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page 03

12.04.08

featureIf you abuse it, you will lose itThe ‘Oakton Blohs’ shirt incident, along with other recent sportsmanship fouls, could end in the elimination of student First Amendment rights

This year, Oakton students tested their limits. Students created t-shirts which said “Oakton Bloh’s? Who’s 8-Oh?” in order to respond to Westfield High School’s offensive “Oakton Bloh’s” shirts. The administration immediately

told students to remove the shirts because of their connotative meaning. “I think that the administrators kind of jumped to conclusions about the shirts.

They interpreted them differently than they could have,” said sophomore Jennifer Corser, who was responsible for designing and selling the shirts. “Westfield made shirts which basically said that Oakton has no skill. We retaliated by questioning them, ‘If we have no skill then how come we are undefeated?’”

Situations such as the instance of the shirts are the gray area in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Guidelines. It was a practice of the freedom of speech to protest against Westfield’s shirts, but the shirts were also somewhat vulgar.

“It is upsetting to the administration when students say that their First Amendment rights have been violated when they are unintelligent about it and do not heed to the SR&R guidelines,” said assistant principal Mark Penn. “Students are treated as proper shareholders of the school system. They should learn to navigate through the rules as part of their citizenship.”

Each year students must read and sign the SR&R booklet. This agreement between students and the school board replaces students’ First Amendment rights with a series of responsibilities students must comply with in order to receive their rights at school.

These policies are put into place to ensure that there is no disruption of education.

“I think that I try to follow the county policies as closely as I can,” said Principal John Banbury. “I believe the policies do a good job. I see it as our responsibility as administrators to follow the policies.”

These policies give students privileges to things taken for granted: such as writing freely in journalism class, dressing in ways to express individualism and having the ability to speak out against controversial administrative action.

“The privileges of the First Amendment have allowed me to express myself and inspire others to dress and act as they feel,” said sophomore Cora Hobbs. “If I neglected the benefits of my rights I would be a lot more bland and less of an individual.”

Only seven states have passed Anti-Hazelwood laws, which allow students to have the privileges of the First Amendment within schools. It has not always been this way. There was a time when all students across the nation were given the freedoms without question.

Whether freedom of expression, speech, religion, petition, and assembly should be allowed on school property is a traditionally debated issue. The Supreme Court has left this decision up to each individual county. Fairfax County has chosen to allow students to express themselves freely as long as the student’s actions do not conflict with the policies set forth in SR&R.

Important court cases

First Amendment rights...

Freedoms of expression have not always been the same; see the court cases that have established the rights we enjoy today

1969 Tinker v. Des Moines School System: Supreme Court ruled that Constitutional rights are given to students at school as long no disturbance is caused. 1986 Bethel School

District v. Fraser: The Supreme Court ruled that student First Amendment rights do not exist at all school functions.

1988 Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier: Supreme Court ruled that students do not have the right to the First Amendment in school. While seven states passed anti-Hazelwood laws, national First Amendment rights were taken away on school premises.

1998 Beussink v. Woodland School System: Missouri District Court ruled that students cannot get in trouble for posting free thought and vulgarity on websites made from home.

2002 Bong Hits 4 Jesus: The Supreme Court ruled that expression concerning drug paraphernalia is not protected under First Amendment rights.

2004 Utica v. Dean: Michigan District Court ruled that the time, place and manner of expression can be regulated but not the substance of expression.

Do you think that students have adequate First Amendment rights?

- sarah kashanian and erik gunther, staff writers, can be reached at sarah.kashanian@oaktonmedia.net and erik.gunther@oaktonmedia.net

drew gunther

- clayton wandishin, jr. - amanda monahan, sr. - carly palmucci, fr. - osman ahmad, so.

Cover: Kneeling after a hard-fought loss, senior CJ Trakas collects himself before joining the rest of the team at the end of the game. The team overall had a decorated season, bringing home both the District and Regional championships.

Photo by: Gladys Manzur

page 04 feature 12.04.08

For recently immigrated junior Yuri Soens, Thanksgiving was a variation of Dankbaarheid, the Bel-

gian holiday he grew up celebrat-ing. The Belgian tradition which originally celebrated a success-ful harvest in the country runs parallel with American Thanks-giving, the only major difference being an excess of chocolate with a majority of the foods served.

“The two holidays celebrate the same things and are both a reason to get together with family,” Soens said. “The only differ-ence I’ve noticed is that we eat turkey with hot chocolate sauce over it, and have other traditional foods like Dafalgan. It’s goat milk

and peaches but it’s only made around the time of Dankbaarheid, kind of like eggnog at Christmas for Americans.”

Compared to Dankbaarheid, celebrat-ing the American holiday has turned out to be a lot less sweet. As Soens celebrated his second Thanksgiving assimilating to the country, he has grown accustomed to enjoy-ing both traditions.

“Last year which was my family’s first Thanksgiving, we went over to a family friend’s house,” Soens said. “It worked out well because they did all the cooking, the turkey, mashed potatoes and everything else, and we just brought dessert, which was a huge white chocolate shoe which recognizes Beligium’s history as known

shoe-makers. It was a good way to be introduced to the holiday.”

For Soens, this year’s Thanksgiving ran smoothly, as he knew what foods were going to be served and how the day would progress.

“The first year we were here Thanksgiving seemed really weird to us, especially since we had been

celebrating a Thanksgiving with so many different traditions,” Soens said. “It was dif-ficult in the beginning but now I know what to expect.”

Home for the Holidays Students incorporate their own customs into American Thanksgiving traditions

Thanksgiving and other holidays can often become more complicated for stu-

dents when parents become sepa-rated. This hasn’t stopped junior Clayton Wandishin from experi-encing a stereotypical Thanksgiv-ing, but it has added a twist.

“Every Thanksgiving I fly to Colorado and spend the break with my dad and stepmom.” Wandishin said. “I am almost always at my mom and stepdad’s house so I spend the

holidays with my dad.”Even though Wandishin spends

his Thanksgiving on the other side of the country, his family’s table re-sembles what we would all expect; complete with a turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and other seasonal foods, but with something most students would

question.“Usually my stepmom makes a big turkey

dinner with stuffing and everything, but she always makes buffalo meatloaf,” Wandishin said. “She goes down to the farmers market and buys real buffalo meat, which tastes a lot like lamb.”

Despite his assimilation to this living situation over time, the holidays can always be a more difficult time to adjust to than others.

“It’s really hard to spend time with my dad because he lives on the other side of the country,” said Wandishin. “And it’s not fair that I spend major holidays with my dad most of the time, so we switch every couple of years. Either way its still Thanksgiving and I get to spend time with family.”

Students with different cultural backgrounds have all found a way to celebrate the tradi-

tional American holiday in ways that they can incorporate their unique customs from the countries from which they or their parents have come from.

“My dad is Italian but was born here in America, but my mom was born in Hong Kong,” said sophomore Justine Celli. “For dinner, we normally just eat whatever. Sometimes we’ll make pizza or Chinese food but what we eat probably isn’t very different from most people.”

Despite the differences in food, Celli still sees the holiday as a time to come together and to be thankful for what she has.

“Having parents with different ethnicities hasn’t really changed Thanksgiving from a stereotypical day. Most of the time our fam-ily still comes together and eats a lot”

The different food marks the majority of the differences between Celli’s Thanksgiv-ing, and what is considered the norm.

“Every year, my uncle buys a full roasted piglet for dinner,” Celli said. “All of my other relatives bring other dishes to go with that and some traditional stuff too.”

Having relatives from dif-ferent cultural backgrounds is a privilege, as students get to experience holidays from nations besides America. As families are assimilated into an American lifestyle, they keep their tradi-tions at the forefront.

Mixed backgrounds mesh for holidays Across the country isn’t so far for family

Culture clash creates new experiences

A traditional Thanksgiving

No matter how diverse cultures can be school-wide, there are always stereotypical Thanksgiving’s which

students enjoy as they anticipate the holiday season.

For sophomore Megan Perry, Thanks-giving is fairly predictable, but time with family is well-spent.

“Every thanksgiving my whole family gets together,” Perry said. “It would be weird if weren’t in one house for the day.”

Although a large family gathering is expected, the stress of hosting so many people is never realized until the day of the holiday.

“This year I went to my Aunt’s house and there were about 18 of us,” Perry said. “It’s a lot of people to cook for, even if everyone helps out. I felt kind of bad for my aunt because of all the preparation she had to put into the day.”

Even though her family celebrates the holiday as traditionally as possible, events change that are for the most part unpredict-able.

“My uncle was cooking the turkey, and we

all sat down for the game, and our smoke alarm started going off.” Perry said. “Grease from the stove had dripped into the oven and had caught on fire. Thankfully we

pulled the turkey out before it was ruined.”

Unexpected aspects of the day are what make it so memorable for Perry.

“It’s great having the traditional day to look forward to, but my family always remembers the funny, random stuff that happened

on the day.” Perry said. No matter what kind of day is anticipated,

Thanksgiving is almost always guaranteed to be a great day filled with family, food and the occasional random occurrence which makes the day memorable.

- justine celli, so.

- yuri soens, jr.

- megan perry, jr.

- clayton wandishin, jr.

emily mills

- emily mills, staff writer, can be reached at emily.mills@oaktonmedia.net

page 05feature 12.04.08

Music department to play win-ter concerts: The band will be performing their annual winter concert on Dec. 15. Orchestra’s concert is Dec. 17. Chorus will present their concert on Dec. 18. All start at 7 p.m. in the Robert “Skip” Bromley Auditorium

“Oakton’s Got Talent” compe-tition to debut in December: Contestants who have been cho-sen to compete in the “Oakton’s Got Talent” competition will be performing on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. The finalists were chosen based on Dec. 1 auditions held after school

Spring musical has been cast: “Little Women” auditions and call backs concluded in late Nov. The cast list was announced on Nov. 26. The play will be performed on May 14, 15 and 16 in Robert “Skip” Bromley auditorium

Seniors take over classrooms for one day: Senior switch day was held on Nov. 26. Some se-niors took over teachers’ classes

for the half day. They had to come up with lesson plans and teach students during the short-ened periods.

“The Foreigner” wins 13 Critics’ Choices: Oakton Drama’s production was chosen for 13 categories as Cappies Critics’ Choices. 33 Cappies Critics from other high schools reviewed the show and made these distinctions. After the end of all the high school shows, five of the Critics’ Choices are chosen to be nominees for the Cappie Awards Gala, which is held at the Kennedy Center in June. Oakton was chosen for: Best Play; lead and comic actor, senior Chris North; lead and comic actress, senior Julie Kann; featured actor, junior Albert Anderson; featured actress, junior Carlie Robbins; set, seniors Cindy Chao, Ross McEwen and junior Anthony Schiavo; lighting, senior Raquel Garces and junior Jacki Chiu; sound, sophomores Elyse Grossberg and Taylor Vogelzang, props and effects,

senior Kathryn Wherry, juniors Shannon Johnson, Robin Parrish, and Anthony Schiavo; makeup, juniors Patrick Fulghum and Alli Hicks; stage crew, seniors Caity Edwards, Amanda Herman and Michelle Odette.

Soap operas to be performed by drama students:Drama 2 students will be performing their murder mystery soap operas at 7 pm in the Lecture Hall on Dec. 11 and 12. These soap operas are student- written and directed projects that began in the first quarter. Admission is free.

Dance team to hold winter clinicThe Oakton Cougarettes will be holding a one-week intensive clinic. Dancers will meet Dec. 15-18 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and perform what they learn at the Dec. 19 girls basketball game. Registration is $100 at the door.

National Honor Society inducts new membersJuniors and seniors were inducted into the National Honor Society on Nov. 17. To apply, students had to have a 3.5 GPA and write an essay.

Cultural Festival tryouts to be held in 2009The Cultural Festival is holding auditions Jan. 12 and 14. This is an annual event meant to appreciate all of the cultures at Oakton and to entertain students with an act that represents your nationality. See math teacher Erica Mirabello in room 149.

