The Newspaper of St. George’s Independent School Volume XI, Issue V

TheApril 2013

Gryphon Gazette• •

With school-day count-downs and the emergence of Chacos, spring has been teas-ing the anxious students of St. George’s with promising signs soon to arrive in full bloom. In the upper school, everybody is feeling slightly twitterpated as girls stress over prom dress colors and guys hope to impress their dream dates with creative inquiries.

In the middle school, eighth-graders learn about Stepping Up and anticipated talk of Field Day floods the halls. The loom-ing thought of approaching end of the year exams, AP tests, and graduation hangs in the air, but it seems that the climbing tem-peratures and sunny blue skies make the stress of school slightly more bearable. We are currently on the up and up temperature-wise, school-wise, and of course, on the seemingly never–ending journey towards summer!

TopStories

Opinion

Sports

Features

Student Life

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Let the Madness Begin!

Cheating the System

The Ins and Outs of Mock Trial

GryphonewsN

LivingLoudInMidtown

Midtown Movement

Maggie Courtney ’14

It seems as if con-struction on Poplar will never end, especially in the East Memphis, Mid-town, and Downtown areas. Based on a recent article in Memphis’s lo-cal newspaper, the city of Memphis is planning on reconstructing the Midtown, East Memphis, and Downtown areas in

hopes of bringing peo-ple back into the heart of Memphis. The ultimate goal is to central -ize Mem-p h i s more as a city and as a com-munity; w h e n someone asks where you are from, it does not mat-

Memphis in May

Dr. Leung, get ready to feel nostalgic. The country being honored at this year’s Memphis in May International Festival is Sweden!

Did you forget that Memphis in May hon-ors a country every year? Me too. It’s so easy to forget that this whole thing is about more than Music Fest and the Barbecue Cook-

ing Competition. I think I speak for all of

us when I say that I am truly shocked that live music and world-class barbecue overshadow the fascinating Swedish exhibits of this year. For goodness sakes, there is an exhibit called, “The Art of Swedish Glass.” Ladies and gentlemen, it does not get much better than that.

Libby Heflin ’13

Cont. on Page 5

Cont. on Page 7

A midtown monument greets Memphians.

ter if you live in Collier-ville or Germantown. The answer is always

Memphis, but why?

It all has to do with the Mis-sissippi River. Memphis used to be one of the largest slave-buying and

trading cities in Amer-ica (hence, the name of

Auction Bridge in down-town Memphis).

Plantation owners from the surrounding areas would convene on Mud Island, where steamboats traveling up the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico would sell human beings off to the highest bidder.

Heatlh Food in the House

Flannel is the New Black

You’ve got your skinny jeans on, over-sized glasses pushed up your nose, knit scarf paired with your V-neck, jamming to “Thrift Shop,” Starbucks non-fat soy chai latte with two pumps of espresso in hand; you’re ready to go thrift shopping.

Thrift shopping is not for the faint of heart. It requires initiative, determi-nation, focus, and strength. You may find yourself dig-

ging through piles of cloth-ing for what seems like days, with no guarantee that you’ll receive any reward for your efforts. With all of these cave-ats to consider, you might be wondering what the appeal in

thrift shop-ping — or if there even is one.

Rest as-sured, there are plenty

of benefits associated with bargain hunting.

Cont. on Page 12

Rest assured, there are plen-ty of benefits...

Leann Beard ’14

It all has to do with the Mississippi River.

2 Editorial April St. George’s Independent School• •

Newspaper Staff• •

Editor-in-Chief

Regan HewittVirginia Whitsitt

Samer IstanbouliKayce Hyde

Alexis HarshbargerLindsey Cayce

Margaret Robertson

Dagny Vaughn

Ian John

Jamie Roche

Meredith GatlinMaggie Courtney

Nathalie Vacheron

Emily Dickey

Copy Editors

Layout Editors

Photo Editors

Features Editors

Opinion Editor

Sports Editor

Student Life Editors

Advisor

Zoë LeakeEntertainment Editor

Top Ten Reasons to RecycleRecycling requires forti-

tude and awareness, because it is a constant commitment. Recycling needs to be a per-sonal commitment with your-self. Find your own motive to recycle, because it should be a subconscious action that shows you care about your community. When you re-cycle all the time, it begins to lose the feeling of a responsi-bility and becomes more grat-ifying.

Once everyone recycles, the efforts of many individuals begin to create the greatest effects. So if you need a per-sonal motive to recycle, look at these reasons:

1. Recycling is very easy

and takes very little effort for

Kellen Young ‘14a single person. All you have to do is pick up items on the ground and put them in a cor-responding recycle bin for tin, plastic, or paper

2. Recycling is a great way to improve the conditions of your city. By removing recy-clables from the ground, the city automatically looks better.

3. It requires less money and work to recycle items than to incinerate them.

4. Recycling can decrease the growth of landfills, which are becoming the largest man-made structures.

5. Recycling helps prevent land, water, and air pollution.

6. Recycling decreases the

amount of litter that endan-gers animals and plants in urban areas.

7. Recycling decreases the emissions of greenhouse gases by 3.46 tons, and saves 300% more energy than dis-carding trash.

8. Recycling programs further economic develop-ment of many states by pro-viding jobs.

9. Recycling decreases the use of renewable and non-renewable resources from the Earth.

10. Recycling is an award-ed responsibility by some colleges and educational scholarships.

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Invisibly ImportantSt. George’s community,

Have you ever been hit by a tennis ball? Most likely. Have you ever been hit in the throat by a tennis ball? Maybe. Have you ever been hit in the throat by a tennis ball moving at 120 miles per hour? Probably not — but I am here to tell you that I, indeed, have had that pleasure.

In that split moment, I thought several things, in-cluding “Will I ever breathe again?”, “I hope no one saw that,” and “Ernests Gulbis must die.”

To offer you a little bit of context, I have been a ball kid for the professional ten-nis tournament here in Mem-phis for the past four years. This particular incident hap-pened two years ago, during the warm-up session before a match. As I chased after a ball Ernests Gulbis of Latvia had served into the far right cor-ner of the Grandstand court, he served again. After stand-ing back up from retrieving the first ball, another whiz-zing, chartreuse ball came rushing toward me, and I was forced to make a split-second decision to lift my chin up so it wouldn’t hit me in the face.

Yes, I was able to breathe again. No, no one saw the in-visible ballgirl in the far right corner get hit. And yes, I was being very dramatic — by no means must Ernests Gulbis die, as he did not even see the

destination of his last serve. And it was in that moment

that I learned an important life lesson that I still often re-flect upon today.

Being a ballkid seems like a simple job. You chase after balls, give them to the tennis pros, and stand in the corner silently when you’re not do-ing either. What most people don’t realize is that being a ballkid is actually far more complex.

In fact, ballkids have to at-tend tryouts that involve two hours of throwing balls, catching balls, rolling balls, sprinting, and ballkidding during practice matches. Af-ter tryouts, ballkids must at-tend two to three practice ses-sions. And when tournament time rolls around, a typical ballkid’s duties include the following: making sure each court has the right supplies before the match (such as the cor-rect number of towels for each player, towels for the umpire, room-temper-ature water, the right color Powerade, lukewarm banan-as, and so on), doing the right run-on for each court, making a wall between the crowd and the players at the conclusion of each match, cleaning up after matches (bringing the towels to the laundry room,

getting new boxes of balls from storage, switching the nets, getting new towels/wa-ters/Powerades/bananas), and more. Not to mention memorizing the tie-breaker ball split (a series of num-bers determining what sides of the court the balls should be on during a tie-breaker) and then if you’re a captain, taking on extra shifts.

As I stood there, pondering my experience as a ballkid and the hours I had put into the job (112 hours total after these past four years, but a mere 56 at that time), I real-ized that no one would ever recognize the amount of time, effort, and sacrifice re-quired to be a ballkid. No one would ever give me an award

for being a good ballkid or spending “x” amount of time out on the courts. No one would ever sympathize at all the social

events I had to turn down during the two weekends that the tournament took up, and no one would ever sym-pathize at the pain that was pulsing at my throat.

This was because as a ballkid, I was invisible. Even my uniform blended into the

Nathalie Vacheron ’13

Yes, I was able to breathe again.

However, they do it anyway, silently and efficiently.

wall separating the court from the crowd. Yes, I truly was truly figuratively and literally invisible, unless I messed up enough for the professional to yell at me (which happens quite often to ballkids, and in colorful language).

However, this invis-ibility was my job, so being unrec-ognized was not some-thing that b o t h e r e d

me. Besides, I enjoyed it…most of the time.

I know there are so many people in the St. George’s community that specialize in behind-the-scenes work and rarely receive recognition. However, they do it anyway, silently and efficiently. These people often include ad-ministrators, teachers, other staff members, parents, and students alike. Behind-the-scenes work is what makes St. George’s function in the aca-demic, athletic, extracurricu-lar, and technical spheres. Just to offer a couple examples — we come to school each Au-gust with our schedules per-fectly put together; we come to school each morning and the classrooms and hallways are immaculately clean. The people who make the school run are not in the spotlight, but what would we do with-out them?

