A PUBLIC FORUM FOR NEWS, OpINION, AND CREATIVE THOUGHT OF THE GOVERNOR’S ACADEMY FEBRUARY 4, 2010 VOLUME 52, ISSUE 5 I N T H I S I ss UE Wednesday Wanderings BY: JOHN DaMIANOS ‘12 Every Wednesday morning at During a presentation on the horrors E DITORI A L S The Governor’s Academy, the entire of Buchenwald concentration camp, a school, students and faculty alike, German girl ran out crying. Another Possible, Probable ....................... 2 meet in the Moseley Chapel, where a time, the school invited a chaplain to member of the community presents a come speak. He told the community To Slide or Not to Slide .............. 2 topic. The speaker usually tells a sto- that God’s love was not available for ry or performs a piece of music. This those who had abortions. tradition began with Headmaster Pe- Mr. Bragdon calls the chapel ter Bragdon. Before Mr. Bragdon, the tradition, “a wonderful forum,” say- FE ATURE S school hired a chaplain to offer wis- ing he doesn’t “know what we would dom to the student body. Since Gov- do without that chapel.” According SMART Team .................................. 3 ernor’s is not a religiously affiliated to him, it is a place to express “our Fighter Review .............................. 3 school, this was controversial. Mr. joys and sorrows.” He recalls the time Bragdon decided that “more potential when a member of the student body Golden Globes .............................. 4 emerges from a community than from died of leukemia, and the whole com- a chaplain,” and resolved that mem- munity met in the chapel to hear the Assassin’s Review ......................... 4 bers of the student body or faculty announcement and mourn. Another would speak weekly. Thus, a commit- memorable time was on Septem- Bud Keene ...................................... 5 tee formed; every Tuesday, members ber 11, 2001, when Mr. Doggett an- PHOTO CREDIT: BILL FRANSON of this group would meet with Mr. nounced the terrorist attacks in the The Chapel Alex Carpenter .............................. 5 Bragdon after dinner and discuss who chapel in front of the community. In and what would be spoken in the cha- she had three meals per day and a both instances, times of sorrow and pel the next day. Students of all ages- bed to sleep on. An Asian student dis- mourning, the community came to- not just seniors- had the opportunity cussed what it was like to be a person gether as one in the Moseley Chapel. to present. with different colored skin from the Today, the tradition of the cha- Op INION S Mr. Bragdon recalls that there rest of the student body. One faculty pel still stands. Mr. Bragdon’s belief were many “wonderful talks” that he member told his story of how he was that “every student and teacher can Necessary Evil ............................... 6 will “never forget.” For instance, he incarcerated upon coming back from act as a moral leader” still holds true. remembers when a girl spoke about WWII. It is proof that we can truly learn from Application Priority ..................... 7 what it was like to be poor, and how Over the years, there were also one another, and that “wisdom can thankful she was to be at Govs, where some controversial presentations. come from all ages.” The Shot Heard Around the World Ba C K PA GE BY: TINA MCGRATH ‘12 Birthdays ......................................... 8 One look at the eerie smile and years, he was fired from several jobs fire on other bystanders in the area. crooked stare in Jared Lee Lough- for strange behavior at work and Nine-year-old Christina Green, the Govs on Twitter ............................ 8 ner’s mug shot is enough to send deemed “unqualified” to serve in the focus of President Obama’s memorial chills up the spine. He is the young U.S. Army in 2008. Although Lough- speech for the victims, was one of the Quote of the Issue ....................... 8 man charged with the shootings that ner clearly dealt with psychological six people killed during the shootings. took place Tucson, Arizona on Janu- problems, he did not seek help. .In the aftermath of the shootings, ary 8, 2011. The attack, which took The attack was most likely an the question lingers: Could this trag- place that Saturday morning at a su- attempt to assassinate Arizona Con- edy have been prevented? Perhaps the permarket, left six dead and 14 others gresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Gif- store where Loughner bought his gun wounded. fords was shot in the head, and al- should not have sold it to him. Maybe Numerous sources reported that though she survived, she was left in one of his friends or employers