November, 2012

Volume LXXIX, Issue 2

Fairfax High School3501 Rebel Run

Fairfax, VA 22030ROARREBEL

#yolo

Contents

Editor-in-ChiefNikki Strickland

Jessica MiersManaging Editor

Rachel TranCopy Chief

George FlynnNews Editor

Suha KhandkerEntertainment

EditorEmily Verbiest

Commentary EditorErinn Fecteau

Features EditorRachel Tran

Sports EditorJackson Campbell

Art DirectorGeorge Flynn

Business ManagerSuha Khandker

Aoife Maher-RyamStaff WritersHannah Flynn

Erich GreenfieldDavid Schrack

Adelaide PowellWeb Master

Erinn FecteauAdviser

Carl Irvin

Rebel Roar Staff 2012-2013

Rebel Roar is a published forum of student expression. Letters to the Editor and guest articles are encour-aged. Only signed letters are considered for publica-tion. The editors reserve the right to edit all material in the interest of clarity and space. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the staff or school administration. The staff writes unsigned editori-

als on a majority basis. The Rebel Roar accepts all advertisements deemed ap-propriate for a public forum meant for young adults and are subject to the discretion of the editors. Students are encouraged to take an active voice in the student publica-tion. Questions, comments, and letters can be emailed toFHSRebelRoar@gmail.com.

Editorial Policy

2

News

Entertainment

Commentary

Middle Spread

Features

Sports

34

7At the Movies With Aoife and Addy

8

1011 For Your Flynnformation

12 Election 2012

1617 Fall Recipes

19 Blueberries Discovered on Mars

Tran’sformations

56Letter to The Editor and Response

Cameras In The Building?

9 “Carina Burana”How Well Do You Know Frels?

Students Are Not The Only BulliesSenior Privileges

Sandy Hits Fairfax

News Briefs

Letter from the editors

Bees in the TrapStudents React to Star Wars

2023

Fall Sports Wrap Up

Rookie Quarterbacks Take the NFL by Storm

Photo courtesy of Fairfax High RebelsCover images courtesy of usaflagsupply.com

Dear Rebels,

Congratulations on surviving the first quarter! Se-niors, only three more and you’re done—everyone else, well at least you’ll get a nice little summer

vacation. But before we can even think about summer we have to make it through the winter. Weathermen are calling for a long cold winter, and with two of our snow days already gone with Sandy, Fairfax County only has one left. Read all about Sandy’s impact in Fairfax on page 4.

With the cold comes the holiday season. Prepare for the holidays by baking some delicious fall recipes found on page 17. You can also check out some of Halloween’s best on our back cover.

As Fairfax’s fall sports come to a close the athletes move indoors for tryouts and the beginning of the winter season. Good luck to all our winter athletes! You can look back to the triumphs of our fall teams in our sports section this month.

Don’t forget to read all about the 2012 election in our middle spread as coverage takes a more local perspec-tive and focuses in on Fairfax’s views and opinions. We promise not to even mention Maryland’s Question 7 for we are certain you’ve heard enough about it with all the commercials. Despite the division between the political parties in our beloved country, we stand united. For this reason we decided on the flag for our cover, feeling that it was the best symbol to represent our cooperation for the next four years, and many after that.

This month is the first in which we are publishing a letter to the editor and our writer’s response, found on page 6. Please remember that letters to the editor are accepted and greatly encouraged. We would love to hear what you think about every issue, so please keep the feedback coming. We also accept articles by guest writers so if you are interested in submitting an article on any subject please email us at fhsrebelroar@gmail.com. This is your paper and we are here to publish what you want to see.

Stay warm this winter!

Sincerely,

Nikki Strickland Jessica Miers

3

Letter From the Editors

Photo courtesy of Fairfax High RebelsCover images courtesy of usaflagsupply.com

Are you a Maxxinista?

Hours:

Sun: 11a - 8p Mon-Sat: 9:30a - 9:30p

Fairfax Towne Center 12170 Fairfax Towne Center Fairfax County, VA 22033

Phone: 703-691-9030

Sandy Hits FairfaxTropical Cyclone Sandy hit Virginia last Monday, Oct.

29 causing school closings in Fairfax County for the 29th and 30th. The storm was downgraded from a

Hurricane as it came up the Atlantic coast from the Carib-bean with sustained wind speeds in the 30-35 miles per hour range in Northern Virginia according to the New York Times.

The decision to close all Fairfax County Public Schools was released around three p.m. on Sunday, the 28th, before the bulk of the storm hit Virginia. While stu-dents at Fairfax High School said they were pleased with the time off, that the closings were unwarranted. “I really needed a break from school but the days off were not neces-sary where we are,” said junior Kellie Husketh. Senior Chan Lee agreed, “It was nice because it gave me a break from school, plus my power did not go out so I could enjoy it.” While CNN U.S. reported that nearly 300,000 customers lost power in Virginia, Fairfax students said they had power throughout the storm. “The city was really anal about keeping power on, which was pretty awesome up until I lost internet. I personally think people overreacted. We are not on the coast so the storm would not really bother us,” said junior Claudia Menegol. Students at Fairfax seem to agree that the storm was not nearly as bad as predicted in Fairfax. Sophomore George Ganbold said “It felt like a normal rainy day; I have no idea why we did not have school.” Freshman Richard Lui said “It did not really af-fect us, a lot of people wasted money in preparation of the storm.”

4

By Nikki Strickland

Tropical Cyclone Sandy over the U.S. East Coast. Photo courtesy of www;nasa.gov

News Briefs

5

The Fairfax High theater will be putting on their first mainstage play of the year, Noises Off. The show is about a travel-ing theater company that attempts to put on a play. Senior stage manager, Molly Weaver says that the play presents “a brand of humour that is unique to high school kids.” There will be performances from Nov. 9 - 11.

