Last Friday I had the good fortune to see the Intermediate Drama performance of “Drama-Rama,” which, by definition, was a collection of short plays, duo scenes, and monologues written and performed by the Cast of Thousands.

The cast was split into four teams: red, green, purple, and teal; they all competed for the largest amount of stage-time as they performed their original skits.

One of the ways they kept me absorbed was by mixing funny, serious, and sweet – the sobering story of the death of a little brother was followed by an installment from Taylor’s Diary, a passage in which Taylor reflected on the possibility of having rabies and wishing he could read. I never knew what would come up next and I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage.

At the start of the show, the lights came up, and all at once the audience was engrossed in the story of a young man, catapulted into fame by his natural talent and charisma. Once friendless, he became a star when his classmates discovered his hidden talent on guitar and vocals. Dogged by a horde of screaming teenagers, the “Amazing Gus” provided amusing transitions to the tune of popular songs with a relevant twist – he wrote his own lyrics.

Another crowd pleaser was a reenactment of the fateful day when Tanner got his wisdom teeth pulled (as seen on YouTube): “I’m GOOD. I’m good. Goooood.”

Finally, as the show wound down, and the cast appeared for a final goodbye and some applause, the audience was surprised by the spontaneous, well-prepared “Drama-Rama in Two Minutes,” when Katie Burke (the fabulous producer) had the actors do a lightning fast recap of the entire show. Even more surprising – especially to the cast – was when she asked them to do it in thirty seconds. Hilarity ensued, and it was a perfect end to a great show.

For more entertainment from the Cast of Thousands, Advanced Drama will be performing our STEAMPUNK production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at seven p.m. on May 2, 3, 10, and 11 in the Little Theater. Please join us for our final show of the year – it will put a spell on you.

Last weekend, as I stood in a conference room in February 1990 debating the semantics of genocide in Yugoslavia with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, I couldn’t help but think to myself of the vast propensity for global change that diplomacy perpetuates.

Sure, I never was able to see eye-to-eye with the DPRK (after all, Lindsey Bressler and I were representing the “New World Order” Bush Administration U.S. of 1990), but throughout the course of the two days we spent at the Arizona Model United Nations conference, we all fully embraced the spirit of diplomacy and the overarching need to overcome ideological differences and, for lack of a better cliché, save the world together.

AzMUN is unique in that respect. While, like most other Model UN conferences, it upholds the rule of delegates maintaining the policies of their respective assigned nations, AzMUN truly values the necessity of international cooperation. Model UN is supposed to be about emulating the United Nations and, in doing so, cooperating to formulate resolutions to the world’s most pressing problems; AzMUN does just that. One of the only MUN conferences to bring together students from both the U.S. and Mexico, AzMUN embodies the need today for—as this year’s keynote speaker urged—cooperation, understanding, and friendship in an ever more globalized world. This fact can be seen everywhere you look in conference, from the beaming Mexican delegates who sit by your side in committee to the live translators available for the Spanish portions of the opening and closing ceremonies to the juxtaposition of the Mexican and U.S. flags behind the podium.

Indeed, many lasting international friendships are forged in the two days we spend in committee. Tears and hasty exchange of contact information at the end of the conference bear witness to this fact. Moreover, not only does two days of debate and resolution-writing foster close friendships, but also genuine understanding and appreciation of the need for urgent global reform through international politics. Though we all may only be high school students, we collectively channel our love of international affairs into viable solutions to global issues—the Commission on Population and Development established the necessity of government intervention in prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission; the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reformed global education standards to reduce inequality; the North Ireland Peace Process of 1997 created a sovereign nation of North Ireland; each of the other nine committees also formulated strong and effective resolutions.

As for the Historical Security Council of 1990, we were able to reach a majority opinion on the Yugoslavian crisis presented us. Championing democracy (and having received a letter signed by none other than George H.W. himself), the U.S., together with the U.K., France, Canada Malaysia, Zaire, and various other nations, deployed troops to Eastern Europe and pushed through a resolution that imposed UN sanctions against the Serbian government in Yugoslavia to end the genocide. We even worked together with the DPRK to pass a Canadian resolution that prevented the Persian Gulf War. From 1990, I can say that the future looks promising.

