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Editors-in-Chief: Alex Vinci '11, Alexis Jenkins '11 Design Editor: Leslie Martin '12 Copy Editor: Matt Nunez '12 news, bmhs, stampede, bishop mcnamara hs, bmac
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What’s InsIdesoftball neglected?: Lack of support until the team’s
recent success.... 2
teacher trouble: Find out which teacher had forty-two detentions when they were 17 and in high school.... 4
Relationships: Make them last... 5
student travels: This past Spring BMHS students took
trips across Europe... 6
Golf star: Marvin Cabotaje commits to Towson... 8
taylor Brown: Focused on more than the game... 9
natural disasters: Commentary on recent
unpredictable weather... 11
Comics: From Shannell Smith, Marcellus Lopez and
Caleb Forssell... 11
EMaiL uS:[email protected]
Now oNLiNE:Website: stampedenews.org
Facebook: stampedenews Youtube: stampedevideos
Bishop McNamara HS 6800 Marlboro Pike
Forestville, MD 20747
E-lectionsTechnology’s influence on Student Council elections
Shannell Smith ‘12ComiCS EdiTor
Three. Two. One.There were three options for
Student Council President, two options for Vice President, and only one option for Secretary Treasurer. Each candidate was to receive 50 signatures from any member of the student body (excluding seniors) and give a brief speech on WMAC before voting took place on Friday, April 29th, 2011. Winners were announced on WMAC Monday, May 2nd.
Technology has had quite the presence in this year’s elec-tions. Most of Friday’s voting took place on the library’s com-puters, but when they suffered a slight malfunction, the students resumed voting... on Mr. Shin’s iPhone. The technology made voting much easier for students; “I just hit buttons,” said Josh King ‘12.
The candidates’ speeches on WMAC did influence the voting habits of some stu-dents. Jeanelle Ivy ‘14 enjoyed
Eric Darnell’s speech and the fact that it “included all of the classes.” No two speeches were alike, and each candidate pre-sented their speeches in their own unique way. However, stu-dents had many other reasons for voting for a candidate.
Alex Myers ‘14 voted for Eric Darnell ‘12 and Imani Payne ‘12 because he felt that he “related to them,” and they “weren’t trying to put on a facade.” D’Amber Clark ‘12 voted for Eric Darnell
and Devin Swiner ‘12 because she thought that they were people who “generally wanted to work hard for the school,” while Ben Hartmann ‘12 voted for Daniel Spence ‘12 because he believed that he “could get stuff accomplished.” Luciana Rodrigues ‘12 was the unop-posed candidate for Secretary/Treasurer, so she had no trouble getting any votes.
For Greg Pinkney ‘12, one of the Presidential candidates,
this was the very first time he had run for office at Bishop McNamara. “I was very nervous,” said Pinkney. In the end, he had lost the election to Eric Darnell. “I kept in mind the possibility that I could win, but the best man won,” said Pinkney.
Graduating seniors were not permitted to vote in Student Council elections, and thus, had no say in who would lead the school in the 2011-2012 school year. Last year’s Student Council President, Paulette Fogle ‘11, thought that this year’s elections were different and surprising. “Someone was able to run un-opposed, and people actually stepped up this year.”
After the voting was done and the students were gone, the library closed promptly at 3:30 PM. Once the computers were turned off, the television moni-tors were turned on Monday morning for everyone to hear that Eric, Devin, and Luciana would be the student leadership team of the school next year.
BmHS Poets Compete in dC Youth Poetry Slam Sophomore winner set to perform on hit show Brave New Voices
Taylor Parker ‘12STaff WriTEr
This year McNamara has been highly recognized for our sports programs, but now our students are being recognized in a more creative fashion. Sophomores Mandla “Kosi” Dunn and Kayla McAfee are gaining recognition for their words.
Kosi and Kayla entered into the local Poetry Slam where poets from all over the Washington Metropolitan area compete to be a part of the “slam team.” Many got a taste of what the two were capable of when they debuted together in this years talent show performing the poem, “Not Another Love Poem.” Kosi and Kayla’s per-formance rocked McNamara out of their seats resulting in a standing ovation.
Now Kosi, the two year poet, and Kayla, the first year artist, compete against one another for a spot on the official slam team.The winner will head to California to perform on the HBO show, Brave New Voices, and have the chance to showcase what they’re really made of.
Poetry Slam, Inc. was es-tablished in 1996 and is a non-profitable organization that allows people of all dif-ferent ages to showcase their work by participating in what
is known as a “poetry slam.” A poetry slam is when poets recite original work in front of a crowd and are judged based upon their performance. They only have three minutes with a ten second grace period at the end. The judges are picked at random from the crowd by the MC to try and have the com-petition as unbiased as possible. There are five judges and scores range from one to ten and the highest and lowest scores are dropped to make it out of 30 points.
For this competition, Kosi was inspired by a poet and friend, Joshua Bennett. During the finals Kosi performed the two poems, “Miss Midnight” and “Fragile.” “‘Miss Midnight’ was about a relationship in which I was pursuing a female who wouldn’t give me a chance and ‘Fragile’ was about finding the heart of my insecurities as a young man,” said Kosi.
Kayla performed poems “Glass Birds” and a rendition of the two’s talent show perfor-mance. “A close friend of mine’s mom died and I placed myself in her shoes and wrote from her perspective with the poem ‘Glass Birds’. ‘Not Another Love Poem’ was about a personal re-lationship that was built on a bad foundation from the start and how it ended. This poem is
relateable to all females,” said Kayla.
They both became fan fa-vorites throughout the competi-tion, but only one would move on to the final competition in California. Kosi’s experience gave him an advantage in the competition and his confidence was shown.
“He always tells me that I have the power to make the audience feel the way I want them to feel,” said Kayla, and with Kosi’s performance of “Miss Midnight”, the crowd was laughing and snapping their fingers. Kayla’s performance of “Glass Birds” was on a more serious note and her second poem, “And Tomorrow”, earned her a high score of 27.9. Even with Kosi’s great performance
of “Miss Midnight” in the first round, his second round per-formance he repeatedly forgot the words and received a score of 27.1. This put Kayla ahead of Kosi at the end of both rounds, but both would be heading to the finals.
Kosi, who seemed dissatis-fied with his performance at the semi-finals, came prepared for the finals with his outstanding performance of “Fragile.” The judges were a bit harder this time around and many of the poets were not happy with their scores. After the first round, Kosi was ahead of Kayla and they were moving on to the final round. Both being athletes it would only seem natural that their competitiveness would begin roaring towards the end,
but no matter what they sup-ported each other throughout the entire competition.
When it was finally time to announce the final scores, Kosi and Kayla were holding hands anxiously awaiting the results. In order to be a part of the final slam team they needed to place 5th or above. Kayla placed 7th while Kosi placed 5th gaining the last spot on the slam team. The competition was so tight that Kayla came in 7th, losing to Kosi by less than one point. This was very impressive for the first year poet, but tears flowed from her eyes. “I was okay with it after awhile, because it was my first year and I was happy to have made it onto the team in general and I’m going to work even harder next year,” said Kayla.
Kosi has to get down to busi-ness this year because he and the other four members of the slam team are heading to California in the summer to perform on the hit show Brave New Voices. Brave New Voices is aired on HBO and many poets, much like Kosi and the other members of the team, had to go through poetry slams in order to be on the show. Kosi has to write all new poems but this time he has his coaches and teammates to help him out.
Kosi and Kayla share a silent prayer before the show. (Taylor Parker ‘12 /THE STAMPEDE)
Mr. Shin used technology to his advantage when the computers stopped working in the library. He got out his iPhone and had students vote on this screen. (Screen capture)
The Stampedethe oFFICIal student neWspapeR oF BIshop MCnaMaRa hIGh sChool
printed on recycled paperwww.stampedenews.org Wednesday, May 25, 2011
16 Candles, Paparazzi, and a Baby?Teen pregnancy is over-glamorized
Softball: Until recently, a Neglected Sport
Jerica deck ‘13oPiNioN EdiTor
Are babies the new tiny dogs that celebrities once carried in their purses? It seems like people are getting more and more publicity for teenage motherhood.
Most have heard of the hit reality series 16 and Pregnant. On that show, you get to see the joys and struggles as a pregnant teen. However you also see gorgeous girls getting paid to be on television. Later, as they mature, they even further their careers in a show called Teen Mom. Here they’re on a whole new level of fame. They are now on the covers of magazines like People and OK.
