OCTOBER 21, 2015

In This Issue

My Journey to GovsAlex DiBlasi-----------------------------------Page 2

Campus GrievancesMatt White------------------------------------Page 2

Weighted GPASAlex Berzansky-----------------------------Page 2

Another Year of PowderpuffCourtney Pierre---------------------------page 3

The Investors ClubT.I.C-----------------------------------------------Page 3

The Byfield BriefStudent Council----------------------------page 4

EditorialsVarious Authors----------------------------Page 8

Is Donald Trump for real?Alex Eliasen-----------------------------------Page 4

Where Trump hits the WallJack Norton----------------------------------Page 4

FLASH POLITICS!Various Authors----------------------------Page 5

It’s the Economy, StupidJoon Woo Baik-----------------------------Page 5

Preserving the MarshJade Fiorilla-----------------------------------Page 6

Modern Day SlaveryChloe Quigley------------------------------Page 6

America’s ObesityAnna Morris----------------------------------Page 6

The California DroughtJihyun Kim------------------------------------Page 7

SyriaRachael Deptula---------------------------Page 7

Death, Taxes, and the PlayoffsAngus Lamond-----------------------------Page 7

In BriefVarious Authors--------------------------Page 10

More Inside

THE GOVERNOR’S ACADEMY, BYFIELDSINCE 1959

A LETTER TO THE EDITORS

Does anybody else receive this message at least once a month and then get an angry text message from your mom in a group chat with your two siblings ,“Whoever uses all the data, please connect to wifi NOW!?” And then what usually happens is your two siblings reply, “Wasn’t me!,” and you know that they are absolutely right because you have been the one using all of the data? Yeah, same. Although I know for a fact that I do not use social media on my phone any more than my brother or sister, I still know that I am the one using all the data. The reason? I have no wifi. Campus wifi was usually pretty stable last year. I got a complete signal in almost every building (besides Parsons) and most texts, emails, and Snapchats went through without a delay. This year, it’s a whole different story. I can’t open a single app that uses cellular data without seeing that dread-ed “loading” signal at the top of my phone for at least five minutes. And even if I am in the mood to wait, half the time a sign comes up on my phone

that says “no internet connection.” At this point I want to throw my phone onto the ground and scream in the most dramatic fashion while cursing the terrible school wifi and its devilish effects on my beloved iPhone. Although I have had multiple conversations with my mother about how I “use way too much data” and that I should “put my goshdarn phone down for once in my life and go for a walk,” I can’t help but simply turn wifi off and let the data slide right out of my phone with every Snapchat I send, Instagram I like, and internet page I refresh. What horrible event must have occured in Byfield over the months of July and August that hurt our beloved school wifi so badly that it no longer can load a single Snapchat? Whatever it was, it doesn’t affect me almost all month, until I receive that dreaded text from Verizon telling me that my cycle ends on the 12th and I need to calm the heck down with all the data usage. I can almost feel the judgment from the robot that sends this message to me. What he says is “You’ve used about 90% of your 15GB data...” but what he means is “Really, Kate? Again? Can’t you just put your stupid phone down for once in your life and go for a walk or something? Is Snapchatting your friends back really that important? Important enough to spend an extra fifteen dollars so you can get one extra gigabyte into your brain-melting, eye-numbing, time-consuming cell phone? Fifteen dollars is a lot of money in another country. That much money could be used to buy meals for a homeless child in Africa for a week and you spend it on a single gigabyte. You should honestly be ashamed. But thank you for choosing Verizon!” Although having weak wifi on campus is quite annoying and can start a good number of family fights via text, whenever I get that message from Verizon I feel ashamed that I have actually spent that much time staring at my cell phone. These devices were once used solely for communication over long distances, and now I often find myself snapchatting my friend that is simply a building away from me. That message comes through with my mother’s voice in my head saying, “Kate just put your stupid phone down and go for a walk before it melts your brain.” I can’t really blame the school wifi for melting my brain, now can I? Maybe next time Verizon texts me I won’t immediately start thinking of all the ways I want to curse the wifi to hell, but rather turn wifi on, put my stupid phone down, and go for a walk.

THE SCHOOL’S WIFI DEFICIENCY IN PERSPECTIVE

KATE NICKODEMUS ‘17

Dear editors of The Governor, In this morning’s issue of The Governor Express, I was disappointed to read Max Caiati-Nardone’s article on the state of wireless networking at the Academy. Up front, I cannot dispute his statements regarding the speed of the wireless connection in the dormitories during study hall because I do not have enough information to do so. However, it seems that The Governor Express and its editorial team abdicated some basic principles of journalism in allowing the article to go to print as written. First, certain facts laid out in the article are incorrect. Primarily, the article suggests that “Perhaps the most effective way to do [improve per-formance] would be to lay wires under the campus and have one or two routers or signal strength boosters in a building. This would allow all of the academic buildings and dorms to, at least, have a reliable wifi signal.” Underground fiberoptic cabling (the fastest available, still) was laid during the 1990’s, running to each building on campus from a switch in the Pescosolido Library. The infrastructure connected to that cabling is upgraded little by little, each and every year. Additionally, each building has three to ten (or more) wireless access points providing connectivity. The second and editorially more important point is that the article does not seek comment from the Information Technology department. I have no doubt that Mr. Mandel and Mr. Waldman would have happily provided commentary, explanation, or response to the reporter’s concerns about campus Wi-Fi access and speed. Indeed, I am sure that despite the rant published in today’s The Governor Express, they would still welcome the opportunity to have that conversation. I thank you for taking my concerns into consideration, and I hope you will consider issuing a follow-up article with a more complete investi-gation. You are free to publish my letter, if you so wish.

Respectfully,Currie HuntingtonFormer Assistant Director of Information Technology

THE GOVS COMMUNITY

WORLD NEWS

See our response. Page 9

GOVS

AIRING OF CAMPUS GRIEVANCESMATT WHITE ‘17

It is always easy to bash Govs for things we hate. Whether it is knock off cereal brands, or not enough time to get from class to class, with all the anger that travels throughout this school, we often overlook how lucky we are to be here and the great opportu-nities we have here. We have access to world class academics, top tier athletics, and surprisingly fantastic cronuts. As we start another year of school, we must begin with the airing of our grievances, as we always have. And so I give you my top three things that shouldn’t be problems, but simply drive me crazy. THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL IN THE DINING HALL When class gets out or students finish their afternoon activities and the dining hall fills with starving students, simple navi-gation can be an impossible task for someone untrained in the art of efficiently getting food. For new students and freshmen, seeing the brutish students fight over the last chicken patty must be a sight. The true problem resides, however, with the order in which students get their food. At any restaurant or buffet style meal, one begins with a salad, moves on to the main course, and then on to dessert. So why is it at Govs that we start with the main course, then get our salads and toppings? All this accomplishes is a mess of students moving in all directions at once. It is especially a problem on good dinner nights when there is a carving station. With the gravy positioned before one gets the meat, students are forced to turn back around, jump into the middle of the line and then get their gravy. The simple solution to this terrible crisis is for the students to go left when they first enter the kitchen. Maybe take a look around to see what there is to eat, but go left to right please! If you won’t do it for me, do it for the food.

DOORKNOBS FOR ANTS? Getting out of class early is a true blessing for us students. Maybe we’ll head to the dining hall for some hot chocolate or a bagel before our next class. On days like these, I leave the math building and head towards Philips. I reach for the knob of the main entrance and… I can’t seem to get my hand around it. I readjust my wrist, trying to wiggle my fingers around the knob at this new funny angle. Finally I get a decent grip, so I turn the knob and BOOM! I scratch my fingers all along the right side of the door. The knob is simply placed too close to the edge to the door. Now this may require a bit more work to fix than changing the way we all en-ter the dining hall, but I think that it is worth the trouble. I have no doubt that all of you have experienced the same day ruiner as me. Philips is the main entrance for Admissions. Is the first impression Govs wants to give to prospective students that we have terrible doorknobs? Of course not. All that needs to be done is move the knob an inch to the left, and I would gladly take whoever moves it out for a big steak dinner.

