The Milton Measure - Milton Academy

Friday, January 15th, 2010Vol CXV Num. 8InsideThis IssueNEWSFreshmen Study Hall, pg. 2New Planet, pg. 3Faculty Talent Show, pg. 3OPINIONDC Suspension Length, pg. 5Texting and Driving, pg. 6Terrorism, pg. 7SPORTSBoys Hockey, pg. 14Ode to Darlings, pg. 15Boys Basketball, pg. 15A&EAvatar, pg. 11Improv Night, pg. 12ACapella Night, pg. 12The Milton MeasureSafety at Milton: New ProceduresImplementedby Nikhil Bhambi and Erin YangNews Writers ‘11 and ‘12The previous few weeks of winterbreak have been filled with caroling,visiting friends and family, hibernation,gluttony, and other general vacationtimemerriment. In the midst of all thisjubilation, however, a group of heroesassembled on the Artic plains of MiltonAcademy. Batman, Optimus Prime,and Shaquille O’Neal are all very likelyguesses; however, they are nonethelessincorrect. You may have seen thesemen and women cruising campus in anassortment of motorized and electricvehicles as they protect justice and honor;these heroes are Campus Safety. Whilemany of us take for granted the dutiesCampus Safety undertake every day,it has been quite obvious to notice thesignificant changes they have brought toour campus. Throughout winter break,Campus Safety, led under Jay Hackett,has made several significant changes tothe safety procedure at Milton and isplanning to build off of these successes.In the fall, Mr. Bland and theAdministrative Council issued a new lockdownplan for emergency procedures andpreparation. Since Milton Academy has asmall college-like campus, we have somechallenges in installing and initiating suchprocedures. “We’re going through a varietyof issues,” Mr. Hackett explains. “We’regoing to install outdoor speakers so thatwe can alert people everywhere on campusof such emergencies, and we have anAlertNow system that we tried out in thebeginning of the year.” AlertNow is the cellphone calling system the campus installedso that, in an event of an emergency,everyone on campus should get a cellphone call at the same time explainingthe emergency and procedures to follow.Your sleepless nights of worryregarding safety have been resolved asseveral administrators have gatheredtogether to form the EmergencyPreparation Task Force. According toJay Hackett, the overarching goal of thisgroup is to “… solidify a formalized lockdownprocedure.” Through a varietyof renovations in classroom safety andnotifications, the Emergency PreparationTask Force has been building off previoussuccesses. Several of these renovationsinclude seamlessly linking the floor plansand safety statuses of schools’ roomsand buildings with the Milton Police andFire Department in order to quickly andefficiently survey and address any problemthat may arise. In the case of a lock-downsituation, along with the cell phone ande-mail notifications, campus safety hasplaced more shades for windows andseveral “safety spots” which identifiesplaces in the classroom where one ishidden from sight outside the classroom.’Mr. Hackett then goes to explain theprocedure of a lock-down, “If there everis a threat on campus, it would usuallyhappen in the hallways. First, a teacherwould look in the hallways and pull anystudents lurking in the hallways intohis or her classroom. Then he wouldput either a red or green card on thedoorknob, giving indication to the Miltonpolice of the status of the classroom.”A green card indicates that everythingis fine in the classroom, and the teacherhas followed all of the instructions on theemergency procedure. A red card shows tothe Police/Fire Department that there isa problem in the classroom. As Mr. Kahnexplained, “Maybe Marco Barber-Grossi(II) has a panic attack and runs at a walland is bleeding.” Then the Police wouldknow that they have to check on theclassroom with the red card.Furthermore, Milton has eleventrained faculty, called “C-CERT” (CampusCommunity Emergency Response Team),as a community response team. The MiltonFire Department trained them in firesafety and the use of a fire extinguisher,and the local police informed the group onterrorism, lock-down procedures, and firstaid. A few of these faculties include Mr.Whitmore from admissions, Ms. Alsbachand Ms. Egan from Athletics, Mr. Warrenfrom facilities, and Mr. Mckenna from ATS.The “safe spots” around campusare merely “a little piece of the bigpuzzle,” according to Mr. Hackett. Bynext year, campus security hopes tohave trained members in dorms andthe boarding staff to be part of C-CERTas well. With these safety features inplace, Stephen Pawlak (II) feels that heis able to “… finally finish my novel.”Professor Maria Tatar:2010 Johnson Lecturerby Kate Bator and Sam MaddenNews Writer ‘11 and News Editor ‘11The Pritzker ScienceCenter: an Updateby Matt ChenNews Writer ‘12On Wednesday, January 6th,Professor Maria Tatar visited MiltonAcademy to give the 2010 MargaretJohnson lecture. As stated in an article onthe Milton home page about the MargaretJohnson lectures, “The Johnson Lectureseries makes it possible for students tospend time in the presence of a womanwho is distinguished for her professionalachievement. Past recipients have includedthe Governor of Vermont, MadeleineKunin; Cokie Roberts, correspondent forNational Public Radio and ABC News;Katherine Graham, publisher of theWashington Post; Nien Cheng, author ofLife and Death in Shanghai; Pat Mitchell,president and CEO of PBS; and Liz Walker,award-winning journalist and documentaryproducer.” The purpose of these speeches isprimarily to educate the students on fieldsof study that they may not be as familiarwith as others. Professor Tatar currentlyattains the chair of the entire curriculumof Folklore and Mythology at HarvardUniversity and teaches classes in thisfield, as well as in the culture of childhood.The audience was informed aboutchildren’s stories and their progressionover history (from around the 17thcentury to the present). In her speech,she discussed the presence of violence andits recurring role in children’s literature;however, as she notes, it is primarilypresent in European stories, especiallythose originating in Germany. One canview further information about her onMilton Academy’s online home pagewebsite as well as on the Harvard website.The review of Professor Tatar wasmixed-- some students were “spellbound”by her presentation, while othersremained less impressed and thoughtAs we all return to school fromour relaxing Winter breaks, many of usmay have realized that the constructionof the school’s new Pritzker Sciencebuilding has slowly shifted its focusfrom the building’s basic structure to theinterior mechanics and decoration of thebuilding. According to Mr. Steve Moore,the interim Chief Financial Officer of theschool, “this 38,000 square feet buildingwill be about 85% complete by the end ofthis month,” and upon completion, theteam will shift its focus to the mechanicsof the building, along with the desiredfurnishing. Mr. Moore stated, “ThePritzker Science Center is still expectedto be completed on time, as scheduled.Final landscaping and punch list will becompleted by June, and the science facultyare scheduled to move into the buildingimmediately following graduation.” Mr.Moore also emphasized how pleasedboth he and the administration are withthe overall construction of the building.The highly-anticipated buildingwill house 14 classrooms, each equippedwith a small lab area, and 4 inquiry labslocated on the first floor of the building.There will also be a large “project room”for students who wish to conduct theirown independent projects. In addition toits efficient building plan, the new sciencecenter has been specifically designed topromote sustainability. Through extensiveuse of glass and windows, the building usesnatural light in order to reduce the energyconsumed for electric lighting. A dry grassswale is another feature that will be themain landscape design of the building,which will be irrigated by continuousfiltration of rain water gathered, recharged,and dispersed on the roof. Solar-heatedTatar continued on page 3Science continued on page 4Photos: College (www.cornell.edu, writing11.files.wordpress.com, www.harvard.edu, www.stanford.edu, www.tufts.edu)

page 2 | January 15th, 2010 News The Milton MeasureFreshmen Study Hall:What’s the Deal?by NDea HallettNews Writer ‘11The College Process:Senior Reflectionsby Joseph ReynoldsNews Writer ‘11At the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, a system was institutedfor incoming freshmen in order toaid their transition into the Miltoncommunity, as they begin to face theoften daunting workload at Milton. Thissystem replaces all freshmen’s free periodswith mandatory study halls. Although thereasoning behind this program was quicklyunderstood, students who were never partof this program as freshmen questionedwhether the system was necessary at all.Despite the opposition, this newsystem has many benefits that may not benoticed initially. Giving freshmen a timethey can dedicate exclusively to homeworkand studying allows them to understandthe volubility of their free time as well as theamount of work that can be accomplishedin just a 45-minute period. With manyfreshmen not quite adjusted to theworkload at Milton, these required periodsof study assures that they will spend thenecessary time on their work. Mandatorystudy halls also illustrate to the freshmenthat the two-hour study hall each night issimply not enough time to efficiently finishall of your work and studies. In addition,these periods also provide often distractedfreshmen with a quiet environmentwhere they will not be distracted bythe commotion of the student center.Although I have presented thebenefits of such a program, there exista sizable number of cons. Althoughthis program helps incoming freshmenorganize their time, the freshmen may notknow how to handle their newly-discoveredfreedom once their free periods arereturned to them. Although they have beenmastering the art of using their free timeeffectively, the freshmen may take theirnew free-periods for granted and use themto socialize rather than study. In addition,new students starting at Milton as eithersophomores or juniors will not have thissame opportunity to learn to manage theirtime wisely. Although these students areolder and thus, may be expected to have theskills needed to prioritize, the transitionis not always as smooth as anticipatedand may take more time than expected.This system ultimately allows thestudents who remain on good standingwith their grades upon the inception ofthe second semester to be exempt frommandatory study hall. The removal ofmandatory study halls rewards studentswith free periods with which they maydo whatever they please. However, theexpectation is that the students willcarry over their habits from the firstsemester and continue to use their freetime for studies and homework. Currentsophomores, who were the first freshmento participate in this enterprise, regardthe system as one that was instrumentalin helping to ease their transition into theMilton community. Jarildy Javier (III)does not think she would have used herfree periods effectively had she not beenrequired to attend mandatory study hallsduring the first semester of her freshmanyear. Additionally, current freshmen whoare about to be awarded their “freedom”believe they will carry over the skillsthey have acquired through mandatorystudy halls. Kasia Ifill (IV) comments, “I’lldefinitely still use some of my free periodsto do homework.” Overall, despite the initialimpressions the Milton student body mayhave about this relatively new program, itultimately seems to benefit the incomingfreshmen class not only by teaching themhow to prioritize and manage their timebut also by laying a strong, foundationalwork ethic that will continue to servethem well throughout their Milton careers.“Did you get in?” or rather,“Where’d you apply?” Yup, it’s collegeseason – that time of the year whenseniors can either pleasantly embrace thefinal moments of their high school careeror fall disappointed on the wait-list.Many people seem to cast the applicationprocess in a stressful light, but there isa chosen few who learn to like, or evennearly love, their time at Milton. Makingmultiple visits to good ‘ol Straus to meetwith their counselor and visiting schoolsall over the country, Milton studentsspend generous amounts of time whilemaintaining their “regular” school life ofhomework, activities, sports, and a sanesocial life. After interviewing five seniors,I got some interesting informationon the stress level present at Milton.When the seniors were asked,on a scale of 1 to 10 (least to greatest), torank the amount of stress they feel nowthat the application process is complete,I got these results: 7, 2, 5, 4, and 6. Forsome, the arrival of exams will in turndetermine the mid-year grades that willultimately be sent to colleges. Whenasked how she regarded this particularlydifficult time at Milton, Ashley Lewis (I)responded, “It was hard, hard, and morehard, so I just want to forget about it. Andsome people will look at you and questionwhether you can get into your choices.This is simply a really hard process.”With the college process over,it seems that the seniors will naturallyhave more time to focus their attentionon their extracurricular activities. Whenasked whether they still felt obligated toparticipate in the community since theyhave completed all the hassles of theprocess, Hannah Cho (I) responded, “No.More like, I want to participate to get themost out of Milton before I graduate!”On the contrary, Leo Eyong (I) respondedsaying, “I want to be here but not as muchas I want to move on. I will miss theplace and all, but I’m looking forward forsomething a little different and new.” Ananonymous senior said, “I’m feeling likeI’m still part of Milton, and I feel like I ambeing forced to feel that I’m part of Milton,because of all my work. But really, I feellike people expect me to be more activein extracurriculars, etc. and so I feel like Ishould be more involved, even though it’shard to ramp up the involvement when westill have exams to prep for...you know?”I spoke to Lianne Ramos (I), whoinformed me about the college processin Spain and the difference between thetypical one in the U.S. “It just wasn’t abig deal there since it was understoodthat everyone would go to the universitylike in their town and there are no“Ivies”. A physics degree from Salamancawould mean the same thing as one fromBarcelona, so no one stresses out aboutcollege. No interviews, no essay writing,but they have major exams, though.”Finding the first month at Milton backfrom Spain rather fun, Lianne has abrighter outlook on the whole collegeprocess, and her cheery optimism providesme with a little more hope. As a finalnote, I wish the Class of 2010 the best ofluck in this extended process and hopethey have the opportunity to fully enjoytheir time at Milton, despite the stressthat is often characteristic of Senior Fall.And to the Class of 2011: be prepared, forwhether we are ready to believe it or not,we will be those very seniors next year.Photos: College (courtesy of farm1.static.flickr.com, www.cornell.edu, www.dartmouth.edu)

