1. shopping
2. gifts

THE
Columns
St. Agnes Academy
Volume 57 Issue 3
9000 Bellaire Boulevard Houston, TX 77036
What’s Inside
Health Care
Pains
Political issues stand between 4 million children
See page 3.
Teen Haters
Do you ever feel discriminated against because you’re a teenager?
See page 4.
Winter Holiday Survey
Lindsey Adam
On Campus Editor
“I leave my pet reindeer outside because I live on
a farm and I have like 3 of them. But so far Santa
hasn’t stolen him. But I really want them to make
baby reindeer. That’s all I want for Christmas to
cuddle with my baby reindeer.”
-Junior Chloe Hamilton
“I have divorced parents so I really get
two Christmases which is awesome so
Christmas day I open my presents and
spend the day with either my mom
or dad and their side of the family
and the next day just when you think
Christmas is over NOT FOR ME I spend
it with my other parent and have yet
another Christmas.”
- Ninth Grader Chelsea Thompson
“My parents hold that, ‘if
you don’t believe in Santa,
he just won’t come.’ So then
Santa comes, because we are
firm believers in Santa, leprechauns and fairies[...]”
-Senior Isabel Greiner
I listen to
Christmas songs
incessantly
in December,
especially on
sunny 99.1.
-Senior Florence
Pichon
“We’re supposed
to open [presents]
Christmas morning, but I usually
unwrap mine early
and then re-wrap
them! Don’t tell!”
-Math teacher, Ms.
Garvin Gaston
Teacher BFFS
59%
of the school leave
out milk and
treats for Santa
and his reindeer
Teachers tells us how their
friendships at St. Agnes
make life sweeter.
See page 9.
Hear the St.
Agnes Tigers
ROAR!
When do you open
presents?
72% Christmas Morning
15% Both
10% Christmas Eve
3% Other
Turn to the Sports section
to read about our wonderful basketball and soccer
teams
December/January 2007
When do you have the
celebratory meal?
27% Christmas Eve
Dinner
23% Christmas Dinner
21% Christmas Brunch
19% Multiple Meals
10% Other
See page 11.
To advertise with The
Columns, contact Business
Manager Aileen O’Leary
through our email address
[email protected]
What holiday
decorations do
you put up?
80% The works!
15% A tree!
5% Other
Top 5 Favorite Reindeer
1) Rudolph
2) Vixen
3) Comet
4) Blitzen
5) Cupid
67% of the
school sends out
holiday cards!
Index
Page 2....................Editorial
Page 3.........................News
Page 4-5................Opinions
Page 6............Stress Spread
Page 7-8.................Features
Page 9...............On Campus
Page 1........................Sports
Page 11.................Tiger Tail
Top 5 Favorite Carols
1) Winter Wonderland
2) Let is Snow
3) Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas
4) Chestnuts Roasting
on an Open Fire
5) Jingle Bells
98%
of the school
spend the
holidays with
family!
57%
of the school
travel for the
holidays!
1
Special thanks to: Amy
Stuhldreher, Anne Loos,
Hayley Hemstreet, Sandi
Moynihan, Jansen Lloyd,
Julia Belcher, Dakota Lawrence, and Linda Adam.
Editorial
December/January 2007
Columns
The
Vol 57 Issue 3
the columns
St. Agnes Academy
9000 Bellaire Boulevard
Houston Texas 77036
713.219.5400
[email protected]
Advisor.........................................................................Dr. Ranajana Varghese
Editor-in-Chief.........................................................................Juliana Serrano
Editor-in-Chief.......................................................................Kate Winderman
Features Editor........................................................................Lauren Halliday
Opinions Editor.........................................................................Nicki Koetting
On-Campus Editor.....................................................................Lindsey Adam
News Editor...........................................................................Amy Stuhldreher
Sports Editor...........................................................................Sandi Moynihan
Business Manager....................................................................Aileen O’Leary
Asst. Business Manager/Blast from the Past Columnist.....Hayley Hemstreet
Art Director.....................................................................................Anne Loos
Asst. Art Director/Photographer...........................................Stephanie Turner
Spread Editor/Chief Photographer.................................................Jamie Oyer
Perspective Columnist.................................................................Soha Nassef
Entertainment Columnist..........................................................Allison Branca
Food Columnist..............................................................................Ali Wolters
The Columns is the student newspaper of St. Agnes Academy. Its content,
which is the responsibility of The Columns staff, is not subject to administrative approval. Unsigned editorials represent the opinions of the newspaper,
while opinion columns represent the writer’s perspective. Advertisements
do not represent the newspaper’s viewpoint. The Columns, an open forum,
welcomes signed letters on pertinent issues from the SAA community. The
editors reserve the right to edit and decline to print letters. All writing may
be submitted to Dr. Varghese in room 212 or through
[email protected]
Advertising Policy
The Columns accepts advertising that does not promote illegal services or
immoral products to its readers. The moderator reserves the right to accept or deny advertising with her discretion. Contact Aileen O’Leary for
advertising rates and information. Upon approval of the advertisement, The
Columns promises to follow through on all contracts. If advertisments are
not approved, The Columns promises to refund the fee in full.
I
It’s beginning to look a lot
like Christmas...
in October?
t’s October afternoon and you
walk into Kroger for an errand
your mom asked you to do on
your way home from school. You
walk in and you’re astounded.
Alongside
the
Halloween
cupcakes in the bakery section,
a surprising display of Christmas
cookies awaits your eyes.
You ask yourself: is Christmas
celebrated too early? Why does
it seem that every year stores
are starting to put out Christmas
merchandise earlier and earlier?
When is it the right time to start
celebrating Christmas?
Some believe that the earlier you
celebrate Christmas the better,
because it means more time for
celebration and partying. Others
hate having it so early because
they feel it takes away from the
magic of Christmas.
Before forming a point of
view, one must remember what
the Christmas season is and
what it stands for. Christmas is
an extremely special day. For
Christians, it is the day that our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was
born. It’s the day love and mercy
came to our world, and that is a
wonderful thing that we should
celebrate.
What angers some of those who
don’t agree with the early start on
Christmas is that the only reason
stores start it early is because
they want to take advantage of
the season and Jesus’ birth to get
money out of holiday shoppers.
When stores begin Christmas
celebrations in October, it makes
Christmas more commercialized.
Most people can agree that
Christmas is becoming too much
of a “Hallmark” holiday. The spirit
of Christmas and of loving one
another are lost when the holiday
becomes materialistic. Christmas
is supposed to be a time of being
together and loving one another
as we celebrate Jesus’ birth; it’s
not about spending a lot of money
to satisfy what everyone expects
for Christmas.
I don’t want to be the Christmas
grinch; I love Santa, Rudolph,
receiving gifts, and everything
that goes along with the holiday.
It would be nice, however, to
not feel obligated to give gifts
because it’s Christmas, but
because you love the person who
received your gift and you want to
show your appreciation. You also
shouldn’t expect to receive gifts.
You should feel honored that your
parents and loved ones love you
so much they want to show their
appreciation when giving gifts.
This Christmas season, do
not feel rushed to buy gifts in
October before Halloween and
Thanksgiving. Enjoy each holiday
as it comes and wait at least until
the end of Thanksgiving to begin
Christmas. Use Santa’s float on
the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade
and the start of Sunny 99.1’s
Christmas carols to begin your
holiday shopping.
