The Panel - April 4, 2024 - Volume 72, Issue 8

Karan Thakur Delivers Inspiring Chapel Speech

By Alex Laidlaw ’25 Panel Staff

On February 16th, Dr. Karan Thakur stepped up onto the Chapel stage. Smiling, he opened with one simple word: “Namaste.” Using this traditional Indian greeting, Dr. Thakur made it clear that the goal of his speech was not only to teach the audience about his professional career but also to offer insight into his personal life. As this year’s Kageyama-Hunt Global Speaker, Dr. Thakur focused his speech on how he has led a life of activism and service in the healthcare field, calling on the audience to take agency in their own lives.

Born and raised in India, Dr. Thakur started his career as a physician. However, as he watched air and water pollution infect his homeland, he began to question if he was doing enough to help his patients. Looking at the Hippocratic Oath, which states that doctors should “do no harm”, he realized that treating individual patients with the unsustainable healthcare practices of today might actually be harming others. Conversely, pushing for change in the way the world conducts healthcare from an administrative level could bring about good. Moreover, Dr. Thakur looked to the Ashoka Chakra for advice. The Chakra, which many recognize as the symbol on the Indian flag, represents the harmony between one’s beliefs and actions. In the middle lay one’s core beliefs and virtues. The spokes that branch out from the middle are one’s actions. Finally, the periphery of the Chakra represents how one’s actions are perceived by the rest of the world. Dr. Thakur used this sym -

bol to analyze if he was on the right path. Were his core beliefs and principles in line with his actions? And were his actions having the proper effect?

Thinking about the Hippocratic Oath and Ashoka Chakra, Dr. Thakur decided to pivot his career towards a life of activism for sustainability in the healthcare sector. He sought to help the Apollo Group Hospital reduce its carbon footprint across its operation. With Gandhi and the Boston Medical Center as his inspiration, he launched the Apollo Sustainability Action Plan (ASAP), which initiated projects to reduce energy and water consumption and waste emissions. Starting in eight hospitals, ASAP has quickly grown to involve 43 hospitals, over 5,000 phar-

Faculty AOTI: Ms. Allen

Ms. Rylee Allen, a new addition to the Belmont Hill faculty this year, has had an immediate impact on the Belmont Hill music community. Teaching Digital Music Production and Music Composition, conducting the upper and lower school Jazz Bands, the orchestra, rock bands, and much more, Ms. Allen has showcased her deep passion for connection with aspiring musicians at Belmont Hill.

Growing up, music played a large role in Ms. Allen’s childhood and was a tradition in her family. Inspired by her grandparents who loved genres from “classical rock to jazz to classical,” and her father who “would play a lot of 90s alt-rock and hip-hop,” Ms. Allen’s music taste branched in all sorts of directions. Due in part to her fascination with music, and also to the variety of genres she was exposed to, Ms. Allen’s skill with instruments growing up broadened from her main instruments, the piano and flute. When she grew into elementary and later high school, her main musical outlets were in school bands, playing the piano and flute, and later learning percussion instruments in high school. It was there that she made many lifelong friendships. Her music teachers also played a large part in her early musical ca -

reer, serving as a place to go for advice and second opinions. Ms. Allen would soon graduate high school, and study at Berklee, winning several awards, most notably the “Promising Music Educator Award.” At Berklee, Ms. Allen’s immense musical background would serve her well, as she received her Music Education degree while learning to play the alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, french horn, viola, cello, guitar, drums, and electric bass.

As Ms. Allen moved from college and into teaching, she realized the true importance and significance of music. She says, “music is like [a] language, always changing. I think when people get caught up in music “changing” they fail to realize that new generations will create new things. The arts are a direct reflection of a society’s wants and needs.” Music speaks where words fail, and functions as an accompaniment to important life celebrations. No matter where she is – a wedding, funeral, graduation – or how she is feeling, Ms. Allen emphasizes that “there is one thing I can always do, and that’s play music, listen to music, or write music.”

What drove her to pursue teaching was that she “found [her] wants and needs being heard and met in musical spaces.” She wanted to provide the same support she received from her music teachers and family growing up to others who shared the same passion for music. cont. on page

macies, 23 clinics, and 700 telehealth centers. Then, in 2022, Dr. Thakur was chosen as the Eisenhower Fellowships Global Fellow, enabling him to study how the American healthcare system is combatting climate change.

Having outlined his life story, Dr. Thakur brought his talk back to the Ashoka Chakra, issuing a call to action to the audience in the process. First, he asked the crowd to explore their core beliefs in principles as he did when thinking about the Chakra. Then, he implored the group to think about how their actions reflect these principles. He encouraged everyone to ensure that their beliefs and actions were in harmony and that they were achieving their desired result. He emphasized that you

should never be afraid to return to square one and that you must continue to re-evaluate your choices and actions throughout your life. Finally, he closed his address with a quote from Henry David Thoreau: “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

Thakur’s talk was the center of conversation for most of the day. One Form V student, Connor Emmert ’25, remarked that the Chapel “opened his eyes to the problems facing the healthcare sector”. Meanwhile, when asked about his thoughts on the speech, Mr. Harvey stated that “Thakur offered an insightful view of the challenges not only India but our global community faces that offered an important message for students to hear.” With the speech being so relevant to issues tackled in classes across campus, teachers such as Mr. Harvey took time out of their classes to further discuss Thakur’s remarks. Overall, the speech was an incredibly informative and valuable experience, and The Panel would like to thank Dr. Thakur for speaking to the school, and Bill Hunt and Yuko Kageyama for making this opportunity possible. ☐

As always, March has been an eventful month at Belmont Hill, and it has likewise been a busy month in the world. This issue has all the classic month articles: Athlete of the Issue examines Andrew Bittner ’24 and his aims for the team this upcoming Crew season, Jack Ramanathan ’26 and Griffin Vail ’26 sing the praises of St. Louis ribs in March’s Meal of the Month. In addition to the issue regulars, this issue features previews of the Spring season, a new Faculty Artist of the Issue featuring Ms. Allen, and a review on the highly controversial border crisis developing in the Southern US. March has been an exciting month in what will undoubtedly be an incredibly decisive year politically, athletically, and in ways we cannot yet imagine.

However, this March is also the final issue of Volume 72. Reflecting on the year, we experienced a fascinating Fall where we celebrated the centennial date of Belmont Hill, debated policy

Joe Biden’s Age

Brandon Li ’26 writes about the continued pressure faced by President Biden from constituents worried about electing an octogenarian. A

changes, and investigated the current relationship between the school and Belmont as the school builds a new parking lot. Throughout the winter and early spring, we had impressive chapels from acclaimed authors Jennifer De Leon and Jerry Craft, while learning from environmentalist and hospital administrator Karan Thakur. Simultaneously, our athletic teams performed exceptionally well, with the football team turning the ISL upside down and taking the league title, while soccer and cross country also both performed exceptionally well. In the Winter, squash won the New England Championship, while wrestling continued their winning ways in the ISL, and was joined by alpine and nordic skiing as top three finishers in New England. Hockey was also a top contender and force in the Keller Division. This year has been another incredible year, and the Volume 72 Panel Staff is thankful for the opportunity to report for the Belmont Hill community. Thank you so much for joking, reading, and sharing this year with us! ☐

dining team at BH from the month of March!

Karan Thakur Giving Chapel Talk BH Communiciations

Sports 9 AoTI: Andrew Bittner ’24 Brady Paquette ’25 writes about Andrew’s leadership among the crew team and his personal and team goals for the 2024 season!

Jerry Craft Delivers Inspirational Chapel

By Nathan Zhang ’26 Panel Staff

On March 1st, acclaimed author, illustrator, and cartoonist Jerry Craft visited Belmont Hill as a part of the Jeffrey A. Fast Speaker Series, delivering a powerful speech about the successes, failures, and work that shaped his career. His stories draw inspiration from his time growing up in Washington Heights, New York. In the Chapel, Craft said, “I realized early on what my passion was, and my passion was drawing comics.” He often drew on schoolbooks, creating his own stories of superheroes before he formally pursued arts and storytelling by attending the School of Visual Arts in New York. Currently, he resides in Florida and continues to release books, with his most recent being School Trip, published in 2023.

Known for his Mama’s Boyz comics and New Kid book series, Craft has accumulated numerous accolades throughout his career. New Kid is the only book in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature, the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature, and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer. Both New Kid and its companion book Class Act are New York Times bestsellers.

