THE VIGORNIA Volume 134 Issue 8 Student Newspaper March 7, 2013 Since 1878

By Kara Banson ’13

Gossip spreads quickly via text messages Photo Courtesy of Mr. Webb

Editor-in-Chief

By Alexandra DelloStritto ’14Editor-in-Chief

Rumor Has It: A Play Review

A Celebration of Cultures on Campus

On Tuesday, February 19th the World Culture’s Club held the annual and much anticipated Inter-national Assembly. Hosted by Sarah Chun ’13, Amy Oh ’14 and Michael Yang ’13, the assembly was like no other. It showcased the international cultures present on campus and engaged the audience with interesting music and dances. It was also one of a few assemblies where both the Up-per and Middle School were united. The assembly began with introductions from international representatives in their native lan-guages. Then, Mr. Healy acknowledged WA’s very first Scottish student, Calum Hepburn ’15. Hepburn explained the significance behind the Scottish flag and presented it to the WA community. When it came time for the performances, Korea was the first country to showcase its talent. Dressed in their traditional attire, the performers were harmoniously in step. They even included members of the audience for their final scene. Priyanka Javlekar ’13 represented India. She

performed a solo of four songs in four different lan-guages: Sanskrit, Marathi, Benjali and Hindu. Her confidence and talent was admirable.

Several students perform a traditional Korean fan dance

Photo Courtesy of WA GlobalComm Twitter

Turn to International Assembly on Page 3 Turn to Rumors on Page 3

On Friday February 22nd, the seats of the Andes Pitt Theater filled with people anxiously awaiting the world premiere of Sacred Texts: Or 64 Kisses, a play by Josh Levine. The play follows the story of teenagers Corey, Robbie, and Tina, as rumors spread regarding Corey and Robbie’s relationship. It raises questions regarding sexu-ality, friendship, and self-discovery—all in forty minutes. The play begins dynamically as the school hallways buzz with texts back and forth about an alleged kiss between Robbie (Adam Echelman ’13) and his openly gay friend, Corey (Andrew Reiter ’13). The “kiss” brings tension to Robbie and Corey’s relationship, only heightened when Robbie agrees to go to out with Tina (Anita Alur ’13). The date, a trip to a videogame conference, poses a problem, as Tina’s gaming knowledge goes no further than phone applica-tions. Corey offers to text Tina information during the date to help her talk to Robbie. After eventually coming clean about her lie to Robbie, Tina admits that despite texting or tweeting a lot of people, in real-ity she has few friends. The play continues to touch on topics that affect teenagers everywhere as Robbie later admits to Corey that he is unsure of his sexuality. Later in the play Tina reveals that she was the one that began the rumor about the kiss, as part of a plan to get Robbie to go out with her. The play ends similarly to how it begins—the halls are buzzing with texts and rumors as students await the next update on Corey, Robbie, and Tina. This time Tina doesn’t start a rumor, rather she ends them by posing a simple question: “Does it really matter?” Sacred Texts: Or 64 Kisses is an accurate representation of high school in more ways than one. With just three main characters, Levine managed to relate to almost any student.

News 2

Worcester Academy’s wrestling team finished the season on a strong note, with three members qualifying to Prep Championship at Choat Rosemary Hall. Though wrestling team captain and senior, Chan-dler Mendenhall ’13 was not able to wrestle this season due to an injury, he enthusiastically cheered on his three teammates that qualified to the championship, Bren-nan Stevens ’16, Brandon Casamassima ’15, and Dom Casamassima ’13. Although none of the three placed at the Choat (forcing them to give up their spots in the Na-tional’s Prep Championship), Brandon Casamassima was the closest to placing; getting eliminated only one round before qualification. Perhaps the reason for their success early in their season was because of their incredible stamina and dedi-cation. When asked about the team’s greatest strength, Mendenhall commented on the intense conditioning they put into being prepared physically. “We may not always have the best technique, but we are usually in pretty good shape to outlast everyone”, says Mendenhall. When asked about the new coach, Gordie Lockbaum, Menden-hall describes his addition as contributing an “interesting dynamic” to the team, referring to the fact that there were both senior and junior coaches this year. Although he has had three successful years on the wrestling team at Worcester Academy, Mendenhall says that he will not be wrestling in college because his

Wrestling’s Strong SeasonBy Jessica DePatie ’13

Ask Adam: Prom Problems By Adam Echelman ’13

Dear Adam, I’m always the first to admit things, so here goes: I don’t have a date to prom. I know; it’s still early. Prom isn’t for another month anyway. Maybe some knight in shining armor will come to rescue me, or perhaps, there is somebody—somewhere—that I haven’t thought of (though, I seriously doubt that). I feel like all of my friends already have a date or have a person in mind while I don’t. What should I do?

