Treat's spin-off of Ninja becomes a nightly tradition
By Jane Gardner
Co-Photo Editor
It’s nearly 10:30 p.m. at Treat House on the Stanford campus.
In the residence’s lounge, tables and chairs have been shoved aside and several couches have been haphazardly pushed into the middle of the room. About a dozen people are either crouching on the floor or standing on the couches in strangely contorted poses.
Suddenly, there’s a grunt and one of the people lashes out their arm at another.
“What the heck is going on?” counselor Luis Alvarez asks as he enters the room.
The answer: “Obstacle Ninja,” a newly created spin-off of the simple game Ninja..
Like Ninja, the game starts with all players jumping outwards from a clump into a circle, and freezing into a ninja-like position. One person starts, and the attacks continue around the circle, one at a time. Both the attacker and their target are allowed a single fluid move. The attacker aims to slap the other person’s hand, to tag them out.
The big difference in the new version, created by Treat resident James Fan, is the use of furniture as obstacles. Players can use the couches however they want. Some jump on or over them, while others avoid them entirely.
When asked how he came up with the idea, he said “It really wasn’t a big deal. I just wanted to add an element to the game, and the couch was there, waiting
JARO SELLIER, 17, and visiting from Thailand, shows off his Olympic Ring face paint he received at the GovCo carnival last Sunday.
U.S. Medal Total: 43
Gold: 21
Silver: 10
Bronze: 12
U.K. Medal Total: 22
Gold: 8
Silver: 6
Bronze: 8
Last updated 8-3-12 at 2 p.m. |
Cardinals excel in college league and Olympics
By Griffin Ferre
Co-Sports Editor
Right now, the greatest athletes from all over the globe are descending on London to compete in the 2012 Olympics. 37 of those athletes are either current or former students of Stanford University.
From two-time gold medal-winning beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh, to U.S. half-marathon record holder Ryan Hall, to 11-time grand slam winning tennis duo Bob and Mike Bryan, Stanford will be well represented in a variety of sports in London.
This is not the first time that the Olympics have had a cardinal tinge. If Stanford was a country in the 2008 Beijing Olympics it would have placed 11th in the medal tally with 25 medals, more than any other university. In fact, this Olympic dominance is indicative of the Cardinal athletics program in general.
Stanford has won the Director’s Cup, awarded annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the most successful school sports program, for 18 straight years. It has collected so much hardware that is has run out of room in its Hall of Fame to display it all. Stanford has won 103 NCAA championships throughout its history, second only to UCLA’s 108, and its total of 82 since 1980 is the most in the nation.
They have achieved all of this despite having more stringent acceptance requirements than other schools. Stanford is surpassed by only four schools (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia) in the latest academic rankings. It also does not lower its academic standards for athletes as much as other schools do. That means that there are some potential recruits who, though they may be able to contribute to a sports team, would not be accepted to Stanford because of their academics.
This forces Stanford coaches to recruit only players who are both great athletes and can also qualify academically.
For example, former quarterback Andrew Luck, who was the first overall draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2012 NFL Draft, was the valedictorian of his high school. Under his expert direction, the football team has finished in the top 10 in the national rankings the last two years.
Despite losing Luck to the NFL, Cardinal football is well positioned to
enjoy success again this year. They have two talented quarterbacks vying
for the vacated
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COUNSELOR RUSS NICKEL faces off against Henry Brooks, 14, in a game of Obstacle Ninja last week. To eliminate an opponent in Ninja, a player must slap her/his hand in one fluid motion. The only change in Obstacle Ninja is the addition of furniture.
to be used,” said Fan, 16, a screenwriting student from Guangzhou, China. “Also, normal Ninja was getting sort of old.”
Screenwriting student Connor Lifson, a 15-year-old from Richmond,
Virginia, correctly says the game’s creation was “a spur of the moment
thing.”
Twelve students, including Fan and Lifson, and two counselors played in the first Obstacle Ninja game.
Although many people enjoyed the game in its original form, everyone
who took part in that first Obstacle Ninja match agreed that the new
version was better.
“It’s more challenging, which makes it more fun,” said John Cliburn, 16, an EPGY screenwriting student from Kentucky.
It’s
been two weeks since Obstacle Ninja made its debut. Despite humble
beginnings, the game is now a Treat tradition, played every night after
chores and before lights out.
Excitement for London Olympic Games spreads to EPGY
By Paulina Graham
Co-Opinion Editor
As the first week of the London Olympic Games ends, EPGY student Luna de Buretel said that she’s excited about the effect that the games have had on her city.
“It’s like the biggest event ever,” said de Buretel, a 16-year old Londoner studying game theory at EPGY. “So yeah, I’m definitely excited.”
De Buretel said that even before she left, the authorities were advertising the games on radio and television and encouraging people to go to the Olympic Destinations.
“They’re trying to get people in London, especially at schools, to get into the sporty mood,” she said.
Ten thousand athletes from 204 nations are competing in sports ranging from basketball to Taekwondo.
The events are at numerous venues, some new, and others existing and temporary. Some facilities are well-known, while others have been resized or relocated.
Improvements were made to the transit systems, including the expansion of the London Overground’s East London Line and the introduction to the high-speed rail service, the “Javelin.”
A cable car was built across the River Thames to connect the venues, providing a crossing every 30 seconds. In addition, there are three or more types of public transport available to reach 90 percent of the venues.
The hype for the games is not only present in London. EPGY’s Henry Brooks, Ed Berzanskis and Emily Beltran, all swimmers, also shared their excitement for the swimming Olympic Games.
“Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps rivalry? Oh yeah!” Beltran, a 17-year-old journalism student from Illinois, said.
Berzanskis, 17, an anthropology student from Chicago, said a teammate of his competed in the Olympic trials.
“I’ve been keeping up with that, so I’m really excited for the swimming,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Stanford website
Photo courtesy of Stanford website, from the University of Delaware
BERNARD MUIR WILL SERVE as the director of athletics at Stanford this coming year. Muir previously held the same position at the University of Delaware.
quarterback position: junior Brett Nottingham and
senior Josh Nunes.
The 2012-2013 year will mark the beginning of a new era for Cardinal
athletics as Bernard Muir, formerly the director of athletics at the
University of Delaware, has been hired by Stanford to fill the same
position. He will take over for Bob Bowlsby, who departed to become the
new Big 12 conference commissioner.
The man who chose Muir, Provost John Etchemendy, has high expectations
for the coming year. “In Bernard Muir, we are confident we have a
leader with the integrity, experience and commitment to ensure that
Stanford’s athletic legacy continues,” he said.
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