December 2016 (65, 5)

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A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill School

30-Year Death Row Survivor Addresses Belmont Hill Chapel

By Jason Fischman Panel Staff After reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson over the summer and learning more about Stevenson’s work in running the Equal Justice Initiative and the death penalty in general, the Belmont Hill community was incredibly lucky to hear from two people close to Stevenson: Sia Sanneh, a lawyer at the EJI, and Anthony Ray Hinton, a man who was wrongfully sentenced to death row for 30 years for the murder of two men in Alabama and new works at the EJI as a community educator.

Ms. Sanneh started the chapel by briefly discussing her pathway to the EJI and introducing Mr. Hinton with a clip of him on ABC’s Dateline, which showed Hinton’s incredibly emotional release from jail and reunion with his friends and family.

Next, Hinton stepped up to the podium and launched into one of the most powerful and thought-provoking chapels in recent memory. He started from the beginning, detailing the hot summer day in Alabama when he was arrested while cutting his mother’s lawn before heading to church. Two detectives arrived with a warrant for his arrest without actually telling him the reason, and, before he knew it, Mr.

Hinton was wrongfully detained for a crime of which he knew nothing.

Quickly, the racial bias and disregard for due process in the story appeared in his conversation with the detective:

“I said, ‘You got the wrong person.’ He looked at me and said, ‘I don’t care if you did it or didn’t do it, but you will be found guilty’. I said ‘For something that I didn’t do?’ He said ‘You must have a

“I wish I could look at each of you in the eye and tell you that race played no part in me going to death row; I wish I could tell you that being born black and poor had no reason for me going to death row, but if I told you anything other than that, I’d be telling you a lie. Race played every part of me going to death row.” -Anthony Ray Hinton

L to R: Mr. Collins, Ms. Sanneh, Mr. Hinton, and Dr. Melvoin.

Bill Mahoney

hearing problem, I just told you I don’t care whether you did or didn’t do it.’ ” Mr. Hinton then explained the pitfalls of the trial and how the deck was stacked against him. He was given a public defender who complained about his mandatory pro bono work, the ballistic expert hired by his attorney was blind in one eye, and he was convicted solely due to the prosecutor’s ballistic expert’s testimony that the bullets at the scene matched those in his mother’s gun at home.

However, Mr. Hinton knew the real reason he was convicted. As the police officer who arrested him explained: “Number one, you’re black. Number two, a white man is going to say you shot him, whether you shot him or not, I really don’t care. Number three, you’re gonna have a white prosecutor. Number four, you’re gonna have a white jury. Do you know what that spells? Conviction.”

Mr. Hinton then described the depressing conditions of his thirty years living on death row; he lived in a 5 feet by 7 feet cell with only a bed and a toilet. For the first three years, Hinton was unable to speak, and he only began speaking to console his crying cell mate. However, he soon began adapting to life in prison, using his mind to travel anywhere besides death row.

Continued on page 4

The Catcher in the Rye Stirs Controversy Progressive Winsor Students Rally

By Isabel Isselbacher Panel Staff

Roadtrippers.com

By Haley Kwoun Contributing Writer Regardless of your personal opinions on the novel, crossing paths with Holden Caulfield, our protagonist from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, at some point in your high school career is inevitable. The story is set Hope for the Chilin New dren of Haiti York in the 1950s and pg 2 follows 16-yearDonald Trump: Acold Holden tions Speak Louder through his Than Words n a r r at i o n pg 8 of some “m a d m a n stuff ” that Editorials went down pg 10-11 in the days of his winWinsor’s PE Require- ter break ment and, supp o s e d l y, pg 13 landed him The BH Coffeehouse in a mental institupg 19 tion. Holden recalls

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his experiences as he learns to face loss, romance, school, sex, adults, grief, and phonies, a recollection that provides the reader with insight into some of the dos and don’ts of adolescence and young adulthood. In 1951, by its second week of publication, the book had climbed to the top of the New York Times Best-seller list. The novel is surrounded by a mass of controversy, considered both a classic for its timeless themes and bowdlerized in many schools for its profanity and darkness. Here at Winsor and Belmont Hill, students read Salinger’s novel in 9th grade, arguably the most appropriate age to understand and relate to the novel, as Holden reveals his, admittedly poor, solutions to the typical issues of the common teenager. Is this really a novel about a boy coming of age in the 1950s, or does it pay homage to the follies that teens endure and their various strategies to maneuver through their adolescence and into young adulthood? There have been various debates as to whether the book truly fits the requisite for “Great American Literature”; among those is the question of whether Catcher should be a classic. A classic, according to Mark Twain, is “something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.” While the story is chock-full of symbolism, themes, motifs, and possible essay topics, opinions regarding whether this book should be considered a classic vary greatly within our own community.

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At three o’clock on a Friday afternoon, 20 Winsor girls with posters tucked under their arms crowded onto the T. It was November 11th, the Friday after the presidential election, and the group was on its way to a peace rally on the Boston Common. Students first heard about the organized gathering via Facebook, and word later spread to the junior and sophomore classes. Several girls had spent their time after school on Thursday working on posters, and by the 8:00 a.m. the following morning, the Junior homeroom was dec-

Juliet Isselbacher

Winsor students’ signs for the rally

orated with colorful slogans such as: “Coexist,” “Nasty Women <3,” “My Body, My Choice,” “Stronger Together,” “All Rights Are Human Rights,” “LGBTQ+ Rights Are Human Rights,” “We Stand with Standing Rock,” “#Stillwithher,” “Love Trumps Hate,” “America Is a Nation Based on Immigrants,” “We Are One,” “We Are All Equal,” and an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.”

The organizers used the word “rally” rather than “protest” to describe the event because the latter did not accurately reflect its purpose.

Most of the Winsor students who attended did not go to contest the results of the election; on the contrary, they recognized that this was the truth of democracy, however painful, and that America must accept the ultimate outcome. But all of the students still wanted to make their voices heard in matters important to them – like equality, inclusiveness, and climate change. Claire Ganiban ’18 corroborated this sentiment, explaining, “I think it’s important to understand that this was not a rally that protested the election result, but instead it was to protest the ideas that were circulating after the election. Hate will not be tolerated in this country, no matter who the President is, and, although it may be difficult, we need to be united and supportive of everyone. That was the message the rally was sending.” While protests were cropping up throughout the United States in the week following the election, this gathering was designed to promote the idea that Americans need to unite as one, because we really are stronger together.

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winsor NEWS

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Interview with Sophie Stone ’17 on Hope for the Children of Haiti

By Arielle Blacklow Panel Staff On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew swept through Haiti, devastating an already impoverished country. The Category 4 hurricane destroyed nearly 200,000 homes and left around 1.4 million people in need of food, housing, water, and other aid.

An estimated two thousand children were newly orphaned or placed at serious risk.

Sophie Stone ’17 has been involved in an organization called Hope for the Children of Haiti (HFC), which runs an orphanage and school for kids in one of the poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Before the hurricane, the orphanage was home to seventy five children and served as a school for four hundred and fifty. In response to the humanitarian disaster produced by the hurricane, HFC took in twenty eight additional children. The orphanage has the space to take in the children but lacks supplies for them like food, beds, bed linens, clothes, shoes, and other daily necessities.

Because the organization will have to raise money to buy the necessary goods, Sophie, with the help of COLLECT, held a drive for HFC, asking Winsor students to buy bracelets. The proceeds will go directly to the orphanage to help supply the children with essential daily goods, medical care, healthy food, clean water, and education. Winsor’s goal is to raise one thousand dollars, which will provide approximately three thousand meals for the children in the orphanage.

In this interview, Sophie describes firsthand the reaction HFC had to the crisis and what other goals of the program are:

What is most challenging about keeping the orphanage going?

Well the finances are never an easy thing.

However, the organization has been around for a while, and has really started to gain momentum for fundraising. Additionally, they now have 103 children in our care and 31 staff. Many depend on HFC to keep them safe and secure.

commitment to an independent and digni- problems out in the world that need smart, fied life for HFC’s kids sets the organization capable, bright young women like us to adapart from its peers. dress them. Third, consider volunteering in Haiti. Traveling as part of a service team is How can we help? an amazing experience, and you’ll be able to Three things come to mind. First, buy a help in a place where it’s needed most. bracelet and donate to HFC! The organization is always in need of funds, so consider What is the most rewarding part of working donating what you and your family can. with HFC? Each dollar you give will be put to use.

The organization is doing real, quantifiable What does the future look like for the orga- There are only 2 people on full-time staff in good for the neighborhood. When a new nization and the kids in it? the U.S., so the overhead costs of running child comes to HFC they often are in pretty HFC is working toward providing these the organization are quite low. That just rough shape. Trauma and malnutrition are kids with an opportunity to rise above their means that just about all of your money common. Within a few weeks of receiving circumstances by breaking the intractable goes straight to the kids. Second, stay proper care, you can see dramatic improvecycle of poverty in Haiti. They work very informed. Before I went to Haiti, I really ments. The other most rewarding part is hard to [educate] the kids so that they didn't understand what poverty meant or building relationships with the children have a chance to become productive and what its effects were. I think being aware and staff. Some of the people I’ve gotten to independent. Funding after they leave the of what is going on in the world helps know in Haiti are some of the kindest and orphanage equips the kids for adulthood you maintain perspective and understand most generous people I’ve met. through university or vocational training. A where you fit in this world. There are many How has the organization made progress?

A telemedicine program was just established for our in-house clinic. That means that we now have the equipment for a well-trained doctor in America to diagnos each of these kids remotely. This program costs much less than taking each kid to a doctor in Haiti and allows the orphanage to streamline care. Also, 48 recently installed solar panels supply all of our energy needs.

With solar panels, the orphanage gets continuous and reliable energy. Finally, the school has earned a reputation for developing students who graduate with exceptional test scores on the national high school exams.

Read the full interview on the online Panel.☐ Orhpaned children at HFC authenticchristianliving.com

Temporary Victory for the Standing Rock Sioux after Months of Protests

By Alison Poussaint Panel Staff In January 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved of the building of a 1,172 mile long pipeline as part of the Dakota Access Pipeline Project in North Dakota (DAPL). The project, which cost 3.78 billion dollars, strove to run a conduit pipeline to transport 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the Bakken Fields of North Dakota to Illinois. Its investors anticipated that the pipeline would create a generous profit because oil is in demand in consumer markets on the Gulf Coast, in the Midwest, and on the East Coast. Despite its potential to bring in much profit and increase the U.S.’s oil infrastructure, the pipeline threatens the water supply of one of the Native American tribes with reservations in North and South Dakota. The tribe of around 10,000, called the Standing Rock Sioux, are afraid because the pipeline will run under the Missouri River, contaminating their water supply if the pipe were to explode or leak. Ad-

ditionally, the pipeline would run through sacred Standing Rock Sioux land. The land was home to many of the tribe’s ancestors, and in a desire to preserve the lands, the tribe is protesting against the pipeline that could possibly destroy the land. Motivated by their fear of losing clean access to water and their sacred land, the tribe began to protest against the building of the pipeline.

Protests, beginning soon after the pipeline was approved, were initiated by environmentalists from groups such as EarthJustice and members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The tribe also sued the Army Corps of Engineers, who approved of the project, accusing them of violating the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The federal and state governments have opposed the protests. The governor of North Dakota, Jack Dalrymple, called the National Guard as well as police officials against the protesters, of whom more than 140 have been arrested. Many protesters are alleging that federal authorities used aggres-

sive methods of defense against them such as pepper spray, rubber bullets, and concussions cannons. In response to all of the conflict, President Obama made the decision to withhold the permit to build the pipeline, resulting in a temporary victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The Missouri River will not be included in the route of the pipeline; rather, the Army Corps of Engineers will be discussing alternate routes. However, with the upcoming Trump administration, the future of the project remains uncertain The environmental and cultural conflict that surrounded the Dakota pipeline project has brought into question how much respect America and the government has for its Native American tribes. Joanna Grill ’17, one of the heads of Current

Events Club at Winsor, explains how “the Standing Rock Sioux tribe is the rightful owner of the land that many are protesting according to a treaty with the U.S. government from 1851. Despite history repeating itself so many times over many centuries, Native Americans are still fighting for protection of land that is rightfully theirs. The U.S. Corps of Engineers’ halt of the pipeline is a huge win for Native Americans and human rights, but their victory has come after unreasonable police brutality and violence against completely peaceful protests. The protest also proves that the standing up for what you believe in can in fact make a difference, a message that is especially significant in today’s political climate.” ☐

Fidel Castro Passes Away at 90

By Sophie Stone Panel Staff Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba since 1959, passed away November 25, 2016.

Though his brother, Raul Castro, has been in power since around 2003, Fidel’s death marks the end of an era. He has left a highly contested legacy behind him; examination of reactions to his death shows two different sides of Cuban society and a larger struggle between past and future.

Some in Cuba are mourning the loss of a father figure. He's a man that has been in power for so long and in such total control that he has been woven into the very fabric of Cuban society. Many Cubans are reported to have praised the late dictator. They spoke of the country’s free health care and education systems, as well as the

low infant mortality rate and government efforts to combat racism. Despite the many trials of the Castro regime—including famines, sluggish economic development, violence, and restrictive controls on many aspects of life—some in Cuba still regard him as a positive, albeit flawed, influence on the country. Of all his contributions, likely his most important was the nationalist unification of Cuba. He forged a proud national identity by creating a common nemesis, the United States and its trade embargo, as well as the poisonous effects of capitalist society. Betsy Kim '17 commented, "It's interesting to see how national identity has played a large role in the Cuban people's relationship with Fidel Castro. It reminds me of our Class V history course Revolutions and Nationalism, where we learned about nationalism in the French revolution.”

Standing Rock Sioux Many Cubans that share this more positive viewpoint are of the generation that was young when Castro came to power over fifty years ago. Conversely, a younger generation of Cubans are more distrustful of the government and open to a more globalized society. They emphasize the negative aspects of Castro’s regime- the human rights abuses, a stagnant economy, and a mass exodus of Cubans. Fidel Castro is credited with saying, “A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.”

He was once the revolutionary, playing a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading a guerrilla war against the President of the time. But now for many in Cuba, his anti-capitalist and anti-globalization

oneearthsangha.com sentiments are the past that they struggle against. To some he represents a power of the 20th century whose time has passed.

Raúl Castro, now officially in power, understands the necessity of forging diplomatic and trade ties with the United States.

This action would bring an influx of business and capital, but it would also help spread ideas of capitalism. More Cubans have recently been allowed access to internet and many are now getting smartphones. Exposure to the business and ideological practices of the United States would likely result in a shift to a more free-market, capitalist society.

Cuba is on track, as of now, to see those kinds of shifts that would make its society more free and potentially, more democratic. ☐

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Fabricated Election Headlines: A Threat to Democracy?

By Juliet Isselbacher Panel Staff

“Pope Francis shocks world, endorses Donald Trump for president” “WikiLeaks confirms Hillary sold weapons to ISIS…then drops another bombshell!”