GETTING CHEESY While new students may find making friends or keeping their grades up to be one of the biggest challenges at Govs, return-ing students are well aware of the real difficulties at the school. The biggest struggle of all is picking up sliced cheese with the forks provided, a task seemingly so impossible that most would rather attempt to cut down the tallest tree in the forest with a herring. The most likely outcomes of trying to pick up a piece of cheese are ripping your slice, poking holes in your slice, or picking up way too many slices at one. Even if you are successful, you’ve most likely ruined the integrity of your new slice of cheese, forcing you to attempt to get another slice. While there are many methods of picking up a slice, whether you are a stabber, poke and twister, or a scooper, the most simple solution would be simply a set of tongs or another grabbing device. So whether you are a new student simply trying to figure out how things work at the Academy or a veteran who wants things to work the way they should, please take a moment to consider my grievances, and maybe, just maybe, change the way you go about your day at the school. And I hope that airing these grievances will allow us to move on and focus on having a totally posi-tive outlook on campus.

AIRING OF GRIEVANCES------------MATT WHITEMY JOURNEY TO GOVS-----ALEX DIBLASI

POWDERPUFF------------COURTNEY PIERREWEIGHTED GPAS---------ALEX BERZANSKY

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MY JOURNEY TO GOVSALEX DIBLASI ‘19

It all began in the fall. The red colored leaves were falling from the trees and covering up the remainder of the grass on the ground. It was a nice day on campus, with the cool wind blowing in my direction. I proudly trotted past the opposing team with my red eye-black shaped as a “G” on my forehead, and two red streaks underneath my eyes. It was game day here on the beautiful Gover-nor’s Academy’s campus. The football team was playing their rival, The Brooks School, and I was attending my first game because it was my brother’s freshman year at Govs. Little did I know, this game was going to change my outlook and inspire me to apply to Govs. As the game began, I noticed that there was a lot of tension on both sides. This tension came together to represent one of the biggest rivalries in New England. I heard the grunting of the play-ers, loud whistles of the refs, and the extreme shouting from the fans. I reveled in the energy of the crowd and yelled with other fans, “Go Govs!” For the next four years of my life, I looked forward to this Govs versus Brooks matchup and learned to despise the enemy. Through my years taking part in these festivities at Govs, whenever I heard people talk about Brooks, I would hiss in hate like I had heard them do. Each team always displayed great power and strength. At every game, at least one aggressive fight was broken up by the angry referees. It really was not until my second year of attending these games that I noticed something different. From across the field and through all the chaos, I saw my brother and his friends waving a giant red Governor’s flag on the Brooks’ side. The flag was the first thing you would see if you looked in that general direction. He and his friends always had the craziest traditions. Then all of a sudden, it began. A fire started burning inside of me, not the fire of hate for the other team, but rather a strong desire to be a Red Dog. In that moment, I knew I wanted to be a student waving my school’s flag just like my older brother. At the end of the past four seasons, Governor’s had always ended up winning the ISL Championship. They gloat at the enemy as they enter the locker room with smirks on their faces. Meanwhile, Brooks ambles their way back to the bus, as they pout in shame. My four years of watching Governor’s Academy play, I have witnessed tension and enmity during the games but the Brooks game takes it to an extent. It not only happens during football but in baseball, basketball, and other sports too. My brother never really made varsity sports until his senior year. Seniors are mostly guaranteed a spot on Varsity teams, considering it is their last year of high school. Your first reaction might be to think that my brother lacks skill at baseball, but he really doesn’t. Unfortunately, there was a better player who was also in the class of 2015, who played his position so my brother was cut every year. I always look forward to the Govs vs Brooks yearly matchups. I actually put a sticky note on my door to remind me when and where the big game is. Some may think it is repetitive or boring to watch the same things happen between these two great rivals at every game, but it is a long standing tradition: the silly arguments, waving banners, obnoxious chants, and arguing coaches. For the members of the ISL, the annual rivalry is just as meaningful and memorable as the annual Harvard vs Yale football game.The memories I made at Governors before I even came here have stuck with me and shaped my decision to come here. It has been a great experience to participate in Govs from the position of a spectator and I look forward to making more memories at Govs in the position of participant. But as I look back, my brother has been my real inspiration , not just the school and its traditions. He is the

reason why I am a participant, not a spectator.

WEIGHTED GPAS ALEX BERZANSKY ‘18

This year, Govs is weighting grade point averages for the first time. AP classes now give an automatic .2 increase to GPAs and honors classes give a .1 increase. This was done in the “hope [that] this new approach allows students and their families to better understand context for their academic achieve-ment…” and to “help students to better appreciate how the col-leges to which they apply might evaluate their overall academic record.” I met with Mrs. Elaine White, the Academic Dean, to ask her a few questions about the new weighting system and to get some details regarding the creation of the system.

Q: Do colleges look at GPAs or weighted GPAS? How does weight-ing GPAs help with the college process?A: Colleges look at students’ GPAs and the caliber of a student’s schedule as well as that student’s regular grades during the analysis of a student for whichever college is being applied to. The value of some courses and grades will vary between colleges depending on what that college is looking for in a student.

Q: Is the system unique to Govs or is it standard among private schools? A: Our system is adapted from an internal weighting system. This internal system is the system used for determining end of year prizes and cum laude candidates. We pulled the .2 and .1 increase from this same internal system.

Q: Why does the system seem so simple?A: The system seems simple because it is simple. We wanted to keep it very easy for colleges. A simple system means that colleges can determine very quickly the magnitude of the grade earned in a specific class without having to dig for answers. This helps colleges to determine whether or not a student would be a good fit for their school with just a glance, and if college admis-sion workers like what they see they can easily delve deeper into a particular student’s background.

Q: How long was this current system worked on or adapted from another system?

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POWDERPUFF 2015: REVIEWED AND HIGHLIGHTED

COURTNEY PIERRE ‘17 When the senior captains, Courtney Cashman and Abby Nearis, faced the junior captains, Kate Settelmeyer and Courtney Pierre, at center field for the coin toss, it was an even playing field, or so each team liked to believe. After the seniors won the coin toss and opted for possession of the ball, things continued to go in their favor. Even after some ejections, flags, and desperate attempts at redemption, the junior -sophomore team just couldn’t execute the fire they showed throughout the week in practice. Let us now take a look at the Top 10 highlights from Powderpuff 2015.

PORTER FIELD’S PREDECESSOR Regardless of its actual relevance to the Powderpuff game, the Varsity Girl’s soccer win over BB&N just minutes before kickoff seems quite important. GVS’s bench must have still been holding its good luck charm when the senior- freshman powderpuff team used it for their game.

ALI SOMMERS, BORN TO BE A LINEBACKER W hen Ali’s mark received the ball for the first time during a scrimmage in practice, Ali tackled the girl by her waist on the courts of the fieldhouse. While she was reprimanded for not knowing that this was in fact flag football, it was still clear that Ali was a born starter for the defensive line.

EYEBLACK AT NIGHT S ince eyeblack doesn’t actually help guard one’s eyes from the brightness of Porter Field’s lights, people questioned what the point of it was when both teams wore it for the game. Well, it’s because it made them look tough, and the fashion statement is applauded here for its success.

CHEATING? A fter many complaints from the junior- sophomore coaches, Ref Long threw his flag because of the invisible flags around the waist of Courtney Cashman. The captains of the other team are looking to delve deeper into this as we may be looking at another Deflategate controversy.