After being ravaged by Tropical Cyclone Sandy, the Northeast has been hit with record breaking amounts of snow. Many parts of the Northeast recieves as much as over 9 inches of snow. According the NBC news, Governor Chris Christie stated that the snowfall sets recovery from Sandy back about one day.

The FHS varsity football team ended their season with a 5-5 record. They wrapped up the season with a loss of 27-47 against Stonebridge.

FX Players present Noises off

On Nov. 6, Colorado and Washington residents voted both a new president and for the legalization of marijuana. However Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, reminded residents that federal law still considers marijuana an il-legal drug. The NCAA has already stated that the voting results does not change their policies.

1.

2.States Legalize Marjuana

Northeast hit with snow 3.

4.FHS football season comes to a close

The cast rehearses for the upcoming per-formance of Noises Off. Photo by Suha Khandker

A New England car buried in snow. Photo courtesy of photbucket.com

Photo courtesy of photobucket.com

Photo courtesy of Langly Saxons

News

Letter to the EditorTo whom it concerns,

I was reading the Rebel Roar today and went to one of my personal favorite sections, Hot or Not. I found the part on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo offensive. I am from the South and in some ways a redneck myself, I understand the word redneck and don't mind it, but I do find the broken English in the paragraph making fun of the way they talk, the com-ments on "family of tooth-missing, roadkill-eating misfits who spend their days competing in 'redneck games.'" extremely offensive. I would rather that you, as a school newspaper, to not be discriminatory to anyone, especially given the fact that it is against the SR&R.

Bailey Parkhurst

Bailey,

I meant no offense to any group, southerners included, in last months “For Your Flynn-formation.” The column is always well intentioned and we work hard to ensure that the humor in the column does not upset anyone at Fairfax. The Rebel Roar embraces the unique diversity of our school. We would never intentionally offend anyone in our com-munity. With that being said, everything mentioned in the piece about “Honey Boo Boo” was taken directly from the show. Anything that you may have viewed as a negative southern stereotype is an actual example of an activity or trait portrayed by Honey Boo Boo and her family on the show. Again, I apologize if anything in the column offended you, but it was never intended that way.

George FlynnArt Director & Copy Chief

6

News

Earlier this month, Fairfax High School principal Da-vid Goldfarb announced that the school will begin the process to potentially install surveillance cameras.

The announcement comes after over a year of debate about the cameras in the Fairfax County community.

Goldfarb said that the cameras would be placed in five to seven of the most crowded places in the building. Although he said it is too early to know specifics, Goldfarb guessed that those places would include the atrium, the commons, and most of the main hallway intersections.

Before cameras can be installed, Goldfarb said that he must first go through a community engagement period. This is currently taking place and consists of talking with students, faculty, and community members about the cam-eras. If the feedback is positive, then Goldfarb will have a conversation with FCPS leaders about purchasing and installing the cameras. The total cost would likely be some-where between 25,000 to 30,000 dollars.

Reaction to the proposal has been mixed, with many students expressing concerns. Junior Natalie Buchen ex-pressed her concern, saying that cameras are “an invasion of our privacy and very unnecessary.”

Cameras in the Building?By George Flynn

Currently Fairfax High School has cameras located outside the building.Photo by George Flynn

By Aoife Maher-Ryan and Adelaide Powell

“House at the End of the Street”, stars “The Hunger Games’ ” Jennifer Lawrence and Max Thieriot, who give sub-par performances in this not so frightening horror film. The movie starts with Elissa (Lawrence) and her newly single mother, Elizabeth Shue, moving into a new house. The two soon find out they are living next door to a house where a girl named Car-rie Ann murdered her parents a few years back, and her brother Ryan (Max Thieriot) is the only one who survived. Elissa befriends Ryan only to find out he is hiding secrets, and that she may soon become a part of them. The movie includes predictable scares and unintelligent banter between characters, but does pack some entertainment value in its suspense and it does have a few surprising twists. Lawrence lends some star power to the movie, but due to a poor script her star does not shine as bright. Although most of the main characters are shot or stabbed, they recover from their severe wounds, mak-ing the semi-believable plot much less realistic. (Rated PG-13)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” stars a number of young actors that give a captivating performance of young life based on Stephen Chbosky’s beloved 90’s era novel. This unconventional coming of age story is about a freshman who finds friends in two seniors.The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name and directed by author Stephen Chbosky. The music accompaniment works perfectly for the film with songs all from the 90’s, and guides the film forward in each scene. The two seniors that help Charlie (Logan Lerman) find his way are Emma Watson as Sam, and Ezra Miller as the cheerful and emotional Patrick. During the film, Watson’s british accent does peek through a bit. However, with a stand-out performance by Miller and great support from the rest of the cast, this movie will resonate with anyone who has ever been a teenager, waiting to find out who they are and maybe getting a little lost along the way. (Rated PG-13)

“Taken 2”, the action packed sequel to “Taken”, stars Liam Neeson who reprises his role as former CIA agent Bryan Mills. Mills uses his “special set of skills” again, but this time to help his daughter retrieve himself and his ex-wife. The family of the kidnappers from the last movie plot revenge by taking Mills and his ex-wife while he is on a business trip in Istanbul with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) who have come to visit him. The beginning seems promising, but ends up following the same plot as the first film leaving audiences bored with the everlasting and repetitive action sequences. The rekindling of the romance between Mills and Lenore seems far-fetched, as is Kim’s trouble with driving. The subplot with Kim and her boyfriend is just as tiresome, and with all the action packed throughout the film, the (spoiler alert) “we’re having milkshakes at a quaint diner” ending will leave viewers dissatisfied. (Rated PG-13)

Taken 2

House at the End of the Street

7

At The Movies With Aoife and Addy

Coming To Theatres: Skyfall (11/09), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (11/16), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (12/14), Les Misérables (12/25)

Photo courtesy of www.epk.com

Entertainment

Autumn and change go hand in hand: the trees’ leaves are turning bright colors, the air is becom-

ing crisper, and the holidays are slowly approaching. Enjoy the beautiful scenery this fall and spice up makeup looks to match the warm, seasonal colors.

