Vol. 7, Issue 1 739 Academy Lane, Newport News, VA 23602 November 2009

HRA updates lab, band room

Vending machinespose challenges

Page 2

OPINION

New students arriveat HRAPage 3

NEWS

Patel promoted aspigskin prognosticator

Page 4

SPORTS

HRA grades go onlinewith Edline

Page 5

FEATURES

New teachers assets to HRA community

By Morgan BlalockThe renovated Col. David

W. Dick Biology Lab replaced the 30-year-old, severely out-dated lab at Hampton Roads Academy over the summer.

Mrs. Wendy D. Drucker (’76) and other alumni began the process in June and was of-ficially completed on Sept. 28. Alumni started raising money in March and raised $80,000 for the lab. It is named in honor of Col. Dick, a memorable and re-spected biology teacher at HRA from 1963-80. According to the HRA Web site, Dick “taught biology and so much more to students” and was considered by many a renaissance man.

Some of the most notable improvements include a new ventilation system, new electric and plumbing routes for safety measures and cabinetry.

The new laboratory gives

the school a facility where not only Advanced Placement and biology students, but also mid-dle school classes, can conduct sophisticated experiments.

Also new and noteworthy is the band room’s studio system, an elaborate and top-of-the-line recording area. Mr. Brown, HRA music director, plans on using the studio for recording students’ progress outside of class time, in order to get more done per period and still check in on the students.

The building process in-

volved a new wall to decrease sound vibrations and was in-stalled by several of the faculty and staff; equipment was select-ed by Mr. Brown.

The purchases began at the end of last school year and were completed by September.

Mr. Brown says that now was a great time to upgrade the facility because he is acclimated to the class schedule and, as an assessment-driven teacher, he needs to use periods for instruc-tion.

By Joe MontgomeryAs we all know, having new

faces around school is always exciting. Teachers are no excep-tion.

The Hampton Roads Acad-emy community enjoys meeting - and learning about - new edu-cators who come to the school. Ms. Abby Barker and Ms. Eliza-beth Yohn are two of the newest additions to the community.

Ms. Barker, a new Spanish

teacher, is from Brunswick, Maine. She recently came to HRA from a small boarding school in Pomfret, Conn., where she taught for five years. She attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts. This will be her sixth year teaching Spanish. We are excited to welcome Ms. Barker to the HRA community.

Ms. Yohn, the new govern-ment teacher, is from Newport News. She graduated from the

International Baccalaureate pro-gram at Warwick High School and attended The College of William and Mary to earn a de-gree in government and history. She currently teaches Advanced Placement and regular govern-ment courses.

Next semester, Ms. Yohn is offering a new elective on immi-gration, nationalism and mul-ticulturalism. The elective will touch on diverse subject matter,

Photo by Morgan Blalock

The recently renovated Col. David W. Dick Biology Lab replaced the 30-year-old, severely outdated lab at Hampton Roads Academy over the summer.

Lab named in honor of Col. Dick, a memorable and respected biology HRA faculty from 1963-80.

Summer fire does damage

including terrorists in the Mid-dle East and Muslims in China, to North Africans in France and Hispanics in the United States.

By Jonathan Underwood and Joseph Montgomery

No one was injured in a July fire that caused minor damage to the roof of the Hampton Roads Academy Multi-Purpose Room.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. The fire was spotted in early morning around 6:30 by HRA history teacher Mr. Alford and maintenance work-er Lonnie Smith, who were here in early to get a head start on their last day of roof repairs. The work had been going on for about two weeks prior to the incident. The room is used for lunch period and after-school programs.

They had just exited the MPR after clocking in and caught a whiff of a strong burning smell. As they were looking around to find its source, they spotted flames shooting out right below the top of the roof, almost directly above their heads. They

See FIRE on p. 7

Feeding 2,000HRA will once again

hold a canned food and turkey drive Nov. 9-20 to benefit the Feeding of 2,000 Thanksgiv-ing Harvest and Community Celebration Nov. 21.

Information: MGendr@hra.org.

Vol. 7, Issue 1opinion2

By Joel KauderThe current electronic poli-

cies enforced at Hampton Roads Academy are quite straightfor-ward: All cell phones, iPods and other electronics are to be turned off and out of sight when classes are in session.

Cell phones may be used outside of school when class is not in session, or inside with permission from a teacher. But that is only if it’s an emergency or another urgent situation. iPods are also permitted with a teacher’s permission.

In any other situation, electronics are not permitted during the school day. Electron-ics policies at HRA are some-times ridiculous. Students get in trouble for checking the time on their cell phones because they don’t have a watch or cannot see a clock; that just seems com-pletely unnecessary.

By Vince LenoachWho could forget last

year’s dull selection of food coming out of the Hampton Roads Academy vending ma-chines? It is safe to assume that the previous year’s attempt to sell healthier food was not pay-ing off.

This year the candy selec-tion has grown substantially, while still leaving many healthy choices on the menu. Taking a trip to the vending machines in the lunch room, one will fi nd a wide selection of snacks that will not disappoint: Cheez-its, Potato Chips, Baked Doritos, Chex Mix, Hot Fries, Welch’s Fruit Snacks, White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn, Pretzel Thins, Twizzlers, Snickers, Nature Valley Oats N Honey, Chewy Bars, Planters Peanuts, Special K Bars, 3 Musketeers, Starburst Gummi Bursts, Rice Krispy Treats, Poptarts, Combos, Zoo Animal Crackers, Sun Chips, Snackwell Cookies, Cheese Curls and a variety of cheese and peanut butter crackers, among some other snacks. With this diverse selection of good-ies, anyone in the mood for a snack will surely fi nd something to satisfy his or her taste. That being said, the next step is to decide if it is worth it.

There are two prices in the HRA vending machines: 75 cents and $1. Crackers, nuts, and some chips go for 75 cents,

New electronics policy at HRA rankles some

Vending machines pose threat to wallets, waists

Photo courtesy of Sean Dreilinger (Flickr.com)

Plenty of students would agree that it also is unreason-able that some teachers take cell phones for the rest of the day, rather than just that class. It’s understandable why we have these policies for electronics but the policies seem somewhat over-the-top at times. It doesn’t make much sense to take away someone’s iPod when it isn’t a huge issue. Why shouldn’t a student be allowed to listen to his or her iPod during break or study hall? It does not cause any problems for anyone.

People have been asked to put their iPods away in those situations; but then again not every teacher will do that. The electronic policies at HRA are very clearly defi ned, and conse-quences should be decided on a case-by-case basis.

while the “good stuff” goes for a buck. A dollar might not sound like much (even with the state of our nation’s economy), but considering some students visit the candy machine every day, a dollar adds up to a lot. ChaCha, a mobile device ques-tion-answering service, rates the average price of a candy bar between 65-89 cents (a median of 77 cents). Suppose a stu-dent and ChaCha each bought a candy bar every day for a whole year. That student would spend roughly $365 at HRA, while ChaCha would have only spent about $281. This means ChaCha saved $84 that year by buying reasonably priced candy bars. In this situation, paying a dollar for a candy bar sounds ridiculous.

Considering these fairly ab-surd prices, students might opt to purchase their snacks else-where, not buy snacks at all or just accept the high prices and get their snacks from HRA.

Editors: Allison Mui, Alexander Zuchowicz

News Editor: Morgan BlalockSports Editors:

Kevin King, Daven PatelFeatures Editors:

Brandon Gdovic, Vincent Le Noach, Jonathan Underwood

Opinion Editor: Joseph Montgomery

ReportersNick Livingstone, erik spatz

Contributors: Samuel Brody-Boyd, Kim Jurczyk

Advisor: Mr. Lidington

The CompassStaff

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Maiman (Flickr.com)

November 2009

Did you know?A student would spend

roughly $365 per year at HRA on snack machine food.

