With rehearsals for an upcoming production by the local theater company keeping me in Oswestry over this week-long break, I am hunkering down for the next few days. To keep myself busy, I’ve dusted off my squash gear from three years on the Mercersburg men’s team, learned to play badminton, and checked out more than a few books from the school library. But more interesting than what I am doing over here is what I’m hearing of back across the pond at my alma mater.
The Model United Nations organization has just returned from the Ivy League MUN Conference at the University of Pennsylvania, bringing with them a few awards. Although I am on the debate team here, I miss the people and the structure of Mercersburg MUN, of which I was president—or rather Secretary-General—for two years. I am very proud of the work that the club’s leaders are doing this year and will not—for the reader’s sake—relate any of the peculiar anecdotes either from my time or from this year as I’ve heard them. Suffice to say that a group of engaged and informed students representing the governments of the world is bound to encounter drama along the way.
Stony Batter is performing the winter musical this weekend, Into the Woods. Now I didn’t join the cast of the musical until my senior year—when I played Vince Fontaine in Grease—but my closest group of friends consisted mostly of “theater people” and I wish those still there the best of luck in what I am sure will be a wonderful production. I’ll actually be seeing some of the cast this March when they join faculty members Laurie Mufson, Jim Applebaum, and Chip Horton on the Spring Break Arts Trip to London. I was lucky enough to be on the trip last year and loved the week exploring London’s arts scene, from West End theater productions to the British Museum.
And finally, we beat Peddie! I remember that Model UN’s first fundraiser during my freshman year was the selling of alumni weekend t-shirts that read “Beat Peddie!” So the Storm’s defeat of Peddie’s swimmers last weekend was particularly appreciated over here.
Now it is time to return to what work I have left this week I suppose. Right now I’ll be drafting my assembly speech due on February 22nd in which I’ll attempt to explain America’s presidential election process to the student body here in just 15 minutes. I’ll certainly be relying on what Messrs. Kantaros and Tompkins taught us in AP US Government last year to explain the significance of the numbers 2,025 and 1,191, the acronyms FEC, GOP, and PAC, among many other nuances of our system. It will be an interesting exercise to say the least, but one of particular value as the whole world turns its eyes on the lengthiest and one of the most exciting races to date.
Now I can’t remember experiencing hail more than twice in my four years at Mercersburg, but the thunderstorms at the beginnings and ends of each year brought with them some particularly memorable moments. My junior—or “freshman”—year at Mercersburg began with soccer preseason. I had played for years, but I’m confident that nothing could have prepared me for a week with Coach Kempe, one of the toughest sports coaches I’ve encountered. A full week of intimidating—yet especially fulfilling—physical fitness work culminated with a rain-filled September 4th, my birthday. I don’t remember every drill that we did that day; what has stuck with me is the final scrimmage. In my first year I hadn’t quite met some of the requirements for varsity—the 21-minute three-mile run, for instance—but I had played soccer since the age of 5 and that showed on Steiger Field that afternoon. I didn’t make varsity, but Coach Kempe did invite me to practice with the first team once a week, along with three other junior varsity players. That began three consecutive fall terms spent playing for the Mercersburg Men’s Soccer, months of character-building, and an extracurricular activity in which I could meet new friends. The next year—in one of my proudest moments from my four years—I made the three-mile run in 20:08. This came on an early morning during a torrential rainstorm. In my upper-middler—or “junior”—year, the varsity team would slide down the hills around Steiger Field face-first, covered in mud after tough practices in the rain, a practice that led to particularly difficult laundry that night. In my senior year, with the brand new Burgin Center for the Arts, we could watch massive thunderstorms from the safety of the Boone and Hershey Recital Halls that face town, walled in by large glass panels. More than once would my friends and I take some homework in there and look out to the mountains that define the western boundary of Cumberland Valley appreciating the naturally beautiful surroundings of our school from within our newest structural beauty. And finally, one day before graduation, the skies opened up after a very hot day in a cleansing summer thunderstorm… just as formally dressed students and parents left a dinner party at Nick’s Airport Inn in Hagerstown. The young men and women of the Class of 2007, after the Baccalaureate Chapel Service and dressed in the second-best gowns and suits (the best being reserved for Commencement the following morning) spent one last meal together, this before our last night in the dormitories that we called home for our last year in high school—well, for most of them it was their last. It may sound weird, but I missed big weather. On Thursday, I got my fill.