1) Apply concealer and foundation to areas of the face where there are any blemishes for flawless-looking skin.

2) Apply eyeshadow primer to lids for longer-lasting color.

3) Apply a gold, shimmery, creamy eyeshadow to the center of the lids as a base color.

4) Use a crease brush and apply an auburn eyeshadow to the crease to create more dimension.

5) Sweep a medium brown eyeshadow onto the outer corners of the eyes.

6) Re-apply the gold eyeshadow to the center of the lids.

7) Using a thin eyeshadow brush, line the lashline with a navy eyeshadow.

8) Darken the lashline with a black eyeliner.

9) Apply two coats of mascara to the top and bottom lashes, and add false lashes if desired.

10) Line the bottom water-line with a navy or dark blue eyeliner.

11) Brighten the inner corners of the eyes with a shimmery white eyeshadow.

By Rachel Tran

12) Brush bronzer onto the cheeks to contour the face.

Tran’sformationsBefore After

Fall Edition

Photos by Rachel Tran

8

9

Autumn and change go hand in hand: the trees’ leaves are turning bright colors, the air is becom-

ing crisper, and the holidays are slowly approaching. Enjoy the beautiful scenery this fall and spice up makeup looks to match the warm, seasonal colors.

graduation for me because my first class of freshmen was graduating. But, family comes first. My students didn’t miss a beat. A senior in my chorus stepped up and directed the choir at graduation in the singing of the Na-tional Anthem.”

How did you become interested in being a chorus singer?

“I have always loved the sound that a chorus makes- more so than individual voices. I have always loved being

“Carmina Burana” FHS’ Select Chorus Performs With New Dominion Chorale

By Emily Verbiest

Members of Fairfax High School’s Select Ladies Ensemble participated in New Dominion Cho-rale’s performance of “Carmina Burana” on Oct.

28th, at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Northern Virginia Community College. Thomas Beveridge directed the concert that included not only FHS’ Select Ladies, but also chorus director Luke Frels. Frels performed as a tenor soloist. “Carmina Burana is a collection of poems written by German monks about everyday life. [These poems] were later turned into songs,” explained junior Danielle Ran-dolph, a member of the Select Ladies Ensemble. “There are about 25 songs in the collection but we only sang about eight.” Frels and the Select Ladies worked hard to prepare for the performance. “In class we listened to the professional recording and practiced in sectionals. Sectionals helped a lot because Mr. Frels took one group, such as alto one, and practiced their parts with them while the other sections worked on different music in practice rooms.

It was very efficient,” said Randolph. Senior Deanna Payne said, “[Carmina Burana is] sung with a German-Latin pronuncia-tion and requires extreme vocal range for all parts.” “We had to make sure our voices blended well together, got our rhythms and notes down. Also that we don’t strain our voices with those super high above-the-staff notes,” said junior Erin Sullivan. “It was exciting because the space we sang in was mesmerizing when it came to sound quality,” said Sullivan. Frels said, “I am excited that the Select Ladies had the oppor-tunity to be a part of this large-scale performance. This was an opportunity that I felt like we had to take advantage of.”

Photo by Suha Khandker

How Well Do You Know Frels?A Quick Q&A With Fairfax High School’s Chorus Director Luke Frels.

You are a performer as well as an instructor. Which role do you prefer and why?“I don’t think I really have a prefer-ence and I know that I need both in my life. I went into music to be a music teacher. The fact that I am able to perform really informs my work in the classroom. These are flip sides of the same coin in my mind.”

What is the best memory of your career?

“In teaching, one of my very proudest moments happened when my son was born a couple of months premature. I needed to be in the hospital with him and my wife, which meant that I had to miss graduation. This was a very meaningful

part of that sound. When you sing together with a group of people, they become your family and you form a deep bond with them. To me, there is nothing like the rush you feel when you make incredible music.”

Photo Courtesy of FHS Chorale Department

Entertainment

By Emily Verbiest

10

Students Are Not The Only BulliesAs a high school sophomore, teachers have been an integral part of my life for over a decade. They have prepared me,

guided me, instructed me, all for my potential graduation following my educational career. However, some have also harmed me -- not by being strict or authoritative, but

by emotionally harassing and abusing me. Now, this does not mean every teacher bullies -- no, only some teachers do. Out of the many teachers I have had in my educational life thus far, only three or four teachers have said or done something I perceived as bullying.Fairfax High Principal David Goldfarb said, “Our teachers are focused on supporting stu-

dents’ learning and growth, and know that creating a safe and supportive environment is important to do this.” But when made aware of my experiences of teacher bullying, Gold-

farb added, “I am very surprised to hear that there are FHS students who feel they have been bullied by FHS teachers. It is my hope that any student would speak to their administrator or counselor if they feel they are being bullied by anyone, student or teacher. Such behavior is unacceptable in any school.”I agree with our principal’s assertion that bullying is unaccept-

able. But because I have experienced such bullying firsthand, I suggest, to mend this issue, Fairfax High and other schools create an annual sensitivity training that educates teachers to handle the individual needs of students. They should know how to treat each and every student as if they have special needs or are special education and how to correct students without belittling or condescending them.