History Honor Society inducts new membersNew juniors and seniors were inducted into the History Honor Society in Nov. To qualify, students had to apply and have taken an AP history course, in addition to a 3.0 GPA and a 3.5 history GPA.

news

brie

fsRobotics Club hammers away toward victoryThe topic for the tournament is a game

called “Face Off.” In this game the robots are given a puck which they

have to hit and get to the marked area in the center of the field. Depending on where in the center it gets the puck, the team will be awarded a different number of points. “For about the first 30 seconds, the robots have to function on their own,” said Charles Harris, sponsor of the Robotics Club. “After that, they are controlled by a programmer using a remote control.”

The Robotics Club is busy preparing for the First Tech Challenge, a competition that will be held at the University of Virginia on Dec. 6. There will be 48 teams competing in this competition; the competitors will range from freshmen to seniors. The team has high hopes for winning.

“How we do depends on what other people build,” said sophomore Steven Harris, Robotics Club member. “But I think we’ll do pretty well.”

A lot of time and preparation goes into all the competitions although the organization restricts the amount of time that can be spent to six weeks.

“We spend six weeks preparing for competitions because they don’t tell you what the topic is until six weeks before the competition,” Harris said. “So that’s all the time we are allowed.” During the six weeks of preparation, the team spends an immense amount of time planning and getting ready.

“They spend hours and hours preparing, almost more [time] than they spend on school,”

said Doug Kaltenbaugh, one of the sponsors of the Robotics

Club.In “Face Off,” two

alliances compete against each other. These alliances are composed of two different schools working together.

“You aren’t trying to sabotage the other people. You have to have what

we call gracious professionalism,” Steven Harris said.

Despite having to work together, the

members noted that there is a highly competitive

atmosphere when at the tournaments.

“During competitions it’s really exciting, but some of the teams just go over the top,” said Brian Hortelano, sophomore.

However, the members of the club

still thoroughly enjoy attending the competitions. Most of the work they do all year is for the competitions, which are the highlights of the year.

Robotics is an extremely expensive extracurricular activity. To make up for the expenses, it has sponsors that cover the costs of building materials and the competitions.

“It costs about $5000 to get into

tournaments,” Kaltenbaugh said. “Some of our sponsors are Lockheed Martin, Telford, OHS Academic Boosters and IEEE.”

Sophomore Steven Harris works on a robot in the tech lab. The robot will take part in the Dec. 6 competition. “We spend six weeks preparing for competitions because they don’t tell you what the topic is until six weeks before the competition,” Harris said.

katherine telford

- katherine telford and drew harrington, staff writers, can be reached at katherine.telford@oaktonmedia.net and drew.harrington@oaktonmedia.net

- amanda herman, staff writer, can be reached at amanda.herman@oaktonmedia.net

katherine telford

katherine telford

She looks the same as they do, walking down the hall and of-fering a smile to the kids who

pass her by. But her song is different. The way she has chosen to live her life is a breakaway from the routine of

the everyday teenager. Sarah Toy is a senior with aspira-

tions to a career in music. “I play the viola. That’s like

all I do,” Toy said bluntly, “and it’s what I

want to do for a living.”

For Toy, it wasn’t a choice so

much as a compulsion to pursue a musical dream. “It’s the chance to do something I love and get paid for it,” she smiled. “When work is play, you don’t have to live for the weekends. I think that’s very liberating. I know a lot of kids do activities because they want to get into college or some-thing, but this is something I really love doing. If you decide that you can’t live without music, then you don’t really have a choice but to go into the field.”

Toy is different. Dedication and pas-sion are etched into her eyes, and the music is within her.

“The fact that I even listen to classical music in the first place is kind of strange to some people, let alone playing it,” Toy said. “I like some rock, but I can really

appreciate the value of classical music because it’s always changing. It’s very engaging. It’s taught me to think. I have this sort of philo-

sophical bent on life, and I think classical music has definitely fostered that.”

Without the music, she admitted, she could go a little crazy.

Sarah Toy practices with her viola for two to five hours a day, and plays with the American

Youth Philharmonic. A section leader in both school and the AYP, Toy dreams of entering the music world and growing up to pass along her knowledge.

“I want to be a teacher,” Toy said. “Every day, I’m trying to teach people around me. I’m the section leader here and in my youth orchestra, so I’m always teaching somehow. But I’d really like to have a formal, private studio and get into a big symphony orchestra.”

Her whole life has been touched by music. Toy started playing the viola in the FCPS music system during fourth grade. When everyone else was picking up the violin, she strived to be dif-ferent. It was a decision that changed her life, and now she can’t imagine doing anything else.

“I find that learning how to play classical mu-sic has taught me how to apply myself elsewhere,” Toy said. “It’s taught me that if I’m just creative about how to do certain things, then I can find a solution. It’s taught me not to give up on some-thing just because I think it looks hard or intimi-dating. And it’s taught me to just trust that things will work out.”

But things don’t always work out, and Sarah Toy is no stranger to fear. Applying to music conservatories is a “drawn-out process” that involves more vigorous applications than the av-erage four-year program, and several crucial auditions. Her top picks are Juilliard and the Peabody Institute, but there’s no guarantee. She’s grateful to have her parents’ support behind her, which is difficult in such an unpredictable career. Still, she has a certain faith, the kind that is rare and makes the people around her want to believe it, too.

“I’m so afraid of break-ing something and never being able to play again,” Toy said, thinking of a scheduled skiing trip which she won’t be able to participate in for fear of falling and breaking an arm on the slopes.

Toy has been working on the pieces she will play at her conservatory auditions for months,

practicing in any spare time, and “will continue to work until they’re perfect.” It’s difficult to maintain that optimism when you accept nothing less than perfection from yourself.

“There are hundreds of people who want this one position, and it doesn’t matter if you’re second. If you’re second, you’re second. You’re not first. But you just have to go for it. I don’t ever want to look back and have to wonder what would have happened if I had actually tried.”

Most teenagers are comfortable with conform-ing to a stereotype. But Sarah Toy simply cannot. Though stunningly musical when allowed, she is ironically quiet during the day. She’s hilarious if you can get her to open up, but otherwise she’s calm and silent, with an artistic temperament less tempestuous than most.

“Sometimes I want to hit my head against the wall because I’m trying so hard to get this one passage and it’s not working. And then the next day I wake up and I have this epiphany, and I get it right away. It can be very uneven in terms of my progress.”

So it is, to be a musician. However, Toy claims to be an average teenager, the only anomaly being

her unusual devotion to music. She likes to “spend time baking cook-ies, going to the mall or playing Sims when there are more impor-tant things to do.”

And she’s shy. You could sit next to her for an entire semester and never hear about her clandes-tine brilliance. You could be her acquaintance for months and nev-er discover her impressive sense of humor, or understand they way she charms people. You could go

years without knowing that she can actually lick her elbow. Sarah Toy is fascinating, and she’s traveling a different path. She is a mys-tery herself, and she knows the secrets of a world most students have never seen.

page 06 feature 12.04.08

the next step...Sarah Toy

ConservatoryStudents pursue futures outside the boundaries of a four-year college

2000: Sarah begins playing viola at Little Run.

2001: The Toys move to Moscow. Sarah takes private lessons.

2003: Back in Fairfax, Sarah plays in a student orchestra.

2005: Sarah joins American Youth Philarmonic.

next

ste

p

Conservatory auditions begin in February. Applications are due earlier than most four-year colleges, and advanced training is a prerequisite.

editors’ note: this story is the first of a three-part exploration into students who are looking at other opportunities out-side the traditional

four-year college for the next step.

dani

el ch

ait

Spring 2007: Sarah makes All-State Orchestra.

- kirin gupta, staff writer, can be reached at kirin.gupta@oaktonmedia.net

2008: A new teacher gives Sarah a fresh perspective.

2009: Auditions, applications, and practice for conservatory.

Dreams: To be a teacher and play in a symphony orchestra.

Oakton’s prestigious sports program is known for dominating its competition with the support of its fans and coaches.

However, there is one sport that has been virtually forgotten: ultimate frisbee. Always regarded as an afterschool hobby, no one took ultimate frisbee seriously until two years ago when the Ultimate Frisbee Club was formed.

“I love ultimate frisbee, and there was no club for it yet,” said Rusty Trageser, senior co-founder. “You can play year round, and it is an enjoyable activity that keeps you in shape out of season. Ultimate frisbee is easy to play since it does not require any equipment.”

Over the past two years since the club began, it has started to build up its membership to record levels, attracting a variety of students to the growing sport. Anyone is allowed to join the club; the only requirement is a love for the game and a willingness to learn.

“It’s really fun,” said Kari Norquist, junior. “Anyone can play, and it’s a good time to hang out with friends and make new ones.”

The members of ultimate frisbee carry with them a great deal of passion for the sport they love to play. It gives them something to get excited about after class and outside of school sponsored sports.

“My favorite part about ultimate frisbee is jumping really high to catch the frisbee; it’s exhilarating,” said Michael Hallock, senior.

However, ultimate frisbee isn’t just a group of kids hanging around looking for an excuse to

socialize. It holds practices every Monday and Wednesday, where members run through drills and play against one another to sharpen their skills.

“There’s not a lot of pressure, and it’s a relaxing activity to do after school,” said Ryan

Mazon, junior. “But it can get really competitive and become very

challenging and intense.”Ultimate frisbee also has

weekly competitions against various high schools from around the area. The games take place on the host high school’s football field and are seven versus seven matches. So far this season Oakton has played two matches including a win against South Lakes and a close defeat to Herndon.

“We are very good,” Trageser said. “We play well together, and with practice, we can become a lot better.”

A major contributor to the success of the team is the new club sponsor Steve Glick, an English teacher at Oakton. He is the man who allows all this to happen and has a great deal of enthusiasm for ultimate frisbee himself.

“In college I played pick up, eventually joined a league and enjoyed it,” Glick said. “When I heard the kids needed a sponsor I thought I would help out.”

In addition to Glick, the Ultimate Frisbee Club has also gained the support of another faculty member, Megan Smith. She was exposed to ultimate frisbee after college and has been interested in the sport ever since.

“When I moved here after college my friend was part of the ultimate frisbee club at William and Mary,” Smith said. “She was the one who really got me into the sport.”

The Ultimate Frisbee Club has approximately 15 members, of which some come and go as they please. However, they are always looking for new faces and members to help aid the team in winning its competitions.

“We are looking to get more members and expand so the competitions can be bigger,” said Ben Rappold, junior.

Ultimate frisbee has gained the respect of many schools in the Northern Virginia area and may someday become a school-sponsored sport. It is very demanding and requires great stamina and skill; however, there is little equipment involved, so not much damage would be done to the school budget with the addition of this new sport.

“All you need is a frisbee, yourself and Mother Earth,” said Sean Czerniak, senior.

Ultimate Frisbee club finds its niche outside athletics department

Fl p out

Frisbee club member junior Ben Rappold demonstrates his athleticism during an after-school practice on the lower field. Members of the club sponsored by teacher Steven Glick began practicing to compete against other schools in the area.

At one of the club’s afterschool practices, junior David Norquist shows off his skills in a heated scrimmage against fellow team members. The fun after-school activity turned competitve following the conclusion of drills when the scrimmage began.

frisbee facts— Practices are every Monday and Wednesday—Games take place on host high school’s football field—Club sponsor is Steven Glick, English Teacher—Frisbee Club started two years ago—15 current members—Open to all students

page 07

12.04.08

clubs

- anthony barba, staff writer, can be reached at anthony.barba@oaktonmedia.net

drew gunther

drew gunther

page 08 clubs 12.04.08

Students in the sports and fashion marketing classes traveled to New York City on Nov. 6. This

trip allowed them to learn more about industries that use advertisements.

“We wanted to broaden our horizons in fashion marketing, and what better place to do it in than New York City?” said Colleen Howell, sophomore.

Sports Marketing teacher Ray Matenich and Fashion Marketing teacher Kristina Gehrki decided to merge trips this year.