On the stage of the Hamilton

Chapel, Craft gave a detailed overview of his career and what led him to where he is today. He showed off his earliest comic strips, highlighting the lengthy process spanning from sketching ideas to coloring in line art. Craft often drew inspiration from his daily life, claim -

When discussing his idea process and brainstorming, Craft showed numerous iterations of covers for his book The Offenders , a superhero story about bullying at school. He explained why his original ideas were unsatisfactory, and the workshopping it took to

ing that he would take in sights from his world, and then transfer them onto his computer by drawing when he got home. One such example was a comic strip based on his experience at a fast food restaurant. Instead of giving the customer a milkshake, the cashier literally shook the customer, creating a humorous short story. In the discussion following the Chapel, Craft claimed that he has around 12-14 story ideas in his head simultaneously.

arrive at a final version he could submit to a publisher. For his graphic novels, he worked the majority of each day for a year straight, having to color in each panel after gaining approval from his publisher. After Craft’s talk, Mrs. Hamilton noted, “Every time he draws a character - they need to look the same... imagine how many times Jordan Banks (the main character in New Kid ) shows up on a page? That takes talent!”

Craft concluded his Chapel talk

with an easel pad and marker, emphasizing the simplicity of drawing. With quick strokes, he drew together crude shapes, labeling them with names like circles, letter Cs, and lightning bolts. These simple figures quickly fit together into larger forms, resembling notable cartoon characters such as Charlie Brown and Snoopy the Dog.

Craft continued speaking in smaller discussion groups consisting of English teachers, and both Form I and interested students. During the conversation, he talked about how he includes a variety of characters from different backgrounds to show various perspectives and to demonstrate that there are multiple ways to be courageous and learn lessons. As the discussion ended, Jerry Craft took the time to autograph everyone’s books, with not only his signature but also a complementary drawing. Both students and teachers were thrilled to have the opportunity to have their books signed. When recounting this experience, Finn Davis ’29 said, “It was really insightful and we learned a lot about his writing process. He drew in front of us and signed our books!”

Following the meeting, multiple students of all ages were seen trying to draw their own versions of these characters using his basic steps across campus on whiteboards. ☐

NVIDIA Has Lucrative Fourth Quarter

By Jack Ramanathan ’26 Panel Staff

From curious students to confused workers, many people have attempted to ascertain the significance of the emergence of AI in the past year and how the field will grow in the future. One of the leading AI companies, NVIDIA, now the world’s third most valuable company at a whopping $2.25 trillion, has just experienced an immensely profitable 4th quarter to cap off an exceptional performance in 2023. The technology company that manufactures the most Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) which are used in all kinds of technology and are essential for today’s generative-AI era exceeded expectations by earning an additional $2 billion in revenue. The business is known for its robust production of semiconductors

and high-end graphics processing units and holds approximately 80% of the global market share in GPU semiconductor chips as of 2023. It is a large contributor to the video game and lucrative technology industry.

NVIDIA reported to Wall Street both high earnings per share and profit margin

values, demonstrating its strong financial standing in the business world. The company recently invested a significant amount of its money and effort into artificial intelligence models and, as a result, has been the primary beneficiary of the promising new industry. NVIDIA’s GPUs operate by

a unique parallel processing system, where several computational processes are carried out simultaneously. As a result of the process, the company has seen rapid growth in profits and an 85% rise in shares. Current NVIDIA GPUs are the standard for machine learning. These chips are often called the “gold” of artificial intelligence due to their rare scarceness worldwide. Along with gaming and AI, NVIDIA has significantly contributed to data science, virtual reality, and autonomous vehicles.

The company’s stock has tripled over the past year, and it is nearly entirely due to the rise in popularity of Artificial Intelligence over the past year. As the demand for AI has increased, so has NVIDIA’s graphics processing units, which seem to be by far the most promising pieces of technology to support the rapidly growing technology industry. ☐

Robotics Team Competes in New England Regionals

By David Luo ’25 Panel Staff

On February 26th and 27th, the Upper School Robotics Team competed in the Southern New England Regional Championships with the goal of making it to the World Championship. The team’s work culminated in this one event, with the stakes never higher.

The upper school team prepared for this competition by building a new robot that would level the playing field among the top teams in the region. The team also prepared various game strategies for a rapidly evolving game based on the best teams making tweaks to their strategy from the early season. To adapt, the team decided to take inspiration from other competitions to figure out a game plan

Connor Emmert ’25, Adam Shaff ’25, Jack Barrett ’25, David Luo ’25, Ryan Chang-Wu ’26, Alex Savoulides

’26, and Brendan Kilpatrick came down to Connecticut a day before the competition to put the finishing touches on the robot and get ready for the tough competition the day after. Various team members stayed up to ensure peak performance on competition day and minimize the issues prevalent in testing before the competition.

The first day started rough, with a loss in the first match due to our team’s faulty pneumatic system. The robot’s code also did not work correctly during the match, which messed up the autonomous runs. The team morale stayed high, and the team rapidly fixed the problems that plagued it in the previous match with focus and the desire to achieve success. In the next match, the team had a hard-fought loss that was very close and could have gone either way. With a 0-2 record, the team considered other options for strategy and fine-tuning what they had practiced.

Their newfound strategy and strong alliance pairing in the next match was enough to gain them their first win of the tournament in convincing fashion.

Although this was a significant win, the team was still hard at work on the code, and there were potential issues with the climbing system of the robot and the intake of the robot. The rest of the afternoon went relatively well, with the team gaining some wins due to their

opponents getting disqualified by rules.

The second day, however, ended the team’s hopes. Their robot got flipped in the day’s first match, causing a loss. Unfortunately, the team could not go on to the elimination bracket.

The tournament disappointed the team as they did not qualify for the World Championship. Next year, the team hopes to win more titles for the school and improve on this year. ☐

Jerry Craft and his Drawings from Chapel BH Communications

The US and MS Robotics Teams Mr. Ziff

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang nvidia.com

Biden Faces Questions About His Age Again

By Brandon Li ’26 Panel Staff

President Biden’s age came to the forefront of the national conversation following an investigative report released by the Department of Justice in February about Biden’s alleged mismanagement of classified documents. In this report, special counsel Robert Hur stated that, in an interview, Biden could not remember numerous details relevant to the investigation, including when his son Beau died. He went on to call the president a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” a move that Democrats criticized for being unnecessary and politically motivated. Soon after, Biden’s campaign team rushed to dispute the allegations of the report in a press conference, attacking Mr. Hur, and citing Biden’s list of accomplishments as president, and arguing that achievement was more important than age when it came to the presidency.

However, the damage was already done. Jon Stewart, a popular liberal figure who had recently returned to host The Daily Show , argued on late-night television shortly after the incident that Biden was not the right candidate to face former President Donald Trump in November due to age-related concerns. The episode, which has since reached 10 million views on

YouTube, also poked fun at the president for confusing the presidents of Mexico and Egypt in the press con -

that provide detailed sequential instructions on how to act. These gaffes have likely had an impact on his public

ference that was intended to resolve concerns about his mental fitness. Throughout his presidency, there have often been age-related concerns about Biden’s physical and mental aptitude. Numerous clips have gone viral on social media showing the president keeling over while riding a bicycle, repeatedly tripping on stairs, and falling on stage, among other things. More viral clips from the Biden presidency show him appearing “lost” on stage after delivering a speech, misquoting his teleprompter, and using “cheat sheets” prepared by staff at press conferences

perception: 86% of Americans agreed that the octogenarian president is simply too old to serve another term, in a February poll conducted by ABC News.

Throughout February, liberal media outlets balked at the idea that Biden would be the one to face off against Trump in November. New York Times journalist Ezra Klein produced a 25-minute audio essay arguing for an alternative to Biden, the aforementioned Jon Stewart expressed his lack of enthusiasm for Biden on The Daily Show , and liberal media outlets grew more and more unabashed in their

critiques of Biden’s mental acuity. It seemed as if the Democratic party was just about ready to give up on Biden.

However, following Biden’s fiery State of the Union speech on March 7, which was described as “feisty” by many major media outlets, the left seems to have once again assembled behind the president for the indefinite future. Biden took advantage of the State of the Union, a major speech traditionally delivered to Congress by the president every year, to outline his positions on major issues and attack Trump on those same issues. After Biden delivered forceful takes on abortion, immigration, taxes, Ukraine and Israel, the economy, and much more, Democrats within the House chamber sensed the shift in energy and began repeatedly chanting “4 more years!”

