THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ARCHBISHOP MOELLER HIGH SCHOOL 9001 MONTGOMERY RD. CINCINNATI OHIO 45242 WWW. MOELLER.ORG

Crusader DECEMBER 2013VOL. 50 NUM. 03 WINTER ISSUE

the

AdvertisingBathroom exit polls showed that our audience increased dramatically last quarter. This may be in part a result of the fact that pages were taped up on the walls. Along with the growth in audience came a sudden spike in doodles on the Moe Culture section. Thank you for all of your support.

deveringAfter Xavier’s win over the Bearcats, no faculty member is happier than Trinity Dean Dan Dever. The face-painting super fan will be handing out dough-nuts and Chipotle gift cards to other loyal X fans this week.

grinningSenior Adam Gigax, Moeller’s friendly neighborhood college basketball prospect, finally freed himself of his braces after six years of tinsel torture. Be sure to congratulate him on his improved smile.

CrAMMing From all of us at The Crusader, we wish you the best of luck on your exams this week. As Mr. Dan Rag-land would say, “Alright men, let’s knock this test into the weeds.” If you don’t know an answer, always guess C.

MAssingMoeller’s annual family mass broke attendance records as over 900 members of the Moeller Family filled the gym to listen to Fr. Tom Kreidler pour out holiness. Thousands of doughnut holes and gallons of luke-warm coffee were furnished by the Moms’ Club in the lobby.

FOOLingThe Moeller players shocked patrons again with a tale of an idiotic Ukrainian village. Evan Verrilli ‘14 led an all-star cast including seniors John Dickens, Reed Maertz, Cody Rose, and Sam Sheets. Juniors Christian Givens and Zach Corbett also appeared, along with sophomores Isaiah Reaves and Jonathan O’Dell. Freshmen Harrison Daniel and Andrew Mashny also debuted.

BAsketBALLingThe team started with convincing victories over Chaminade, Taft and Northridge and is ready to match football’s state title.

Under the ‘FrOJ.J. Harper divulges his

curliest secrets | 4

LOqUACiOUsQuincy Williams

takes on clichés | 8

MOeLLer’s MOvie MenBen Rigney

& Kyle Metzger | 5

stAteBy Kyle Zimmerman ‘14Crusader Editor-in-Chief

Team captains Sam Hubbard and Jack Gruber (right) kiss the trophy during the post game award ceremony.

Celebrating 50 years of publication

“Football players are annoying”

Crusaders take down Mentor, add D1 State Championship title to their “dash”

CanTOn, OH - Will the Moeller football team ever lose a playoff game again? In the state playoffs final, Moeller handled the highly-esteemed Cleveland Men-tor Cardinals with ease in a game where the final score was not reflective of the game’s tone. Moeller held control from the start and never looked back. On the backs of star QB Gus Ragland’s eight touch-downs, Isaiah Gentry’s Jerry-Rice-like performance, and the defense’s containment of Mentor’s high-powered offense, the Crusaders com-pleted their 15 week journey with a 55-52 victory. They are back-to-back State Cham-pions for the first time since the 1979-1980 seasons. In his sixth season at the helm, head coach and be-loved PE & health teacher John Rodenberg led the Crusaders to a GCL title and playoff victories against St. X, Elder, Colerain, Davidson,

Photo Courtesy of Joseph Fuqua II, Cincinnati Enquirer

and Mentor, ultimately winning the school its ninth State Championship. With only three returning starters on defense and three returners on offense, this year’s team had a new identity. Individually, WR Gentry had seven receptions for 182 yards and two TDs. AP Co-Player of the Year Gus Ragland finished 12-13 passing for 273 yards and three touchdowns and ran 26 times for

189 yards and five more touchdowns. Mentor QB Connor Krizancic was named AP Co-Player of the Year, but was clearly outshone by counterpart Ragland as Mentor lost in the state finals for the third time since 2006. Moeller finished the season ranked as high as 11 in the nation by MaxPreps and 24 in the USA Today rankings. The date for state ring fittings is yet to be announced.

Cheer, cheer for our Moeller High - the team serenades the frozen student section Two Mentor Cards console each other as the clock hits 0:00

Page 2 OPINION December 2013

Published quarterly, the student newspaper of Archbishop Moeller High School is a public forum, with its student editorial board mak-ing all decisions concerning its contents. Unsigned editorials express the views of the majority of the editorial board. Letters to the editor are welcomed and will be published as space allows. Letters must be signed, although the staff may withhold the name on request. The Crusader reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to laws governing obscenity, libel, privacy, and disruption of the school process, as are all contents of the paper.Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of The Crusader staff or its faculty adviser, nor should any opinion expressed in a public forum be construed as the opinion or policy of the administration of Archbishop Moeller High School.

Crusader

Kyle Zimmerman Editor-in-Chief

Joe Pappalardo Managing Editor

Danny BrunsNews Editor

Andy StrotmanOp/Ed Editor

Ben LandSports Editor Eric MausAsst. Sports Editor

Connor BortonFeatures Editor

Tyler SchumacherEntertainment Editor

Ben RigneyArt & Photography

Evan Verrilli Illustrator

Mr. Michael RoseFaculty Advisor

MAKING THE GRADEMOE-PINIONS

By dan miller ‘14By Ben land ‘14House days must stayShut door on house days

There are many great events occurring in and around Archbishop Moeller High School. From the annual Fashion Show to Moe-Town tailgate, almost every extracurricular event and activity holds a spe-cial place in someone’s heart. House days are no dif-ferent. These planned afternoons are done two times a year and usually involve games and food off the grill or from a popular Montgomery eatery. House days are time set aside from academics to relax, talk to some people in your house that you don’t get to talk too very much, and participate in a few recre-ational activities. The majority of the student popu-lation views these afternoons as a waste of time, but I view it another way. House days are a fun and meaningful time and should be kept as they are.

When one thinks back to their day shadowing at Moeller as an eighth grader, certain things come to mind: Getting a lecture from either Brother Ron or Mr. Matt McLaughlin on the House System and how it works, receiving a $3 lunch voucher, be-ing forced to participate in Senor Benedetti’s class, and you and your parents hearing a speech on the brotherhood that the House System is designed to build through things like mentor group and house functions. This idea of life-long friendships being created within the House System is most evident on days like house days. Even though playing a game of dodgeball in the wrestling room doesn’t seem like the kind of event that would build a brotherhood, it is little things like a game of basketball or flag foot-ball with your classmates that make Moeller stand out from other high schools.

