The Yellow Wall Paper

One thing that has always been perplexing is our school’s policy on leadership. We do not have typical leadership opportunities at the Northwest School. As Kevin Alexander states, we have “a different kind of leadership.” Instead of organized opportunities, such as student council that rigidly defines who the leaders are in a school, Northwest decides to not define leaders in a formal manner, in order to allow more people the opportunity to lead.

As Kevin Alexander said, “If you assign leadership positions it can actually limit people’s involvement.” Younger students at Northwest have resources such as interest groups and community meeting that allow them to get involved in issues that interest them. The school also purposefully divvies up leadership positions throughout the grades. The junior migrant farm workers trip used to be a senior event, but the school decided to change it to a junior trip in order to better utilize the potential of the juniors and to give them more leadership opportunities.

Even though the Northwest School supposedly promotes leadership throughout the entire student body, the seniors have a huge leadership role. The seniors put together all of the Northwest School’s holidays, dances, and spirit weeks. The seniors have a lot to do (college applications, etc.), and as a result theses events are not always satisfactory. Perhaps, more of these tasks could be spread out to younger students who are willing to help. Yes, it is nice to look forward to being a big senior and planning everything, but the outcome of Northwest’s ‘seniors as leaders’ system is not what it could be. If the school properly delegated leadership positions throughout the entire student body, it would have better outcomes.

If students agree that The Northwest School is biased towards seniors, giving them too much responsibility, it is worth further discussion. It is time to advocate for the distribution of responsibilities throughout the whole school community to groups of people who want to be more involved. Ask yourself, do I agree with the Northwest School’s current leadership system? Do I want to help plan dances? Do I want to plan something that the seniors traditionally do? Kevin Alexander said that if there is enough interest a group of students and faculty can get together and talk about giving more leadership roles to younger students. Hopefully, a change will be made to allow the younger students more say in planning events in the Northwest School.

The Spirit of Northwest Fan Night

By John C. 11

What went right? Firstly, the school body turned up. Despite the fact that Northwest School is far from a powerhouse athletically, well over fifty students attended, as well as many parents from the community. Senior Bailey Willis led the spectators in cheers, and a cadre of freshmen proved to be incredibly enthusiastic in doing their part during all four games. However, the most powerful statement was the presence of many of the faculty at the game, with Sarah Porter and Michelle Kowals representing just a portion of the teachers present. The fact that such a diverse fan group turned up was quite inspiring, and the sheer number of fans was overwhelming—Athletic Director Britt Atack ran out of the commemorative t-shirts ordered for the game well before the girls’ varsity game even began. Doubtlessly, Seattle Hebrew was packed, and energy in that small gym was overwhelming.

Secondly, the teams played well. Despite the ignominy of boys’ varsity’s loss to Seattle Academy (last year’s league champions), the remainder of the games were close-knit affairs, and all of the games drew the crowd in with the efforts produced. The girls’ JV game was a blast to watch, as they pulled themselves back from the brink of defeat to beat the SAAS team. The second game was even closer, as SAAS took the boys’ JV team to a one-point difference before folding with two minutes to go, and leaving the JV boys’ with a tooth-and-nail victory.

However, nothing could match the intensity of the Varsity girls’ game. After a back and forth game, featuring matching superb performances from Seattle Academy’s Lanise Laube and Northwest’s Michaela Fallon, our girls led by one going into the fourth quarter. Seattle Academy, however, took advantage of a tired defense as well as a questionable nullification of a NWS free throw with mere seconds left to win the match, 30-29, and putting a somber touch on a truly beautiful game. The Northwest boys’ game took a far more depressing note afterwards, and despite the best efforts of an ensemble of Northwest players, SAAS’ combination of Yaniv Shier and Evan Gray put Northwest in an inescapable hole.

Despite the late letdown, however, fan night was a truly magnificent experience, and poses a question to the Northwest School: how can such a magnificent spectacle, with student involvement ranging from players to spectators to concessions stand managers to announcers, be contained within a home court miles away from the school and a fraction of the size of most high school athletics facilities? If the growing prowess of the basketball teams and their quickly expanding fanbase are any indication, not for long.

What’s Left of The Year

By Elliot V. 9

It is shocking that the holiday break has already passed, and we are well into quint three. So far, this has been an exciting two and a half quints; students have had a Winterfest full of exciting mousetrap car heats, crazy machines made from household items, and the bridges made by the eighth grade. There were also chemistry demonstrations which were eye-popping as ususal. MLK day was full of exciting celebrations and festivities. In peticular, it was interesting to have a former member of Black Panther Party talking and sharing her experiences with us.

With half of the year behind us, there are still many exciting things to look forward to. These long winter days are depressing and make life hard to enjoy. The dreary weather is gloomy, and life begins to feel repetitive. It is challenging to wake up while it’s still dark enough to be sleeping and go to school only to come home to do more work.

Luckily, there is still so much to look forward to in this school year and in life. A new quint is very near, bringing a fresh start for all. On March 14, the clocks get set one hour ahead. There begins to be more daylight and soon it will be light early enough to be waking up the sun. People will be wearing shorts again, and there will be an exciting sports season played outside in the sun. Ultimate Frisbee, Northwest’s heart and soul, will begin. The first Frisbee meeting was held during the second week of January to get people ready and pumped for the season. Before you know it, Northwest will be hearing about the varsity teams heading to Westerns. Artsfest is also just around the corner, and there are plenty of exciting performances to look forward to. Artsfest is always a highlight of the year, and walking down to Beneroya Hall on the last day of the quint gets the break “hype” up. The month of May brings with it that summer fever, starting off with Memorial Day weekend. Get ready to get those dancing shoes out of the closet because everyone knows it, Prom is coming! Class trips go out and adventure in the great Northwest.