-Promless Princess

Dear Princess, Believe it or not, every junior and senior feels this way at some point when thinking about prom. Men definitely have it easier, but that doesn’t mean we don’t worry too. Prom arrives, and suddenly, the awkward crush you had freshman year seems like the closest thing you have to a date. It’s exciting, overwhelming, and pretty bizarre. What should you do? First off, relax. Every year, we chip away—little by little—at the formalities surrounding this silly little dance. Girls ask guys to prom frequently, and nobody looks down upon it. People go alone or take two dates. Same-sex couples are slowly joining in on the fun too, and honestly, it’s refresh-ing. I know it may not seem this way, but there are more than enough guys without dates. You don’t have to be best friends to go to prom. If a boy doesn’t have a date by April, he’s probably in the same, frantic situation as you. However, if you don’t feel comfortable asking any WA guys, I would suggest asking a boy from outside of WA whom you are close with. Call up a friend, or, if you are really nervous, send him a Facebook inbox. Worst-case scenario: he says “no,” and you move on. Last year, at least a quarter of the dates came from different high schools. If that still doesn’t work, just go alone! Most people use their dates for one or two photos and then ignore them for the rest of the night anyway. I know it’s taboo to be “date-less,” but if you are uncomfortable with these other ideas, try finding a few friends who are in a similar situation and going with them as a group. Trust me; you won’t regret it. Prom is about having a good time, and as long as your friends are there, you will have a blast.

Team member Conrad Geenty ’14 gets ready for his matchPhoto Courtesy of Conrad Geenty

college of choice, Washington University, does not have a wrestling team. When asked if he will miss the team, Mendenhall says, “I will for sure. I have been captain all three years and I have enjoyed it. I wish I could have wrestled this season. It was definitely a great experience”.

On Campus 3

China’s exhibit was composed of two dances and a song. With some elements of rock, both Chinese and Taiwanese students displayed their skill and showed how they have fun. Turkey’s movie was very informative as it highlighted its rich culture. Pictures of the kebabs and baklava definitely made the audience hungry. Greece’s performance was also entertaining. With clips highlighting Greek culture and tradition, Maria Parafestas ’13, Emma Andrianopoulos ’14, and Ms. Koveos performed an intri-cate dance that increased in speed as it progressed. The audi-ence cheered and clapped and even members of the audience joined the fun. The last performance was from the dance team. Wonderfully choreographed, the dance featured a mix of songs from all around the world. Although it went longer than the designated time, the as-

sembly was a definite success. Because of dedication of the stu-dents and the help of Mrs. Dow and Mrs. Herlihy, the production not only entertained the audience but also reminded WA of the importance of understanding and appreciating different cultures. The sense of internationalism continued even after the assembly. Decorated with beautiful ornaments and festive col-ors, both Adams and the Megaron were transformed, allowing all to experience new tastes. The food staff prepared kimchi, pho (soup), hot and sour soup, coconut cake from Turkey, tacos and a variety of Greek tastings in the salad bar. Overall, the day celebrated the cultural diversity present on campus. Many people are looking forward to what next year’s celebration will bring. Congratulations to the students and the faculty who worked hard to make the assembly memorable.

