Inside: It’s the Economy, Smarty!
John Exline ’64, P’97 ’04
Download 375.42 Kb. Pdf ko'rish
|
|
John Exline ’64, P’97 ’04 History Teacher in CA’s Upper School “You can definitely see some anxiety among the students, the ones who know about things like their col- lege funds and those sorts of issues. There are those with parents who are involved in the real estate business or a financial business of some kind where if they haven’t al- ready started to see some impact they think there’s a good chance they might. I’m sure there are some whose family’s income to some extent might be based on returns off of different types of equities. There are definitely some levels of anxiety there. They have asked tremendous questions. Everybody in the class
Fall 2008 6
A c a d e m y M a g a z i n e that stocks are the one thing people (mistakenly) do not buy when they are on sale. So just hang in there, be a little bit frugal, and things will work out down the line.” Jake Tuckerman ’14 CA Seventh-Grader “I’m not that informed on the economy but con- sidering that my mom works with the stock market daily in her job, I know a decent amount and I can tell how stressed out she is. I think a lot of it is happening be- cause people are pulling out their money so quickly, and they’re not really thinking about what they’re doing because they’re scared. It’s been really rough on a lot of people. I think it’s going to take a little while for the stocks to come back up. I think the presidential election will help it out when the new president takes of- fice, but I think it’s going to take a couple of months, if not a couple of years, to rebound. Even during the Great Depression, no matter how much the mar- ket goes down, eventually it will come back up.” Dan Vorenberg P’09 ’13 ’14 Head of Lower School “I have an economics degree and an interest in psychology, and I think the two are conflating to create a great deal of anxiety. Clearly what I’m seeing are how complex the economies are now. Everything – the banks, investment houses, mortgage companies, etc. – is so interconnected, which makes it very hard to predict. I would imagine for the next six to 18 months, we are not going to see a rapid recovery. We’re probably going to see it get a little worse before it gets better. We’re writing his- tory and suffering from a terribly connected economic system which is far more fragile than anybody anticipated. As a Lower School faculty, we are committed to talking about current events in our classrooms. I think a lot of children are hearing things – at home, in the hallways or on television and radio – that resonate in their psyche. Those are sound bites that kids hold on to and that become a conscious narrative that ripples below the surface. At these ages, what’s on their minds comes out in their writing, in the stories they tell and in the discussions they have. To dis- courage or to push it to the side leaves us woefully unprepared to deal with childhood anxiety.” Dick Ross ’67 President of Scribcor, Inc. “There are many basic aspects about the econ- omy that are sound, but the freezing of the credit mar- kets will bring almost every segment to its knees. Until the credit markets are able to properly function, the en- tire economy will be adversely affected. gets the Wall Street Journal for a 15-week period, so that’s also precipitated some questions. I think we’re probably in for a minimum three-quarter re- cession through the summer of 2009, and it could extend into the end of the year. A lot of it has to do when the bottom is reached… It’s probably going to keep me teaching for a few more years because my retirement port- folio – like everybody’s – has taken a 20-25 percent hit just over the last four to five months. When I speak with other faculty members about it, one of the things we assuage ourselves with is the fact that we’re buying real inex- pensive units of TIAA-CREF right now, so when it does recover it will mean we’ll have more. The ‘when’ is what we’re concerned about now.”
CA Senior “Through economics class, I now get the Wall Street Journal every day, which allows me to keep fairly up to date. It’s been like a domino effect with one company after another failing. That’s been scary, definitely. In our stock market project, we were re- searching stocks online and had no idea what to buy because everything was dropping those first couple of weeks. My group lost a lot of money be- cause our investment plan failed. Now we’re looking at alternative energy and those sorts of companies. I think the financial crisis has actually made students more interested and engaged in the world around them. People my age are picking up the newspaper every day to see what’s going on. We’re realizing we need to educate ourselves more. I want to major in business so studying the econ- omy now is going to help me in future years. As a senior looking at colleges right now, I know a lot of my class- mates are considering changing their college lists. Instead of going to a prestigious out-of-state school, what’s going on with the economy right now is making more of us look at cheaper in-state options. Then, hopefully four or five years from now, the economy will be improved and we can blow a lot of money on graduate school.” John Ubbing Social Studies Teacher in CA’s Middle School “My class is eighth-grade social studies with an emphasis on civics and government, so naturally there’s a lot of discussion about the presidential elec- tion and the issues that are brought up during the election and the debates. For some of the kids, a lot of this is brand new. I use a keep-it-simple approach because a lot of the stuff isn’t necessarily testable material, but for them to be able to form an adequate opinion, they need to have some background knowledge of it. I don’t forecast anything to my students. I keep a non-partisan ap- proach. Big picture, though, I think it’s going to take a while. For a lot of people my age, in their 40s, I think we’ll bounce back. I think this country is pretty resourceful in those areas. One of the things Warren Buffet says is Some fundamental beliefs have been shattered, and it will take years for the markets (i.e. credit) to properly function. ’ ’ Fall 2008 7
A c a d e m y M a g a z i n e I have not changed investment asset allocations because I am fairly well diversified. I continue to work on closing a transaction, but it has required re- structuring. So I am proceeding with little change but with considerable cau- tion. There are going to be some incredible opportunities, so cash is king. Short term (forecast is) disastrous. Some fundamental beliefs have been shattered, and it will take years for the markets (i.e. credit) to properly function. Long term, the big issue is the new president. Assuming (Barack) Obama is elected and tries to fulfill his campaign promises, the economy will be adversely affected for a very long time. My main worry is that investment capital will be redirected elsewhere, hindering our ability to recover. No matter who is elected, he will have very few options available to employ.” Chris O’Daniel ’79 Chartered Financial Analyst and Former Vice President of National City Bank “There’s clearly a crisis of confidence in the bank- ing system, and that’s having a big effect in terms of lending money and investing money. It looks like the government is going to be taking stakes in different banks. The feds flooded the system with liquidity, so it’s kind of a spooky time… I’ve seen other investment and economic cycles in my career. This one kind of reminds me of the downturn from early 2000. Then it was the tech bubble; now it seems to be a hangover from housing and mortgage-related trou- bles.
