UltraVioletMarlborough School 250 S. Rossmore Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90004

The

Monday, November 16, 2009 Volume 39, Issue 2, theultraviolet.com

The UV Index

N ew s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2S p o r t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Commun i ty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10A&E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12O p i n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4B a c k p a g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6

Kindles available for checkout in

the ARC. Page 11

Innovative reading

See “GRADE INCREASE” Page 8

Faculty debate rising grades

School begins to assess and tackle WASC recommendations

Booth Field reopened withcelebratory games, candy, and spirit Nov. 2, after almost two years of partial and complete closureduring construction.

Clockwise from top: Danielle ’15 and Fiona ’15 hula hoop, Kyle ’13 plays croquet, Ashley ’14 and Clara ’14 reach for a beach ball.

Anders Nyquist stresses the importance of “green” designs

Swedish architect Anders Nyquist cannot stress enough the

motto he lives by: “reduce, reuse, recycle, renewables, and rethink.”

An architect since 1962, Nyquist has implemented EcoCycle Design, imitating nature when building

sustainable societies, he said. Nyquist, who was invited by Dianne,

mother of Collette ’11, visited school from Nov. 2-6. He taught Global Studies and AP Environmental Science, met with faculty, parents, and the environmental committee, and spoke at all-school assembly.

Nyquist said that while most people talk about carbon dioxide and global warming, the more important challenge

we face is developing environmentally sustainable buildings to house the increasing global population.

“I’m teaching the students how to deal with these problems by showing good examples,” Nyquist said.

Those examples include using design innovations, such as “termite ventilation,” a system that pipes air underground to naturally cool a building.

Nyquist stressed that future generations need to work on communication, energy, waste handling, and fresh water. He works on following a circular rather than linear way of thinking of production, consumption, and waste.

Global Studies instructor Martha Schuur said Nyquist’s visit was a kickoff to the annual eighth grade “country project.”This year, students will design new cities for their assigned developing countries.

Nyquist also gave the school suggestions on becoming more “green,” such as building solar box cookers.

“We’re going to take them seriously and focus on what’s feasible and achievable,” Middle School Director and Chair of the Campus Environment Committee Robert Bryan said.

The school is taking steps toward creating a new program in leadership instruction.

Leadership instruction is the first of three major issues that the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) recommended the school address after the organization renewed Marlborough’s accreditation at the end of 2007-08.

The other two are taking full advantage of the ARC to help enrich student learning, increase creative education, and initiate more cross-disciplinary work between

different academic departments. For leadership, WASC advised the school

to look at where instruction could be made more purposeful and where more development opportunities of leadership could occur.

English instructor and eighth grade dean Amita Walia-Fazio, who is working on these leadership recommendations with Co-Director of College Counseling Monica DePriest, said she thinks that leadership does take place on campus without teacher instruction because we’re a “student-driven community.”

However, Walia-Fazio said that because of this, the school does not

specifically address leadership in classes or programs as much as other schools.

“For me as a dean, I don’t know how much I instruct my council. It’s a genuine question,” Walia-Fazio said. “We rely on our students’ inherent leadership potential so our leadership instruction might be more accidental than purposeful.”

Assistant Head of School Laura Hotchkiss said that leadership is a skill Marlborough thinks is important for students to have. By focusing more on the teaching of and opportunities for leadership, students will have more

By BrianneUV Staff

See “WASC” Page 4

First major target area is studying how to make leadership instruction more purposeful

ECO-DESIGN: Swedish architect Anders Nyquist designed the “GreenZone,” an early ex-ample of holistic design in 2000 in Umea, Swe-den. The project includes a car dealership, a pet-rol station, and a McDonald’s restaurant, all of which are heated with a geothermal heat pump. During his week-long visit, Nyquist made sug-gestions for green buildings, including installing a separating toilet, and using urine as fertilizer.

By JulieUV Staff

Alumna Reinisch ’09 launches a silk screening company. Page 12

By Celine and IleanaUV Staff

COLLEEN/UV

Running to CIFCross-country ties for first in Sunshine League finals Nov. 3. Page 5

Green is the new green

Grades have gone up. That’s a fact.The question some faculty are asking

is whether that rise is driven by better student performance or by grade inflation, and whether, even if better grades are merited, high average GPAs still pose a problem.

Some worried that teachers are handing out too many high grades, so As no longer hold real value for students or colleges.

Others, however, said students are earning their higher grades, and colleges understand the high number of strong students at top preparatory schools.

The issue of increasing GPAs in high schools and colleges has been a national debate for years. In its most recent five-year report on high school graduates, the U.S. Department of Education found that median high school GPAs have risen about a third of a grade from 1990 to 2005.

Peter Johnson, director of undergraduate admissions at Columbia University, told the UV that the rise in grades is “pandemic” and the reasons for it are “mysterious and interesting.”

Here, the issue was most recently brought up by the English Department during its curricular review last spring, which showed that the average unweighted English GPA rose a quarter point from 1998-2008. That was consistent with an earlier school study, conducted by Math Department Head Chris Talone and history instructor Tom Millar, that showed that from 1995-2005, unweighted GPAs increased across all departments, with the largest in English - .33 points - and math - .28 points. Science had the smallest increase at .11 points.

In recent interviews, the school’s top administrators and a number of department heads said they don’t believe grade inflation is happening at the school. However, a

Photo courtesy of Nyquist

2News

Monday, November 16, 2009 www.theultraviolet.com

The Young Democrats club hosted guest speaker Dr. Woodrow Myers Oct. 22 to shed light on the health care crisis.

Myers spoke about the urgent need for a change in the system.

“There are tons of things that need to be changed in the health care system to make it more fair, more equitable, and higher quality for people to get the care that they need, that they don’t get today,” Myers said.

Myers also explained the timeliness of the bill in today’s political and economic climate.

“It was interesting to understand the timing of the health care reform,” Dean of Faculty Martha Schuur said. “We have until December to get it done.”

Sacha ’10 was named a semifinalist in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology out of the 2,200 students who competed in the nationwide competition.

Sacha, as part of her work in the school’s Honors Research in Science Program, is in her second year of shadowing Bernadette Pupp from UCLA at Dr. Kathrin Plath’s stem cell lab. There, she is studying the process of silencing one X chromosome in cells from male mice during embryonic development.

- Sophie, UV Staff

- Kathryn, UV Staff

NEWS IN BRIEF

LE/FE VEHICLES ONLY: Parking spots recently designated for low-emis-sion/fuel-efficient vehicles were being misused. Confusion from students about how to register for those spaces and the need fill the parking lot economically have meant that “non-green” cars have often been parked in the spots.

Student footprint now stretches from East Valley to South Bay

V.I.P parking spots for fuel-efficient cars

Just a week ago, if you looked at the “green” parking spots in the student lot, you would have seen a Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Mustang and one Prius.

This week, however, those spots have been transformed into something similar to a Prius commercial.

Since the beginning of the year, four spots have been designated for low emission/fuel efficient (LE/FE) cars.

However, due to a combination of student confusion on how to register for the spots and guards primarily concerned with filling every spaces in the most economical way, often “green” cars often don’t park in the spaces.

“It’s all new to us too,” said Auxiliary Services Manager Clinton Oie.

Oie said that no students have officially registered to use the spots, and because families have registered so many different cars, guards have no way of knowing what vehicle a student will actually be driving.

Guards have recently been

By PhoebeUV Staff

more actively trying to place LE/FE cars in the spots, regardless of registration said Yolanda Jones, the post commander for the school’s security force.

Next year, Oie said he hopes to include an LE/FE check box on the vehicle registration form to help streamline the process.

As of right now, Oie said that it appears that guards and students are just figuring it out for themselves.

Ari ’11, who drives a Prius, frequently parks in the spaces, but said she knows nothing about the rules for the spaces.

“I just park where they tell me to,” she said.

Even “green” drivers shouldn’t expect the spaces to be held for long in the morning. Oie said that when it gets close to the beginning of the school day, it doesn’t matter what kinds of cars end up in the LE/FE spots.

“My main concern is to make sure all of the spaces in the lot are filled,” he said.

Jones said that the LE/FE spots are for any hybrid car, not just Priuses.

Maldives visit to learn about education

This fall, the Ministry of Education of the Maldives toured U.S. colleges, and Marlborough Oct. 13, to learn about the nation’s education system.

The Ministry met with students who volunteered to talk about education.

Catherine Atwell, history and social sciences department head, coordinated the visit and said it was a good learning experience.

“We were able to learn not only about other cultures but how other cultures perceive us. It was interesting for the girls to realize how positively outsiders respond to them and how they are viewed as engaging, bright, and smart,” Atwell said.

However, many students said the Ministry wasn’t prepared with the right questions.

“It was somewhat weird because of the language barrier. And, they were more focused on college education, not all-girl schools,” Candice ’10 said.

- Cassidy, UV Staff

Despite the significant hurdles of transportation, Marlborough’s “zip code” diversity continues to increase as this year’s new students are establishing a critical mass of student centers in the East Valley and South Bay.

These new g e o g r a p h i c foundations are the results of M a r l b o r o u g h outreach, word of mouth, and parent promotion.

D i r e c t o r of Admissions Jeanette Woo Chitjian said geographical diversity is crucial because living in a different city changes one’s perspective.

“Where you grow up -- your home community -- influences who you are and what you bring to a group, or in this case, a school,” she said.

This year, four new students came from the East Valley and three from South Bay.

Also, with geographic diversity comes racial diversity, Woo Chitjian said. More Latina students come from South L.A. and more Asian students come from Pasadena, while African Americans live in both. Out of the total 105 new students this year, 43 are of color - amounting to 41 percent.

Even though Marlborough is

now attracting students from further locales, the school has not always been so geographically diverse.

Woo Chitjian said the development of the Manhattan Beach “pod” was driven more by parents in the area than school

recruiting, while the Pasadena “pod” required official outreach. Manhattan Beach parents Anne Carlin, mother of Seanie ’10, and Kathy, mother of Hilary ’09, the school’s former Director of Finance and Operations, helped promote Marlborough through affiliation and word of mouth.

Woo Chitjian said it’s important for the school to do more outreach by attending

school fairs and getting to know elementary school heads in other areas. Woo Chitjian, however, said that current families who live in the farther communities are “the best people to share information about Marlborough.”

“For Marlborough, having a diverse population has always been important. And one of the ways that we define diversity in our student population is students who come from different parts of the city, because your experiences are going to be different,” Woo Chitjian said.

New bus routes were added to serve the needs of these students, said Woo Chitjian.

“We want more kids [from these areas], and we wanted to make it easier for the students that

are there to get to school,” Woo Chitjian said.

Two new buses now transport students from South Bay and Pasadena, Eagle Rock and Los Feliz.

Laurie, mother of Evan ’09, said before the South Bay route was added, she and some other parents from the area asked the school for a bus route but were denied.

“They weren’t responsive. It was very frustrating,” Laurie said.

So Carlin and other South Beach families rented a driver and van for the students.

“It paid off handsomely for other girls in this area,” Tiedemann said. “It takes down the transportation barrier. I just wish Marlborough had been closer or [that] we’d had an option like Marlborough nearer to us.”

The family of Kathryn ’13 is the only Marlborough family from Palos Verdes. According to Susanne,

Kathryn’s mother, the difficulty of the commute is a necessary sacrifice so that her daughter could go to Marlborough.

“It’s one of those very special places,” Susanne said. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime if you have the chance to go to a school like that.”

Students have varied opinions about their distance from school.

Gabrielle ’15, who lives in Arcadia, takes the Pasadena School Bus.

“I’m really happy going to Marlborough. I like venturing out of my home. I always stay around Pasadena, so I like going to L.A.,” Gabrielle said.

Ellen ’13, who lives in La Cañada, said she has trouble planning where to go with her friends, however, because most of her friends live on the Westside.

“I usually have to drive over to them if we’re going somewhere,” Ellen said.

“Where you grow up -- your home community -- influences who you are and what you bring to a group, or in this case, a school.”

Jeanette Woo Chitjian

Director of Admissions

SPREADING OUT: Current students have come from a wider and wider circle, with strong new populations developing in East Valley and South Bay areas. The school currently draws students from geographically diverse ter-ritories that Admissions Director Jeanette Woo Chitjian believes is necessary for creating racial and cultural diversity at the school.