December 2007
By: Sandi Moynihan
1 SAA/SJ BAND
CONCERT
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Hanukkah
Begins
SAA/SJ MESSIAH
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Festivus
30
Christmas Eve
Our Lady of
Guadalupe
Mass
E X A M S
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Christmas
Kwanzaa
Begins
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New Years Eve
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Christmas
Dance
Christmas Break
Starts
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NewsTwenty - oh seven
December/January 2007
Health care
crisis
Allison Branca
Entertainment Columnist
T
Anne Loos
Art Director
T
he Congress and President
Bush continue to clash
over the issue of health
care. In October, the Democratic
Congress passed a new health
care bill that would provide public health care to children whose
families earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, but still could
not afford health insurance. The
bill would give $35 billion to the
State Children’s Health Insurance
Program, also known as SCHIP,
and would add four million children to the six million uninsured
children already covered by the
program. The money the government will use to insure these children would come from a 61 centper-pack increase on cigarettes.
In addition, the bill received a
fair amount of bipartisan support.
However, President Bush threatened to veto this bill before it had
even reached his desk. Despite the
president’s threats, Congress still
passed the SCHIP plan but just
as Bush promised, he vetoed it.
Bush and other skeptics claim
that the bill forces families to
switch from private health care to
public health care. He claims that
the Democratic Congress’s bill
is a “trick” to bring the country
one step closer to a completely
nationalized health care system.
Bush also does not approve of the
Vol 57 Issue 3
the columns
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, urges representatives to support the SCHIP bill.
WWW.FTD.DE
fact that the funding comes from
taxes on tobacco. Originally, the
president had proposed adding
only $5 billion to the program
over the next five years, but Congress felt that was not enough.
The veto further strained the already tense relationship between
Congress and the President. Harsh
allegations flew from both sides of
the fence. Bush accused Congress
of wasting time and tricking the
American people. Democrats said
the president cared more about
his Iraq war than poor children.
They accuse him of being out
of touch with America’s needs.
The Democrats were certain
that they could override the President’s veto in the Senate; however, they came up thirteen votes
short of a two-thirds majority
which is needed to override a veto.
The Senate was not discouraged
though. They made revisions to
the bill which restrict benefits to
illegal immigrants, prevent adults
form receiving benefits, and cap
the income levels of families who
quality for the program. The bill
still gives $35 billion to SCHIP,
insures four million children, and
raises the tax on cigarettes. The
changes to the bill are minimal;
Rep. Joe Barton of Texas described it as “putting lipstick on
a pig.” Many Republicans still do
not like the fact that the bill causes
people to leave their private insurers and rely on federal programs.
And Bush says he will refuse
any health care plan in which the
money comes from a tobacco tax.
Tensions between Democrats and
Bush are preventing much needed
changes from being made in America. Issues such as the Iraqi War,
health care, and the environment
will never be solved until Congress and the president can come
to the table with an open mind
and willingness to compromise.
that the volcano does not pose
an imminent threat. They have,
however, taken precautionary
measures and set up a 3 km radius
zone around the volcano and continue to warn people to remain
outside the zone.
Though Anak Krakatau is one
monitor Anak Krakatau and the
other infamously volatile volcanoes of Indonesia, the question
arises: is it possible that we may
experience a repeat of 1816’s year
without a summer? The global
community experienced severely
abnormal weather in 1816 due to
the eruption
of Indonesia’s Mount
Ta m b o r a
which released volcanic dust
into
the
upper atmosphere.
This abnormal weather included
June snowstorms in
Canada
and New
England
and a May
frost which
killed off
a large majority of the world’s
crops. There was mass starvation
and extreme inflation.
I know many of us are not
pleased by the 83 degree weather
we have been experiencing this
November, but surely it is better than a year without summer
and the death and destruction the
eruption of Anak Krakatau and its
neighbors could bring with it’s incredible beauty.
he year 2007 is coming to an end and the
year 2008 will be rung
in soon enough. This year has
been busy. From political campaigns to Britney Spears’ custody battle the news has been that
of which we can never forget.
Being an academy woman I
would like to recall that this year
has been an incredible year for
women. While we were celebrating the change in the New Year,
Nancy Pelosi was preparing to
be inducted as the first womaSpeaker of the House. It was
On less important news Britney Spears had a meltdown that
the world saw. She shaved her
hair off, and went ballistic. She
constantly backed into other
cars and ran causing the media
to question her capability of being a good mother. The negativity around Britney created an
inappropriate atmosphere for her
boys. She is currently fighting
an uphill battle for custody of
her children. She tried to make a
comeback, but really put her even
more in a slump. Hollywood is
a dangerous place and not many
people can handle the pressures.
Close to home and our hearts.
Another year without summer
Aileen O’Leary
Business Manager
W
ithin the last week
Anak Krakatau, the
“child” of the Indonesian volcano Krakatau, has
woken up and undergone several
small explosions.
When parent volcano
Krakatau
erupted
in
1883, the explosion caused
the earth to
cool half a
degree for ten
years and generated a tsunami with waves
as high as 130
feet. The volcano exploded
with the force
of 100 million
tons of dynamite that
was heard a full 1800 miles
away; ashes generated by the explosion in Indonesia were carried
as far as New York City. As Ms.
Crank explains, such an event is
“similar to something happening
in Seattle and us hearing it here
[in Houston].”
Despite the volatility of Krakatau’s 1883 eruption, scientists
monitoring Anak Krakatau say
that it will continue with minor
eruptions into the near future and
Karakatau erupting in 1883.
WWW.UHH.HAWAII.EDU
of the most dangerous volcanoes
in the Pacific, Saut Simatupang,
head of volcano observation in
Bandung, assures residents and
tourists: “It is still at the third
level of alert.” Even though he
states, “There were approximately one hundred explosions yesterday,” he assures that, “It is safe
and there aren’t any problems.”
As volcanologists continue to
New Yorkers celecrate the beginning of a new year.
WWW.WIREDNEWYORK.COM
an incredible breakthrough and
could possibly foreshadow the
turn out of the 2008 presidential
election. Hillary Clinton is as motivated as ever and continues to
campaign to be the first woman
president. A much needed new
experience has occurred and has
inspired women all over the country. She has let people know that
it is possible to make a change.
Politics are not the only thing
that has occurred in the last year
that is of substantial importance.
Sports are part of America’s
past time and are crucial in our
lifestyle. In the world of baseball the Boston Red Sox won
the World Series, and Craig
Biggio set a record and retired.
Houston will miss Biggio and
his dirty helmet for many years.
3
Our own arch-bishop Denardo, whom many of us
were confirmed by, has become
a cardinal elect. He is the first
bishop in the southeast states that
has been selected for this worthy
position. It is comforting to see
that the man that was leading our
spiritual lives is now even closer to the pope. We were lucky
enough to see him so soon after
being selected. It was a blessing that he came to dedicate our
science building. The science
building is now a place to grow
spiritually and intellectually.
News never stops and something new is always happening.
As the year continues advancements will be made and adventures will unfold. The year 2007
was a great year and a hard year.
We will all carry on and cannot
wait to see what 2008 has in store.
December/January 2007
Opinions
Vol 57 Issue 3
the columns
Public Service Announcement I’m in the
from the President of St. Agnes Mood for
Food!
Academy
Jamie Oyer
Center Spread Editor
D
ear
students,
faculty, staff, and tenderhearted guests-readers,
To most Americans, the holidays are a time where millions of
people participate in memorable
Christmas traditions like hanging lights on the tree, sitting on
Santa’s lap, and maxing out credit
cards to buy those pricy last minute gifts. However, after observing these last seventeen Christmases with sad eyes as I watched
some of my classmates confused
about the entire Christmas process, I have decided to make
Christmas 2007 a celebration
of all things politically correct.