Outside the school, the same student would spend $281, a savings of $84.

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009news 3

By Charlie SpencerIt’s that time of year again

when we head back to school. Which means there are a few new faces that you may see passing in the hallways. The Hampton Roads Academy upper school welcomed 31 new students this year. Most new students come from local schools: Gildersleeve, Peninsula Catholic, Walsingham, Nanse-mond-Suffolk Academy, and Stonebridge, but others have come from Maryland, Ohio and even Utah.

These new students have been adjusting to the new routine of a new school. They like the smaller classes and ac-commodating teachers. Me-lissa Flowe, freshman, used to attended a school with 2,000 students and likes how HRA is much smaller and personal. One big thing that they like is that the students are accept-ing and friendly. Emily-Anne Rigal, a sophomore, says “My favorite thing about HRA is being able to meet so many new people. I love all my new friends!” And of course the extra breaks and dances are always a plus.

The main difference from the other schools they have attended are the challenging classes. Courtney MacMasters, a freshman, has noticed that the classes are harder than the other schools she has attended but she knows that with the challenging courses that she will be better-prepared for the next steps in her life.

The freshmen have 16 new students in their class. The

new students are: Ward Cherry, Constantine “Dean” Chioros, Melissa Flowe, J.P. Gaffney, You Na Ha, Kevin Huang, Paul LaPointe, Anh Le, Courtney MacMasters, Danni Pacheco, Anand Patel, Will Powers, David Scheiderer, Lucy Smith, Sean Smith and Tylee Smith. The class of 2012 welcomed six new students: Traneisha Chisley, William Griffi n, Bree Kitchens, Ngoc Le, Emily-Anne Rigal and Marissa Wheeler. The class of 2011 has seven new students: Mark Divenuti, Eva Erb, Bo Mi Kim, Kerry Mc-Gee, AJ Sibley, Chuxi Sun and Caitlyn Unsworth. And fi nally the seniors, The Class of 2010, brought in a whopping two new students: Emmy Fraenk and Minkyu Park.

Park said, “I like this school because I can play Xbox during study hall,” although that is no longer allowed.

New students bring fresh insights to HRA

Second-graderPaneeta Wojcik came dressed asDorothy from “The Wizard of Oz”

Chisley, William Griffi n, Bree Kitchens, Ngoc Le, Emily-Anne

The class of 2011 has seven new

Gee, AJ Sibley, Chuxi Sun and Caitlyn Unsworth. And fi nally the seniors, The Class of 2010, brought in a whopping two new

LOWER-SCHOOL HALLOWEEN PARADE BRING CHILLS TO HRA

HALLS

Park said, “I like this school because I can play Xbox during study hall,” although that is no longer allowed.

school because I can play Xbox

Cameron Barlow, top left, and Kait-lyn Miller donned their Halloween fi nest. Connor Wor-thington, bottom left, and Alex Rous use The Force to collect candy.

First-grader AlexaBarlow appeared to be wearing her lunch with her inventive spaghetti costume.

Photo by Winston DavisSenior Minkyu Park is one of two new students in the HRA Class of 2010.

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009sports4

By Daven PatelWhile thinking about who

this year’s Super Bowl winner is going to be, I was reminded of the countless events that oc-curred last season that no one saw coming. Not many people saw the dreadful Dolphins and Falcons fi nishing 11-5 after coming of terrible losing sea-sons. Nobody saw the Cardinals as a Super Bowl team who until last year, only had one playoff victory in a span of 60 seasons. Also the high hopes of the teams from two years ago that were on the rise all fell, those teams included Green Bay, Jacksonville, and Cleve-land. Remember those events in your mind as I start to make my predictions. I’ll be offering the teams that I believe that will win the division and also the outcome of the playoffs. Let the unpredictable predictions begin.

AFC EastDo you guys remember

what happened the last time Tom Brady was healthy with a dynamic core of receivers? Oh yeah, they went to the Super Bowl. With the return of Brady, expect this team to be a playoff

lock. Although Brady missed last season due to injury, The Patriots still managed to fi nish 11-5. Now with a healthy Brady and some more new offensive talent, such as Fred Taylor and Joey Galloway, expect this team to return to its explosive form on offense.

AFC NorthIt is hard to pick against

the defending champs but with a young talented team like Baltimore, I am going to take my chances. Baltimore, typi-cally known for their defense has begun to develop an of-fense with young talent like Joe Flacco and Ray Rice. They made a deep run in the playoffs last year but in the end they fell to Pittsburgh. Although they did go 0-3 against Pittsburgh, the margin of victory for the Steel-ers was small.

AFC SouthUnlike last year, Peyton

Manning has a full preseason in the books this year so a slump start seems unlikely. Although there is talent in this division with teams like the titans and jaguars, I expect the Colts to

By Kevin KingMany starters and leaders

left the Hampton Roads Acad-emy varsity basketball this year, leaving room for new leaders to step up.

In fact, more than half the team has left or graduated. The starting team this year will be very different in depth than last year. The people who left had almost all of the stats last year. The experience that these play-ers had could potentially leave a huge hole in the upcoming season.

Jeffrey Wallace and Corey Cooper both transferred to Woodside High School. Corey Kibwe, Tre Richardson now plays at Walsingham. Keith Hornsby is now playing at the high school basketball power-house Oak Hill High School. Ted Wang and Corey Kibwe

both graduated. All in all, a substantial amount of talent left HRA basketball , leaving uncer-tainty for the upcoming season.

Despite all the uncertainty, many young players are playing this year. Returning leaders such as senior Ozan Kilinchan and various other juniors hope to lead this young team. Accord-ing to Eric Jackson, an experi-enced junior player, the team has been preparing very hard for their season. “Most of the players have been playing a lot in the preseason. We have been having open gyms. I cannot wait for practice to start,” Jackson said. He added that even though the team is young, that they should be able to pull together and have a successful team.

HRA’s foreign exchange program has been very suc-cessful in the past few years in

get off to a hot start like they typically do and wrap this divi-sion up this quickly.

AFC WestWith a weak division, the

chargers should have no prob-lem claiming the title yet again. With a dynamic offense full of weapons suck as Philip Rivers, Ladainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, and Chris Chambers, the chargers should score in bunches. Also with the return of Shawn Merriman, the chargers defense should return back to its dominate form of 2007.

NFC SouthBeing a competitive divi-

sion, this title is no “gimme”. The Atlanta Falcons looked good last year and now that they added another dynamic weapon with Tony Gonzalez they should be better if their run game holds up like last year.

However with the high powered offense of the New Orleans Saints and along with some defensive acquisitions this team looks sharp. Dree brees was unbelievable last year but expect him to be better. Yes, I said better.

NFC EastThis is probably the toughest

division in all of football. With no one fi nishing with a losing record, the competition was very high. That being said, the Phila-delphia Eagles have made much improvement. Not to mention they did go deep in the playoffs last year with a young defense and a talented offense. With another year of experience and a offense with more talent, the eagles look like a sure contender for the title.

NFC WestThis is yet another weak di-

vision. The cardinals don’t have much competition and with Kurt Warner looking good at an old age, this team should do well again.

NFC NorthThis division got much more

interesting with the addition of Brett Farve to the Vikings. Orig-inally I would have went with the Packers but with Farve and Peterson, it is hard to overlook them. Also the Vikings do have a very talented defense lead by Jared Allen.