“This was the first year Sports Marketing went to New York, and it was

a good choice, especially because it was outside of D.C.” Matenich said. “All the industries are right there.”

The students visited parts of the city that connected to fashion and sports such as Madison Square Garden and the Wax Museum.

“Even though we couldn’t see all the fashion aspects of New York, I still had fun because I was with friends in sports classes and got to see the stadiums they wanted to visit,” Howell said.

Along with the entertaining aspects of the trip, the students applied what they learned in the classroom to real-life

scenarios.“I learned that everything requires

advertisements and that it’s all about the way you show off the product,” said Brady Wilcher, sophomore. “I could barely see any space on the city streets that was not marked with advertisements.”

The students were allowed to roam the streets of the city and sightsee as professional businessmen and women.

“We got to experience New York ourselves without the pressure of a tour guide,” said Briana Doran, junior.

While acting as professional business

people, the students dressed the part in order to show their dedication. They were required to dress in business wear.

“Dressing up made us look better when we were representing Oakton,” Doran said.

Although not all students joined in on the trip, the participants were content with the results.

“I would not have learned half of what I did sitting in a classroom listening to my teacher,” said Erich Belt, junior.

fash

ion m

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rip

- shayda shahbazi, staff writer, can be reached at shayda.shahbazi@oaktonmedia.net

As other Oakton students made their way towards their next classes, anxious Model U.N. members piled onto charter buses headed towards the UVA

campus in Charlotesville. Students whispered to their partners as the bus neared the campus, ready to participate in the annual VaMUN Model U.N. conference, meant to simulate the real United Nations.

For three days, the students collaborated with their partners in order to debate and discuss issues prominent in the countries their delegation represented. Not only were these issues discussed, but resolutions for these problems were discussed and voted upon.

“We arrived at UVA via charter bus on Friday, and after checking into our hotel, made our way to our first congregation on the campus of UVA,” said Rachel Schwartz, sophomore. “I entered the lecture-style classroom feeling antsy, overwhelmed and nervous, but as I developed my argument, I began to speak more passionately about my view.”

Model U.N. is meant to give students an example of how a formal United Nations meeting would be conducted, as well as develop each student’s skills in public speaking, creating legitimate ideas and making arguments.

“It’s so much fun because you get to work with other people who share your common interests, meet interesting people and often manipulate your opinions to have them

heard,” Schwartz said.While having fun is a

prominent aspect of the trip, the actual conference is the ultimate objective for Model U.N. members. In preparation for the conference, the members exemplify determination as they do the research necessary to do well.

“We have to confer with our partners if we are in a double delegation, and if not, all members are required to first write a position paper that allows a delegate to explain their

country’s position on an issue and start to provide ideas on how the committee should address that issue,” said Vice President Navika Mahal, senior.

The topics given to the student delegates reflect issues that are currently discussed throughout the politically

powerful people of the world, which posed as a challenge to some members.

“The issues that were given to my committee in the conference were challenging, but that was why we were so passionate about them. The topics I was given included military spending budgets, general disarmaments, and the use of nuclear weapon free zones in the Middle East,” Schwartz said.

Despite challenging issues, Oakton received an award during the VaMUN trip; an Honorable Mention, one of four possible awards at the conference, was credited to juniors Kevin Chen and Richard Li.

“I feel very proud of myself because I didn’t think I would receive an award at all, but I also feel glad to have contributed to our Model U.N.,” junior Kevin Chen said.

Although debating and formulating arguments are main aspects of the club, they are not the only activities that are held at an MUN conference.

“We had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves at the conference, such as lunch breaks, dessert socials and the Friday night movie, which accompanied the actual conference,” Mahal said.

While returning members, such as Mahal, are familiar with the Model U.N. experience, their first conferences were

still challenging.“My first conference went awfully. First of all, I stood

up in front of the other delegates to voice my opinion and I called Israel ‘Iran’ by accident. I was really confused and nervous about speaking in front of all the other people,” Mahal, now a third- year member, recalled. “Now, I am definitely a more experienced public speaker and am more comfortable at the conferences.”

Applicably, Schwartz recalls her first conference as intriguing yet completely overwhelming due to the comments and questions being thrown at her. Eventually she found herself becoming engrossed by the entire procedure.

“Model U.N. is a great way to develop public speaking skills and allows students to experience foreign relations in a personalized setting. For those who didn’t attend the VaMUN conference, I highly suggest going to BosMUN, the Boston conference this spring. It will be a wonderful experience for all, regardless of grade level and such factors,” Schwartz said.

Model UN plays politics in Jeffersonian setting at UVA

- vipin reddy, staff writer, can be reached at vipin.reddy@oaktonmedia.net

fast

fact

s

— The first ever Model UN conference was held at Harvard University in the 1920s — Over 1,000,000 students have participated in MUN conferences since then— The next local event is to be held at Chantilly HS on Jan. 9

anna xie anna xie

Juniors Kevin Chen and Richard Li accept their honorable mention accolade at the awards ceremony for the VaMUN conference on Nov 16. The pair was the only Oakton delegation to receive an award.

Model U.N. Co-Sponsor Tim Bostaph congratulates the student delegates after the proceedings of the award’s ceremony. “Mod-el U.N. is a great opportunity for students to represent their schools in a real life setting. I was really proud when Oakton took one of the awards,” said Rachel Schwartz, sophomore.

Future Business Leaders of America and DECA learned with the Washington Wizards. Although they needed no help with their jump-shots, they attended a

NBA basketball game in order to gain knowledge about the business and marketing industry at the Verizon center on Nov. 21.

Despite the 91-103 loss to the Houston Rockets, students in FBLA and DECA learned about winning in the business world from distinguished members of the Wizard’s organization.

“They bring out people that are in the office part of the organization and they come and talk to the kids,” said Business Teacher and FBLA Sponsor Jennifer Pyles.

“They talk about what degrees they would need to seek or what they need to do education wise or in order to have a job in a professional sports organization.”

This event gives students an insight into the business industry and teaches them how they can become a part of it. By talking to people who have actually gone through the experience in becoming a business person, they are able to give details of the actual process.

“It’s an annual event that takes place in the fall. FBLA goes with DECA because the Wizard’s give us discount tickets,” said senior FBLA President Adam Searle.

Though the trip was meant to be fun, it was also a learning experience. There were

events, including guest speakers, taking place before the game to help students learn about business.

“The speakers were talking about basically a lot of marketing planning and sports marketing,” said junior FBLA Member Bella Nguyen. “They went behind the sports world and [explained] how they market and get people’s attention, [as well as] how they get all their income and money.”

This trip will help students not only with their business classes, but it will also guide them for their future careers. The information given from the speakers could even help a student decide on a college that is good for this career path.

“This lets them see how they can apply it to the real world and see what people in the real world do,” Searle said. “They tell you about what goes on and tell how to best prepare for a business career.”

The guest speakers included of Wizard’s Chief Marketing Officer Jane Taylor, Wizards Chief Sales Officer Mark Schiponi, former NBA All-Star and current TV Commentator Phil Chenier and current Wizards Star Brendan Haywood.

“The speakers talked about their different jobs and how many people are involved in the marketing aspect of the Washington Wizards [as well as] the many different subdivisions there are and the types of career paths students can take,” Pyles said.

Students seemed to notice how engaged actual sports players are in the business aspect of sports marketing through the speakers.

“They had players talk to you about the business side of things because you never see them [involved with the business aspects], all you think they

do is play the sport and sign autographs,” Searle said. “But they do know what’s going on behind the scenes so that was cool.”

Guest speakers were not the only form of educational value

students obtained on the trip. There were other activities going on at the game as well.

“After the guest speakers were talking, they had college

fairs outside and they displayed colleges from Virginia, Maryland and [others] of the greater Washington

area,” Nguyen said. There were really no qualifications for going on the trip. Almost anyone

interested in attending was allowed to go along.

“All you need to attend the trip is to be in FBLA, DECA, or a friend of a member of either club,” Pyles said.

Students felt this trip was both beneficial for knowledge and fun at the same time.

“Just because it’s also the Wizard’s game, it made it into a

really fun trip,” Nguyen said. “[At least] half of us want to pursue [a

career] in the business field later on in life so this trip would probably help us

with that.”

page 9clubs12.04.08

They’re off to see the Wizards...

As sports teams, clubs and organizations are planning for the year ahead, the debate team

is wrapping up its preparation for its first formal competition.

The anticipated competition is set to be held on Dec.13 at Westfield High School, when the team will compete against other high schools from the area.

“This is going to be everyone’s first competition. We’re really excited about [it],” said Allie Krallick, junior.

Co-presidents Mira Mehta, junior, and Krallick founded the team in their freshman year when Mehta noticed the

absence of an organized debate team at the school, with the help of sponsors Maria Cruz and Charlotte Salzman.

“When I came to Oakton I expected there to be a full-out debate team, but there wasn’t. That gave me the inspiration to start the team [with Krallick],” Mehta said.

The team is forming its stances on the issue of renewable energy, the debate topic, and is developing its debating skills through research on the subject.

“We asked [the members] to do all the research, and we’ve been having them formulate their arguments and even

teaching them how to disprove their arguments in order to anticipate their opponent’s rebuttal,” Mehta said.

Although the preparation involves commitment, the members of the debate team are willing to do what it takes to put forth their best effort.

“[There is] so much determination in the team,” said junior Hannah Cohen. “You just walk in and say, ‘I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to debate.’”

Mock sessions have helped the team prepare, but junior Philip Tam noted that his first debate session wasn’t easy.

“Whenever you first start you’re

always nervous, because you’re always thinking, ‘Are they better than me? Are they more prepared than me?,’” Tam said. “But as you keep debating, over time you get less nervous, and you begin to get used to it.”

Although Debate is recognized at a club status, both Krallick and Mehta refer to the group collectively as a team.

“Up until now we had no competitions,” Krallick said.

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— Wizards Chief Marketing Officer Jane Taylor— Wizards Chief Sales Officer Mark Schiponi— former NBA All-Star and current TV Commentator Phil Chenier— current Wizard’s star Brendan Haywood

Nargis Sanie, Jasmine Sanie and Amy Habboub cheer for the Washington Wizards. The Wizards played against the Houston Rockets. Unfortunately the Rockets beat the Wizards with a lead of six baskets.

- vipin reddy and mayura iyer, staff writers, can be reached at vipin.reddy@oaktonmedia.net and mayura.iyer@oaktonmedia.net

- jessica klaber, staff writer, can be reached at jessica.klaber@oaktonmedia.net

FBLA, DECA travel to Verizon Center, take in business, basketball

The Wizard’s Cheif Marketing Officer, Jane Taylor, speaks to the FBLA and DECA students. She explained to the students about what is required in order to be successful in a business or marketing career.

courtesy of adam searle

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academics

page 11

12.04.08

The wheels on the bus go round and round and round...

Oakton Media Group travels to St. Louis for journalism convention

On Nov. 12-16, Journalism students traveled 13.5 hours by bus in order to experience St. Louis, Mo. first hand. While there, they competed in various write-off competitions, visited the city museum, attended informational ses-sions and still had time for some fun.

While enjoying some free time after the convention, senior Jill Burke jumps on an oversized trampoline ride at Union Station in St. Louis. After sessions, students explored the city.

The Ride There:

7:15

p.m

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8:00 - Bus Joke Contest

8:30 - Puzzle Contest

09:00 - “Bourne Supremacy”

11:30 - Gas Station Stop

10:30 - “Mean Girls” 12:00 - “Oceans 13”

02:00 - Late Night Gossip 07:00 - “Kung Fu Panda”

06:30 - McDonalds Stop

mid

nigh

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Awards ReceivedSuperior:- Ethan Doyle (Editorial Writing)- Asli Durak (Yearbook Copy/Captions)- Ellie Kaufman (Review Writing)

Excellent:- Megan Baumgartner (Yearbook Copy/Captions)- Jill Burke (Yearbook Copy/Captions)- Danielle Holstrom (Commentary Writing)- Matt Johnson (Newsmagazine Layout)- Nathan Smith (Short Documentary)- Erica Wohlleben (Feature Writing)- Nyssa Wratschko (Advertising)

Honorable Mention:- Charlotte Dobry (Literary Magazine Layout)- Laura Roberts (On-Air Reporter)

Publication:- Oakton Outlook 8th Place Best of Show (news-magazine)- Oakton Outlook Online 7th Place Best of Show (online newspapers)

Waiting in line at the famous St. Louis arch, senior Ryan O’Gorman talks with journalism adviser Chad Rummel about the displays at the underground museum. The students traveled to the top of the arch on one of their stops as part of a city bus tour during the first day. The bus also made a stop at the Saint Louis Zoo and drove past Wash-ington University and other well-known city landmarks while listening to a city native tour guide.