It’s been a rather dreary week atmospherically over here in England this week. The majority of the past 10 days have been rain-filled, with the occasionally sunny afternoon spent playing football on the muddy pitches of the Maes-Y-Llan.
On Thursday, though, there was a particularly notable break in the rain: a major winter thunderstorm—a meteorological anomaly—blew through Oswestry. As I sat in my morning Geography class with Mr. Croft, we noticed that the rain stopped. There was something of a pause as the air cooled and remained still. Then, all of sudden, the thunder claps began echoing across the plains surrounding the school’s hilltop position. After a few minutes, the torrential rain began. The power went out for a few seconds. Then the sky burst open with about 20 seconds of hail, which bounced around the parking lot outside our windows like thousands of Tic-Tacs. 
I suppose that it can be said of most every new year, but 2008 is starting to look a little bit more depressing than its predecessor, at least on the surface. That is the surface presented by the 24-hour news media. Following the nonstop coverage of the Iowa Caucuses, we find perpetual coverage of Britney's blowup, with in-depth coverage and analysis of the stalker-like video captured as paramedics took her from her home followed by the legal consequences of Dr. Phil's diagnosis. And all of this only comes after a week-long discussion of her younger sister's indiscretion. Is this really what we like to watch these days?
For one who just wanted to soak up as much pre-New Hampshire coverage as possible before flying back to school in England, I hope not. I only hope that we pay the same attention, scrutinize to the same degree, our candidates for the Presidency in the election already underway. I know that this is true for two like-minded--to some extent--Mercersburg News staffers. I found two editors, friends of mine from my time at Mercersburg, similarly glued to both their computers and their elections on the night of January 3rd, the first real election night in a long time. Although decidedly different from either politically, I was able to agree with each that C-SPAN's coverage was the most interesting, that CNN's visuals were confusing, and that Fox was unfortunately pro-Huckabee in their analysis and commentary.
Now that last muddle might not mean much to one who doesn't follow politics, but this should--to anyone with an interest in the sort of students who attend Mercersburg: we are a passionate bunch. Whether it is for the situation in Darfur, or helping other students succeed by working in the Writing or Math Centers, or performing on the sports field or stage, each of us has at least one thing that we find singularly fascinating, uniquely inspirational, particularly meaningful. Through Mercersburg that passion can be pursued, in class, in extracurricular activities, in the communities connected to the school, in the colleges and universities for which it prepares it students, in the life that is waiting after academia. I don't know how much attention is given there to Britney's sanity--or lack thereof--but I do know that there was always time to watch the State of the Union, to construct your own "big map" on election night, to care about the process and be a part of it.
And that's just my story... check out www.mercersburg.edu/definitions to learn about some other Mercersburg student passions!
For Christmas, I always knew that I would be flying back. That’s not the case for all of the American scholars studying in Britain this year. My Mercersburg classmate Julia will be meeting her parents--both of whom work for the Academy--and her sister--who is studying at Kalamazoo College--in Italy for the holidays. But I couldn’t stay away from south-central Pennsylvania for an entire school year.
I flew back about a week ago, staying overnight in London and meeting another classmate, Matt Kessler, who was spending his first semester of college there. The trip went well, until the Customs officials had to double-check to make sure that rabbit terrine was admissible. It was, and is, in case you were wondering, so I did make it home; I also made it to campus on Monday… and Tuesday… and Wednesday.
Now I had been warned that things would be different, that it wasn’t ever going to be the same as it was during my four amazing years there. I’m not sure that “warned” is the right word. I was quite pleased to find much of Mercersburg unchanged, but I was even more pleased with that which has changed. There are new faces, new schedules, new facilities, and new opportunities. Those who were only juniors last year are now much more mature lower-middlers. Those who were the anxious upper-middlers have grown into their roles as seniors and leaders of the school; and they are starting to hear back--often positively-- from very good colleges and universities.