The Milton Measure News January 15th, 2010 | page 3Faculty Talent Show:Fundraiser for CS TripEvery year, Milton’s communityservice board hosts a March service trip forstudents. This year, during the first weekof spring break, a group of nine studentsand their chaperone Mr. Dunnington, aregoing to Appalachia, an area on the westside of Virginia near the AppalachianMountains. Previous community servicetrips have included a Navajo Reservationlast year and Belize two years ago.In order to raise money for the trip,community service board held a facultytalent show featuring performances fromthe English department, Mr. Kassatly,and Mr. Hilgendorf, just to name a few.This event was their main fundraiserin helping them try to reach their goalof raising at least $3000 to pay for thetrip. “Bringing the community togetherhelps raise awareness and money at theevent,” said Ms. Geyling, head of theCommunity Service program at Milton.At the talent show, the board sold raffletickets for various gift cards to SSP,iTunes, Starbucks, Barnes and Nobles,88 Wharf Restaurant, and Ms. Famili’sPersian cooking. The money raised willbe used towards purchasing buildingsupplies, bricks, cement, paint, lumber,and roof shingles. “Mr. Dunnington hasthe skills to do all of this constructionlike repairing roof shingles andsheet rock,” Ms. Geyling comments.Many showed up to the talent show,enjoying the acts of many well-likedfaculty while eating pizza. The talent showwas a big success: acts included threeoriginal songs by Mr. Kassatly; a MichaelJackson interpretation performed by Mr.Tatar continued from page 1little of her overall message. Accordingto one student, “I thought her [ProfessorTatar] message about childhood andits importance was really sincere andaccurate…” Another student, however,was less enthusiastic, claiming “The clipfrom Hook for me was the highlight. Ithought that her ideas about childhoodwere interesting, but the whole partabout different stories got kind ofboring,” while another student couldn’tget over the fact that Harvard actually hada department dedicated to Mythologyand Folklore. Overall, the response fromstudents was that her insight regardingchildhood and its role in our lives wasinteresting but may have been lessrelatable to the typical Milton student.by Erin YangNews Writer ‘12Hilgendorf; and an excerpt from Hamlet,performed by the English Department’sMs. Apthorp, Mr. GwinnLandry, Mrs.Zilliax, Mrs. Marienelli, Mr. Chung, andMs. Baker. Many of the acts receivedstanding ovations and loud cheers fromthe crowd, which had packed into PiehCommons. As well as faculty performances,a monitor played a continuous slideshowwith pictures of past community servicetrips. This slideshow, though a “sideattraction,” provided insight to inform theaudience of the purpose of the night: thefunding of the Community Service Trip.This year in Appalachia, thegroup will be doing peace work byrepairing homes. “Appalachia is a veryrural, very poor area on the west side ofVirginia,” Ms. Geyling adds, “It’s a heavycoal mining community,” so keeping thehouses in livable condition is extremelyimportant. The group of 9 Miltonstudents along with Mr. Dunningtonwill be using nails and roof shinglesto repair roofs and paint and bricks tomake the houses look fresh and livable.People return from the tripswith their eyes opened. Having beenbrought out of the so-called “Miltonbubble”, those who have gone on suchcommunity service trips realize theimportance of helping others in acommunity through establishing personalconnections . The Community Servicetrip is a great way for Milton Academystudents to realize how fortunate weare and a way for us to appreciate allthe opportunities that we are given.Astronomy StudentsDefine a New PlanetRecently, the students of MiltonAcademy’s Astronomy class – John Brophy,John Mleczko, Lily Halpern, SabrinaKatz (I) and Shan Lin (II) – were able todefine and describe a new planet knownto professional astromers as HAT-P-10.They were members of the first class inthe country to successfully complete sucha task. Their Astronomy teacher, Mr.Kernohan, kindly agreed to speak aboutthis project.Mr. Kernohan said his initialinspiration for taking on such project atschool was “to show students that theycan do real science, do something new.”He was rather unsure what the results ofthe project would be, but after the project’ssuccess, he seemed very excited aboutthe outcome. “No class has ever done thisbefore,” he said. “Even some astronomershadn’t.” It was furthermore important forhim “to get students excited, and to showthat anyone can do good astronomy.”The technologies used in theprocess were not as complicated as manyhad assumed. According to Mr. Kernohan,all that was used was “a small telescopewith camera, which was accessed to theInternet.” Using this contraption, theyperiodically took pictures over a singlenight, recording the repeated dimming ofthe star’s brightness, indicating an eclipseof the star. The data collected would helpfind even more information on the planet.“It makes it even possible to determine ifthere is water, pollution, or… even life.” Itseems that there were easier methods toperform the task using special computers,which, Mr. Kernohan admits, “[would havemade] everything easier.” However, headds, “I want[ed] students to play aroundwith the telescope so they could feel thatthey can do real science.”Undoubtedly, during such anby Mariam AgaevaNews Writer ‘11innovative educational process as this,students faced a few challenges duringthis project, as Mr. Kernohan pointedout to me. “The first day was cloudy, sowe couldn’t take pictures. On some otherdays, they were not of good quality becauseof the camera.” Analyzing data with thehelp from astronomers at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics didnot lead to successful outcome at first, butstudents later noticed some mathematicalmistakes in the formulas that they weregiven and finally managed to complete theanalysis.Description of the newlydiscoveredplanet was rather extensivelydetailed and quite impressive. Accordingto Mr. Kernohan, it is “the size of Jupiter,but closer to its star than Jupiter. It goesaround the star very quickly - every threedays.” It can be hard to believe that all thisinformation was found just by lookinghow the star dims. However, other thana general description of the planet, itdoes not seem possible to see the actualstar. “It is so far away,” Mr. Kernohancommented, “We can see only a star. Butthat is enough to describe this planet. Isn’tthat impressive?”Although it may be difficult tobelieve, this particular project did not taketoo long to reach completion. Mr. Kernohancommented, “It did not take more thantwo weeks. First three days, studentswere playing around with telescopes, thenanother three days for taking pictures, andthree more days for analyzing data.” And,due to this year’s success, Mr. Kernohanwould like to carry on more projects suchas this. “I’m planning to do the same withfreshmen,” he said. “I’m pretty sure theycan do it.” In conclusion, he added that hewould definitely attempt such an inventiveproject with next year’s Astronomy class.HAPPY 2010!!!--Love, TMMPhoto: Tatar (courtesy of www.milton.edu), Astronomy (courtesy of www.milton.edu)

page 4 | January 15th, 2010 News The Milton MeasureScience continued from page 1water and photovoltaic panels will also beused to produce energy for the building,and the number and capacity of thepanels may be increased in the futuredepending on their overall performance.Furthermore, the construction maximizesthe use of recycled and renewablematerials throughout the building.The efforts and budget placed towards theconstruction of the Pritzker Science Centerdemonstrate the school’s commitment tomaking science a highly visible, sustainable,and integral component of the learningprocess. Science teachers who have touredthe new science building have remainedboth impressed and excited by thebuilding’s eco-friendliness, commentingon its “outstanding design” and how“the classrooms are really spacious.”James Wang (III) says, “I really enjoy howthe new science building connects thehistorical part of Milton using bricks wallsand the modern part of Milton by usinga glass structure facing Centre Street.”Kevin Huang (I) comments that “I’mdisappointed that I won’t be able to takeadvantage of the new science building,but I think it’s a really important additionto Milton. Science is becoming more andmore essential to modern society, andMilton’s science program has really donea good job of teaching students not onlyabout scientific concepts but also how tothink scientifically. Personally, the sciencedepartment has made a huge impact onme and my future plans, and I hope thenew science building can help teachersinspire future students to love and pursuescience just as they have done for me.”The building will be openedfor student access in September, 2010.SENIORS OF THE WEEK: KEVIN COLLINS AND MIKE MEGNIAWouldn’t Be Caught Dead in: A fupa or a latexsuitSecret Hobby: Being an OGDeepest Secret: LurtzFirst Thing You Do in the Morning: Try to getto school since I actually wake up at 7:50 everymorning (ed. suck it day students)Choice of Snack: Fritos Chips or fried plantainsIf You Had to Marry an Actor/ Actress, ItWould Be: Halle Berry, Megan Fox, Megan Good(yep she dope!!!) or NewNew from ATLFavorite Freshman: Too many to name so I’lljust name the Norris ones (Kris, Brad, Teddy,Calvin, Sully, Kevin MA!!!)Faculty Crush: MAD AWKWARDAll the Money in the World or True Love?True love, I’m a sucker.Favorite Place on Campus? My room under myarmy covers with my New York fitted on--KevinWouldn’t Be Caught Dead in: NebraskaSecret Hobby: Sky divingFirst Thing You Do in the Morning: Go tobreakfastChoice of Snack: Fruit snacksFavorite Freshman: What’s a freshman?Faculty Crush: Who do you think??All the Money in the World or True Love?BothFavorite Place on Campus? Old sciencebuilding after school--MegsPhotos: Pritzker Science Center (courtesy of www.milton.edu), Kevin Collins amd Mike Megnia (courtesy of www.facebook.com)