With only a few more quints left, one could say the school year is basically done. The final stretch of the year just a stride away, but be sure to enjoy it while it lasts.

Good luck kids!

Identity Crisis

By Graham C. 10

Every Tuesday and Thursday, sixteen young men and women pile into Chomsky and close the shades, not to emerge for an hour and a half. What do they do? This is the office of The Yellow Wall Paper, where a plethora of articles are typed up by the studious Journalism class.

Most students know enough about writing to realize that good, informative writing can take some real talent, and there are those who are better at it than others. Of course, the same can be said about music, painting, drawing, and theatre. This is shown by every Journalism student’s writing skills improvement over the year, supported by the stringent editorial staff. Unfortunately, the Journalism staff spends three hours a week working for no arts credit.

Calvin Shaw, Humanities teacher and Journalism instructor offered a stripped-down explanation of the course credit process. As Calvin says, “Journalism is a different breed.” This because it is hard to place under one of the four categories of arts, and because it can be a good way for new students to catch up on some of the Humanities credits that they need.

Changing Journalism to an arts credit would encourage more students to join the Journalism staff. Labeling Journalism as a Humanities course would not make sense, because the class rarely covers Humanities topics. I have yet to find a student who actually needs a significant amount of extra Humanities credit.

Just because the school views Journalism as a unique class, the hardworking writers and artists should not be kept from using Journalism as an arts credit.

Wireless Internet

By Elliot V. 9 and

Peno M-R 9

At the Northwest School, students are prohibited to connect to the wireless network. Some students have hacked into the network, because they believe that they should be allowed to connect to the wireless network on their personal computers. The Northwest School considers itself to be a progressive school, so in the age of the internet, students should have internet access.

There are some obvious issues that arise in allowing students to have access to the internet. The primary problem is that the Northwest School does not want to filter the internet, and the school’s internet policy states that a faculty member must be present while students are on the internet. This would be impossible to do if students were to have internet access through their own computers. In the dorms, they filter the internet because students are unsupervised, and blocks create a problem with research. This practice defeats the whole purpose of giving student’s accesss to the internet from personal computers. Changing this policy would be a long, drawn out process. Even after a policy change, there would be many problems. For example, Tuney Kannapell (Head of the Middle School) believes that giving middle school students unsupervised access to the internet would not be advisable.

The school would have to expand the bandwidth, and prevent computer viruses from spreading. Also, there would be the huge problem of students with unsupervised access and filtering. According to Perry, from the IT department, installing a firewall would be an extremely expensive and time consuming endeavor that Northwest might not be able to squeeze into their budget.

The IT department already knows that students have previously hacked into the network and circulated the code, which is considered a violation of the honor code. Changing the wireless connection password/key would take ten hours of work because someone would have to modify each individual computer. The faculty has spent many hours discussing the issue of wireless internet, but there are solutions and benefits that outweigh the problems. Ultimately, the decision lies with the people who control the policy.

Having wireless internet would help students in many areas. It would aid students in using their free periods for research and homework enabling them to use their time more efficiently. The Northwest School claims to trust the student body, but their trust ends with internet access. The problem with filtering is a serious one. A solution is a policy revision which warns parents that their children would be allowed access to the unfiltered internet without direct supervision.

Another solution is for the IT department to check every computer they allow to have wireless access for viruses, as well as having the student sign a contract. This contract would prevent them from going on inappropriate or offensive websites, as well as preventing them from going on video streaming sites such as YouTube. This contract would have the students assume full responsibility for their behavior on the internet at school. This would prevent student computers from taking up internet bandwidth. Perry said that in the next couple years at the Northwest School, wireless internet will probably not be available to students, despite some faculty (including himself) advocating for it.

Dorm Internet Control

Teddy P. 11

Being blocked by the firewall of the dorm internet several times, I have become patient when being denied access to normal sites. However, it would be better if there were improvements to the restrictions.

To create a safe and speedy internet, the dorm administrator uses a firewall called “Sonic Wall.” Everyone who intends to browse the web has complete the log-in process. User name and password are required, and they have been set up for new residents.

The purpose of this restriction is supposed to prevent users from accessing adult, drug-related websites, etc. However, some commonly used sites are banned such as www.xiaonei.com – a famous Chinese community website which is similar to Facebook, and qzone.qq.com – one of the largest online blog service providers in China. These are important networking sites for dorm students, and they should not be walled off.

Bandwith is also important to dorm studnets. Because movie downloading seriously affects internet speed, the firewall limits the download speed to 25kb/s, a painstakingly slow download speed. In order to allow for a more productive study environment, dorm residents want more reasonable access to speedy bandwidth.

The dorm curfew also has negative effects on students. Residents must go to bed early and prepare for a new day. This curfew is also applied to dorm internet. Internet access is suspended during 1:30am-6am on weekdays. On weekends, it is suspended during 3:30am-6am. Some say that this causes some inconvenience when contacting parents, because of the time differences between the US and Asia. It’s also inconvenient for those who have a different study schedule and work after midnight.

Internet control has both positive and negative points. Some of the policies are reasonable and some need improvement. In any case, residents of the dorm are entitled to have a better experience.

Earthquake in Haiti: What’s Really Going On

By Daniel H. 11

Haiti, a French speaking nation next to the Dominican Republic, was the first independent country in the Caribbean, and the only nation that gained its independence through a successful slave rebellion. Today, 95% of Hatians consider themselves Black, as opposed to 5% mulatto and Caucasian.

On January 12th, 2010, a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. It was the worst earthquake in the region in more than 200 years and the outcome was catastrophic. Its capital city, Port-au-Prince, was completely devastated. From the Presidential palace to countless homes and schools, everything was utterly ruined. By January 18th, The Red Cross had estimated the death toll could be up to 200,000 with 3 million people wounded. Compared to Seattle’s population, it would mean that 33% of the population would be dead and five times the population would be wounded.