See my predictions below.

bringing talent to the basketball team. This year, Kilinchan, a native of the United Kingdom, returns to the team. Also, Kevin

Prognosticator picks pigskin pro’s

HRA hoops rebuilds,reloads for new season

Huang, a six-foot-nine-inch-tall foreign exchange student from

See HOOPS on p. 5

Hoops, Cont’d from p. 4China, hopes to help the team. In previous years players such as Ted Wang, who was six-foot-11, were important aspects to the team.

HRA basketball starts with a relatively fresh slate this year, due to students who graduated or left. Younger players and foreign exchange students will have to help make the team successful. Also senior and junior lead-ers will have to step up and take charge this year. HRA’s

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009features 5

By Allison MuiEdline, the online service at

Hampton Roads Academy, pro-vides relief for some and stress for others. For now, it allows teachers to post their homework assignments on the web and to view their students’ progress reports.

The Edline Website says it helps “schools improve student performance by harnessing the power of parental involvement,

By Erik SpatzAs the 2009-10 school year

contiunes, it is the beginning of the 50th anniversary of Hampton Roads Academy. The celebra-tion brought and will continue to bring a wide array of events to the school.

Students and staff already have experienced the wondrous snow cones and chilling ice cream at the beginning of the year. The blue snow cones were a nod to the school colors. The cones, along with the accompa-nying ice cream, were a nod to 1959, the school’s fi rst year of existence. School spirit anyone?

Also, the school’s annual Fall Festival was on Sept. 26, which, as always, drew a spec-tacular turnout.

The hallmark event, thus far, was the taking of the anniver-sary picture. Students, faculty and staff gathered on the football fi eld while a photographer and Mrs. Lassiter, a math teacher who plotted out the number on the ground below, were lifted via a crane to capture the moment on fi lm. The fi nal picture, seen below, captured the moment in spectacular fashion.

Now, despite what many may think, this is far from the end of the celebration. Mrs. Smith of the development offi ce said there are still major events yet to come.

For example, the annual Founder’s Day is on April 21, 2010. Also, the 50th Anniver-sary Gala and Reunion is taking place on March 20, accompanied

HRA grades go online with Edline

by an event titled “Spotlight on Alumni Awards.” Organizers are hoping to bring together at least one alumnus from each decade of the school’s existence. The coming together of so many generations is a momentous event for the whole community and sure to inspire.

Finally, the 2010 senior class will have the privilege of gradu-ating on the 50th anniversary year of the school on May 22, and by no means is this con-sidered a small honor. Seniors cannot wait to graduate and start a whole new chapter of their lives, as shown at the pep rally. Being the 50th anniversary of HRA, school spirit is expected to be high.

Staff Research by Jonathan Underwood

HRA plans golden yearto celebrate anniversary

Upcoming 50th-Anniversary Events

Founder’s Day April 21

Gala & Reunion March 20

Graduation May 22

supporting teachers, and engag-ing the learning community.” However, there is a mix of opinions at HRA: Some praise the new Edline, while others criticize it.

Mr. Van Orden, HRA’s registrar, described Edline as “a software program that we think will enhance communication between teachers, students and parents.” He added, “It should be especially useful for students who are absent. Parents are able to keep up with what is going on in classes on a day-to-day basis.”

Students can easily access the teachers’ pages for their classes via Edline. In addition, individually updated progress reports enable parents to view their students’ grades. Mr. Van Orden said, “It looks as if we will try to send school-wide progress reports every three weeks or so, depending on when the quarters begin and end.”

Mrs. Burnett, upper school administrative assistant and

parent of two students at HRA, praised Edline, exclaiming, “I love it!” She added that it gives her “easy access to missing work and grades.”

However, having such ac-cess also leads to anxiety and tension in some parents who are concerned about grades. Mrs. Rinderer, parent and the col-lege counseling administrative assistant, said, “Even without meaning to, I stress my kids out

by over-reacting to the Edline progress reports.” She contin-ues, “I don’t think I’m alone. I have heard teachers say they are getting more calls from par-ents.”

Most HRA students argue that Edline is creating more stress. Charlie Spencer, a senior, stated, “I hate Edline.” He also added that because of the early progress reports in the marking period, one bad grade will cause the average to fall greatly, caus-ing more stress and pressure.

On the other hand, Brad Forrest, also a senior, said, “Sure,” when asked whether or not he likes Edline. He also added, “It hasn’t given me any problems yet…” In the past, averages could not be as easily accessed, or teachers did not regularly inform students of their grades. In fact, Mrs. Dee-ley, a science teacher at HRA, stated, “Parents and students do deserve to know what their grades are as rapidly as possible with respect to the various other things that teachers do. Edline allows parents and students the opportunity to track their prog-ress more routinely and that is a strong outcome of using Edline.”

basketball team has to defi ne itself in order to be successful this year.

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009FEATURES6

By Samuel Brody-BoydAs fall begins, video game

fans might be left wondering what the future has in store for our beloved consoles.

This summer was so full of good games that it certainly must be intimidating for any game manufacturers releas-ing something this fall. But the march of money must continue and one game coming out this fall that satisfies gaming com-panies' desire for high-selling sequels is "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.”

The game pits favorite Marvel comic book heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, etc., against hordes of enemies, using their powers to cause massive destruction along the way. Sounds fun, right? Well it is, but there are a few snags along the way.

If one wants a game to show off what their Xbox 360 and PS3 can do, this is the one. Hundreds of enemies can be onscreen all at once, all while your team of four characters is running around, firing off powers and doing damage, all without a hint of slowdown. The frame rate never drops, and the game runs smoothly. There are surprisingly few glitches, con-

sidering how much is going on. However, some animations are devastatingly stale, considering how dynamic a game this is.

The sound is, unfortunately, the game's weakest spot. Heroes have a limited amount of things to say, and they repeat them-selves often. Even worse, all the enemies sound the same, and usually say generic things that make the player want to take them out faster. Bad guys shout things such as "Get them" and "You're mine!" Dialogue makes one consider hitting the "Off" button.

With regard to story, the game is decent; but if someone comes to this game in search of something on par with Dickens or Twain, they have bought the wrong game. The storyline is there only to keep the action coming.

The heroes of the game are thinly drawn and act pre-dictably. However, hilarious characters like the little-known Deadpool and the well-known Wolverine somewhat redeem the others.

"Ultimate Alliance 2" is far from being a masterpiece. It's a solid sequel. Players buying in with lowered expectations will have a blast. It makes for

engaging single- and multi-player experiences, and while it isn't worth its current price tag

Marvel superheroes keep new game interesting ... for a while

By Nick LivingstoneAs I’m sure you’re aware,

we have a few great concert venues around us, namely The National in Richmond and The Norva in Norfolk. And this fall, we have several good shows coming our way.

Hampton Roads a hotbed for small-venue concerts

of $60, wait a few months for a price drop.

At The National, local pop/punk/happy hardcore band The Battle of Me will play on Nov. 10. Also, Brand New and Thrice play the same day, while super-group The Monsters of Folk play the same day at the The Land-mark Theatre, also in Richmond.

Trevor Hall and Matisyahu are on Nov. 18, Switchfoot Dec. 5. Dashboard Confessional and New Found Glory wrap up this season on Dec. 16.

At The Norva, many of the same shows are featured. Mutemath is Nov. 10, Taking Back Sunday and All American Rejects on Nov. 18; Underoath, August Burn Red and Emery on Nov. 30. Saosin will play Dec. 5 and The Devil Wears Prada and All That Remains wrap up The Norva for the year on Dec. 20.