FLORA FLIES W hen an opposing player interfered with Flora English’s run down the right side, English gained an estimated incredible 10 yards of involuntary progression. No one suspected she’d be able to rebound after that fall, but she got up, and it has been noted that she is doing okay but that she is “fed up” with how many people have asked her if “it hurt when she went flying”.

COACHES EN ROUTE TO PUBLIC SPEAKING CAREERS W hen the junior- sophomore coaches gathered their team at the half, they began hopping up and down, slamming their fists in the direction of the ground, and making screaming faces, without actually making a sound. When it came time to do a cheer, they began stumbling and stuttering over the words they were trying to say, and because of this, proceeded to just keep howling. Players did not question this absurdity because it was presumed that they must know best. After all, they a re on the #DriveToFive.

ROBYN PIRIE, NOT JUST A KICK RETURNER R obyn Pirie was put on the field during the kick return, expected to maybe catch the ball and take a knee. She exceeded all expectations of such assumptions and instead scored a touchdown after beautifully weaving through the defense from one end of the field to the other. Pirie disclosed that she had no idea she scored a touchdown, but that she spiked the ball to the ground “because people started cheering”.

COURTNEY CASHMAN’S ARM Thanks to powderpuff, we’ve discovered that Cashman should be recruited for yet another sport: football. Her spiral is like one never seen before and her arm “could easily be better than many ISL’s QBs,” says a peer.

HOLD THE MARSHMALLOWS FOR THIS SMOORE Sarah Moore scored a crucial two touchdowns for the junior sophomore team. She has now compared her level of play to Brady’s, Gronk’s, and Edelman’s. Moore scored her first touchdown on a handoff from the quarterback, and her second from a said “telepathic creation of a play” between her and a fellow teammate on the field.

NEW SCHOOL RECORDS We’ve all missed Govs Athletics’ periodic tweets about Katie Hanlon and Mackenzie Gray constantly breaking records. Taking this into consideration, Abby Nearis decided to break her own school record, first person to be ejected from a Powder Puff game. In one of the first plays of the game, Nearis was upset about missing a scoring opportunity and subsequently threw the ball at an opponent’s face. It’s always “for the love of the game” when it comes to Nearis, but sometimes she just has too much love for the wrong game.

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A: The system took somewhere from 2 to 2 and a half years to fully implement to where it is now. A portion of that time was spent on researching the impact of weighted GPAs. That research took about 18 months, and was done alongside colleges so we would know, right away what colleges would think of students with weighted GPAs when a student applies to college. In the early stages of development there were many long discussions, with faculty and members of the academic offices. We had originally hoped to to roll out the system last year but the data base company we work alongside couldn’t integrate the system that quickly.

Q: Why now? What encouraged the school to develop the system?A:Jo Bro encouraged the process, because the college counseling office believed that a weighted GPA would be beneficial to stu-dents when they submitted their transcripts to colleges. Private schools are weighting more now, and public schools have been doing it for a while. The CCO’s idea was brought to academic affairs and we had many long discussions about the weighted GPAs. We researched the systems of other independent schools to find out whether they weighted GPAs and what the pros and cons were.

Q: What is the highest GPA possible? Can someone get above a 5.0 or is that the maximum? A: If a student scores perfectly (all A+s) and receives a 4.3 and takes 6 APs, that student would recieve a 5.5 weighted GPA.

Q: Is there a chance that students enrolled in independent studies could also receive an extra tenth to their GPA?A: No. independent studies are to be driven by the passion that a student has for a subject, not by the desire to increase their GPA. When taking an independent study it is expected that a student will go above and beyond because they are passionate about what they are learning.

That was the end of questions I had for Mrs. White. However, she noted at the end of our meeting something that was bother-ing her about the current learning process students were going through.

“The downside to all this is that kids don’t take classes for the sake of learning or because they are motivated to learn or be-cause the want to have certain teachers. Students too often take classes because they think they look good [on college applica-tions] and colleges like how APs look. I want kids to take classes they enjoy.”

“Kids need to understand what they can handle and achieve bal-ance with what they are doing. The Add drop deadline is crazy with students leaving aps and honors, level of rigor of classes is too much for maintaining social life and clubs and sports and upsets kids because they want to do it all. Faculty, parents and kids need to stay realistic about what is healthy.”

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SEND IN ARTICLES ABOUT CAMPUS LIFEEMAIL lydia.fanning@govsacademy.org

TrumpTrumpTrump

POLITICSWHERE TRUMP HITS THE WALL------------------------JACK NORTONMOCKERY OR POSSIBLE PRESIDENT?--------ALEXANDER ELIASENTHE BYFIELD BRIEF----------------------------------STUDENT COUNCILIT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID-----------------------------JUN WOO BAIK

THE BYFIELD BRIEFPeriodic Updates on Student Government

October 15, 2015

MEDIA MOCKERY OR POSSIBLE PRESIDENT?

ALEX ELIASEN ‘17

When one thinks of Donald Trump they immediately envision countless Instagram posts and news stories about his hatred of Mexicans, his disrespect towards women, and his philosophy of just not caring of what people think of him. At first I was confused; could a man this mocked by the media actually be leading in the Republican polls? What would George Washington think of Donald Trump? Then I felt a sense of relief, thinking his ridiculous political antics would never allow him to actually become president. So, I listened to his speeches and waited for him to crash and burn, but he still has not. It seems like Trump’s grasp on our nation will never end. I still did not understand why was everyone was attracted to Trump’s campaign, while I sat on the sidelines waiting for his demise? Is Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that of a satirical background or has the media’s portrayal of his ideals surrounded his politics with a false sense of humor? In order to rule out Trump as satirical, I took to the Internet and found past satirical candidates and political parties around the world. But what I really want to know is why Donald Trump is winning in the polls. Due to his irony and humor of his campaign or his programs and ideas for the future of America? Canada, the kind, pacifistic cousin of America, is where I started my satirical search. With some help from my Canadian friend I found the Rhinoceros Party, a party that started in 1963, was defunct in 1993, and was restarted in 2006. In 2011, it had nineteen candidates running for office. With the intent to repeal the law of gravity, promote higher education by building taller schools, reform retail lot-tery schemes by replacing money prizes with Senate appointments, the Rhino Party did not make a lot of leeway in Canadian politics. All of the Rhino Parties’ candidates receive less than 1% of 1public support. Although the Rhino Party had some “great” foreign policy, their satirical style is more focused on the concept of playing with the idea of a political party. Some major differences between Trump and other satirical-type candidates that have run in the past is Trump truly has policies that have poten-tial. Trump’s ideas can seem absurd, like building a wall to keep Mexicans out, which Michael Sr. from Arrested Development came up with first, but at

WHERE TRUMP HITS THE WALL*

JACK NORTON ‘17

By now, most Americans have heard about Donald Trump’s proposal to build the next “Great Wall” along the southern border of the United States to separate our country from Mexico. The real estate tycoon surely has his own agenda for America, but none of us are really focused on what may prove to be even more significant: his agenda for the rest of the world. The following is a transcript taken directly from a secret meeting between Trump and the heads of the Iranian government. “So I called you here today because I think it’s important to get this deal signed. I mean import-ant to you, I frankly don’t care that much. You’re talking nuclear weaponry; we have the best nuclear weapons in the world — fantastic, incredible nuclear bombs. Of course, I’m going to have them all redone in bronze when I get elected, because we’re a world-class country, and let’s face it, gunmetal gray isn’t a very attractive color even for a 500-megaton weapon that could set my hair on fire from 250 miles away.Mind you, I’m not saying this to threaten you. Because I don’t have to threaten you, that’s not how I negotiate. I understand your position. You’ve got all these centrifuges that are, basically, don’t take this the wrong way, they’re pieces of junk, and you need to get rid of them. So if you’re asking will we take them off your hands, the answer is yes, we will, if the price is right.But I’ve got to tell you, I’m just not that impressed with what you’re offering. I could walk away from this deal right now and tomorrow I could buy all the uranium in Iran with what NBC paid me for one season. And then you know what I would do with it? I’d enrich it. Who knows more about enrichment than me?I want to say something for your own good. I’m wor-ried you might be thinking of going with Russia.