PHOEBE/UV STAFF

By Jenny andBrianneUV Staff

Sacha named Siemens contest semi-finalist

Health care expertspeaks to Young Dems

East Valley

South Bay

New students from these years2004-06

2007

2008

2009

Pasadena

Manhattan Beach

GRAPHIC BY BRIANNE WALKER/UV

news 3www.theultraviolet.com Monday, November 16, 2009

By CamiUV Staff

MIT professor speaks about Siberia project

Helicopters held together by duct tape, seatless airplanes, and swarms of insects are just some of the difficult conditions MIT professor Lindy Elkins-Tanton had to deal with while researching the End-Permian extinction in Siberia.

Elkins-Tanton came to campus Nov. 2 to discuss her research on the extinction, or what she calls “Earth’s biggest murder mystery,” which took place 252 million years ago. The extinction occurred before the extinction of the dinosaurs and wiped out possibly as much as 97% of multi-cellular life.

Students, alumnae, parents, and faculty were invited to listen to Elkins-Tanton speak after school, along with local MIT alums. Not many students knew about the event, but those who attended appreciated learning about a new topic.

Laura ’11 said, “It was really nice to come to school and learn about a subject I never thought about.”

The team that Elkins-Tanton

is working with includes 27 scientists from 7 countries, all studying different aspects of the phenomenon. Her lab specifically works on finding the answers in the rock, using samples that help her create a timeline of the eruption.

“Dates are critical,” said Elkins-Tanton.

Elkins-Tanton talked about the encouraging findings her team has collected over the past year-and-a-half from her most recent trip to Siberia. But, there is still much that needs to be discovered. They collected many samples of

Scheduling committee examines waysto make school day less rushed

By Cecelia and CassidyUV Staff

Campaign enters third phaseBy Brooke

UV Staff

School applications go partly-electronicBy RosieUV Staff

With Google as our library and portals as our planners, it seems as if everything is going electronic - even Marlborough’s admission application.

Although prospective families have been able to apply online for five years, 2009 is the first year it has been required.

With about 60% of Marlborough applicants already applying online, this step seemed the most logical.

“We feel at this point everyone has access to the internet,” Director of Admissions Jeanette Woo Chitjian said, “and it’s just more efficient to have it go to an online data base.”

The application has two components: One gives the applicant’s basic biographical information and the other includes recommendations and transcripts. It is the biographical aspect that’s going electronic. The school will still use paper for transcripts and recommendations, although the forms are accessible online.

“It’s our way of showing families that we’re using 21st

century technology in a smart way and taking steps toward a greener process,” said Woo Chitjian.

Admission Assistant Elena Cortez prefers the efficiency of the electronic application.

“Getting everything instantly and in a more timely manner minimizes slight errors that are bound to happen with manual entries,” she said.

Keith Sarkisian, Director of Admissions at Brentwood School, feels the same way. After having about 75% of the applicants apply online, Brentwood went purely digital this year as well.

“Each paper application takes us approximately 7 - 10 minutes to enter data - thus, we save staff time eliminating data entry,” said Sarkisian.

However both schools agree that the acceptance and rejection letters for students will never go digital.

“We think that there is great value in receiving that letter and I don’t feel comfortable only sending emails to admits,” said Woo Chitjian. “We even put confetti in the envelopes.”

flood basalts and other rocks that still need to be studied.

“It is really exciting to think that we might have the answer,” said Elkins-Tanton. “Only time will tell.”

The idea for her visit came from Samuel, father of Emily ’15, who graduated from MIT in ’77. The event was created to allow local MIT alums to hear from someone within the MIT community about what they were currently working on.

“I thought it was a very unique opportunity,” said Samuel.

ROCK SAMPLES: Lindy Elkins-Tanton shows off samples from her most recent trip to Siberia. Photo courtesy of Elkins-Tanton.

A committee of Marlborough faculty members is beginning an evaluation of the school’s daily schedule in an attempt to create a school day that feels less rushed.

Among many early ideas, the committee has discussed dropping the forty-five minute free period or extending the school day in an attempt to satisfy teachers who feel as though they don’t have enough time to teach, said History and Social Sciences instructor Michael Gwaltney.

However, any changes would happen over the course of two years, with plenty of student and faculty input before any final proposals would be made. Even then, any changes would have to go though another approval process.

“No changes are definite right now,” Gwaltney said.

A scheduling committee forms every several years. In 2002, after considering numerous ideas, a committee only changed winter midterms to come before winter break, said Ortiz, associate director of academic technology. Yet ten years ago, when Monday and Wednesday classes went until 3:40, the daily schedule was completely changed to what it is today, said Foreign Languages Department Head and committee member Leigh Hansen.

“Every few years we feel like we ought to look at the schedule, and look to see if there’s anything we can do that would make students' lives a little easier,” said Hansen.

The scheduling committee is currently in the early stages of developing resources. Gwaltney has led the research on looking at other high schools and their schedules. Last spring, faculty members visited schools in both San Diego and San Francisco.

The committee has also been looking at professional reports on school schedules and time management, about “making time work for you, not being limited by time,” said Hansen.

The committee has also looked at lengthening the passing period, said Mathematics Department Head Christopher Talone.

When asked about possible changes to the schedule, students had a very strong reaction, many in favor of the current arrangement. “I like our schedule,” said Ruby ’11. “I like that we don’t have the same classes everyday and that the classes are only forty-five minutes.”

Yasmeen ’13 agrees. “I think it’s really cool the way it

rotates,” said Yasmeen. “It’s unique, and it doesn’t get boring.”

Marlyse ’13 said that it’s easy to manage coursework on the current schedule.

“You don’t have the same classes everyday so you don’t necessarily have to get all of your homework done in one night,” Marlyse said.

When asked about lengthening class periods, senior Caitlin said, “forty-five minutes are enough!”

Yet many students have complaints about small aspects of Marlborough’s daily routine.

“I wish passing periods would be longer. I’m always late to classes all the way across campus,” said Natalia ’11.

Marlborough administration agrees that there’s always room for improvement. “It’s a good thing to look back and see if we are still meeting objectives from time to time,” Ortiz said.

MIRROR MAN: While on the Caswell Scholars’ Exploring Los Angeles trip to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, Madeline ’12 took this photo of artist Gustav Troger in a mirrored suit, trying to visit Michael Jackson’s grave. Email photos to uvarticles@gmail.com to submit for the next contest, and the winner will receive a $25 prize. Criteria for judging submissions in-clude the emotion, energy and story portrayed in the photo, along with photo composition. Photo submissions must have been taken between the set deadlines.

Early ideas include lengthening the day or dropping a free period, but any changes would require serious evaluation

The school hopes to find a replacement for previous Director of Development Me-gan Murphy by January, said Associate Director of Communications Olivia Haas. Since Murphy left, the development office has been getting new gifts almost ev-ery day as it pushes to complete the third phase of the $65 million Leadership in Learning campaign, Haas said. Fund-rais-ing stands at just over $51 million. Gary Kaplan and Associates is work-ing with Head of School Barbara Wagner to find Murphy’s replacement. The compa-ny is narrowing down resumés to present to Wagner, who will meet candidates this month. Candidates will also interview with

administrators and faculty. Until a replace-ment is named, the various associate direc-tors in the development office are covering the director’s position. “The great thing about this school is that everyone has been willing to pitch in wherever needed,” Wagner said. The third phase of the campaign will focus on reaching out to the entire school community. This has included two large donations this fall. A current parent has donated $250,000, and a graduate from the class of 1945 donated $100,000 after the open house for Munger Hall at the end of August. The office is keeping the donors anonymous until the gifts are officially an-nounced.

Photojournalism Contest

News4 Monday, November 16, 2009 www.theultraviolet.com

Principals attend “Morning at Marlborough”By Caroline

UV Staff

School creates first official India tripBy Kathryn

UV Staff

Pumpkin Day lacks traditional grade rivalry

By BrookeUV Staff

Past seniors once chanted and shouted “You’re still here! One more year!” and engaged in dance-offs with juniors during Pumpkin Day, but this year, the upperclassman walked down the gym runway with mild enthusiasm.

Due to the misbehavior of last year’s junior and senior classes (cars were vandalized with Saran Wrap and cat

food), the two classes can no longer make fun of each other.

“This year we are all about self promotion and not cutting another class down,” eleventh grade dean

Reid Cottingham said.Costumes also could not shed a negative light on the other

class. So, the juniors dressed as “Junior Mints,” while the senior class dressed as ring masters, who call the shots in the Marlborough circus - similar to Britney Spears’ recent “Circus” tour.

“Instead of a face off, the feeling of seniority was exposed through our class costume and strutting our stuff down the catwalk. We were still able to show the school who calls the shots,” Senior Class President Rosie ’10 said.

Upperclassman rivalry will be prohibited on Mascot Day as well. However, Cottingham said she believes there’s a chance for the rivalry to come back. “Joking aside, I believe we can return to the rivalry in the future if we all take a

step back and tame our actions.”

School prioritizes leadership as WASC suggests

As part of an ongoing effort to expand feeder schools and show off Munger Hall, the Admissions Office offered a special Morning at Marlborough tour to elementary school principals and teachers Oct. 12.

Representatives from Echo Horizon Elementary, The Wesley School, and Wilshire Elementary School attended. The office invited more schools, but many representatives couldn't attend because of Columbus Day or an independent school conference in New York. Some of those who couldn't attend have asked for private tours or separately attended open houses.

“As you can imagine, having good relationships with our feeder school principals is essential to our success in promoting Marlborough School's reputation throughout the Los Angeles community,” Director of Admissions Jeanette Woo Chitjian said.

Although the student body comes from roughly a hundred feeder schools, the Admissions Office would like to increase that number, Woo Chitjian said.

“While inviting [the principals] to campus was not a 'new' idea, we thought the chance to walk through the new building and facilities would be an additional incentive to bring them here,” Woo Chitjian said.

Principal of The Wesley School Verena Denov said that she would recommend Marlborough for her girls.

“I had a good opinion of Marlborough before, but this visit provided me with a chance to look more intimately at classroom settings and see the fabulous learning environment that you have,” Denov said.

Hilda Rodino, the Spanish teacher at The Wesley School, said that she was impressed by how teachers led their classes.

“The way the students expressed themselves in class was very impressive. I also liked that all the students sit in a circle, with the teacher, as well,” Rodino said.

“I was impressed by the range of class choices available to the students and that there seemed to be something for everyone,” Kyla Alexander, fifth and sixth grade math instructor at Echo Horizon Elementary, said.

The invitation to elementary schools was part of a bigger plan to bring people to Marlborough, Woo Chitjian said.

“We've scheduled meetings on campus that usually take place at other venues around the city. For example, our office hosted the Los Angeles Consortium of Admissions Directors in mid-September. We've offered our school as a place to hold the Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs Senior Pinning Ceremony and ISEE test prep this fall,” Woo Chitjian said.

Seven freshmen will embark on a new school sponsored trip to India over spring break to experience Indian culture first hand with Global Studies Instructor Martha Schuur and yoga instructor Judith Sekler.

Schuur and Sekler have collaborated with Studies Abroad for Global Education (SAGE) to plan the trip, and a SAGE instructor will be traveling with the group the entire time. SAGE has been leading trips to India for eighteen years.

The trip will be based in Northern India, giving students a more rural, rather than fast city-life, experience. Students will visit the Himalayas, the Ganges, and the Taj Mahal, along with experiencing Tibetan culture.

Marlborough has hosted trips to Spain, Italy, and France, but never before to India.

“The trip appeals to someone who wants an experience in a developing world culture, and who wants to see first hand the things we talked about in global studies,” said Schuur.

“I really want to travel further outside the country, and India seems like the perfect place,” said Lauren '13. “I hope to come back knowing a lot more about the country because it has a really interesting culture.”

The trip will also incorporate yoga.

“The whole trip is yoga: getting through the trip, living cooperatively, being where yoga sprang from. All of it is yoga, union with the self and the universe. We will do the physical practices of asana (poses) when we can, but that is not the focus,” said Sekler.

India is a growing and diverse country, and the trip allows students to see first-hand the effects of globalization. According to Schuur, the trip is jam-packed and enriched with Indian culture and religion, over-night trains, and an elephant ride.

Neither Schuur nor Sekler have been to India before, but they believe this will be be a good thing because everyone will be experiencing things for the first time.

Although the trip is open to ninth through twelfth graders, most sophomores and juniors will not be able to take the trip due to college trips over spring break. The majority of sophomores are going on the school-organized college tour, and many juniors take their own college trips. This conflict in timing has left mostly freshmen interested in the trip.

The trip costs $4,300, and includes all expenses except for students' visas and shots. Regardless of how reasonable the high cost might be, numerous students said it was a primary factor for not participating.

Photos courtesy of Yearbook

POKER FACE: Erin ’10 dresses up as Lady Gaga.