However, additional shows are constantly being scheduled, so make sure to check thenorva.com and thenationalva.com for schedules.

Photo courtesy of Alex Gaskarth (Flickr.com)

Small venues like Norfolk’s The Norva attract many popular concerts.

By Winston DavisThroughout the years at

Hampton Roads Academy, the seniors always had a place they called their own, a place where they could can go to relax, eat and study.

This place used to be in the middle school hallway; now it’s integrated into the high school halls, allowing easier access to senior classes and a larger room to boot.

The old senior lounge con-sisted of a dark room with three couches and two old computers. Since the seniors were allowed to eat in the lounge, food accu-mulated over time on the floor and in the walls, making it stink of mold. This caused concern for the students’ health; so a new lounge was put into play.

Today, the seniors have a classroom which, with three couches, tables and bar stools, five computers and comfortable chairs, is a studying mecca.

Senior Brad Forrest said, “It gives us so much more room to do activities.”

Since the lounge is comfort-able and open there are not foul smells and food under the rugs or in the walls.

During study hall and lunch, the seniors enjoy spending time eating and studying together bringing them closer as a com-munity.

Another senior Cole Brund-age said, “The senior lounge presents students a distinguished vicinity to socialize with their acquaintances during their min-ute amount of free time.”

Seniors positiveabout new study area

Photo courtesy of Marvel Comics

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009features 7

‘Hangover’ hilarious fi lm fun; coming to DVD Dec. 15By Joel Kauder

The summer of 2009 gave birth to many exceptionally entertaining movies, includ-ing “Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen,” “Bruno,” “G.I. Joe,” “Star Trek,” “Termina-tor Salvation” and many more. However, one of these summer movies in particular was given a little more attention than oth-ers: “The Hangover,” directed by Todd Phillips, which will be released on DVD Dec. 15.

It all starts with a crazy Las Vegas bachelor party that quick-ly turns into a disaster. Three hung-over groomsmen wake up in their hotel suite after a crazy night in Las Vegas to fi nd that the groom has gone missing, and they must get him to the altar for his wedding before it’s too late. In just 48 hours, Doug is expected to walk down the aisle. Doug’s best friends saw this as the last chance to throw an unforgettable bachelor bash in Vegas, so they decide they’re

going all out. The morning after, the

groomsmen wake up in their Caesar’s Palace suite to fi nd a tiger in the bathroom and a baby sitting in the closet. Doug is nowhere to be found and the groomsmen have no recol-lection of what happened the previous night. So with little time to spare, the three grooms-men set out to fi nd Doug before it is too late.

This side-splitting com-edy left people laughing hys-terically and wondering what outrageous thing would happen next. There truly was never a dull moment. This movie had such an immense amount of the most ridiculous, completely un-realistic things happening all at once; yet that is what made the fi lm so unique and hilarious. These three hung-over men found themselves waking up with a tiger in their bathroom, a baby in their closet, a dozen wine bottles set up like bowling

pins, a chicken, a missing best friend and groom, a missing tooth, and a completely trashed

Caesar’s Palace suite. When they ask a valet to retrieve the car in which they drove to Ve-gas, they fi nd themselves with a police car. In other words, it’s a nightmare when waking up in a Las Vegas hotel room.

“The Hangover” is fi lled with outrageously funny scenes and people. The only negative feedback I could give about the movie is how unrealistic some of the events and situa-tions were but that is just mainly what makes the fi lm so hilari-ous. Bradley Cooper (Phil), Ed Helms (Stu), Zach Galifi anakis (Alan) and Justin Bartha (Doug) did a phenomenal job of keeping people laughing and amused. “The Hangover” does happen to be rated R, but it is one of those movies that you must see if you are of the appropriate age.

Hot music picks of 2009 from these three great bands

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.

By Nick LivingstoneA look at some notable CDs

on the shelves at local stores:

Ursa Major, Third Eye BlindOkay, so if you don’t have

this album yet, I just have to ask: Do you live in a cave? Were you alive between 1997 and 2003? Yes? Then why don’t you have this album? The lat-est album by Third Eye Blind fi nds the band’s more political side, with Stephan Jenkins also

taking a more acoustic-leaning step in songwriting. Highlights “Sharp Knife,” “Can You Take Me,” “Bonfi re,” and my per-sonal favorite, “Don’t Believe A Word.”

Daisy, Brand NewBrand New, a band with

major affi liations, in the ear-lier stages of their career, were extraordinarily tight with Emo poster boys Taking Back Sunday. But personal issues

forced that aside. They now predominately tour with Thrice. Their latest album fi nds them being majorly experimental, mixing alternative with folk, indie, and sometimes hardcore. The highlights from album in-clude “Gasoline,” “Daisy” and “Sink.”

Beggars, ThriceFrom metal to alternative

to folk to techno, these guys have really stretched them-

selves. Their latest album fi nds them working the genre of blues-based groove rock. “The Weight,” my favorite song off of the album, has a catchy riff and powerful chorus. Instead of fading into the background like their peers, Thrice have man-aged to stay relevant through the years by constantly redefi ning themselves, unlike most of their alt-rock fellows.

Photo courtesy of HRAHRA was the site of a mid-summer fi re that damaged part of the school building.

FIRE, cont’d from p. 1

hastily called 911. The local fi re department responded very quickly, and began to extinguish the fi re.

In extinguishing the fi re, they had to tear some of the roof pieces from their place and throw them over the side. Un-fortunately, this damaged some of the work that had already been fi nished. Most of the other workers came in to work around 8 a.m. to fi nd the fi re depart-ment in the midst of packing their equipment. The fi re depart-ment was gone by 9 a.m.

There was evidence that the fi re was in the ceiling, below

the top level of the roof, but not inside the MPR.

As the water was sprayed on the roof, some of it leaked down through the insulation and through the ceiling. This caused water damage to go along with smoke damage to materials inside the MPR, but the damage was cleaned by a fi re damage repair company and assessed by an insurance company that afternoon. The roof was also repaired by a contractor. The de-bris was cleaned up by the end of the day and the repair work also happened very quickly.

Other reviews of “The Hangover”

“The funniest movie so far this year.” - The Denver Post

“This is a bromance so primitive it’s practically Bro-Magnon.” - Time

Source: Rottentomatoes.com

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009features8

By Brandon GdovicThis year, seniors ask, “Why

can’t we come in late if we have study hall fi rst?”

In the past seniors have been allowed to come in to school late if they had study hall fi rst, but that was changed this year.

Over the past several years, seniors were allowed to leave school early and come in late in the mornings. Recently though, there were a few complications with seniors having both of these privileges. At times faculty

would be trying to locate one of the seniors and would not be able to fi nd them because they had forgotten to sign in or out.

Locating the senior in question started to become too complicated so this year, seniors are only allowed to leave school early.

This year, seniors were given the choice to either leave school early if they have study hall last or come in late if they have study hall fi rst. A majority chose to leave early rather than come in late. In my opinion, I consider our decision to leave early to be better than coming in late.

By Alexander ZuchowiczOne hundred and eighty-six

different vehicles fi lled the HRA parking lot Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Of these cars, 105 of them were manufactured by Toyota, Honda, Ford or Chevrolet. With more than 30 different manufac-turers represented, perhaps there is no coincidence that 56 percent of all cars were made by the four companies listed above. The economic crisis is still recent and the cars within the park-ing lot tended to appear several years old, so perhaps cost is not the sole deciding factor why the majority of the cars were repre-sented by only four companies. The simple explanation for this can be summed up by one word: reliability. It is proven that a product with better representa-tion and performance tends to outsell other competitors. So what is it that leads people to choose these four companies over the others?

