Should You Con-sider Katy Perry’s

New Album?Page 4

New Student’s First Impression of Homecoming

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Vol. 74, No. 2230 Mendham Road - Morristown, NJ - 07960November 21, 2013

he Delbarton CourierTBy: Abbot Giles Hayes ‘56

By: Marquis Woods ‘14

Take a break, kiddo. You deserve it. Courtesy of Membean.com

Continued on page 3

Continued on page 6

Continued on page 3

Live, Love, and Serve Others GTA V Review

“The only problem some found with the plot was the lack of robberies that were advertised in

the trailers for the game. For most of the story, the three characters are not

robbing banks or any other establishments,

but are actually blowing up buildings, recovering

weapons and data, or killing targets instead.”

Men and women of Delbar-ton, Years ago, Michael Har-rington wrote the classic sociological study on poverty in America, The Other America. Basically, he pointed out how the significant poverty in America which, when he wrote the book, represented approximately 25% of the population and now represents nearly that much, was invisible to the rest of Americans. A good example, he suggested, was Appalachia, where four to six lane highways passed by some of the poorest towns in the mountains of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Geor-gia without any exits allowing the poorest of the poor to find em-ployment outside of their isolated “hollers.” Delbarton students and parents of the last thirty-three years saw the truth of that in our work in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. For example, one of the great tour-ist highways in the United States is called the Mountain Parkway which begins in Eastern Kentucky and goes straight through the Midwest. However, it passes by, without exits, the towns of Royalton, and the counties of Magoffin, Breathitt, Lee, and other Kentucky counties which are among the poorest in the United States. We see the same very close to home. Before Routes 280 and 78 were built, we in Morris County

went to downtown Newark via Co-lumbia Road to Springfield Avenue and Central Avenue. Our destina-tions were the prosperous depart-ment stores on Broad St. in Newark, not far from what is now NJPAC and “The Rock”, the Prudential Center with the hockey and basket-ball arena. Now, those two streets see very few cars; people go down to the “better” parts of Newark via Routes 280 and 78, thus bypassing the department stores and mercan-

tile centers, increasingly poverty stricken on the streets of Newark. Therefore, the great poverty that genuinely exists in the city of New-ark we don’t see anymore. Michael Harrington was right. The same is the case with the poor that Delbarton will serve prior to Christmas in our Sandy Relief effort. When I was a very young boy, some fifty or sixty years

Abbot Giles with Hoboken Residents Courtesy of www.nj.com

Mem-what? Mem-who? It’s Membean By: Austin Gobbo ‘14

When Delbarton imple-mented the new vocabulary soft-ware, Membean, many students were confused as to why SAGE began serving beans at lunch, and whether or not they would be refried as many times as they normally are. These questions have been answered. Now, all Delbarton students are required to use Membean in their English classes. It is apparent that the stu-dent body is divided on the issue. While some students detest the new vocabulary system, others find themselves enjoying Membean and its creative ways. Marquis Woods ‘14 has strong opinions on the program, stating, “At first I enjoyed Mem-

bean because it was different. But after failing to do four sessions each week, and losing points from my grade, I have found myself wishing for my vocab books back. Call me

old fashioned, but nothing gets me going like a good old vocab quiz. Down with the Bean!” Senior Class

After months of anticipation with the releases of multiple trail-ers, millions of people finally got their hands on Grand Theft Auto V when it was released on September 17, 2013. Within 24 hours, numer-ous websites such as IGN.com, Gamespot.com, and countless oth-ers posted reviews of the game, all having a common thread. A majority of sites rated the game 5/5 or 10/10 depending on the rating system and well-respected review site Metacrit-icsha awarded the game a 97/100 rating. Here, I will provide an honest review of GTA V from an average gamer that was admittedly caught up in the hype.

Plot: Besides game play, the plot, or storyline, of a game is one of the most heavily weighed elements when any video game is reviewed. This aspect of GTA V is centered around three radically different characters: Trevor, Michael, and Franklin. They come together to pull off numerous heists and other jobs for the FBI (FIB in the game), mob leaders, and other groups. The writers of the game created a very strong plot featuring a reasonable length, variation in missions, excel-lent character development, and multiple endings. The only problem some found with the plot was the lack of robberies that were adver-tised in the trailers for the game. For

The Delbarton Courier

The Delbarton Courier

Editors-in-Chief

Delbarton LifePaul Shuler ‘15

ArtsTommy Cusano ‘14

NewsNicholas Serratelli ‘14

Visions and VoicesWill Nixon ‘15

OpinionsCharlie Niebanck ‘14

SportsSheamus Craugh ‘14

Faculty Advisors

All rights reserved. All contents © 2013 The Delbarton Courier. Please recycle after use.