(Above) Focusing on a game of Rock Band, senior Jill Burke and junior Emily Mills sing and strum their way past fellow journalism competitors. (Top Left) Senior Nyssa Wratchs-ko. (Bottom Left) Senior Megan Baumgartner.

rachel sapone

rachel sapone

erica stein

erica stein

erica stein

8:50

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Nov

. 13

page 12 academics 12.04.08

Fairfax County adds rankings to high school transcripts

The Fairfax County Public School administration mandated that a decile ranking be included in every student’s high school transcript starting this

year. Along with the inclusion of GPA and class schedules from previous years, every student’s high school transcript will now include a ranking that breaks down GPAs into 10 percent intervals based on individual high schools across the county.

This decision resulted from a Virginia Department of Education Regulation established in 2007 to be made effective for the 2008-2009 school year. Due to the research of Fairgrade parent Sara Shneider, the regulation was brought to the attention of FCPS, and a mandatory inclusion of a decile ranking was sent out to all high schools.

“It has been included for a number of reasons,” said Richard Crowley, coordinator of school counseling for Fairfax County. “The state now requires every high school to present a grade distribution, and a group of parents have been asking for it.”

Because the county did not act on the Virginia regulation prior to the Nov. 1, early admissions deadline for most colleges, the inclusion of a decile rank for students who applied early varies from school to school. At Oakton, decile rankings will be sent upon request for seniors who applied early to colleges.

“We are not retrofitting the school profile automatically,” said Director of Guidance Manson Tillman. “If students want us to send it to the college, we will do that.”

The Virginia Department of Education Regulation required that each county include a grade distribution in every high school profile. Although there are many ways to depict grade distribution in schools, Fairfax County implemented the inclusion of a grade breakdown by decile rank.

“A grade distribution fund tells by deciles, or 10 percent bands, what the highest and lowest GPA in each school is,” Crowley said.

The decile rank will breakdown the GPAs in the school based on 10 percent intervals. For some high-performing students, this will provide them with another piece of

information to bolster their achievements. However, because of Fairfax County students’ tendency to perform well academically, students with above average grades may find themselves in the lower half of their class.

“From a statistical point of view, we have a generally skewed population,” said School Counselor Fred Priester. “At many schools in Fairfax County, having a B average puts you in the lower half of your class.”

For these students, living in a very competitive high-school atmosphere could end up hurting them with the inclusion of a rank in high school transcripts. Other concerns about recent additional ranking include the fact that GPAs will not be determined based on the difficulty of courses.

“People who do well will get rewarded, but it’s annoying because people who take all regular classes and get As will have the same ranking as people who get lower grades in harder classes,” said senior Ashita Stephen.

The decision to include a decile rank, while it is not an official class rank, serves to rank students in a different way from typical class ranks.

“I think the decision is inconsistent with current practices,” Priester said. “It neither addresses grading scale concerns nor adheres to exclusion of class ranking.”

The overall impact of including a decile ranking in the school profile is not likely to greatly alter students’ chance of acceptance into colleges. Although it provides another piece of statistical information, many colleges realize the difficulty of attending a school in Fairfax County.

“The administrative officers that we have talked to know our school and our grading

scale,” said Career Center Specialist Marian Kendrick. “They know the quality of student that comes from our school.”

Crowley agreed that when it comes to college admissions decisions, colleges generally have a clear picture of the quality of education received by a Fairfax County student. However, the rank will allow colleges to get a better sense of the competition students face in their own high school among their peers.

“I don’t think its going to affect college acceptance very

much,” Crowley said. “They always tell us that they judge kids against other kids in their own school. The decile rank gives them one more piece of information in determining where the students stack up.”

In determining whether to award scholarships to students, the decile rank could end up being more beneficial than in the actual college admissions process because it would allow scholarship officials a better view of where the individual fits in the context of his or her high school.

“One of the things that has been difficult for scholarship committees to determine is who is in the top 50 percent of their high school class,” Crowley said.

Although some may not be pleased with their rank and others would be happy with the inclusion of a grade distribution breakdown, it is important to remember why the addition to the transcript is being made.

“I hope people realize that we are making a good attempt to meet state requirements,” Crowley said.

cougar quotes

coug

ar q

uote

s

Should schools include a decile rank on transcripts?

Colleges do look at class rankings, so it’s good, and then you would know where you stand at your school.

- daniel carlen, jr.

I think it would be good because it would help the students that have higher grades. Colleges don’t see it on transcripts so now it would show who’s in the top percent.

- nikki hodges, sr.

If it’s unweighted, rankings would be misleading because it wouldn’t recognize the extra work students put in for honors or AP classes. If they could find a way around it, that would benefit those that took harder classes.

- lauren williams, sr.

It’s a good idea because it will help col-leges find a better fit for you as a student.

- elijah smith, so.Weighted Cumulative GPA - Class of 2009

Percentile Low GPA High GPA10 3.841 4.08720 3.667 3.82630 3.511 3.65440 3.354 3.50050 3.171 3.35260 3.000 3.16770 2.786 2.98980 2.571 2.77590 2.214 2.560

100 0.000 2.196Source: OHS Guidance

Upcoming dates: Dec. 6: SAT Test Administration DateDec. 13: ACT Test Administra-tion DateDec. 19: Returning Graduate Panel Dec. 26: Registration Deadline for Jan. 24 SATDec. 10: Senior transcript forms and recommendation requests are due to Guidance.

On collaboration wednesdays, different information sessions

are offered in the Career Center before school. Dec. 3: Juniors College SearchDec. 10: Financial AidDec. 17: Scholarships

Junior meetings with counselors and Marian Kendrick will take place on Dec. 8-12 during history classes. The meetings will focus on college searches and planning for senior year.

Parent Financial Aid Night will take place on Dec. 9 in the Lec-

ture Hall at 7:00 p.m. Primarily for senior parents, the meeting will instruct parents on how to help their student apply to col-leges, including a step by step of how to fill out an application by a speaker from the George Mason Financial Aid Office.

College Visits: Dec. 49:15: Ringling College of Art and Design1:00: University of HartfordPick up a pass from the career center.

National Portfolio Day is being held at the Corcoran College of Art & Design on Dec. 6. Students interested in the fine arts can bring their art portfolios to be reviewed and commented on for future improvement.

New Transcript Forms are now available in the Career Center, Guidance Office and online. Forms now require three .42 cent stamps to be included with coun-selor recommendations instead of two. ca

reer

cent

er

- ellie kaufman, staff writer, can be reached at elena.kaufman@oaktonmedia.net

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page 14 academics 12.04.08

Dissections keep students from cutting class

Human Anatomy and Physiology is an upper level class that covers college material. Students begin dissecting ani-mals starting the second week of school.

“The second week of school, we start with the dissection of a rat, because a rat is a mammal, and it’s an ideal animal to compare a human’s body to because it looks like a mini human on the inside,” said Human Anatomy Teacher Ann Starr.

This year, anatomy students have already dissected chicken legs, rats and squid. These dissec-tions are a hands on way for students to understand the many complex functions of the human body.

“There’s really no other way to under-stand the structure of the human body except by taking it apart, and since we can’t cut up a real human body or cadaver, animal dis-

sections are really the only way to learn the material,” Starr said.

A popular dissection among students was the squid dis-section. Many students enjoyed the less-structured proce-dure and found the dissection to be the most enjoyable.

“The squid dissection was definitely my favorite,” said senior Becca Hull. “The squid has a spine like a pen and an ink sac near its brain, so at the end of the lab, we punctured the sac and wrote our names with the ink.”

Senior Adam Celli enjoyed the chicken leg dissection the most because of the intricacy of its muscle tissue.

“I really enjoyed the chicken leg dissection because it was interesting to separate the tissues and see where the nerves should be. I also got covered in bone marrow, which was pretty awesome,” Celli said.

Later this year, the class will go on a field trip to attend an open heart surgery and bring their knowledge back to the classroom to perform their own.

“After the field trip, students will perform an open heart surgery on a cat,” Starr said. “It’s always interesting to watch students do this, and I have to remind them that it’s not Fluffy from next door; its an animal from a warehouse.”

One of the hardest part of the dissections is being able to

stomach them and still pay attention.“Something that I always explain to my students on the

first day of school is that the term anatomy actually means ‘to cut up,’ so it’s an essential part of anatomy, but it’s not for everyone,” Starr said.

The wait for college acceptance letters can feel like an agonizing eternity full of stress for students hoping to get into the university of their choice. West

Virginia University recognized the need for immediate acceptance and sent, by the request of Career Center Specialist Marian Kendrick, a representative to approve or deny applications of Oakton students within a 24-hour time period.

Students submitted their applications earlier to their counselors and Kendrick for the WVU acceptance process and on Nov. 6, WVU Regional Recruiter Mandy Weaver came and collected the applications.

“You had to get all your transcript forms, check and complete WVU application into your counselor, which was then given to Mrs. Kendrick,” said senior Melissa Yost.

Weaver passed judgment on them

overnight then came back the next day and sat each student down for about 10 minutes to discuss their application.

Of the 23 applications submitted to Weaver, 20 were accepted. This was a large increase from the nine students who submitted applications last year.

“Think: students want an answer right away to take the pressure off,” Kendrick said. “Not necessarily because they want to go, but because it’s good for the student to be accepted.”

Weaver spoke with the students about their applications and gave the students pointers on how to make themselves look better for future applications.

“She met with each student individually and gave them either acceptance or suggestions with help on future applications,” Kendrick said.

Students not only used this process because they wanted to attend WVU or use it as a “safety school,” but also to help them better learn the college application procedure.

“I did the on-site for WVU because I just wanted to get an application over with and see what the process would be like,” Yost said. “WVU seems like a really fun school also.”

Allowing students to know right away if they have been accepted to WVU eases the stress and makes future college application submissions easier for seniors.

“Once I saw that I was accepted, it lightened my burden with the ‘I’m not getting into college’ thing,” Yost said.

The students who were rejected also benefitted from the experience because Weaver gave them valuable advice.

“She didn’t make them walk away with a rejection,” Kendrick said. “She gave them suggestions on how to make themselves more marketable for colleges [in the future.]”

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It’s 7:20 a.m. and you slide into your seat just in time to miss your teacher’s lecture to the stragglers coming in late. You keep a steady eye on the clock, as you try your hardest to pay attention to the work in front of you, all the while wishing you stopped for that extra fix of caffeine from Starbucks. Meanwhile, anatomy students a few classrooms away are strapping on lab aprons and goggles, taking out scalpels and scissors and sitting down to a desk topped with

many animals and organs surrounded by the smell of formaldehyde.

- alex zanin, staff writer, can be reached at alex.zanin@oaktonmedia.net

- roya crider, staff writer, can be reached at roya.crider@oaktonmedia.net

erica stein

Helping junior Trevor Yarnall and senior Shoa Abbas complete the rat dissection lab, Human Anatomy Teacher Ann Starr be-gins the vertical cut towards the head of the rat. The lab forced students to examine an organ structure similar to a human’s on only the second week of school.

erica steinSeparating the bone from the muscle using a scalpel, senior Adam Celli explores the different tissues through the dissection of a chicken leg.

page 15 12.04.08academics

Cappies judge fall play for the first time in seven years, drama gains recognition

“The Foreigner,” Oakton drama’s first fall play was performed from Nov. 5-8 and included

more than just one ‘foreigner.’The Nov. 7 performance of the comedy

had an audience comprised of 33 student critics from various high schools in the area who participate in the Critics Awards Program, or Cappies. The student reviewers came and wrote reviews of the production for the first time in seven years.