Does being pregnant really make them celebrities? Other than getting pregnant and living their lives, what makes them important enough to be on the cover of magazines once reserved for actresses, singers, and models?
The “it” thing in Hollywood seems to be children with children. Just look at former senator’s daughter Bristol Palin and
Britney Spears’ sister, Jamie Lynn. Yeah, people knew who they were, but no one really noticed them until news broke of their young preg-nancies. Also look at shows like Degrassi, Secret Life and Juno, which are focused around pregnant girls because their situation is interesting and dramatic.
How does this change our society? These teenage moms are starting to be shown as role models. Young girls are seeing these moms everywhere keeping their babies and thinking, “Wow! That’s heroic!” It takes a lot of courage to take care of a child at sixteen rather than give one’s baby up for adop-tion. When you see them on a magazine cover in a white wedding dress talking about how happy they are about their marriage, you can’t help but think in the back of your mind, “Wow, I wish I could be more like her!”
When reality sets in, you know it’s not that easy. While you see the glitz and glamour of these reality stars, celeb-rities, and TV characters, you all see their downfalls.
Anyone who watches these shows can see that their lives aren’t easy.
According to stayteen.org, less than three percent of girls with an early pregnancy earn a college degree by age 30. Without much education, getting a job is hard enough. Trying to find a job that pays enough to take care of your baby is another story. I doubt ‘reality TV star’ is a serious career option for most preg-nant teens.
Don’t get me wrong. If teenage girls can overcome these conflicts and still make it work, that’s great. It takes a strong, selfless person to go through that, and those quali-ties are very well respected. However that shouldn’t be someone’s goal or aspira-tion. Teen moms shouldn’t be posing for photo shoots or on Dancing With the Stars. They should be with their children working for them to have a great life.
daniel Spence ‘12 Carolina rodrigues ‘11
STaff WriTEr oNliNE EdiTor
Girl’s basketball, girl’s la-crosse, and girl’s soccer are all covered on DC Sports Fan. What’s missing from this list? Softball. All-male team sports are featured on DC Sports Fan. This lack of coverage is most likely related to its missing support from the school community, up until this week that is. Even though McNamara softball doesn’t seem to be effected negatively by such, they should continue to be sup-ported like they have during these past couple of days.
Unlike many sports at McNamara, softball misses out on large student crowds. However, it’s hard to under-stand why this happens. All home games, even though not technically on campus, are in walking distance, at Mt. Calvary. All the games that take place ensure good weather conditions too, because they’re delayed if it isn’t nice outside. Basically, being outdoors isn’t really the problem. The real problem is
that their field doesn’t offer a whole lot of seating and the area where fans sit is usually around the same area as to where the JV softball warms up.
Alex Leimbach ‘11, one of the most spirited student cheerers, explained that a lot of people have things going on during the spring. This may be true, but a lot of people have things going on all year. It doesn’t stop other sports from being attended. Another reason there may be lower attendance for softball could be the fact that there is usually a lacrosse game or
track meet going on at the same time, which divides the students whom are staying for games, causing lower numbers of fans for both. Also, since school is coming to a close around the same time that spring sports start, many students began to be less interested in having to stay at school longer, by being there after school.
But more astounding then the lack of student fan participation in softball games is the fact that on DCSportsFan.com, softball is not listed under the WCAC section. Does this have any
impact on why our school in particular has such a low rate of softball cheer? Along with no softball neither is there a diving/swimming section listed under the WCAC category.
When asked, Varsity Coach Angelina Diehlmann regarding DC Sports Fan said that she “hadn’t noticed yet” and that the lack of softball coverage was not a deterrent to having a winning or good season. However, Diehlmann and captain Stephanie Ayres ‘11 both noted that there were places to keep track of the softball team online, although less popular than DC Sports Fan.
Softball’s lack of support begins at the school level. Consequently, softball loses support in other mediums. This missing support doesn’t appear to negatively affect anyone directly involved with softball. Especially consider-ing that this year’s softball team is going to the cham-pionships. I’m sure that as a school community we will be there supporting them in their efforts.
The official logo of the reality series Teen Mom 2 (http://perezhilton.com)
Stephanie Ayres ‘11 leading off against O’Connell. (Daniel Spence ‘12/THE STAMPEDE)
My Royal Opinion
Carolyn Conte ‘14STaff WriTEr
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I really don’t care about what Kate Middleton may or may not wear to her big wedding. I don’t even care who her bridesmaid is. But since everyone seems to be obsessed with this foreign couple, I might as well comment on the one thing that does arouse an opinion in me.
Prince William has an-nounced he will not wear his wedding ring. At first I thought this was ridiculous, but then I heard he “doesn’t like jewelry.” Aw, poor thing! Boo-Hoo. That gold ring is a token that you have a com-mitment to someone, and it represents something a tad bit important.
I do trust that even without his ring he won’t lie about his romantic status to others, especially because most everyone knows who he is and if he’s married. However, it’s a daily reminder of their love. I think it’s also important to point out that, being a prince, it’s sort of a tradition to be... traditional. I have considered that he may refuse the simple, painless ring to avoid being conven-tional. That is, that he wants to rebel from the traditions, but really? How pathetic is it that that’s his “big rebellion.”
I have heard that in these modern times the husband will not wear the ring, but if that’s so -- why is it only heard of by men? So I searched a bit to see if women ever left their ring at home. The number is low and the excuses are pretty pitiful. Like, a gardener doesn’t want it to get dirty. Wear gloves.
If however, one spouse is truly against wedding rings, I think the decision should first be okay-ed by the other spouse -- especially if the wife is the only one in the relationship wearing a ring since, historically, the ring was a symbol that the woman was taken and “belonged” to a man.
And exactly what is so horrible about wearing a ring? A man has his right to not liking jewelry, but it’s not just jewelry! Is he worried people will reconsider his sexuality over a ring? So what? Besides, a real man can wear jewelry.
I think this whole “ditch-ing the ring” idea is a bad omen, added to the prince’s asking for a pre-nup signing.
2 Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Opinion Editor Jerica deck ‘13
OPINION edItoR’s note: Articles on this page represent the opinion of their authors, and not the official opinion of the school, faculty, or administration of Bishop McNamara High School.
The 3rd-annual Genny’s at mcNamaraawards ceremony honors student achievement in theater
lezla Gooden ‘11STaff WriTEr
The third annual St. Genesius Awards ceremony was held on May 1,2011 in the Fine Arts theatre, to award the many tal-ented participants in the theatre department. The St.Genesius award was founded by Mary Mitchell-Donahue, commonly known as Ms. Donahue, who became Chairman of the Fine Arts Department roughly three years ago. The idea of the award ceremony was derived from the former director of the fine arts department, who gave it the name of the “Oscars”. It was slightly tweaked by Ms. Donahue and board members when she arrived so that the giving of the awards would be
deemed more equal and fair.“We do not award Divas,
because we all must work to-gether and we value everyone’s contribution, so we make it so that everyone has a chance to be recognized,” explained Ms. Donahue. Here it was given the name St.Genesius Awards, named after St.Genesius, who is better known as the patron saint for the fine arts.
The purpose of the ceremony is to give proper recognition to all who were involved in any theatrical productions. Any person is eligible to be awarded; it is not only Ms.Donahue who picks the recipients, but a public decision as well. All of the individuals who have seen a production, whether they be students, teachers or parents, are
able to vote on the various cat-egories (once only) and choose who they seem fit for each par-ticular award. There are several different awards available to the students such as the best pit mu-sician, best supporting actor/actress and unsung hero. These are just a few to list.
These awards are giving to students who have shown a great deal of exemplary work and time throughout the course of their involvement with the theatre productions. These are the stu-dents who have gone beyond the requirements needed and deserve to be recognized.
This year’s ceremony in-cluded a detailed itinerary.This included a light recep-tion and the induction of the new Thespians and the current
Thespians who are able to move up to a higher level of being a honoree. Also, a slide show con-taining memories creating the productions over the past year were shown. Later, as a tribute to the seniors, a “senior movie” was shown, displaying their involvement during this year. Throughout the entire ceremo-ny, after each segment, a series of awards were given. “There were so many awards given, they were too many to even count,” said Marcellus Lopez ‘13. To end the night, Ms. Donahue announced next year’s pro-ductions which are “Anything Goes” for the Fall Musical, and “The Learned Ladies” for the Spring production.
