News

First Day oF school Monkey Business elicits MixeD reactions

Volume 39, Number 1 Thursday, September 6, 2012Menlo School, Atherton, California

OpinionsSpending all summer away from the Menlo community work-ing in a kitchen was a cathartic and educational experience for junior Maya Singhal. She discusses her experiences of hard work at Menlo versus the manual labor in the kitchen. "After spending a summer waking up at 5:20 in the morning and being told that I needed to work faster, try harder, and be better at a job that inherently sucked, all to earn $8 an hour, I will never again complain about homework or waking up for school or being in class for 6 hours a day," Singhal said.

Sports

Mandatory college counseling class added to senior curriculumA new class has been implemented

for the 2012-2013 seniors—a mandatory college counseling class that will meet once each nine-day rotation during students’ free periods throughout the fall semester.

The endeavor to prepare students for the trials and tribulations of applying to college was spearheaded by the four college counselors--Cathy Chen, Michael Brody, Mark Clevenger, and Brad Ward--as well as Upper School Director John Schafer. The main goal of the class is to ensure that all students are prepared

for application deadlines, which entails eliminating procrastination. “It’s a lot easier for anyone to accomplish something in a supervised setting than at home with all the constant distractions of texting, Facebook, YouTube, et cetera,” Ward said. Students agree. Senior Nico Carrino explained that the class “forces [seniors] to set aside much needed time to work on college apps.”

The class will consist of writing supplements and working on both the Common and UC applications. It will also help students keep track of SAT/ACT scores, keep school lists current, and use

Naviance, a system through which seniors can organize their college plans.

Although classes have not started, students have responded with tentative enthusiasm. “For students who aren’t good with procrastination, this class is great,” says senior Lindsay Montgomery.

The downside, however, is that students have not reacted well to the fact that the class is mandatory. “I think that the word mandatory scares people, especially Menlo students who are so used to choosing exactly what we do,” says Carrino. In addition, students are

This past summer, seniors Ali Kim and Drew Edelman chose to pursue Division I lacrosse and Division I basketball at Brown University and the University of Southern California, respec-

tively. For the reasons behind their decisions and more:

see story on page 7.

continued on page 2

Spread

In its inaugural year, the iPad program saw many successes as the Menlo com-munity adjusted to the new technology in the classroom. Now, in the program's

second year, all 9th through

11th graders will come

to school with iPads.

From international travel to jobs to internships, many Menlo stu-dents had extremely busy and productive summers.

In the spread, The Coat of Arms takes an in-depth look at students' summer vacations, their in-

ternships or income, and whether or not they had time to complete

their summer reading in between running around

for their jobs and taking trips to Fiji or China

or even London for the Olympics.

PhOTO COUrTESY PETE zIVKOV

see story on page 6.

The Coat of Arms

Photos of the issue:

By Kate HuneKe

it was disappointing to see all the freshmen clean and unhazed.

-Malia Bates, Junior

the hazing was fun because it wasn't over the top.

-Jessie rong, Freshman

i feel like the rules were a little over-done this year. -Gavin avery, senior

i liked the hazing day because it was fun, enthusiastic, and made me feel welcome.

thank you, seniors. -Jeffrey herr, FreshmanI think that the administration tries

so hard to make it so that the parents don't get upset, and it ends up not be-

ing fun for anyone.- Virginia Girard, Senior

Arts & Lifestyle

i mean it would have been more fun for it to be a little bit more relaxed. But i'm not going to complain, it was still awesome.

- Brock Burgess, senior

hazing wasn’t that bad, the teachers were very friendly and it was helpful to know, judging by the shirts, who else was a

freshman. - lucy heneghan, Freshman

see story on page 5.

OpinionsFor most students, summer reading is an

unfortunate reality that needs to be dealt with before the school year begins. Starting a few years ago, however, this assignment grew in proportion when the community read began. The community read aims to unite the Menlo student body and faculty and provide a common ground

for discussion. Junior Wes Miller shares his thoughts

on the community read and the philosophy surrounding it.

see story on page 3. see story on page 8.see story on page 2.

See full story at coa.menloschool.org

As always, the beginning of a new school year brings changes to the

students and faculty. This year, however, Menlo students and faculty members have been look-

ing for a more drastic change in their physical appearances. Many

students and teachers, including ju-niors Donya Dehnad, Maya Singhal,

and Polly Gollikova and history Department Chair Charles hanson have changed their hair color for the new year.

JOhN MCNELLY

Seniors John Welch and Christina Dong cut the ribbon during the Creative Arts and Design Center opening.

Seniors Andrew Ball, Eric Miller, Nico Carrino, and Nick Batchelder dress and act like turtles on the first day of school to go along with the zoo theme.

Freshmen and seniors sit together in a circle dur-ing freshman orientation. This day included sets of games and exercises to help the freshman get to know each other.

Menlo School celebrates the grand opening of the Creative Arts and Design Center by hanging bal-loons around the school.

all photos courtesy of the Menlo school flickr

News

The Coat of Arms2 september 6, 2012

News in brief...

eleven months after the iPad was re-leased, fifteen million had already been sold, making the product the fastest sell-ing piece of technology in history. Since this summer, that figure will certainly have climbed as Menlo has decided to follow the trend of schools requiring tab-lets. Every freshman, sophomore, and junior must bring an iPad to school everyday in order to do work, take notes, and complete homework on the fly. It is still uncertain as to whether or not the iPads will turn out to be useful on a daily basis.