Special education and special needs students are sometimes hard to identify, as any student -- regardless of appearance, behavior, and academic achievement -- can be special needs or special education. I myself am a special needs student, but you would not know it if you looked at me. That is why all school staff members around the world should assume every child they encounter has special needs or is enrolled in special education. After all, they do not know each child’s background and life story.These are just some of the things we can do put an end to teacher bullying. It is a tricky and challenging topic to deal with nonetheless, because not every teacher bullies. But we still should not be afraid to confront this issue to ensure no teacher ever harms, harasses or abuses students in any way. It can very well mean the difference between liking and disliking school for many students.

By David Schrack

32 0 1

Senior privileges are something students look forward to throughout high school. They provide a sense of seniority and fun for their last year as a Fairfax High School student.However, for the case of Fairfax High School, senior privileges are unfulfilling and unsatisfying,

mainly because there are several other options that could provide greater opportunities and freedoms for Fairfax veterans. Comparatively, students at other Fairfax County high schools are given more advan-tages as seniors that make the “privileges” at FHS seem meager.One senior thinks that senior privileges shouldn’t even exist. “I don’t think there’s any reason why we

deserve senior privileges,” said Fairfax High senior Emily Crawford. “I think it’s ridiculous that seniors feel entitled to these things.” In order to make senior privileges equal throughout all FCPS schools, Crawford said we should just not have them. “We can’t make it equal,” she said. Seniors at Chantilly High School get out of school five minutes early each Friday, and hold their own se-nior section at the football games. At Westfield High School the seniors get to leave five minutes early for lunch each day and choose the warning bell song each month. Thomas Jefferson High School takes senior privileges to the next level. There’s a senior lounge fully equipped with computers and television, a private senior lunch line, special buffets on certain days at lunch, administratively recognized days off, and during free period, seniors are granted the privilege of going home or staying in the senior lounge.

Class OfBy Hannah Flynn and David SchrackSenior Privileges

Bullying Writer, David Shrack advocates

for anti-bullying.

Commentary

For Your Flynn-formationBy George Flynn

Hot Not

11

Question 7

After three months and millions of dollars worth of around-the-clock ads, I’m still not sure whether or not money from new casinos in Maryland will actu-ally got to Mary-land schools. Seri-ously though, the casino in question is a good 30 to 45 minutes away on a good day, and yet I’m sure most of northern Virginia could tell you all about the he-said, she-said battle over blackjack.

Color

It would be hard to deny that the past month has been one of color. My girl T-Swizzle started off the month right with her already-platinum album “Red,” and Ne-Yo carried on the tradition with his album “R.E.D.” As if that wasn’t colorful enough, America was bombarded with some serious Red and Blue on election night (plus a lit-tle green courtesy of a certain third party.) Not to mention, Mary-land, Maine and Washington re-ally brought the color when they threw in a little bit of rainbow.

Instagram.com

As great as instagram is on my iphone, I often find myself longing to check my fave social network when my phone is in another room. Talk about the struggle. Luckily, Mark Zuckerberg and the internet gods at Facebook have answered my prayers. The new insta-gram.com lets users check the photostreams of other users, which is great for some late night creeping.

Smashburger

All I can say is “yum.” The burger chain is quickly becoming known as an “upscale Five Guys.” As good as the burgers and fries may be though, a qucik word to the wise: if you feel like eating your troubles away without being judged by half of the school, go somewhere else!

Full Weeks of School

Let’s face it, none of us really dislike school as much as we would like to make people think. That being said, after two three day weeks and a two hour delay, plus next week’s two and a half day week, full five day weeks just don’t seem right. I think we might be on to soemthing with these short weeks...

Trailers in the Cold

It’s almost impossible to focus on the acceleration of an object at constant velocity when you can’t feel your fingers. It’s not that hard to understand, when it’s 35 degrees out-side and the only thing separating you from the elements is a wall the thickness of cardboard, it’s not going to take long for the room to become

Photo courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Photo courtesy of dmad12group.wordpress.com

Photo courtesy of Smashburger

Photo courtesy of Brandon Blankenship

Photos by @gflynno

election 2012

Despite the student-driven rumors that students are no longer allowed to wear t-shirts that support either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, principal David Goldfarb wanted

to ensure that these rumors are in fact false and students are well within their rights to wear political attire as long as it is non-offen-sive or disturbing in any way to the learning environment. “The only restrictions would be for students wearing anything that is inflammatory, derogatory, or goes against the Fairfax Coun-ty Public School dress code such as advocacy for violence, drugs and alcohol,” said Goldfarb. With this in mind, it is important for students to know that in 1969, the Supreme Court case, Tinker versus Des Moines resulted in a ruling that protects students’ first amendment rights in public schools regarding free speech and the action of wearing clothing that advocates for political figures or groups. Therefore, no United States public school has the right to ban students from wearing t-shirts or clothing that supports a political candidate. Senior Cameron Hair said, “It definitely makes me happy to know that our First Amendment rights still apply to the freedom of expression at school.”

