Newspaper Article

THE INDEPENDENT
Memorial’s Independent Student Newspaper
h t t p : / / w w w. t h e - i n d e p e n d e n t . o r g
Vol. XIV • No. 7
March, 2005
INSIDE
NEWS
• Page 2: Chinese New Year
EDITORIALS
• Page 3: Library Should
Allow Email
FEATURE
• Page 5: Creature Feature
• Page 6: Hitch
• Page 7: Culinary
• Page 8: Otaku
ARTS
• Page 9: Moon for the Misbegotten
• Page 10: Good Bye to
Tomek
• Page 11: All That Jazz
IN FOCUS
• Page 12: MMSD Budget
Cuts
VARSITY
• Page 13: Spring Captains
List
• Page 14: Spring Sports
Schedule
Madison, Wisconsin
MEMORIAL’S BOYS SWIM TEAM WON STATE!
SEE
ARTICLE PAGE
13
Memorial’s Abstinence Club
money include “promoting abstinence
among unmarried youth aged 19 and
According to the American Heriyounger in the community.”
tage Dictionary, abstinence is, “the
Interest sparked for a few students
act or practice of refraining from
after a group called, “True to Life” made
indulging an appetite, as for
up of 17-21 year olds came
food.” However, at Memorial,
to Memorial to talk about
and in the community at large,
their struggles with abstiabstinence is most commonly
nence, sex, and reclaiming
known as, the act or practice
their abstinence. The group
of refraining from sex. Sex, it
has another date set to come
seems, has engulfed our minds,
to Memorial sometime in
and our bodies. Students are
April. Health classes as
first taught sex education in
well as some other classes
elementary school in Madiwatched the young adults
son and finish this education
talk in Theatre 300 and then
as freshman in Health class.
on November 10 th MemoriFor the Wisconsin Abstinence
al’s first meeting began, run
Initiative for Youth (WAIY), True to Life is a group made up of 17-21 who discuss sex, teen by Ms. Lorch. The meethowever, this education is parenting, abstinence, and starting over.
ing discussed relationships,
not sufficient enough, and
sexual orientation, safe sex,
has prompted them to start clubs all on, “Motivating, Inspiring and Support- STD risks, love vs. infatuation, as well
around the state promoting (as quoted ing Youth in Every Wisconsin Com- as exceptions to abstinence and different
from their brochure), “youth [to] adopt munity to Choose Abstinence,” WAIY types of sex. Ms. Paris-Ford, who has
healthy choices and [to] promote absti- gives Abstinence clubs $800 dollars the taken on the club more recently has said
nence among their peers.”
first year, $500 for the advisor and $300
ABSTINENCE, PAGE 11
An abstinence club is now at Memo- for the club as well as $500 dollars the
rial, although interest among students following year for the advisor. WAIY’s
did not prompt the club, and has there- guidelines for those schools that receive
By Micah Herstand
fore left the club’s leader, Ms. Paris-Ford,
with few students to jumpstart the initiative. The club was brought by WAIY
with Ms. Jan Lorch as Memorial’s liaison. According to the WAIY brochure
Tsunami Benefit Concert
By Daniel Kazell
On February tenth, the tsunami
disaster had already claimed over
150,000 lives, and that number continues to grow. Yet it already seems
like news of the past: no one talks
about it anymore. Perhaps people
find it hard to dwell on the negative, maybe some think since the
news doesn’t cover it so often, that
things are back to normal. Things
are far from normal, but students
were able to help the cause while
rejoicing the south Asian cultural
aspects at Memorial’s tsunami ben-
efit concert.
At the concert, students were able to
help the disaster without focusing on
those aspects that many people find
displeasing. The dancers were dressed
in colorful costumes and danced to
Indian and Hmong music. There was
no English in the performance except
when the MC’s announced new acts.
Not understanding the words of the
songs made the experience all even
better. The words f lowed with the
music and almost became part of the
beat. The movements of the dancers
went with the songs and some wore
instruments that matched the rhythm
AMUSE
of the songs. The first part of the
concert was more traditional south
Indian dancing. Shivanthi Mahendran, a Junior at Memorial, was one
of the lead dancers in the Indian
group. “We had very little time to
prepare,” she said.
Despite this
fact, the performance was still very
well done. Then, a trio of Hmong
boys played bamboo-looking instruments. The next Indian dances were
more like folk dances, preformed by
the same group. Finally, there were
Hmong dancers and a duo, which
CONCERT, PAGE 7
Gomez: Nothing special. You know, like
everybody else, I brush between every class
hour and floss four times a day.
• Page 15: Untitled, by Nina
Trotto
Ismail: What do you think about people
who dress up their pets?
PAGE 16
How to Get Out of the
Memorial Parking Lot
Ismail: So how come you haven’t been
singing the national anthem at sports events
recently?
Gomez: Some people don’t even know
how to dress themselves, let alone their pets.
Ismail: Coldstone or Dairy Queen?
Gomez: Well, after my acid reflux incident,
my voice hasn’t been what it used to be. But
don’t worry; I’ll be back.
Gomez: Coldstone, hands down. I’m a
sucker for “Cookie Dough’t You Want Some”
and “Berry Berry Good.”
Ismail: Are you big on Ashlee Simpson?
The Independent’s Ismail Boukahil
interviews senior Erika Gomez
Gomez: She was my favorite, but she let
me down.
Ismail: What’s your secret for such a white
smile?
Ismail: What’s your biggest regret in your
high school career?
Erika: Doing this interview.
Ismail: Ouch.
NEWS
2 • THE INDEPENDENT
RINGING
IN THE
By Wenbin Yang
Whether it is glimpsing fireworks,
dragon dances, delicious dumplings,
and red-paper decorations on TV or
around Madison for the past few weeks,
you have caught the spirit of an amazing
traditional holiday: Chinese New Year.
With a history dating back even further
than Santa Claus, Chinese New Year
is celebrated by Asians throughout the
world. They use the holiday to lift their
hearts in the middle of a frost-filled
winter and to bid their friends and
family good fortune in the upcoming
year. Many Asian-Americans have
dropped the formalities and instead
focus on preserving the atmosphere,
much like that of Christmas, where
YEAR
OF THE
M ARCH, 2005
ROOSTER
children laugh, adults get together, and digit numbers, the New Year’s “blessing”
house lights never go off at night. Still, the becomes the real deal of the holiday. Sophbeauty of this fifteen-day celebration has omore David Cai initially stated that he is
passed from one generation to another.
only “alright with [Chinese New Year]”
When asked about
and
“[doesn’t]
her favorite aspect of
celebrate it here.”
Adding to the fanfare
Chinese New Year,
Upon
further
was the clear and
Memorial
junior
questioning, howBetty Ma replied, “I
ever, he smiled
beautiful full moon
don’t know, getting
and said, “when
seen in Madison, which you say ‘Happy
together with family
[and eating] lots of
New Year,’ you
is believed to bring a
food.” Ma’s clearest
get lots of money
peaceful and fertile year. from
memory of Chinese
elders and
New Year is the spirit of the holiday. How- relatives.” The gift-giving eventually
ever, the highlight of Chinese New Year goes full-circle, and when Asian children
is probably the gift money that people become adults, it is their turn to give
receive from relatives, signifying fortune money to the younger ones.
and peace in the upcoming year. Now, with
With hearty laughs and sincere wishes
the money summing up to three- or four-
in Asian communities, ringing in the
year of the rooster came to an end last
Wednesday. Adding to the fanfare was
the clear and beautiful full moon seen
in Madison, which is believed to bring a
peaceful and fertile year. The last day of the
celebration, known as the Lantern Festival,
is greeted by many Asian communities
with mooncakes and ingeniously-designed
lanterns. On that night, families reunite
for the last time to recount their joyful
memories from the past fourteen days.
Although the upcoming year will soon
begin, no one is ready to move on until the
last lanterns fade off in the peaceful night.
These moments will be cherished until the
next new year, when the celebration will
cheer the weary spirit once more with the
familiar greeting of “Happy New Year!”
Air Advisory Alert
By Daniel Kazell
T he DNR issued an a i r qua l it y
warn i ng on Febr uar y 3 rd . Superi ntendent A rt R a i nwater sent a
vag ue letter to parents concerni ng t he event later t hat week:
combust ion sources, such as factories, ot her various i ndust rious
sources, veh icles, f i replaces and
wood stoves. T he ci rcu mstances
lead i ng to t h is event were qu ite
si mple; a large stag nant a i r mass
was pushed over t he M idwest g roups” Orange “u nhea lt hy ” Red
and pi ned down t rappi ng f i ne “ver y u nhea lt hy ” Pur ple “ hazardpart icles near t he surface. T here ous.” Mad ison was at orange t hat
are d ifferent levels of danger for Wednesday. Enough people were
a i r pol lut ion: Green “moderate” aware of t he problem t hat no one
Yel low “u nhea lt hy for sensit ive was i njured.
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The Wisconsin Depar tment of
Natural R esourced issued an air
qualit y health advisor y for the Madison area on Wednesday and Thursday.
The warning advised those with hear t
problems, respirator y concerns and
individuals in sensitive groups-which
included children –to limit sustained
strenuous activit y until the advisor y
is lifted. The advisor y was lifted at 3
p.m. Thursday. I want to make you
aware of precautions the distr ict took
to ensure the health and safet y of the
children.
T he letter went on to say t he
act ions t hat t he d ist rict took to
ensure t he hea lt h of its st udents:
no physica l educat ion class took
place outside, recess was cut to
no more t han f ifteen to t went y
m i nutes long (t hough any st udents sufferi ng from ast hma
or ot her respi rator y problems
shou ld be a l lowed to ret urn
i ndoors earl ier). Fi na l ly, any
specia l outdoor act iv it ies wh ich
exceeded t he t went y m i nute t i me
frame shou ld be post poned.
As it t urns out, t he ent i re
sout h eastern t h i rd of Wisconsi n
was put on a lert. T h is a lert was
schedu led to last u nt i l t he f ift h,
but as t he letter states, ended
at 3 p.m on T hursday. W hen a
warn i ng l ike t h is is i n affect,
st udents shou ld head i ndoors
w it h t he f i rst sig n of chest pa i ns
or breat h i ng t rouble. Accord i ng
to t he DNR’s website t he act ua l
problem was “elevated levels
of f i ne part icles i n t he a i r,” a
statement t hat d id not help
many parents’ worries as t he
statement does not adequately
expla i n t he problem. From outside research it was fou nd t hat
t hese part icles orig i nated from
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L ETTERS
THE I NDEPENDENT WELCOMES THE
OPINIONS OF BOTH STUDENTS AND FACULTY.
P LEASE SEND LETTERS TO
FEEDBACK @ THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
M ARCH, 2005
EDITORIALS
THE INDEPENDENT
EDITOR
EDITORIALS @ THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
3
E-Mail Access in LMC Worth Consideration
By Po-Ling Loh
First, let me say that I appreciate the Memorial l ibrar y ver y
much. There are few places
where one can go during the
school day, away from the distract ions of the halls and the
cafeteria, to read or to study. For
many people, this means f inishing homework assignments hours
before an afternoon class; for
others, delving into the abundant
LMC resources to take notes for
a pending research project. I visit
the l ibrar y several t imes a week,
during my lunch hour, to do one
or both of these.
Most of my t ime spent in the
l ibrar y is quiet and conducive.
That’s probably because the other
people in the l ibrar y are there for
the same reason as I—to spend
qual ity t ime doing homework.
W hatever the reason, I appreciate
the atmosphere of the l ibrar y the
way it is. There is one famil iar
scene, however, that often interrupts the quietude: Mrs. Hoxie
or Mrs. Brown evict ing someone
from a computer.
My init ial react ion is always,
can’t they read? The computers all
have signs on them saying that
they are “for classwork only,”
with separate provisions banning
games and e-mail. People are
usually k icked off computers for
check ing their e-mail, although I
once saw a student being admonished for shopping for shoes.
St ill, I respect the l ibrar y’s computer pol icy, as well as the eff iciency with which the l ibrarians
enforce it. Too many inst itut ions
create pol icies that are excellent
in theor y, but rarely enforced.