A Letter from the Editors

Timothy Welman ‘14Will Agathis ‘14Greg Kacergis ‘15

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2

Despite the issues surrounding the pep rally, our school still stands. That is something to remember with gratitude, as the holiday season reminds all of what we should be thankful for: our families. Our Delbarton family keeps strong, and as we realize what we have, we should look towards the future with expectations as well as motivation. Now is the time to take action. If you want to make this a good year, now is the time to commit. We are only a term into the school year, giving enough experience to recognize what must be changed and leaving the time to change it. Move always towards the future.

Timothy Welman ‘14 Will Agathis ‘14 Greg Kacergis ‘15

Mrs. Loveday Mr. Wyatt

By: Paul Shuler ‘15 By: Brendan Prior ‘14 This has not been a fun sea-son for New York Giants fans. Two years removed from a Super Bowl Championship, the Giants stumbled out of the gate to a 0-6 record. Their slow start questioned the future of the organization. Would Tom Coughlin remain the head coach? Will running back David Wilson ever live up to the lofty expectations some experts gave him? Is quarterback Eli Manning done? While these might not be the New York Giants of old, the team that won two Super Bowls in five years, it is not yet time to panic. At the halfway point of their

Not So Giant Anymore Reign of King Jamesseason, the Giants pulled into week 11 with a 3-6 record, last in the NFC East. Yes, that is a terrible record, but it does not mean the team should give up their season in the hopes of landing a higher draft pick for 2014. The Giants are fortunate be-cause the rest of the NFC East has also dramatically underperformed. Through week 9, the Dallas Cow-boys lead the division at 5-5. The Philadelphia Eagles are tied at 5-5 and the Washington Redskins are third at 4-5. The Giants face off against the Green Bay Packers in the Mead-

Continued on page 8 Continued on page 8

The NBA season has finally returned, so you can stop acting like you care about the NHL and the MLB. The Miami Heat are the reigning champs, again, and are looking for a 3rd straight title. With an offseason filled with free agent acquisitions and trades, will anybody be able to knock off LeBron and his boys? Will Anthony Davis’ unibrow carry the Pelicans to the playoffs? Will the Nets overcome their old age or will half their players be in a nursing home by the start of the playoffs? There are many questions in the air for this upcoming NBA season. Here are some notable sto-rylines to look out for.

The Andrew Wiggins Sweepstakes: Andrew Wiggins, the 6’8 Kansas freshman from Canada (who knew they had basketball there?) is being touted as the “next LeBron James” by numerous NBA scouts. The race between the NBA’s worst franchises for last place and a better chance at the first overall draft pick has become known as the “An-drew Wiggins Sweepstakes.” ESPN reported earlier this month that one anonymous NBA GM admitted to tanking this upcoming season. Kudos to this GM, giving the fans something to look forward to in a possible chance at Wiggins, rather

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3Delbarton LifeThe Delbarton Courier

A Reflection on the 2013 Homecoming

Mem-who? Mem-what? It’s Membean

Live, Love, and Serve Others

By: Aidan McLaughlin ‘19

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

President, Josef Johnson ‘14, claims, “My greatest fear is that Delbarton teachers could be replaced by it. Stay vigilant ladies and gents.” On the other hand, a signifi-cant portion of the student body supports Membean. The leader of the Students United For Membean (SUFM), Brendan Prior ’14, says, “When I first tried Membean, I thought it was stupid, but then I saw that it expanded my vocabulary skills immensely! Membean isn’t home-work, it’s fun!” Tommy Rhodes ‘14, an avid Membean user, adds, “Membean not only helped me de-fine words, but it helped me define myself.” Vince Papetti ‘14 claims he

Even though I am a seventh grader at Delbarton, I have been fa-miliar with the school’s greatest tra-dition for ten years. All three of my older brothers, Tommy ‘09, Kyle ‘11, and Sean ’14, went to Delbarton. Ever since I was about two-years old, I have come to the mystifying event called “Homecoming.” I fell in love with Delbar-ton at my first Homecoming. The bounce houses, the food, and the excitement in the air captivated me like a child in a candy store. That year, I witnessed the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced in my short life: the Braveheart. This pro-found yet awe-inspiring event made me steam with jealousy. I wanted to be in seventh grade so I could run

the Braveheart. Fast forward to 2013, when I was ready to run after ten years of

patiently waiting. As I strode down to my class’s tent, I received ter-rible news: there would be a very

different Braveheart this year. This angered me, but I knew to just go along with the event, knowing that memories will make themselves. For the rest of the day, I substituted the euphoria of the Braveheart for countless trips to the bounce house for some 7th versus 8th grade wrestling. My classmates and I stuffed our faces with Cluck-U and cotton candy to take care of our hunger pangs. The football team came out on top, beating Parsippany Hills 33-0, and my experience in the Pit was unreal. We sported our Homecoming tees and expressed our school spirit for the Home of the Wave. All in all, Homecoming was a success for the Football Team, faculty, families, and students of our fantastic high school, Delbarton.

