theGrifter

Autumn 2009

New Era, Continuing Traditions

Royal St George’s College

Year II Issue I
 theGrifter
Editorial Board Photo Credits

Nick Medline Managing Editor

cover: RSGC GALLERY, Adapted by Michael
Lemanski page 1 (all): RSGC GALLERY page
3: RSGC GALLERY page 8: REUTERS-Fred

Michael Lemanski Layout and Design Thornhill page 10: RSGC GALLERY page 11
(all): RSGC GALLERY page 12 (all): RSGC
GALLERY page 13: RSGC GALLERY page
16 (all): RSGC GALLERY page 21: RSGC
Jack Gettings IT and Logistics GALLERY page 22 (all): RSGC GALLERY
back cover: RSGC GALLERY, Adapted by
Michael Lemanski

Staff Supervisor

Ms. Somerville

Contributors
Official RSGC Publication
Yuri Baziuk-Swaga
Colton Creber
Jack Keilty
Mark Kryshtalskyj
To contact theGrifter please email :
Michael T. Lemanski
Evan Luke Nick Medline - Managing Editor
Joselito Maldonado nmedline@rsgc.on.ca
Greg McDonald
Ben McLaughlin Ms. Somerville - Staff Supervisor
Nick Medline jsomerville@rsgc.on.ca
David Perl
Andrew Savory
We encourage everyone to submit an
Macallum Tepsich article or letter to the editor.
Louis Vassos
Colin White-Dzuro
 theGrifter
Autumn 2009
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G
From the Editor’s Desk! ! 3 Proficiency Awards" " " 16

In Defense of a Free Market" 4 Video Game Review" " 17

Introductions..."" " " 5 Green Initiative"" " " 18

Ripping Ricciardi" " " 7 NCAA Football: Who is #1?" 19

Commentary from The_Entity" 9 Youth in Action"" " " 20

Commissioner's Corner" " 9 Outdoor-Education Trips" " 22

Pre-Season Ball Hockey"" 11 Rundown from the Right"" 23

Average Day at RSGC" " 12 Movie Review" " " " 24

School Spirit" " " " 13 Visiting the Kortright Center" 25

Year in Focus" " " " 14 TV Series Review" " " 26

Page 3 theGrifter
From the Jack"s speech can be found in this issue,
and he should be commended for beginning
the school year on a positive note.

Editor’s Desk ! Now, I"m sure the release of The

Grifter is the moment you"ve been waiting
for. The first edition is brimming with variety
" Nick Medline in all sorts of interesting subjects. You may
be interested in Joselito Maldonado"s clever
! “Will, I would absolutely take on technology, an interview with Mr.
be interested in taking over. Griffin, or any of the fine articles submitted
by a great group of columnists.
I commit to continuing the ! This is only the beginning. I look
traditions of the Grifter and forward to an exciting couple of years and
encourage everyone to carve out an hour in
get as many people as the near future to write down thoughts and
possible involved” send them in. Enjoy and Go Grifter!

! - February 19, 2009

! I n F e b r u a r y o f l a s t y e a r, m y
predecessor Will Barton offered me the
position of editor, and I was overjoyed.
Editing a school newspaper will prove to be
one of the most positive experiences of my
four years in high school, and The Grifter
will continue to be a publication that the
student body can cheer for.
! Will resurrected the fading Grifter and
created a strong foundation. Many people
became involved and the quality was
spectacular. Last winter, I wrote an article
on the Academy Awards, and seeing it in
February"s edition was an overwhelmingly
positive experience. Without Will"s
leadership, The Grifter may not even be in
existence today. He will be a tough editor to
follow, and I appreciate the opportunity.
! A few weeks ago, the student body
heard an inspiring speech from Jack Keilty Grifter managing editor Nick Medline
when he presented his Year in Focus
agenda during Evensong. It mainly involves
acceptance and openness, as well as a
positive school environment. A copy of