L
However, I propose that the indeed be a poor use of the LMC intent was purely school-related,
l ibrar y’s computer pol icy be computers. However, there are the strict “no e-mail ” pol icy prechanged. In part icular, I pro- t imes when e-mail is convenient— vented me from execut ing it.
pose that the l ibrar y’s “no e-mail ” if not necessar y—for students
Crit ics might argue that Memorule be relaxed to allow students to complete their schoolwork. rial does have a computer lab, where
to access their e-mail subject to For example, students often use students can check their e-mail at
certain restrict ions. Now, I know the LMC computers to compose their leisure. However, accessing
what the l ibrarians and the rest of papers or reports. This works ver y the computer lab during lunch—
the Memorial faculty are think ing: well if the assignment is due on the the peak hour for students to catch
can’t high school students last seven hours same day, in which case students up on work—is rather impract iwithout checking their e-mail? and the may simply print out their reports cal, since it would involve walk ing
L MC is not a computer lab; neither are and hand them in. More dil igent through the A- or B-wing hallway
the computers to be used for e-mail. But students, however, may wish to without being stopped. And the
before they grow so disgusted with type up assignments a few days in computers in the Fox Neighbormy idea that
a d v a n c e . hood Center, though accessible, are
they
stop
If
they usually occupied by students who
I propose that the Memorial
reading my
c a n n o t wouldn’t abandon their computer
library adopt the same comart icle,
let
f inish an games for the l ife of them.
me further
a s s i g n St ill, grant ing students unbridled
puter policy as the campus
del ineate my
ment
by e-mail access would not be pract imath library, where I have also the end of cal, because the LMC would soon
proposal.
One can
spent long periods of time: des- the class be f illed with students writ ing perr e a d i l y
ignate a handful of computers p e r i o d , sonal e-mails throughout the day.
assume that
they
are Thus, I propose that the Memorial
as e-mail friendly, and continue stuck with l ibrar y adopt the same computer
the computers in the
the
half- pol icy as the campus math l ibrar y,
to ban e-mail on the rest.
LMC
are
f i n i s h e d where I have also spent long perithere for the
a s s i g n - ods of t ime: designate a handful
sole purpose of aiding students in ment on the school ser ver, since of computers as e-mail friendly,
their schoolwork. Of course, work they cannot e-mail a copy to them- and cont inue to ban e-mail on
related to the l ibrar y should take selves. I found myself in this situ- the rest. Of course, the l ibrarians
precedence over all other work; a at ion once and ended up print ing would have the authority to evict
class that meets in the l ibrar y for a out a copy and retyping the ent ire students from the e-mail friendly
research project or a student who document at home. If only I had computers if other students needed
needs to use the computer cata- been allowed to access my e-mail them for classwork; other wise,
log should have f irst priority. At account—if only for an instant—I both part ies—the l ibrarians and
other t imes, however—as is often would have been able to send an the students in dire need of e-mail
the case, especially during lunch electronic copy home and resume access—would coexist at peace.
hour—students have free reign where I had left off.
This would probably not stop stuto use the computers for schoolAnother t ime, I was work ing in dents from attempt ing to check
related assignments. The reason the l ibrar y and wanted to start my their e-mail on the other computfor the l ibrar y’s computer pol icy, math homework. Unfortunately, ers, so the scene of a l ibrarian k ickthen, is that e-mail and schoolwork although I had my textbook with ing a student off a computer would
are mutually exclusive.
me, my professor at the U W had remain unavoidable. However, the
This is the f law in the argument. sent out the assignment in an e- l ibrar y would benef it Memorial
True, students use e-mail mostly mail, which I was unable to access students even further, and hardfor personal affairs, which would from the l ibrar y. Again, though my work ing students would appreciate
the l ibrar y even more.
E T T E R S
Dear Editor,
issues. It made me more
aware of how court and
legislative decisions affect me as
an individual.
The scored discussions could
I am writing this letter in
response to Micah Herstand’s
editorial
“Finally,
the
Pain
and
Suffering
is
Over” in the January 2005
I want Indy readissue of The Independent. I
ers to know that
was sorry to hear that
Micah
had
such
a
for this issue, the
horrible
time
in
Amerivalue of AEIII,
can Experience III, because
my experience was quite
as for all other
the opposite.
issues, there are
Micah wrote that the class was
two sides.
a waste of time, but I disagree.
I don’t know of any other
required class where the be frustrating at times because of
entire semester is spent the point system, but they
discussing
current are
the
only
opportuni-
ties I have had to debate
in a small group setting. Micah
argued
that
the
scored
discussion
topics
were
irrelevant, and while
I
agree
that
the
topics
may
not
directly
affect
every
Junior
in
Memorial High School, they are
definitely
all
controversial
subjects in our society and teenagers should be aware of them.
AEIII is not the best class I
have taken. As with most classes,
there were days I felt could
have
been
spent
more
productively. However,
I
felt that the class did meet
its
goals. I
am
now
a
more informed member of
society
than
before
I
took the class. As AEIII
taught me, the best way to
deal with a “hot topic” is to discuss
it and weigh different sides of the
issue. I
want
Indy
readers to know that for this
issue, the value of AEIII,
as
for
all
other
issues,
there
are
two
sides.
Cara Evanson
Note From The Editors:
We welcome all comments and criticisms of the
Independent. Please write to feedback@theindependent.org.
4 • THE INDEPENDENT
Ballots Over Bullets
M ARCH, 2005
How to Solve the Iranian Crisis
By Janani Iyengar
Abraham Lincoln once said,
“The ballot is mightier than the
bullet.” Indeed this is the basis
of our own constitution and government, however many nations
around the world deny their citizens of these rights. One such
nation is Iran. Recently, in a New
Yorker Magazine article, columnist Seymour Hirsch wrote that
the United States was considering
an attack on Iran due to new information gathered on Iran’s nuclear
program. As a result, many people
all across America and people
around the world are asking this
critical question, what should the
U.S. do about the looming threat
from Iran? The answer is that we
should take no direct action in this
conf lict. We can further investigate this issue by first examining
the Iranian government as well as
the effects that the Iranian democratic reform movement will have
on the nuclear crisis.
It has been many years since
Iranians have seen a legitimate
ballot, and the government for the
past thirty years has been providing the people only with bullets.
The government itself, led by a
ruling coalition of clerics headed
by Ayatollah Ali Khameni, rules
Iran with an iron fist implement-
BUY
ing Islamic martial law throughout
the country. The other politician in
power in Iran is the Prime Minister,
Muammar Khatami. Khatami, however, possesses very little political
power and is forced to do what the
Ayatollah wishes in order to keep
his position in power. Khatami,
unlike the Ayatollah, does believe
in the idea of democracy, and was
of nuclear weapons in exchange for Iranians and is even supported by
nuclear fuel, for the sole purpose those who pushed for the Islamic
of producing nuclear energy. The Revolution 30 years ago. Since
Iranians, however did not honor nation-building is clearly not the
this agreement, and continued to forte of the United States, we should
seek materials to build weapons. certainly not consider an invasion
They currently possess, according of Iran. Instead, during their inevito Newsweek Magazine, 32 tons table transition toward democracy,
of uranium ore, enough to build we should offer our help, but not
several nuclear weapons. Although force it upon the Iranian people. We
something must be know what forcing democracy on a
done before the situ- populace can do to those people.
During their inevitable transi- ation spirals out of How will a regime change cause the
control, it is clear that nuclear program to be abandoned?
tion toward democracy, we
the Iranian democratic In exchange for help from the interreform movement is national community, Iran will most
should offer our help, but
the solution to this likely have to abandon its program.
not force it upon the Iranian
growing crisis.
Also, since the new Iran would wish
Iranians will hope- to assimilate into the world commupeople
fully see ballots coming nity, possessing nuclear arms poses
their way soon, if the a serious risk of isolation to the
Iranian
democratic country itself, which would almost
elected on the basis that he would reform movement continues to be self destructive.
bring real democratic change to the gain momentum within the counSo when we take a look back
region. The Ayatollahs have also try. Currently, in a poll taken by the on the question, what should the
stirred emotions in their country Iranian government, 70% of the U.S. do about the looming Iranian
regarding the west, and the United Iranian people favor a more demo- nuclear crisis, the answer is clear:
States in particular. All of this cratic regime to the regime that cur- we should do very little. By allowhatred towards the west has caused rently exists. There was also another ing the Iranian democratic reform
the buildup in nuclear arms inside recent development that may make movement to do its work inside
the nation. The more totalitarian the reform movement gather a great the nation, the problem will basithe regime becomes, the less they deal of steam. A referendum is set cally solve itself. Hopefully, in
are willing to bargain with the to be placed on the ballot to allow the future, the Iranian people will
United States and United Nations. the Iranian people to truly have the move towards a stable and steady
In fact, in 2003, Iran made a deal ability to vote as to whether or not democracy and finally realize that
with IAEA to stop the development they approve of the regime. The the ballot is still mightier than the
referendum is supported by 18,000 bullet.
ONE DONUT GET ONE
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M ARCH, 2005
FEATURE
THE INDEPENDENT
CREATURE FEATURE: CAPYBARA
(HYDROCHAERIS HYDROCHAERIS)
By Andrew Ji
hair that ranges from brown to red
in color.
Though its size may be somewhat
intimidating, the capybara is relatively
harmless. It’s a gentle giant. A herbivore, it feeds mostly on plants, grass,
fruit, or grains. Unlike with rats, if
exceptional swimmer, well equipped
with webbed toes to paddle in aquatic
surroundings. Although a somewhat
fast runner, if ever in danger, the
capybara will retreat to the water.
Capybaras usually live in groups
of about 20 or so. They communicate
with barks and whistles.
Sometimes they emit a scent
through glandular secretions that sends messages to
one another. Together, they
fend off predators such as
the jaguar, ocelot, or even
the anaconda snake. In the
wild, capybaras have a life
span of 8-10 years, while in
captivity, they can live to
the age of 12.
The capybara may not be
very cute, but at heart, it is
just like any other mouse
or hamster that we keep
as a pet. It might be hard to
keep one of these big boys in
a cage, or find a wheel big enough
for it to run around on, but it would
probably be just as good as a dog if
someone had the balls to try to keep
it as a pet. I know I don’t. For its tremendous size and affable demeanor,
the capybara makes this month’s
Creature Feature.
consequences of this news. The
talents of over 1,300 artists are
going to complete waste. The
movies that we have all grew up
with, cherished, imitated, and loved
have abruptly come to a complete
end in production. No longer will
there be another animated Disney
movie coming out in theaters. No
more hopes of “I wish Disney
would make _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ into an
animated movie” will be fulfilled.
No more goals of, “I want to grow
up to become a Disney animator”
will be met. The movies we can
always depend on to cheer us up
or fall back onto have been wiped
away from the big screen. There
will be no more hand drawn animation magic coming out, waiting to unveil surprises to the kids
inside us all.
Many people quickly point to
the growing digital animation
business that has been surrounding us as the reason for Disney’s
decline. Recent movie successes
like Shrek and amazing studios like
Pixar seem to support this assertion perfectly. After all, 3D is
coming in to supplant the ‘totally
pre-y2k’ 2D animation, right? Yet,
this rise is not the main reason for
Disney’s destruction. 3D is not
the sole solution to making profit
and fame; an animated movie, or
any story for that matter, should
be able to be told at the same level
of success in any medium be it
2D, 3D, or even chalk. Take, for
example, The Polar Express, CG but
a complete failure in box offices
and Cartoon Network, 2D but
making a steady profit. To truly
understand what happened to the
Disney we all loved, we need to
look a history of the rise of Disney
and the latent faults that added up
to a tragic end.
Rewinding back a few years, we
start at a point in time where Disney
studios was at its heyday. The early
1990s brought the Disney animation studio more widespread viewership then ever before. Known as
the Renaissance, this short amount
of time produced the studio’s most
beloved and profitable movies; the
Fab Four are The Lion King, The
Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty
and the Beast. Beauty and the Beast
was even nominated for best picture during the 1995 Oscars, something that has never happened to
an animated film. Thrilled by the
success, Disney’s heads immediately realized the value of their animation studio and showered their
animators with kudos. $100,000
bonuses, elaborate parties, and a
new animation studio building in
California were just some things
the animation department was
soon rewarded with. This period
of dip-a-dee-doo-dah would be
short-lived.
Behind all this glam and glitter,
the darker aspects of Disney were
starting to show. Many animators
received promotions, and management started to grow faster than it
was supposed to. Like too many
alphas in a society, the bosses
slowly became disorganized, and
Where do you find the biggest
rat in the world? No, not the sewers
of New York City or your neighbor’s stanky basement.
Take a trip to South or
Central America and you
will encounter the capybara, the world’s largest
rodent. Like the Hummer
of rodents, the capybara
is the biggest of its class.