As junior Kate Huneke put it, “I don’t think the iPads are really necessary because we already have so much technology from past years. Laptops are definitely good enough.” Many teachers have different rules and philosophies surrounding the students’ new hardware, and it is understood that the application of the iPads will be more effective in some classes than others.

english teacher Ohad Paran said, as he paused music coming from the very same device, “I think the iPad is the greatest invention since paper. As you can see [from my class] we will be using them all day every day.” In the history department, teachers have asked students to bring the charged iPad to class daily in order to view handouts electronically. First year world religions teacher Charles wetherell jok-ingly added, “It saves paper.” Students are

Go Menlo adds additional carpool spotssix more carpool spots have been added to the senior lot near the visitor parking section. Director of Sustainability Kevin Conner explained that these spots have been added because “last year carpool spots got filled up, [...] there were more people carpooling than spots.” These new spots will hopefully increase the number of kids carpooling, taking more cars off the road and furthering Menlo’s green initiative. According to Connor, the fact that “more seniors are getting their years’” will likely result in “more students [carpooling] to school.” Junior Colin Martin agrees. “Since I have started carpooling, I can arrive at school any time because with the new carpool spots there is more space for me to park, and those spots usually fill up later,” Martin said. “Carpooling guarantees that you will always have a spot to parkon campus.” iPad thefts in campusiPads, laptops, and phones were stolen from the boys locker room last Thursday, Aug. 30. During the JV football home game, an unidentified man entered the locker rooms while the gym was empty. The perpetrator filled sophomore Jack Ham-mond’s backpack with as many iPads, laptops, and phones that he could quickly. Junior Graham Stratford witnessed the man filling the backpack, but by the time he returned with security, the man was gone with Hammond’ s backpack and all the stolen electronics. According to sophmore Jack Marren, whose laptop was stolen out of his bag, “all of [the team’s] backpacks were scattered on the floor.” After the incident, Dean of Students Tony Lapolla met with the students whose technology was stolen to emphasize how hard the school is working to find the perpetra-tor, but as of yet there have been no developments. Students will not be reimbursed for the stolen goods unless the man is found. Hammond commented, “ I was almost in disbelief that someone would actually come in and take everything from high school students, what possesses that person is beyond what I can think of.”

Annonymous Junior vs. FenceAt approximately 10 am on Saturday, August 25, a Menlo junior in the Annex lot collided with the daycare fence and AC unit in his BMW. The accident has sparked a discussion about how safe it is to have a daycare center located next to the parking lot used by the worst drivers on campus. Junior Sam Eckert commented, “I feel like this incident just further highlights how bad teenage drivers can be and the dangers of having a day care located so close that can result in dangerous situations.” With the number of parking spots at Menlo getting progressively smaller, the chance that more incidents like this one will occur is increasing, and both students and their parents are worried about the safety of their cars.

Freshman overnight previewThe annual freshman overnight will be held next Friday, Sept. 14 on the Menlo School campus. In the past, overnights have included bouncy castles, volleyball, a dance and the adventure of spending the night on the quad. With the overnight looming, many freshmen are excited. “I’m super excited to meet a larger percentage of my class,” freshman Anna Miller said. Hopefully the freshman overnight continues to be an exciting bonding experience as it has been in the past.

Compiled by Riley Burgess, Wes Miller, and Christina Wadsworth.

“The iPad is the greatest invention since paper... We will be using them all day every day.” - English teacher

Ohad Paran

iPads: A step toward the future of learning?

also using the iPad in science and math, to view documents and tutorials online.

Despite the excitement surrounding the advanced technology, many students are skeptical as to whether the capabili-ties outweigh the drawbacks. Sophomore Spencer Witte said, “For some students, it might be more of a toy than a tool.”

senior Alexander Carlisle, not re-quired to purchase an iPad, expressed

a feeling of relief, “I felt bad that it was going to be mandatory for the other grades, and I was pretty glad that I wouldn’t have to get an iPad because I think taking notes with pencil and paper is quicker and more convenient.”

In addition to Carlisle, freshman Raphael ser-rano, new to the school and the iPad, articulated his skepticism, revealing, “I think I’ll only do about

ten to fifteen percent of my work on the iPad.”

On the other hand, these same stu-dents spoke of the potential usefulness of the new technology, especially for students who struggle with neatness and organization, as the iPads allow students to store all the years’ notes on one device.

Only time will tell whether the tech-nology department and faculty made the right decision in mandating iPads across all classes and subjects. As classes ramp up and more homework is assigned, an iPad will always be available, either help-ing or hurting the situation.

reluctant to give up their free periods. According to senior Brock Burgess, students who have already gotten a head start on college applications—a good portion of the seniors—fear that the class will involve lots of “busy work.” But in the end, the pros outweigh the cons. Without having the class be mandatory, students would most likely opt out, and potentially hurt themselves in the long run.

As this is the first school year with the class, it acts as a trial run. If the class produces positive results and gets good feedback from students, parents and teachers, it will most likely become permanent. A component for juniors could potentially be added as well, as the college process starts early and “there are things [juniors] should be thinking about too,” Ward said.

Classes will start on september 21st and will be directed by college counselors.

Senior to-do list: Another item added

Dedicated to the People of Darfur: The Menlo edition

This summer the com-munity read was Ded-icated to the People of Darfur by Luke Reynolds. students were required to read this book in addi-

both the text and the idea behind it.”

Although the novel holds good reviews from the general public, its pop-ularity among students at Menlo is questionable. De-spite its reputation among critics and editors, Dedi-cated to the People of Dar-fur has been ignored by a large portion of the Menlo community. Some might say the lack of participa-tion in the assignment is due to the laziness one adopts over summer, but some see it as a rational decision, rather than lazi-ness. “It isn’t worth read-ing because you only talk about it for one advocacy period, so there’s really no point,” senior Christine Kvamme said. Explained a Menlo junior: “I [did the community read] when I was a sophomore, but then we only went over it for two minutes in advocacy, so I decided the amount of time spent reading it was not worth the amount of time spent discussing it, and therefore there was no point.”