Firstly, I believe some phraseology must be taken into account if
we are to truly going to undertake
this task. I am of course referring to the popular holiday motto
“Merry Christmas” as not everyone in the entire universe celebrates the birth of the baby Jesus.
Now I understand that this terminology does pertain to wide
percentage of students, however,
what about those who are of the
Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or other faiths? Should not
they have a “merry” time, too?
A more politically correct term
would be the forever applicable
“Happy Holidays!” or even better, “Happy Non-Denominational
and Neutral Celebration of the
Winter Solstice Holiday!”
I
think a motto like that would
bring smiles and sunshine to all
the little children of our world.
In order to better recognize the religious faiths of our fellow Americans, perhaps we should partake in their winter celebrations.
How about putting a menorah in
your window? I myself am 1/32
Jewish, and although I am not a
follower of the Jewish faith, I still
find myself getting into fits of
glee and amusement every time
someone pulls out the dreidle.
You could also join in sipping a
drink with your friends out of the
Kikombe cha Umoja (community
cup) to spread some Kwanza joy.
On that note, I would like to inform you all that Kwanzaa is not
an actual African holiday, but more
accurately, an African-American
holiday. It was created in 1966
by African Americans as a way to
remember their African ancestry.
I admit, making these changes
may be a little drastic, but think
about all the new and exciting
winter holiday festivities you
will be participating in. So this
December, in the spirit of all
things holiday related, let us join
hands as one celebratory and diversified unit and shout, “Happy
Hannuchrismakwanzikah!”
Lindsey Adam
On Campus Editor
H
Despite strong marketing campaigns towards teenagers, the Galleria’s
department stores are also guilty of profiling their target audience.
stereotype, and did not tip well.
The other most common place
for profiling is at the mall, in
particular department stores. St.
Agnes girls agree that profiling
is a frequent occurrence in their
shopping experience. “If you go
to the Coach store and you don’t
look like you have money or are
over twenty-five, then they don’t
even greet you,” said junior Anne
Mims. Senior Florence Pichon
definitely notices the change in
service, “I am a casual slob kind
of person, but I enjoy the extremities of fashion. Whenever I do go
to a nice department store, I get
scorching glares from the store attendants who snub me and never
offer to help.” Yet I wanted something more concrete than just the
experiences of a few. So I developed a mall experiment using a
teenage girl and a middle aged
woman. The teenage girl was
dressed in shorts and a summer
camp T-shirt, while the woman
wore expensive jeans and carried a designer handbag. I was
shocked by the results. The teenager was kept waiting for much
longer periods of time and when
she was helped;
the attendants
were brisk, condescending and
reluctant to help.
In great contrast,
the woman was
constantly welcomed and offers
of help and compliments awaited
her at every turn.
After the experience there was
no denying the
role
profiling
plays in the commercial industry.
Despite the billions of dollars
spent on advertisements focusing teens and the
family friendly
claims of many
restaurants, the
profiling of such
a large consumer
audience is ultimately destructive to both the commercial industry and the teenage customers affected by such practices.
4
Food/Dining Columnist
Christmas
Cookies
“
Falling into the “teenage dirt bag” category
ave you ever walked
into a restaurant and
known that you are being treated differently based
purely on the fact that you’re a
teenager? Have you ever stood
at a make-up counter waiting for
service while every other person
is helped? Have you ever walked
into a department store in shorts
and a T-shirt and been treated differently than another time when
you were dressed in your best? If
you’ve experiences any of these
scenarios, then you’ve been profiled. Profiling is when restaurant
or store workers assign a category
or type to customers based on a
set of characteristics or qualities.
For instance, there is a common
belief that teenagers are bad tippers and therefore restaurant
workers will typically spend
less time and effort on them as
customers due to the stereotype.
Probably the most common and
noticeable location for profiling is
at restaurants. Actually my inspiration for this article began in a
restaurant. Their whole treatment
of my friend and I was ridiculous
in its obviousness. Despite multiple open tables and plenty of
servers just standing around, the
hostess told us we would have to
wait for at least fifteen minutes
before we could be seated. However, when a couple entered several minutes later, they were immediately seated. Seeing this, we
decided to sit at the bar rather than
continue to wait. After about fifteen minutes, the bartender finally
asked our drink and food orders.
We were especially shocked when
the bartender returned with our
check even before the drinks! The
bad service continued and being
completely fed up with the treatment, we lived up to our teenage
Alison Wolters
The wide selection of Houston restaurants
does little to prevent the profiling of the
city's teenagers. www.visithoustontexas.
com
It wouldn’t be Christmas
without Christmas cookies!” says senior Chelsea
Woodlock. From gingerbread
men to sugar cookies, Christmas cookies are a definite
part of the Christmas season.
Christmas cookies have been a
part of the winter season for some
time; the German culture began
the tradition of celebrating the
Christmas season with cookies.
All the way back to the 13th century, German monks would cut
Lebkuchen, a dough similar to
gingerbread, into elaborate shapes
and decorate the shapes with
sugar. This tradition was continued with the story of Hansel and
Gretel, which was first published
in a Grimm’s Fairy Tales book in
1812 in Germany, beginning the
custom of sending gingerbread
men as Christmas cards. Since
then, other cultures have adopted
this tradition, and cookies have
become an internationally popular way to celebrate Christmas.
While iced sugar cookies seem
to be the most common kind
of Christmas cookie, they will
never have the special place in
my heart that gingerbread men
have. The spicy flavor, the crispy
texture, and the way they look
like little people is just an unbeatable combination. Here’s a
great recipe to celebrate this year:
INGREDIENTS
• 1/2cup shortening
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose
flour
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup water
DIRECTIONS
1. Cream shortening and sugar.
Sift flour with salt, soda and
spices. Blend flour mixture into
creamed mixture alternately with
molasses and water. Chill at least
1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick.
Cut with large 6-8 inch gingerbread men cookie cutters.
4. Bake for about 12 minutes. Do
not overcook, because they won't
stay soft. Enjoy!!!
December/January 2007
Opinions
the columns
Festivus for the rest of us
Sandi Moynihan
Sports Editor
can remember running down
the newly-installed hardwood
stairs in my house on December 23rd 2003, hoping that
my Mom made her famous cranberry cinnamon rolls. “Dad, why
is there a giant metal pole in our
front yard,” I asked with a puzzled,
sleepy look. “It’s Festivus, Sand,”
he relied. “Festivus for the Rest
of Us.” Up until this insightful
moment of my life, I thought that
the holiday season only included
I
Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa,
and Winter Solstice- not that I
knew what Winter Solstice was.
What was this “Festivus” my dad
spoke of? Did he just make it up?
And what’s a giant metal pole in
my front yard
have to do with
it?
Essentially,
Festivus is the
brainchild of
Seinfeld character,
Frank
Costanza. One
Christmas, after
fighting over a
doll for his son
in the store,
Frank decided
Christmas was
too commercial. As a result, he created his
own winter holiday: Festivus.
As senior Margaret Wheeler
puts it, “It's kinda like an antiChristmas. You have this big dinner and there's a thing called the
Airing of Grievances, where you
go around telling everyone at the
table how they've disappointed
you in the past year. After dinner, there is some sort of wrestling match [called the Feats of
Strength] between the head of the
house and a challenger.”
Every household that celebrates
Festivus also erects a large, plain,
aluminum
pole in place
of a Christmas
tree at the focal point of the
common room.