The capybara lives in the
dense rainforests and
swampy areas of these
regions of the world.
Roughly the size of a
large dog, the capybara
towers over all other
rodents. It up grows to
four and a half feet long Courtesy of www.enchantedlearning.com
and stands almost two feet
tall. With the appearance of enor- you were surrounded by a bunch of
mous guinea pig, it has small ears, capybaras, I doubt they would eat you
a small nose, and fairly short and alive. Actually, I really don’t know;
squatty legs. Its front two legs are that was just a guess. Maybe if they
shorter than its rear ones, making it were famished, they might take a
look like it is always ready to pounce nibble at you. Brutal man-eater or
on something. The capybara’s skin not, however, the capybara is better
is thick and coarse, covered in thin in water than it is on land. It is an
The Swift and
Silent End
of Disney
Animation
By Jia Luo
“What is your favorite Disney
movie? ” is a common question
asked during our ‘get to know a
classmate’ sessions in AP Environmental Science. So far, everyone has answered with some
widely-acclaimed Disney animated masterpiece made before
1999. “They’re just not good anymore,” is the usual reply when
asked about the more recent
films. Truly, the most recent
2D animation films have been a
complete f lop, and consequently,
Disney cut its hand-drawn animation studio completely. The
event happened about two years
ago with the layoff of over 1,300
employees who worked for Disney
in Florida, California, and other
parts of the world. Even today,
surprisingly few know about this
shocking event. Truly, news like
this is hard to digest. How could
a thriving business with a 75 plusyear history end a few years after
producing hits? How could a
brand name we all depended on
during child hood suddenly stop
making movies?
Take a minute to realize the
ANIMATION, PAGE 6
ANDREW JI, EDITOR
FEATURE @ THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
5
Be Cool
Should Be
Much Cooler
By Peter Hinahara
Be Cool is a movie that doesn’t
seem to know its own ident ity. It
tries to do ever ything, and more,
and ends up just being confusing.
However, it st ill has some pretty
funny moments, and the all-star
cast creates some funny scenes.
The four main characters are
all big names: John Travolta,
Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn,
and Christ ina M il ian. Also
appearing, in more minor roles,
are Cedric the Entertainer, the
Rock, Andre 3000, Danny Devito,
Steven Tyler, and a whole l ist of
other celebrity cameos. Travolta
plays the same character as in the
prequel Get Shorty : Chil i Palmer,
former “Shylock ” and now
former movie producer, tr ying to
make it in the music business. He
teams up with Thurman’s character, Edie, to tr y to launch the
career of Linda Moon ( M il ian).
However, Raji ( Vaughn), Linda’s
current manager, will not give
them the contract, and they end
up in a battle for her rights. The
plot ends with the cl iché breakout performance of Linda, much
to the del ight of Chil i and Edie.
Raji, his boss Nick Carr, and the
Russian maf ia are all neutral ized,
and Moon becomes a star. If the
Russian Maf ia is not bad enough,
a “tribute” is thrown in—Travolta and Thurman’s dance scene
in Pulp Fiction —but the scene
disrupts the f low of the movie
and is not nearly as good a dance
scene as the original.
If one looks only at the plot,
the movie falls on its face; luckily, there is a fresh sense of humor
that surfaces often enough to
keep the movie bearable, even
fairly enjoyable. Some may not
appreciate the humor, which
brings to mind recent comedies
such as Anchorman or Dodgeball, but there are st ill bits that
poke fun at the actors’ real-l ife
characters and the movie industr y. One of the best is when the
Rock, who plays a gay bodyguard
and aspiring actor, displays his
act ing talent by raising an eyebrow, a reference to his signature
facial expression as a professional wrestler. Another great
joke is the ver y f irst l ine, where
Chil i announces that “I never do
sequels.” Andre “Hey Ya! ” 3000
is surprisingly good in his role
as Dabu, and his performance is
one of the best of the movie.
Overall, if you l ike stupid
humor and are will ing to look
past a weak plot, you will get
some good laughs out of Be Cool.
6 • THE INDEPENDENT
FEATURE
M ARCH, 2005
Hitch: Girls Will Love It, Guys Will Learn
From It
gossip-colu mn ist Sara Melas
her front door, if she f idd les
T here were on ly a couple of
( Eva Mendes). Ever y si ngle t h i ng
w it h her house keys, she wants a
t h i ngs t hat bot hered me about t he
he teaches h is cl ients, H itch can’t
k iss.” Women, of course, u ndermov ie. Fi rst, H itch ’s love speech
Fi na l ly putt i ng aside sci- pu l l off. Instead of bei ng h is sl ick
stand t h is concept, i n Hol ly wood
near t he end of t he f i l m, and most
f i mov ies, Wi l l Sm it h t urns out and suave self,
of what he does for
to be ver y charismat ic as A lex he r u i ns date
Sara, is rea l ly mushy.
In Hollywood or not; stalling for time always
“H itch ” H itchens. Sm it h plays after
date
However, it f its h is
New York Cit y’s u nderg rou nd w it h
Sara.
character; as a conmeans the woman wants to stay for a little lip
“ date doctor” for t he u nderdog T he
mov ie
su ltant and teacher,
action.
g uys and helps them woo the g irls fol lows bot h
he expla i ns ever yof t hei r dreams. T he beg i nn i ng couples—but if you want to k now
or not; sta l l i ng for t i me a lways
t h i ng, i nclud i ng h is emot ions. I
sequence of Hitch shows v iew- what happens, you’ l l have to go
means t he woman wants to stay
preferred t he stor yl i ne of A l leg ra
ers how Sm it h ’s “ date doctor” see it.
for a l itt le l ip act ion. But g uys,
and A lbert to t hat of H itch and
ser v ices work. H itch ’s ser v ices
Hitch is a classic romant ic
bei ng g uys, can’t a lways pick up
Sara. I was a lso annoyed by t he
a lways seem g uaranteed u nt i l comedy t hat a l most ever y g i rl w i l l
on t he l itt le t h i ngs, so H itch ’s
leng t h— one hour and f ift y-f ive
t he cha l lenge of A lbert Brenna- enjoy. T hat isn’t to say t hat g uys
a d v i c e
m i nutes is a lot
man ( Kev i n James of T V ’s K ing won’t l ike it as wel l. Kev i n James’
can go for
for a romant ic
of Queens) comes a long. Dork y, performance as A lbert Brennaa l l ma les.
comedy—but
clu msy ju n ior
man is h i lariThough
thankfu l ly,
ana lyst BrenFrom h is
t
h
e
fu nny moments
I was also annoyed by ous.
naman
has
dance moves, or
comedy
are wel l spread
the length—one hour lack t hereof, to f o c u s e s
h is eyes set
out,
mak i ng
on t he gort he mov ie seem
and fifty-five minutes h is sh i rt’s mag- on A lbert
geous, f lawnet ism, to musand
h is
shorter.
is a lot for a romantic tard, you’ l l root a t t e m p t s
lessmodel/actress
T he bottom
A l leg ra Cole
for h i m duri ng
to learn
l i ne: Hitch is
comedy—but thank( A m b e r
he
ent i re
“ t h e
def i n itely one
fully, funny moments tmov
Va l let t a).
ie,
espemoves,”
of t hose feelare well spread out
T hroughcia l ly because
Hitch a lso
good mov ies.
out t he f i l m,
he’s chasi ng a
g i v e s
For t he g i rls:
H itch
t ries
g i rl who is coml a u g h s
you’ l l be sat isto help A lbert i mpress A l leg ra, pletely out of h is leag ue. H itch ’s
w it h t he
f ied, because
i n ever y aspect possible, from adv ice for A lbert is put i n si mple
s m o o t h Courtesty of www.countingdown.com
it’s just one
danci ng to t he f i rst k iss. A l l words for t he “common man” to
date
docof t hose rea l ly
goes wel l for H itch u nt i l he u nderstand. For example, he says,
tor’s goof-ups, d isf ig urements,
good romant ic comed ies. For t he
meets
married-her-job-as-a- “when you’re droppi ng her off at
and teach i ngs.
g uys: you’ l l laugh and you’ l l learn,
so why not?
pie.
At
one
point,
a
Disney
animaline
of
the
California
studio,
leavNIMATION FROM PAGE 5
tor caused a stir by leaving to form
ing only some CG artists. “You
the lower artists had to go through
Dreamworks studios and tried to
have the London Philharmonic at
multiple levels of the manage- persuade others to leave with him. your disposal, and you want to turn
ment hierarchy before something
Disney responded by upping the
it into a boy band,” was an analwas approved. This caste system
salary of its artists even higher, ogy made by one artist after the
started to hinder the production of
hoping to keep its talent. A tiny
closings were announced. Other
true art.
studio called Pixar soon rose to the
studio shut downs soon followed,
If you have ever taken an art
scene as well. Unlike the Disney
leaving talented artists with a pasBuy the bottle.
class, you know that it is hard to
of that time, Pixar’s artists freely
sion for hand-drawn animation
set a deadline for ‘art.’ There is
directed and produced their own
stranded. Their love for their work
no formula to calculate good art;
films, thereby achieving its goals
even caused artists to spend inordicreativity is a process that requires
as a team and giving the animation
nate amounts of money to buy their
variable time. Disney fell into the
team the power to drive the heart of
animation desks (which Disney
trap of doing just this. The heads
the stories. Stories were plotted out
auctioned off for a last chance at
of Disney decided that there must
carefully for five to six years before
profit). The end had finally come
be a secret formula to producing
the computer animation began in
and it left the 2D animation line
box-office hits and began to set
contrast to Disney’s new fast-for- tainted with failure.
deadlines for when art was sup- warding of producing film.
Recently, there have been meaposed to be finished. The creative
Meanwhile, audiences were
sures made to keep the spirit of
visual development period was cut
starting to respond negatively to
Disney alive.
Roy Disney has
in favor of writing a script without
the quickly-produced animation
started his own group, Save Disney,
the help of animators. Afterwards, shoved at them from Disney. Real- to try to restore the company to its
Buy the case.
the idea would be quickly thrown
izing lower profits, Disney began to
genuine traditional animation, preinto the animation process, know- force its animators to produce films
Hilary Duff and direct-to-video
ing that a large profit would soon
even faster, hoping to gain more
era. Last month a new documenissue from this latest story.
money. Remember seeing those ter- tary was released called Dream On,
Another problem soon became
rible sequels and sequels of sequels
Silly Dreamer, which details the fall
apparent inside the new animation
hitting stores right away? Dubbed
of Disney and has been a hit at film
studio. Known as the “Sorcer- by Disney fans as ‘cheapquels,’ festivals. The laid off artists from
er’s Hat,” this studio in Burbank
these direct-to-video movies were
Disney have, for the most part,
was more heralded to show to the
another way Disney tried to make
found new jobs within the animaNever Sleep!
public.
profit.
tion genre or have gone off to start
When animators started working
Bit by bit, the studio choked
their own businesses.
Bring in your Spartan ID for
there, they noticed just how empty
itself to death. For example, it disWith such a great legacy gone
a discount on BAWLS at:
and large the building was. In con- covered that its regular animation
for the time being, fans of handtrast to the tight-knit trailers of
studio was now producing movies
drawn animation can only wish
years ago, this building was too big
that made about the same little
upon their lucky stars that a miracle
and the separate departments too
profit as direct-to-video ones, but
will happen, and, in the meantime,
spread apart.
cost much more. Finally, in March
nostalgically replay their favorites
353 Island Drive at Mineral Point Road
(just behind Bruegger's)
Meanwhile, in the public’s eye, 2002, the feature animation direc- from the 90s and before.
608.231.8000
animation became ‘ in,’ and many
tor dropped a bomb on the staff
Sources:
studios rose to nab a piece of the
and closed down the 2D animation
Animatednews.com
Savedisney.com
By Eyleen Chou
A
,
FEATURE
M ARCH, 2005
THE INDEPENDENT • 7
Bavaria- H its on Breakfast, M isses on Di nner
By Amelia Jenison
T h is mont h we had some
t rouble decid i ng on a pl ace
to go. T here is a l ack of new
a nd/or i nterest i ng rest aura nts i n M ad ison for some
reason. A f ter much del iberat ion (a nd d r iv i ng a rou nd)
we decided on Bava r ia i n
downtown
M idd leton.
Ni k k i su g gested Bava r ia
because she is a fa n of
t hei r brea k fasts a nd
wa nted to see what
else t hey had to offer.