Although the assign-

tion to others assigned by their for their upcoming fall classes. According to Freshman Class Dean Cindy Lapolla, the pur-pose of the community read is to “create an expe-rience that would celebrate

By AndreAs KAtsis

By Alice shAw

ment may not have held the greatest participation, the book was successful in leaving a lasting im-pression on those that did read it. Senior Shane Bar-ratt admitted that, “even though I didn’t read the whole book, I felt moved by the stories I did read, especially ‘Camping out of the Comfort Zone.’ ” Barratt explained that it taught him how taking risks can pay off, and that even though it may some-times seem intimidating, this memoir taught him that they are worth it in the end. On a final note, although some students may find the book unnec-essary, those that did read it agreed that it was a good use of their time and, “for a schoolbook, not terrible,” juniors Jordan Vasquez and Max Zats said.

On Tuesday Sept. 4, the student body and fac-ulty met for an assembly to discuss the community read. In addition, vari-ous students and teachers gave moving speeches on their own experiences with fear, risk, and hope. KATE HunEKE/COA

continued from page 1

OpiniOns 3september 6, 2012

The Coat of Arms

My sophomore year, the Coat of Arms published an opinions piece titled, “Awktown, popula-tion: Brooke Bullington.” poorly written and awkward in itself, the op-ed discussed how acknowl-edging my constant discomfort allowed me to come to terms with myself. i owned up to my self-con-sciousness for the first time as I explained to the entire school – or rather whoever read that issue of the paper – how much of a freak i truly was.

Two years and countless col-umns later, i feel it’s safe to say that, for the most part at least, i have transcended my “awkward phase.” Though part of this came

naturally through growing up and gaining confidence, I largely attribute this progress to some-thing so small, and to the major-ity of the Menlo community, so unimportant: publishing my col-umns.

i’ve never been one for pub-lic speaking or even sharing my opinions with strangers. But i have always been one for writing them down. As a fourth grader, i decided i wanted to publish a book; my topic of choice was horses and the plot-line was not best-seller material, but i wrote it nonetheless. As i got older, writ-ing picture books became scrib-bling in journals, and as high school approached, i pretty much put the pen down. But sophomore year, journalism provided both the motivation and the means for me to finally publish something – hence the awktown article.

Ever since then, i have be-come addicted to column writing. Being provided 400 words each issue to say essentially whatever i want gives me the power of in-fluence. I can be personal or con-troversial, silly or complex, but no matter what, i have to be myself.

Though i hide behind my byline, allowing the Menlo com-munity to know me on a personal level has given me the confi-dence that my awkward self once begged for.

My newfound self-assurance has helped me in an infinite number of ways, all thanks to the Coat of Arms. This year, i hope to give back.

Dishes, money, and hard work

i believe in hard work. i think most of the Menlo commu-nity does as well; i’ve seen my classmates study for tests, prac-tice pieces of music, and work out in the gym, so i can attest to their work ethic. The amount of time and energy we all spend on things we care about is enor-mous. However, the labor we do for school or sports or art is always more dignified; it ben-efits our minds and enhances our talents. it’s the kind of work

Looking back on the assem-blies of the previous year, i can barely remember any of them. What i do remember, however, are the complaints of my friends. “i could be doing homework right now.” “This is such a waste of time.” “The topic is interesting, but this guy is such a boring speaker.” For some reason, even though last year’s assemblies are a blur, i can remember a specific one from freshman year with surprising clarity. shawn Achor’s speech on “The Happi-ness Advantage” was given dur-ing one of the first assemblies of my freshman year, and yet, two years later i still consider it the most interesting, entertain-ing, and enlightening assembly speech that we have had during my time at Menlo.

What was it that made “The Happiness Advantage” so much more popular with most of the student body (or at least my friends) than every other speech? Was it Achor’s engaging public speaking skills? Frequently i

find myself glancing at the clock during assemblies, but i was enraptured during his entire speech. Maybe being a younger lecturer initially helped him connect with the audience more easily, but i think a lot of what made Achor so successful was his eager, lively, and funny way of spreading his ideas and mes-sage to us. The message itself also contributed to his success. The fact that it was totally dif-ferent than the widespread view on how to achieve happiness made me want to keep listening to understand his tips better. i think that happiness is a clever topic to choose for a lecture be-cause who doesn’t want to be-come happier? in our constantly busy and stressed Menlo bubble, many people could probably use an extra dose of happiness on a Monday night. simply talking about how to be happy from a knowledgeable point of view is sure to make people listen.

Another big difference be-tween “The Happiness Advan-tage” and other assemblies is that it got people talking after-

that will look amazing on our resumes and college applica-tions. it’s the kind of work that your parents will take pride in bragging about. it’s the kind of work that will make you feel like you have a future. it’s dig-nified work. The Menlo commu-nity always seems dignified in that way.

But i believe in back-break-ing, manual labor, too, and in a lot of ways, it’s a lot more real. After an hour of homework, at least you can say you’re doing something to help yourself learn

wards. And by talking, i don’t mean complaining about the mountains of homework or social activities they could have been doing instead. i mean kids mak-ing excited, intellectual com-ments about different theories Achor explained and different experiments he mentioned. Ev-eryone was especially excited to learn that being happier outside the classroom actually makes you perform better academically, which is the reverse of the ste-reotypical view that good grades and success are what drive hap-piness. i not only discussed this at length with my friends, but went home and shared the idea with my parents at the dinner table as well. Knowing that being happy socially would actually make me more suc-cessful academically, instead of taking away valuable isolated study time, definitely made me feel less guilty choosing to see friends over doing homework. i think that it takes a really out-of-the-box, innovative idea to create this kind of buzz in a community of people who are

used to being exposed to creative ways of thinking and interesting theories in our day-to-day lives, and “The Happiness Advantage” is the only assembly that i feel has really driven a high level of student body discussion and analysis.