See what Bernie Sandershas to say. (FLASH POLITICS)

IMAGE: DONALD TRUMP

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*SATIRE

-Point System refined: Activity participation, school spon-sered awards to yield team points-Dining Hall TV to display News/Sports programs in the morning.-Point system/score report + Sustainability to be displayed on Monday Morning Meeting Slides.

Continued on the next pageContinued on the next page

IMAGE: DONALD TRUMP

least he is not going to change the United States’ official language to “American.” These other satirical parties have no real intention of letting candidates hold any office, and are used as devices to poke fun at real politics happening in that certain country. Also, Trump is already famous for his world renowned business and his appearance on the T.V. show “Celebrity Apprentice” which is much unlike that of any members of the Rhino Party. These satirical candidates from around the world have little to nothing in common with Trump’s’ campaign, ruling out Trump as a purely satirical candidate. So who will be voting for Trump? Those infatuated with his humor or those engrossed in his idea for America? One Trump supporter who sent in his response to “The Atlantic”, seems to understand Trump’s stance on certain issues, but chooses to vote for Trump because of how bad he believes Trump will be as a president. “I know he would do a pretty terrible job at this point, but I really am at the point of letting the whole thing burn down and explode. Trump would help us get there faster and more efficiently. Like the Joker from The Dark Knight, I just want to see the world burn.” This incriminating quotation is one of many, much similar to the last. “I’m a young guy who is a bit immature, a bit antisocial, and with no plans for kids or a wife ever. At some level I don’t really care how things go with America as long as it’s fun to watch.” These voting citizens are willing to check Donald Trump on their ballot just so they can watch him destroy America, and enjoy it like it is another episode of Game of Thrones. These responses to the question of “Why are you willing to vote for Donald Trump?” re instills the fear I felt when I started my research. Could Americans care that little about the people living in America that they are willing to vote for the worst candidate possible just to enjoy the anarchy that follows? This almost seems like a practical joke, but no, there are some voters who are willing to do just that. The other pool of voters I found who were willing to elect Trump as president were those who actually believed in his policies and his slogan of “ Make America Great Again.” These voters had some valid arguments as to why Trump should be elected. One of the best arguments is Trump’s ability to successfully run a $20 billion a year family business employing over 20,000 people. Having a country with over $7 trillion dollars of debt run by a businessman might turn out positively. In general the business side to Trump adds to the this supporters argument who also adds, “He has proven record of job creation. He has hired, promoted and personally paid more women, minorities, high school and college students then any Presidential-candidate in the history of our Country.” Trump’s businessman past was not his only positive trait, he also seems to have a strong foreign affair policy. But, to my surprise, the voting polls that I encountered were not focused on his immigration policy, they seemed to believe his policy would work, but, they were not voting for him only because of Trump’s strict stand on illegal immigration. There was one person’s response that really stood out to me; it was a man whose voting record includes George W. Bush and Obama both elections, explaining why he would be voting for Trump. In his explanation he describes the mistakes of Bush and Obama, “These people represented the Washington establishment, and created an atmosphere of total distrust in anything established…failed big time in overcoming the bipartisan divide.” This Trump supporter believes America is too wrapped up in social issues like Pro-Life and Pro-Choice, and thinks Trump will be able to divert importance to the issues like a lack of entrepreneurs, without de-funding Planned Parenthood. To this writer, Trump has turned into someone to laugh at because the media is afraid of him. Trump does have a lot of valid reasons to vote for him, such as his past success with his business, his simple and maybe effective ideas on foreign policy, and his desire to keep his pride and make America great again. At the beginning of this Donald Trump research, I thought I was going to find most of his supporters to be young, ignorant adolescents laughing at his hair and his uncomfortable comments, but I discovered Trump has some admirable traits. The problem might not lie with the candidate, but with the way we find out about the important things the candidate does. My misconception of Trump was created from the media: watching partisan news channels, or reading tweets or Instagram comments. I am not saying that Trump’s campaign isn’t humorous, but I believe that he has become more of a mockery because of the way the media portrays him. At first glance Donald Trump seems like a joke, because the first glance that you may take will be from partisan eyes. Before you judge a candidate, you actually have to do some research on what that candidate believes. Some of us may be voting next year, and although it may seem like our vote does not matter, every vote is important. To vote based on stories from CNN is like taking a test on George Bush after you have read only his autobiography. Research each candidate before you decide to vote and always be skeptical of the media.

Russia is for losers. And China is worse. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’ll say it anyway because I like to speak my mind. I heard this from someone very, very high up in the government. I don’t want to say who, but he told me China is a total joke. Look, I love your country. You have some incredible deserts. Flying here, I saw at least three sites where I would love to put a world-class golf course and casino. Not to mention the twelve sites for new hotels. And the Iranian people are my big-gest fans. They love all the things the Trump name stands for: freedom, democracy, elegance, class, 10-foot-6 ceiling heights and granite countertops. I honestly think I could get elected here. “Celebrity Apprentice” has been on reruns for close to ten years here, and it’s still the highest-rated program in the history of Iranian television.So look, we’ve been negotiating all morning. I’ve closed deals for some of the most expensive, luxu-rious apartments in the world in less time. I’ve got a major golf tournament starting in a few hours. So if you want to make a deal, call my assistant and she’ll fax over a treaty. As soon as I’m elected, that is.”

MEDIA MOCKERY OR POSSIBLE PRESIDENT?(CONT) WHERE TRUMP HITS THE WALL

(CONT)

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPIDJOON WOO BAIK ‘18

Flash! POLITICS!

-Democratic Debate; Bernie Sanders: “We are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!”-Donald Trump to host Saturday Night Live in November-Bernie Sanders indicates support for maijuana, $15/hour minimum wage-Jeb Bush offers healthcare Plan that would undo Obama CareCarly Fiorina raises $6.8 billion over the sum-mer-U.S Offcial: Russians ‘deliberately attacking US-based Syrian Fighters-Clinton’s Debate performence bad news for Biden supporters-Jeb Bush demands consequences for Russian involvement in Syria-US to release Pacific Trade deal text in 30 days-Kerry plans to visit the Middle East-DARPA invents “dissapearing vehicles”-GOP urges Obama to hit pause on Iran Deal-Santorum pushes for 20% flat tax rate-Trump leading in South Carolina, Nevada.

