend. One of Taylor’s choir
directors at Bethlehem, Yvette
Watkins, describes Taylor as “a joy
to direct.”
“John is very dependable,”
Watkins said. “He is always
willing to do anything I need,
and he is good at anything he
does.” Watkins explained that
the young people at his church
look up to him, and love to see
him perform and conduct. Taylor
first got into conducting when his
youth choir director offered to let
him conduct a song the group was
learning. “He has a drawing spirit,
he really loves his music, and it
shows,” Ms. Watkins explained.
Although Taylor loves music,
he’s not interested in becoming
a professional musician. “I enjoy
music too much,” he says, “I
would never want to be forced to
do it.” ❐
two years ago.
Some students try to regulate
how much gas they put into their
cars.
“I usually don’t fill up,” senior
Tiffany Wilson said. “It costs so
much to fill the tank...20 bucks
only fills it halfway.”
The ever-increasing gas prices
also put a limit on how often
students can fill up. Evans,
Lambert, and Muntzing all said
they fill up about every other
week, during which time the
price of gas can significantly
increase.
“I’m always surprised at how
much [the price] went up,” Evans
said.
It was an even bigger surprise
for Muntzing, who was out of the
country for the last three weeks
of summer vacation. When she
got back to the states, she was
shocked at how much the price
of a tank of gas had gone up.
“If I had to pay for all my gas,
I’d have no money,” Muntzing
said. “I always just look at the
price and think, ‘Oh my gosh!’”
Some students, like senior
Kristen Childers, do, in fact, pay
for all their gas.
“I paid for my own car, and
I pay for all my gas,” Childers
said. “I have a job, so I pay for
everything.”
In efforts to save money, many
students are trying to be gasconscious when they drive. “I
try not to take a lot of people
places,” Wilson said. “I just try
to go home and to school and
not other places.” ❐
BY WILLIAM VANDERKLOOT
The probability of winning the
lottery is approximately 1 in 14
million. You have a better chance
of getting struck by lightning: 1 in
600,000.
So when Grady freshman Kala
Marks’ family won America’s
Funniest Home Videos competition,
they were more than surprised.
America’s Funniest Home Videos
is a TV show in which people send
in home movies to be judged by
a studio audiences for a host of
prizes.
“My uncle got this dog that
would always growl at its bone
before it attacked it,” Marks said.
“We decided to videotape it and
send it in to America’s Funniest
Home Videos.”
After viewing the film,
producers
contacted
Marks’
mother and asked the family to
fly to California to be on the show
and have a chance at winning
$10,000. Their video won the
competition.
“Winning
the
$10,000
competition made us a finalist for
the $100,000 grand prize show,”
Marks said. “Then we won [the
$100,000 competition], too.”
Winning the second show
qualified them to go to the Grand
Prize show, which was taped in
Florida. After claiming victory
at that competition as well, the
Marks family received a trip to
every Disney theme park in the
world. ❐
p e o p l e
16
Sept. 15. 2005
Brandhorst
directs new
art program
Midtown’s
new PieBar
a huge hit
ROUND AND ROUND:
Originally designed as
Trust Company Bank in
1962, 2160 Monroe Drive
was renovated this past
summer and re-opened
as PieBar. Patio seating
offers a serene contrast
to the busy indoor
atmosphere (top left and
right). The open kitchen
is located in the center of
the interior, surrounded
by a counter for cocktails
while you wait(bottom
left). PieBar offers
complimentary valet
parking (bottom right).
or passed among friends. This is
definitely a place where sharing is
encouraged.
PieBar also has several “Small
Plates” to offer. A selection
of salads, pastas, and unique
variations on each assume the
role of an appetizer, or even a
meal, to those who don’t have the
guts just yet to try PieBar’s main
attraction: Pizza Pie!
With several different pizzas
to choose from, it’s hard to
decide which one to try first. I
recommend buying a few halves
of different ones and tasting each.
The pizza served at PieBar is
unlike any Atlanta has seen. You
would think it would amount to a
round display, after the interesting
remodeled architecture, but it in
fact, arrives rectangularly, resting
on a thin metal sheet. Its crust is
thin and crispy, resembling the
PHOTOS BY CHELSEA SPENCER
BY CHELSEA COOK
Once the home of thousanddollar loans, savings bonds for
college, and intricate security
systems sits a new crowd, and
in quite a different atmosphere.
Amid busy conversation echoing
throughout
the
cylindrical
structure, owner Bob Amick’s
new PieBar can truly be named
Atlanta’s new “place to be” for
urban cuisine.
Amick’s name has been
making appearances frequently
in Atlanta’s restaurant scene, as
well as local reviewers. Amick
owns both oh-so-hip-and-classy
One Midtown Kitchen and
sinfully successful Two Urban
Licks. When rumors of a third
Amick hot spot surfaced, most
everyone was anticipating the
grand opening of a restaurant
named Three. The awaited third,
however, has made its debut as
PieBar, and its name has all of
Atlanta waiting on a thin metal
clipboard for up to 90 minutes,
just to see what exactly it has in
store.
From women in conservative
business suits to 20-somethingyear-olds sporting dreadlocks,
PieBar’s patrons are as diverse
and unique as its cuisine.
Seated either inside, around a
charmingly hectic kitchen and a
gigantic sleek oven, or outside,
covered by what must be the
most tasteful circus tent ever
to come to Atlanta, curious
customers find menu items that
are temptingly do-it-yourself.
There are antipastos of threeto-12 items ranging from $6-10
for a plate that can be all yours
PieBar
Where: 2160 Monroe Drive
Hours: Monday - Thursday: 4 p.m. - Midnight.
Friday: 4 p.m. - 1 a.m.
Saturday: Noon - 1 a.m.
Sunday: Noon - 10 p.m.
Reservations: Call-ahead seating available.
Price Range: $6- $24
The Low Down: This is one pizzeria that will really make
some dough.
water crackers found at fancy hor
d’oeuvre parties. PieBar’s toppings
are probably the most notable:
shrimp, pineapple, cheddar grits,
and coffee—and I’m still talking
about the same piece of pizza.