prefers Membean to traditional vo-cabulary exercises because “regular vocab books are too mainstream.” A vote was held one after-noon in the Senior Commons and 15 of the 16 students said they do not like Membean. Vince Papetti, the only student to vote for Mem-bean, stated: “I don’t know what the vote was about, but voting against everyone else just seemed like the hipster thing to do.” The initiation of Membean has left us with many unanswered questions. Will Marquis Woods ever get to use a real vocab book? Will Brendan Prior still be doing Membean while in college next year? Will Membean take over the school? Will I ever get past level one? As a

ago, when my family went to the shore we drove through the streets of a number of cities, crossed the Edison bridge, took a left, and went to swim off Keyport, Ocean Beach, and Port Monmouth, in what is called the “Bayshore” area of Monmouth County. Those repre-sented very prosperous days half a century ago for that area of the shore. However, when the Garden State Parkway was completed, Avon, Belmar, Spring Lake, Sea Girt, Manasquan, Point Pleasant, and all the way down to LBI and Cape May County were opened up. Tourism, therefore, bypassed the Bayshore area, causing that area to lose some of its tourist trade and prosperity. For decades, therefore, many parts of the Bayshore area languished into a lower middle class prosperity and

People crowding around the tents Courtesy of Ms. Fiddes

We all know that feeling Courtesy of Tommy Rhodes ‘14

The 2010 group at Appalachia Courtesy of Kevin Kenny ‘78

community, we can only imagine the possible answers to these questions.

even poverty. Then, unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy hit it squarely; whole towns, like Ocean Beach, Port Monmouth, and parts of Keyport, Haslet, and Holmdel were totally wiped out. Hundreds of families, if not thousands of families, over the last year or so have been un-derserved largely because of the enormity of the needs throughout the Jersey Shore and into the Rocka-ways, Staten Island, and Long Island

in New York. This year, at the behest of our friends in Appalachia who recognized that our responsibili-ties to New Jersey are greater than our responsibilities to them, we will serve the Bayshore area. We will have a major collection of toys and other items, which we will bring to three locations in the Bayshore area on Sunday, December 15. The col-lection will go on from December

8 through December 14. A truck or two will go to the Paterson/Passaic area serving the needs of the poor in the Diocese of Paterson, and at least three or four trucks will go to Keyport, Haslet, and Union Beach, to serve the poor over a region extending thirty or forty miles along the Bayshore area. We will also help some “battered women” shelters in Morris County. There it is, the “Other Amer-ica,” only one hour to one hour and a half from us, yet, if we can work together for this collection of toys and other gifts, we can do a great deal to help the poor this Christmas. Thank you very much for everything that you’ll be able to do for us. We all look forward to working together during the month of December to make our support of needy people in our own State successful.

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4 ARTSThe Delbarton Courier

Delbarton’s Fall Choral Concert

Prism: Shooting out Beams of Bad Music

By: Tommy Cusano ‘14

By: Shan Rizwan ’17

Imagine that you are sitting in a comfortable chair in the Fine Arts Center auditorium. The lights dim and suddenly you hear voices at your left singing, “Viva la musica! Viva la musica!” Other singers—from the right this time—join in and repeat the chant, until it builds upon itself and compounds into a chaos of sound—noise all around you, inescapable. You panic and prepare to scream yourself out of this appar-ent nightmare but, as the singers assemble onstage and their voices blend into euphonious unison, you remember that this is not a stress dream, but Delbarton’s Fall Choral Concert. You settle into your seat and remind yourself to get more sleep. On Thursday night, No-vember 7, dozens of lucky audience members witnessed Gothicap-pella—Delbarton’s early music vocal ensemble—open the show in just this way. Such was the start of a memorable evening of diverse cho-ral tunes that featured the aforemen-tioned group, the Benedictones, and Schola Cantorum. Mrs. Carol Horton directed Gothicappella, while Mr. David Bla-zier led the members of the other two groups in their musical endeav-ors. The program included a diverse

array of musical and linguistic influences; songs ranged from the French chanson “Je ne Fus Jamais Si

Aise” to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone” to the Spanish “Yo Le Canto.”

Schola Cantorum singing their hearts out Courtesy of Ms. Fiddes

Her cover is as digitally altered as her music is Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

The beginning of the fall season is a time when new music, varying from pure pop to hardcore rap, is released. As it comes to an end, it would be truly negligent to forget about one of the seasons’ worst albums. That album belongs to Katy Perry. Katy Perry is known for dominating the pop charts with catchy and overplayed singles. Her latest masterpiece, Prism, is no dif-ferent. First of all, her music lacks creativity. Each song sounds so similar and boring, and the lyrics are very repetitive and meaningless. When I was listening to this album, I had to resist the urge to hit the skip button. Her song “Birthday” par-ticularly amuses me because of its ridiculously stupid lyrics. Perry sings, “So we should party, all night… I hope you got a healthy appetite.” Partying and nutritional advice all in one song? Great job Katy Perry. She envisions this tune to be the go-to song of all birthday parties. Another issue about Katy

