by Kevin Yang ’15 Christmas tree, Arbol de Navidad, Tannenbaum: whatever you wish to call it, decorating Christmas trees is an activity all can enjoy. Luckily, we will have the op-portunity to embellish some Christmas trees on campus. Each class will get its own tree to adorn with ornaments, tinsel and the like. Named “The Tree Project”, this class activity will be a beacon of light in the freezing Ohio winter. “It's pretty cool to see something that everyone has worked together on displayed in our buildings,” says student body president Mitesh Mehta ’13. In addition to lightening the mood, the activity will be a chance for the entire grade to collaborate together . As Abby Hermosilla ’14 says, “I’m excited to decorate the Christmas tree with my classmates.” It should be a great experience for both those who haven’t decorated a Christmas tree before and those who uphold it as law to unpack the Christmas lights each winter. Of course, it’s not an easy task to enrich a Christmas tree, since there are plenty of options for how to decorate it: what kind of star should top the tree? To draw more participation to the event, the decorating has become a contest. Everyone loves competition, and where there’s

competition there’s usually a prize. Mitesh Mehta ’13 says, “I'm hoping everyone will participate because it's a nice event to welcome the holi-day season.” As we wind closer to the exams and winter break, take some time to go spruce up the spruce with some friends so that before you catch a flight home, you can gaze upon a beautiful Christmas tree. Your beautiful Christmas tree.

by Andie DiBiase ’13 While many students struggle to squeeze free time into their schedule, there has always been a lingering is-sue with lack of attendance at sport-ing and art events. Two seniors, Max Fausnight ’13 and Mitesh Mehta ’13, came up with an idea motivat-ing students to break out from the comforts of the dorm and dedicate some time supporting fellow class-mates. Fausnight and Mehta really “wanted to give [the students] some incentive to fill up the bleachers and the auditorium and be a great ‘Neer Nation.” After a process of meet-ing with deans and dorm masters, the boys presented project “‘Neer

Nation” to the student body. Twit-ter accounts were made for every dorm where residents from the dorm could tweet pictures of themselves at a sporting event or performance. After little activity on Twitter, the decision was made to switch the competition over to Facebook for easier access and hopes of more participation. Morgan Leaders Matt Hard ’13 and Maggie Graves ’13, have taken the new role of organiz-ing this fresh attempt and are off to a great start. Maggie shared her en-thusiasm for the changes by saying “I’m super excited about the move to Facebook! We are still working out some kinks, but we hope that Face-

book will give the project greater availability to the student popula-tion at large.” With the same guide-lines being applied,’Neer Nation is now on Facebook. Each dorm has their own facebook page created by one of their prefects and pictures from events can be tagged or posted to that page to win points for the dorm. The dorms will be compet-ing against one another in a friendly competition to see who has the most points by the end of the month. Day students have the opportunity to link themselves to a dorm for the competition so they can participate in the challenge.

by Madison Bach ’16 The holiday season has begun, and with it comes a number of holiday traditions: putting up wreaths, decorating trees and listening to holiday music. Western Reserve Academy has its own set of traditions this time of year, and two of the most treasured are the Messiah Sing and Vespers. Each year, the Academy Choir performs a Sunday night Vespers concert in the Chapel, in which students sing holiday songs and a handbell choir performs. During Vespers, it is a tradition for the choir to sing the Ave Maria as well as some songs from the Messiah during the performance. At the end of every Vespers, the choir surrounds the audience holding candles and together they sing Silent Night. Emma Presley ’14 says of the concert, “It’s

an extraordinary feeling of peacefulness and com-munity. After the performance is over, everyone heads to the dining hall for the big Vespers din-ner, which is the best meal the dining hall serves all year.” In addition to Vespers, the Academy Choir also hosts the Messiah Sing, a more casual affair. All members of the community are welcome to gather in Ellsworth Hall and sing along to Han-del’s Messiah. The choir leads the group and there are soloists that perform as well. The choir will also be joining in the Messiah Sing alongside the Cleveland Virtuosi Orchestra on December 8th at 7:30 p.m. Vespers takes place the following day, on December 9th, and the Messiah Sing will be on December 12th. Vespers and the Messiah Sing are two traditions that have

been a part of the holidays at Reserve for years, and will be for years to come.

The longest-running newspaper in historic Hudson, Ohio

What Are You Thankful For?A collection of student and faculty responses to

the annual questionPAGE 4 AND 5 | CENTERFOLD

DECEMBER 2012 | VOL. XCIX : NO. 3

The Return of WrestlingAfter a year’s absence, the sport returns

with a new coachPAGE 8 | SPORTS

School Spirit: Far or ‘Neer?