“FBI agent suspected in Hillary email leaks found dead in apparent murder-suicide”

ing headlines on sites like WorldPoliticus. com or USADailyPolitics.com, they generate traffic and rake in revenue through paid advertisements. Some authors report making thousands each month. “Yes, the info in the blogs is bad, false, and misleading,” concedes the founder of one such site.

But “bad, false, and misleading” sells in America; Jestin Coler, CEO of the company Disinfomedia, describes it as “red meat” that Trump supporters are “just waiting to eat up.” In fact, during the final three months of the campaign, fake news outperformed real news in social media engagement.

Ultimately, fake news succeeds because Americans’ are unable to critically evaluate online content. “Honestly, people are definitely dumber,” said one fake news writer. “They just keep passing stuff around.

Nobody fact-checks anything anymore.” This lack of “media literacy” may be permissible for older generations, to whom the Internet was introduced late in life, but it is less understandable in today’s youth. A recent Stanford study found that current students could not distinguish mainstream and fringe news sources, nor could they acknowledge potential bias in activist-promoted content.

The researchers deemed their conclusions “dismaying,” “ bleak,” and “a threat to democracy.” “Many assume that because young people are fluent in social media they are equally savvy about what they find there,” they noted. “Our work shows the opposite.”

Winsor’s Ms. Stern says, “In the 35 years that I have been a librarian, the challenge in research has shifted from finding information to evaluating all the informa-

Mark Zuckerberg was defensive in response to accusations that Facebook’s Trending Topics algorithm, in promoting these bogus election headlines, skewed the outcome of the election. He dismissed such claims as “pretty crazy,” going further to add, “I think there is a certain profound lack of empathy in asserting that the only reason why someone would have voted the way they did is because they saw some fake news.” Paul Horner, a fake news writer, disagrees. “I think Trump is in the White House because of me,” he says candidly. “His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything.” Indeed, many West Virginians absurdly maintained in pre-election interviews that the government had ordered guillotines with which it was plotting to execute Trump supporters.

Although Trump-favoring fake news headlines may lead some to believe that his supporters are responsible for fake news, the real culprits are those with economic, not political motives. Poor residents of Veles, Macedonia, for example, have landed on the business of fake news as a creative money-making means. By publishing unfounded stories with scandalous and shock- Fake headlines on a website run by Macedonian teens

The Fight for Fifteen

By Lia Kornmehl Contributing Writer

er they can afford suitable housing. With all the aforementioned living costs increasing, more and more lower-middle class workers are demanding that the government raise the minimum wage to $15 dollars per hour.

Although a salary of $15 per hour would drastically increase the yearly income of lower-middle class workers, there are significant concerns about the effects of this growth. These concerns include the possibility that small businesses would be forced to lay off workers due to their small profit margins. A second concern mentioned is that customers will only be willing to pay what they consider to be fair for commodities and services including food and clothing. When business owners raise their prices to compensate for the higher salaries, some customers will not want to pay more for previously low-cost items. Without patronship, the business would not be able to support and hire workers, creating a detrimental cycle to everyone involved.

Regardless of whether the new administration decides to raise the minimum wage to $15, the movements across the country signify that the working class has decided to take an active position to better their and their families’ lives.

But will another $7.75 truly help or ultimately hinder? Only time will tell. ☐

The average hourly rate for Winsor babysitters ranges from 12-18 dollars. If one Winsor babysitter works for five hours, she will make approximately 60-90 dollars.

Since January 1st, 2016, the national minimum wage is only $7.25. If one worker paid the minimum wage works for the same five hours, he/she will only make $36.25. To make $90, this worker must work for approximately 12 hours. And unlike a Winsor babysitter, over 50% of workers paid minimum wage have to support families.

To those workers across the country who are joining the Fight for 15, an organization dedicated to raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, $7.25 isn’t enough.

Nationally, thousands of workers in hundreds of cities have protested, rioted, and advertised to spread awareness and create change around minimum wage policy.

In Massachusetts, those most affected work the most common lower-middle class jobs, which, according to the most recent report from the Labor and Development Workforce of Massachusetts, include food preparation, retail and sales, and personal care and service occupations. Approximately 800,000 workers hold these four jobs alone in Massachusetts, many of which are only paid the minimum wage or slightly above. Wage earnings in 2015-2016 for these jobs were less than $34,000 per year. The Economic Policy Institute has found that a family of three in the Massachusetts metro area, albeit one of the top five most expensive places to live in the U.S., needs approximately $77,000 per year in order to cover the costs of housing, food, childcare, healthcare, and taxes, among other living needs. The difference of $43,000 is the deciding factor in whether children are regularly fed healthful meals, whether the family has sufficient health care, and wheth- Workers protest for a minimum wage of $15

tion that's at everyone's fingertips. We're lucky at Winsor to have a library that is well-supported by having two librarians who work with students to be discerning, analytical, and critical consumers of information. It is a crucial skill, whether you are writing a formal research paper, becoming a well-informed citizen, or navigating the complexity of the world today.” An anonymous junior remarks, “As frustrating as “Road [Checks]” may have been in Lower School, I’m grateful for the skill of being able to determine what’s reliable and what’s not.”

According to President Obama, being media-literate is the duty of the American citizen. “If we can’t discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda,” he said, “then we have problems.” Democracy could even break down, he warned. ☐

buzzfeed.com

Love trumps hate

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Peace Rally (cont.)

By Isabel Isselbacher Panel Staff When these Winsor students stepped out onto the common, they joined a crowd of about 4,000 people, holding similar signs, gathered around a center circle with a drum and microphone. Upon the organizers’ request, the 4,000 attendees sat down on the ground to promote peace in the wake of the election. People from all walks of life shared their stories, and their contributions were spontaneous and brave. One man related his experience as a queer person of color in the United

mynorthwest.com

States. A blind women talked about how people with disabilities deserve respect, and a woman translated in sign language all the while. Another attendee led the crowd in singing “Imagine” by the Beatles.

Ariela Rozensweig ’19 spoke as well, and she impressed upon the audience the significance of this election. “When my grandparents escaped from Nazi Germany, they had one hope, and that was that their children and grandchildren would not be afraid. And I will not be afraid,” she declared. “I’m gonna stand here, and I’m gonna love everyone, and I’m gonna protect everyone. No one should have to die for who they are.” Her words were well received with cheers and applause. Reflecting on her experience, Ariela explained that she felt empowered in front of such a large group.

“I felt very supported by the entire crowd, not just the people I knew. I’m honestly not sure why I got up to speak, but I really felt that I should. Maybe it was because I felt I had a perspective that wouldn't be heard otherwise. Honestly in that moment I wanted everyone to hear what I had to say about my family history and my fears.”

The rally empowered the other Winsor girls who attended as well by giving them a little bit of hope in a difficult week for many Americans. Several students took to social media after the event to share their positive experiences. In one particularly uplifting post, Sydney Todd ’18 explained how she was “feeling so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by the people I love and the people that love me at this rally.”

The gathering was important because it reminded people that the future of the nation was not determined on November 8th; it was yet be determined by the action regular Americans take during Trump’s presidency. The rally reassured each individual that her principles were still very much alive, regardless who was President elect, and that there is an entire community of Bostonians ready to fight for those ideals beside her. ☐

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Anthony Ray Hinton Gives Community Service Update Inspirational Chapel Talk

Continued From Page 1 After years on death row, Hinton was approached by an attorney working for Bryan Stevenson who was trying to stop capital punishment. Although touched by the approach of an attorney, Hinton fired the lawyer after the lawyer recommended Hinton plead guilty and accept life without parole; Hinton decided he could not confess to a crime he didn’t commit.

After learning more about the EJI and Stevenson’s work, Hinton realized that he could be exonerated for his crimes altogether and wrote Stevenson a letter, requesting that Stevenson look through Hinton’s trial transcript. Shortly after, Stevenson replied and began working to free Hinton.

For years, Stevenson worked on the case and appealed it in multiple Alabama state courts, but the pair found that the racism in the Alabama judicial system was prevalent, as no judge would hear the case. The attorney general said: “It would only take one hour to reexamine those bullets. It would be a waste of taxpayer money and a waste of my time. I am convinced that the right man is on death row.” The state’s dismissal of Hinton’s case at this point cost him another sixteen years of his life before being released, and his mother, who he said was incredibly close with, also passed away during this time period.

Eventually, they appealed to the US

Supreme Court, and all nine justices ruled that the state must grant Hinton a retrial.

In the retrial, the state eventually dropped the case after the very ballistic expert who had put Hinton behind bars nearly thirty years prior reexamined the evidence: “He came and he examined the bullets and, I quote, he said ‘I do not see what I saw thirty years ago.’ But he saw the exactly what he saw thirty years ago, and that’s that the bullets didn’t match then and they didn’t match later.” Shortly after, the prosecution dropped the case and freed Mr. Hinton.

Since being released, Mr. Hinton discussed how much he enjoys newfound freedom and space, such as his California king bed. He also spoke to how much the world had changed during his time on death row, explaining his shock when, while driving out from prison with his friend, he first heard a GPS giving directions and thought there was a woman somewhere in the car.

Mr. Hinton’s story, while incredibly tragic and a testament to the flaws in the justice system in the country, was also full of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. The chapel was a phenomenal way to truly comprehend the death penalty and its ramifications and to learn more about Mr. Stevenson’s work outside of Just Mercy and to empathize with someone who lost thirty years of their life to a wrongful conviction. ☐

Anthony Ray Hinton with Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy

Students to Volunteer at Christmas in the City

By Jack Daley Staff Writer On Sunday, December 18, several dozen Belmont Hill Upper Schoolers will be volunteering at Christmas in the City.

Held annually since 1989, Christmas in the City is a full-day holiday party for homeless children and families in the Boston area.

Over the years, CITC has expanded from serving 165 individuals to over 2500 today.

The event, which takes place in the 500,000 square-foot Boston Convention Center, features a banquet, entertainment, games, rides, a petting zoo, and, of course, a live visit from Santa himself. Moreover, each kid walks away from the event with a toy of his or her choice, as well as new winter clothing.

I have had the pleasure of volunteer-

ing at CITC for the past two years, helping to decorate the party and coordinate the arrival of guests. As other volunteers can tell you, CITC is a great way to kick off your winter break and get into the holiday spirit. Plus, it gives you an excuse to spend time with friends (and briefly escape from your family). More importantly, helping young kids experience the magic and joys of the holiday season is a uniquely gratifying experience. For many of the struggling families at the party, December 18 will be one of the most special days of the year. But it won’t happen without a strong showing from volunteers. With that in mind, I hope Belmont Hill can provide an even bigger group of helpers this year. If you are 16 or over and interested in participating, don’t hesitate to contact me, Andrew Berg, or Ms. Zener. ☐

By Jason Fischman Panel Staff

As the fall semester winds down, numerous community service initiatives have been completed successfully. and many community service opportunities are currently in progress or approaching.

Cookies for Breast Cancer Awareness sold in honor of Jovan Jones’ ‘18 mother who passed away from breast cancer, raised over $2,200 for cancer research.

The Halloween Candy Drive, now in its third year, collected 110 pounds of excess halloween candy and placed it in turkey drive meal boxes.

The Blood Drive collected 34 pints of blood from the Belmont Hill community.

The Middle School Sneaker Fundraiser, which allowed middle school students to pay $5 each and wear sneakers for the week, raised $610 dollars for the turkey drive.

Movember Provides Fun Opportunity to Raise Awareness for Men’s Health

William Stonestreet’s Golden State Award Movember Mustache Before Shaving

By Lawson Morris Staff Writer

This November Peter Tamasi and John Sommers led the Movember contest at Belmont Hill. This is a contest where students pay $10 dollars to be able to grow the best mustache they can muster up. These donations go to the Movember foundation which funds research that searches for cures for Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer and any other diseases that affect men. At the end of the month the Belmont Hill Movember representatives (Peter Tamasi and John

Boston Globe

Sommers) award prizes. The accolades were: Golden State Award (Biggest lead blown): William Stonestreet ‘17 Rookie of the Year Award: Joe Goguen ‘19 and Brodie Rayment ‘19 Biggest Disappointment Award: John Sommers ‘17 Invisible Mustache Award: Ugo Anyounyemere ‘18 Harlich Men Award: Mr. Curran Good Effort Good Try Award: David Conforti ‘17 and Peter Tamasi ‘17 Mid-Life Crisis Award: Patrick Shea ‘17 Downright Best Mustache in the School: Mr. Schneider

Sustainability Club Teams Up With Dana Hall

By Jack Daley Staff Writer

Christmas in the City has been held annually since 1989

The Oxfam Fast, in which students forgo lunch for a day, raised over $7,700 for Oxfam America.

The Cor Unum Toy Drive, an annual event, spearheaded this year by Nate Miller ‘17, is collecting new and gently used toys in the health clinic for low income children.

Christmas in the City, a Boston event devoted to helping homeless families enjoy the holiday season. Several dozen Belmont Hill upper schoolers and their families will be volunteering at the event.

The Globe Santa December BeardOff is in full swing, which charges students $10 to grow a beard for December, is raising money for Globe Santa.

The Flannel Dress Down day let students forgo the usual dress code for holiday themed flannels for $5, raising money for the upper school Dance Marathon in February.

The Annual Community Service Trip to Hopkinsville Kentucky is taking place over March break. ☐

On November 11, the Belmont Hill Sustainability Club coordinated with Dana Hall to host a screening of “Before the Flood”, an environmentally themed documentary produced by Leo DiCaprio. The film explores the issue of climate change, highlighting the grave threats facing cities, developing countries, and the natural world. It also outlines the difficult yet urgent task of overcoming climate science deniers and transitioning world economies away from fossil fuels.

The event was held in Dana Hall’s student center, and the movie was followed

by an ice cream sundae bar and discussion time. About 35 students from the two schools showed up, including Belmont Hill senior Pat Shea ‘17 who remarked, “The movie made me realize the severity of climate change and how rapidly it is affecting our planet, but it also made me hopeful that our generation can reverse the damage.”

There will be another environmentally themed movie screening on Friday, January 6, open to all upper school students. ☐

D e c emb er 15, 20 1 6

Belmont Hill NEWS

Pa g e 5

Turkey Drive Provides Thanksgiving Meals to Record-Breaking 425 Families

By Richie Kendall Staff Writer During the annual Turkey Drive this November, Belmont Hill students undertook the difficult task of feeding 425 hungry families who were not able to afford a meal this Thanksgiving. This ambitious goal displayed a tremendous increase from the goal of feeding 300 families last year. Without the generous donations made by many Belmont Hill students, parents, and faculty members, hundreds of families in the communities surrounding the Belmont area would not have had the customary dinner on a holiday that is both literally and figuratively centered on family coming together around a meal. This important schoolwide project required all students to be involved in some way or another, whether it be donating or collecting food, making confirmation phone calls, packaging the meals, organizing materials, or dropping off the dinners. Ultimately, the success of this popular charitable drive depended

Turkey Drive Donations Piling Up

on the participation of everyone. Everyday, boys faithfully brought in their assigned item to the collection boxes found scattered all over campus. After an entire month of accumulation and collection, all of the donations were collected by third formers, who then packaged and personally delivered the meals to those less fortunate the day before Thanksgiving break.