Mr. Kantaros’ AP Comparative Government and Politics classes were still running, although each of the students now has their own subscription to The Economist to contextualize much of what they read in their texts. Stony Batter was still working hard on their latest production. Model United Nations was still preparing for their next conference. And Mr. Applebaum was still seated at Table 26 in the Dining Hall.
On the other hand, there were some happy surprises as well: some 10th graders had just returned from the Middle East, which certainly didn’t happen during my time there; several underclassmen made callbacks for Declamation tryouts; the Writing Center and Math and Foreign Languages Departments had moved. But when I passed others “07s” in the Dining Hall or Library, it would always take us a second to realize that we didn’t go there anymore. Despite the locks on the dorms and the missing faculty of yesteryear it was still Mercersburg Academy, where we spent four years of our lives, learning and growing as students and people. It was still that home away from home that I knew I would miss as I stood in front of my class at Graduation last year, telling them so.
I know that it will become more and more different as each year goes by, but as of December 2007, my alma mater is still facing those wild storm waves of years bravely and ably. I am proud.
I try. I really do. On my desk here at Oswestry School you’ll find a copy of the most recent issues of The Economist, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, some up-to-date political commentaries, my AP U.S. Government textbooks from Mr. Kantaros’ class last year, the NEWS, a couple of seasons of West Wing—I think that you get the picture. This was my passion, is my passion: American government and politics. At Mercersburg that interest was more than satisfied. With periodicals and major newspapers in Lenfest Library, Messrs. Kantaros and Tompkins in the classroom, the Mercersburg News, Model United Nations, and other connected students I could be as actively involved in debates as any high school student.
This year I’m finding this task particularly difficult. As I’ve said in previous posts, there are the occasional defences that I offer for my home country. The Debate Team here is preparing to host a regional competition in the New Year, but there is no course in government—British or American—and most of the aforementioned publications were hand-delivered by my family when they visited for Thanksgiving last week. I found something similar in parts of the larger community at Mercersburg—something of an unawareness or lack of concern for events beyond campus—but there were always the activists, the Model UN “nerds,” the NEWS staffers, and AP U.S. Gov. to pull me through.
I can’t imagine what could be more important today—this coming from someone who counted down the days until his first absentee ballot just about a month ago. Seriously, though, for British and American citizens alike, decisions taken and events carried out across the globe now have more far-reaching consequences than ever. Many Brits are tightening their belts as a result of the American sub-prime mortgage “crisis.” The policies enacted by many American lenders can affect investors even here, on the Welsh border of Shropshire. Students, those set to step into this “real world” in just a few short years, have a great stake in what happens now; we’ll inherit everything: the successes, the mistakes.
I spoke about this last year on the stage of the Simon Theatre, dressed in a golden Taiwanese dress shirt and against the backdrop of photos from AP U.S. Government and Comparative Politics’ conference in Chang Hua.
I spoke about it from the hallowed graduation platform between South Cottage and Keil Hall as Salutatorian this past June. And I’m sure that the subject will come up at Columbia next year, where I plan to study Political Science. Until then, here I am… connected to my alma mater through the omnipresent worldwide web, another invaluable utensil to help quench my thirst for information. On it I can find study after study that says students are just as uninformed today as they were before the advent of such modern technology. I’m trying over here, just as I tried—and succeeded through participation in Mercersburg reaccreditation process—back in Pennsylvania. In the meantime I can look forward to a month back at home for Christmas, and the access to XM radio, cable news, and three channels of CSPAN that will come with it.
Over this past Half-Term Break from Oswestry School – where I’m spending my gap year after four at Mercersburg – I had the opportunity to travel to Spain and Portugal with fellow Mercersburg classmate and ESU scholar, Julia Thorne (’07). Accompanied by three other scholars, the two of us spent a week between Lisbon, Sevilla, and Granada, after which I went on to Málaga while Julia traveled to Madrid.