Jon Stewart acknowledged the reinvigorating nature of Biden’s remarks on The Daily Show , exclaiming “Biden’s back, baby!” Likewise, in an essay entitled “Fine, Call It a Comeback,” Ezra Klein withdrew his previous argument that Biden was too old to run for another term. Although polling data from Yahoo News has shown that there has been no improvement in voter perceptions of Biden as a result of the State of the Union, the Democratic establishment seems to have recognized that President Biden is their best shot to beat Trump, whether they like it or not. ☐

Seniors Suffer Heartbreaking Basketball Loss to Faculty

By Kevin Weldon ’24 Panel Staff

The Ted Martellini Court was packed, “Let’s Go Bel-mont” chants filled the air, and the energy reached an all-time high as the biggest game of the year began. In a stroke of genius, Mrs. Rupley revived the 40-year-old tradition this year as non-varsity seniors took on the faculty in a basketball game during community block with the whole school in attendance. Two giants on the basketball court, Coaches Martellini and Vittal ’24, faced off in what some have called the game of the century. Following the tip-off, the good guys got off to an early lead. Despite stout defense in the paint, Luke Trevisan ’24

and Nick Andersen ’24 were able to put in a pair of lay-ups, while Ian Hendrix ’24 backed them up early from behind the arc. Andersen had a chance to put the seniors up big, but the hoop height must have not been regulation as his dunk missed, much to the bewilderment of the fan section.

Following the miss, Mr. Cofield began to assert himself in the paint while Mr. Leo and Mrs. Baker heated up from three, but the seniors still carried themselves in the half with a comfortable 17-12 lead.

While the seniors thrived in the first half, the faculty got off to a hot start and took a lead over the good guys in the first few minutes of the second half. However, with clutch threes from Ibrahima Barry ’24 and Mark “Curry” Price ’24, and with Nick

“Shaq” Andersen dominating the court, the faculty and seniors traded leads and ties throughout the final minutes of the second half. With the scores reaching the unfathomable range of over 30, the faculty hit a couple of clutch three-point shots to extend to 36-30 with just over a minute remaining. With a quick response from the good guys and a defensive stop, the seniors cut the lead to three and got the ball back with seconds remaining on the clock. Coach Vittal frantically called a timeout and drew up a masterful last-second shot, which was executed to perfection. Ibrahima put up the final shot in a moment which seemed to last forever, but the ball bounced off the rim and the wind was taken out of the anxious crowd.

However, hope was briefly restored

as Ibrahima was fouled during the shot and received three free throws, but unfortunately, the alleged non-regulation hoop struck once more and the shots just did not fall. Thus, the faculty prevailed over the seniors 36-33 in what has now been dubbed, as aforementioned, “The Game of the Century,” “The Immortal Game,” “The Tussle on Ted Martellini Court,” “The Battle for Belmont Hill,” among other names. Certainly, The Panel is impressed by the athleticism and competitive spirit of the game and we hope the tradition continues next year! ☐

Belmont Hill Community Donates to Blood Drive

By Luke Trevisan ’24 Panel Staff

The Kraft Family Donor center mobile visited Belmont Hill for the spring donation window on March 5th. One of two throughout the year, the other being in the fall, the blood drive parks on campus and collects blood from students and teachers alike throughout the academic day. This spring a total of 31 transferable donations were completed, not near the record high 40s seen in past years but still a successful year. In total twelve students, twelve faculty and staff, and seven parents gave blood.

Mr. Doar is the current faculty head of the blood drive and inherited it from Mrs. David and Mr. Sweeney eleven years ago. Since then, he has promoted the twice-yearly event in the days leading up to the center’s visit and organized its arrival. However, he has hoped that the program would evolve to be more of “a student thing”, with students taking

charge and donating to a good cause.

The Kraft Family Donor Center is funded by donations and direction from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Institute. It began 30 years ago when Robert and Myra Kraft connected with multiple myeloma research expert Dr. Kenneth Anderson to form the program. The donor center collects the blood and then disperses it out to patients at both hospitals.

The nature of the Belmont Hill community is one that stresses giving back in all facets of our lives. Mr. Doar urged that giving blood is yet another way the Belmont Hill boys can do so: “For those who we encourage to donate, is that it isn’t scary or painful, and it’s a great way to think outside yourself. It is a great way to become a lifelong donor.” Giving blood can be done every two months at minimum but the Kraft donor center only visits Belmont Hill twice a year. We are looking forward to the event next fall and making a positive impact on the community.

Joe Biden Google Images

Madame Web: A Blockbuster So Bad It’s Funny

By Will Achtmeyer ’26 Panel Staff

Madame Web is the newest Sony Spider-Man Universe movie (though they only have the rights to Spider-Man adjacent characters, not Spider-Man himself). The film stars Dakota Johnson in the titular role and co-stars Sydney Sweeney and others. Incompetently directed by S.J. Clarkson, the film runs for (a seemingly interminable) hour and 45 minutes. Before diving into the movie’s many flaws, here’s a plot rundown: Cassie, Madame Web , can see the future and must protect three teens from an evil spider man-esque character. That’s the basic setup- now for the flaws.

This movie has so many fundamental flaws that it fails at being a movie. For those who don’t know, the 180-degree rule is an essential aspect of filmmaking that gives viewers a sense of space. It is the first thing taught to every filmmaker, broken numerous times throughout the film. The result is a film where certain scenes are more specially disjointed and confusing than a strobe room. To make things worse, everybody is constantly talking in a bored teenage girl voice- even those who aren’t teenage girls. There’s a line where Sydney Sweeney’s character says, “What’s going on?,” a line meant to be delivered with concern. Instead, it is delivered with absolutely no inflection or emotion. For another example, Madame Web , at

one point, asks the crew, “What is your name?” Why they didn’t retake that scene and have her say “names” is beyond me, but it shows how little effort and care was put into the production. As if that wasn’t enough, EVERY line spoken by the antagonist is out of sync

single word said in the entire film even remotely resembles a sentence that an actual person would ever say to another human being. This atrocious dialogue is spoken by characters with absolutely zero semblance of arcs, making them incredibly annoying and painful -

with his mouth. This result is a sheer lack of competent editing and directing capability. As far as writing goes, the dynamic duo of writers who regurgitated Madame Web (also the writers of the cinematic masterpiece Morbius) fail at writing dialogue, of which not a

ly uninteresting. Characters pursued by the police are somehow allowed to leave the country on an airplane (post9/11), the antagonists will use technology that was certainly not available in 2003 (when the movie takes place) and more. There’s a scene when the main

characters (being pursued by Ezekiel) are staying at a safe house. However, one of their harborers, Mary Parker (yes, that one), is giving birth (the implication is that she’s giving birth to Peter Parker– however, his name is never explicitly stated because Sony doesn’t have the rights to the character). She must be taken to the hospital. The logical conclusion would be that her brother, Ben Parker, would take her to the hospital while the main characters remain in the safe house. However, they decide to tag along and are almost killed by Ezekiel. Why did they do this? The answer is simple because the writers needed the plot to happen.

The film fails in every single aspect of filmmaking. Everything was executed terribly by editing, acting, directing, effects, and even the music. All of this results in an utterly hilarious film. This movie wasn’t trying to be bad like the Sharknado films, it was just un-ironically terrible. However, it was also unironically the funniest movie I’ve seen this year. It is so inexplicably terrible yet so unbelievably funny that I have difficulty rating it. It should have a 1/10, but in Mr. Richards’ spirit, I give it a 2/10 for funny points. Terrible and hilarious; check it out. However, I recommend watching Madame Web with friends after it releases on streaming services and on-demand, so you can make fun of it while watching. ☐

Movies Are Far More Enjoyable Than Books

By Will Achtmeyer ’26 Panel Staff

Hot take: Movies are better than books. This statement will make your average English teacher suffer an aneurysm and possible cause them to beat you with the rusty pipe of a B-. Try not to get too angry with them; the truth can sometimes be hard to handle. A dissenter might first say, “What about Percy Jackson or the numerous other books that have been turned into absolutely terrible movies?” And to that, yes, there are lousy film adaptations of books. Still, there are also excellent ones, like The Shining, Die Hard, The Godfather, Jurassic Park, and many others, titles which, when most people hear them, usually first think of the film version. I ask you, have you ever seen a book adaptation of a film? They exist, but they aren’t exactly what I would call good. Why aren’t there many movie

novelizations? Why would you make an inherently inferior version of superior work? Movies are books that get the job done better than books. A good book immerses you in the setting, in the scene, if you will. We are constantly taught in English to use descriptive words to put the reader in the situation. This alone makes the argument, “books let you imagine more,” completely dilatory given that the hallmark of a good book is that it describes the scene so well that you can picture it exactly, like you’re watching it play out on a screen before you. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and there are no words that will describe a scene as well as a 24fps (amount of pictures/frames on screen per second) scene from a film will show you. Movies are more immersive by definition (they also have music; do books have music?) and, therefore, by the transitive property, are superior, beating books at their own game. This is not

to say that books are necessarily bad, but it’s like a Chick-fil-A sandwich: why would you get regular when you can go deluxe? Why would you waste countless hours reading when you can watch a 2-hour movie with friends, get the same takeaways, and be more immersed?