The Milton Measure Opinion January 15th , 2010 | page 5Longer DC Suspensions:Fact or Fable?by Will EvansOpinion Writer‘10Extra-solar PlanetDiscoveryby Sabrina KatzOpinion Writer ‘10The standard length of a DCseems to be increasing. With Andrew Park(I) ending up with 22 days total, includingweekends, questions have begun to arise.Are students getting suspended for longer?Is there a shift in the administration’s viewon what punishments certain offensesdeserve?Originally suspended for 15 daysdue to drug related offenses, Andrew Parkreceived an additional 7 days of suspensiondue to lying about whether any otherstudents on campus knew of his drug use(he said no—somebody did). Normally,students who have been DC’d for lying havereceived between 2 to 5 days of suspension,well below Andrew’s added sentence. Butis there really much of a difference betweenAndrew’s case and “the norm”?In short: no. While theadministration may be trying, in someways, to send a message that lying to theDC committee is never the better option,I think that Andrew Park is the anomaly.As members of the administration alwaysremind us during every DC statementreading, do not lie. No, really, don’t lie.Andrew’s actions resulting in his DC wereegregious enough to be deemed worthy of15 days of school. That’s three weeks, butfew in the community seemed to think itwas undeserved. Shocking, certainly, butnot undeserved. So, when it came to thecommittee’s attention that even after hisoriginal offenses and 15 day suspension,Andrew had not been entirely forthcoming,they deemed it necessary to send him yetanother message.There have been other long DCsuspensions this year, but I still don’t believethis is indicative of a major shift in howthe administration doles out punishment.I mean, let us not forget that students siton DC’s, as well. Many of the DC’s this fallhave been related to drugs or lying (fewerclass cut DC’s than last year) and Milton isespecially adamant about punishing thesetransgressions severely. It is well knownthat our policy on lying (as stated, 2-5 daysnormally) is stricter than our drug policy(3 day minimum), but both are strict and,if repeated offenses are involved, can resultin long suspensions. Remember: we dareto be true and tell the truth; lying strictlydisobeys this longstanding creed.Finally, even if suspension lengthsare increasing for certain offenses, it is notnecessarily a bad thing. Milton prides itselfon being a community with a sound setof values, comprised of students strivingto learn and become involved in thecommunity. While a drug or lying offenseat many schools can lead to immediateexpulsion, Milton undergoes the stepsneeded to give students second, and eventhird chances. It may be possible that Mr.Bland has made a decision to increase thelength of suspensions, but it seems highlyimplausible. As a leader, Mr. Bland hasbeen very open with us as students, andwe have a written constitution in placethat the DC committee must obey. Overallit seems to me that the majority of thefirst semester has been highlighted moreby a plethora of “special circumstance”DC’s, rather than a perceivable change inthe approach to how discipline is handled.Hopefully, the second semester will bedevoid of the numerous class-cut DC’s thatlast year saw, but if people start getting sixdays for sleeping through calculus, we’llknow a change has been made.Over winter break, the Miltonwebsite featured an article about thefirst-ever discovery of an extra-solarplanet by a high school class. My class,consisting of Mr. Kernohan, Lily Halpern(I), John Brophy (I), Jon Mlezcko (I), andShan Lin (II), studied the light emissionsfrom the star HATP-10 throughout onenight, using a program designed for us bythe astronomers at the Harvard Centerfor Astrophysics. While measuring thelight emissions, we noticed repeateddips in our data. These dips indicatedthat the star was periodically emittingless light than usual. In less scientificwords, something was orbiting the starand blocking off a portion of the star’slight. A planet was the only object largeenough to block off the amount of lightwe observed. Although astronomerssuspected that they might find a planetorbiting HATP-10, our class was the firstto confirm the planet’s existence.Detecting extra-solar planetsis one of the most cutting-edge fieldsof astronomy today. By discovering theplanet orbiting HATP-10, we have pavedthe way for astronomy classes to be on theforefront of science research. Our friendsat the Center for Astrophysics have takenour results down to an astrophysicsconference in Washington D.C. and havebeen granted permission to perfect thecomputer program we used. They arehoping to distribute it to numerous otherastronomy and science classes in highschool and even in middle school.This process has taught me thevalue of innovation in the classroom.Allowing students to be part of theresearch process provides for a moreinteresting and significant learningexperience. Milton prides itself on thedesign of its classes. While most schoolsfocus on hard facts and base curriculumson textbooks, required conceptualscience classes are at times painful forthose students who are more creativewhen learning. I believe Milton does agood job of providing us with a handsonlearning experience, so I hope thatthis new computer program designed forastronomy classes will encourage otherschools to add innovative research totheir curricula. I understand that notevery class in the science departmenthad ready access to research projects likeMr. Kernohan’s, yet I think much wouldbe gained if an effort was made to bringtogether the basics of an introductoryscience class with the innovation ofcutting-edge science research. If myastronomy class’s discovery has provedanything, it is that students, with the helpof trained scientists, are perfectly capableof being a part of the greater scientificcommunity. The point of includingscience in a classic high school curriculumis that science applies to everythingaround us. Each motion is physics; eachbreath is biology. If science is all aroundus, students need to be a part of it. Weneed to work with the experts in thefields we are studying to make science anexperience of universal discovery, ratherthan the product of a few brilliant menand women in lab coats.Box Lacrosseby AnonymousGuest WriterSo. They asked me to write for the[magazine/measure] because they couldn’tfind anyone else to do it. I have been toldI can write about anything (except racialslurs, anti-gay language, etc.). I don’t planon agreeing with everyone (or anyonefor that matter). I don’t plan on writingabout anything particularly important orinteresting. I will merely offer you my takeon daily life. Enjoy.I was flipping through thechannels this past Saturday (it was 24-7,Cowboys, and Dallas had just recovered aLeonard Weaver fumble), when I stumbledupon a game of box lacrosse: the TorontoRock at the Boston Blazers. Unliketraditional lacrosse, box lacrosse is playedindoor. The field looks like a hockey rink ofturf. The players wear essentially the sameequipment as outdoor lacrosse, except forthe helmets which resemble that of hockeymore than lacrosse. The game combinesthe back-and-forth pace of basketball, thephysicality of hockey, the flow of soccer,and the scoring of traditional lacrosse.What this hybrid sport lacks, however,is a professional future. While watchingthe game I noted some reasons why it willnever progress professionally (at least inBoston). Keep in mind I only watched thelast ten minutes of the fourth quarter.1. Music is played during theregular course of play. While Bostonwas down 14-6, the Garden played both“Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins and andThunderstruck by AC/DC, until Torontoscored. Then they put on Welcome to theJungle.2. The coaches don’t look likecoaches. The coach for Boston looked likea salsa dancer. He was wearing an orangecamo button down shirt, metrosexuallooking glasses, and black curly hair inthe style of Andy Dick. How is any fan, orplayer for that matter, going to respect acoach who looks like he could dance withthe stars?3. Boston’s goalie’s is named after apink drink. Nobody would ever want towear a jersey with the name Cosmo on theback. Even fewer people would want tocheer it.4. One of the commentators hada Sam Barkowski (’09)-esque speechimpediment. Nobody wants to listen to aguy with a lisp describe what’s going on ina boxth lacrossth game for two and a halfhours.5. The camera men can’t even findhappy fans to cut to before commercials.After a timeout was called, the camera manflashed a near-empty section that had onlya young guy with a young kid sitting in it.Wearing a foam finger, the kid jumped andscreamed while the guy sat next to him,head in hands, with wishing he could die.6. The players don’t even know howto fight properly. After a face-off, twoplayers fell to the ground in a collision.Remaining on the ground, the twoengaged in a scuffle. However, neitherthrew any punches. It looked like twoadolescents dry humping. The refs didn’tknow what to do at first, they just stoodthere wondering if they should break it upbefore eventually putting an end to themiserable bout.7. The rules are a joke. When thenet gets knocked off its alignment, thegame continues. It’s the referees job toassume where the net would be. I guessthe bos lacrosse gods didn’t like hockey’sidea of putting the net on pegs.Until box lacrosse can fix theseobscurities I doubt we will see too manymore NLL match-ups on TV. If you are stillreading, thank you. This may be my firstand last article I ever write.Photos: Afghanistan (www.huffingtonpost.com, www.illinoisphoto.com)