Spring dance festival is a SuccessShow gives audience wide variety of great dancers
Carolyn Conte ‘14STaff WriTEr
The Spring Dance Festival was a big hit. Worth more than the ticket price of $10, the perfor-mances did a perfect job of bragging McNamara’s talent. Artistic directors Ms. Victoria Warren and Ms. Cindy King, along with technical director Mr. John Shryock did a great job with the production this April 15th and 16th.
Right after the lights van-ished and the theatre had at last collected itself into an eager mob, a short video about Labor Day is shown. (The performances were all holiday-themed.) The curtain slides open, revealing charac-ters dressed in garments ranging from pajamas to a chef ’s attire. A disco ball shines spots over the room, and the program is off to a great start. Next comes the passionate, graceful ballet dedi-cated to breast cancer aware-ness, followed by a number of fabulous dances. The most memorable include the dances pertaining to Halloween. In one dance number, the stage was set with scary skeletons and grim goblins tap dancing to several spooky yet fun melodies like the “Monster Mash”. The crowd laughs, claps and “wooot!”s amid one skeleton cruising across the stage as if his shoes had wheels. The creepy creatures, who have now boogied with style down the aisle, choose random audi-ence members to dance with. The little girl near me widens her small eyes, shocked by the
specimen bouncing her arms around. Other Halloween-themed routines included a more chilling number where a girl is wrapped up for the insane asylum at the end, and one dis-played the famous “Thriller” music video on the screens and on stage. Meanwhile, behind the magic stage, “It’s actually organized. But, if you have a quick costume change it is crazy, but I didn’t have a quick costume change,” said Aliyah Tolliver ‘13. In a moving, more serious act pertaining to Easter, a girl was carried off stage like a cross.
The finale had all the dancers come together to celebrate to “Firework” by Katy Perry, and I thought my heart had popped when cast and crew members let confetti cannons go. The cast danced off stage,while the curtain draped closed. One person wouldn’t go, and even stepped in front of the curtain and had to be dragged back.
The show was a success. “I was a little nervous...I didn’t expect it to be that good!” said Nia Simmons ‘11. She was also nervous because she was one of the choreographers in a dance
for Jazz Honors. “It was a lot of hard work...we practiced here over spring break from 8am to 3pm! That’s a whole school day!” but it was worth it, she said, “I’m really glad I did the show.”
PHOTOS & VIDEOS: � For photos and videos from the performance, find us online: http://facebook.com/ stampedenews Stampedenews.org/zoom
Lyrical Dance performs an Easter-symbolic dance during the Spring Dance Festival, “Celebrate Life!” (Matt Nunez ‘12 / THE STAMPEDE)
Alumni News
Attends Loyola University •MarylandDirector of Community •Relations for SGA Was selected by University •Administrator to speak at the National Press Club in D.C.
Attends Howard University•Elected the treasurer •of Charles R. Drew Hall Dormitory Council. Was appointed as the School of Communication’s Chairman of the Freshman Leadership Committee.Soon he will be sworn •in as the new Howard University School of Communications Student Council Executive President and during the fall semester was a radio personality on the student ran radio station (WHBC).He was recently inducted •into the NSCS ( National Society of Collegiate Scholars).Will be interning at the •Department of Agriculture this summer
Attends Xavier Louisiana •UniversitySings Opera and is •involved in her Church’s College MinistryRecently received an •internship planning the annual Folklife Music Festival held on the national mall. Only freshman from Xavier selected.
Chris Brown 2008
Josh Crockett 2010
Mylah Howard 2010
Eric darnell ‘12STaff WriTEr
3
NEWS
Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • News Editor Matthew nunez ‘12
For 2010, the freshmen class of 2014 saw the beliebers take over and country star, Lady
Antebellum rise to popularity. For this year, songs were more about becoming a “Billionaire” and teaching people, “How to Dougie”.
Airplanes By B.o.B.•
Baby By Justin Bieber•
Billionaire By Travie McCoy•
Bottoms Up By Trey Songz ft. Nicki Minaj•
Bulletproof By La Roux•
Like a G6 By Far East Movement•
Monster By Kanye West ft. Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z•
My First Kiss By 3OH!3•
Need You Now By Lady Antebellum•
Nothin’ on you By B.o.B.•
Teach Me How to Dougie By Cali Swag District•
It was 2009 when the class of 2013 were “partying in the USA” during their freshmen
year. It was this year when music transitioned and pop songs became more popular.
All I do is Win By DJ Khaled•
Boom Boom Pow By The Black Eyed Peas•
Day ‘N’ Night By Kid Cudi•
Don’t Trust Me By 3OH!3•
Empire State of Mind By Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys•
Forever By Drake, Kanye West, Eminem and Lil Wayne•
Kiss Me Through the Phone By Soulja Boy•
Party in the USA By Miley Cirus•
Poker Face By Lady Gaga•
Run this Town By Jay-Z ft. Rihanna and Kanye West•
Use Somebody By Kings of Leon•
The class of 2012 first rolled into high school in 2008 listening to songs where the lyrics were very
meaningful. Songs like, “Live Your Life,” “Love Story,” and “Single Ladies,” gave the perfect advice for this freshmen class and their transition into high school.
A Milli By Lil Wayne•
Can’t Believe It By T-Pain ft. Lil Wayne•
Gives you Hell By All American Rejects•
Handlebars By Flobots•
Live Your Life By T.I. ft. Rhianna•
Lollipop By Lil Wayne•
Love Story By Taylor Swift•
Low By Flo Rida ft. T-Pain•
Paper Planes By MIA•
Single Ladies By Beyonce•
Swagga Like Us By T.I. ft. Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil •Wayne
When the class of 2011 were Freshmen in 2007, the top songs were very much in the hip-hop
genre and songs like, “Crank Dat,” became a major dance revolution that gave you the ability to dance to whatever song necessary.
Apologize By One Republic•
Beautiful Girls By Sean Kingston•
Crank Dat By Soulja Boy (and the many remixes)•
Cupid’s Chokehold By Gym Class Heroes•
Good Life By Kanye West•
Hey There Delilah By Plain White T’s•
I Wanna Love You By Akon ft. Snoop Dog•
Shawty By Plies•
Sweetest Girl By Akon•
Stronger By Kanye West•
This is Why I’m Hot By MIMS•
When i was a freshman...11 top songs, sorted by the freshman year of each class
20102009
20082007
When it Happened...11 most significant moments of the last academic year
Stampede Staff farwell: Ten Seniors Graduatefrom The Stampedealex Vinci is a pioneering member of the Stampede. She pro-duced our first video, first interac-tive panorama and first soundslide, and she lead a redesign of our website. Her work has been broad-cast on WUSA Channel 9 News and published on washingtonpost.com; in regional contests, she has won 1st place awards in comics, editorial cartoons and feature writing.
Editor-in-Chief, Maestro Editor, Online Editor, News Editor, Video Editor, Staff Reporter.
alexiS JenkinS is an avid blogger and photographer, with a passion for the craft of writing. She manages a large team of writers, and has won a regional award for her news writing.
Editor-in-Chief, Features Editor, Staff Writer
taylor Brown is a versatile writer, video producer and photog-rapher. Taylor is also a nationally respected athlete, who we never wrote about because of our staff policy... until now. See the story, page 9.
Sports Editor, Staff Writer
Brandon Joyner is a posi-tive foce in the newsroom, always willing to lend a hand. Readers may not know that it was him Tweeting live updates during sports games this fall.
Sports Editor, Staff Writer
carolina rodrigueS initiated several policies that helped our website gain a record number of page views, due to innovative content and weekly updates.
Online Editor, Staff Reporter
carmela rourke helped us create an internal system for cataloguing photos, and is known for her photographic editing skill.
Photo Editor, Staff Writer
lezla gooden is an eager student of journalism. She partici-pated in the WABJ Urban Journalism Workshop and the Hurston/Wright creative writing workshop at Ameri-can University. She has written a children’s book.
Staff Writer
JaSmine whittington studied podcasting in a workshop at American University, and was a writer on our features team this year.
Staff Writer
amBer Booth was a writer and photographer for the features team, and published a series of podcasts.
Staff Writer
Stephanie dorn is an avid student of photography who wrote features articles, specializing in the area of student life.
Staff Writer
ms. Keller
ms. Walther
When I Was 17...