This leads me to another point: Movies can bring people together. People frequently watch movies at parties on family nights. Have you ever seen a group of people get together to enjoy an enthralling night of reading? If I called up the boys and said, “Wanna pull up later and read Die Hard?” I would probably get rightfully bullied. However, if I asked if the boys wanted to pull up and have a Die Hard viewing party, that could be fun, and my social life wouldn’t die faster than the Chapel when Dirty Durdy got up and freestyled. Anyway, I digress. Movies are the upgrade, the storytelling method of the new era. Movies are progress improvement, and where would humanity be without progress and improvement? We could ride horses, but we drive cars. We could wear togas, yet we wear modern clothes. We could save our meat in salt, but we use the fridge. We could read books, but we watch movies. ☐ Movies vs. Books Google Images

Madame Web Poster Google Images

From Dumplings, to BBQ, and Pie: March’s Meal of the Month

By Jack Ramanthan ’26 and Griffin Vail ’26 Panel Staff

Welcome back to another edition of The Meals of the Month, where our panel of reviewers reflect on the past foods served to students and offer our opinions on the best meals since our last article. This past month, Mr. Maws continued to pump out his weekly “food letters,” which preview the FLIK Kitchen Crew’s weekly culinary creations through great descriptions of each entree and dessert. From cultural dishes to fan favorites, let’s review the meals of the past month.

To begin, our panel of judges gave the entirety of the past few weeks of entrees an average rating of 6.44, which stacks up right around the middle of our other average ratings for previous months. However, the scores for each meal varied greatly; meals were often found to be either rated very high or low, with few in between. Some of those high-rated meals included the Pork Dumplings - which contained thick noodles that added a solid texture to the meaty and delicious dumplings and earned an overall average rating of

8.1/10. On the contrary, a less popular meal among students was the Korean BBQ Chicken, which had ratings of 3, 4, and 5 out of 10. Our judges believed that the chicken lacked flavor, and while the rice was a decent component, the chicken’s tasteless tang left students dissatisfied and thirsty. Unquestionably, the best meal of the past month was the St. Louis BBQ Pork Ribs, which judges rated 9, 9.5, and 9.5. The stunning culinary creation merited this high score due to the abundance of flavors found on the plate; The Mac & Cheese, along

with the Cornbread, paired as nicely with the ribs as a left sock goes with the right one. The standout from this meal was the ribs itself, which were coated in a decadent sauce and, when squeezed, released a significant amount of juice.

Moving on to the more sugary side, our judges granted the desserts an average score of 5.89/10. The Orange Slices appeared thrice since our last publication, and each time, we were given a score of 7/10. The treat is reminiscent of the salad bar from years past, although the freshness still offers a nice

zesty flavor for students. Judges decided that the best dessert of this month was the Apple Crisp, which was awarded scores of 9, 8, and 8.5 out of 10. The dessert was a top sweet dish because of its freshness and crisp texture. The filling contained a flavor nearly identical to a 4th of July baked apple pie. Overall, the dishes of the past month were great, and following March Break, our panel of judges is confident that the FLIK Kitchen Crew will continue to produce more delectable treats. ☐

The Best Free Blocks: Where Does Each Block Stack Up?

By Jack Ramanathan ’26 Panel Staff

From cramming in last-minute studying to mitigating a night’s homework, free blocks are versatile resources in the Upper School day. Each period lasts 40 minutes and occurs at different parts of the school schedule, depending on the particular day of the week. Some periods, however, provide a significant edge in comparison to others. By evaluating each free block’s pros and cons, we will answer the essential question: “Which free block is the best?” Read along as we rank each period and assess their strengths and weaknesses.

E Block : E block - the pinnacle of all free blocks - takes all the advantages above. Although it’s last on Mondays, most of the studying for assessments on that day would have already been done over the weekend, so it can always be used just for completing work. It is in the middle of the schedule on Tuesdays and Fridays, so students can study for upcoming tests or complete their assignments. Once again, on Fridays, it is right in the middle of the day, so boys can choose what they want to do for that period. E Block earns the gold trophy because it is almost always in the middle of the day and still allows students to decide on their own what choices they want to make for that period.

D Block : Similar to C block, D block is also early on most short-block days. However, students can still use it later on Mondays to prepare for their final two classes or start their homework. D block is also beneficial on Tuesdays, as sit-down lunch takes the role of X block; a free period in the early to middle part of the day would add that X block back into your schedule. A considerable advantage of having D block as a free period is that it is also on Thursdays, which does not have an X block due to sit-down lunches. Overall, D block offers students ample opportunities to study and complete homework, thus earning the second-best free block.

C Block : In third place comes the free period of C Block because of its

The current Belmont Hill schedule and students at extra help

usefulness and reliability almost any day. It is relatively early on Mondays and Tuesdays, so studying and homework from previous classes may be done. However, being last on Wednesdays and after X Block, C Block could be better for studying, although it is beneficial for completing homework from any classes assigned for the following day. It is also first on Fridays, so students can finish their homework from the previous night or prepare for upcoming tests on a busy Friday.

F Block : F block is commonly found towards the back half of schedules and always follows X block on non-Long Block days. The timing of the block could be better in terms of studying, as it occurs later in the day, so any tests most likely would already have been taken. However, students may take a bite at a sizable amount of homework since F block follows X block 3 out of the five days of the week. Thus, students will consistently head

Tom Kates home with less homework, setting up better nights. Most of their classes will already have been completed, too, so students can pick and choose which homework pieces to take a stab at early on. It’s also last on Thursdays, so students may be unable to study for tests again but can do any of their class’s homework from either long-block days.

B Block : An advantage of Free B blocks is that they are early on Mondays and Tuesdays. On the former, students may finish the homework assigned to them from the previous block or finish any homework given to them on hectic Mondays - where every class assigns homework due the following day. However, this free block ranks lower than others because of its impracticality on Wednesdays and Fridays. B block comes right before X block on Wednesdays, creating a 2 ½ hour free period. Students will often already complete most of their work during this time, so that the block will have almost no

purpose. The block comes last on Fridays when all students eagerly await to head off to sports or home. Being last on a Friday eliminates the possibility of studying for any assessments on a day when teachers assign them frequently. A Block : Simply put, A block has very few benefits and, thus, lands last in the rankings. On Mondays, it serves as a useless first period; students most likely would already have accomplished all that they needed to before, so they would do little to nothing come 8:00. The following day, the period is last, so there are no opportunities in the day to study for tests or quizzes. On Wednesdays, students can get some homework done from the previous day because it is first up in the morning and right before X block on Fridays, which creates just an extended version of a free block late in the day. A better use of a free block would be to separate the X and free blocks to utilize each more efficiently. ☐

Meals from this last month include BBQ ribs, dumplings and nooodes, and crispy shake and bake chicken Belmont Hill Dining

Should Donald Trump be on the 2024 Ballot?

By Alexander Laidlaw ’25 Panel Staff

On January 6th, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters gathered on the lawn behind the White House as part of the Save America rally, ready to listen to a series of speeches, including one from then-President Donald Trump. In his speech, Trump urged his followers to “fight,” vowing to “never concede.” In the crowd, chants of “storm the Capitol,” “take the Capitol,” and “invade the Capitol” could be heard. Across the National Mall, a joint session of Congress counted electoral votes, planning to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory. Believing Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election to be fraudulent, Trump’s supporters geared up to “stop the steal” and Donald Trump

interfere with Congress’s certification of the election results. Within hours, the MAGA supporters on the Ellipse would fulfill their chants, breaching the Capitol defenses and storming the Congressional chambers. As the sun set on the nation’s capital with four lives having been lost, Capitol Police cleared the site of rioters, and Mike

Pence called the session back into order. Legal repercussions followed. On January 13th, Donald Trump was impeached by the House for the second time in his presidency (in both instances, he was acquitted by the Senate). In July, the House created a bipartisan Select Committee, chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and vice-chaired by Liz Cheney (R), to investigate the attack. After examining the events before and during the protest, the Committee decided in their report on December 22, 2022, that Donald Trump played a crucial role in provoking the riot.

As the 2024 presidential election approaches, 41% of Americans want Donald Trump removed from the ballot, citing section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states that “No person shall… hold any office, civil or military, under the United States…who…shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” To them, Trump incited an insurrection on January 6th, thereby disqualifying him from holding office again. However, the question becomes whether Trump’s actions in provoking his supporters meet

the definition of the 14th Amendment. Did he genuinely engage in insurrection or merely stand by and allow it to happen?

When analyzing Trump’s actions surrounding January 6th, his word choice during his speech before the Save America rally is critical. The former president’s address was incredibly provocative, including statements such as “Get smart Republicans, FIGHT” and “We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Moreover, Trump directly questioned the election, stating that Biden would be an “illegitimate president.”

