The American economy was booming in the Roaring ’20s. However, havoc struck when the stock market crashed in October 1929. By 1932, almost one out of every four Americans was unemployed, as factories and banks rapidly closed down. The United States was entering a new era of political and economic change.
For the upcoming school year, the Academic Decathlon (AcaDec) team, an on-campus club, will study
Currently, the AcaDec team is composed of nine students: seniors Ricky Lopez, Rachel Wilhelm, Danny Ibarra, Jessica Massie, Tyler Haritzalde and Seth Ramirez; and juniors Zachary Diaz de la Cuesta, Gigi Thao and Nick Avery. AcaDec members meet after school to study the material with coach Molly Sargent.
United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) teams consist of up to nine students in three divisions by GPA: Honors for 3.75-4.00, Scholastic for 3.00-3.749 and Varsity for 0.00-2.999. Students may compete in divisions higher than their GPA but may not compete in lower divisions.
Each year the AcaDec curriculum consists of 10 subjects: art, economics, essay, interview, mathematics, music, superquiz, language and literature, social science and speech.
Decathletes will have the entire first semester to learn the material and study with other AcaDec students. At the end of November, they will meet twice a week in anticipation of competitions on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5. Meetings are currently held once a week.
“This year’s team members will need to be more self-directed, because last year we met five times a week,” Sargent said. “The eight students who chose to do AcaDec this year particularly are to be admired, because they use their free time when they could be doing something else. It’s a lot of work, but I have every hope that we will finish even stronger than last year.”
For the competition, students will be given 30 minutes to complete each written multiple-choice exam and 50 minutes to complete the essay.
Though AcaDec adds work to the members’ schedules and requires dedication, first-timer Nick Avery, ’12, believes the club offers the chance to gain knowledge on particular subjects.
“AcaDec is not that stressful; it’s just like any other sport or activity,” Avery said. “I am hoping to be strong in the literature section because I really enjoy English as a whole and I feel like I can understand it more than the other subjects. I hope to continue AcaDec through my senior year, because we get to study about different cultures, and I think it’s a fascinating experience.”
For coverage of last year’s AcaDec team, read the Feb. 11 article, AcaDec places 5th, earns 18 medals.