I’m out of work. I’ve got to be flexible. In my field, I think there’s prob- ably going to be diminished prospects in Central Ohio. All of those things are weighing on my mind. I’m relying on things I learned at Academy to get me through it: perseverance, discipline, and don’t quit.” Scott Watters ’83, P’12 ’14 ’16 Regional Sales Manager at Invesco Aim Management Group “The issue right now with the U.S. economy is a credit problem more than anything else. The banks are not lending money to each other, nor are they lending money to small businesses and other people who need it, and that’s slowing the whole process down. I travel all the time for my job and it doesn’t matter what day of the week or what part of the country that I’m in, people are still out spending money. So yes, I think the economy is in a tough spot right now, but I think it’s more of a lending and credit problem more than anything. Right now, though, things are horrible in a lot of fronts. Because the fi- nancial institutions are getting hit as hard as they are, companies aren’t making their profits and stocks are down. When stocks are down, my industry gets af- fected considerably… For my business, it means that our funds continue to go down. Overall, most of the funds in the market right now are down somewhere between 35-40 percent, so it’s tough. There’s a lot of scared individuals, me in- cluded. If profits and sales are down – I’ve got three kids at Academy – it’s tough to make that tuition payment with your income cut significantly.” Ron Ransom ’89 Director – Market Area Manager for UBS Financial Systems “The recent tightening of credit conditions and our expectation for further tightening until spring 2009 could deepen the unfolding recession. Credit condi- tions are tighter today than in the recessions of the early 1990s and 2001, but they haven’t reached the extreme levels of the re- cessions of the early 1980s. We expect a deeper and longer recession, coupled with marked disinflation and more Fed easing. Following the extreme equity market weakness during October, com- pelling valuations are hard to ignore. In this more challenging environment, the winners at both the stock and the sector levels will likely be those compa- nies that can best control their costs and revenues. Large-caps appear more reasonably valued than small caps, especially considering their stronger rela- tive earnings stability, access to cheaper capital, and greater ability to with- stand periods of high volatility. We now expect four quarters of real GDP contraction, not two, mean- ing we expect this recession to persist into 2Q 2009; we lower our 2009 growth forecast from 1% to -0.7%. We think this recession will be deeper than those in the early 1990s or 2001. The tighter credit environment leads us to lower our growth forecasts for both consumption and business investment. We now expect a deeper and longer housing recession, first bottoming out in spring of 2009. We think house prices are likely to fall another 10% until mid-2009. We expect the US unemployment rate to rise to 8% by year-end 2009 as job losses mount. The industrial sector’s recession should be deeper than we earlier thought, but not longer: we still expect it to last until mid-2009. A deeper recession will pressure imports in the short term, further shrinking the current account deficit. But faltering export growth should eventually offset that gain and boost the deficit in 2009. The anemic growth environment should weaken inflation markedly. We now expect CPI inflation of 2.6% and core CPI inflation of 2% by year-end 2009.” Sarah Milks ’98 Senior International Operations Planner at Beauty Avenues “I’m not too worried about the economy right now because I’ve only been investing in my 401k for six or seven years at this point. But it definitely makes me think about where I’m putting my money. Like for the holidays, it makes me want to spend more time with my family instead of going on a vacation. I kind of think it will pass. I just bought my first house, which is in New Albany, two years ago, and I worry that investment won’t hold. Right now, though, my friends and I feel like our jobs are safe. I probably have a less pessimistic view about it. I’ve been out supporting the economy by shopping more. My mom and I call ourselves economic warriors.” Fall 2008 8