GANGSTAFIED: Sophomores Jenny and Devon dress-up as gansta Teletubbies.

chances to practice the skills and test out strategies.

“Lots of leadership is happening, but we don’t necessarily have a list of what is going on in the curriculum and in the extra-curricular program. Working with girls on leadership is going to strengthen the program and expand skills,” said Hotchkiss.

To address the recommendation, DePriest and Walia-Fazio devised a three-step plan. They first will survey teachers, upper school students and alumnae to find out where leadership occurs for both students and adults.

The first group surveyed consisted of

twelve faculty members who “see leadership in action among their students,” such as grade level deans and Caswell Scholars and Honors Research instructors, Walia-Fazio said.

Random upper school students and the alumnae from 1999-2009 will be surveyed at the end of first semester.

DePriest and Walia-Fazio will then create a committee of students, parents and faculty that will examine where leadership is purposeful or accidental and brainstorm new leadership opportunities by the end of the school year.

An action plan will be implemented based off of the committee’s recommendations next year.

continued from cover

5sports

www.theultraviolet.com Monday, November 16, 2009

do as well as I like,” said Katt . “It was a little nerve-racking.”

Katt missed the cut to advance by one shot. “I am extremely disappointed that I didn’t go farther. I feel like I let the school down by only advancing one round and missing by one stroke,” she said.

The process of making the t ou rnamen t in Ojai was a long and complicated one, said varsity golf coach Laura Morrison.

The school doesn’t belong to a league because the Sunshine League doesn’t offer girl’s golf, so Lynyak had to participate as a freelance golfer.

“There are a huge number of schools competing for the freelance competitions, said Collicutt.”Because there are no divisions in golf, it is all the schools competing against each other.”

By Casey UV Staff

Katt advances to CIF-SS golf Northern Individual Regional

DRIVING HARD: Katt ’10 takes a stroke at the Soule Park golf course in Ojai Nov.3 for the Northern Individual Regional. She missed advancing to the next round by just one stroke after becoming the first golfer in school history to make the tournament.

Her first time on the course, three-year varsity golfer Katt plays at a disadvantage, but misses cut by just one stroke

“I felt like I let the school down by only advancing one round and missing by one stroke .”

Katt Lynyak `11

“It takes a lot of effort,” said Morrison. Because Katt doesn’t belong to a league she had to apply and qualify for each playoff tournament.

“I was impressed, she did all the applications and paperwork herself,” said Morrison.

Not only did Katt have to complete applications, but she prepares heavily for tournaments. She practices every day after school, has a lessons on Saturdays, and plays with her dad on Sundays.

She qualified for the first tournament, the individual Freelance Qualifying Tournament in Downey.

This was Katt’s second time playing on this course because she qualified for this tournament last year.

“Playing the course before hand is a great advantage and one that I hope to utilize next year in the Ojai tournament,” said Katt. “It’s really more about being comfortable in the setting and with your game, which can significantly impact your game.”

Three year varsity golfer Katt ’11 was the first student to ever advance to the Northern region individual tournament Nov. 3 in Ojai on the Soule Park golf course.

The tournament was Katt’s first time playing on this course, but she has been playing golf since she was about six years old and started entering into competitions when she was eleven.

Katt started playing golf as a way of spending time with her dad. A trainer soon realized she had potential, and started working with her on her game, said Katt.

“Because it was her first time at the course, she was at a disadvantage,” said Athletic Director David Collicutt.

“Not playing the course at least one time before greatly impacted my personal ability to

Harvey. These runners, as well as Alexa ’11, Caitlyn ’12, Lauren ’12, and Taylor ’12 represented Marlborough at CIF-SS preliminaries.

All of the team’s top qualifiers ran at the prestigious Mt. Sac Invitational. Katherine placed twelfth followed by Van De Sande in fourteenth in a Division IV and V heat.

Grant said since the team is growing and will only lose one senior next year, he sees promise for the future.

Varsity cross country tied Ramona Convent in the Sunshine League finals meet Nov. 3. That gave allowed the team to recapture the league championship because it also won all its head-to-head meets during the season.

At the finals, Katherine ’12 came in first overall, followed by team captain Danielle ’10.

The team advanced to the CIF Southern S e c t i o n p r e l i m i n a r i e s after press time on Saturday, running in a hot heat against La Reina and Harvard Westlake, ranked first and second, respectively, in CIF-SS Division IV.

After a season of losses last year, the team has regained momentum, leading an undefeated season, which has boosted the team’s hope for upcoming meets.

“We are going to dominate at CIF,” Alexa ’11 said.

Danielle said the team is stronger this year due to a combination of veteran leadership

and a foundation of young runners.

“We have a younger group that’s really stepping it up this year,” Danielle said.

Head coach Jimmie Grant said his goals for the team were to win league, as well as be a competitor in CIF-SS finals.

“We have the talent to do it, the talent just has to be up for the c h a l l e n g e , ” Grant said about his prospects for the team’s

competitiveness at the CIF-SS finals.

“If we step our game up, we may have a chance [at the CIF-SS title],” Grant said.

There are a number of tenth graders as well as first year seniors on the team this year.

“Trying to keep everyone motivated has been a challenge,” Grant said.

The top scorers on the team have consistently been Katherine, Danielle, and freshman Jade

LEAGUE CHAMPS: Above: The cross country team is off to a fast start during their league finals race.Below: Newly crowned league champs pose with their CIF plaque after their race at Griffin Park.

Cross country wins league, heads into CIF with confidence

By ColleenUV Staff

“We have a younger group that’s really stepping it up this year.”

Danielle Van de Sande `10Team Capitan

Photo courtesy of Laura Morrison

Photos courtesy of Athletic Dept.

sports6 Monday, November 16, 2009 www.theultraviolet.com

Scores and Highlights

Erica `10 led the team in kills in the volleyball team’s first round playoff

game against Paso Robles.

Volleyball

Nov. 3 - Mustangs 2Notre Dame Academy 0

Varsity

Golf

Swimming

Oct. 28 - Mustangs 328Westridge HS 322

Varsity

7th GradeNov. 7- For the third year in a row, the swim team won the Delphic League

Championship.

Nov. 3 - Mustangs 2Notre Dame HS 3

Oct. 20 - Mustangs 3Notre Dame HS 0

Nov. 5- Mustangs 2Immaculate Heart HS 0

Nov. 9 - Mustangs 1Harvard-Westlake MS 2

Junior Varsity

BROOKE/UV

After Coach Lauren Kroneberger jumped into the JV volleyball coaching position mid-season, the JV team won five games and lost two. The two losses were both against Marymount, the Sunshine League’s strongest program, with the Mustangs putting up a tougher fight in the re-match.

Sammy, who is a hitter and blocker for the team, said that Kroneberger has helped players improve drastically. She said that because Kroneberger has a lot of experience playing and coaching volleyball, she gives the players specific techniques to improve.

“I think we’ve all improved hugely because [Kroneberger] is more organized [than our last coach] and she’s experienced what she talks about” Sammy said. “She breaks every path down to a step. She shows how your feet should be and how your arms should be, which is key.”

Alex, who is team captain and the starting setter for the team

said that Kroneberger brings a great energy to practice and is really motivational.

Athletic director David Collicutt said he couldn’t comment on coaching change, as it was a personnel issue.

Kroneberger has coached a total of four years of club volleyball, and played volleyball at UCLA with fellow Marlborough coaches Becky Green and Elise Carstensen.

The volleyball team went into CIF-Southern Section tournament with its highest seed in three years after tying for second in the Sunshine League.

The team traveled eight hours round trip to play Paso Robles in the first round of on Nov. 10. It won the first game, but unforced errors hurt them in the second, giving Paso Robles the momentum. The Mustangs fought back hard in the fourth game after losing the third badly, but they ultimately lost to the Bearcats 3-1, ending their season.

“It was a really hard game to lose because for most of us, it was our last time playing for Marlborough,” Olivia ’10 said.

The team’s season was still filled with major high points.

It beat Notre Dame Academy on Oct. 20, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since 2002. Though they lost narrowly to NDA in the rematch on Nov. 3, that still left them tied for second place. They have not placed second in league since they were moved up to Division I-A.

Varsity played rival Marymount Oct. 27. Although the Mustangs lost in three games, co-captain Chelsea ‘10 said they have never come so close.

“Every game was a nail biter,” Chelsea said.

The team came in second place in the Marlborough Volleyball Invitational Oct. 24. They lost to the top-ranked Oaks Christian in the finals with a 15-13 loss in the fifth game.

“Early on this season, the girls forgot why they were playing, but at the Marlborough tournament, they remembered and played better together as a team than they have this whole

New coach takes over JV team mid-season

After winning two straight Interscholastic Equestrian League (IEL) titles, Marlborough’s equestrian team began the road to a third straight championship by placing winning the first show of the year Oct. 25, narrowly beating Archer by four points to top the field of seventy teams.

With 25 active members, this year’s equestrian team is the largest in school history to compete in the IEL.

Equestrian team advisor Alison Moser said that the team is not just large in numbers.

“They are all very good riders,” she said. “We have great new seventh grade riders, as well as skilled veteran riders.”

Moser said that the five active seventh graders are a strong presence on the team.

Seventh grader Eliza was the highest point earner in the whole show and was named overall champion. Eliza was the novice high point rider, hunter champion, and equitation champion in the show.

“We’re all very excited to welcome the seventh graders to the team,” Moser said.

The team has high hopes for its next show Dec. 6.

“I hope we can maintain our lead, and that more athletes will come to support the team at the next show,” said fourth year rider Kira ’13.

Nicole ’11 was freshman dressage champion. Taylor ’13 and Kailey ’14 placed second and third, respectively in freshman handy hunter.

Olivia ’13 and Alexandra ’13 placed second and third, respectively, in junior varsity handy hunter. Yu-Shien ’15 placed third in novice handy hunter.

Despite missing four starting players, Marlborough’s eighth grade volleyball team won the Culver City middle school volleyball tournament.

The tournament, which took place on October 17, was the first tournament the team has played in since the Delphic League was formed.

Head Coach Lorrie Provost-Vellutato said that every team member had a chance to play.

“Everyone saw the court and contributed to the tournament win,” she said.

Team member Catherine was the tournament’s MVP and thinks the tournament helped the team.

“We’re a little more confident, and [the tournament] has helped us grow as players,” she said.

- Colleen, UV Staff

- Heather, UV Staff

Sports IN BRIEF

By BrookeUV Staff

By HeatherUV Staff

Volleyball ends strong year with tough loss

7th/8th Grade

Cross Country Nov. 4- the team placed sixth in the

league finals meet. Lindsay Phillips `14 placed 25th and was the fastest runner for the Mus-

tangs

7th/8th Grade

Brooke Reagan/UVREADY POSITIONS: During the team’s game on Oct. 27, Devin Pence `10 and Jessica Goodkin `12 prepare themselves to return a serve from the Marymount Sailors. The Mustangs lost the game to Marymount 3-0.

8th GradeNov. 5 - Mustangs 2

Culver City MS 0

season,” Coach Becky Green said.The majority of Varsity

is made up of seniors. Green isn’t worried about next year’s starting line-up, though. Taylor ’11, Lauren ’11, and Jessica ’12 will be returning. Green is also

Kroneberger has been playing volleyball with Becky since eighth grade and first heard about the JV coach position from her.

Although initially nervous about taking over midseason, Kroneberger said that her first practice coaching the team was a success.

“I think the girls were looking for someone to push them and I think the first practice went really well. The intensity went well on the part of the players and me,” Kroneberger said.

Sammy agrees. “She really just got into [the practice],” Newby said. “Just after the first practice, I saw a huge difference.”

Kroneberger said that she has enjoyed working with the team, as the team has a great dynamic and the players have a drive to improve.

“The dynamic works really well. All the girls are comfortable with each other and they know each others tendencies and personalities,” she said. “They really want to learn and they really want to get better.”

counting on JV players to step up next year.

“JV player, Sam, opened the fourth game against Paso Robles with a kill. She always comes in and goes right after the ball. She’s aggressive and tall - just what we

FRESH START: new coach Lauren Kroneberger played volleyball took on the task of starting mid-season.

need for next year,” Green said.Green will also look at

current eighth graders who lost to Campbell Hall in the play-offs Nov. 12.

Equestrians begin title defense with win

8th grade volleyball team wins tournament

sports 7www.theultraviolet.com Monday, November 16, 2009

Tennis team improves moraleBy Ileana

UV Staff

JV POWER SHOT: Annie`11, in a doubles match Nov. 3.