page 6 | January 15th, 2010 Opinion The Milton MeasureKeep Touching: the FaceGameby Nico GendronOpinion Writer ‘11Are you Texting WhileDriving?by Gina StarfieldOpinion Writer ‘12I first heard about the cheek gamewhen I was assigned this article. But, inreality, I had actually played a version ofthe game this fall on field hockey. Whilerunning around during practice, we wouldtake turns sneaking up on each other andtapping each other’s behinds. The moreyou tapped, the more points you received.This game, however, was just for the team.It did not evolve off the field and appearin the Student Center or other parts of theMilton campus. Point values were neverdiscussed; in fact, most people forgot howmany butts they had tapped by the endof practice. And guess what? If you didn’twant to play, you didn’t have to. It was apersonal choice, as crazy as that sounds.On the contrary, the cheek game,which has been recently dubbed the facegame, involves a certain group of seniorboys preying on freshman girls in theStudent Center and unexpectedly touchingtheir faces for points. The game has gottencompetitive and, with its allure, awarenesshas grown. Many upperclassmen andteachers are shocked by the practice. Theface game is a violation of personal space(and in my opinion, personal choice);it’s intimidating and degrading. Couldyou imagine if the roles were reversed:a senior girl traversing up and down thestairs touching the faces of freshmanboys? Probably not. The game, once again,enters a territory we commonly visit atMilton: gender relations. How far willa boy go to assert his superiority in theMilton community? I’ve inquired aboutthe answer to this question and havereceived varying responses. Some teachersand students believe that the boys whocreated this game and partake in it areinsecure. They are seniors who don’t feelthat they are fulfilling the potential oftheir “senior status.” They get their kicksout of pursuing attractive younger girlswho will not stand up to a surprise attackthat degrades them in front of all thejuniors and seniors staring over the railing.However, others believe that the game isjust for fun, something amusing that addsto the daily Milton life. Certain studentshave even gone so far as to say that itcloses the rift between underclassmen andupperclassmen. So, maybe the face game isfunny and maybe it is reaching its climax ofjoining underclassmen and upperclassmenforces. But when does a joke go too far?Most things in society thatpotentially cross the line of being respectfulto disrespectful rely on the safety net ofexcuses like “we were just trying to befunny!” Violent humor, racist remarks, andmocking all fall into this category. They arefunny, until someone gets hurt. Many atMilton Academy believe that the face gameis starting to shift towards this category.In any case, my message to the boy whocreated this game or its proud participantsis: ask yourself, do you ever stop and thinkwhat you’re doing is weird?! Do you thinkyou’re making friends by going up to a girl,a girl who is most likely three years youngerthan you, and touching her face awkwardly?Is it really that cool to intimidate freshmengirls? And to the senior boy who foundedthis game, I’m sorry for offending you,but let me speak for the greater studentbody (especially the girls)—the boys yourecruited to play this game…well, facetouching will be the most action they aregoing to see all year.During some of the last daysof 2009, the legislatures of all 50 states(including the District of Columbia,Guam, the Virgin Islands and PuertoRico) met to discuss topics of mutualinterest. According to CNN.com, thismeeting led to the enactment of 40,697laws, many of which took effect last weekon New Year’s Day. The laws cover areassuch as texting while driving, tanningbed usage by minors, seat-belt safetyon all-terrain vehicles, trans-fat bans inrestaurant foods, smoking bans in barsand restaurants, and human trafficking.Personally, I believe that the laws mostapplicable to Milton Academy studentsare those regarding texting while driving.Texting is a habit that we allshare. We constantly whip out ourphones and type furiously, even whilein a class and, more dangerously, in acar. The Pew Internet & American LifeProject surveyed 800 teens in four UScities over this past summer and foundthat about 26% of American teens ages16-17 have texted while driving. 48% ofteens ages 12-17 have seen someone elsetexting while driving (mashable.com).Adult figures, parents in particular, tellus not to text while at the wheel, butexactly how dangerous is it to send orread text messages while driving? TheNew York Times, on July 30th, wroteabout a study conducted by the VirginiaTech Transportation Institute; the studyfound that truck drivers face a 23-timesgreater risk of crashing their vehicleswhen texting. The University of Utahconducted research that showed thatthere is 8 times greater risk of crashingwhen texting. The same research showedthat use of a cell phone raises the risk ofcrashing 4 times the normal risk, equalto the risk of crashing by someone witha 0.08 blood alcohol level—the legal limitfor intoxication (New York Times July30, 2009). New York Senator CharlesSchumer reiterated that “[s]tudies showthis [texting] is far more dangerousthan talking on a phone while driving ordriving while drunk, which is astounding.”Although the dangers of textinghave been brought to light, states are onlynow beginning to act. CNN reports that,prior to this year, 16 states prohibitedtexting while driving. New Hampshire,Oregon, and Illinois joined them onJanuary 1st . Massachusetts, however,has no such law. Boston Channel.comreports that, on May 8th 2009, the driverof the Green Line trolley (“the T”) rearendedanother trolley while texting hisgirlfriend. The driver, age 24, sent asimple text that resulted in 46 injuriesand 9.6 million dollars of damages tothe trolleys. This was the second of twotrolley incidents in Massachusetts lastyear that were caused by cell phoneuse. Most recently, on December 16th,Stephen Clark, 22, died while drivingin Lowell because of serious injuriesresulting from a head-on collision with atree. Boston Accident and Injury LawyerBlog reports that Clark was texting justbefore the accident. Despite the lossof life and extensive harm caused bytexting while driving, the lone city torespond in Massachusetts is Boston. Therest of Massachusetts remains silent.In December, the Boston City Councilissued a citywide ban on texting whiledriving. Drivers in Boston will face a$100 fine for a first offense, a $200 finefor a second offense, and a $300 fine for athird offense. The state legislature muststill approve this rule in order for it togo into effect (Daily News Tribune Dec27, 2009). When this law is approved, itwill change our lives as teens. Hopefully,more cities will follow suit and perhapsthe State House will take a stand andsave lives. We will be compelled tobreak our habit and focus on the road.Photos: Texting While Driving (courtesy of briancromer.files.wordpress.com, saquib22682.files.wordpress.com, trebord.files.wordpress.com)

The Milton Measure Opinion January 15th, 2010 | page 7Distastefully Referencing9/11?by Xiaoyin QiaoOpinion Writer ‘11A Repeat of Past Mistakesalmost Causes RepeatDisasterOn January 4th, a group of highschool students, boys from Dearborn,Michigan, tried to display their class of2011 pride by wearing sweatshirts with animage portraying the number 11 to looklike two towers with their school’s mascot,a thunderbird, seemingly about to fly intothe huge window-dotted 1’s. Underneaththe eleven, the words “You can’t bringus down” are prominently displayed. Thesweatshirts were promptly confiscated,and the students, who happened to beArab-Americans, were severely chastised,although the administration determinedthat they did not intentionally mean to beoffensive. They aimed to send a message,something along the lines of: “our classis so awesome we can’t even be broughtdown by terrorist attacks.” But with theevents of September 11, 2001 not evena decade ago, it’s understandable whythe school acted how it did. The attackson the World Trade Center are still freshin America’s mind, and it was and stillis a traumatizing event for many. Someparents and officials from the school evenbelieve the shirts support or are a threat ofterrorism. The fact that the boys are Arab-Americans made uneasy parents furtherquestion the reference. To them, the boysdeserved punishment for referencing 9/11maliciously and mockingly.But is it really all that big ofa deal? The fact of the matter is, thestudents came up with a clever idea, butI doubt they had absolutely no idea itcould be considered offensive. The boysare, in fact, Arab-AMERICANS, and it’slikely that residents of the United Statesin the past few years were either directlyaffected by 9/11 or at least understandit’s impact on the country. In addition, itseems unlikely that the students came upwith a ‘joke’ referencing something in anunfamiliar culture. Even the first moviesabout 9/11 were criticized when theycame out because many felt that despitepremiering a few years after the tragedy,the tragic movies were not fit for thestill-grieving times. We are, reasonablyenough, touchy about the events of 9/11;the students were most likely aware ofthat fact; however, their judgment wasprobably clouded by the pride that comeswith coming up with an admittedly cleveridea, such as theirs. I can only postulate,but I’m sure they understood they weretaking a risk in making the shirts andprobably did not expect such a negativeresponse.Perhaps they really did notknow the consequences of their actions,maybe due to being relatively new Arab-Americans; perhaps they understood itwas a serious matter, but did not knowhow sensitive a topic it was for Americans.Regardless the reason, the boys simplydid not know. The attacks on the WorldTrade Center are part of US history,conceivably part of our culture now, andit’s understandable that people of othercultures may not always truly understandour particular sentiments.In the end, the shirts are stillgrossly inappropriate. The sweatshirtsevoke the image of a traumatic event in UShistory and, whatever the intent, peoplewere still reminded of the devastatingevent shown in such an apathetic light. Butregardless of whether the boys were awareof their actions, we, as a society, mustunderstand and forgive others’ errors injudgment or their lack of familiarity withour culture. As the adage goes, do untoothers as you would want done unto you.The attempt by Nigerian 23-yearoldUmar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow upa plane approaching Detroit, on ChristmasDay, has raised legitimate questions abouthow well the United States governmentcan protect its people, even eight yearsafter September 11, 2001. The failure ofthe State Department, Central IntelligenceAgency (CIA), National CounterterrorismCenter, National Security Agency (NSA),and, most alarmingly, the Departmentof Homeland Security (DHS) to “connectthe dots” in this case is cause for concern;however, it should not unduly affectAmericans’ support for the Obamaadministration, nor should it necessarilylead to major new security measures.Rather, the government’s failure shouldserve as an illustration of the need fora clearer procedure in the event of asuspected terrorist ready to board anairplane.The prime reason why the Obamaadministration, or at least PresidentObama personally, should not be blamedfor this attack is that, in the eight yearsafter 9/11, billions of dollars worth ofsecurity reforms were initiated by the Bushadministration. Included in these reforms,widely believed to solve the problemsthat led to 9/11, were the creation ofthe Department of Homeland Securityto pool the resources and information ofmultiple security agencies, the addition ofstricter security in airports, an increase incooperation with foreign governments,and an increase in intelligence sharingbetween still-independent agencies suchas the CIA and State Department. For themost part, these mechanisms operated wellin the case of Mr. Abdulmutallab; beforethe attack, the Nigerian government toldthe would-be-attacker’s concerned fatherto contact the American Embassy, wherehe met with several officials representingdifferent agencies. These officials thenissued a visa-related terrorism warning,and the CIA made a biographical noteabout Mr. Abdulmutallab, who wassubsequently added to the largestterrorist watch list. The CIA’s biographicalinformation included Mr. Abdulmutallab’sYemeni Al Qaeda connections, and on theday he purchased a ticket for Detroit theDHS received an alert describing his travelplans. It is unclear, however, if one keyby Nelson BaretteOpinion Writer ‘13piece of information was shared by theNSA: in August of 2009, it intercepted theplans of Yemeni Al Qaeda leaders hopingto use a Nigerian man in an attack.This single misstep calls intoquestion the entire basis of Americancounterterrorism policy, as laid down bythe Bush administration. While it couldbe argued that the Obama administrationshould have been more proactive inencouraging inter-agency intelligencesharing, how was a new administration toknow that previous protocol allowed theNSA to withhold such key information fromagencies that could act on it? Moreover,even without that information, why wouldthe Homeland Security Department, acumbersome bureau created wholly bythe previous administration, not takemore of an interest in the travel plansof a man with whom the CIA and StateDepartment were interested, and whohad already been denied a British visa?The failures leading to the Christmas Dayattack were systemic and longstanding,and thus reflect more on the stillfracturedstate of American intelligenceand counterterrorism procedure than onthe current administration.Fortunately, the solutions tothese systemic problems are relativelysimple. While body-scanners are already tobe a likely new feature of airport security,the real answers lie in increasing theability of security checkpoints to searchpassengers on the largest terror watchlists, as well as making intelligence sharingan even higher priority. As a governmentreport in the aftermath of the attackconcluded, American counterterrorismagencies were surprised by the vitality ofAl Qaeda in Yemen. This surprise couldhave been avoided if the NSA had sharedits intercepted information. Better yet, asimple pat-down at airport security wouldhave caught Mr. Abdulmutallab easily,and would have been quite possible withHomeland Security’s knowledge of histravel plans. The Obama administrationseems to realize that these reforms arenecessary by their serious responseto the Christmas Day attack, and willhopefully heed the recommendations ofits counterterrorism officials. Such actionis the best outcome after this far-too-closeof a call.Photos: September 11th (courtesy of www.israelnewsagency.com, www.physics911.net), Terrorism (courtesy of www.nydailynews.com

page 8 | January 15th, 2010 Centerfold The Milton MeasureTOP 50 NICKNAMES FORLUCAS “LAMB” GATI50. Lamb Before Time49. The Last Lamarai48. Lambden Yards47. Lambled Eggs46. Lambien45. Lamb of Milk and Honey44. Lambchops43. Spanky’s Lamb Shack42. Green Eggs and Lamb41. Lamb I am40. The Hoover Lamb39. Honeybaked Lamb38. Barack Olamba37. Silence of the Lambs36. Lambarnardo Di Vinci35. Spanking the Lamb34. Lamblet33. The Hebrew Lamber32. Kilolamb31. Shama Lamba Ding Dong