A Charlie Brown TreeMolly Clark wants you to have a real Christmas

Tree this yearPAGE 2 | OPINION

WESTERN RESERVE ACADEMY

Joyful Voices: Vespers and Messiah Sing

North Pole Mixer:No Longer a Holiday Tradition

Continued on Page 2

by Scott Shultz ’13 It’s that time of the year again. Things look a little more decorative, people are extra jolly and the tem-perature is perfectly cold. However, on campus, students will not have the opportunity to express their holiday excitement in the form of a formal mixer. Although rumors were swirl-ing about the existence of the illustri-ous North Pole mixer, it was never planned for 2012. Tim McQuait, Director of Student Activities, commented that the mixer “was never planned and is not on the calendar”. The lack of this joyful holiday tradition has left students upset and confused. When asked about the 2011 North Pole Mixer, Jill Sutter ’13 said, “It was fun because a lot of people were there and it really rung in the new season”. Hearing for the first time the event was not tak-ing place, North Hall resident Brian Czerwonka ’13 commented, “This is news to me, I thought it was a funny event and I liked all the decorations so I’m pretty upset its not happening this year.” When asked further, McQuait stated that mixers will no longer be taking place in dormitories for undisclosed reasons. In lieu of the North Pole Mix-er, students are encouraged to dance their hearts out to their favorite holiday beats on their own time. However, in a last minute deal, a “Hawaiian Christ-mas” themed mixer was created and, for some, the holiday was saved.

Christmas Trees On Campus

Holiday Edition

Midge Karam directs the orchestera at the Messiah Sing

Photo by Maseelall

Photo by Clark

by Molly Clark ’13 For many families, Christmas doesn’t start until the tree goes up, and at my house, this means making the trek to our favorite tree farm and chopping down the best looking tree we can find. Nothing says Christmas more than forced bonding and hiking the hills of backcountry Ohio in the freezing rain/snow while arguing about the aes-

thetic qualities of every tree we see. The needles may be sharper, the fire hazard may be a little larger and may shed more often, but a real tree is always the better decision. While fake trees involve less work, you never have to worry about accidently leaving an orna-ment on when putting them away, or a woodland creature hitching a ride home -- that made-in-China, polyvinyl tree simply cannot usher in the Christmas season quite as well as the real deal. Walking through the maze of trees, we can’t help feeling a bit like Charlie Brown and Linus. They had Christ-mas spirit, and it spread through those who watched the episode. We see the beauty in the not-so-perfect trees and we fight passionately for them just like Linus did. There aren’t branches on the entire left side of the tree? It can always be strategically placed in a corner. The tree has a few branches that may be a few feet longer than the others? These awkwardly long arms can hold our fa-vorite ornaments. Half the needles just fell off with that last gust of wind? With enough lights no one will notice. In true Christmas spirit, we accept those Charlie Brown trees and sometimes even buy them.

Additionally, the real thing allows us to have a unique tree every year. As kids, we chose trees that were fatter than they were tall, as they could fit more presents underneath them. Then we grew to like the more cookie-cutter version of a tree: tall and symmetri-cal. Currently, we seem to be leaning towards trees that are sparse in branches and width, but high in character. And while the winter winds may be brutal, nothing unifies our family more than finding that perfect tree. Our family celebrates by taking awkward photos, one of us is typically on top of another. We also embrace the tree as family, posing with it for holiday themed photos, which usually turn into holiday cards. Once home, we start a fire and drink hot cocoa so that our fin-gers can slowly regain feeling, and then we start adding ornaments. These traditions associated with cut-ting down our tree consistently bring us closer to each other. They represent family, love and care, and with them we welcome in the winter weather and holidays. We would not be able to ex-perience any of these emotions without cutting down a real tree every year. I can’t imagine Christmas would be the same with a fakie.

by Caroline Babbin ’15 Swimming, simply put, is awful. Prac-tices consist of monotonous distance sets, and sprint sets that make your arms and legs hurt like never before. Swim-mers are the first to admit that it is one of the hardest sports and, despite our obvious bias, I challenge anyone who questions this claim to attempt swim-ming one of our practices; it is not easy. But this common display of hate for the sport usually prompts the question, “Why do you choose to swim?” A lot of people would pass off the question with the simple excuse that our school has required athletics, so they have to. But swimming is not the only option during the winter, and most of the people who complain the loudest about the sport, including myself, are the ones most dedicated to it. So it’s hard for me to answer that question, because it truly is hard for me to explain, but I will try. I swim because even though the workouts are hard and boring, they let my mind relax. While swimming, I can think about whatever I want; I can go over my plans for the rest of the eve-ning, or I can think about a test I have coming up, and how much time I will realistically devote to studying for it. But the best swim practices are when I do not think about anything. When my

mind is able to let go from everything that has been stressing me out so much, I can just focus on what I am doing in the pool. One pull after another, I stop thinking about everything else; this is when I truly feel relaxed. I think this lack of thought is a hard concept to explain to other people, considering the fact at the same time my muscles are on fire because of the workout. But even though it might not be a completely logical reason, I choose to swim because in the winter season, the most stressful of all, I get a chance, for two hours a day, just to relax. There is another reason though that makes me return every day to practice: my teammates. They are there with me when we are all dying in the middle of a hard workout. We all fight together to survive. But they do more than that, they push me to work hard not just to do the minimum. They give everything that they can in order to make sure

that I push myself to the same level. They make me better than I would be by myself, which is why I think swim-ming can only be considered a team sport, even though you compete indi-vidually. I love my team, and they are the reason I enjoy coming to practice every day. To some people these reasons prob-ably are not enough to convince them to subject themselves to the pain that swimmers endure. In response, I could probably come up with a hundred little reasons why it is worth it to swim: the rush of diving in at the beginning of practice, the blaring music in the locker rooms and the occasional set of dolphin dives when it is someone’s birthday. If these reasons do not make sense, I am not sure I can convince you otherwise. The intention of this article was not to convince you to swim, but to explain why I do, which can really be expressed in four words: because I love it.