The award ceremony at the end of the school year honors several students who have worked hard, been “good Sa-maritans,” or achieved suc-cess in particular academic realms. There are also many people who may qualify for an award, but the reality is that only one person can re-ceive an award for each cate-gory. This doesn’t make those people who don’t receive an award any less significant or appreciated, nor does it take away from the fact that those people don’t work hard, help others, or succeed in certain classes just for the sake of receiving awards. They do it because it makes them happy, and often, because it makes other people happy as well.

As the school year comes to an end, I believe that the antic-ipation of summer makes us take more things for granted. We begin to only care about vacation plans, sleeping in, and sunny skies. We cannot forget to be thankful for the people who make our liveli-hood at St. George’s so com-fortable. We cannot assume that every time we work hard or every time we do some-thing for a greater good that we will be acknowledged publicly. However, we can be content in doing the things we love, because it will make us better, happier people in the long-run.

Sincerely, Nathalie Vacheron

3OpinionApril St. George’s Independent School• •The opinions expressed in this section reflect the views of individual writers and are not necessarily those of the Gryphon Gazette or its staff.

Health Food in the House

While St. George’s may already be aware that pizza sauce does not qualify as a vegetable, our lunch options leave much to be desired to those who lean vegetarian. At face value, the cafeteria appears to be

Gun Control StandoffThe Second Amendment as it

was ratified by the United States of America states, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the secu-rity of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

There is no question that the Sec-ond Amendment will stay in place, but recent tragedies within the United States have called upon our leaders to reassess this amendment in order to prevent gun violence. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City has been supplicating congress for gun restrictions since the his election. His calls had been ignored until the recent, horrific and undeniably heinous attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in which Adam Lanza, aged 20, used three different semi-automatic guns in a massacre that ended with 28 dead. This mass killing, along with oth-ers such as the 2012 Aurora, Colo-rado theater attack have amplified the demands for gun control.

However, because many politi-cal leaders threaten to modify and change America’s current gun-holding rights, there has been a lot of controversy not only within the party system, but also among U.S. citizens. The billion dollar question is, “Should there be more laws re-stricting Americans’ rights to pos-

sess firearms and to what extent, if so?”

With both the Democratic and Republican parties, there are ex-treme beliefs for and against new restrictions. The Democrat on the far left argues that no citizen, un-less they are in the military, should ever be in a situation where he or she needs to use a firearm, let alone a semi-automatic weapon. Who really needs a semi-automat-ic gun?

On the other side, the Repub-lican on the far right argues that gun ownership, semi-automatic or otherwise, is necessary to keeping the freedom of the American peo-ple. The United States is a place of freedom and democracy, meaning that it is extremely unlikely that American citizens should be pre-sented a time in which they have to fight against the American gov-ernment for their lives, but the Founding Fathers also created the Second Amendment with the be-lief that the right to own a firearm solidifies one’s freedom and self-protection.

Many people reread this amend-ment, twisting its words to bet-ter suit themselves. But what people tend to forget is that all amendments were meant to stand word-for-word. “A well regu-lated militia…” begins the Sec-ond Amendment; does this mean that a single man with a gun in

Maggie Courtney ‘14

Celia Healy ’13

Class trips have always been a big part of St. George’s. Whether it is a service day at different or-ganizations in Memphis or a cold night at Heifer Ranch, students can always return from a class trip feeling more connected with their fellow classmates. Each year provides a new experience that allows a grade to draw a closer bond with one another.

Every trip is set up to pose chal-lenges that force us, as students, to step out of our comfort zone and try something new. One of my fondest memories stems from my seventh grade Team Trek trip. One of the activities we had to complete with our advisory con-sisted of each student climbing to the top of a telephone pole and jumping off. We were harnessed in, of course. However, it was our classmates who were holding the end of the rope that was attached to our harness. We had to trust and believe in one another and hope for the best before taking that giant leap of faith.

Yet another memorable experi-ence occurred during my sopho-more year, when we ventured to what seemed like the middle of nowhere to stay at Heifer Ranch. The goal was for the entire grade to take what little food we were given and all come together to discover that if we combined our resources, we would have enough to feed everyone. Instead we chose to take the hard route, which fortunately only consisted of one trip to the hospital and some over-cooked rice.

Although the one night that was spent at Heifer seemed like an eternity, it took me until the bus ride home to realize how ef-fective the entire trip had been. I had been given a chance to bond with classmates who I might not normally get a chance to, even if it was over a small fire and some hard rice.

It goes without saying that class trips, although they might not seem great at the time, al-ways end up providing us with memories and lessons we can use through out the rest of our school careers and beyond. From Camp McDowell in sixth grade to the team-building exercises of Victo-ry Ranch in eleventh grade, there are countless friendships to build, lessons to learn, and memories to make.

St. George’s Class Tripshis hands is part of the militia that

Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers envisioned? Does it really take forty rounds of ammunition to take down an animal while hunt-ing?

Both political parties, no matter how left or how right you look, have valid points, but the government as a whole has come to a standstill regarding calls for gun control. Ev-ery American law, amendment, and even the Constitution were passed with some sort of compromise. As it is important for our political lead-ers to see both sides of the story and develop accurate solutions, it is like-wise for us, as American citizens, to also see both sides of the story. Until you see and make the arguments for both sides of the story and reach a true understanding of why some-one believes what they believe, then you are unable to make educated conclusions.

Nothing is ever black and white, meaning that arguments coming from both sides usually can and do work. Therefore, as forward, respectful St. George’s thinkers, I ask you to really consider the argu-ments made by those on the other side from yourself. Argue — yes, argue — their position before you ask yourself again: “Should there be more laws restricting Americans’ rights to possess firearms and if so, to what extent?”

Lindsey Cayce ’14

overflowing with choices: a full service sandwich and salad bar as soon as you enter, a heating rack stocked with canned soup and warmed pizza, a fridge stuffed with healthy snacks and fruit, a selection of sandwiches, and the rotating lunch menu.

However, the choice is much narrower for a health-conscious vegetarian. The majority of the pre-prepared food contains meat and for those who desire more than a croissant with nutrition-neutral iceberg lettuce, the sand-wich bar is off limits. Left with a salad bar, snack-sized plates of hummus (which are usually gone by second lunch), and the occasional vegetable side from the menu, the choices get old, and one cannot live on rabbit food alone

The lunch menu itself is popu-lated with fried food, although it is often passed off as “breaded.” Fried fish, fried cheese sticks, fried chicken, and fried ravioli are served alongside equally un-

healthy Philly cheesesteaks and hamburgers. St. George’s food may taste wonderful compared to what you might find at other schools, but it lacks a certain nutritional content. Vegetarians must navigate through the mid-dle of this to find the occasional side of broccoli.

Adding more vegetarian items and healthy grain plates like quinoa would go a long way to-wards not only improving the quality of the food offered at St. George’s with fresher, less pro-cessed food, but also provide something a little more substan-tial than lettuce for those stu-dents who avoid meat.

The pushback against the re-cent meatless Wednesday was fierce, but creating a more in-clusive and nutritious menu re-quires compromise. One cannot sustain him or herself on fried chicken alone, and the variation in St. George’s students’ diets de-serve more inclusivity at lunch.

Alexis Harshbarger ‘13

4 EntertainmentApril St. George’s Independent School• •

An Awesome Jam

Alt-J is an indie-rock band that began in 2007 in Europe. Their debut album, “An Awesome Wave,” was first released in 2012 in Europe, then later in the United States that same year. This album incorporates both indie-rock

Pearson Robbins ’13

• •and electronic music to create a unique sound. The band brings out its quirky experimentation in both their lyrics and their melodies. Though the lyrics are often un-recognizable and ran-dom, these qualities make them intriguing. For example, one lyric reads, “She may contain

the urge to run away. But hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks.” While the lyrics are ridicu-lous, they also bring out elat-ed emotions.

“An Awesome Wave” has brought an entirely different type of music to the table.

Best of the Apps• •

You are going on a school trip to, oh let’s say, Newery, Maine. You pack your suitcase, charge your electronics and get through the airport as quickly as you can. You check onto the plane, look for your seat, and then finally breathe a sigh of relief. Instead of conversing with your family or dealing with the annoying passenger sleeping next to you on the airplane, you bust out your iPhone 5 or Android to play with your multitude of newly purchased apps.

No matter what, teenagers and adults alike always seem to entertain them-selves with the latest and most addict-ing apps there are. Some stay true to the traditional Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja while some have moved on to Words with Friends or Draw Something. While all these apps are entertaining, there is always the ques-tion, “Which apps are the most popular, and which ones are worth getting?” Well after some research and local St. George’s stu-dent interviews, here are your Top Ten apps!

Number 10: WazeStarting off the countdown, the

Google Maps app sadly falls short of this map app! Waze is a helpful portable app to get you where you want to go. What sets it apart from the rest is that Waze tells you where traffic is along the road to your destination. Although the routes can be questionable, which low-ers its place on the list, it is the better map app. You’ll have no trouble finding it to your liking!

Number 9: FacebookDo you want to see what is on your

friend’s mind? Are you eager to poke that somebody special? Then, the old but gold Facebook app is right up your

alley! The Facebook app has sadly been outshined by the other social networks but with easy chat abilities and mobile timeline accessibilities, the Facebook app feels just like getting onto Face-book at home. Now that’s a fun time I think even I can like.

Number 8: Sound Hound We’ve all experienced this incident.