We ended two days of debating and racing to raise your placard and call out “point of inquiry” the fastest and interrogating guest speakers and holding press conferences and drafting resolutions and secretly meeting outside to discuss confidential military maneuvers with the closing ceremonies of the conference. Like always, the ceremonies ended the conference on an optimistic note—that our voices in the world can act as the “dialogue of diplomacy” (the theme of the 2013 AzMUN conference) with the potential for collaborative global change and improvement.

And as I hugged many of my newfound AzMUN friends goodbye—friends who lived a country away and yet who never felt far—I found myself more than ever in awe of the spirit of international cooperation that only AzMUN so well captures, and that the global community (both in 1990 and today) would do well to have a little more of, and that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

For months, members of the UHS Model United Nations club prepared to attend the Arizona Model United Nations conference, where we applied the skills we learned at MUN meetings throughout the school year. We were assigned countries to represent, researched the positions of those countries, wrote speeches espousing their positions, and made preparations to debate other students representing different countries. Finally, on Friday, March 29^th, we met outside the U of A Student Union to attend the first sessions of our committees.

In Model United Nations (MUN), each student is given a country to represent and placed in a committee with specific issues to discuss. In committee, they must explain their positions and try to write resolutions that solve those issues. At Arizona Model United Nations (AZMUN), the countries varied from the USA to Senegal, and students were placed on committees from General Assembly 1, which was to discuss ballistic missiles, to the Northern Ireland Peace Process, which concerned the allotment of power in Northern Ireland in 1997.

Many UHS students, including myself, had not attended a conference before AZMUN, so we were not entirely sure what to expect. However, we had nothing to worry about. As a school, UHS was very successful, winning the Best School award. Individually, many students won prizes. The members that attended the conference were Eleanor Allen-Henderson, Stephanie Bang, Kelsey Barter, Lindsey Bressler, Edward Brunton, Yasmeen Chanes, Maddie Collier, Gabriela Cook-Francis, Jake Damle, Natalie Ezegwu, Catie Liu, Mickey Morris, Joseph Ortiz, Meilin Ossanna, Audrey Powers, Celina Scott-Buechler, William Vail, Alihi Volsteadt, Ethan Wilson and Mady Zarin.

However, it wasn’t all about winning. Model United Nations teaches diplomacy, public speaking, and above all, cooperation.  In order to succeed, all participants needed to learn to work with others in their committees in order to find solutions to the world’s problems, which we were successfully able to do. Since the beginning of the year, UHS MUN achieved a great deal. As club president Lindsey Bressler said, “Seeing the club come together–both old members and new–was incredible. AZMUN is the culmination of a year’s worth of work and we were able to turn our preparations into action”.

Here is a list of the winners, by committee:

Commission on Population Development: Natalie Ezegwu and Mady Zarin (Special Rapporteur); Eleanor Allen-Henderson and Ethan Wilson (Outstanding Delegation)

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean: Stephanie Bang and Yasmeen Chanes (Special Rapporteur); Edward Brunton and Audrey Powers (Outstanding Delegation)

General Assembly 1: Joseph Ortiz (Special Rapporteur and Outstanding Delegation); Mickey Morris (Best Novice Delegation)

General Assembly 3: Gabriela Cook-Francis (Outstanding Delegation)

Historical Security Council 1990: Lindsey Bressler and Catie Liu (Best Experienced Delegation)

            This year’s case was about a student who intentionally, knowingly, and recklessly interfered with the normal operations of her high school while threatening to cause physical injury, property damage, and disobeying a lawful order to leave the property.

Taken inside the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal courthouse in Phoenix.
Left to right: Tom Jan, Sabina Prijic, Megan DePaso, Jessica Lehman (carried), Megan Berry, Becca Mercer, Daniel Martin.