Editors-in-Chief: Megan Barsella, Sam ClarkManaging Editor: Rebecca CartelloneAssociate Editor: Max RosenwasserNews: Rylee Nelsen, Mitch PollockOpinion: Hannah McKenzieCenterfold: Abby HermosillaCommunity: Max ForsythEntertainment: Nate LundArts: Simon OngSports: Mehar BainsCrossword: Alex Wheaton Photographers: Lisie Andersson, Megan Barsella, Au-

drey Brown, Tiffany Chung, Sam Clark, Abby Hermosilla, Tatiana Pavloff, Selena Walsh, Jing Zhu Writers: Helena Ahn, Caroline Babbin, Madison Bach, Tiffany Chung, Molly Clark, Sam Clark, Andie DiBiase, Hannah Gaspar, Eilidh Jenness, Simon Ong, Trent Pacer, Charles Pearlman, Julia Schiciano, Scott Schultz, Connor Semple, Adam Tortelli, Maggie Wise, Annie Wyman, Kevin Yang, Mike Zeleznik Faculty Advisor: Russell Morrison

The Reserve Record is the student-run, monthly news-paper of Western Reserve Academy and the voice of and for the student body. It aims to educate its staff, writers and photographers on journalistic style, format, ethics and excellence, while entertaining and informing

the student body and providing its readership a forum for community expression and discussion. The editors and staff have worked on every facet of this publication.

The opinions expressed in the Reserve Record do not necessarily represent those of the administration, trust-ees or student body. The editors assume full respon-sibility for the contents of the publication and invite community responses.

Please address any concerns, comments or requests to:

The Reserve RecordWestern Reserve Academy

115 College StreetHudson, OH 44236

wrarecord@gmail.com

2 Reserve Record December 2012Opinion

Swimming Sanity

Fake or Fun: You Decide

As for the prize, Mehta said “we thought we’d combine students’ two favorite things: eating and socializing. So, we came up with the idea to do a dorm feed.” With food as encouragement, ‘Neer Nation has begun. When asking a prefect Kelsey Gordon ’14 her opinions on the new project, she thinks “it’s a nice attempt to boost school spirit.” Which leads us to the question, does Western Reserve Academy lack school spirit? Drew Perdue ’13, a four-year member of the WRA com-munity has noticed “more and more students are getting out and supporting their classmates than in any year since I’ve been at school.” Hopefully, this new project will take improving school spirit to a whole new lev-el. As the winter sporting events and concerts approach, students should continue supporting their fellow ‘neers and use it as an opportunity to win points for their dorm. With some more communication and participa-tion, Fausnight and Mehta’s idea will advance us forward as a superior ‘Neer Nation.

’Neer Nation (cont.)Continued from Page 1

Molly Clark proudly stands next to her real Christmas tree.

Phot

o by

Bar

sella

Caroline Babbin races to the finish line Photo by Andersson

The Morgan Leaders would like to remind the student body that they are your representatives to the faculty and administra-tion, each assigned to a specific facet of student life on campus. If you have any problems, ques-tions, or ideas, feel more than welcome to talk to them:

Class Council - Mitesh Mehta & Audrey BrownArts Council - Lindsey WirtzAthletics Council - Nicky Waldeck & Harmehar BainsChief Ambassadors - Margot WarnerClubs Council - Max Rosenwas-serCommunications Council - Tatiana PavloffHonor Council - Rob StephensPrefect Council - Maggie Graves & Matt Hard

Questions, Con-cerns, Comments? Contact Leaders

by Mike Zeleznik ’16 Once again, students of Western Reserve Acad-emy have basked in the glory of Shakespeare. The preliminary round of the Shakespeare monologue contest was held at WRA on Monday, December 3rd. Participants first chose a monologue from a play written by the one and only William Shake-speare. Said Maria Mayer ’16 on choosing her monologue, “I saw this one [monologue], and it was the complete opposite of me, so I decided, ‘Oh! It would be really fun if I did that!’” After choosing their monologues, students memorized and then performed them before several

teachers during the first round in this national competition.Last year’s runner-up, Michael Nichols ’14, reflected on his participation in the contest the previous year. “We did a lot of word study in the beginning of the course, so it really opens up the language to you, and when the language opens up, the acting opens up just as fast.” Members of WRA’s Drama Club, such as Niraj Naik ’16, all took part in the competition, as well as other members of the student body who signed up to participate. “We’ve been preparing every day for a while now” stated Naik on his preparation for the competition. Naik also said the most difficult chal-

lenge would be “probably making people remember my performance, because there would be a lot of monologues.” As for the contest, itself, a panel of four judges narrowed a field of 25 participants to eight finalists, who will perform for the school during a January Morning Meeting. These eight finalists are Curtis Balko ’15, Jake Ha ’16, William He ’15, Christina Lavely ’16, Gracie Morgan ’16, Mitch Pollock ’14 and Martin Wang ’15. The winner will then com-pete in Cleveland. Faculty Master Donalee Ong, who is in charge of this contest at WRA, stated, “All of the students were well-prepared and performed to the best of their ability. All of the judges were really entertained.”