According to the Feeding America Organization, 42.2 million Americans, including 13 million children, are malnourished on a daily basis. 6.3 million Americans experience severe malnourishment everyday. The percentage of hungry adults and children has steadily increased over the last decade. Food insecurity has become a harsh reality for an increasing amount of Americans and ravages urban areas nationwide. Belmont Hill’s goal was to feed four-hundred-and-twenty-five of these families locally. Not only did we reach our goal, we surpassed it for the second year in a row. We were able to give Thanksgiving meals to 480 families as a result of our collective endeavor. The 2016 Turkey Drive, a Belmont Hill Thanksgiving tradition, turned out to be a major success. Even just donating a bag of potatoes, a seemingly small gesture, ultimately made a significant impact on someone’s life on such an important day of the year. Next year, the school will aim to set and reach an even more ambitious goal than this year’s. Thank you to all students, teachers, and parents who donated food, time, and effort into one of the most important community service project of the year. ☐

Augustus Lamb ‘17 Crowned Winner of Fall Woodbury Speaking Competition

By Arnav Prasad Panel staff On November 14th, the Woodbury Speaking Competition returned to Belmont Hill for its final installment of the fall season. Henry Vettel ‘18, Jacob Whitney ‘17, and Gus Lamb ‘17 each took the stage to deliver their closing speech in front of the school community. As the last speaker of the day, Gus Lamb engaged the audience with his wit, humor, and ingenuity with his speech on turtles, which ultimately earned him the top prize. While the Bel-

Jacob Whitney ‘17

mont Hill community only heard the fruit of their work, the speakers’ presentations served as the culmination of a challenging process that spanned weeks of brainstorming, drafting, and self-reflection.

Gus Lamb, the Fall Woodbury winner, found inspiration for his speech by staying true to himself, a theme he poignantly articulated in his winning piece.

“Writing is definitely best when you are extremely honest with yourself, and that honesty can lead to some very personal things being written,” he noted in an exclusive online question-and-answer ses-

Henry Vettel ‘18

sion.

Gus also emphasized the value of trusting the writing process: “The ability to figure things out about myself through writing made the process really enjoyable.” While this process churned out an incredibly unique and polished speech, Gus revealed that “opening himself up” to the community was a task he felt to be difficult albeit necessary to stay true to himself. Gus added, “Once I accepted that I was going to have to do so if I really wanted to share something that I liked, writing became easier.”

The Woodbury Speaking Competition presents a unique opportunity for all Upper School students to express themselves. Gus concluded his speech by noting that he “never thought he would speak in front of the entire school, not once but twice.” With the Spring installment of the Woodbury Speaking Competition approaching in February, Gus encouraged the Belmont Hill student body to try writing speech for themselves: “The school needs to hear from as many different voices and perspectives as possible, and I know there’s got to be a bunch out there.” ☐

Augustus Lamb ‘17

Winsor Opinion

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Th e Pan el

Celebrating Winter Holidays: Winsor Reflects The different winter traditions celebrated by the Winsor community Alison Poussaint and Katie Tsai Panel Staff Is that actually snow on the ground? Are those holiday songs on the radio? In the upcoming months, many Winsor students and faculty look forward to festive holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the Lunar New Year. Christmas is a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Celebrants usually put up an evergreen tree adorned with bright lights and colorful ornaments with beautifully wrapped presents underneath. Families gather to open presents on Christmas morning and to eat a delicious meal together. Hanukkah is an eight day festival of light, which commences at the beginning of the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev. Families light one candle of a menorah each day to signify the triumph of light over darkness. They also eat potato latkes and play dreidel, a game in which players spin a four-sided top. Kwanzaa is a holiday during which celebrants reconnect with their African cultural heritage through the observance of seven key principles over the course of seven days. These principles are Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (working together), Ujamaa (supporting each other), Nia (purpose) Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). The Lunar New Year, celebrated by Asian families around the world, signifies the beginning of the year according to the lunar calendar. During this time, families reunite to have a delicious meal of traditional foods. Each holiday brings multigenerational traditions and joyful family time.

Many celebrate the holidays religiously, but some enjoy them secularly. A few interfaith households have multiple or combined holidays, such as Chrismukkah, a combination of Christmas and Hanukkah. The following are examples of the ways in which Winsor students

A traditional Filipino parol.

and faculty prepare for these jubilant days. front door and put up artwork that the kids did “One of my family’s traditions is to hang (such as hand print turkeys, etc.), ornaments a ‘parol,’ which is a lighted Christmas lantern and lights on the tree. I think it’s a good idea from the Philippines, in one of the windows in to keep the Thanksgiving items for the Christour house. Another tradition is that every year, mas tree, because Christmas to us (non-Chrisa close family friend of mine and I buy match- tians) is just another gathering time with family ing Christmas pajamas that we wear through- and friends. Other than what was mentioned out the day...In the Philipabove, we also pines, as soon as it becomes celebrate Winthe ‘-ber’ months (Septemter Arrival Day ber, October, November, (12/21/2016) December), Christmas with homemade preparations begin. Carols sticky rice ball [are] sung in the malls and soup, and Chilights are strung everywhere. nese New Year www.notia.it It’s been said that Filipinos (1/28/2017) have the longest Christwith decorating mas season in the world.” A Hanukkah dreidel.

Pro.com the house red, ~Sophie de Castro ’19 and New Year’s Eve by cooking a big feast with lucky “For Chanukah, my family and I light dishes such as whole chicken and fish, the candles every night. We invite my cous- etc. And then on the day of Chiins over and retell the story of the Maccabees nese New Year, the elderly around our Chanukah. We pray over the can- also give the youngsters dles and then sing and sometimes dance to “red envelopes” with lucky traditional songs. My cousins and I play dreidel money inside. Usually parents with chocolate gelt. My mom and I sometimes and grandparents give it to chilmake latkes (potato pancakes) and sufgani- dren, while the children say lucky yot (jelly donuts). We do get presents, but we wishes to the elderly, such as: “wish you open them last. We don’t really have a big to happy everyday”, “wish you live a long life”, do about presents because they aren’t tradition- “wish you luck in the new year”, etc. BTW, ally part of Chanukah.” ~Ariela Rosenzweig ’19 next year is the year of the Rooster!” ~Ms. Qiu

lights. In lieu of a star, we have a dove that sits atop our tree. Because our kids have two homes (divorced parents), we always celebrate with them on Christmas Eve, and they go to their mom’s for Christmas day. On Christmas Eve, we have a big dinner with lots of special things we all like, and then often Maija and I make some cookies or other dessert, which we eat in front of the fire while opening presents after dinner.” ~Ms. Ryan “One of my favorite Hanukkah traditions is when my whole extended family gets together to exchange gifts, have lots of really good food and enjoy each other’s company. I don’t get to see this family very often, so I always look forward to getting together at our annual ‘Hanukkah Party.’ On the nights of Hanukkah, my family lights our

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menorah (sacred se candelabra-type les d object with nine cann e dle holders) and says the Hanukkah blessings. I especially like this time with my family, because it is a time to step away from our busy schedules and be together. Hanukkah is about the celebration of miracles. During this time with my family, I like to think of the miracles, both extraordinary and very ordinary, that I am so grateful to experience.” ~Sam Goldenson ‘19 l ng

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“For my family, Christmas is not so “In lieu of gifts for the holiday season, much a time to attend church but a time to my husband and I try to give our kids experisee family and friends and celebrate being to- ences and take them somewhere they love or gether. We do get a tree, wrap presents, make do something they love (ice-skating, skiing, cookies, and partake in all those other Christ- sledding or walking in the woods.) We do mas traditions that everyone knows so well, small stocking gifts but actually do not give No matter which holidays they observe, but mostly we use the holiday as a time to see presents. We also share a family dinner and many people at Winsor await the holidays, people we haven’t seen in a while. I watch all usually have duck!” ~Mrs. Baker and the break, with merry anticipation!☐ my little cousins wait anxiously for Santa to come and bring them presents.

With the “We don’t have a ton of a.abcnews.go.com extremely busy lives we lead, seeing fam- traditions, but every Hanukkah ily is never easy, yet Christmas is a time my family and I use two menowhere being with the people you love rahs: one that my brother made is the easiest.” ~Aoibheann Holland ’18 and one that I made. We make and eat a lot of latkes, potato “I got [an] artificial tree three years pancakes, together and generally ago when I had my first child. I want to just try to spend more time with celebrate all traditional American holidays each other.” ~Lia Kornmehl ’19 with my kids and family, so I bought the tree. And the reason I got an artificial one “We decorate the tree is because I like to recycle the tree every with a variety of ornaments that year instead of killing a real tree every year. we’ve collected over the years We decorate for Christmas the weekend -- including a number of hedgeMyjewishlearning.com after Thanksgiving. We put up lights at the hogs, naturally -- and white A plate of latkes.

Pinterest.com

The Catcher in the Rye: Classic or Outdated?

Looking into the Catcher controversy at Winsor and Belmont Hill

Haley Kwoun Contributing Writer cont. from page 1…

Indi Aufranc, W’20, believes that, while “the novel may have been regarded as a very experimental and “edgy” novel when it was first published, it hardly stands out from other books today.” She believes that Catcher is “no longer relatable or relevant to teenagers as a coming of age book.” According to her, “Holden undergoes very little character development, he is not an inspiring character or role model, and he can be boring, even unbearable, to read about at times. [She feels she is] not gaining anything from reading this book, and, while there are strong themes in the book (coming of age, masculinity, sexuality), there are many other books that freshman and high schoolers could analyze for similar themes that would be better.” I agree that teenag-

ers will find it increasingly less relatable as time passes. Our societal views have drastically changed regarding topics that were considered risky to include in the novel, like mental conditions and concern for the impact that our high school years will have on our futures. As the rising generation of teens, our lives, goals, and dreams are simply different from those of the ’50s. Armin Thomas, BH’17, believes that “it was incendiary when it was published in the ’50s and is a seminal novel about growing up and coming to terms with fate and such,” but he also believes that this provocative rebellion against the traditional literary norm is still prominent, making the book a classic, regardless of our modern society and views.

“The novel is dated in parts, both in situations and language. While the idea of coming of age is timeless and universal, the novel tells the story of a wealthy, white

male in a very traditional community,” says Mrs. Markenson. At the same time, she also believes that Catcher is a classic “in the sense that it has been taught so broadly for a while. It has become one of those books that everyone thinks high school students should read, mostly because everyone [her] age read it when [they] were in high school.” That being said, she does not believe that literature should be tempered to appease the masses but rather to let the minds of youthful exuberance identify with the characters and consequences of growing up.

Just as the opinions of the literary community vary, the Winsor-Belmont Hill community members will continue to praise and lambaste J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, whether they seeing it for the masterful work that it is sometimes considered or as an overwrought, outdated plea of youthful longing.☐

Homework-online.com

D e c emb er, 2016

Winsor Opinion

Pa g e 7

Defining Police Brutality in the ‘Post-Truth’ Era Combining statistics and perceptions to go deeper into police brutality Sophie Stone Panel Staff It is all too often that the story of police targeting people of color splashes across headlines. Slager was accused of murder for shooting Walter Scott as Scott tried to run away during a routine traffic stop in 2015. The jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision, so the judge declared a mistrial.

Police brutality and racial tensions have been the topic of many conversations at Winsor. There was a discussion about it in 21st Century Forum last year, and the issue has been a prevalent topic in conversations ever since. The complex relationship between race relations and police actions is no easy matter. The data is complex and easily manipulated. Some studies control specific aspects of data and not others. If you are looking to have your agenda backed up by data, you can find scores of studies and articles to prove your point. I tried to look up articles from reliable and credible websites (thanks, Ms. Stern), and when writing this article I actually found myself tangled up in competing narratives and data sets and articles that each seemed to contradict or complicate the last.

The Black Lives Matter movement and contemporary thought states that African Americans are more likely to be discriminated against and be killed by police. The BLM movement put it this way in their mission statement: “#BlackLivesMatter is working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.”

As shown by the graphic and scores of data, there is overwhelming evidence that supports my understanding that African Americans are targeted by police. They are astronomically more likely

to have force used against them in other- this spin on the numbers. The Black Lives in the killing of unarmed black Americans wise peaceful contact with police. They’re Matter movement is one that is necessary relative to unarmed white Americans.” Numore likely to be pulled over, more likely in our current day America. The move- merous other studies corroborate this. But to be verbally abused, and more likely to ment stands for social justice and promotes don’t just take it from me. Research for be harassed. However, in a recent conver- a necessary and noble cause. It is not only yourself. Look through the data for yourself sation with a friend more conservative for cis black men but also for a wide array and exercise those skills that you learned in than I, I was told to look up the research of of African American identities. Black Ms. Stern’s library class because they’re now of a Harvard professor (a Harvard pro- Lives Matter is a movement that is good for more important than ever. fessor!) who had come to the conclu- America, but too often it is discredited. So In conversation and in a broader social sion that racial bias had no correlation to too are the slew of other social justice issues context, we must hold ourselves to factual acpolice shootings of African Americans. that are so often repurposed by media. Does curacy. Especially in what has been dubbed Harvard economics professor and re- every single infraction by an African Amer- a “post-truth” era, facts and rational thought searcher Roland G. Fryer Jr. concluded in a ican person show bias? No. But a study by are necessary to undergird social discourse. cnn.com modvive.com study that racial bias does not play into use a professor at UC Davis in 2014 concluded The Black Lives Matter movement, the of lethal force. The study “did not focus on that, “as has been previously described for mainstream media, and our conversations the high profile cases that are commonly in decades, we find evidence of significant bias must all be held to the same standard.☐ the news,” but rather, it examined a “larger pool of shootings, including nonfatal ones.” Though Fryer stated that, “more data would be needed to understand the country as a whole.”

This article was widely published by the New York Times in June of this year as a “working study.”

This supposed evidence of a lack of fatal police bias is used against the Black Lives Matter movement to discredit the dialogue and tenants that the movement has created and stands for. Multiple conservative news articles jumped upon this working study and used it against BLM. One headline from the National Review read “The Numbers Are In: Black Lives Matter is Wrong about Police.” A complex and nuanced movement was discredited on factual inaccuracy.

Granted, some news sources – conservative and liberal alike – do have an agenda to push and will capitalize on scant evidence. But this is exactly the problem. The Black Lives African- Americans are more likely to experience some kind of police brutality.

Nytimes.com Matter movement is bigger than

What Goes into the Winsor Club Approval Process?