The Milton Measure Centerfold January 15th, 2010 | page 930. Lamb dunk29. The Great Lambino28. Tye Lambl27. Tiffany Lamber Thiessen26. Vince Lambarti25. Lambnesty International24. Lambstrings23. Vietlamb22. Lamberican Gangster21. Lamb Chowder20. Will I Lamb19. Aflambistan18. Lamuel L. Jackson17. Abralamb Lincoln16. Lamb of the Lost15. PB & Lamb14. Lamboni13. Lamb Crackers12. Lambela Anderson11. Chandra Lambard10. Lambstel Light9. Lambsterdam8. Lambi7. Melissa Lambrose6. Lamburger5. Sweet Home Alalamba4. God Lamb it3. Lamb Bam Thank you Ma’am2. Lamb Lamb Cool J1. Racoon

page 10 | January 15th, 2010 A&E The Milton MeasureMOVIES, MUSIC AND VIDEO GAMES2009: the Best and theWorst MoviesSherlock Holmes: a Reviewby Jackson TseA&E Writer ‘11Have you ever walked out of themovie theater either thinking, “Wow, thatwas a huge waste of eleven dollars and twohours of my life.” Or, “Danggg, I have togo see that one again?” But now as yourtrying to remember what movies weregood or bad this past year, you can’t reallyrecall those movies. So, here’s my life ofthe best and worst movies of 2009.My personal favorite was theBlind Side. The Blind Side was a truestory based on the life of Michael Oher.This inspirational movie was filled withheartwarming scenes and also bits ofcomedy here and there, which lightenedthe atmosphere of the movie. SandraBullock did a great job playing the caringmother. In my own opinion, these movieswere also rated as the best movies of 2009:Hangover, Star Trek, Up, Harry Potter 6,Wolverine, Princess and the Frog, and TheUninvited.Now for the worst movies of2009: Year One was probably the worstmovie ever made. Year One was meantto be a comedy, however, the jokes wereamateur and the plot was nonexistent. Itwas quite a disappointment from notableactors Jack Black and Michael Cera. Thisflick seemed to last forever and continuecrude jokes and scenes; finally after anhour, I had to take out the DVD. Othermovies probably not worth your timewatching include Knowing, Angels andDemons with Nicholas Cage, HannahMontana: the Movie, Old Dogs, All Aboutby Kiyon HahmA&E Writer ‘12Steve with Sandra Bullock, Friday the13th, and Funny People. Before its release,it seemed that most of these movies hadpotential; however, unfortunately theywere flops and did not do well in the boxoffice.Now of course, we can’t failto mention Twilight: New Moon. I wasnot a fan of the first of the series, and,consequently the second, New Moon didnot hit it off for me either. Many RobertPattinson and Taylor Lautner crazed fanswent to go see this movie and it did verywell in the box office. In addition to thesepassionate fans, were also those who justneeded to see what all the hype was about;after all how can you not watch New Moonwhen it’s all people talk about.According to Watson Leffel (III),Invictus, just recently released, was also agreat film. I have yet to see the Avatar andSherlock Holmes, but I have heard greatreviews and phrases such as “greatestmovie ever,” or “Oh em gee, you have tosee that movie!”So if you haven’t check out thesegreat movies, I would strongly suggestthat you go see, and people who have seenit, I’m sure you would go again.Now, get ready for 2010 movies.Coming up we’re going to have LeapYear, another Michael Cera film, Youthin Revolt, and Dear John. Also, look outfor the movie directed by the director ofAdventureland, Greg Mottola, which wasfilmed right here at Milton.Rolling Stone: Top 25Albums of the Decade1 | Radiohead: Kid A2 | The Strokes: Is This It3 | Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot4 | Jay-Z: The Blueprint5 | The White Stripes: Elephant6 | Arcade Fire: Funeral7 | Eminem: The Marshal Mathers LP8 | Bob Dylan: Modern Times9 | M.I.A.: Kala10 | Kanye West: The College Dropout11 | Bob Dylan: Love and Theft12 | LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver13 | U2: All That You Can’t Leave Behind14 | Jay-Z: The Black Album15 | Bruce Springsteen: The Rising16 | OutKast: Stankonia17 | Beck: Sea Change18 | MGMT: Oracular Spectacular19 | Amy Winehouse: Back to Black20 | The White Stripes: White BloodCells21 | Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to theHead22 | Green Day: American Idiot23 | D’Angelo: Voodoo24 | Bruce Springsteen: Magic25 | Radiohead: AmnesiacWhen one mentions SherlockHolmes, one could be reminded of ArthurConan Doyle’s fifty something Londonbased “consulting detective” esteemedfor skills of observation, forensics, anddeduction. With the release of GuyRitchie’s greatly anticipated moviebased on the novel is also the realizationthat Sherlock, besides having the skilland intellect, possesses an uncannyknack for hand to hand combat. Playedby Robert Downey Junior, Ritchie’sSherlock Holmes possesses brawn alongwith brains and shows himself to be acharacter in a class of his own. The movie,with its brilliant technical screenplay, itscharacter casting, and its unconformityis, without a doubt, worth a watch.The movie begins with SherlockHolmes (Robert Downey Junior) andDr. Watson (Jude Law) on a stealthmission to rescue a victim from a humansacrifice. Ritchie’s characteristic actionis illustrated timely when Holmes, usinghis knowledge of physics and the humananatomy, calculates each and every blowhe determines to make on an oncomingtarget in distinctive slow motion – thenproceeds to successfully execute thebarrage in real time. The duo then arrivesto capture the main antagonist LordBlackwood, and manages to send him offto jail, only to find that after Blackwoodis supposedly executed and confirmeddead by Watson, that he has managedto escape his grave and enact a plan tocontrol the world. It is then up to thedynamic duo to stop Blackwood, andrestore order to Old Victorian England.The overall reception to theunconventional casted Sherlock Holmeshas been somewhat mixed. On one endof the spectrum are critics who commendthe film for its originality. Joe Neumaier,writer for the New York Daily News, praisesDowney’s acting stating that “thoughpurists may balk at Arthur Conan Doyle’sliterary word being manhandled into ablockbuster by never-subtle director GuyRitchie, he has a winning take on Holmes:he’s always on.” Critic Claudia Puig ofUSA Today commends the film for itsbrilliant portrayal of Old London, which,“achieved via superb visual effects, isbreathtaking in its grimy verisimilitude.”On the other end of the spectrum,however, are critics who scream failedunconventionality. Peter Travers of theRolling Stone contends that, “Downeyis irresistible.” Yet ultimately criticizedirector Guy Ritchie for being “all aboutthe whooshing and head banging, leavingno space between Holmes’ words to savortheir meaning.” Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN furthermore criticizes the depictionof a Sherlock Holmes street fighter bystating that “Guy Ritchie’s SherlockHolmes is an irreverent, comic-book takeon the adventures of Sir Arthur ConanDoyle’s cerebral London detective,” andthat the English detective is made out tobe “something of an action hero.” Perhapsmost disparaging is Adam Graham of theDetroit News, who sarcastically assertsthat, “if Sherlock Holmes is truly is theworld’s most keen detective, he would havesniffed out this film was a stinker.” Whatthen, is the crucial point that will makea trip to the movie theatre worthwhile?The answer is, surprisingly,that the superb acting between DowneyJr. and Law, as well as the multitude oftechnical prowess that the film displays.The relationship portrayed by both actors,unlike that of Arthur Conan Doyle’stypical wise master and clumsy studentrelationship, is one more reminiscent ofacquaintances or brothers. Indeed, in themovie, Watson reveals to Holmes thathe is set to be engaged and will move outof their flat, the expression portrayed byDowney Jr. is of genuine jealousy, betrayaland of sadness. Instances in the moviewhere Holmes and Watson argue arealmost even akin to a married couple, yetstill full of brotherly love. Furthermore isthe depiction of Old Victorian London; thescreenplay of the movie gives instanceswhere the audience can clearly see thefamous London monuments, as well asbecome immersed in the multitude ofcarriages, canals and Victorian dresses;indeed, the climactic fight betweenBlackwood and Holmes occurs on theunfinished Tower Bridge. Such elements,coupled with Ritchie’s brilliant andunconventional directing style, makeSherlock Holmes a superb addition tothe legacy of the legendary detective.Photo: Sherlock Holmes (courtesy of static.reelmovienews.com)