by Trent Pacer ’13 President of the Art Club and a Chief-Editor of BUFO, Claire Ilersich ’13 is widely viewed as artistic despite her strong disinclination towards exposing her talents. With a camera as her paintbrush and the entire world her canvas, Ilersich humbly captures the ordinary and makes it extraor-dinary. As a photographer, Ilersich is indifferent towards the praise and approval of her work. She describes her art as “very personal.” Ilersich’s interest in photography started at a very young age, as made apparent in her reminisces, “When I was seven I used to steal my Mom’s camera and take pictures of random things, my family, chairs, anything.” As she grew older she grew

too as an artist. During her freshman year, she got her first “real camera,” a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera. By experimentation and practice, she was able to improve her photography on her own. The summer before her Sopho-more year Ilersich took Faculty Master Alan Doe’s summer photography course and last year she took Photography at Western Reserve Academy. Given her homework load, Ilersich mainly pursues her art during the weekends. Often she acts on an idea for a photo-shoot she got earlier in the week. Other times Ilersich just goes downtown with friends and brings along her camera. Among her favorite subjects are her friends and family. She gathers inspiration from other

photographers, such as her idol Francesca Woodman. When asked why she takes pictures Ilersich says, “Photography is a way for me to take my emo-tions, ideas, feelings and make them tangible.”

Reserve Record 3December 2012 Arts

Artist Spotlight: Claire Ilersich

by Tiffany Chung ’14 Music is an integral part of student life at Western Reserve Academy. From the small morning meeting performances to the annual Messiah sing-along, it is undeniable that WRA has some dedicated musicians. There is an endless list of talent all around campus: vocalists, cellists, drummers and flutists. In fact, some have even gone on to excel in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, one of the most renowned and re-spected music programs in the country. Ann Yu ’14 and Harold Zhu ’14 both play the violin with this group of young, talented musicians. These two students proudly represented WRA in one of COYO’s biggest concert of the season. On November 11, 2012, COYO performed at Sever-ance Hall in Cleveland. The concert featured pieces such as “Lieutenant Kije” by Sergei Prokofiev and Howard Hanson’s “Symphony No. 2.” The pieces are both “time consuming and energy draining” according to Yu. How-ever, audience members applauded the advanced level of playing and the professional musicianship. More impor-tantly, the young players themselves put in one hundred percent of their effort. Zachary Lewis of The Plain Dealer critiqued COYO’s concert that night and his review was full of praise. Lewis writes about the orchestra’s playing of Howard Hanson’s Symphony; “It isn’t every youth orchestra that would take on Hanson’s “Romantic” Symphony No. 2, a weighty work in itself and a staple of the American catalog all too many ensembles overlook. Even fewer could deliver a performance as compelling as the one COYO presented on Sunday.” The hard work was not only evident to the audience members, but also critics alike. Lewis thought that this was “a performance of tremendous power and expres-sion” and that “passion operated like another musical dimension, a trait like volume exists along a vast and finely tuned spectrum.” To take on the performer’s perspective, Yu states, “COYO is one of the best musical experiences that I am so honored to be a part of. I am so blessed to have the ability to create incredible music with a group of tal-ented and amazing musicians.” It is clear, however, that members of COYO need more than just extraordinary music skills - they need dedication and passion, because it’s what really shines through in their performances. This passion and dedication is what drives the members of COYO to spend hour after hour of practice. Musi-cians in the orchestra have been meeting every Saturday since late August, with at least four hours of full-orches-tra rehearsals, and an average of ten hours of indepen-dent practice each week. If anyone thought the music program at WRA demanded too much, think again. Yu says, “Here, everybody’s a dorky musician. No judging. I can truly feel at home and be myself with this group.” It is clear that the special bond all the musicians share is what makes this orchestra different from all the others. There is so much passion and dedication behind COYO’s flawless concerts, and WRA is lucky to have the talented musicians who contribute not only to the school, but also to the larger community.

Artist Spotlight: Ann Yu and Harold Zhu

Visually Vocal: An Impassioned Exposeby Hannah Gaspar ’13 This year’s dance classes pro-duced another highly antici-pated Winter Showcase, Visually Vocal, on Friday December 7th and Saturday December 8th with a full house in attendance. Each dance was emotionally stir-ring and passionate with a variety of choreography and music to suit the theme. The combination of honors classes produced a particularly thrilling dance done to the song “Bottom of the River” by Delta Rae. The primal and hair-raising nature of both the soulful song and the animal-istic movement told a story of struggle and subjugation. This number was a favorite of many audience members and

dancers. Henry Cummins ’13 particularly enjoyed the dance to “The Lion The Beast The Beat”, which he described as a “fiery performance”. Cin-ema was Christine Orosz’s ’13 favorite dance. She says, “It was fun to do a style of danc-ing we do not normally do in performance.” The showcase employed a mixture of dance classes in several numbers, which Ali LeBay ’13 enjoyed because it gave her the oppor-tunity to perform with people she normally would not have. Each dance told a different story, from playful and sassy to sorrowful and melancholy. Apart from the intricate and beautiful movement, Visually Vocal stressed the importance of expressing one’s voice through creative movement. Emily Patterson, the dance teacher and performance choreographer, says, “there are times when verbal com-munication is too difficult or

not enough.” Through vari-ous mediums, the arts create a “second voice” for the artist or performer. When one does not feel comfortable commu-nicating through spoken word, art may become an outlet for them to express their ideas and emotions. That is not to say that each dancer in this year’s showcase is uncomfortable communicating verbally, but their performance was success-ful in showing another side of themselves. Unfortunately, Morgan Lightcap and Ronni Balko, both suffering from injuries kept them from participating in the performance. Luckily, Patterson, was able to step in spontaneously to dance Mor-gan’s part in two songs.

