Commentary
Coping With The Crisis
By Ben Talarico
Gucci bags and iPhones may gather dust in the upcoming months due to the current financial crisis. Many of us will now have to change our lifestyles considerably. Thoughtless consuming will no longer be an option. We will be forced to cut out luxuries that we previously took for granted. But what we think will kill us may actually save us.
A few weeks ago, renowned economist Dr. Juliet Schor came to speak to the Andover community about why Americans consume so much. For the most part, it was the typical Powerpoint presentation: graphs, pictures and accompanying written explanations. But there was also one underlying message—how the need to consume affects communities. During her presentation, Schor discussed a topic that I had never heard of before. It was called “Keeping up with the Gates.” This concept describes the working class’s need to expand their material wealth relative to...
Rwanda Strives to Redeem Its Dark Past
By Patrick Kabanda
Since I left Uganda 12 years ago, I have had a couple of opportunities to go back — thanks to my musical activities. But most of my trips to this East African nation — dubbed the “Pearl of Africa” — have been brief. So this summer, when I knew I was going to be in Uganda for an extended visit —two months and three days — I tap-danced. There is something blissful about smelling the brown Ugandan soil after those sporadic thunderous rainfalls, eating yams and drinking that crisp passionfruit juice. But at the same time, even oceans away, it is difficult to ignore the troubles that have afflicted parts of the region — Rwanda and Northern Uganda in particular. Consequently, though my visit was naturally focused on catching up with family and friends, I felt compelled to visit Kigali, Rwanda’s capital.
As the bus for the...
All That Glitters
By Jenn Schaffer
The significance and impact of the 2008 presidential election has been trumpeted at the highest of decibels, yet the true message of each candidate’s campaign has fallen on subtly deafened ears. The meat of the election has been slathered up with creamy rhetoric and thick tomato-based promises. Few people are truly aware of what is underneath the smear campaigns and t-shirt slogans, the viral YouTube videos and the grandiose memoirs, and those who have fearlessly dug through the heaps of garnish piled upon each candidate have generally found themselves with a huge load of bologna [writer’s note: bull-oney?]. The Obama-Biden campaign built a colossal stage, complete with Roman columns worthy of a big-budget Hollywood epic, with the apparent intent of evoking the spirit of Greek temples or Roman orators. The McCain-Palin camp presented itself with the tone of a Norman Rockwell painting, drawing on winks and cute...
The Forgotten Story of John McCain
By Toan Nguyen
Well, if being beaten up by the Viet Cong once makes John McCain a better president, then he should be beaten again, because being beaten twice will make him an even better president,” said Mr. Iven, father of Max Png ’10, as he listened to my story just before Parents Weekend.
Back in Vietnam, I traveled on a four-mile road to school every day. Beside this road stands an old moss-covered marker that reads: “Here on 26 Oct, 1967, the glorious people of Ha Noi our capital shot down and captured John Sney MaCan Lieutenant of US Air Force on an A-4 fighter bombing Yen Phu power plant. It was one of the ten aircraft shot down that day.”
Surprisingly, for 10 years, I went down that road without the slightest idea about the marker. However, it was not because of ignorance that I didn’t know that a man...
Ars Poetica
By Jenn Schaffer
“Fill your heart with the world.” – Junot Diaz; All School Meeting, October 15, 2008
Art does not run on a time table. Art does not meet a specified deadline, nor does it manifest itself in our handy-dandy blue assignment notebooks as a footnote or fun fact. Art does not stand on a pedestal and ask to be taken, and Lord knows art waits for no one.
Art fears nothing but mediocrity— and art even attempts to transform that into something more palatable. Andover has its painters, its poets and its prima ballerinas. The world has its conspicuous artists. But the true test of your art is the extent to which it refuses to be abandoned. You can’t say to Art, “It’s too late, my friend. I’m simply too tired to put this pen to paper. No, no, I can’t do that—they might not like me, they might not...
Humanize This
By Scott Sanderson
As Junot Diaz left the stage to a standing ovation last Wednesday, I was ready to believe that I had seen the best ASM of the year so far. Fifteen minutes later, I filed out of the chapel, disgusted at what may have been the year’s worst All-School yet. The so-called “rift” between students and administration members is a popular discussion point on campus. However, having grown up with a father as an administrator at a K-9 boarding school outside of Boston, I’ve always felt a special sympathy for our school’s leaders and an understanding of the tensions they have to balance. When the issue of The Rift has come up in casual conversation, I have usually been one to apologize for the administration. Last Wednesday, however, I found myself more convinced of the existence of that divide than ever before. As far as I could tell,...
The Community Speaks
By Various Authors
In his weekly email to students on October 12, Dean of Students Paul Murphy ’84 asked students: “In your life, people ask you where you go to school. And when you finally tell them, what kind of school do you tell them that is?” Here are a few of the responses: Alright, I’ll admit it: I am a devoted fan of Mr. Murphy’s weekly mass emails. Whenever one appears in my inbox, some part of me brightens up as I immediately open it and read its contents all the way through. Unlike some of my fellow students who send these messages straight to their “trash” folders, I keep every one and actually reflect on the questions that he asks the student body.
In his most recent email, he posed the question regarding Andover’s character. Several answers immediately came to my mind: it’s a boarding school, it’s in New...
The Phillipian Responds To Hard Drug Use at PA
By Commentary
Last week, the Andover police arrested three Phillips Academy on charges related to drugs and alcohol. All three are no longer students at Phillips Academy. This event has raised a number of questions - none of which have easy answers. We have collected a number of them, posed below. We invite students, parents and faculty to respond. Please email commentary@phillipian.net if you are interested. What is the culture of drugs at Andover? Is it prominent, periphery or nonexistent? Are stress and the pace of life factors that contribute to the presence of drug use on campus? Does our current disciplinary system, respecting the privacy of students, help or hurt the community? Would students benefit from knowing the details of more disciplinary cases — to learn from others’ mistakes? To what extent do we take responsibility for one another at Andover? Where are our priorities —are we self-centered and self-focussed...
Sign Me Out
By Julian Chernyk
Attention everyone who still believes online sign-in to be a viable, innovative alternative—it’s not. Although online sign-in had noble intentions, as one of last year’s online sign-in guinea pigs in Stearns House, I can assure you that student council’s decision to discontinue the project is the correct one. During last Spring Term, I not only piloted the program but also lived with its staunchest supporters and founders, Teddy Collins ’08 and Frank Pinto ’08. Without a doubt, their combined efforts to leave a tangible gift for future classes should be applauded. Nevertheless, Student Council’s accurate resolution on online sign-in leaves the legacy of their undertakings an inefficacious pipe dream.
Their product functioned, but online sign-in was an example of drawbacks outweighing virtues. The system Pinto used was designated as a “pilot program,” and it showed; it could have used more development time. Pinto created an extremely simple (at...
KHL, NHL KGB?
By Jack Dickey
On Monday, Alexei Cherepa- nov took his last breath. At the ripe age of 19, he was a rising star in Russia’s KHL, outscoring many modern stars in his first season. Playing for Avangard Omsk in Siberia, he had plans next year to play for the New York Rangers.
After a shift in the third period of Monday’s game, Cherepanov came off the ice and collapsed on the bench. Lots of American athletes have died over the years — even ones as notable as Cherepanov. Boston Celtics fans would point out the 1986 cocaine overdose death of second overall pick Len Bias only days after he was drafted. Darrent Williams, a second-round pick of the Denver Broncos, was gunned down by Crips after two seasons in the NFL.
But this was worse. Bias’ death was preventable, obviously, and Williams was out at a club at 2 a.m. after a...