The Milton Measure A&E January 15th, 2010 | page 11BEST OF 2009 AND THE DECADEAvatar: a ReviewIn 1996, James Cameron, directorof such movies as The Terminator, Aliens,and Titanic, told the world that he wouldbe creating a film called Avatar. At thetime, he had a clear idea of what would befeatured in the movie. Cameron wantedto transport his viewers onto the junglecoveredmoon called Pandora to experiencelife as a member of the native Na’vi tribe-aprimitive, blue race of aliens standing ataround 10 feet tall. With this vision inmind, he began to create his masterpiece.Unfortunately, the technology at the time“could not satisfy the creative desires ofthe director,” forcing him to postpone theproject.Thirteen years passed until Avatarwas finally completed and released onDecember 18, 2009. VFX supervisor DanLemmon said “The whole world is uniqueand because of the way James Cameronapproaches things, everything seemsfunctional and believable. Compared toother sci-fi fantasy genre films there’sa certain level of realism just in thedesign that makes it very believable.”Cameron’s attempts to make the Na’vibelievable, though, came at a great price,a price estimated to be over $300 million.According to Fox, Avatar is the mostexpensive movie ever made, which begsthe question: Was it worth it?Watching Avatar in IMAX 3D isan experience that the viewer will neverforget. The use of two high-definitioncameras in a single body has createdtruly amazing scenes with unbelievabledepth. The advanced filming generates theillusion that the viewer is actually running,hunting, and even flying with the Na’vion Pandora. As if the special effects werenot enough, Cameron decided to give theNa’vi their own language. Unlike in manymovies, the language in Avatar is not justa random collection of sounds. Instead, itis an actual language developed by USClinguistics professor Paul Frommer. Iteven has its own grammar and syntax.“The constraint, of course, is that theby Marshall TylerA&E Editor‘11language I created had to be spoken byhumans,” Frommer said. “I could have letmy imagination run wild and come up withall sorts of weird sounds, but I was limitedby what a human actor could actually do.”Even with these restrictions, though, thelanguage turned out beautifully.In accordance with the language,the flora and fauna in Avatar were alsovery difficult to create. Cameron, again,had very high expectations, and so,according to Associated Content, hemade sure that “[t]he staff and advisorsfor Avatar included several scientistswho were charged with ensuring thatthe animals, plants and Na’vi (people)of Avatar’s Pandora were plausible.” Heeven hired Jodie Holt, chairwoman of thedepartment of botany ant plant sciences atUC Riverside, to determine how a scientistwould take samples from and study suchplants. The results are astounding.With so many good aspects,Avatar appears to be a near-flawless movie.However, many argue the story is mediocreat best. According to Ball State DailyNews, Avatar provides “a pretty simple,and already done story, as in ‘Dances withWolves.’” New York Daily News states,“‘Avatar’ clears the hurdle in terms ofbeing optical candy. Its story, though, ispure cheese.” Indeed, the story does seemto resemble Dances with the Wolves andis quite cheesy, but for most people, thisdownside takes little, if anything at all,away from this visually stunning movie.With such eye-catching scenes,Avatar is arguably the best movie of theyear. The depth offered by the 3D versionof the film is captivating beyond belief.The unique Na’vi language is spokenbeautifully by all of the actors, and theentire array flora and fauna in the movieis constructed brilliantly. As with hisfilm Titanic, Cameron has yet againmanaged to impress millions of viewers,already bringing in over $1 billion in thebox office worldwide. Avatar exceeds allexpectations.CNN: 2009’s Best VideoGamesAssassin’s Creed 2: aReviewWhile blending into crowds,leaping across rooftops, and stabbingunsuspecting guards may sound excitingand adventurous, performing theseactions in the real world would probablyget you hurt or thrown into prison. Sowhy not try the next best thing? PlayAssassin’s Creed 2. Developed by thecompany Ubisoft Montreal, Assassin’sCreed 2 is a thrilling game full of infinitepossibilities and beautiful landscapes.For those of you unfamiliar withthe game, the Assassin’s Creed seriesfollows the life of Desmond Miles, abartender who is kidnapped by a companycalled Abstergo Industries. Using afuturistic machine called the Animus,Abstergo Industries wanted to access thememories of Desmond’s ancestors, whowere assassin’s known for killing tyrantsand corrupted individuals. Through theAnimus, Desmond is able to relive thelives of his ancestors and discover thelifelong struggle between the order ofAssassins and the order of Templars. InAssassin’s Creed 2, Desmond lives thelife of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Eziois an Italian noble, whose father, anassassin working for Lorenzo Medici, ismurdered in a political conspiracy. In aquest for vengeance, Ezio takes over hisfather’s work and hunts down the peopleresponsible for his father’s death.The two main features of Assassin’sCreed 2 that truly set it aside from othergames are the freedom and mobility, andthe incorporation of historical figuresand landmarks. As an assassin you aregifted with unbelievable strength andagility, enabling your character to leapacross rooftops gracefully and climb toseemingly unattainable heights. Havingplayed the game myself, I was amazed bythe ease in which I maneuvered acrossvast cities on rooftops. I was filled with asense of adrenaline and exhilaration as Iclicked a few buttons and watched as mycharacter fluidly soared across rooftopsand swung from overhanging poles. Butthe fun doesn’t end there; paired withthe unique free-running system is anequally exciting combat system. As youprogress through Assassin’s Creed 2, youcome across an arsenal of innovating toolsby Chris ChuA&E Writer ‘12and weapons. Armed with these assets,the player is invited to devise complexand cunning methods of dispatching histargets. You could kill you target usingthe classy ‘hiding in plain sight’ approachand stab him quietly in a crowd. You couldcause chaos and anarchy in a crowd bytossing coins on the floor then killing yourtarget in the mayhem. The possibilities aresimply endless.The second feature which trulydistinguishes Assassin’s Creed 2 is theinclusion of famous historical figures andlandmarks. The story of Ezio Auditorebegins during the Italian Renaissance inthe late 15th century. Having come from anoble family, Ezio has several connectionswith famous and influential people, oneof these people being Leonardo da Vinci.In the game, Ubisoft presents a youngerand more flamboyant side to the famousinventor. Throughout the game, Leonardoserves as your personal inventor, craftingintricate tools and weapons such asLeonardo’s famous flying machine andhidden blades which are strapped to yourwrists. Ubisoft continues to deliver as theygive you the opportunity to visit some ofItaly’s most famous landmarks withoutever having to leave your living room. Beprepared to be amazed as you visit variouslandmarks such as the Coliseum, the GrandCanal, and the Sistine chapel, all of whichare accompanied by vast cities replicatingthose of Venice, Rome, and Florence.Assassin’s Creed 2 has been highlypraised by various game critics, one criticeven saying that it is, “A shining exampleof a sequel, fixing its predecessor’s flawswhile at the same time expanding upon itsstrengths in nearly every way.” Whether itbe the beautiful landscapes, the awesomefree-running, or the captivating storyline,there is bound to be something you’ll loveabout Assassin’s Creed 2. Ubisoft hastruly pushed the limits and showed theworld once again that they are capable ofmaking revolutionary games. Ubisoft hasraised the bar for games to come, and likethe assassin’s, have proven that, “Nothingis true, everything is permitted.”Sources: arstechnica.com/gaming/,assassinscreed.wikia.comShooter: Call of Duty--Modern Warfare 2Action/Adventure: Uncharted 2--AmongThievesPlatformer: New Super Mario BrosMusic: DJ HeroSports: Fifa Soccer 10Role-playing: Dragon Age--OriginsStrategy: Plants vs. ZombiesRacing: Forza Motorsport 3Photos: Assassin’s Creed 2 (courtesy of www.loot-ninja.com)

page 12 | January 15th, 2010 A&E The Milton MeasureImprov Night: an AnnualFavoriteby Lauren KeeA&E Writer ‘11Wooden Sculptures on theQuadby Louis McWilliamsA&E Writer ‘12On January 22, at 7:30 pm, allMilton students will have the opportunityto attend Improv Night, a night whereMr. Parisi’s two Improv classes performa series of improvisation exercises.According to Andrew Dowton, a seniorin one of the Improv classes, every class,“is dedicated to practicing improv skillsthrough various games.” Although theactivities that will be played have yet tobe decided, another senior student in Mr.Parisi’s class, Addison Williams, says, “Wewill probably play a host of different gamessuch as freeze, bus attitudes, and others.”Ijeoma Duru (I) claims that other exercisesthe Improv classes have performed in thepast include, “Slideshow and Ding.” Thesegames, which are facilitated by Mr. Parisi,will test the students’ ability to performskits on the spot with various scenerios.Even though it is clearly impossible tofully prepare oneself for an improvisedskit, Addison says the students in bothclasses will, “just play the games over andover again, making sure [they are] usingnew material every time, and workingout the problems in the skits as [they]go along.” Even though Improv Night’sdominant purpose is to entertain Miltonstudents, it also has a significant impacton each student’s grade. “Both the ImprovNight and Improv Assembly are the twoparts of our exam,” Ijeoma says. The showwill definitely be impressive consideringevery student’s grade depends on his orher performance and also because lastyear’s show was a huge success. ConradTaylor (II), who attended last year’sImprov Night, says, “[The students”]ability to think on their feet was bothvery impressive and incredibly funny.”Conrad also says he would “recommend itto anyone who gets the chance!” AnotherMilton student who had the chance towatch the Improv classes perform lastyear is sophomore, Edward Han (III),who believed, “The level of hilarity rosewhen a certain group of class II peopleshowed their extemporaneous prowess.”After hearing of previous successfulImprov nights and knowing how muchtime the students have spent practicingimprovisation exercises, it is clear thatthis year will be highly entertaining andlive up to everyone’s expectations!ACapella Night: AnotherFavoriteAlthough it may seem like thereis nothing to look forward to over the longweekend ahead besides cramming andmaybe sleeping, there is in fact one thingfor students to look forward to: AcapellaNight. This Milton tradition is one of themost widely attended nights of the entireyear and it should come as no surprise.Just imagine one of the many morningsin which an acapella group has performedand the song is the only thing one canthink of for the rest of the day and multiplythis by thirty. The event takes place inKing theater on the Saturday night beforeexams and it is definitely worth watching.Not only do all of our beloved Milton’sacapella groups perform but the highlightof the night has often been the variouscollege groups that come.This year the Dartmouth Aires,the Boston College Bostonians, a groupfrom Yale University and one othersurprise group will be performing. All thegroups come from nearby colleges and theyall are highly reputable. The DartmouthAires are an all male acapella group fromDartmouth College in New Hampshirewho perform all across the country. For asneak preview their songs can be found oniTunes. The Bostonians are a coed groupfrom Boston College. The Bostonians areBoston College’s oldest acapella group andhave recorded over seven albums. As YaelAcker-Krzywicki (II) a member of one ofMilton’s all-female acapella groups, Epic,said, “ I love acapella night because itgives us (students) a chance to see whatby Sloan DevinsA&E Writer ‘11college acapella is like.” Last year, TheTufts University Beelzebubs performedat acapella night and this fall they wereone the show The Sing Off on NBC. Theycompeted against acapella grpups fromall over the country and came in second!Sadly, they will not be about to performat acapella night this year, but needlessto say SAA brings in some highly talentedgroups.Along with the college groupsthat will be performing, each of the Miltonacapella groups will sing two new songs.Usually seniors are the soloists for thisnight because it is their last year. As SachaPerold (I) , co head of Epic said, “It’s thenight of all nights!” There is always a lotof excitement surrounding acapella night.It’s a great way for students to take theirminds off exams and come and supporttheir fellow classmates. Acapella night isalso attended by a lot of Milton alumniwho sang in acapella groups. The SAAwill most likely announce all the groupscoming sometime this week. All of theMilton groups will hold many rehearsalsin preparation for the big night. You don’thave to be musically gifted to enjoy thisnight; it’s a truly fun night and it’s a greatshowcase of acapella. One student, LydiaGreen (II) who attended acapella night lastyear said, “Acapella night is poppin! All thesongs that are sung are so real. It just areally, really a good time.” Everyone shouldcome out for this night and support yourfellow Miltonians and see some collegeacapella as well!Every now and then, one seessomething that they just cannot ignore:a butchered haircut, a car in the middleof the student center, or a woodenman walking a dog. If you are a. veryinattentive, b. asleep, or c. living under arock, you probably have not noticed thevarious wooden sculptures displayed onthe quad; however, if none of the aboveapply to you, then you have surely seenthe many 3 dimensional works of art thathave popped up all over the area betweenthe student center and Forbes dining hall.Since just after Thanksgiving break, thesewooden sculptures, from abstract worksto man’s best friend, have caught the eyeof many lunch-bound students and willcontinue to please until spring break.Around the middle of October,students in Mr. Menneg’s semesterlongsculpture class were given the taskof, “creating a sculpture that appears todefy gravity or has a precarious senseof balance.” This course focuses on “selfexpression through three dimensionalform,” according to Mr. Menneg, as wellas helping introduce students to a varietyof new artistic materials, and this projectwas designed to accomplish both of thesetasks. Over five weeks, Students used 4”x4”x 6 ft pieces of white pine to create theirworks, cutting, chopping, and carving thewood into different forms and designs.Artists include Ben Don, Blair Friedensohn,Isabella Frontado, Cristen Lee, GraceMcDonough, Reid Paul, Gregor Seidman,and Claire Whitman, and, in total, eightof their pieces are currently on displayacross the quad. The pieces, even undera few inches of snow, still maintain theirintriguing sense of shape and imbalance,many involving block or square shapesand seemingly unstable designs; however,one design that has become something ofa favorite among students is the sculptureof a man walking a dog. Althoughsomewhat unrelated to the originalassignment about balance and gravity,this different interpretation of the projectby two students was openly accepted byMr. Menneg, and their creativity led to asculpture that has sparked tons of positivefeedback from students and faculty alike.According to Mr. Menneg, many say thatit brings a smile to their faces to walkby the pair, even in the cold of winter;however, others have seen people go so faras to attempt to talk to, imitate, or eveninterview the duo. The sculpture is simpleyet enjoyable, and a welcome surpriseon the daily trek through the snow toForbes, as is the case with all of thewonderful works of art scattered aroundthe quad. We can only hope for morewonderful sculptures throughout the year.It is difficult to say exactly whystudents enjoy the pieces so much. Thoughthey are somewhat simple in design, theyare intriguing, and there is somethingabout their fun and light spirited naturethat brings an uplifting mood to thesnowy quad. The cold of winter, the returnof school, and the approaching exams canoften get us down, but unlike schoolwork,in these sculptures lies something thatdoes not need to be understood butsimply appreciated, enjoyed. They providea much-needed distraction from our busyMilton lives and remind us to take timeto value the little things in life. Thoughwe may be stressed out about a paper duetomorrow that we have not yet startedor a test we know we are unprepared for,these sculptures momentarily put ourlives on pause and help us to forget theworries and anxieties of everyday life. Ina time leading up to exams when stress isabundant and breaks are few, these piecesof art, however briefly, put out of our mindsthe studying we need to do and make uscrack a smile when smiles come so rarely.Photos: Improv (courtesy of www.milton.edu)