Menlo prides itself on being a place where learning is inter-active and full of new ideas, yet usually our assemblies don’t re-ally embody those educational principles at all. Considering how busy and stressed Menlo students are, it is important that we should use our time to the maximum efficiency. If students are bored during assembly and are tuned out the whole time or mentally reciting vocabulary words in their heads, we might as well be out on the quad re-laxing or meeting with teach-ers during M-Block. i love the thought of assemblies bringing new ideas and perspectives from fascinating people to Menlo, but i think the quality of these as-semblies must be consistently much higher if they are worth continuing at all.

Here’s a new idea: Wow us at assemby

BROOKEBULLINGTON

I can be per-

sonal or contro-

versial, silly or

complex, but no

matter what, I

have to be my-

self.

By Kelsey Flower

By Maya singhal and grow. After an hour of wash-ing dishes, all you have is $8 in your pocket, aching arms, and a t-shirt drenched in dirty dish-water.

That was my reality all sum-mer: 40 hours of hard, manual labor a week. When i returned home, i began sympathizing with the waiters and dish-washers in restaurants and the people refilling the milk in the cafeteria (those 5 gallon boxes of milk are heavy!). i measured everything in the amount of dishes i would have had to do to

earn that money: a $20 t-shirt? Dishes for at least 200 people. A lunchtime outing to posh? 10 trays covered in bacon grease. Your money seems a lot more valuable when you have the sore shoulders and calloused hands to accompany it. need-less to say, coming back to the Menlo community, where the re-ality is $500 ipads for every stu-dent, was a bit of a shock. That is the amount of money i would have earned in two full weeks of working at my job.

This summer i think i learned something that Menlo could never have taught me: the worth of money. it’s something that only hard, unfulfilling work or the lack of money can teach you, and it’s something entirely worth learning if you want to be a functional member of a com-munity in which the majority of people do not own True Religion jeans and 3 different colors of sperrys.

not just that, but after spending a summer waking up at 5:20 in the morning and working until 3 p.M., being told that i needed to work faster, try harder, and be better at a job that inherently sucked, all to earn 8 measly dollars an hour, i will never again complain about homework or waking up for school or being in class for 6 hours a day. it could be worse: it could be dishes.

Editor-in-Chief

jOHn MCnELLY

jOHn MCnELLY

Revisiting Awktown

0  

5  

10  

15  

20  

25  

30  

Poli+cs/Law

 

Medical  

Culinary

 Art

 

Media  

Sports  

Business

 

Sciences

 

Children

/Educa

+on  

What  field  were  you  working  in?  

Where did you travel this summer?We asked you where you went this summer, and you answered! The numbers in the pins corre-spond to the number of people who traveled to each country out of all of the people surveyed.

90% of freshmen did all of their

summer reading INCLUDING the

community read

72% of sophomores did all of their summer reading INCLUDING

the community read

50% of juniors did all of

their summer reading EX-

CEPT the community read

Although 56% of seniors did either all of their summer reading or all of their summer read-

ing excluding the community read, unlike all the other classes, 15% of seniors did NONE of

their summer reading

10% of people start-ed their summer reading right after school ended

54% of people fin-ished their summer

reading in late August

28% of people started their

summer reading in late July or early August

Summer Days

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5  

10  

15  

20  

CBC  Family  

member  

Friend  Internet  

Research  

Teacher  Other  

How  did  you  learn

 about  the  job  

opening?  

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30  

Poli+cs/Law

 

Medical  

Culinary

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Media  

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Business

 

Sciences

 

Children

/Educa

+on  

What  field  were  you  working  in?  

Where did you travel this summer?

Didn’t have a summer jobHad an unpaid job or internship

Had a paid job or internship

Did you have a summer job?

Of these students,33% made $100 - $50022% made $500 - $100045% made greater than $1000

Summer Days

September 6, 2012

The Coat of Arms6Not so dedicated to the community read

The community read is essen-tially the unloved stepchild of sum-mer reading. No one enjoys having it around and it’s probably going to get roughly shoved into a dark cor-ner when it’s forgotten. However, in the community read’s description on Menlo’s website, Menlo says that it “hopes [that the community read] will inspire you to reflect on how fear, risk and hope factor into your own life experience.” The adminis-tration essentially wants us to learn valuable emotional lessons from a piece of summer reading, which ini-tially sounds completely reasonable. But if we also remember that Menlo students are dubious summer read-ers (anyone who wants to suggest otherwise can look at any summer reading quiz score), it would seem very naïve for Menlo to assume that we could absorb worthwhile emotional knowledge from the very same medium.

I don’t want to say that no one reads the community read because that’s not completely true. Howev-er, we were all extremely surprised when Mrs. Lapolla told us the book wasn’t actually about Darfur. By

far the largest problem with the community read is the widespread view that it’s a waste of time. It simply isn’t an attractive thought to spend summer time reading a book that you feel won’t have an impact on your academics. Any summer reading text that doesn’t have an academic Armageddon of a quiz at-tached typically doesn’t get read. To compound the problem, the follow-up discussion and assembly on the community read are easily survived by lying about general literary top-ics. Without meaingful followup the community read becomes even more laughable. The people who do feel guilty enough to actually open the pages usually don’t get far either, as the community reads haven’t histor-ically been the most riveting of liter-ary texts. Needless to say, it’s hard to argue that something is a valu-able instrument of learning when none of the students have actually used it or feel like they should.

Even if everyone muscled their way through the community read, it’s debatable that the emotional knowledge gained will be worth-while. Emotional maturity and understanding (two things that I wouldn’t know much about) are de-

By Wes Miller

I’m often guilty of buying frivolous things there, but last week there were actually two practical items on my Tar-get list: laundry detergent and toilet pa-per. After an obligatory browse through colorful pieces of clothing, I traversed the main aisle, a runway for shoppers on a mission and a playground for their children, finally reaching the household items section. I never thought I’d be so scornful of a sea of plastic jugs, but that day I was finally conscious of its excess.