Senior, Leah Johnson wearing a shirt showing her support for President Obama, and Senior, Michael Vargas supporting Governor Romney.Photo by Jessica Miers

Governor Mitt Romney

Popular Votes: 578,236,535

Electoral Votes: 206

President Barack Obama

Popular Votes: 60,664,801

Electoral Votes: 332

Presidential Election:

Freedom of Speech Through Freedom Photos courtesy of Getty Images

By Jessica Miers

12

47.6 % George Allen

FairFax StudentS Get involved

This November, some Fairfax High School seniors are eligible to fulfill their civic duty and vote in the presidential election. As it is stated in the Constitution once a citizen is 18 years of age, they

are eligible to vote in a presidential election. According to Rock the Vote, voters ages 18-29 made up 66% of the vote in 2008. This election, approximately 46 million 18-29 year olds are eligible to vote, reported by Young Democrats of America.

Megan Cathro, a senior at FHS, who plans on voting expressed her feelings on the process: “Bottom line, we have something that most countries in the world don't: the ability to make a change! We have the freedom to be involved and have our

voice heard and opinion matter. So whether Republi-can or Democrat get informed and vote! Because if you

don't vote, you can't complain.” Even some FHS students who are not eligible to vote are getting involved with the

election. Senior, Emma Tourtellotte has been volunteering for the Romney cam-paign. “ Just because you can’t vote doesn't mean you shouldn't have an opinion. Volunteering on campaigns is a lot of fun because you learn more about the can-didates from people who have met them and you learn more about your party in general! And you meet a lot of influential people! The other day I met chris perkins who is running for congress!”

Senior, Katie Rossbach reflected on voting for the first time,. “I remember voting with my parents, and standing in line I was just thinking “democracy is so cool.” Especially, being in a swing state made me feel like my vote was really important.”

By Hannah Flynn

52.4% Tim Kaine

Senior, Megan CathroPhoto by Jessica Miers

Senior Emma TourtellotePhoto by Jessica Miers

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

Virginia Senate

13

Swing State Democrat

Colorado

Florida

North Carolina

Ohio

Virginia

Swung... Republican Electoral Votes

Blue

Red

Blue

Blue

Blue

59.1%

49.9%

48.4%

50.1%

50.8% 47.8% 13

46.5%

49.3%

50.6%

48.2%

9

29

15

18

Map Courtesy of Getty Images

the race to 270

14

PreSidential ProS and conS Voters headed to polls on Nov 6 to cast their vote for republican candidate, Mitt Romney or Democratic incumbent, Barack Obama.

Obama Cons:Obama Con:*Systematically reducing our national defense (nuclear stockpile) while other nations around the world increase theirs

* Denied drilling for oil in U.S. while giving money to South American drilling companies to drill for oil which we would buy.

* In favor of strong, centralized government which reduces state/indi-vidual freedom. The government is not meant to rule everything.Has met very little with foreign leaders while they were in the country.

* In favor of many federal grants/funding that the nation simply cannot afford.

* Removed the clause in welfare where people must be looking for work in order to receive federal aid.

* The wealthier should not have to carry the majority of the country on their paycheck.

Obama Pros:*Supports women’s right to choose.

*Protects the rights of the working class.

*Believes in everyone paying their fair share- the rich paying a little more, the poor paying a little less.

*Has followed through on many promises, including his promise to remove troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and and

to hunt down Al Qaeda.

*Strong decision to take down Bin Laden.

*In four years, has turned around terrible economy he inherited from Bush, with all signs leading to an economic recovery.

*Believes all citizens deserve medical care, despite financial situation.

*Recently came out supporting the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples.

*Believes in a strong, central government, which unifies the country instead of dividing it, which occurs when states are given too much power.

15

Control of Senate:Democrats- 53Republicans - 45

Control of House:Republicans - 233Democrats - 193

Guest Writer, Cameron Hair Guest Writer, Megan Cathro

Photo by Jessica Miers

Photo by Jessica Miers

16

The 15-year-long case of disappearing bee colonies, otherwise known as “colony collapse disorder,” (CCD) has now been solved and linked to a pesti-

cide form known as neonicotinoids; a nerve poison that dis-orients insect victims and appears to damage the homing ability of bees, which may lead to their mysterious failure to make it back to the hive.

The chemical, which is produced by the company Syngenta, has three new studies that point to the neonic-otinoids. The pesticide covers 142 million acres of corn, wheat, soy and cotton fields and is also used as a common ingredient in home gardening. Two months prior, pres-tigious journal, “Science” shows that neonicotinoids are absorbed by the plants’ vascular system and contaminate the pollen and nectar that bees encounter on their rounds. The nerve poison disorients their insect victims and dam-ages their homing ability. When the bees cannot go back to the hive, they are unable to continue making honey and therefore leaves the colony without food leaving the queen bee starved.

Another reason as to why the colonies might be collaps-ing is that genetically modified organism crops (GMOs) takes away the pollinators food supply poisoning their genetic structure of the bees and weaken their immune systems. By spreading this kind of agriculture, the farmers

are depriving the bees of their natural food supply.Preventative measures have been taken to boost the

population of bees on commercial honey farms. Bees are often fed high-fructose corn syrup because it is much cheaper and easier to obtain than the honey that bees normally eat. Also, in an effort to increase productivity of the bee population, bees are artificially inseminated, which has led to a decrease in diversity of bee populations. The bees are often dusted with chemical poisons to control mites and other pathogens that have flourished in the overcrowded commercial colonies.

“The new honey manufacturing procedures, I believe, are wrong and are a disgusting mutation of what past hon-ey collecting used to be. The artificial insemination of bees is a terrible direction for honey bee production and it takes nature out of the process. The whole idea of manufactur-ing honey bees is a disgusting thought that I hope can be changed to allow the population of honey bees to rise to it previous height,” said sophomore Daniel Gardiner.

While it may seem like there is no turning back now and there is no way to raise the population back to its normal state prior to the colony collapses, following processes such as feeding bees their natural products and putting a stop to artificial insemination offers hope for re-diversifying the bee population as a whole.