An inquiry into how COLLECT approves new and preexisiting clubs Antonia Januszewicz and Sindhu Krishnamurty Panel Staff Clubs have always been an integral part of the Winsor community. They’re an opportunity to explore new interests, whether those interests are cooking, law, or Harry Potter. Around May every year, club heads submit proposal forms to COLLECT, and COLLECT votes on whether to approve the club. Some clubs such as Panel, Model UN, and Mock Trial are always approved after the submitting the proposal form; however, other clubs are in a more precarious position.

The form asks about the club’s plan for the year, what kind of involvement their club has had, and their scheduling needs.

However, there are also new clubs proposed by students every year. In order for their club to be passed, students have to submit a form with a series of questions regarding their club’s goals and plans for the year. Last year, 16 new clubs were proposed, but only some were approved.

For example, COLLECT rejected Anime Club. Although the heads of Anime Club made a petition afterwards signed by 31 people, the club was still never approved.

“What really bummed me out when we got rejected was that they didn’t give us a solid reason why we weren’t accepted,” says Lydia Forti ’19, one of the heads of the Anime Club. “We had so many peo-

ple who wanted to join, and we were so psyched, especially after all of our work put into creating the club.” The reality is, some clubs that many students would be interested in never come to fruition. The majority of criteria on the forms for renewals and new clubs are focused on the clubs’ goals and opportunities; but what actually causes clubs to be rejected? Why is the number of clubs approved so few?

Is the issue space? This year, there is an average of five clubs every day of the cycle. The rooms used are 17, 201, 202, 203, 204, and 206. There are not many other rooms available, taking into account Lower School classes; however, there is still a day in the cycle where only three clubs take place, albeit, they are Affinity Groups. Rooming does not appear to be imposing a cap on clubs.

Maybe timing is the problem? After all, lunchtime is arguably not the ideal time to hold a club because it is only 35 minutes, which is not enough time for some serious clubs to be productive. Its purpose is also simply to eat, an activity that should probably be separated from extracurriculars.

Since daytime timing may be problematic, some clubs could be scheduled exclusively after school as a solution; but this option can already be requested by club heads.

So timing likely isn’t the problem either.

Productivity, COLLECT Secretary Emily Drucker says, is what really matters to COLLECT. If a club is active in the

community through presentations and fundraisers like Jamnesty or Slamp, it is much more likely to be renewed.

Although there is a question on the club proposal form involving popular interest, she says that the number of members in a club is ultimately not very relevant. What COLLECT wants is a club that is productive and educational, and those kinds of clubs are more likely to be approved than pastime-type clubs.

We understand that COLLECT would value productive clubs over more casual clubs. After all, succesful clubs like Debate and Mock Trial add significantly to Winsor’s reputation, as well as further students’ education.

But, while educational clubs are important, clubs can also provide a release for students, and perhaps the subject matter of a club should not be reason to reject it, especially, if there is promise for the club and it holds popular interest.

But should the purpose of a club really be determined by productivity, or should there also be room for enjoyment?☐

Arielle Blacklow

BELMONT HILL OPINION

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Th e Pan el

Opposites Attract: Starbucks Cups In this issue, we continue a tradition of good-hearted debate between two Belmont Hill VI Formers, Phil Bailey and Robbie Warming. They will satirically argue views completely contrary to their true beliefs. We are proud to present: “Opposites Attract.”

Angry Pagan Atheist

But people will ask me, “Robbie, stop yelling! What would you rather have on your cup?” I’ll tell you what. How about a nice yule log being dragged into a quiet Scandinavian village? Why not depict a great feast marking the winter solstice with toasts to Odin, Njörðr, and Freyr? What’s wrong with a nice diagram of the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell? I mean seriously, is that too much to ask? The Christians get their magic baby and I get my Æsir pantheon.

I know I may be going against

By Robbie Warming the grain here, but Spiritual Norse AthePanel Staff istic Neopagans are a proud group. Our When the temperatures drop and the numbers are growing. We may be less snow starts to fall, a beautiful thing happens: than 1% of the American population now, people come together. We warm ourselves but I guarantee that in ten years we will with each other’s company. And then, of surpass Christianity, which is at 70.6%. course, we roast each other in the greatest re- Yes, technically we are a massive minorligious debate of the twenty-first century: the ity now. But our voices must be heard. design of this year’s Starbucks cup. For weeks, That’s how democracy works. people waited. Christians and atheists alike Therefore, I propose that those armed themselves for a nuclear war of words who stand in solidarity with me purchase (or perhaps an actual nuclear war. Trump will a Starbucks coffee next nippy morning. be president after all).

When the barista asks for your name, And the new cups finally arrived. simply respond with “#NotMyCup.” That Cosmopolitan eloquently announced #Redwill show them. ☐ CupSZN: “The Starbucks Holiday Cups Are Officially Here and Holy Sh*t, There Are 13 of Them.”

For once, the Christians, with whom I have absolutely no affiliation, seem happy with the cups. They’re sufficiently “Christmas-y.” Well, they are Christmas-y. Too Christmas-y.

Red and green? A reindeer? Santa (or should I say St. Nicolas) riding his sleigh across the sky? Really? As a Spiritual Norse Atheistic Neopagan, I was deeply offended, possibly triggered.

Make Christmas Christian Again

By Philip Bailey Panel Staff

When Starbucks was founded in 1971, it was an esteemed institution grounded in Judeo-Christian values. For the first forty-four years of its existence, Starbucks lived up to their founding, correct beliefs. Every year, Starbucks created wonderful Christmas cups, spreading joy and cheer to all Americans.

Now I know what you’ll say, “Philip, ‘only’ 70.6% of the population of the United States is Christian.” But back when we still had a president from America, everyone enjoyed the festive cups without the liberal media telling them they had to be triggered. Christmas trees, wreaths, reindeer, ornaments, stockings, these used to be pagan winter traditions before we adopted them. Christmas may be a Christian holiday, but everyone used to take part in these special traditions and enjoy the love of family that Christmas can bring.

But who am I kidding, liberals

wouldn’t listen to a well reasoned argument unless their friend wrote it in the Huffington Post, like seriously is anyone allowed to post on there?!?! So we will return to the anger that has won us all three branches of government.

So Happy Birthday Jesus!!! Sorry you soulless, self-hating, soft liberals, but Jesus was born on December 25, and that is simply a historical fact & not one of your silly scientific “facts.” The liberals think the Constitution says the states can’t tell us the truth. I guess they just stop reading after the First Amendment (cause they certainly don’t care about the second one). These liberals will just believe whatever their biased, liberal, lamestream media tells them. And now Starbucks employees aren’t allowed to say Merry Christmas. Yet another infringement on the First Amendment from our fascist liberal “friends.”

The free market works. And Christianity has got a monopoly. ☐

Mr. President-Elect, Actions Speak Louder than Words

By Robbie Warming Panel Staff Trump sat on the edge of his chair, while the gold extravagance of his private residence in Trump Tower framed him. The 60 Minutes interview was his first major interview as President-Elect, and millions of people were watching, holding their breath.

Lesley Stahl, who conducted the interview, pressed the Donald on the uptick in hate crimes since his election, saying “They’re harassing Latinos, Muslims—” “I am so saddened to hear that.

And I say, “Stop it.” If it— if it helps.

I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it,” Trump cut in.

Though Trump had led a derogatory and divisive campaign, some of his bombastic and controversial moments could be taken as rhetoric. A politician, which Trump now is, will do anything to win. Many Americans held an anti-immigrant, anti-left sentiment in this election cycle. And Trump’s “tell it like it is” style is what ultimately won him the election, as it attracted working class whites who were nearly ignored by Democrats.

Trump’s style, however, did bring the alternative right (alt-right) into his ranks. Is it disappointing that these true deplorables, who slyly advocate for racism and sexism, joined the Trump movement? Yes. But they surely wouldn’t be part of a Trump presidency. They were a fringe group who would never get any real power in a sensible government.

That’s what we thought.

Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, as Senior Counselor to the President is a rallying cry to those on the fringes of the extreme right. Steve Bannon is a figurehead in their twisted ideology, and he now has the ear of the president.

Breitbart News, founded by Andrew Breitbart as a Conservative, pro-Israel news source, was taken over by Bannon in 2012. Under his leadership, the “outlet has undergone a noticeable shift toward embracing ideas on the extremist fringe of the conservative right,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Ben Shapiro, a former editor-at-large, wrote that, under Bannon’s reign, “Breitbart has [been]… pushing white ethno-nationalism as a legitimate re-

sponse to political correctness, and the comment section turning into a cesspool for white supremacists.”

Headlines on Bannon’s Breitbart have included: “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy,” “Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew,” “World Health Organization Report: Trannies 49 Xs Higher HIV Rate,” and “Roger Stone: Huma Abedin ‘Most Likely a Saudi Spy’ With ‘Deep, Inarguable Connections’ to ‘Global Terrorist Entity.’”

But those aren’t Bannon’s words… His words are just as bad.

When talking about Conservative women rising to prominence he stated that, “they wouldn’t be a bunch of dykes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New England. That drives the left

insane, and that’s why they hate these women.” In a 2014 email to another Breitbart editor, he wrote “Let the grassroots turn on the hate because that’s the ONLY thing that will make them do their duty.” And in his first interview after being tapped for a White House job, he said, “Darkness is good: Dick Cheney.

Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power.”

It seems like Steve Bannon takes glee in being the bad guy, in being a despicable human being. And, indeed, he is. In 1996, he faced domestic violence charges against his first wife Mary Louise Piccard. The charges were later dropped when his now ex-wife did not come to court.

In a sane presidential administration, any of these points would have immediately disqualified Bannon for a top executive position. Trump said a lot of controversial things on the campaign trail, but now we know for sure that he simply does not care if a person ran a virulently alt-right organization, loves all things evil, and has domestic violence charges on his record. Donald Trump’s appointment of Bannon is unpresidential. In ascending to the highest office in the world, Trump needs to realize that every move has consequences. By appointing Steve Bannon as Senior Counselor to the President, he has energized the alt-right, giving them a voice to spread their divisive and backwards views.

If Trump truly wants to bring this country together, saying “Stop it” won’t cut it. ☐

D e c emb er 15th, 2 0 1 6

BELMONT HILL OPINION

Pa g e 9

Trump Protests: Conflicting Opinions

Donald Trump’s election envoked a host of emotions. While some are celebrating the massive upset, others are fearful of what’s to come.

Protests have sprung up, feeding the fires of controversy. The Panel explores the pros and cons of the anti-Trump protests below.

In Favor of Anti-Trump Protests

of a hate crime planned by an individuBy Sebastian Themelis al who Trump has emboldened. ImagStaff Writer ine being gay or transgender, living now I’m sure that by now, everyone with the fear of your civil liberties being is familiar with Donald Trump’s cam- stripped away by a Republican-dominated paign. I’m not writing this article to Congress, under the direction and counrecount the language and methods that sel of Vice President-Elect Mike Pence. won him the presidency in all their ex- If you have to imagine these scenarios, cruciatingly vile detail. My goal is to you are lucky. Trump’s presidency will shed light on why millions of Ameri- most likely not have as great an effect cans now fear for their continued ex- on you. You still need to recognize that istence and well-being in this country, this is the new reality for millions of and why their protests are justified. Americans, the harsh truth with which Nothing that Donald Trump they will need to cope for at least the has said or done convinces any histori- next four years. It may have all just been cally oppressed groups that he is look- campaign rhetoric, but even if that is the ing out for their interests. Instead of case, we will still live with this fear hanglisting all these things (because frankly ing over our heads that our basic civil there are just too many), I ask all of you rights could be trampled at any moment.

Considering this perilous reality, who either supI believe that proport Trump, do testing our new not believe that P re s i d e nt - E l e c t he is “as bad is completely jusas people say tified—not only he is,” or feel const itut iona l ly that we should (First Amend“just give him ment!), but mora chance” to ally as well.

By really think protesting, we about how you show Trump and would view his administrathis election tion that we will from someA Love Rally was held on Boston Common not stand down and one else’s shoes. simply accept any violation of the rights Imagine being the daughter of we have fought so hard to achieve. We undocumented immigrants. Your parshow him that as historically oppressed ents fled violence and poverty in their peoples and allies, we come together and home country and work long hours now stand against him.

We show him that our to make sure you have opportunities needs, wishes, and rights are not to be that they never did. You’ve spent your overturned.

Why should we give him the whole life in America and are an American through and through, but now benefit of the doubt, when he has viciouslive every day fearful that your family ly attacked us for the last year and a half ? could be torn apart by Trump’s policy. Why should we forgive him for the things Imagine being a Muslim he has said and done, and accept him as woman in America, living not only our leader with open arms, when he refuswith the fear of being put on a na- es to accept us? We will continue, in true tional registry based solely on your American fashion, to vigorously oppose religion, but also of being the target any threat to our rights and our lives. ☐

In Opposition to Anti-Trump Protests

By Charlie Donahue Staff Writer

reasons that factored into their decision. Elizabeth Warren expressed her belief in the good nature of Americans on the Rachel Maddow Show, saying, “People across this country voted for him [Trump] not because of that bigotry, but in spite of that.”

They voted against a candidate who was offering more of the same not out of hatred but because they are no better off than they were eight years ago.

Clinton supporters should understand that our country chose significant change, and with good reason, not just as at the top of the ticket, but across the board. Republicans retained the House and Senate, and won appreciably at the guber-

Following Donald Trump’s election to the presidency on November 8th, protests broke out in several cities across the country and are still occurring, as of December 2nd. Chants such as “Dump Trump” and more notably “Not My President” have been heard on the streets of New York, Chicago, and Boston to name a few. Protesters have expressed their belief that the President-elect’s views and the racist, sexist, and xenophobic things said on the campaign trail are not representative of America as a whole, nor are the people who voted for him.

Constitutionally, men and women across our nation have every right to protest; in fact, there are many cases where protests resulted in tremendous achievements for America, including the passage of the 19th Amendment (1920) and the Civil Rights Act (1964). It would be unfair to judge their personal reasons for Protests have drawn criticism for burning American flags protesting Trump, as it is impossible to understand the natorial and state legislature levels.

On a different note, the mefear and anxiety they are facing. dia has exacerbated tensions through However, it is important to ask their incessant coverage of the prohow much can really be accomplished tests.

These events make top headthrough protest at this point. The anlines everyday, when instead they swer is not much! Our next president should be covering the Presidenthas been chosen, and in attacking Trump “the man” and the character elect’s, the President’s, and Hillary of the people who voted for him, they Clinton’s messages of ending the dividemonize their fellow Americans and sive and contentious campaign rhetofurther divide us as a nation. Protest- ric and coming together. United we ers have failed to recognize the anxi- stand, divided we fall, and unfortueties—especially economic ones— nately, these protests and the way in Trump’s supporters face and the which they have been covered have brought us closer towards the latter. ☐

Increase Participation and Community Service on the Hill

By Charlie Booth Staff Writer Belmont Hill is proud to promote its many community service opportunities, begging the question: do enough people actually partake in community service? I believe that school-wide events such as the Turkey Drive and the Halloween Candy Drive are much more attractive to the students than the other optional community service opportunities because these events do not require a burden on one’s time.