Perry’s Prism is how overplayed her songs are. By now, everyone

who sees Prism thinks of the single, “Roar.” The song is bearable the

first time heard, but then it strikes like a ninja, appearing everywhere. After hearing it constantly on the radio, at school, on television, and all across the Internet, it is impossible to still enjoy it. Katy Perry became popular by brainwashing people into liking her music. With that said, it really is not that peculiar that she had six singles from her last album, Teenage Dream. The song “Roar” is the first indication that Prism will become just as overplayed as Perry’s second album. Although the songs on Katy Perry’s album are terrible, the vocals are amazing. She has her talent wasted on likeable but boring pop songs. Her voice shines in the slower ballads like “Unconditionally” and “By the Grace of God.” I recommend that nobody buy Prism unless he or she is look-ing for a way to waste money. Perry wastes three years making an album full of trashy pop songs. Though Katy Perry assures us she has “the eye of the tiger,” she clearly forgets that, in order make good music, she needs ears and a brain, too.

As Schola Cantorum began the set that closed the night, Mr. Blazier pointed out that the boys in

the choir manage to put together such an impressive concert with only one or two rehearsals per week.

Despite the students’ limited time for preparation, the audience raved about the boys’ performances. “Simply stunning,” said Gabi Grella, a student from Mount Saint Mary Academy. “I was awestruck. A really great performance by every-one.” When asked to choose a color that captured the Benedic-tones’ performance, Alex Baumann ’15 chose red: “Red is the only color bold enough to describe the energy that I saw on stage.” Alex was certainly not alone in his impression of the a cappella group. In fact, some of the singers said that they actually sought that kind of connection with the audi-ence as they performed: “I try to make aggressive eye contact with one person as a song begins and not break that eye contact until the end of the song,” explained John Sciales ’14. “My goal is to summon tears from that person. The ability to make people weep—just a little—is, to me, the mark of a job well done.” Although not everyone broke down in the way John may have hoped, the students certainly managed to give their audience an unforgettable night. The vocal ensembles will next perform at the Christmas Concert on December 15th along with Delbarton’s instru-mental groups.

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5NEWSThe Delbarton Courier

Gays refuses to wave white flag Courtesy of www.nj1015.com

Gov. Chris Christie Approves Gay Marriage

NSA Phone Tapping

On October 21, 2013, New Jersey became the 14th state to recognize same-sex marriages. Throughout the state, couples began exchanging vows immediately after midnight as ceremonies were quickly arranged following the court’s deci-sion to deny a request for a delay. In Newark, former Mayor Cory Booker performed seven ceremo-nies, including two heterosexual couples. Booker had refused to perform any marriages until same-sex marriages were legal in New Jer-sey. “It is officially past midnight,” Booker said. “Marriage is equal in New Jersey.” As the ceremonies be-gan, Governor Chris Christie agreed to end his fight against gay marriage. The decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court to deny the state’s request to block same-sex unions during an appeal was seen as an historic victory for New Jersey’s same-sex couples and their families. With a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court not to grant the Governor’s request because his ap-peal had “no reasonable probability of success,” it had become clear to Christie and his advisors that the fight was over and he withdrew his appeal. Although Christie’s deci-sion was an unexpected conclusion to a decade-long battle, Christie

said it would be foolish to con-tinue. By withdrawing his appeal, a lower court ruling allowing same-sex couples to become wed is now the law in New Jersey. Only a few months ago,

By: Tim Sienko ‘16

By: Brandon Gaceta ‘16 There has been more up-roar recently over the NSA spying claims. Supposedly, the US tapped the phones of over 35 world lead-ers, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. These countries and their leaders have all stated that their trust in the US has been negatively affected by the NSA’s invasive col-lection of data. The NSA has allegedly been performing these covert intelligence operations for some time now: reportedly over five years. Currently, the NSA is attempting to put down the allegations that they have col-lected intelligence on foreign world leaders illegally, and that they did not let Obama know about it at all. The NSA has released multi-ple statements saying that they have gathered large amounts of phone data. However, the NSA defended itself with claims that a select few have access to certain phone num-bers and only slightly more have access to the databases where those numbers are located. According to an anonymous political leader in the US, it is highly

Obamacare Failure The new federal healthcare website for the Obama administra-tion has added yet another element of controversy to the Affordable Care Act. The website, HealthCare.gov, due to its numerous technical problems, has severely damaged the reputation of the Affordable Care Act. These issues have frustrated the millions of Americans attempting to purchase policies. The problems may be far more severe than previously as-sessed. An internal error of the website in September caused a crash after only several hundred members logged on. Reportedly, up to five million of the 500 million lines of code in the software must be rewrit-ten, a process that would take weeks, even with some of the best engi-neering talent in the country. In spite of the difficulties, the Health and Human Services Sec-retary and manager of the project, Kathleen Sebelius, has remained determined to see the website’s successful launch through. “It’s tough to take the shots. But I will take them until we get this right,”

