By KATERINA ISTOMIN

First-place winner Wilson Southerland (center), flanked by second-place winner J.B. Barricklo (right) and third-place winner Hari Bernstein. (All photos by Huang Ruo)

In our fast-paced world of e-mails and text messaging, it's truly a wonder anyone can remember how to spell even the most commonly used words. Technological speed and convenience is no longer a luxury to our generation; it has become a necessity. How many times do you find yourself leaving off the letter "g" at the end of a word, or replacing the word "to" with just the number? Is it really worth forsaking the integrity of our language for speed, ease, and the desire not to have to push one's thumb down on yet another button? I'd be a hypocrite not to admit to having used these and countless other abbreviations in my communications with people myself.

These socially acceptable changes in communication are having a much greater effect on our world than we may think. Nevertheless, there are people left among our Juilliard community who recently proved their verbal brain power in the second annual Juilliard Spelling Bee. Although there were fewer participants this year, none of the zeal and enthusiasm for the event was lost. There were an equal number of participants from both the student body and the staff, despite the stressful atmosphere of a week not close enough to spring break. New this year, though, was the acceptance of two Pre-College students into the competition: Ashley Thakur and John Bowler.

The winners pictured in moments of intense concentration during the Spelling Bee.

The event—which took place in the Juilliard cafeteria on Friday, February 23—was adjudicated by Erik Zyman Corrasco (son of Juilliard faculty member Samuel Zyman), Jesse Zymet, Alex Martin, and Snigdha Sur. Each of our borrowed young geniuses (serving for the second year in a row) have impressive histories as spelling bee champions themselves. For our competition, however, the tables were turned, and they were serving in the official capacities of pronouncing and defining words.

For the second year in a row, the first-place winner was one of our staff accompanists for Vocal Arts, Wilson Southerland. His prize, appropriately enough, was a pair of tickets to the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, playing at the Circle in the Square Theater. Both the second- and third-place winners (the Production Department's J.B. Barricklo and first-year viola student Hari Bernstein, respectively) received a box of scrumptious chocolates. But the rest of the participants did not have to leave empty-handed; everyone received pocket dictionaries and ribbons.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Spelling Bee—and thank you to Liberal Arts faculty member Anita Mercier and director of student affairs Sabrina Tanbara, for all of their involvement in making the Spelling Bee such a success the second year in a row.

Katerina Istomin is a third-year student in viola.