CASEY/UV

Rowers get younger

Middle school students have recently had an increased presence in the sport of rowing. Four eighth graders have joined CYC, the California Yacht Club, and are beginning the sport at an earlier age than in the past.

Eighth graders Sophia, Genevieve, Daphne and Marielle are all active members of CYC’s novice rowing team, and joined the sport for a variety of different reasons.

Crew club advisor Tom Millar said that this large group of middle school students joining crew is unusual, and credits the increase to word of mouth.

“Some eighth graders have rowed or coxed in past years, but no more than 1-2 per year,” he said. “It’s not a sport that has organized competitions for 8th graders.”

The strenuous nature of crew has made it a more ideal sport for older athletes, because it is so physically demanding. Younger, less mature, athletes are at a disadvantage due to their smaller size.

“When you’re rowing in smaller boats against older children, it pays to be bigger,”

Millar said. Although it doesn’t take

much experience to join a club crew team, others say it’s better to start earlier.

“Novice rowers practice two to three times a week, with less of an emphasis on endurance and more on the techniques of crew. This gives the younger athletes an opportunity to decide if they wish later to pursue it more seriously,” said Marlborough parent and CYC coach Nick Harding.

Having played volleyball and soccer in the past, Daphne ‘14 joined crew because she was less likely to get injured in crew than in other contact sports. Sophia, on the other hand, was driven by her love of boats and the feeling of being on the water.

Over the last couple of years, a growing number of upper school students have joined crew because of the equalizing qualities of the sport. No one needs to join with much experience, and no one sits on the sidelines. The fun and

By Tahirah UV Staff

camaraderie of crew as well as the prospect of scholarships has drawn many older girls to join.

Since there are no cuts for crew, many girls join with little or no experience and progress with other members of the team.

“Crew gives young women an edge on the college admissions process,” said Harding. “There are many scholarships available for rowers nationwide. It should be noted however, that only the most committed and physiologically gifted of those girls who try their hand at the sport are going to be actively recruited by college rowing programs.”

Fourth year rower Grace ‘10 said teamwork and camaraderie have prompted her active participation on the team.

“The team is really close and fun to be around,” Grace said. “It’s an honest sport, you get what you give. Because of crew I feel that I am more hard-working and persistent.”

TEAM WORK: Grace ’10 and her teammates carry their shell out to the water at Marina Del Rey. A significant number of upper school students have rowed for the Marina Aquatic Center over the years, but this year the sport is getting a middle school injection. Four eighth graders are rowing for the California Yacht Club, which operates out of the same facility.

Photo Courtesey of Grace

With a final record of 8 wins and 6 losses for varsity and 4 wins and 3 losses for JV, the tennis teams played well overall this year and improved their performance in the doubles team, said head varsity coach Dale Jones.

“Our doubles teams have probably been our strongest element of the team this year. Not to say that they’re better players, it’s just that they’ve been more consistent, and some of the teams have really come together,” Jones said.

Varsity team captain, Lauren ’11 said that one particular doubles team, Sofi ’10 and Lucinda ’10, improved the most throughout the season.

“Lucinda and Sofi began the season as the #3 doubles on our team. They were able to beat almost every doubles team they played. They are the #1 doubles seed for the Sunshine League in CIF regionals,” Lauren ’11 said.

In general, Coach Jones said that the team doubled their wins from last year and almost won the league title in a close final competition with eventual champion Marymount.

“We actually could’ve won the league. We went to a 9-9 game tie and then we lost in a game count, so in terms of this year in comparison to last year and the progress, I think virtually everybody’s improved and I think the team made tremendous strides,” Jones said.

The JV team also improved

its doubles teams’ performance and had a good run despite missing practices until the arrival of new coach Moe Moe Myinttun the second week of practice.

Myinttun started coaching as a tennis pro at age 21 with individual junior and senior players at different levels and ages and has played tennis at the professional and collegiate level. As a junior, Myinttun won the CIF Singles Championship in 2001.

Myinttun said that the JV team overall did a great job “leaving it all on the court” and she said the doubles teams, such as the team of Annie ’11 and Kim ’12,“made good wins.”

“The doubles team of Annie and Kim were very professional on the court. They’re very supportive of each other. They listen to each other when they are having a tough match,” said Myinttun.

Eighth graders begin train-ing in the sport of crew, which has typically attracted upper school students.

feature8 www.theultraviolet.com feature

“A lot of schools provide a graph of where the senior class fell junior year. There are no strict guidelines on what they have to provide us. ... For Marlborough, students come in solid in writing and with an ability to have done research, which is something that most other students haven’t had before.”

- Danielle Early, Harvard

What does ansurvey conducted by the UltraViolet of 35 faculty members who teach core subjects showed that 96.7% felt that inflation was

at least part of the reason for increasing grades. Of those, all but one felt it was a

problem. Joseph Koetters, head of the

English Department, is the one department leader who voiced

strong concerns about grades. He said

one of the biggest issues is that the

M a r l b o r o u g h

The UV Survey

More students

are getting As, but how

sturdy is the path by which

they reach them? Are students on

a solid foundation - earning grades based

on merit - or is grade inflation devaluing the A

and putting students on shaky ground?

College perspective

continued from cover

GRAPHIC BY COLLEEN/UV

really mean?

The UV sent surveys addressing grade increases to 51 instructors who teach core classes, and 35 responded.

Do you think that the increased grades at Marlborough over the last 10 years are inflated beyond increased performance by students?

not at all - 3%

to some extent - 81%

completely -16%

not at all - 3%

completely -10%

If at the end of 1st quarter, a senior who has an 89.4% in your class requests for you to raise her grade to an A- because she is applying to college, would you?

yes - 39%

no - 61%

yes - 19%

no - 81%

A student has earned a borderline B/B- grade on an assessment in your class. You know, from past experience, that if you gave her the B-, her parents would contact you to dispute the grade. Would you give this student the B in order to avoid conflict?

no - 32%

If you think increased grades are inflated without basis on merit, please rate the following possible reasons on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not at all, 3 being to some extent, and 5 being absolutely.

Pressure from students and/or parents:

Pressure from the College Counseling Office and/or administration:

Teachers grading too much on effort as opposed to achievement:

3

5

4

1 2

3

5

4

1

2

The UV spoke with admissions officers at Harvard, Columbia, Kenyon, USC and Penn. Here’s what they said about the importance of grades and of high schools reporting class average GPAs.

l

“The real question is have we lost any context to the meaning of grades? The problem might be more of a cultural issue for America. It’s not grade inflation. It’s the view of a C from 1959 v. 2009 perspective.”

- Liz Forman, Kenyon

l

“When a school provides no context for grades the officer who reads that school has to work harder to figure out what a grade actually means. This means that we make assumptions that would better be informed by the schools. In the absence of “hard data” we make informed assumptions. Obviously we would prefer the “hard data.” I do not think, however, that the absence of grade charts or average school GPAs impact the decisions that we make.”

- Peter Johnson, Columbia

l

“We haven’t seen much of a change in conducting our decisions where there has been grade inflation in the country. Education in the U.S. is very un-standardized. We have to be clear that just because GPAs are higher, it doesn’t change their chances of getting into Penn.”

- Peter Silberman, Penn

l

“Over time, if we see students come in with high GPAs but not do well here, we’ll take [the high school’s grading policy’s] into consideration.”

- Lisa Rhone, USC

l

33.3% 18.2% 32.3%

9.7%

22.6% 16.1%

19.4%

9.1% 9.1%

30.3%

Reported by Julie, UV Staff

If you answered “to some extent” or “completely” for the previous question, do you think it is a problem?

For the last paper of the quarter, a student has made 4 meetings with you, and between each she listened to your suggestions and made thoughtful revisions. It is clear that she devoted a significant amount of time and effort to this assignment. The final result is a B paper. However, you realize that had she earned a B+ on the paper, her semester grade would move up from a B- to a B. Would you give her the B+ on the paper considering the amount of effort she put into it?

featurefeature 9Monday, November 16, 2009

survey conducted by the UltraViolet of 35 faculty members who teach core subjects showed that 96.7% felt that inflation was

at least part of the reason for increasing grades. Of those, all but one felt it was a

problem. Joseph Koetters, head of the

English Department, is the one department leader who voiced

strong concerns about grades. He said

one of the biggest issues is that the

M a r l b o r o u g h

continued from coverreally mean?

The UV sent surveys addressing grade increases to 51 instructors who teach core classes, and 35 responded.

no - 32%

If you think increased grades are inflated without basis on merit, please rate the following possible reasons on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not at all, 3 being to some extent, and 5 being absolutely.

Teachers grading too much on effort as opposed to achievement:

Grades are up, and opinions vary as to whether the reason is inflation or better students. Either way, agreement seems to be that students are working harder.

“It’s kind of like in the Olympics ... . There’s a reason you have gold, silver and bronze.”

ChrisThompsonEnglish Instructor

community has never had an open conversation about it.

“The people who run the school and the people who teach the classes must educate themselves about the issues surrounding why this is happening and what the ultimate consequences might be,” he said.

Future Implications Giving too many high grades,

even if earned, is problematic, said English instructor Chris Thompson, who came to Marlborough this year after 14

years at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.

“It’s kind of like in the Olympics, if everyone got

a gold medal, the sports wouldn’t really seem

quite as enriching. The competition

wouldn’t seem as worthwhile. There’s a reason you have gold,

silver and b r o n z e , ”

he said.Koetters,

w h o b e l i e v e s

grades at the school are inflated, said students worry too much about grades in terms of getting into college. Grades are supposed to be a tool for students to measure their academic progress, he said.

“It’s not about the A, it’s about what creates the best learning environment,” he said.

T a l o n e , however, said he thinks grades are accurately m e a s u r i n g a c a d e m i c progress.

“If students were getting into college with high grades, but were underprepared, then it would be a problem. Their high grades are getting them into college, and they’re doing well there. They’re earning the grades that they’re getting,” Talone said. “I don’t think it’s any kind of crisis.”

Hard to Measure

The job of evaluating grade

inflation is close to impossible. Often, standardized tests such as the SAT are used as a comparative measure to examine grade increases.

For instance, the median SAT scores at independent schools rose 21 points for the critical reading section and 36 points for the math section over the last 15 years, according to the National Association of Independent Schools, showing at least some increase along with national grades.

However, Co-Director of College Counseling Michael Heeter said that SAT increases are more likely attributed to test prep. Additionally, he said that eight years ago the College Board re-centered the SAT to reflect a 500 mean score since they were dipping down to 470, so scores look like they went up as a result.

Regardless of how they correlate to grades, our students’ median SAT scores are far above the NAIS medians.

Another standardized test that Marlborough students take is the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE). According to Director of Admissions Jeanette Woo Chitjian, the average ISEE score of incoming students has risen about half a point in each section of the test, on a nine point scale, over the last 10 years.

However, Woo Chitjian also pointed out that just like the SAT, the ISEE is subject to increased test prep over the years.

As Talone spoke of, another potential measure of the merit behind grades is how students are performing in college.

The English department, as part of its review, conducted an informal survey of alumnae, and the clear majority of those who responded said they felt, in terms

of writing skills, well-prepared for college.

Talone said he regularly gets the same kind of feedback from graduates.

“Every alumna I’ve talked to has said ‘I’m doing well,’” he said.

Both Talone and Koetters, though, agreed that information

is mainly anecdotal, and that students who answered the English survey were more likely to be those doing well.

Up to this point, the

school hasn’t formally studied alumnae performance in college.

Even the hard data on grade increases isn’t without question. For instance, most of the increases occurred from 1995 to 2002, with several department medians slightly falling from 2002 to 2005. The English department’s review did show its grades continued to increase - another .05 - from 2005 to 2008, but other departments have not done similar studies.

Co-Director of College Counseling Monica DePriest said that though she hasn’t officially crunched the numbers, she hasn’t seen a significant increase in upper school grades in the last five years.

Due to sensitivity among students about where they fall in the school grade distribution, the UV is not reporting actual GPA medians, but is instead only giving the increases.

Pressure Due to College

Admissions One theory for the trend in

higher grades is the increasing selectivity of the college admission process.

“The pressure on students to do well to get into college has gone up and up and up. With that in mind, many kids are working harder. The result is that when you keep the same standard over the years, kids will perform better against it,” English instructor Thompson said.

Head of School Barbara Wagner also said that the increasing prevalence of the early application process has also factored in.

“When I became Head of School 20 years ago, there wasn’t this early application process, so I think that too is added pressure to students and to faculty,” she said.