“I would appropriate For Sale signs around the neighbor-hood and put them on the front lawn of LaReine High School... thought it looked kind of nice... I also put a palm-reading sign on the front lawn of the school as well. They were so fed up with us that during our graduation the nuns walked out before the ceremony was over... Our class was not inducted into the National Alumni Association.” —Joanann Walther, attendance, as told to Taylor Parker ‘12
“I would get kicked out of class a lot. Every time I would take a notebook with me so that if a nun walked by I would say I was studying for a test. Freshmen year I had about 42 detentions and by senior year it was reduced to about 5. I was in detention so much that my boyfriend would come to detention to visit me and the nuns liked him so they allowed him to stay.”
—Laura Dougherty, social studies teacher, as told to Taylor Parker ‘12
Change in Administration (July 2010)•
Death of Ms. Fahle (July 2010)•
Boys and Girls Upper and Lower class Dean’s Meetings •(November 10, 2010)
St. Andre (October 17, 2010)•
Pep Rally Chant... BMAC! (October 22, 2010)•
No Make-Up Day (November 18, 2010)•
Fall Sports Flop (Fall Sports Season)•
Carroll Basketball Fight (January 15, 2011)•
Showplace Basketball (February 8, 2011)•
McNamara Twitter Superiority (ongoing)•
WCAC Mixer (March 18, 2011)•
Bro. Andre in front of his alter to St. Joseph. (Oratoire St. Joseph)
4
REMEMBER
Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Arts & Culture Editor alexis Jenkins ‘11 • Lists by the Features team: Amber Booth ‘11, Stephanie Dorn ‘11, Alexis Jenkins ‘11, Jasmine Whittington ‘11, Michael Breton ‘12, Vania Brown ‘12, Taylor Parker ‘12
Bye-Bye Heart Throb, Hello Bad BoyChris Brown’s new take on his music and career
Taylor Parker ‘12STaff WriTEr
Between all of Chris Brown’s new tattoos and scandals, there is actually still an artist. His new album, F.A.M.E, is the most diverse piece of work from Brown to date.
Chris first hit the scene in 2005 with his hit single “Run It” and his first album self titled, Chris Brown. Needless to say he has come a long way from songs like “Yo (Excuse Me Miss),” “Gimme That,” “Say Goodbye,” and “Poppin.” These songs mainly appealed to young girls between the ages of 10 and 17, which was fine because Chris himself was only 16 at the time. Any age group could sing his songs and the most risky song on the Chris Brown album was, “Gimme That”; “Momma you may be 3 years older but you hot (gimme that)/ You be talking like you like what I got (gimme that)/ I know you like it how I lean in the ‘lac/ You could be in the back saying (gimme, gimme, gimme)”
That was as PG-13 as it got.
Whatever happened from 2005-2007 surely changed Chris Brown’s attitude towards his career. His second album, Exclusive, which dropped in 2007, put Chris Brown at the age of 18. Songs like, “Take You Down,” “Kiss Kiss” and “Wall to Wall” were no longer the sweet love songs that caught the attention and hearts of young girls all over the world. These songs were now appealing to older girls ages 16-20 and they were not leaving anything up to the imagination. The album did not do so well aside from its three hit singles and seemed to incorporate more Pop songs than the R&B music he became famous for.
In 2009 after Chris Brown’s scandal with Rihanna where he was charged for domestic violence, came his third album Graffiti. It was an album that had no substance and was not well-rounded to say the least. This album was filled with a lot of apology songs to Rihanna
and other songs that were frankly just not good. Songs like, “Crawl,” “So cold” and “I’ll Go” were Chris Brown’s way of apologizing for what he did to Rihanna and in short they were quite pathetic. Then there was the song “Lucky Me”, which was Chris Brown’s attempt to get sympathy from the public. He sings, “ I gotta pose for the cameras/ Even when my world’s falling down I still wear a smile/ Lucky me/ Even though I’m so damaged/ I gotta pick myself up and perform for the crowd/ Lucky me/ Pray none of my loved ones wanna be stars/ Cause nobody said it’d be so hard/ Wouldn’t put this on no one else/ Yeah, Lucky me.” It would seem that this was the downfall of Chris’s career.
To change the direction of his somewhat failing career, Chris Brown signed with Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew and the change became notice-able in his music. Chris Brown was back with a vengeance re-leasing his first mixtape, In My Zone. He held nothing back and
for the first time had a paren-tal discretion label due to the previously mentioned sugges-tive title. Months later there was the release of his second mixtape, Fan of a Fan, a col-laboration with Tyga. This was Chris telling the world that he can rap and that he can keep up with stars such as Young Money. In My Zone was Chris’s way of expressing how he has matured into adulthood. With his two mixtapes, and singles such as No BS, Deuces and Ain’t Thinkin’ ‘Bout You, Chris helped popularize the playing of mixtape songs on the radio. However Chris Brown’s In My Zone mixtape was so provoca-tive that only one single was released and even the video for that song has a parental ad-visory before you can view it. Obviously Chris was trying to make a statement with this CD.
Continued: � to finish reading this story on Chris Brown go to: Stampedenews.org
make it last foreveradvice on how to make relationships last past high school
amber Booth ‘11STaff WriTEr
As the seniors’ year comes to a close, many friendships and relationships are hanging by a thread because of the uncer-tainty of next year. Seniors are finding themselves questioning who their real friends are and if they want to stay together with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Keeping the same relationships strong when you are miles apart is difficult, but not impossible. To make it last you have to end on a good note in order to keep it lasting. The key factor to re-member is that if you are not willing to fight for the relation-ship, regardless of whether it’s platonic or monogamous, it will not last.
Class of 2010 alum Brandon Graves manages to keep in contact with classmates and friends through social websites such as Twitter and Facebook. These social websites make it easy to find out what’s going on, and they are convenient for most seniors. The majority will find
it very hard in the beginning to keep contact, because there will be various freshman activities on campus that will keep them busy, yet everyone will have a computer.
Nevertheless, romantic rela-tionships are the most difficult to keep when taking that next step to college. Most couples will break up before college and remain friends but, others will end in heartbreak. Nonetheless, one or two couples will brave
the distance and stay together. The couples that stay together have the fight to make it last, are 100 % committed, and love that person as if they were their future spouse. These relation-ships are one in a million and take a lot of work.
Moreover, relationships can be the downfall to some friend-ships. Girls tend to have a harder time balancing their friendships with their boyfriends, because they feel that all their time
should be devoted to the new relationship. Their friends begin to feel left out because their boy-friend or girlfriend is now intro-duced into the circle, and this causes tension. In order to ease the situation they have to learn to make time for everyone and their friends need to understand that they are trying. Senior year is already stressful enough and with the pressure of college, and friendships become very hard to deal with, especially when there is drama. Furthermore, friend-ships are destroyed the most at the end or your senior before graduation because friends let the pressure get to them causing them to turn into a different person or get brand new.
Friendships and relation-ships always have the possibil-ity to last past high school if all friends are willing to par-ticipate. When the pressures of senior year rise and you have solid friendships and relation-ships around, there is no doubt they will be there for the long haul.
April 2011 ---- Seniors Marquia Whitfield and Justin Dade hold hands in the hall surrounded by their friends. (Amber Booth ‘11/The Stampede)
No Teen Help Wanted
Jasmine Whittington ‘11STaff WriTEr
High school students especially are having a hard time finding jobs. There are many factors that play into this problem.
Before the summer starts, parents are encouraging stu-dents to get summer jobs. Unfortunately there are not many jobs to choose from. Many factors play into this dilemma, such as the struggling economy and the uncertainty of student responsibility. As a result this leaves many teenagers jobless.
“I’m having diff iculty finding jobs because with the current economy, adults are looking for jobs which is affect-ing my chance of getting a job,” Jasmin Shivers ‘11 said. “I’m mad because restaurants aren’t even hiring, grocery stores are not either. I’ve been on my job look-out forever.”
Since the downfall of the economy, many people, not just teens, are having problems finding jobs. Adults are looking for jobs and taking any job they can get. Some even end up taking jobs that are usually re-served for teens such as working at restaurants, amusement parks, and camps.
Unfortunately, most teens in the D.C. Metropolitan area carry a bad image. With the amount of crimes that are com-mitted by teens increasing in the community, it is hard for adults to gain trust in teens to actually do the job correctly. Employers tend to have more dependency on adult workers because of their age and years of maturity.