SEND IN POLITICAL ARTICLESEMAIL taha.bilirgen@govsacademy.org

IMAGE: JEB BUSH

IMAGE: HILLARY CLINTON

“It’s the economy, stupid,” is a phrase coined by James Carville, the campaign strategist of Bill Clinton, back in 1992 Presidential election. The slogan has become widespread and popular all over the U.S, well representing the prevailing recession situation of the United States under George HW. Bush’s presidency. Not sure whether the slogan directly affected the result, but Clinton eventually won the election, receiving 43% of the popular vote and became the 42nd president of the United States. 23 years have passed since then, and this time, Hillary Clinton, the wife of Bill Clinton, is now competing for Democratic presidential candidate.Although many things have changed, economy still remains as one of the most important concerns of people. According to CNBC, a recent survey of 800 people shows that 32% of Americans thinks the economy will get worse. This is not only the highest rate after the shutdown of U.S government in 2013, but also 6% higher than same survey by CNBC last month. On the other hand, only 22% of Americans believe that economy will get better, which is the lowest level since 2008, when financial crisis occurred. In order to get support from potential voters, the candidates are proposing multiple solutions and explanations to solve conflicts. For instance, Bernie Sanders, the rival of Hillary Clinton, insists that income inequality is reaching it’s maximum and middle class is disappearing. He argues to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour, build a fair tax system, and gender equity in wage. Hillary Clinton, as a leading candidate of democratic party, also presented multiple economic reform strategies.Regulate Wall StreetLike other candidates, Hillary also addresses the importance of regulating Wall street companies and big financial firms. In short, Hilary insists that she will not going to break down “too big” banks as Bernie Sanders or senator Elizabeth Warren argued, but intensify the regulation in several ways. Her plan includes charging a “risk fee” on large firms that are risky, such as Goldman Sachs. The interesting point is that the fee is not determined by the “size” of firm, but by the dependency of firm on volatile short-term fundings. Therefore, the firm that has high assets based on plain consumers and business lending, would not have to pay much fee, vice versa.Another policy is to giving regulators more power, in a level that they can break up the largest firms. Although big financial firms already face intense oversight by regulators, the legal tools for regulators to use are limited. Ms.Clinton plans to grant regulators explicit powers to downsize or even break up firms, with new authority. However, this policy would have to go through official legislation. In addition to giving more power to regulators, Ms.Clinton calls for more strict regulation of “shadow bankings,” such as hedge funds and money market funds. Shadow bankings or such financial systems resemble actual banks in many ways but not regulated like them. TPP(Trans Pacific Partnership)Another big issue related to Ms.Clinton’s economic policy is whether to join TPP or not. TPP, which stands for Trans Pacific Partnership, is a trade agreement between twelve countries around the pacific rim. TPP aims to lower trade barriers like tariffs, establish an infrastructure for intellectual property, and set standards for labour law and environmental law. Ms.Clinton, back in 2010 when countries started the official negotia-tion about the agreement, was an advocate of it as a secretary of state. She said “ To this end ... we’re pursuing a regional agreement with the nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and we know that that will help create new jobs and opportunities here at home.” However, recently, she modified her opinion by saying “I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set.” According to the United States Trade Representative website, the United States ships 1.9 billion dollars in goods to TPP countries. The States also exported 622.5 billion of manufactured products to TPP countries in 2013. TPP would lower the tariff of US products in overseas and increase compet-itiveness. People who are against TPP insist that trade is not vital to U.S economy and the agreement will only decrease the jon employment. If Ms.Clinton becomes the next president, the decision will be crucial not only to economy of U.S but also to other Pacific countries. 3. Other policies In her campaign website(https://www.hillary clinton.com/issues/plan-raise-american-incomes/), Ms.Clinton listed many other plans for better economy. Tax reliefs for families, support small business growth, raising the minimum wage, lift up woman’s participation in workforce and etc. All economic policies and plans provided Ms.Clinton sound favorable in general but anyone can write a list of good statements. Ms.Clinton’s task from now on would be providing specific details about her plans such as numbers, date, or examples. In reality, many plans above require legislation and other complicated procedures. Also, the democratic party and Ms.Clinton’s some prodigious donors come from the Wall Street firms. Ms.Clin-ton also earned lot of money by lecturing to Wall street financial firms. Ms.Clinton also earned more than $25 million by lecturing to Wall street financial firms. The process of economic reform and regulation will not be easy. Yet, Ms.Clinton has the opportunity to go for a healthy economy.

5

WORLD NEWS

ON A WALK DOWN TO THE MARSHJADE FIORILLA ‘17

The state of our marsh is changing; all the marshes around us are changing. An invasive plant has taken deep root in our ecosystem and to date there is no easy way to eradicate it. Having a marsh so close to our school is incredible both for our academic classes as well the view. Just a ten minute walk down the road and the pines fall away. Long grass, a winding river, and the horizon is visible. Sunrise there is beautiful; a soft, glow-ing haze sits over the landscape like the earth has just woken up too. Every morning when I drive to school I pass by patches of thin-stemmed, bushy-tipped reeds that are taller than my car. The plant’s classified name is Phragmites australis, but it is most commonly referred to as either phragmites or the common reed. While in fact many strains of phragmites are native to the United States, the one nonnative strain now dominates most of the Atlantic coastline. These nonnative phragmites have been observed and the reports conclude they grow more rapidly, have taller shoots, and reproduce faster than the native phragmites. This along with the heavily intertwined underground root system that makes removal extremely difficult and time-consuming, the common reed a recipe for potential ecological disaster. Some researchers say that the “human manipulation of coastal areas” is partly to blame for the increased quantity of phrag-mites (“Phragmites australis”). And because that damage cannot be undone, the only hope of saving the indigenous marsh species that the phragmites love to overpower is to find a solution to the grass’ unchecked expansion. But so far nothing seems to have helped diminish the number of phragmites that have snuck their way into our marshes without also impacting other wildlife. Although they are fairly flammable, beneath the soil the roots are usually untouched by the fire meaning sprouts can pop up within five days of being scorched. The use of herbicide is remarked as fairly effective, and the constant mowing of the common reed can also help keep the plant’s presence at bay. This allows other native plants to regain some control. However, no great solution has been discovered yet to permanently deter and stop the continuation of its overpopulation. There are of course benefits to leaving some phragmites, preferably the native kind, in place. The stems provide shade to aquatic animals, and the intricate root system locks in the dirt it coils around, preventing erosion. They can also be used as nesting sites for some birds. Many experts on the situation are calling for more research to be done in effort to try and find some value to the weed-like plant. In history, phragmites were used as a form of gas for transportation—what if this nuisance of grass became the solution to more sustainable fuel energy? Hopefully a good, productive use for phragmites reveals itself and an effort will be put in to clearing out most of the nonna-tive stalks. Otherwise our marsh, part of our campus, will have a significant lack of diversity making those morning sunrises a lot less beautiful and inspiring.

THE CITY UPON A HILLRACHAEL DEPTULA ‘17

For the past four years, Syria has been engaged in an intense civil war between the existing government, various groups of rebels and a group known as ISIS. It began in 2011 and since then over 220,000 people have been killed. Of Syria’s pre-war pop-ulation of 23 million, over half have tried to flee, and are in desperate need of help. Approximately 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced and struggle to leave their war-ridden home. These staggering numbers make this war the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. So who is helping to lessen the atrocities of this crisis? The U.N has contributed to many refugee camps and since early 2014 the United States has supported and trained the rebels opposing ISIS and the government. The United States has become very involved in this issue and it raises a significant and thought provoking question: Should America continue to act as the world’s policeman? The internal conflict in Syria is not the first overseas conflict that the United States has been drawn into. (continued on next page)

SLAVERY DOESN’T BELONGIN THE HISTORY BOOKS...

YET.CHLOE QUIGLEY ‘17

Abuk Bak was a slave in the 21st century. Jesse Sage, author of Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery, shares her story. “Her master, Ahmed Adam, never once used her name; she was always abeeda. It was only after she escaped that she learned what it meant: her name for a decade was sim-ply “black slave.”” Along with her name, Ahmed Adam took happiness, freedom, and a total of ten years from Abuk Bak. He scratched out her identity and left her with one that had no meaning to her. And until people like us recognize the existence of people like Abuk Bak, names like hers will continue to be taken, abused, and forgotten. We can no longer live as witnesses to this suffering. In the United States, we have become accustomed to ignoring the greater problems of the world. Day to day tasks have overcome global tragedies as our shrinking, personal bub-bles continue to suffocate us. However, the world is a lot bigger than most of us think. And it is our duty to make ourselves conscious of these global problems and seek for their solutions. While many of you may believe that slavery is ancient history, you might be surprised to hear that there are still around 60,000 slaves in the U.S. today. Indeed, only a small fraction of the 30 million slaves suffering outside of the U.S.. Nicholas Kris-tof notes: “These modern slaves aren’t sold in chains in public auctions, so it’s not exactly the same as 19th-century slavery. Those counted today include illegal immigrants forced to work without pay under threat of violence and teenage girls coerced to sell sex and hand all the money to their pimps.” Over the past century, slavery has morphed itself to fit into our modern and changing world. Instead of being adver-tised on billboards, it’s now hidden on dark street corners and whispered of in corrupt offices. Now, slavery is harder to see, and therefore easier to turn a blind eye to. However, the gravity of this familiar situation is just as mortifying as it was hundreds of years ago.