Ironic and eclectic, PieBar’s
daring creations alone persuade
patrons to dig in. As they should,
the odd combinations have
elicited widespread satisfaction. It
can be heard as you spell out your
name to the hostess, handing
your keys to the complimentary
valet, in the gossip spoken
between friends, and in big bold
letters throughout several local
newspapers.
PieBar has achieved praises
beyond that of a quality pizza
place, as have all of Amick’s
popular evening
hangouts.
Amick has shown Atlanta that
finding a restaurant worthy of
your time and money is easy—
easy as pie. ❐
Students opposed to discipline principles
BY ALEX DANIELS
One strike and you’re in.
Saturday work detention, that is.
That’s the consequence of
showing up to class late just one
time. Instead of simply admitting
tardy students to class, teachers now
practice a mandatory lockout at
the ringing of the bell before each
period. Unless they receive a late pass
from the attendance office, students
lingering in the stairwells and slow
walkers will be left banging on the
door for a late admission to class.
After years of rampant tardies
and skipped classes, the Grady
administration has finally started to
crack down on student attendance
and behavior.
“At Grady we care about
academics, and kid’s can’t learn
if they aren’t in class,” assistant
principal Naomi Grishman said.
“It’s as simple as that.”
Just after the first week of school
ended, many students had already
been assigned Saturday work
detention.
“I think the lockouts are wasting
even more class time for the
students,” sophomore Callan Wells the new system.
said. “Instead of just letting us in
“I don’t really mind the lockouts.
two minutes late in the morning, we Seven minutes between classes is
have to wait 15 minutes just to get a plenty of time to get where you need
late pass from the office.”
to go,” junior Robinson Levin said.
“This is high school, people are
The administration has noted
going to be late,” senior Salvador a decrease in tardies since the
Chavez-Holzman said. “I think the policy began, proving that the
administration needs to find a way new enforcement is ameliorating
to issue late passes without making the problem by providing stricter
students miss more class.”
consequences.
Wells and Chavez-Holzman
“We already saw a decrease in
refer to the long lines outside the tardies after the end of the first week,
attendance office that can hold and it’s improved even more since
students
then,”
Ms.
I think the lockouts are
up between
Grishman
classes.
wasting even more class said.
Newcomers
Contrary
time for the students.
are just as
to what some
surprised
students may
as
Grady
the
sophomore Callan Wells think,
veterans at the
administration
system. “The
doesn’t plan
tardy bell is ridiculous,” freshman to lighten up the new attendance
Perri Campis said. “I’m new here, policies as the year progresses.
so my first week I was getting lost “Whoever thinks that the system
trying to learn my way around will become more lenient over
school. I missed a bell the day they time doesn’t know my policy or my
started doing lockouts.”
personality very well,” Grishman
Others don’t have a problem with said.
“
Other students are also surprised
by a more strict dress code at
Grady this year. “All the rules for
skirts, tank tops, and everything
else…it’s something I don’t want to
worry about when I’m trying to get
dressed in the morning,” Campis
said. The administration has sworn
this year that they are serious about
things like bare shoulders, exposed
stomachs, baggy pants, and short
skirts.
The senior class was shocked
to hear another threat from
the administration: that the
consequence for pulling a prank
this year would be no graduation
ceremony.
“I guess some people don’t know
how to value a little tradition that’s
all in good fun,” Chavez-Holzman
said. So far the students have
tolerated the drastic disciplinary
crackdown, but only time will tell
how seriously they take it for the
rest of the oncoming year. “[The
prank] has to happen, no doubt
about it,” Chavez-Holzman said.
“I’m too lazy to walk in a graduation
ceremony, anyway.” ❐
BY CARSON HALE &
LAUREN MATICH
Grady’s new Arts Academy
already seems to be getting positive
feedback from all but perhaps one
group: those that don’t have the
chance to participate.
“How come everything good
happens when we’re about to
leave?” senior Zach Johnson says
about the new program. While
John Brandhorst, the coordinator
of the Academy, assures seniors
like Johnson that they were
the impetus for the creation of
such a program, 16 of this year’s
sophomores are actually the first
participants.
“Everyone has great approval
and support for it,” Brandhorst
said. Not only does it give the
students a chance to get deeper
into the arts and participate in
exhibitions, the program is also
a mode to receive grants, which
benefits the entire school.
Much like Grady’s communication magnet program, the Arts
Academy is for students with a
GPA of 2.5 or higher and who are
fascinated by the arts. The program offers emphases in music,
theater, set design, fashion, visual
art, film production, and, in the
future, dance.
Brandhorst describes this stage
in the evolution of the program
as the wheels just beginning to
turn, but said, “as it goes the
next couple years, I think it will
really come around,” and that
students will appreciate more of
what the small branch of Grady
has to offer: a small learning
community with the opportunity
to create a greater support system.
Students involved in the Arts
Academy have the chance to be
more individually driven; there is
no set program.
“All we can do is suggest a
curriculum,” Brandhorst said.
Students that express interest in
the Arts Academy apply in their
freshman year by proving their
talent or interest in a certain field,
such as music, drama or visual art,
either by taking a class at Grady or
being able to present their ability
in some way. In their sophomore
year, students can really “spread
their wings a little bit” and take
classes in the subject that appeals
to them, Brandhorst said.
The program allows students
to get special opportunities to
make their talent known to
local artists or organizations
through exhibitions, recitals,
and
presentations.
Students
get the chance to learn from
professionals,
perhaps
even
by shadowing experts in the
Atlanta area. Ultimately, students
graduate with a workable
portfolio, or “senior thesis” that
significantly increases the chances
of getting a scholarship or job.
After five years of planning and
discussions about Grady’s first
Arts Academy, coordinators, like
Brandhorst, are confident that it
is about to take flight.❐
THE SOUTHERNER
s p o r t s
Sept. 7, 2005
17
THE SOUTHERNER
New runners expected to uphold winning tradition
D’Avanzo win paces
girls to first victory
SALLY ZINTAK
BY ERIK BELGUM
After last year’s fourth-place
finish at the AA state cross-country
meet, the 2005 Grady girls crosscountry team hopes for a similar
season. Another top five state finish
is well within their sights. Coach
Jeff Cramer says the teams to beat
are Wesleyan, Lovett, Pace, and
Decatur.