Ni k k i a nd I ended
up bei ng t he on ly
d i n i ng
because
ever yone
else
bowed out at t he
l ast
m i nute
( probably
a
good idea).
CONCERT,
FROM PAGE
1
sang twice. Outside the theater,
there were other activities which
raised money including a silent
auction for an enclosed grill and
a raff le.
Even though only one third of
the auditorium was full, it was
impressive because of the fact
that it was both a school night
Bava r ia is a sma l l rest au ra nt prompt a nd prov ided what we
w it h a ver y sma l l-town feel. T he needed, a nd t he hostess ca me to
boot hs have a d i zzi ng i ng f lora l check on us ma ny t i mes. Un l i ke
desi g n t hat I fou nd st ra ngely t he ser v ice, t he food was less
depressi ng. Ni k k i ordered a t ha n sat isf y i ng. Before t he mea l ,
g r i l led sa l mon a nd bacon we were brou ght t wo rol ls t hat
sa ndw ich w it h f r ies a nd were st a le a nd cold. I overhea rd a
a d iet coke. I went w it h couple at t he next t able compl a i nt he spa ghet t i a nd a i ng about t he qua l it y of t he rol ls.
sa l ad. T he pr ices Ou r food ca me about 10 m i nutes
were reasonable af ter we ordered. Ni k k i enjoyed,
but not cheap. but d id n’t love, her sa ndw ich. I,
T he
wa it- on t he ot her ha nd, was more cr it iress was ca l. My spa ghet t i was overcooked
a nd t he fel l apa r t as I t w isted it
on my fork . My sa l ad was decent ,
but t he let t uce was sog g y a nd wet .
T he on ly redeem i ng qua l it y for
me was t he chocol ate ca ke
t hat we sha red for
desser t . T he
cake
he
ulinary
dventure
and there was an admission price.
Dr. Nash stated that the event had
more people than she expected. The
class that put it on (Multicultural
English) was very excited about the
turnout; their teacher, Ms. Lyth,
originally thought up the idea.
Several restaurants donated food
for the event, such as Taj restaurant,
Curry ‘n a Hurry and Meenakshi
Ganesan. In the end, the proceeds
for the event added up to over 2000
dollars. This will be donated to
UNICEF because of its involvement
with these countries during the tsunami.
Before the final count was made,
an announcement was given saying
the total earnings were $2,001. “I
thought that was funny,” said Mahendran, “it’s an Indian superstition to
never have an even sum of money.”
had del ic ious l ayers of chocol ate
mousse a nd ca ke w it h chocol ate
shav i ng s a nd f rost i ng on t he top.
It was ser ved w it h wh ipped crea m
a nd chocol ate sauce. Even af ter
my sog g y mea l , I have to say t hat
I wou ld go back just for t he ca ke.
I wou ld not recom mend Bava r ia
to a nyone for lu nch or d i n ner, but
if you wa nt brea k fast or desser t
it is a h i gh- qua l it y choice. I have
been t here for brea k fast i n t he
past a nd t he veget a r ia n omelet
I got was del ic ious. Ni k k i a lso
recom mends t he Eg g s Bened ict
a nd pa nca kes. So, if t he Pa nca ke House is too busy, head to
Bava r ia.
SMILE, SCHOOL
IS PUNISHMENT
THE MAHARAJAH OF AN INDIAN
PROVINCE ISSUED A ROYAL DECREE. HE
ORDERED THAT NO ONE WAS TO KILL
ANY WILD ANIMALS WHILE HE WAS THE
COUNTRY ’S LEADER.
THE
DECREE WAS
HONORED UNTIL THERE WERE SO MANY
BENGAL TIGERS
RUNNING LOOSE THAT
THE PEOPLE REVOLTED AND THREW THE
MAHARAJAH FROM POWER.
THIS
IS THE
FIRST KNOWN INSTANCE OF THE REIGN
BEING CALLED ON ACCOUNT OF THE
GAME.
Clouds Move Mr. Hughes;
It’s What They Do
By Sarah Howard
So goes Leonardo DiCaprio’s as t he beaut ifu l Eva Gardener,
t i me period. He’s gone from 1912 but Cate Blanchett rea l ly takes
(Titanic), to t he 1970s (Catch Me If t he cake. On screen, she looks as
You Can), back to t he late 180 0’s t hough she is an em issar y from t he
(Gangs of New York), and f i na l ly m ists, her voice a rei ncarnat ion of
to t he 1930s, as t he i nfamous t he legend t hat is K at heri ne HepH o w a r d
burn. Her
Hughes i n
Hughes’ insanity is exempli- O s c a r
t he Aviator.
nominafied with haunting reality.
He seems
t ion
is
to enjoy t he
perhaps
last
cent he most
t ur y, doesn’t he ? T h is part icu lar wel l-deser ved; she, Scorsese, and
role, however, has been h is larg- DiCaprio may ver y wel l w i n t he a l lest u ndertak i ng and h is g reatest arou nd awards: st ra ight shot for
success. DiCaprio del ivers a st u n- Best Actor, Support i ng Act ress,
n i ng performance as t he obses- possibly A lan A lda for Supportsive-compu lsive
ent repreneur i ng Actor, Di rector, and of course,
who risks ever y t h i ng to fol low Best Pict ure. How w i l l t he Aviator
h is dreams. Hughes’ i nsan it y is stack up aga i nst t he bri l l iant Jam ie
exempl if ied w it h hau nt i ng rea l- Foxx and h is R ay ? We’ l l see duri ng
it y. DiCaprio proves once aga i n t he Oscars on Febr uar y 27.
t hat w it h t he right actor/d i rector team ( l ike he and h is good
friend Mart i n Scorsese), a stelEditor’s Note: The Aviator won f ive
lar performance and g reat d i rec- of its eleven Oscar nominations, includt ion can come toget her to form ing Best Suppor ting Actress, Ar t Direca master piece.
tion, Cinematography, Costume Design,
Let’s not forget t he amazi ng and Film Editing. Million Dollar Baby
women of t he pict ure, t hough. was named Best Motion Picture of the
K ate Beck i nsa le is wonderfu l Year.
Write for The Indy.
You could fill this space.
feedback@theindependent.org
8 • THE INDEPENDENT
FEATURE
t he sides of t he h a i r. A n i me h a i r
f lu f fs out a lot more t h a n re g u l a r
h a i r, so don’t be a f r a id to g ive
you r per son’s h a i r lot s of volu me.
T he nex t i mpor t a nt t h i n g is t he
posit ion of t he h a i r l i ne. M a ny
One of t he most poor ly- d r aw n be g i n n i n g a r t ist s w i l l pl ace t he
fe at u res by be g i n n i n g a n i me a r t- h a i r l i ne d i rec t ly above t he eye ist s is h a i r. T h is is because t here brow s, wh ic h is u n re a l ist ic a nd
a re fa i r ly st r ic t r u les about how look s ba d . Remember t h at t he
h a i r shou ld be d r aw n . Most of t he eyes a re located i n t he center of
m ist a kes I h ave seen i nvolve t he t he he a d bet ween t he c h i n a nd
posit ion of h a i r on a c h a r ac ter ’s t he top of t he sk u l l . Even w it h
he a d . Here’s a h a ndy d i a g r a m .
l a r g e eyebrow s, t h at shou ld le ave
a g oo d a mou nt of room for a
g oo d-si zed forehe a d .
He l lo, O t a k u re a der s ! My n a me
is Me a gh a n , a nd I w i l l be t a k i n g
over t he O t a k u sec t ion for t h is
ed it ion of t he Inde pendent !
Remember t h at h a i r t a kes up a
g oo d a mou nt of space. S ee how
t he top of t he sk u l l is d i f ferent
f rom t he top of t he h a i r? T h is
m ay seem l i ke a m i nute det a i l ,
but i f t he top of t he h a i r a nd t he
top of t he sk u l l a re at t he sa me
pl ace , t he d r aw i n g w i l l look awkwa rd . T h is per son h a s ver y t h i n
h a i r or ver y wet h a i r t h at st ick s
to her sk u l l . T he sa me g oes for
M ARCH, 2005
W hen u n a f fec ted by w i nd or
movement , h a i r w i l l look muc h
l i ke t h is, h a n g i n g st r a i ght dow n
w it h t he outer st r a nds m a k i n g
a n ova l sh ape a rou nd t he i n ner
st r a nds. T he h a i r ends i n poi nt s
at t he t ips, a s we l l .
t he most c u r ved , a nd t he ends
w i l l be h i gher up t h a n t he ends
c loser to t he sou rce.
Remember t h at h a i r is ac t u a l ly
m a de of t i ny f lex ible st r a nds. A l l
too of ten , I see be g i n n i n g a r t ist s
m a ke f low i n g h a i r too st i f f to be
n at u r a l .
Now t h at we h ave t he ba sics
dow n , we ca n t a l k about how
h a i r moves. M a ster i n g t he a r t of
m a k i n g lon g , f low i n g h a i r look
n ice a nd f lu id took me ye a r s of
pr ac t ice , but t he ba sics a re e a sy.
W hen a f fec ted by m i nor w i nd
or movement , h a i r w i l l look l i ke
t h is, a sor t of t r i a n g u l a r sh ape.
Remember a l l t he h a i r is t he
sa me len g t h , so t he st r a nds of
h a i r t h at a re fa r t hest away f rom
t he sou rce of movement w i l l be
W hen a f fec ted by subst a nt i a l
w i nd or movement , h a i r w i l l
become even more d istor ted . T he
pa r t s of t he h a i r c losest a nd fa r t hest away f rom t he w i nd sou rce
w i l l be a f fec ted t he most . T he
pa r t s t h at a re more towa rd t he
center w i l l be a f fec ted less.
I hope I he lped you le a r n how
to d r aw a n i me h a i r !
Constantine: Surprisingly Good Despite Flaws
By Neil Liu
The movie Constantine, directed
by Francis Lawrence, stars Keanu
Reeves as the main protagonist,
John Constantine. John is one of
the few men blessed/cursed with
the ability to see, and destroy, the
numerous “half-breed” angels
and demons who are locked in an
eternal struggle for the salvation/
damnation of humankind. John
is not your typical comic book
hero; he’s a rash alcoholic and an
excessive smoker. He once took
his own life and was sentenced
1. What will you need most in the long run?
2. Why should you always carry a
to eternal damnation in hell, but for that Lawrence created an excellent
unknown reasons, he was given a balance between story and action.
second chance at life, and he now The romance in the film failed
fights against the legions of hell completely, but most of the rest of
in an attempt to save the souls of the film was extremely well-crafted.
all men, especially his own. With However, I didn’t know what was
the unexpected suicide of her twin going on until the second half of the
sister, detective Angela Dawson movie. The director also seemed to
(Rachel Weisz) is soon tossed into be trying too hard to make his plot
the fray to fight alongside Constan- engaging and suspenseful. Too many
tine in his crusade.
events and objects randomly occur
I came into this movie fearing the and appear in the movie and are
worst. I was expecting Constantine never explained or elaborated upon.
to be another one of those action One can only take so many random
films with no plot, so I was pleas- things popping up in a movie. Perantly surprised when I discovered haps my confusion was due to my


watch when walking through a desert?
lack of religious knowledge, but I
think even the most devote practitioners of faith wouldn’t understand
most of these things.
All in all, Constantine is an enjoyable and entertaining movie. While
the movie does have its share of failures, most of the movie f lows quite
well. If you want to watch a movie in
the theaters and don’t have a particular film in mind, I would definitely
recommend Constantine. At the very
least, it will give you several hours
of enjoyment, and at the very most—
well, who knows. It could give you
a whole new perspective on religion
and God.
1.How long did the Hundred Years
War last?
2. Which country makes panama hats?
3. Why did the police arrest the bird?
3. What is a camel’s hair brush made of?
4. Why is the world like a faulty jig
4. What starts with “e” ends with “e”
saw puzzle?
and contains only one letter?
5. What is as big as an elephant but
1. 116 years
2. Ecuador
3. Squirrel fur
4. an envelope
5. You don’t bury survivors.
1. A big breath
2. It has a spring.
3. Because it was a robin.
4. Because peace is missing.
5. An elephant’s shadow.
doesn’t weight anything?
5. Twenty people died in a plane
crash but not a single survivor was buried.
Why?