TRIMMING THE FATANNA MORRIS ‘17

As more and more startling statistics concerning American obesity continue to surface, it becomes easier to worry about what the state of American health will look like in the future. For instance, according to the National Institute of Diabetes, 68.8% of Americans are now considered to be over-weight, and 33.3% of are considered to be obese. These numbers have alarmingly increased since the 1950s, when only 33% of American adults were overweight, and 9.7% percent were obese. Unfortunately, these rates are only expected to grow. A variety of factors have contributed to this increase. However, one of the most prominent factors is one that is surprising easy to control: serving size. When US serving sizes are compared with those of other countries, it’s easy to see why we have much higher obesity rates than they do. For instance, a small drink at McDonalds holds 16oz, whereas a small in Britain holds 8oz. In addition, a large cup holds 30oz in the US while a large in Japan holds 20oz- the same size as a medium in the US. These numbers seem to play out in real life-- in England, 62.15% of adults are considered overweight, a slightly smaller number than the rate in America; in Japan, a mere 3.5% of adults are obese. Nationally, serving sizes have increased greatly over the past 60 years. When McDonalds first opened its doors in 1955, the largest, and only, hamburger they offered weighed 1.6oz. Now, there is an option to have an 8oz hamburger. a 1,233% increase in the size of a chocolate bar, and a 500% increase in the size of fountain soda. The average restaurant meal is four times larger than it was in 1950. Because of this, on average, a man weighs 28 more pounds than he would in the 1960s, and a woman weighs 24.5 more pounds than she would in the 1960s. These numbers, while shocking, could be easily changed. It is clear that America has an obesity problem, but if the sizes of food were cut back, there could be a significant change in the current state of health of individuals living in the United States.

6

THE MARSH-----------------------JADE FIORILLACITY UPON A HILL--------RACHAEL DEPTULAMODERN SLAVERY------------CHLOE QUIGLEY

TRIMMING THE FAT-------------ANNA MORRISTHE PLAYOFFS----------------ANGUS LAMONDTHE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT-----JIHYUN KIM

DEATH, TAXES, AND THE PLAYOFFSANGUS LAMOND ‘17

Benjamin Franklin once said that there are two things guaranteed in life, death and taxes. Well, I’d like to add a third: the New England Patriots making the playoffs. I can not remember a time when I felt as if the Patriots did not have a chance to win a Super Bowl. Since Bill Belichick became the head coach of the Patriots in the year 2000, the team has 178 wins and only 65 losses, giving him a winning percentage of .733, second highest of all coaches with at least 100 career victories. He has led the Patriots to six Super Bowls, winning four of them. To add to all of his success, he has developed Tom Brady into the greatest quarterback of all time. He has done this all the same way he has accomplished everything in his life, by using an incredible work ethic. Belichick grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, where his father was an assistant football coach at the Naval Academy. Beli-chick sites his father as one of his most important football mentors. After graduating from Annapolis High School, Belichick took a postgraduate year at Phillips Academy Andover. He then went on to Wesleyan College, where he starred on the football, squash,

and lacrosse teams. Belichick began his coaching career in 1975 as an assistant to Ted Marchibroda, the head coach of the Baltimore Colts. He then began working his way up the coaching ladder until he became the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants in 1985. He was responsible for creating one of the most brilliant game-plans ever in Super Bowl XXV, when the Giants upset the heavily favored Buffalo Bills. He was able to hold the Bills’ offense, which had scored 95 points in their previous two game, to only 19 points. The game plan is now in the NFL Hall of Fame. After that game, everyone wanted a piece of the Belichick magic. He became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, where he did not experience as much success as one would have predicted, going 36-44 over five seasons as head coach. He became the head coach of the Patriots in 2000, and in the fifteen years since then, the Patriots have been the most dominant NFL team, by far. Belichick’s surprising success comes from his unbelievable attention to detail. He knows every rule in the rule book, and exactly how to use each one to his advantage. My favorite Belichick moment came in last year’s playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. He used both substitution and eligible receiver rules to trick the Baltimore defense. Although many players, coaches, and fans cried out that the tactics were illegal, they were 100% within the rule. I feel that there is no better example of Belichick’s incredi-ble attention to detail. Since Belichick took over as head coach of the New England Patriots, they have only missed the playoffs three times, his first season as head coach, his third season, and in 2008, when Tom Brady tore his ACL and missed the entire season. So, to para-phrase Benjamin Franklin, there are three things that are certain in this world: death, taxes, and the New England Patriots in the playoffs.

FAR-REACHING IMPLICATIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT

JIHYUN KIM ‘17

It has been four years already. This is the worst drought that the state has had in 100 years. 99.8% of California is now experiencing a “severe” drought. It is a reason for many signifi-cant environmental problems happening there. On August 18, UC Davis researchers presented the “Economic Analysis of the 2015 Drought for California Agri-culture.”According to the report, the drought will cost the state of California $27 billion. The drought has had a significant impact on agricultural areas in particular. The loss in agriculture is predicted to be over $18 billion and over ten thousand seasonal agricultural jobs. Also, due to the lack of water for irrigation purposes, 220 thousand hectares of land were not used. This number is about 4.8 times higher than the last year’s fallow land. The drought is also affecting prices of worldwide farm products. For example, California almonds, which make up 80% of the world almond market, are currently traded at $5.20 per pound, the highest price they have ever been. The prices of melons and oranges harvested in California have also increased. The wildfires caused by the drought are another problem. 1,200 houses were burnt in a fire on September 12th. Residents in a few areas had to evacuate their homes for more than a week. The state government has declared “water wars.”Last April, the emergency 25% water cut was approved by the California legislature. Following the guidelines, Los Angeles Counties cannot water grass anymore. Due to participation by residents, the plan has seen positive results. The State Water Resources Control Board reported that compared to May 2013, the urban water use in May 2015 declined by 28.9%. However, the problems are only just beginning. On August 20th, Columbia University predicted that underground water will evaporate faster than it builds up. They concluded that droughts around the world will get worse by 15-20%. Especially for some regions in California, the rate of droughts will rise to about 27%. Professor Park Williams warned that global warm-ing will affect the amount of water available for human use in a significant way. Now the question arises: Is Byfield’s water supply safe? Aren’t we living in a place where rainboots are must-have items? The predictions suggest that this may change. According to the US drought monitor, Byfield is currently in condition D0, which means “abnormally dry.” Not only Byfield, but also around 85% of the entire state of Massachusetts is either in condition D0 or D1, meaning “moderate drought.” This summer was worse. Byfield was in condition D1 for months. These facts are lying under the surface of our con-sciousness. We often neglect to not the seriousness of the situation since we cannot actually see the declining water levels. We talk about recycling and have an energy reducing campaign, but saving water is not a part of the conversation. There are simple ways that we can all participate. Shortening our shower times, making sure that faucets are turned off completely so that they don’t drip, and using grey-water for watering gardens are examples of methods to reduce water usage.