Still, Trump never explicitly urged his supporters to invade the Capitol. About the march on the Capitol, Trump said: “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” (this is the sole instance in which Trump used the word “peacefully.” By contrast, he said “fight” twenty times throughout his address.) Considering the strict definition of the 14th Amendment, Trump’s words never seem to incriminate him for allowing the insurrection, making the case for his removal from the ballot difficult.

However, beyond January 6th, there remains a way in which Trump may be removed from the ballot. In Georgia, the Election of 2020 was incredibly close, with Biden winning by an estimated margin of 11,780 votes. Immediately, Trump questioned this number, claiming that the state election officials had made a mistake. That night, Trump pressured Brad Raffensperger, the Secretary of State of Georgia, to overturn the results, telling him over the phone, “I just want 11,780 votes.” In the end, Georgia recounted the votes and came to a similar result (some unaccounted ballots were found), confirming Biden as the state’s winner. Trump’s attempt to pressure Raffensperger into overturning the election has come under intense scrutiny, and many argue that his actions in Georgia also violate the 14th Amendment. With legal proceedings underway, this serves as another avenue through which Trump may be taken off the ballot (although the case’s trial date has been repeatedly delayed, and the plaintiff has faced its challenges, including counts being thrown out by the judge).

In early March, Colorado’s attempt to take Trump off the ballot on account of his actions of January 6th was shot down, with the Supreme Court stating that such a decision can only be made at the federal level. While the case in Georgia remains in the judiciary system, the nation must wait to learn of Trump’s fate, and one can only speculate what will happen. For many, Trump’s actions on January 6th and in Georgia warrant his removal from the Election 2024, as it is apparent that he engaged in insurrection. However, others argue that removing Trump from the ballot is undemocratic, stating that the people should have the right to vote on whether Trump violated the Constitution during the Election of 2020. In truth, the issue is incredibly complex and nuanced, with valid arguments on both sides, making this matter one of the most intriguing things to follow as 2024 develops. ☐

The March Coffee House: An Uplifting Event For All

By Adrian Tan ’25 Panel Staff

Normally, there wouldn’t be a coffee house at this time of the year, as the Spring Coffee House is in April, but after the roaring success of January Coffee House, many students asked Ms. Allen if she could organize another Coffee House in between. She delivered, and the March Coffee House was a big success. There were many performances, featuring the Upper School Jazz Band, Upper School Rock Band, and many more; notably, the Upper School Jazz Band delivered a fantastic performance of “Billie Jean” after preparing it for only a couple of days, highlighting both the passion and talents of Belmont Hill’s student musicians. Audience members enjoyed many performances featuring TJ Cannistraro ’24, TZ Snail ’26, Alex Zhang ’26, and even Mr. Schneider and Mr. Fulham!

Overall, this coffee house was just as good as the ones in the past. The few technical issues that came with the hurried preparation were smoothly integrated into the show, with TJ and others telling jokes to entertain the audience. These coffee houses are open to anyone, and even though many of the performances are musical, it’s an open stage. Anything can be performed there, and the audience is always very enthusiastic for every performance.

☐ Jazz Band Performing “Billy Jean” at Coffee House Music Department

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The February Concert: A Profound Musical Expression

By Jaiden Lee ’26 Panel Staff

On February 25th, Belmont Hill hosted its seasonal ensemble concert, under the direction of Ms. Allen, Mrs. Carye, and Mr. Patterson. The Symphonic Orchestra began with a performance of “Fossils,” a movement in “Carnival of the Animals” by composer Camille Saint Saens; the movement featured solos from Wesley Zhu ’25 on the violin, TJ Cannistraro ’24 on percussion, and Ernest Lai ’25 on the

“This winter concert was really able to reflect everyone’s hard work and dedication throughout the school year. It seemed like a fun time for everyone.”

clarinet. The orchestra then transitioned into “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone from the popular 1988 movie feature, with an additional solo spotlight on Adrian Tan ’25 on the piano. When asked about all of the performances within the concert, Wesley stated, “This winter concert was really able to reflect everyone’s hard work and dedication throughout the school year, as well as let some individual guys be able to stand out in their respective repertoire. It seemed like a fun time for everyone sitting in the audience

as well; we had a lot of family members and several teachers there too.”

Then, the B-Flats were introduced to the stage under Mr. Patterson,

Muppet” from The Muppets, was performed in a duet by Thomas Sheehan ’25 and Alex Tosi ’25. A Valentine’s Day Medley was additionally performed,

beginning with “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King, with Thomas Danahy ’26 soloing. Next, they performed “Sarah’s Place” by Zach Bryan, with a sung duet by Ian Hendrix ’24 and Luke Travaglini ’24. In a similar fashion, “Man or

arranged

the B-Flats themselves; the performance

bits featured from “When I Was Your Man” (Bruno Mars), “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” (Paul Anka), “Home” (Phillip Phillips), and “My Girl” (The

Temptations.) Finally, they concluded on stage with a group performance under Mr. Patterson of “Encourage My Soul” by Charles A. Tindley. Shortly after, Zach Park ’28 gave a solo singing act of “Golden Hour” by JVKE.

Next, the Upper School Jazz Band took the stage under the direction of Ms. Allen; they performed “Have You Met Miss Jones?” by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, with TZ Snail ’26 featuring on the piano. The Middle School Jazz Combo also took to the stage soon after to play “Filthy McNasty” by Horace Silver.

The last performance of the February Winter Concert was by the Upper School Rock Band under Ms. Allen, finishing the evening with the song “Welcome to Paradise” by popular band Green Day. All in all, it was a great evening with fantastic renditions of popular scores by the Symphonic Orchestra, B-Flats, Upper School Jazz Band, Middle School Jazz Combo, and Upper School Rock Band; the audience enjoyed strong performances from individual solo features within the group presentations as well.

The Panel would like to give a huge thank you to Ms. Allen, Mrs. Carye, and Mr. Patterson for the careful organization and direction of all the ensembles and groups involved, as well as each soloist who performed in the Winter Concert. ☐

The Artist’s Round Part 2: A Musical Composition

By Adrian Tan ’25 Panel Staff

The Artist’s Round is a new art program where one artist is chosen by Mr. Duarte, Ms. Bradley, and Ms. Allen every month to create a piece of artwork in any style that they feel resonates with themselves and can impact the community. At the end of the school year, all the artists will come up during a Chapel and share their works. Last month’s artist Henry

how music pops into his mind from any form or art of emotional expression.

When asked about how Henry’s mural inspired his song, he said that when he first looked at the mural, the contrast of color instantly created a scene of an epic battle in his mind. “The blue light shining through a dragon made of fire made me think of a mythical battlefield.” The mural sparked all sorts of ideas in his mind. It looked like an intense moment captured in time and so he felt that an in -

Buckley-Jones ’25 created a beautiful and moving mural detailing humanity’s relationship with nature through a fire dragon and a firefighter. This month’s artist, Wes Lindstrom-Chalpin ’25, made a song based on this mural.

When thinking about someone to create a song for the mural, Wes was a no-brainer. Being a musician had always been “the biggest part of my identity at school,” and he is most well known for his work with music. When offered the opportunity to create a song based on a mural, he immediately accepted in order to test out his creativity and to learn

tense style of music would fit it best.

Wes chose a very unique genre to showcase this unique mural: Melodic Dubstep. He said that when he was growing up, he fell in love with electronic music, especially this genre called Melodic Dubstep. After thinking of this genre, it clicked. He knew this was the genre that would reflect the mural the best. It is a version of electronic music that is “based more on harmonic aspects and is more musical than simply sound design and rhythmbased.” Normal Dubstep is chaotic but Melodic Dubstep is more intense,

which perfectly embodies the condensed fire around the lone fireman. He had never attempted to create a Melodic Dubstep track himself before but had always wanted to learn the style, so

scious of staying original and creative as opposed to making a copy of something else. He wanted the song to be as unique and beautiful as the mural was. He says that his favorite aspect

this presented the perfect opportunity for him to step out of his comfort zone and expand his horizons. He wanted the song he made to not only sound good, but also tell the deep story under the mural, which Melodic Dubstep is perfect for. “From intro to drop to finish, the style constantly progresses, and there is always something new and interesting building off of each other.” Of course, the more complicated the song is, the harder the process will be. His methods of creating the song are pretty complex. He used F1 studio as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, used for recording, editing, mixing, and mastering), multiple VSTs (Virtual Studio Technology, integrates software synthesizers and effects units into DAWs), drumkits, and plugins to mix and master each sound to blend. He stayed loyal to the typical format of Melodic Dubstep while also being con -

of creating the song was gaining skills and understanding of the tools he uses in FL studio, and finding his own style of mixing. He loved exploring how he could put all the pieces together to balance out each individual aspect of the music so that they all complement each other. The final draft of the song shows that he did indeed master this, as there are many parts that sound so different but are made in such a way that they all blend together seamlessly. The song is an emotional experience starting with a bittersweet beautiful intro, building up into a call to action, and then finally a fight, which culminates with a beat drop. This is the climax of the story he weaves with his song. He tried to capture not just the intensity of the mural but also the complex emotion behind the intensity driving it. ☐

Thomas Danahy ’26 Performing “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King Music Department and notably

by

included

Beginning Screenshot of Wes’s ’25 Work in FL Studio Wes Lindstrom-Chalpin

The Final Steps in Wes’s Production Wes Lindstrom-Chalpin

Cont. Ms. Allen’s Pursuit In Music Education For All

Continued from front page... Her high school music teacher “was able to balance teaching fundamental musical skills with exploring our personal interests,” and this was something that really stuck with Ms. Allen. Although she had to learn the “boring” or hard things, the end product was arranging, playing, and performing pieces that she really enjoyed. Moving from learning the piano to studying at Berklee, Ms. Allen’s “musical spaces were my safe spaces, and when it comes down to it I am constantly striving to create an environment that motivates and asks a lot of its participants, while also making them feel comfortable to explore and express themselves.” Ms. Allen hopes to continue to provide a welcoming environment for musicians while also promoting the benefits and true power of music.

