the picador: volume10, issue 12

Volume 10, Issue 12

5.1.2015

A PUBLICATION BY HOLDERNESS STUDENTS FOR THE HOLDERNESS COMMUNITY

President: AJ ChabotVice President: Maggie Barton

Weld Hall Supervisors: Natalie McBeath and Avery Morgan

House LeadersHannah Benson, Ben Chapin, Maggie Cunha, Dougie DeLuca, Drew Hodson, Sam Meau, Chris Sargent, Tyler Slusarczyk,

Anna Soderberg, Annie Smyth-Hammond, Hadley Starer, Julia Thulander

Floor LeadersAly Axman, Lexi Black, Will Coleman, Henry Hall, Nick Lacasse, Alex Lash, Grace Lawrence, Precious Ozoh, Lewis Mundy-

Shaw, Emily Perkins, Jesse Ransford, Ellery Smith, Sam Smith, Phil Stowe

Job LeadersKelley Attenborough, Virginia Bonsal, Kyra Borsoi, Julia Cantin, Elizabeth Casey, Chris Caulder, Sydney Caulder, Zach

Chernin, Grace Collins, Darcy Curwen, Kayli Cutler, Henry Day, Mckinley Deery, Taylor Dobyns, Tori Dobyns, Cole Donovan, Holten Flinders, Sarah Gillis, Emery Gray, Chae Hahn, Dan Hauser, Brooke Hayes, Moti Jiang, Logan Kilfoyle, David Leclerc, Noa Lin, Perry Lum, Elliott McGuire, Chase McLane, Cat McLaughlin, Jessie Montague, Risa Mosenthal, Ella Mure, Gideon Peres-Rothberg, Laura Rinehart, Nate Sampo, Rachel Tejeda, Storm Thompkins, Reese Thompson, Keying Yang, Oscar Yu

Congratulations to Holderness School’s

2015-16 Leaders

2The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 12

Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer

The Schedule of Events

4:45 Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse vs. Berwick

5:45-7:00 Cook Out on the Turf

7:30 Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse vs. Tilton

9:30 Opening Ceremony (includes remarks, lighting of luminar ies, and start of 3K race)

10:15 Games on the Turf, Open Mic, and Music (also includes the stationary bike race challenge)

10:30 Ice Cream Sundaes and Baked Goods

11:00 Games and Music UNDER THE LIGHTS

MOST FUNDS RAISED BY ONE DORM: $2,831DORM WITH MOST DONATIONS: DAY GIRLS

3 The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 12

I am honoring my tennis coach Joann Levy, who fought valiantly and ulti-mately beat ovarian cancer in 2013. Since then, she has made what I per-ceive to be a full recovery and continues to be one of the top-ranked tennis coaches in Maryland. She is one of the greatest role models in my life, and I am so thankful to have her here today. -- Jessie Montague

I chose to volunteer for the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer in an effort to help raise money and awareness for cancer research. During this event, I am honoring my mother, Avery Lincoln Chappell Smith, who passed away at 38 years old in 2005 from stage IV breast cancer. No child should have to lose his or her mother to this disease, and with each act of kindness and raised awareness, we are closer to finding a cure. -- Ellery Smith

Vera Bradley Co-founders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller began raising funds for breast cancer re-search in 1993 after the loss of their dear friend, Mary Sloan. Since then, their genuine commitment to this cause has evolved into the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer and $23 million in contributions so far. Together with our donors, event participants and volunteers, we hope for a future free from breast cancer.

Dollars Raised: $11,341.00

242DONORS

199 FUNDRAISERS


Outside the Holderness BubbleA Reflection on This Year’s College ProcessBy AJ Chabot ‘16

AJ Chabot: When was the last time you spoke to Jeff Nadeau?

Mr. Barton: Last Saturday. His niece, Sarah Nadeau of Bow NH, was named female Nordic Skier of the Year in NH, so I connected with him to offer congratulations. He told me his niece is a power lifter and has never nordic skied in her life. My bad.

AC: Why do you say “thank you for coming to dinner”?

BB: I think it is nice to show students that the faculty appreciates their pres-ence.

AC: Thoughts and feelings about the seniors’ college searches? Does the process end up being different every year?

BB: The college process went pretty well this year. As is always the case, some are thrilled; some are not. But each class does take on a different per-sonality. This year’s class did a ton of work early (more EA and ED applica-tions than ever before) and excelled in face-to-face meetings with college representatives. They killed it in the interview and in group sessions here at school.