Though other schools in the area require participation in community service, such as Roxbury Latin, Nobles, Lawrence Academy, and others, Belmont Hill does not formally require any form of community service. While many of the boys appreciate the additional time in their schedule, this results in remarkably decreased student involvement. The many boys that see Community Service as a “waste of time” are missing out on a great opportunity.

An extremely small group of students

at Belmont Hill that choose to participate in the more active, recurrent community service projects, including Work Crew, partly because the Belmont Hill community does not put an emphasis on these activities. Having mandatory participation would surely help out many people in Belmont and neighboring towns, not to mention the communities touched by our trips. So what can the school do to change the community service program from lip service to a meaningful activity? I suggest that some faculty members give a few extra credit points to those who choose to take the time out of their busy schedules and help others. This will increase the popularity of these groups even though the motivation might be somewhat phoney. I strongly believe that a set number of hours should be required for each year and an aggregate number for graduation if we hope to have mass participation in the future. Our program should at least equal, if not surpass, those of our “rival” schools in terms of popularity.

Community service requires you to take time out your busy schedule as a high-school

Belmont Hill collected food supplies to provide Thanksgiving meals for needy families student, but many students at Belmont Hill are very fortunate. Each student should feel obligated to give back to the community that afforded them these opportunities. As students at Belmont Hill, we need a change in mindset. We can touch the lives of hundreds of people both in Belmont and across the nation. Why not take advantage of that opportunity? Whether it be the Turkey Drive,

Work Crew, or the Butler School, we have helped many people. And we could help so many more with the involvement of our 440 student body, rather than a small group of boys forced to juggle a variety of community service activities. I hope and expect that more students realize the importance of the positive impact they can have on society.

Give back. Make a difference. ☐

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Fearless Feminism: Being a Feminist at Belmont Hill

By Bennett Rush Panel Staff Ours is a f ight that has persisted f rom the beginning. Just say the word to anyone on campus: “feminism.” It is invariably followed by a collective groan of boys who just don’t want to hear it. But why is this the case? The quarrel has been delayed for centuries, and yet the central goal has still not been achieved. Simply put, feminism is a belief in equal rights for men and women.

Though it seems archaic and immature to not consider yourself on board with equality, so often we see the word “feminist” stigmatized and used to brand boys in a negative light. It’s time we question our beliefs, and examine what we can do to rid this campus of the blight of chauvinism.

Why do boys belittle feminism? The answer is all around us.

Popular music and television programming promote distor ted and demeaning gender roles. Whether or not we realize it, those depictions register in our heads as normal and okay. As humans, it is in our nature to seek empowerment, but often times that is achieved by disempowering girls and women.

As students at an all-boys school, we have an even bigger challenge in that we don’t interact with girls on a daily basis. Though there are many benef its to all-boys education, the lack of exposure to

The logo for HeForShe girls (and girls’ perspectives on chauvinism) makes us less likely to notice or be bothered by disrespectful language and behavior. In fact, our only daily interaction with women outside our homes is with women on the faculty and staf f.

And if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ ll acknowledge that boys often talk about and interact dif ferently with female vs. male teachers.

After the presidential elec-

tion our campus resounded with insults and jokes about news of all-girls schools’ sense of fear or loss of hope. Instead of mocking their responses, we should ask why they felt that way? In fact, I guarantee that many boys at B elmont Hill felt the same sense of anxiety that women felt that day.

For many, Tr ump’s election seemed to validate insensitive, racist, sexist, and xenopho-

bic speech. The anti “politically correct” movement has grown to a point that intimidates anyone who would speak against it. It has sparked a culture shift that has made us feel that caring for one another is somehow weak, or something to be ashamed of. You don’t need to be af raid to stand up for someone else. It seems that people who aren’t directly insulted by Tr ump often don’t understand how threatening and fearinducing such speech can be. It’s ver y easy to say “we need to come together” or “protests won’t accomplish anything,” but our president-elect has verbally and physically abused women. No student at an all boy’s school (myself included), can possibly understand what his election to the presidenc y means for girls and women.

Embracing feminism means standing up for girls and women -- for our sisters, cousins, and mothers. As Dr. Melvoin has urged us: don’t stand by in the face of chauvinism, stand up to it. You don’t have to become an exper t on economic disparities or the current politics of equality ; all it takes is an af f irmation in words and action: “I believe in equal rights for men and women.”

If you change the way you think you change the way you act, and if enough boys who embrace these words, we will foster a safer and more diverse environment on campus for the generations to come.☐

Belmont Hill Students Pledge to Be Honest On Tests

By Jason Fischman Panel Staff

The agreement is also designed to provide students a reason not to talk about a test, especially in the face of peer pressure.

Oftentimes, there is significant pressure on students to divulge

they are ner vous. People will make you feel like you’re being overly competitive or call you a ‘hardo’ ”.

Only time will tell how effective the new pledge will be in combating the rampant test discussion

This semester, after a S enate proposal, teachers began to include a signed pledge at the “It’s usually something like ‘study this specific chapter’ or ‘watch out beginning of each test: “I will not discuss anything included on this for the multi’s,” commented an anonymous senior. “Kids don’t want to assessment with any other stucheat, but they want to help their friends, and the line can become a dents until all sections/all students little blurred at times. Most kids don’t even think of these little hints as a have completed this assessment.” violation of the honor code.”

As any B elmont Hill student knows, discussion about tests after the fact is quite prevalent. some information. “It’s pretty culture. It is certainly a good idea Though students rarely give ex- hard to say no to someone when to tr y to curb such behavior, but act questions or answers to each they ask you about a test,” anoth- students wonder how much impact other, they might encourage er responder noted. “Some peo- a signed pledge will actually have. friends to focus on studying par- ple will be pretty persistent with “It’s certainly a good idea, because ticular topics and bypass others. their questions if you don’t want I think some kids exploit test dis“It’s usually something like to talk about a test, especially if cussion to significantly improve ‘study this specific chapter’ or ‘watch out for the multi’s,” commented an anonymous senior.

“Kids don’t want to cheat, but they want to help their friends, and the line can become a little blurred at times. Most kids don’t even think of these little hints as a violation of the honor code.”

While many students who discuss a test would argue they are not violating any rules, any discussion of a test can give an unfair advantage to those who have not yet taken the test. A suggestion of what to study or which sections to spend time on can make a ver y big difference in a student’s grade, and that is what the new pledge hopes to combat. Belmont Hill students are signing pledges before they take tests.

their grades,” said one responder. “ That being said, it probably won’t be too effective. The kids who don’t have any issues giving out info are the same kids that won’t be phased by a pledge, and I think a lot of people would put their friends over following the rules.”

The addition of the pledge is certainly a step up from the status quo, where there were no formal reminders regarding test discussion after the first few days of school. Even if some students disregard it and continue giving hints about an assessment, other students will likely take the warning to heart and, at the ver y least, give less information about tests. “ The test pledge is a nice reminder to not give away anything about a test,” responded a student. “It just makes you think one more time before telling your friend about that one hard question.”

O verall, the new test pledge is a strong idea to curtail cheating and hints on tests to students who have not yet taken an assessment. While the effectiveness is questioned by many students who feel that a pledge will not actually change anything, it is an improvement from the status quo and provides one more barrier to academic dishonesty. Furthermore, it is testament to the Senate’s hard work, and demonstrates how student government exerts schoolwide impact that benefits us all. ☐

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Are All Sports at Winsor Created Equal? A Student Reflects

By Kiran Butte panel staff

Fast forward to this year: I am approaching my fourth year on Winsor’s Varsity Tennis team, and I’ve made some of the best memories with this group of people. But ever since the demolition of the tennis courts, I have wondered: are all sports valued equally at Winsor? Is each sports team given the same resources, opportunities, and attention to succeed? As a student who has played tennis at Winsor for all four years of Upper School, I have discovered that this has not always been the case.

On the surface, it seems that Win-

I vividly remember the day that the Lubin O’Donnell Center (LOC) opened.

The center was replete with ten squash courts, two gleaming basketball courts, and a beautiful dance studio. The LOC was an effort to expand our sports and arts programs – and did so successfully, for a handful of sports. I, too, was fascinated by the potential of this new space. Soon, though, I realized that with its creation came the loss of our tennis courts, where the Winsor Varsity Tennis team had played for years.

The loss of our tennis courts forced the tennis team to start practicing at MIT. The issue with the MIT practices was not distance – MIT is a 10 minute drive from school – but rather, scheduling. When we could book the courts, we only had them for an hour per day. This is because MIT has its own tennis teams, along with individuals to whom they rent out the courts.

On some days, our tennis team was forced to exercise in the workout room rather than on the courts outside, simply because we could not book them. When that winter’s numerous snow storms made it impossible to use the outdoor courts, our practices became a relaxed 40 minutes of Zumba inside the Winsor cafeteria. I’m grateful to have access to courts at all, but ever since we moved to MIT, our practices became Winsor’s Lubin O’Donnell Center shortened and often times, inefficient.

sor gives certain sports teams more attention. However, what I thought were special privileges were actually activities funded by the teams themselves. For example, soccer and field hockey have pre-season in August, while other sports teams that are given only one season to practice. However, the field hockey and soccer players themselves pay $300 each to participate. Similarly, though it may seem unfair that the crew team has a personal trainer during their off-season, the winter training sessions are organized by the athletes. When they receive

personal training at REPS Studios, they individually pay for the session.

It’s not that Winsor is funding certain teams and not others. Rather, it doesn’t offer enough funding for any of the teams outside of the bare minimum, leaving the coaches and students responsible to maximize the performance of the team. As a result, bigger teams are more likely to have access to outside resources, whereas smaller teams have more difficulty doing so. Winsor should provide more funding for every team to even out the playing field. ☐

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Reading as Rebellion: Winsor Students Take a Stand

By Talia Ward & Mikayla Chen Contributing writer During their sophomore year at Winsor, Class VI English students write the Civil Disobedience paper, an assignment inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Resistance to Civil Government.” Students must find an issue within their community, either large and small, that they have a moral imperative to protest and outline a plan to protest the said issue. In the past, students have written about topics such as the Winsor dress code, the United States justice system, and Massachusetts drug laws.

This year, Izzy Thorndike ’19 wrote their paper about the canon of literature that Winsor has us read in our English courses, specifically in our sophomore year US Literature course. Thorndike argued that, although the course “claims to accurately represent the voices that create influential American Literature, the Winsor Class VI English curriculum fails to properly acknowledge the voices of many American minorities.”

Thorndike decided to follow through with their protest, putting careful consideration into their expression of their civil disobedience. They used social media to ask for recommendations of books written by minority authors. Once the plan was complete, Thorndike posted a call to action on various social media platforms.

The actual protest was very peaceful. An anonymous source says, “I was able to go during my free. I read The Color Purple (which I highly recommend) out loud with some friends.” Thorndike chose to skip their classes that day. But if someone wanted to participate in the protest and did not want to skip class, they were very welcoming and appreciated any form of support.

This protest was significant particularly because of its timing. It took place

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jon Krakauer

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Nathaniel Hawthorne

Tim O’Brien

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The four authors whose books are studied in Winsor’s Class VI English Curriculum. the day after the presidential election, a point at which many people felt as though their communities would soon face disenfranchisement at the hands of our new government leaders. Thorndike was more inspired than ever to hold this protest to raise awareness about representation in the literature that students read at school.

Though many students expressed

their support for the protest, many felt that the group of authors in Winsor’s English curriculum is already sufficiently diverse.

Some authors that students read in Class VI English include Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Anne Bradstreet, and Harriet Jacobs, all of whom are minorities of some kind. The purpose of the US Literature course is to familiarize students with

historical American literature, and some of those pieces were written by white men. Could the course really just skip over social commentaries like The Scarlet Letter or influential writers like Ernest Hemingway? One student said, “I feel like it is logical to go through the course chronologically.”

However, the course description says that the US Literature class should “reflect the history and the culture of our United States.” By only focusing on the classics, a canon that has been defined by greater society, the course ignores the works by American minorities throughout history who were either not published or not read. Because its major readings are from white authors, the course implies that the other works did not have an effect on the history of the United States. A Class VI student who was present at Thorndike’s civil disobedience protest, commented, “Although there is diversity in our literature classes throughout our years at Winsor, these ‘diverse’ pieces we read feel more supplemental than the main pieces we focus on.”

She noted that, throughout the protest, faculty and staff often stopped and asked about the cause. Ms. Jackson, head of the English department, even spoke with the protesters about their proposed changes in the curriculum.

We believe that this protest was a great way to take action on an issue that many students felt should be addressed. The protest did not blame any one person but rather called attention to a system in place that does not reflect Thorndike’s and many other students’ values. We really respect Izzy Thorndike’s bravery and actions to change something they believe is an injustice. ☐

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Winter Sports Updates Swimming

Kristie Rae Gillooly

Record: 0-2 Captains: Arielle Blacklow ’17, Alessandra DeVito ’18, and Grace Hamblett ’18 Spirit Animal: dolphin Favorite practice: We had an intersquad meet with JV and Varsity and swam silly, fun events!

Quote: “We are really excited to work hard, stay positive, and have great swims this season! We already had some best times at our first meet, so I can’t wait to see the progress we will continue to make.” - Arielle Blacklow ’17

Kristie Rae Gillooly

Squash Record: 2-0 Captains: Eve Elizondo ’17 and Alexa Jacobs ’17 Spirit Animal: Butternut Squash Favorite Practice: Our favorite practice so far was when we played left-handed games!

Quote: “We’ve had a great start to the season, and it’s looking like it’s going to be a good and fun year for Winsor squash.” - Eve Elizondo ’17

Curling Kristie Rae Gillooly

Record: N/A Captains: The Curling Seniors!

Spirit Animal: Penguin Best Practice: Getting to meet the other schools’ teams!

Quote: “We’ve had a really great time so far practicing and scrimmaging with other schools and are looking forward to the start of the tournament bracket.” - Abby Weyer ’17

Kristie Rae Gillooly

Basketball

Kristie Rae Gillooly

Record: 1-0 Captains: Isabelle Bastian ’17, Alina Brennan ’18, and Maggie Hart ’17 Spirit Animal: Lion Best Practice: Our first one! We clicked right away, and it was amazing.

Quote: “We have a talented group this year, and we have worked hard on our strength and conditioning during preseason. We can’t wait to see what we can do in our first tough matches this week.” - Alina Brennan ’18

Ice Hockey

Kristie Rae Gillooly

Kristie Rae Gillooly

Record: 2-1 Captains: Madison Lehan ’18, Michaela O’Connor ’17, and Clementine Perry ’18 Spirit Animal: Honey Badger Best Practice: Any practice where we don’t do “monstahs” Quote: “With the help of our dope new uniforms, our 7th grade studs, and an amazing pregame playlist, we’re off to a great start to the season.” -Madison Lehan ’18, Michaela O’Connor ’17, and Clementine Perry ’18 Kristie Rae Gillooly

Kristie Rae Gillooly

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Featured Athlete: Alexa Jacobs ’17 Squash Captain

By Sam Goldenson Staff Writer Alexa Jacobs ’17 is a co-captain of the Winsor Varsity squash team, a team of which she has been an integral member for the past six years. Finishing the season with a winning record, Alexa received both EIL All-League and EIL MVP awards last year. She comments that her proudest moment overall is “going to High School Nationals and finishing top ten and top five.