Autumn 2009
Page 4
In Defense of
a Free Market
" Michael Lemanski
! “any...attempt to
engineer...the market in a
certain way should be met
with extreme caution”
These days it is considered common
wisdom that the free market requires more
and more regulation in order to be effective
and beneficial. This belief that government
must always intervene is deep rooted in our
culture. The current economic crisis, which
has affected people all over the world, has
only strengthened this ideology. The blame
for the crisis has fallen on the banks and
free enterprises that, as the story goes,
loaned out billions upon billions of dollars of
high-risk sub-prime mortgages that made no
sense and then sold them to the consumer
and other businesses as bonds. Many
people were left asking why. Almost
immediately, the left-wing chorus rang out
proclaiming the evils of corporate greed and
for the most part, the public and media
bought it.
! Recently even I, an avid free market
supporter, was surprised to find an article in
the Wall Street Journal that placed the
blame on Clinton era affordable housing
legislation that eventually transformed into a
policy designed to tell banks how to conduct
a significant portion of their lending. More
specifically, lenders such as Fannie Mae
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and Freddy Mac were required to
progressively increase the number of
“affordable” loans to 55% in 2007. In order
to comply with these orders, the banks gave
out an astonishingly high number of risky
loans. This new market became centered on
what we all now know as sub-prime
mortgages.
! Although the government takeover of
Fannie and Freddie made headlines, two
government lenders aimed at catering to the
low-income market did equally poorly. Both
the Federal Housing Authority and
government lender Ginnie Mae had
mortgage delinquency rates between
20-30% on loans guaranteed between 2005
and 2006.
! Yet another interesting observation in
the article was that even though there was
some market deregulation during the tenure
of President George W. Bush, very little
affected the mortgage industry directly. This
is a fact overlooked by critics of the free
market system. All this in mind, it is clear
that at least to some extent, the crisis was
the result of poorly planned policy shifts in
the 1990s and an attempt to socially
engineer a culture of homeowners. This was
done without a real understanding of the
larger market forces at play. However, as a
result of this past year"s media circus and
regulation-mania, this important detail had
been overlooked.
! The moral of the story is clear. Any
government attempt to engineer or alter the
market in a certain way should be met with
extreme caution or avoided altogether.
Politicians and the public should be wary of
any such policy. Regulation should only
serve to protect the consumer from the likes
o f c o r p o r a te fr a u d a n d p r i c e - fi x i n g
monopolies.
Page 5
Introductions…
An Interview
with Mr. Griffin
" Colton Creber
" Evan Luke
! We hate to sound too confident, but
we can"t help but feel that since our
interview with Mr. Griffin took place, he"s
become more present and more
comfortable in his own shoes. He"s gone
from being almost too shy to be able to
make announcements, to confidently
singing the Waterloo Theme Song during
assembly and challenging students to
debates. We can"t help but applaud him for
his increasing social effort during recent
weeks. We attribute this progress to the fact
that the student voice was heard during the
final week of September, when we were
afforded the opportunity to sit down with our
busy new Headmaster and ask him
questions not only thought of by us, but
recommended by the RSGC community as
well. Through the questions, we were able
to spark a fascinating, enjoyable and deep
conversation with an incredibly friendly and
approachable man.
1. You were the head of the Senior
School at UCC. How are you finding
the transition between jobs?
! That is correct. First, I have to say it
has been a great transition because of the
people who are here. The students have
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been great and friendly and the employees
and parents have been very welcoming as
well. On the people side, it has been
wonderful. In terms of figuring out the
difference between being a Senior School
Head and being a Headmaster, that
transition has been very interesting. There is
the duty and expectation that I"ll be very
involved. I want to be everywhere at once,
which has resulted in a busy Fall.
2. Have you reached a comfort level
with the job yet?
! I"d say I am comfortable; I love what I
get to do. I"m comfortable with what I"m
doing and am focused on being as present
as possible.
3. We"re seeing a lot less of you than we
saw of the previous Headmaster. Is
that who you are as a leader, or is that
because you"re not comfortable being
as hands on?
! I"d say transitions are a very busy
time. What I aspire to do is make sure I
have that time and the right balance. A few
weeks ago, I went and watched a couple of
Senior Soccer games. One way to be
present is to dash from thing to thing and be
visible in different places and immerse
yourself in specific things. I"ve got to build
these relationships that you guys are so
used to one at a time, and person by
person, especially with the Grade 12s this
year. The general presence is something I
aspire to achieve.
4. In the first 60 days how have you
made an impression as an individual
rather than just a name or a face?
It"s very important when I went through the

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Page 6
process of interviewing for this impression
to be authentic, so I"ve been earnest. You
saw me in assembly admitting to a deathly
fear of public speaking. I wanted to just get
up there and be myself.
5. W h a t a r e t h e s i m i l a r i t i e s a n d
differences between UCC and RSGC,
especially ones that would provoke
you to make the switch?
! There"s a big overlap in similarities in
terms of you both being Independent
schools in midtown Toronto. In terms of the
differences, I think there"s the effect of being
in a small school, where everyone is able to
know each boy and care for them in a way
that"s very difficult in a much larger
institution. I think that"s one of the main
reasons someone would choose to switch
from a school like UCC to a school like
RSGC. For me, in particular, that was a real
driving force, plus the opportunity to lead
the institution.
6. Do you have any plans that have yet
to be unveiled that will affect the day-
to-day life of the Student Body?
! I have a myriad of ideas and turning
those into plans is part of the fun. I"ve
proposed some ideas about things like
academic renewal. That will absolutely have
an impact on students. It involves choosing
what your focus is, so if I say we"re
developing the right brain in students, the
right brains will rule the world. How do we
integrate technology into the classroom?
Sustainability concepts, how are we
teaching those? How are we integrating our
students into the urban environment? All of
these are great questions that change our
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approach academically, so there would be a
big difference.
7. In the first 60 days is there anything
you regret?
! One of the things that I do regret is
not being able to carve out a little bit of time
in the day for my daughters. It"s a very busy
time and I think that on a couple of days, my
youngest asked where daddy was. I"ve got
to keep sight of the balance in things.
8. What is a day as Headmaster like?
! I"ll give you yesterday, which was an
interesting day. I was at a 7 AM meeting
with the Strategic Planning Committee
thinking and talking about the future of
Royal St. George"s College and the process
by which we define that. I think it"s important
to see that you do that and then hop in a
cab, run downtown, and have a meeting
with people from the City of Toronto who are
encouraging businesses to invest in
sustainable technologies that reduce the
energy output for a school, and what we can
do to help us become a greener campus. I
got back here just in time for Chapel and
then had lunch with the people from
Wheaton University. They were here to
meet with the senior students yesterday and
we were talking a little bit about how our
school seemed to have aligned missions
around small and individual attention that"s
associated with Wheaton. I wouldn"t call that
a typical day, but it was certainly an
interesting one.
Any Final Comments?
! I appreciate you guys coming here
with a batch of questions. I didn"t know what
I was going to get myself into, but thank
you. I can"t wait for the article to come out!
Page 7
GO GRIFTER!
! Now, while this interview is short, it!s
also very telling. We only had a twenty-
minute slot at the end of the day and we
opted to make the most of it, which meant
discussing the questions in depth as much
as time permitted. And through those eight
simple questions, we have learned quite a
bit.
1. We have an incredibly friendly,
approachable and caring
Headmaster. The constant offer
stands for music and a chat in his
office during your free time and we
encourage you to take Mr. Griffin up
on this offer.
2. Mr. Griffin has been put in a situation
where he is trying to establish his
individuality in a job where his
predecessor was a legendary
personality, and support from our
community is vital. Shake his hand,
have a talk and remember that he
has four hundred people to establish
relationships with.
3. Our Headmaster is caring enough
that he conducts “Hopes and Fears”
interviews with every staff member.
4. And lastly, the part that all the
students wonder about, Mr. Griffin is
fun! Whether you!re flipping off the
dock at Ahmek, meeting in B.C.,
spinning vinyl or hearing that little
Waterloo song, his take is refreshing.
In one of the shortest times on
record, he!s effectively established
himself in our known and loved
community.
theGrifter
Ripping
Ricciardi
" Andrew Savory
! “I'm not nervous. You
know who should be nervous
and worried? George Bush. I
mean, that's a guy who’s got
a big problem to worry
about ...This isn't going to be
too bad” - J.P. Ricciardi
With the MLB season drawing to a
close, fans will take a look back to reflect on
the successes and failures of the thirty
teams that took to the diamond this year.
Unfortunately, our Toronto Blue Jays are the
team that seems to have experienced the
most trouble and disappointment this
season. Such failures can be attributed to
General Manager J.P Ricciardi, who
ultimately obliterated the franchise and led
the team to destruction during his eight-year
tenure. After learning his trade under the
watchful eye of Oakland Athletics general
manager Billy Beane, expectations were
high for Ricciardi when he came to Toronto.
However, under the guidance of Ricciardi,
there were years of turmoil in upper
management and the Jays failed to make
the postseason. Finally, on October 3rd, he