AC: Can you explain the trend of a lot of students going to UNH this year, Hobart last year, and St. Law-rence other years?

BB: I think these three schools you mention all line up well with our stu-dents. They provide strong programs both in the classroom and outside the classroom. I think each has a trademark positive spirit that strikes a chord with our students. Students sometime think that when so many Holderness students go to one school, it qualifies as a “little Holderness” on the college level and they worry about that being a negative. But when I talk

with alumni at these schools and ask them about the effect of “so many Holderness kids being there” they respond that “it plays differently once you are here--I rarely run into my old Holderness classmates unless I want to.” Most current Holderness students don’t realize that even the smallest colleges out there (with a few excep-tions) are 10 times the size of Holder-ness.

AC: If you could give one piece of advice to students on the first day of the school year, what would you tell them?

BB: Get over yourself—no one is pay-ing as much attention to you as you think they are. Relax and start living a meaningful life and not a life worried about what others say.

AC: Do you get that same nervous excitement seniors get each year before they find out where they re-ceived acceptances?

BB: Yes, definitely. I live the highs and the lows.

AC: How did you get into college counseling, and how have you seen the whole process change from when you applied to college.

BB: I got into college counseling here back in 1993. The college counselor at the time, Walt Kesler, left to become a head of school in Fort Worth, TX. Pete Woodward, the Holderness head, thought I might like the job, so he asked me to consider it--and I said yes. I have been doing it every year since.

The process is very different from when I (and many of your parents) were applying. Very few people back then did the kind of careful prepara-tion work kids do today. And, kids typically applied to far fewer schools back then. When I was applying, I had two schools in mind—Hamilton and Franklin and Marshall. That was it. I applied ED to Hamilton and got in.

AC: Are there certain schools whose admission statistics are scattered or random, and have surprised you during your time as a counselor?

BB: There is always a reason for a particular decision. The problem is, we don’t often know what that reason is. So, some schools can appear to be making random choices. Yes, I am surprised by some decisions—both pleasantly and unpleasantly. But no college is just making it up as they go—there are reasons behind every decision. I may not like them or agree with them, but they are never random.

AC: Any tips to your college advi-sees?

BB: Relax, be yourself, and look past the name recognition and reputations of the colleges. Also, never put your self-esteem in the hands of a total stranger like an admissions officer.

(continued on page 12)


AJ Chabot: What is your life story? Where were you born, where did you grow up? How did you hear about Holderness and what made you de-cide to go here? Were you interested in song-writing and hip hop while you were here? Did your academic career continue after Holderness?

Homeboy Sandman: I was born and raised in New York. I was in a program called Prep 9 that takes kids from the city and gets them into schools out of state. They picked Holderness for me. Holderness was where I think my love for hip hop really took life-altering hold; I felt so out of place that I hid underneath my headphones pretty much constantly. After Holder-ness, I went to college and some other schools.

AC: Where does the name Homeboy Sandman come from?

HS: Mythology.

AC: Who are some of your favorite well-known artists?

HS: DOOM, Aesop Rock, Jay Z

AC: What is your least favorite genre of music and why?

HS: I don’t think I have a least favorite genre.

AC: Were any of the faculty who are still here now your mentors while you went to school here? Any funny memories you have from school about any of these faculty?

HS: I don’t know who’s still at Holder-ness. Mr. Eccleston screamed on me my first day for letting him know that class was over. I know Coach Walker passed away, but he was my homey, even though I only played one year of football. The Furlonges became my family. Mr. Macomber was pretty cool.

AC: What is one thing Holderness taught you?

HS: That race is fake.

AC: Please explain how you came up with your mission statement: “Boy Sand like you’ve never seen him be-

fore. As usual.”

HS: I don’t like doing the same thing twice.

AC: What is your favorite song you have written? Will you perform it here at school?

HS: I don’t really have a favorite song. I don’t know what I’m gonna perform yet. It’s kinda buggin’ me out that I’m gonna perform there at all.

AC: Stones Throw wrote: “If [Home-boy Sandman] had an opportunity to give a speech at a huge rally, he’d take that.” So would you? What would your speech be about?

HS: There was a time when I would have spoken at a rally, but probably not these days. Not convinced it wouldn’t be a complete waste of time.

AC: What is your favorite pizza? Favorite ice cream? Favorite Candy? Favorite Holderness tradition?

HS: Pepperoni. Pistachio. Sweet Tarts. When the girls streak.