The degree to which Americans take a very simple thing and make it bigger and “better” is embarrassing. I get that different brands of detergent do differ-ent things for our whites, brights, and colors. And that some people prefer “mountain fresh” over “spring and re-newal.” But the way I see it, whether you buy Tide or Target brand, your clothes will be clean. They’ll even smell good.

After grabbing the detergent that was on sale, I steered my cart around the corner to the next aisle: toilet pa-per. Yes, at Target, an entire aisle is dedicated to toilet paper. The expanse of white plastic-encased bundles com-pletely surrounded me, on both sides of the aisle, stacked well above my head. The sheer quantity was ridiculous; the different kinds, even more laughable.

Frankly, toilet paper has one pur-pose—a very, very basic one. Therefore, the fact that plush, quilted 4-ply toilet paper even exists in the first place is absurd. So is the fact that manufactur-ers compete against each other to pro-duce the best kind. I am disappointed to see us make a big deal over something so trivial, just because we can.

Perhaps we’ve forgotten the idea of “good enough,” especially in the area we live in, which lends itself to excess. So for household products and beyond, I consider it important to maintain a good understanding of what “need” is and to consider what things are worth inflating. This doesn’t necessarily en-tail living a Spartan lifestyle; it’s a mat-ter of not falling for the lure of extrava-gance. My hope is that people consider the areas in which they may indeed fall for this because I believe a conscious-ness of need keeps us humble.

CHRISTINAD O N G

Chief Reporter

The Coat of Arms Mission Statement

The mission of The Coat of Arms is to deliver honest, comprehensive, and accurate coverage to the Menlo School community. As a student publication we strive to present the diversity of voice, interest, and activity within the school. We will remain relevant and accessible by using multiple forms of media, offering new angles on subjects significant to the community, and encouraging dialogue and feedback.

The Coat of Arms

veloped over time. Following up the reading with a nap-inducing assem-bly and merely a single advocacy block does very little to actually ce-ment the ideas in anyone’s head. If the objective of the community read was to barely inspire a greater level of emotional insight for roughly an hour of time, it does its job admi-rably. However, I don’t think that’s what Menlo had in mind when they implemented it. It simply seems that reading an entire collection of stories for mediocre amounts of inspiration is a waste of everyone’s time.

While the lessons contained within the text itself are valu-able – and God knows the average teenage Menlo student could use the emotional wisdom that is pres-ent in the words of the community read – the fact remains that skim-ming a series of short stories is not an effective way to learn anything valuable, much less an intellectu-ally intensive conversation on hope, fear and risk. Until its purpose is revised or Menlo students suddenly become insatiable readers the com-munity read will remain a shadowy afterthought in the minds of many students.

Everyone has his or her own well-kept secret, and mine, while in-significant, is my middle name. And despite the occasional bad ultima-tum, a stolen driver’s license, and a sibling on campus, no one at Menlo has managed to pry it out of me or figure out what it is.

It isn’t that my middle name is a bad or deathly humiliating facet of me. It’s just been something I’ve kept to myself for no real particular reason other than to keep a secret. And on multiple occasions, I’ve won-dered why I pain myself in keeping my wallet always within my reach or suffered through guilt trips just to keep my 1/3 safe from my friends.

Looking at it now though, I real-ize that my middle name is some-thing of a key point for me, some-thing that has subtly defined the last 3 years of my high school life and something that I want to hold

on to forever. But I know that come June 7,

2013, I will stand in front of my entire class and all my friends at graduation and at that moment, Ms. Lapolla will call up Derrick ______ Ho to accept his diploma.

Having people know my middle name will not kill me, but it repre-sents a sort of final stand in my life in high school. After everything I’ve been through and making so much of an effort to keep it a secret, my middle name will be ousted and the meaningless adventure that I’ve gone through to keep it a secret will end and with it, high school.

It’s hard to think about what that moment and the end of high school will look like to me. College seems nice, but to be honest, it scares me. I’ve established a comfort zone at Menlo and to have that ripped away after 4 years makes me sad. Looking back,

I’ve loved every second of my

time here and while people say how much fun college is, I can’t help but want to just stay put. There have been so many people and memories that I’ve created at Menlo and re-flecting on all that from the start of freshman year is a little intimidat-ing, knowing that in 8 months, it will all come to an abrupt end.

But I guess I have to take it with a grain of salt. So the moment my middle name is announced at grad-uaton, I’ll take a bow, accept the sit-uation, and understand that high school and the adventure I’ve gone through to keep my middle name a secret will have come to an end. All my friends who have played the guessing game will be off to differ-ent places, but I know the memo-ries of Menlo and all the came with it will remain with me forever.

But it’s only been 2 weeks of school, and until then, you will con-tinue to know me only as Derrick _______ Ho.