 Megan DePaso

Megan Berry

Daniel Martin

Tom Jan

Becca Mercer

Ciara Reed-Ortiz

Sabina Prijic

Jessica Lehman

Lime Team

Katie Bell, Natalie Trouard, Stephanie Liu, Joseline Mata, Mack Andrews, Austin Klein, Madison Dodge.

Joseline Mata

Natalie Trouard

Austin Klein

Stephanie Liu

Madison Dodge

Katie Bell

Mack Andrews

Mixed team photo.

Gold Team

Jacob Bernstein

Michael Finerson

Rachel Fletcher

Joanna Jandali

Sonia Jolly

Elizabeth Navarro

Jayasangeetha Thanikachalam

Chrome Team

Nick Mitchell

Lucia Hormel

Meagan Anglin

Rodrigo De La Torre

Eric Zheng

Stephen Yao

Jessi Field-Sierra

 

Coaches

Susan Shetter

Jan Wezelman

Pete Keller

Barbara Gray

Heather Romero

Parker Dunbar

Of course, a huge thank you to the amazing coaches who worked so hard to help us do our best. It was a great year and all of the teams did a great job. Good luck to all current and future Mock Trialers to come! 

Everybody on the bus to Phoenix.

We would like to share some awards the UHS Mock Trial teams received! On March 3^rd, two UHS teams got top four in the regional Mock Trial Competition. The UHS Black team got 1^st place in the regional competition, and the UHS Lime team received 3^rd place! Both teams worked so hard and went to State on March 22^nd! The other two UHS teams (Chrome and Gold) were very close to making it in the final rounds. Also, four members, one from each team, were chosen to be part of the all-regional team.They were Jessica Lehman, Mack Andrews, Eric Zheng, and Joanna Jandali.

On March 22^nd, UHS Black Team represented Region 6 in the Arizona State Mock Trial Competition in Phoenix. The State competition was very competitive and included teams from schools like Xavier College Prep, Brophy College Prep, Arizona School for the Arts, and Mountain Ridge. Madison Dodge was personally awarded $200 in scholarship money for her outstanding performance! After a long and tiring day, UHS Black team was in the top four and was awarded 4^th place in State!

“We’ll get ‘em next time!”

Black Team  

Megan DePaso

Megan Berry

Jessica Lehman

Daniel Martin

Tom Jan

Becca Mercer

Ciara Reed Ortiz

Sabina Prijic

Lime Team

Joseline Mata

Natalie Trouard

Austin Klein

Stephanie Liu

Madison Dodge

Katie Bell

Mack Andrews

Gold Team

Jayasangeetha Thanikachalam

Sonia Jolly

Rachel Fletcher

Elizabeth Navarro

Jacob Bernstein

Michael Finerson

Joanna Jandali

Chrome Team

Nick Mitchell

Lucia Hormel

Meagan Anglin

Rodrigo De La Torre

Eric Zheng

Stephan Yao

We thank all our coaches for their time and effort for helping the UHS Mock Trial teams!!

Coaches

Susan Shetter

Jan Wezelman

Pete Keller

Barbara Gray

Heather Romero

Parker Dunbar

Photo Credit: Arizona List

To field any initial questions:

“There’s a Feminism Club?”

Yes!

Feminism Club began as two UHS students’ hopes to catalyze discussion and promote understanding in the UHS community. Fortunately, that achingly optimistic plan came to fruition at the beginning of this year. Each Wednesday during second lunch, twenty UHS students file into Ms. Glass’ room to share experiences, discuss current events, and reexamine society.

In its first year of existence, Feminism Club has expanded to include public events and community outreach. Sometimes, there are even guest speakers! On Wednesday, February 6th, two representatives from Arizona List were gracious enough to speak at a Feminism Club meeting.