Photo by Doe

Shakespeare Monologue Returns

Claire works on a drawing

Phot

os b

y Zh

u

Photo by Herm

osilla

4 Reserve Record December 2012Centerfold December 2012 Reserve Record 7Centerfold

Whatare you thankful for

during this

SEASON?

“I am thankful for this year’s soccer captains” - David Ma ’14

“Sweater Weather” - Tatiana Pavloff ’13

“I’m thankful for the sopho-mores’ thoughtful powder puff performance.I’m thankful for my sit-down din-ner crew.I’m thankful for the victory bell” - Mr. Davies

“I am thankful for my best friend and homecoming date, Mitchell Pollock!” - Annie Carter ’14

The Bonomo family giving thanks at Vespers

“I am thankful for Megan Barsella, Sam Clark, Abby Her-mosilla who let me write articles and eat their food” - Molly Clark ’13

“I’m thankful for Señor and all the guys on the cross-country team” - Colin Horgan ’15

“The Alma Mater!” - Selena Walsh ’14

“Thrift shopping and my golden locks,” Nate Lund ’14

“I’m thankful for students that make me laugh”- Dr. Newman

Photos by Clark, Doe and Hermosilla

by Eilidh Jenness ’13 A few years ago, my dad excitedly brought home a Christmas tree ornament shaped like a pickle and hung it on our tree, rambling about a German tradition and the magical powers of brine-soaked cucumbers. I wasn’t fazed; my dad is full of brilliant ideas. I usually appreciate them from a respected distance and acquiesce with a smile. When I returned from Thanksgiving break, two glass pickles were hanging from our Cartwright tree, sparkling as girls entered and the breeze from outside spun them around like fat, green, warty dancers. Intrigued and slightly disturbed, I did some research, first consulting Google and then getting serious with research databases. Ebscohost found nothing to do with Christmas pickles, but Wikipe-dia has an entire article on the subject.

Apparently, Berrien Springs, Michigan, holds a festival to honor the Christmas Pickle each year. The pickle is market-ed across the United States as a German tradition, but its origins are questionable. None of the Germans on campus have ever put a pickle on their Christmas tree or have even heard of the tradition. (Unreliable) sources on the web cite glass sales, immigrant traditions and even the Civil War as the cause of all of this pickling, but no one really knows for sure. Despite the discrepancies, millions of Americans hide pickle ornaments in their Christmas trees year after year. As you celebrate your holidays this season, take time to question the truth we call tradition. Research the meanings of your celebrations, ask your family again why Aunt Ber-tha has to kiss you twelve times upon entering your house, and maybe discover a new tradition to start within your home. Go buy a pickle! Your appreciation and knowledge of the holidays will brighten them beyond measure.

6 Reserve Record December 2012Community

Visions of Pickles

by Julia Schiciano ’13 This year’s Junior Leadership Hudson group scooped ice cream at Hershey’s on Saturday, Decem-ber 8 to start funding their project: “$100 For Hudson”. A student at Western Reserve Academy, Max Fausnight ’13, contributed to the cause by going to get ice cream on Saturday afternoon. Fausnight thinks that “raising money through the scoop for Hudson was a fun way to help their cause.” Junior Leadership members from Hud-son High School and WRA will be accepting applications detail-ing different ways to spend $100; the top groups or individuals that can make the limited amount of money go the farthest will be given the $100 for their project. Three groups as such will be chosen to put their projects into action with the ultimate winning group chosen afterwards. Miles Van Blarcum ’14, a member of this year’s program, says, “The $100 For Hudson project will help unify Hudson High School and Western Reserve Academy by achieving the common goal of helping the Hudson community with just a little money. The purpose is to get people to think creatively on what difference they can make to better the community that is a part of all of us.” The ice cream scooping on Saturday helped get the project going successfully; the project is off to a good start, raising about $1000 in total for the cause. If you or anyone you know is inter-ested in participating in “$100 For Hudson”, applications will be available soon and due by the end of January.

Junior Leadership Hudson100 Dollars for Hudson

by Helena Ahn ’15 As the weather gets colder and winter break quickly approaches, many events are occurring to celebrate the holidays. One of them is the an-nual Toys for Tots collection. Run by the Marine Corps, Toys for Tots is an event in which Western Reserve Acad-emy helps collect new and unwrapped toys for kids who come from families who are not fortunate enough to be able to provide their children with holiday gifts. Since 2005, WRA has donated 3,645 toys to the Toys for Tots program. There was also a candy cane sale of which the proceeds will go toward buying additional toys to donate. The class that raises the most money by buying candy canes receives a dress down day. Last year, the Class of 2015 won by over 250 candy canes. Toys for Tots started on Monday, December 3rd with a cookie reception