By: Charlie Niebanck ‘14said Sebelius, who has spent the last three and a half years building up to this moment. The shots have certainly continued to hit Sebelius and her team. Notably, critics of the web-site have made much of her earlier statement that “the website has never crashed. It is functional but at a very slow speed and very low reliability.” However, her opponents quickly pointed out that the pro-gramming flaws in the website often prevent it from working, which essentially constitutes a crash in the online world. Especially in contrast with websites such as Facebook and Twitter, which handle billions of us-ers, the ObamaCare website and its failures reflect even more poorly on the administration. Furthermore, The Wash-ington Post described the website’s failure as “self-inflicted incom-petence”, pointing to the lack of leadership on the part of Obama’s administration. Others, such as the Chicago Tribune, cite the primary difficulties that lie in the actual law, which relies on the participation of young, healthy Americans to balance the costs care for the elderly.

unlikely that Obama would have allowed the NSA to carry out these actions had he known the full de-tails. The political leader also stated the usual process in a situation like this: Obama would relay his ideas for a general intelligence goal, and he would leave it up to the adminis-trations to figure out how to reach those goals. Other politicians suggest that Obama was briefed on the actions of the NSA and acknowl-edge that almost all countries spy on each other, even the closest of allies. Although they have admitted that the process of the collection of intelligence should be reformed, the politicians stress the importance of making sure not to “overcorrect.” These politicians argue that although there have been some mistakes in the way that the NSA collects intelligence, they work ulti-mately for the safety of the country-Former Vice President Dick Cheney puts it best, “We do have a fantastic intelligence capability, worldwide against all kinds of potential issues and concerns. We are vulnerable, as was shown on 9/11, and you never know when you’re going to need it.”

advocates of same-sex marriage were discouraged and believed that Christie had succeeded in blocking it; everything changed quickly. In

September, Judge Mary C. Jacobson ruled that New Jersey had to allow gay marriages starting October 21, 2013 to comply with the United States Supreme Court decision in June. The Supreme Court’s decision

in June guaranteed same-sex couples the same federal benefits as hetero-sexual married couples, including tax, medical and legal benefits.

Although the Christie administration appealed for the implementation date to be delayed so that voters could decide the issue in a referendum, the state Supreme Court unanimously denied the ap-peal. Beginning at 12:01 AM on Oc-tober 21, from Cape May to Asbury Park, the union began as scheduled. Only hours later, the Christie admin-istration announced it would drop the appeal. Even though same-sex marriage is popular among voters in New Jersey, Governor Christie, a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, remains true to his principles and opposes such unions, believing that marriage should be between a man and a woman. He had been fight-ing gay marriage in the courts for months and vetoed a bill in the state legislature last year that would have made gay marriage legal. Christie strongly disagreed with the court’s decision and had hoped instead for the question on the ballot for voters to decide. Although October 21, 2013 was a historic day of equality and cause for celebration for many com-mitted couples throughout the state of New Jersey, opponents of same-sex marriage felt Christie had given in to judicial activism and should have fought to the end.

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6The Delbarton Courier

OpinionS

Thoughts on Rockstar’s Latest GTA Game

Should There Be a Mercy Rule in Sports?There Should Be There Should Not Be

Continued from page 1most of the story, the three charac-ters are not robbing banks or any other establishments, but are actu-ally blowing up buildings, recovering weapons and data, or killing targets instead. Although the missions are exciting and diverse, ultimately, the game would have been more true to the trailers if it allowed for more organized heists. Score: 8/10 Game play: The game play in GTA V is not very different than any other game in the series: you steal cars, shoot people, run away from cops, et cetera. However, there are a few differences that separate this one from the rest. For example, the weapon system now allows the player to equip attachments to their guns for added boosts in combat. The police system is also

different because it creates a new challenge for veteran GTA players; however, sometimes the challenge is too overwhelming. Additionally, escaping from the police becomes a hassle. Ultimately, everything has been improved from GTA IV to GTA V: the cars are much nicer, the map is much larger with more room for exploration, and the combat is

innovative and fun. Although there are some issues, none of them deem the game unplayable. Score: 9/10 Miscellaneous: Rockstar finds a way for the minute details of the game to shine as much as the prominent features. Addition-ally, the music in GTA V is incred-ibly diverse and features songs by a variety of artists from A$AP Rocky

to Johnny Cash, appealing to the diverse audience that the game at-tracts. The buildings, forests, and vehicles are just some of the many beautifully crafted illustrations in the game. Even the smallest details make a huge impact in creating a realistic feel that fully immerses the player in Los Santos. Rockstar’s design team really outdid itself with this project and the numerous years of critiques are evident in this mas-terpiece. Score: 10/10 Overall: GTA V is a solid addition to Rockstar’s extensive cata-log. The game manages to stay true to the roots set by its predecessors, while staying modern and improving upon faulty game mechanics. With over forty hours of single player mode and an enjoyable multiplayer option, I highly recommend adding this game to your collection. Three tough dudes performing tough jobs Courtesy of evangelicaloutpost.com