Toyotas are renowned for their superior durability and quality performance, which al-lows these vehicles to remain within a family for generations. Honda has the same traits, and because both manufacturers are foreign, this allows the vehicle to be purchased at less cost. So the buyer can expect qual-ity for a lower price. Sounds like a bargain, right? American manufacturers Ford and Chev-rolet are both known for those same reasons, but the cash stays within our country. It is an ongoing argument that Ford is a better manufacturer than Chev-rolet and vice versa, but what supporters don’t like to admit is that both are quality companies and the differences lie in vehicle appearance, more so than ve-

Make # in HRA parking lot as of Sept. 29, 2009

Toyota 35Honda 31Ford 24Chevrolet 15Jeep 9Chrysler 6Volvo 6Dodge 5Mercury 5Volkswagon 5Lexus 4Mercedes 4Saturn 4GMC 3Hyundai 3Kia 3Mazda 3Nissan 3Saab 3BMW 2Lincoln 2Plymouth 2Subaru 2Buick 1Hummer 1Jaguar 1MINI Cooper 1Oldsmobile 1Porche 1Suzuki 1 Total: 186

Honor, Respect, Reliability?

hicle reliability. Comparing Ford to Chevrolet is like comparing Toyota to Honda. Both are ex-cellent at what they do; howev-er, because Ford and Chevrolet are both American companies, the disagreement results primar-ily from competition.

Based upon the data from the survey, it appears that the four top companies are well-rep-resented because of their reputa-tion in the auto industry. They have been established for many years now and back up their ad-vertising with the vehicles they produce.

Staff PhotoSeniors at HRA are asking questions about the study hall sign-in policy; they wonder why they are not allowed to come in late if they have study hall fi rst.

Senior privileges given, taken away

Photo by Alex ZuchowiczThe majority of automobiles in the Hampton Roads Academy parking lot were found to be made by three manufacturers, according to a reporter’s research.

column

Vol. 7, Issue 1opinion2

By Joel KauderThe current electronic poli-

cies enforced at Hampton Roads Academy are quite straightfor-ward: All cell phones, iPods and other electronics are to be turned off and out of sight when classes are in session.

Cell phones may be used outside of school when class is not in session, or inside with permission from a teacher. But that is only if it’s an emergency or another urgent situation. iPods are also permitted with a teacher’s permission.

In any other situation, electronics are not permitted during the school day. Electron-ics policies at HRA are some-times ridiculous. Students get in trouble for checking the time on their cell phones because they don’t have a watch or cannot see a clock; that just seems com-pletely unnecessary.

By Vince LenoachWho could forget last

year’s dull selection of food coming out of the Hampton Roads Academy vending ma-chines? It is safe to assume that the previous year’s attempt to sell healthier food was not pay-ing off.

This year the candy selec-tion has grown substantially, while still leaving many healthy choices on the menu. Taking a trip to the vending machines in the lunch room, one will fi nd a wide selection of snacks that will not disappoint: Cheez-its, Potato Chips, Baked Doritos, Chex Mix, Hot Fries, Welch’s Fruit Snacks, White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn, Pretzel Thins, Twizzlers, Snickers, Nature Valley Oats N Honey, Chewy Bars, Planters Peanuts, Special K Bars, 3 Musketeers, Starburst Gummi Bursts, Rice Krispy Treats, Poptarts, Combos, Zoo Animal Crackers, Sun Chips, Snackwell Cookies, Cheese Curls and a variety of cheese and peanut butter crackers, among some other snacks. With this diverse selection of good-ies, anyone in the mood for a snack will surely fi nd something to satisfy his or her taste. That being said, the next step is to decide if it is worth it.

There are two prices in the HRA vending machines: 75 cents and $1. Crackers, nuts, and some chips go for 75 cents,

New electronics policy at HRA rankles some

Vending machines pose threat to wallets, waists

Photo courtesy of Sean Dreilinger (Flickr.com)

Plenty of students would agree that it also is unreason-able that some teachers take cell phones for the rest of the day, rather than just that class. It’s understandable why we have these policies for electronics but the policies seem somewhat over-the-top at times. It doesn’t make much sense to take away someone’s iPod when it isn’t a huge issue. Why shouldn’t a student be allowed to listen to his or her iPod during break or study hall? It does not cause any problems for anyone.

People have been asked to put their iPods away in those situations; but then again not every teacher will do that. The electronic policies at HRA are very clearly defi ned, and conse-quences should be decided on a case-by-case basis.

while the “good stuff” goes for a buck. A dollar might not sound like much (even with the state of our nation’s economy), but considering some students visit the candy machine every day, a dollar adds up to a lot. ChaCha, a mobile device ques-tion-answering service, rates the average price of a candy bar between 65-89 cents (a median of 77 cents). Suppose a stu-dent and ChaCha each bought a candy bar every day for a whole year. That student would spend roughly $365 at HRA, while ChaCha would have only spent about $281. This means ChaCha saved $84 that year by buying reasonably priced candy bars. In this situation, paying a dollar for a candy bar sounds ridiculous.

Considering these fairly ab-surd prices, students might opt to purchase their snacks else-where, not buy snacks at all or just accept the high prices and get their snacks from HRA.

Editors: Allison Mui, Alexander Zuchowicz

News Editor: Morgan BlalockSports Editors:

Kevin King, Daven PatelFeatures Editors:

Brandon Gdovic, Vincent Le Noach, Jonathan Underwood

Opinion Editor: Joseph Montgomery

ReportersNick Livingstone, erik spatz

Contributors: Samuel Brody-Boyd, Kim Jurczyk

Advisor: Mr. Lidington

The CompassStaff

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Maiman (Flickr.com)

November 2009

Did you know?A student would spend

roughly $365 per year at HRA on snack machine food.

Outside the school, the same student would spend $281, a savings of $84.

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009news 3

By Charlie SpencerIt’s that time of year again

when we head back to school. Which means there are a few new faces that you may see passing in the hallways. The Hampton Roads Academy upper school welcomed 31 new students this year. Most new students come from local schools: Gildersleeve, Peninsula Catholic, Walsingham, Nanse-mond-Suffolk Academy, and Stonebridge, but others have come from Maryland, Ohio and even Utah.

These new students have been adjusting to the new routine of a new school. They like the smaller classes and ac-commodating teachers. Me-lissa Flowe, freshman, used to attended a school with 2,000 students and likes how HRA is much smaller and personal. One big thing that they like is that the students are accept-ing and friendly. Emily-Anne Rigal, a sophomore, says “My favorite thing about HRA is being able to meet so many new people. I love all my new friends!” And of course the extra breaks and dances are always a plus.

The main difference from the other schools they have attended are the challenging classes. Courtney MacMasters, a freshman, has noticed that the classes are harder than the other schools she has attended but she knows that with the challenging courses that she will be better-prepared for the next steps in her life.

The freshmen have 16 new students in their class. The

new students are: Ward Cherry, Constantine “Dean” Chioros, Melissa Flowe, J.P. Gaffney, You Na Ha, Kevin Huang, Paul LaPointe, Anh Le, Courtney MacMasters, Danni Pacheco, Anand Patel, Will Powers, David Scheiderer, Lucy Smith, Sean Smith and Tylee Smith. The class of 2012 welcomed six new students: Traneisha Chisley, William Griffi n, Bree Kitchens, Ngoc Le, Emily-Anne Rigal and Marissa Wheeler. The class of 2011 has seven new students: Mark Divenuti, Eva Erb, Bo Mi Kim, Kerry Mc-Gee, AJ Sibley, Chuxi Sun and Caitlyn Unsworth. And fi nally the seniors, The Class of 2010, brought in a whopping two new students: Emmy Fraenk and Minkyu Park.