Autumn 2009
Page 8
was fired, leaving the Jays" faithful fans
wondering what had gone wrong.
First of all, Ricciardi gained a
reputation for signing players to lucrative
contracts. Alex Rios (6 years, $64 million),
Vernon Wells (7 years, $126 million) and BJ
Ryan (5 years, $47 million) are just a few of
many examples. These contracts led to
wasted money and immovable salary. When
playing in a division as strong as the AL
East, it is essential to have the appropriate
sum of money to offer free agents. The
sharks of the American League (the New
York Yankees and Boston Red Sox) offer
much better contracts each year to these
talented players. On the other hand,
Ricciardi attempted to convince players to
sign with the Jays organization, which has
had money going straight into current
players" private accounts!
This past April was the MLB Players
Draft. This year, the Blue Jays drafted four
highly touted pitchers with their first four
spots in the draft. These intriguing
selections temporarily calmed the criticism
of Ricciardi. Unfortunately, J.P failed as
always. He was unable to sign top
prospects James Paxton, Jake Eliopoulos,
and Jake Barrett. The failure to add these
players will ultimately set back the Jays"
progress dramatically. Eventually, they will
have no prominent young arm to help fill the
noticeable void in the rotation.
Last, but certainly not least, is the
“Halladay no-deal.” Many speculated that
Ricciardi would be able to pull off a deal for
an established starter and three high-caliber
prospects. The trade deadline passed
without a peep from the Blue Jays General
Manager. “We never really came close at
all,” Ricciardi said on a conference call
shortly after the deadline passed. “We
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listened and we were never moved by a
club that made us jump up and say, #Wow,
this is something that will make us better in
the future."” This was quite peculiar. The
Blue Jays had received offers from both the
Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles
Angels offering two highly regarded
prospects as well as a mid level prospect.
Unfortunately, our foolish general manager
refused every deal that was proposed to
him.
J.P Ricciardi"s numerous failures
have brought the Toronto Blue Jays to a
whole new level of negativity. In the past,
players didn"t want to sign with our team
because it was neither a productive nor
constructive environment. Now, even if
players did want to sign with the
organization, the Jays could not afford them.
The Jays" talent level has sunk to the point
that desertion seems like the best
alternative for the currently miserable
players on the Blue Jays.
Is this the same man who declared that it
wasn"t going to be too bad?
Wrong again, J.P.
J.P. Ricciardi answering
some questions
Page 9
Commentary
from The_Entity
" Joselito Maldonado
! “I think our e-mail
correspondence has given
us an intimacy that face-to-
face contact never would
have. Irony!” - Douglas
Coupland’s Microserfs
Once upon a time, an average
person would have in mind two people
talking face to face if asked to picture an
intimate conversation. However, it looks like
physical presence isn"t mandatory anymore.
So long to a coffee date, hello to the
telephone! But wait, there"s more! What"s
this you say? We can communicate with
one another without having to see OR
speak to each other (with the added bonus
of not having to wait for the mailman
either)? If you"re thinking about what I"m
about to type next, then yes, I"m referring to
text messaging. (For those of you who were
slow on the ball, perhaps you"ll want to try
out the joys of texting in the near future.)
A piece of paper and pencil? Who
even writes letters anymore? Telephone? I
don"t feel like holding a piece of plastic to
my head; it"s too much work for me. Meeting
up at the park to talk? Don"t even think
about it! Here comes the Age of Idleness,
and what better way is there to talk than
sitting down at home, cell in hand or at the
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computer, without even having to change
out of your jammies?
Also, you"d be surprised by how
intimate you can really become simply with
text messages. There have been countless
instances when people would type
something to a buddy that they would never
say out loud! Not too many people I know
would have an open conversation about the
jerk working in the cubicle to the right.
However, with text messaging, you could
have a blast while Mr. Oblivious works
away. So many things that people would
deem confidential are candidly sent by text
with the confidence that the information
would not be read by anyone other than the
intended reader.
So, do we really need face-to-face
contact for anything other than ceremonial
purposes? Are voices really that special?
Wouldn"t it just be easier if the whole world
communicated by text and locked
themselves up in isolation? Send in your
objections and reasoning to The_Entity (c/o
Managing Editor Nick Medline) and defend
face-to-face contact. I dare you.
Commissioner’s
Corner :
Top Prospects
Mark Kryshtalskyj
! Over a month of pre-season ball
hockey action has passed, and RSGC has
much to look forward to. The RSGCBHL is
the largest and longest-running school
intramural, with forty-eight students and
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Autumn 2009
Page 10

