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“Patriot Center, it’s a lot bigger and just has a better overall atmosphere. ” —Sam Yardley, 10 “Definitely the Patriot Center, there’s alot more space and past gradu- ations were packed even though it’s much bigger.“ —Valerie Agyeman, 11 “Patriot Center, because graduation last year was really spacious and easy to move around at. ” —Lucas Coplon , 11 “Robinson, it’s been our home for the past six years, so we should end where we started .” —Jeffrey Chenh, 12TRANSCRIPT
Valor Dictus May 4, 2010 Volume 39 Issue 9 Bravely speaking to the Robinson Community 5
Editorials
staff editorial
ABOUT USValor Dictus is a student-run newspaper that serves the Robinson community. All bylined articles, editorials, columns and letters are the expression of the writer and not necessarily that of the staff or the adviser. Unsigned edito-rials represent the majority opinion of the staff.
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EDITORIAL POLICYValor Dictus welcomes student opinion as an open forum. All opinion pieces must be e-mailed to [email protected]. Letters or columns must be signed. That is, they must contain a name, and a title All content received by the paper is subject to editing.Letters must be around 100-200 words. Guest columns must be 500 words or less.Valor Dictus reserves the right to withold the publication of letters and guest submissions.
ValorDictus
EntErtainmEnt Editors:Grace Gibson
Dominique Maxey
sports Editors:Mollie Berner
Elizabeth Lewan
photography Editor:Jacob Beil
Copy Editor:Rebecca Turner
nEws BriEfs Editor:Aaron Berner
sports BriEfs Editor:Tristam Osgood
staff writErs:Jack Connors
Mica DeAsisAlyssa Hard
Karly HirstJessica Horne
Hailey MetzgerJulian Rosen
Caitlin RussellLauren Tyree
Tyler WalterDavid Weinberg
advisEr:Stephanie Axelrod
2009-2010 staff: Editor-in-ChiEf:Alexandra Mendoza
managing Editor:Alexandria Hiponia
produCtion Editor:Michelle Bedker
BusinEss managErs:Lauren DuffyKate Rozelsky
onlinE Editor:Josh Son
nEws Editors:Katherine DempseyTim Ferrell
Editorials Editors:Emily SmithMarisa Spindell
foCus Editors:Kaitlin MackieAndrew Miller
fEaturEs Editors:Sofia Herrera Blaire Tillman
Would you rather have graduation at the Patriot Center or at Robinson?
photos and interviews by Marisa Spindell and Karly Hirst
what theare saying
“Patriot Center, because graduation
last year was really spacious and easy to
move around at.” —Lucas Coplon , 11
“Patriot Center. [It] can hold more people
more conveniently. ” —Allie LaCroix, 11
kids in the hall
Emily Smith - Editorials Editor Marisa Spindell - Editorials Editor
“Patriot Center, it’s a lot bigger and just has a
better overall atmosphere.”
—Sam Yardley, 10
“Patriot Center, because graduation is
something special and different.”
—Maria Kosmakos, 9
“Robinson, it’s been our home for the past six
years, so we should end where we started .”
—Jeffrey Chenh, 12
“Definitely the Patriot Center, there’s alot more
space and past gradu-ations were packed
even though it’s much bigger.“
—Valerie Agyeman, 11
Jack Connors
Mason graduation worth cost Though hosting graduation here at school may be more cost-efficient due to rising prices of alternative venues, the Pa-triot Center provides a better atmosphere which allows for virtually no limitations on seating capacity. Graduation is an event which fami-lies want to share with many people. By hosting graduation at the Patriot Center, the 10,000-seat arena allows for not only family to attend gradua-tion, but also friends and any under-classmen interested in watching. The Patriot Center’s layout makes more sense for such a large-scale event. The arena was constructed with enough parking for all attendees, and families are able to park near entranc-es. Also, there is handicap seating avail-able. The Patriot Center is accessible and families will easily be able to arrive and get seated quickly and efficiently.
Having graduation at our school is appeal-ing primarily due to the fact that it would be free. Though the school is large enough to host at least several thousand people, quarters would be cramped. Rather than having a formal feel to graduation, the field house would be loud and uncomfortable for families seated in the stands. Hosting graduation in the field house is not realistic. According to Principal Dan Meier, the field house would allow for about 3,000 guests; the number of guests per graduating senior will be limited. In a class of 650 students, each student would be able to have roughly four guests attend. While hosting graduation in Coffey Stadi-um would allow for 8,000 to 10,000 guests, weather is unpredictable; in the event of rain, it would be difficult to relocate gradu-ation on short notice. The benefits of hosting graduation at the Patriot Center come alongside a large price. Each year, seniors each pay about $80 to cover the cost of caps, gowns and the $10,500 needed to rent the Patriot Center.
If senior dues must be raised to cover the cost of the Patriot Center, parent organiz-ers should include a simple explanation of the increasing price for the Patriot Center and why it is necessary to increase the dues. A downfall of the Patriot Center is the restriction on graduation times for our school. Due to the large size of graduating classes, graduation will almost always be held at night. If graduation is held either in the morning or afternoon, traffic flow on Braddock Road will become backed up. Ultimately, the timeframe of graduation should not be a deciding factor. Even with a late graduation, the all-night grad party times do not change and all students are able to attend if they wish. Graduation is a monumental event for both graduating seniors and their families. All friends and family interested in watch-ing a senior receive his or her diploma should be able to attend. By hosting gradu-ation at the Patriot Center, this special event can be shared with as many people as possible.
—”Robinson Ink” was written by Andrew Miller, page 11—junior Leah Scheunemann’s name was mis-spelled, page 11—senior Faven Gabriel’s name was misspelled, page 13 —freshman Kierra Bray and senior Faven Gabriel’s photos were swapped, page 13—sophomore Sam Yardley is a member of boys’ varsity soccer, page 16—senior Audrey Barry’s name was misspelled, page 17—freshmen Colton Fisher and Connor Lloyd were quoted in “Boys’ & Girls’ Lacrosse,” page 19
From March 25 Issue
—Entertainment editor Shelby Gee and entertain-ment assistants Alexis Grant, Bailey Haase and Mariah Kushin were not included in the staff box, page 5—In the article “Students head to the poll next week,” students vote for four candidates, page 9—In the “Healthier Options” graphic, a hamburger has 28 grams of protein, page 12—In the article “Horror comes back to life,” the original Freddy Krueger movie was released in 1984, page 15—In the article “Crew rows it in for spring,” the cor-rect term for the crew team’s boats is shell, page 19—In the “What’s coming up for the Rams?” graphic, the varsity baseball team played at home against Oakton on April 20, page 20
From April 15 Issue
CORRECTIONS