Cramer, who has been coaching
at Grady for eight years and 25
years overall, is pleased with his
team. Standouts include junior
Leah Bishop, sophomores Jamison
Kinnane and Arielle D’Avanzo, and
a freshmen group led by Kala Marx
and Polly Zintak. This year’s team
will miss the senior leadership of
Amelia Godfrey, Amanda Haimes,
Jane Zamarripa, and Melanie
Wagner, who graduated in May.
“A lot of freshmen are doing
really well and seem like they’re
trying really hard,” sophomore
Molly Pett said.
Pett has not been able to practice
with the team for the first three
weeks but has still gone to practice
to stretch and stay in shape.
The first time trials of the season
for Grant Park meets were held on
Aug. 24. The girls ran a tough twomile course for their time and used
them to project their 5K (3.1 miles)
times for the Grant Park meet.
With temperatures climbing into
the low 90s and high humidity, the
girls were feeling the heat, but the
trials offer good preparation for the
Grant Park meets, which are run on
one of the toughest tracks the girls
see all year.
“This year’s team is focused on
being competitive,” junior Carson
Boy’s cross-country
team fills void left
by top runners
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Junior Leah Bishop (left) and sophomore Arielle D’Avanzo
(center) train in the heat to prepare for conditions they will face at upcoming meets.
Hale said. “The team is really
focused on doing well in meets.”
With these goals ahead of them,
the girls head across 10th Street to
Piedmont Park to practice every
day after school and run about four
miles per practice.
Cramer and the girls are looking
forward to the upcoming season
including 10 meets, regionals and
hopefully a repeat appearance at
state.
“We have some strong runners,
who could go on to greater things,”
junior Rachel Deel said. “The girls
cross-country team has the potential
to win state.”
At the Aug. 31 meet, Grady
started the year off with a win at
Grant Park. Sophomore Arielle
D’Avanzo led the team to victory
finishing first with a time of
23:37. She was followed in the top
10 by Ella Miller, Carson Hale, and
Polly Zintak who finished fourth,
seventh and ninth, respectively.
Although the team finished first,
Coach Cramer was less than thrilled
with his team’s performance. “They
ran too fast for a hot day and not
having a chance to warm up,”
Cramer said. “I wanted them to
run in groups. Instead, they got
too strung out and tried to race
people.”
At practice the day after the
meet, many runners were sore from
competing on the rigorous course.
“The Grant Park course is one of
the toughest courses in the state,”
said Cramer, who first laid out the
course seven years ago. “Your home
course should be the hardest course
you run all year,” Cramer said.
“We run these meets to prepare for
regional and state.” ❐
only to lead by example, but also
as a vocal veteran. “He has a great
sense of humor. The kids love him,”
Buerkle said.
Grady’s seasoned runners may
BY TRAVIS JONES
also be injected with a shot of
As if having to train in the youth due to cross country’s everAtlanta heat wasn’t bad enough, growing popularity. “We have lots
the Grady boys cross-country team of new guys that are hungry,” said
will have to try and replace two of Coach Buerkle, referring to this
the most accomplished runners in year’s freshman class.
Grady history, Nick Stephens and
The team must also overcome
Saji Girvan, during the upcoming scheduling conflicts.
season.
“Some have soccer in addition
“We were definitely hit hard by to schoolwork,” Coach Buerkle
graduation,” sophomore runner said. “And some have football. It’s
Daniel Matthews said. “But if we tiring, you run seven to eight miles
work hard, we can cope.”
a day, and it’s tough to balance the
Seniors Wes Vernon and Collier schedule.”
Johnson, along with junior Stone
Grady had a strong showing at
Irvin, look to ease the transition their first meet this season, when
as the veteran leaders of this year’s the team competed in the 2005
squad. “If they continue to stay APS series. Johnson finished third
focused, they could be very
behind two Mays runners with a
good,” coach Richard
time of 19:46. Sophomore Max
Buerkle said. “Collier
Leonard finished sixth, and Vernon
worked hard, and has
seventh, both with a time just over
a lot of talent. … And
20 minutes.
Stone Irvin is another
Mays had perhaps the
strong runner.”
strongest showing at the
Vernon’s goal is to be
first meet of the year,
the state champion in
with runners finishing
class AA, “As a team,
in four of the top five
we’d like to finish
slots, but according to
in the top three
coach Jeff Cramer, the
in the state,”
APS series is always used
Vernon added.
as a gauge. “We could have
Wesleyan and Greater
done much better,” junior
Atlanta Christian will
runner Alex Orlansky said.
be Grady’s toughest
“We are going to have
WOODY MORGAN
competition at the
to improve to meet
state meet.
our goals, but I think
Coach Buerkle has
that we showed the
WES
high expectations for
potential to be great
VERNON
Vernon this season. “Wes
this year.”
worked hard all summer,”
Now with a race under
he said. “He’s in real
their belt, Grady runners are
good shape.” Vernon
ready hit stride, bringing success
will be looked on not
comparable to last year’s. ❐
New college football season brings back BCS issues
BY GREG O’DONNELL
There’s an old saying in the South that
football is a religion, and for die-hard
college football fans, their divine day is
Saturday. While all the miracles, pageantry
and drama still have to be played out and
the final records are yet to be determined,
one thing is certain entering the season: the
Bowl Championship Series will once again
be as accurate as a drunk bowler.
It’s funny how Louisville can beat a weak
Houston football team and move up three
spots in the BCS rankings while Louisiana
State can lose by a point to a ranked
Auburn team and fall out of the top 10. It
just reinforces that the BCS rankings are
meaningless. Whether it’s March Madness
or the College World Series, there is some
way to determine the champion of all major
NCAA sports… except football.