As students come closer to graduating, some start to blow off non-academic events. House days are a prime example of the deterioration of energy and overall joy of upperclassmen. The majority of the senior class either slips out and goes to Chipotle, has a “doctor’s appointment,” or doesn’t take part in the house day activities. Instead, they sit in the corner on their phone reading tweets for 90 minutes. These people walk into school on the mornings of house days dreading the activities planned for that after-noon. The houses could have spent thousands of dollars and planned the best house day possible and students would still complain throughout the entire thing. The negativity brought into house days by certain students is precisely why there are so many complaints.

House days are time away from the daily grind of a school week and should be treated as such. The administration gives the students this time to relax and have a little fun. The house deans spend their own time and money to make these afternoons hap-pen, and it goes unappreciated year in and year out. House days should be kept in Moeller High School forever. They are a privilege that no schools have and should be appreciated by all members of the school.

Moeller is a school unlike any other, and the house system plays a vital role. The House System, or “home system” as Mr. Ragland likes to call it, is in its tenth year. There are many advantages that come with the House System like the added free time in mentor group and the constant competitive-ness of the Marianist Cup. But the time has come to ask ourselves as a school, is having house days really worth the amount of criticism that it brings from upperclassmen?

To most, house days are very special days at Moeller. Houses have the chance to go off cam-pus for recreational activities such as jumping on trampolines at Skyzone with Bruce Nelson, playing dodge ball in the wrestling room with Alex Thomp-son, or endulging in trans fats at Buffalo Wild Wings with Dan Dever. For some, however, the op-portunity is not very enticing. Many students argue that they should be able to just go home from school early on house days and not have to participate in the activities.

As for myself, I believe that students should be able to go home if they want. I pride myself on be-ing a very school-spirit-heavy student, but it’s not hard to see that the joy from a house day does not outweigh the whining heard from students who are unhappy with their house’s plan for the day.

House days would be the greatest gift the stu-dent body could be given if we were all still in grade school, but we are not. High school students love sleep. Most kids would rather have the extra hour at home to sleep than stay at school or go off campus to play in the bacteria-ridden game room at Sports Plus.

If students can get out of school earlier then there is nothing that would stop them from doing so. Doctors notes pile up at the main office on house days so kids can go home and play Grand Theft Auto and catch up on lost REM cycles. There is no reason to continue with house days with as little enthusiasm that is given off from the student body.

The house system is great for Moeller in numer-ous ways but the house days are a constant burden when they come around each quarter. The deans and mentor teachers try to hype it up more and more every year but the spirit in this school contin-ues to go down. House days will never supply the students with as much elation as the deans believe and there is no reason for them to remain in place at Moeller.

The CrusaderArchbishop Moeller

9001 Montgomery Rd.Cincinnati, OH 45242Crusader@moeller.org

A

No Shave NovemberAnother successful month of grit staches and neck beards, all raising $10K for the Danny

O’Keefe fund.(Will Heekin ‘14 pictured left)

Christmas on CampusMr. Hough survives first C-on-C with only one confirmed incident of a child wetting himself. Great day for all those involved.

Gigax goes braceless! Senior Eveslage House

Captain and varsity basketballer Adam Gigax

got his braces off after six years in bondage.

Gray State Finals hoodiesTell everyone to wear gold,

then sell gray hoodies. Logical.

Not having snow dayMeanwhile, across the parking lot, All Saints enjoyed a snow day, as well did St. X, MND, Ursuline and St. Ursula.

Fthe

MOE CARTOON

MOE-PINIONS

“unCle Tull WanTs you” by Evan Verrilli

Gus RaglandEvery dad’s dream son, Gus scored 8 TD’s, won the school its ninth state title, and did it with a smile.

“Most kids would rather have the extra hour at home to sleep rather than

to stay at school or go off campus to play in the bacteria-ridden game room

at Sports Plus.”

The Crusader EDITORIAL Page 3

For seniors, it is that time of year in which part of our focus shifts to the next step in our lives. Stu-dents’ accomplishments are being scrutinized by admissions teams. Students across the nation are pitted against each other, academic achievements are being weighed against the application’s portray-al of “the whole person”—whatever that means—and, overall, every facet of our high school careers are being judged by people who have no idea who we actually are.

Seniors, though surely stressed about college admissions, are in a sense self-actualized by now. There is a certain freedom in knowing that the deci-sion process is out of our hands, that there is no longer any need for “application stuffing”, postur-ing, or showing off to impress schools.

If you are an underclassman, you are in the classic student’s position of attempting to design a high school career made to impress colleges. It is you who I wish to address. You are without a doubt feeling temptation to become the person who colleges want you to be. Most of you are probably seeking out extracurricular activities, clubs, sports, and the like to show colleges that you are the vaunt-ed “complete person.” At some point, you may find that your high school career is full of activities that you do not necessarily enjoy mostly because they seem to be appealing characteristics. I am writing to tell you that there is no need to do so.

The essential point of extracurricular activities, at least by intention, is to enrich students’ minds and cultivate unique talents, not differentiate students’ worthiness of admission from one another. The col-lege application process is, as it currently is, missing that point. It is true that some people could con-tribute a particular talent to a college campus and that should be reflected in their application, but in many cases students become involved around their schools to fulfill a sort of checklist. Such activities are now not so much a way for students to be them-selves as ways of students to become someone else.

One problem with “application stuffing” is that, while it may get you into a college, you will not ar-rive as the person your application depicted. Your Ivy League dream school does not want you, they want the captain of the sports team, the club presi-dent, and the leader that you’ve been masquerading as for years. At some point in my high school career, I stopped playing the college game and have done things that I enjoy. Did I make it into the National Honor Society? No. Will I be accepted into an elite school? Perhaps not, but if those organizations don’t want me for who I am, I have little use for them.

Above all, spend your time doing things that you enjoy. In our current atmosphere, we seem to have an aversion to free time. Why must there be a stigma about going home after school? Why must almost no one exercises their mind through reading or research of academic topics? Time spent in the li-brary or even on the internet can be far more forma-tive and fulfilling for the mind than any organized activity, but many students forego it because it does not seem “productive.” This is because colleges are looking for organized activities. Even if a student gets decidedly less out of an extracurricular than he would out of free time, there is a belief that it is better to have something tangible. This year alone, we have seen multiple clubs formed at Moeller not because anyone is interested in what they do, but because they are an easy way to add to the checklist and build a more impressive application.

So how can this trend be stopped? Honestly, it cannot, at least not by us. It would require a large-scale systemic change. We cannot, of course, make that happen as students. However, we can choose not to feed into the system. Take part in activities that interest you, and do not be afraid of free time. If you make the decision to stop trying to fill your application and start worrying about finding the person you are, you will find yourself much happier, and even if you do not end up at your childhood dream school, you will end up at a school that wants you, and there is more value in that than could be found at any top tier university.