Editor-in-Chief................................................................Brooke BullingtonArt Director and Chief Technology Officer.............................Derrick HoCreative Directors and Content Managers .............................................. ............................................................Christina Dong & Samantha HoagLayout Manager................................................................Samantha HoagChief Reporter....................................................................Christina DongCopy Editor................................................................Christina WadsworthSpread Editor.........................................................................Maya SinghalDeputy Content Managers........................................................................ ...........................................................Pooja Kathail & Elena Mendez-Leal Community Outreach Director............................................Kelsey FlowerStaff Reporters...................................................................................................................Malia Bates, Riley Burgess, Emily Crowder, Lexi Davirro, Kate Huneke, Andreas Katsis, Alexandra Ko, Laura Madeira, Wes Miller, Efe Sarinalbant, Alice Shaw, Becky Swig, Claire WilligFaculty Advisor......................................................................Carla Pugliese

By Derrick Ho

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Less is more

My deepest, darkest, most humiliating secret: To be announced

Arts And LifestyLe 7September 6, 2012

The Coat of Arms

Top 10: Things about being back at school

1. Sodexo’s Friday barbeques

2. The informational “How to Sneeze” video

3. Bus Safety Day

4. Sleep deprivation

5. Dodging Frisbees on the quad

6. That freshman girl

7. Never being able to find your backpack

8. Listening to Mr. Spence’s accent

9. Getting comfy on the gym bleachers at assem-blies

10. Being closer to summer 2013

Compiled by Riley Burgess and Kelsey Flower

Freshman Student Profile:

Dennis Manduzo

CoA: Why didn’t you wear your freshman shirt?DM: Well, I don’t know, I just wanted to be different. I thought I’d get the seniors to get to know me a little more. CoA: What’s your favorite dance move?DM: The Dougie, yup I love the Dougie. CoA: Who’s your favorite female singer?DM: Britney Spears is pretty good. CoA: Short shorts or tank top?DM: Tank top for walking around, short shorts for running. CoA: What’s something no one at Menlo knows about you?DM: Well, not a lot of people know I was born in Zimbabwe. CoA: What color of the rainbow would you die your hair?DM: Probably green, just because it’s bizarre. CoA: What senior do you admire most?DM: Heru Peacock. That guy’s a boss. [Pause] …No offense.

CoA: What girls’ sport could you dominate at the most?DM: Volleyball. I could bring my lion spirit in there. CoA: Finally, Brooke Bullington wants to know what you think of the senior class?DM: You guys are awesome. It’s really great you don’t beat me up.

Compiled by Derrick Ho and Christina Wadsworth

Hair today, gone tomorrowFiguring out who you are

and how to express yourself in high school is practically im-possible, but every bit counts. Over the summer, the Coat of Arms noticed that people have opted for a different look and decided to express themselves through their hairstyles. The desire for a transformation is one of the reasons over 15 peo-ple came back from summer break with a brand new ‘do.

There are two major ways to change your hair: cut or dye. The majority of the stu-dents went with the latter. Junior Polly Golikova, who “can’t stand stagnation,” was looking for a “drastic change.” She initially wanted to dye her hair pink, so bleaching was the first step. Since she enjoyed the beach-blonde look so much, Golikova kept it for a while be-fore deciding to add some col-or. She changed her hair from pink to blonde to purple to her current color, a faded teal, which she loves so much that she already bought another bottle. Another junior, Donya Dehnad, also wanted some-thing new, but went with a natural espresso color instead of the vibrant colors Golikova chose. Although subtle, it’s still a “nice change,” Dehnad said. Junior Maya Singhal also wanted a new look that wasn’t “too over the top” and went with a natural ombre. Singhal takes pride in “being able to express [herself],” she said, and admires people who do so through “piercings, tats, and hairstyles.” After leaving the salon, Singhal “couldn’t stop smiling” about her new hair, and she concluded that it “makes [her] feel a little more

like [herself]”.Rather than dying their

hair, a few students decided to chop off their locks to create a change for the warm summer season. One student who de-cided to take the plunge and drastically cut her hair was junior Amanda McFarland. She had “always wanted to try having a short ‘boy-cut’” but she did not “find the courage and [the perfect] stylist until recently.” McFarland said that she also finds the cut to be real-ly quick and easy, adding that it “almost always looks good.” Soccer superstar Megan Rapi-noe is her “hair-spiration,” be-cause “there is so much sass in that hair. I dream of being Megan’s hair.” McFarland also said she is “really happy with the results,” adding that, like many others who have decided to make a change, she thinks that her hair “finally accu-rately displays” who she is. Another student sporting the

super-short hairstyle is junior Sarah Samuels, who decided to get a pixie-cut. Samuels said she has always thought of getting this cut, but she had “never really gotten around to it.” Because she would be trav-elling throughout the sum-mer, she said she would “not be seeing anyone [she knew] and if [she] hated it, it would grow out some before school started.” Samuels said her family helped encourage her to get her hair cut and that she is “really happy with the results.”

In life, “the only constant is change,” Isaac Asimov, a deceased professor at Boston University, said. Many stu-dents have taken this quote to heart by creating a personal change. They feel that a new haircut or color is the perfect temporary change to make them, although cliché, a little more confident in their own skin.

You’re on stage, staring out at an audience that fills the seating when your fellow actor spontaneously shifts the audi-ence’s attention towards you. There are no lines and no script: you’re on the spot, to shift the plot of the rest of the play. You’re auditioning for the won-der of Improvalot.

Despite the lack of prior preparation, actors speak high-ly of the experience. Senior Nora Cozadd says, ”generally [we] have only [had] 1 rehearsal before the show,” which makes each performance even more exciting. Senior Tom Flippin shared a similar idea, stating

that “in the past, we’ve some-times had [just] two or three actors show up at a rehearsal but have made some of the most stunning performances” any-ways.

Auditions were more laid-back than the stereotypical cast-ing call. “The word ‘auditions’ scares a lot of people, but in Improvalot auditions are just a chance to show off what kind of emotions or characters you tru-ly excel at,” Flippin stated. Co-zadd agreed, saying “improv is nothing like a regular audition. We all just start playing improv games, laughing, and bonding.” The magic of the spontaneity of the auditions is what really al-lows students to bond with each

other and be themselves. Drama teacher Beth Orr explained that in regular auditions you just have to “read a script” which is very different than improv shows where everything comes from the actor.

