The Medallion
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The Medallion Notre Dame Academy 1073 Main Street Hingham, MA 02043 January 2010 The Disaster in Haiti By Sara Corben ‘10 TOP FIVE MOST On January 12, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit Haiti, its epicenter just southwest OBSCURE WINteR of the capital, Port-au-Prince. It was followed by 12 aftershocks of a magnitude of at least 5.0, and was declared the worst earthquake in the region in over 200 years. The earthquake devastated OLYMpiC SpoRTS the already suffering country. As many as 200,000 people have died and thousands more are displaced from their homes, with no choice but to sleep outside in camps or the streets. For days, rescuers searched desperately through the rubble, saving the lives of hundreds of buried survivors. However, many are still missing. On January 22, the United Nations declared that the emergency phase of the relief effort was coming to an end, and on January 23, the Haitian government officially called off the search for survivors. The effects of the earthquake only add to the towering pile of problems already faced by the country. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, already suffered from poverty, extensive deforestation, soil erosion and inadequate supplies of drinkable water before the earthquake struck. Deforestation and over-farming has left most of Haiti barren, and the difficulty of farming has driven up food prices. Eighty percent of the population lives below the poverty Biathlon combines cross country line, and 54% of the population lives in abject poverty. Two-thirds of the people living in Haiti skiing with target shooting rely on agriculture, and the effects of the earthquake, when added to the effects of deforestation, will leave millions without livelihoods. SEE PAGE 4 The “Scott” Heard Around the World By Molly Gorman ‘11 On January 19, 2010 an ecstatic Scott Brown declared victoriously, “I am nobody’s senator except yours!” after coming out on top with 52% of the votes against his Democratic adversary In curling each take turns sliding Martha Coakley. Both candidates vied to fill what was once Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s seat in 42-pound polished granite stones down a sheet of ice towards a the United States Senate. His underdog win is being called “the Scott heard around the world” and bull’s-eye “the biggest upset in Massachusetts political history”. At last, the Democratic Party no longer has a super-majority position in the Senate. As Brown’s champions celebrated his victory, the losing party sulked blaming the unexpected defeat on voter frustration, Coakley’s weak campaign, and the newly elected Senator’s vivacity and energy that got him votes from a large and diverse fan base. His enthusiasm and standpoints on core issues such as health care, lower taxes, supporting the military, and reducing government spending resonate with most voters who he believes, have been ignored for too long. With Brown’s election, two critical issues have been challenged due to the new balance in the Senate. The passing of the Health Care Reform Bill and the alleged monumental issue of Short Track Speed Skating is held on an oval ice track addressing climate change with a Senate bill are up in the air. Brown opposes the cap-and-trade program that would cut down on carbon emissions that liberal thinkers and environmentalists alike prize. He disagrees with the health care legislation currently under consideration in Congress. In his opinion, the healthcare bill that is being voted on will lower the quality of healthcare, increase taxes, debt and something America does not need right now, added government spending. By thinking pragmatically about these hot button issues, Brown is considering the younger generations that will be burdened with an unfathomable amount of federal debt when our time comes to join the workforce and become taxpayers. Brown’s forward thinking and his position as the “Senator of the people” has invigorated Unlike luge, skeleton sleds are the country and revitalized our democracy. His confident smile, strong convictions, and passion ridden face first. for politics not only won him a seat as a Massachusetts Senator, but with his brimming political diplomacy and ambition, one can only hope we will see him play a big role in the 2012 election. DID YOU KNOW? - Scott Brown has been in the National Guard for thirty years, earning the rank of lieutenant colonel. - His oldest daughter, Ayla Brown, was an American Idol contestant in 2006 and made it to the top 16 finalists until being booted. - Ayla Brown currently plays for the Boston College women’s basketball team. - Brown’s wife Gail Huff was a model in her younger years, starring in a local music video in 1985. The large hill ski jumping competition has appeared at every Olympic Winter Games since 1924 2 BLA BLA BLA Exero 01, 5555 WELCOMING IN thE NEW YEAR 2 WALES - At the first toll of midnight, the back door is opened and then New Year’s Traditions Around shut to release the old year and lock out all of its bad luck. Then at the twelfth stroke of the clock, the front door is opened and the New Year is the World welcomed with all of its luck. By Maeve Luken ‘11 SICILY - An old Sicilian tradition says good luck will come to those who UNITED STATES - The kiss shared at the stroke of midnight in the eat lasagna on New Year’s Day, but woe if you dine on macaroni, for any United States is derived from masked balls that have been common other noodle will bring bad luck. throughout history. As tradition has it, the masks symbolize evil spirits SPAIN - In Spain, when the clock strikes midnight, the Spanish eat 12 from the old year and the kiss is the purification into the new year. grapes, one with every toll, to bring good luck for the 12 months ahead. HAITI - In Haiti, New Year’s Day is a sign of the year to come. Haitians PERU - The Peruvian New Year’s custom is a spin on the Spanish wear new clothing and exchange gifts in the hope that it will bode well tradition of eating 12 grapes at the turn of the year. But in Peru, a 13th for the new year. grape must be eaten to assure good luck. CHINA - For the Chinese New Year, every front door is adorned with a GREECE - A special New Year’s bread is baked with a coin buried in the fresh coat of red paint, red being a symbol of good luck and happiness. dough. The first slice is for the Christ child, the second for the father of Although the whole family prepares a feast for the New Year, all knives the household and the third slice is for the house. If the third slice holds are put away for 24 hours to keep anyone from cutting themselves, the coin, spring will come early that year. which is thought to cut the family’s good luck for the next year. JAPAN - The Japanese decorate their homes in tribute to lucky gods. One AUSTRIA - The suckling pig is the symbol for good luck for the new tradition, kadomatsu, consists of a pine branch symbolizing longevity, year. It’s served on a table decorated with tiny edible pigs. Dessert often a bamboo stalk symbolizing prosperity, and a plum blossom showing consists of green peppermint ice cream in the shape of a four-leaf clover. nobility. Realistic New Year’s Resolutions By Julianne McShane ‘13 Go to the gym every day. Do better in school. Loose weight. Make varsity in the fall. Do one nice thing for someone every day. Sound familiar? These are some of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions, thought up by most people on December 31st and all too often forgotten by January 15th. We vow to accomplish our individual goals, whatever they may be, by the end of the year. For the first couple of weeks of January, we proudly check off each task that has been accomplished. But soon, these inspiring lists are forgotten, and have fallen behind their place on the fridge and into a dusty corner until next year. The million-dollar question is: how do we keep up our New Year’s Resolutions from January 1st until December 31st? Some of the top ten most popular New Year’s Resolutions are to get fit, loose weight, get organized, learn something new, help others, get out of debt, and to spend more time with family. Let’s face it, filling up a list with these items, and actuallyaccomplishing them, by the end of the year is no small task. It requires determination and dedication on a daily basis, like possibly getting up at 5 a.m. every day to go for a two mile run. But when that frigid 20 degree morning comes in February, that run isn’t going to be too appealing, is it? The secret to success when it comes to resolutions is setting realistic goals for yourself; ones that are actually manageable and can be done all year without too much trouble on your part. While gathering research for this article, I turned to Google to get some statistics on resolutions from past years. Most headlines staring at me off of the computer screen were pretty discouraging, such as “Will you keep your New Year’s Resolutions? Most people won’t” and even “New Year’s Resolutions doomed to failure, say psychologists.” A more encouraging site showed a study that was recently done in England, and results showed that people who told their friends about their resolutions, broke their goals up into smaller steps, and rewarded themselves along the way had a 50% chance of success, while most others only had an average success rate of 35%.