at 9:00 AM in the John D. Ong Li-brary. Tables were crowded by masses of students who devoured about 100 dozen cookies by the end of the day. Toys can be brought to the library where collection boxes can be found on the main floor. REACH mem-bers sold candy canes in the library on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; December 3rd, 5th and 7th, respec-tively. Last year, 1,352 candy canes were sold. REACH leader, Kathryn Babbin ’13, said her “favorite part of the week is going to purchase the toys at Target.” She “loves looking through all the options and picking out [her] favorite toys from when [she] was little.” This year, the REACH leaders were able to buy 177 toys from the candy cane sale. This year, the Class of 2013 won with 446 dollars worth of candy canes while the other classes contributed a combined 737 dollars

worth of candy canes and 272 toys were donated. Typical toy donations are clay, silly putty, crayons and coloring books. Dolls, games, puzzles, house play-ing items, plastic instruments, soccer balls, and Legos will also bring smiles to kids on Christmas Day. REACH leader Andie DiBiase ’13 exclaimed, “My favorite part of Toys for Tots is the gratitude the Marines show when they come to pick up all of the toys and see how much we have collected. It’s such a great feeling!”

Toys For Tots: Best Performance In Years

Photo by Hermosilla

Abbey Griffith ’14 discusses profits with Hudson Hershey’s owner.

AL...MO...ST... THERE

by Maggie Wise ’14 Ra ra ree! Kick ‘em in the knee! Ra ra rass... kick ‘em in the other knee! Nothing screams competition and camaraderie quite like Powderpuff at Western Reserve Academy, and this year was no exception. Between the thrill of playing under the lights, the bellowing classmates cheering on the players, and the goal to win that brings each class together, Powderpuff is one of the most treasured WRA traditions. Although Powderpuff has a history of being competitive and even heated (as Referee and Director of Student Activites Tim McQuait can attest), this year’s girls were able to blend fierce competitiveness with good-hearted sportsmanship. As Au-

drey Brown ’13 states, “I believe that if you have a class with a lot of class, things won’t get out of hand, and ev-eryone can enjoy themselves.” As for a class with a lot of class, the seniors lived up to their legacy, dominating the night with their leadership, team-work, and unity, and coming away with the win. However, more important than which class won or lost was the fun that every player of which every player was a part. Pauline Van Dijck ’13 explains her favorite part of this year’s Powderpuff: “My favorite part was being with my classmates; we have such good chemistry and we can get a little crazy- in a fun, good way. Riding on top of a car blasting

“Pirates of the Caribbean” must be my highlight.” Not many of the traditions at WRA can boast as much enthusi-asm, and President Mitesh Mehta ’13 hopes that the tradition will thrive in the future. He had this to say to the juniors and underclassmen: “Keep the spirit alive, and don’t let the tradition die.” Hopefully, after the success of this year’s Powderpuff, the future of this annual night of fun will be just as successful.

Burning the Ship: Powderpuff 2012

Comic by Ji Hoo Woo ’13Day 1: An Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Fire RifleDay 2: The North Pole MixerDay 3: My Two Front TeethDay 4: A Leg LampDay 5: Socks and UnderwearDay 6: Burnt ShipsDay 7: World PeaceDay 8: A White ChristmasDay 9: Paper CupsDay 10: Pink Bunny Footsie Pajama’sDay 11: A HippopotamusDay 12: Cash and Gift Cards

Top Twelve Days of Christmas Giftsby Molly Clark ’13 and Charles Pearlman ’14

Photo by Pavloff

Photo by Borw

n

ACROSS1 Gourmet cook5 Alphabet9 Sun13 Native American tribe14 Cram15 Sugar plant16 Among17 Harbors18 Got an A19 Withdrawing21 Pitches23 Head bug24 Supper25 Prevent28 Opposite of herself31 Expires32 Glasses34 Sticky black substances36 Terminal abbr.37 Rowing tool

38 Hit39 Account (abbr.)41 Couch-bed43 Slime44 Female cows46 Toughened48 Podium49 Crooked50 Cooking53 Christmas month57 Kitchen appliance58 Innocent60 Brand of sandwich cookie61 Yearn62 Santa’s helpers63 Farm building64 Units of two65 Agreement66 Exam

DOWN1 Blacken2 House3 Long, narrative poem4 Christmas Hymn, “Adeste__”5 Do penitence6 Small town7 Central daylight time8 Methods9 Red10 Mexican dish11 Fresh12 Cincinnati baseball team14 Seasonings20 Does (past tense)22 Owns24 Very small25 Thought26 Junior class president27 Tranquility28 Makes hotter29 Work30 Turned to ice33 Rains cats and dogs35 Hurried

40 News 41 Pretended 42 Sister’s daughters 43 Farthest 45 Admirer 47 North northeast 49 Knife edge 50 Flee 51 Swear 52 Game of chance 53 Female opera singer 54 Soft cheese 55 Electric fish 56 Underground part of plants 59 Brew