According to the faculty survey, teachers are aware of how grades can affect college acceptances. Almost 40% said they would raise a senior’s quarter grade of 89.4% to an A- because she’s applying to college.

At the same time, a large majority of teachers said they don’t feel pressure from the college counseling office or

administration as a factor in grade inflation.

Ironically, as college pressure pushes more students to do better, their grades can potentially mean less to students.

Marlborough doesn’t report average GPAs for the senior class to colleges.

Heeter said that even though he believes students earn their grades here, colleges could be skeptical of the school’s rigor if they saw the average.

“We might have some explaining to do,” he said.

College admissions officers interviewed by the UV said many private schools, like Marlborough, don’t give out average GPAs. In addition, DePriest said that Marlborough’s policy of not reporting average GPA was already in place when she first arrived at the school in 1995, meaning the policy pre-dates Millar and Talone’s study.

Effort or Accomplishment? Another possible explanation

for rising GPAs is how much teachers grade on effort.

In the survey, over two-thirds of teachers said they would give a student a higher grade on a paper due to her effort, even if the writing didn’t merit it, and over 80% said effort-based grades contribute to inflation.

History Department Head Catherine Atwell said she sees both sides to the issue of grading on effort.

“It’s important to reward the girls for effort. The danger I see in solely grading girls for effort is it disadvantages girls who don’t know what they need to improve on since there’s little incentive if you got an A,” she said.

Middle School Director Robert Bryan said that it’s “developmentally appropriate for grades in the seventh and eighth grades to be based on a broader range of criteria, including skills acquisition and responsibility.”

He also said, “When students get to ninth grade, it is more likely that a higher percentage of the course grade will tend to center on content management.”

Assistant Head of School Laura Hotchkiss said that the variety of assessments students get in all grades has changed over the years. Group projects, homework, and participation are now part of grading, she said, giving students more ways to demonstrate ability.

“When I was a student at Marlborough, there were probably tests and quizzes, and those were the only elements of your grade,” she said.

Also, at such a small school,

it is expected that teachers will develop personal bonds with their students, Hotchkiss said, and this may contribute to teachers giving students the benefit of the doubt on grades.

“I’m sure that happens, some teachers probably more than other teachers,” she said.

One more curriculum-based element that can factor into grades, history instructor Millar said, is the introduction of tracking - dividing honors and standard sections of a course. With tracking, students are placed in classes where they are most likely to succeed.

Millar gave the example that if a student was earning a C in an honors class, the administration would most likely encourage the student to drop down to the regular section. There, he said, she might earn a higher grade, raising her unweighted GPA.

Wagner said, however, that adding new classes is as much about moving students up.

“I think there’s no question that our students are taking more classes and are taking more advanced level classes - much more than 20 years ago,” she said.

“It’s kind of the chicken or the egg. Are they more talented? Are they working harder? Is that because they have better relationships with the faculty? I don’t have an answer for that, but I think probably all of those things go into it. Is that because of college pressure? Is that because of students who just want to do it?” she said.

F e w i n t e r v i e w e e s questioned that students work extremely hard for their grades, whatever they are based on.

Thompson said that compared to the students at G e o r g e t o w n

Day School - also a top-tier prep school - students here are more concerned with their grades.

“There’s an alertness to the significance of academic performance here,” he said. “It was a subculture at my old school. It seems to be a relatively central culture here, at least among the juniors and seniors,” Thompson said.

Jennifer Garrison-Ross, head of the science department, said that most of the pressure put on students comes from themselves.

“It’s sort of a Marlborough badge of honor to say that I was up until 2 in the morning and I have 4 tests this week. At the high school I went to, everybody was bragging about how they didn’t work very hard. Marlborough is the opposite,” she said.

“Every alumna I’ve talked to has said, ‘I’m doing well.’”

ChrisTaloneHead of Math Department

If you answered “to some extent” or “completely” for the previous question, do you think it is a problem?

to some extent - 87%

yes - 68%

For the last paper of the quarter, a student has made 4 meetings with you, and between each she listened to your suggestions and made thoughtful revisions. It is clear that she devoted a significant amount of time and effort to this assignment. The final result is a B paper. However, you realize that had she earned a B+ on the paper, her semester grade would move up from a B- to a B. Would you give her the B+ on the paper considering the amount of effort she put into it?

3

5

4

12

3.2% 16.1% 22.6%

22.6% 35.5%

GRAPHICS BY CAMI/UV

Casey, Jenny, Brooke, Sophie, Julie, Colleen, and Cassidy contributed to this report.

10communityMonday, November 16, 2009 www.theultraviolet.com

The Marlborough School Charity Fund has decided to run a “Trees for a Change” program at the school from the beginning of November to Dec. 18.

MSCF will sell the tree “gifts” for $15, and then the trees will be planted in forests devastated by forest fires, disease or insects. For every fifty trees that MSCF sells, the school will keep forty percent of the sales.

“I’m always interested in projects that benefit the environment, and MSCF is always seeking ways to raise money, so this seemed like a great project for both sides,” said Director of Community Service Laurie Brown. “Given the terrible forest fires in CA this year, I feel lucky that Trees for a Change found us.”

Trees for a Change is funded by the U.S. Forest Service.

ACUTE, the campus environmental club, held an assembly Oct. 20 to promote an environmentally-friendly campus.

The presentation included a video about avoiding electronic waste and recycling batteries, computers and televisions. Isabelle ’10, one of Acute’s co-presidents, said the club’s main goal is to “spread awareness of our everyday actions and to work towards a green campus.”

Jennifer Garrison Ross, science department head and the club’s faculty advisor, said it’s imperative to have a student group focused on the environment.

“I think it’s important for a couple of reasons,” she said. “First, for the student body to learn about global environmental awareness when they aren’t able to take a class in that. Even more importantly, to create an environmental focus on campus and in the lives of the students – for them to really think about what they’re doing.”

- Cecelia, UV Staff

- Cassidy, UV Staff

- Jenny, UV Staff

Haven’t You Wondered...

Students celebrate Hispanic Heritage MonthThe courtyard in front

of the Seaver Art Gallery transformed into a festive fiesta, full of students with satisfied stomachs, sweet aftertastes, and Latino music ringing in their ears Oct. 13. People waiting in long curving lines for horchata or tamales or taking in the busy atmosphere made walking across the courtyard impossible.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in October along with Dia de la Raza, also known as Columbus Day. This year’s celebration showed the growing presence of the school’s Latino population, which has expanded significantly over the last ten years. The current seventh grade class includes 15% of students who identify themselves as either “Hispanics/Latinas” or “mixed/Latinas.”

The school’s celebration started with an all-school assembly with speaker Giselle Acevedo-Franco, CEO of Para Los Niños, an organization that works to provide schooling for children on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

The celebration then continued with a feast provided by parent volunteers from the Latino community.

“We succeeded at recreating the ambiance of a vibrant open air mercado. The truck with churros, the frutero (fruit vendor) and the taqueria (taco truck) added authenticity to the experience,” Mabel, mother of Sara ’13 and Sophia ’14 and one of the event’s parent organizers, said.

There was always a day in which Marlborough celebrated Hispanic Heritage. However, many students agreed this year’s celebration was far more vibrant.

“This year’s event was more successful due to the hard work and large parent participation,” Miranda Payne, associate director of admissions who helped organize the celebration, said.

“In future years we hope to be more involved in planning and organizing the celebration,” Co-president of OLE/South American Awareness club Fergie ’10 said.

“The Latino families were so generous that we had too much food this year (last year we were short). We were able to donate it to a local shelter and food bank so that others could enjoy our feast,” Shelagh Callahan, mother of Zoe ’13 and one of the parent volunteers, said.

The growth in parent participation and the magnitude of the event reflect a growing population of new Hispanic students to the school.

According to Payne, the Latina population has risen from an average of 5.6% from 1999 to 2004 to an average of 9.4% from 2004 to 2009. These percentages illustrate the growth is continuing.

“In eighth, ninth, tenth, and twelfth grades, [the population] is an average of 8% whereas in eleventh and seventh grade, the percentage jumps to approximately 15%,” Payne said.

This increase in the population has given the Latino community more of a voice and given the school an opportunity to experience a taste of Hispanic culture.

“As a member of the now conjoined clubs, OLE and South American Awareness,

What’s inside 213 S. Arden Blvd (other than Wagner)?By Celine

UV Staff

the emphasis is not only on Latino celebration, but also on teaching other people about our culture. This year, with the overwhelming help from the parents, we were able to do so.” Genesis ’11 said.

“The old adage in Spanish “querer es poder,” (where there is a will, there is a way), was a mantra to many of us,” Mabel said.

Acevedo-Franco, spoke to the school about her life and the reasons for how she got to the place she is today. Her work includes trying to put a stop to the cycle of poverty and violence by providing a safe and educational haven for children.

She promised herself long ago that she wouldn’t let the fight inside her die out, and still today she encourages striving to your fullest potential and focusing on the good in your life.

COMMUNITY IN BRIEF

HOUSE OF THE HEAD: Few students ever see the inside of Head of School Barbara Wagner’s home. During a tour last week, she showed some of her prized collections and art - as well as her cat To-sca. Shown, clockwise from top left, are Tosca (named for the Puccini opera), her sea shell collection, her playing the piano, pitchers (some are the work of Visual Arts Department Head Gina Woodruff, and an array of pill boxes (one of her many collections).

VIVA LA RAZA: This year’s Hispanic Heritage celebration, organized largely by parents of the school’s Latina students, included guest speaker Giselle Acevedo-Franco, president and CEO of Para Los Niños, and a free buffet lunch of traditional Hispanic dishes from Mexico to South America. See audio story at www.theultraviolet.com.

Costa Rica trip set for JuneThe school is launching its

first trip to Costa Rica June 4-10. Middle School Director Robert Bryan organized the trip with WorldStrides.

The trip is science-oriented and open to all students, and the goal is to visit several nature and wildlife reserves in the Costa Rican rain forest.

“I believe that the beautiful and interesting settings, the various activities, and the science orientation of the Costa Rica trip will engage students and produce learning experiences that will last a lifetime,” Bryan said.

ACUTE spreads awareness

MSCF sells Trees for Change

COLLEEN/UV

Photos courtesy of Yearbook

By ElyseUV Staff

Having been in school for over two months now, I’ve had plenty of time to explore every nook and cranny of the new ARC. However, behind the pool and imposing shrubbery remains the most secretive place of all, Ms. Wagner’s house.

Luckily, she was more than willing to give me, along with fellow UV staff member Colleen Loynachan, a tour of her house.

Upon entering, I immediately noticed the tidiness of the place. I mean, I always perceived Ms. Wagner as organized, but how she manages to keep her house so neat still amazes me.

As we continued walking through the house, I was struck by the variety of art and cultural artifacts - paintings collected during her travels added life to the conservative white walls. And impressively, Ms. Wagner easily recalled where she received each art piece.

Ms. Wagner mentioned that she often holds events in the downstairs part of her house. But even though it’s a public space, she stressed the importance of making it her own. For example, when she moved into her house so did her Mason & Hamilton piano, a gift from parents of her previous school in Denver. On the stand were several pieces she’s currently working on, such as the French Suites by Bach, her favorite composer.

Decorating several shelves throughout her house were various collections, some of

which are pill boxes, nutcrackers and pitchers. Her most extensive collection, shells, includes shark teeth collected from a beach in Florida. She said that her friends typically return from trips with gifts to add to her collections.

Upstairs, Ms. Wagner showed us her office, which overlooks her backyard and the school’s

pool. The room contains a classic office desk with a surprisingly small laptop and a shelf filled with books about traveling and women empowerment, the two topics that dominate her life.

Exiting the house, Wagner paused in her hallway and adjusted a still life painting on the wall, for the fifth time during our tour.

community 11www.theultraviolet.com Monday, November 16, 2009

Kindles expand library catalog by thousands of books

Screw sorting bonds GUILD membersBy RosieUV Staff

Although the all-school play just ended, the drama program’s tech and production club, known as the Guild, is just getting started.

Typically, The Guild supports the performing arts department. It helps build sets for productions, such as the huge backdrop of mansion for “Pride and Prejudice,” and it also is in charge of handling the production technology for sound and lighting.

This year it is extending its know-how to aid any club that needs production help with an all-school assembly.

“This year really marks a change for the club,” said member Amanda Malcolm, “There were about 10 or less members when Guild began, and now the club has 35-40 members from across the grades. This year we have done much more than ever before.”