The other side of this issue is that teenage workers are now looking for higher paying jobs. Minimum wage jobs such as restaurants, retail stores, fast-food places, amusement parks and babysitting just aren’t suf-ficient enough anymore. Alexis Stroman ‘11 works at Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex. However she is waiting to hear back from a nursing assistant job she re-cently applied to that would pay better.
To combat the current economy there are many differ-ent things teens can do to make sure they have job opportunities this summer. Applying for jobs early is the best way to ensure one’s position as a potential employee. This gives the privi-lege of time and the chance to also apply for other jobs just in case the first one does not come through.
5
SECTION NAME
Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Arts & Culture Editor alexis Jenkins ‘11
ARTS & CULTURE
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Spain
france
Greece & italy
On March 18, 23 McNamara students, including myself, left for the biennial Spain exchange. Our first stop was Vallodolid, where we did service with immigrants from around the world. On our last night, we were served a special dinner by a family of Moroccans (1). After three days of service, we left to spend a night of relaxation in the famed city of Burgos. We took a tour of the city and visited the world-famous cathedral (2) before leaving for Pamplona. Here, we stayed with local families and learned about the culture, which includes the Running of the Bulls (3), which occurs each year in July. - Matt Nunez ‘12
March 24, myself and nine students traveled overseas to tour popular sites in Italy and Greece. We first arrived in Rome where we spent the next day and night seeing places like the Vatican, Colosseum (1), Roman Forum, and Trevi Fountain. The next day we went to Pompeii which was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. After Italy we took a 22 hour ferry ride to the coast of Greece. Our first stop was exploring the city of Delphi (2). We learned about the oracle of Delphi and saw the temple of Apollo. Our final stop was Athens where we hiked the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon (3) and the Temple of Athena. -Alex Vinci ‘11
March 26, 41 students, parents and teachers, myself included, left for the City of Lights: Paris France (1). Our group landed in France ready to get upand explore via the French metro system, led by our faithful tour guide Greg. Our tour led us to Fontaine Saint Michel in the Latin Quarter (2), not far from our next stop Notre Dame Cathedral. Greg took us to all sites in the city; the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles, the Champs Élysées, the Musee D’Orsay, and the Arc De Triomphe. We also saw the countryside in the Loire Valley specifically; Chartes Cathedral (3) and Choneceau. -Eva Gonzalez ‘12
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STUDY TOURS
Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • News Editor Matt nunez ‘12
Maps by Cathy Anderson ‘12Spain pictures by Matthew Nunez ‘12France pictures by Eva Gonzalez ‘12
Greece pictures by Alex Vinci ‘11 Italy Picture by Carmela Rourke ‘11
Page design by Leslie Martin ‘12
Softball makes miracle run to the Championshipmatt Nunez ‘12
NEWS EdiTor
In February, f irst year McNamara softball coach Angelina Diehlmann claimed that her team would be “on the map” by the end of the season. Not too many believed her, but she stuck to her word and came one run away from perfecting her vision.
After a shaky 2-6 start to the season, a spark was lit in the team and a massive win streak ensued, beginning with a 7-1 victory over Good Counsel. The Lady Mustangs won the next nine games and rode their way into the championship on a ten-game win streak.
The WCAC Championship game took place at Robert E. Taylor Stadium at the University of Maryland on Saturday, May 14, and pitted the Lady Mustangs against the Knights of Bishop O’Connell.
The McNamara squad has been led primarily by the nine seniors on the team, es-pecially catcher Rose Shaver, who went 4-for-4 including a huge double to set up a scoring run, and shortstop Stephanie Ayres, who had two incredible diving catches for outs early in the game. The effort of these
two along with the rest of the team gave the Lady Mustangs a commanding 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. This is where the game turned against the Mustangs.
When O’Connell catcher Jillian Ferraro stepped up to bat, she was aiming for a routine base hit, but ending up getting a triple following a McNamara error, which also sent two runners home to make it 3-2. Following another base hit, Ferraro was able to score to tie it up.
The Lady Mustangs were unable to score in the sixth, giving O’Connell momentum for the last few moments of the game. O’Connell utilized the momentum swing and dominated the bottom of the sixth, keeping runners on all bases throughout the inning. Luckily for the Mustangs, only one runner scored before they were able to get out of the situation, but it was imperative that they score in the seventh and final inning to keep their hopes alive. They were unable to do so and O’Connell won their eighth consecutive softball championship.
(Above) The McNamara coaching staff and players line the dugout during the championship game. Behind them is a strong student
section that filled the McNamara side of the stadium.
(Right) Outfielder Noel Brightwell ‘11 tosses a ball in during warm-ups
for the championship game.
Photos by Matt Nunez ‘12 / THE STAMPEDE
Pitcher Caitlin Gordon ‘13 winds up for a pitch against O’Connell during the championship game. (Matt Nunez ‘12/THE STAMPEDE)
7
SPORTS
Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • News Editor Matt nunez ‘12
Taylor Brown ‘11SPorTS EdiTor
The Golf team never gets any recognition. Division-1 recruit, Marvin Cabotaje ‘11, golf player, has been recruited by George Washington University and Towson University.
Marvin was awarded MVP for Bishop McNamara’s golf team for the last three years. He played number one for the team since sophomore year. Marvin earned First Team Washington Post his junior year.
Fun fact: He won against Dematha in an individual match his sophomore year which earned McNamara it’s first point in twelve years. Marvin has been captain for the golf team for the last two years.
George Washington has a spot for Marvin on the golf team, but Towson seemed to act a little bit funny with their offer. The coach wasn’t too con-fident in giving him a spot on their team. But between George Washington and Towson University, Marvin has decided to attend Towson. He has a per-sonal reason for wanting to walk on for Towson’s golf team rather than accepting a spot on GW’s golf team.
Marvin said, “I’m looking forward to play at Towson. I know that golf in college will help me develop my skill and hopefully get on tour and compete against Tiger and the other great players out there.”
There are three other McNamara student athletes that have yet to make a deci-sion on colleges who may be recruiting them. This includes one swimmer, baseball, and bas-ketball player, and additional re-classifying athletes.
Read a longer version of this story, online at stampedenews.org.
Marvin Chooses Towson
by Matt Nunez ‘12/THE STAMPEDE
anthony Brown ‘12STaff WriTEr
Angelina Diehlmann became the new head coach of the Varsity Softball Lady Mustangs at the end of last season and worked with them through the off-season to prepare for the 2011 Softball season.
“It’s going very well, we’ve had some ups and downs, some good wins and some pretty bad losses. We’re hanging in there, so overall I’m real excited about the commitment that the girls have made to the team.” She provided both positives and negatives of being a first year head coach. “I think some of the negatives were just the amount of fundraising that you need to make sure the team does so you can afford the equipment, the field renovations and things of that nature. The positives are you feel like you have another connection with the girls in the school, you can help them out with other things, not just softball but you can talk to them about grades and make sure they’re staying on task for things of that nature.”
Varsity captain Rose Shaver
‘11 spoke very highly of her new coach in terms of her support on the field, and helping with academics and personal issues as well. She also said that Coach Diehlmann is the right amount of tough; not too laid back or overbearing to make them hate the game they love.
The Lady Mustangs came off of a great 7-1 victory against Good Counsel which would be a great win in the eyes of a fan, but coaches always have
different perspective on wins and losses. Coach Diehlmann said she was really impressed with how the team stayed focused. Also saying that a few problems that the team has had lately were their loss of focus towards the end of the game and they started giving up runs. The girls still remained strong and didn’t let the errors throw off their composure and kept working which led to them having the ability to shut Good
Counsel down. That proved to coach Diehlmann that the Lady Mustangs really want to win a championship this year.
Looking at the team right now, Coach Diehlmann thinks their strengths and weaknesses are the same. Meaning that on both sides, them knowing each other so well is a strength and a weakness. Knowing your team-mates could sometimes be a bad thing because the team is so comfortable with one another, and they can maybe become too comfortable with each other, letting mistakes and errors slide. Ten of the fourteen girls on the team are Seniors which shows experience but the mentality that coach Diehlmann notices and is trying to fix is them shrugging off a loss if you will, or not worrying about it too much. She also notices that they really are trying to stay focused and they really want to have a good season. Coach Diehlmann seems like the perfect person for the job and let’s hope she can rally the team and bring a conference championship home to McNamara.