So every year when the leaves start to
fall and the three things on our mind are
pumpkin pie, turkey, and footall we begin
to wonder which team will fall under the
annual BCS curse. Last year it was Auburn,
who went undefeated, including a win in the
Southeastern Conference title game only to
finish third in the BCS ranking system and
thus ranked out of the national title game.
Until the NCAA committee establishes a
tournament to determine college’s gridiron
champ, the BCS rankings will continue to
shatter dreams year after year.
Who will become Auburn of this year,
you might ask? Look for Auburn’s heated thing around here.”
rival Alabama to turn some heads this
But it’s not just Florida who has questions
year. Senior quarterback Brodie Croyle to answer. Georgia will be on thin ice for
led Alabama to a perfect 3-0 start last year the entire season. In addition to starting an
before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament unproven quarterback in D.J. Shockley this
and ending his hopes for the Heisman year, Georgia has to play their two toughest
Trophy. And don’t even think about games, Tennessee and Florida, away from
messing with Bama’s defense. Linebacker the friendly confines of Stanford Stadium.
Freddie Roach would
The first test of the
Southerner’s Preseason Top 5
make my top five of
season for the Dawgs
people you don’t want to
comes on Sept. 10
1. Texas
upset; I think the other
when ex-Florida coach
Vince Young will run wild and beat
four were featured on
Steve Spurrier brings his
USC.
America’s Most Wanted. 2. Southern Cal
South Carolina team
Bush, Leinart should carry a
Don’t be surprised if the
between the hedges.
stacked offense
6-foot-2,
239-pound 3. Virgina Tech
This game will answer
This will be Marcus Vick’s year
Roach wins defensive
one important question:
4. UGA
player of the year in the
has Spurrier got the
A senior QB and athletic defense
SEC.
swagger back? In typical
should give UGA 10 wins.
Speaking of the SEC, 5. Florida
Spurrier fashion he has
Don’t be surprised if Chris Leak
many questions remain
already predicted a win
throws for 3 ,000 yards.
unanswered. Is new head
over Georgia, which
ROBERT SANDERS
coach Urban Meyer going
the Bulldogs turned
to be able to turn around an athletic but into motavational material. The other
underachieving Florida team? According to SEC power-house, Tennessee, has big
Sports Illustrated, yes. SI has ranked them quarterback issues to face after their home
third in the nation behind, you guessed it, opener against UAB. Tennessee’s starting
Southern California and Texas. But Gator quarterback, Eric Ainge, was taken out of
fans, don’t get cocky, because even though the game after a poor first half. Tennessee
there are 14 returning starters, there is still will have to fix these problems if they expect
doubt regarding the backfield. Coach to win at Florida, a game that could decide
Meyer sums it up best, “Right now we’re the SEC East title game.
in a bit of a panic situation. We have three
Battling USC for the number one spot
scholarship tailbacks who haven’t done a all season should be the University of Texas.
Senior quarterback Vince Young is another
Heisman hopeful. His rare ability to tuck
the ball and run or to throw it down the
field is enough to drive any defensive
coach towards a mental institution. Texas
battles eighth-ranked Ohio State in the first
morgue game of the season. Although this
will be an extremely hard win, the real gut
check for Texas will be the annual rivalry
game with Oklahoma, a team they haven’t
beaten since Young was in high school.
The Atlanta Coast Conference looks as
tough as Lance Armstrong coming into
the season. Miami and Virginia Tech
are ranked sixth and eighth respectively,
but at the end of the season, it will be no
surprise if N.C. State and Georgia Tech
crack the Top 25. Tech lost one of their
best defensive players on federal marijuana
charges in the off-season, but sophomore
receiver Calvin Johnson is one of the best
players in the nation. If Reggie Ball, a.k.a
Mr. Inconsistency, can overcome his ego,
then look for Tech to put up some big
offensive numbers.
I’m not picking USC like 99.9 percent
of sports writers, but rather the Texas
Longhorns. USC and Texas will both go
undefeated and play in this year’s BCS
championship game. But the supreme
athletic ability of Texas’ quarterback Vince
Young will be too much for the Trojan air
attack. Look for this game to be an offensive
duel with Texas winning 38-31. ❐
s p o r t s
18
Sept. 15, 2005
Patriots’ dynasty will fall to Ravens’ flawless defense
DUY LAM
BY MAX BEECHING
America’s greatest sport is back, and it’s time
to know where your team stands; will they
make it to glory or fall short? The NFL season
kicked off Sept. 8, and it’s well underway.
NFC South: The Falcons have the chance to
have back-to-back winning seasons for the first
time in franchise history. This year will offer a
good test for quarterback Michael Vick to find
out if he can succeed with his second year in
the West Coast offense and if he can prove that
he is a compete quarterback. The only way the
Falcons would be able to make it to the Super
Bowl is if they gain home field advantage
throughout the playoffs, which won’t happen
because of their tough schedule.
NFC East: Regardless of Terrell Owens’s
actions and the difference of opinion with his
head coach and teammates, he will perform
when needed and help the Philadelphia
Eagles to a second consecutive Super Bowl
appearance. No other team can match them
in the NFC East.
NFC West: With new quarterback Kurt
Warner, the Cardinals are this year’s upset
team. Their defense showed promise last year
as they forced 30 takeaways and had 38 sacks.
Rookies Antrel Rolle from Miami and Daryl
Blackstock from Virginia should help fill the
gaps on defense.
NFC North: Even though Minnesota traded
away the best wide-out in the game, Randy
Moss, Daunte Culpepper and the Vikings
will still win their division. Wide-out Nate
Burleson was rock-solid last year as he proved
to everyone that he could be the team’s No.1
receiver. Minnesota made key defensive
transactions in the off-season by signing safety
Darren Sharper from the Packers and corner
Fred Smoot from the Redskins.
NFC wild-card: If the Seahawks’ wide-outs
learn how to catch this off-season they should
make it to the playoffs this year. Overall they
are a solid team, but most of the players
don’t have that mental intensity you need
in order to go deep in the postseason. The
Carolina Panthers will make it to the playoffs
as well. The NFC is a weak conference and
the Panthers know how to perform under
pressure. Jake Delhomme will continue to
prove he knows how to lead a team and that
he is a quality quarterback.