AC: If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

HS: Human. I think I’m doing pretty decent at it. If it ain’t broke…

AC: What type of superpower do you wish you had?

HS: My superpower would be never worrying.

An Interview With Homeboy Sandman ‘98


SPORTSNBA Conference Championship PredictionsBy Jack Yanchitis’15

The term, “West Coast Best Coast” could not be truer when talking about NBA basketball. The West-ern Conference is loaded with high-caliber teams from seeds 1-8.

The team that held the best record this season, and is the favorite to win the champion-ship, is the Golden State Warriors, led by probable MVP candidate Steph Curry and his wingman in the “Splash Brothers” duo, Klay Thompson. The Dubs have already cleaned up the first round by sweeping the eight-seed Peli-cans, although every game was competitive.

The defending champion Spurs are currently up 3-2 against the LA Clippers in a series I have the Spurs winning at home Thursday night. The Clippers and Spurs are the four and five seeds in the West, yet either squad would be in the top three in the Eastern Conference, a conference that admitted three teams that had .500 records or less.

However, Lebron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers (although now without Kevin Love) look to get to the title in LBJ’s first season at home and his fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. Assuming the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks can defeat the eighth seeded Brooklyn Nets in a six or seven game series, it seems apparent that the Hawks and the Cavs will meet to vie for a spot in the finals.

The West is much more of a free-for-all, since any of the six teams realistically has a chance of winning the West. Here is a breakdown of my predictions for the rest of the season.

East

First Round

Prediction: Hawks beat the Nets in six

Analysis: Deron Williams and Brooke Lopez both are seemingly back from the dead in this playoff series, knot-ting the series at two with the favorite of the East. It’s re-markable that a team that finished eight games below .500 is giving the Hawks a run for their money.

Analysis: Cavs sweep, but lose Kevin Love to dislocated shoulder.

Prediction: Bulls beat the Bucks in seven

Analysis: Bulls are currently leading 3-2; I really love the long and youthful Bulls. Their start-ing five average a wingspan of 7’0, and they’re a blast to watch. I can’t imagine by the time this is published, however, that a revi-talized Derrick Rose’s Bulls with former DPOY Joakim Noah or Pau Gasol will lose two in a row to a Jason Kidd coached team.

Prediction: Wizards dominate the Raptors. Sorry Drake! Paul Pierce is the new King of the North; he and John Wall SWEPT the Raps.

Second Round

Prediction: Wizards over Hawks in six: the Wiz are hot right now, hot enough to take out the Hawks. Cavs over Bulls in six.

Conference Championship

Prediction: Cavs over Wizards in seven

West

First Round Predictions

Warriors beat the Pelicans in fourMemphis currently up 3-1; I think they’ll win it in fiveRockets beat the Mavs in fiveSpurs over Clippers in six

Second Round

Prediction: Warriors over Memphis in seven

Analysis: The Dubs are just too good for Memphis’ some-times-lackluster offense; and they’re missing a real shooter without Mike Conley on the court to at least direct traffic. However, DPOY Draymond Green and the Warriors de-fense have only struggled this season when they play teams which play big (i.e. Grizzlies, Bulls), leading me to believe that Memphis could force this series into more games, either six or seven.

Prediction: Spurs over Rockets in six

(continued on page 12)


The KIng of Clay vs. The Emperor of TennisBy Thomas Chau’15

The first quarter of the 2015 ATP World Tour has ended with Novak Djokovic becoming the first player ever to win the first three Masters 1000 tournaments of the year— Indi-an Wells, Miami, and Monte Carlo—and the first player ever to win the Australian Open five times. On top of that, the Djoker has also surpassed Rafael Nadal for the sixth most weeks at World No. 1 with 144 weeks as of April 27th, 2015. As a result of his complete game, many experts are leaning towards the possibility of Djokovic winning his first ever Ro-land Garros, the only Grand Slam ma-jor still eluding the Serbian. History showed that even though Djokovic could beat Nadal on Masters 1000 tournaments on clay, he couldn’t re-peat the same fate on Roland Garros. Could this be the year for Djokovic to complete his Career Grand Slam? The answer will come after June 7th, 2015.