By Tyler Schumacher ‘14Crusader Entertainment Editor

This time of the year means a lot of things: high school football playoffs, the beginning of basketball season, Thanksgiving, and last but not least: col-lege applications. Almost every senior at Moeller and other schools are frantically filling out applica-tions to universities across the nation. The process of typing in your name, address, ACT scores, and everything in between is a tedious but essential process. Every college out there requires a colossal collection of logistical information ranging from your parents’ graduation dates to your counselor’s middle initial. (I couldn’t continue to the next sec-tion of UC’s application until I found Mr. Derus’ middle name.) Throughout my adventure of apply-ing to multiple colleges, I previously asked myself: Is all of this too much? Is it too personal? After spending two and a half hours of my Friday night filling out section upon section of the Common App, I originally thought that there was too much work involved in applying to college. Af-ter thinking about it for some time, I realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong. Although there seems to be a lot of pointless work at times, the col-lege admission process needs to be more in depth and personal, even if that means more work. One of the main requisites that universities use to determine admission into their student popula-tion are ACT/SAT scores. The ACT and the SAT are long, agonizing aptitude tests taken by juniors and seniors early on Saturday mornings in the un-used back classrooms of high schools everywhere. These glorified torture sessions are

Application stuffing takes away from the high school experience

Exploiting the system

By Daniel miller ‘14Crusader Staff Writer

made up of English, reading, writing, math and science sections. While testing is the most common way of seeing what a student knows, being able to concentrate your full mind on 220+ problems for five hours on a Saturday morning does not test true overall knowledge. Someone with a photographic memory could spend a few hours memorizing math and science problems, go in, get a phenome-nal grade on the ACT, and go essentially anywhere he wanted for very little cost. That person may have never read a good novel in his life.

are recommendation letters and the essay. Col-leges aren’t required to take these into consider-ation, however. I personally am applying to seven schools. Out of all of the universities that I am applying too, only one requires a recommenda-tion letter from a teacher. Likewise, only one of the seven requires a writing supplement in addition to the 500 word structured response that is on every application. Some universities do have interviews that their prospective students must partake in, but these are usually Ivy League schools that are $40,000+ a year. All colleges should have to inter-view students that are thinking about coming to their schools. This lets the people working at the institution know what kind of person they really are and not just how well they can fill in bubbles. While there is a need for engineers in our society today, the English majors are usually more pleas-ant people to be around. The Kevin Buckleys and the Eric Ebles of the world usually contribute more to society than the math wizards. College is where you spend your last 4 years of childhood before you are thrown out into the real world. Universities should be getting people that are going to make the most out of that time, not the ones who know pi to the 300th digit. The world is changed by individu-als with creativity and good ideas, not by comput-ers and calculators.

The world is changed by individu-als with creativity and good ideas, not by computers and calculators.

Now, I understand that being able to retain math formulas is an incredibly useful gift, but the gift of concentration and a good intention span is the most valuable one to have while taking the ACT. Imag-ine an upstanding high school student that is smart, hardworking, and gets decent grades in school. Now imagine that child has trouble concentrating for extended periods of time. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep his mind on task while reading the dry, irrelevant stories presented in the ACT test booklet, or during the rigorous math sec-tion. That kid would be removed from good colleges’ consideration just because of his poor ACT score. Even though he is a good and knowledgeable person overall, he is forced to major in Criminal Justice at UC Clermont because of his poor test scores. The only personal touches on college apps

Ask Schu-Daddy

By Daniel miller ‘14Crusader Staff Writer

Application process lackingColleges are accepting test scores while ignoring the people they represent

Schu-Daddy once again tackles Moeller’s vexing questions ranging from rap to flirting.

Q: Tupac or Biggie? -Collin Zapanta ‘14A: I’ve given this one a lot of thought, and I’ve started to work out an algorithm to judge rappers. Counting in their favor are references to gang violence, creative use of profanity, and instances of bragging about money or fame. Counting against them are instances of respect for authority, demonstration of ability to use words of three or more syllables, and failure to thoroughly insult their audience through use of the ubiquitous “you”. Biggie narrowly edges out Tupac, but Chief Keef is creeping up the list based on those criteria alone.

Q: Best preparation for a Brolo XU test? -Scott Rumsey ‘14A: There is no way to prepare for an XU test. The better question is how to prepare to receive your grade. Personally, I’ve started to consider my scores in that class what I call “imaginary grades”. I see my test scores but I have no emotional investment in them. A failing grade on a test? That’s okay, I have six other classes!

Q: Best pickup line? -Adam Garbacik ‘15A:Depends which approach you want to use. Flattery is always a good option-- “Will you grab my arm so I can tell my friends I’ve been touched by an Angel”-- but it’s too easy. If you’re more forward, she might respect you for it-- “Here I am. What are your other two wish-es?” On the other end of the spectrum, some self-deprecation might work-- “What’s a nice woman like you doing in a dirty mind like mine?” But my favorite is to get crafty-- “I bet you $20 you’re about to turn me down.”

Q: Who is the second most interesting man in the world? -Scott Rumsey ‘14Contrary to popular belief, the Dos Equis guy is the second most interesting man in the world. Mr. Braun is first.

Submit your questions via email at schumacher_t14@moeller.org

Second, some of the restrooms can get pretty stuffy, to say the least, and ignorant students are fond of drawing rocket ships and writing profani-ties on the stall walls. These conditions do not help the efforts of kids who actually put hard work into their classes, and they distract the students from what they are learning in class. Moeller should reserve restrooms for the top students of each class, each person gaining admittance with a special keycard. Instead of just blank walls and stall walls, the bathrooms would have television monitors on the walls so they could keep up with the class dur-ing their break. Unfortunately, this would require all classrooms to have cameras watching them, but some students might say the administration is al-ready watching us in class, so the smart kids would also get that privilege. Even better, dry erase boards would be in the stalls so that students could keep working even in the restroom. This would help the students who really care about school to not miss any of it due to the call of nature.

Third, although Moeller administrators pride themselves on getting students out quickly in the event of a fire, the school needs to let the students with higher class ranks out first. Three minutes is way too long for Moeller’s most valuable students to wait to get out of a burning building. The smart students have the greatest potential to positively impact the future, but if they are dead due to burly athletes shoving them into lockers during an evacu-ation, the future will be left to those who show poor determination and effort in school. It is unpractical to individually alert those with high class ranks of impending doom, so classes would need to be dismissed according to the level of difficulty of the class. AP classes would leave the building first, fol-lowed by honors classes, and so on. In the event of a tornado, the same system would determine who gets the most sheltered locations in the school. This is the only way to preserve the academic integrity of the school in the event of a disaster.