“Man this is a really great song! … Wait what was it called… No wait, I know this! … Well, looks like I’ll Google that one line they keep repeating and hope I get lucky.” Sound Hound is the app to fix those awkward moments! Just activate the app, tell everyone to hush and bingo! Although it only works ei-ther in complete silence or when the

song is blasted over the crowd, the accuracy rate of the app is pretty good. You could say this app is a “killer queen, gun power, guillotine, dyna-mite with a laser beam, guaranteed to blow your mind!”

Number 7: Pandora

Why bother getting out that old dusty ra-

dio from your attic or trying to make a playlist on YouTube when you can use a customized radio station right at your fingertips? The Pandora app lets you make a radio station based on your fa-vorite band or genre of music and it will keep customizing your song list. Sadly from the apps release to current usage, commercials have been added between songs. Plus, there’s the ad penalty for skipping songs. However, it’s worth the buy! Don’t skip this opportunity!

Number 6: PinterestI think it is safe to say you can log

onto any girl’s laptop at school (or any-where for that matter) and somewhere

amongst their history, you will find them on Pinterest. Pinterest is a social based board website that allows you to post pictures or “pins” to your board and share them with your friends. One drawback is that you have to use Face-book in order to start your account. However, with the multitude of beach pictures, hipster shots of scenery and the clothing and architectural design pins, it is no wonder that my aunt keeps bothering me to get my interest into Pinterest!

Number 5: Fruit NinjaYou may start your training young

grasshopper as soon as you… chop this tomato before it hits the ground! Fruit Ninja is veteran app that still has peo-ple craving more. With its multiplayer feature and customizable blade feature, you can go finger swipe crazy for hours on end! Now… Sensei says… Go buy the app, be careful and watch out for the bombs!

Number 4: Temple Run 2 No doubt one of the most addicting

games that the free app store has to of-fer. Temple Run 2 is the continuation of Temple Run, which was a great success. Instead of just swiping your fingers to maneuver corners, this game features the player tilting the screen to balance a mine cart, hop over rushing rivers and swing from ropes while gathering coins and using your score to purchase upgrades and new abilities. While the app has been reported as “glitchy” and “laggy,” the app is still addicting as long as you’re willing to face the mon-key king!

Number 3: InstagramSay, that is a pretty neat picture. Want

to know what could make it better? All the cool and easy-to-use editing effects available at the touch of your finger! In-stagram is a social app that allows you

to share edited (or not) photos of your food, pets and vacations with the pub-lic. You can like photos, comment and even share them on other websites. Ins-tagram seems to have replaced normal picture taking in itself, but when pic-tures look that cool, why can’t it? Now before you go and buy that app just… hold still… little to the left… *click*… all right, perfect!

Number 2: SnapchatIs Instagram not really the way you

want to roll? Do you like taking pic-tures but also enjoy conversing and talking to your friends as well? Well, at the snap of your fingers and an easy purchase of the Snapchat app, you are experiencing all of that! Snapchat is the newest craze to hit the App store with the premise of taking a picture, adding text or goofy drawings, sending it, and only having the picture shown to your friends for ten seconds or less before it deletes itself. Quick, easy and safe! The only drawbacks are the fact that any-body can add you and anybody can send you a picture, as well as that any-body can screenshot your Snapchat and save it.

Number 1: Twitter What better way to let the world

know what you’re doing or think-ing about in fewer than 140 characters than by using the mobile Twitter app? The Twitter app has been updated nu-merous times, and now it works to its full potential. You can re-tweet your friends, create short videos and upload Instagram pictures plus follow your favorite celebrities at the touch of your fingers. With nearly more than half of the school using Twitter, plus over half of the teenager population in Memphis logged onto Twitter, this app proves to be the most popular and useful app to communicate with friends. That is why Twitter is the most popular app!

It incorporates electronica, jazz, dubstep, rock and even some folk. The word “folk-step” was invented in an at-tempt to describe the type of music and sum up every-thing that happened on the album.

No specific music taste is required to enjoy this album because it fits almost every type. The songs range from lulling tones to an upbeat pop sound. Bands similar to Alt-J are The xx, Jake Bugg, and Daughter. The album isn’t “the best ever,” and it won’t necessarily be memo-rable, but it is a good album and introduces a new sound to the music world.

Collierville Campus “The Fantasticks” — May 2-4; Upper School Musical

Germantown CampusSpring Program — April 18; Pre-Kinder-garten

Mother’s Day Chapel — May 10; Fifth Grade

Mother’s Day Treat — May 10; Senior Kindergarten Germantown and Memphis CampusTennessee Play — May 16; Fourth Grade

Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming

Theater Events

Colton Morgan ’14

Which apps are the most popular, and which ones are worth getting?

5EntertainmentApril St. George’s Independent School• •

The 20/20 Experienceis Picture Perfect

Emily Dickey ’14• •

We are only four months into 2013, and it hass already been pegged The Year of the Timber-lake. Justin Timberlake has been quite busy these past few months, and in March, we began to really see the fruits of his labors. Wheth-er it’s acting, singing, hosting, or being a minority owner of an NBA team, Timberlake has done it all. And after a seven-year hiatus since his sophomore album as a solo performer, “FutureSex/Love-Sounds,” he is reigniting his love affair with the music industry.

The highly anticipated album, “The 20/20 Experience,” finally hit the shelves on March 19th. And when I say highly antici-pated, I mean that before it came out I had downloaded at least half the songs, preordered the al-bum twice, and at this point have bought both the regular album and the extended Target addi-tion in stores. If I am any sort of glimpse into how the rest of the world will view this album, Tim-berlake should be proud.

The week prior to his album re-lease, the singer-songwriter was snatched up for all sorts of prime-time appearances. He hosted Sat-urday Night Live for the fifth time in his career, joining the renowned “5 Timers Club,” with big names like Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Paul Simon, Martin Short, and Candice Bergen.

However Timberlake’s TV-take-over did not stop there. The fol-lowing week was “Timberweek” on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The two have been great

friends for a while now, creat-ing comical rap medleys entitled The History of Rap, and acting in various skits for Fallon’s show or Saturday Night Live. Justin even helped Fallon out on his Grammy winning comedy album “Blow Your Pants Off.”

Throughout the week, Timber-lake sat down on the Late Night to talk about his new album, preform some songs off the album, partake in a few comedy skits, and even sing a medley of his old songs; including (excuse me as I wipe my tears off my keyboard) “Like I Love You,” “My Love,” “Cry Me a River,” and “Señorita.” It just doesn’t get any better than that.

On top of all that, Justin also announced his “Legends of Sum-mer” stadium tour with Jay-Z that will begin this July. The tour, which begins on July 17th in To-ronto and ends on August 16th in Miami, will only visit 12 stadiums in its entirety. Needless to say, this has been, and will be, quite the year for Justin Timberlake.

So as we look back on our child-hood and remember our bedroom walls being pasted with *NSYNC posters, or our carpool rides be-ing endless battles of us claim-ing that we were “bringing sexy back” (and our mothers saying 10 year olds should not be “bringing sexy” anywhere), let us remember to support our fellow Memphian as he continues to cruise his way to the top.

A side note: if you would like to visit me on July 22nd at the Chi-cago concert, I will be the one in the *NSYNC shirt passed out from joy.

The Sitch on “Snitch”

In “Snitch,” John Mat-thews, played by Dwayne Johnson, goes undercover to bust drug dealers in order to reduce his son’s prison sen-tence. I went to see this movie on open-ing night and went in blind. I had no idea that the movie was based on a true story, and when I found out that just made me want to see the movie that much more.

All in all, it was an enjoy-able movie, definitely not a cinematic masterpiece, but I had fun watching the action scenes. Director Ric Roman

Waugh did a job that met my expectations but cer-tainly did not exceed them.

I guess it is hard making the leap from stunt-man and writer (Waugh’s previous occupa-tions) to director.

In my opinion, they could have had a much better mov-ie if Johnson had not been in it. He was mediocre and at some points, it was uncomfortable to watch him. This would be a good

film for a “date night” but nothing more than that. My advice is that if you have some free time and nothing better to do, see this movie.

“The Great Gatsby” From Paper to Pay-Per-View

Midtown Movement

Dagny Vaughn ’14

“Gatsby? What Gatsby?” is certain-ly not a question we ask today. Wheth-er well-versed Fitzgerald fans, movie aficionados, or students who have merely dipped their fingers into the vast literary ocean, the name Gatsby is a hard name to overlook. However, what we may ask ourselves, no matter the extent of our knowledge of Gatsby, is “Who is Gatsby?” Is he Leonardo DiCaprio, whose face will flash across thousands of screens as Jay Gatsby? A rumored murderer? Simply a man with a “rare smile” and “something gorgeous about him” as Fitzgerald describes? Or is he the embodiment of some inconceivable kind of roman-tic hope that lies within us all? What Gatsby is, who Gatsby is, is a mystery which exists differently for every in-dividual, an equivocal character that must be experienced to be understood.

Using this enticing ambiguity, film-makers have decided to transform the

early twentieth-century master-piece into a twenty-first century 3-D mind-blower. Directed by Baz Luhrmann and scored by Jay-Z, the film will be the fourth adap-tion of the novel since its publica-tion in 1925 and will star Leonar-do DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, and Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson.