“King of Clay” Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, has been struggling to find his confidence since the begin-ning of the 2015 season, losing to players who have not won a single match against him in their entire careers. Many Rafanatics, however,

do believe in a strong comeback for Nadal, especially on his favorite clay surface. But, contrary to their ex-pectations, the Spaniard has suffered three disappointing losses in the clay tournaments that he used to domi-nate, from Monte Carlo all the way to Barcelona. While the loss against Djokovic was somewhat more under-standable, the other two losses raised numerous doubts about Nadal’s ability to defend his Roland Garros major, especially when his strongest shots and other components of his game were not working the way they used to. Again, the answer will only come after June 7th.

The last of the ‘Big Three’ – Roger Federer – started off the 2015 season in style, becoming the third player in history, after Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, to break the 1000 wins mark. FedEx then went on to the finals in Dubai and Indian Wells at a time when many pundits were wondering whether age and fitness could keep up with Federer’s busy schedule. While Federer found much success on hard courts, it was a much different story on clay where Fed could not come up to the net as often due to slower, high-bouncing balls. As a result, he

was defeated by the spontaneous Gael Monfils during the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters. Clay courts require a much different type of game that is probably not suitable for players like Federer whose fitness is not guaranteed. Despite the results of the clay court season, there is not a slight chance that Nadal, Murray, or Nishikori would be able to take away Federer’s second place coming into the grass season. Grass courts are where Federer’s major dreams are likely to come true.

The other guys in the fields are some-what of a mixture. Kei Nishikori has won the Barcelona Open two years in a row, while David Ferrer has won two thirds of his tournaments on clay courts. On the other side, Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, and Milos Raonic have not created much of an impression since the start of the clay court season, with the Canadian not feeling healthy and the other two suffering from unpredictable forms. The mixture of statuses will add some spice to the clay court season, where the Emperor of tennis Roger Federer is old, the King of Clay Rafael Nadal is weakened, and the Prince Novak Djokovic is at his zenith.


Big Awards for a Big Theatrical PerformanceBy Charlotte Freccia ‘15

Last Friday, the entire school packed into Hagerman Auditorium and watched with varying degrees of ex-citement as the houselights dimmed, the curtains opened, and the spotlights came up on an almost unrecognizably rotund and coiffed figure. The band banged out the first notes of the iconic “Good Morning Baltimore” and set the mood. As the evening progressed, the audience was treated to a maudlin but ultimately inspiring melange of upbeat, 1960’s-style show tunes, a swirl of whimsical set pieces and costumes, and Paul Sampson’s dancing.

Hairspray was undoubtedly one of Holderness’s biggest productions in years—pun absolutely intended. The numbers were big. The cast was big. The hair was big. Becca Kelly and my-self—with the help of more than a little padding—were big. A show so super, in my mind, deserves its own list of superlatives. So, here they are: five ways that the big-hearted, big-boned Hairspray trumped the musicals of past years and came out on top.

Most Shocking Physical Transforma-tion: Becca Kelly as Edna

With dangerous curves, a moppy brown wig, and a show-stopping pink dress, Becca Kelly shed her signature square-glasses-and-superhero-shirt look to truly embody the character of Edna Turnblad, the big-hearted and even-bigger-boned laundress who struggles with self-esteem. And it wasn’t just a superficial transformation. By the end of the play, with the help of loving husband Wilbur and daughter Tracy, Edna learns to love herself for the fierce and full-figured flame that she is. You may not have recognized Becca-as-Edna when she stepped on-stage, but Becca’s confidence and sense of humor brought Edna to life.

Most Satisfying Debut Performance: The Men’s Basketball Team

So long as I live, I will never forget the energy and dance skills that Ziggy Tracey brought to the stage in his debut role as Unnamed Black Student. Day in and day out, he was at rehearsal preparing to take the stage and infect it with some effortless dance moves. And we can’t forget the quiet humility and sheer height brought to the characters Duane and Stooie by Sukh Mathon and Daniel Cabassa, respectively. One of the best things about Holder-ness theatre is that it’s accessible to anyone—including those you’d never expect to see onstage.

Best Cameo: Parker Densmore as Mr. Pinky

Those of us who have been struggling and toiling in Holderness theatre for the last several years are kicking ourselves that we didn’t recruit Parker Densmore earlier. His doughnut-touting, hand-kissing, pink-jacketed Mr. Pinky burst onto the stage every night with energy, charisma, and a scary knack for guessing Edna’s cup size. Though he was only in one scene, Parker truly epitomized the character of Mr. Pinky, and thus his performance was without a doubt one of the high-lights of the show.

