WESTERN RESERVE ACADEMY December 2013 | VOL. C : NO. 3 Seminars: Saturdays Well Spent? “Eggplant” Covers Exam Week ‘12 Days of Christmas’ at WRA The longest-running Junior Anna McMurchy discusses the Humorous graph displays the typical ways Counting down the days before the glorious newspaper in historic need for Saturday Seminars Reserve students spend their Exam Week Holiday Break PAGE 2 | OPINION PAGE 3| COMMUNITY PAGE 4 | CENTERFOLD Hudson, Ohio Vespers ’13: A New Spin Morgan Leaders, Sophomores Partner for Projects on an Old Tradition by Kevin Yang ’15 by Tricia Cunningham ’14 The Morgan Leader Association is the bridge between administration and students. As such, the Grammy award-winning conductor and projects of the Class of ‘14’s Morgan Leaders en- James L. Knight Fellow Vance George joined compass a wide variety of goals so that everyone can the WRA community from San Francisco profit in some way. The Morgan Leaders are col- this year in the production of the annual Ves- laborating extensively with this year’s sophomores pers Concert. For years this WRA tradition to bring projects into fruition that not only create has epitomized the winter season and the unity in our student body, but also benefit those holiday spirit that takes over campus. Under outside of our school community. Morgan Leaders George’s direction, the WRA choir and or- and sophomores have divided into four groups and Photo provided by Moore by Photo provided chestra transformed classic Christmas Carol- created four distinct projects. ing into a stunning performance including year is a very important year,” says Campana, “and The first of these comes from the trio of Ann Yu musical pieces from around the globe. Songs we hope to make sure that they are having a great ’14, Alex Fellows ’14, and Lily Liu ’14, and it deals ranged from the winter classic ‘Jingle Bells’ experience thus far.” But it is not always easy for with something few can resist--food. Their project a freshman to talk to a senior. Taking this into ac- to an intricate African version of ‘Noel’. Fac- has two parts, the first of which is to resurrect the count, to ensure a successful first year, they have en- ulty members stated that one of their favorite food drive. The second part is called “Cookie Tues- listed the help of sophomores (since they are closer parts about this year’s Vespers was that even days.” “ We recognize that Tuesday’s long blocks can in age) to talk to the freshmen about possible class though the format changed, the audience be hard to get through and a bag of baked goods bonding activities. “The sophomores working with was still engaged and participated vocally can really help,” says Liu. “Similar to crush-o-grams, me have already talked to several freshman about in most of the carols. Mr. Will Talaba and bags of baked goods can be pre-purchased by stu- activities they would want to do as a class and are his introduction of drums and dancing into dents to be distributed to their loved ones on the filling me in on what those activities are and how the performance was a highly liked addition first Tuesday of every month with lovely notes.” The their conversations are going,” says Campana. “We across the student body. Excitement rang proceeds from both of these projects will go to the hope to get the event organized in the near future.” through the chapel as the sound of the pipe Akron Food Bank, which student volunteers partici- Finally, building upon the popularity of “Humans organ filled the air. Each and every person sat pated in during previous community service days. of New York,” a photoblog documenting the lives of in silence and awe as the thunderous sound The tag team of McKenna Polak ’14 and Annie various New Yorkers, the team of Mitch Pollock ’14 overwhelmed the night. Although many say Carter ’14 proposes a campus-wide scavenger hunt and Abby Hermosilla ’14 plans a “Humans of Reserve” that this new, and more diverse version of for the students of Western Reserve Academy. Polak project. “The sophomores will be doing their own Vespers is the best that they have ever attend- says that they hope to “get as many students as pos- photojournalism projects having to do with WRA, sible to participate to help build some school spirit, ed, a few old traditions were dearly missed. which will eventually end up in a blog or maybe even and to show people some things they may not have Some of the missing favorites include the in the Moos Gallery,” says Pollock. Wherever the proj- Continued on Page 2 noticed on campus before.” Through their project, ect is exhibited, it is sure to be a refreshing interpreta- they will not only to provide a fun, engaging activity tion of the