To jump start its new initiative, the Guild had a screw sorting party on Oct. 26,

where club members spent one lunch looking through all of the screws in the shed and classifying them by size, and Phillips head. If the bolt or threading on the screws were no longer useful, they were thrown away.

“It’s always really great when we can all come together to do a job, or at a screw sorting party,” club president Rose ’10 said. “It of course makes it a lot easier when we are building sets and we know exactly where the screws are and which ones work.

About eight of The Guild members have already participated in lighting and working on each assembly this year, and every member is preparing to tech at least one event.

“It really is a program to get girls familiar with the ‘teching’ and teach them the skills and terms they need to know to put on a good show,” said Guild adviser Doug Lowry.

At the next drama performance, be sure to take note of not only the content, but also who’s behind the lighting booth.

By CamiUV Staff

The Kindle by Amazon has revolutionized the act of reading a book: from flipping the page with your fingers to flipping the page with a press of a button.

A little known fact: The Academic Resource Center has three Kindles in its library available for student checkout.

The Kindle is about the size of a medium hard back book with the thickness of a new Marlborough planner. It’s like its own library, with enough space to hold 1,500 books. You can also download newspapers and periodicals onto the Kindle.

According to the library’s policy, students must use the device to read books the school doesn’t have.

“The point of the Kindle is to extend our catalog,” said librarian Margaret

Michaelson.A student can purchase a

book on Amazon that’s less than $10 with the school’s credit card.

Each student has one chance to do that, but any other purchase the student must pay for themselves. All you need in order to buy a book is a wireless connection to the internet.

Each time you rent the Kindle, you can have it for five business days. I managed to finish Kathy Reich’s novel, Déjà Dead, in that time, with most of the reading done over a weekend. I read wherever I could. When I had free time, my eyes were glued to the dull, gray screen.

When you check-out the Kindle you have the box it came in, the charger, and instructions for the device. It was a bit of a hassle to carry the box around, but it also kept the Kindle from getting scratched or damaged. I kept the Kindle plugged into its

charger most of the time, but I did give the battery a good test during a five-hour, traffic-laden round trip to San Juan Capistrano with my family, and it lasted the whole time. It’s supposed to last for more than a day, depending on the amount of use.

Like any technological device there is a certain amount of time a person needs to get used to using it. One thing I had trouble adjusting to was turning the page. Half of the time, I would try to go back a page and would end up going forward instead. A couple of times I didn’t notice until I was ten pages ahead of where I should have been.

Also, the forward and back buttons to the side of the screen are right next to each other, so it’s easy to hit the wrong one and lose your place.

In addition, the Kindle only shows your progress in terms of percentages. Perhaps those with

a math oriented brain might like thinking in percentages, but I found the lack of page numbers disconcerting.

If a student needs to use the book she is reading for a class, she also has the option of highlighting important passages or making notes on a key point as well.

Also, when the Kindle is turned off it saves the last page it was on. The first time I turned it off I forgot about that, so I freaked out a bit thinking that I would have to turn all of those pages individually again.

When I heard about Kindles before actually using one I was a little dubious about them because I didn’t really like the idea that they could replace books. But after using one I’m not bothered anymore. Kindles won’t replace books but they are a fun alternative.

Students, teachers gather to view lunar crash

By CassidyUV Staff

A small group of students and teachers huddle in big sweatshirts and blankets on the North Plaza, sipping coffee and looking expectantly up into the night. Their eyes scan the cloud-covered sky, and every time the gleaming moon peeks out, the plaza falls silent.

Under the classic lit-up Marlborough clock, reading 4:30 a.m., students and faculty press one of their eyes to the giant telescope, where a brighter-than normal patch of white hovers on the moon’s cratered, bumpy, surface.

The Lunar Crater Observer and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) hit the moon with a forceful enough impact to send a huge cloud of “dust,” lit up by the sun, into the air. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent this spaceship Oct. 8 to hit the moon with such power

that a plume of materials from the surface and subsurface of the moon rose above the dark crater.

Science instructors Judy Mirick and Nessim Lagnado set up the school’s telescope on Oct. 8 at 4:15 a.m., where students were invited to observe the event.

NASA’s goal in this experiment was to test if ancient ice was buried under the moon’s surface at this permanently-dark crater near one of the moon’s poles. The LCROSS will use specialized equipment to analyze the content of the plume and test for the existence of water, as well as hydrocarbons and hydrated materials, according to NASA’s website.

The thick cloud-cover that morning left many students slightly disappointed that the moon was viewable for only short periods of time, and that they couldn’t see the crash. “We didn’t get to see the actual landing, but it was a lot of fun to be up that early

and bond,” said Katelyn ’10. “It was a very unique experience that was definitely worth waking up four hours earlier for.”

Students also agreed that seeing the moon through Marlborough’s telescope was a valuable experience.

“It was amazing. I’ve never seen anything so fantastical,” said Shannon ’10. “I really liked seeing the moon up close and personal.”

Fourteen students, four

EARLY VIEW: Lucinda Loane ’12 peeks through the telescope to try to catch a glimpse of the LCROSS hours before the start of school Oct. 8.

LCROSS Facts

faculty, and two parents attended, Mirick said.

“I was surprised by the number of students who showed up,” Mirick said. “It wasn’t as spectacular as everyone had thought, and what I expected, but it was still kind of neat to get to see before and after the impact.”

NASA states that the presence of water, which might be found in vapor or ice form, will help determine the future of human activities on the moon.

Evidence of vapor and fine debris were found from pictures taken by LCROSS.

CASSIDY HOLAHAN/UV

Better than books?

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LCROSS weighed 1,290 pounds and created a 16-foot cra-ter in the moon’s rock.The project cost $79 million, considered cheap by NASA

The satellite used both near-infared and thermal cameras to obtain data.LCROSS’s skeleton is leftover from an Air Force project, and only took two years to build.

NASA held public viewing parties throughout the country.

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Nearly as lightweight as a medium-sized paperback.

Pros

One Kindle carries as many books as you want.It is harder to lose your place within a book. Whenever you turn the Kindle on, it takes you to the last place you were.Kindle has wireless access to Amazon and over 360,000 books.

ConsNo page numbers, so you don’t really know where you are.

You can highlight, but you can’t write notes in the margin.

After reading it for long periods of time it hurts your eyes, just like a computer.

It’s difficult to skip multiple pages forward or backwards.

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ILEANA NAJARRO/UVUNSCREWING A MESS: Guild members Cecelia ’13 and Pilar ’15 sort piles of mis-matched screws at a lunch party. They hope to raise awareness of the Guild’s mission to provide tech assistance to other clubs during assembly presentations.

12A&E

Monday, November 16, 2009 www.theultraviolet.com

Grimes brings hip hop to Dance Dimensions

Chamber Choir sings long Mozart piece in Latin at Carnegie Hall

Nineteen members of Chamber Choir will grace the stage of Carnegie Hall this spring break and attempt a feat they have never tried before: singing a 30-minute long Mozart piece, completely in Latin, without a break.

Singers will spend five days in New York City, from April 1 to 5, rehearsing with a full orchestra, several other high schools, and professional soloists for the “Mozart’s Coronation Mass” concert April 4.

M u s i c instructor Ernie Scarbrough, who will be preparing students for the trip, said that learning the half-hour piece of music will be challenging, especially because Chamber Choir will be learning songs for the spring concert during the same months of rehearsal.

“It’s a huge, huge undertaking,” Scarbrough said, adding that Chamber Choir members will be “working their butts off.”

Faith ’10 thinks that focusing during rehearsal will be the biggest challenge in learning the music.

“We have to have perfect rehearsal ethic and it’s going to be hard for us because we’re a really social choir,” Faith said.

Despite the work, however, Scarbrough said that performing in Carnegie Hall will be unique and valuable for those who participate. Chamber Choir has never sung at Carnegie Hall, which is known for its acoustically dynamic architecture and can take six months to book.

Alumna co-founds silk screening company Art Haus

By SophieUV Staff

By ColleenUV Staff

By HeatherUV Staff

FRESH IDEAS: One of many Art Haus designs. Courtesy of Art Haus Printing.

“The experience [will be] at arguably one of the top two or three venues in the world…in a place that’s acoustically perfect,” Scarbrough said.

Scarbrough said that participants will have a “multifaceted” trip that will allow them to both bond and gain musical experience.

He expects that the Spring Choral Concert will be a great success as a result of the trip, because of the extra time participants will spend together, singing.

“They’ll have this incredible shared experience,” he said.

Because of that, the Spring Choral Concert “is going to be killer,” he added.

Chamber Choir members said they are looking forward

to both the vocal challenges and the bonding experience.

“We get to learn an extended song in a different language. Not only do we get to increase our repertoire, but it’s better for our voices to be versatile in different languages,” Taylor ’10 said.

“As much as it’s going to be really cool to sing at Carnegie Hall, I’m most looking forward to just being with the people in Choir because I feel like the group of Chamber Choir this year is super close,” Sarah ’11 said.

Participants will also sightsee in New York, which will include taking a boat ride around the Statue of Liberty and ascending the Empire State Building.

This trip was open not only to Chamber Choir members, but also to other upper school students by audition.

Dance Dimensions files into the studio for rehearsal, and Los Angeles-based choreographer Sabela Grimes instructs the class to begin with a warm-up exercise: ten minutes of “chicken heads.”

This exercise is nothing out of the ordinary in his teaching.

“He doesn’t believe in routines, which is a new way to learn... instead, we learn basic moves, which is more efficient and more organic-looking than a routine,” Dance Dimensions member Rebecca ’11 said.

Grimes is stepping in as Dance Dimensions’ guest choreographer for the Evening of Dance show in February. His lectures and teaching focus on the history of hip hop.

“I don’t have a plan, but I do have an intention, and that is to

share some of the choreographic process that has been developed in communal spaces where black dance processes happen, and how it has made transitions to the concert stage and theater,” Grimes said. “It’s a newer context, and we’ll investigate what is lost and gained.”

Dance instructor Mpambo Wina said Grimes’ approach adds a crucial element of history to the dancers’ knowledge of hip hop.

“His approach is that hip hop comes from somewhere,” Wina said. “He has taken street dance and placed it on the stage, where a formality has to come in.”

Grimes’ teaching is taking the dancers in a new direction.

“We’ll be working on a step, and he’ll notice two other girls playing around and say ‘wait, stop, let’s try that.’ It’s a different way of teaching,” Rebecca said. “He’ll take something as simple as a step and take it in a different

direction.”Grimes hopes to see a change

in the dancers’ studies.“I hope to see growth

measured by how they walk into the room, how they approach the vocabulary... I want to experience some of their expansion as artists and human beings. I want this to be a reference for them in twenty years,” he said.

Grimes wrote his dissertation on “Soulja Boy” from a cultural and historical point of view.

Wina said that working with a Los Angeles-based choreographer makes the teacher more accessible to the girls.

“It’s important to support the greater Los Angeles art community,” she said.

After official uniform changes last year, Francesca Reinisch ’09 instated her own reforms to the school uniform with entrepreneurial spirit.

In February, Reinisch, along with friends Daniel Tator (brother of Alex Tator ’11), Lucas Lappe, and Rafe Goldberg, started Art Haus Printing: a silk screening t-shirt company. The company caters to Marlborough students through its line of self-produced “Marlborough legal” polos.

With small designs including a rising sun, a tree, and a boy and girl holding hands, just above the pocket, the polos adhere to the school’s uniform policy of being able to be covered with the palm of a hand.

Ella ’13 purchased two

polos at a back-to-school t-shirt sale that Reinisch hosted at her house in early September.

“It’s nice to have some freedom in what you wear on your polo. Our uniform is pretty limited, so the designs become a way to differentiate yourself from other students,” Ella said.

Nicole ’11 said that she was attracted to Art Haus’ “basic, classical and versatile designs” because they weren’t from a store brand.

“The shirts are so appealing because they were made for Marlborough girls especially,” said Natalie ’14. “They are custom-made and so wearable.”

One of the reasons the polos, burnout t-shirts, tank tops, and v-neck shirts are popular with Hancock Park teens and other Los Angeles students is because they

are “local designs, for local kids, by local kids,” Reinisch said.

Art Haus promoted its designs and sold shirts at $2 shows: backyard concerts organized and attended by many students from Buckley, Oakwood, Marlborough, Crossroads, Wildwood, and Campbell Hall.

“Our mission is to make shirts and have fun, while making art that we love and are passionate about,” Reinisch said. “We aim to make shirts for people like us.”

According to Reinisch, one of the goals of the company is to create clothing that is safe for the environment by using non-toxic water based inks instead of plastisol.