While the
customs
of
Festivus might
seem foreign
to traditional
holiday-goers,
the overall idea
of the holiday
is surprisingly
welcomed in the
St. Agnes community. “I don't
celebrate Festivus” said Danielle
DiLuzio. “It’s not too ridiculous
though because you get to tell
people what you really think of
them.”
Even Mrs. Griffin agrees that
Festivus is a holiday to love. “I
think everyone should celebrate
Festivus,” she said. “How could
you go wrong with the aluminum
pole? The holiday is so much better without all of the commercialized distractions!”
So maybe my dad isn’t crazy
for driving a 7 ft aluminum pole
in our front yard. Maybe, despite
all its strange customs, Festivus
is simply a stripped down, non
denominational form of its commercialized brother, Christmas.
Or maybe, it’s just a holiday so
completely beyond practicality
that there’s no choice BUT to celebrate it. “No tinsel, no problem,”
right?
Some information regarding Festivus from:
Juniors proudly display their Festivus
enthusiasm.
SANDI MOYNIHAN/THE COLUMNS
Vol 57 Issue 3
That’s
So-Ha
Ha Ha!
Soha Nassef
Perspective Columnist
Where
have all
the good
shows
gone?
M
From Stress to Success: How to turn the
holiday season from stressful to stress free
Hayley Hemstreet
Blast from the Past Columnist
B
elieve it or not but the
time has already come to
start thinking about midterms. Just as people are getting
in the holiday spirit, decorating
a Christmas tree or buying new
winter clothes, the reality of life
at St. Agnes returns. Notes, tests,
and quizzes from August must
be salvaged from piles of papers
tucked back in a closet, or folders
on a laptop, and they must be thoroughly studied for a second time
around. Studying for exams is the
last thing that anyone wants to do,
especially at this festive time. If
wanting to make good grades and
avoid any worrying over the winter break, read on for some helpful tips that will be sure to ease
some of the stress of exams and
lead to a happy, stress-free break.
At some point or another everyone falls prey to the temptations
of procrastination and will wait
to study the weekend, or even
afternoon, before the exam. This
year, however, try to avoid this
bad habit – it will be hard but
ultimately very worthwhile. It’s
not necessary to start actually
studying on the first of December, but at least make some sort
of study plan at the beginning of
the month that lays out what to do
and when to do it. A few weeks
before, slowly start the preparation process. This probably
sounds excessive, but it doesn’t
have to be taken to the extreme.
Study a little bit from one or two
subjects every night. There are
many different ways to do this:
chronologically, starting with material from way back in August, or
starting with the material that was
the most difficult. One night go
over a set of Spanish vocabulary
flashcards from the very first chapter, and the next night that impossibly difficult algebra test. Right
now this plan might seem like an
utter waste of time, but starting a
few weeks before exams and doing a little extra work every night
is surely better than waiting until
the day of the exam to re-learn
200 years of American history
or 7 chapters of chemistry notes.
5
Not many people can sit in a
crowded, noisy Starbucks with
their best friend across the table
and actually get some work done.
For most people all of the noise
and other people would be too
many distractions. This doesn’t
mean that true studying can only
get done alone and at home,
though. Being trapped in one
room all alone for several hours
could drive a person crazy. Try
something as simple as moving
to different rooms; or go outside
for some fresh air, which will refresh your mind, and listen to the
soothing sounds of the outdoors.
TV®. Every person at
St. Agnes has at least
watched one show on
MTV® be it at home on their
own, in the cafeteria during lunch
or open lab. MTV® haunts us follows teens everywhere. The question is where are the morals? They
are quite nonexistent on MTV®.
Why do we watch it? I have
watched MTV® several times
before and now that I look back I
wonder why I even did that. Half
the time I was disgusted by the
content of some of those shows
and the other half I was just appalled. I watched MTV® for My
Super Sweet Sixteen because I
liked how extravagant these girls
were and enjoyed laughing at
them.
I, honestly, have never seen an
episode of The Real World nor do
I want to. The snippets and clips
of it I see everyday in the cafeteria are enough to put me off.
The sad thing is, most teens in
America watch MTV® everyday
and as a consequence know nothing about what is going on in the
world around them.
I know a few cries of disappointment from me are not going
to cause teens to stop watching
MTV® all together, but what if in
addition to watching hours upon
hours of A Shot at Love with Tila
Tequila teens also watched some
news channels or the history
channel.
I know it may sound ridiculous
to so many of you but in reality if
everyone had some inkling as to
what was going on in the world
and our country that might cause
some people to go out and speak
out. This tangent may not have
changed any minds but my hope
is that it has opened some eyes.
My Kwanza Holiday by Lindsay Buchanan
In addition to Christmas, I celebrate Kwanzaa. It’s a fun time each year when my family gets
together and celebrates our rich culture as AfricanAmericans. We set up a table in our house with a
kinara. It’s kind of like a wooden menorah. It holds
7 candles that represents the seven days of Kwanzaa.
There are 3 red candles, 3 green candles, and one
black candle. Each new day of Kwanzaa, we light
a new candle. Along with the kinara, set out on the
table is the muhindi, an ear of corn that represents children and our future.
Since my family has two children, we have 2 muhindi. There’s also the
Kikombe cha Umoja, or unity cup. We drink water from it at our candle
lighting ceremony to show that we are all united as a family and that unity
makes all else possible. All of this sits on the Mkeka, a symbol of our tradition and history as African Americans. We sit around the table and read
from a book that tells us the things we are supposed to hold in our minds
each day. Each day of Kwanzaa has a theme. Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia
(Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), Imani
(Faith). We do activities that pertain to the theme of the day. For example,
on Kuumba, children that celebrate Kwanzaa may put on a play for the
family or make and color pictures. The best part of Kwanzaa is the zawadi,
or gifts! On the last day of Kwanzaa (New Year’s Day), we have a big dinner with our family and the parents give the children zawadi. Many African
American neighborhoods have larger celebrations with African drums,
dancers, and other things. I was fortunate enough last year to play at one
with my jazz combo! Kwanzaa is fun and I’m so glad that my parents
chose to celebrate it and share it with me.
A young girl lighting a kinara.
In Greece, the children are visited b
patron saint of sailors. According to legend
soaking in brine and his beard drips with s
forty day fast, the Greeks celebrate by eati
topsomo or “Christ’s Bread” which is a sw
in various shapes. During the twelve days
kallikanzeri, or goblins, come to scare the
priests often come around to get rid of the
ey is given to orphanages and the poor dur
Greeks usually give their gifts on January F
Day. Families usually give money.
A Normal Christmas in Mexico by Letty Perez
I celebrate Christmas Mexican Style! Every year my family goes
to Mexico for Christmas. We alternate between Mexico City
and Monterrey because we have family in both places. This year
we are going to Monterrey. I am really excited because I have
a HUGE family so it’s a lot of fun. I have 32 cousins and 12
aunts and uncles. When we are in Monterrey we all gather at my
grandmother Titi’s house and when we are in Mexico City we
gather at my grandma Tita’s house. At the gathering, we break
piñatas, sing posadas, light fireworks, have a traditional Mexican dinner and desert, and do a gift exchange. My cousin Sergio
dresses up like spiderman or tigger to entertain the younger
cousins. At some point in the night, all of the cousins put their names in a hat and then
my grandma pulls one out. Whoever gets their name pulled out gets to keep
her baby Jesus for a whole year! Then, my cousin Mauricio whips out his accordion and
accompanies my dad while they play and sing mariachi songs! It’s so festive!