Even as an adaption of a clas-sic story, the release of “The Great Gatsby” is highly anticipated and will open the 2013 Cannes Film Fes-tival in May. Originally scheduled to premiere in December of 2012, the film’s release date was post-poned until 2013 to allow the direc-tor to more professionally complete the 3-D effects. The film is currently scheduled to open in U.S. theatres on May 10, 2013.

Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby exam-ines culture and wealth in America during the “Roaring Twenties” by following the lives of several up-per-class socialites and is widely acknowledged as one of the “Great American Novels.” The book is also often considered Fitzgerald’s best work, even regarded by Fitzgerald himself as a “consciously artistic achievement.”

Though not popular initially, the novel went on to be named the sec-ond-best English language novel of the 20th century by The Mod-ern Library and is now expected to be highly successful film that will transcend even the status the novel has achieved. In the words of Jay Gatsby, “Can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can!”

Alex King ’18

Continued From Page 1

As time went on, with a city found-ed off of slavery, the tension that came with the Civil Rights movement was nothing less than immense. During the 1960s and 70s, and particularly in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, large numbers of peo-ple moved out of the metro area and founded the surrounding suburbs of Collierville, Germantown, and East Memphis.

However, times have changed and the Memphis community is pushing for change, racial equality, and whole-ness as a community. The city of Mem-

phis believes that in order to create this unison, it only makes sense to bring people back to the metro area by creating appeal.

That appeal is being produced and commercialized by the creation of new restaurants, shops, and ac-tivities for the downtown and mid-town areas. This is fantastic for the city of Memphis’s economy and real-estate values, but what does it mean for the suburbs of Memphis where many of the St. George’s families and the school, itself, re-sides?

Print Journalism: A Dying Art?Print Journalism is a dying art. We have heard

this phrase before, and we will hear it again, echoed in the empty pockets of small-town news-papers and the stands chock-full of week-old pa-pers. With a cultural shift into the world of digital media and online communication, print journal-ism is beginning to look like it is nearing the bor-der of irrelevance.

Because of this, it is becoming quite imperative for newspapers and magazines alike to develop an online program or publication in order to become more accessible for their readers and compete in this new form of media. Print journalism has been struggling in this time of change, and along with that, the jobs that it produced are begin-ning to dwindle.

It is becoming in-creasingly important for prospective jour-nalists to broaden their job descrip-tion in order to en-sure their relevance. Through this trans-formation, in fact, many are thriving un-der these different job descriptions. Andy Carvin, for example, is a social strategist for National Public Radio news. Carvin tweets and retweets news from the Arab spring, up to 1,300 times in a single day. He excels in adding journal-istic value through Twitter, using it as a quick and efficient source of information. He finds witnesses on the ground and taps into their networks, in-vestigating facts and discrediting rumors. While

Emily Dickey ’14

Cheating the System

In May 2012, 270 students were assigned with a take-home final exam at Harvard University. Over half of these students were accused of cheating and received disciplin-ary action, and around seventy were forced to withdraw from the school.

While academic dishonesty oc-curs in some form in all schools, this scandal broaches the question, why do students cheat? The fact of the matter is if academic dishonesty oc-curs at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, it’s hap-pening everywhere.

Students today are put under a tremendous amount of pressure in all aspects of their lives. Parents, peers, coaches, sponsors, and em-ployers ask more and more of teen-agers every day. The added pressure of the expected academic excellence

and the hoops and hurdles students are asked to jump through and overcome leave students drained. The stress of these requirements may cause students to feel forced into taking strides to further them-selves academically.

In the spring of 2008, the Vir-ginia Association for Health re-leased a study performed on stu-dents across the United States. This study revealed that students’ stress stemmed from roles, responsibili-ties, and a lack of social support. With poor time management and inconsistent support systems stu-dents began to inadequately cope with stress resulting in what is known as “burnout.” This conse-quence results in students feeling as if they have lost their “sense of pur-pose” and that they cannot devote adequate time to their educational and lifelong goals.

Violence at Mardi Gras• •

Fat Tuesday is one of the crown jewels of tourist attrac-tions for New Orleans. Many people from all over flock to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras for the upcoming religious holi-day. It is a time for family and friends to get together to enjoy parades, parties, and fun. How-ever, this 2013 Mardi Gras season took an unexpected and violent turn.

The famous Bourbon Street became chaotic when a shooting occurred during the Mardi Gras celebrations. St. George’s very own junior kindergarten teacher, Ms. Alexis Sweda saw the shoot-ing with her own eyes. The Sat-urday night before Mardi Gras, two young men were arguing about fifty feet away from her,

Renaming Memphis Confederate Parks

Memphis is the home of Beale Street, Graceland, and the Peabody Hotel, but another important aspect of Mem-phis is its parks. There are three particular parks in Mem-phis that are currently demanding a lot of attention. Forrest Park, Jefferson Davis Park, and Confederate Park are all named to commemorate the role of the South in the Civil War. Jefferson Davis was the leader of the Conferderacy, and Nathan Bedford Forrest was a general in the Confeder-ate forces. Seeing as Memphis has changed drastically since the mid-nineteenth century, the Memphis City Council has made plans to change these three parks’ names to break Confederate ties.

The National Association for the Advancement of Col-ored People (NAACP) created a committee that will decide the new names of these parks. The parks have been tem-porally renamed Memphis Park, Mississippi River Park, and Health Sciences Park. Councilman Myron Lowery pro-posed the idea that the parks should be named after civil rights figures like Ida B. Wells. While many think this is a fantastic idea there is a group of people that have a different opinion about the naming of these iconic parks.

At the time this went to press, the Klu Klux Klan had ar-rived in Memphis and was planning a rally for the com-ing weekend. One of the parks is named after a Civil War general, Nathan Bedford Forrest, who is also considered by many to be the first grand wizard of the KKK. The NAACP committee members hope that Memphis citizens will stay at home and avoid the KKK’s rally. The last KKK rally in Memphis ended with violent riots, so the NAACP is taking a peaceful approach to make sure history does not repeat itself.

Though the KKK is a rapidly declining group, do not be fooled; they still exist. As the future of racial tension in Memphis is affected by this, hopefully it will not determine the outcome of the renaming of the Memphis parks.

Meredith Gatlin ‘14

when suddenly one man pulled out a gun and shot the other man involved in the altercation four times. Ms. Sweda reacted quickly to the situation. She grabbed her friend and ran to the nearest bar while the violence and chaos con-tinued.

Four innocent people were shot in the midst of the shoot-ing spree. Thankfully the victims only sustained injuries. One of two women shot was struck in the chin and the foot, while the other was shot in the toe. When Ms. Sweda and her friend made it into the bar, the bartender locked the door and refused to let others in, for fear of one of them being the shooter himself. Ms. Sweda was talking to the bartender and he said, “This kind of stuff hap-pens all the time.”

New Orleans police have three suspects, and have identified one of the three. After the shooting, people still went on partying for Madi Gras, while others avoided Bourbon Street and continued to party in other areas of New Or-leans.

Bourbon Street has become a very dangerous place, but hope-fully this will not affect future Mardi Gras celebrations. There are plenty of parades and things to do that do not occur on Bour-bon Street.

Another 2010 study conducted by Dr. Robert Woodbury revealed that 43 percent of surveyed students ad-mitted that their stress levels were “more than they could handle.” Some students stressed in this way take negative actions, like inappro-priate group collaboration on assign-ments, plagiarism, and even recre-ational use of “study drugs.”

Drugs like Vyvanse and Adder-all aid students in staying focused, awake, and attentive for longer pe-riods of time specifically in school or when studying. These drugs are normally prescribed to people with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Dis-order (ADHD). However, many stu-dents may be misdiagnosed and/or are taking these drugs illegally. With the broadening recreational use of ADD and ADHD medicine, students are making it habitual to take the “easy way out” to further themselves in their academic careers.

Of course, cheating is not always intentional. The Harvard University students that were found to have cheated were unaware of their of-fense. Many students shared notes from class, and requested help from the teacher’s assistant. As a result of these miscommunications, schools across the country are tightening the rules and enforcements on all forms of academic dishonesty. Students should be wary of these situations and understand the guidelines of your assignments, and remember that the “easy way out” may not always be the honest or honorable thing to do.

6 FeaturesApril St. George’s Independent School• •

Meredith Gatlin ’14

Alexis Harshbarger ‘13

A student demonstrates a old-fashioned cheating method.

Virginia Whitsitt ‘14

Carvin does not write what is considered to be an article, he is a prime example of how journalism can continue to thrive outside of print. That being said, not everyone is adapting as quickly as Andy Carvin.

The consequences and outcomes of a digital shift in America have, of course, led to numerous bankruptcies and layoffs for newspapers across the nation. As printing and publishing news on-line becomes more and more popular, that obvi-ously leads to the decrease in actual print cop-ies of a news publication. Because of this, many news outlets have started to realize that is it time to adapt and time to change with the nation. One way to do so, which some publications have em-

braced, is the option of go-ing solely digital. This is what the Times-Picayune newspaper in New Or-leans has done.

However, residents of New Orleans have become infuriated that their local newspaper is no longer available in print. This has been a common occurrence among news outlets that have decided to go digital; the masses are not pleased. It can be quite the inconve-nience for someone who does not own a computer, or is used to simply receiv-ing the paper on his or her doorstep every morning.