To save money and time we booked ourselves hostels in each of the cities that we were visiting. Looking back it was, to say the least, an eye-opening experience…
The first, and probably best, hostel we stayed in was Traveler’s House in Lisbon. Among our fellow guests were a group of Brits – in town to watch the Celtic match the next day – couples from the US, Argentina and Australia, a handful of young Europeans backpacking across the continent, and – most interestingly – a 60-year-old American man who claimed to be planning a great revolution in the States. 
A member of the Black Panther Party, the man, who we overheard at breakfast, espoused much of the typical anti-Bush rhetoric we hear at home. What was interesting, though, was his reception amongst the young Europeans: they saw him as a purveyor of the absolute truth, even when he did claim that most Americans resent their government to the point of desiring revolution but are prevented from doing so only by the fact that they are illiterate.
This one incident may not support a broader commentary on the perception of America abroad, but it has made me think about several of my experiences abroad and the perceptions of America that I’ve encountered. As the only American at Oswestry School, I’ve become somewhat of a de facto ambassador for our culture, our politics, and our education system. Every day brings something new. Just yesterday I contradicted a classmate who claimed that “Bush totally planned 9/11.” More productive conversations have been about the Iraq War, global warming, Iran, China, and other current events topics. Whatever the issue, though, I have been struck by the pervasive anti-Americanism. I found the same true as we traveled on the mainland.
It’s not usually directed at me, but rather bounced off me as an idea, a hypothesis: “Would you say your government only cares about oil?” or “Do most Americans think that they’re better than everyone else?” They’re not directly insulting, but they do provoke a response from this conservative. The ensuing debates are always fascinating and usually leave my classmates with a better view of the States. Yet this all makes me worry about America’s perception abroad.
Of even greater worry is the indifference towards this that many Americans have. One, that we met on the train from Sevilla to Granada, was pretending to be Canadian for his month of hostel-hopping. Most that we met were quick to deride Bush and the Republicans in front of any Europeans that they met. Several said that Americans do think that they’re better than everyone else and don’t care about the environment. Such representatives can’t be helping our image.
I’m not at all sure how a dislike for our president has translated into these stereotypes of our country and our populace or even if it is actually the other way around, but it certainly does make this year much more valuable and interesting for me. The same was true of my trip to Taiwan with two Mercersburg classmates and history teacher Phil Kantaros back in 2006. We represented our school and our country to similar delegations from six other English-speaking nations as well as the Taiwanese school that hosted us. This is exactly why trips and programs abroad are so valuable in secondary education and beyond. These are the best years to get started on experiencing other cultures and societies. Mercersburg recognizes this; it has around 10 members of the Classes of 2007 and 2008 studying abroad this year alone and numerous international trips planned.
Gotta run now; I have a debate team meeting just across campus. We’re preparing for our first competition, the subject: the Iraq War. Should be fun.
As we approach the end of the first half of our first term here at Oswestry School - where I'm spending my gap year after Mercersburg - things certainly aren't slowing down. On Friday we had Theme Night - a big party in the school auditorium. The theme was Wild Wild West, so to the tunes of Johnny Cash, John Denver, and others, we line-danced, rode a mechanical bull, played poker, and just generally had a good time. 
It took me home, not just to south central Pennsylvania in general, and not just to Waynesboro, my actual home. That night took me straight back to one of my first at Mercersburg, the night that a rowdy group of juniors hurried down the dirt lanes that led to the barn. Dressed up in whatever cowboy-like apparel we could lay our hands on, we crowded into that rustic old space and shook the floor - quite literally - with our attempts at line-dancing.
Our Inbound leaders - mostly upper-middlers and seniors - led, although sometimes dragged, each of us onto the dance floor at one point or another and a small country band led us through the steps. It was a great night to start my high-school career, and these past few weeks have been a amazing start to my last year in secondary education.
Here we have our Houses - much like the Irving and Marshall societies at Mercersburg - and our prefects - although here they can give other students detentions.
So much is similar and so much leaves me missing my alma mater. But life at the Burg goes on. I hear tales of students flying around the Simon Theatre in preparation for Peter Pan, of sports teams achieving new heights, and of my old friends settling into their new years and roles in school.
I can't wait to visit both of my homes in Pennsylvania this December - when I get off for Christmas break -
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