The company began as just an idea cooked up one night as a kind of “joke,” while hanging out in Lappe’s basement, which the team

named “the laboratory.” Reinisch said she wanted to start a business making use of this funky lair.

The team invested in a silk-screening station, and entered the business world. They obtained a wholesale and resale shirt license, and decided to print their designs on American Apparel and Alternative Apparel clothing.

Reinisch said she has run into problems with Art Haus, such as taking on orders too large to handle, and in the process she has learned that it is necessary to have an open dialogue with clients.

“The whole process has definitely been a learning experience. We didn’t expect it or set goals for ourselves at first,” Reinisch said.

Customers can purchase shirts online with a credit card, and Marlborough students

receive discounts if they buy multiple polos at once.

Reinisch said she will continue Art Haus while she attends Oberlin College. The team is currently working on designs for thefmly.com, an indie music blog.

Visit www.arthausprinting.com to view and purchase designs.

CONCENTRATE: Above, guest choreographer Sabela Grimes earnestly expresses to Dance Dimensions the impor-tance of not looking in the mirror while rehearsing. Below, Grimes demonstrates a dance move to laughing students.

“It’s better for our voices to be

versatile in different languages,”

Taylor Harvey ’10

COLLEEN/UV

A&E 13www.theultraviolet.com Monday, November 16, 2009

Fathers unite to perform in rock bandWhen you watch a live

performance of Rossmore ripping into “What I Like About You,” the band members look like true rock stars. But when they head to Ernie Scarbrough’s music room carrying their instruments for rehearsal, they just look like your normal Marlborough dads. They are a little bit of both, everyday guys living a dream, at least for a few shows.

Two years ago, the group made it’s debut at a Marlborough dance. Now, they’ve played at the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip, have opened for Foreigner in Phoenix, and in January they will soon open for the Styx in Phoenix, Arizona.

The story began when bassist and vocalist Bill Fay, father of Caitlin ’08, Natasha ’10, Megan

ROCK OUT: Rossmore, a band of mostly Marlborough fathers, has played at the Viper Room, has opened for Foreigner, and will soon open for Styx. At top, Bill Fay takes the mic. Directly above, dads Fay and Jed Johnson back up lead vocalist Rick Benoit.

CRAFTING A PORTFOLIO:

Michelle ’10 spends 22 hours a week after school and on weekends

working on her college art portflio

at Vision 21, a design portfolio

school. Top: Mi-chelle’s drawing

is meant to signify hope for possibly

finding an AIDs vaccine through monkeys. This

drawing illus-trates Michelle’s specific attention

to details in her artwork - the

monkey took a few months to

complete. Right: Michelle adds brush strokes

to a painting of Cinderella look-

ing into her future while at Vision

Rhee hopes for a career in commercial design

Michelle ‘10 sits hunched over her easel on the tenth floor of a high-rise in Koreatown, carefully adding paint strokes to her latest creation. On this Saturday afternoon, she’s already been mixing and applying paint for over four hours on a painting of Cinderella looking into her future.

After dedicating six to eight hours most days over the summer to demanding work on her college portfolio, Michelle now spends 22 hours a week improving a diverse skill set through classes at Vision 21, an art and design portfolio school.

Michelle has a clear vision for her career path following graduation. She plans on attending art school and majoring in illustration to pursue a career in communication design and commercial and advertisement art. Because indecisiveness is in her nature, Michelle said that she needs the structure of assignments to guide her creativity. She is currently enrolled in a second year of Senior Thesis art.

Art instructor Chelsea Dean said that Michelle has the ability to take risks in her work. Dean said Rhee’s piece “Big Bang” (displayed in Senioritis) on raw wood shows growth in her body of work. Michelle continued to

Gulnar ’13 was recently published in the “Miranda Literary Magazine,” an online literary journal that publishes short works of fiction, poetry, essays, visual arts and memoirs.

Her published piece, “The Vegetable Thief,” is about a boy who steals from a grocery store.

“Writing is definitely a passion of mine,” said Gulnar about her published piece. “I hope to have more of my work published in the future.”

Tuli mailed the story out to literary magazines after writing the story last summer and receiving feedback from a variety of people, including English instructor Amita Walia-Fazio.

Aram Rappaport, the 22-year-old writer and director of “Helix,” spoke at the fifth annual film festival Oct. 16.

“Helix,” starring Alexa Vega (“Spy Kids”), is a 90 minute thriller based on Rappaport’s own experience as a teenager of being abducted in downtown Chicago. Rappaport shot “Helix” in one continuous take with a Steadicam.

“This is really a documentary that just happens to be reenacted,” he said.

Rappaport joked about his “beginner’s luck” in the making of “Helix.” “I shouldn’t have been given money to make this film,” he said.

Aside from the preview of “Helix,” which is set to be released July 13, the festival screened fifteen student films from Harvard Westlake, Oakwood, New Roads, and Marlborough.

Hannah ’10, who organized the event with English instructor Susan Cope, said they are now looking for a student to take over the festival planning for next year.

A&E IN BRIEF

ask herself how she could push the piece a little further, Dean said. After completing the painting of a realistic gun on wood, at home, Rhee used pliers and a gas burner to burn the text “BIG BANG” onto the wood with a long nail heated over her kitchen stove.

Although she experiments in her art, she also pays great attention to detail, said art instructor Kathy Rea.

Her illustration of a monkey and a syringe is a commentary on the study of an AIDS vaccine in a monkey model. Every hair on the monkey is precisely drawn.

“She’s always been a perfectionist,” Rea said. “Trusting herself as an artist allows her to take more risks and feel like there is a payoff.”

Classes at Vision 21 have allowed Michelle this room for creative risk taking and expand in her knowledge through collaboration with other artists. Michelle takes classes that range from foundations, where she works with still life, figure drawing with live models, to illustration technique and design.

“I like that art is really a way for everyone to see your thought process. Especially in commercial and advertising design, what sets a person apart is her views of a certain object or item, and how unique that view is determines how it sells,” Michelle said.

Art instructor Chelsea Dean’s first solo art show, “Vestiges of the Original Plan,” opened at “Happy,” a store in Los Feliz, Nov. 6. The show will be up until Nov. 29 and features drawings and photographic light boxes of mid-century modern architecture. Through her work, Dean photographs architectural monuments before they deteriorate past recognition, as a form of preserving their beauty and illustrating time. A press release by “Happy” stated that Dean’s series is “a memorial to passing perfection.”

The Winter Art show in Seaver Gallery showcases a piece of work from every student taking art classes, from Art Concepts through Advanced Placement level, and will be up from Nov. 5 to Dec. 9.

’12, guitarist Bill Birrell, father of Gracie ’13, guitarist and vocalist Jed Daly, father of Alex ’10 and drummer Steve Weeks, father of Jen ’08 met at a Marlborough father’s meeting.

After realizing that they all played instruments, the dads contacted choral instructor and keyboardist Scarbrough and former science teacher and mandolin player Richard Del Grosso.

Scarbrough thought that it “would be great if we could all get together and jam”, and Rossmore was formed to play for fun.

Although Rossmore was initially made just to play recreationally, once they performed for the dance they began to get more serious.

“We had such a great time playing for the dance that we decided to stay together as a rock group,” Fay said.

After they first played for the dance, Rossmore met monthly to rehearse. As the practices continued, the group got stronger, until they realized that more could come out of this.

“This is silly…why don’t we play somewhere?” Scarbrough said, and soon, through connections, a performance at the Viper Room was booked.

Not long after that, Fay met Foreigner’s concert promoter, who was looking for an opening band. Fay sent him a video of Rossmore playing at the Viper

room, and soon they were scheduled to open for Foreigner in Phoenix.

With a crowd of over two thousand people, Rossmore got a “real” rock singer, Rick Benoit for lead vocals who replaced former vocalists Fay and Daly.

“We had an amazing time, and the crowd was great. You really feel their energy, and put that energy into the music,” Fay said. His daughters, Megan and Natasha, along with the rest of the family all went to cheer on Rossmore in Phoenix.

“They’re pretty amazing, and how many girls can say that their dad is in a band?” said Megan.

Shortly after Foreigner, Rossmore was asked by a music promoter to open for Styx in January. Fay said that they are “definitely going to do it - it’s too much fun not to!”

Despite all their success, the band is careful not to overstate its aspirations.

“I don’t think we are really going anywhere, but we’re just going,” Scarbrough said.

Fay continues playing even when he is not with Rossmore. Once in the Stanford jazz band and marching band, he now works with Megan and Natasha, who both play piano and sing.

“I love it that my kids think it’s cool that I’m in a band. We have a lot of family jam sessions at home,” said Fay.

By Madeline KarabianUV Staff

- Colleen, UV Staff

By Colleen LoynachanUV Staff

Gulnar publishes story

Dean debuts art show

‘Helix’ writer, director speaks at Film Festival

- Tahirah, UV Staff

- Colleen, UV Staff

COLLEEN/UV STAFF

Photos courtesy of Bill Fay

14Opinion

Monday, November 16, 2009 www.theultraviolet.com

There’s no doubt that we’re prepared for college. We’re constantly praised as the most intellectual students in the nation and told that college is easy in comparison.

But pride has its consequences: we forget to be humble. Many students have false feelings of self-entitlement, thinking that if they work hard, or even just go to Marlborough, they deserve an A.

But we don’t go beyond what’s expected. We think the knowledge we learn just to get an A is all we need to know, but it’s not.

The girl who really deserves an A fully understands the material taught in class, but also strives to learn more about the subject on her own. She doesn’t just cram the night before. She researches on her own free time, studies in depth, and goes beyond the requirements. Only these students should be singled out as acing the class.

We should reform the grade distribution so that Cs are once again the average grade, not the abysmal grade. Cs should mean be what Bs mean now, and grades should be spread out more evenly.

Now before you storm to the newspaper room with a fist ready to pummel my face, hear me out.

It’s rewarding to receive an A on a paper. But then you look around and everyone has As, and suddenly your grade seems un-fulfilling. With grade inflation, it’s impossible to stand out.

If Cs become average grades, students would be motivated to really strive for that well-earned A and would have the ability to stand out.

As should be handed out like college acceptance letters, not like food from Leadership in Learning lunches.

What are we really stressing over? It’s letter grades, not learning.

If we eliminated grades, students could absorb knowledge and grow, without forced competition for a top grade point average.

Grade inflation has devalued grades, so that the A everyone strives to earn is less meaningful.

The competition to be accepted into the most exclusive institutions has caused the student body to lose focus on the goals of high school: pursuit of knowledge and personal growth. Priority has shifted to future aspirations, which has eliminated the engagement in present demands. We have lost sight of the meaning of our education.

We should be self-motivated and pushed by our peers to excel, not for glory or for recognition by an elite university.

The only way to minimize competition would be to eliminate the symbols that seem to direct our work and our thoughts. We should remove any form of evaluative style that relies on percentages or letter grades, and instead shift to thoughtful and constructive written comments.

Although these narrative assessments would be converted to grade point averages for the purpose of applying to colleges and universities, students wouldn’t be driven by these numbers, and instead could focus on the present work and immerse their full consciousness in their studies.

Wildwood School, a progressive private secondary school in Los Angeles, has a similar reporting system. Even Brown University has a pass/fail system. Mastery of material should be the focus of teaching and learning, not grades.

Do we inflate grades?

Don’t deny it. Grade inflation is happening at Marlborough.

Many students around campus seem to be convinced that our grades have not inflated within the last few years, and are offended by the idea. But I’m not trying to say that Marlborough girls are not working hard for our stellar grades. However, the bulk of grades at any school are supposed to be Cs – the average.

Yet most student’s report cards might never even become aquainted with this letter.

It’s not our fault that grades have become inflated, but it is something that we need to talk about. Inflation means that As count for less because with everyone getting higher grades, the smartest and most hard-working students of the class don’t stand out. Similarly, with such a small grade curve, competition is much fiercer. While once both As and Bs were thought of as above-average, now many students feel as though As are the only way to show that you are working hard.

However, grade inflation, can be seen as necessary. With high schools throughout the nation pumping up their grades, Marlborough girls receiving Cs on average would reflect poorly on our school and students.

So we shouldn’t get defensive when people talk about grade inflation at our school – it’s not an insult. It doesn’t mean that we are working any less or we don’t deserve our grade. Instead, students need to acknowledge grade inflation as a phenomenon in educational systems throughout the nation, and start having informed discussions about how this affects us as students.

A change in grading this big shouldn’t be ignored.

Grade inflation is not occurring at Marlborough.

Why can’t people accept that with time, people in general have become more intelligent?

