Richie Palazzese ’14 This winter, the fitness and community service options at Episcopal have shifted from students splitting time between fitness and community service, to selecting one or the other. With this new arrangement, the hope is that students will be able to focus on one area of afterschool activities and devote themselves to it completely. There are currently 79 students enrolled in the revamped fitness group, and according to fitness coach Steve Musacchio, the weight room has a new mentality. Nyazia Martin ’12 said that in the past, fitness could be an easy way out. “There were definitely kids…
Author: TECHALERT
Julia Fay ’13 & Deirdre Meaney ’14 While Episcopal’s usual denizens were trundling home last month for a well-earned two week winter break, the Crawford Campus Center was anticipating the arrival of a reconstruction team to begin work on the second floor art gallery. To kick off the refurbished space, the Senior Salon show will open this month. It will showcase talent within the senior class, spanning the diverse breadth of photography, 2-D Design, 3-D Design, and woodworking. Open to any member of the senior class, the Senior Salon will serve as recognition of the artistic talents and dedication of…
Gonzalo del Peon ’13 Episcopal’s enforcement of clean-shaven student faces is an oft-lamented facet of the boys’ dress code. However, this past October, many Upper School students were struck by an unfamiliar and bearded face. Jon Barr, a Penn Charter import to the sophomore class, was given special permission to grow a beard for his role in the fall play, “Twelve Angry Jurors.” Although the beard is long gone, many unacquainted with Barr still remember him as the scruffy sophomore. Barr recently snagged the lead in the spring musical, which has literally put the spotlight on this up-and-coming underclassman. Scholium…
Kayla Coleman ’14 Television ads urging viewers to track down one last, limited-edition copy of Beauty and the Beast, or the latest Blu-Ray version of The Lion King, all preach the urgency of such purchases with the threat that soon these beloved classics will be resealed into the elusive ‘Disney Vault.’ The Vault, a mysterious black hole into which the Disney Princesses of the current generation’s childhood seem to have been swallowed, is in fact no more intriguing than a suspension on release for a period of time as a tactic for increasing sales. Since the Vault’s inception in 1937…
Amanda Molitor ’14 With the creation of the new Upper School Baking Club this year, Episcopal can now consider many of its students culinary artists. The club was created by Chandler Burke ’12 and Kira Nakahara ’12, along with Sarah Perkins, V Form Dean, as the faculty advisor. Perkins described the club as “a group of students who are interested in baking, not merely to produce baked goods from mixes, but to also learn about variations in technique and ingredients that enable them to enjoy the art of creating the treat, as well as enjoying it afterwards.” Burke said, “[The…
Michael Smerconish ’14 There’s now one more reason to ban fighting in hockey: the death of 28-year-old Derek Boogaard. Boogaard, who last played for the New York Rangers, died last spring. His official cause of death was an overdose on painkillers, but the real, underlying cause was the National Hockey League’s continued allowance of fights on the ice. Boogaard was an “enforcer,” a player whose job is not to score goals or make plays, but to intimidate other teams through hard hits and, most important, fighting. In fact, he was more a boxer than a hockey player. The New York…
Matthew Robinson ’14 The $662 billion 2012 National Defense Authorization Bill, which includes one of the most controversial clauses in the bill’s long history, will work to solve many of the nation’s current security problems. Having passed through the House and Senate, the bill is now being finalized so that it may be sent to President Obama for signing. The bill is not at all new; it has been passed for each of the last 48 years to specify the budget of the United States Department of Defense. The 2012 bill has become controversial because of section 1031, which holds…
Matthew Vegari ’13 The United States Postal Service recently announced its intention to cut next-day delivery and to let go almost 30,000 employees, indicating that once again the American government is failing to produce jobs. For the last two years, American media have been revolving around the economic crisis and high rate of unemployment in the United States. Repeatedly, the United States government has assured citizens that this is only a phase; however, recent job cuts in the nationalized postal service determines otherwise. One of the few socialist expenditures of the United States is the postal service. Despite the constant…
Anthony Thai ’13 After reports of illegal press activity surfaced, prominent reporters from numerous British tabloids insisted that they were simply searching for the truth in the interest of the public. However, privacy is a right to be respected and handled with care. Last July, Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World came under fire after a widespread phone-hacking scandal was uncovered, inciting public outcry and resulting in the termination of the newspaper’s distribution. Numerous celebrities, including actor Hugh Grant, singer Charlotte Church, and author J.K. Rowling, have come forth to voice complaints about blackmailing, theft of private documents, and even…
Though the Episcopal Academy provides an array of service opportunities to the student body, these efforts have proven futile, and far too few members of the community participate. Since 2009, Episcopal has tried to increase service efforts through the mandated Day of Service for each grade in the Upper School; however, this attempt has simply brushed aside the reality that the Episcopal Academy does not, in fact, house a thriving community service program. Many students find the Day of Service either disruptive to their academic schedules or an excuse to stay home and not miss classes. Most homerooms now neglect…