AFC East: In what has become arguably
the best division in football, the Bills have the
best chance to come out on top because of
their unmerciful defense that led the league in
takeaways last year with 39. They have a solid
receiving corps in Lee Evans and Eric Moulds,
and they have one of the best running backs in
the league, Willis McGahee.
AFC West: The Chiefs finally have a defense
to match their high-powered offense, thanks
to the aquisition of linebacker Kendrell Bell
Unfair NFL salaries
create player disputes
PATRICK MCGLYNN
Pro player’s death
raises heat concerns
BY ASA BEAL
Immediately following the San Francisco 49ers’
preseason loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Aug.
21, offensive lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed in
the locker room and died minutes later. Herrion was
just 23 years old, coming into his first full season in
the National Football League after playing a season in
NFL Europe for the Hamburg Seadogs. Tragedies like
this remind all those involved with sports that it’s just a
game and that certain precautions must be taken.
According to 49ers players, Herrion collapsed right
after head coach Mike Nolan had finished his post-game
meeting, NFL.com reported. CPR was administered on
Herrion as he was rushed to a nearby hospital. Doctors
who performed the autopsy could not identify the cause
of death, and are still working to uncover the truth
about his untimely passing. Teammates remembered
Herrion as a fun-loving and humorous person, who was
working hard to make the team.
According to NFL.com, Herrion was born in Fort
Worth, Texas, on Dec. 15, 1981. After attending Kilgore
Junior College, he went to the University of Utah, where
he played right tackle and left tackle for the Utes. Last
year, after going undrafted out of Utah, he joined the
San Francisco and Dallas Cowboys’ practice squads, and
then traveled to Germany to play in 10 games for the
Hamburg Seadogs.
Players and coaches alike expressed deep concern for
Herrion and his family. The seriousness and suddenness
of this situation shocked not only those affiliated
with the 49ers organization but also people across the
nation. Many expressed alarm that doctors still have not
determined the cause of Herrion’s death.
This incident evoked a similar tragedy four years
ago when Korey Stringer, an offensive linemen for the
Minnesota Vikings, died of heatstroke during training
camp. Since that time, the NFL has taken great care to
protect its players against dangerous weather conditions.
This past summer was an especially hot one, and NFL
players and coaches were taking greater measures to
defend themselves against heatstroke by monitoring
players’ internal body temperature with new health
technology.
According to NFL.com, one of these new technologies
is a pill that players ingest. The pill then relays internal
temperature information to a computer. Though these
pills can give valuable information, they cannot actually
guard against the danger of heatstroke. Heatstroke
seems an unlikely cause for Herrion’s death because he
spent only 14 downs on the field and the temperature
from the Steelers, and safety Sammy Knight
and cornerback Patrick Surtain from the
Dolphins. The Chiefs could make it to the
AFC Championship.
AFC South: The best quarterback in the
league, Peyton Manning, with his huge new
contract, will have an even better season. By
re-signing Edgerrin James and by designating
him as the franchise player, the Colts will
be unstoppable in the regular season. The
postseason is a different story. Since defense
wins championships, the Colts won’t go past
the second round.
AFC North: The Ravens managed to
make their defense even better by signing
cornerback Samari Rolle. With rookie wideout Mark Clayton from Oklahoma and exTitan Derrick Mason, third-year quarterback
Kyle Boller will finally step up and play at the
next level and lead his team to a Super Bowl
XL victory.
AFC wild-card: Carson Palmer was born a
winner and will get the job done with the help
of wide-out Chad Johnson, who led the AFC
in receiving yards last year, and running back
Rudi Johnson, who set the franchise rushing
record. The defending Super Bowl champs
have their hands full this year. With their
offensive and defensive coordinators leaving
for new jobs, the Patriots won’t be as feared as
they have been the past two years. ❐
THE MAIN SQUEEZE: Senior wide receiver Antonio Lowe hydrates
during halftime of the Sept. 2 game against Blessed Trinity.
stayed in the 60s during the game.
Experts say, however, that heatstroke can occur even
in temperate conditions. Some doctors have suspected
some sort of heart condition as the main factor to
Herrion’s death. At this point though, any of these
theories are mere guesswork.
Grady sports teams have also taken precautions
regarding the safety of players during the summer heat.
Coach Ronnie Millen has some advice for his athletes in
terms of staying hydrated: “Every time you pass a water
fountain, take a drink.”
Coach Simon Hubbard, Grady’s linemen coach, also
provided insight into the Knights’ hydration strategies.
“As the temperature goes up and the humidity rises, we
have to take more time in between drills and take longer
water breaks,” Hubbard said. Though both Grady
sports teams and professional teams are trying to stay
safe and cool, there are obviously still dangers in playing
too hard in the heat.
Until the cause of Thomas Herrion’s passing is
confirmed, there will be much speculation as to what
caused the death of this affable lineman. His friends,
family, teammates, and even those who did not know
him until he passed will remember him and mourn his
death.
In a postgame press conference, coach Mike Nolan
was asked what he though about the 49ers’ 26-21 loss to
the Broncos. “There are more important things on our
mind than the game,” Nolan told reporters. “Right now,
our thoughts and prayers are with Thomas Herrion.” ❐
“ T. O .
must G-O.”
T h a t’s
what fans’
posters read
a r o u n d
Philadelphia
E a g l e s
PATRICK MCGLYNN t r a i n i n g
camp in the final week of August
as superstar wide receiver Terrell
Owens returned from his one-week
suspension. Head coach Andy Reid
asked Owens to take a one-weeklong break from camp because of
his behavior and attitude towards the
team. Reid reportedly told T.O. to
shut up after he disrupted practice,
spoke out against teammates, and
cursed in front of the strict Mormon
head coach.
Do you think T.O. is going to take
that from a head coach that has led
the Eagles to the NFC title game
four years in a row?
His response: “My name isn’t
Reid. My name is Owens. I’m not
one of his kids. Don’t tell me to shut
up.”