M ARCH, 2005
THE ARTS
THE INDEPENDENT
Madison Rep’s “Moon for the Misbegotten”:
A Dark, Heart-Wrenching Drama
By Ariana
Karp
A few weeks ago, I had the great
pleasure of attending Eugene O’Neill’s
dramatic and poignant play, A Moon
for the Misbegotten, presented by the
Madison Rep Company. Going into
the play, I had no idea what it would
be about or what kind of play it would
be; judging from the title, I did not
expect a comedy. I only knew O’Neill
was a fabulous dark playwright and
APT’s marvelous Jim DeVita would
star in the play. That was more than
ample incentive to go, along with the
knowledge that twelve-dollar seats
were available upon request!
As I walked into the UW’s Mitchell
Theatre, I was instantly drawn to the
set, the main feature of which was a
small farmhouse—very quaint, very
authentic, surrounded by bare gray
trees and blandly-colored rocks. The
lighting was a dull, slightly ominous
gray, with remnants of sunlight. Beautiful Celtic-like music played softly in
the background. A sense of mystery
drifted across the stage.
The play begins after an argument
between a woman and her brother, in
which complex emotions rush across
the stage, the leathery father enters
gruffly, and the play seems to really
begin. Josie Hogan, the lead female
played beautifully by Kaitlin O’Neal, is
a character with whom I instantly sympathized. She appears to be a brazen,
tough Irish-American girl who is the
only one her father obeys, but truly has
a big heart and nurturing spirit. The
father, Phil Hogan, rendered wonderfully by Roderick Peeples, seems to be
an extremely rough, blunt, conniving,
cheating bastard, yet possesses a joking
and matter of-fact personality. The main
character, the enigmatic James Tyrone,
is played brilliantly by DeVita. DeVita
usually has an intense charisma when
he enters the stage, but in this play he
is a distant, decaying playboy actor and
depressed alcoholic. Throughout the
joking of the first act, I perceived that
each of the main characters had an inner
complexity buried in their deepest selves.
By the end of Act I, Josie and Jim Tyrone
have set up a midnight date, and we were
given a chance to catch some night air
ourselves during the intermission.
When Act II opens, Josie appears in
a much fancier “Sunday best” kind of
costume, a contrast to her simple, takecharge house dress, and waits impatiently
on the steps of the house, completely
alone in the moonlight amid the eerie
shadows of the trees. Eventually, her
father stumbles home, completely
“A Little Night
Madison Repertory
Theatre:
“Topdog/Underdog”
March 11- April 3
Overture Center
Dance Group
Mercury Players:
March 16 at 7:30 PM
Overture Center
Concert Band 1
Wind Ensemble
March 17 at 7:30 PM
Memorial Auditorium
March 23 at 7:30 PM
Overture Center
“Cementville”
“The Full Monty”
March 18- April 16
Bartell Theatre
Broadway!
The Big Band Years
PLAY, PAGE 11
Mark Morris
Strollers Theatre:
March 3-26
Bartell Theatre
drunk, with sorrowful news about the
impending loss of their farm to Tyrone.
The two characters plot to have Josie
seduce Tyrone and then disgrace him,
and Phil Hogan lurches off again into
the darkness. Jim Tyrone soon enters
in a disturbingly calm drunken state.
After Josie figures out that her father
is lying about Jim selling their farm,
she warms up to him considerably. The
two are very clearly in love, but this is
not a happy love; it is a desperate and
intense love with a hint of tragedy.
DeVita’s superbly intense acting begins
to show itself when Josie leaves for a
minute and he begins to shake, talking
to himself in indistinguishable, haunting outbursts. This point in the play is a
turning point for the audience; Tyrone
is slowly revealing how pitiful he is.
The “great confession” ensues, the
truly dramatic and desperately tragic
part of the play.
Tyrone is based on O’Neill’s older
brother, who became a severe alcoholic
after their mother’s death. The confession of Tyrone’s immorality and alcoholism delineates what is slowly and
indubitably killing the man. We are
now drawn into an intensely dark part
March 25-26
Overture Center
Alfred Brendel
Four Bitchen’
Babes
March 19 at 8:00 PM
Overture Center
March 31 at 8:00 PM
Wisconsin Union Theater
Wisconsin Film Fest
March 31- April3
Various sites, www.
wifilmfest.org
ELLIE ZEITLIN, EDITOR
ARTS @ THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
9
42nd Street: A
Song and Dance
Extravaganza
By Ellie Zeitlin
Meet a youngster who becomes a
star, a chipper tenor, an over-the-hill
prima donna, hard-up producers, and
brassy blondes. They’re all residents of
42nd Street, belting out timeless Harry
Warren/Al Dubin songs and tapping
out to Busby Berkeley’s sensational
production numbers. On March 3, a
“Lullaby of Broadway” shuffled into
Overture Hall as Big League Theatricals, Inc. performed one of the bestknown backstage musicals, 42nd Street.
The show starts as the curtain rises
just enough to reveal a stage overflowing with dancing feet—just the feet.
The opening of a musical captures
what the show is all about, and there
is no better description of what 42nd
Street is about than dancing feet. The
performance is characterized by a
show-within-a-show. The musical narrates the creation of a Broadway show
by offering glamorized dance routines, a behind-the-scenes view theater, and—of course—the essential
romance. A fresh-faced kid with stars
in her eyes dreams of dancing her way
into the spotlight on Broadway. The
plot is cliché and ridiculously predictable, but as tenor Billy Lawlor testifies,
“Who cares if there’s a plot or not,
when you’ve got a lot of dames!” The
starlet’s success story serves merely as
a backdrop to the passage of singing
and dancing that gets her there.
Mara Davi is Peggy Sawyer, a newcomer from Allentown who gets her
big chance to break out of the chorus
line when leading lady Dorothy Brock
twists her ankle. While Dorothy’s
stardom seems to have lost some of
its luster even before her break-a-leg
exit from Pretty Lady (the show-withinthe-show), Natalie Buster, who plays
the part, is very much a star from the
moment she comes on stage: a vision
in white and fur trimming. Buster’s
rich and smoky voice fuses with flawless comic timing. Evan Alboum is
a hoot as the comic music composer,
with the hilarious Maureen Illmensee
gaining roars as his irresistible partner.
Finally, as Billy Lawlor, Kyle Massey’s
energetic dancing and death-defying
high notes threaten to steal the show.
The toe-tapping music and tapdancing glitz are spectacular. The
irrepressible energy of the dancers
combine with masterful choreography by Randy Skinner, eye-popping
sets, costumes, and lighting, creating
a show so lavish that it could easily be
described with the title of one of its
catchiest tunes, “We’re In the Money.”
42nd Street brings the buzz of Broadway into the theater as one of the biggest, dizziest, and grandest musical
comedies. It shows that good times
never go out of style. Advertised as
“a song and dance extravaganza,” the
musical is a testament to good oldfashioned showbiz.
THE ARTS
10 • THE INDEPENDENT
Tomek
Miernowski:
Man of Music
and More
By Kate Phelps
In August of 2001, five hundred
freshmen walked timidly into Memorial
High School. Among them were dancers, singers, athletes, actors, artists, and
people possessing every personality trait
known to man. One of those outstanding freshmen was a boy ... no, a man ...
no, a young man by the name of Tomek
Miernowski: a musician, a student, and
an all-around compelling and rich kind
of guy. We have had the privilege of
having Tomek at Memorial for the past
three-and-a-half years, but with fond
memories and well wishes, it is time
to send our dear, sweet Tomek back to
Poland. Tomek’s talents, academic skills,
and jovial personality have affected the
school in a truly positive way. This is our
way of saying thanks, man.
I remember sixth grade, the year
I met Tomek. He was a goofy, guitarplaying, light-hearted kid, just like he is
today. I had to do a social studies report
with him on the year 1958, and we had
by far the best presentation, largely due
to him (way to be Tomek). Tomek never
fails to give his all, no matter what he’s
doing.
Tomek’s musical talents are truly
marvelous. He is admired throughout
the school for his guitar playing and
songwriting, but no one is more proud
of him than his jazz band instructor, Mr. Schipper. Mr. Schipper has
known Tomek for the last three years
and is unspeakably proud of his talent:
“Tomek has a lot to learn about the business, but he has the tools to go far. I
think very highly of him.” Tomek plays
the guitar as though it were the simplest
thing in the world. He has an amazing
gift, one that our school has never seen
before. The greatest part about Tomek’s
music is that he has made a CD with
equally-amazing musician and good
friend Justin Hind. The two wrote,
recorded, and produced their songs and
put a terrifically unique sound together.
According to Justin, “[Tomek’s] a big
pain in the arse ... no, just kidding. The
nice thing about working with Tomek is
that he always listens to your ideas and is
perfectly willing to make them happen,
but he’s also not afraid to tell you when
... your idea is a bad idea. I love him; I
really do.” A fantastic statement—well
done, Justin. Tomek’s musical talent has
indeed added something fresh to our
school, but this is only one reason why
we’ll miss him.
Tomek also isn’t a slacker in the
classroom, no sir. His academic achievements are something that both faculty
and students are proud of. Not only
does he do high-class work himself,
but he also finds time to assist other
students. Erica Perry, a good friend of
Tomek’s, says, “Tomek is one of those
physics tutors [who] make physics really
fun.” He desires to help people understand things and has found a great way
to fulfill his desire. I remember Tomek’s
mellow, laid-back attitude in sixth grade.
M ARCH, 2005
Non-Strat Chat:The Tabla
By Ariana Karp
The famous, rich, percussive
sound prevalent in Indian classical
music comes from the wonderful
tabla. The
tabla,
a
type
of
drum, is
probably
the core
of northern Indian,
Bangladeshi, and
Pa k ist a n i
m u s i c .
There are,
however,
i mpor t a nt
styles and
strict traditions
to be followed in
classical
Indian music. As stated in Basic Overview of the Tabla by David Courtney,
Ph.D., “A strong remnant of the
Vedic tradition is seen in the method
of learning, One does not learn tabla
from books but from a guru [teacher].
The strong bond between teacher
and disciple is considered essential
for the continuation of the musical
tradition. Indeed, the tradition of
teacher and disciple is considered
to be at the very core of Indian classical music.”
mastery of the instrument, and
there is a very limited number
of both instruments and teachers, making the tabla even more
Northern classical Indian
difficult to master.
The origin of
this
quintessential instrument is
somewhat disputed
between Hindu and
Muslim percussionists. However, significant evidence
suggests that the
tabla originated in
pre-Islamic Arabia,
along with one of
the first tambourines. There is even
a name attached to
its creation; it was
possibly invented
by a man named
Tubal, son of the
great
percussionCoutresy of www.batish.com
ist Tubal of Arabia.
Music has two concepts of which
According to w w w.sirishkumar.
the tabla is an internal part: “Rag”
com, “Amir K husro made a great
and “Tal.” Rag pertains mostly to
contribution by introducing the
melody and Tal (a literally, “clap”)
Tabla in India.” However, there
pertains mostly to accompanying
are still major disputes between
percussion.
religions about the origin of
The tabla is one of the more
this important instrument. They
difficult percussion instruments to
probably all want to claim credit
master. Intensive traditional trainfor inventing such a wonderful
ing is necessary to gain complete
instrument!
THE INDEPENDENT
Memorial’s Independent
Student Newspaper
The Independent is a publication independent of the school
district and not affiliated with Memorial High School.
Opinions appearing in The Independent are not necessarily those of the editorial staff or
school
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opinions of the staff. This publica- tion is copyright ©2003
by the Student Free Press Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
CONTACT US
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The Independent welcomes the
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and parents. Letters should
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telephone number. Because of
space limitations, letters published are subject to abridgment.
Email
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He always had the confidence that he
would finish his work and it would be
good, without stressing over it. I’m still
awestruck about the way Tomek can
manage such a busy life and not be crying
in a corner from having too much to do.
Because he is so mellow, Tomek is a very
reassuring friend and super-neat guy to
hang out with. This is probably what we
will miss the most about him.
Tomek exactly the guy to chill with if
Micah Herstand & Janani Iyengar
Editors-in-Chief and Layout Designers
PO-LING L OH
COPY EDITOR
JIA LUO
A NDREW JI
ELLIE ZEITLIN
JANANI IYENGAR
LILY SORBER
H AL EDMONSON
A MELIA JENISON
NIKKI POWERS
BEN TRACHTENBERG
BILLY GRAF
NEWS
FEATURE
THE A RTS
IN FOCUS
VARSITY
A MUSE
CULINARY R EVIEW
BUSINESS M ANAGER
WEBMASTER
THE INDEPENDENT CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT
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you are in a chilling mood. He has an amaz- what we feel is that these three-and-aing sense of humor and is, basically, just half years have been graced with the
a solid guy. Longtime girlfriend Marissa excellence that is Tomek. But now, it’s
Falk says, “He’s the greatest guy in the time to say goodbye to a fantastic musiwhole wide world.” Well, we’re certainly cian, student, and friend. We are truly
glad you feel that way, Marissa. In fact, the grateful to have met him in high school.
majority of the student body simply can’t So the senior class of 2005 and all others
complain about Tomek Miernowski; he’s who have been affected by Tomek
undeniably an excellent person. We’ll all would like to shout out to him and say,
miss his presence in school.