teachers involved from November to
February. A brand new website, the first
ever Live Draft, the reward of a
personalized jersey for those who play in all
four years of high school, articles in every
edition of the Grifter, and the Hall of Fame
Day skills competition are just some of the
new features. The league, as always, is
excited to have an increase in student
participation. This year"s pre-season was a
clear example of available rookie talent, but
when it came down to our Top Prospects,
one had to look no further than these fine,
young Georgians:
Top Forward – Elias Blahacek – Grade 9:
! The most skilled and consistent
player was Elias, who participated in more
games than any other rookie. Much like the
new-look Habs, Elias" game style revolves
around two-way hockey. Not only did Elias
show off his ability to pick pockets (tallying
23 in the preseason), but also his soft hands
(28 assists). He is your typical five-tool
player: he can run, shoot, pass, defend, and
comes up clutch in key situations. Several
teams have already reported being
interested in the prodigy, including Choice,
who has the #1 overall draft pick. Should
Elias step up to the challenge and play in
the RSGCBHL this season, not only does
he have the potential to become a league
leader in scoring, but he could possibly
break perennial all-star Braden Clokie"s
record of 51 rookie points!
have high-speed little plastic spheres flying
at them?), never mind facing the bar-down
caliber shots of Aaron Carr and Leo Hicks.
Patrick and Travis stepped up to the
challenge, however, and recorded goals
against averages of 5.04 and 5.18,
respectively. After getting used to the
inflated GAAs (Dave McCarthy"s league
record is 4.29), Patrick and Travis turned in
solid performance after solid performance.
Although their statistics and personalities
are very similar, they have shown two
completely different goaltending styles.
Patrick acts as the scramble butterfly style
goalie, and Travis is a fearless stand-up
style goalie. These two will most likely be
taken early in the draft, as the Roughnecks
especially are looking for a bona fide #1
man. Rumour has it that the Hitmen are also
interested in one of these two as an
eventual replacement for the rusty and
aging Ukie-Wall…

Top Goaltenders – Patrick Quaggin-

Smith & Travis MacKay – Grade 9:
! Two guys that showed grit and
determination in the preseason were Patrick Mark Kryshtalskyj
and Travis. Suiting up to play goalie is hard
enough as it is (Who on earth would want to
Page 11 theGrifter

Pre-Season Ball Hockey

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Page 12

An average day at
Royal St George’s College
Page 13 theGrifter

School Spirit at
the Terry Fox Run

Autumn 2009
Page 14
Year in Focus
Jack Keilty
! “...students may lose
sight of who they really are
and what they really stand
for”
Hello, for those of you who don"t
know me, my name is Jack Keilty and I am
your Year in Focus Prefect. Now a lot of you
probably don"t know what that entails, so I
will explain. It is my job to pick an issue for
the year and raise awareness about it. For
this year I chose the themes of acceptance
and openness. Our school is what many
would refer to as a homogeneous society.
Most of us come from similar backgrounds.
So it seems to me that the pressure is there
for us to conform with one another. In my
opinion, students may lose sight of who they
really are and what they really stand for.
And, if they have the courage to be more
open about themselves, they may be
chastised for it. My goal as the Year in
Focus Prefect is to try and change this or at
least to initiate change.
I have been coming to RSGC since
Grade Three. Even at this age my eccentric
personality was evident. I always just a
happy-go-lucky, nice guy, and this, for some
reason, put me in a relatively vulnerable
position. When I got to school I can vividly
remember receiving my “daily medicine”. I
can assure you that it was not medicine, but
rather a punch in a sensitive area.
Thankfully that bit ended after one year, but
it was replaced by the unfortunate ritual of
the “Jackrifice”, which involved being carried
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to a pole of some kind and tied to it. I was
then left crumpled at its base. This, like
“daily medicine” was unpleasant. Adding to
this ritual, I was still at the receiving end of
many jokes and frequently the scapegoat.
My way of fighting back was by laughing it
off. I figured that if my peers thought I
enjoyed the treatment I was receiving then
they would stop treating me in the way that
they did. This did absolutely nothing to help
my situation both internally and externally. In
fact, I think this made people think that I
was enjoying the way that I was being
treated and relishing the attention I was
getting. I can assure that I was not.
By the end of Grade Six, I had
decided that I could no longer take it. If
people couldn"t accept me for who I was,
then I would have to change myself into a
model of my peers. That would surely solve
all my problems. Actually, I think that “the
reinvention of Jack” worsened my already
dodgy social situation, mostly because I
failed miserably at it. I felt even more
isolated, and to an extent, I probably was.
Then came Grade Nine. I saw this as
my last opportunity to shape the way that
people viewed me socially. Once again, I
failed, and my situation stayed the same.
For a time, I was miserable. My academics
were sketchy at best and I was not doing
particularly well socially. I just didn"t feel like
I fit in. I had a few really close friends at
school, and, at the time, that seemed
insufficient. Everyone else seemed to have
a lot more friends and as a result, a lot more
fun. Grade Ten was much of the same, until
late March on the dog sledding trip. For
some reason I made the decision that after
seven years of trying to fit in unsuccessfully,
I would just be myself. As it turns out, two of
the people that I was paired with have
Page 15
turned out to be my closest and most
reliable friends. After we returned to school,
I felt truly comfortable in my own skin for
possibly the first time, and although I was
still getting a lot of grief from my
classmates, I felt as if I had come into my
own. I began to have fun again. I lowered
my social ambitions, deciding that having
two or three great friends was all I really
needed. Even today I struggle with standing
up for myself, but I am happy with what I
have, and I will try to keep it that way.
In hindsight, I am pleased that my
efforts to reinvent myself have failed. I am
sure that choosing that route was only a
short-term solution and would have
eliminated and compromised who I really
am. I know for those who succeeded in
recreating themselves, they"re feeling
regrets now, or they may feel regrets in the
future. Just remember that you are who you
are, no matter what mask you may put on.
As Oscar Wilde wrote, “To love oneself is
the beginning of a life-long romance.”
All along I knew people liked me. I
always knew. For the majority of the time I
was just confused. I hadn"t done anything to
the people who were bothering me, so why
were they picking on me? I knew that for the
most part, the countless jokes that were
aimed at me were not malicious, personal
attacks. They were just examples of humor
at my expense. Much of the time, I did block
it out, but it did wear on me.
What I learned through this ordeal
was that just because someone is different
does not mean that it is okay to pick on
them. If I were of another race, or another
religion, or another gender, or another
sexuality, or a chess player, or a ballet
dancer, or anything else, why would you
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treat me differently than you would treat
someone like yourself? If it does not make
sense to make fun of somebody because of
their race, religion or gender, why does it
make sense to make fun of them because
they do different things, or think in a
different way than you?
My goal is not to make all of you
become friends here. My goal is to change
the way that you treat each other. If you see
someone being pushed around in the hall,
stand up for him. It is of no consequence to
you, and it would make the person that you
supported feel great. I know it would have
made me feel the same way.
! This speech is aimed at every person
in this chapel. If you have not at one point
experienced, seen, or participated in this
behavior, then you are lying to yourself.
Stand up, for this problem cannot be fixed
without your help and commitment. Stand
up for yourself, and most importantly stand
up for each other.
Jack Keilty,
Year in Focus Prefect
 theGrifter
Autumn 2009
Page 16