The return of Oakton to the program gives the drama department recognition from other schools. Cappies exposes students to many high school productions by allowing them to view other plays.

“A lot of people know Westfield [drama],” said senior stage manager Caity Edwards, “who are known for good shows and good reviews from the Cappies. Now that we’ve started, people can associate us with them.”

In order to become a part of the Cappies schools have to pay a fee and form a critic’s team to review other high school’s performances. In return, there is an annual awards gala held each June. The top Cappie winners from across the United States in turn will receive the opportunity to perform shows at the Kennedy Center.

“We received all 33 reviews, and they were glowing,” said drama teacher and director Vanessa Gelinas. “We found out that we received Critic’s Choice recognition in 13 categories.”

Critic’s Choice recognition means that several aspects of the play stood out and could be eligible for a Cappie award. The Oakton drama department received accomodations for several things including set, stage crew, lead actor, lead actress, lighting and best play. Out of these sections, the five best local high schools for each are chosen to be nominees for the Cappie awards.

“I was nominated for lead actor and comic lead actor. I’m

excited and proud,” said senior Chris North, who played the lead character in “The Foreigner,” Charlie Baker.

“Don’t walk through the door!” yelled junior construction captain Anthony Schiavo before

drilling a doorway on the set of Oakton’s second fall show.

The play, a comedy called “The Odd Couple,” debuted on Nov. 19 and ran until Nov. 22. The show had two casts made up of the drama three and four classes.

On its opening night, the cast ran into a problem when junior Marilyn Holland, who played Olive, became sick. Her position was taken over by junior Stephanie LeBolt, who, originally part of the second cast, played Olive on Thursday and Saturday.

“I was really nervous,” Lebolt said. “Our casts are completely different. The only thing that we have in common is the same lines. So the biggest thing that I had to figure out was the blocking, and I had to improve a lot.”

However, despite all the mishaps such as the kitchen being knocked down in the scene where Olive was getting brownies for Florence, all the performances went nicely.

“It ended up going really well,” LeBolt said. “The cast definitely did a good job adapting.”

“The Odd Couple,” which ran two weeks after the Oakton drama production of “The Foreigner” began when one of the drama students suggested it.

“‘The Odd Couple’ is a play I saw over the summer,” LeBolt said. “We needed another play that was more female-heavy. I brought it in, and everyone thought it was funny.”

The play was adapted to include more female roles, but the main plot was the same.

“The play is about a bunch of women who are high school friends who get together to play trivial pursuit,” LeBolt said. “One weekend one of the friends, Florence, doesn’t show up, and they find out she’s missing after she becomes separated with her husband. She moves in with Olive; so the play is basically about how they don’t get along.”

In the show, the two main characters, Olive

and Florence, are almost exact opposites. The only similarity is that both are newly separated from their husbands.

“My favorite scene is where I get kicked out of the house,” said senior Brittany Harwood, who played Florence. “I like it because there is more physical comedy.”

Backstage, the actors practiced while enjoying each other’s company.

“It was fun hanging out,” Harwood said. “We played Trivial Pursuit backstage, as well as in the actual play. Sometimes we would have late-night rehearsals, so we would get together and practice, but also talk.”

Drama produces odd couple of fall plays

What do you have in common with your character? In some ways I can relate to Florence because even though she does go over the top, she can relate to people. I want to relate to others and be a mother-like figure.

- chelsea casanave, jr.

I am very sloppy, and neat people an-noy me. I think I am more patient with friends than Olive is, and I don’t like sports as much.

- marilyn holland, jr.

[My character and I] are both incredibly outgoing and very social people who care about the people around them.

- ross mcewen, sr.

I definitely relate to [Betty] because my grandmother acts the same way, always offering people food and being really hospitable to everyone. But I’m not really that outgoing, and Betty is eccentric.

- julie kann, sr.

TAKE TWO...

erica stein

“The Odd Couple” performs succesfully after a few comical mishaps of its own

Attempting to pry the phone away from her fellow cast member, senior Amanda Herman plays Mickey, police officer and friend to Olive, played by junior Stephanie LeBolt, right.In

prep-aration

for ‘The Foreigner,’

junior Patrick Fulghum builds

the final pieces of the set. In Tech

Theatre, students get hands-on experience

building and designing sets.

- elise werner, staff writer, can be reached at elise.werner@oaktonmedia.net

While 33 students comprising the Critics Award Program look on from the audience, seniors Julie Kann, Chris North and Ross McE-wen perform in ‘The Foreigner.’

- elise werner, staff writer, can be reached at elise.werner@oaktonmedia.net

erica stein

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page 17

12.04.08

outlo

okst

aff

StaffersAlex BuscemiDaniel ChaitMichelle ChuVictoria DoxeyErik GuntherAmanda HermanKyle Hughes

Business ManagerNyssa Wratschko Yenni Tan (Asst.)

Editors in Chief

Ethan DoyleDanielle HolstromMatt Johnson

News Editor

Chris Weil

Opinions Editor

Nia RobersonZoe Mitchell (Asst.)

Clubs Editor

Tesla JensenKirin Gupta (Asst.)

Academics Editor

Elena Kaufman

Insight Editor

Erica Wohlleben

Sports Editor

Alena Schwarz

Copy Editor

Alex Straton

Photo EditorDrew GuntherGladys Manzur

The Outlook is an open forum for student expression. Unsigned editorials reflect the collective opinion of the Outlook staff. Signed editorials represent the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Outlook or Oakton High School. Reader opinions are important to the Outlook and contributions are welcome. Make your voice heard by sending us a line about what’s on your mind. Letters to the editor may be may be sent via email to editors@oaktonoutlook.com or dropped off in Chad Rummel’s box in the main office or in room 196. The Outlook reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar and content provided the meaning remains unchanged.

Mayura IyerSarah KashanianDaphne MartschenkoEmily MillsAlex PerryVipin ReddyRachel SaponeShayda ShahbaziSarah KashanianOwen ChesserDrew HarringtonJessica KlaberElise WernerAlex Zanin

AdvisersChad RummelMary Clare McKesson

Online Editors

Koorosh MassoudiRyan O’Gorman

The road always taken: college boundThe path of least resistance, a counselor

aptly christened it. Converse to our new series, “The Next Step,” which focuses

on students taking different career paths, most Oakton students are stuck to the idea that applying to, attending and graduating from a four-year college is a sure path, apparently applicable to everyone. Everyone does it, regardless of the career or lifestyle they actually wish to pursue.

That kind of rigid structure cannot be good for the diversity and specialization that is vital to our society and economy. While it is true that a college degree usually earns you a higher salary in the working world, the same or more can be made with a professional degree or work experience.

The search for students doing otherwise was long and excruciating for the Outlook staff. Over twenty senior teachers and counselors were hard-pressed to think of students doing anything else. We heard the same response again and again. “Sorry. No names come to mind.” In the end, the search turned up only a few seniors who had different ideas about what they wanted to do.

This year, Guidance and the Career Center are

arranging a fair for those students who remain uncommitted, to showcase the various other options that students have in picking their career paths. There are numerous programs to facilitate a smoother transition into a specialized career that have an impressive amount of merit and prestige, even in comparison with college degrees. The correct thing for this community to do is to encourage the diversification of careers, and help students to take advantage of these opportunities.

Jumping right into a professional career that doesn’t require higher education generally seems more profitable than waiting for a degree that will turn out to be useless anyway. How many highly skilled carpenters need a degree in US History? For people with a clear career path in mind, it is infinitely more profitable to forego the extra time, money, and effort that four-year college requires. And that early start may be an advantage over others with less work experience as it provides necessary training in the working world, even if they do have a degree. Of course, any such edge is helpful in stressed economic times like these.

Students must be made aware of the availability

and benefit of divergent paths after high school. The affluence of this area contributes to a large part of the college-focus. But success does not only come if you have a college degree in hand. Higher education is imperative for many careers. But not all. If aiming for mastery in one area, students should specialize. They should seize the opportunity to attend an apprenticeship program, and study specifically in that particular area.

A student on a determined path should be offered a number of different avenues. It has often been said that higher education only stifles creativity and individual thinking. The proper action here would be reversing the confines we’ve put on students, removing the blinders that have seniors all facing the same well-trodden direction. College can be right for many students, but is not the only option. Encourage the people around you to take a look at other options. Specialize, serve with AmeriCorps, or travel abroad. Our student body could do with a taste of the outside life.

this staff editorial is the official opinion of the Oakton Outloook

alex perry

I felt as if my life had reached the perfect balance. As a junior, I had finally mastered successfully having a social life, academics, family and other activities.

The world around me, constantly buzzing with topics ranging from the latest party to the difficulties of the most recent pre-calculus test, made me feel as if I was invincible: not being addressed in society as an adult, but not even close to being a child. Then, out of no where, I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard a murmur from a close friend whispering “I think I’m pregnant.”

While some fantasize about the positive effects of expectancy as an adolescent from sources such as the entertainment business, to the news, I personally think about the consequences. When a friend made the difficult

choice of thrusting this delicate piece of information upon me, I felt as if I had no where to turn.

Health classes in school have hammered the idea that adolescent sex should not take place because of dire consequences. Family Life Education, a health course which parents have to ability to opt their children out of, covers the topic of the various types of contraceptives available, they do not spend a lot of time discussing the important issue of what to do when pregnancy does occur and how to go about dealing with it. The comfort zone determining what can be discussed on school property bars educators from adequately informing their students on this matter. This subject should be freely talked about, and it is important that students become better versed on all of their options.

When a student becomes pregnant, some teachers have said to turn to a trusted adult or friend, but what is that friend supposed to do? The friend, with their own life, is now faced with the responsibility of “fixing” the problem. A new perspective in a situation is supposed to add clear

thought and give aid in finding a solution.I attempted to do just so. I immediately consoled my

friend and claimed that I would help her in resolving the “problem” and assured her that she did not need to worry about anything.

While feeling in way over my head, I did not know where to go. Buying a pregnancy test at a local pharmacy seemed as if it was the next logical step. In the movies, the test is bought, taken and suddenly, the character’s life becomes perfect again as the test reads “not pregnant.” But real life is not a predictable motion picture.

Fortunately, my friend is not pregnant. Nonetheless, this situation has forced me to think about how one second life seems better than ever, and then in the next it can come crashing down.

I feel as if this incident has, in turn, made me a wiser person. The bridge from childhood to adulthood is a collapsible one. Chance should not be tested by taking big steps and hoping that the weight will hold, and pregnancy is one of those heavy chances.

Texting or e-mailing a friend during break or lunch

would be more convenient than

arranging a time to meet in person. However, cell phones have the potential to damage a student’s motivation and academic achievement rather than benefit their future goals in school.

If students use their phones during lunch, the lunch assistants would not be able to take a cell phone when a student is helping his or her friends, who may be in a class, on assessments. Because

assistants could not see what is on the phone cheating could be easily done. On the other hand, a piece of paper is much easier to

scan and take away. Students already ignore the cell phone rule and talk

to friends. Getting rid of the cell phone rule will be an encouragement for students not to follow other school rules. It would bring up the thought of how many other rules they could choose to not follow. This could result in the school

removing or not enforcing them. The Washington Post has articles from researchers

who have found that cell phone’s send off harmful radiation to the body and cause an increase in stress. An increase in stress from a text message not

delivered, bad reception, miscommunication or the idea of radiation affecting the body does not help a student achieve higher grades.

There are times before and after school to contact friends or guardians with their cell phones concerning homework, projects and

plans to go places. Websites like Blackboard are provided for students to save class

documents and assignments so they do not need to call parents asking them to bring

something to school. Students should be been prepared for school the night before, and

can learn from the experience to bring their supplies and think ahead of time about what they need.