From a musician’s standpoint, Ms. Allen hopes to leave listeners “a little more whole than when they walked in.” Music is not always meant for uplifting times, so “the truth is that…my constant goal is really to give people a chance to connect with themselves and with others.” In conveying her music, Ms. Allen aims to lighten her audience, no matter the setting, and generate relaxation within the listeners.

Aside from music, Ms. Allen continues in the arts by “dabbling in writing, drawing, and painting.” According to her, if she had not pursued music education or music therapy,

such as drawing, are something that Ms. Allen uses for enjoyment; something she can do “without self-criticism built it.” Other mediums like visual arts serve as a platform where Ms.

she would have sought out EnglishLanguage Arts. In a way, she personifies these “backup” plans, as drawing is her “home away from home or art away from music.” Other forms of art,

Allen can express herself, escaping her own self-judgment that she may otherwise feel while performing music.

From listening to her grandparents play classical rock, to teaching

at Belmont Hill, Ms. Allen has, to say the least, accomplished quite a lot in the arts. Throughout her journey, three main concepts have stuck with her: “Every person should explore music. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “musi -

The arts will be there for you in your times of need. Particularly because, in one way or another, the arts will support you through life’s biggest milestones.

cian”, music can be remarkably powerful and healing.” She requests that everyone take a deeper dive into music, whether that be in finding a melody to connect with or lyrics that are meaningful. She also challenges people to be “open-minded listeners. You can learn a lot about the people around you, or about yourself, by maintaining a willingness to listen.” Opening one’s ears to listen to their surroundings, to music or not, roots them in their senses and enlightens them to the beauty of the world. Finally, she notes that no matter where you are in life, “the arts will be there for you in your times of need. Particularly because, in one way or another, the arts will support you through life’s biggest milestones.” ☐

Mr. DiResta’s Acting Class Performs at Chapel

By Davis Woolbert ’25 Panel Staff

Recently, the acting class took the Chapel stage to perform an improv skit entitled “Dinner Party.” The skit consisted of a “host” and several “guests” at a Belmont Hill reunion. While the host, Tommy Folan ’25, was outside the building, the school community decided on themes for the guests to center their conversations around. These guests would make the themes “their whole” personalities in an attempt for Tommy to guess them. The host then re-entered the building and greeted the guests as they took the stage. Through brief conversations with each guest, Tommy was tasked with identifying the theme each guest was given. When Tommy got close to identifying the theme, the audience snapped to help Tommy in his endeavors. When Tommy guessed correctly, it was the guest’s turn to act. The guest was tasked with making an excuse to leave the “room.” The skit ended when Tom-

my guessed all the personalities the student body gave to the guests. The skit the acting class put on for the school community was captivating and served as a stress reliever for students by prompting laughter and genuine enjoyment in the stressful pre-vacation time.

When interviewed, host Tommy Folan ’25 shared how stressful it was to identify the difficult theme of the last guest - David Bosco’s ’27 theme was being deeply affectionate for Eli Friedman ’25 - ultimately, however, he said, “The performance was a success in the eyes of me and my classmates.” Tommy also discussed the exercises that Mr. Diresta and Mr. Ojeni put the group through to prepare for the performance: “We played a game called Freeze where we practiced our improv skills, we did exercises in channeling emotions, and projection exercises in the chapel where we practiced speaking loud and clearly.”

The exercises the group went through proved effective, as the performance put on by the acting class was a resounding success. ☐ Mr. DiResta Teaching His Acting Class

The B-Flats and Mr. Patterson’s Display of Gospel Music

By TZ Snail ’26 Panel Staff

The chapel was illuminated by the voices of sixty people melodically conjoined, creating a euphoric sense of harmony. A bass guitar’s silky rhythm set an underlying beat as a keyboard and drum filled the gaps in the singing. The instruments and the vocalists were brought together by a singular man conducting the assemble: Mr. Patterson. With his arms flying up and down, and head bobbing to the music, Brother P diligently led the B-Flats and gospel choir in song. He cued in the tenors, who had the melody, followed by the baritones. Building more layers of harmony he added the basses and finally the sopranos. Each performer wore a solid-colored shirt, lighting up the stage, and bringing a rainbow to Hamilton Chapel. Brother P threw up his arms one more

time, cueing the end of the last song, and the chapel erupted in applause.

The gospel chapel held during community block was an opportuni -

ty for students and faculty to see into a genre of music that, to many, is not very well known. Gospel music is a traditional form of Christian music, often times referencing parts of the Bible and significant figures in the Christian religion. The B-Flats performed in the show, along with Brother P’s choir from his own church, Joyful Voices of Inspiration, and over 70 members of other local choirs. The event showcased many different styles of gospel music, incorporating a variety of backgrounds from the instruments and overall flow from different time periods. In all, the merged group performed six pieces: “Encourage My Soul,” “We Shall Overcome,” “I Have A Dream,” “I Open My Mouth to the Lord,” “Oh Happy Day,” and “Glory” (from Selma). Each had its own layering of voices and brought forth the true uplifting nature of gospel music. The performance was well received and The Panel commends the B-Flat and choir. ☐

Ms. Allen with Jazz Band after Jazz Festival Music Department

Mr. Patterson During the Gospel Chapel

Adam Richins

Adam Richins

AOTI: Andrew Bittner ’24

By Brady Paquette ’25 Panel Staff

Andrew Bittner ’24 is amongst the top Belmont Hill athletes within the sport of crew. As a member of the Varsity Crew team for over 4 years, Andrew has displayed consistency throughout his athletic career and the rest of the community is seeing dividends. Andrew is now a senior and was voted captain in his junior year, hoping to lead a determined squad for the upcoming season.

Andrew has been rowing since seventh grade, but states that he “started taking it seriously freshman year.” It is clear that crew involves teamwork and in Belmont Hill’s case, brotherhood. The sense of camaraderie among the crew, hence the name, is what Andrew loves about the sport so much: “I think it’s unique to rowing, and it’s really special to be a part of.”

Not only is his work ethic displayed on the water, but the classroom has also served Andrew well throughout his Belmont Hill career. Looking at the next four years, Andrew has declared his commitment to row at Yale University. Looking back on his experiences with the crew team, Andrew talks about one of his most memorable accomplishments being the New England races last year. After three out of the four boats won gold at the

New England championship race for Belmont Hill, Andrew talked about how impressed he was by the team’s efforts: “It was pretty impressive to see the hard work of so many guys come together to win the team trophy.”

As we look towards the 2024 highly anticipated spring season, Andrew mentions that “this is by far the most stacked team I’ve ever been a part of. We have newer guys and experienced guys who are all incredibly

talented and super excited about the season and it’s really awesome to see.”

After the crew season ended last year, Andrew and a couple of guys worked hard to ensure that they would be ready for the following season. Andrew mentions how important training is for a sport so physically demanding. During the winter leading up to crew season, Andrew and a few other rowers spent time on the ergs to help increase cardiovascular stamina. As

Track & Field Preview

By Justin Li ’26 & Eita Fuse ’26 Panel Staff

The Belmont Hill Varsity Track and Field team is looking forward to another successful season after winning the ISL Championship by a small margin and finishing 5th at NEPSTA last year. This year, the team is looking strong, led by captains Josiah Gomes ’25, Jackson Pagan ’24, and Miles Sandoski ’24. This coming season is marked by the arrival of several new members of the team, most notably Marcus Griffin ’26, a prolific long jumper and sprinter who joined Belmont Hill this year. There is no doubt that this Belmont Hill Track and Field team is packed with talent to unleash on the ISL. Several headline meets include the away meet at Governor’s

Academy on April 20, when the team will face the perennially strong NEPSTA competition that is Phillips Exeter. Other than these games, the team will have plenty of strong competition. Of course, there are also the two championship meets—ISL Championships on May 11 and the NEPSTA D1 meet on May 18. The Panel wishes the coaches, captains, and the entire Belmont Hill Varsity Track and Field team the best of luck for the upcoming season. ☐

well as lifting with Coach Markham in the weight room, Andrew and the guys also went down to the Harvard stadium to run stairs once a week. No doubt, Andrew has all the tools to repeat another successful season and is doing so leading the pack.