Lyssa Freese ’12 It is five minutes before drop block and you have no idea whether or not you have class, but instead of panicking, you can slyly pull out your phone and check your schedule. Nick Paolino, a current senior, has created an application for smart phones that “allows you to check your schedule of classes that day, see whether you have chapel, activity, frees, or labs. It also has the daily bulletin,” said Paolino. This app is currently available “on the android market” Paolino explained, and although it is only “just for androids,” Paolino is “working on making…
Alex Archambault ‘14 Every day in Room 102, a group of diverse and opinionated students meet for class to openly discuss taboo and controversial topics in an environment that can only be described as the “trust tree.” This class, called Race and Ethnicity, is taught by Justin Brandon, VI Form Dean. Race and Ethnicity is a history elective that focuses on topics such as race, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status in history and contemporary society. The class was started by Al Williams, a former member of the History Department, in 2003 when Harriet Crane was head of the History Department.…
Annika Iyer ’15 The senior class gift is an annual tradition at the Episcopal Academy. This act of giving back epitomizes the philosophies and values of the stripes. In the past, the senior class has voted to decide what gift would contribute best to the Episcopal campus. However, this past year, the senior gift fund will no longer be used for one large gift. Instead, students will be able to appoint where they want their gift to go. Past gifts have included the senior star from the Class of 2008, and the big “E” in the honor hall painted by…
Katie O’Reilly ’14 Episcopal’s Upper School student council throws the annual Snowball dance to celebrate the end of the first semester as well as the finish of midterm exams. With the long winter still to come, Evie O’Brian ’14, a student council member said, “It gives our classmates something to look forward to as well as a form of motivation during the tough weeks concluding a semester.” The dance is always semi-formal, which allows students to dress up for a dance that isn’t prom. Angela Miklavcic, a faculty supervisor of the student council and member of the Science Department, said,…
Gracey Austin ’12 Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1986, making this year the 25th anniversary of this celebrated day. In 1994, the government went a step further to honor MLK’s legacy and designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national day of service. Most schools across the nation have off on this holiday, yet the phrase, “A day on, not a day off” has been popularized in order to rally volunteers to spend their day off serving their community. At Episcopal, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service falls on…
Toni Radcliffe ’14 Although Episcopal is not a “nut-free” school, there are certain food allergy requirements and restrictions in place in order to maintain the safety and health of students with documented food allergies. “We can never ensure a certain percent of allergen-free food, but we try to make sure we have systems set up to keep the environment as safe as we can,” said Anne Raverby, Middle and Upper School Nurse. “Every year, one of the reasons we get all those health forms is so I get a current updated status and monitor all of the current conditions. Food…
Michael Quinlan ’14 New regulations concerning Pennsylvania’s teenage drivers receiving their permits and licenses have been effective since December 24th, 2011. The new rules were described as “the proper tools [for our junior drivers] to be safe behind the wheel,” by Republican State Representative Katharine Watson of Bucks County, who was the first to fight for the new regulations a number of years ago. House Bill 9, more commonly referred to as “Lacey’s Law,” honoring Lacey Gallagher, a Philadelphia teen who died in a 2007 car crash, was brought to the House of Representative and passed with a 188-6 vote…
Chester Thai ’14 Police have broken up Occupy movements in major cities across the country during the few past months due to public health concerns, leading some to question the constitutionality of these evictions. The first eviction occurred mid-November in New York City, the origin of the movement. At 1:00 A.M., the police sealed off Zuccotti Park, used pepper spray, shields, and batons to disperse protesters, and arrested about 200 people. Similar evictions occurred on smaller scales in other cities, including Los Angles, Boston, and Philadelphia. Many protesters have agreed that police brutality was unacceptable and that eviction violated their…
John Flynn ’14 Arlene Ackerman, former Philadelphia School District Head, is now applying for unemployment benefits after receiving a contract buyout. While in charge of the district, Ackerman reportedly had multiple disputes with other government officials. The deficit of the Philadelphia School District under Ackerman reached $629 million, calling for budget cuts and layoffs in many departments. On August 30, just before the new school year, Arlene Ackerman was given a severance package of more than $900,000, including unused vacation and personal days. According to philly.com, $405,000 of the total $988,000 was given by private donors. Leroy D. Nunery II…
Ryan Quinlan ’14 The US is currently experiencing a shortage of Adderall, a prescription drug used to treat ADHD, due to uneven distribution, a general increase in demand, and a shortage of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Both forms of Adderall, instant release (IR) and extended release (XR), are currently experiencing shortages. The extended release version of Adderall is only approved for ADHD, while the instant release version is also approved for use with narcolepsy, defined by the U.S. Nation Library of Medicine, as “…a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks.” According to the U.S. Food…