Perhaps in the near fu-ture, the solely online op-tion will become more commonplace and more

acceptable, but today, it is not looking promising. It will be interesting to see how print journalism will begin to adapt to this media shift, and what that will entail for the dwindling availability of jobs in the world of journalism.

Alexis Harshbarger ‘13

Dagny Vaughn ‘14

7FeaturesApril St. George’s Independent School• •

In all seriousness, there are exhibits about the Nobel Prize and the lineup of performers for this year’s Beale Street Music Festival is definitely an interest-ing one. It has proven to be quite controversial, especially over so-cial media sites like Twitter.

High school students around Memphis have differing opin-ions on the line-up. Many have tweeted some-thing along the lines of, “I’m not even going to mu-sic fest this year. Like, what is this lineup?” Others, like myself, tweet-ed with a little more excitement and enthusiasm, “THIS MUSIC FEST LINEUP IS MY DREAM COME TRUE.”

Some headliners coming to music fest include Phoenix, Ed-ward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and the Black Keys. Look-ing for a throwback with some-one who makes “your dreams come true?” Good! Hall and Oates will be performing on the Orion Stage on Friday night.

Hoping it won’t rain this year because you want to “soak up the sun?” I’m right there with

Continued from page 1

“I’m bad about collecting stuff,” remarked Mr. Don Willis, who is an admitted grave-finder extraordinaire. Willis has glimpses into ancient Mid-South history that most could only dream of. Starting his career as an archaeologist when he was just a middle school student, Willis has found countless pieces of civilizations from hundreds of years ago.

When he was a young teenager, Willis’s mother gave him a book written by archeolo-gist C.B. Moore, which he referred to as, “the Bible of Archaeology.” This book led him to all sorts of digging sites. Willis traveled all around the Mid-South: between Marion, Ar-kansas, all of North-Eastern Mississippi, all over Southwestern Tennessee, and even in regions of Oklahoma during his time in the Air force.

Willis’s findings have been featured in highly regarded archeological journals, mu-seums, and exhibits across the country, in-cluding the Memphis Museum and the Pink Palace. An obvious history buff, Willis is fas-cinated with the history of the ancient Mis-sissippian people, and is highly intrigued by the mysterious life and death of Hernando DeSoto. Willis commented, “The stuff is all over the place… Get in your truck; get on the highest piece of land. That’s where the people lived.”

Along with his digging partner, Harold Smith, renowned archaeologists from all parts of the country have recognized Wil-

Excavator Extraordinaire Don Willis

Virginia Whitsitt ‘14 lis for his “grave finding” abilities. Dr. Charles H. Nash, the Park Archaeologist at the Chucalissa Indian Museum personally contacted Willis at the young age of fifteen, “because [he] had a reputation for finding the graves.” Later, Willis admitted that he was exploring Chucalissa Village prior to its recorded discovery.

Most pieces that Willis has found have been given away over the years. He never went digging for the credit. “I did it just to prove to people that I could,” he admited. Willis once found a Spider Gorget and a rare spear, which are pieces of ancient Mississippian culture, at Parkin Site in Arkansas. When a friend of his asked him if he could borrow the pieces, he happily obliged. “I never heard from him again,” Willis continued, “I picked up a book years later, and there they are!”

Along with the gorget, spear, and a mul-titude of graves, Willis has found around four cat serpent bowls, thousands of pieces of pottery, and what is arguably his most valuable find: a head pot. Willis found one of only 135 head pots that have ever been discovered. “I was the only one in my group that ever found one,” Willis ex-plained with merited pride.

Willis lamented that though these pieces of history are all around us, new laws gov-ern diggers. “There are legal issues with it [digging] now. It’s not the same anymore; they made a law against it in 1993.” Wil-lis remains humble in his discoveries and commented that, “ancient Indian sites are all over; anyone could dig ‘em up.”

you, and we’re in luck! Sheryl Crow is performing right after Hall and Oates on Friday.

This year’s lineup is great in my opinion, but I can see how some people feel like there isn’t much variety. Last year’s lineup was a little more rap-friendly; it included artists such as Child-ish Gambino and Wiz Khalifa.

This year, the best rapper available is Big Boi, who joined together with An-dre 3000 to make Outkast.

No matter how you feel about the lineup, though, I highly encourage all of you to go downtown at some point during early May to see just how much our city has

to offer. Grizzlies’ playoff games and

Memphis in May are argu-ably the only times in the year that we get truly excited and proud to live in Memphis, so go ahead, enjoy some of that awesome barbecue from your friend’s parents’ tent. Meander down to Tom Lee Park to listen to some great live music and people-watch. Learn about the art of Swedish glass, because I know you’ve always wanted to.

Memphis in May

The Major Issue: Choosing Passion or Practicality

Flashback. It’s somewhere in the early 2000’s and you are at your first day of kin-dergarten filling out a sheet of questions to help your classmates get to know you bet-ter. You take your green crayon that may or may not have been bitten in half by the boy sitting next to you and slowly write “blue” in the blank asking for your favorite color. After contemplating several more of life’s perplexities such as whether you like dogs or cats better and what your favorite food is, you come to the final question. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” it asks.

Simple. You want to be a doctor. Now fast forward through your “teacher” phase,

Dagny Vaughn ‘14

your “vet” phase, your “singer” phase, and your “artist” phase. You’re in high school and you’re thinking about what you would like to major in. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” they ask, and for once, you have no idea.

Choosing a career, let alone a major to get to that career, can be very difficult for high school students. With some colleges offering more than 200 major programs, finding the right one can feel daunting and overwhelming. Colleges are now be-ginning to encourage students to explore a diverse selection of classes in order to determine what field they would like to enter.

However, even with a slightly more relaxed curriculum, students continue to stress over the vast possibili-ties. Advice often given to students in such a predica-ment is, “Just do what you love!” But when deciding the factor that may or may not determine their financial success, is “just doing what you love,” really enough?

For many, the conundrum of choosing to follow a particular passion through life or a more practical career option can alter their entire path through college, or even the college they go to. Students who wish to pursue passions such as art, creative

writing, entertainment, or even less appli-cable majors such as philosophy or religious studies, question whether it is wise to do what they enjoy in lieu of having a finan-cially reliable career.

According to a Harvard Business Review blog, desire and passion are the most impor-tant factors to consider when choosing a ma-jor or career. “You simply want to be doing something that you love, or something that is logically going to lead to something you love, in order to do your best work,” it states. “That desire will make you more creative and more resourceful, and will help you get further faster.”

However, the blog also warns against be-ing too unreasonable in following a passion. Students choosing a career should consider

whether the potential salary of their dream job is a realistic amount to live off. “A basic principle concerning how you should deal with an unknown fu-ture is that every small

step you take should leave you alive to take the next step,” the blog reads. “So make sure you attend to your lower order Maslow needs of food and shelter and the like.” On the other hand, if a passion pays reasonably yet less than another more practical career, it is smart to pursue it in hopes of leading a life

of fulfilling work. Those that do not believe following their

passion is a rational plan are encouraged to continue what they love to do in their free time. Research shows that having interests outside of work is healthy and can help keep a positive mindset. Often hobbies that are kept on the side of jobs can later develop into careers with enough work, or can be used to enrich the community. Af-ter all, enough passion and determination usually leads to success.

As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Whether you de-cide to try to be an artist or simply paint in your free time, the important thing is that you are doing what you love. Explore the possibilities in college; take classes you’ve never heard of. Discover if you really de-sire to work in business or if your true passion lies in fashion design. Choosing a career that you truly do not have any inter-est in simply for the salary will not allow you to do the best possible work that you are capable of. Do not limit yourself with practicality. Take risks and work towards your dreams. Do not settle for a comfort-able life, but rather find fulfillment in chas-ing your passions. After all, time is limited and there’s not enough of it to waste on doing something that does not bring you happiness.

Dagny Vaughn ‘14Students debate: Art or Calculus?

Virginia Whitsitt ‘14“Chockmul Man” is just one piece in Willis’ Collection.

Just do what you love!

Looking for a throwback with someone who makes “your dreams come true?”

8SportsApril St. George’s Independent School• •

Let the Madness Begin!

March Madness is the craziest time of year for any basketball fan. From the exciting SEC tournament run by Marshall Henderson and the Rebels, to the overall dominance of Louisville in the Big East tournament, there were many wild events leading up to March Madness.

When the brackets finally came out on Selec-tion Sunday, March 17th, there were many peo-ple upset regarding the seedings and the selections. With the inclusion of teams such as St. Mary’s and Middle Tennessee State as play-in teams, there was no room for SEC favorites Tennessee and Kentucky.

Besides the anger towards the NCAA Tournament selection com-mittee, people are excited over the overall confusion that this tourna-ment brings. Over this year, there were many up-sets, and there was no clear No. 1 team to be the favorite for the NCAA Tournament. The lack of dominance throughout the NCAA should make this year’s tournament more exciting than ever before. Already in the first week of the tourna-ment, teams such as No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast University and No. 13 seed La Salle have upset some of the top teams in the country in or-der to make it into the Sweet Sixteen. Over the

next couple weeks, expect to see many more of these types of upsets and one of the best NCAA tournaments in history.