While these are only a few of the ways class rank should be factored into everyday life, they have the potential to bring about great positive changes to the school as a whole. It is time for the school to congratulate and reward students who actually take school seriously and look forward to contributing to society.

Page 4 OPINION December 2013

Incentives for hard-working students

At the end of each year, Moeller sends out our transcripts with our final class rank calculated into it. While the weighted rank is interesting to see, it does not really have any use except for seniors ap-plying to colleges. This needs to change. Students, at least some of them, try their best in every class so that they will get good grades, but those students are not being rewarded enough for their laborious efforts. While it is true that some smart kids don’t even try to get good grades and some less-intelligent students will do their best and still not do well, that does not offset the majority of students who get grades which correspond to the effort they give. In order to reward students for their hard work aca-demically, Moeller needs to implement a system of rewards for those who drive themselves to be suc-cessful in school.

Currently, a Moeller student’s class rank means close to nothing, but there are countless areas in which a student’s class rank could improve his level of comfort at school. First, masses at Moeller can be very uncomfortable, but that can all change if the school takes away money from something like useless house days and transfers it to an account reserved for cushioned chairs at mass. Obviously, there would be a limited number of these soothing chairs due to limited floor space at masses, but those

could easily be filled by students who deserve them, students with high class ranks. Of course, these stu-dents would always get called down and dismissed first. Some might argue that all seniors reserve the right to sit in the chairs on the floor at mass, but se-niors will still be on the floor. Just not as many. The smart freshmen would still have to sit in the bleach-ers with the remaining less educated portion of the school, needing a year to prove themselves worthy of the cushioned seats. Not only would this system reward dedicated students, but it would encour-age the freshmen to work diligently and boost the amount of learning at Moeller.

Crusader Staff Editorial

Commemorative statues and outlet priority

IntervIewed by danny bruns ‘14 Crusader News Editor

Moe Student Q&A J.J. Harper ‘15

Kyle ZImmerman ‘14 Crusader Editor

The solution to shaking the dreaded “jock school” stigma is simple: incentivize academic achievement. I am not talking about taking a group of kids to Montgomery Inn for lunch, no. It requires a complete overhaul of current school functions. If the following incentives are imple-mented, the administration and faculty would be demonstrating their commitment to strengthen-ing Moeller’s academics while also rewarding the smartest students.

Fire drillsDuring all fire drills, the top 50 students in each grade level will be given a 30 second head start to leave the building in an effort to protect and pre-serve our school’s brightest minds.

LunchJust as Season Pass holders have a special line at Kings Island, the 25 students with the highest GPA in each lunch bell will be granted access into a special lunch line that receives priority access to all entrees, fried goods, chicken sandwiches, pizza, and fountain drinks in addition to having their own special checkout line.

Dress code Any student who receives first honors during the most recent quarter cycle will be granted three detention passes which will exempt them from any detentions that were given out due to uniform infractions. Any leftover detention passes will roll over to the next quarter. At the end of the year, students can redeem their detention passes for Chipotle burritos furnished by Mr. Dan Dever.

Gym class Ever since the advent of the heart rate monitor and corresponding wrist watches, freshman PE students have been forced to exert themselves to physical thresholds to maintain a high heart rate. Students who pass a rigorous physical fitness test on the first day of class will not be subject to activi-ties deemed unnecessary by the student. This will conserve energy for students and allow them to study more.

Power outlets A student of higher class rank can unplug another student’s charger from a power outlet. Since smart kids are constantly harassed and encouraged to disseminate their class notes to others, it’s only fair that they should receive ample charging time.

Water fountains Students who are in the top 50 percent of their class will be granted access to new water fountains that dispense water through a Brita filter.

Elevator passes The top ten students from each grade level will be issued an elevator pass to be used at their leisure, although they must agree to share the elevator with Señora Keyser.

Bathroom passesThere is one bathroom that has gone largely un-noticed by the Moeller populace. It is a sparkling gem amongst other AC bathrooms. The sign on the blue door reads “Women’s restroom.” The top five students from each grade level will be granted ac-cess to this bathroom so they can rest their weary minds.

National Merit Finalists As National Merit Finalists have become increas-ingly difficult to produce, any finalist will be exempt from all school rules and a statue of that fi-nalist will be erected in the Mary Courtyard where it will remain forever.

As a school with deeply-rooted athletic tradi-tions, instituting this incentive system would help bring academics to the forefront of our school community. This unprecedented change in school functionality would be an outward sign of our devotion to the academic education of young men. And who knows, maybe one day, people will rec-ognize Moeller for its academic excellence instead of Gerry Faust’s football team.

A Modest Proposal: Possible ways for Moeller to give daily rewards for high class ranks

Three minutes is way too long for Moeller’s most valuable students to wait

to get out of a burning building.

Q: What is the best restaurant to take a date to? A: Definitely Chipotle. Not only do you make sure that the amount of food will always be enough, but you also get to show off your abil- ity to eat without getting yourself covered in food. They also maintain a unique atmosphere. However, if you’re going to be close together for more than a half hour after that, I would have to go with a safer bet like Subway.

Q: Best pick up line? A: You must work on stealth jets because I can’t get a read on you.

Q: What do you want for Christmas?A: All I want for Christmas is for this automatic screen saver to go away and for Netmoeller to work properly; also having Google unblocked would be nice.

Q: What is your favorite food during the winter?A: Chili. No contest.

Q: What is the best holiday movie?A: The best holiday movie definitely has to be the original Disney Christmas story with Scrooge Mc- Duck, the uncle of Donald Duck. For one thing, it was a Christmas story that somehow managed to be both endearing and absolutely terrifying at the same time, especially when I was younger.

Q: What has been your favorite class?A: Definitely sophomore English with Mr. Minnick. So many fierce thinkers in that class that it was as much a debate class as an English one.

Zehler junior J.J. Harper is no stranger to the spotlight. He is a member of the band and he is cur-rently working on becoming an Eagle Scout. Luckily, he found enough time in his day to answer a few questions from the Crusader.

Q: Who is your favorite teacher and why?A: I’ve had a lot of good teachers, though I’m torn between Mr. Minnick, Mr. Faller, and Mr. Kindt. Mr. Minnick because I would never, ever get bored in his class. Mr. Faller because I have never had a history teacher who got every word he said to stick in my head like he can. Lastly, Mr. Kindt because he is a great role model and because I learn so much in his religion class.

pep rally video. He is unsure if he wants to pursue film in college but says he is leaning in that direc-tion. What started with filming a few school masses has blossomed into a potential career for Kyle Metzger.