assortment of lives of Reserve residents. for the school, but also bring awareness to otherwise Under the guidance of the Effective Leadership Acade- overlooked sites on campus. “So far we’ve been really my, the Morgan Leaders and sophomores will collabo- impressed with some of the ideas the sophomores rate with one another throughout the year to complete have come up with,” says Polak, “and we’re really look- these projects. The projects will bring our communi- ing forward to coming up with a finished product!” ty closer together and improve the world outside our The third project comes from the duo of Alex campus, in addition to being testaments to the cre- Campana ’14 and Jack McKenzie ’14. Their fo- ativity of our many leaders and soon-to-be leaders. cus is unity among the freshmen class. “Freshman Photo by Andersson Knight Fellow Vance George Leaves Legacy Red Kettle Decorates Hud- by Trevor Levin ’15 and Harrison Ahn ’17 giving the audience a preview of Vespers. Be- On Tuesday, December 3, the 2013-2014 fore previewing an African carol, he asked son as Charity Takes Off Knight Fellow, Vance George, spoke to the percussion teacher and interim band direc- by Ketty Nolan ’15 tor Will Talaba to explain the various drums student body. George, the conductor emeri- It all started back in 1891 when Joseph McFee of the used in the piece. It made for a highly en- tus of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Salvation Army was stricken by the amount of homeless, tertaining, if somewhat free-form, speech. had guest-directed the student chorus and hungry individuals in San Francisco. Captain McFee re- Raised in rural Indiana, George realized his orchestra for three intermittent weeks dur- alized that these people couldn’t enjoy Christmas with as passion for music early in life. “It was always ing the fall leading up to the annual Vespers much comfort as most people. Western Reserve Academy music, for me,” he said. George studied under performance. George gave a rather uncon- student Morgan Lightcap ’14 says, “Most people forget Mary Hoyer, a profound musician and teach- ventional “lecture”: rather than an organized how fortunate they are, and just a small act of kindness er; Margaret Hillis, the founder and conductor speech, he loosely worked off audience ques- can make someone else’s holiday a little brighter.” Be- of the Chicago Symphony Chorus; and Robert tions, citing his tendency to “get nervous” lieving in this same principle, McFee set his sights on Shaw, founder and conductor of the Cleveland when asked to do a formal presentation. one goal: to provide a free Christmas meal to the people Symphony Chorus. He became the director of Though George first appeared on campus starving on the streets. But where would he get the mon- the San Francisco Symphony Chorus in 1983 in October, he did not address the student ey? He decided on placing two red kettles on street cor- and remained there for 23 years. His work there body until the students’ first day back from ners where people could donate spare change. That year, earned him international recognition as a top Thanksgiving Break. He discussed the im- Red Kettle allowed him to feed 1,000 people living in conductor, and the chorus won four Grammy portance of engagement, of happiness, and poverty, and it soon affected the lives of tens of thousands Awards under his leadership. He plays the pi- of the arts. He occasionally paused to direct of people not only across the nation, but also the world. the chorus and orchestra to illustrate a point, ano, organ, french horn, and a “bit of tabla”. Continued on Page 3 Continued on Page 2 2 Reserve Record Opinion December 2013 anyone ever makes you grip quarters in your fist and these seminars provide a perfect place for them. Let’s Change Busy Work then asks you what you are doing, the answer is – Finances are a good place to start, but let’s learn to Productivity grab your hot stakes, everyone – embracing change. about income taxes, mortgages, and student loans. by Anna McMurchy ’15 After that, I was done. I think my brain imploded. Politics would be an excellent subject to teach, as Class seminars. Are they a waste of time devised to In the junior year, the seminars focus on the col- many Americans remain ignorant about today’s na- haul our miserable, already over-worked butts out of lege process. An excellent idea, considering this huge tional affairs. I think self-defense and survival skills our comfortable beds, or are they genuinely neces- decision is fast approaching, and I do not have a clue would make fantastic seminars. One day, one of our sary, profitable learning experiences? Naturally, the what anything involving college means.