Louisville joins this year’s tournament as the overall No. 1 seed and the majority favorite to win it all. They will have to make it through the likes of Oregon and the winner of well-coached Duke and Michigan State in order to make the Final Four. Other favorites to make the Final Four include Arizona or Ohio State from the West Region, Indiana and Miami from the East

Region, and Florida and Michigan from the South Region.

These teams may be the favorites to make it to the Final Four in At-lanta, but as we have seen through-out the regular season, being the favorite to win does not guarantee a victory. I would not be surprised to see some 6-13 seed make a Cin-derella-type run through the tour-

nament into the Final Four. I doubt that anybody in the entire nation will fill out a perfect bracket.

In the end, I predict that Indiana and Michi-gan State will make the National Championship with Michigan State beating Indiana in a classic Big Ten battle. I strongly recommend watching this year’s Final Four because if it is anything like the regular season, it will be some of the craziest college basketball you will see in your entire life.

Jamie Roche ’13

Batter UpThere is nothing better than the atmosphere sur-

rounding a baseball game. From the crack of the bats to the smell of peanuts and Cracker Jacks in the air, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Major League Base-ball (MLB) is currently in the middle of spring training, and they are set to begin the regular season in early April.

It has been a very exciting off-season in the baseball world with the dramatic departure of Josh Hamilton to the Los Angeles Angels and the massive payroll of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For those of you out there who hate the New York Yankees because they could buy any-body they wanted, know that the Los Angeles Dodgers now have a larger payroll than the Yankees.

As the seasons go on and players get better, the play-ers’ salaries are expanding. It is interesting to think that a couple decades ago, a million-dollar contract was gi-gantic, while nowadays, all-stars are commanding con-tracts worth 20 million dollars. It will be fascinating to see whether or not low payroll ball clubs like the Oakland Athletics can come through and beat high-dollar clubs like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees this season.

Looking forward to this season, there are many teams that could compete for the World Series. Teams like the defending champions San Francisco Giants, World Series runner-ups Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Angels are only some of the many teams that have the credentials to win the World Series. There is so much talent in the MLB now that good players are easy to find and many different teams have the talent to win it all.

Hopefully in the end, this increase in talent will trans-late into more exciting games and very exhilarating play-offs. In the end, my prediction is that the two Los Ange-les baseball teams will be facing each other in the World Series with the Angels prevailing in the end. This MLB season is definitely looking to be one of the best that we have seen a long time.

• •Jamie Roche ’13

Spring Sports Kick-Off

As the spring season is underway, and we enter the last two months of the school year, we are able to look forward to the several school sports being played. Most of these sports are now a couple weeks into their sea-sons, so there will be maximum opportunities for sup-port from fellow students.

Starting with boys and girls tennis, the boys are look-ing to move on from their early season exit last year to

Boys’ lacrosse has already started their season strong with a 17-1 win over SBEC, 18-5 win over Lausanne, and a 13-12 overtime win over Briarcrest in March alone. This group seems to have everything that you look for in a championship team, so it will be interest-ing to see where they land by the end of their season. Girls’ lacrosse started their season in mid-March and will be looking to go far into the playoffs this season with strong senior leadership, senior star University of Vermont signee Rachael Smith, and the combination of new and old coaches to guide them through their tough

season. Girls’ softball is looking to build on their

JV team this year with the return of Coach Mary Reed and the new arrival of Coach Ben Todd. Keep your eye on this softball team as they compete with some of the best at the varsity level in the next couple of years.

Looking over all of these spring sports, the Gryphons have a lot to look forward to in terms of excitement during this season.

All of these teams are capable of going a long way in their respective tournaments, while some even look like championship-caliber teams. It should be thrill-ing watching these teams compete during in the next couple of weeks.

compete for the state championship, while the girls’ team is looking to get revenge after their state runner-up season and come home with the state champion-ship. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams went to tourna-ments in Atlanta in late-March, which hopefully will prepare them for the tough matches they will be fac-ing in the near future.

The boys’ soccer team looks to compete for the state championship with one of the best teams they have had over the years. This team includes seven seniors, so they have plenty of leadership to persevere through the postseason and hopefully into the championship.

The boys’ baseball team starts the season having lost several star se-niors, such as John Marc Shelly and Hunter Lindley to college baseball, and they must come together to make up for these losses. Although they have lost some star talent from last season, senior Grant Optican said, “This team has some of the best chemistry that I have seen through my four years of high school baseball.” Hopefully the strong chemistry with this team will be able to make up for the major losses that they face from last season.

Jamie Roche ’13

Jamie Roche ‘13

J Morgan Harter ‘13

Gryphon tennis players gearing up for the season.

Bridgestone Arena, site of the SEC Championship Game.

There were so many upsets, and there was no clear No. 1 team...

Gryphons have a lot to look forward to...

Alexis Harshbarger ‘13

9SportsApril St. George’s Independent School• •

World-Class Tennis Comes to Memphis

“World-class tennis, Memphis style!” Mem-phians may have heard these words on the radio, read them on billboards, or seen them on the giant signs that hung on the gates of the Racquet Club of Memphis. Formerly known as the Regions- Mor-gan Keegan Championships, the U.S. National In-door Championships stays true to its words and actually attracted world class tennis players from both the ATP and WTA tours (Association of Tennis Players and Women’s Tennis Association, re-spectively).

The televised tournament, the fifth largest in the country, attracted big names in the men’s round such as Americans John Isner, James Blake, and the Bryan brothers. German Tommy Haas and Japanese Kei Ni-shikori were also among the competitors. For the women’s round, Swedish Sofia Arvidsson, Ameri-can Melanie Oudin, and German Sabine Lisicki made appearances.

Players with even bigger names have appeared in past years, such as American Andy Roddick, American sisters Venus and Serena Williams, Be-larusian Victoria Azarenka, and Russian Maria Sharapova. Other tennis greats from past champi-onships include Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Brad Gilbert.

The men’s tournament is called an ATP World Tour 500 tournament — meaning that the winner receives 500 ranking points if he wins. The winner

of the women’s tournament, which is called an International Event, receives 280 points. Unfor-tunately, the ATP tournament is being replaced with a 250-point tournament, even though the ATP tournament has been based in Memphis for 38 years. The WTA tournament, which has been in Memphis for 28 years, is being relocated alto-gether and will not be returning next year. These changes are occurring as a result of a larger com-pany buying out the tournaments.

The staff of the Racquet Club attempted to make the final year the best one yet. Parking was ex-panded, practice courts for the professionals opened up to the public for viewing, the wooden bleachers in the upper portions of the stadium were replaced with more comfortable and so-phisticated seating, and the bland, generic trophy from pre-

vious years was transformed into a whimsically-sculpted glass guitar reminiscent of Elvis.

Nishikori, ranked No. 8 in the world, defeated number 25 Feliciano Lopez of Spain to take the title for the men’s round. As for the women, No. 63 in the world Marina Erakovic of New Zea-land won the title when No. 36-ranked Lisicki had to retire due to illness after the first set. In doubles, Mike and Bob Bryan swiftly defeated fellow Americans Jack Sock and James Blake, while France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Uzbeki-stan’s Galina Voskoboeva took down the Swed-ish pair Sofia Arvidsson and Johanna Larsson in women’s doubles.

Get Fit: Stay in Shape When You’re Not Playing a Sport

It seems like there are countless ways get into shape and stay fit, but if we’re honest with ourselves, it can all be a little overwhelm-ing. Between expenses, location, and the different types of activity, it can be really difficult to decide what works best for you. Aside from sports, there seem to be endless op-portunities to find a way to get in shape, stay healthy, and enjoy it all the same. All of these things taken into consider-ation, here are a few options that you could opt for in order to stay fit:

1. Join a gym: The most obvi-ous of all of your options. Gym memberships range in price and what they can offer. Although Lifetime Fitness may be a more expensive option, you’re looking at a workout facility, a spa and sa-lon, basketball courts, rock walls, and pools. In addition to Lifetime, Omni Fitness, the Germantown Athletic Club, 24 Hour Fitness, and the YMCA are also options. Gyms also offer the option of a personal trainer and fitness classes.

2. Yoga and Pilates: They may be grouped together, but understand that, as Fox News puts it, “funda-mentally, they are worlds apart.” Both of these activities enhance strength, specifically in the core, and flexibility, but they differ in how they affect the body. Yoga, in addition to toning and strengthen-ing, is about the mind and spirit as well. It boosts the metabolism, and is emotionally restorative. Pilates, on the other hand, is strictly physi-cal. It conditions and improves muscle strength, and stresses low-impact exercise. However, if there is one thing yoga and Pilates enthusiasts will say, it is that the two complement each other well, “strengthen your Powerhouse in

Pilates, and see your poses im-prove in yoga. Learn to quiet the mind in your yoga practice, and utilize this technique to enjoy a more peaceful, rewarding Pilates class.”

3. Boxing: Clearly great for cardio and strengthening, box-ing has been called “a full -body workout unlike any other exer-

cise regime.” At Hadley’s Box-ing in Memphis, they offer pri-vate lessons or group classes. Don’t be con-fused, though, taking boxing

lessons does not result in being a competitive boxer. This “old- fashioned sport” is now one of the “hottest workouts available.” It’s all about releasing stress, hav-ing fun, and the confidence that comes with knowing how to de-fend yourself.