“We love you, man,” and thanks for the
So we feel a lot, and a lot we feel, and music and memories.
THE ARTS
M ARCH, 2005
THE INDEPENDENT • 11
All That Jazz
By Erica Perry
Picture yourself in a chair in a
restaurant, surrounded by tangerine
salads and dim lighting. Someone
dons his organ shoes (yes, there are
special shoes meant for those who
play the organ), as others finish their
Chiliean Churasco sandwiches with
avocado. This can only mean one
thing: Tomek Miernowski and his
jazz quartet are about to begin their
set at Magnus. Ah, what a treat the
audience is about to have. Tomek
dazzles us on his guitar, Pawan
Benjamin rocks it on the tenor sax,
Jordan Cohen takes care of business on the drums, and Luke Palmer
PLAY,
FROM PAGE
9
of the play, one that is heart-wrenching and downright depressing; it is
clear that Tyrone will not live much
longer. After he purges himself of his
horrible secrets, he is finally and tenderly redeemed by Josie, and he leans
on her breast as she envelopes him in
her comforting, almost maternal arms,
and falls asleep—an exhausted, weeping sleep that seems almost like death.
There is a poignant moment of silence
as the stunningly beautiful light of
reminds the crowd just how great an
organ really sounds.
I absolutely loved my experience at
Magnus listening to the Tomek Miernowski Jazz Quartet. If you told me
several years ago that, as a senior, I
would be enjoying jazz concerts—
well, I would have called you crazy!
Even today, I would not turn to the
local jazz station for a good listen. But
there is definitely something special
about seeing jazz played live. During
every song, Tomek and the others
were so passionate about their music,
and had so much fun, that it was
difficult for the audience not to feel
the same. I loved that when I looked
about Magnus, I saw every single
person enjoying himself or herself—
and believe me, it was not because of
the food! Some nodded their heads,
others tapped their feet, and some
even closed their eyes to really let the
music set in.
Throughout the night, I felt that
each instrument received the same
amount of time to show the audience
what it could do. The combination of
guitar, tenor sax, drums, and organ
proved to be a winning one, as the
music blended together magnificently
to create both unpredictable and
memorable songs.
The other thing that really amazed
me about this band was its chemistry
on stage. By just a smile or slight look
between members, the whole band
knew what direction it would be taking
in the song. As I sat in Magnus, I realized just how under-appreciated jazz is.
It has been a while since I have seen
musicians with the same passion as the
Tomek Miernowski Jazz Quartet. It is
really something incredible. For those
skeptics of jazz out there, I encourage
you to step out of your musical box
and enjoy the greatness that is live
jazz. Unfortunately, the Tomek Miernowski Jazz Quartet will not be playing in the near future, as Tomek has
made his voyage to Poland. But please
make sure to keep your ears open and
eyes peeled for other opportunities to
catch a jazz concert. I know you’ll be
glad you went.
the golden sun breaks across the stage.
Josie wakes him (the audience breathes
a sigh of relief), and after a very sad
goodbye, he leaves. She watches him
go with a wonderful, unconventional
calm; the two have clearly resolved
never to have another romantic night
together. After Tyrone leaves, Josie
expresses her wish for him to die soon,
hoping that after the symbolic, dazzling sunrise, he will find peace and die
happily. It is an intensely depressing but
somehow strangely satisfying ending. I
remember a discussion my friends and I
were having about which kind of ending
is more romantic: the happily-ever-after
ending or the Casa Blanca variety where
the lovers part forever. We unanimously
decided that separation is much more
romantic, and in O’Neill’s masterful
play, the audience members have a sense
of tragic fulfillment as they walk out of
the theater.
It was a wonderful experience and
a fabulous production. The only negative that I noticed, and that appeared
in every review I read, was O’Neal’s
(Josie’s) inability to maintain a consis-
tent Irish accent. She would switch to a
slightly Southern accent (appropriate for
the play’s locale) whenever her character
became sincere or serious, which was distracting. Overall, the play was a very poignant, touching play about desperation
and redemption; O’Neill, in his uniquely
direct language, portrays an unconventionally dark love between a rough farm
girl and a decaying New York playboy
actor. I thoroughly enjoyed attending it
and would recommend seeing this play.
My appetite is whetted; I’m off to the
library to dig up some more O’Neill....
A
,
Want
to
advertise?
Contact the
business manager,
Ben Trachtenberg,
at
ss
ine
bus
.org
ent
end
dep
e-in
@th
to talk about it in a club situation.” As
tive instead of student initiative, Bruce the anonymous teacher who voiced her
BSTINENCE FROM PAGE 1
Dahmen, assistant principal and head concern about the political backing of
that the, “Abstinence club should
of clubs at Memorial could not think this club stated, “Is there student interbe a place where kids can talk about of any. They are, “normally student est for a club like this?”
their choices and options, [and] driven,” he said. As all clubs have to
Despite the debate, Ms. Paris-Ford
to keep abstinence as one of their go through him, and the abstinence believes the club cannot hurt students:
options. We’re not here to judge kids, club has not been student driven, the “I think just having it out there, might
we’re here to help them.
give a chance to stuSo they know what they
dents to come and
Ms. Paris-Ford has even stated herself
are getting themselves
ask me questions.
that, “I’m not sure if a club is the way to
into. We are trying to
Students that have
do it. Abstinence is a very private issue.
say that students don’t
attended past meethave to be pressured
I’m not sure kids want to talk about it in a ings have ranged
into having sex.”
from some who
club situation.”
Abstinence is not a
have had sex and
universally
approved
were disappointed,
form of sex education
to others who have
and therefore abstinence education Independent asked him whether the absti- had siblings or family members who
has come into some debate from nence club was an exception to this have had teen pregnancies and want
students, staff, and the community practice. He replied that he had never to avoid that.” Ms. Paris-Ford does
at large. A Memorial teacher who
heard of the abstinence club and that it not believe that Health class (or earlier
wishes to remain anonymous voiced could, “not be an official club,” because sex education classes) may be enough
her concern after reading about the
the organizers had not come through to help students to make the right
club in the staff announcements stat- him. There is no mission statement or choice (whatever choice that may be):
ing that, “Personally, I am uneasy goal of clubs in general by Memorial, “Sometimes kids aren’t paying attention
that federal and state money is driv- however, Dahmen stated that clubs are freshman year, but junior year they may
ing the formation of “clubs” aimed
at Memorial if, “the interest is there for have more interest.” When asked about
at the political agenda of the current kids.”
political backing to a club of this sort,
administration.” She may be scared
There may not be much interest for a Ms. Paris-Ford, understands that there
by WAIY’s message printed in their club like this at Memorial; only seven- is a, “conservative element to the idea
handbook for clubs that, “almost all
teen students have shown up to absti- of abstinence,” but she also made the
teens desire to see abstinence sup- nence meetings since November (there point that one would be, “hard pressed
ported as normal, healthy behavior,” have been three meetings) and the idea to find a liberal teacher at this school
when in fact by graduation more than
has worried some students: when asked pushing kids to go have sex.” She
fifty percent of high school students about the club, senior Tony Hess was believes students should not have sex
have had sex. This teacher feels that scared that, “[club members] would try while underage but, “Nothing is ever
this club should not be brought to
to force their beliefs on people who dis- out of the questions. In general, it’s a
Memorial by teacher initiative, how- agree.” Ms. Paris-Ford has even stated bad idea. My mom got pregnant with
ever, if students feel the need to have
herself that, “I’m not sure if a club is me when she was sixteen, was that a
an abstinence club, they should have
the way to do it. Abstinence is a very mistake, yea. But, I’m healthy, she’s
the right to. When asked how many private issue. I’m not sure kids want healthy. Life goes on.”
clubs have begun by teacher initia-
12
IN FOCUS
THE INDEPENDENT
JANANI IYENGAR, EDITOR
INFOCUS @ THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
M ARCH, 2005
The Value of Public
MMSD Made Tough
Decisions That Needed Education More than
Worth the Price
To Be Made
Ever y ye a r, t he one t i me t h at
ever y te ac her a nd sc hool a d m i nist r ator h ates is when t he ne w
bud g et proposa l is put on t he
t able for t he fol low i n g sc hool
ye a r. O u r ne w bud g et for t he 2 0 05 2 0 0 6 sc hool ye a r wa s recent ly
proposed by t he M a d ison S c hool
B oa rd , a nd , a lt hou gh I h ate to see
some ver y wonder f u l prog r a ms i n
ou r sc hool sy stem lose t he i r f u nd i n g , I must side w it h t he S c hool
B oa rd on t he i r dec ision . I n t he
ne w bud g et proposa l , it is c le a r
t h at t he S c hool B oa rd kept t he i r
pr ior it ies i n c heck , m a k i n g su re
t h at t he aca dem ic deve lopment of
ever y c h i ld i n t he d ist r ic t ca me
f i r st .
T he M a d ison Met ropol it a n
S c hool D ist r ic t is c u r rent ly fac i n g
a $ 8 . 6 m i l l ion g ap i n it s bud g et ,
a nd t hus it fe lt t he necessit y to
c ut cer t a i n cost s t h at wou ld h ave
t he le a st ef fec t on t he aca dem ic
env i ron ment of st udent s. T he d ist r ic t say s i n t he bud g et proposa l ,
“ I n keepi n g w it h t hese g oa l s, we
h ave sou ght f i r st to protec t t he
re a d i n g a nd m at hem at ics i nst r uct ion i n ou r pr i m a r y g r a des. Ever y
ef for t h a s been m a de to keep
sm a l l c l a ss si zes a nd to keep re a di n g i nter vent ions, m at hem at ics
i nst r uc t ion a nd st a f f deve lopment
foc used on t hese f i r st c r it ica l
g r a d e s ” ( h t t p : / / w w w. m a d i s o n .
k12.w i.u s / budget) . I n a dd it ion ,
t he boa rd a l so rem a i ned t r ue to
t h ree m a i n g oa l s, wh ic h a re a l so
out l i ned i n t he proposa l : f i r st ,
t h at a l l st udent s i n t he 3rd g r a de
a re re a d i n g at t he i r g r a de leve l or
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complete A l g ebr a by t he end of
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end of 10 t h g r a de , a nd f i n a l ly,
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r ate is at le a st 94 % .
One prog r a m t h at h a s i nc u r red
ser ious d a m a g e a s a resu lt of t he
bud g et c ut s h a s been t he music
prog r a m . T he ne w bud g et w i l l c ut
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h a s at tempted to do i n t he pa st ,
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now. A lt hou gh t he i nst r uc t ion
of music to c h i ld ren when t hey
a re you n g does he lp w it h t he i r
cog n it ive abi l it y a s t hey g row
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c ut t i n g t he st r i n g s prog r a m t h a n
t here a re d isa dva nt a g es. T he DPI ,
t he or g a n i zat ion f rom wh ic h t he
d ist r ic t rece ives it s i n for m at ion
re g a rd i n g educat ion a l resou rces,
recent ly sa id t h at it wou ld be
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i n t he c l a ssroom le a r n i n g m at h
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g r a m , t here
a re m a ny
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to
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sc
hool
to t he prog r a ms
Budget Cuts
d i st r ic t .
of fered at M a d ison’s h i gh sc hool s,
T hese c ut s a re g oi n g to a lte r
a nd wou ld a l low m idd le sc hoolou
r sc hool d i st r ic t si g n i f ier s to be ex posed to t hese spor t s
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ly, a nd not for t he b enef it
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of
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t
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se
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i n g ou r top
A lt hou gh t he bud g et c ut s a re
notc h sc hool s. I f we do not
a l way s d i f f ic u lt to m a ke , it is
m
a
i nt a i n t he qu a l it y of ou r
necessa r y to rem a i n re a l ist ic.
sc
hool
s , we ca n not ex pec t
T he foc us of t he sc hool d ist r ic t
f
ut
u
re
g e ne r at ions to exce l a nd
shou ld a l way s be towa rd pro a
dva
nce
. E duc at ion i s t he g re at
mot i n g aca dem ic prog r a ms a nd
equ
a
l
i
zer
; f rom educ at ion , we
he lpi n g st udent s to succeed i n
ca
n
a
l
l
at
t a i n a more equ a l
t hem . T he ne w bud g et cer t a i n ly
foot
i
n
g.
rem a i ns t r ue to t hese ba sic core
va lues of ou r educat ion sy stem .