St. Nicolas
A group of young children recreating the scene at Bethleham.
A Russian Orthodox Church
In Russia, the Festival of Winter is the name of the winter celebration which ends
on January 6th with a twelve course meal. On Christmas Day, people gather together
to sing carols and decorate Christmas trees or yelka with flowers and lights. Instead of
Santa Claus, Russian children are visited by Babushka, which means grandmother. According to Russian ledged, Babushka did not go with the wise men to see the baby Jesus,
but she later regretted her decision. She decided to try and catch up with the wise men
and brought baskets of gifts to bring the baby Jesus, however she never found him. In the
end, Babushka began leaving presents at every house for good children.
by St. Nicolas the
d, St. Nicolas is
seawater. After a
ing pork and chrisweet bread made
of chirstmas, the
little children and
bad spirits. Monring Christmas, but
First or St. Basil’s
Although only 1% of Japanese people
believe in Christ, they still celebrate Christmas
to remember the birth of Jesus. Most children get
their gifts from a Buddhist monk named Hotei-osho
In the Holy Land, Christmas
is celebrated three times. Once on
December 24 celebrated by the Protestants and Catholics. Another time
for the Greek Orthodox, Coptic and
Syrian churches. The third Christmas
is for the American Church.
The Japanese Santa Claus monk
Christmas in Congo begins with an annual Christmas pageant and
carolers. The most important part of Christmas is the worship service
which usually lasts until 8 or nine o’clock. In South Africa, Christmas
is a summer holiday so instead of snow, sunshine and flowers are usually expected. In Ghana, the children march up and down the streets on
Christmas Eve shouting “Christ is coming!” and then go home to eat a
special meal of rice and fufu or yam paste. On the west coast of Africa,
families decorate an oil palm instead of Christmas tree.
Don’t be thinking of a white Christmas in Australia! Because of the oppo
site seasons on the other side of the world,
Christmas is actually a summer holiday.
A traditional Christmas dinner
includes turkey, pork, or other meat and
ends with a plum pudding that has a special treat inside. A gold nugget is hidden
inside the pudding for one lucky person.
Instead of a tree, Australians buy a Christmas Bush, a native plant that has little red
flowered leaves. Some tourists actually
An Austrailian Christmas Bush go to the famous Bondi Beach to enjoy a
Christmas lunch. Others go to Melbourne
and participate in the Carols by Candlelight where tens of thousands participate in
singing
their favorite
Christmas
songs.
Drawing
by Channelle
Balwant
Features
December/January 2007
Blast from the Past
Vol 57 Issue 3
the columns
Mute Math is anything but typical live
Lauren Halliday
Features Editor
Hayley Hemstreet
Blast from the Past Columnist
Have a very retro
Christmas
F
or those St. Agnes girls
who celebrate Christmas,
the holiday festivities
are extremely different for each
girl, but they all often involve
good food, family, and friends.
These Christmas celebrations
haven’t changed that much over
many years, even since when our
parents were growing up.
I learned from my own
parents and relatives about their
Christmas traditions as kids, and
they are similar to my and others’
traditions today. The obsession of
children over Santa Claus and the
presents he brings hasn’t changed
much. Santa is still just as much
of a hero today as he was for kids
many years ago.
Parents have always had the
challenging task of finding that
perfect gift for their children.
They often have to search in the
middle of the night on Christmas
Eve, venturing into some of the
sketchiest parts of town, and then
be sure to have the gift perfectly
wrapped under the tree for when
the kids wake up at the crack
of dawn. Every year there is
one particular toy that causes a
complete frenzy among parents. It
will transform average moms into
vicious scavengers who will stop
at nothing and cause dangerous
stampedes in the local “Toys R
Us”. When we were younger and
it was our parents who were out on
the prowl, Cabbage Patch Dolls,
Furbies, and Tickle Me Elmo
were the toys that we desired,
For our parents, the same kind of
craziness took place. Apparently,
a certain toy called Chatty Kathy
was extremely popular, which
I’m assuming was a talking doll (I
didn’t press on for more details).
The Christmas decorations
that our parents would see every
year have become popular again.
Those silver, aluminum trees that
were once all the rage are back
again and now deemed “retro”
(although some would probably
call them tacky). They can be
seen in store windows and the
apartments of those “too cool” for
a real tree. They do have an artsy
look and fit nicely into the crisp,
clean style of a modern house.
Every year new toys, decorations,
and traditions come about and
change a family’s own Christmas
celebration. Many things stay the
same from year to year, or at least
disappear and then resurface,
creating a cycle of traditions
that connect many generations.
The tradition of spending time
with family and friends during
the holidays has always stayed
consistent, though, and probably
always will.
A
fter performing two
concerts in Houston
in the past year, Mute
Math returned for a third time on
November 11 to Warehouse Live,
their biggest and nicest venue to
date. Still fresh off of last year’s
self-titled debut album, the band
had plenty of chaotic tunes to
perform and plenty of fans to sing
along. Known primarily for their
dynamic live show and singer
Paul Meany’s keytar and crazy onstage antics, Mute Math certainly
did not disappoint. This atypical
band brought an incredible show
and an equally wonderful opening
band, Eisley, to Houston.
Eisley, a quintet of Houston born,
Tyler raised DuPree siblings and
their cousin, took the stage first.
Full of songs from both albums,
Room Noises and Combinations,
their set was simply delightful.
“Golly Sandra” was a definite
crowd favorite with the band
having noted it particularly for
its Texas twang. The pleasant
harmonies and whimsical lyrics
of songs such as “Memories”
and “Marvelous Things” kept
the audience in a joyful mood
throughout their entire set. Their
musicianship was impeccable
as was their style and finesse
on stage. As they tour through
Houston frequently, be sure to
catch Eisley next time around for
an enjoyable, classy live show.
The next forty minutes seemed
like two hours while everyone
waited in eager anticipation
for Mute Math to play. What
immediately struck me as the
crew was setting up the band’s
equipment was that the drum kit
was set up in the front of the stage
instead of in the back where the
drummer is usually hidden behind
all the other members. As soon
as the lights went off, the crowd
erupted in screams and applause.
The band took the stage and
immediately began with the first
track off their album, “Collapse.”
This instrumental song pumped
up the crowd as we all longed to
see what would happen next.
They continued with the next two
tracks on their album, “Typical”
and “Chaos.” These songs are two
of their most energetic and guitar
Mute Math provides one of the best live experiences in music today.
driven tunes. I was impressed
with their ability to come out and
play these well-known songs first
as many bands save those types of
songs for last.
Mute Math does a remarkable
job of conveying their excitement
on stage. Upon seeing them
live, one would never doubt
their enthusiasm in putting on
an incredible show for the fans.
Since this show was the last of a
two month tour, it was obviously
even more special to the band
because another era of their
careers was coming to a close. I
was in for a thrilling surprise as
the band announced that they had
specifically waited until this last
date to play one of their slower
anthems, “Picture.”
The band played one new
song from their forthcoming
record entitled “Clockwork.”
It was the only chance to see
Meany play an instrument
other than his signature keytar,
a Fender Telecaster. The song
unquestionably echoed the classic
Mute Math sound with a quick
drum beat, excellent harmonies,
and varying tempos. At this
point, Meany told the crowd that
their participation would become
increasingly important during
the next few songs. I thought the
initial intensity of the crowd was
incredible but after this comment
I was completely blown away by
the audience’s energy.
Songs such as “Control” and
“Plan B” had everyone jumping
up and down and dancing around.