Should the other team have mercy? Courtesy of nbcdfw.com

Life isn’t fair. Second chanc-es are seldom given and hard work yields reward. Trophies are reserved for the best. Welcome to America. In a recent 91-0 victory of a Texas high school football team, parents of the losing team filed bul-lying allegations against the victor, which were dismissed. However, the lawsuit raised an important question: should a mercy rule be installed in high school sports? Absolutely not. Along with capitalistic senti-ments, mercy rules would destroy

positive attributes associated with large margins of victory in sports. Primarily, playing time for the less-qualified players would be reduced. The hard working second and third string players live for the game time and experience they are awarded with when their team is up big. Without performing in game situa-

tions, the “practice players”’ op-portunity to shift in the ranks of the team is diminished severely. As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” A large deficit in sports can spur the losing team into action and provide an incredible story and entertainment for fans. In 1974, the USC Trojans scored an unanswered 55 points against the Notre Dame Irish after being down 24-0. And they did it in 17 minutes of football. Yes, that is the NCAA, not high school, but there have been similar comebacks in high school football. The Mogadore High School football team in Ohio recently came back from a 35-3 deficit in the fourth quarter and ultimately won in double overtime (61-58). Now obviously none of these situations are as extreme as the 91-0 routing, but there is a les-son to be learned: losing will teach someone more about themselves than winning. And it can be argued that a more extreme loss is more valuable than a close one, at least for introspective purposes. Perseverance through adversity is a waning trait among today’s upcoming genera-tions. Relentless tenacity and the ability to lose graciously are both admirable and irreplaceable char-acteristics that can only be taught through loss. As cliché as it may sound, if the team who was down 91-0 had come out in the fourth quarter and scored two or even three touchdowns, they would have experienced the moral victory. In a world where defeat and failure are inevitable and giving up is too easy, how would a mercy rule benefit the youth of America?

By: Sheamus Cruagh ‘14By: Will Agathis ‘14

Being a coach is a tough job; nobody knows what goes through the mind of a coach on game day. No matter who is in, what the situ-ation is, or how the team is doing, only one adage carries over; Al Davis once said, “just win baby.” Oftentimes, the coach does not take into consideration the feelings of the other team, school, or program, and gloats. After all, being a sore winner is legal, as no sports rule-book says it cannot be done. But the topic in question is showboating by way of running up the score. It does not show skill or sportsmanship to kick someone when down. So why should a team be able to do that with hundreds or thousands of people watching? There comes a point in a game when a team knows it has won, usu-ally long before the match is ended. With that said, shouldn’t the team take into consideration how demor-alizing it is to be a player on the other team? While sports are tough, one must remember high school students are not even old enough to vote let alone take this psychological torment. There is no reason to act like a sore winner in sports. Sadly, it is apparent that professional sports teams, even though they are run by dozens of adults, are incredibly immature and therefore show little sportsmanship towards the other team. Instead, they are only selec-tively sportsmanlike. For example, during the NHL playoffs, combat-ants will line up, shake hands, and hug one another, when they later

resort to heinous attempts at incom-prehensible demoralization. There needs to exist some way to impose more sportsmanship in the NHL, and in all sports leagues. Enter mercy rule. Apparently, professional ath-letes are incredibly immature. How can one expect high school and college athletes to be any more con-siderate? Simply, there needs to be a mercy rule implemented in sports. Preferably, all high school, col-lege and professional sports would implement a white flag to surrender policy. This way, a team can decide

collectively when it is past the point of no return. Since the winning team is oblivious to the opposition’s pain and suffering. There is no room or reason for needless taunting in sports. Just let this juvenile manner of psychological torment end.

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7VISIONS AND VOICESThe Delbarton Courier

The Braveheart: A Delbarton Tradition

The Box of Dolls

By: Nick Serratelli ‘14 The 2013 Braveheart is an event that will live in infamy due to the events that unfolded during this year’s Homecoming. As students rushed to the freshman football field, they didn’t know what to expect in the minutes that followed. Most found them-selves in the woods, trying to get up the hill to run down the one in front of Old Main, like every Delbarton student for the past twelve years had done. But in the end, everyone walked up the hill, puzzled, angry, and booing. It’s worth mentioning that, at the time of the Braveheart, there were foreseeable punishments from that Friday’s pep rally. Although the cancellation of the Braveheart can

be seen as one of those punish-ments, the change was not as drastic as one would think. The Braveheart has not been the same over the past two years. As a result, a tradition was finally stripped down to nearly noth-ing. Some people say the Braveheart is not a tradition, but I disagree. Since the event’s inception, it has been the most anticipated event of the year, every year, for the past twelve years. During Delbarton tours, every tour guide talks about Home-