NTT
IN
I
O
PO
P
C ou n t
B y Janani Iyengar
B y Annie Wilcox
But it sa dde ns me to k now t h at
ou r com mu n it y do es not hold
educat ion i n a s h i g h of esteem a s
it once d id . Two ye a r s a g o when
we h a d a ve r y si m i l a r refe re ndu m , C J Te r re l l a nd I a d m i ni ste red bud g et su r vey s for t he
d i st r ic t . We we re s wor n at , h a d
su r vey s t h row n at u s , a nd we
we re scolded by more t h a n a fe w
people. I complete ly sy mp at h i ze
w it h t he problem of h i g h t a xes ,
but publ ic sc hool s a re of te n t he
on ly c h a nce m a ny fa m i l ies ca n
g ive to t he i r c h i ld re n . I f we
d i m i n i sh t he qu a l it y of t hese
va lu able resou rces , we t a ke away
t h i s c h a nce .
O u r d i st r ic t c a n not b e
bl a med or a l l of t he bud g et
shor t fa l l s. I n t he p a st t went y
ye a r s , st ate a nd fede r a l f u ndi n g h a s b ee n sl a shed , le av i n g
a l a r g e r bu rde n to lo c a l sc hool
d i st r ic t s w it h eve r y ye a r. O u r
so c iet y needs to a g a i n re a l i ze
a nd embr ace t he va lue of educat ion . I f we look a rou nd at ot he r
cou nt r ies who h i g h ly va lue educ at ion , suc h a s Jap a n , we f i nd
t h at t hey a re on t he f ront l i nes
of tec h nolog ic a l a nd sc ie nt i f ic
i n novat ion . I f we do not cont i nue a nd r a i se ou r st a nd a rds of
educat ion , we m ay ve r y qu ick ly
f i nd ou r se lves b eh i nd .
My fa m i ly h a s a l way s va lued
educat ion . My g re at g r a nd m a
t r ave led f rom
M a r t i ns v i l le to Da ne to
b ecome one of t he ve r y f i r st
i n he r fa m i ly of poor fa r mer s
to g r a du ate 8t h g r a de a nd she
a ssu red t h at a l l of he r d au g hter s
st udy h a rd a nd g r a du ate h i g h
sc hool . W it hout publ ic sc hool s ,
it wou ld h ave b een i mpossible
for my g re at g r a nd mot he r, g r a ndp a re nt s , p a re nt s , or e ve n for me ,
to h ave a n educat ion . Ple a se , i f
you’re 18 , vote yes on t he refe re ndu m , a nd save ou r g re atest
resou rce .
To Check out this year’s
budget proposal, go to :
http://www.madison.k12.
wi.us/budget
M ARCH, 2005
VARSITY
THE INDEPENDENT
LILY SORBER, EDITOR
VARSITY @ THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
13
Spartan Swimmers Make A Big Splash
By Christopher Vergeront
ability in order for the team to win.
Junior Bill Rhinesmith started the
day out strong by placing ninth in
the diving competition.
The swimming began with the
200-yard Medley Relay, in which
Memorial was seeded to take 6th
place. To the surprise of many, the
coaches put together a new line-up
for State that consisted of Mauri-
The Madison Memorial Boys
Swim & Dive Team’s road to State
included a series of victories and
record setting performances. Finishing as undefeated dual-meet
champions in the Big Eight Conference, the Spartans also set meet
total-point record performances at
the West Bend Invite, the Memorial JV Invite, and the Madison
Invite. Completing their regularseason meet sweep with a victory
at Conference, the coaches, Kolpin,
Ritchie, and Focht-Perlberg, brainstormed the lineup for Sectionals,
as it would determine who could
swim what events at State. Their
decisions proved good, qualifying
Memorial with 16 out of 18 possible swims, to tie Memorial with
West for the most entries of any At the Middleton Invite.
Photo by Lily Sorber
team in the state.
The state meet was held Saturday, February 19th at the UW
cio Sousa, Cody Smith, Michael
Natatorium. The Spartans were
Vergeront and Peter Mullee. Startseeded to win the meet by a slim
ing the meet off well and firing
10 points over Mequon Homeup the rest of the boys, the relay
stead and Heartland Arrowhead,
team astounded many, cutting six
so everyone knew that they would
seconds off its seed time, winning
have to swim to the best of their
the event, and setting a new state
Spring Sports
Captains
Baseball
Justin Dahmen
Drew Musser
Boys Golf
Adam Eisenberg
Girls Soccer
Tina Boncyk
Carolyn Cobb
Jodi Klagos
Megan Strohm
Softball
Charli Metcalf
Boys Tennis
Ian Pray
Boys Track &
Field
Sautsani Ndafooka
Eugene Woehrle
Girls Track &
Field
Maggie Hippman
Jenny Soceka
record. Three events later in the
50 Freestyle, JMM took 1st, 3rd, Freestyle Relay. Senior Brendan
and 8th place from the swims of Lonergan, who originally thought
Mike Vergeront, Peter Mullee, he would not swim in the relay, led it
and Michael Schultz, respectively. off, and Sousa anchored it, moving
Mike’s time of :21.06 broke his own the relay up from 6th to 4th place.
school record in the 50, following
Each swimmer on the State team
which he won the 100 Fly, becom- scored points at the meet, assisting
ing the first Spartan swimmer to in the defeat of 3-time defending
break 50 seconds. The next event champs Hartland Arrowhead, 269.5
was the 100 Freestyle, where points to 222. The 2005 Spartan
Peter Mullee outdistanced Boys Swim Team was the first ever
himself from two Warhawks to go a whole season undefeated, and
to win the race and set a new current team members now hold 8 of
school record in the process. the 12 team records.
Yet another state record fell
More importantly though, the
to Memorial’s 200-yard Free- team sends Coach Gary Kolpin
style Relay team of Michael out with his 7th State Title. After
Schultz, Mike Vergeront, 33 years of guiding Spartan SwimPeter Mullee, and Michael mers, Coach Kolpin is “going out a
Hanson. Senior Mauricio winner.”
Sousa had a successful day,
placing 4th in the 200 IM and
3rd in the 100 Backstroke,
after having battled his way
back from a bought of pneumonia. Junior Cody Smith broke a
minute in the 100 Breastroke and
surprised the whole team by placing 2nd, barely losing to his arch
nemesis from West, Dan Koenig.
Memorial wrapped up the meet
Thanks, Coach!
with a 4th-place finish in the 400
JMM Gymnasts Spring Through Conference
“Now It’s Our Turn.”
By Heidi Johnston
Throughout the senior gymnasts’ last
three years on the Memorial Gymnastics
team, they have neither gone to State individually nor as a team. However, the girls
are planning to end that streak this year.
So far this season, the team has already
mastered winning the dual meets and has
placed in the top two at both invites. The
team is looking really awesome this year.
Coming into this season, the girls knew it
was going to be a good one but they also
knew that they would need to set up the
team and work hard in order to accomplish their goals. The team’s aim all season
has been to make it to State. To do this,
the girls knew that they would have to
push themselves independently in order
for the team as a whole to succeed.
In the last three years, Memorial Gymnastics has competed in Sectionals and
repeatedly gotten third place, but unfortunately, only the first two teams in each
Sectional advance to State. At Conference,
the Spartans posted a score of 138 to win
the meet, and although it was not a seasonbest score, the judges were scoring hard
and the girls knew that they had done
their best. Moreover, the girls gained
confidence at Conference, also knowing
that in past duals, they had already beaten
the top two teams of the Sectional, both
of which made it to State in 2004.
The girls on this year’s team have higher
expectations than ever before. This seems
to be the year that JMM Gymnastics will
finally go to State. The team has had to
work especially hard these past three years
to build itself up, so now the whole team
is stronger and extremely determined to
win its Sectional and make it to State for
the first time in many years.
Within the team itself, there are
numerous girls likely to advance to State
individually. For Sectionals, the lineup
includes: Madeline King, Jenny Soceka,
and Allison Stark competing all around;
Jessa Carey competing on bars and floor;
Amber Hermus competing on beam and
floor; Sarah Hicken competing on vault
and beam; and Heidi Johnston competing on bars and vault. Individually, the
girls are great, but together, they make an
even greater team. In the last two weeks
of the 2005 Memorial High School Girls
Gymnastics season, the team must keep
its hopes up and will work very hard to
achieve the goals that the girls have been
trying to accomplish for so long. The team
is awesome this year and the girls believe
that it is at last their turn to go to State.
Update:
The greatest feeling in life is the feeling of fulfilling goals that you have been
working for your whole life. This is just
what the girls of the Memorial Gymnastics Team were feeling the night of Friday,
February 25th, at their gymnastics sectional meet. The Spartans not only made
it to State as a team by winning Sectionals
with a score of 139.68, but they also sent
four individuals: Madeline King and Jenny
Soceka for all around; Amber Hermus for
floor, and Allison Stark for bars. “This
was the most exciting night of our lives,
to actually get first place at Sectionals and
be told that we finally get to go to State,”
emoted Senior Heidi Johnston.
The whole week before State, the team
worked both physically and mentally hard
to prepare for the final meet. The girls
were excited and nervous at the same time,
since JMM had not been to State for a few
years. On Friday, March 4th, after the last
day of practice, the team set out on its way
to the state meet. Madeline, Jenny, Amber,
and Allison did awesome. Madeline had
a great birthday present and became the
State Champion on floor, with Jenny right
behind her in third. On Saturday, the
team completed the meet with a standing
in fourth place, scoring 139.0833, but to
the girls, it felt like first. Everyone had fun,
worked hard, and accomplished the goal
they had been trying to achieve for such
a long time.
This season has been the greatest of
all the seasons I have ever participated
in. I met great people, accomplished a
life goal, and learned team leadership and
appreciation. Most importantly though, I
know that when I leave Memorial, I will
leave having been a part of its sports history that will never be forgotten; people
will always remember the 2005 Memorial
Girls Gymnastics team. Thank you for
supporting this year’s team and watch out
for upcoming teams in the amazing seasons to come.
VARSITY
14 • THE INDEPENDENT
2005 Spring Sports Schedule
Home Games in bold.
East
D.C. Everest (DH) (12:00)
@ Middleton
Parker
@ West
LaFollette
@ Sun Prairie
Beloit
@ Oconomowoc
@ East
@ Janesville Craig (DH) (11:00)
Middleton
@ Parker
West
@ LaFollette -Warner Park
Sun Prairie
@ Beloit
Oconomowoc (5:00)
Regional Semi-Final
Regional Final
Sectional Semi-Final and Final @ Parker
State @ Appleton
Boys Golf
April 11
April 15
April 18
April 21
April 23
April 23
April 25
April 27
April 29
May 2
May 4
May 6
May 6
May 3
May 7
May 7
May 9
May 11-12
May 14
May 16
May 16
May 17
May 19
May 19
May 24
May 26
May 27th
May 31
June 7/8
Boys Track
(7:00 p.m. Varsity / 5:00 p.m. JV)
(4:30 p.m.)