theGrifter congratulates
everyone who received a
Proficiency Award this year !
Page 17
Left 4 Dead
David Perl
! “what makes Left 4
Dead"such an engaging
game is the engine that was
used to build it”
Bill, Louis, Zoey and Francis stand in
a line on the roof of an apartment building, a
table stacked with guns and ammo next to
them. For all they know, they could be the
last survivors on the planet. It's been two
weeks since the first signs of the infection
began to appear in the media, but now it
seems as though the world has become
apocolyptic. Cities lie in ruins, raging
infernos are left to burn, and on top of
everything bloodthirsty, violent swarms of
“infected,” or zombies if you will, now patrol
every nook and cranny of every place you
can think of. After picking a character,
choosing between a pump-action shotgun
or a submachine gun, grabbing a medkit
and some spare ammo, we make our way
through the apartments and down onto the
chaotic streets. Next, it's into the overrun
subways and then through a sewer before
we can reach our final destination, No
Mercy Hospital.
The three other survivors and I battle
the undead through operating rooms, food
courts and waiting areas before we reach
our final destination, the rooftop of No
Mercy Hospital. From here we'll have to
fend off wave after wave of “infected” while
we wait desperately for the News Chopper 5
helicopter to pick us up and take us to
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safety. Will we survive, or will we be
overwhelmed by the hordes of$ monsters
(who used to be human) that just never
cease their attack? It all depends on how
well you plan your defense, but above all,
how well your team works together.$
! This is VALVe Software's multi
award-winning, first person shooter known
as Left 4 Dead, for the PC and XBox 360, a
game$ solely$ based around teamwork and
cooperation. If you are a run and gun player,
you might as well return this game to Best
Buy or Future Shop. Left 4 Dead puts you
and three other brave souls
into$ unforgettable environments, battling
hordes consisting of tens of hundreds of
zombies. You can choose between playing
online with real people from all around the
globe, or single player with the aid of three
computer controlled allies. There are four
campaigns to choose from and each one is
split into five different levels. All four
campaigns focus on different settings and
environments to make the game as diverse
and believable as possible.$
What's that you say? You're tired of
games where you grab a gun and shoot
everything in sight?$ Well, if$ you're looking
for a different experience, or just feeling a
little 'zombyish,' you can also choose to play
Versus Mode where you can take control of
one of the four special “infected” and
attempt to$halt$the survivors before they can
reach their destination. After each
successive round, you switch back and forth
between “infected” and survivors until the
entire campaign is completed. Points are
gained depending on how far the survivors
make it into each level and then they're all
added up in the end and whichever team
has the most points wins.$
What makes Left 4 Dead$ such an