Despite its successful independence, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Even before the disaster, 80% of people were living in poverty and more than 50% were in abject poverty. Half of the population did not have access to basic needs such as water and food. Over-farming has left most of Haiti’s farmland barren. Food prices have been inflated making it difficult for the general populous to attain food security. This left Haiti even more vulnerable to the disaster. Starvation, disease, and robbery manifest around the city. Its long history of political instability and corruption has contributed to the chaos.

The people of Haiti are desperate for water, food, medical treatment, and shelter. From munificent donations from celebrities like Tiger Woods, (donating $3 million) to individuals’ small but warmhearted $5 donations via texting, donors have contributed more than $150 million as of January 19th, according to major U.S. relief groups. The European Union pledged more than $500 million dollars to Haiti Quake Relief.

The surviving victims’ frustration is turning into violence on the streets of Haiti. “Our biggest problem is security,” said Delfin Antonio Rodriguez, rescue commander for the Dominican Republic. “There’s looting and people with guns out there, because this country is very poor and people are desperate.” However, under the life and death circumstances, one’s action of “looting” or “scavenging” seems inevitable in order to survive.

In the near future, the fervor towards Haiti may not be the same. Soon, the Haitian disaster will be out of our consciousness, but the people in Haiti will continue suffering from physical hunger and psychological trauma. It is important to continue reach out to the Haitian victims in need of help.

$10 donations to the Red Cross can be charged to phone bills by texting “Haiti” to 90999 or you can go to http://www.mercycorps.org/haiti and donate using PayPal, Google Checkout, or Amazon Payments.

The Haiti Effort at Northwest: By the Numbers

Corporations in the Democratic Process

By David R. 9

Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except that all other types have been tried.” He was right. The United States has been a functioning democracy for all of its existence. Or has it? Researchers from several of universities such as Texas State, Pennsylvania State, Virginia State, and Columbia, to name a few, have found evidence that most presidential campaigns are funded by corporate interests, hiding behind many masks. Presidential campaigns raise millions of dollars and generally spend it all. This past presidential election made history, with more than $1 billion dollars raised between the candidates. But where does this money come from? According to the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC), there are two major donation size groups: under $200, and over $2,000. Barack Obama’s campaign gained $246,110,054 from contributions under $200, and $136,580,219 from donations over $2,000.

What kind of person can afford to write a check in excess of $2,000 for a political campaign? Corporate “fat cats,” in lieu of a better term. Members of the board of directors, union leaders, and multi-million dollar personalities like Bill Gates fit this description. Watchdog organizations like OpenSecrets, the FEC, and even the respective campaign’s own websites show that the sheer amount of money raised by campaigns is staggering. While smaller donation sizes point to a more involved public, there is still much to be done with regards to how we run elections. During the 20th century, the majority of campaign funds came from corporate interests, and this leads to the question: to whom do the candidates owe their allegiance? The voters or the corporate “fat cats” who funded their campaign?

But before it’s possible to answer that question, there is a more important one that precedes it: why are the corporate “deep-pockets” donating? Is it because they agree with the candidate’s stance, or because they want to influence the candidates and have a strangle-hold on Washington? In an excerpt from John Gardner’s speech, “Rebirth of a Nation” (1993), he said the following:

“We can no longer tolerate a system of campaign financing that makes our leaders accountable to donors rather than voters, that makes it possible for money to buy political outcomes, to buy politicians. Until that change is made the relentless power players who control Washington will continue to rule silently. And, as usual, when their work is done there will be no fingerprints on the butchered corpse of the nations public interest.”

I agree with Mr. Gardner. If President Obama really wants change, he needs to start from the bottom. Elections happen before policy-making, so if we want to get rid of the smoke, we need to put out the fire. Money has an enormous role in politics; if a candidate with good ideals cannot get the cash on hand to run a viable campaign, and a sleazy candidate with corporate millions can, who will win? Good ideals are useless if nobody knows you have them.

The first step in improving the politicians in Washington is improving the way we elect them. Unfortunately, on January 21, 2010, the United States Supreme court decided to lift limits on Corporate political expenditures that have been in place since Theodore Roosevelt’s campaign. President Barack Obama said: “With its ruling today, the Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics” (AP). Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is in agreement, saying, “I am disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court and the lifting of the limits on corporate and union contributions” (AP).

It is clear that this issue isn’t a Democrat vs. Republican spat, but rather a much larger problem. We, the students of the Northwest School, will be an important part of the political scene in the coming decade. We will decide elections. Or will we? The effects of corporate money in politics is a problem. If we don’t do something to solve it, then, as John Gardner said, “…as usual, when their work is done there will be no fingerprints on the butchered corpse of the nation’s public interest.

Student Art

By Danielle F. (12)

Will V. (9)
The ceramics class was "Raku" firing. Their ceramic sculptures were quickly heated to approximately 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and then removed from the kiln and swiftly placed, using tongs, into metal trash cans filled with combustible paper. Without oxygen, the resulting glazes comes out like this.

By Theo S. (11)

How to be a Good Pedestrian
By Stasha M. 12

Stop! Before you quit reading this because you believe you are a good pedestrian

Look! Into the depths of your brain and analyze your walking habits

Listen! To your common sense!

What does it mean to be a good pedestrian? Being a good pedestrian not only helps with your personal safety, but it also enables traffic to run more smoothly.

According to a survey by the Seattle Department of Transportation, 4 in 10 people say they’ve had a near miss with a car while walking. In 2008, according to the Fatality Analysis reporting system, 4,378 pedestrians died from collisions with cars.

STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN to these informative tips.

-Look both ways before you cross the street. (Let’s hope you have already learned this one)

-Let cars go! Yes, you do have the right of way, but these people have places to go. They stopped to be nice, and the next thing they know fifty Northwest School students are walking across the street. Be kind (and courteous!) Share the streets.

-Don’t walk in front of speeding cars. Just because pedestrians have the right of way does not mean that the driver of the ton of metal headed towards you recognizes this right or happens to be a law abiding citizen.

-Say thank you when someone lets you cross. A wave to the driver is a perfect gesture. Remember, the nice citizen in the car didn’t have to stop.

Pay attention and be safe out there on the streets of Capital Hill. You never know who will be a car’s next victim, but with these simple tips you will be a fabulous pedestrian in no time!

Source: www.seattletimes.com

Powder, Kickers, and Quality

By Noah W. 11

The current Northwest school ski bus sitution needs serious reconsideration. Some have made the argument that Snoqualmie Pass is a better place for beginner snowboarders and skiers. This is a blunt lie. The difference in travel time has also been disputed. Snoqualmie Pass is about an hour and a half away, while Steven’s is rumored to be over two hours away. Once again this is a lie. This season, I have driven up to Steven’s Pass many times. The trip has never taken more than an hour and forty-five minutes. Therefore, travel time should not be an issue.

The reason why the NWS ski bus should start going to Stevens Pass is due to its superior quality. It boasts longer runs, better snow conditions, more diversity for skiers and snowboarders on every level, as well as a pretty sick park (all those who’ve hit the water fall this year know what I’m talking about). Snoqualmie has failed to offer these types of amenities. Even the chair lifts are faster at Stevens, which affords skiers and snowboaders more time on the slopes and less time freezing.

The reason why the NWS ski bus should discontinue trips to Snoqualamie is due to the icy conditions. These make it both harder to learn and more painful to fall. These factors greatly decrease the likelyhood that some snowboarders or skiers will enjoy the experience, especially beginners. Snoqualmie has always had fairly poor conditions; where as Steven’s has always had fairly nice conditions. For more advanced level snowboarders and skiers Snoqualmie is horrible.

So why should tradition of going to Snoqualmie change? Due to the lack of challenging runs, paired with icy conditions and skied out terrain, many individuals are unwilling to spend the money needed to go on ski bus. If this were to change, perhaps there would be more reason to ride the ski bus every Friday.

It is time that the student body takes an interest in the ski bus. For too long we have been sitting back, while this wonderful opportunity is squandered. If you feel like it is time for the Northwest School’s ski bus to put quality over tradition, then please go see Herb or Mike and and engage in a respectful conversation about the desire to go to Steven’s Pass. The only way for us, the student body, to better our snowboarding/skiing experience is to unite and take charge.

Orion Baker

By Ben G. 12

Orion as a NWS senior

Not everyone knows Orion. He’s the tall, composed basketball coach who one will see towering over middle-schoolers (and high-schoolers, for that matter) as he marches them off to practice. However, there is another Orion that most students have not had the opportunity to learn about. As a member of a community which values service and revels in overseas experience, I was excited to finally hear from someone who really has gone off and done extraordinary things. Graduating with the NWS class of ’97, Orion went to college at Washington University in St. Louis, where he dropped out after a summer abroad in Kenya during his junior year. He later went on to work with the Carter Center, load planes in Antarctica, and farm in Virginia.

What did you do in Kenya?

There was a semester program through St. Lawrence University, and it was a great semester. Actually, I would recommend it to anybody who has the opportunity, and that particular program is well-established so we had a lot of connections. We did home-stays in Nairobe out in more rural areas, and I had an internship and got to see a lot of both Kenya and Tanzania. There was a field study course component as well.

A field study of what?

So, we would go out and visit different groups of people, like we would visit the Maasai in Kenya and in Tanzania both and we would do a home-stay with them. [There] would be a sort of course curriculum related to where we were going, so we were studying the culture and ecology of the area.

How did this work lead to your work with the Carter Center?

Well that time it was just a semester, so that was just a student thing, [but] there was a service component. I had an internship teaching English to elementary school kids. And then it was actually through connections I made during that semester that later on I was able to work in Sudan doing the public health work.

So what did you specifically do in Sudan? I heard you went through the Carter Center?

Yeah, the project that [the Carter Center is] working on in Sudan [has two components]: the peace programs and the health programs. One of the major things that the health programs are looking at is the disease called Guinea Worm Disease. The scientific name is Dracunculiasis if you want to get technical with it. So anyway, they’ve targeted that disease for eradication and it’s a disease that used to be prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, and now, mostly thanks to programs like that one is located only in a few places now. And so the work I was doing was supporting that program. So we were doing health education, water filtration, and different water treatment methods to try to interrupt transmission of this disease.

How did that semester abroad change you as a person, and when you look back on yourself before that semester abroad, how do you think you’ve changed?

That’s a good question, and that was a big eye-opener for me. It was the first time I had real experience [with the world]. Before, you have this theoretical knowledge that people are living very different [lives]. For me, that was the first time ever really experiencing that. It sort of put the whole… well this is going to sound like a cliche, but it sort of put the whole world in perspective. It made the world I was previously living in seem pretty small, and y’know, it peaked my curiosity to find out what else is going on out there.

It sounds like you pursued this curiosity when you went down to Antarctica.

Yeah, I went down there twice. I worked there for 5 months each time.

And who did you do that with?

The National Science Foundation has a bunch of projects down there, and the contracting company that did all of the support work is Raytheon. So, Raytheon is the makers of the Patriot Missile, for example. In addition to being a government contractor for the National Science Foundation, they also are a defense contractor, so I had kind of mixed feeling about working for them.