April 7
April 9
April 12
April 14
April 18
April 20
April 22
April 26
April 27
May 3
May 4
May 10
May 12
May 17
May 19
May 24
May 26
May 27
May 31
June 3
June 7
June 14-16
Frosh/JV games in italics
Girls Soccer
Baseball
@ Ice Breaker Invite Bridges (10:00)
@ Watertown Invite - (11:00)
East & LaFollette
@ LaFollette Cup - Yahara (11:30)
@ Beaver Dam Invite - Old Hickory
(8:15)
@ Craig Invite - Riverside (8:30)
@ Edgewood Invite - Maple Bluff (11:00)
@ Middleton w/ Beloit
@ Beloit Invite - Krueger (12:00)
@ West w/ Craig
@ JV Metro Invite - Edelweiss (12:00)
@ Portage Invite - (12:00)
@ Baraboo Invite - (12:00)
@ Craig w/ LaFollette- JVCC (2:00)
@ Sauk Prairie Invite - Lake Wisconsin
CC (8:00)
@ Oregon Invite – Foxboro (8:30)
Janesville Parker & Sun Prairie
Piper Jaffray - US Bancorp @ University
Ridge (12:00)
@ Beloit Scramble - Krueger (10:00)
Spartan Invite (11:00)
Frosh City @ West (9:00)
Frosh Conference - JMM (9:00)
Conference @ West (8:00)
JV Conference @ Sun Prairie (9:00)
Regional @ Waunakee
City @ Edgewood (1:00)
JV City @ Edgewood (1:00)
Sectional @ Portage
State @ University Ridge
April 1
April 2
April 7
April 8
April 9
April 12
April 15-16
April 19
April 21
April 22
April 29-30
May 3
May 5
May 10
May 12
May 13-14
May 15
May 17
May 19
May 21
May 21
May 21
May 26
May 28
June 2
June 4
June 9-11
@ Brookfield Central (4:30)
@ Brookfield East (11:00)
@ LaFollette - Lussier
Neenah (5:30)
@ Catholic Memorial -Waukesha
South (1:00)
@ Craig (5:00)
@ Rockford Boylan Invite
Sun Prairie
Milwaukee Pius XI
@ Milwaukee Divine Savior
Spartan Invite
Madison East
@ Monona Grove (7:00)
@ Parker (5:00)
@ Beloit
@ Brookfield East Invite
@ LaCrosse Central (10:00)
West
Middleton
Kenosha Tremper (10:00)
JV Conference Tournament (9:30)
Frosh Conference Tournament @
Craig (9:30)
Regional Semi-Final
Regional Final
Sectional Semi-Final @ Sauk Prairie
Sectional Final
State @ Uihlein
Softball
(4:30 - April; 4:00 - May & Jun.)
March 31 @ East
April 5
Middleton
April 7
@ Parker
April 11
West
April 13
LaFollette
April 15
@ Beloit
April 19
Craig
April 21
East
April 23
@ Beaver Dam Quad (11:00/1:00)
April 28
@ Middleton
April 30
Sun Prairie (DH) (10:00)
May 3
Parker
May 5
@ West
May 9
Beloit Turner
May 10
@ LaFollette
May 12
@ Craig
May 17
Beloit
May 20
@ Milton (4:30)
May 24
Regional Semi-Final
May 26
Regional Final
May 30
Sectional Semi-Final & Final @
Waunakee
June 9-11 State @ UW-Goodman Field
(4:30 Field / 4:45 Running)
March 19
April 2
April 5
April 9
April 12
April 15
April 19
April 26
April 29
May 3
May 5
May 6
May 10
May 11
May 13
May 17
May 18
May 23
May 26
June 3-4
@ Whitewater Invite (10:00)
@ West Relays
Indoor City @ East (@ UW)
(6:00/7:00)
TFA Indoor @ UW Shell
(9:45)
Sun Prairie & West
JV Invite (4:30)
@ East w/ Craig
@ LaFollette w/ Beloit
@ Baraboo Relays (3:30)
@ Parker w/ Middleton
Invite @ Waunakee (4:30)
Spartan Invite (5:00/5:15)
City (4:30/5:00)
Frosh/JV City @ West
(4:30/5:00)
@ Monona Grove Invite
(4:00/7:15)
Conference @ East (3:45)
Invite @ Parker (4:15)
Regional @ Sauk Prairie
Sectional @ Holmen
State @ UW LaCrosse
Girls Track
(4:30 Field / 4:45 Running)
March 19
April 5
April 9
April 12
April 15
April 19
April 26
April 29
May 3
May 5
May 7
May 10
May 11
May 17
May 18
May 23
May 26
June 3-4
@ Whitewater Invite (10:00)
Indoor City @ East (@ UW)
(6:00/7:00)
TFA Indoor @ UW Shell
(9:45)
Sun Prairie & West
JV Invite (4:30)
@ East w/ Craig
@ LaFollette w/ Beloit
@ Baraboo Relays (3:30)
@ Parker w/ Middleton
Invite @ Waunakee (4:30)
@ Homestead Invite (10:15)
City (4:30/5:00)
Frosh/JV City @ West
(4:30/5:00)
Conference @ East (3:45)
Invite @ Sun Prairie (4:15)
Regional @ Sauk Prairie
Sectional @ Holmen
State @ UW LaCrosse
Boys Tennis
(4:15 p.m.)
April 12
April 16
April 19
April 23
April 23
April 26
April 30
May 3
May 5
May 6-7
@ LaFollette
@ Kenosha Tremper Invite
(8:00/8:30)
@ Craig
Spartan Invite (8:00/9:00)
@ Nicolet Invite (8:30)
Sun Prairie
@ Beaver Dam Invite (9:00)
Madison East
@ Parker
@ Nicolet Invite (4:00/9:00)
M ARCH, 2005
May 10
@ Beloit
May 12
West
May 14
@ Brookfield Central Invite (8:00)
May 14
@ Mukwonago Quad (8:45/9:00)
May 14
@ Parker
May 16
Middleton
May 19
Conference @ LaFollette (Nielsen) (8:00)
May 19
JV Conference @ West (8:00)
May 24
SubSectional @ Verona
May 26
Sectional
June 2-4
Individual State @ Nielsen
June 10-11 Team State @ Nielsen
A MUSE
M ARCH, 2005
THE INDEPENDENT
HAL EDMONSON, EDITOR
AMUSE @ THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
15
Untitled
Your Children are not your children
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself
They come through you but are not from you
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you
You may give them your love but not your thoughts
For they have their own thoughts
You may shelter their bodies but not their souls
-Kahlil Gibran
Poland
Tire tracks
Across the brims of your eyes
Old tires
From years like 1974 in Poland
You say it means
“Because in Poland it means ‘because’ in Poland”
You are categorically unsound
I’ll bet you eat peanut butter straight from the jar
A slow conversationalist
You are brilliant in the mornings
When your oily hair is tassled lovingly
By explorer’s hands
You still have a few tricks up your sleeves
Fat with promises
A mother bearing twins in June
Time has no meaning to you
A wizard
Who holds his spells in
Jungle green plaid
The calming stench of cigarettes
On tired, caring breath
And battleships that careen down
The saliva on your bristled tongue
Boats that carry baskets, barrels and men
Who urge you to jump
Into polluted waters
Where there is no telling whether
The Loch Ness hides below the surface
Nimble, hungry
Probing the air with dinner plate nostrils
Waiting patiently to swallow
Poland
whole
Prophet
He for whom a thousand have been named
Who started with a message
And built himself an empire
Where he and his Allah shared the same breath
In the speeches and poetry of Medina’s dusty streets
And in Mecca, where the worn cobbles have witnessed blood and love
And thought they were the same
Who became so sure in the righteousness and light
That almost no one noticed
At the end of that long day
The tiny flicker of doubt in his last rattling exhale
-H. Riley
-Kate Phelps
SHARE
YOUR
ART
Poetry
Short Story
Drawing
S
Et Cetera
END
SSIONS TO HAL EDMO
SUBMI
NSO
18 ST. ANDREW’S CIR.
N
MADISON, WI 53717
AMUSE@THE-INDEPENDENT.ORG
Untitled
Come away with me
Into our world among the city of lights
Sing along with me on Broadway
Where the sidewalk is our stage
And every stoplight
Is really a spotlight in disguise
Come with me
Throw caution to the stars
Let us be free
In the never ending night
We drive
Among the cold air
That smells of stars
Out to the fields
Where we make love
And the stars are our spotlights
For the opening scene
And the grass is itchy on our bare backs
But we never notice
As our sad song crescendos
And ends in a kiss
Where we roll
And the corn stalks roll with us
In the breeze
As if wishing to be part
Of our sweetIf shortMoment of certainty
When it doesn’t matter that our curtain will soon fall
Because we are in our love song now
Voices intertwined
As if on Broadway
Where every stoplight
Is a spotlight
In disguise
-Nina Trotto
THE BEST WAY TO GET OUT OF THE
JMM STUDENT PARKING LOT
16
Editor’s Note: This article was originally
printed in the Independent’s January 2004
issue. It is reprinted here because we felt it
would be beneficial for you.
By Eyleen Chou
Tired of waiting for what seems like
hours to leave the parking lot? You’re
not alone. If you just watch students
swarm to the A and B wing foyers after
the 8th hour bell, you know what kind
of traffi c you’ll be dealing with. To help
you to avoid all the waiting, I’ve fi gured
out when, and which exit is the fastest
way out of the parking lot. I considered
the following: the number of minutes
between the last bell and the time you
leave your parking space, the exit (either
the one on Mineral Point or the one
on Gammon—the one closest to the
student lot), and the direction you turn
out of the exit. (Here’s a quick lesson
for those of us who aren’t very directionally oriented: if you turn right onto
Gammon out of the parking lot you are
going north, left onto Gammon is south,
right onto Mineral Point is west, and left
onto Mineral Point is east.) However, I
didn’t take into consideration the other
two exits on Gammon Road, or the
location of one’s parking space. I only
parked in the main part of the lot.
16
Editor’s Note: This article was originally
printed in the Independent’s January 2004
issue. It is reprinted here because we felt it
would be beneficial for you.
To cut to the chase, here’s what I found:
If you beat the rush, or wait until the rush is
over, your waiting time is minimal (This is pretty
logical, but keep on reading, you might learn something new)
If you can leave within 2 minutes and 30 seconds
of the last bell you will wait no more than 5 minutes
to get out of the parking lot, from any exit, turning
in any
direction.
The Gammon Road exit clears much more
quickly than the Mineral Point exit does. Usually by
3:55 pm Gammon requires no waiting.
No matter if you are turning left or right onto
Gammon, the times are about the same because
there’s only one line.
Gammon Road Exit:
Mineral Point Exit:
If you leave your space 5 minutes after the bell rings and exit EAST on Mineral
Point Road, you’ll be waiting for about 10 minutes. However, going EAST (left)
means that you’ll be relying heavily on the courtesy of drivers traveling westbound
on Mineral Point. So I’m warning you: don’t have high expectations for my 10
minutes to hold true.
If you leave your space 10 minutes after the bell rings and exit EAST, you’ll be
waiting for about 7 ½ minutes. Again, keep in mind that you might be depending
on other people to let you cross to the median.
If you leave 5 minutes after the bell and exit WEST on Mineral Point Road,
you’ll be waiting a long time. I actually only waited in that line once, all of the
other times I just U-turned and headed towards the Gammon exit. The big thing to
consider for 5 minutes and WEST on Mineral Point is that the line gets long, fast.
I also never cheated by driving to the boonies before getting in line (I wish I had
when I was waiting in line forever). The one time I did wait the whole time, it was
almost 4:00 pm (that’s 15 minutes of sitting in line) and westbound traffi c on Mineral Point is very busy. Holes in traffi c only occur because some drivers are nice
enough to stop to leave a space between the rest of traffi c waiting for the light to
turn green. So if you want to exit WEST on Mineral Point you’ve got to be fast.
General Tips:
If you leave your space 5 minutes after the bell rings (3:39 pm) and
exit on Gammon Road you’ll be waiting somewhere between 10 and 14
minutes. Keep in mind this is not considering the two exits closest to
Jefferson.
If you leave your space 10 minutes after the bell rings (3:44 pm), you’ll
probably be waiting between 7 and 10 minutes.
If you leave 20 minutes after the bell (3:55 pm) you shouldn’t be
waiting at all.
Beyond 20 minutes should also be wait free, unless you encounter
rush hour traffi c.
If you want to beat the rush you’ll have to sprint from your 8th hour class
To make this work, park in a spot close to the foyer closest to your 8th hour
class.
If you choose to wait it out (20 minutes should do the trick) make sure you’re
occupied. Get extra help from a teacher, go the LMC, finish that last math problem
so you don’t have to take your text book home, etc.; don’t hang around the halls
(students are supposed to be out of the building or with a teacher by 3:45).
And if you stay in school for the 20 extra minutes, then exit on Gammon
Some Juniors try to cut into the Mineral Point line.
Road.
Remember: if you usually exit on Mineral Point, you can always exit SOUTH
(left) on Gammon Road and turn left or right at the Mineral Point/Gammon
intersection.
So now you should know how to get out of the parking lot the fastest. And hopefully, now you also know when and from where to leave in order to suffi ciently
warm up your car.
If you try my suggestions and it goes horribly wrong, you can e-mail questions
and comments to leenie812@hotmail.com. Please put “parking lot” as the subject.
I’ll be happy to respond to your e-mails.