So how did this all come to be?
It is all because T.O. doesn’t get the
respect a hard-working man like
himself deserves. Granted, T.O.
complains like a baby and makes
ridiculous statements comparing
himself to Jesus and calling his
previous quarterback gay, but I
understand his fight for a better
contract.
National Football League players
have the hardest time making a living
out of the four major professional
sports.
Unlike Major League
Baseball, the National Hockey
League, and the National Basketball
Association, football players have no
guarantee that they will make the
money they agree on when signing
a contract. The only guarantee is the
signing bonus received before the
player takes a step on the field. If
T.O. was hurt in his first game after
signing his seven-year, $49-million
dollar contract, he would see none
of that money. If T.O. was cut to
make room for the salary cap, he
would see none of that money. NFL
players have neither guarantees nor
security when it comes to earning a
little folding money. They deserve
guaranteed contracts because they
form the biggest income-producing
sport, play the most physical game,
and still get the smallest rewards with
no financial protection.
But fans would pay a high price if
players got the money they deserved,
a price that has nothing to do with
the money: guaranteed salaries
would ruin the sport. T.O. would
be able to trot around on the field
like Barry Bonds does to first base,
still knowing that he will get his pay
check. Who would want to risk
a long-term injury when there is
nothing to work towards? Having
players go all out every game creates
competition, spectacular plays, and
the most popular sport in America.
The NFL has been treating
players unfairly for years, and I
have no complaints. The NFL is
the closest spectator sport to being
perfection. T.O.’s fun can go on as
long as he wants it to, just as long
as he continues to be one of the
most dominant receivers and gives
us something to laugh about every
Sunday.
You have to understand what
T.O. is making a stand for even if
you don’t agree with how he is doing
it. At the end of the day, you must
realize that T.O. is just an entertainer
that deserves a little more respect
and a little more money, which
unfortunately for him will never
happen. ❐
THE SOUTHERNER
s p o r t s
Sept. 15, 2005
19
their best setter. Although the
team was hit with some tough
losses, Coach Nicholson still feels
that this year’s team can have a
winning season.
The team “Lieutenant,” or
captain’s assistant, Emma Din,
is still optimistic about the
upcoming season. “If we stay
focused and work hard we’ll
make a decent team this year,”
Din said.
The team had its first official
scrimmages on Saturday Aug. 12.
The seven girls battled through
the five games and although they
didn’t walk away with a victory,
the day was still encouraging for
Coach Nicholson.
Other teams called Grady the
“Cinderella Team” because they
were playing with a skeleton crew
of only seven players and only
had a few minutes to warm
up but still almost won their
first competition.
It is obvious that Coach
Nicholson’s efforts to
expand the program have
paid off since more than
30 students tried out for
this year’s
volleyball
team, which is the most
in Nicholson’s tenure as
coach.Through the large
amount of new talent
joining the team, Coach
Nicholson hopes to be
both a top contender
for next year and also
to finally have enough
players to field a
junior varsity team
Jada Glasby for the first time. ❐
SON
CAR
LE
HA
BY KENNY JONES
After losing four of the
six starting team members
to graduation, the volleyball
team enters what Coach Paul
Nicholson calls a rebuilding
season.
Although Coach Nicholson
expects at least seven returning
players from last year’s team, his
main goal for this year is to build
the program and position the
team for successful years to come.
Coach Nicholson also expanded
the team roster from 12 players
to 15 this year, which could mean
as many as eight new players on
the team.
The eight new members,
or as Nicholson affectionately
calls them “newbies,” hope to
bring success to this season and
beyond.
Despite their
1 0 - 1 8
record,
C o a c h
Nicholson
contends that
last year’s volleyball squad
was one of the top teams in
school history.
It was the best team that
I’ve coached in the four years
I’ve been here,” he said.
Their record wasn’t as good
as years past only because
the players asked for a
harder schedule to put their
talent to the test.
Now the team is plagued
with the losses of their
two-time team most
valuable player and
MICAH WEISS
Volleyball hopes to
expand the program
ILL-FATED INNING: Senior Elissa Koehl pitches to a Mays opponent at the beginning of a disastrous inning for the Lady Knights on
Aug. 31. The night did not get any better for the Lady Knights as they ended up losing the game 19-4 to the Lady Raiders.
Team goals in young hands
BY CARSON PHILLIPS
After a landmark, multi-win
season last fall, the Grady girls
softball team looks to new faces
to carry on the task of earning
a state playoff bid. The softball
team had five wins last year and
barely missed a playoff berth.
To add insult to injury, the team
bade farewell to one of Grady’s
best senior classes in a long time.
“We’ll really miss the seniors,”
senior second baseman Vivi
Chavez said of the departed class
of 2005. “They really helped us
in our success last year.”
Despite the attrition, the
outlook is hopeful. “We worked
out for three weeks in the
summer getting in shape, doing
lunges, suicides, and other
exercises,” senior left fielder Ann
Marie Drolet said.
The
upperclassmen
feel
confident in their younger
counterparts. “We have a few
really solid freshman that will
definitely make an impact,
and the returning players have
matured a lot over the past year,”
junior catcher Caitlin Bradley
said.
“This year will definitely be
a learning process,” freshman
outfielder Eshe Shakura said.
“We [freshman] have been
receiving a lot of help from the
upperclassman.”
The team has been working
in the summer heat to achieve a
common goal. “Our team goal is
definitely to make the playoffs as
well as to beat Paideia, the team
that knocked us out of the playoff
race last year,” Bradley said. The
Knights began making steps
towards that goal on Wednesday
Aug. 24, when they beat Therell
by way of forfeit.
The Knights took the field
again the next day against
Paideia, losing 22-12. “We put
up a really good fight,” Chavez
said after the loss. “We made a
really good comeback at the end
of the game.”
The team was a bit disappointed
but no less confident. This
confidence was uniform from the
players to the coaching staff as
the Knights continue to improve.