Alexa, fondly nicknamed “A.J.” by team-

Kristie Rae Gillooly

mates, says that she is excited for the upcoming season, especially the team’s upcoming matches against Milton and Nobles, and high school nationals.

Alexa has played tennis her entire life but was first introduced to the sport of squash when she was 8 years old. She says that she didn’t start squash with the intention of playing in college; she was just enjoying the sport and thought that it would be fun. However, she began seriously playing squash in 9th grade and has traveled all over the country to play, including going to tournaments in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Seattle. Alexa says that she’s had fun meeting so many people from different from different states, and it’ll be fun to play against the friends I’ve made in college. She also says that she really looks forward to tournaments so that she can see her friends. This level of play was not achieved lightly; Alexa practices after school 4 days a week and on weekends, in addition to working out regularly and going to yoga all whilst completing her homework. She says that this is the most challenging aspect of being a Winsor athlete

“Make sure you love the sport you’re playing, having fun with your friends and having fun competing.”

Kristie Rae Gillooly

is, “managing all of the homework and also having practices and late matches, especially when we have to go far places for matches.”

On the Winsor squash team, Alexa has made quite the impact as a player. She has helped lead the team to winning multiple national titles through her 10th and 5th place finishes in 2015 and 2016. Although her talent is exceptional, it’s her leadership that’s most notable to the coaches and players. Alexa says that her favorite part of being on the squash team is getting close with and becoming friends with so many new people and people from all other grades. She also likes having both home and away matches, away matches because the bus rides are fun and home matches because lots of Winsor fans come to watch. What advice does Alexa have for other athletes? She says, “Most of all, have fun playing your sport and don’t take yourself so seriously. It’s important to compete and play hard and put in maximum effort, but make sure you love the sport you’re playing, having fun with your friends and having fun competing.”☐

Student Perspectives on the PE Requirement [Winsor] has a PE requirement so that I other schools, students are required to can work out, rather than being forced into participate in sports for multiple seasons, a sport I don’t even enjoy when I could be so she is grateful that Winsor gives her the doing something more worthwhile.” Her opportunity to complete her fitness obligaThere has been a lot of discus- opinion stems from the fact that at some tions in ways she will find helpful to her sion over the controversial PE requirespecific needs. Another stument for Winsor Upper School students dent mentioned, “I like the recently. In the Upper School, students requirement because it helps are required to complete seven semesand motivates me to stay in ters of physical education (two per year shape during the off season. in Class V, VI, VII and one semester in Also, exercising clears my the fall of Class VIII) in order to gradumind and helps me concenate. There are several ways to complete trate on school work. I like these seven semesters: play on a sports the system and flexibility of team at Winsor, do two fitness workouts the PE requirement because per week for 40 minutes each, join one of I can use time during the day the elective classes (these include dance, to work out when I might preseason workouts, and yoga), or parnot have time after school.” ticipate in an independent project outside On the other hand, of school. While, some students like the there are students that PE requirement because it forces them feel strongly against the to workout and stay active, others feel as requirement. One comthough it should be up to the students mented, “Winsor girls to decide whether they want to exercise. are smart enough to stay https://www.pinterest.com/explore/fat-amy/ One freshman said, “I am glad healthy without a requireBy Blair Englert and Greta Goldberg Contributing Writers

ment and in their own ways. Taking care of one’s body is personal, so a student’s plans for exercise should be between the student and her parents, not the school.”

We found these opinions very interesting, but we also have our own take on the requirement. I (Blaire) personally like the fitness requirement because I have found that exercising can be a good time to forget about all the stress that I have during the school day, and have fun while playing a sport, or spinning, or doing yoga. I think it is good to have time where I can focus on my body and keeping it healthy. Similarly, I (Greta) like the fitness requirement and the freedom that it allows. I dance outside of school, and if I had to play a sport in addition to this, I wouldn’t be able to dance.

I’m really thankful that doing an independent project (outside of school sport) is a very straight forward process. Also I know that certain plays and musicals count for the PE requirement, which is really Kristie Rae Gillooly great. The PE requirement allows “sports” to not be defined into one category. ☐

Winter Team Playlists: Season Pump-Ups Check out and Listen to the Complete Winter Sports Spotify Playlist by Scanning the QR Code WVH Playlist

WVB Playlist

Naturally

All I Do Is Win

Selena Gomez

DJ Khaled

Falling Down

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El Chapo

Florida Georgia Line

The Game & Skrillex

You and MeFlume Remix

Wagon Wheel

Basketball

Dexy’s Midnight Runners

May We All

89.7

Meghan Trainor

Come on Eileen

WVS Playlist

NPR

Me Too

Selena Gomez

WVC Playlist

Disclosure and Flume

Darius Rucker

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Athlete of the Issue: David Mitchell ‘18

By William McCormack Panel Staff David Mitchell commands an incredible work ethic. Assiduous and focused, David approaches challenges with care and diligence. Anytime he picks up a basketball, David switches into gear, channeling his concentrated, calculated approach to the game. A perfectionist on the court, David is the epitome of “honest defense,” outplaying adversaries not necessarily with craft or flair, but with determination, hustle, and dedication to the fundamentals. Years of hard work equip him to make the most of any opportunity he receives. In several ways, David is truly a stoical basketball master, wise beyond his years. For his commitment to Belmont Hill on both sides of campus and for his talent, drive, and potential, The Panel has named David Mitchell ‘18 the December 2016 Athlete of the Issue.

Basketball has always been a part of David’s life. Growing up and living next to Washington Park, Boston’s premier courts for outdoor men’s leagues and summer tournaments, David began playing in informal summer leagues right when he turned six. Always supported by his father, who played through high school, he continued to expand his pool of competition, entering the No Books No Ball Basketball program and Saturday league. At 9, David joined his first AAU team, the Bay State Magic. At 10, he began to play for the MABC Bengals, going to Florida over the summer and winning 3rd place at youth nationals. At 11, David made one more switch, joining All for One, another Bostonbased AAU program. After entering Belmont Hill at 12 and staying with All for One for two more years, David knew it was time to settle on an AAU program that specialized in high school basketball; in the enviable situation of choosing between Mass Rivals and BABC, essentially the Nike and Addidas of

New England’s AAU basketball landscape, David chose Mass Rivals.

Joining Mass Rivals was an influential decision for David’s basketball career. Recruited by program head Vin Pastore and welcomed into a close-knit community of devoted high school athletes, David joined a program that emphasized fundamentals, effort, and skill development. Never running plays, the Mass Rivals play only man-to-man and their elemental focus has produced an impressive list of alumni, including NBA player and former lottery pick Noah Vonleh, former Syracuse guard Kaleb Joseph, Uconn guard Jalen Adams, Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste, and most recently, Kentucky’s Wenyen Gabriel. David talks highly of the Rivals for helping to kindle his work ethic and defensive prowess. Jovan Jones ‘18, the other half of Belmont Hill’s impressive basketball duo, also plays for Rivals.

This past summer, David was one of four Class of 2018 high

schoolers to play up for a historically dominant U17 Rivals team. Winning 21 games and losing none during the month of July and amassing a total SpringSummer record of 35-2, the Mass Rivals played in the Adidas Uprising circuit, stopping in South Carolina, Atlanta, and Las Vegas during their triumphant run.

The first Adidas team to go undefeated during the July summer circuit in twenty years, the Rivals played one of their most impressive games in the championship of the Adidas superpool, broadcast live on ESPNU. Playing in front of college coaches and Adidas-sponsored athletes like James Harden, Harrison Barnes, and Brandon Ingram, David and his teammates defeated North Carolina’s Garner Road in a game they’re sure to remember. Though David was certainly not the team’s star, he provided valuable minutes off the bench as a defensive specialist. Plus, his time with the U17 team provided him with important experience in the Adidas circuit, lessons and knowl-

Winter Team Preview: Varsity Basketball

By William McCormack Panel Staff Belmont Hill Varsity Basketball enters the 2017 season with two consecutive second place finishes in the ISL. Success during these past two 2015 and 2016 campaigns has redefined the identity of a program that once struggled to post winning records. It was a mere three years ago that the team finished a disappointing 7-17. Having lost only three graduated seniors, this year’s squad will again be led by the impressive quadruple of Jake Haase ‘18, Jake Bobo ‘18, co-captain Jovan Jones ‘18, and co-captain David Mitchell ‘18. Together, along with returners TJ Agnihotri ’17, Pat Shea ’17, John Sommers ’17, Quentin Harris ’18, Spenser Smith ’18, Justin O’Neil-Riley ’18, and Kevin-Michael O’Boy ’19 and new faces Luke Jordan ‘18, Sean Mannion ‘18, Eric Taitano ‘18, and Jack Daley ‘17, they will work to cement Belmont Hill’s new reputation as a perennial ISL power. David Mitchell ’18 believes this year’s goals are clear: “win the ISL and advance past the first round of the NEPSAC Class A tournament.”

Experience in the NEPSAC tournament will be key to the potential completion of the program’s ultimate goal: winning a 2018 Class A New England championship. Junior Jovan Jones stands by a quote from a February 2016 article in

The Panel: “Senior year, the varsity team will be the best basketball team Belmont Hill has ever seen.”

An electrifying energy encircles this year’s team. When asked to describe the group in one word, Mitchell used excited. Plus, the return of Mr. Cofield, now on the faculty, has provided even more vitality. Cofield joins Martellini and Head Coach Murphy, finalizing a trio of very capable coaches. Benefitting from two years of success and eleven returning players, this year’s team is one that clearly has fun playing basketball.

Although always serious about their work ethic and performance, players laugh in layup lines and joke around on water breaks. Winning is fun and enjoyment often leads to more success, a positive feedback loop captains Mitchell and Jones hope to take advantage of this winter. Already very athletic, the team will excel on defense, with 2016 ISL Defensive Player of the Year David Mitchell planning to set the tone.

Like any team, Belmont Hill has weaknesses, primarily a lack of size. Since the graduation of Jesse Wims ‘15, Belmont Hill has been without a true center.

Mitchell, usually a SG or SF with his AAU team Mass Rivals, is often forced to play as the biggest on the team. Controlling the pace of the game and empha-

sizing a stringent defense will help to alleviate this issue. Mitchell also stresses the importance of focus for all thirtytwo minutes of the game. With experience, the team avoids turnovers and silly mistakes even as fatigue increases.

Belmont Hill’s path to an ISL championship will certainly be filled with obstacles. Brooks, having finished either 1st or 2nd in the ISL since 2011, hopes to take 1st place after going undefeated in ISL play last year. Rivers, boasting Yale-commit Azar Swain and Villanovacommit Jermaine Samuels, also poses a large threat.

On December 7, playing in a packed gym with an impressive showing from The Loop™, the varsity basketball team defeated Rivers, a juggernaut of basketball talent. Playing perhaps one of the most impressive games in Belmont Hill’s basketball history, play from team leaders David and Jovan, as well as from sharpshooter Kevin-Michael O’Boy ‘19, set an admirable tone to start the game.

Up 23-9 to start the game and pulsing with energy, Belmont Hill, who then led 41-33 at the half, held on to win 73-67.

If last week’s win against Rivers is any indication, this season should be a fun one. With Brooks also winning their first game against Lawrence Academy (another strong ISL team), February 15th’s matchup between Belmont Hill and Brooks will be epic. ☐

edge he’ll draw upon next summer on the circuit as a team leader. Next Spring, David hopes to continue the Rivals’s success on the national level. With a chance to get noticed by college coaches during Spring and Summer circuits and an even more enticing opportunity to attend Adidas Nations in late July, an elite invitational basketball camp for the world’s best players, he’ll continue to work hard.

While David is very committed to the Rivals, this winter he’ll be completely invested in Belmont Hill basketball. Last year’s ISL Defensive Player of the Year, David will continue to impact the league. In Belmont Hill’s first game of the season during the Zero Gravity Prep Classic, a 75-56 win over New York International Academy, David was named the Zero Gravity Player of the Game, finishing with 22 points, a triple-double, and a resounding putback dunk. Just six days later, in a victory over Nobles, David finished with 29 points, 17 rebounds, and a seemingly infinite number of and-1s. The Panel and all of Belmont Hill are excited to see him improve and excel this season, next summer, and in the years ahead ☐

Winter Preview: Alpine Ski Team

By Sam Rohrer staff Writer The 2016-2017 Alpine Skiing Team is looking forward to a snow-filled season after disappointing weather last year. Eagerly awaiting snowfall, the team is actively conditioning and weightlifting with Stella Strength to best prepare themselves for the upcoming season. Consisting of only four Upper School students, the team is young, eager, and excited for the upcoming winter. After having lost a great portion of last year’s team, the Alpine Skiing Team is hoping to see younger students take on a much-needed leadership roles in both practice and races. ISL Alpine Skiing is extremely competitive this season as St. Sebastian’s, Nobles, and Middlesex all return proven racers. The ski team kicks off their season following winter break and runs through the end of February. After placing third place last season, the team hopes the extra conditioning and reps in the weight room will turn into an ISL Championship and NEPSAC Championship. Although the road is tough, the team hopes to make strides as the season progresses in order to make a run at the Championship. ☐

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Winter Preview: Wrestling Team Winter preWinter view: Nordic Preview: TEAM Ski Team Squash Team

By Ishaan Prasad Panel Staff

By John Paul Champa Panel Staff As the winter season gets underway, the squash courts are once again abuzz with activity. Coming off a successful season last year, including an ISL championship, a third place finish at U.S. High School Nationals, and second at the New England Class A tournament, the team is looking to maintain dominance in the ISL and improve on the national and New England levels. With three members of last year’s team having graduated, the team will depend on senior captains James Bell and Alex Kurtin for leadership.

Other returning members include Robert WIlliamson and John Paul Champa, both seniors, Jack Bell, a junior, and second former Dougie Conigliaro. Third Formers Andrew Lee and Jack Winston, both making varsity debuts, will secure the lower end of the ladder.

With practices and ladder challenge matches already under way, the team will participate in the Jackson Tournament, an all ISL tournament, to kick off the new season and gauge how the team stacks up against the competition. The ISL is shaping up to be very competitive this year with Nobles, St. Georges, and Brooks, all of whom have been perennial powerhouses in the ISL, challenging the Belmont Hill defending champions; nevertheless, the team is training to return to championship form and have another successful season. ☐

Returning to the mats after a record-breaking season, Belmont Hill Varsity Wrestling looks to capitalize on its depth: losing just four starters, the squad is poised to resume their dominance from last winter. Led by co-captains Philip Co-

nigliaro ‘18 and William Ryan ‘17, the starting lineup boasts a wealth of returners: Ryan Williams ‘17, Matthew Smith ‘19, Maahin Gulati ‘18, Henry Griffin ‘17, Seth Israel ‘18, Colin Vallis ‘19, Luca Pontone ‘19, and Michael Glauninger ‘19.