4. Pure Barre: It’s an exercise option that is growing faster than anyone could have anticipated. Pure Barre uses low-impact tech-nique combined with post-work-out stretches to create long lean muscles. It tones and strengthens the body and essentially gives you an hour in class to focus on yourself. It uses a combination of a ballet bar (for isometric move-ments) and Pilates to result in a difficult, yet successful atmo-sphere.

These are but a few examples of the ways to get in shape. While all of these things vary in price, there are plenty of ways to work out for free. Go for a run outside and enjoy the scenery, join a rec-league soccer team with your friends, invest in a jump rope, find a workout plan online, or or-der Zumba! The options are end-less. Getting fit is about finding the right workout and tailoring it to your needs; so get out, have some fun, and know that you don’t have to be an athlete to stay active.

Virginia Whitsitt ’14

Why Not Bowling? Pondering an Addition to Gryphon Athletics

I always thought of bowling as a fun activity as a kid, but I was surprised to learn how many people

Meredith Gatlin ‘14

• •take bowling very seriously. There are professional bowlers, bowling leagues for adults, and bowling teams for schools — there is even the USA bowling team for the Olympics. Did you know St. Mary’s, Hutchison, Briarcrest, and Houston High School all have bowling teams? So why doesn’t St. George’s have a bowling team?

St. George’s already has a great athletic program, so a bowling team would be a superb addition. Bowl-ing is actually a very popular pastime that many St. George’s students enjoy. A lot of students have agreed that a bowling team would be a great idea; even some of the faculty members think it is a cool concept. Coach Ben Todd has already stated that he would love to be the bowling coach for a St. George’s bowling team.

Seeing as bowling takes place indoors, St. George’s students can participate any time of year. It doesn’t have to be a seasonal sport. Members of the bowling

team will be able to play against other schools’ teams, or maybe even local bowling leagues in Memphis. One issue the bowling team may have is obtaining bowling shoes. Renting bowling shoes can be gross and is sometimes suspected to be a health hazard, so I suggest that if St. George’s forms a bowling team, students supply their own shoes.

I think a bowling team would be a great addition for St. George’s. Not everyone at St. George’s is athletic, so forming a bowling team would be great for people that are not that athletic but still have good hand-eye coordination. Starting a bowling team would be great in order to both bring students together in a team-like setting while also beginning a new type of sports rivalry with other school bowling teams throughout Memphis. With little to no monetary costs and the support of many students and faculty, St. George’s has nothing to lose and everything to gain when it comes to starting a bowling team!

Meg Mattis

Nathalie Vacheron ‘13

Bryan brothers defeat James Blake and Jack Sock in men’s doubles finals.

“Strengthen your Powerhouse in Pilates...”

“World- class tennis, Memphis style!”

Alexis Harshbarger ‘13

10Student LifeApril St. George’s Independent School• •

Ms. Calvin and Ms. Finch Go to Philly

This year’s theme at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), was “Revolutionizing Tradition.” Every year, be-tween five and six thousand teachers, faculty, and staff members of independent schools across the country convene for a themed con-ference to share hopes and future ideas for not only the individual Independent schools, but also for the roles that they play within all of America’s school system. This year, Ms. Lucie Calvin and Ms.

Kim Finch were lucky enough to go along with our school president, Mr. Bill Taylor, to the 2013 confer-ence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Big key-note speakers, such as Mr. Patrick Bas-sett, President of NAIS, gave speeches about their ideas for “Revolutionizing Tradition,” to motivate teachers and staff to provide the best education and atmosphere for America’s future leaders. Mr. Bassett opened the three-day conference to dif-ferent sessions and teachers and administration could sign-up to attend throughout the day. Teachers from all over America, who earned a spot at the conference to give a presentation about their ideas, re-lating to the topic, ran each session.

One session that caught Ms. Finch’s eyes and ears argued that teachers should learn to get their stu-dents “unplugged” from technology, but still know how to use it in a beneficial way in the classroom because America’s youth struggle without technol-ogy. The challenge is to search for balance.

Ms. Calvin states that “play” needs to be a higher priority within schools. Children in this day and age are pressured and told to do so much, but they need free time to just sit back without technol-ogy and work to just enjoy and communicate with people. After all, an education is not just about the schoolwork. It is also about how to socialize, espe-cially when it comes to proper communication with peers.

Ms. Finch and Ms. Calvin both agreed that a

woman named Tererai Trent, who grew up in Zimbabwe without the availability and right to an education, gave the most impactful speech.

Trent grew up wanting an education more than anything else, but the cycle in which so many girls are treated badly and married off at early ages was hard to break. She was married at eleven and by the time she had three kids, she was eighteen with an abusive husband. She dreamed of one day being able to build schools for girls back in

Zimbabwe, but that dream seemed re-mote.

However, Jo Luck from Heifer Inter-national met Trent and arranged for her to come to the United States in order to go to school to get the education that she had been wanting all her life. Twen-ty years later, Trent has her GED and a masters’ degree. Oprah Winfrey heard

of her story and has been helping her build school in Zimbabwe ever since. They have successfully started four schools for girls in one of the most resource-deprived and poorest countries in the world.

This story just went to show Ms. Calvin and Ms. Finch that teachers and education can and do make a difference to the individual students and to the world around us. When describing the con-ference and its impact on them both, Ms. Calvin happily added, “It makes me very proud to have been a teacher at an independent School to teach the leaders of tomorrow.” Ms. Finch continued, “It all makes me want to revolutionize the way I teach by challenging myself and school to be not good, but great!”

...Preparing for the impend-ing doom that trial can bring.

The Ins and Outs of Mock Trial

Everyone dreads a run-in with the court system. Unless you’re a Mock Trial participant, in which case, you thrive on it. It’s seven o’clock at the Shelby County courthouse. Hun-dreds of wannabe lawyers pile in through security and make their way to their respective courtrooms, reviewing the case in their heads. It’s Mock Trial season, and it’s about to get serious.

Mock Trial, sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association or TBA, is one of the less recognized activities at St. George’s. Basically, it’s fake court, and the students take on the roles

of either a witness or an attorney. The students receive a fake court case, which they spend months preparing, in order to present their final case for a judge and jury. Wit-nesses must learn statements word-for-word, and law-yers must become experts in objections and questioning. In February, teams go head to head, taking on either a prosecution or defense position. The judge and jury re-view the performances of both teams and return with a final verdict; the winning team moves forward.

Now, this seems fairly straight-forward. In reality, the intricate laws given to the students and subjective judging that sometimes occurs during Mock Trial com-plicate the task of winning. This should be a practice-makes-perfect sort of task, but, to be honest, it is a think-on-your-feet sort of event.

This is not to say that Mock Trial isn’t fun or that it doesn’t provide the team support that is recognized in most athletics. In fact, Mock Tri-al is one of the most team-oriented activities available. You spend hours upon hours prepar-ing the case and building up your team. Thanks to our coach Mrs. Leach’s delicious cookies and the team mom Ms. Compton’s incomparable wit, you build not only a team but a family, as cliché as that sounds.

Even more than building friendships, it builds connec-tions. The judges and jury are practicing lawyers, who

often lend a hand with their advice and constructive criticism. They’re also quick to offer business cards and job offers to fortunate high school students. Whether you want them or not, it’s always a flattering ges-ture.

Speaking to the fun aspect of Mock Trial, there are few things in the world better than rides down to the courthouse, blaring “Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child and preparing for the impending doom that trial can

bring. Even better are the shared laughs over the ridiculous case that the TBA sets forth every year, as well as the overly enthusiastic lawyers and witnesses that com-petition inevitably presents in the courtroom. You might even hear someone scream or cry throughout the course of the evening, and not always just to stay in character.

It’s nine o’clock now. Trial has ended. As we eat our hearts out at McAlister’s, we laugh over the ridiculous case presented by the

opposing teams. We complain about the homework still waiting for us at home and the costumes that the witnesses are always forced to wear. Overall, though, despite the hours spent in conference rooms and the multiple Subway sandwiches scarfed down late at night, the Mock Trial team knows that this was time well spent.

Regan Hewitt ’14Kayce Hyde ‘14

Robert Hyde

Maggie Courtney ‘14

Source: Mrs. Calvin

“It makes me want to revolutionize the way I teach!”

Ms. Calvin and Ms. Finch at the Liberty Bell.

Mr. Ricky Higgenbottom, a very devot-ed and hardworking man, is one of the bus drivers for St. George’s Independent School. Proverbs 23:7 is one of the main verses that encourages him every day. Mr. Ricky stated, “This bible verse reminds me that I can do anything that I put my mind to.” While hav-

Who Makes the Wheels Go ‘Round? Meet Mr. RickyAlexis Turner ‘19 Sydney Jones ‘19

ing four children and a wife at home, he still has over twenty more children that he loves and cares for.

Socially and academically he has high ex-pectations for all the passengers. He feels that his opportunity to work at St. George’s has changed his life tremendously because he gets to enjoy the people he works with everyday. Knowing that he gets to serve his community and do something he loves

at the same time makes him want to go to work even more. When other students who do not ride the bus see Mr. Ricky, they say if he comes in during the morn-ing he always says “Good morning” to ev-ery one. Mr. Ricky is a very nice and caring man, and if students have not already met him, they should try to get know him.