Continued from International Assembly/ Page 1

Top and Right: The actors perform

Bottom: The cast poses with play-

wright Josh LevinePhotos Courtesy of

Mr. Webb

“Sacred Texts: 64 Kisses” Review Continued from Rumors/ Page 1

The way that Tina struggles with separating herself from social media and comes to accept that she is the “popular girl that no one wants to hang out with”—that she is alone— is almost heartbreaking. Corey is not free of problems either as Robbie accuses him of being fake and two-faced after coming out. Robbie’s troubles are more complex, as being the topic of the school’s rumors seems to be the only thing constant in his life. As he pushes Corey away, he questions his sexual-ity and has troubling identifying with himself. Despite covering some hard topics, the play remains light and humorous with the use of great one-liners. Levine

himself stated that he “wanted it to be light—it wasn’t going to be a heavy drama”. The play maintained a balance between serious and funny throughout the showing. What might be considered the most memorable part of the performance was the end. The question posed makes people reassess their values in life—whether they let technology shape them, tweets and texts dictating their movements and thoughts—or whether they focus on real life interactions with real friends. Overall, Sacred Texts: Or 64 Kisses proved to have not only a great story but great actors as

well. Alur, Reiter, and Echelman did wonderful jobs por-traying their characters, as well as all of the members of the ensemble. The costume crew led by Margaret Gardner ’13 put together a wide variety of outfits, taking care to represent a spectrum of styles. The set was equally impressive, especially considering the fact that in can be set up and taken down in under five minutes, a requirement of the Massachusetts Educational The-atre Guild’s Festival, which the cast and crew compt-eted in on Saturday March 2nd. Congratulations to the cast and crew, as well as to Mr. Addis and Josh Levine on the work put into creating and performing the play.

4 Features

Please find responses to your questions from speaker Elysa Neumann ’11 who talked with us on Wellness Day about her person-al story with an eating disorder while at Worcester Academy. Both Elysa and the Counseling Office have worked together to respond to your questions.

By The Pillars

Your Eating Disorder Questions Answered

Elysa shares her personal experiences during her presentation for Wellness Day

Photo Courtesy of Mrs. McCarthy

Editors-in-ChiefShona Allen ’13Kara Banson ’13

Alexandra DelloStritto ’14

Vigornia StaffMarch 7, 2013

WritersJessica DePatie ‘13 Adam Echelman ’13

Advisor Christina Webb

Q: How did you get over thinking your body image wasn’t perfect?A: Much of getting over my perception I owe to my student group “Reflections” who works to promote positive body image on campus (check out their pictures on facebook, I will be a mutual friend if you have added me). We do this really cool photo shoot with naked (ok not really) people and signs saying “love your body”. They emphasize loving your body for what it does and not comparing it to others be-cause each person has their own individual shape. Personally, I also started trying to combat every negative thing that popped into mind when I looked in the mirror with two positives, eventually the nega-tives just went away.

Q: How did you know that you had an eating disorder in high school?

Q: Should I always recommend that a person with an eating dis-order have medical support, or is just giving that person mental support enough?

A: I didn’t admit, even to myself, that I had an eating disorder until sometime during senior year. I think, deep down, I knew all along but I just wasn’t ready to face it. When I did finally admit it, the fact that I had a disorder was very clear from my behaviors (restrictive eat-ing, purging, compulsive exercise) and the symptoms (exhaustion, dizziness, rapid weight loss, inconsistent weight, insomnia, amenor-rhea, nodes, social withdrawal, distorted perception of body image). It is clear to me now that I was not willing to recognize what was very clearly an eating disorder. We can all wear blinders when we do not want to recognize a problem. Since I was not willing to see this for myself, I masked my feelings and behaviors for others, making it harder for others to detect that I had a problem.

A: Eating disorders are very complex disorders that almost always require medical intervention to recover (for example, I tried to get better on my own for a year and a half and only managed to margin-ally improve). So suggesting medical care--physician, psychologist, nutritionist (typically teams of 3 work with eating disordered patients to solve the problem from all sides)--is very important. Just remember that you cannot force your friend to get better, but even if they refuse medical care know that you have done something that will help them in the long run and continue to show your support.

Q: What percentage of people don’t recover from an eating disorder and do they go back to it?

A: The road to recovery is not a smooth one, many people “relapse” several times (I definitely have). There isn’t an exact statistic on this but of the 24 million people who suffer from eating disorders only 10% receive treat-ment, the mortality rate for those who receive treatment is 2-3% and those who don’t is 20%. The reason I am not just doing the math on this is because survival does not necessarily correlate to recovery.

Q: Once you confront a friend about the issue of a suspected eating disorder how should you follow up?A: You should follow up in the same way you would for any serious conversation. Bring it up again later casually, something like, “hey just wondering how you are doing,” or making clear you are there for support works perfectly.