Metzger’s shorter counterpart, Ben Rigney, has directed over ten productions, which is significant considering he is not even halfway through his ju-nior year. Currently, he is working on three projects on his own. He also works at Regal Movie Theater in Mason. “I live, think and breathe movies.”

Rigney says the new Help Desk guru Mr. Gavin Gray has been vital to his success. “I come to him with most of our problems and we use his equip-ment.” Rigney also serves as director of photogra-phy for The Crusader student newspaper. “I like to think of myself as a photojournalist and a film-maker.”

Rigney plans on attending Bowling Green or Ohio University for film school, hoping to work in the film industry. “I don’t need to make a lot of money; I just want to make films.”

The Crusader FEATURES Page 5

With Moeller’s original video production duo of Tim Valentine and Jake Alexander graduating in 2012, there was a vacancy as Moeller’s go-to film-makers. It has been filled this year by two juniors, Ben Rigney and Kyle Metzger.

The duo’s passion for filmmaking started in a way that sounds similar to how most teenagers get hooked on drugs: “Over the summer going into sophomore year, I began making some stuff with some friends. We didn’t do much but we more or less just experimented” said director Ben Rigney. The duo started their film careers freshman year in Video Production class with Mr. Gray.

“I knew Ben before the class,” says Metzger, “but neither he nor I knew our love for filming. Some-thing changed in me the day I first picked up the camera.”

Rigney and Metzger are a pair; it is difficult to find one without the other. However, they are polar opposites in regard to physical stature. Metzger, a former volleyball player, is 6’3” with some meat on his bones. Rigney is 5’6” and, if not for his heavy camera equipment that is constantly draped to his shoulder, he could be blown over by a gust of wind. Both agree that they push each other to be better filmmakers.

During the week of Moeller’s Open House, the duo was working on the Canned Food Drive video, a video for the football team, and the House System video that was shown to all families at Open House. Metzger says he spent 3-4 hours editing videos in Adobe Premiere that week. Metzger has edited and filmed 15-20 short films of all different genres and has already started writing the script for next year’s

Not much is known of what Mr. Jim Elfers, also known as Elf-Dog, actually does when he is not helping young people enhance their spiritual lives.

As a leader of Pastoral Ministry and one of the great minds behind many community service-related projects at the school, Mr. Elfers has helped the school carry out one of its core Marianist values: helping others and building community.

In 2012, he received the Founder’s Award for his outstanding contributions to Moeller.

Mr. Elfers graduated from GCL rival La Salle in 1998, but he has gradually worked his way toward the bright side since then.

All the way back in his senior year at Xavier University, Mr. Elfers decided his undergraduate business degree was not the right fit for him, but it was a bit too late to change his major.

He decided to get involved in youth ministry at

Mr. Stanforth named most-admired

All of the teachers here at Moeller High School work hard, but few receive the recognition they deserve. This past October, Mr. Stanforth ‘67, chair of the art and photography department, was named one of the 30 most admired educators of 2014.

DesignIntelligence, a magazine that focuses on the future of art, architecture, and design, awarded him because of his ability to prepare students for success in college, and for their careers in the fields of art and design. Of the 30 educators listed, he was the only high school teacher to receive this award.

“It was overwhelming to be included in the list, looking over the past years and seeing the people,” said Mr. Stanforth, “ It’s incredible to think that I would even be considered, much less be on it.”

Mr. Stanforth has been teaching at Moeller for 28 years and he has been the head of Moeller’s art and photography department since 1992. He says he’s stayed at Moeller instead of leaving for bigger opportunities because, “I felt like I got a lot out of Moeller as a student, and I feel like I owe something and I want to give back.”

His graduating students collectively obtain around two million dollars in scholarship offers from some of the best art schools in the country. Stanforth helps his students earn these by having them create a portfolio showcasing all of their best work throughout their junior and senior years.

“I feel that my artistic ability would not be nearly as good as it is if I hadn’t been taught by Mr. Stan-forth” said McAnthony Martin ’14.

He prepares his students for college by hav-ing them draw in a sketchbook daily to help them develop their skills. Students in his classes also become well trained in interpreting the meaning of others people’s works of art and being able to fully convey the message of their own art verbally. Lastly, he stresses the importance of a good work ethic.

“Talent is irrelevant,” Stanforth says, “It’s how hard you’re willing to work.”

By Eric Maus ‘14Crusader Assistant Sports EditorBy KylE ZiMMErMan ‘14

Crusader Editor-in-Chief

Crusaders take charge in film productionRigney, Metzger duo sink their teeth into filmaking industry

By Danny Bruns ‘14Crusader News Editor

Take a look at suave, intelligent ElfersMr. Jim Elfers’ mysterious life outside his cave in Pastoral Ministry

the Milford Spiritual Center which eventually led him to go to the University of Dayton.

He graduated with a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry and worked at Dayton’s campus ministry for two years. In 2007, he moved to Moeller and de-cided to educate its youth on the value of faith and community service.

Outside of his life at Moeller, Mr. Elfers is a busy man. He is currently studying Spanish at the Uni-versity of Cincinnati with the goal of eventually bringing his skills to the classroom to teach.

In 2004, he spent nine weeks in Guatemala and an additional six weeks in 2007. In 2012, he spent five weeks in both Ecuador and Spain getting to know the language and the culture.

On top of that, he has also spent time studying in Mexico. He said he, “likes to get around.” He has used these experiences to help him while he regular-ly volunteers at Su Casa to help tutor adults in math study for their GED. Many of the people he helps do not speak English.

RIgney and Metzger edit inside the new library classroom.

It’s almost three o’clock on a sunny afternoon as the Russian Security Council member enters the room for another tense meeting of the United Nations. China and the United States have trouble working out their differences and an argument breaks out before Japan can jump in. Meanwhile France’s representative sits quietly in the back wait-ing for the uproar to subside. After a short break, the twenty-something countries gathered together finally agree that Iraq should be escorted to the hall-way. This is just another day for the United Nations.

While it may not be the real thing, administrator Paul McCreary ’14 has pushed his Model UN club to a new level, mimicking the style of the actual or-ganization. Meeting after school, the club recreates the environment of the UN, minus several coun-tries. “It’s a good opportunity for those considering a political major,” says senior Kellis Kincaid.

Forty students, each representing a country,

convene for the meetings. They are not all equal academically, and come from all six houses and all grade levels. The variety in the room adds to the global atmosphere.

McCreary steps up from traditional clubs and de-mands outside investigation. “They have to research their issues or else they won’t be able to take part in the discussion,” he says. Students come in with prior knowledge of their countries’ issues, ready to debate past and present topics, possibly including the Syrian conflict or Australian territory changes. Some will be asked to speak on their issues before the whole assembly, hoping to promote their causes.