Park said, “I like this school because I can play Xbox during study hall,” although that is no longer allowed.

New students bring fresh insights to HRA

Second-graderPaneeta Wojcik came dressed asDorothy from “The Wizard of Oz”

Chisley, William Griffi n, Bree Kitchens, Ngoc Le, Emily-Anne

The class of 2011 has seven new

Gee, AJ Sibley, Chuxi Sun and Caitlyn Unsworth. And fi nally the seniors, The Class of 2010, brought in a whopping two new

LOWER-SCHOOL HALLOWEEN PARADE BRING CHILLS TO HRA

HALLS

Park said, “I like this school because I can play Xbox during study hall,” although that is no longer allowed.

school because I can play Xbox

Cameron Barlow, top left, and Kait-lyn Miller donned their Halloween fi nest. Connor Wor-thington, bottom left, and Alex Rous use The Force to collect candy.

First-grader AlexaBarlow appeared to be wearing her lunch with her inventive spaghetti costume.

Photo by Winston DavisSenior Minkyu Park is one of two new students in the HRA Class of 2010.

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009sports4

By Daven PatelWhile thinking about who

this year’s Super Bowl winner is going to be, I was reminded of the countless events that oc-curred last season that no one saw coming. Not many people saw the dreadful Dolphins and Falcons fi nishing 11-5 after coming of terrible losing sea-sons. Nobody saw the Cardinals as a Super Bowl team who until last year, only had one playoff victory in a span of 60 seasons. Also the high hopes of the teams from two years ago that were on the rise all fell, those teams included Green Bay, Jacksonville, and Cleve-land. Remember those events in your mind as I start to make my predictions. I’ll be offering the teams that I believe that will win the division and also the outcome of the playoffs. Let the unpredictable predictions begin.

AFC EastDo you guys remember

what happened the last time Tom Brady was healthy with a dynamic core of receivers? Oh yeah, they went to the Super Bowl. With the return of Brady, expect this team to be a playoff

lock. Although Brady missed last season due to injury, The Patriots still managed to fi nish 11-5. Now with a healthy Brady and some more new offensive talent, such as Fred Taylor and Joey Galloway, expect this team to return to its explosive form on offense.

AFC NorthIt is hard to pick against

the defending champs but with a young talented team like Baltimore, I am going to take my chances. Baltimore, typi-cally known for their defense has begun to develop an of-fense with young talent like Joe Flacco and Ray Rice. They made a deep run in the playoffs last year but in the end they fell to Pittsburgh. Although they did go 0-3 against Pittsburgh, the margin of victory for the Steel-ers was small.

AFC SouthUnlike last year, Peyton

Manning has a full preseason in the books this year so a slump start seems unlikely. Although there is talent in this division with teams like the titans and jaguars, I expect the Colts to

By Kevin KingMany starters and leaders

left the Hampton Roads Acad-emy varsity basketball this year, leaving room for new leaders to step up.

In fact, more than half the team has left or graduated. The starting team this year will be very different in depth than last year. The people who left had almost all of the stats last year. The experience that these play-ers had could potentially leave a huge hole in the upcoming season.

Jeffrey Wallace and Corey Cooper both transferred to Woodside High School. Corey Kibwe, Tre Richardson now plays at Walsingham. Keith Hornsby is now playing at the high school basketball power-house Oak Hill High School. Ted Wang and Corey Kibwe

both graduated. All in all, a substantial amount of talent left HRA basketball , leaving uncer-tainty for the upcoming season.

Despite all the uncertainty, many young players are playing this year. Returning leaders such as senior Ozan Kilinchan and various other juniors hope to lead this young team. Accord-ing to Eric Jackson, an experi-enced junior player, the team has been preparing very hard for their season. “Most of the players have been playing a lot in the preseason. We have been having open gyms. I cannot wait for practice to start,” Jackson said. He added that even though the team is young, that they should be able to pull together and have a successful team.

HRA’s foreign exchange program has been very suc-cessful in the past few years in

get off to a hot start like they typically do and wrap this divi-sion up this quickly.

AFC WestWith a weak division, the

chargers should have no prob-lem claiming the title yet again. With a dynamic offense full of weapons suck as Philip Rivers, Ladainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, and Chris Chambers, the chargers should score in bunches. Also with the return of Shawn Merriman, the chargers defense should return back to its dominate form of 2007.

NFC SouthBeing a competitive divi-

sion, this title is no “gimme”. The Atlanta Falcons looked good last year and now that they added another dynamic weapon with Tony Gonzalez they should be better if their run game holds up like last year.

However with the high powered offense of the New Orleans Saints and along with some defensive acquisitions this team looks sharp. Dree brees was unbelievable last year but expect him to be better. Yes, I said better.

NFC EastThis is probably the toughest

division in all of football. With no one fi nishing with a losing record, the competition was very high. That being said, the Phila-delphia Eagles have made much improvement. Not to mention they did go deep in the playoffs last year with a young defense and a talented offense. With another year of experience and a offense with more talent, the eagles look like a sure contender for the title.

NFC WestThis is yet another weak di-

vision. The cardinals don’t have much competition and with Kurt Warner looking good at an old age, this team should do well again.

NFC NorthThis division got much more

interesting with the addition of Brett Farve to the Vikings. Orig-inally I would have went with the Packers but with Farve and Peterson, it is hard to overlook them. Also the Vikings do have a very talented defense lead by Jared Allen.

See my predictions below.

bringing talent to the basketball team. This year, Kilinchan, a native of the United Kingdom, returns to the team. Also, Kevin

Prognosticator picks pigskin pro’s

HRA hoops rebuilds,reloads for new season

Huang, a six-foot-nine-inch-tall foreign exchange student from

See HOOPS on p. 5

Hoops, Cont’d from p. 4China, hopes to help the team. In previous years players such as Ted Wang, who was six-foot-11, were important aspects to the team.

HRA basketball starts with a relatively fresh slate this year, due to students who graduated or left. Younger players and foreign exchange students will have to help make the team successful. Also senior and junior lead-ers will have to step up and take charge this year. HRA’s

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009features 5

By Allison MuiEdline, the online service at

Hampton Roads Academy, pro-vides relief for some and stress for others. For now, it allows teachers to post their homework assignments on the web and to view their students’ progress reports.

The Edline Website says it helps “schools improve student performance by harnessing the power of parental involvement,

By Erik SpatzAs the 2009-10 school year

contiunes, it is the beginning of the 50th anniversary of Hampton Roads Academy. The celebra-tion brought and will continue to bring a wide array of events to the school.

Students and staff already have experienced the wondrous snow cones and chilling ice cream at the beginning of the year. The blue snow cones were a nod to the school colors. The cones, along with the accompa-nying ice cream, were a nod to 1959, the school’s fi rst year of existence. School spirit anyone?

Also, the school’s annual Fall Festival was on Sept. 26, which, as always, drew a spec-tacular turnout.

The hallmark event, thus far, was the taking of the anniver-sary picture. Students, faculty and staff gathered on the football fi eld while a photographer and Mrs. Lassiter, a math teacher who plotted out the number on the ground below, were lifted via a crane to capture the moment on fi lm. The fi nal picture, seen below, captured the moment in spectacular fashion.

Now, despite what many may think, this is far from the end of the celebration. Mrs. Smith of the development offi ce said there are still major events yet to come.