Autumn 2009
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engaging game is the engine that was used
to build it. With its powerful 'AI Director,' the
game is made different every time. On one
play through, you might experience a horde
of zombies in one spot, but the next time
you play the exact same spot you may not
experience a single zombie at all. The game
has been made to offer a great deal of
“replayability.” While the levels remain the
same, the spots where you encounter
enemies, or find items, changes every time
around.$
Another factor that keeps me playing
this game longer than I should is the
amount of detail and hard work that$ the
designers put into it. The character
animations on the zombies are outstanding
and feel 100% believable, the facial
expressions on the survivors are fantastic,
the$ dialogue$ is excellent and the level
design is great. You really feel as though
you are inside an actual portion of a city,
perhaps even Toronto (though it's mostly
based in Seattle).
Playing online is another great way to
experience this game. This is the icing on
the cake that keeps people coming back to
it, playing for hours on end. Online play
offers meeting other 'colorful' characters
from around the world, or even playing with
your friends if they own the game as well.
Either way, online play in Left 4 Dead leaves
you with some hilarious moments, various
oohs and ahhs, and the occasional heart
racing experience where you're the last
survivor left, being chased by a swarm
of$vicious monsters.
In my personal opinion, not many
changes should be made to this game.
It's$superb$the way it is. The only one I can
offer is some back story for the four
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survivors. You know a very$ limited$ amount
of information on each of
them,$ consisting$ only of their age and
occupation. It would be great to know how
they survived all this time with a whole city's
population of zombies at their heels, or why
they are immune to this virus that mutated
so many others. Another change that could
be made is to up the graphics and visuals to
meet some other game's standards. I'm not
saying Left 4 Dead$ looks outdated, but it
could look a little better.
! In conclusion Left 4 Dead is an
exciting experience that should be enjoyed
by all Xbox 360, and PC owners around the
world. VALVe has truly outdone itself on this
title and has proved so by scoring numerous
9/10s on reviews and winning multiple
a w a r d s a t v a r i o u s d i ff e r e n t a w a r d
Green Initiative
Macallum Tepsich
The students and staff at Royal St. George"s
College realize the importance of helping
our environment. In the past, RSGC has
taken a “green” initiative and started up
environmental programs. This school year
will be no different.
! Reducing the use of paper has had a
huge impact. RSGC is a laptop-based
school, which cuts down on the amount of
paper used by the students and faculty.
Communication between the school and
home is done through the computer. The
staff will often e-mail parents rather than
sending notes home. The very detailed
RSGC website allows the parents to stay
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informed and also helps to eliminate the
need to send paper home.
! Those running the food service
program in Ketchum Hall are also doing
their part. During lunch each day, garbage,
recycling, and food waste bins are placed at
the front of the hall so that each student can
dispose of their waste properly. These bins
are clearly labeled, making it easy for the
students to sort.
! Having the students contribute
towards this “green” initiative on a daily
basis is important. Recycling bins are
located in every classroom for students to
throw out paper. These recycling bins are
never full because the dedicated faculty
cleans them out.
! At RSGC, we have a tuck shop (the
Dragon"s Lair) where reusable water bottles
are sold. When students purchase these
bottles and refill them, it means that they will
not have to bring plastic water bottles to
school.
! The staff members at RSGC are
committed to doing their part in our “green”
initiative. Last year, Ms. Wagar offered a
battery recycling program and encouraged
students and staff to bring in their used
batteries so she could dispose of them
properly.
! One area RSGC can improve upon is
our environmental awareness. If more
people are aware of the school"s
environmental needs, we will be able to
make a bigger difference. For those of you
want to get involved, we have an
environment club. They are always looking
for new members with ideas on how
improve environmental awareness around
Royal St. George"s College.
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NCAA Football :
Who is #1?
Colin White-Dzuro
! With the NCAA football season past
its midpoint, many teams have made
themselves known throughout the league as
potential championship contenders. Some
schools that were destined for the title
before the season gradually faded from
contenders to pretenders (yes, that"s you
Oklahoma). I have decided to take up the
task of ranking the top five NCAA football
teams based on their performance this
season. Here"s the Grifter"s first ever
College Football Power Rankings.
1) Alabama Crimson Tide – (8-0) - SEC
You read it correctly, that is Alabama ahead
of Florida. Why? It"s simple. People say
defense wins championships, but it"s
actually balance that wins championships,
which is why the Tide has a great chance
this year. A phenomenal defensive unit
headed by junior Rolando McClain has
Alabama second in the league in total
defense and with a great offense led by
junior Greg McElroy that puts up thirty-
seven points per game, Alabama is #1 in my
rankings.
Players to watch for: Greg McElroy, Mark
Barron, Rolando McClain
2) Florida Gators – (7-0) - SEC
In their 13-3 defeat of LSU, Florida made
one large mistake: they started Tim Tebow.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback
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Autumn 2009
Page 20

looked average in his return from a
concussion and the flu. He had seventeen
carries for just thirty-eight yards and was 12
for 26 passing with 158 yards and his
second interception of the season. With
Tebow looking as vulnerable as ever, the
defense will need to pick up the slack even
more, if possible. They"re #1 in the nation in
passing defense, total defense and scoring
defense.
Players to watch for: Tim Tebow, Brandon
Spikes, Jeffrey Demps
3) USC Trojans – (6-1) – Pac-10
These Trojans are easily the best team in
the Pac-10, and have a good chance of
making it to the title game as long as RB
Stafon Johnson (ruptured larynx) remains
the only seriously injured player. The return
of freshman QB Matt Barkley and the
intimidating presence of dark horse
Heisman candidate Taylor Mays makes this
team an easy choice in the #3 spot.
Players to watch for: Joe McKnight, Matt
Barkley, Taylor Mays
Players to watch for: Colt McCoy, Jordan
Shipley, Sam Acho
5) Cincinnati Bearcats – (7-0) – Big East
Easily one of the best surprise stories so far
this year, the Cincinnati Bearcats have
come into the year with a bang, reeling off
five straight wins before anyone could
notice. QB Tony Pike is a potential Heisman
Trophy and Sammy Baugh winner, and
NFL-ready WR Mardy Gilyard has played
phenomenally. Look for them to pressure
the bowl championship series computers
and pundits to rank them as one of the
teams in the national championship.
Players to watch for: Tony Pike, Mardy
Gilyard, Alex Daniels
Youth in Action
From the Editor

On October 5th, a committed group of

4) Texas Longhorns – (7-0) – Big 12
students decided to travel to the Air Canada
The Longhorn offence is limping into the #4
Centre for the Annual “We Day.” Described
spot with an underperforming quarterback
as “an annual celebration of the power of
and, to be frank, a weak running game.
young people to change the world,” the five-
Early season Heisman candidate QB Colt
hour event consists of motivational
McCoy has been inconsistent at best this
speeches and inspiring performances that
year with only four more touchdowns than
support world-changing actions. Both
interceptions. Their offense that was
Grade 11 student Alex Cooper and the
supposed to be best in the league is just
Grade Six class gave up their time to have a
seventh in the nation. Luckily, their defense
brief discussion on what “We Day” meant to
has been stellar this year, led by sophomore
them.
S Earl Thomas and junior DE Sam Acho. If
Alex attended “We Day” for the
they want to compete for the title game,
second straight year, and noted that a
they are going to need better performance
recurring theme was how easy it is to make
from Colt McCoy.
changes today. He knew the list of speakers
Page 21
prior to the event and was excited to hear
Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, whose speech
he greatly enjoyed. Alex constructed a “Top
Ten list” on freethechildren.com, comprised
of long-term goals and important reminders.
This list may seem quite simplistic, but Alex
is already beginning to discover the positive
effect that these improvements have had on
both himself and the people around him.
Turn off the lights
Start a compost system
Drink water from a re-useable water
bottle
Give a donation on someone!s behalf
Hug, hug, hug
Say thank you - in writing
Re-connect with an old friend
Give a speech
Volunteer somewhere new
Try to be more confident
The Grade Six class was
understandably eager, as they were the first
Junior School contributors to this year"s
inarural edition of The Grifter. In between
their minute-long rants about their dislike of
popular “We Day” acts such as Justin
Bieber and the Jonas Brothers, the students
showed traits of compassion and optimism.
The Georgians had no idea what to expect
from “We Day,” and assumed that the event
would be tough to sit through. But right
from the beginning, the students said that
they were intrigued by the speeches from
Marc and Craig Kielburger, and instantly felt
empowered to cause change in the
community. The Grade Sixes emphasized
that they were uninterested in the majority
of performances, but admitted that the
Jonas Brothers gave the audience an
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unparalleled energy. Everyone agreed that
the speeches made “We Day” a powerful
and enjoyable experience. Michael “Pinball”
Clemons, a former Toronto Argonauts player
and coach, delivered an engaging address
and the boys" teacher, Mr. Robinson stated,
“Pinball should get into politics!” The
students were also greatly moved by
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel"s intense and
heartfelt readings, and cited his appearence
as one of the best moments of the eventful
day.
The boys stressed that they aren"t
entirely focused on immediately changing
the world around them, but have adopted
the mentality that the “little things” add up.
Many mentioned that “We Day” inspired a
commitment to the environment and have
started turning off lights and conserving
water in any way possible. One student
responded to the question by introducing
the concept of “free hugs,” and showed that
he has learned to respect and love those
around him. In the coming year, the class
has set an ambitious goal of raising $5,000
through a raffle in support of the Senior
School “Free the Children” trip to China.
! It is clear that the boys are well on
their way to becoming philanthropic
Georgians. They were one of the youngest
groups at “We Day” and were very mature in
their approach to the event. If these young
students are able to understand the benefits
of change, each Senior School student can
follow their example.
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Autumn 2009
Page 22