If students followed the rules, their phone would not be taken from them, and parents would not need to lecture their sons or daughters.

page 18 opinions 12.04.08

Cell phones have become a point of conflict between

students and administrators as phones get confiscated on almost a daily basis. The structure of the day disallows cell phone use at all times during the school day, which is an inconvenience when students need to coordinate rides and afterschool activities. The time given during lunch and break is optimal for a brief call or text and will have no adverse effect on the class period because the “distraction” of a student’s communications device can be shifted to a later time.

Let’s face it: students will use their cell phones during the day no matter the consequences. Phones that, according to school rules, should be turned off and in one’s locker are generally on the student’s person and set to ring silently. Students constantly look for ways around the rules because the need for communication during the day is greater than a fear of punishment.

Confiscations and letters home are a commonplace, bordering on mundane. These punishments have lost their intended effect because students obviously think it’s worth the risk of getting caught. Creating appropriate times for cell phone use during the day could significantly reduce the in-class disruption. More phone conversations can wait until after class when students are presented with a degree of freedom from administrators and teachers who will invariably take the phone, stop the conversation and force parents to come to school to retrieve it.

Granted, the wandering attention of any student is well satisfied with a certain amount of rule-bending for the sake of communication and entertainment. Pre-existing problems like cheating, still a heavy concern for schools, certainly will not be helped or hindered with the use of cell phones for a grand total of forty-five minutes out of a six-hour school day. Students must exercise discretion. Then it will be a worthwhile trade so that students will have the flexibility to exchange information, arrange activities and keep parents up-to-date on the day’s events.

The end result is a structured amount of time for students’ freedom with their phones, outside of class and away from administrative watch. Forty-five minutes may not be enough to keep phones out of the classroom, but it can decrease their presence and at the same time benefit students.

Pregnancy Scare: catalyst for teen’s maturity

Students should be able to use phones during designated times

Cell phones should be off, out of sight during school day

nia roberson opinions editornia.roberson@oaktonmedia.net

victoria doxey staff writervictoria.doxey@oaktonmedia.net

sarah kashanian staff writersarah.kashanian@oaktonmedia.net

Pro vs. Con

Shud cell

fone use b

tolr8ted @

break and

lunch????

page 1912.05.08

Poor Ethan. He was challenged to jump through the “4+ on Test” hoop. He did it with a 5. And like a boy who’s been double-dared and DID IT, he

presented himself for the prize -- a recommendation.Ethan, you’re not a boy. You’re a man. We’ve never met,

but I know you by name because you’ve been a real player here at OHS. I’ve seen your by-line for years. Your name gets bandied about when its time to recommend a student for some kind of recognition—award or scholarship. And, wow, a 5 on the AP US History test—you’re an academic player, too. And so of course you’d like to be recommended as such by an equally stellar teacher to the colleges of your choice.

It wasn’t about a free lunch, Ethan. It was about breaking bread. You aren’t a boy who deserves his prize; you’re a man who wants to sit eye to eye with one of those teachers who works hard for you. ‘Cause here’s the deal; we work hard for a lot of you. We all have our own ways of trying to make our recommendations memorable and unique to the student, but it gets tricky. Being human with one another is what enables us to write a recommendation that sounds like we really know you. And what is the consummate social bonding activity? Sharing food and drink.

Not all of us get human with our students by breaking bread with them at rec writing time. I don’t. But I do stop and run those internal tapes of various interactions I’ve had that make the kid stand out. Otherwise, I (we) sometimes end up with a template that looks something like this fill in the blank letter:

Dear Admissions Officer,(name of student) is a (nice, good, great) student. He/

she is (very, extremely, delete blank) (smart, intelligent, hard-working.) For instance, in my (name of class) class, (first name) (often, always, delete blank) (asks good questions, contributes positively, demonstrates mastery of subject matter.) I (like, respect, adore) this student and you will, too.

You get my drift. Now that’s what you get when it’s tit for tat. You wanted more. You deserved more. So did the teacher.

Hey, come meet me sometime. Room 210.We’ll do lunch. (-;

Imagine going through rigorous training, conditioning and practice day after day. You come home exhausted after a long, tiresome practice to finish your homework

and get a decent amount of sleep. This sounds like the life of an athlete on a school sports team.

Wrong. It’s also the life of a member of the crew team, or should I say crew club. That’s right, crew is not considered a sports team at Oakton; it is considered a club. Yet they do the same amount of practice, work, competitions and conditioning that any other sports team at Oakton does.

Because crew is a club and not a team, it does not receive funding as other sports at Oakton do. Therefore, it lacks the benefits it needs to excel as a team. However, with the budget problems, the county cannot find the means to fund the crew team. So how do they seem to find the means to fund all the other sports at Oakton?

Crew is a lot of work and requires a significant amount of determination. During the off-season, members condition after school to stay in shape, and during the season they have practices every day and meets on the weekends. The training required in crew is similar to that of football, a sports team at Oakton. But even though crew meets the same expectations as football, it still remains only a club at Oakton, and that needs to be changed.

Like other sport teams, crew members practice every day. This hard work is preparation for the meets, called regattas, that they have on the weekends. With all of the hard work they do, the members cleary deserve the benefits of a sports team status, not a club.

The Oakton crew team excelled last year, reaching the 2008 national semi-finals. Clearly, the training and hard work they did paid off. Yet the crew team remains a club because of the budget problem.

However, there are other ways the county can save money in the budget problem, such as fundraisers, donations, and different cuts from crew. By having more sponsors for each team, that alone could save hundreds of dollars. Also, by having the sponsors and parents of team members become more active in providing financial help to teams other than crew, even more money for the county can be saved. Cougar crew doesn’t have to sacrifice the benefits it deserves to meet that expectation.

Oakton crew is a hardworking group of the student body that puts in just as much, if not more, effort as the other sports teams at Oakton. Not only that, but their efforts pay off in the long run as they excel at a number of regattas. The hardwork of the rowers matches that of the hardwork of other sport teams, yet they still remain only a club.

Crew should be considered a sport, not a club

opinions

Letter to the Editor: Teachers use lunch to better know students

fast

fact

s

-Crew members practice on the ergometer, a machine that simulates rowing.-There are eight or four people in a boat at a time.-Boats are 60 feet long-They practice on the Occoquan after school.

- Sue Anna Clark, psychology teacher, can be contacted at editors@oaktonoutlook.com

mayura iyer staff writermayura.iyer@oaktonmedia.net

Schools should rank students kyle hughes staff writer

kyle.hughes@oaktonmedia.net

Displaying class rankings raises a rather complicated moral dilemma. While it helps colleges recognize which students truly went

above and beyond expectations, it leaves a lot of students who also put a lot of effort into schoolwork and extracurriculars with little to no recognition. This can be attributed to many colleges only seeing the top ten students for any particular school’s class rankings. However, I believe that not recognizing the students who worked hardest would be unwise.

Rankings are determined from a number of factors including classes each student took, the difficulty of each class, the student’s grades and his or her results on standardized tests.

Displaying the class rankings would give students tangible goals to strive for beyond just maintaining a high GPA. It would give an opportunity to see how students should ideally balance their schoolwork with extracurriculars and how hard they would have to work. The top ten students would serve as role models.

Rankings would draw a clear line between students who

genuinely worked hard and cared about their performance and those who simply did not. To place them at the same level would be almost degrading. For example, a student could have had a 4.0 GPA, but if he or she only took standard level classes, he or she shouldn’t be measured directly against students who took several AP classes,

performed well on standardized tests and also had 4.0 GPA.

Class rankings would give colleges a clear look at the students in each school who deserve to attend a good college. Many of the more prestigious colleges only consider the very best students from any given school, and class rankings would help present those such students.

Class rankings would give students goals to work and strive for and should be implemented. They provide students with

motivation to move up in the rankings, and rewards hard work. If these were to be implemented in all high schools, colleges easily identify candidates, and those students who take iniative would receive the recognition they deserve.

kyle hughes

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page 21

12.04.08

A pineapple tied to a string hangs from the center of a bright yellow tent with “Cou-gars” printed in bold, burgundy letters.

The runners, dressed in neon-yellow jackets, and their coaches prepare for a tradition unlike any other at Oakton. The tradition started with the 1998 boys cross country team. After winning the state title Oakton had not claimed since 1978, the team unleashed its ability to devour competition and fruit in the form of a pineapple. “After a District, Regional and State meet, each team member takes a big bite of the pineapple while the rest of the team surrounds them, cheering and clapping,” said junior Lanie Smith. “After that, we go and smash it somewhere in the woods.” The State Championship at Great Meadows on Nov. 8 showed the team’s ability to demolish more than just tropical fruit. A solid season of success propelled the team to a commanding state finish despite the loss of senior Brian Hendricks to injury and the graduation of state mile champion Joe Lorusso. “I was planning on going out with the top 15 to see if I could get All-State,” said junior Andrew McCullen. “Coach [Phil] Tiller told us to go out there and win, and that’s what we did. It was one of my best individual races, and our team is the top in the state.” The 1978 cross country state championship was the first state title Oakton received for any of its athletic teams. Today, the boys continue a legacy that extends past a history domination including numerous district and regional titles and four state titles. “Our goal was to win; anything less would have

been devastating. We went out slow, as a team, and let other teams like Robinson blow up,” said junior Patrick Fulghum. “At the mile [Robinson] had three runners in the top five. When they finished they had no one in the top 30. With our top runner injured, I was very pleased to win by 46 points. That’s how strong our team is.” The girls team also had a similar success on the District and Regional level with third and second place finishes at the 2008 District and Regional

meets. Senior Becca Kassabian and junior Lanie Smith, who fin-ished 18th and 11th, led the team to an fifth place finish. “We wanted

to do our best,” Smith said. “The guys were the favorites to win, and the girls knew how tough the competition would be. We were hoping to surprise everyone and come out higher than we did. We definitely had the right attitude going in though; [which was] to leave nothing on the course and go for it.” For a sport that requires endurance, stamina and determination, Cougars lead the pack. In running, Oakton has often crossed the finish line first, expe-riencing pain and intensity. “After each race I wonder why I do a sport where so much pain is involved,” said senior Kelly Jones. “You have to push yourself to the point where you have to separate your mind from your body. You have to tell yourself to keep going even when your body can’t take it anymore, but then it’s so reward-ing. You feel really accomplished when you‘re done.”

XC celebrates state win with pineapple

Following the team’s long tradition, Head Coach Phil Tiller (above) devours a pineapple hanging from the top of the team’s tent at the Regional race while enthusiastic senior captains Becca Kassabian and Neal Hendricks cheer on. It is a team tradition that has been carried on since 1998. After the boys (below) recieve news of their first place victory, senior Stephen Despins embraces junior Matthew Wood-house in celebration. The team waited anxiously for the places to be announced. As soon as second place had been declared, the celebrations began; they knew they had won the State title once again. After placing fourth last year, it was a relief to the entire team to be back on top.

Coach [Phil] Tiller told us to go out there and win, and that’s what we did. It was one of my best individual races, and our team is the top in the state.

- andrew mccullen, jr.

alena schwarz

alena schwarz

- daphne martschenko, staff writer, can be reached at daphne.martschenko@oaktonmedia.net

page 22 sports 12.04.08

A Season to Remember

The football team completes the nearly perfect season with a final record of 13-1. For the 27 seniors, 26 juniors and 11 sophomores on the varsity team, it is a season they will never forget as the team went undefeated for the first time in school history.