However, it’s not history class. The debates are alive and spontaneous, and the meetings are en-tertaining to watch because of the casual setting. “It’s not quite like debate club,” says senior Corey Pieper, who enjoys the opportunity to publicly cri-tique governments.

Mr. Benedetti allows his room to be used as the international chamber of argument, giving full control to McCreary and his other Security Council

Chaos with a chance of compromiseModel UN club replicates heated global debates

Besides traveling to exciting foreign countries, Mr. Elfers also likes to have fun in the U.S. In the 2011 canned food drive video, he showed off not only his fancy feet, but also his singing voice. He sings national anthems at Xavier basketball games. He performs on March 1.

Mr. Elfers also graces the people of St. Joseph’s Church in downtown Cincinnati on Sundays with his voice by joining in on their up-beat masses.

He enjoys going to music concerts such as the Midpoint Music Festival, Larry and His Flask, and Low Cost which was in Spain.

Mr. Elfers also occupies his time with running, playing volleyball, and other physical activities like lifting weights.

He says, “Obviously I lift weights, but I don’t like to max out for the self-esteem of the people around me.”

While he may or may not fight crime on the weekends, he certainly is a hero not only within the school, but in the greater community as well.

members (who are all seniors): Aidan Jabs repre-senting France, Corey Pieper as Australia, Andy Strotman supporting the United States, and Kellis Kincaid for the United Kingdom.

McCreary is not closing the book on his member-ship either. Despite only twenty people showing up for the first meeting, the leader welcomes represen-tatives of all nations. Currently Bahamas, Ireland, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe are still up for grabs, with over 150 other countries available. With plenty of openings left, the club has room for growth.

The members welcome people to attend the meetings and observe the action up close. McCreary extends an invitation to outsiders, saying, “Feel free to sit in. Although there’s no guarantee that world issues will be solved, it’ll be a hell of a debate.”

By JoE PaPPalarDo ‘14Crusader Managing Editor

Kincaid, Pieper, McCreary, Jabs, and Strotman

Page 6 SPORTS December 2013

November 13, 2013 - National Signing Day. Parents, grandparents, younger sibling, and older siblings, packed into Moeller High School’s board room.

Once everyone was settled into their positions the Signing Day extravaganza began. Tim Held, known to the baseball players simply as “Coach,” introduced the first group of committing baseball players.

Pitcher Zach Logue committed to the University of Kentucky. His excellence on the field may only be surpassed by his academic performance as he’s cur-rently ranked 7th in the class of 2014.

Riley Mahan, a shortstop who similarly commit-ted to the University of Kentucky has been named First Team All-GCL, Second Team All-City, and Second Team All-State.

Nick Voss, a lanky pitcher, committed to the Uni-versity of Cincinnati. In addition to being one of the aces on a state-winning team Nick has maintained a 4.0 and is currently ranked 17th in the class of 2014.

Coach Kremer introduced the basketball com-mits. Jack Anton, a gargantuan power forward who committed to Elon University. Jack has maintained a 3.7 GPA while at Moeller High School in addition to being the Trinity House chaplain.

The next player introduced was Grant Benzinger, a dominant scoring shooting guard who committed

By Quincy Williams ‘14Crusader Staff Reporter

to Wright State University. Grant was a member of First Team all-GCL last basketball season while car-rying a 3.7 GPA.

The next group honored was Lacrosse team introduced by former head coach Nate Reed. Eddie Kunkel, a defensive player, committed to Bellarmine

Junior tackle makes big impact on D-line By connor Borton ‘15 Crusader Staff Reporter

Moeller athletes advance to the next level

We all know him because of his football talents and his big smile, but no one really understands what goes on within the mind of All-State defensive tackle, Elijah Taylor. As a junior he has already received college schol-arship offers from Notre Dame, Michigan State, West Virginia, Duke, Louisville, Illinois, Ohio Uni-versity, and Michigan. Taylor is beginning to see his

Spring and winter sports send 10 athletes athletes to D-I colleges

MOE Tweets

Kevin Buckley @KevinBuckley321“About to head home and watch Drake and Josh on my iPad all night. #StressRelief #Best-ShowEver”

Bill Kohus@janitor_in_chief

“Wiped out getting out of my truck today”#cleanupinfacultyparkinglot

#lifealert #brokenhip“

John Rodenberg@jrody25“- #TheDash”

Brian Compton@Str8_Outta_Compton

“Latin may be dying but my swag sure isn’t #3hunnit.”

Bro. Flaherty@bro_flo “Just got back from my sabbatical... did you guys see this new guidance department?!?”

DWills@bigslim16

“Has anyone else tried these cheese coneys in the cafeteria? #state”

Alex Thompson@Mr_TEE“JUST GOT A DELIEVERY OF FRESH WILSON TENNIS BALLS. Got me looking like Nadal #State”

Greg Stanforth @uncle_giggles

“I am best teacher in the world #art #nofilter”

Pat McLaughlin @pmac_daddy“Ayy man, listen, Moeller is about the three R’s, my class is about the three F’s. #firm #fair #fun”

University. Eddie is a two time Under Armour All-American and one time Brine All-American. In addi-tion to his athletic pursuits Eddie is a mentor captain and has carried a 3.5 GPA through his four years at Moeller High School.

David Sturgis, who plays face-off and middie, committed to Robert Morris University. David has maintained honors throughout his career at Moeller, is Quiroga’s house captain, and played varsity golf.

Collin Rice, who plays attack, committed to John Carroll University. Collin was named Second Team All-Region and has maintained honors.

The next sport recognized was swimming. Chris Asgian, the lone swimmer recognized, committed to Providence College. Chris has maintained honor roll all four years at Moeller and carries a 3.8 average.

The wrestling team was the last to be recognized. Head coach Jeff Gaier introduced Dakota Sizemore and Quinton Rosser.

Dakota, who committed to Ohio University, won the State Championship in his weight class in 2013 and also has maintained a 4.0 GPA, which led to him being named Academic All-Ohio.

Quinton, who committed to Northern Illinois University, was the State Runner-Up in his weight class, has also maintained a 4.0 GPA and earned six subject awards.