theGrifter recognizes the

dedication of both students and
staff that made the 9 & 10 outdoor-
education trips a huge success !
Page 23
A Rundown
from the Right
Ben McLaughlin
! “Americans seem to
have elected an
inexperienced President,
who after twelve months has
done little”
! Politics in North America never
ceases to be an interesting topic. Canadian
and American politics in many people's
opinions is not much more than a bunch of
uniformed old men arguing over every small
detail as though it is the end of the world;
and those people are partially right. This
applies more to Canadian Politics, where
we have two main parties, and as much as
it is resented, the Conservatives and the
Liberals actually have relatively similar
viewpoints on many topics. Of course, we
do have three other parties, but quite frankly
the Bloc Quebécois, the New Democratic
Party, and Green Party have minimal impact
in our government.
! Now, back to our southern neighbors.
Americans seem to have elected an
inexperienced President, who after twelve
months has done little to remedy the
economic situation in the United States. The
choice of Barack Obama as a Nobel Peace
Prize recipient is questionable, as he"s had
very little time to create peace around the
world.
theGrifter
! Of course, no blame should be
placed on Obama for the horrific economic
crisis, as he was elected during a recession,
which I might add has much to do with
America's previous President George W.
Bush. I definitely don"t see any cure for
America's many current problems. As far as
American health care, I recognize the
current system is flawed, but Obama's
proposed health care system is undoubtedly
destined to experience problems as well.
! As far as we are concerned here in
Canada, there is not much to be said.
Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal
Party, is clearly in no position to be pushing
a federal election. He hasn"t connected with
the Canadian people, and I doubt he ever
will. Although the Conservatives only have a
minority at the moment, I believe in the case
of an election, they would either come close
to achieving or achieve a majority. Mr.
Harper might not be great, but he is our best
hope of leading Canada out of our current
economic problems and into the next
decade with prosperous businesses and a
good economy. Of course, our economy
usually is in a similar state as the United
States, and therefore, our economic future
is uncertain.
! If anyone has any disputes with my
opinions in this article, I have a suggestion:
come to Politics Club. I run Politics Club and
it is a fun and interesting place to discuss
politics with fellow Georgians. We meet on
Tuesdays and Thursdays at lunch in room
102, and as usual, we are looking for new
members. If you are interested in joining,
send me an e-mail or tell me in person,
ideally at least a day before.