The Milton Measure Editorial January 15th, 2010 | page 13The MiltonM EASUREest. 1894Managing EditorErielle DavidsonCopy EditorDylan WilliamsNews/FeatureMariam AgaevaKate BatorNikhil BhambiMatt ChenMark ChuN’dea HalletJoseph ReynoldsErin YangChristian YunOpinionNelson BarretteJosh CohenWill EvansNico GendronChris HopkinsMallika IyerSabrina KatzPatrick Miller-BartleyAmanda O’MalleyGina StarfieldLynn ZhongEditors-in-ChiefAneesha Mehta and Kate Nimmo*Senior EditorsGustavo BrillembourgAnisha ChakrabartiEthan SchneiderLayout EditorDerek CheahJihoon Kim and Sam Madden, News/Feature EditorsSidney Chiang and Chelsea Mehra, Opinion EditorsMarshall Tyler and Joycelyn Yip, A&E EditorsAbby Faulkner and Nick Santangelo, Sports EditorsMelissa Santos and Laura Soriano, Photo EditorsJohn Gonneville, Humor Editor*Larry Pollans, Faculty AdvisorSportsKevin BarbaryKaty BeanAnthony BlakeAlana DovnerKate ElkindTucker HamlinAudrey KeathleyBeverly LeonIsabel LesterKatie MurrayAndrew ParkJames WangRobert ZindmanA&EChris ChuAlex ConwaySloan DevinsKiyon HahmLauren KeeEileen KimYoona LeeRuyi LiLouis McWilliamsNicole RufusMadeline ThayerJackson TsePhotographyAshley BaeAzza BakkarRaya EnchevaMary LopezMichela MarshTanya PanickerRuth WeldKathie WoodhouseElectronic Copies of the Measure Are Now AvailableShipping a copy of the Milton Measure to our subscribers is not environmentallyfriendly.So in an effort to cut costs, produce a better issue, and get the news to you faster, theMilton Measure will be sending out its issues via the email.The Milton Measure will be collecting email addresses of alums, parents, and anyoneelse who would want a copy and we will send you a pdf of our issues.If you need a back copy, we will also start providing that service.A Fresh StartThe name “January” derives from the Greek god Janus,who was the god of beginnings and endings. Janus is mostcommonly depicted as a man with two heads facing in oppositedirections; symbolically, one head is thought to be reflecting onthe past, while the other is looking towards the future, leadingJanus to be known more colloquially as the “god of gates.”With nearly half of the year behind us, we are at a crossroads,straddling the two semesters. While it is indeed importantto acknowledge the past, we urge you to look to the futureand to set goals for yourselves, whether they are to be for thismonth, the remainder of the school year, or the distant future.We on the Milton Measure have a few suggestions to get youstarted:1.) Prioritize your time. Don’t procrastinate. Use this monthas a time to really buckle down so that you are prepared foryour exams.2.) Don’t stress! This may seem like a ludicrous suggestion, butpulling your hair out won’t help anyone. Exams are only oneweek long. You’re going to make it through. (Plus March breakis only eight weeks away!)3.) Sign up for the community service that you’ve alwayswanted to do. The seasons just switched so maybe you have anextra hour once a week to volunteer in the lower school or atthe Food Bank on the weekends.4.) Get to know your teachers. Spice things up and sit withthem at lunch one day. You’ll end up valuing the connectionsthat you form with them.5.) Get organized. Buy a planner, a calendar, a vacuum. Cleanthings up.6.) Make sure you exercise. The winter can cause cabin fever,so try to get out a do a little something most days of the weekto keep your body going. Healthy body, healthy mind, healthysoul!7.) Support Milton. Sell raffle tickets, go to games, plays, andweekend activities. Bleed orange and blue.8.) Make some new friends. There are guaranteed to be somediamonds in your classes and activities who you don’t evenknow yet.9.) Spend time with your friends and family. The holiday seasonhas just passed, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t keep upthe love. In the cold season ahead it will be nice to have someextra warmth.10.) Focus on yourself. Take a little time each day and reserveit for doing something that you want to do. Read a book, watcha little TV, or catch up on some sleep. Don’t waste your time,but do find something to do that will help you get through thecoming weeks.If you would like to begin receiving copies via email, please send your email adress toAneesha Mehta or Kate Nimmo at:aneesha_mehta@milton.edu OR katherine_nimmo@milton.edu

page 14 | January 15th, 2010 Sports The Milton MeasureBoys Hockeyby Nick SantangeloSports Editor ‘10Girls Hockeyby Katy BeanSports Writer ‘11Milton’s Boys’ Hockey is off toa great start this year having won fourof its first five games in addition to itsfirst two scrimmages. Senior CaptainsMike Megnia, Chase Davis, and JohnMleczko have done a great job motivatingtheir teammates in practice and put ongreat performances in the games. Somenew additions to the program includejuniors Woodruff Hudson, Pat McNally,Dan Merenich, and Sean Dougherty.Over break, the team hada strong showing in the Flood MarrTournament held at Milton and Nobles.On the first day Milton tied a very strongKimball Union team 2-2 and defeatedDeerfield 1-0. Unfortunately Miltonneeded a win the next day to advanceto the championship game but tiedSalisbury 2-2. However, Milton playedwell throughout the tournament andproved that they can compete with andbeat the toughest teams in New England.Milton then went on to winits second straight Tabor TournamentChampionship. In the first game againstGovernor’s, John Mleczko had a goal andan assist, Chase Davis had two goals andan assist, and George Pantazopolous hada goal and an assist. Dougherty played agreat game in net and the end result wasa 6-3 victory. Milton’s next opponent wasTilton and once again Mleczko led theway to victory with a goal and two assists.Dan Bowen recorded 20 saves in the 4-1win. In the championship game Miltondefeated a very strong St. Sebastian’steam. Mleczko, Hudson, McNally, andSean Okita (II) scored goals as Miltondefended its title with a 4-2 victory.Upon returning from break theteam lost a close game to Belmont Hill, 3-2.Despite the loss, Milton’s Boys’ Hockey islooking very strong and amongst the bestin the region this season. This squad hasthe talent, the drive, and the leadershipto have a very successful season.The Milton Academy VarsityGirls’ Hockey Team has had a successfulbeginning to the 2009/2010 season.Prior to the Exeter tournament, the girlsexperienced some tough losses againstTabor and Brooks, two very skilled ISLteams. Milton did pocket some notablewins against New Hampton and Exeter.At New Hampton goalie Natalie Chaves(II) had a remarkable game, earningher first shut out of the season. TheMustang’s capitalized with 4-0 victoryover the New Hampton Huskies. Thegirls had a fantastic game against Exeteras well. Milton’s defense played solidthroughout. Goalie Kate Couturier (III)had a great game in net. Senior captainKatie Haddad (I) upped the momentumof the game by scoring the first goal on apower play. Samantha Curran (IV) scoredher first goal as a Milton hockey playerto make the score 2-0. The final score ofthe game was 6-2. Other impressive goalsGirls Squashby Isabel LesterSports Writer ‘11were scored by Nicole Donato (III) andLauren Kee (II). Although the Mustangswent into the winter break tournamentseason off a rough loss against Brooks,the team seemed to pick up their intensityduring the New Year’s Exeter tournament.The Mustang’s played hard in each game,making it to the finals. The Mustangshad a fantastic victory against Gunneryin order to make it to finals. The gameended in a tie after regulation, and wentinto overtime. When overtime finishedin a tie as well, the game moved to ashootout format. After nine players hadtaken their shots, Sophia Tsanotelis (IV)scored the game winning goal, advancingthe Mustangs to the finals. Unfortunately,Milton lost in the finals; however, they didhave an impressive run to finish in secondplace. The Mustangs are off to a great startin the New Year and hope to continuetheir success against Southfield today.This year’s varsity wrestling teamhas proven to be no joke of a team. Theystand proud with an impressive record of 7wins and 2 losses to wrestling powerhousesBelmont Hill and Brooks. The team cameinto this season with high hopes and manyreturning starters. The few starters fromlast year who graduated consisted of DanaMolt (145 lb.), Jacob Jolis (125 lb.), andnationally ranked wrestler Kyle Roy (160lb.). Along with these graduates, the teamlost Jay Sharma (III), a talented wrestlerwho placed at ISL’s at 103 lbs. Despitethese loses, the wrestling team returnedwith the majority of last year’s wrestlersready to roll over the competition.The team came out for the firstmatch against Middlesex with confidenceand pride. Pin after pin, Milton dominatedthe mat and earned their first win. This firstmatch proved that this team is a strongforce that will be hard to slow down. In theweeks that followed, Milton won matchafter match until they met their firsttrue test of the season. The night beforewinter break, the team wrestled Brooks,knowing this match would be a battleuntil the last minute. Brooks came out onWrestlingby James WangSports Writer ‘12top, but Milton came out from the matchready to crush their next opponents.This past weekend, Miltontraveled to Governor’s for a tri-meetagainst Governor’s and Belmont Hill.Milton got the opportunity to watch thefirst match between Belmont Hill andGovernor’s and scout their opponentsin action. Belmont Hill proved to be thestronger team between the two, andMilton now knew who they would haveto beat. Once Milton took the mat againstBelmont Hill, the Mustangs couldn’tovercome the powerful team of BelmontHill. The only victors were Lukas Gaffney(I) and Nash Simpson (I). Angered by theirsecond defeat of the season, Milton cameout against Governor’s and crushed theiropponents. Non-wrestler Matt Chen(III) gives us an outsider’s opinion on thewrestling team. He says, “Although I’venever watched a Milton wrestling match,I’ve heard that the team is filled with talentled by well-known athletes Lukas Gaffney,Zach Perzan, Nash Simpson, and GustavoBrillembourg.” The team looks to improvetheir record as they travel to Noblesfor their next match. Wish them luck!The Milton Girls’ squash teamis off to a solid start this season. Aftergraduating five varsity players last year,the team had a challenge of rebuilding anew squad. However, at the beginningof tryouts, a whopping thirty-six playerstried out. Realizing that there were somany new players, the coaches stressed theimportance of a good attitude. The varsityteam has been dedicated and hardworkingthus far this season. The girls experienceda disappointing loss in their gameversus Deerfield this past Wednesday.Though this loss was a little bit upsettingconsidering the team’s incredible recordfrom last year, Mr. Kane and the girls usedtheir practices to continue improving.This year’s varsity volleyball teamhad quite a difficult task in replacing lastyear’s incredible seniors. With enormousshoes to fill, the girls worked their absolutehardest to prepare for the season. Startingoff with an away game at Pingree, the teamproved its potential with an impressivewin, beating Pingree 3-1. Continuingwith that momentum, the team playedan incredible game against Dana Hall athome. Having lost to Dana Hall last year,the players were a bit anxious about thegame, but showed no mercy when theybeat Dana 3-2. More success followed asthe team also beat Lawrence Academyaway in a dominating 3-0 victory. Witha mixture of confidence and talent, thegirls proved that making up for the lossof some fantastic players was not animpossible task. However, when it came toa major rivalry game, Milton fought hard,but let up at times, losing to Bancroft 0-3Volleyballby Audrey KeathleySports Writer ‘11After working hard in practice, Miltoncompeted against St. Marks on Friday.The girls were resilient in this game, andMilton’s varsity team won. Adapting tothe injury of Sophie Hoffman [III], the girlswere challenged to play up one seed onthe ladder. The Milton girls overcame thischallenge and soundly defeated St. Marks.Yuleissy Ramirez [II] had an incrediblematch, along with Kate Nimmo [I], andAlex Stratouly [II]. Captains Kate Nimmo[I] and Celestine Warren [I] continue tobe influential role models, getting theteam pumped up before each game. Thegirls squash program looks forward tovictories in their next several matches!at home. Bancroft’s skill was equal to thatof our own team, but consistency becamea slight issue at times. Given Bancroft’srecord however, Milton did extremely wellin the game, playing the best they had inyears against the team, losing the secondmatch by within 5 points. This teamis incredibly talented. Players include:Captain Becki Pearce-Probst (I), NiaPatton (I), Kristina Lee (I), Corina Ramirez(I), Caroline Owens (II), Rachel Black (II),Audrey Keathley (II), Rena Ogura (III),Sydney Sykes (III), Kiyon Hahm (III),Nicole Baker Greene (III), Silvia Wong(III). The team’s managers are MichaelAmmar (I), and Emily Perkins (I). Thisyear’s team is definitely a group you wantto keep an eye on. With strong hits, perfectsets, and the hardest working defense inthe league, Milton Academy’s volleyballteam is sure to have an impressive season.Photo: Boys Hockey (courtesy of www.milton.edu)