What specifically did you do down there?

Well, the first time I went down I was a cargo handler. They had another title for it—Air Transport Specialist I guess, but basically we were loading airplanes that we were flying back and forth between McMurdo Station and then the South Pole Station. So they were building a new station down at the South Pole, so they were shipping a lot of building materials and fuel. We also [transported] people.

What advice do you have for Northwest students who want to get into the same kind of service work you have done?

Well I don’t know, I guess for me what’s ended up happening is just being willing to say ‘yes’ to things that are offered to you or come across your path, whatever those may be. For other people it may probably work better to have more of a plan [laughs]. Depending on, y’know, your style. I think that yeah, I would say that and continuing your education, though I don’t think it’s a prerequisite for all types of work, but you do get paid more [laughs].

Everyone at NWS can learn from Orion, as he started at the same place as all of us. While it may not seem like it, opportunities are all around, all one has to do is search them out. I would like this interview to serve as inspiration to everyone reading this to do something new and exciting, whether it be volunteering for a local services program, learning a new skill, or signing up to go overseas.

Far Away Places

By Logan S. 9

Planes, Trains and Automobiles. What do these all have in common? They all take people where they want to go. Planes take you to faraway places, trains take you places on rails, and automobiles take you to places that aren’t too far away, but they still it take you where you want to go.

The effects of all of these are the same; they make people sick when travelers step off of them. In planes, the pressure changes cause headaches throughout the cabin. On trains, there’s motion sickness, and on automobiles there’s always someone with car sickness.

The worst part about the trip is getting back into the “swing of things.” Going back to school is a big one. Jetlag has a huge effect on international travelers. It makes students exhausted and it dissipates focus. In school, being focused and being awake is a big part of our learning. Work is no different. People need to be focused when they are at work or they may create problems. Planes aren’t the only thing that may affect life; boats are also a big one. People get sea legs and wobble for sometime after they disembark from the boat. What if that person was a waiter? They really could make a mistake.

When someone gets back into reality they usually won’t accept it. They still want to be in their little world where they are content, but sooner or later they have to accept the fact that they are back to doing what they were doing before they left on their journey.

School affects everybody’s life. Some people enjoy all classes, while others enjoy lunch and PE. No matter how much they want to succeed in their classes, travel-lag alwas gets the better of them.

Students often become exhausted around 2:30, and they may be very cranky and forget a lot of things they learned before they leaving. Anxiety is also problematic when it comes to school. When people come back from vacation they get a little nervous and scared, but they shouldn’t be. School isn’t something to be scared of. When people think of teachers they think of the old times when you would get smacked if you weren’t paying attention or you didn’t know the answer. Today, teachers are here to students get back up on their feet, and to help them catch up on their schoolwork. They may even take an interest in the trip.

Why do people go on vacations? To escape from reality. It’s as simple as that. Why do people cook? So that they can feed their families. As any vital need, vacations are an important part of the human experience. Work is challenging; school is challenging; life is challenging. Why should people steer clear of wonderful experiences? They need to embrace life, and life is not just about work. It’s about having fun.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles are the way to embrace the child in everyone.

The Truth about Student Travel

By Madelyn H. 10

A student and their family are taking a trip. Here is the problem: it’s during school. Many would argue that it disrupts the carefully planned pattern of learning designed by the faculty. Some even see it as a disrespectful to the teachers--as if the student does not find their classes important enough to skip a “vacation” or family wedding for. It is true that teachers have carefully planned out how they best feel to achieve the maximum learning of the student, and that by leaving school for a few weeks this clearly disrupts the classroom learning process. But what many people do not realize is that a lot of learning does go on when traveling; learning that is equally valuable as that which is achieved in the classroom.

When a person travels, depending on the place of course, many different kinds of learning can take place. This includes visiting historic places, practicing another language with locals, getting a view of different people, and observing their culture. It is important to actually go out in the world and see what you are learning about, and that is why students go on field trips. So traveling in a way is like a long field trip, becayse students are constantly learning. Although the purpose of travel may not be to learn, it is done throughout the trip. Because the Northwest School is so sheltered, it can be hard to know how other people live. Especially people less fortunate or just with a different life style. We are a small tight-knit community of very capable individuals. By in large, we are not exposed to too many other ways of life. This is why traveling is important.

I recently traveled abroad for my brothers wedding, missing two weeks of school. Although learning Spanish in the class room is great and helps me understand grammar much better, my fluency improved more than it ever had before in such a short period of time. This is because I was forced to speak Spanish to convey what I was trying to say. This, in turn, made my Spanish much better from the hands-on practice. My dad and I also visited many historic sites, where I learned a lot about the country’s history. We drove by many of the poor areas of where we were visiting, and I observed the hardships many people undergo in just one day. Seeing these people, their country, has helped me better understand the world in a way. It’s important to go out into the world and see different ways of living, see historic places, and speak in a different language, because these experiences are what build us up, and define who we are.

Lunar New Year In Asia

By Daniel H. 11

For most people in the United States, and therefore most of the Northwest student body, the New Year begins with the Gregorian Calendar, at midnight on January first. However, a large proportion of our students have other ways of celebrating, each unique to the countries from whence they came.

China - Chun Jie

Chinese in the New Year festival spend a lot of money buying presents, decorations, food, and clothing. Windows and doors are decorated with red paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of happiness, wealth, and longevity. The most important part of the Chinese New Year is, of course, having a feast with family. The families end the night with firecrackers. The next morning, children greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. Migrant workers from other parts of China as well as overseas travel home to have reunion dinners with their families on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Thailand - Songkran

The most popular celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. People roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends and neighbors.