By Erich Greenfield

By Erinn Fecteau

Bees In The Trap

Students React To Star Wars

“My life is over. I

didn’t believe that Lucas sold LucasFilm

to Disney, but it’s true. [George Lucas,] of all the stupid ideas you had, this

one is your worst…” -Anda Bruk

“It isn’t over. It’s changing.

Like life. George didn’t want Star Wars to be his life, he wants

to keep on creating instead of chang-ing. He’s a creator, he brings things to life.

Once they’ve been brought to life, he knows that other people can change it and make it deeper. He’s the spark, not the fire. He would never give his child to someone he doesn’t trust. He believes that what is right for Star

Wars right now, is Disney. He has faith that this is right, and I trust him

to make the right decision.” -Doug Klain

“I used to want

to work for Disney in the music department.

But now that they’ve taken over star wars, I don’t think

I can...” -Sarah Newman

“…Disney also made Avengers. So un-

less you thought Avengers was a bad movie you have no room to complain about the new Star Wars being a terrible movie without seeing it.”

-Logan Threlkeld

“ I t ’ s like adding an-

other Lord of the Rings movie. It’s completely un-

necessary. Why mess with a good thing?” -Alex Griffith

George Lucas, the founder of Star Wars, sold his company Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company on Oct. 30, inciting many different emotions in Fairfax students.

Features

Fall Recipes

2 ½ cups of all purpose flour1 tsp baking powder1 tsp baking soda2 tsp ground cinnamon½ tsp ground nutmeg½ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp salt½ cup of softened butter1 ½ cups of white sugar1 cup of pumpkin puree1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:½ cup softened butter½ cup softened cream cheese 2 ½ cups powdered sugar1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients: Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then in a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. In another bowl,

mix together all the wet ingredients.

2. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. The batter should

turn into a soft dough.

3. Form the dough into teaspoon size ball and place two inches

apart onto a baking sheet.

4. Bake the cookies for 18 minutes or until the edges

become golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool for 1-2 minutes.

1.Combine the softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract

and cinnamon using an electric mixer.

2.Slowly add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese

mixture and mix until the frosting becomes thick and fluffy.

As the weather becomes colder, there is no better way to stay warm than with hot chocolate and these scrumptious pumpkin spice cookies?

Cookies

Frosting

3.Spread the frosting over

cookies liberally and enjoy!

17Photo courtesy of Suha Khandker

By Suha Khandker

18

New Dominion Chorale & OrchestraThomas Beveridge, Artistic Director

Diane Atherton, sopranoKristen Dubenion-Smith, alto

Jason Rylander, tenorBob McDonald, bass

Sunday, December 9, 2012 4:00 p.m.

Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center3001 North Beauregard, Alexandria

For information and tickets, call 703-442-9404 or see ticket information at w w w.newdominion.org.

Hallstatt, Austria

Recently, one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s rovers snapped photos of small, hematite balls on the surface of Mars—and found

with them evidence that suggests ancient life on Mars’ soil. The spherical minerals, nicknamed “blueberries” by the team of scientists analyzing them, were found by NASA’s rover Opportunity, which has been trekking along the planet’s distant surface for over eight years.

The “blueberries” are composed of hematite, the min-eral form of one of several iron oxides. The solid form is typically created in aqueous environments or around bio-logical elements like carbon and nitrogen, suggesting that water did exist on Mars’ surface at one point in time. More recently, scientists have hypothesized that not only did water exist on the alien surface, but that the “blueberries” were formed by microbes—meaning that life subsisted on Mars. To come to this theory, scientists compared them to similar hematite spheres found here on Earth, which were created by tiny microbial organisms.

For space and science enthusiasts alike, the discov-ery has been met with much fanfare. Not everyone is so thrilled with NASA’s Mars exploration missions, however: Robert Zubrin, writer for the National Review, wrote about the criticism facing the program.

“In its budget submitted to Congress on February 13, the Obama administration zeroed out funding for NASA’s future Mars-exploration missions. The Mars Science Lab Curiosity, currently en route to the Red Planet and the nearly completed small MAVEN orbiter, scheduled for launch in 2013, will be sent, but that’s it.”

The majority of critics argue that the funding of NASA is fiscally irresponsible on the part of the American government when so many other programs are in need of federal money. Many American citizens do not see the

benefit to funding the exploration of distant planets when there are more pressing matters facing everyday life on Earth. The American government plans to cut money from NASA’s budget in order to slow their own rapid loss of funds, but Zubrin writes that this is not the right ap-proach.

“There is no justification for the proposed cuts. The U.S. federal government may be going broke, but it’s not because of NASA. Since 2008, federal spending has increased 40 percent, but NASA spending has remained the same. Trillions of dollars in out-of-control entitlement spending cannot be remedied by cuts in NASA… Rather, the financial bleeding needs to be staunched where the hole is, and nowhere else.”

Along with the criticism, a good number of proponents of NASA have emerged from the woodwork to defend the space program. Said Fairfax senior Daniel Jankus: “There’s so much more to discover, and humans simply cannot live with being curious.” Many advocates also point out that critics seem to believe the money put into funding NASA disappears into thin air once in the hands of the space program’s scientists; however, it’s being used to buy needed resources from other companies. The money does not disappear from existence—it is passed from hand to hand.

Zubrin concludes his article by saying the following: “…But the Mars program is defensible. It has real and ratio-nal objectives, reasonable costs, and a terrific track record of success. It can and must be saved.”

By Erinn FecteauBlueberries Discovered On Mars

Photos Courtesy of NASA

19

Features

The iron blueberries, formed by microbes, are composed of hermatite and suggest that water as well as life existed on Mars at one point in time.