Meany used the resounding lyric
“Such a beautiful surrender” from
“Control” to draw the crowd in to
contribute.
The set was not without the
slower songs from Mute Math.
Lyric-strong tunes such as
“Noticed” and “Stare at the Sun”
and the continuing instrumental
track “Obsolete” provided some
of the strongest performances
musically of the night. Nearly
every song off of their album was
played in the set.
To end the set, they played
“Break the Same,” my personal
favorite. Having seen the song
performed on Late Night with
Conan O’Brien and multiple
times on YouTube videos, I was
prepared for the madness about
to occur. At the main break in
the song, Meany started running
around, jumped on the keyboard
and began to do a handstand on top
of it. It was definitely one of the
highlights and most exhilarating
parts of the show.
As soon as the band exited the
stage, the crowd began to chant
“Mute Math, Reset,” in reference
to the final, instrumental song on
their album, “Reset.” After a few
minutes the band came back on
stage to play their most ballad-like
song, “You are Mine.” Once this
song was over, the word “Reset”
was chanted again and Meany
said, “The people have spoken.”
Many artists improvise on
their final song; this is exactly
what Mute Math did. At one
point during the song, drummer
Darren King brought out his bass
drum, placed it out in the crowd
LAUREN HALLIDAY/THE COLUMNS
for the fans to hold, climbed on
top of it, and jumped onto the
rafters of the building. The crowd
was hysterical as he continued
to move through the rafters and
flipped back onto the stage. There
could not have possibly been a
better way to end the show.
The incredible musicianship of
King struck me the most out of
all elements of Mute Math’s live
show. As soon as he came out to
the stage, he put headphones on
and wrapped duck tape around
his head to keep them in place,
an obvious sign that extreme
drumming was to occur. The zeal
and passion in his playing were
so noticeable that it was hard
not to be drawn to him over the
other band members. He plays
with such amazing quickness
and accuracy that it is purely
a pleasure to watch him live.
This is not to say that the other
members of Mute Math are vastly
outshined; Darren King simply
deserves much more recognition
in the modern drumming world
than he currently receives.
Mute Math’s live show is
clearly one of the best out there
today. Their music sounds as if
it were purposefully meant to be
played live and is actually quite
better live. Thankfully for any
of you who have recently taken
an interest in the band, they are
coming back to Houston again
on February 28, 2008, to Toyota
Center with Matchbox Twenty
and Alanis Morrissette. Don’t
miss Mute Math on their first
arena tour!
Top 10 things NOT to do at Christmas dance
Soha Nassef
Perspective Columnist
0. Tell your limo driver the
wrong hotel and then miss
the lock in because of it
9. Forget to make reservations
then end up having to eat at
McDonalds
8. Leave all event planning until
final week and consequently end
up not studying at all
7. Not look behind you and end
up dancing right on up to Ms.
Schiro
6. Take off your shoes then grab
someone else’s when leaving
5. In the darkness grab the wrong
guy and start dancing with him
4. Forget to check the back of
your dress before leaving the
bathroom
3. Start a fight with your date’s ex
on the dance floor
2. Out of nervousness say yes to
two people who ask you to the
dance
1
And last but not least…
SOHA NASSEF/THE COLUMNS
Party Hardy: Sr. Jane, Hannah Dyer-Holzhauer, and Christine Bartram all are having a
great time at Christmas Dance.
8
1. Forget to leave room for the
Holy Spirit
Features
December/January 2007
Because I’ve
Got It
Allison Branca
Entertainment Columnist
Discovery
channel
not cool?...
BUSTED!
T
o some, the Discovery
channel may be nothing
more than a “geek
channel”, but I personally think it
is brilliant. For years, the channel
has provided its audiences with
educational information: for
example the solar system, but
recently it has provided shows
that are directed towards the
teenage audience.
Previously, the Discovery
channel has appealed to mainly
male viewers, but after many
long fights over the remote with
my brother I decided to cope and
watch the Discovery channel.
To my “discovery”, I fell in love
with a show called Mythbusters.
For the students that have never
seen the show, Mythbusters is
dedicated to putting well-known
myths to the test.
Two special effects experts of
the San Francisco Bay area, Adam
Savage and Jamie Hyneman, use
basic elements of the scientific
method to test various rumors.
Adam and Jamie “get a thrill
out of science in action and a
kick out of blowing things up”,
says physics teacher Harold
Burris. It is true that the experts
spend days building, researching,
experimenting, and exploding
“myths”. The question “Is a bullet
proof wall really bullet proof?” is
one of the many myths seen on
the show.
The experiments are accurate.
The process in which Adam and
Jamie use can help students like
myself understand the importance
of research and experiments.
The show has influenced me to
become more tenacious in finding
answers to difficult questions.
The show has been on for six
seasons and is no where near
cancellation. It has received
excellent ratings and is even a
favorite of our own Mr. Burris.
“This is science with fun and
that’s the best type of science I
know of”, said Burris. I can agree
and I’m sure all of you would
too.
Vol 57 Issue 3
the columns
I’ll be there for you! Two SAA teacher friendships
Nicki Koetting
Opinions Editor
J
ust as St. Agnes students
cannot live without their
friends, St. Agnes teachers
find support in their “besties.” All
of the teachers at St. Agnes are a
tight-knit group, but two teacher
friendships that are well-known
at St. Agnes are Dr. Novo and Mr.
Sutter, as well as Dr. Varghese
and Ms. Vollrath.
Mr. Sutter and Dr. Novo met
when Mr. Sutter was first touring
the school, before he started
working at St. Agnes. “There was
this man in ragged sweatshorts
and a sweatshirt, typing on a
computer, who I later knew was
Dr. Novo, working on his PhD,”
said Mr. Sutter. Mr. Sutter’s wife
was pregnant with their third child
at the time, and she “began to
feel a little nauseous, and needed
crackers,” Mr. Sutter said. Dr.
Novo went to the snack machine
in the teachers’ lounge, but he
couldn’t unlock the doors. “He
tried again and again, and I was
thinking, ‘Who was this strange
and sweet man who wanted to
help, but couldn’t?’” said Mr.
Sutter.
Mr. Sutter and Dr. Novo became
best buddies when they started
carpooling to work together.
They bonded over their mutual
Christian faith: “Mr. Sutter is a
true Christian, not living it as a
theory, not living it as a principle,
but as a reality. That’s how he is;
that’s how he lives his life,” Dr.
Novo said.
Of course, Mr. Sutter’s
SANDI MOYNIHAN/THE COLUMNS
Dr. Varghese and Ms. Vollrath have fun on Halloween dressed up as Virgil and Dante!
explanation of his friendship with
Dr. Novo would not be complete
without a Dante reference! “Dr.
Novo is like Virgil [in Dante’s
Inferno], he illuminates the path
for me like he lights the way for
Dante… he has a great soul, and
that great soul allows him to see
the good in others,” Mr. Sutter
said.
Ms. Vollrath and Dr. Varghese
have been friends for five years.
They met during a teachers
assistants’ orientation at the
University of Houston, when
Ms. Vollrath was working on her
master’s degree and Dr. Varghese,
like Dr. Novo, was working on
her Ph.D. They met when Ms.
Vollrath needed a ride and Dr.
Varghese gave her one. At the
party, something came up about
the cookies there, and they started
joking about it – their first inside
joke, and the beginning of their
friendship.
What first struck Dr. Varghese
about Ms. Vollrath? “She’s very
friendly, laid back, generous,
and sweet,” Dr. Varghese said.