The fans standing in the “O-Zone,” cheering through the elements, the band playing the fight song after every touchdown, the cannon blasting after every

point and the teammates rooting for their brothers on the field. These are the sounds of Oakton football; the sounds that created a season that will go down in history. Starting with their motto of “15 as one,” the team began planning to reach new heights this season and to leave last year behind. “Even before the Madison game, the goal was to be ‘15 as one,’ as in win all 15 games as one team,” said senior run-ning back Trey Watts. “The team felt confident we could accomplish that goal.” That theme stuck with them the entire season as the boys became much closer than in the previous years. “All the guys on the team are like brothers,” Watts said. “It’s been probably one of the closest teams since 2005.” As with every sports team, the support doesn’t just come from each other. Their fuel to win is not always a personal goal, but one to bring pride to their school. “The fans were awesome all year; they made it that much better,” said senior quarterback Ryan Harris. “We played for them as well as ourselves.” Another factor that helped lead the team to succeed was its overall dedication to the sport and its fellow teammates. “The whole team was committed this year,” said senior wide receiver Sajan Moktan. “We loved each other; we played for each other. We believed in each other.” For the Cougars, the season started out strong with their win against Madison. From there, they battled through the tougher games and showed their power against the weaker teams. The team finished with a record of 13-1, the farthest any team had ever gone before. “The thing I’ll remember most is making school history,” said senior wide receiver Jay Young. “We had the most con-secutive wins.” However, when these wins started coming week after week, it starting to sink in that the team still hadn’t lost. “It didn’t really occur to me until we beat Chantilly,” Mok-tan said. “Then I was like, ‘wow, we’re doing great.’” The streak was brought to a sudden, and unfortunate, end as a result of a hard game against Oscar Smith in the State Semifinals. It was a game that was laden with misfor-tune from the very beginning, starting with the injury to senior starting quarterback Chris Coyer in the first quarter. “[When I saw him go down], all I was thinking about was

what I needed to do to put our team in a good posi-tion,” Harris, who took Coyer’s place after he was ushered off in an ambulance, said. In a way, though the team was missing Coyer, his absence also gave it a morale boost, strengthening that strong brotherly bond. “Losing Coyer was a mental factor that we had to use to reach our goal,” Young said. “We were hurt be-cause we knew [Coyer] wanted us to play for him and continue to play.” While next year’s team will lose the graduating seniors, its future is still bright. “We still have an entire line returning, and the defense looks great,” Moktan said. “They just have to believe in each other [like we did].”

A Season

- alena schwarz, sports editor, can be reached at alena.schwarz@oaktonmedia.net

Outback Bowl vs. Madison (W 21-14)

mag

gie

auer

Chantilly (W 17-15)ta

ylor

sol

dner

Senior Night vs. Herndon (W 38-13)

mag

gie

auer

in Review

Region Final vs. Chantilly (W 52-14)

alen

a sc

hwar

z

State Semifinal vs. Oscar Smith (L 7-10)

alen

a sc

hwar

z

Knocking the ball away from an Oscar Smith offensive player, senior runningback Trey Watts holds off the Oscar Smith tigers from

scoring another touchdown. The two teams played each other in the state semifinals, but

Oakton lost to Oscar Smith 7-10. One of the main themes for the COugar’s success was their close

relationship with each other. “The bond [between us] really helped because when you’re in deep

times, all of us would do anything in our power for the ben-

efit of the team,” Watts said.

erica stein

“Throwing up their ‘O’s” before a kick, the student fans cheer on their favorite football team . The fans rooted for the team both at home and at many away games. They were there even when it was pouring rain to show their committment to the team.

alena schwarz

page 23sports12.04.08

Who are you? “I’m Chris Papas, a sophomore here.”

What is it like to be inside the cougar suit? “To be honest, I can’t hear anything out of that head. Half the time I can’t see anything. I get to go wild and have fun, but it’s hot, sweaty and disgusting. On the plus side, I lose five pounds every time I do it.” What’s the best part of being the cougar? “Its nice being a symbol of school spirit and being able to go crazy without anybody knowing who you are. It’s cool to really be a part of the action. You start to feel like you’re the one getting people going eventually.” What is the worst thing about being the cougar? “Fans who try to rip your head off. It’s those jerks who think it’s fun to drag the mascot over to the fence from the track

and pull my head off. Luckily I’ve developed a couple defense maneuvers.”

How is this similar or different to other positions you’ve held? “This is very different from anything else I’ve ever done, just because it’s me not being me, and it’s one of those jobs where nothing is scripted, nobody is

telling me what to do, I have free rein over myself and I pretty much have full range to go absolutely crazy.”. What’s the difference between the kid in school and the kid in the costume? “Everything is different when I’m in the cougar suit. In school, I’m not in a large furry cougar suit. I’m usually a lot more reserved then the crazy outgoing thing that you see on the field every Friday. I like to look at it as though I’m Bruce Wayne and Batman. During the day, I’m Bruce Wayne minus the crazy ripped abs, and on Friday nights I’m like Batman. I hide my whole identity and go out there and fight for what I believe is right. Except I still don’t have the crazy

ripped abs…” Why and how did you become the cougar? “It looked great, so I just went to Jason Krage

one day and I was like ‘Hey Jason, can I be the cougar when you’re gone,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, if you want to waste your Friday nights in a hot

sweaty suit. I smiled and said, ‘Yeah, sounds like fun.’”

How do you “train” for this sort of job?

“You don’t. I got the suit three hours before I first put it on. Remember, there’s nothing scripted.” What are the games like for you? “Well I have this great cheering section who just screams ‘We love the cougar.’ I really appreciate that, and I kind of react with the crowd, so if they’re going crazy, I go crazy. If we’re at a bad point in the game, it’s a lot harder to get things going. If they’re not psyched up, I can’t be psyched up. When the crowd is going wild, my job is a lot easier.”

Do you feel any pressure to live up to the previous mascot, Jason Krage?“Yes. Well let’s face it, Jason Krage was god. Jason Krage was Jason Krage. I can’t possibly live up to him. It’s not physically possible to live up to Jason Krage, but I’m trying to fill his shoes.” What’s it like to be the mascot for a school that is having its best football season in the history of the school? “It’s kind of cool, actually. I was the mascot the first season Oakton went 10-0, then

11-0, 12-0… And since we did so well, it’s easier to keep the fans more excited. Of course, I’m also grateful.” How do people usually react to seeing the cougar? “Little kids are the best part about the job ‘cause you know, I’m this big lovable guy and just…Well, I don’t want to say we connect, since I’m a huge cougar and they’re short little humans. But we really get along together. The kids are great because they really get into it.”

Does the cougar have to attend other school event?“The football games are the big thing. Pep Rally, Fundraisers, and everything else are optional. I went to the Chick-Fil-A fundraiser, and it was the Robinson Ram, the Chick-Fil-A cow and me. It was interesting to interact. To get out and see people who don’t go to Oakton. And the people were talking about how there was a cougar in the mall.” How would you define yourself? “Well the cougar is the cougar. I don’t have a name. I’m just the cougar on Friday nights. And I’m the Oakton cougar; don’t mess with me.” What do you do to get ready for a big day at ‘work?’ “It’s takes a long day of mental preparation. I get home, take a nap at three o’clock, whenever I wake up from that I make myself a bowl of spaghetti, then I go upstairs and listen to this awesome playlist I have, that gets me pumped up. By the time I get there, I’m ready to go.” Once you’re there, what is most important to you and why? “It really important that our fans stay positive because if our

fans aren’t positive then none of it is really worth it so just remember that it’s our school identity

on the line. We have to remember we’re not judged only on how we

play. It’s how we act, also. Just show sportsmanship and everything will be a lot better in the end. And I won’t lose my head.”

Cougar Chat Bright lights shine down on the huge furry cougar dancing obnoxiously behind the fence. The fans scream and stomp in the triumph, echoing the cougar’s enthusiasm. Still, no one really knows the man behind the mask. We sat down with the Oakton Cougar to ask him a couple of questions.

- kirin gupta and zoe mitchell, assistant clubs editor and assistant opinions

editor, can be reached at kirin.gupta@oaktonmedia.net or zoe.mitchell@oaktonmedia.net

- chris papas, so.

Kneeling sophomore Chris Papas hypes up the crowd during the

state semi-finals against Oscar Smith. Papas protected his identity throughout the school year in order to separate his personal life at school from his duty as the cougar

mascot. He hopes to don the cos-tume again next year.

alena schwarz

As the song ‘Sweet Caroline’ blares from the stadium speakers, sophomore Chris Papas, dressed as the mascot, danc-es around flailing his arms as the crowd sings along. Being the cougar allows Papas to really get into the game and be spontaneous and crazy to motivate the fans. “It’s one of those jobs where nothing is scripted; nobody is telling me what to do,” Papas said. “I have free rein over myself, and I pretty much have full range to go absolutely crazy.”

alena schwarz

crewAngela PetersonHow long have you been coaching at Oakton?I have been an assistant coach at Oakton for three years.What is one thing you love about gymnastics

and coaching?I love coaching and working with the girls, and I still want an opportunity to give back and let people experience what I did at that level of competition.What is something different about gymnastics when compared to other sports?I just love the thrill of the sport. It’s just something you don’t find in other sports. The adrenaline rush that you get on game day in other sports, you have that every day in the gym when you’re trying new tricks and trying to put things together. To me the challenge was very intriguing; I love it.

page 24 sports 12.04.08

Growing up in New Hampshire, Angela Peterson was very active in academics and high school sports.

She ran track and played volleyball, but most importantly, was seriously involved in gymnastics.

She is only one of the new winter coaches, along with wrestling coach John Welcher and the new head coach of crew, Andy Fiebig. However Peterson cannot exactly be categorized as a new coach. She has worked for the past three years with the gymnastics team at Oakton as an assistant coach.

“I’m not brand new to the school,” Peterson said. “The other head coach took a position at Falls Church, so that’s why I am taking over the head coaching position this year. We had one head coach with a few assistants to help juggle meets, so that’s what we’ve done.”

Peterson has been vigorously competing since her childhood and has developed a love for gymnastics.

“I competed with USA Gymnastics up in New Hampshire and was a pretty active kid. Growing up I was a daredevil and just loved the thrill of the sport,” Peterson said. “The team bonding and that experience was by far the best experience of my life and really one of the experiences that has shaped and developed me.”

Many girls on the squad feel she is ready to take over. After the departure of the previous coach, Peterson has been embraced as an experienced mentor.

“She’s a good coach, and she is really nice, too,” said senior gymnast Amelia Marple. “She is always there to help with gymnastics, but also outside of the gym. We’re working on routines right now, and she helps us improve our skills and technique.”

Additionally, as a new head coach coming into the program, Peterson has received support from many involved in coordinating activities at the school.

“Angela has been with the program for at least three years, and she’s worked closely

with coach Cooper [the previous head coach,]” said administrative assistant of activities, Lou Nugent. “I have confidence that she will be a great coach.”

After high school she continued to remain in the sport while competing at James Madison University. There, she participated in the gymnastics program which was a division one team at the time. Since then, JMU has changed its sports programs due to funding.

“I was big into athletics and a leader on the team at JMU as I was a captain for two years,” Peterson said. “The JMU program actually cut 10 sports last year, and gymnastics was one of them, but it was Division I when I was there. I think it’s really sad since I love the sport, and I’m very passionate about it. But the biggest thing is that the sport gave so much back to me.”

This trend is being viewed more frequently across the nation as many high schools have to cut sports programs due to inadequate funding. Unfortunately for many students in less popular sports, their seasons are being cut to sustain mainstream programs.

“The thing that is sad is that it is an injustice to kids who are involved especially at the high school level,” Peterson said. “And with USA Gymnastics you don’t get as much recognition as your peers because it is outside the high school. But [the gymnasts] really excel at different levels that most of their peers won’t see. It just takes the opportunity away from people to have that recognition.”

Aside from this matter, Angela Peterson has been excited to take over the new position and prepare for the upcoming season. With many graduating seniors, she will have to find a way to overcome this challenge.

“We have some returning girls, but the team this year is pretty small,” Peterson said. “Right now we’re just trying to gear ourselves up and get ourselves into a

position that we have as close to a full lineup on every event.”

As for the future of this year’s team and the sport itself, Peterson remains optimistic. Bringing her experience and enthusiasm to the team, she hopes to start the season strong, this time as the head coach.