Nasa’s rover Opportunity has a panoramic camera which captured images of the iron blueberries on Mars at its landing center in “Eagle Crater.”

Field Hockey

Fall Sports Wrap UpBy Jessica Miers

20

On Oct 19. the Fairfax High School girls varsity field hockey team dominated Marshall High School with a 4-1 lead, winning the Liberty District Champion-

ship for the fourth consecutive year. “I was really impressed with how we won four districts

in a row,” said senior team manager, Michael Rice. “It was a privilege managing the girls team, taking stats, and film-ing games this year.”

Holding the FHS field hockey record for the most Liber-ty District wins in a row, the 2012-2013 FHS varsity girls field hockey team became the first team in Fairfax history to end their regular season with a 15-1 record and 17-2 for their final record, losing only to Westfield High School, 0-3and South County High School, 0-1in overtime.

“It felt great to win all four years that I've been here. I'm also hon-ored to keep the tradition and legacy going,” said senior varsity captain, Shannon Cos-grove.

With the help of Coach Amber Beaudoin’s inspirational

speeches, the girls dominated the Northern Region Play-offs with their first round win against Lake Braddock High School, 1-0 and their second round win on Oct 25. against Herndon High School, 1-0. Senior captain, Sam Zelenack said that after the team wins districts they “huddle up and sway back and forth” as part of their tradition.

“For every game, ever since I've been on the team, we always stretch in a circle and while we are stretching, we go around and say a word. The word might be what we need to do, or just a motivational word to remind everyone of what we need to get done,” said Cosgrove

After losing 11 of the seniors from the 2011-2012 team including eight starters, the girls were at a setback, with sophomores making up a majority of the team along with only seven seniors. Despite the loss of players, the girls maintained their 17-2 record, allowing only five goals against them during the entire season including playoffs.

“This year we started out with losing 11 seniors which was pretty rough but we worked hard through the summer

work outs and bad practices to get where we ended up. We did change our formation a little bit by switching some people's posi-tions,” said Cosgrove.

The FHS varsity girls’ outstanding season this year definitely came with its re-wards, especially for the seniors. Cosgrove finished tied for 14th in the D.C metro area for her 17 goals scored over the entire season and landed a spot on the Georgetown University girls’ field hockey team. Along with Cosgrove, Zelenack also commit-ted to play for Towson Univer-sity.

“I’m excited. [Playing for Towson] is also pretty nerve wracking though,” said Zelenack.

Next year, the 2013-2014 girls field hockey team will play in conferences instead of districts.

Though most seniors look forward to their graduation day, the seniors on the FHS girls’ varsity hockey team said they will miss being a part of the team and all of the memories they have shared for the past four years such as their tradition of going to IHOP the morning of the homecoming pep rally and painting the faces of all the new team mates.

Cosgrove said, “I'm going to miss all of the memories from each and every year. The teams that I was on all four years were each distinct from each other and each hold a special place in my heart.

Cross Country

Golf

This fall, the Fairfax co-ed varsity golf team had another strong finish in the postseason as the team’s four seniors’ leadership helped them as they played to a 4th place finish in the Liberty District playoffs.

Along with the 4th place finish by the team, senior Andrew Gordon finished 11th individually at districts, qualifying him for the regional tournament, where he finished 20th, almost good enough to make the state tournament. Gordon also held the role of captain on the team this season, and regularly finished atop the standings for Fairfax.

“My role as captain was to be the most consistent and level-headed player on the team. I needed to have the best attitude because the rest of the team fed off of me.” Gordon said. Despite not making the state tournament, he finished second overall in a preseason tournament, the Atomic Invitational at Twin Lakes, further helping his opportunities to play in college.

“Next year I plan to play at either McDaniel (Westminster, MD) or Franklin & Marshall (Lancaster, PA) which are small schools that are division three powerhouses that play against many division one schools.”

Sophomore Ruby Rim made the girls state tournament, after qualifying 6th for regionals and shooting an 81 in what turned out to be the first and only round of regionals due to a weather cancellation of the second round. She will certain-ly play a major role in the success of the team next year, after Gordon, and seniors Chan Lee, Carlo Tirso, and Tommy Burford leave.

After the first day of competition in the state tournament, Rim sat in 11th place, with a 7-over-par 79 which was one of her stronger rounds this year. She ended up placing in the top 10, a major accomplishment for both her and the team.

Although Rim and Gordon were the only two to make regionals, Lee almost made it after a two day total of 157, which tied him with Rim. They then had a one-hole playoff, which Rim won to take the 6th and final spot. Against both Madison and McLean, Lee led the team with a 39 and 44 respectively, both in close losses.

In the final match of the season against Madison, Fairfax played all 12 golfers and the underclassmen showed promise for the coming years, led by Billal Achekzai and Eric Joslin who each finished with a 5 over 41.

By Jackson Campbell

By Jackson Campbell By Nikki Strickland

Fairfax High School’s girls vol-leyball team had a

winning season this year with a record of 21-8. The team made it to the district finals and the first round of region-als where they ended their season with a loss against South County. This was the first time in nearly ten years that the lady rebels beat both Langley and Stone Bridge in the same sea-son, said Megan McK-enzie. “Overall I think it was our best season yet, even though we didn’t go very far in regionals. We really made an impact and made some noise since people didn’t expect us to be any good,” she said.

Cross country had a strong performance this fall, but unfortunately came up short in the district playoffs. After outperforming much of the Liberty District in

meets throughout the season, Fairfax missed the cut for the Northern Regional Cross Country Championships by finish-ing 6th at the Liberty District Championships.