Arizona List is an organization dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to local office. The committee has supported more than seventy successful candidates, and also serves to play an important role in Tucson life. Arizona List hosted a screening of MissRepresentation at The Loft a few years ago, an event that inspired several current Feminism Club members to explore the movement. So, of course, having two staff members speak at a club meeting was a fantastic experience for all.

It was wonderful to listen to Courtney Frogge and Kelsey O’Hara share their knowledge of politics and feminism in the Real World. The club members asked questions, shared personal anecdotes, and fostered a sense of understanding prevalent in most Feminism Club meetings.

Courtney and Kelsey also invited the club to attend the 9th annual Tucson Luncheon, featuring Sandra Fluke. Generous sponsors are ensuring that UHS students will be able to participate in such an event, and everyone is thrilled by the opportunity.

Feminism Club will definitely be inviting Courtney and Kelsey back to speak. The future is bright (and full of successful women in politics)!

—

If you’re interested in attending the Arizona List event, or have any questions about the club, please email uhsfeminismclub@gmail.com!

Winter Guard Black girls Chloe Wills and Hannah Miller are preparing for the Evaluation show by taking pictures on the bus ride to Phoenix.

As UHS begins this  semester with new sports and events, Winter Guard begins another season. Winter Guard is similar to Fall Guard, but it involves more dancing and less marching and was designed to focus on technique during the off-season of band. This year Winter Guard Black has based their show on a Dr. Who theme with music from the show. The show is entitled Space and is halfway complete! This year a record 26 people have joined Winter Guard Black, which have made Ms. Sheets and Ms. Hamilton work a little harder to get all of the members’ performances ready. As for Winter Guard Purple, the experienced group, they have completed learning their show – which is based on a circus theme! Purple intends to compete to win high titles this year with their extra practice time. Both guards are hard at work practicing to make their shows the best they can be. Competitions for both guards will begin within a few weeks mostly in the Phoenix area, but the Friends and Family show will be coming up within a few months! More details to come soon!

There is almost nothing that compares to the Rincon University High School Marching Band playing their show one final time in the auditorium, with the volume and intensity it musters. Although it is always sad to see another season come to a close, the Ranger Band Spectacular is the band’s way of ending a show, with the entire band and their families there to share the moment. The event starts with the jazz band. Although not all of these players are a part of marching band, they have been working hard since the very beginning of the year and have recently gone to a festival for their music. They played a total of three songs with multiple solos from Aubrey Hwang-Martin on tenor saxophone, Sam Chess on trombone, Drew Sheets singing and on trombone, Kelli McIntyre on trumpet, Daniel Woodruff on piano, and Sean Rees on congas. Partially through their performance, Mr. Marchant spoke to the entire band and audience, giving recognition where it was deserved. He passed out awards to three different categories: Best Rookie Marcher, Best Rookie Guard Member, and Best Overall Marcher. Brandon Olander received Best Rookie Marcher, Trevor Bigelow received Best Rookie Guard Member, and Sarah Boice received Best Overall Marcher. He also gave credit to specific band parents and staff because without them, the band could not have done as well as they did. The parents always take care of what is needed when it is needed.

Admittedly, the Ranger Band Spectacular this past Tuesday was about the band. It is wrapping up the season for some, showing parents how hard they worked for others, and having that last marching moment for a few seniors. The Ranger Band of course had to have some spunk to their entrance and had the tubas dancing with drum cadences in the background while other instrument sections filed in. This year the band contained 170 players, so big that the set up had most sections of the band on stage, with flutes and clarinets on the side. The show this year was set in three parts with the theme of flight. It contained solos of “Space Oddity” with Quinn Jarecki, Blackbird with Quinn Jarecki, Christine Yi and Eric Zheng playing “Flight of the Bumblebee,” Taylor Ginter and Ramon Garavito playing “Flight of the Bumblebee,” and finally a guard solo by Christine Kevichusa. The most memorable aspect about this was the volume achieved in the auditorium, since the show would naturally be spread out on the field. The band thought of no better way to end their show then to play the fight song and do the section dances for all the parents to see one last time this year.