Change in intelligence is evident from a simple fact: evolution. Evolution proves that humans have become more intelligent through natural selection (as all of us scientists at Marlborough know). The smarter survive and thrive.

Due to increased intelligence and advanced skills, students are doing better. The higher grades students are receiving at high schools across the nation are reflections of the steady increase of human intelligence and the better student work. Grades are truly based off of merit.

Another factor that’s increasing student grades is the large pool of applicants, especially because of the echo boom. Right now, we have a larger population of teens.

The larger applicant pool allows colleges and universities to be more selective in choosing their freshmen class, picking students with higher GPAs and better standardized test scores.

So, students must compete with many more students than previous generations. And each student is trying to win over another student who is near the same level academically, making it much harder to get accepted.

Because of this overall greater fight that students must perform, people have become more competitive in high school and work harder. Therefore, students put more effort into school, which results in higher qualities of work. And these students deserves higher grades.

Today, many students have outside help. Naturally, with all of this extra help (and money), the academic bar has risen way up—as it should. All high school students have the ability to be smarter and better than ever, and this is ability is reflected by “inflating” report cards.

How can a normal high school student compete with those who get help from a well-paid grad student? They can’t. Which is why teachers have been seeing superior, more advanced work, and of course better work means a better grade.

Moreover, Internet information is at instant disposal, allowing students to get in-depth explanations whenever, wherever. Modern day habits have brought university expertise into every student’s bedroom.

How can someone really argue that there is such a presence of grade inflation when we have all these resources to work with? Our papers are supplemented by advanced resources; our studying can be enhanced by pre-made online flashcards. Teachers aren’t helping us out, we’re just increasing our productivity.

It isn’t really that we are getting so much smarter, just that we have the ability to present ourselves that way. We are now capable of obtaining information that was not discussed in class, and teachers have now come to expect that of us. There is always going to be A work and there is always going to be C work. Students get As because of the effort they put into their work. Whether that effort is honest hard work, or written off with a check, is unfortunately irrelevant.

This isn’t a revolution, but rather evolution. And we are in far too deep to regress—nor does anyone want to.

julieeditor-in-chief

colleendesign editor

cassidyonline editor-in-chief

briannemanaging editor

rosieopinion editor

INCREASES IN GRADES DIVIDES THE STAFF

opinion 15www.theultraviolet.com Monday, November 16, 2009

Let’s not blow this out of proporition

VIEW FROM THE TOP

faithUV Contributor

“It is in moments of illness that we are compelled to recognize that we live not alone but chained to a creature of a different kingdom, whole worlds apart, who has no knowledge of us and by whom it is impossible to make ourselves understood: our body.” ~Marcel Proust

We have all heard them. “I am color-blind.” “I do not see race. I see people.” Statements like these are seemingly progressive, and ideal. Aren’t they indicative of a world we all wish to inhabit? But stop for a moment and listen to the quotes. How do we exist in a world that strips us of our color and our race? Is it ideal to be monochromatic? Who would you be in a world that rendered you colorless?

We see each other before we hear each other. When approached in the halls at school or at a party in a room full of strangers, we have yet to dazzle those we encounter with our expansive intellect or our charming wit and vivacity.

Something about our physical selves is aesthetically pleasing. Our bodies, and yes, our skin, speak before we can use our minds and our words to draw people to us.

Strength, conviction, kindness, and courage are not dependent on a particular racial make-up or skin tone, but by our experience. We look in the mirror and it shows us our skin. We do not choose what we look like. We are shown. We are born into a world in which we are verbally branded with this notion of an identity. You are “black.” You are a “girl.” You are a “black girl.” What does this mean?

In this sense, we collect human responses. We are born with bodies covered in flesh that are receptacles for revelations and misconceptions about what the color of our flesh should mean to us. It is naïve to believe that we define ourselves. How much of our identities are tightly linked to how we are perceived by others? Is it possible to separate our minds and our

spirits from the race and the skin of the bodies we inhabit? In a world free of labels, where race is non-existent, we have nothing extra to cling to. We are all human. Does this make us the same? Is sameness an ideal to strive for? Human experience would become far less diverse and inescapably universal.

We are given bodies, races, and genders that define our physical being on earth. It is a constant struggle for me to acknowledge these concrete fixtures of my being as relevant or important. I want the wingspan of my mind and my soul to extend far past confinements of race and gender, and the constrictive nature of my own skin. But then, this division between the flesh and the spirit makes me pause. If who I am internally is partially shaped by who I am externally, my entire being is inextricably linked. I should praise the strength of my bones, the color of my skin, my race, and my gender for giving me experiences that challenge me as a human being. I never want to live in a colorless world. I wish to thrive off of vibrancy.

On a cold October morning, a handful of juniors made a fateful decision as they groped through their closet for a comfortable sweatshirt. They arrived at school with lettering stamped across their chests, spelling out the all-too familiar names: YALE, BROWN, STANFORD--words they would soon wholly regret advertising.

The senior class, as stressed out as James Franco is attractive, stormed the offices of the authorities, torches and pitchforks in hand, and insisted that this wrong be righted. With early application due dates rearing their collegiate heads, they argued, the apparel of the junior class was insensitive, pretentious, and, in a word, inexcusable.

The two sides have now reached some kind of a stalemate. And now that the cacophony has subsided, may I suggest that our reaction was a bit overblown?

Let me start by pointing out some painful truths. First, this firestorm erupted on a free dress day, a day when people are allowed to wear whatever they want (yes, even if it makes you nervous about your future). If a junior is wearing a college sweatshirt on a uniform day, I am all in favor of subjecting them to the tidal wave of demerits they deserve. This, however, was not the case.

Second, I hope none of us think ourselves so important that a person would plan their entire outfit around offending us. But I am not going to waste this small space trying to convince my classmates that the juniors did nothing wrong--if there’s one thing I admire about the class of 2010, it’s their loyalty to their convictions.

What really bothers me about this whole fiasco is the bigger picture--how we allowed ourselves

to (in the words of President Obama) get all wee-weed up about this.

Believe me, it is a stressful time. I will not deny that. But the amount of gravity we are placing upon a mere four years of our lives is absolutely ridiculous. Do we all really want to believe that the greatest years of our lives end at 22? As for the argument that our futures are dictated by our bachelor’s degree, that I also find depressingly limiting, and untrue. When I hear a fellow schoolmate proudly claiming that movies like Rent and Into the Wild “changed my life,” I would hope that they can recognize their own hypocrisy in obsessing over academic establishments.

Let’s say, however, you are not one to swoon over movies that romanticize the “down-with-the-people” lifestyle. Let’s say you are simply one of those who argued that juniors fail to understand “what we are going through.” I understand that the college process is a mixture of emotions, but I urge you to make sure that the feeling that rises to the top is one of gratitude. “What we are going through” deals with a small fly in the overall caviar of our exceedingly privileged lives. I hate to get all “people are starving in Africa,” on you, but as we learned from Dr. Mathabane, people are not only starving in Africa, but getting their feet eaten off by rats in Africa. If I recall, every member of the student body stood up in applause for his advice to be thankful for what we have.

Let’s not make fools of ourselves with contradictory behavior. Making mountains out of outerwear will not get you into college.

The UlTraVioleT

The UlTraVioleT staff pledges to produce a quality publication which addresses issues of importance in the Marlborough community, sparks interest among its readers, demonstrates ethical and objective news

reporting, and represents a range of opinions.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?Call us at (323) 935-1147 ex. 635, drop off a letter to 250 South Rossmore Avenue at The UV office, or send us an

email at uvarticles@gmail.com

Editor-in-Chief Julie

Online Editor-in-Chief Cassidy

Design Editor Colleen

Managing Editor Brianne

Photo EditorCasey

News Editor Cami

Community Editors Caroline, Phoebe,

Kathryn, Cecelia

Feature Editors Celine, Ileana

E & A Editor Brooke

Opinion Editor Rosie

Sports Editor Casey

Backpage Editor Justine

Freelance EditorIleana

Online Deputy EditorSophie

Reporters Madeline, Tahirah,

Heather, ElyseAdviser

Mark Krewatch

Business Manager Jenny

Copy EditorCeline

Letter to the Editor

Exploring issues of race, culture, and individualityON DIVERSITY

Dear Editor,I write in response to your

editorial titled “Volleyball practice conflicts with ACT.” First, the headline was completely incorrect. The conflict was never between practice and the ACT. It was between a match and the ACT – and the match in question was the afternoon before the ACT.

Second, the coaching staff wasn’t angered by the student-athletes’ choice to skip the match. They were disappointed that those players did so in a way that hurt the entire team. As the editorial said, the game schedule had been distributed much earlier in the summer. However, the athletes in question waited until the night before the match to make their choice, leaving coaches little or no time to bring in replacements or adjust the team’s tactical approach before the competition. The coaching staff was well aware of the ACT conflict on the weekend and had released several athletes from their competition obligation on the actual day of the test.

The specifics of the incident are important. The competition was a shortened-format, best-of-3 match at 4 p.m. in Cerritos the day before the ACT. That meant the girls knew the team bus would be back by 7 p.m. (It actually returned at 6:45 p.m.) That would allow them plenty of time to get a decent evening meal and an excellent night’s rest. Also, physical exercise can refresh your mind and result in better sleep and less anxiousness. I also consulted the College Counseling Office to seek their advice, and the office did not recommend that the student-athletes miss the match.

A team sport develops confidence and teaches inter-personal skills, leadership, dedication, time management, and commitment. Marlborough believes that academics come first, but in developing young women to contribute in a global society, the Athletic Program plays a significant role in a student’s education.

David J. Collicutt, CAAAthletic Director

kelsey, UV Contributor

schessagarbutt

Contributors Schessa, Hannah, Julia, Kelsey, Faith

Audio ProducerBrianne

16backpage

Monday, November 16, 2009 www.theultraviolet.com

Then Now

As seventh graders, we seniors coveted Orlando Bloom - partly because Ms. Llano wanted to marry him, and partly because of our Pirates of the Caribbean obsession. Anyone who

was anyone possessed a bedazzled Sidekick, a la Paris Hilton circa 2004. Juicy Couture track pants were all the rage, and students’ binder covers were accessorized with posters of Ryan from the OC.

Times have changed with the newest preteens on the middle school scene. You can spot them prancing down the hallways, showing off their Blair Waldorf-esque headbands and ties. Their skirts are accessorized with metallic belts, while Uggs in Skittle colors are nowhere to be seen. And instead of LiveStrong bracelets or Baby-G watches, their wrists are adorned with piles of fashionable bracelets.

To truly understand the culture of these new middle schoolers, we prowled the locker halls to figure out just what are the biggest trends for seventh and eighth graders. For the uniform, these younger students are obsessed with high-skirts clenched by a fashionable belt, headbands with huge bows (“the bigger the better”), cashmere sweaters, vintage jewelry, and thick rubber bracelets advertising concerts they’ve attended.

And these girls pack in attitude with their new attire.“We know the upper school makes fun of us,” one seventh grader commented about

her high-waisted skirt. “But we don’t care.”While the Grove used to be the happening spot for nights out, now middle schoolers say it’s all about Harvard

Westlake middle school football games. Like with the entire country, Twilight is all the rage. And the TV shows that are a must-see? Glee and Gossip Girl, they report, which seem much more R-rated then Gilmore Girls and The OC. And although these young students tote around iPhones and Blackberry’s (instead of hot pink Razrs), some things in middle school never change - like the obsession with cafeteria food. Huge chocolate-chip cookies right out of the oven have been replaced by microwaved chocolate croissants, yet popcorn is still a caf favorite.

These changes aren’t just reflected on our school campus. “Golden Couple” Brad and Jen have been replaced with Brangelina and orphanage, and Lizzie McGuire’s squeaky-clean image has been transformed into Miley Cyrus’ pole dancing antics at the Teen Choice Awards.

With every new batch of students, one thing stays the same: pop-culture isn’t just something we observe - it becomes a part of what we wear, how we act, and who we idealize, and it also seems to get a little racier every year. If we just went from good girl Lizzy McGuire to scandalous Miley Cyrus, what is the class of 2020 going to look like?

By Sophie, Cassidy, and BrookeUV Staff

Avril Lavigne

Gossip Girl Twilight

Juicy Tubes

Harry Potter

Miley CyrusHeadbands

Jonas BrothersBrangelinaOctomom

Hilary Duff

Trends transform

Lizzie McGuire

The “Hands” of society influence us all

Wesley ’15 shows off today’s seventh grade style.

Simone ’10 goes back in

time with her favorite seventh

grade outfit.