Most Essential and Most Underap-preciated: Bridget Pope

The role of Stage Crew Member is often a thankless job. The stage crew does so much for the actors and for the smooth transitions of the show, and yet their shining moment is limited to one quick bow on the side of the stage during a frenzied all-piano reprise of “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” That’s why I’m taking the opportunity now to call out Bridget Pope, who was always on her calm, cool, and collected game backstage as she prepped costumes and props, hurriedly fixed body mics, and moved and removed set pieces like—there is no other way to put it—an absolute boss.

Most Valuable Player: Ms. Devine

The success of the show and the suc-cess of Ms. Devine to absolutely not lose it and give up hope on the mass of stubborn, disruptive, and unreli-able high-schoolers she calls a cast are synonymous. Everything that you see from the audience—from the dialogue to the costumes to the music cues to the set pieces to the props to the hair and makeup—has been orchestrated by her; she works tirelessly to create two perfect (well, almost!) produc-tions. This spring, Ms. Devine bal-anced teaching theater classes, direct-ing Senior Thesis, overseeing Artward Bound, and staging the show grace-fully, and that makes her irreplaceable.

Humans of Holderness


Backstage at the

Big Performance


By Parker Densmore ‘15

When people think about Holderness School, they probably think about academics, sports, and arts—not the school’s club opportunities. Clubs are by no means less important than the other parts of Holderness culture, yet they play a different role in our com-munity.

In the normal schedule, there is no officially scheduled time for clubs to meet; usually, groups have to find time during a conference block or after a meal. However, with the pilot sched-ule there are now two blocks of time, one on Monday and one on Saturday, specifically designed for use by clubs. While this new development may be helpful for some, I believe that it actu-ally hurts the club culture at Holder-ness.

Over the last two weeks of the pilot schedule there have been three club blocks. In each of these blocks, I have had a required meeting, none of which have not been clubs. Personally, I believe a club should be accessible to anyone, as long as that person is interested and dedicated to it. While I am dedicated to The Picador and being a House/Floor leader, neither of these groups are open to all and therefore do not fit under the “club” label in my mind since you need to apply to become an editor and you must be elected to be a house or floor leader.

And what happens to the people involved with multiple clubs? Due to my other commitments, I missed an Outing Club meeting. I would nor-mally accept having to sacrifice com-mitments, but is that not what the pilot schedule is meant to avoid? With the ability to participate in the Alliance, the Multicultural Club, the Math Club, the Writer and Poets’ Club, the Vestry, the Fly Fishing Club, the Investment

Club, and many more, I feel that there is a lot to fit into a mere two blocks per week, especially if each club expects to meet more than once per week.

One of my favorite clubs at Holderness is the Back-country Skiing Club. While it is relatively new, there have been a variety of individuals showing interest in it. A meeting for this club generally involves a minimum of two hours in order to drive to, climb up, ski down, and drive back from Tenney Mountain. There is no way this club could meet in one of the assigned forty-minute blocks.

The final issue that comes to mind is the legitimacy of clubs at Holderness. By making a specific time for clubs

to meet, people who don’t participate in clubs now have a free block. This will give the block the reputation of being an excuse to have forty minutes of relaxation. I am not saying that clubs should be required; however, the school will probably need to combat this problem by making some commit-ment mandatory during this time.

I think that clubs should be a personal decision for each person, and people should use their own time to meet with that club. If people truly care about their activities, passions, interests, and social issues, then they should be willing to sacrifice their free time to fully gain experience from that club or clubs.

Are Club Blocks the Best Use of Our Time?In The Community


By Maggie Barton ‘16

1. If you have something to say: Too many students at Holderness have voices that go unheard. It can be hard to find a way to share your thoughts here. Opportunities to be yourself and share what you believe and value can be rare, but The Picador is precisely that medium. If you are looking for a chance to address faculty, students, and parents alike, write!

2. If you want to change something: The schedule? Dress code? Meals? Weekend activities? The world? Stop wasting time complaining to your friends at lunch or your advisor at dinner and write about it. How did we get no dress code when it’s below zero? Writing! Let The Picador help you make change.

3. If you love Holderness: The Picador is an important re-flection of the Holderness community and particularly the student body. Not only is it read by faculty, staff and stu-dents, but also by parents, alumni, and prospective students. Anyone who writes for or is a part of The Picador has a role in shaping how Holderness is projected to the world. That’s power!