Cozadd, unlike Flippin, has participated in many Menlo shows before this one. Despite the fact that she is more of a veteran, both of them have an equally fun and important role in the show, due to the non-com-petitive nature of the program. It could be the fact that, accord-ing to Cozadd, “We are a crazy fun bunch!” or that, according to Flippin, “in improv theatre, you can act as any number of arche-types” but either way, Menlo’s Improvalot program is certainly a success. Orr also commented that the audition process, “[is] used to see where students are at in their improv skills.” This is used to help students build on the skills they already have, while developing new ones. As a result of this unpredictability, all actors are in the show de-spite their skills; even though different actors are capable of different things. Orr is excited for the improv show because in these types of shows are “un-predictable and different every night,” and because “we have a whole new crop of people who are extremely talented.”

Menlo’s opening act: Improval0t

By Lexi Davirro anD CLaire WiLLig

By riLey Burgess

The Menlo drama department is taking a different approach to their annual Improv-alot this year. Instead of a tradition performance, this show will be a interactive event.

PHOTO COURTeSY IMPROvAlOT.BlOgSPOT.COM

PHOTO COURTeSY OF FACeBOOk.COM

CommittED CornEr

The Coat of Armssports september 6, 2012

Freshman Hannah Paye, along with senior Lauren Lete and sophomore Olivia Ferrando spent her summer competing for her club basketball team.

photo courtesy hannah paye

Student-athletes take advantage of summer opportunities

During the school year, Menlo’s dedicated athletes strive to take all opportu-nities available. however, there are some opportuni-ties that cannot be taken advantage of until the sum-mer months. During the summer, student-athletes perform at a more competi-tive level, travel overseas for sports training, and devote themselves to sports Menlo doesn’t offer.

Performing at a Higher Level

Freshman chris Xi, sophomores audrey Flow-er, nick Bisconti, andreas Katsis, spencer Witte and Weston avery, and juniors Johnny Wilson and John Wilson participated in the Junior olympics for water polo through stanford’s wa-ter polo club team. Flower uses stanford’s intense con-ditioning preparation for the Junior olympics to perform at a high level for the Menlo

girls water polo team during the school year. Bisconti, also a member of the stanford Water polo club, competed in the Junior olympics in order to improve his overall skills as a varsity water polo player. his team placed sec-ond in their Division at the olympics. “I really wanted to get better at water polo and I knew the best way to do that was to compete at a high level,” Bisconti said that he joined the stanford team “to get stronger and better for the school year.”

Training OverseasJunior sienna stritter

trained nonstop this sum-mer with her soccer team. the team traveled to Buenos aires, argentina in July for twelve days through the or-ganization “Futbol abroad.” the “Blitz” stayed at a train-ing facility and trained twice a day, every day. they also competed in four matches against the Women’s na-tional team of argentina,

Playing the game: A tradition in itself

this summer, senior lacrosse star ali Kim committed to Brown university. Debating between small liberal arts col-leges along the east coast, she cemented her decision to play for Brown because of both the lacrosse program and the en-thusiasm of the student body. “I like the coaching style of both coaches [at Brown], and I am honored that I will be able to compete for them in the next few years,” Kim commented. not only is she excited to take part in the athletic program, but she has also heard repeatedly that Brown has an outgo-ing student body. this, she noted, “is something that [she] really wants in a place where [she] will be spending the next four years of [her] life.”

Falling into Menlo athletics: Sports previews

two professional teams, and a college level team. “argen-tina was an excellent op-portunity for me to explore soccer in a different way,” stritter said. “I was exposed to different styles of play and coaching.”

Freshman hannah paye also competed against in-ternational sports teams. she participated in an aau league at paye’s place, and “traveled around the west coast playing teams from as far as costa rica and can-ada.” although paye didn’t travel overseas herself, she gained experience competing with international basket-ball teams.

Trying New Sportssenior Max parker par-

ticipated in a local summer rugby team called peninsula Green. originally a Menlo varsity tri-athlete, parker expanded his previous skills in football, soccer, and track in order to compete in sum-mer rugby. he explained, “[sports] have always been what has made summer so special for all of [his] life.” adding another sport to try out and compete in was natural for the athletically gifted parker.

no matter the time of year, you can always count on Menlo athletes to take ad-vantage of the most exciting opportunities offered to them, especially in areas they love. From competing in Junior olympics to starting a whole new sport, Menlo’s dedi-cated student-athletes truly made the most of the pre-cious three summer months.

This article is the first in a series about traditions in sports at Menlo; this install-ment explores Menlo coach-es’ perspectives on tradition.

traditions are an inte-gral part of life at Menlo, yet everyone on campus defines the word “tradition” in different ways. some people define it as tangible routines that are repeated on a regular basis, while others identify more with the emotion and mental state that stem from these routines. regardless of the various ways tradition can be described, it is clear that sports at Menlo em-body traditions more than almost anywhere else on campus. While many may assume that these tradi-tions are mostly tangible cheers or special warm-up routines, Menlo coaches ac-tually identify the majority of traditions on their teams as spiritual. While each team does have more typi-cal traditions such as girls’ tennis’ pumpkin carving at halloween and the baseball team’s yearly trip to Las Vegas over spring break, coaches emphasized that working hard and bond-ing as a team is a tradition within itself.

according to boys’ base-ball coach craig schoof, the number one tradition in baseball is “how they play the game.” year after year, schoof said, the team al-ways gives 100 percent and

takes pride in everything that they do. one tradition that embodies these ideas especially is always “giving a hard 90,” or sprinting the 90 feet to first base after batting whether the play is good or not. the team also focuses on traditions involv-ing team unity, such as tak-ing a long, confined bus ride to Las Vegas instead of a short plane flight, and hav-ing upperclassmen mentor the younger players. Girls’ tennis coach Bill shine’s ideas of tradition closely followed schoof’s. While he says that one big tradition is performing well, the way that the team gets there is always by working hard and having fun. “Being able to play for something other than yourself is in-credibly important for indi-vidual sports,” shine said. he adds that team bonding builds the type of communi-ty that supports others and works well together. one tradition that shine thinks helps immensely with bond-ing are the team’s trips to Fresno and Dana point for tournaments, as they bond the girls both on and off the court. although both schoof and shine have coached for over a decade, they think that changes in traditions are necessary and healthy, and both welcome the idea of changing traditions and ideas with changing gen-erations of athletes.