could prior to the shootings, Loughner’s be- critical condition. One friend re- have convinced him to seek help to havior indicated that he was mentally ported that Loughner was known to improve his mental health. More im- unstable. He suffered from personal- dislike Giffords. In 2007 he attended portantly, as Americans look ahead, ity transformations, which may have a campaign event and asked Giffords we need to wonder how we can pre- been enhanced by drug use. Friends a question, which he complained vent any similar attacks in the future. confirmed that after he dropped out she did not address. Another friend of high school in 2006, his odd be- shared Loughner’s belief that women havior became apparent. He secluded should not hold government posi- This issue of The Governor himself for periods of time without tions. Although Loughner targeted speaking to others. In the next few Giffords during his attack, he opened T : TO D N E S EDITORIALS T H E G O V E R N O R 2 THE GOVERNOR EDITORIAL A PUBLIC FORUM FOR NEWS, OpINION, AND CREATIVE THOUGHT OF THE GOVERNOR’S ACADEMY Possible, Probable, DECEMBER 16, 2010 VOLUME 52, ISSUE 4 Time Wasted E DITOR S -IN-CHIE F: ADVI S OR S : STaff A R T I S T S :: Katie Reilly ‘11 Ms. Sue Hofmann Kaylee Ryu ‘12 Nora Kline ‘11 Ms. Brenda Riddell Rory Burke ‘11 DYLAN BINNIE ‘11 David Lim ‘11 Emma Collins ‘12 PHOTOGR ap H Y Ma N A G I N G E DI - E DITOR S : STaff W RITER S : Mr. John Halligan’s convocation is the model that the other convocations TOR S : Michelle Gallipeau‘11 Tina McGrath ‘12 should follow. It excelled in every category, and I don’t believe there was a single Rachel Cabitt ‘12 John Damianos ‘12 Andres Saenz ‘12 student with whom Mr. Halligan’s message didn’t hit home. The story of his son Dylan Binnie ‘11 Christine Lee ‘12 Lauren Labrique ‘12 A. Okeke-Diagne ‘11 Rachel Cabitt ‘12 was a horrific story, but whose power left a lasting impression so that people Mas THE A D: Ryan Kelly ‘11 are still talking about it, a week after the speech. It was not only because of Mr. Abby Matses ‘11 Kayla Jenson ‘11 Skylar Frisch ‘11 Halligan’s delivery, whose emotion and the poignancy of his position pushed Doc Bradley (Faculty) through his speech to make the entire audience want to give him a hug or some comforting gesture, but because of his message. The purpose of the convocations is to teach the student body something. Often these blocks are filled with the useless ramblings of people who have an EDITORIAL exaggerated opinion of themselves. These people stand on stage and preach that the secret to their self-avowed success was “hard work, setting goals, and self- confidence.” The extent of their rhetoric is just the rehashing and regurgitation To Slide or Not to of clichés. These people call themselves “motivational speaker,” yet I doubt they have ever inspired anyone to brush their teeth everyday let alone change the en- tirety of their lifestyle. Telling me I need to be confident will not suddenly fill me Slide... with confidence. The speakers are not Moses—and if they think this is possible, they need to get their god complex sorted out. NORA KLINE ‘11 The poignancy of Mr. Halligan’s speech came from the fact that he did not believe he was better than his audience. He did not attempt to preach, but in- As I started to open a suspiciously small envelope on the afternoon of De- stead to present you with the situation he was faced with, the mistakes he made, cember 17, 2010, I could not resist the final surge of pressure and stress that had and surrounding circumstances, and allowed his audience to draw conclusions undoubtedly overcome my body, along with those of my classmates, for the past of their own. The wisdom he espoused was not centered around clichés, but in- three months. Rather than handling the piece of mail delicately, since I may stead around a story—one that cannot be summarized in three sentences. have wanted to keep this particular envelope forever, I aggressively tore open the The most refreshing thing about Mr. Halligan is that he admitted to his defensive seal and ripped out the letter from Vanderbilt University. mistakes, but most importantly he did not apologize for them. He regretted I wish I could say that all my worries vanished and I no longer felt any stress them surely, and no will would ever contest that, but he admitted to them. He about schoolwork or applications, but that would be a lie. Of course I was ec- did not appear to be this monolith of morality but rather a human, just like all of static about the news this letter brought, and especially relieved, but in the back us.