The Milton Measure Sports January 15th, 2010 | Page 15Ode to Darlingsby Alana Dovner and Marilyn PetrowskiSports Writer ’11 and Guest Writer ‘10Blood, smiles, sweatI am so glad I have metEthan Schneider and Evan McManamyIn the incredible program – Darlings is its nameThe work our regimen is no gameLift, squat, clean to earn your fame.Don’t be lazy and earn just shame.Monday, Wednesday, ThursdayTogether we workedAs Steve lurkedAnd made sure you didn’t jerkYour clean.Conditioning for sports like basketball or hockeySometimes the boys would get cockyThinking they were King of FitnessBut as a witnessI can sayThey were not.Except for Jake Turrin.Overall, Mr. Darling pushed usGetting athletes ready to impressOn the field, court, and iceBeing a Mustang feels nice.By Alana Dovner and Marilyn Petrowski (who hasabsolutely nothing to do with Darlings)GAME SCHEDULE: JANUARY 15-16Boys BasketballAs we return from winter breakand start off the New Year, the boy’sbasketball team is looking to continueits perfect season. Before the break,the team went 3-0 in a commandingfashion with victories over Governor’s(78-57), Groton (72-40), and Thayer(73-37). Not only did the team showtheir dominance in those games, theywent to the River’s tournament withan attitude that nobody can beat them.The team played well and never gave up,allowing them take home the trophy witha win in the finals against River’s. DennisClifford of class II earned All-Tournamentteam and Captain Andrew Dowton(I) was named the Tournament MVP.In the team’s first game back afterthe vacation, they played tough opponentby Tucker HamlinSports Writer ‘13Girls BasketballMilton Girls’ Basketball hasstarted off with fire. Playing their first gameagainst Exeter on their home court, Miltontook control of the game winning 41-33.Great defensive play led the team to thisvictory, as they fought for every reboundand played as a team. Just as winter breakbegan and most students headed home,the girls’ basketball team traveled toAnnual River’s Tournament. In the firstgame, the mustangs played against thetournament hosts River’s. Despite beingbehind by 10 at the half, Milton foughtfor each point during the second half andwere tied with just 35 seconds left. River’spossessed the ball with 35 seconds andgot a shot off, but couldn’t place the ball inby Abby FaulknerSports Writer ‘10Swimmingby Derek CheahLayout Editor ‘10Belmont Hill. The Mustangs got out to agood start with a fifteen point lead early20-5, but Belmont Hill got back in the gamebringing the score to 24-14. In the secondhalf, both teams battled back and forthuntil Scott Sewall (I) and Andrew Dowton(I) hit two important 3-pointers. Thosethree’s proved to be the game changersand the Mustangs went on to win 45-41.Dennis Clifford (II) had another big gameand led the team in scoring with 15 points.The team is looking very good andwill try to continue their strong season asthey have seven of their next ten gameson the road. The Mustangs will use theiraway game at Belmont Hill to continuetheir dominance hope to continue theirgreat playing for the rest of the season.the hoop. Milton gained possession with11 seconds but didn’t have enough timeto score. In overtime, River’s pulled outa victory against Milton. In their secondgame of the tournament, Milton faced offagainst Middlesex. Kasey Caine (II) playeda fabulous game and led the team to victorywith 14 points. On January 9th, St. Mark’stravelled to Milton to play. Katie Murray(I) scored 12 points and Alana Dovner (II)added 9 that contributed to Milton 41-30lead. Almost every girl on the team scoredand this game truly showed Milton’s skillas a whole team. Milton plays Andovertomorrow at 1:00 PM. Make sure to headdown to the ACC and cheer them on!1/15 3:30 3rds Boys Basbetball vs. Roxbury Latin RSG4:00 JV Volleyball vs. NCDS ACC Ct. 24:30 Varsity Wrestling at Nobles Nobles4:45 3rds Girls Basketball at Nobles Nobles5:00 Varsity Boys Squash vs. Tabor Courts5:15 Varsity Volleyball vs. NCDS ACC Ct. 25:30 Varsity Girls Hockey at Southfield Southfield1/16 11:00 JV Volleyball vs. BB&N ACC Ct. 211:50 JV Girls Hockey at Thayer Thayer12:00 Varsity Volleyball vs. BB&N ACC Ct. 21:00 Varsity Girls Basketball vs. Andover ACC Ct. 1JV Girls Basketball vs. Andover ACC Ct. 3Varsity Swimming at Worcester Worcester2:00 Varsity Girls Hockey at Groton Groton3:15 Varsity Boys Basketball vs. St Paul’s ACC Ct. 3JV Boys Basketball vs. St Paul’s ACC Ct. 13:45` JV Boys Hockey at Brooks Brooks5:30 Varsity Boys Hockey at South Kent TrinityGO STANGS!!!Despite not having the resultsto show for it yet, the swim team hasenjoyed a remarkably strong start to theseason. Enthusiastic newcomers Kasia Ifilland Abbie Higgins (both IV) contributevaluable experience and depth to the girls’team, which suffered the loss of several keysenior swimmers to graduation last year.The boys too are excited by the return ofstar swimmer Alvin Tin (I) after he decidedto give up US Swimming. In their firstmeets of the season, against powerhousesDeerfield and Suffield Academies, theteam was humbled by times that wereway beyond their reach. Nevertheless,this did not prevent the swimmers fromhaving some excellent performances. Inlast week’s meet against Suffield, Tin hadquality performances in the 200 freestyleand 100 butterfly, while Derek Cheah (I)and captain Kunal Jasty (II) both turnedin fine showings in the 100 breaststrokeand 100 backstroke respectively. For thegirls, captain Grace McDonough (I) ledthe way with strong 200 freestyle and100 backstroke swims. Lauren Cheng,Josette LaRochelle and Tory Trippe (all II)contributed to an impressive 1-2-3 sweepof the 100 freestyle, while Higgins bravelystepped up to swim the 500 freestyle anddid so admirably for a first time swimmerin the grueling event. Credit for the bestperformance of the meet, however, hasto go to Erin Yang (III), who, aside fromwinning the 100 butterfly and finishing2nd in the 100 breastsroke, anchoredthe 400 freestyle relay, and in doing somade up for 5 seconds of time againstthe lead Suffield relay to win the eventby a fraction of a second. The teamhas two home meets within the nextweek coming up, one tomorrow at 1pmagainst Worcester Academy, then onenext Friday at 4:30pm against MosesBrown. Be sure to cheer on the team asthey head into the heart of their season!Photo: Field Hockey (www.facebook.com), Boys Hockey (www.milton.edu, www.facebook.com)

page 16 | January 15th, 2010 Humor The Milton MeasureASSEMBLY EXAM STUDY GUIDEIn light of recent events, the administration has decided thata mid-term exam on Wednesday morning assemblies will takeplace. Don’t worry, for TMM has you covered with this handystudy guide.