When asked about what he would want someone who’s new to the sport to know, Andrew states, “Have fun with it. It’s easy to fall into the trap of getting stressed about ergs and racing, and while those things matter, rowing and racing are supposed to be fun.” In such a team culture, Andrew stated that he loved to see the guys who put in the hard work do well in the big show at the end of the season. It is clear that Andrew values drive and work ethic as much as team camaraderie and good sportsmanship.

Ultimately, Andrew Bittner will join the long list of successful rowers in Belmont Hill Crew history as a leader who led by example. No varsity jacket or Belmont Hill sweatshirt could ever tell the true story of what Andrew has brought to the long-lasting program and his reputation will be remembered amongst the whole community.

The Panel staff wishes Andrew good luck in his future endeavors as both an athletic and academic achiever and hopes that he continues to make such a powerful impact. ☐

BH Varsity Lacrosse Preview

By William Hennigar ’26 Panel Staff

The Belmont Hill lacrosse team is looking to have another successful season in 2024. Over the last two years, the team has gone a combined 29-4 and last year was at one point ranked #8 by the National Lacrosse Federation. This year, the team is captained by seniors Finn Fox ’24, Declan Reilly ’24, and Will Stewart ’24, and placed #24 on the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Rankings. They opened up the season winning 13-12 against a strong Deerfield team and also play Westminster, Avon Old Farms, and IMG for out-of-league games. The tryout process this year was very competitive, as only eight out of twenty-eight kids trying out made the team. Before the season, the players prepared by going to captains’ practices

on the weekends as well as participating in the Winter Box Lacrosse League, featuring other ISL and MIAA schools. The goal for this season is to secure an ISL Championship, and with the great leadership and talent this team has, this goal should be achievable. The Panel would like to wish Coach Sullivan, the captains, and the rest of the varsity lacrosse team good luck with their season and the quest for another ISL title and playoff appearance. ☐

March Madness Comences

By Ben Adams ’25 Panel Staff

It’s been a typical first weekend of March Madness–we’ve had upsets and storylines that will be remembered forever. Yale had a big win against Auburn, and Grand Canyon got its first tournament win in their school’s history to name a few. But, the biggest upset thus far was Oakland over Kentucky. The Grizzlies busted millions of brackets and Jack Gohlke became an instant sensation by hitting ten 3-pointers. However, Oakland’s tournament run came to an end in the very next round when they lost to the red-hot NC State Wolfpack. After a disappointing season, NC State got the 10 seed in the ACC tournament, but they rallied together and won five games in five days to secure their spot in March Madness. They also didn’t lose any speed going into the tournament, winning against Texas Tech in the first and, as previously mentioned,

Oakland in the second. Also, the center of the Wolfpack, DJ Burns, has become a fan favorite throughout their run.

It’s also important to mention the best game we have seen so far in the tournament: Creighton vs. Oregon. This game was back and forth throughout. It took until the second overtime for Creighton to pull away and get the win.

After seeing the Sweet 16, I

predict that the Final Four will have Iowa State coming out of the East. They took care of business in the first round and had an impressive win against a very good Washington State team in the second. Their biggest competitor is definitely Uconn, but after seeing Iowa State beat Houston by 30 in the Big 12 Championship, I believe that Iowa State can win.

Out of the West, I think that North Carolina will win against Alabama, and then beat Arizona to get to the Final Four. The Tarheels are coming off of an impressive win against Tom Izzo of Michigan State, who are known to make runs in the tournament.

Out of the South, I think Houston will make the Final Four, even though they barely beat Texas A&M in the round of 32. They had four of their starters foul out, which is not going to happen in the future. Texas A&M was also very underrated in getting a 9 seed.

Finally, out of the Midwest, I have Creighton beating out Tennesee and either Purdue or Gonzaga. Oregon played a very, very good game against them, and they still pulled out the win. Also, Creighton shot very poorly from 3 and was still impressively able to beat a very good Oregon team. Additionally, the other teams in their quadrant are overrated.

BH Crew 2023

Adam Richins

Red Sox Offseason Recap

By Nathan Zhang ’26 Panel Staff

The Boston Red Sox have shown optimistic signs during their spring training in Fort Myers, Florida. They stand third in the Grapefruit League, with a record of 19 wins and 12 losses. Not only have the Red Sox starters become accustomed to MLB play but many of the organization’s most promising prospects have been given chances to showcase their potential while playing alongside the major leaguers. Despite a relatively quiet offseason, the team is hoping to rebound from a disappointing finish to their 2023 season and possibly contend for the postseason in the fall.

A lack of proper starting pitching plagued the team last season, and the trade that sent Chris Sale, the ace pitcher, to the Atlanta Braves exacerbated this problem. The Red Sox front office addressed this issue by signing Lucas Giolito, a veteran pitcher known for throwing a no-hitter during his time with the Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately, during his start on March 1st against the Twins, he suffered a partially torn UCL, a devastating elbow injury that rendered him out for the rest of the season.

Despite the setback, younger players on the team are ready to step up and start games in 2024. Manager Alex

Cora has officially announced the 2024 starting rotation, with Bello, Pivetta, Crawford, Whitlock, and Houck taking the mound for the Red Sox. Whitlock, who spent the majority of last season battling a hip injury, has had a normal offseason without any discomfort and is ready to pitch at a high level, capping off his Spring Training with a dominant performance over the strong Texas Rangers lineup. Houck had his 2023 season cut short after being struck in the face by a line drive, and following surgery, is also likely to start. The team

still has the opportunity to sign star free-agent pitcher Jordan Montgomery, although such a signing is unlikely. The bullpen, including Jansen, Martin, Campbell, Slaten, and Winckowski, has a high ceiling and much to prove entering the season. The pitchers who were sent down to the team’s Triple-A minor league affiliate additionally could be called up to serve as bullpen depth during the season, with some serious talent in Bernandino, Criswell, and Kelly. Overall, the pitching situation in Boston appears to have improved and

has the potential for a great 2024 season.

In terms of position players, the team has addressed most of its offseason questions. In the infield, first baseman Triston Casas and third baseman Rafael Devers are coming off amazing years in the MLB, providing their swinging power to the Red Sox offense. At shortstop, Trevor Story has had an injury-free offseason for the first time in many years and has proven to be a threat at the plate with his excellent hitting so far this spring training. Form IV student Ethan Ho ’26, who traveled to Fort Myers this Spring, was able to watch Story in person at a game: “The team seems to be finding a groove. In particular, Story had a few great hits and I am excited to see him thrive.”

Second base remains a question, after Vaughn Grissom, the team’s new acquisition, injured himself before his first start and is now planning to begin his season in April. In the meantime, either Pablo Reyes or Enmanuel Valdez are likely to fill the gap in the roster.

Tyler O’Neil is another big addition for the Sox. The Red Sox played their first game of the season away in Seattle on March 28th and continued playing two more away series against the Athletics and Angels before finally returning to Fenway Park for their home debut against the Orioles on April 9th.☐

Caitlin Clark Making History

By Jackson Hurd ’26 Panel Staff

On February 15, 2024, Caitlin Clark shattered the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record with a career-high 49-point performance against Michigan. The Iowa Hawkeyes guard surpassed the WNBA star Kelsey Plum’s 7-year record with a 35-foot-three-point shot early in the first quarter of the game.

Not only did she break the women’s NCAA scoring record this year but, on March 3rd, she also beat Pete Maravich’s 54-year men’s NCAA scoring record by hitting two free throws before the end of the half against Ohio State, the 2nd bestranked team in the nation at the time.

In her 4-year college career, she has scored over 3770 total points, with

room to score more in this year’s March Madness Tournament. Over four years at Iowa, Clark has averaged 28.4 points per game in over 133 games, shooting almost 38% from the three-point line.

To put that into perspective, Stephen Curry, the NBA’s all-time 3-point leader,

averaged 41% in college with one fewer three-point shot attempted per game.

Even with one year left of eligibility for college basketball, Caitlin Clark announced via social media on February 29th that she would declare for the 2024 WNBA draft, where she will likely be drafted by the Indiana Fever, who hold the first pick in the draft for the second year in a row.