After all of the athletes were introduced, eager parents and grandparents stormed to the front of the boardroom with their cameras and iPhones and documented the event.

full potential as he accomplishes goals and discovers new challenges during the football season. “I am looking forward to being part of a NCAA championship team and being surrounded by the best in the game,” said Taylor. Six foot three junior football star Elijah Taylor knows the feeling to be part of a state championship team. As the football team finished its season, Taylor continued carrying an All-State performance. “In order to perform at my best ability, setting my expectations at the highest peak is required,” said Taylor. “You must not accept anything less than the best out of yourself every second of the day.” “Being the best person I can be on and off the field is always my main goal,” says Taylor, “that’s why they call me Easy E.” Despite his efforts, improving his skills as an individual and a football player will always be a continuous process. Before every game, Taylor likes to separate him-self from the team in order to “get his mind right.” “The chemistry we have as a team is borderline brilliant” said Taylor. ”We have broken records, built a brotherhood, all coming to our success to-day.” Taylor motivates himself through hard work and is motivated by his coaches, teammates, and par-ents. Beginning his football experience in the third grade, Taylor finds himself dedicated to every op-portunity presented. In the halls, it’s nearly impossible to miss Taylor’s large football physique, deep voice, and big smile. Fellow peers enjoy Taylor’s company and recognize

“Being the best person I can be on and off the field is always my main goal”

- Elijah Taylor ‘15

him as the nicest man alive with a polite sense of humor. “Elijah is different from your average 16 year-old because he has a vision on what type of person he wants to be,” said teammate Keegan Riley’15. “He works at building himself into a better version through all challenges thrown at him.” In addition to Taylor’s 350 pound bench press, he can show serious pass rush skills required to be the best defensive tackle in the game, potentially land-ing him on an NFL squad. This will take him to new heights as an addition to the elite group of Moeller crusaders who have been part of a professional football squad. Taylor helps his teammates anyway he can on the playing field. “Whenever I make a mistake on the line I know Elijah will be there to make it up and find a way to fix it,” said Dakota Sizemore ’14, starting middle linebacker.

Elijah Taylor anchors defensive line, key in state title

Seniors Jack Anton (Elon commit) and Grant Benzinger (Wright State commit) are all smiles after signing their letters of intent

Elijah Taylor stares down the opposition in preparation for a big play

“Initially I wrestled because my dad wanted me to; I hated it in grade school. I Decided to try it again in high school and enjoyed it, I quit because I was injured a lot and I didn’t like losing weight,” says Eddy. That says a lot about how tough it is to be a wrestler. Eddy has never competitively swam in his life. He is jumping into the pool cold. Eddy’s reasoning behind joining the swim team is that “One of my friends on the swim team told me I should try it so I decided that I might as well do it.”

This is not to say that swimming is an easy sport. Waking up for 5 AM practices and jumping into the ice cold water of the local YMCA is no easy task. A student quitting a sport because of how difficult the training and preparation is and not because of a lack of skill should be a shining signal that the life of a wrestler is daunting.

Eddy says the hardest parts of being a wrestler are, “cutting weight, tough practices every day, tough competition, and it takes a lot of time out of your social life and schedule.”

For the students who truly enjoy wrestling and do it for themselves and not to please their fathers or somebody else – good for you. Wrestling is a sport that many would argue is preposterous in the way that wrestlers are trained and what they are put through. For those who struggle with wrestling, try taking Eddy’s path and venture off into new and less food deprived ways of life.

The Crusader SPORTS Page 7

Junior slides out of singlet, slips into Speedo

“I love wrestling” and “Gee golly, cutting weight sure is fun” – two phrases never once spoken by an American High school student. With any sport there is a code of conduct that one must follow to stay in shape and perform to the best of their abilities. Football, basketball, hockey, soccer and many others require ridiculous stamina and strength to go out and play every day.

In many people’s minds, no one has to push harder and harder every day to achieve success than a wrestler. Wrestlers force themselves to essentially starve for five months out of the year in order to

achieve their highest point of physical fitness while also cutting weight so they can wrestle in a certain weight class. A Big Texas that’s a nice after school snack for a non-wrestler would be viewed as a delicacy for a wrestler cutting weight. You see it all the time, a wrestler walking down the hall with the deathly blank stare upon his face, displaying how sleep and food deprived he is. When is the last time you saw a wrestler in season with a smile on his face? Most wrestlers are caught in the middle of the sport because their dads want them to wrestle or they wrestled in grade school and it’s the only thing they know.

Eddy Pappalardo, a junior, and one of the three Pappalardo boys roaming the halls of Moeller High School is a former wrestler. He wrestled for seven punishing years, five in grade school and his first two years at Moeller, until it got to a point where he could not take it any longer. It got so rough that Eddy decided to quit and join the “aqua-saders,” pursuing a swimming career.

By Ben Land ‘14Crusader Sports Editor

The team you don’t know about: Moeller Skiing

7,126 Number of fans in

attendance for the game

550Number of yards Moeller’s

offense accumulated

273 Number of yards quarterback Gus Ragland ‘14 threw for in

the championship game

182 Number of receiving yards by wide receiver Isaiah Gentry ‘14

55 Number of points Moeller scored

25 Number of yards Kyle Butz ‘15

averaged on kickoff returns

10 Number of tackles Sam Hubbard ‘14 and Christian Wersel ‘15 had

in the game (team high)

8 Number of touchdowns Gus Ragland ‘14

accounted for in the win (5 rushing, 3 passing)

2Number of years in a row Moeller

football has won the state championship

We all hear a lot about the major sports teams at Moeller, but there are lots of teams that aren’t as popular. One example of this is the skiing team. Contrary to popular belief, the skiing team is an of-ficial Moeller sport that practices, trains and com-petes just like any other team. While there is a skiing club that is affiliated with the team, the ski team is recognized by the athletic department as an official sport just like all the oth-ers. The ski team was established in 1988 by a stu-dent named Art Lewis. The team grew quickly and had as many as 35 people in the 90’s. The team is coached by Moeller graduate Rob Quatkmeyer and Mark Lefke who started coaching in 2009. As of last winter, the Crusaders had 16 members on the team. They also made the first ever Moeller

snowboarding team, which competed in meets along with the skiers. The “snowsaders” practice once a week and have six or seven meets a year. The majority of the time at the meets, the Crusad-ers race against themselves essentially. Times are taken and recorded by NASTAR, which stands for National Standard Race. NASTAR is an organization that records times and scores of skiers around the world. One can also get a “handicap” from this program, which is a score that tells of their overall ability. All of the members of the skiing squad get their times record-ed. Most of the meets are intra-team, there are meets

Stateby the Numbers

By dan MiLLer ‘14Crusader Staff Reporter

Eddy Pappalardo quits wrestling to join swim team after several injuries

Ski team poised for breakout year on the slopes

“I quit because I was injured a lot and I didn’t like losing weight.”