Autumn 2009
Page 24
The
Gumball Rally
Louis Vassos
! !!1/2
Do you know an old movie because
you"ve seen it on TV once when there was
nothing else on at that time? Did you forget
all about it the next day, except for the good
parts? Well for me, that movie was the 1976
comedy/adventure road movie The Gumball
Rally, a good-natured film about a cross-
country road race, and the hijinks that later
ensue.
For those of you who don"t know this
film, let me give you some back story. The
Gumball Rally was based on an actual
illegal road race called the “Cannonball
Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy
Dash.” (Try saying that ten times fast.) It
was one of two movies based on this race
that came out in 1976, the other being an
action movie called Cannonball. I have
never seen the other film in its entirety, but I
have seen a part where a thick accented
German guy in a DeTomaso Pantera
randomly says to himself “Schtoopid
Ahmeichan carsch. Zey look like tootsie
rolls on veels!”
The film stars Michael Sarrazin as
Michael Brandon, a businessman who
vaguely resembles Peter Fonda and is
bored out of his skull. Instead of taking the
easy way out by watching TV with a bag of
chips, he gets his fellow petrol-heads
together (with the secret word for that being
“Gumball,” what a surprise) in a bar to
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embark on a cross-country road race from
New York City to the Queen Mary dock in
Los Angeles. That seems standard enough,
but are they in it for big money? Nope.
They"re doing it just for the heck of it, and a
gumball machine trophy. Now that"s a
totally-out-of-left-field moment. After the
race rundown, we get to one of the best
parts of the movie, the cars.
As stated in the trailer, “In the
Gumball Rally, the cars are the stars.”
Because this movie was made in 1976, the
filmmakers could pick a large group of
classics to mess around with, and what a
group it was. My personal favorites from the
film include the AC Cobra, Ferrari Daytona,
Porsche 911, Chevy Camaro, Mercedes-
Benz 300SL Roadster, Rolls-Royce Silver
Shadow, and the Kawasaki sport bike. The
scene where all these cars begin the race in
the streets of New York City is just brilliant.
It"s well shot, with a symphony of echoing
exhaust notes set throughout the empty
streets.
Although the material not concerning
the cars is forgettable, there are two driving
scenes that were neat to watch. The first is
when the Camaro is on two wheels in the
middle of a busy interstate and flips over
several times. This happens because Gary
Busey got angry with his co-driver for
having the heat turned on in the middle of
Arizona. The other is when the Cobra
(driven by Sarrazin and Nicholas Pryor) and
the Ferrari (driven by Raul Julia and Tim
McIntire) have a little race of their own on
the water covered concrete under the
highway: great car choreography with two of
the world"s best sports cars.
The other petrol-heads in this movie
are your standard road movie people. For
instance, you have the suave leading man,
Page 25
the hicks, the old guys, the attractive girl
teams, the quirky foreigners (usually Italian
or British), and the bumbling cop. The
characters were all played well, but there
was one I really liked. The two runners-up
for this spot are Gary Busey as Gibson, one
of the hicks in the Camaro, and Harvey
Jason as Lapchick, the #Mad Hungarian" on
the Kawasaki sport bike. They"re both
amusing enough, but the honors for the “My
Acting Held the Movie Together Award”
goes to Raul Julia, as Franco Bertollini.
Raul Julia has fun with his character
and makes Franco over the top, but not too
over the top. That means Franco is both
likable and enjoyable, but not a hollow
Italian stereotype. My favorite things about
Franco include his first rule of Italian driving
(“What"s a behind me is not important.”), his
constant stopping to pick up hot women, his
welcoming onscreen presence, and what
happens when you make him mad. He"ll
ramble on about how the person insulted his
mother and country, and then yell “I
WARNED YOU!!!” and pulls a gun, which
turns out to be a simple water pistol.
Because of Franco"s constant
detours for ladies, he loses the race to
Sarrazin and Pryor"s Cobra, but pulls ahead
of the ladies in the Porsche and the men in
the fake police car. While celebrating, all
their cars get towed away by the LAPD.
This wasn"t because of the race, but for
illegal parking (surprise, surprise). After the
tow trucks disappear, the old guys in the
Mercedes show up with the only car, and
Lapchick rides his Kawasaki off a ramp into
the Pacific Ocean. The movie ends on that
note, and the distinctly 70s credits roll on.
Overall, it"s not the best car movie
ever made (Bullitt or Vanishing Point
theGrifter
compete for that honor), but there have
been far worse (Cannonball Run 2). If it just
so happens that there is nothing else on TV
that day, or if you"re in the mood to rent
something frivolous, I recommend you
check out The Gumball Rally.
Visiting the
Kortright Center
Yuri Baziuk-Swaga
In October, Grade Nines boarded a bus in
the early morning to visit the Kortright
Centre, a facility dedicated to providing
education regarding environmental issues
and use of renewable resources. After
entering the main building, we were divided
into groups and sent to orienteering or
meteorology activities. These lessons were
to engage RSGC students in environmental
studies as well as to relate to the current
theme in their Geography unit.
! In the orienteering activity, students
were equipped with clipboards, maps, and
compass es as well as coordinat es
regarding where to travel. Many of these
locations were made intentionally obscure
and difficult to find. For instance, one post
was hidden within a cluster of trees
surrounded by a patch of weeds!
Cartography is truly not as simplistic as it
seems.
! The meteorology workshops also
took place in the field, and involved the use
of complex instruments such as the
barometer in order to determine key data

Autumn 2009
Page 26
regarding the weather. Following our
leader"s guidance, we calculated the wind
speed and temperature. We also managed
to identify the various cloud types in the sky.
In between the activities, students
enjoyed a pre-made lunch provided by the
school, with the boxes being recycled for
future purposes. After each activity was
completed, the students departed back to
school.
! This trip has provided Grade Nines
with knowledge and experience, and will
serve to enhance our Geography unit. We
are thankful for our teacher chaperones
(Mme. DeBlois, Mr. Darvasi, and Mrs.
Ennis) who accompanied us on this
successful visit.
Glee
Greg McDonald
! “Glee has received so
much hype that the episodes
are portrayed as much better
than they actually are”
Six months ago, there was a single
episode of what would become one of the
most recognized new series among teens.
It can be described in a single word: Glee.
The main story follows Will, a Spanish
teacher, who tries to relive his glory days by
recreating his school"s glee club with a
bunch of misfits. Featured members include
the pretty, yet unnoticed, girl, the soul singer
with attitude, the conniving head
cheerleader, the humble jock, and the
sexually confused boy. Other characters
theGrifter
include the estranged wife, the flirtatious
guidance councilor, and the crazy coach of
the cheerleading squad.
The series profiles the struggles of
high school students in a large American
high school. Glee club members band
together to simply “get through it.” Glee has
received so much hype that the episodes
are portrayed as much better than they
actually are. In reality, the plot lines are
burnt through in one episode. There is little
continuation onto the next episode. The
primary issue involves the head
cheerleader"s pregnancy, with questions
emerging as to who the father is. On top of
this, Will"s wife is having a hysterical
pregnancy, and naïve Will hasn"t noticed.
With troubled plot, the songs
maintain Glee"s flow. Songs have ranged
from the iTunes hit “Don"t Stop Believin"” to
“Hate on Me.” Other notables have included
covers of “Mr. Cellophane” and “Sweet
Caroline.” Most Glee cast members have
made appearances on Broadway. The
songs always seem to be perfect for the
situation. Rough moments have been
expressed with great songs such as “You
Keep Me Hangin" On.” Angry songs such
as “Bust Your Windows” show the raw
emotion. The strategic placement of the
songs results in great success.
The episodes of Glee aren"t perfect,
but can seem spectacular. Glee is a strong
show full of potential. (If you want to see
what girls watch, aside from Gossip Girl,
tune in @ 9 PM on Wednesday nights.)
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YEAR II ISSUE I