Patriots NFL Draft Strategy

By Gavin Zug ’25 Panel Staff

The New England Patriots are coming off their worst season since 1992. The inevitable rebuild of the Patriots will start with the players whom they select this year. They finished the 2023 season with a record of 4-13, earning the 3rd overall pick in this year’s draft. This is the Patriot’s highest draft pick since drafting Drew Bledsoe first overall in 1993.

So, who should they draft? Who will hopefully be the answer to the recent struggles of the team, fans, and culture?

On March 14th, The Patriots traded Mac Jones, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft, and the former starting quarterback, to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a measly 6th-round pick. Due to this, I believe the Patriots need to take a quarterback with the 3rd pick, and who that is, is decided by which quarterback the Washington Commanders

draft with the 2nd overall pick. The two players most likely to be drafted there are Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye.

Personally, I think Jayden Daniels is the better player, and his stats back him up. He was this year’s Heisman Trophy winner and led his LSU Tigers to a 10-3 record. The last LSU quarterback to win the Heisman was Joe

Burrow. Furthermore, he threw for 3,812 yards and rushed for 1,134 more while scoring 50 total touchdowns. Finally, his large stature of 6’4” and 210 pounds draws comparisons to Lamar Jackson and other elusive quarterbacks.

Drake Maye is also a solid young quarterback from the University of North Carolina. Last year he threw

While Caitlin Clark has yet to win a national championship at Iowa, she has won many awards, including 2022-2023 AP Player of the Year, 3-time Big 10 Player of the Year, 4-time All-American, and more. After she became the all-time NCAA point holder, Charlie Maws ’26, said, “I wonder if people will talk about her in all-time goat conversations,” raising a question that many people are wondering.

Jack O’Brian ’26 says, “I would think she needs to win a championship.” With Clark going to the NBA after this season’s March Madness, many would say there is a lot of pressure riding on her to win the tournament and be remembered as the greatest college basketball player.☐

for 3,608 yards and 33 total touchdowns and was named to the 2nd team All-ACC. The main reason I believe he is not as strong a selection as Daniels is due to UNC’s record. They finished with a record of 8-5; furthermore, many of their wins came from below-average teams and losses to ranked teams. This calls Maye’s leadership and ability to win without a strong supporting cast into question.

The final option the Patriots could choose is Marvin Harrison Jr. He is the son of Hall of Fame WR Marvin Harrison and is one of the best WR prospects in recent memory. He racked up 1,211 receiving yards paired with 14 touchdowns this year at Ohio State. But from a Patriots management perspective, a QB is the correct pick to set up for the future.

Overall, the Patriots have an important decision to make with the 3rd overall pick that could help to determine the future success of the team. ☐

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Baseball Looks to Repeat as ISL Champs

By Chris McEvoy ’25 & Ryan Pohl ’25 Panel Staff

The Belmont Hill Varsity Baseball Team returns to the diamond this spring after winning the ISL last year in a dominant fashion. The team looks to build on last year’s success and once again instead top the ISL come the end of May. The team is led by captains Nick Anderson ’24, Charlie Walsh ’24, and Brady Miller ’24. All three captains are committed to play baseball in college: Nick is committed to play for Holy Cross, Charlie is committed to play for George Washington, and Brady is committed to play for Boston College. The team also has an incredibly talented head coach, David Cunningham ’12.

Going through the lineup, the middle infield comprises a talented pair of Charlie Walsh ’24 and Jake McManus ’24. The outfield consists of talents such as Nick Anderson ’24 and Brian Seo ’26 among others. For pitchers, the team has reigning ISL MVP Brady Miller ’24, Nick Hart ’24, Jack Duffy ’25, and others. For catchers, Eric Willi ’26 returns to the team after a successful year last year and the team added Cooper Tarlie ’25 to the catching group. Tarlie is committed to William & Mary after graduation next year.

When asked about this upcoming season, captain Brady Miller ’24

had this to say: “I’m really excited for the season coming up. We just finished our first week of practice during the second week of break: it was unreal. A lot of good players, and a lot of good positions, and I’m super excited to compete this spring.”

The path to once again claiming the ISL title will not be easy for this year’s team. The team graduated a number of vital players last year including Brennan Barlage ’23, Anthony Pellagrini ’23, and Jack Farrell ’23 among others. Despite these heavy losses, this team is incredibly talented. Under the leadership of Coach Cunningham and the captains, they hope to hoist a trophy by the end of the season.

The boys start off the season with a doubleheader against Deerfield on Saturday. They the follow this up with games against Bridgton Academy, Worcester Academy, and Milton Academy. The Panel wishes the Varsity Baseball Team good luck with their season and their quest for another ISL title! ☐

Golf Season Begins

By Ethan Xie ’24 & Eita Fuse ’26 Panel Staff

As we enter the spring season, the Belmont Hill golf team is back! This year, the squad will consist of eight returning members and newcomer Joey Monahan ’28. Captained by CJ Winchenbaugh ’24 and Aidan Monahan ’24, the golfers are hoping to maintain momentum from the previous season heading into the spring. The team has dominated the ISL in recent years under the leadership of Mr. Doar, winning both the ISL league championship and the ISL Kingsman Championship tournament in both 2022 and 2023. The 2023 season was especially remarkable, as the golf team had a stellar record of eighteen wins, zero losses, and one tie despite having five newcomers to the squad that year. New to this season

will be the golf team’s participation in the Independent International Invitational at Crumpin-Fox club, where the team will get to play against both ISL and non-ISL independent schools. Additionally, the new golf simulator in the alumni house will allow the team to practice without having to travel to nearby courses.When asked about his goals for this season, Coach Doar replied: “I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the outcome, since I think that’s unhealthy. We didn’t do a lot of that last year, and we did win [the ISL]. So, I think we know that we’re one of the stronger teams, so if we work hard and are smart about our decisions on and off the course, I think we’ll have a good chance [to win the ISL].” The Panel wishes Mr. Doar and the Varsity golf team the best of luck as they enter the spring season. ☐

Crew Starts Up

By Eli Norden ’26 Panel Staff

This season, the Varsity Crew team hopes to sweep the New England Championships (NEIRAs) in the 1v4 through 4v4 for the first time since 2013. After winning three gold medals and one silver last season, the team is hungrier than ever for a sweep. “[We have] another opportunity to go and compete and hopefully have an extremely successful season…moral is high,” expressed Vince Mezzanotte ’25.

Last season, the 1v4 coxed by Aaron Stanger ’24 placed second in nationals and consisted of a stellar crew: Andrew Bittner ’24, Sean Egan ’23, Luca Mezzanotte ’23, and Bennett Carroll ’23. This year’s varsity team hopes to crown themselves national champions for the first time in 14 years. When reflecting on what a national championship would mean to

the team, Coach Calloway responded: “Winning youth nationals is a monumental achievement for any program… [the coaches] really believe that every single rower on the team contributes towards the first boat…[The first boat’s success] would be totally impossible without the depth and commitment of every single person on the team.”

At the sub-varsity level (4v8, 5v8, and 9v4), rowers hope to beat Nobles again in the annual Bassett Cup, and ample racing opportunities will provide those boys with countless opportunities to improve their technique and strength on the water. As a sub-varsity rower described, the “real drive behind the success of the team” represents hard work and character. The team would not be complete without hard work from rowers of all skill levels. The hope is the boys can have their best season yet with hard work and focus on the end goal.☐

Varsity Tennis Preview

By Noah Farb ’24 Panel Staff

Belmont Hill Varsity Tennis returns for the 2024 Spring Season! Led by captains Aidan Lee ’24 and Carver Porter ’24, the squad is hoping to maintain the excellence of the past few seasons, which has resulted in multiple appearances in the NEPSAC Class B Tournament. When asked for the teams’ goals, Porter said, “We’re hoping to build on momentum from the past few years and push for a spot at the top of a tight ISL.” Along with the leadership of the captains, the team will be guided by the brilliant stewardship of its head coach, Mr. Speer.

The team is going through some changes within its starting lineup due to the departure of last years’ seniors. Trying to help to soften the blow will

be Senior Ethan Sidman ’24, who hopes to put the team on his back from the #3 slot. Newcomers Will Jones ’26 and Will Greenhill ’28 will provide much needed depth throughout the inevitable wear and tear of the long Spring season.

The team will be challenged on the court right from the start as many of the toughest matches are early in the schedule. Some highlights include matches at Deerfield (4/3), at Roxbury Latin (4/10), at Phillips Andover (4/19), at St. Sebastians (4/24), and vs Groton (5/15).

The team is setting their sights high, with aspirations of competing for the ISL title and making a run in the NEPSAC Class B tournament. The Panel wishes Coach Speer and the rest of the team good luck as they begin their season! ☐

Belmont Hill Baseball

Adam Richins

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