Convocation C OLUMBUS A CADEMY E MBARKS O N 98 TH S CHOOL Y EAR Columbus Academy began its 98th school year in August with the traditional Convocation Ceremony. Usually held on the first day of school in the Senior Quad, this year’s ceremony was held on the second morning of school in the North Gymnasium due to the remnants of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Fay. Regardless, the excitement generated by a new school year was palpable. After welcome speeches from Headmaster John Mackenzie P’15 and Student Council President Austin Bening ’08, members of the Class of 2008 and Class of 2021 were paired together. The Senior/Kindergarten Buddies then walked out of the gym hand-in-hand to their first event of the school year. With a full-capacity enrollment of 1,057 students that in- cludes 537 boys (50.8 percent), 520 girls (49.2 percent) and 238 students of color (22.5 percent), Academy truly offers a coed and diverse environment. According to new Admissions Director John Wuorinen ’80, who graduated from Academy 30 years ago with the enrollment (529) almost exactly half what it is today, 15 percent of the student population receives a school-record total of $1.5 million in financial aid. 2008-09 FACTS ABOU T CA Ben Mozenter, Miles Walter, Alannah Linkhorn Kahlen Washington, Nathaniel Welch, Garrett May Ariana Todd, Ryann Watiker Stanley Sigalov, Luke Nester, Adam McJunkin Ali Dillon, Zoey Black Jordan Rhyne, Campbell Gwin Sunny Kennedy, Suelin Qu, Hannah Reis Fall 2008 9
Around Academy A R O U N D A C A D E M Y Lower School Students in Julie Simmons’ second grade class show off their drawings of Academy Hall with Lower School art teacher Lloyd Cicetti. Third-graders (left to right) Anna Zeigler, Esther Lawrence and Grace Yakam say goodbye to a monarch butterfly during the school’s butterfly release ceremony in early September. Enjoying the annual back-to-school Ice Cream Social are first-graders Alexandra Phelps and Annalise Grammel. Kindergartners Michael LaPerna (left), Allison Bergman (hidden) and Graham Mallory (far right) decorate Halloween pumpkins with their Senior Buddies Joey Miller, Sheena Koushik and Evan Sheets. Showing off new gear from the fourth grade trip to the Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center are (clockwise from top left) Allison Dickes, Grant Cookerly, Anthony Sugar, Meghan Walther, Sari Schlonsky and Andrew Leader. Pre-kindergarteners (clockwise from top left) Talia Lopresti, Morgan Crain, Carolyn Vaziri, Ryan Panley, Parker Logan, Davey Agrawal and Charlie Belford enjoy pancakes and orange slices during the PreK-AM Pajama Party. Fall 2008 10
Around Academy AROUND ACADEMY Middle School
Around Academy A R O U N D A C A D E M Y Upper School Upper School concert band members (clockwise from far left) Ryan Vale ’12, Jordan Rhyne ’09, Conrad Wuorinen ’12, Danielle Cannella ’10 and Stephan Kim ’12 tune up for the fall during Band Day back in August. Upper Schoolers (left to right) India Myers ’09, Sarah Kahwash ’10, Zach Harner ’11 and Alisho Ho ’12 represent their respective classes in a big wheel race around the Senior Quad. China Club members (left to right) Mia Wise ’10, Michelle Lai ’10, Kelly Simmons ’10 and Alex Shahade ’11 try to recruit new members during ClubFair in late September. Preparing for the first Junior Speeches of the school year are (left to right) public speaking instructor Bob Kirk ’67, Megan Aselton, Emily Neubig, Alex Nat- sis and Headmaster John Mackenzie. (Left to right) Morgan Ransom, Dina Sinno, Sarah Kerr, Jon Michael Hilsheimer and Meredith McCloud display their unity on Freshman Orientation Day. During the Upper School’s Fall Service Day, Mark Larson took this photo of his junior advisees (clockwise from front center) Mark Spigos, , Natalie Szykowny, Andrew Enslen, Albie Lavin, Dan Downing, Natasha Hede, Dakota Dougherty, Bethany Luzny and Jackie Mahler at the Faith Mission homeless shelter with CA’s state funds coordinator Dorothy Dell (far left) and Faith Mission’s en- gagement specialist Delores Bland. Fall 2008 11
U nder a pleasant autumn sky, Columbus Academy alumni were treated to a plethora of activities as they returned to campus for Re- union Weekend 2008 on October 10. For those celebrating class reunions of 50 years or more, the day started with the Golden Alumni Luncheon in the Westwater Room. After a delicious meal provided by the school’s new dining service, SAGE, the alumni were given an interactive demonstration by Head of Lower School Dan Vorenberg about the challenges of teaching today’s youth. Alumni then began showing up en masse to be paired with Academy fifth-graders for the Reunion Buddies Gathering. After look- ing through old yearbooks and getting to know each other, the fifth-graders gave their Re- union Buddies a walking tour of campus, showing off such things as their classrooms, lockers and hallway decorations. The tours ended in Schoedinger Theatre for the annual production of “The Academy Stream,” a play about CA’s history performed by current and former faculty members as well as the Class of 2016. Immediately following the play was the State-of-the-School Address, which was given by Assistant Headmaster Erich Hunker ’81 and Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Fall 2008
Download 375.42 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
|