For example, the annual Founder’s Day is on April 21, 2010. Also, the 50th Anniver-sary Gala and Reunion is taking place on March 20, accompanied

HRA grades go online with Edline

by an event titled “Spotlight on Alumni Awards.” Organizers are hoping to bring together at least one alumnus from each decade of the school’s existence. The coming together of so many generations is a momentous event for the whole community and sure to inspire.

Finally, the 2010 senior class will have the privilege of gradu-ating on the 50th anniversary year of the school on May 22, and by no means is this con-sidered a small honor. Seniors cannot wait to graduate and start a whole new chapter of their lives, as shown at the pep rally. Being the 50th anniversary of HRA, school spirit is expected to be high.

Staff Research by Jonathan Underwood

HRA plans golden yearto celebrate anniversary

Upcoming 50th-Anniversary Events

Founder’s Day April 21

Gala & Reunion March 20

Graduation May 22

supporting teachers, and engag-ing the learning community.” However, there is a mix of opinions at HRA: Some praise the new Edline, while others criticize it.

Mr. Van Orden, HRA’s registrar, described Edline as “a software program that we think will enhance communication between teachers, students and parents.” He added, “It should be especially useful for students who are absent. Parents are able to keep up with what is going on in classes on a day-to-day basis.”

Students can easily access the teachers’ pages for their classes via Edline. In addition, individually updated progress reports enable parents to view their students’ grades. Mr. Van Orden said, “It looks as if we will try to send school-wide progress reports every three weeks or so, depending on when the quarters begin and end.”

Mrs. Burnett, upper school administrative assistant and

parent of two students at HRA, praised Edline, exclaiming, “I love it!” She added that it gives her “easy access to missing work and grades.”

However, having such ac-cess also leads to anxiety and tension in some parents who are concerned about grades. Mrs. Rinderer, parent and the col-lege counseling administrative assistant, said, “Even without meaning to, I stress my kids out

by over-reacting to the Edline progress reports.” She contin-ues, “I don’t think I’m alone. I have heard teachers say they are getting more calls from par-ents.”

Most HRA students argue that Edline is creating more stress. Charlie Spencer, a senior, stated, “I hate Edline.” He also added that because of the early progress reports in the marking period, one bad grade will cause the average to fall greatly, caus-ing more stress and pressure.

On the other hand, Brad Forrest, also a senior, said, “Sure,” when asked whether or not he likes Edline. He also added, “It hasn’t given me any problems yet…” In the past, averages could not be as easily accessed, or teachers did not regularly inform students of their grades. In fact, Mrs. Dee-ley, a science teacher at HRA, stated, “Parents and students do deserve to know what their grades are as rapidly as possible with respect to the various other things that teachers do. Edline allows parents and students the opportunity to track their prog-ress more routinely and that is a strong outcome of using Edline.”

basketball team has to defi ne itself in order to be successful this year.

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009FEATURES6

By Samuel Brody-BoydAs fall begins, video game

fans might be left wondering what the future has in store for our beloved consoles.

This summer was so full of good games that it certainly must be intimidating for any game manufacturers releas-ing something this fall. But the march of money must continue and one game coming out this fall that satisfies gaming com-panies' desire for high-selling sequels is "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.”

The game pits favorite Marvel comic book heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, etc., against hordes of enemies, using their powers to cause massive destruction along the way. Sounds fun, right? Well it is, but there are a few snags along the way.

If one wants a game to show off what their Xbox 360 and PS3 can do, this is the one. Hundreds of enemies can be onscreen all at once, all while your team of four characters is running around, firing off powers and doing damage, all without a hint of slowdown. The frame rate never drops, and the game runs smoothly. There are surprisingly few glitches, con-

sidering how much is going on. However, some animations are devastatingly stale, considering how dynamic a game this is.

The sound is, unfortunately, the game's weakest spot. Heroes have a limited amount of things to say, and they repeat them-selves often. Even worse, all the enemies sound the same, and usually say generic things that make the player want to take them out faster. Bad guys shout things such as "Get them" and "You're mine!" Dialogue makes one consider hitting the "Off" button.

With regard to story, the game is decent; but if someone comes to this game in search of something on par with Dickens or Twain, they have bought the wrong game. The storyline is there only to keep the action coming.

The heroes of the game are thinly drawn and act pre-dictably. However, hilarious characters like the little-known Deadpool and the well-known Wolverine somewhat redeem the others.

"Ultimate Alliance 2" is far from being a masterpiece. It's a solid sequel. Players buying in with lowered expectations will have a blast. It makes for

engaging single- and multi-player experiences, and while it isn't worth its current price tag

Marvel superheroes keep new game interesting ... for a while

By Nick LivingstoneAs I’m sure you’re aware,

we have a few great concert venues around us, namely The National in Richmond and The Norva in Norfolk. And this fall, we have several good shows coming our way.

Hampton Roads a hotbed for small-venue concerts

of $60, wait a few months for a price drop.

At The National, local pop/punk/happy hardcore band The Battle of Me will play on Nov. 10. Also, Brand New and Thrice play the same day, while super-group The Monsters of Folk play the same day at the The Land-mark Theatre, also in Richmond.

Trevor Hall and Matisyahu are on Nov. 18, Switchfoot Dec. 5. Dashboard Confessional and New Found Glory wrap up this season on Dec. 16.

At The Norva, many of the same shows are featured. Mutemath is Nov. 10, Taking Back Sunday and All American Rejects on Nov. 18; Underoath, August Burn Red and Emery on Nov. 30. Saosin will play Dec. 5 and The Devil Wears Prada and All That Remains wrap up The Norva for the year on Dec. 20.

However, additional shows are constantly being scheduled, so make sure to check thenorva.com and thenationalva.com for schedules.

Photo courtesy of Alex Gaskarth (Flickr.com)

Small venues like Norfolk’s The Norva attract many popular concerts.

By Winston DavisThroughout the years at

Hampton Roads Academy, the seniors always had a place they called their own, a place where they could can go to relax, eat and study.

This place used to be in the middle school hallway; now it’s integrated into the high school halls, allowing easier access to senior classes and a larger room to boot.

The old senior lounge con-sisted of a dark room with three couches and two old computers. Since the seniors were allowed to eat in the lounge, food accu-mulated over time on the floor and in the walls, making it stink of mold. This caused concern for the students’ health; so a new lounge was put into play.

Today, the seniors have a classroom which, with three couches, tables and bar stools, five computers and comfortable chairs, is a studying mecca.

Senior Brad Forrest said, “It gives us so much more room to do activities.”

Since the lounge is comfort-able and open there are not foul smells and food under the rugs or in the walls.

During study hall and lunch, the seniors enjoy spending time eating and studying together bringing them closer as a com-munity.

Another senior Cole Brund-age said, “The senior lounge presents students a distinguished vicinity to socialize with their acquaintances during their min-ute amount of free time.”

Seniors positiveabout new study area

Photo courtesy of Marvel Comics

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009features 7

‘Hangover’ hilarious fi lm fun; coming to DVD Dec. 15By Joel Kauder

The summer of 2009 gave birth to many exceptionally entertaining movies, includ-ing “Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen,” “Bruno,” “G.I. Joe,” “Star Trek,” “Termina-tor Salvation” and many more. However, one of these summer movies in particular was given a little more attention than oth-ers: “The Hangover,” directed by Todd Phillips, which will be released on DVD Dec. 15.