Ms. Angelina Diehlmann, in her first season as Varsity Softball coach, has led the team on a ten game winning streak into the championship. (Matt Nunez ‘12/THE STAMPEDE)
New Coach... New BeginningMrs. Diehlmann named head coach of the Varsity softball team
Nfl lockout Still loomingfans react to possibility of no games in 2011
Brandon Joyner ‘11SPorTS EdiTor
The National Football League is as of right now, not playing football this year. They have been going through negotia-tions with the NFL Players Association about some topics they are trying to debate over. The Players Association is an organization that represents the the Players of the NFL and their rights and responsibilities. Many people are livid about how there could possibly be no football games next year in the NFL. Many people think that if there is no football next year, they want to take their television views elsewhere. “There has to be football”, said Varsity football player Tony Squirewell, Jr ‘12. “If they don’t
have any games next year, then they should extend the college football season.” One of the issues that the two sides are debating on is the dilemma to expand the NFL season from 16 to 18 games. Players are not for this idea because they believe that is risking their safety and could create more injuries. They are also deciding with this issue that maybe they should have 2 bye weeks, or weeks off. Don Finley ‘12 said “18 game sched-ule would be good for the fans, but players would need more time to rest.”
The NFL has since con-tinued negotiations with the Players Association and will try to bargain with them in order to get players back on the field and playing. Many players are unhappy, but they have plenty
of time to debate on whether to have a season next year or not. After the talks ceased for 42 days, the decision was given to a judge in order to deliber-ate what both sides should do going further. After delibera-tions were over, Judge Susan Nelson decided that both sides should go into a second round of mediations and if they did not come to a decision, then it would be up to her to decide if the lockout should end or not. After a couple of weeks of me-diation, Judge Nelson has sided with the players and decided to end the lockout. The only exception is that the NFL ad-ministration has time to appeal the ruling and keep the lockout. Many players have reported to their respective training fa-cilities, however they are not
permitted the lockout is not “officially” over. If the lockout continues, then there could pos-sibly be cancellations of games and inevitably the season. This would not only hurt the NFL and the fans, but the media, as well. “They are not going to stop football,” said Devon Totoram ‘11 on how the NFL lockout would affect the media, “The NFL is one of the most watched sports on television. If they stop football, then they are going to lose a lot of money.” As far as the season goes, most fans are con-fident that there will be football come this fall. “I don’t care what happens now. As long as there is football in August, that’s all that matters,” said Jaylen Blades ‘11.
FoR MoRe spoRts photos, aRts CoveRaGe, sChool lIFe...
ViSiT our neW PhoToBlog, online AT:
http://staMpedeneWs.oRG/zooM
8 Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Sports Editors taylor Brown ‘11 & Brandon Joyner ‘11
SPORTS
mcNamara lacrosse reaches New HeightsBoth men and women show great potential
focused on more Than the GameTaylor Brown is mainly known for her skills on the court, but she also had a very successful side off the court.
andrew feather ‘13GUEST WriTEr
The 2011 spring sports season started out with plenty of opti-mism for our women’s lacrosse team, and why not? This season was the women’s team’s first year as a full varsity program and the players had a positive outlook on what they would be able to do over the year. The optimism led to momentum as they jumped out of the gate with big wins over Wilson, Bowie, and the Field School in over-time. In those three wins the seniors led by example scoring a whopping twenty-seven of the team’s forty-three goals.
In addition to those games showcasing the seniors It also showed a bright future for the team and maybe even a poten-tial leader in Bridget Graner ‘14 who scored nine goals in those three wins (she finished the season with eighteen, third best on the team). She is also one of only three players to have any experience playing lacrosse before coming to McNamara. When asked about being able to come in and make an im-mediate impact for the program, Graner said, “It’s a good feeling knowing that I’m one of the players helping out our team and it’s really exciting that with the team, for the first time, we got into the playoffs, won the first game, and had a good
season!” Carmela Rourke ‘11, the teams leading goal scorer (with forty-six), sees a bright future for Graner, saying, “She’s really good for a freshman and I see a lot of potential.”
Carmela, who has played lacrosse for all four years at McNamara also commented on the improvement of the team from last year to this year. She said, “Last year a lot of people were still learning and not ev-eryone was 100% focused on lacrosse, but this year the team has really come together under good senior leadership.”
Nicolina DueMogensen ‘11, who is in her second year playing, also took notice of the huge step forward that the team has taken talent-wise and just as a community. She said, “Last year I don’t think lax was looked
at as a priority for a lot of the players, but with our awesome coaches there motivating us to do better and after seeing our potential last year, we became so much better this year, and are so much more committed and our record definitely shows that. In terms of as a family, I think that became greater this year too just because of our senior leader-ship and playful attitudes. We all legitimately love each other and sometimes just sit around and joke with each other, and we know we have each other’s backs. It’s like an unwritten bond between the lax players and I think it’s actually quite beautiful.”
As the season went into the conference schedule, the Mustangs faltered a little taking only one game (a win over St.
Johns), but showed many signs of improvement, including a three game winning streak (wins over St. John’s, Barrie Day School, and the Field School). That’s when they hit the turbulence (five game conference losing streak), and when the real team chemistry and bonding shone through. When asked about the team Cara Brennan ‘11, who transferred to McNamara from WCAC powerhouse St. Mary’s Ryken this year, com-pared the chemistry between the two schools saying, “We have great team chemistry because our team doesn’t revolve just around winning. At Ryken, lacrosse is the main sport. Kids from all over transfer there just to play. That’s what they live for.” She continued, stating, “McNamara’s team has a lot of talent too, just less refined because of lack of experience. Most players come here and pick up the sport when they arrive so there is a bit of a learning curve.” When questioned about her ability to come right in and make an immediate impact (12 goals, 4th on team; and 5 assists, 2nd) she simply said, “I love la-crosse in general and am happy that the conference let me play as a senior transfer,” (Under WCAC Rules transfers from one WCAC school to another must sit out a year unless oth-erwise told).
luciana rodrigues ‘12ENTErTaiNmENT EdiTor
T5, T-Brown, Taylor Brown; the phrase “more than meets the eye” definitely describes her very well. Currently a member of the class of 2011 and soon to be a member of the Georgetown women’s basketball team, Taylor always knew basketball would be a big part of her life. We all know she’s headed big places and has big plans for her future but we just see her for her talent at basketball, there’s actually a lot more to Taylor than we may know.
Growing up, Tay never expected to to attend Bishop McNamara, much less a private school. When her mother en-couraged her to check out both McNamara and Seton, one look was all it took.
“It just felt like the right fit,” said Tay when asked why she chose McNamara. When she realized that McNamara had not only a great basketball team but great people, good
academics and not to mention pretty good food, it was set.
Tay has played varsity for three full years and played JV for about half of her freshman year. Balancing academics, a social life and a varsity sport is no easy task. “At first it was hard my freshman year cause I was just learning time management, but every year it got easier.” Even though she had difficul-ties at first, Tay has managed to keep an average 3.7 GPA. And as for her social life, she always managed to balance it out with basketball, even if that meant making basketball a big part of her social life. “I have no regrets for spending more time in the gym than hanging out with my friends because all the hard work and dedication has paid off in the end.”
Taylor also played soccer during her sophomore year. “It was so exciting” said Tay “If I didn’t play basketball, I’d play soccer.” It was a hard decision to quit soccer, but she had to dedicate herself to basketball.
“It also has too many injuries and I didn’t want to risk it.” said Tay.
Towards the end of Tay’s junior year is when she began to get serious about college. She had been getting offers begin-ning her sophomore year from Maryland, Miami, Virginia Tech, Towson, Connecticut,
Richmond and obviously Georgetown just to name a few. “It was exactly what I was looking for, what you see is what you get,” said Tay when asked why she decided on going to Georgetown. Making her de-cision felt like a weight being lift off her sholders. “I was feeling really overwhelmed and when I finally made my decision it felt like a load was let off.” said Tay.
Tay’s past really helped shape her future. She always had posi-tive influences either from her father, coaches or teammates.
Tay began playing bas-ketball when she was f ive years old thanks to her father, William Brown. Her inspira-tions growing up were Allen Iverson and Kristi Toliver, but now she really admires LeBron James.
Tay will surely be missed on the court here just as much as she will be missed throughout the hallways.