7

SEND IN SPORTS/WORLD NEWS ARTICLESEMAIL yitao.ding@govsacademy.org

From the beginning of the twentieth century, we have aided in many different world issues including the Vietnam War, Korean War, and World War II. Despite the fact that these wars were started within and between other countries, the United States went in and fought against the tyranny, oppression and hatred that created these issues. America is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, and using that power to assist other countries in need is something that has and will continue to end harmful conflicts. Therefore, America should continue to act as the world’s policeman. In 1630, John Winthrop, a Puritan leader who came to settle in New England, wrote that the new community would be the “city upon a hill.” America would be a place that others would look up to. I believe that this quote is just as relevant to the United States today. We do not assist others to make a hero of ourselves. We do not intervene because it gives us a good name and makes us look important. We do it because it is the right thing to do, because we are morally obligated to help those in need. Our actions speak loud and clear to others and tell them that it is morally right to come to the aid of a struggling country. If others follow this example, imagine how different and how united the world might be. Being the “city upon a hill”, however, does come with sacrifices. As a result of our involvement in other conflicts, our coun-try has been attacked. Events such as 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing are two examples. Many innocent American lives have been lost and the reason simply because we were attempting to do the right thing. The question many people may consider because of these tragic events is; is it all worth it? While I am deeply saddened to acknowledge the terrible losses of these attacks, I also believe that with the moral respon-sibility we have, it is worth it. After all, what makes innocent American lives any more important than innocent Syrian lives? It may not be our country, but that doesn’t mean that the millions of people fleeing their homes and being killed shouldn’t be saved. If we don’t help, who will? If we don’t set the example, who else will make the sacrifice? Who else would be willing to commit our own resources, military and otherwise, to saving others? The world needs a “city upon a hill.” The world needs a policeman. With great power comes great responsibility. The United States has that power and I believe that we are obligated to use it for the betterment of humanity.

CITY UPON A HILL(CONT)

EDITORIALSWE CAN’T DO SOMETHING--TAHA BILIRGENORGANIZED CHAOS-----------LYDIA FANNINGLABOR TURNS TO LOVE-----------YITAO DINGA RESPONSE-------------THE EDITORIAL TEAM

WE CAN’T DO SOMETHING!AND YOU’RE HOLDING IT

TAHA BILIRGEN ‘17

“The Governor is just a school newspaper, stop taking it so seriously!”

Hear that before? I have, and I’ve heard it used for a lot more than just The Governor. A personal favorite, and the first movie I remember watching in my life, The Pursuit of Happiness, has always been in mind in the midst of difficult times, and while I’m hazy on most of the details, one speech given by Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is stuck in my mind:

“Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something.Not even me. All right?You got a dream? You gotta protect it.People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it.You want something? Go get it! Period!”

Coming in a year late, I had a lot of ambitions, and I’ve had many more failures than I’ve had successes. Take for example, the Parliament of Byfield or the P.E.E.R Party. And while there are many uncertainties in any undertaking, I know for fact that The Governor can and will be bigger than any of us can imagine in the moment. To fulfill its potential, our school publication must be treated like a real newspaper. It should run on a net profit through advertising, should include all the essential information from the campus and the world at large, and bring joy and autonomy to the students of the academy, who pick up the paper every week, just as enthusiastically as they pick up orders from Dominos or China One. With a school of writers, and an experienced, enthusiastic group of editors, we can compete with the best of newspapers, never mind papers like The Exonian or The Phillipian. In the end, truth exists only in the mind, a line I remember reading in Orwell’s book 1984, and only until we stop mentally holding ourselves back through the imaginary boundaries we set for ourselves as the authors of a “mere high school paper” will we finally understand our true limits. In the end, we should expect nothing less than our best.

ORGANIZED CHAOSLYDIA FANNING ‘16

“Welcome to the Russell Orchards hayride!” the voice crackles out through the small black speaker held by a man in a dirty flannel shirt and Timberland boots. “Here is all the information you’ll need before you go on your apple picking adventure!” The recording goes on to describe each and every part of the apple picking process in excruciating detail. The man stands idly by, his pur-pose replaced by this piece of technology, and then climbs onto the front of the tractor. I think to myself, this doesn’t feel like an adventure at all. Every single piece of this so-called adventure has already been planned out for me. When I get off this hayride, I will proceed in an or-derly line to the booth which supplies apple picking bags. They will only offer one size for a uniform price of $20 per bag, so as not to overcomplicate the process. Ironic, because the process has already become hopelessly overcomplicated. But more about that later. Then I will follow the bright yellow signs to the linear rows of apple trees and participate in the apple picking. When I’m finished, I can expect the hay ride to come every fifteen minutes to the exact spot that I was dropped off- marked by a large yellow sign, of course. Once I return to the main part of the farm, I can also expect to wait in an incomprehensibly long line to pay for my apples, and don’t even get me started on attempting to buy a cider donut. It’s now common knowledge among residents of Ipswich that you simply can’t enjoy a Russell Orchards cider donut on a fall Sunday without sacrificing your sanity. So I will squeeze my way by the infamous ‘donut line’- no joke, there is an actual sign that labels the line the ‘donut line’ because this has become such a problem- and escape into the parking lot, my chest tight with claustrophobia. As I drive out of the parking lot, directed by a scowling teenage girl in a reflective vest, I recall childhood memories of the very same apple orchard about ten years ago. It might have had something to do with my being so young, but apple picking back then seemed so much less structured. My family would hop on the hayride whenever it rumbled down the dirt path, my dad sitting in the front so that he could talk tractors with the driver. There were no recorded instructions on how to pick apples. No signs designating ‘donut lines.’ My sisters and I would wander through the farm, marveling at the animals. I remember being afraid of the geese with the golf ball shaped masses on their heads. The geese and chickens used to roam free on the farm and sometimes you would turn around and be startled by a curious goose staring you down. Now there is no way that you could let your children run wild through Russell Orchards without having to worry about them accidentally getting in the background of the christmas card photo of one of the thousands of families in matching puffy vests posing on pumpkins. It’s chaos at Russell Orchards- a terrifying, organized chaos. It’s not like the fun, carefree chaos that I remember experiencing as a child. It’s a ‘thousands of families in orderly lines’ type of chaos, which is without a doubt less fun. I’m happy for Russell Orchards. They must be making a ton of money, which is allowing them to expand, creating more jobs for the Ipswich economy. After all, isn’t expansion the goal of any business? And perhaps my negative feelings about my recent experience at Russell Orchards stem from nostalgia about my childhood. Nothing can ever be exactly the way that we remember it, because our brains choose to focus on the positive details of a memory and fade the negative details out of our minds. Part of growing up is accepting that things change. However, I know that there is an underlying phenomenon that bothers me about the changes to Russell Orchards, and it expands much further than the few acres of this small Ipswich farm. It’s happening all over the place. In our society’s mad dash to be bigger and better, we are ignoring the beauty of simplicity. Everything has become incredibly complex, and sometimes unneccessarily so, in the case of a fall afternoon trip to an apple orchard. Small companies have no choice but to expand, so that they can keep up their competition with the larger businesses. But I’m sure I’m not the only one who misses the simple chaos of getting lost in an apple orchard.