“We hope to improve our record
from last season,” Coach Patrick
Thomas said. “We just need to
get everyone together, and I think
we’ll be OK.” ❐
NHL returns with hopes, new rules to foster support
BY DUY LAM
For almost a calendar year, economics
teacher Kurt Phillips had the front page
of the sports section of the Sept. 16, 2004
issue of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution
hanging in the back of his room. On that
front page was the headline “THE NHL
LOCKS OUT PLAYERS.” On Aug. 24,
2005, during his first period class Mr.
Phillips vehemently ripped down the
page just under the 10-by-3-foot Atlanta
Flames banner. Like many die-hard
hockey fans, Mr. Phillips was glad to hear
the lockout was finally over and is joyously
anticipating the new the season. But for
many fans, however, the game will never
be the same again.
After about 300 days of stalemate
between the two sides, a new collective
bargaining agreement was reached between
the players’ union and the NHL owners.
Arenas were officially opened on July 13.
The NHL became the first professional
league in the United States ever to lose an
entire season due to a lockout or strike.
Owners contend lockout was inevitable
due to the decrease in popularity of the
sport and the big economic loss for the
owners in the previous two seasons. With
television ratings lower than pro bowling,
owners lost more than $200 million in
those two seasons and were forced to
restructure a new deal with the union to
lower players’ salaries.
because they all would have the same
maximum amount to spend on players.
The initial salary cap for the 2005-2006
64 feet
64 feet
50 feet
year is $39 million, and each team has to
(60)
(60)
(60)
spend at least $21.5 million on players’
salary.
11 feet
11 feet
Since the announcement of the end to
(13)
(13)
the lockout there has been a flourish of
player movement. With dozens of all-stars,
such as the outspoken Jeremy Roenick and
Atlanta’s own superstar, Danny Heatley,
moving from one team to another, the
league experienced as close to a real-life
fantasy draft as possible. In the real NHL
draft just days after the agreement was
signed, however, the Pittsburgh Penguins
New Measurements
selected 17-year-old phenom, Sidney
Source: nhl.com
(Old Measurements)
Crosby, as the first overall pick. Crosby,
who dominated the Quebec Major Junior
NEW RINK: Aside from the new deminsions of the rink, the NHL has decided to remove the center line from Hockey League last year, will have the
play to allow longer passes without commiting the penalty of the two-line pass to create more breakaways. weight of the league on his shoulders,
as he will be expected to bring back the
The result of the unprecedented lockout
One of the most important changes that excitement that Wayne Gretzky once
is a brand-new NHL that promotes faster the NHL will implement is the shootout brought to a ,moribund league.
play and higher scoring to try to reach out at the end of a five-minute overtime period
Although the long-term future of the
to more fans. Some of the new rules include if the game still remains tied. One of the NHL appears promising, the current
the permission of the two-line pass, which worst things in sports is watching a three- state of the league is still uncertain. One
will allow more breakaways. The new rules hour game end in a tie.
of the league’s points of emphasis is to
also emphasize a more free-flowing game
The NHL has decided to eliminate that attract revenue through television. They
by limiting the goalie’s involvement in a possibility by adding a three-on-three have, however rejected ESPN and turned
play by limiting the amount of stoppage shootout. The NHL will also adopt the to Comcast’s Outdoor Life Network. But
during a game by penalizing players for idea of a salary cap similar to that of the television or not, hockey fans are just
“icing a puck” and for interference with NFL. This will allow smaller-market teams happy that the doors are open and skates
the game play.
to compete with larger-market teams are back on the ice again. ❐
s p o r t s
20
Sept. 15, 2005
BY MAX BEECHING
Fans of the football team can’t help but
have high expectations this year due to the
addition of talented players who played for
Crim last year. Their expectations have been
met thus far as the team is 3-0 and poised to
have one of the best years in school history.
Grady players believe they have a chance
for great success in the playoffs mainly
because the new players from Crim bring
depth and talent. Each position carries
several strong players that are capable of
playing at a high level. ”It really helps to
have these guys this year,” junior linebacker
Anthony Johnson said. “Last year we really
didn’t have a lot of good backups, and we
have that this year.”
In their season opener Grady dominated
in all aspects of the game, beating the Therrell
Panthers 43-0. “I’ll give it to them, it was
hot,” said head coach Ronnie Millen, when
asked about his team’s performance against
Therrell. Despite the lopsided victory, the
players knew there was work to be done. “We
could have put up even more points up on
the board and the blocking could have been
better,” junior halfback Dexter Barnett said.
The passing game struggled as the offense
only managed three completions and it seemed
like every time junior quarterback Simeon
Kelley dropped back there were defenders
in his face. On the ground Grady delivered
tremendously as senior Cedric Sykes and
juniors Zach Cohen, Dexter Barnett, Simeon
Kelley and Joshua Williams all produced
touchdowns. Along with the running game,
the defense shined, forcing four turnovers,
two of which were interceptions by junior
Xavier Shorthouse. One of the two fumble
recoveries was returned for a touchdown
by junior Rico Robinson. The defensive
onslaught continued as Grady held Therrell
scoreless, and Johnson sacked the quaterback
for a safety.
The defense made up for some of Grady’s
mistakes. For instance the special teams
gave up a 50-yard kickoff return to the
Grady 30-yard line giving Therrell good
field position and making fans wonder if
the shutout would hold. The Grady defense
stopped Therrell’s best chance of scoring by
thwarting them on four straight downs.
Grady’s second game of the season against
North Atlanta came down to the wire with
a 21-14 Grady victory. The defense proved
how strong it was as they produced four
turnovers and a fumble recovery for a sevenyard touchdown to give the Knights their first
points of the game. North Atlanta responded
with a 15-yard touchdown pass. Even
though Kelley came out in the second half
with a sprained wrist, Grady still managed
to pull away with 14 unanswered points.
Kelley was 6 for 14 with 115 yards and a
touchdown. The Knights had a 10-yard
touchdown pass to sophomore Demarcus
WOODY MORGAN
New talent, strong defense put Knights on championship pace
IT’S GOOD: Sophomore Noah Shaye kicks a 29-yard field goal in overtime to seal a 3-0 win over Blessed Trinity.