coming because of the Bravehe-art. Everyone comes to Delbar-ton hoping to run in the thrilling charge down the hill. Despite the innate danger of the Braveheart, every student wants to be a part of something Delbarton students have participated in for over a decade. After talking to several alumni who ran the Braveheart, it was obvious that they were dis-turbed to see the tradition die. I’ve heard people say that Homecoming is supposed to be about the former

students visiting the school, but half of the experience for those alumni is seeing that Delbarton is the same place it used to be. The absence of one of the most exciting traditions at the school is not something that alumni want when they return to their alma mater. Personally, I’ve run in two Bravehearts, and they have been great experiences. Even when I have to hurdle over a fallen – but uninjured – classmate, I still enjoy the downhill dash with my brothers. Ultimately, the Braveheart is some-thing that everyone who attended Delbarton in the past twelve years can share. At every school, there are traditions that all former and cur-rent students can talk about despite the age difference. For Delbarton students and alumni, that event is the Braveheart.

Delbarton’s Fifth Publication: Pro Wave By: Steven Yang ‘17

By: Aidan McLaughlin ‘19

Recently, Jack Schroeder ’17 founded Pro Wave, a newspaper focused on sports. This newspaper is Jack’s freshman project, and has garnered the attention of students of Delbarton, as well as the support of many Delbarton teachers, includ-ing Mr. Negrin, who became its faculty moderator. To find out more about this new addition to the Del-barton arts, The Delbarton Courier sat down to interview Jack The Delbarton Courier: What prompted you to start the Pro Wave newspaper? Jack Schroeder: I started Pro Wave because I felt that sports were not properly represented in The Courier. Additionally, the for-mat of The Courier could not coin-cide with the never-ending schedule of sports. TDC: Was it difficult to leave The Courier? Pro Wave flyers hung all around school Courtesy of Tim Welman ‘14

More tents! Courtesy of Ms. Fiddes

Marcus saw the crowd and immediately thought, “There’s no chance I’m getting into this movie.” The young boy was standing out-side of the AMC theaters in Santa Monica, California. He was in line to see “The Conjuring”, but he knew for sure he wasn’t getting in. The building was packed to its brim with cowering girls, boys who were mak-ing bets to see who could stay in the longest, and just straight horror fans. Marcus scanned his surroundings to find a way into the screening. Sud-denly, his friend Terry caught sight of Marcus and sprinted over.

“Hey,” he whispered. “You looking for a way to get in too? Fol-low me.” Terry crept around the side of the building over to the offices beside it. He slipped into an alley al-most too small for a toad to wriggle. Marcus followed and encountered a dark gloomy door. Terry poked open the door and motioned Marcus through. There was a long winding steel staircase that seemed like it led on for miles. Marcus started up and trudged to the top. At the tip of the stairs was a box-like room hold-ing small clay dolls resembling the characters in “The Conjuring.” This creeped Marcus out and sent a tingle

up his spine, but he followed Terry to the very front of the room where a large windshield overlooked the theater below. As the movie started, Marcus took a seat, but he thought he heard something stir behind him. He swiveled around and none of the dolls were on the tables on which they were originally placed. Some-thing grabbed him and he swung his arms ferociously at the arm that en-closed his forearm. As he pounded, Terry was thrust against the wind-shield and dragged across the floor. Marcus ripped at the arm that was restraining him and felt cloth. The dolls had come to life! Immediately Marcus ripped

off more and more of the cloth on the arm and it fell limp. He moved over to Terry who was having trou-ble breaking loose from a headlock. Marcus tackled the ghoulish female figure that held Terry and ripped the cloth off. The woman fell silent and seemed to transform back into a doll. The boys looked at each other and bolted for the exit. They didn’t stop until they were safely at their houses. The next day at school was a regular day for just about everyone except Marcus and Terry, who took mental health days and recovered from the night before at that haunt-ed box above the theater.

JS: It was tough because I loved writing for The Courier. But I was able to find something that did not engage my views like The Courier did. TDC: Do you have any re-sentment towards The Courier? JS: No, I do not. I got advice from the administration and they

respected my desire to branch off. There is no resentment between us because of creative differences. TDC: Will you attempt to recruit the sports writers to join Pro Wave? JS: I believe that The Courier has some amazing sports-writers, and I would be honored to

have them write for Pro Wave. TDC: Do you believe that The Courier will cease to have a sports section in the near future? JS: I hope not because Pro Wave is for the sports fanatic, and it was not in my interest to take away sports from The Courier. It’s called Pro Wave because the articles primarily professional and college sports, not Delbarton sports. TDC: When will Pro Wave have its debut at Delbarton? JS: We’re up and running, and an ad campaign will be forth-coming. Pro Wave has gotten off to a fantastic start and the entire Delbar-ton community is anxiously waiting for its first issue. Jack Schroeder noted that Pro Wave will cover every major sports league. You can check out the Pro Wave at Delbarton-prowave.blogspot.com.