Senior David Hollinger was instrumental in leading the Rebels this season, but at Burke Lake for the District Championships it was junior Aaqib Syed who led the Reb-els with a 10th place finish and a time of 16:29 in the 5K. Fairfax finished the meet with 156 points, putting them overtop of Marshall and Langley.

On the girls side, Fairfax finished in 8th place with a score of 210. Sophomore Claire Daniels took 5th place over-all with a time of 19:38. Both Syed and Daniels qualified for the Northern Regional Cross Country Championships,

where Daniels finished with a 19:50 (14th among fellow Liberty District runners at the meet).

Syed finished tied for 29th place out of 123 runners for the boys with a 16:04, topping his District Championship mark by 25 sec-onds, a very wide margin in cross country.

Volleyball

21

Sports

22

By Jackson Campbell

Rudy Califa practices “Griffining” in his back yard.Photo by Jackson Campbell

Rookie Quarterbacks Take the NFL by Storm

23

Sports

This season, an unprecedented five rookie quarterbacks are starting in the NFL, and one of the biggest stars so far is Robert Griffin III of the Washington Red-

skins. After the Redskins finished a dismal 5-11 last season, it

was clear that they needed to draft a quarterback thanks to Rex Grossman’s lack of production. They selected Griffin, who was coming off his junior year at Baylor University where he won the Heisman, with the second overall pick.

Griffin was named the Redskins starter even before the preseason began, and in his role as a leader he has not disappointed. Although the Redskins are just 3-6 through nine weeks, they were averaging 25.1 points per game, a full eight points over their 2011 season average, something Robert Griffin III has played a huge part in.

Even divisional opponent New York Giants players were praising Griffin after a 27-23 Giants win over the Redskins, with defensive lineman Justin Tuck saying in the press conference following the game that “Playing him twice a year is definitely going to be a headache.” Griffin leads all NFL players so far with a combined 13 rushing and passing touchdowns. The Redskins defense is struggling to defend the pass, but the drastic change on offense is promising for their future.

Taken one spot before Griffin, with the first overall pick in the NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected senior Andrew Luck out of Stanford University. Luck began his final season at Stanford as the preseason media favorite to win the Heisman, and finished the year a close second to Griffin. Luck was considered by many scouts to be the more NFL-ready of the two, so the Colts chose him to replace vet-eran superstar Peyton Manning after he left for the Denver Broncos.

In 2011, the Colts only won two games in large part because of Manning’s neck injury which caused him to miss the entire season, but the 2012 Colts under Luck are already off to a 5-3 start. Luck has been very accurate, com-pleting 56.5% of his passes and mostly targeting veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who struggled last year with Curtis Painter at quarterback. One aspect of Luck’s game early in his career that suggests he will be very success-ful is his lack of turnovers. A telltale sign of a rookie is the mistakes, but Luck looks to be far beyond his years.

Contrary to the situations in Indianapolis and Wash-ington, the Seattle Seahawks were not in dire need of a quarterback heading into the draft, as they had picked up free agent Matt Flynn, formerly of the Green Bay Packers. Despite that, they went ahead and took Russell Wilson out of the University of Wisconsin, and he eventually wrestled the starting job from Flynn during training camp. Wilson was not highly touted as a quarterback coming out of col-lege, but more as a charismatic leader who had a positive influence on everyone around him.

The Seahawks have been inconsistent this season to say the least, and Wilson has not been as impressive as he was in the preseason. However, he does have a few solid wins under his belt, including beating the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football with a controversial touchdown rul-ing, and the New England Patriots on a last minute drive.

While he may not live up to what Griffin and Luck will accomplish, he has given Seattle a chance to compete in the NFC West again, which they have not dominated they went to the Super Bowl in 2006.

Perhaps the team in most dire need of a franchise-saving quarterback was the Cleveland Browns, but it is still un-clear whether 29 year-old rookie Brandon Weeden from Oklahoma State University is the answer. Year after year, the Browns have been stuck at the bottom of the AFC North divi-sion, unable to pass the domi-nant Pittsburgh Steelers and Bal-timore Ravens. They decided to take a risk on the oldest rookie to ever play in the NFL, Brandon Weeden. His lack of size and accuracy, combined with his age scared most NFL scouts away, but he has phenomenal arm strength and a high football IQ.

The Browns have started this season 2-6, but Weeden has shown improvement week after week. He threw four interceptions in his first career game against the Philadel-phia Eagles, but has cut down on the turnovers since, and behind a strong effort from Weeden the Browns won their first game this season against division rival and playoff hopeful Cincinnati Bengals. If he does not turn around the Browns soon, his time in the NFL may be limited due to his age, but along with the other four rookie Quarterbacks, he possesses the tools to be a perennial starter.

Because of Griffin and Luck’s unbelievable talent, Wil-son’s being a fan favorite, and Weeden’s age, rookie Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins has gone under the radar in a surprising 4-4 start in the competitive AFC East divi-sion. For Tannehill, learning a completely new offense like most rookies have to do was not an issue, because his coach from Texas A&M is now the offensive coordinator for the Dolphins. Tannehill may not have the Dolphins contending for a Super Bowl run this year, but with all the attention on Griffin and Luck he and the Dolphins may surprise teams in the next few years.

With the way football seasons have gone in the past few years for teams who drafted these quarterbacks, it is no surprise that there is a heightened excitement around the league, especially right here in the D.C. area. The Redskins have never had a player of Griffin’s caliber, and if he contin-ues to improve upon the high-level he is already performing at, the future of football in Washington is bright.

The Best of Halloween

Photos by George and Hannah Flynn