“It’s made me who I am now and why I’ve come to this school,” Peterson said. “I love coaching and working with the girls, and I still want an opportunity to give back and let people experience what I did.”

crewAndy FiebigHow long have you been a crew coach and where?I’ve been a coach for nine years. One year at CD Hylton , four at West Springfield, and three

at Thomas Jefferson. I have also coached adult rowing for the last three summers.How have you personally been involved in crew in past years? I rowed four years at George Mason from 1996-2000 and three years at West Springfield from 1993-1996.What has been your greatest accomplishment with the sport?I coached a TJ crew to three consecutive VA State Championships. In 2003 I coached freshmen boys at West Springfield, and they won the VA State Championship, the National Capital (VA-MD-DC) Championship and finished 2nd at the prestigious Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia.

wrestlingJohn WelcherHow long have you been a coach for wrestling and have you coached anywhere else?This is my 30th year coaching wrestling. I spent 19 years at Paul VI High School and then 10 years with travel teams.

Do you have any experience in wrestling such as high school or college?I wrestled in high school and also at Montgomery College for a year.What is something interesting about yourself?Well other than wrestling, I also coach girl’s softball for a travel team.

New gymnastics coach, Angela Peterson, instructs a gymnast from Madison about her technique at a joint practice between schools. Peterson has been the assistant coach for the last three years and recently accepted the head coaching job after former coach, Mike Cooper, took the head coaching position for the gymnastics team at Falls Church.

Former college gymnast brings skills to gym mats

gladys manzur

Bend, stretch, coach...

- alex perry, staff writer, can be reached at alex.perry@oaktonmedia.net

New Coaches

A crowd of hundreds of friends, family and other teams applauded as the dance team hit its final pose at the Fairfax Dance Championship on Nov. 15. The

16 girls smiled wide at their coach and teammates while rushing off the floor, high off the energy of their last leap.

The annual event, held at Paul VI High School, is part of the Universal Dance Association’s season of competitions. The teams competing are local high school teams in the area who are eager to show off their hard work in front of the other girls. While the team competes at other events, this was the girls’ first of the season.

“It [was] our first chance to show other teams around the area what we’ve been working on all year and get used to the competition air,” said senior captain Brittany Harwood.

The team competed in both pom and kick, two categories that have set rules regarding choreography and style.

“Just about every year we get first in both of our catego-ries,” Harwood said.

Winning did not come so easily. In order to win, the team had to practice vigorously in the weeks leading up to the event. In addition, its performances at home football games serve as rehearsals for competitions.

“During practice we ran the routines and drilled sections of the dance to make sure everyone looked the same,” said sophomore Maggie Perreault, “[The games] help us with showmanship and performing in front of people.”

Not only did the girls perform as a team, but some competed in individual numbers that they choreographed themselves. Junior Carly Isakowitz was one of them.

“Our coach gave mostly upperclassmen a solo if they wanted,” Isakowitz said.

The dancers could compete individually in the styles of lyrical or jazz dance. Among the other soloists were senior Yenni Tan, who received eighth place, and junior Kristen Fish, who won third.

“All of the soloists did great,” Tan said. “I’m excited that two of our soloists placed in the top eight.”

An alternate last season, Perreault was grateful to even be performing in the group routines.

“This year our team is 20 [people], and we have four

alternates. They are on the team, but they don’t compete,” Perreault said.

Since the Fairfax Dance Championship is the first com-petition of the season, it is a practice for other competitions still to come in the schedule that spans the course of both fall and winter athletic seasons. By using the same dances at this event and at its national competitions, the team is guaranteed to have a strong and well-rehearsed routine by its Dec. 13 competition at George Mason University.

“[This event] helps us get the idea of a competition,” Isa-kowitz said. “It lets us see where we are, especially compared to other teams.”

The dances were an exciting part of the day, but they were by no means the only part of the competition. Though they did not perform until midday, the girls had to get to Paul VI HS early in the morning to participate in warm-ups and practice time, as well as to watch other teams. Before going on to perform, the girls pumped each other up to ensure an energized and focused performance.

“Right before we go, we get in a huddle, and the captains say ‘breakdown’ three times, and we cheer,” Perreault said.

They also talk to each other about the dance they’re about to perform and give each other positive energy.

“We cross our hands, then turn our heads and kiss each other,” Isakowitz added.

The luck rituals certainly paid off for the team who swept in its categories. Not only was this its first win, but one that qualifies the team to compete at the UDA National Dance Team Competition from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.

“It was the first chance we had to perform the dances we’ll perform at Nationals,” Harwood said. “We were able to get used to the competition air.”

As the team looks forward to more competitions, the girls will remember this win as one step towards a successful season.

“We were really excited that all of our hard work paid off,” Tan said. “We still have a long way to go until Nationals, but this was a great opportunity for us to perform locally.”

page 25sports12.04.08

The dance team takes first place in pom and kick at the Fairfax Dance Championship at Paul VI High School.

While performing a portion of their kick routine, from left, sophomores Maggie Perreault and Sarah Kowarski and juniors Carly Isakowitz and Ashley Scifo smile for the crowd. The team won first place in pom and kick at the competition. “It was exciting,” Isakowitz said. “Last year we got first in pom and kick, too.”

Senior captain Brittany Harwood (center) and her teammates kick their legs high in another portion of the dance. This was Harwood’s final time competing at the Fairfax Dance Champi-onship. “ The four years I’ve been on the team we’ve done this competition, and just about every year we win,” Harwood said.

mar

isa sh

effie

ld

A day at the

Fairfax Dance Championship

8:00 a.m. Meet at Oakton Apply makeup and fix hair

10:00 a.m. Get to PVI Soloist warm-

ups

10:30 a.m. Soloists perform

11:00 a.m. End of solo competition

11:28 a.m. Oakton’s pom warm-up

11:30 a.m. Oakton performs pom

11:58 a.m. Oakton’s kick warm-up

12:00 p.m. Oakton performs kick

2:00 p.m. Awards Ceremony

Kick Butt

- amanda herman, staff writer, can be reached at amanda.herman@oaktonmedia.net

marisa sheffield

page 26 sports 12.04.08

A cold autumn wind pounded against the girls and boys lacrosse teams as they took the field Nov. 16 for the annual Turkey Shootout, a tournament start-

ed by Oakton nine years ago. This year, the school played host to seven other teams from all over Northern Virginia. The teams played four total games against one another to determine the winner. However, the day wasn’t all about lacrosse. The event originally started as way to raise money for sports programs, but over the years, it has escalated into much more than just that. “All admissions from the event went directly to the Alter-native House: Assisting Young Mothers program, a refuge that provides support for at-risk youth and their families, particularly young mothers,” said Administrative Assistant Mary Lou Nugent. The area’s support of AYM is apparent in the large amount of money the tournament raised. “This year we had an especially great turnout,” Nugent said. “Not only did we raise lots of money from admissions, but we also collected six boxes full of donated toiletries for the homes.” Both the boys and girls teams struggled at the tourna-ment, each finishing with a record of 3-1 while South Lakes took first place. The team had a difficult time playing due to some major setbacks that were beyond its control. With the football team in full swing of its play-off drive, varsity foot-ball players who are also on the lacrosse team were unable to compete in the tournament. “Practically all of our starters like [seniors] Jack Tyler, Joey McCallum and [junior] Andrew Leonard play football,” said sophomore goalie Adam Dutchek. “[By not playing it] really hurt our team.”

Not being able to support their team on the field took a toll on the football players, too. “I want to be out there, but I have priorities with foot-ball,” McCallum said. “It [stinks] to not be able to take this opportunity to utilize the off-season and get ready for the spring.” Another hardship the team had to overcome happened at the last minute. The tournament was originally supposed to be held on Nov. 15, but due to rain the event was pushed to the next day. This sudden schedule change created some problems for the teams. “Some key players couldn’t come because of Sunday [reli-gious obligations],” Dutchek said. Although the team didn’t perform the way Oakton lacrosse is known to, the players aren’t worried about the future. “It doesn’t mean that much because it’s the off-season, and we’re missing so many players [anyways,]” said sopho-more Elijah Smith. With the absence of top players, wide gaps were left in the team’s starting roster, especially on defense. Because of this, a few sophomores with only a single year of high school lacrosse experience made the leap to varsity. “It felt pretty good to be pulled up to the varsity level,” said sophomore Thomas Calopedis. “For me it was a chance to get noticed and a great way to start getting warmed up for the spring season. It also lets the coaches know who’s willing to work hard.” Players like Calopedis were vying for a chance to impress the new head coach, David Guill, who recently made the step up from assistant coach. “It’s going to be tough to fix the team after Tony screwed it up,” Guill joked about former head coach Tony Gray. “But

seriously, Tony did a great job, and the team’s already in a pretty good situation. I’m just looking to build on that with a few tweaks here and there.” In the end, the coaches weren’t too upset either about the team’s performance at the Shootout. “It was a good experience,” Gray said. “We’ve got some fresh players out there, and [were] ready to get the team prepared for spring.”

Turkey Shootout serves as preview for season

- alex buscemzi, staff writer, can be reached at alex.buscemi@oaktonmedia.net

While trying to knock the ball loose from an offensive player, sophomore Kyle Humbert (above) perfects his defensive skills for the upcoming season. Chasing down an opponent, freshman Mike Gillooly (below) participates in his first Turkey Shootout.

gladys manzur

gladys manzur

Forty female basketball players showed up in the gym to compete for a place on the 2008-2009 Cougars team. For five afternoons, they hustled, shot, boxed

out, scrimmaged and sweat. The girls basketball head coach, Fred Priester, was pleased with the turnout of players as well as the team he selected for this year. “There was a good mix of returning seniors and new play-ers, and we had a transfer, [student]” Priester said. Many of the Oakton players have had experience play-ing for the Amateur Athletic Union. AAU basketball is not for the faint of heart; it’s competitive basketball. Between high school and AAU ball, these girls are playing hardcore basketball year-round. McGartland has played AAU basket-ball for seven years. Freshmen varsity players, Caroline and Katherine Coyer, have played for six years. Halley Cum-mins, sophomore, has also played AAU basketball. “AAU is highly competitive basketball, but the high school basketball experience feels much more like a team,” Cum-mins said. As head coach, Priester’s job was to not necessarily select the best players, but the best combination of players to make a winning team. He looked at many aspects of the players’ games. “[I was looking for] skills and potential which includes speed and general athleticism. I do a lot to assess peoples’ understanding of the game.” Priester said. “Also, [I assess] ‘coachability.’ I’ll say something really vague and see who is able to figure out what I want them to do.” In analyzing the players, Priester had to look at more than just basketball fundamentals. A good basketball team has to have good chemistry. “In choosing players, I have to think about team aspects, people skills and chemistry among players. These are im-possible to objectify,” Priester said. As with any competitive tryouts, not everyone can make the team. Although it was not easy, Coach Priester selected his 2008-2009 varsity team. The new members are hoping they will be able to match the 2005 season perfect record, 25-0. “We never make goals about winning games. We set benchmarks. The real goal is to always play to our potential,” Priester said. Basketball is a very team-oriented sport, and the Cougars will not have a successful year without everyone playing their hardest. “Everyone has their own job and if everyone does their job well, then the team will do well,” Caroline Coyer said. As always, the team will have intense competition. The girls had two regular season losses last year. In the begin-ning of the season, the team lost to Madison, and in the second half, they lost to Westfield. “Right now, Concord is the best in the state,” Priester said. “Westfield, Centreville, Herndon, who we played in district finals last year, are talented, and Fairfax has a really good transfer this year. I don’t think any [team] will be ter-rible.” The Cougars were 22-3 last year and was able to earn their way to the Northern Virginia Region First Round game. There is every reason to believe this year will do just as well. Ned Korman, Madison Assistant Coach, anticipates Oakton having a very successful season. “Oakton has a good combination of returning players and new talent this season. I would expect the team to be highly competitive,” Korman said.

page 27sports12.04.08

- katherine telford, staff writer, can be reached at katherine.telford@oaktonmedia.net

Girls basketball shows promising season ahead

Shooting during a drill at one of the first official girls basketball practices, senior Brianna Johnson aims for the net. The team’s first game was held at home on Dec. 2 where the girls played against Langley High School. The team’s next game is Dec. 5 at Madison.

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