With Owen Grady ‘18, Shane Rockett ‘19, and newcomer Hamza Shemsu ‘19 rounding out the lineup at the start of the season, the team also holds a similarly formidable cast of both returning and new wrestlers ready to step up to challenge.

Practicing under the three banners in the wrestling room – now embroidered to reflect the historic 2016 season – the boys understand that they cannot afford to be complacent. With strong competition

abound throughout the ISL and New England, the experienced Belmont Hill squad, aided by sizable numbers, recognizes the importance of the vigorous, demanding preparations that all successful teams must undertake at the start of their season.

Seizing on the opportunity for some competition before the start of the regular season, on December 2nd, the crew travelled to Newark, New Jersey to wrestle in the two-day-long Caruso Tournament.

Facing some of the toughest teams in the nation, including perennial national-championship contenders Blair Academy and Wyoming Seminary, Caruso is the ultimate opening to the start of the varsity season. Sharing the mats with Phillips Exeter, a persistent New England powerhouse, this season looks to be the sequel to the rivalry that began last year with Belmont Hill seizing the New England title from the incumbent champions from New Hampshire.

Indicative of the pre-season strength of the team, the boys performed remarkably well at Caruso, with captains Phil Conigliaro ‘18 and Will Ryan ‘17 outwrestling their opponents for a second and third place finish, respectively. Beginning the regular season with a dual-meet matchup against Governor’s, the squad’s trail of dominance persisted, securing Belmont yet another win for their season.

With such strong tournament and dualmeet performance this early in the season, the team has the grit, experience, and heart for yet another legendary winter season. ☐

College Football Playoff Preview and Predictions

By Leighton Dolan Staff Writer The 2016 College football playoff matches have been set, as Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Washington each hopes to end the season asill naMahoney tional champions. The College Football Playoff Committee announced on Sunday that No. 1 Alabama will face No. 4 Washington in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the No. 2 Tigers will meet the No. 3 Buckeyes in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl of December 31.

The winners will square off on Janu- counted for five touchdowns and ary 9 for the national championship. probably picked up a couple of more Alabama is the favorite to re- Heisman Trophy votes along the way. peat as title champions; they capped an undefeated season by crushing Florida Ohio State started 54-16 in the SEC conference cham- the week as the No. 2 ranked team pionship game. The Crimson Tide in the country, but it dropped a spot have looked unstoppable for much of while taking the weekend off, afthe season, with a high-powered of- ter failing to reach the Big Ten title fense that has averaged more than 40 game due to a loss to eventual champoints a game, and a savage defense pion Penn State. The Buckeyes proved that strangles opponents. Don’t expect their strength throughout the season, Alabama to rest on its accomplish- capped by an exciting come from bements, as Coach Nick Saban hates the hind win against Michigan. Coach idea of complacency, which he called Urban Meyer will have his Buckeyes the day before the game “a blatant ready to aggressively defend against disregard for doing things correctly.” Watson and Clemson’s speedy offense.

The No. 2 Clemson Tigers secured a spot in the playoffs with a 42-35 win over Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Although the game was closer than many expected, Clemson’s star quarterback, Deshaun Watson, ac-

Washington started the week ranked No. 4 and its pounding of Colorado in the Pac 12 game ensured it place in the playoffs. While some questioned the strength of the Huskies schedule, the Committee felt that the team was better than Penn

By Arnav Prasad Panel Staff As the Nordic Ski team eagerly awaits snow, the team actively prepares for the season by training on land. With the team’s first sprint relay at the Dublin School on December 7th, the athletes and coaches alike hope to maximize growth during this pre-snow period. In the next few weeks, the Nordic skiers can be found running the Harvard Stadiums, competing with the Alpine Ski Team in “zippy fun ball,” or roller-skiing obstacle courses on campus and the Minuteman Trail. As a supplement to the team’s standard routine, trainers in the Cross Fitness Center will provide valuable instruction to improve strength, mobility, and flexibility.

While many on the team are returning to the sport from previous years, this year’s group also features new additions such as Armin Thomas ‘17, Gavin Colbert ‘18, John Markis ‘18, Liam Durbin ‘19 and Ned Whelan ‘19, many of whom will be on Nordic skis for the first time. For all the athletes on the team, the 2016-2017 Nordic Ski season promises to differ from previous seasons, especially with the newfound ISL partnership with The Rivers School, with whom Belmont Hill will be hosting a Lakes Region race at the Weston Ski Track on February 22nd. ☐

Hockey Season Update

By Evan Ricci Panel Staff

State, which finds itself on the outside of the playoffs. Washington, which finished the season 12-1, will have to get a great game from its strong arm quarterback, Jake Browning, if it hopes to have a chance against Alabama.

Predictions: 1. Alabama 35, 4.Washington 17 3.Ohio State 24, 2.Clemson 21 1. Alabama 28, 3.Ohio State 21

The hockey season is off to a roaring start. Captained by Christian O’Neill, Jonny Folsom, and Sam Hesler, the team looks to build on an impressive season last season. Sophomore standout Connor Hopkins takes the reigns in net this year. Along with the team captains, Evan Daddario, Peter O’Connell, John Copeland, Max Fields, Noah Traylor, and Kyle Maxwell will look to provide points up front, while Senior Mike Armstrong will be anchoring the defensemen. The team’s journey began November 30th versus Berwick Academy in Maine. The squad opened strong and defeated Berwick 6-2 to jump start their campaign. Following a quick turnaround, the team looked to build on their strong start in an extremely important ISL-opener at Nobles. On a nice December Saturday afternoon, the boys came out flying for the league opener. After a high-paced start, the squad jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after Mike Armstrong put one home on the power-play. Then, with only seconds remaining in the second period, Evan Daddario found newcomer Andrew Holland, who calmly tucked it away to put the boys of winter up 2. On a solo break, captain Christian O’Neill beautifully scored a short-handed goal to make it 3-0. Following two quick goals by Nobles, Christian O’Neill buried the fourth of the game to give the team a win in their league opener. All of Belmont Hill wishes good luck to Varsity hockey this season. ☐

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Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

By Erin Lyons Contributing Writer

Fantastic Beasts poster warnerbros.com Starting on November 18th, fans were able to experience the magic of the Harry Potter franchise once more with the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film has taken in over $607.5 million at the box office and currently has a 7.8/10 on IMDb. The first in what will be a series of five, the movie takes place in New York City in the 1920s. Its new setting marks quite a departure in both location and time from

Intergenerational orchestra plays together

the original Harry Potter series. Another difference from previous movies is that the plot of Fantastic Beasts isn’t based on a book: J.K. Rowling did write an “informational” book about magical creatures with the same title, but her screenplay for the movie is entirely new. It follows British wizard Newt Scamander as he accidentally releases a host of forbidden magical creatures into the city and tracks them down with the help of a No-Maj (also known as a Muggle or non-wizard person) and an American magical government employee. There are also more sinister forces at play – the movie culminates in a fight to save the city from being destroyed by some very dark magic. Fantastic Beasts has its fair share of adventurous, comical, and thrilling moments.

One aspect of the movie that surprised some viewers was its relatively explicit political message, the likes of which were not present in the older films. It has been criticized by some for being too oversimplified in its politics, but others, like Isabel Griffith-Gorgati ’17, found this message “especially important right now.” Fantastic Beasts addresses issues of environmentalism, discrimination, and intolerance as Newt Scamander’s magical creatures are feared, suppressed, and outlawed merely because they are unfamiliar. Isabel says, “I think the film sends the message that we should try to be more open-minded and tolerant.”

Politics aside, Harry Potter fans were excited to revisit the wizarding world in a

Kristie-Rae Gilooly

Winter Concert Starts Holidays on Festive Note Katie Tsai Panel Staff This year, the Lower School’s Chorus and Orchestra and the Upper School’s Orchestra, Chorale, Small Chorus, Senior Small, and Percussion Ensemble, as well as the Intergenerational Chorus and Orchestra, which is comprised of students, parents, faculty, staff, siblings, and retired teachers, performed in the Winsor Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 11. The concert featured Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite,” a Ladino song, a cappella, jazz, holiday carols, and winter songs, including a new one about solstice that Small Chorus sang. This year’s Holiday Concert was unique in that it was the first time that Lower School music groups performed and that the Head of School Dr. Pelmas sang in the alto section of the Intergenerational Chorus. Also, the Upper School Orchestra played with 11 professional musicians.

The concert upheld many of its old traditions as well. Small Chorus again sang Keith Christopher’s “O

new environment. Alexa Lyons ’17 loved “re-experiencing the fictional world [she] knows and loves while also being introduced to new settings and magical creatures.” She is also “…excited to see where the story goes next since it is the first in a series of five.” J.K. Rowling has a screenplay for a second Fantastic Beasts movie and ideas in the works for a third on top

of two more films planned for the series.

Many of Winsor’s Harry Potter devotees have already seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, while many more are planning to do so soon. The film marks both a return to the beloved fictional world and a successful experimentation with a new setting and a political message.☐

Newt Scamander in the streets of New York

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Moana: A Success in Disney’s Revival Era Dayoon Chang Contributing Writers It has been said that this decade marks the beginning of the “Disney Revival Era.” Since 2008, Disney has been creating characters that are “more visually appealing, more believable, [and] funnier than the characters in Disney’s previous film[s],” according to Caitlin Roper from the monthly American magazine Wired. And she is right. With its new streak of animated movies from Frozen, to Big Hero 6, to Zootopia, and finally Moana, Disney has managed to form creative and new ideas into successful movies for everyone to enjoy filled with hilarious, relatable, and imaginable characters.

The newest addition to Disney’s library is Moana, which came into theaters on Thanksgiving Day. Moana features Disney’s first ever Polynesian princess who journeys to find the demigod Maui to save her island. To make Moana ethically and culturally accurate, directors Ron Clements and John Musker took research trips to oceanic islands like Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti to learn about Polynesian/Melanesian culture – especially about mythology and nature. The filmmakers watched the auditions of hundreds of talented Polynesian women to find the perfect voice match for Moana. Finally, Auli’i Cravalho was given the role. It might even have been fate because Cravalho was the last person to audition out of hundreds of other young women. Coincidentally, Moana the character and Cravalho the actress even look

Holy Night” – years ago, Small Chorus chose to sing it annually at the winter concert because it uses the J. S. Bach setting of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” one of the graduation procession songs. Teresa Lawlor ‘19 was excited to sing it because “it’s such a pretty and meaningful song.” Other traditions included singing a few carols with the audience and asking alumnae and former parents, faculty, and staff to join the Intergenerational Chorus and Orchestra in singing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” at the end of the concert.

Lettie Cabot ’19, a member of Chorale “[looked] forward to hearing everyone (parents and Small Chorus included) sing Winter Wonderland…it [was] amazing to hear all the parts.” Leslie Moukheiber ’19, also in Chorale, exclaimed, “I love the songs we sing; they get me into the holiday mood.

I also love doing the concert with the orchestra…[It] always sounds so pretty.” This year’s concert was filled with merriment and was the perfect way to get both performers and audience members excited for winter festivities and the upcoming holidays. ☐ Moana by the ocean

alike despite the fact that the appearance of Moana was already set by the time Cravalho earned the role. By having a Polynesian woman be the voice of Moana, it makes the movie all the more culturally authentic.

As one of the people who watched Moana during its opening weekend, I can say that I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I loved every part of the wild adventure, the creative storyline, and the tribute to Oceanic culture with moving songs and messages. Something that is quite different about Moana from other Disney movies is that the protagonist is a heroine instead of a princess. The character Moana makes this point herself in the movie. “I really appreciated that Moana was the hero of the movie and that this was a coming of age journey and not a love story,” says Isabel Isselbacher ’18. Instead of falling in love with the cliche “Prince Charming,” Moana falls in love with the ocean and realizes who she is really meant to be.

In the box office, Moana broke several records set by previous Disney movies. On its opening day, the day before Thanksgiving, Moana made $15.5 million, breaking Frozen’s record of $15.2 million in 2012. Through Wednesday to Sunday, Moana made a total of $82.1 million, which is the second biggest five day Thanksgiving opening behind Frozen. Many families flocked to the theaters on Thanksgiving to watch the family friendly movie.

Moana, is an incredible mix of creativity, imagination, and self discovery, and I definitely recommend it to all families in need of an unforgettable experience.☐

disney.wikia.com

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Deck the Halls with these Holiday Do-It-Yourself’s Susy Liu and Isabel Isselbacher Panel Staff

2. Leave a ½ cm gap and draw a 3cm line

Stacked Gifts Pop-up Card Surprise friends and family with a homemade holiday card!

Materials • Pencil • Cardstock (base paper) • Colored paper 14cm tall, 20cm wide • Wrapping Paper (or patterned paper) • Scissors • Tape or Glue • Ruler Instructions: 1. Fold your colored paper in half. 2cm from the bottom of the paper, draw a 4cm line from the fold. Draw another line of the same length 4cm up from the original line. Connect the two lines with a dotted line.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

from the fold. Draw another parallel line of the same length 3cm above the first 3cm line. Connect the two lines with a dotted line.

Leave another 1/2cm gap and draw a line 2 cm long from the fold. Draw another parallel line of the same length 2cm above the first 2cm line. Connect the two lines with a dotted line.

Keeping the paper folded, cut along the solid lines. Pop your boxes out by folding along the dotted lines.

Glue or tape wrapping/patterned paper to the boxes. The pieces should be 8cm x 4cm, 6cm x 3cm, and 4cm x 2cm.

Tape or glue the colored paper (with the pop out boxes) to the cardstock base paper.

How to make a pop-up card Decorate and personalize according to taste!

http://www.mementoesintime.com/

http://www.mementoesintime.com/

DIY Gift Bow with

Reuse this

your gift eco-friendly

wrap craft!

Materials • Wrapping paper (magazines, newspapers, anything works!)

• Tape (double sided makes it easier) • Scissors

How to make DIY gift bows

Maple Syrup Snow Candy If it snows this holiday season, carpe diem, and make your very own maple syrup popsicle! We hope you enjoy this Canadian treat.

Materials: • 100% pure maple syrup (not the supermarket kind) • Wooden popsicle sticks • Clean snow • Pot • Stove • Candy thermometer Instructions: 1. Find a clean plot of snow and pack down a box sized area until it is firm.

wholeliving.com

Instructions 4.