Carmela Rourke ‘11 sprints past a defender during the Women’s Lacrosse game against the Field School. (Matt Nunez ‘12 /THE STAMPEDE)
Taylor Brown goes up for a two-pointer in her senior game against Carroll (Luciana Rodrigues ‘12 / THE STAMPEDE)
Carmela rourke ‘11PHoTo EdiTor
Q: How long have you been playing Basket-ball?
a: “Ever since I can remember. Since I was old enough to.”
Q: Besides McNamara, what team do you play for?
a:” I used to, but since I got my scholarship not any-more.”
Q: Where are you going to school next year? Are you being recruited?
a: “Mercyhurst College”
Q: So why do you want to play basketball in col-lege?
a: “I know that it was a chance for me to go to college for free. It’ll help my parents out with the money situation.”
Q: Why did you commit to Mercyhurst College?
a: “They were the only school to offer me a full scholar-ship.”
Q: What are your goals for the future? Do you know what you want to study?
a: “No, I don’t know what I want to study, but what-ever it is I want to take it to its fullest.”
Q:What are your basket-ball goals?
a: “Help my team get a championship.”
athlete Profile: Callon Dailey
9Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Sports Editors taylor Brown ‘11 & Brandon Joyner ‘11
SPORTS
daniel Spence ‘12STaff WriTEr
If you’re looking for a movie about water and elephants, then Water for Elephants actually isn’t for you. The film, of course based on the bestselling novel Water for Elephants, is actu-ally a romantic drama telling a narrative about how Jacob, a vagabond veterinary student, and Marlena, a circus performer and wife of the ring leader, fall in love while on the road trav-elling with the Benzini Bros. Circus.
The majority of this movie is a flash back to the 1930s, which includes circus animals. This movie is very typical, besides those two facts, and after about ten minutes one is able to accu-rately predict what will happen in the end. The plot appears to conform to other love stories and contains many cliche hap-penings. Also, it is just generally quite boring. Nothing out of the ordinary ever really comes up because most happenings are expected.
This film may lack origi-nality, but other than that, it doesn’t do anything wrong. However, the cast is filled with a plethora of award winning actors, who don’t disappoint. All of the actors do adequate jobs in their roles, but most only do that, adequate jobs. Although one actor, Christoph Waltz, really stood out in his role as August, the leader of the Benzini Bros. Circus; the ways he expressed his emotions throughout the film were genu-inely impressive.
Even though this movie has many emotional appeals, it isn’t just a love story. It also contains some comical parts.
There was just enough vio-lence and drinking to make this two hour film watchable. However, you get what you expect from this movie; for the most part the acting and production are great, but the plot lacks anything to make it stand out and is similar to that of hundreds of previous films in this genre.
Water for Elephants
Elise Nagy ’12STaff WriTEr
After First Impressions of Earth, the Strokes took a long break, leading fans on to think this was their end. The Strokes came through with a surprise and a very different surprise at most. “Angles” is a name that sounds like it would come from The Strokes, but what about the sound? Their new album, which was released February 2011, won and lost fans. The Strokes came out with some adjustments to their sounds. The most popular song off of the new album is “Undercover of Darkness.” A poppy beat in the beginning leads into Casablancas’ soft vocals creating a song that is sure to be stuck in your head.
Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr., Nikolai Fraiture, and Fabrizio Moretti are all a part of the revival of garage rock with their band The Strokes. The Strokes: a perfect name for a band that is full of different sounds or surprises. Stroke: which is de-scribed in the dictionary as “the act or an instance of striking, as with the hand, a weapon, or a tool, a blow or impact,” which suits their music so well due to the fact that their music is striking with Julian’s vocals
which can come off as striking to your ears... in a beautiful way of course. Now you can’t de-scribe The Strokes as nothing you’ve ever heard before because if you did then you would think they’re like everything you’ve heard before. Instead, The Strokes are described as a mix of sounds, but never too harsh sounding. This does not make them a pop band, at all. Their intensity is definitely delivered through their lyrics.
Their first album, Is This It, is one of their best albums. As many fans would agree, the lyrics for most of the songs are relate-able. Their unique sound on guitar eliminates the average sound of a typical indie band. Julian Casablancas’ vocals range
from very sweet and angelic to fast and harsh. He alters his vocals to deliver the intensity of his lyrics for each song. The song “Last Nite” is a catchy melody that gives off a loving feeling to your ears but the lyrics actually depict something completely different from the melody -- “See people they don’t under-stand/no girlfriends they cant understand/ your grandsons they wont understand/ on top of this I ain’t ever gonna un-derstand.” The song “Last Nite” is actually Julian Casablancas discussing his feelings of being fed up with a girl, whom he feels is being immature about his relationship with her. The lyrics can cater to everyone at some point, which is where The
Strokes have so many fans. The Strokes are down to earth with their words, not talking about love, money, and drugs in a positive way, but in more of a realistic way. The Album Is This It is a collection of sorrows from relationships. “Barely Legal”, “Last Nite”, “12:51”, “Modern Age”, “Hard to Explain”, and “Someday” are all songs written by Casablancas which tell the stories of his relationships. Julian Casablancas’ sorrows make his songs all the more attractive to listen to because he conveys his emotions so well in his songs through lyrics and vocals.
The a lbums that fol-lowed, Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth, all had the same sound and same effect with their lyrics. Fans grew used to the sound of the Strokes, pop sounding, sweet, with meaning-ful lyrics. Not only does their music make them appealing but so does their style,a new york look with a touch of grunge. Don’t be quick to judge the new sound of the Strokes, for it’s still them under a layer of new sound. With mostly female fans it’s even debatable whether they’re loved for their music or their unique looks.
a Whole New angle
Source: thestrokes.com
Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino
You don’t Have to Call Him Childishdonald Glover is the new wave of entertainment
alexis Jenkins ‘11EdiTor iN-CHiEf
Appearing in movies, hosting award shows, and dropping mixtapes is nothing for Donald Glover but maybe you didn’t notice him. Did you miss mtvU’s Woodies Award back in March, NBC’s sitcoms The Community and 30 Rock, or his stand-up special on Comedy Central? If so then you probably haven’t heard of Donald Glover who boasts a resume with talents in acting, writing, stand-up comedy, and rapping.
With so many talents and so little time, he’s become a sort of entertainment super-hero. Currently he’s finishing his mixtape IAMDONALD while on his tour which bears the same name. This one month tour from coast to coast mixes his stand-up comedy and music into one amazing show. With two very different forms of en-tertainment brings two different monikers, first Donald Glover
and then Childish Gambino his rapping alias.
In his All of the Lights Remix titled Break he writes, “Donald Glover you don’t have to call me childish except for when I’m flirting with your half Latino stylist” Although this preview to the upcoming mixtape can be characterized as comedic it would be unjust to say it does not show strong lyrical promise. Break also reveals an underlying sense of astonish-ment as he explores his rise to moderate fame saying, “Look at me, man I went to the W from Double Tree, making out with girls who are black and yellow like a bumble bee, can I live up to all this hype they have for me it’s hard to tell.”
This song alone brief ly characterizes his appeal and reminds music fans why mixtape popularity has re-surged in recent years. Firstly, Childish Gambino does not have to rap about the material world plagu-ing entertainment. Secondly,
he’s not afraid to laugh at himself and point out his own flaws. He demonstrates human-ity by stepping away from the macho platform many hip-hop artists stand on. Thirdly, he can start off crooning the All of the Lights chorus over an acoustic guitar then burst into a three minute rap proving his talent is thorough and his music style varies. Lastly Childish Gambino
shows that his soon to come mixtape IAMDONALD has the ability to deliver a new wave of music.
I AMDONALD shows promise, originality, and novelty in the same way Eminem hit hip-hop with the effortlessness of M.I.A.’s island revolution. Entertainment is ever changing and Donald Glover is leading his own movement.
onlinemovieshut.com
10 Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Entertainment Editor luciana Rodrigues ‘12
reVieWS
Commentary by Vania Brown ‘12
STaff WriTEr
Humans are the most powerful creatures on planet Earth. Being the domi-nant species has its benefits. Nothing is out to get us, and the idea of War of the Worlds remains a fictional novel. However, there is still one force that has the upper hand over the human race: Mother Nature.
Do we too often underes-timate her? “Yes,” said Sonny Hicks ‘11, “because we think that nothing [bad] is going to happen, but when something really does happen, we get scared and don’t know what to do.”