The two friends have a great
deal in common: “We both spent
a year in France, we spent one
year teaching before we met
each other, we both love music
festivals, and we always have the
Halloween tradition of dressing
up,” Ms. Vollrath said.
One of their inside jokes is
about their cars – “At the time I
had a little car, and Ms. Vollrath
had a little car the same color as
mine, and we joked about that,”
Dr. Varghese said. Dr. Varghese
and Ms. Vollrath also have inside
jokes about the name “Simon”,
who was Dr. Varghese’s cat.
“We also have inside jokes about
poems that help us with playing
Taboo,” Dr. Varghese said.
What does Dr. Varghese like
best about Ms. Vollrath? “Ms.
Vollrath is always there for me,
like a sister,” Dr. Varghese said.
Ms. Vollrath said of Dr. Varghese,
“Ranjana inspires me to be the
best person I can be because she
is such a caring individual. She is
genuine and compassionate and
truly cares for the well being of
others. She has been like a sister
to me; I am thankful to have such
a great friend like her in my life.”
The triple trio: triple threats
Kate Winderman
Editor-in-Chief
D
uring the fall and winter
seasons, a student at St.
Agnes can expect the
normal: studying hard for tests
and quizzes, finishing projects
and papers, pulling several allnighters in order to meet college
deadlines and even rehearsing
for a play or getting ready for a
game. However, nine girls from
all different grades do something
different each year; the members
of the St. Agnes Triple Trio
are fluffing up their petticoats,
warming up their voices, painting
their faces, making flower crowns,
and waiting in anticipation for
the annual Texas Renaissance
Festival.
The Triple Trio is a classical
ensemble of nine girls who
perform not only at the Texas
Renaissance Festival, but also
at many other events. Being a
member of Trio requires a great
deal of dedication, as it calls for
a class every day, as well as a
rehearsal once a week with the
Strake Jesuit Triple Trio.
According to junior Jacquie
Perrin, the Renaissance Festival
is by far the high point of being in
Strake and SAA Double Trio members perform at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
the group: “my favorite part of [the
festival] is when it’s all starting
up and one minute everyone’s
setting up and it’s quiet and calm
and then the cannon goes off and
it explodes into activity and life,”
said Perrin. “It’s cheesy, but it’s
probably my favorite part. It’s a
9
KELLY O’BRIEN/GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER
weird experience, but completely
unforgettable.”
At the Renaissance Festival,
the Trio members are more than
just singers; they must constantly
be in character through speaking
in English accents, as well as
performing
Renaissance-style
dances. “What really helps me a
lot are the other actors there, as
well as the Festival itself,” said
sophomore Trio member Amy
Aquino. “[The] Renaissance
Festival is a great learning
experience for me to grow in
my singing and my performing
skills.”
December/January 2007
OnCampus
Vol 57 Issue 3
the columns
“Have a Bodacious Day Ladies…”
Sandi Moynihan/Anne Loos
Sports Editor/Art Director
I
n an exclusive interview The
Columns got up close and
personal with Mr. Rodney
Miles, the new and experienced
U.S. History teacher. After a five
year hiatus as a lawyer, Mr. Miles
returned to St. Agnes Academy to
teach his favorite subject; United
States history. While most history
teachers preach in a monotone
voice that puts the most studious
scholars to sleep, Mr. Miles captivates his student audience, and
brings history to life.
Why is history important for us
to learn?
Mainly cause it keeps me… I
have a job... You hear all this stuff
[that] ‘we have to remember the
mistakes of the past’ … I’m not
sure I buy that, but history does
a lot of things. It teaches you a
lot of skills; writing skills, thinking skills, analytical skills, […]
and I think it’s important to know
the culture and the heritage of the
country.
It’s your 2nd time teaching at
St. Agnes, what’s different between this time and the first?
The school has become much
more technologically advanced,
just in the five years I’ve been
gone. […] You can look at your
grades almost instantaneously.
Stephanie Turner
Assistant Art Director
he only thing seniors
Chiara and Kim Ferrari
have in common with the
sports car is a name and an Italian background. Being identical
twins is something very special
between the two of them but
it is also something they share
with other members in their family. They have 11-year-old sisters
named Ilaria and Federica who
are fraternal twins. They also
have a 19-year-old brother named
Giacomo. One time when he was
younger, he asked for a twin for
Christmas because everyone else
in the family has one.
When meeting new people,
what kind of questions do they get
about being twins? Chiara comments about how all the questions
they get are the same. Kim starts
listing some examples, “Like if
our names have anything to do
with the car.” Which, it does not.
Chiara adds, “It’s not just about
the car, sometimes we get ‘Do
T
People
check
their grades at
midnight
and
1AM and all
this other stuff,
its crazy; I’m
not saying everything about
technology isn’t
good but I’m
not sure everything about it is
fantastic. […]
The other thing
is that the school
has
become
more intense…
for teachers…
for students. It
seems like the
school is much
more involved
in causes. Than I
remember it five
years ago.
JAMIE OYER/THE COLUMNS
What were you like
in high school?
It was a small high
school; it wasn’t like
the big high schools
out here where I
would’ve probably
been sitting on the
edge of the bench
with the water boy,
so I played football
and baseball.
What made you
want to study history in college?
It’s something that
came easy for starters. I liked it. But,
actually I started out
college as being an
engineering major.
I was pretty decent
in math, but lets say
calculus and physics
in college convinced
me that I needed to
[…] go where I was
strong.
So your from
Virginia/ How
does Virginia
compare
to
Is your favorite
Texas?
word bodacious?
First of all that’s
I came up with it…
a bogus quesIt just happened
tion. There is no
Mr. Miles intensely prepares for his next lecture on Andrew Jackson.
several years ago
comparison. Up
when I was teaching
there you actually
the change of the seasons. Here
have seasons. Fireplaces burning you get winter for two days. You here, this one class I happened
at Christmas time, and snow on blink, and you miss it. So that’s to say that out of the blue. And it
was this weird reaction, and it, I
the ground, you know in the win- the big thing.
kinda thought it was kinda funny
ter. I just love cold weather, I love
to watch the reaction, so I started
doing it with every class, every
day, and it got to the point where
some kids would actually say, oh
well you forgot to wish us a bodacious day. And so its just one of
those things that stuck.
What do you think history will
say about this decade?
They will probably consider it the
decade of ignorance […] This decade will probably be judged very
hardly […], probably even more
harshly than [the] Vietnam [era] .
I don’t think it would be a very
positive thing.
If you could have lunch with
any historical figure, who would
it be, and why?
Abraham Lincoln. Because first
of all I think he is probably the
greatest president. He saw the
country through its most difficult
time in its entire history. There
were other [presidents] who went
through some difficult times, but
nothing compares to a country
trying to tear itself apart.
Would you rather… have no
hair on your body or never be
able to remember anything for
more than 10 minutes?
Those are such bad choices…
God that means I’d be bald…I’d
have to say no hair on my body,
as frightening as that would be for
everyone, including myself.
Better than the sports car
you guys get psychic powers?’ or,
‘If I pinch Kim will [Chiara] feel
it?’ I’ve stopped saying no, I always say yes.”
Do twins really have some sort
of mystical phenomenon? Chiara
starts by explaining one of their
secrets, “We usually plan it out
when people ask us to say what
the other is thinking of. We always say, ‘Coke.’ It’s our thing,
you know? We at it out.” Kim
tells a story that, “Once we were
at [a friend’s] house for a party
and they were all into our twin
senses and tried to make us read
each other’s minds. I was in one
room and Chiara was in another
but there was this time when
[Chiara] was in another room and
there was a bottle of Coke. So
they were like ‘Chiara, think of
coke.’ I didn’t know that so when
I said ‘Coke’ they all freaked out.