Page

8 SPORTSThe Delbarton Courier

The NY Giants Not Seeming Like Giants Anymore

College Basketball Preseason Outlook

2013 NBA Review: The Reign of King James

By: Chris Westdyk ‘15

Continued from page 2

Similar to previous years, the 2013-14 NCAA basketball season promises to be full of fierce competition, exciting matchups, and unlikely upsets. This season, however, has one feature that sets it apart from the past: there is no clear favorite to win the national title. In addition, conference realignment has created new matchups, making the road to the national champion-ship even more unpredictable. Sitting atop the AP poll, the Kentucky Wildcats have the best preseason outlook to win the na-tional championship. For the third straight year, Coach John Calipari will rely heavily on freshman talent, as 3 of his 5 starters are first year

players. Two years ago, Kentucky showed how far an inexperienced team can go, winning the NCAA title in a dominant fashion. Last year, however, the Wildcats showed how low a young team could fall, by losing in the first round of the NIT. Even though there is no guarantee, Kentucky’s team has the talent to win it all. Second in the polls is Michi-gan State. Led by senior guard Keith Appling, the Spartans will face a tough Big 10 Conference through-out the year. Tom Izzo’s Michigan squad will get a chance to test their ability against Kentucky on Novem-ber 12. Defending National Cham-pion Louisville sits third in the preseason rankings. The Cardinals will spend this season in the newly

formed AAC before moving to the ACC in 2014. Having lost stars Pey-ton Siva and Gorgui Dieng, Louis-ville will need top notch production from recruits Chris Jones and Anton Gill. With the fourth spot in the polls, the consistently-competent Duke Blue Devils are poised for a big season in the ACC. With the number one high school prospect Jabari Parker looking to make an impact, Coach Krzyzewski’s squad mixes young talent with upperclass-man experience. Duke is a legiti-mate contender for the national title. Rounding out the top five is perhaps the most intriguing team of the preseason, the Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks’ performance is heav-ily tied to the abilities of top recruit Andrew Wiggins. Kansas lacks

experienced players, so, like Ken-tucky, they will have to rely heavily on freshman talent throughout the season. Finally, conference realign-ment will create new rivalries this year. The biggest change of the offseason was the division of the old Big East conference into the American Athletic Conference and the new Big East. The Big East also inherited strong teams in Butler, Xavier, and Creighton. In addition, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Pitt join the ACC this year, which gives them matchups against top squads like Duke and UNC. With an unpredictable out-come and new rivalries, this year’s NCAA Basketball season will surely prove to be an exciting one.

All Hail King James! Courtesy of www.fdynamo1986.com

Week 6 in Chicago Courtesy of www.gamedayr.com

owlands, a matchup that the Giants may win because of prolific quar-terback Aaron Rodgers’ shoulder injury. Week 12 sees the Giants matchup at home against the Cow-boys in what could be New York’s most important game of the season. If Eli shows up for this game and shreds through the Cowboys’ pass defense as he should, Big Blue could be at a 5-6 record. The Giants play the Red-skins Weeks 13 and 17 and could win both matchups against a strug-gling Washington team. After the first battle against Washington, the G-men travel to San Diego for a Week 14 battle against the Chargers. In what should

be a better game than originally expected, the Giants could find

Continued from page 2 trouble winning this matchup. The Seahawks travel to

MetLife Stadium for Week 15 and have all of the weapons needed to take down the best in the NFL. The Giants are no exception and will likely lose this one. The Giants face the Lions in Detroit during Week 16 in what will likely be a shootout. At the end of the day, look for Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush to pick apart the Giants defense and take home a Detroit victory. These projections give the Giants a 7-9 record for the 2013 sea-son. This record does not eliminate New York from playoff contention, but it certainly makes entry to the playoffs improbable. Every minute of football that the Giants play for the rest of the year will be crucial if the team wants a chance to win their fifth Super Bowl.

than pretending they have a decent team.The Return: After missing all of last sea-son recovering from a torn ACL, the former MVP Derrick Rose is back in action and ready to contend for a title. The last time Derrick Rose was on the court we had a Braveheart. If Derrick Rose can return to his former self the Bulls look like the favorite to knock off the heat. In my opinion, the recipi-ent of the MVP award will be either Kevin Love of Minnesota, or LeBron James of the Miami Heat. Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clip-

pers will win the Coach of the Year Award. Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans will be the most likely candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, and Philadelphia 76ers rookie Michael Carter-Williams could very well end up with the Rookie of the Year award. In the Eastern Conference Finals, I foresee Indiana overcom-ing Miami and its Big Three. On the Western side, look for coach Doc Rivers to lead the Clippers to a vic-tory over the San Antonio Spurs. Fi-nally, in a matchup that features two newly star-filled teams, look for Los Angeles to best Indiana in a thrilling NBA Final Matchup.