In the past year a series of natural disasters have been reported all around the world. Most recently Japan was struck by a horrific tsunami that took the lives of millions and left the country, known for its peace and beauty, nearly in ruins. In 2010, two devastating earthquakes, one in the Caribbean and the other in South America, resulted in death, destruction and sorrow for millions. An already struggling Haiti had an estimated 200,000 casual-ties on January 12 when the quake occurred. A little over a month later on February 27, Chile had a magnitude 8.8 quake that resulted in 300 fatalities. The aftershock of this powerful quake also sent a tsunami in the direction of Japan.
Aside from the inter-nationally known disasters are the domestic ones. Just this April, the Southeast of the United States was af-fected by tornadoes and a
series of horrible storms. In the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Oklahoma, there have been reports of numerous and disastrous weather. One student, Diarra Molock ‘12, who has encountered most of the bad weather in Maryland claims, “I’m scared for the future.” But she is not alone. 13 of the 17 people inter-viewed agree that the weather has been “scarier and more weird than usual.” In 2010 alone, all fifty states received snowfall, and significant snowfall at that. Earlier this year there was an earthquake in Maryland that rumbled for roughly 10 seconds time. At the kick off of Spring 2011, Maryland along with the surrounding areas of DC, Virginia, and Delaware, encountered extremely bipolar weather. Maryland had record-breaking hot tempera-tures, a week later, freezing cold temperatures that had mimicked our winter season.
Some students at McNamara question whether this odd weather is related to the events said to happen next year in 2012. The year is predicted to be the end of the world, according to Ancient Mayan beliefs. Others are concerned about global warming. All in all, despite the abnormalities, people are remaining positive. Sonny Hicks ‘11 plans to live each day to the fullest, while Richard Burnett ‘12 believes it is all a gimmick. However, Harrell Watts ‘12 has some-thing great to live by. In an accepting voice he said, “If it’s in God’s plan [to happen], then it’s in God’s plan [to happen].”
npa (not paying attention) by Caleb Forssell ‘14
collywoBBleS and defeneStration by Shannell Smith ‘12
itinera by Marcelllus Lopez ‘13
flirting With disasterThe effects of recent natural disasters
FoR MoRe CoMMentaRY, neWs stoRIes and CoMICs,
InCludInG exClusIve oRIGInal Content...
reAD our WeBSiTe, online AT:
http://stampedenews.org
11Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Comics editor shannell smith ‘12
COMICS & COMMENTARY
Things to doSummer is usually a good time to relax, de-stress from school and maybe even make some money by finding a job. But not every minute of the summer can be all fun and often times it can get boring. But if this is the case, here’s your guide of information and ideas of things to do this summer, including music, movies and events happen-ing this summer. Read on for more on things to do, good ideas for vacations spots and books, concerts, movies, events, and albums all hap-pening this summer.
Sleep Over
199/night
BooksBelovedBeloved is a novel written by Toni Morrison in 1987. This novel was one of the greatest of all times, and Toni Morrison won a Pulitzer Prize for the book
Eat, Pray, loveThis book is by Elizabeth Gilbert, an American author. Gilbert wrote the book in 2006. The book is about a young married woman who is a successful writer. She becomes tired of her marriage and seeks a divorce and goes off to travel the world.
The ShackThe Shack is a novel written by William P. Young. The leading character or protagonist in this book is a man named McKenzie Phillips. This book can be a sad read but also very interesting.
Watch the Throne
This summer Jay-Z and Kanye West will be releas-ing their much anticipated album Watch the Throne. It was reaveled of Kanye West’s twitter August 2010 that the album would be dropping sometime in the summer of 2011, after the release date has been pushed back numerous t imes.
This summer both Mr. Shryocks will perform in ILLUMINATE: A Martial Arts Experience. It’s a part of the Capital Fringe Festival occuring from July 7- July 24th. For more information check out the website www.illuminatemartialarts.com.
Final Destination 5 arrives in theaters August 26, 2011.
Hangover iiThe memorable, hit comedy Hangover is back for a second go round with its winning cast, this coming May 27. In Hangover II, the boys learn their lesson from their times in Vegas. The paranoid Stu takes no chances and plans a safe dinner. Like always, things take a turn in a different direction and the guys end up Bangkok, India. And once again they cannot remember a thing.
Winnie the Pooh
“Tubby little buddy all stuffed with fluff ” is back once more, for the first time in thirty years the classic Winnie the Pooh. The adventure begins when owl sends the whole gang on imagi-nary task to save the beloved Christopher Robin from an invisible villain. The release date is set for the U.S.A for July 15.
Summer Concerts
This summer Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj will be at the Verizon Center in DC on July 31 at 7pm. It will be
the first time Brittney Spears will perform with Nicki Minaj. Tickets will run anywhere from $30-$350 and are on sale now. This is a sure sell-out so get them quick!If that doesn’t interest you, Kings of Leon will be in Bristow, VA on August 9. Tickets run from $30-$60.Taylor Swift will be at the Verizon Center on August 2-3 at 7pm. Needtobreathe will be opening for her. Tickets run from $28-$82 and are sure to sell out fast.
Paint a Mug
100/dinner
Jello Pops
612/week
Paint a coffee mug. Start with a clean ceramic white mug (you can get some at craft stores for about $3) , and start sketching what you want to go on it. Use your imagina-tion; you can put anything you want on it. After that, start painting your mug; it’s best if you use a variety of colors. When you’re finished, let it stand for 24 hours and pop it into the oven at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, then wash your mug and it’s ready to use! (Source: Youtube.com/bubzbeauty)
Great Wolf Lodge If you like the idea of out door activities and water activities then Great Wolf Lodge is for you, it is a bit of a drive to Williamsburg, Virginia but it is worth it for a fun time. The main attrac-tion of Great Wolf Lodge is its water park, and everyone loves to go to a water park no matter what age. Along with your family you can also take friends, each room holds up to eight guests. It’s sure to be a worthwhile trip at a reasonable price.
Ocean City Maryland Everyone likes the beach, and many Marylanders have heard or been to Ocean City Beach. If you haven’t heard about Ocean City, there are many attractions and fun things to do with your family or friends. One hotel in particular that is affordable and close to the beach is Castle In The Sand Hotel which is right on the beach. From June 3 to June 16 you can rent a room with two double beds, full bath, and small kitchen for $139 daily and $865 weekly.
Hold the opposite of a slumber party. Invite all of your friends over and see who can stay up the longest. Don’t forget to bring snacks! And with those snacks, you can test your taste buds. Blindfold a friend, feed them different foods, and have them guess what the foods are. Afterwards, switch roles. If ev-eryone is still awake after that, plan an indoor camping trip. Set up a tent somewhere in your house and do camping activities, such as reading scary stories or making smores in the micro-wave. (Source: redshift.com)
St. Michael’s, Maryland If you don’t want to go on a full out vacation, try St. Michael’s for the day, which is a small town outside of Ocean City. They have a number of jewelry, clothing, antique, and toy shops which can cater to anyone you bring with you. If you are looking for good food they have a number of great seafood restaurants one in particular that has both seafood and non-seafood is St. Michael’s Seafood and Steak House, which has fresh crabs and other food for those who don’t like seafood.
You’ l l need a package of JELL-O instant pudding (in chocolate flavor), 2 cups of milk, 6 OREO cookies, and ½ cup of thawed Cool Whip Topping. Start by beating the pudding mix and milk in a large bowl with a whisk for about 2 minutes. Next, place your OREO cookies in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Add the crushed cookies and the cool whip to the pudding and stir until blended. Spoon your mix into some plastic cups and add popsicle sticks for handles. Chill for about 5 hours. Now you have a tasty summer treat!
Deep Creek Lake If you’re tired of going to the beach but are still looking for fun outdoor activities try Deep Creek Lake. There are plenty activities to do on the water such as jet-skis, canoes, boating, sailing, fishing, all in the cool refreshing water of Deep Creek Lake. There are some great deals at suites and hotels if renting a house is too expensive, Silver Suites of Deep Creek Lake which offer the option of queen or king sized beds, full bath, and half kitchen. This is located not far from the lake.
$ $ $ $ 865/week
12 Design Editor leslie Martin ‘12 • Entertainment Editor luciana Rodrigues ‘12
ENTERTAINMENT Page by Elise Nagy ‘12Shannell Smith ‘12
Lezla Gooden ‘11Luciana Rodrigues ‘12