-Eddy Pappalardo

Eddy Pappalardo ‘15 walked off the mat and into the water.

during the season where the Crusaders race against other schools. Last year in one of the high school meets, the Crusaders placed a close 2nd out of 7 teams, while the snowboard team won the meet in their first year of existence. “This year we are very excited to be returning our 4 varsity racers from last year, Andrew Olinger, Keane Reed, Zack Jansing, and Kevin Korneffel” said Coach Rob Quatkmeyer, “We also are looking for some of our returning racers to make a strong impact a push for a spot on the Varsity team such as Gabe Davis, Andrew Smith, John DeCaprio, Connor Hanson, and Andrew Montour. We are returning

“We are always making each other better with our in-team competition.”

-Zach Jansing ‘14

Moeller’s ski team during their team dinner at the Montgomery Inn last season

two boards this year in William Loxerkamp and Rob Stentz” The entire team is optimistic about the upcoming season. When asked about the upcoming season, Zach Jansing ‘14 said “It is great to have all of the returning varsity members back. We are always making each other better with our in-team competi-tion.” Coach Quatkmeyer said, “This year I believe we will be bringing on 5 new racers and two new boards. I am sure they will fill out the team well.” The first competition of the year is on January 4th and 5th.

Page 8 December 2013

English can be a beautiful, euphonic language when used correctly; however, the speech patterns of the average American include many words that are misappropriated. The prevalence of clichés in the language decreases the overall meaning. Some words are egregiously misused; some are just used in inappropriate situations. For example, awesome, which was once a word which held some dra-matic weight, has now become prosaic in mod-ern English. The prob-lems go further than just speech; the writ-ten word is in an even further state of disarray. If you want an example of the butchering of the English language you need go no further than your Twitter, or other comparable social media feed. The amount of er-rors and simple misuses present on social media sites is enough to make me swear off English altogether and convert to Yiddish.

There is nothing more distressing, excluding those SPCA commer-cials with that Sarah McLachlan song, than a fully formed adult who doesn’t know the dif-ference between their, they’re and there. What’s worse is many will feign indifference when corrected, saying something flip-pant like “Who cares” or “What’s the big deal.” The big deal is that Senor Delgado makes more effec-tive use of the English language than people who have lived in America all of their lives. Inability to differentiate “than” and “then” is another unfor-tunate malady common of many English speakers. An example I hear every day at the cafeteria tables while eating mediocre food, “LeBron is better then Kobe and Jordan”. There are two problems with this phrase; one, Kobe Bryant is indubitably the best basketball player ever to walk the earth, and two, when you are comparing things the proper word would be “than”. The word “Then” is only applicable when discussing time.

There is one particular demographic who mis-appropriates a word so often that the word has become completely insipid in modern speech. The demographic I speak of is females from the ages of 13 to 19; the word is awkward. These verbose creatures misuse “awkward” more than any other

Cliches: Crimes against the English language

ENTERTAINMENT

By Quincy Williams ‘14Crusader Rant Artist

group, often interspersed with a “like” for dramatic effect. An example of a sentence that any young male who has spoken to a young woman has heard “It was like, so awkward...” While I’m sure that certain situations are “like so awkward,” the word has been used so much that it fails to convey much meaning. Another word which has been bastardized by all demographics in the past ten to twenty years is “literally”. Literally is a term that should describe something that is actually happening, (i.e. He liter-

ally jumped with joy), not for emphasis (i.e. Quincy is literally such a genius). The words “awkward” and “literally” share a ubiquity in the speech patterns of the average American teen that is unrivaled. I suggest that “awkward” and “literally” be treated as curse words until every teen in America has learned when and how to use them.

I digress, however, from discussing the foibles of teens’ misuse of the English language. I move on to their parents. A popular word to describe something great or something that is the best in its field is “ultimate”. For instance, there is a Gillete razor commercial for some ridiculously unnecessary new razor that has eight blades. In the commercial it is called “the ultimate innovation in shaving.” This is an incorrect usage of ultimate, unless all the other

razor companies cease to innovate upon Gillete’s design. The word “ultimate” means, “last; furthest or farthest; ending a process or series.” Ultimate is not synonymous with great or best and should not be used the way it is in our modern speech.

My diatribe has just entered its ultimate para-graph, yet before I get completely off my soapbox I must assure you that the grievances committed daily against the English language are very serious indeed. The first person to misuse the word literally probably didn’t think he had just ignited a fire that would burn ceaselessly for years, but he did. When an English teacher writes a correction in the margin of your essay that discusses the symbolism of the “A” Hester Prynne has to wear in the Scarlet Let-ter, do not dismiss him as a pretentious snob who notices things that no else does, but instead, cor-rect your mistakes. The next “literally” is out there somewhere lying dormant in an unused Merriam-Webster dictionary, don’t let the perpetrator of the next great word crime be a current or former Moeller student.

Paul McCreary ‘14 Aidan Jabs ‘14 Mark Franklin ‘14 Corey Pieper ‘14 Kellis Kincaid ‘14 Stephen Chu ‘17 Andy Strotman ‘14

What country are you representing? Russia France Sweden China Great Britain No answer America

Which rapper would be your VP? Gucci Mane Rap is awful. Ludacris Eminem Tupac Redacted Chief Keef

Describe yourself in one word.

rowdy geek quiet clueless beautiful Unresponsive red

Funniest teacher at Moeller?

Mr. Tull, not even a contest

Mr. Ward Mr. Hayes Mr. Shaffer Mr. Conlon Not saying Mr. Rose

Hardest class you’ve taken?

Tablet Organizational Skills

Terrorism with lovely Mr. Naumann

AP Art IV AP Chemistry aP calculus Won’t tell you Honors Analysis

Henry Myers ‘14

Greece

Nelly

enticing

Mr. Shaffer

In a switch from Quincy Williams, Art & Photography Director Ben Rigney offers a more pleasant take on popular movies.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

12 Years a Slave

Our language has evolved, and its current state is a sad one

Religion II with Mr. Kindt

BEST OF 2013

MOE Culture Model UN members

Peter Jackson reclaims territory lost with the first film. This different adaptation of the clas-sic novel even rivals the scale and majesty of his first Lord of the Rings movie.

This raw and visceral film takes on one of the darkest times in American history: slavery in the South. A brutally honest piece with a sur-prisingly uplifting ending.

Every now and again there comes a film that is a milestone of American Cinema. This is one of them. With spectacular visuals and amazing technique, this is one of the greatest films of the year.

A dark and gritty take on any parent’s worst nightmare. The film is spectacularly paced, led by an award winning ensembles cast.

A wildly entertaining film that picks up right where the original left off. This is a picture that diehard trekkers and newcom-ers alike can truly appreciate.

@bigrig27Ben Rigney

@bigrig27Ben Rigney

Gravity (with Sandra Bullock!)@bigrig27Ben Rigney

Prisoners@bigrig27Ben Rigney

Star Trek: Into Darkness@bigrig27Ben Rigney