It was great.”
Another twin trick these two
actually showed me involved me
thinking of three random objects
and they would say one of them
in unison. So I give them “school,
dog, and cat” (not very creative
of me, I know). Afterward they
count to three and say dog at the
same time. Chiara swears they
don’t cheat on that trick.
Have they ever switched places? Kim answers first, remembering a couple of times here at
St. Agnes, “Oh yeah we did, for
French class once, but that didn’t
really count, and once during the
Jr. Ring Ceremony, we switched.”
Chiara goes back to their early
childhood: “Every now and then,
in our preschool days, our dad
would accidentally take us to the
wrong class, but he’d find out
sooner or later.”
Is there anything Kim and Chiara fight over? “No.” Their answer was as simple as that.
What do they love most about
having a twin? “There is someone
there who always knows what
you’re thinking without having to
tell them.”
Is there anything Kim and Chiara don’t like about being twins?
“Well, sometimes our parents get
mad because we’re too confusing
or because we’re in our own little
bubble.”
If they could have any animal
for a pet, what would it be? The
immediate response to this question… “Pet?” they both ask in the
10
most perfect unison. Chiara was
the first to answer after a bit of
thinking. “Well, I used to want a
monkey.” Kim takes a bit longer
to come up with, “Probably a possum.”
Is there anything else they want
to share with St. Agnes? I got
a bit of that awesome ‘twins-
finishing-each-other’s-sentences’
for this question. Chiara starts
with “If April fools ever lands on
a school day, we might switch all
our classes,” Kim finishes up with
“so watch out for that.”
STEPHANIE TURNER/THE COLUMNS
Chiara is pink and Kim is blue, but how can you tell who is who?
December/January 2007
Amy Stuhldreher
News Editor
S
Sports
No Autographs Please.
AA soccer players are
the unsung heroes
of St. Agnes. The
Varsity soccer team has
gone to State the past two
years and looks forward to
not only going to State
this year, but bringing
home a championship.
“I am 100% sure that we
are not only State-bound,
but are going to bring back
home a State Championship
to St. Agnes,” said senior
Varsity soccer player Elizabeth
DeLozier. The other varsity
soccer teams in and outside
of TAPPS are proof of this
confidence as they fear both of
the SAA soccer teams. Many
of St. Agnes’ opponents
opt not to face the
soccer teams here at
SAA because they
do not like to
lose.
The girls
that make
up the SAA
soccer teams demonstrate
their skill and dedication to the
sport by playing usually both club
soccer and school soccer. The
skill that comes from this extreme
Vol 57 Issue 3
THE COLUMNS
amount of playing time serves to
make the school team the “power
house,” as it has been
referred to by other
teams in the past,
that it is today.
According to
DeLozier,
the
team
chemistry
is what makes the
team work well
together
and
worth playing for.
“I don’t think
any other team
at St. Agnes
bonds the
way us
soccer
girls do,” said DeLozier. Junior
and Varsity soccer player, Olivia
Collado, states her agreement by
saying that the girls who play
St. Agnes soccer with her are
like “having a second family at
SAA.” A strong team is built of
strong friends, which is obviously
exemplified on the soccer fields
of St. Agnes.
Because the team has been
working hard and doing well,
the off campus soccer coaches
in coordination with the soccer
director on campus have been able
to make some improvements for
the SAA soccer team. For instance,
Varsity has been supplied with
brand new uniforms, and new,
heated dugouts will be provided
for the use of both Varsity and
JV soccer at any Home
games during the
season. DeLozier
said “if you have
no other reason
to come to
a game,
y o u
should just
AMY STHULDREHER/ THE
come and take a look at
COLUMNS
how cool our uniforms
Marielle mercurio prepares to slam it!
look.”
With these new luxuries provided
by the school, the soccer girls are
making an effort to get the whole
school involved with the soccer
team
by
increased
publicity.
Collado
said “I really
wish people
would
get
excited
and
come out and
support us. We
would really
appreciate
any support.”
Now,
a
number of
girls from
b o t h
teams
have been
making the effort to get the word
out around campus to encourage
any and all support, “but people
still do not know how good the
Alli Woltors
Food Col-
W
SANDI MOYNIHAN/ THE COLUMNS
SWOOSH: Lauren Kleczynski makes a perfect freethrow shot.
11
AMY STHULDREHER/ THE
COLUMNS
IN THE ZONE: Junior Marta Mattioli battles for the ball.
SAA Basketball is a Slam Dunk Team!
doing just as well so far this year.
Although the team
SANDI MOYNIHAN/ THE COLUMNS lost
some great
players last year,
this year’s team is
“a lot younger, but
a lot quicker and
more aggressive,”
said Senior player
Jennifer Nwokedi.
Senior
Rachel
Harmon agrees with
Nwokedi,
adding
that, “Our bench
players seem to
produce a lot more
than they did last
season.”
Senior
Sarah
Granberry,
another Varsity team
member, insists that
this year’s team is
“better” than last
year’s team, and
hopes to win the
MAKING THE SHOT: Alice Carol Johnson focuses to shoot. State
competition
this
year.
ith about fifteen hours
Being on such a successful
of practice every
team
is great, but keeping up with
week, in addition to
basketball
in addition to the SAA
games and scrimmages, it doesn’t
workload
isn’t
easy for anyone.
come as a surprise that the St.
However,
according
to Harmon,
Agnes Academy basketball team
“I
think
I
do
better
in
school
when
was the Runner-Up at the TAPPS
it’s
basketball
season
just
because
State competition last year, and is
soccer team is,” said Collado.
Faculty and students are highly
encouraged to attend these games
because according to junior
and varsity soccer player Marta
Mattioli, “I believe we have a
good team and will do well this
season.” DeLozier expressed
her agreement in saying, “not
only do we have a great group
of girls who really redefine
the definition of what a team is
all about, but they are equally
talented and
we are all in it together and can
push each other to do our best in
school and on the court.”
Just as they have to come together
on during a tough game, the girls
have come together as friends in a
way that only girls who are forced
to sit on an SAA bus for hours at
a time can. “We are a crazy group
of girls who love to have fun no
matter what!” says Nwokedi.
Harmon adds, “We are one weird
team...and I mean WEIRD! No
one else would understand half
the things we say or do.” She
also says, “Each player makes an
effort to be a team player and to
get to know each individual.”
When it comes to a serious game,
all the quality fun time, barbeques
with Coach Hollinger, and
weirdness pays off. “Our team is
really emotionally bonded, when
our heads and hearts aren’t in the
game we won’t play well,” says
Granberry. When a group of close
tem members channels so much
commitment and determination
into a common goal, only good
things can happen. Everybody is
excited to see what this promising
basketball season will bring.
December/January 2007
TigerTail
the columns
Vol 57 Issue 3
Would You Rather...
...Smell with your feet or sneeze with your
hands? (Remember shaking hands with people)
…go to school in your underwear or
have your mom come to school in
her underwear?
…get water up your nose
or have a never ending
…have paper cuts in between your toes brain freeze?
and fingers or have sprite come out of
your nose?
…be a waiter for one of your
…walk out of a bathroom with
teachers on an awkward date or
toilet paper on your foot or your
get caught smooching with your
date by a teacher?
skirt tucked into your shorts?
12