• •

Mock Trialers celebrate a victory.

Student LifeApril St. George’s Independent School• •11

Who’s That Stylish Young Lady?

Spring is nearly here, and we are all getting excited about the new spring fashions. Cute sandals, short-sleeved blouses, spring skirts and dresses, and floral print! These are only a few of the fashions that girls are looking forward to with the in coming warm weather. The only concern for spring that rests in the teachers’ and administrations’ minds is about what the students shouldn’t be wearing this spring.

I was right there with you girls in say-ing that it is difficult to find cute and comfortable skirts that are appropriate length, and we tend to believe that cotton t-shirts and V-necks are much more fashionable than the traditional blouse. However, I think we are not giving ourselves enough credit.

Girls, we can pull off any style of clothing, so let’s be tasteful! Looking fashionable is actually much easier

within the boundaries of dress code. Short skirts and low cut tops are not as fashionable as a pretty floral skirt just above the knees paired with a silk but-ton down blouse. We need to start looking good for ourselves with consideration

of others, not the other way around. When we hold ourselves with higher esteems, so will others.

Casey Schneider ‘14 Ladies, we do not want to be seen as frivolous teenagers but as young taste-ful women. We want to be considered women of good taste and class. Women like Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Tay-lor, and Zooey Deschanel are modest, beautiful women, but still are held at high regard. Let’s not lower our stan-dards but raise them. This spring offers plenty of opportunities for examples of well-dressed, classy young ladies. This spring I am looking forward to the new styles and better attitudes to our thoughtful dress code.

Girls, we can pull off any style of cloth-ing, so let’s be tasteful!

The Most Relevant Crossword of All TimeBrought to you By:Calla Michalak ‘14

Across3. family that appears in every version of “The Sims” 7. current president of the IOC 8. cure-all from “My Big Fat Greek Wed-ding” 12. first state 14. first BCS National Championship Game winner 17. home country of the new Pope 18. most-decorated female Olympian 19. location of 1896 Olympics 20. Lil Wayne’s middle name 24. college responsible for founding the IQA 26. first in line for the British throne 27. Justin Timberlake’s middle name 29. Bruce Jenner’s Olympic event 31. Viktor Krum’s nationality 33. English title of the longest novel ever written (French)

Down 1. first person to play The Doctor 2. newest independent nation 4. largest American university by enrollment 5. fear of elephants 6. Hamed Haddadi’s new city 7. the Nine Days’ Queen9. former name of Zimbabwe 10. seconnd smallest country (population) 11. university claiming most national titles (football) 13. home of the Starks (“Game of Thrones”) 15. King Arthur’s sword 16. The Beatles’ debut album 21. “oldest institution of higher learning in the United States” 22. longest serving US senator 23. Elphaba’s love interest 25. eighth US President 28. professor from Sherlock Holmes 30. Best Actor in a Supporting Role (2013) 32. Saturday Night Live’s first host 33. only nation to ever withdraw from the UN 34. “MMMBop” crooners 35. one of two princes of Luxembourg 36. Hector from “Troy”

Student LifeApril St. George’s Independent School• •12

Source: Cone Family

Crossword Answers

Across

3. Goth7. Jacques Rogge8. Windex 12. Delaware 14. Tennessee 17. Argentina 18. Larisa Latynina 19. Athens 20. Michael 24. Middlebury 26. Charles27. Randall29. Decathlon31. Bulgarian33. In Search of Lost Time

Contrary to popular belief, horseback riding is a very com-mon sport among many St. George’s students. Ranging from the lower school all the way to the upper school, there are mul-tiple students who spend their afternoons riding. Not only do they compete all over the country, many of them win at the national level and have the opportunity to compete at the “national champi-onship” of horseback riding, also

Lindsey Cayce ‘14 known as Indoors by the eques-trian community. Indoors con-sist of the Washington Interna-tional Horse Show, Pennsylvania National Horse Show, and the Alltech National Horse Show.

Something many people do not realize is just how time-consum-ing horseback riding is. Sopho-more Bowers Cone said that he spends about eight hours at the barn every week. This is no dif-ferent than your average time for a school sport, except when you factor in the weekends. When

St. George’s Equestrians

Flannel Is the New BlackAlong with securing one-of-a-

kind clothes and items, you also don’t have to agonize over picking this shirt or that shirt; just buy them both! For three dollars, you can af-ford to go a little crazy, which is why thrift shopping is perfect for stock-ing up on basic items. Why spend 40 dollars on a white t-shirt when you can get the same shirt for three dol-lars at Goodwill?

Now that you’ve been convinced to never step foot in a department store again, you may be asking yourself, “Well, where can I go thrift-shop-ping?” That is an excel-lent question.

There are multiple kinds of thrift shops in multiple areas of Memphis. Of course, you have your basic Good-will and Salvation Army stores, which host a plethora of brands, styles, and types of clothing, as well as myriad household items and objects due to their almost non-ex-clusive donation policy. You’ll find extremely low prices at these stores (typically three dollars for a shirt, five dollars for pants), with other prices depending on worth. You

Continued from Page 1 can find these stores almost every-where, with the biggest Goodwill in Bartlett and the closest one in Collierville.

However, if you want to narrow the pool of clothes to brand names and current trends, you’ll want to check out Plato’s Closet. They boast a selection of higher-quality clothes and for an added bonus, you can bring in your own clothes for cash or store credit. And with the new one opening in Collier-ville, you can hit up Plato’s and the

Goodwill nearby for a thrift-tastic day.

Finally, if you feel like venturing from the confines of Collier-ville, try Bargain Hunt in Cordova. They take refurbished, used, or overstock items for a

giant warehouse of toys, furniture, household items, and clothes, for extremely low prices. They have been known to take in some de-signer overstock items too (pink Michael Kors flats for fifty bucks?!) thus, a trip out there would defi-nitely be worth your while. So if you have a couple of bucks go out and try some awesome thrift shop-ping!

Continued from page 11

a rider goes to compete at a horse show, they will almost certainly miss a Friday of school and most likely Thursday as well, depend-ing on where the show is located. This puts a lot of extra stress onto student riders as they are not only focused on the competition, but they are also busy doing make-up work. Cone stated, “I will get back from shows Sunday nights around 9:00 and have to do all my home-work then. It does add a lot of stress to my life because I have to worry about makeup work as well as the horse show.”

Horseback riding, like any other school activity, teaches important life lessons. Not only does one have to plan their time wisely, they have to be able to avoid procrastinating. Cone added that horseback riding “also taught me to be a responsible person because you have to keep up with all of your equipment and take care of your horse.” Learning these life lessons as well as putting in a lot of time and effort certainly paid off for him. This past year he qualified for all of the Indoors and was very successful! It goes with-out saying that horseback riding is a much more important and com-mon activity among the students of St. George’s than one might think, which proves that you might just be sitting next to an avid and success-ful equestrian right now!

Bowers Cone and his horse, Roy, compete in Willington, Florida.

Thrift shopping is not for the faint of heart.

With the seasons changing and the transition into a new trimester, everybody wants a break; luckily there is Spring Break. St. George’s students get to escape from the pressures of school and have a fun family vacation or an awesome stay-cation. Let’s see what some St. George’s students have done for past spring breaks:

Lindsey Cayce ’14: “I went to the zoo three times last year for Spring Break.”Virginia Whitsitt ’14: “My sister Allie and I ate five pounds of crab meat in elemen-tary school.”Madeline East ’15: “I went to the beach with Anna Dunavant.”Bailey Pinckernell ’14: “I went to Jamaica last year, and I’m going again this year.”Caitlyn Stover ’14: I went to Bahamas and they rubbed a sting ray on my back.”Owen Miller ’15: “I went to Disney World with my family.”Darius Brooks ’14: “I went to a bull fight and a Grizz game where a guy spilled an alcoholic beverage on my head!” Mary Henley Green ’13: “I went RVing in Alaska.”Steven Joe ’14: “I went skiing in Colorado with my church.”Heather Schaefer ’15: “I partied by myself at home!”Ashley McDuffie ’15: “I went on a cruise to St. Thomas and the Bahamas.”Chris DiNicolantonio ’15: “I usually relax at home and have a stress-free break.”Courtney Miller ’16: “For Spring Break, I have gone skiing eight years in row.”Katherine Clayton ’16: “I went on a cruise to Atlantis last year.”Madison See ’13: “I went on a road trip to New York last year to look at colleges. We went to seven schools in five days.”Jason Crawford ’14: “Steven threw a snow board at me last year on a ski trip.”

The Germantown Campus performs Willy Wonka!Maggie Courntey ‘14

Spring Break Adventures

Lower School Presents: “Willy Wonka”

Maggie Courtney ‘14

Down

1. William Hartnell 2. South Sudan 4. Arizona State 5. Pachydermophobia 6. Phoenix 7. Jane Grey 9. Rhodesia10. Nauru 11. Princeton13. Winterfell 15. Excalibur 16. Please Please Me21. Harvard 22. Robert Byrd23. Fiyero 25. Martin Van Buren

28. Moriarty30. Christoph Waltz 32. George Carlin33. Indonesia34. Hanson 35. Sebastien 36. Eric Bana