It all starts with a crazy Las Vegas bachelor party that quick-ly turns into a disaster. Three hung-over groomsmen wake up in their hotel suite after a crazy night in Las Vegas to fi nd that the groom has gone missing, and they must get him to the altar for his wedding before it’s too late. In just 48 hours, Doug is expected to walk down the aisle. Doug’s best friends saw this as the last chance to throw an unforgettable bachelor bash in Vegas, so they decide they’re

going all out. The morning after, the

groomsmen wake up in their Caesar’s Palace suite to fi nd a tiger in the bathroom and a baby sitting in the closet. Doug is nowhere to be found and the groomsmen have no recol-lection of what happened the previous night. So with little time to spare, the three grooms-men set out to fi nd Doug before it is too late.

This side-splitting com-edy left people laughing hys-terically and wondering what outrageous thing would happen next. There truly was never a dull moment. This movie had such an immense amount of the most ridiculous, completely un-realistic things happening all at once; yet that is what made the fi lm so unique and hilarious. These three hung-over men found themselves waking up with a tiger in their bathroom, a baby in their closet, a dozen wine bottles set up like bowling

pins, a chicken, a missing best friend and groom, a missing tooth, and a completely trashed

Caesar’s Palace suite. When they ask a valet to retrieve the car in which they drove to Ve-gas, they fi nd themselves with a police car. In other words, it’s a nightmare when waking up in a Las Vegas hotel room.

“The Hangover” is fi lled with outrageously funny scenes and people. The only negative feedback I could give about the movie is how unrealistic some of the events and situa-tions were but that is just mainly what makes the fi lm so hilari-ous. Bradley Cooper (Phil), Ed Helms (Stu), Zach Galifi anakis (Alan) and Justin Bartha (Doug) did a phenomenal job of keeping people laughing and amused. “The Hangover” does happen to be rated R, but it is one of those movies that you must see if you are of the appropriate age.

Hot music picks of 2009 from these three great bands

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.

By Nick LivingstoneA look at some notable CDs

on the shelves at local stores:

Ursa Major, Third Eye BlindOkay, so if you don’t have

this album yet, I just have to ask: Do you live in a cave? Were you alive between 1997 and 2003? Yes? Then why don’t you have this album? The lat-est album by Third Eye Blind fi nds the band’s more political side, with Stephan Jenkins also

taking a more acoustic-leaning step in songwriting. Highlights “Sharp Knife,” “Can You Take Me,” “Bonfi re,” and my per-sonal favorite, “Don’t Believe A Word.”

Daisy, Brand NewBrand New, a band with

major affi liations, in the ear-lier stages of their career, were extraordinarily tight with Emo poster boys Taking Back Sunday. But personal issues

forced that aside. They now predominately tour with Thrice. Their latest album fi nds them being majorly experimental, mixing alternative with folk, indie, and sometimes hardcore. The highlights from album in-clude “Gasoline,” “Daisy” and “Sink.”

Beggars, ThriceFrom metal to alternative

to folk to techno, these guys have really stretched them-

selves. Their latest album fi nds them working the genre of blues-based groove rock. “The Weight,” my favorite song off of the album, has a catchy riff and powerful chorus. Instead of fading into the background like their peers, Thrice have man-aged to stay relevant through the years by constantly redefi ning themselves, unlike most of their alt-rock fellows.

Photo courtesy of HRAHRA was the site of a mid-summer fi re that damaged part of the school building.

FIRE, cont’d from p. 1

hastily called 911. The local fi re department responded very quickly, and began to extinguish the fi re.

In extinguishing the fi re, they had to tear some of the roof pieces from their place and throw them over the side. Un-fortunately, this damaged some of the work that had already been fi nished. Most of the other workers came in to work around 8 a.m. to fi nd the fi re depart-ment in the midst of packing their equipment. The fi re depart-ment was gone by 9 a.m.

There was evidence that the fi re was in the ceiling, below

the top level of the roof, but not inside the MPR.

As the water was sprayed on the roof, some of it leaked down through the insulation and through the ceiling. This caused water damage to go along with smoke damage to materials inside the MPR, but the damage was cleaned by a fi re damage repair company and assessed by an insurance company that afternoon. The roof was also repaired by a contractor. The de-bris was cleaned up by the end of the day and the repair work also happened very quickly.

Other reviews of “The Hangover”

“The funniest movie so far this year.” - The Denver Post

“This is a bromance so primitive it’s practically Bro-Magnon.” - Time

Source: Rottentomatoes.com

Vol. 7, Issue 1 November 2009features8

By Brandon GdovicThis year, seniors ask, “Why

can’t we come in late if we have study hall fi rst?”

In the past seniors have been allowed to come in to school late if they had study hall fi rst, but that was changed this year.

Over the past several years, seniors were allowed to leave school early and come in late in the mornings. Recently though, there were a few complications with seniors having both of these privileges. At times faculty

would be trying to locate one of the seniors and would not be able to fi nd them because they had forgotten to sign in or out.

Locating the senior in question started to become too complicated so this year, seniors are only allowed to leave school early.

This year, seniors were given the choice to either leave school early if they have study hall last or come in late if they have study hall fi rst. A majority chose to leave early rather than come in late. In my opinion, I consider our decision to leave early to be better than coming in late.

By Alexander ZuchowiczOne hundred and eighty-six

different vehicles fi lled the HRA parking lot Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Of these cars, 105 of them were manufactured by Toyota, Honda, Ford or Chevrolet. With more than 30 different manufac-turers represented, perhaps there is no coincidence that 56 percent of all cars were made by the four companies listed above. The economic crisis is still recent and the cars within the park-ing lot tended to appear several years old, so perhaps cost is not the sole deciding factor why the majority of the cars were repre-sented by only four companies. The simple explanation for this can be summed up by one word: reliability. It is proven that a product with better representa-tion and performance tends to outsell other competitors. So what is it that leads people to choose these four companies over the others?

Toyotas are renowned for their superior durability and quality performance, which al-lows these vehicles to remain within a family for generations. Honda has the same traits, and because both manufacturers are foreign, this allows the vehicle to be purchased at less cost. So the buyer can expect qual-ity for a lower price. Sounds like a bargain, right? American manufacturers Ford and Chev-rolet are both known for those same reasons, but the cash stays within our country. It is an ongoing argument that Ford is a better manufacturer than Chev-rolet and vice versa, but what supporters don’t like to admit is that both are quality companies and the differences lie in vehicle appearance, more so than ve-

Make # in HRA parking lot as of Sept. 29, 2009

Toyota 35Honda 31Ford 24Chevrolet 15Jeep 9Chrysler 6Volvo 6Dodge 5Mercury 5Volkswagon 5Lexus 4Mercedes 4Saturn 4GMC 3Hyundai 3Kia 3Mazda 3Nissan 3Saab 3BMW 2Lincoln 2Plymouth 2Subaru 2Buick 1Hummer 1Jaguar 1MINI Cooper 1Oldsmobile 1Porche 1Suzuki 1 Total: 186

Honor, Respect, Reliability?

hicle reliability. Comparing Ford to Chevrolet is like comparing Toyota to Honda. Both are ex-cellent at what they do; howev-er, because Ford and Chevrolet are both American companies, the disagreement results primar-ily from competition.

Based upon the data from the survey, it appears that the four top companies are well-rep-resented because of their reputa-tion in the auto industry. They have been established for many years now and back up their ad-vertising with the vehicles they produce.

Staff PhotoSeniors at HRA are asking questions about the study hall sign-in policy; they wonder why they are not allowed to come in late if they have study hall fi rst.

Senior privileges given, taken away

Photo by Alex ZuchowiczThe majority of automobiles in the Hampton Roads Academy parking lot were found to be made by three manufacturers, according to a reporter’s research.

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