While the swim team differs from tennis and baseball in that it doesn’t have the same long-stand-

ing traditions that come from having the same coach for many years, the ideas that they found themselves on are very similar. swim coach carla pugliese states that while the swim team “always seems to be devel-oping new traditions,” the one common factor that holds them together every year is the way they are all “hyper, weird, and goofy.” pugliese believes that the swim team does not have traditions because the pur-pose of tradition is to “cre-ate a sense of team, and thus must be created by the swimmers themselves.” she also agrees that traditions should not be set in stone and must change with the passing of time. “teams need to create their own traditions, even if they last only three to four years,” pugliese said. If a current team does not feel like they own a tradition, it will “feel foreign to them,” and not serve its purpose of hyp-ing up the team and bring-ing the players together. therefore, traditions will naturally weed themselves out over time if they are not popular, and will never have to be forcibly cut from a team’s routine.

overall, Menlo coaches seemed a lot more inter-ested in how traditions benefited their team men-tally and emotionally than with the actual traditions themselves. even within longstanding successful sports teams who have been doing things the same way for years on end, these routines have only stayed the same because of the positive effects that they have on players. this belief should take pressure off of athletes who feel like their team’s traditions no longer serve their purpose but are scared to ask for change. It should also empower ath-letes to feel like they are capable of creating new tra-ditions that haven’t been around for twenty years, as long as they increase the spirit level and bonding within the team.

senior Drew edelman has committed to the university of southern california for basketball. she was primarily debat-ing between DI schools and finally made her decision based on the great academics and athletics that usc has to offer. “It will be a fun experience to be surrounded by [so] many athletes,” edelman stated. she noted the school spirit at usc as something she is interested in being involved in as well. Drew did not want to sacrifice academics for athletics or vice versa, so usc was an ideal choice. It will be able to offer many different opportunities on and off the court.

-Compiled by Alexandra Ko

Ali Kim- lAcrosse

Drew eDelmAn- BAsKetBAll

Brown Universtiy

University of Southern California

Boys Water Polo:Last year, the boys wa-

ter polo team was knocked out of CCS in the semifinals for only the second time in 15 years. this year, the Knights look to come back strong with the help of a re-freshed team. after losing a total of 8 seniors, the team welcomes in 8 new varsity players and including 6 un-derclassmen. “the younger guys are still learning a lot about our team system, but they’ve shown that they can play at a varsity level,” senior co-captain cameron Walker said. Furthermore after training together all summer, including a train-ing trip to coronado and state championships in or-ange county, the team said its largest advantage has been its unity. “We’ve built our team with a lot of trust and I think it shows,” said senior co-captain alexander carlisle. the team plays their first home game this saturday against soquel.

Cross Country:Looking towards the

Menlo cross country season, the team looks especially strong compared to previ-ous years. after last year’s impressive season however, the Knights are looking to improve even more and work hard to achieve their goals. “[We] have got one of the strongest teams ever, on both varsity and JV levels; competition for the varsity spots this year was intense” senior andrew schmitt said. The team has it’s first meet saturday september 8.

Football:after a dominant open-

ing game against santa cruz in which the Menlo school football team won 66-14, the Knights have high ambitions for the rest of the season. the team’s fo-cus so far has been to main-tain steady improvement throughout the season and hopefully be ready for ccs. and although maintaining a strong core from last season, the team still lacks depth. “We don’t have very much depth because we only have 32 players on the rooster. so our lack of numbers is definitely a weakness,” se-nior connor stastny said. the Knights play their next game on saturday, sept. 8 at Mission sF.

Girls Golf:the Menlo school girls

golf team is prepares for another season and has high hopes to send as many players to ccs as possible. With strong returning veter-ans such as Virgina Girard and caroline Broderick, the team has reason to set their goals high. the team plays their first match against harker on sept. 17 at Los Lagos.

Girls Tennis:after a league cham-

pionship and a solid ccs performance last season, the girls tennis team is look-ing to defy expectations and progress farther in ccs playoffs this year. the team is focusing on strengthening their doubles play, which will hopefully give them the skill set they need to make it to the CCS finals. So far, the team is 1-0 on the sea-

son, with a shutout against Burlingame. the team is looking to this weekend, when they will team travel to Fresno for the california high school tennis clas-sic featuring the top teams in the state and tough local competition.

Girls Water Polo:after the hire of head

coach Fana Fuqua, the Menlo girls water polo team saw improvement last sea-son but hopes to use this season to cement an even stronger dominance in their league. Led by senior cap-tains Lindsay Montgomery, alyssa Meyer, and Kaelen Dunn, the team feels that this year is unique from pre-vious years’ mostly due to their unity in and out of the pool. “the girls on the team this year have more chemis-try than I’ve ever seen out of all the years I’ve played water polo at Menlo,” Mont-gomery said. “We’re working really hard together on get-ting stronger, both physi-cally and mentally.”

Volleyball:the Menlo school Vol-

leyball team looks towards this coming season with op-timism after losing only one senior. With a lot of players with varsity experience, the knights are prepared for any challenge opponents throw at them. “ I think our goal for the team this sea-son boils down to just be-ing our absolute best. We’ve got a lot of great players on the team who have another whole year of experience un-der their belt which, I think, should be a big strength of ours.”

By Sam Hoag and Derrick Ho

By Kelsey Flower

By BecKy swig

The girls tennis team, along with many other teams, embraces tradition as an important source of team bonding.

photo courtesy paM McKenney

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