PRESS CLUB MEMBERS WANTED!Receive specific topic assignments/Work with the team of editors/Acquire an in-depth experience with The Governor/Manageable work

Contact taha.bilirgen@govsacademy.org for details

8

MONDAYS 6:00-7:30 PM

IMAGE: CHRIS GARDNER (WILL SMITH)

9WHEN LABOR TURNS TO LOVE “Whoa! Ding is unguardable!” I heard exclamations like that every day when I played basketball with my friends in Beijing No. 4 Middle School. However, aside from its prestige, my middle school is also known for its exceptionally stringent rules. The school’s basketball courts, stipulated by the dean Mr. Wang, must be evacuated by 4:30 PM, even though classes always end at 4:10 PM. Thus, those 20 minutes became the highlight of my days at the Beijing No. 4 Middle School. As the best basketball player of my class, I earned much respect from both boys and girls. On the court, I was the most coveted player when picking teams. Ironically, a 10 minute long quarrel over which team I would be on would take place every day. Within the 10 minutes left, whenever someone scored points on me, they would run around the court and scream: “I just scored on Jeff Ding!” What was even better for me was that every day some girls would always watch my basketball games after school. When I walked from classe to classe, girls would ogle at me then blush and chuckle in their own little groups. It felt great to be the most popular kid in my school. My relationship with basketball has changed dramatically since I came to Govs. The freedom that a New England prep school offers is indeed a boon. I can play basketball any time I want and

YITAO DING ‘16

therefore I have the opportunity to get much better: the sky is the limit. To use this opportunity to better my skills, my freshman year I decided to take 500 shots a day and follow a rigorous weight-lifting workout. Known as the “Asian kid who plays basketball all the time,” I quickly made friends with many athletes at the school. With all the resources and opportunities, I wanted to be admired as the best athlete in the school’s history and an NBA player instead of the “Asian kid who plays basketball all the time.” With my hard work, I could earn recognition from not only the school, but also all the basketball fans around the world. Kam Nobles, the captain of the basketball team, noticed my hard work and talked to me on a late Saturday night. “Ding, I really respect the work that you’re putting in. From today, let’s work out together,” he told me. I felt so encouraged that I was invited to work out with the captain, as if this somehow confirmed my NBA potential. He showed me many motivational videos, which pumped me up to get ready for the imminent tryouts. Despite all that hard work, I did not make the cut. However, I told myself that Michael Jordan got cut his freshman year, and Forrest Gump became successful by never giving up. Thus, I continued to shoot thousands of basketballs a week and follow a rigorous workout regimen the next year. I kept reminding myself that one day I would make the NBA and be recorded in my school’s history. But my sophomore year, I got cut again. I did not immediately give up my NBA dream. The process was rather gradual. As academics and school leadership responsibilities started to kick in, I steadily decreased the amount of time I spent on basketball. Only after fully giving up on my NBA dream could I fully appreciate the significance of basketball in my life. In the past, I had merely used basketball as a tool to gain recognition and fame. But now, even though I don’t take 500 shots a day anymore, I en-joy playing basketball with my friends and realize that basketball is my passion, not my utensil for attention. To me, my basketball career is like Ikea furniture. I spent a lot of time building it, which was frustrating at times, but my labor lead to a love and appreciation for the sport.

DEAR MR. HUNTINGTONTHE EDITORIAL TEAM

Dear editors of The Governor, In this morning’s issue of The Governor Express, I was disappointed to read Max Caiati-Nardone’s article on the state of wireless networking at the Academy. Up front, I cannot dispute his statements regarding the speed of the wireless connection in the dormitories during study hall because I do not have enough information to do so. However, it seems that The Governor Express and its editorial team abdicated some basic principles of journalism in allowing the article to go to print as written. First, certain facts laid out in the article are incorrect. Primarily, the article suggests that “Perhaps the most effective way to do [improve performance] would be to lay wires under the campus and have one or two routers or signal strength boosters in a building. This would allow all of the academic buildings and dorms to, at least, have a reliable wifi signal.” Underground fiberoptic cabling (the fastest available, still) was laid during the 1990’s, running to each building on campus from a switch in the Pescosolido Library. The infrastructure connected to that cabling is upgraded little by little, each and every year. Additionally, each building has three to ten (or more) wireless access points providing connectivity. The second and editorially more important point is that the article does not seek comment from the Information Technology department. I have no doubt that Mr. Mandel and Mr. Waldman would have happily provided commentary, explanation, or response to the reporter’s concerns about campus Wi-Fi access and speed. Indeed, I am sure that despite the rant published in today’s The Governor Express, they would still welcome the opportunity to have that conversation. I thank you for taking my concerns into consideration, and I hope you will consider issuing a follow-up article with a more complete investigation. You are free to publish my letter, if you so wish.

Respectfully,Currie HuntingtonFormer Assistant Director of Information Technology

As seen on the front page:

Dear Mr. Huntington,

Thank you for your interest in our paper. The concerns present in your letter have been taken into consideration, and after a review of the article in question, your letter, and our actions as editors, we’ve understood your position, and believe it is necessary to explain ours. Considering the article, we found it to include a reasonable opinion rather than a rant, this being the reason it doesn’t need the technical information it would have been afforded by an interview with the IT department. As you’ve pointed out, the article has ambiguous categorization; failing to list the article under the opinion section was an oversight by the editorial team, and while we acknowledge and are accountable for this choice, we find that the specific article in question was succesful in invigorating the focus on campus Wi-Fi, as evident by numerous incoming articles. Working to create a more perfect paper, the editorial team will keep your recommendation in mind moving forward.

Respectfully,The Editorial Team

IMAGE: CHRIS GARDNER (WILL SMITH)

IN BRIEFWORLD NEWS BULLETIN:US NEWS BULLETIN:UPCOMING EVENTS: ACADEMY NEWS BULLETIN:

“IN BRIEF” MANAGER WANTED ONLINE MANAGER WANTED APP DEVELOPER WANTED CLUB MANAGER WANTEDFor details, email: taha.bilirgen@govsacademy.org

THEGOVERNOR

October 21No events scheduled

October 22No events scheduled

October 238 PM: Parent’s Weekend Concert

October 24ACT

October 25Parents Weekend

October 26Parents Weekend

October 27Parents Weekend

October 28No Events Scheduled

October 296 PM: Special Olympics, Heads & Shadows Meeting

October 30No events scheduled

October 31Admissions Open HouseHalloween dance

November 1No events scheduled

November 2School Year abroad representative

November 3Community Convocation: Special Olympics

October 7-October 21-Misha Tollman and Andrei Biswas continue work on robotics engineer-ing project

-Tech Connectors & Misha continue work on supercomputer

-Taha Bilirgen opens invitation for High School Diplomats application

-Seniors and freshman win Powder-Puff Game

-Stephen Daminos visits The Acade-my

-Construction behind PAC & in front of Science Center

-Peek Into Pesky begins distribution on dining hall tables

-New Clubs: International Club, Young Republicans Club

-Delegates chosen for Harvard Model Congress this February

-Admissions using texting services to reach out to tour guides

-Group of students goes shark tag-ging, fishing; Chester Nomura catches big game.

-Library puts up Halloween decora-tions; students too frightened to read.

-The Governor staff expanding infa-structure

-Boys Varsity Soccer victorious in Fri-day night game vs. Concord Academy

October 7-October 21

Flash PoliticsPage 5 for Political News

-Obama to keep 5,500 Troops in Af-ghanistan

-Loose Nukes still pose a threat to the U.S

-NASA releases photos of Enceladus, Saturn’s moon

-Retail sales fall short before the up-coming holiday season

-Police interested in stricter Drone rules

-New investigation revealse the risk of dietary supplements: 23,000 in ER each year

-Wet winter likely to cross California

-Nintendo makes first investment in mobile gaming companies

-U.S inflation set to rise, gasoline pric-es keep dropping

-AMD (computer parts) stock drop-ping

-Virginia drivers with confederate license plates reluctant to switch

-Maine school head bans school danc-es, blaming grinding and MTV

-Tesla urges caution over its new auto-pilot feature

October 7- October 21-Poachers use cyanide to kill 26 ele-phants (Zimbabwe)

-Tighter borders in Europe following migrant crisis

-ISIS supposedly targetting U.S power grid

-Syrian Army launches Hom offensive

-World bank to send support for Syr-ia’s neighbors

-New Volkswagen executive believes “frim can shien again”

-FIFA focuses on reforms

-HongKong police charged for beat-ing protestors

-Goldman Sachs sees profits plunge

-United Kingdom spy kit used on Uganda disidents

-Leonardo Dicaprio to perform in a Volkswagen scandal film

-Dutch science to sell lab-grown meat

IMAGE: WORLD BANK LOGO

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IMAGE: ENCELADUS

IMAGE: LEONARDO DICAPRIO

IMAGE: FIFA LOGO/CASH

IMAGE: HARVARD LOGO

IMAGE: SKULL (SCARY)