Watts, and a 27-yard touchdown run by
junior Dexter Barnett. North Atlanta scored
again late in the fourth quarter with a oneyard touchdown run, but it wasn’t enough, as
Grady was able to run out the clock.
“The defense was what won it for us and
we weren’t physically or mentally ready for
this game, and we need to fix that,” Kelley
said after the game.
Grady’s main goal this year is to finish
first in their region, which hasn’t happened
in a long time. If they succeed they will
gain home-field advantage throughout the
playoffs and hopefully land in the Georgia
Dome, where they will fight for the state
championship. ❐
Francoeur frenzy continued from Parkview to pros
Four
years ago I
found myself
in a packed
stadium.
The
Big
Orange
Jungle was
WOODY MORGAN
rumbling
as
fans
clad in blue and orange were
praising their then nationally
ranked football team.
I was
watching the Parkview Panthers
from the sidelines. I was watching
a team that would go 15-0 for
the second straight season. I was
watching an all-state defensive
back and wide receiver. I was
watching Jeff Francoeur.
I was amazed as the local
Lilburn talent made play after
play on the football field in 2001.
Now I’m even more stunned after
seeing Francoeur make play after
play on the baseball diamond at
Turner Field. After contributing
to back-to-back football state
championships and also leading
Parkview to back-to-back baseball
championships, Francoeur gave
up a football scholarship to
Clemson University when the
Braves drafted him in the first
round in 2002.
Fast forward three years to his
July 7 debut, the day he got his
first major-league hit, a
game winning three-run
homer.
You have to have
something
special
in order to get the
support of a city
that expects a 14th
straight division
title, a city
that
already
has an icon
synonymous
with the
number
7, a city
that has declared the
dynasty of the Joneses to be
the essence of Braves baseball. But
if it’s something special you need,
then Francoeur is your man.
In 2001 he set Parkview’s singlegame record for most home runs
by hitting three against Lassiter,
a feat he repeated the very next
season. He also tied the school’s
single-game RBI record as well,
with seven against Centennial.
Francoeur hit .443 with 55 home
runs and 164 RBI’s during his high
school career. He also holds seven
school football records.
Now that he is
big
time,
Je f f ’s
aggressive
style
of
play has not
changed one
bit. The 6-4,
220-pounder
attributes
his
aggressive
play
to the football
field and has swung
on the first pitch
thrown his way nearly
50 percent of the time.
Francoeur’s free-swinging
nature is one reason that
he has only walked three times
since being called up. He reached
the plate 131 times before the
*All caps denotes HOME TEAM
He puts forth the extra effort
rarely seen in modern professional
sports. He’ll swing on any pitch
just for the chance to get on base.
He’s the kind of guy that almost
hurls himself face first into the
outfield grass when throwing out
a base runner. That effort is why
he is currently tied for second for
outfield assists in the National
League and very much in the race
for National League Rookie of the
Year, even though he has only been
playing a little over two months.
So, do we love him because he
was born and bred in this city
and because we have watched him
excel in athletics since high school?
Or is it because he could be the
best youngster in the majors and
has put up numbers better than
many veterans in such a short
time? Well yes, but he captivates
fans because he genuinely loves
the game and his hometown.
Francoeur is still playing the game
like a high school kid, but on a
much higher level. He is playing
for the reason you should play any
sport, because he loves it. ❐
Knight Watch
FOOTBALL
VOLLEYBALL
Aug. 23
WESTLAKE def. Grady 19-25, 25-18, 25-11
Pebblebrook def. Grady 25-11, 25-17
Aug. 25
Grady def. North Atlanta 25-19, 25-13
Grady def. DOUGLASS 26-24, 17-25, 25-19
Sept. 5
Washington def. GRADY 25-10, 25-15
Wheeler def. GRADY 25-19, 25-14
Sept. 6
Grady def. South Atlanta 25-20, 21-25, 25-20
MAYS def. Grady 27-25, 25-20
Padres intentionally walked him
on Aug. 22.
His aggressiveness makes him so
fun to watch; you never know what
pitch he is going to take a chance
on and hit out of the park. It only
took him 33 at-bats to hit five
home runs, a pace no Braves icon
has matched. Andruw Jones went
to the plate 55 times before he hit
five homers. It took Chipper 75
at-bats and Hank Aaron, the alltime home run leader, 128 trips to
the plate.
I sat right behind the opposing
dugout on Aug. 17 and watched
Jeff belt a ball 406 feet against the
Dodgers for home run No. 10. As
Jeff rounded third base, I stood
and proudly thrust my Braves’ No.
7 jersey, that I had just bought for
20 bucks outside the park, into the
air.
Watching the replay, I just kept
reminding myself that he was only
21 years old and that I had seen
the very same kid play high school
football here in Atlanta. He is
truly playing for his town, and he
is loving it.
GRADY 43, Therrell 0
Grady 21, NORTH ATLANTA 14
GRADY 3, Blessed Trinity 0 (OT)
GRADY 31, Southside 6
Region 5-AA Standings
Region
Walker
Decatur
Grady
Lovett
Carver
Cross Keys
Upcoming games:
W
1
0
0
0
0
0
L
0
0
0
0
0
1
SOFTBALL
Player Profile:
Junior WR/ CB
Xavier Shorthouse
Grady 7, Therell 0 (forfeit)
PAIDEIA 22, Grady 12
MAYS 19, Grady 4
HOLY INNOCENTS’ 15, Grady 0
Overall
W
3
4
4
4
1
0
L
1
0
0
0
2
4
Sept. 16 – Miller Grove at Grady
Sept. 23 – Decatur at Grady
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 160
Number: 21
Favorite Food:
Chinese
Favorite Athlete:
Antrel Rolle
Stats: 4 INT’s
Pace
Lovett
Holy Innocents’
Paideia
Walker
Cross Keys
Grady
Decatur
Region
Overall
W
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
W
7
4
1
0
0
0
0
1
L
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
2
L
3
2
2
0
4
4
2
3