Korea - Seollal

Children wish their parents a happy new year by performing one deep bow as they say: “may you receive many blessings in the new year.” Parents and older relatives reward their children with new year's money. Over the three-day long national holidays, majority of Koreans return to their home towns to visit their parents and other relatives and perform the ancestral ritual. The traditional family board game similar to Parcheesi. Traditionally men and boys fly kites. Korean women and girls would play a game of jumping on a seesaws, while children spin tops.

Japan - Shōgatsu

The end of December and the beginning of January are the busiest times for the Japanese post offices, as the Japanese have a custom of sending New Year's Day postcards. On New Year's Day, they have a custom of giving money to children. Japanese people eat a special selection of dishes during the New Year celebration. Stationers sell preprinted cards. Most of these have the Chinese zodiac sign of the New Year as their design, or conventional greetings, or both. For 2006, famous dogs like Snoopy and other cartoon characters were especially popular. For 2008, Mickey and Minnie Mouse were popular.

Mongolia -Tsagaan Sar

Mongolians also visit friends and family on this day and exchange gifts. A typical Mongolian family will meet in the home dwelling of the eldest in the family. Many people will be dressed in full garment of national Mongolian costumes. When greeting their elders during the White Moon festival, Mongolians grasp them by their elbows to show support for them. The eldest receives greetings from each member of the family except for his/her spouse.

Cambodia - Chol Chnam Thmey

Northwest school’s Cambodia Trip will be over the Cambodian New Year Festival.People are expected dress up, light candles, and burn incense sticks at shrines. The members of each family thank for the Buddha's teachings by bowing, kneeling and prostrating themselves three times before his image. People wash their face with holy water in the morning, their chests at noon, and their feet in the evening before they go to bed. People contribute charity to the less fortunate, helping the poor and homeless. Families attend a dedication ceremony to their ancestors at the monastery. Buddhists cleanse the Buddha statues and elders with perfumed water. Bathing the Buddha images symbolizes that water will be needed for all kinds of plants and lives. It is also thought to be a kind deed that will bring longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity in life. By bathing their grandparents and parents, children can obtain from them best wishes and good advice for the future.

The Mysterious Therapeutic Health Services Clinic

By Graham C. 10 & Madelyn H. 10

Daily, hundreds of Northwest School students walk to the lunchroom, passing the so-called “meth clinic” on their way. Kids always remark on the bizarre upside-down and backwards sign, the constant crowd of patients standing near the parking lot, and of course the occasional ambulance. However, community knowledge about what is actually a Theraputic Health Services office is suprisingly slim.

After speaking with several people who work there, we were granted an interview. We met with two people, Kathi Kuciemba and Anthony Austin, who both work primarily with families. Anthony is the lead facilitator for the Focus on Family parenting program, and Kathi is his boss. Aside from being extraordinarily nice, they also had a lot of insight into what exactly THS does, and the different ways they help people.

As Kathi and Anthony were both eager to clear up, THS is a methadone clinic, not a meth clinic. They, and the other staff members who are all trained in drug and alcohol courses (and in some cases have a medical PhD), use methadone to decrease patient’s dependence on methamphetamines and other drugs. Kathi said that nowadays pills such as Oxycontin are becoming much more common than methamphetamine.

Anthony explained that many people use illegal drugs such as methamphetamines and Oxycontin to deal with existing mental problems. They prefer these drugs to the prescription pills for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. However, these people then become hooked on the drugs, and develop a substance problem as well. Anthony also noted that many patients at THS are whole families who are having child protective services problems. “We will contact child protective services is if necessary, but we would rather work until the end of the earth than call CPS,” says Anthony. THS works very hard to keep families together, and to help the parents be the best parents possible for their children. There is a daycare on-site, so parents who go there essentially for “parenting school”, as Anthony put it, can bring their kids with them.

Kathi also noted that they have a several certified doctors, physiologists, nurses and a full-time psychiatrists to help those patients also struggling with mental problems. Both Anthony and Kathi agreed that opiate pills are the number one problem with patients. Kathi also works with several pregnant women who are having drug problems, to try to get them clean and in some cases help them find food or housing.

The clinic offers several services to help patience’s recover, such as acupuncture, meditation for depression and anxiety. They also help people quit smoking. As Anthony likes to say, “Kids, don’t do drugs”.

Muffin Quest

By Zach W. 11

A question often posed to many children is, “do you know the muffin man, the one who lives on Mulberry Lane?” I had to answer no, but as I evolved into the Northwest School student that I am today I never stopped searching for the muffin man. The truth is that outside of fairytales, many people bake muffins and very few of them use mulberries. Unfortunately, not all muffins are created equal. So as an act of public service, I decided that in I needed to sort through all of the sub-prime muffin makers to find the baker at end of the rainbow. I set out on a muffin quest, a quest to find the muffin sold within sign-out range that is most adored by the taste buds of Northwest School students.

So one day, I set off during one of my free periods to find the best muffin. I braved the rain and the slick streets only to find that there are six different establishments selling muffins within the sign out range. The vendors were, in no particular order, Bauhaus, Slumptown Café, Victrola, QFC, The Corner Store, and Kaladi. I deemed businesses such as Starbucks and Tully’s un-muffin-able because their supply of muffins was so low that they could hardly be called muffin sellers at all. Most of the stores had sparse selections of muffins by the mid afternoon. This heartened me because it meant that people all over Seattle share my passion for muffins. I gathered my muffins from far and wide, and brought them back to school. I handed out samples and let the votes for the best muffin come in.