December 2012 Reserve Record 7Entertainment

by Simon Ong ’15 Since 1962, MI6 agent James Bond has graced the screen every two to three years. The newest installment in the popular film series was released in theaters this past month. As of this winter, the mighty master of espionage has starred in twenty-three films and been played by a total of six actors over the years (twenty-five films and seven actors if you count the two non-canon films not released by Eon Productions). Skyfall, Bond’s twenty-third of-ficial outing, marks Daniel Craig’s third film as 007 and brings American Beauty and Road to Perdition director Sam Mendes into the franchise for the first time. Skyfall carries the franchise away from the story-line that was featured in Craig’s previous two films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, which focused on Bond’s love life. Skyfall instead focuses much more heavily on M (Judi Dench), head of MI6, and her shady past while a mysterious terror-ist (Javier Bardem) thrusts chaos upon MI6, forcing Bond to think on his toes while still recovering from a physical and emotional catastrophe. Skyfall is undoubtedly Craig’s best Bond film to date. The over-the-top action prevails anywhere from on top of a moving train to inside a burning house. The last half-hour of the film particularly stands out as far as action goes, keeping you on the

edge of your seat throughout the many hits, kicks and explosions. Though the action is truly spectacu-lar, do not brush the film off as an eager Hollywood production company’s attempt at making money with high tech detonations and a lack of substance. Skyfall doesn’t fail in the dramatic aspect either. The plot is engaging and screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who have written every Bond film since 1999’s The World Is Not Enough, have finally figured out how to again make a plot sophisticated without being absolutely baffling, a problem which began to manifest itself in Casino Royale and com-pletely ruined Quantum of Solace. The acting is also of a high caliber. Craig once again plays a darker, more complex Bond and continues to bring a sense of realism to the otherwise delightfully over-the-top franchise. In my opinion Dench and Bardem are the two best things about this movie and both deserve nods from the Academy in regards to best supporting actress and actor, respectively. Dench reprises her role as the head of MI6, which she has held since GoldenEye, but her character becomes far more in-teresting in this performance as her past come back to bite her and fear begins to creep into her strict, maternal persona. Bardem plays “the bad guy”, my best attempt as to not give away too much about his character. But let me just say that he is absolutely

marvelous. He’s creepy and simply psychotic but at the same time downright hilarious. Both times I saw the movie, there were moments during Bardem’s scene when the crowd was laughing one moment and then gripping their armrests. Craig, Dench and Bardem truly make the film something remarkable, proving essential elements in its composition. Other standout performances give nods to old school Bond films with Naomie Harris as Bond’s old love interest, Miss Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw bringing a much younger approach to Bond’s mas-ter of mechanics, Q. Skyfall has currently earned over $800 million worldwide making it the highest-grossing Bond film to date. As for the Oscars, while I think the film is truly remarkable, it is not the typical movie that the Academy typically jumps at for best picture. Dench and Bardem may possibly receive nominations but with Anne Hathaway at the front of the best sup-porting actress race for Les Miserables and Tommy Lee Jones leading best supporting actor for Lincoln, it is unlikely for them to see much representation. Regardless of what the Academy might say, Skyfall is indeed a remarkable film. While I won’t speak to how the film compares to the rest of the franchise as a whole, as I am fairly unfamiliar with Bond outside of Sean Connery and Craig, I will say that Skyfall is by far the best of the three Daniel Craig films. On the Reserve grading scale, I give it a 7.

Skyfall: A Movie Review

by Sam Clark ’13 After waiting three and a half years for the old “San Francisco Oven” building to be filled, Chef Monday, the owner of other Hudson restaurants including Flipside and One Red Door, has graced First and Main with his newest edition, Three Palms. The up-scale casual pizza cafe, complete with authentic Neapolitan pizzas cooked in an oven from Italy, has been welcomed with large lunch crowds and popular-ity akin to its brother Flipside. In a veritable feast which included several pizzas, meatballs, cannolis, lemon bars and housemade gelato, no flaws could be found. The pizza’s range from the traditional Palpatino (sliced meatballs) to the American Kid Friendly Cheese, with toppings of equal breadth, includ-ing anchovies, buffalo milk cheese and a fried egg. The atmosphere follows the now common trend of open kitchen with music just loud enough to hum along too above the buzz of happy custom-ers. Almost the entire dining room is walled by glass doors, opening the possibilities of an open air dining experience when the weather becomes tolerable. For a dinner, the price point is slightly high if devouring a pizza by oneself, but if sharing with a sweetheart, the date can be cheap and delicious. I give “3 Palms” a 6.5 on the Reserve Scale, with slight deduc-tions for the price but an overall great experience.