4. If you are a bad writer: Writing is an unavoidable part of Holderness’s curriculum, as well as life. At the Colby Sawyer College Fair last week, numerous admissions personnel (notably Kenyon, Hamilton, and Bates) mentioned the emphasis their school places on writing. Nearly all students who graduate from Holderness will go on to college, so per-haps it is a skill worth strengthening before then. Like many things, practice makes perfect, and The Picador will provide you with great practice.

5. If you are a good writer: Athletes at Holderness get to show off their skills every Wednesday and Saturday on the fields, ice, trails, and courts. We hand out sports awards after every season. The good writers of Holderness, unfortu-nately, rarely get this type of recognition, except in The Picador. Every Friday at lunch, those who write for The Picador get to show off their mad skills.

6. If you want to get to know the Hol-derness community even better: Two sections of The Picador that appear every week are the “Humans of Holderness” and “Outside the Holderness Bubble.” Both of these often require editors or writers to interview teachers, students,

staff, or alumni. It gives us the opportunity to meet inter-esting newcomers to the community, as well as learn new things about people we thought we knew.

7. If you want to make new friends: The editors of The Picador work together weekly. We brainstorm, solve prob-lems, get creative, and laugh a lot. Each person involved in The Picador brings a whole new element to the paper. We work together to compile the best issues we can and con-stantly push and inspire each other to be better. The paper brings together people from different grades and parts of the school, and I have yet to meet anyone who couldn’t use some more friends.

8. If you are funny: Often the most popular parts of The Picador are those that make the readers laugh. We all know the comedians in the school who impress us with their wit. If you are one of those people The Picador can always use your humor. Making people laugh can entertain, but also prove points and inspire change.

9. If you have strong opinions: What would The Picador be without editorials? Boring. Passion makes for good writing, and good writing makes for good papers.

10. If you want to have fun: The busy schedule (new or old) of Holderness can leave little time for fun. Contributing to The Picador is a great way to build fun into your schedule while also making yourself smarter. If you are worried you don’t have time for extra writing, I assure you, you do. If you can make time for dances and brownie nights, you can make time for The Picador.

10 Reasons You Should Write for The Picador

Senior EditorsYoungjae ChaTommy Chau Parker DensmoreCharlotte FrecciaCharles HarkerJack Yanchitis

Junior EditorsMaggie BartonAJ Chabot

Layout and DesignMoti Jiang

Keying Yang

Faculty AdvisorsMs. MagnusMr. Herring

Contact InformationHolderness SchoolChapel LaneP.O. Box 1879Plymouth, NH 03245

Phone Number: 603.536.1257

Email: [email protected]

Not really.

Definitely not shorts weather.

My parents, mistakenly, kind of respect you.

How long does it take to paint the whole campus pink?

I’m still on the old schedule and my teachers haven’t noticed.

AC: How have you become such a skilled public speaker?

BB: Thank you for endorsing my public speaking skills—I have seen many folks with closed eyes sitting in front of me (Parker and Charles come to mind, for example)! My public speaking tree has two distinct roots. One root was being a camp counselor and having to speak in front of groups all the time. The other was going to Hamilton which has a public speaking graduation requirement.

AC: If you could become the head admissions officer of an Ivy League School tomorrow, what would you change about its application pro-cess?

BB: Need-Blind Financial Aid—in other words, money is not an object in any admissions decision.

OverheardsCompiled By

Parker densmore ‘15

College Counseling, Continued from page 4

Analysis: James Harden doesn’t have any help. His team is quick, has shooters, but can’t defend. Seems like Harden is on a mission to win it this year, but his team is too brutal for the perfect basketball game that Gregg Popovich’s Spurs play.

Conference Championship

Prediction: Spurs over the Warriors in seven

This will be the series that will be talked about for years to come (I think, or at least hope, because it should be). The seemingly mythical Spurs will square off against the bandwagon of 2015. The Spurs are old and beat up. The Warriors are young and inexperienced.

Nobody plays team basketball like the Spurs. Nobody has the ability to score as effectively and quickly as the Warriors (Look at game three against the Pelicans during which the Warriors won in OT after trailing by 17 with six minutes left.) Something’s gotta give. I’m taking the Spurs because Tim Duncan is 39 and still abuses the best bigs in the league. I gotta root for him.

Finals

Prediction: Spurs over Cavs in five

Analysis: Tim Duncan and the boys are gonna run train on LBJ and all his the-atrics for a second year in a row, and Lebron will have excuses instead of sacking up and just playing the game (Reason #33 for why he’s not the G.O.A.T.).

NBA, Continued from page 6

the picador: volume10, issue 12

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