The results show that the top three muffins are neck and neck. In third place with the average rating of 7.4 out of 10, is the rela tively small poppy seed muffin from Quality Food Center. In second place with 7.7 outof 10 points, is the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin, also from QFC. In first place, with a rating of 7.8 out of 10 points is the blueberry muffin from Kaladi. For comparison, the store’s poppy seed muffin got a rating of 5.8 out of 10 to take 6th place. Lastly, faculty raised the rating of the Carrot Raisin muffin by close to thirty percent but not enough to bring it out of 5th place. From my data, I have concluded that in order to broaden one’s horizons and enjoy eating the finest muffins; one must travel beyond the corner store to the muffins beyond.

The Great Lunch Debate

By Madelyn H. 10

Should the Northwest School have lunch cards or some alternative way to pay for lunch? There are two definite perspectives. The Northwest School, unlike many schools, makes really good food. School lunch is definitely no longer dreaded, it is anticipated. But should lunch be included in the tuition? Or is lunch a necessary time to gather as a community and have some stress free “bonding time.”

Many students go out to lunch regularly. By including lunch in the tuition, this indirectly forces the students to eat lunch at school, although many of us still do not. Ollie Mae Nicoll, a sophomore at the Northwest School, believes that “We should have lunch cards because most of the students go out to lunch and it is a waste of money to pay for lunches. I feel like I should be going to lunch because I don’t want to have to pay extra for going out.” There are many great lunch destinations within the boundaries of the Northwest School, so going out to lunch is fun and easy.

When the school was being founded the reason for having lunch included in tuition was so that we could gather as a community, in a non-academic environment. In an interview with Mark Terry, a founder and teacher at the Northwest School, he stated the “We envisioned a meal shared by all students and faculty because we believed that could be a major center of community.” When asked about why they decided to include lunch into the tuition opposed to having lunch cards or a pin system, he responded with two major reasons: “We wanted to simplify costs, book and lunch costs are included in an effort for a simple way to pay tuition. Because that [having lunch not included in tuition] would encourage more going out, but we want everyone to sit down at lunch together. It’s [going out to lunch] is good to do on occasion. This way your parents are going to think it’s a good idea to eat here because it is included in the tuition.” Having a time to sit down together is a good idea, but when students go out so regularly is it really effective?

Lunch costs about $6.80 per day for a Northwest school domestic student. Is that enough to get lunch outside of school? Lauren Smith, senior, answers, “Yes I think you can find food around the Northwest School for around the same price. I feel like [having lunch included in tuition] is a part of the Northwest schools philosophy, so I think it is good but at the same time frustrating, because when you go out you feel like it is a waste of food and money.” Many private schools, including U-Prep, Bush and Lakeside do have a lunch card or pin system, but maybe having lunch included is one of the many attributes that sets the Northwest School apart from others.

Vegan Recipes

by Jacqui A. (12)

The Future of Rap

By Hadi S. 12

Last quint in my article “Let me Put You on the Game” I wrote about some of the factors contributing to the decline in the quality of hip hop music. In this article, I am going to focus on the artists who are moving hip hop along in a positive direction.

The first artist I’m going to talk about is Raekwon. What sets Raekwon apart from other rappers is his raw delivery, boss hoggin’ attitude, and especially his ability to tell a story through his lyrics. Raekwon started his career with one of the most groundbreaking rap groups that have ever touched a mic, the Wu-Tang Clan. Alongside his albums with the Clan, he went solo and created “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx”, which is regarded as one of the best solo albums ever to come from a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has been consistently releasing good music since 1993, and his recent album, “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. 2”, has been heralded as an inspiring look back to the golden days of hip hop.

The second artist I want to focus on is actually a group of artists known as the Freshmen Class, which consist of artists: Drake, Wale, and Kid CuDi. The Freshmen Class have single handedly redefined the hip hop persona. No longer is rap all about gats, hoes, and baggy pants, but is instead about everyday life, having a normal girlfriend, and clothes that fit you normally. Although their music is what some would call conscious or emo rap, it has still managed to take over the radio stations with its catchy and thoughtful lyrics.

The last artist I’m going to talk about is Nicki Minaj. Nicki is the hottest female rapper since Missy Elliot and is being called the Lil’ Kim of the new era. Although Nicki has been accused of using a sexual image to sell herself to the public, she is actually a talented lyricist. Although she does rap about sex, she also raps on a very diverse variety of topics, such as the hardships of being a female rapper, and what life is like growing up in Queens. Nicki Minaj’s rising popularity has made her a role model for aspiring female rappers, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s signed to Young Money, the hottest label in hip-hop.

The phrase “hip-hop is dead” is being thrown around less and less as time goes on. Rap lovers have finally been able to get past the fact that the “golden days” of hip hop are over, and that a new era is coming to fruition. As long as more inventive, original artists such as Nicki Minaj and the Freshmen Class keep popping up, then hip-hop is headed in a positive direction.

Elliot Bay Book Store: A New Chapter

By Zach W. 11

Over the past 36 years, Elliot Bay Bookstore has become a haven for bibliophile and librarians alike. With a reputation that extends beyond the Seattle city limits, it had been able to maintain its signature residence in Pioneer Square, until now. The owner, Peter Aaron, recently announced that his business would be moving to 10th avenue between Pike and Pine. The move was scheduled to happen in early spring, and has been set to happen sometime this march.

The move is primarily motivated by the cost of rent. The economic downturn has been hard on many small and independent businesses. Small bookstore owners complain that large unspecialized stores, such as Wal-Mart, Amazon, or Costco sell a majority of books on the bestsellers list. This leaves bookstores, such as Elliot Bay with only the backlist books. Other issues that Elliot Bay has had with trying to keep its business afloat are parking and lack of pedestrian traffic.