Third Time’s A Charm

Columnist Clark standing outside the newest addition to downtown Hudson

Photo by Andersson

Crossword Puzzleby Alexander Wheaton ’14

by Connor Semple ’15 After a controversial absence last year, wrestling has returned to Western Reserve Academy this winter with a combination of experienced veterans and new faces. At the helm of this year’s squad is new head coach Da-vid Farrell. A former wrestler himself, Farrell brings a lifetime of experience to the Pioneers. After beginning his career with the Catholic Youth Organization in the 5th grade, Farrell continued to wrestle in high school at Eastlake North and won the state championship. Farrell then went on to wrestle at The Ohio University, a Division I school. The father of two boys, Farrell has coached his own sons, including WRA’s own, Nick Far-rell ’16, through their careers in baseball, wrestling, and football, amassing 11 years of coaching experience. When asked about the challenge he and his team face in reviving their program, Farrell stated, “Any wrestler that has wrestled for WRA in the past is extremely rusty for a lack of a better word. Then we have the student athlete who has never wrestled before. I need to bring them up to speed in short order so they can represent themselves and the school in a positive light on the mat.” On the topic of the team’s relative inexpe-rience, captain Bob Wen ’13 made it clear that he takes it upon himself to help newcomers improve: “Since we have only one coach and fifteen or so wrestlers, I put effort into teaching the newer members.” John Wal-don ’13 also complimented Bob’s leadership, saying that his fellow captain improves the team through his “work ethic and just plain talent.” Waldon knows the importance of the role that comes with his experience. “Wrestling is a sport in which leadership comes mostly from example,” he said, “and my goal…is to create a brotherhood so when the seniors leave it will carry on.” With their experience anchoring the team, it is evident the Pioneers will have no shortage of leadership in the 2012-13 campaign. Due to the absence of last year’s program, Farrell remarks that the team will, “approach the season as a

startup program” focused on individual success, as well as building confidence. The team hopes to “establish themselves enough that they feel they can win any match at any given time” and “have fun while doing it.” Despite these trials, just having a wrestling team to begin with is an accomplishment after last year’s lost season. Waldon says that “watching kids come back to wrestling is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.” When asked about the calendar for 2012-13 season, Farrell said that, “Mr. Haller is still working on our schedule,” and although the team has plans for a dual meet and a few tournaments, the official lineup is still “a work in progress.” Although it is unclear exactly when the wrestling team will hit the mat for the first time, it is obvious that the foundation of this new pro-gram is something to be excited about.

8 Reserve Record Sports

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Sports Column: For the Love of the Game

by Adam Tortelli ’13 This past fall brought a memorable season for The Ohio State Buckeyes’ football team. Finishing the season at an astonishing 12-0 (undefeated for the first time since 2002’s national championship) was a bittersweet 26-21 victory over arch-rival Michigan. Due to the “Tattoo Gate” of the 2010-11 season, this year’s team was banned from playing in any postseason bowls. A group of former Buckeyes, led by Terrelle Pryor sold their personal memorabilia to a Columbus tattoo artist in exchange for some unnecessary ink that they could have easily payed for at full price nowadays. Now in the NFL, the legacies of Terrelle Pryor, Daniel “Boom” Herron, DeVier Posey, Solomon Thomas and Mike Adams are headlined with scrutiny for their roles in the dismissal of beloved head coach, Jim Tressel. Urban Meyer is now the head man in the horseshoe, and has led a team, that accord-ing to its record, should be considered as one of the greatest OSU has ever fielded in its prestigious history. Despite being one of only two unbeaten teams in the country, a popular question has been whether or not a showdown with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame could even occur if not for the sanc-tions, with OSU’s weak schedule as evidence. Sadly, but the world will never know. The immaturity of a few ungrateful players in dire need of cheap tattoos ruined the chance at a BCS National Championship and a guaran-tee of an non-SEC champion. Instead, the always elite #2 Alabama Crimson Tide get their shot at the undefeated and #1 ranked Notre Dame. The SEC has won every year since Texas’ thrilling victory over USC in 2006 and, frankly, it’s time for a change. Notre Dame undoubtedly has the potential to pull this off. Their best-in-the-land defense is led by Manti Te’o, the line-backer who proved that the Heisman award is truly for the best offensive player; not the most outstanding college football player as its title suggests. Still, the biggest feeling of sympathy goes out to Ohio State’s four year seniors who never had a chance to play in a national championship game, even though they had violated no NCAA rule. These Buckeyes battled this season solely for the love of the game.

Wrestling’s Return to ReservePh

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by Annie Wyman ’13 The Victory Bell was officially reintroduced to Western Reserve Academy’s campus on Saturday November 10, 2012. With the hard work and dedication from Dads Club President, Tom Sovich, father to Nick ’13 and Halle ’14, and all the members of the Dads Club, the Victory Bell was resurrected outside of the Murdough Athletic Center this fall. It’s past retirement was not ideal; in order to commence construc-tion on the old athletic center, the Bell needed to be removed from its original location on the outside of the Memorial Gym. However, upon completion of the new Murdough Athletic Center, the Victory Bell’s presence was missing from the final plans due to lack of funding. Many classes felt that the Victory Bell was an essential piece of WRA Athletics and therefore donated

their class gifts to the Victory Bell Fund in hopes of seeing the Bell’s return to campus. Finally, the funds and planning came together and the Victory Bell was reignited as a WRA tradition. Megan Barsella ’13 says “I thoroughly enjoy ringing the Victory Bell after a hard fought win.” A special thanks goes out to Jeff Jacot, Curt VanBlarcum, the grounds crew and maintenance teams for their dedication to this project. At the ceremony, all of this year’s captains represented the many athletic teams at WRA; each cap-tain read aloud a piece of the Bell’s unique history to the parents and alums who attended. Afterwards, a brief reception was held in the MAC foyer and catered by Hud-son’s Restaurant. There, captains and members of the Dads Club and their dates were able to discuss

some of their favorite memories of ringing the Victory Bell. Finally we can, as Mckenna Polak ’14 says, “Ring it!”

A Tradition Reignited: The Victory Bell

Photo by Walsh

Photo by Doe

Coach Farrell poses, awaiting the upcoming season

Photo via wra.net