The new building rivals Elliot Bay’s old location for antiquity. In 1918, it served as a maintenance station for Ford trucks. The creaky floors and high ceilings replicate some of the charm that was the older location’s source of fame. The 10th avenue location has an underground garage, which solves the customer parking problem that hindered the bookstore at its old location. In addition, the residential neighborhood is expected to help sales. Hopefully, the bookstore’s new location will allow it to both thrive and keep its individuality.

For Seattle as whole, Elliot Bay Book’s new location is a mixed blessing. Its Pioneer’s Square location was centralized, so that Seattleites had equal accessibility to the store. However, now that it has become Capitol Hill based, its customers will be less geographically diverse. Also, after 36 years at one location, the store and the location have melded together and may be mentally hard to separate. On a more positive note, these changes will allow Elliot Bay Books to continue operating for many years to come. For a Northwest School student, the proximity to Elliot Bay will offer many benefits. For instance, the bookstore could become a hangout, especially because it has a café. Unfortunately, Elliot Bay Bookstore will not be within sign out range, but it still remains an option for after school unwinding.

The past of Elliot Bay Bookstore is framed in legend while its future lies in uncertainty. The hopes of many supporters accompany the store as it moves to the new location, which will hopefully reproduce its previous success. The benefits and costs of the move are closely balanced for much of the greater Seattle community, but for Northwest School students, it is clearly beneficial.

Sherlock Holmes: 007

By Peno M-R 9 and Madeleine V. 11

For the first time in over two decades, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tale of Sherlock Holmes has been brought to audiences on the silver screen. Holmes, which stars Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams, opened this Christmas Day, raking in nearly $25 million in box office sales, even beating out Avatar’s sales for that weekend.

The success of the film comes as a surprise to critics everywhere. This version of Holmes was initially predicted to be a major flop. Critics deemed this movie cursed due to knowledge of the film’s director: Guy Ritchie, ex-husband to Madonna, and filmmaker whose prior films have only been a series of bombs (with the exception of 2000’s Snatch, which Ritchie both wrote and directed). How could Ritchie possibly pull off the adaptation of a beloved classic? Somehow, he did it.

What really sets Ritchie’s Holmes adaptation on fire is the film’s transformation of Sherlock into an action hero. Holmes is traditionally presented as an adroit, bookish investigator. However, in this film version, Robert Downey, Jr. plays Sherlock as a James Bond-esque, street-smart heartthrob, fighting crime amidst a backdrop of the gritty streets of 19th-century London. Downey’s shining performance earned him a Golden Globe win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture.

The plot was orientated around the fight scenes and the action, and Holmes saving his “damsel in distress”. Holmes and his partner, Watson, (Law), have a new enemy, whom is attempting to control the minds of the world through scientific tricks which he claims to be “magic”. Holmes gradually puts the clues that point to this together throughout the movie. The actual plot, once the novelty of a Holmes movie centered on action has worn off, is very confusing. There is a fine line between elusive and befuddling, and Sherlock Holmes loses the air of mystery and becomes a mess of fight scenes, Holmes’s potential romance, and his and Watson’s endearing relationship.

It is Downey’s portrayal of the title role, Sherlock Holmes, and the assimilation of action into the film, that makes Sherlock Holmes more than just a conventional mystery movie; so much so that it is even pleasing for a viewer whomdoes not normally enjoy films of that genre.

Avatar:

By Ben G. 12

I slowly sip on my slurpee as a dull roar of chit-chat floods the packed theater. The movie-goers are all kinds: young and old, families and friends. We have but one thing in common: a desire to see the (supposed) cinematic spectacular that is Avatar. As the lights dim, I push back my RealD™ glasses. I am not sure exactly what I am in for, but with 250 million dollars pumped into it, what could go wrong?

Essentially the story boils down to is this: a large group of men and women come from earth to extract unobtanium, a precious resource from Pandora, a moon of Jupiter. Unfortunately for them, there exists a native population whose home is right on top of a colossal deposit. Instead of simply killing the natives, scientists have created alien bodies for humans to inhabit. This allows them to infiltrate their society and gain their trust. The protagonist is a soldier who is chosen for this task, and long story short, he falls in love with one of the natives and he has to choose his loyalties carefully. Sound familiar? That’s because it is. Anyone who has seen Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, or Fern Gully (Northwest Students born in the early 90s, I’m looking at you) will immediately see the tired white-male-in-strange-society clique play out as it always does.

Don’t get me wrong, Avatar is a good movie. In fact, whatever you like in a movie, from gun-toting action to talking animals, you can be pretty sure that Avatar has you covered. To be sure, the full range of human emotion is explored. There is the hardcore action, tear-jerking drama, socially conscious commenta

Unfortunately, this jack-of-all-trades style of moviemaking comes off counterproductive to the quality of the film. It seems as once the action was outlined, the producers threw as much as they could fit into the (enormous) production budget. The result is scenes of mesmerizing action, lackluster plot and love story sprinkled in between. This is supported by such actors as Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, but worsened by the main actor Sam Worthington, who maintains the the charisma of a soup can.

Finally, the issue of 3D. Now, I like explosions coming off the screen just as much as the next guy (or girl), but 3D should not be the future of cinema. This is because one of the most important elements of film (and of any art, for that matter) is drawing the viewers eye through the piece through lighting, movement, and color. When 3D is implemented, it throws all subtleties out the window and shoves the subject of the shot directly into the viewers face. In fact, attempting to look at the out-of-focus part of the screen can induce a headache.

Currently, Avatar has broken records only held previously held by Cameron’s last blockbust, Titanic (1997). No doubt, Avatar will set a trends in movies for years to come. 3D will take over the production budgets, as producers see 3D movies as automatically make millions more. If there is a lesson in all of this, it is to vote with one’s wallet; don’t go see a movie in 3D to merely because of the 3D, but because it is an original, quality film. This will result in a win-win for both the industry and the viewer.