1. Cut the wrapping paper into nine ¾ inch thick strips. Three strips should be at 11 in tall, another three strips at 10 in, two strips at 9 in tall, and one strip at 3.5 in. http://www.wholeliving.com/133668/read2. For each strip, twist both ends wrap-recycle-make-bows-magazines to form two loops opposite of

2. Boil the maple syrup in a small pot

on a stove. When the syrup starts boiling and bubbling, check the temperature using a candy thermometer and remove the pot once the syrup reaches 235-240 degrees fahrenheit 3. Carefully pour the syrup on the snow, making lines 1 to 2 inches thick. Take caution as you do this step 4. Once the syrup has cooled a tiny bit, press the popsicle stick into one end of a line of syrup and roll it onto the popsicle stick as you apply pressure 5. Voila, your very own maple syrup candy! Make sure the syrup has cooled enough before eating. http://happyhooligans.ca/

How to make maple syrup snow candy

Three Dimensional Paper Snowflakes Sure, you’ve been making paper snowflakes since kindergarden. But have you ever made a 3D one before?

Materials: • Six square pieces of paper of the same dimensions – try colorful paper for a cool effect • Scissors • Tape • Stapler

How to make 3D paper snowflakes

3.

each other. Tape the ends where they meet to form a figure 8 with pointed ends. Make a circle out of the smallest strip.

Arrange each set of strips (longest to smallest) in star shape and tape the centers of the strips together.

The two larger stars should have 6 points, the next largest shoud have 4 points, and the smallest circular strip will act as the center of the other three stars.

Layer and tape the 3 stars together (stagger the points of the stars) and secure the circular strip at the center.

wikihow.com

Instructions: 1. Fold each piece of paper in half diagonally, and then fold it in half again. After this step, each piece should resemble a right triangle.

2. Using your scissors, cut four slits in the paper from the folded edge toward the side perpendicular to it and parallel to the hypotenuse of the triangle. Make sure you leave enough space between

happyhooligans.com each slit and that perpendicular edge, or the design won’t hold.

3. Unfold the paper 4. Working from the center of the square to the outside, take inside edges of first paper slit and roll them together to make a cylinder. Secure it with tape.

5. Flip the square over, and repeat the same step for the next closest lines to the center. Then flip the paper over again for the next set of lines, and one more time for the final.

6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 five times until all the sheets are prepared.

7. Join the edges of three pieces together and fasten with a stapler. Join the other three pieces using the same method.

8. Lastly, connect each half of the snowflake and secure with a staple. Enjoy! http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3DPaper-Snowflake

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Fantastic Beasts Lives Up To Harry Potter Hype

By Augustus Lamb Panel Staff I saw Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them with my family in Connecticut over Thanksgiving break. As we were driving to the theater, I didn’t know how to feel.

Similar to most kids, a good portion of my childhood revolved around Harry Potter.

I remember playing in the woods near my house with my friends, making our own wands, dueling while wearing Gryffindor scarves (I could never accept that I was a Hufflepuff), and shouting spells we knew, even the deadly ones. JK Rowling’s imagination was the main source of my creativity as a child, and for that, I am forever grateful.

However, because the story of Harry Potter had been somewhat removed from my life for a few years, as the last movie came out in 2011, I was unsure if my mind was ready for this sudden reimmersion into the wizarding world. However, as my family and I neared the entrance to the theater parking lot, I knew I had to prepare for anything.

If the movie was bad, I could tell myself it was obviously because Hermione wasn’t in it. If the movie was good, then I could

tell myself that of course it was, JK Rowling wrote it. Gladly it turned out to be the latter.

Fantastic Beasts is set in 1920’s New York City, 70 years before Harry’s story begins. We don’t see Hogwarts, or Hagrid, or anyone we’ve known before for that matter. But we do see a whole lot of Eddie Redmayne, the adorable little munchkin who won Best Actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking two years ago in the delicate biopic, The Theory of Everything.

Eddie plays Newt Scamander, an “eccentric, introverted wizard, magizoologist and an employee at the Ministry of Magic” who is visiting New York’s secret community of wizards and witches. Newt knows a lot about the fantastic beasts of the wizarding world, and the plot of the movie revolves around him and the wizards of NYC attempting not to blow their cover after some of Newt’s creatures escape from his multi-dimensional briefcase. However, while Newt’s fantastic beasts roam around to some trouble, the city also faces chaos in the form of an obscurial, which is a pretty cool concept.

An obscurial is a young wizard or witch who has developed dark parasitical magical force as a result of their magic being suppressed through psychological or physical abuse. The obscurial uses its force, known as an Obscu-

rus, which is an intense, dark wind, to wreck the buildings and streets of New York City.

Throughout the movie, Eddie’s acting is excitedly innocent and comforting, and his muggle sidekick, Kowalski, provides great comic relief as well as additional cuteness. The magical action scenes are entertaining, and it was cool to see how progressive the wizarding world was in NYC in the 1920s, as the president of the Ministry was a black woman.

However, while the movie did serve as an entertaining and emotional action movie at times, and the references to Hogwarts were great, simply the awareness that the movie was connected to Harry Potter made me feel

happy. At times, I definitely compared it too much to the old films, but, nonetheless, I was smiling on many different occasions. It just felt good that it was linked to Harry Potter, and that I was watching something new from JK Rowling’s creation. And while it felt weird to hear wizards talking in American accents, it was also kind of nice. It gave me hope that somewhere in America there is a secret society of wizards that I might just be able to be a part of if I have an Academy Award and am the cutest little man alive. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them will have four upcoming installments, so the next few years will be filled with magic, indubitably. ☐

Newt Scamander looks cute in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Armin and Gus’s Playlist of the Month

By Armin Thomas and Augustus Lamb Panel Staff

Armin

Just Another Girl - The Killers When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with a celebrity named Dianna The A Team - Ed Sheeran Agron, who was decently famous at the I may be biased because I sang it at time for acting in the show, Glee; I was Coffee House, but it’s still a great song. so in love with her. I always convinced Sheeran’s vocals perfectly capture the myself into liking every project she did, wistful acceptance of one’s fate, with his dynamic inflection carrying great power but when she starred in the music video in affecting the listener. I have known this for Just Another Girl by the Killers, her song for four years now and still think it’s dauntingly beautiful presence no longer in the hallways of Glee allowed my love for one of my all-time favorites. her to reach new heights that now I can only hope to feel again sometime in my Human Nature - Michael Jackson life. Even though Dianna got married over What’s my reason for liking this? Why? Why? I’ll tell you that it’s human nature… the summer to a guy from Mumford and Sons, her marriage does not take away from this song, and my good hope of what could have been if I were only older, wealthier, and better looking.

The Rain - Aetherian Finally I’ve gotten around to listening to some metal. Though I don’t have the hair to headbang to metal with, I’ve got the mind. That’s what matters. You feel the wrath and power of Aetherian in this death metal song.

We Bought A Zoo - Jonsí Anyone who knows me well knows that my favorite movie ever is We Bought A Zoo. Only occasionally I am able to put into words how the movie makes me feel and what it means to me, and only occasionally do I watch it because I believe I have to be in a certain mood in order to get everything I want out of watching it.

Jonsí is the artist behind the soundtrack of the movie, and his song We Bought A Zoo is an uplifting piano piece that reminds me of Matt Damon’s smile.

Your Latest Trick - Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler The saxophone solo owns this song.

Michael Brecker is so smooth, it reminds me of those old videos of Bill Clinton playing enor on Arsenio Hall’s show back in 1996. It’s another comparatively old song but that doesn’t mean it’s any worse.

The Dire Straits have use their artistry to create yet another great song again.

Con Te Partirò - Andrea Bocelli Also another one of my vintage Coffee House acts. Not in English, but in Italian.

It means “with you I will leave”, and is an imaginative soliloquy on spending eternity with the one that matters to you.

It’s basically an opera in 5 minutes, and that key change is explosive. Bocelli does it a lot better than I did, so you should probably listen to his version.

Gus

really became famous because Zach Braff featured them in Garden State. Simple Song reminds me of Braff ’s movies and is filled with lovely imagery and intense emotions, despite its nonchalant title.

Broken Cash Machine - Modern Baseball Simple and steady guitar riffs, and raw and There She Goes - The La’s monotone vocals are a good encapsulaI heard this song the other day when I was tion of Modern Baseball. Modern Baseball watching Gilmore Girls. When I heard it, I is the only punk rock band I listen to, quickly pulled out my phone and Shazam- but they are steadily becoming one of my ed it before it ended. I then added it to my favorites. I have one of their hats, and I current Spotify playlist because when I never take my it off because not only does hear it, I picture this scene. I picture this it fit me nicely, but it is great way to tell scene in which a car is being driven away people about their music, and how Broken into the distance, and as the driver’s hap- Cash Machine specifically encompasses pily screams and waves their hand out the everything good about them. “Sweepwindow, the credits begin to roll, but the ing floors and folding napkins. Praying song continues. I like how this song makes something cool might happen. The sun explodes, we die, the world ends.” ☐

Executive Editors Kiran Butte Elizabeth Kim Mack Perry Arts Editors Augustus Lamb Susy Liu Isabel Isselbacher Sports Editors Evan Ricci Abby Weyer Photo Editors Arielle Blacklow Duncan Grant Graphics Editor Bennett Morris Lawson Morris

Simple Song - The Shins I am a really big Zach Braff fan. I haven’t seen all of his TV show Scrubs, but the two movies that he has directed, Garden State and Wish I Was Here, are two of my favorites, and they both feature music from The Shins. The Shins are an alternative rock band from New Mexico who

me picture this, however, sometimes I am the driver, and sometimes I am an onlooker, and I don’t know what to think of it.

Editors-in-Chief Bennett Rush Jason Fischman Helen Sayegh Online Editors Emma Pan Arnav Prasad Assistant Editors Sophie Stone Armin Thomas Hammond Hearle Matthew Bracken William McCormack Philip Bailey Jordan Sclar

Copy Editors John Markis JP Champa Emily Chen News Editors Ishaan Prasad Juliet Isselbacher Opinion Editors Robbie Warming Priya Shukla Faculty Advisors Meghan Hazard David Hegarty Sarah Wolf Juliette Zener

Backpage Editors Seamus Clair Matt O’Leary

The Panel, founded in 1953, is the official school newspaper of the Belmont Hill and Winsor schools. The Panel is the voice of the student body. We publish articles that are of consequence to the students, as well as the school communities. The views expressed in The Panel belong solely to the authors and editors and do not necessarily represent the student body, faculty or administration of either school. Any comment about the content should be addressed directly to the editors. The Panel encourages responsible opinion in the form of Letters to the Editor. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Copyright 2015 The Panel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the Editor-in-Chief. Published by the Belmont Printing Co., Belmont, MA 02478.

D e c emb er 15, 20 1 6

Belmont Hill Arts

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Winter Coffee House Rocks The Hill

By Mack Perry Panel Staff The Kraft Theater was full and rocking on Friday night with the Winter Coffee House. Hosted by senior MC’s Augustus Lamb and Philip Bailey, the two-hour show showcased medieval music, Taylor Swift, and everything in between. The six formers stepped up to fill the big footsteps of last year’s talented seniors and the ORBIS-sponsored bake sale raised $240 for furniture for a seventeen yearold private school in Pakistan that serves 181 low-income boys and girls.

The show kicked off with the Middle School Rock Band, playing Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ “Refugee.” First-time performer Bennett Rush ‘17 performed a beautiful pair of French sixteenth-century melodies on the lute, an instrument he picked up earlier this fall. He is Belmont Hill’s first lute player in recent memory, and most likely in history. “I’m Belmont Hill’s most-beloved lutenist,” he introduced himself in between songs.

Pianist Sebastian Themelis debuted two soulful original songs with Augustus Lamb on the drums and later offered an inspiring, powerful interpretation of Eagles’ ballad “Desperado”. Singer Henry Vettel ‘18 lead the

Artist of the Issue: Owen Greenwood

By Seamus Clair Panel Staff From the angelic, soulful riffs he often sings while traveling between classes, it is quite clear that Owen Greenwood has a love for music. However, one may not be able to tell that his artistic talents are much greater than what meets the ear. During any given X Block or 2:15 study hall, the likelihood of finding him hard at work in the ceramics studio are quite high. He is not satisfied by simply sculpting each masterpiece on the wheel.

As the clay dries, he applies new techniques to make each of his works an eye-catching innovation. Crafting pottery is far more than a mere hobby for the illustrious sixth former. While spending last year in Beijing, China, he delivered a speech in Mandarin explaining the greater impact that the art form has had on his life. “At the potter’s wheel, the clay taught me a valuable life lesson,” he explained. “I learned that in order to make something beautiful, one has to take risks. Although I have had mishaps and failures, I could always learn from every minute spent in the studio.” There is inspiration for every Belmont Hill student in Owen’s beautiful words. ☐

Upper School Rock Band on the Allman Brothers’ bluesy “Whipping Post”, featuring a masterful guitar solo from David Paine ‘18. After, Theo Why and Peter Knowlton brought Broadway to Belmont Hill with “The Confrontation” battle scene from Les Mis. Midway through the show, MC’s Philip and Augustus introduced the Ukulele Club and then walked off stage, only to return immediately with ukes in hand to perform a riveting rendition of the Taylor Swift classic “You Belong With Me”.

Joined by Theo Why, the multi-talented Armin Thomas ‘17 sang “Con te partirò”, recognizable from the movie “Step Brothers,” reprising the well-loved Italian song after last year’s historic performance.

Coffee House veterans Mr. Sherman and Dr. Melvoin made a celebrity duet appearance, harmonizing together on Chad and Jeremy and the Everly Brothers. After, Dr. Melvoin soloed on James Taylor’s “Blossom”.

At the end of their set, Mr. Sherman brought out his students Marshall Knight, Cam Hall, and Mack Perry ‘17 for the public debut of “The Sherman Beatles Revival Band”, performing The Fab Four’s “Things We Said Today” with Dr. Melvoin.

The Bailey Brothers, Alex ‘14 and Philip, paired up for Neutral Milk

Hotel’s “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” and added an original verse to Arcade Fire’s “Windowsill”. Seamus Clair belted out a beautiful cover of Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love” with violin accompaniment by Andrew Kaneb ‘17 and his new hat; Andrew later debuted his vocal chops with Mack Perry for Zac Brown Band’s “Sweet Annie”. Crooner Marshall Knight teamed up with Scott Jackson for The Lumineers’ “Nobody Knows.”

The senior rock band closed the night with Dexy Midnight Runners’ rocking “Come On Eileen”.

Band drummer Scott Jackson, guitarists Marshall Knight and Mack Perry, singer Seamus Clair, bassist Cam Hall, and violinist Andrew Kaneb look forward to returning for the Spring Coffee House for their last musical hurrah on the Hill. Thanks to Mr. Fiori for all the set-up and sound, and to family and friends for supporting the musicians. ☐

Much Ado About Nothing: A Great Success

By Bennett Rush Panel Staff

long time supporters of the theater, and they portrayed a very impressive knowledge and comfort with drama.

The student head of theater, Peter Knowlton, performed one of his last plays on the Hill, taking the lead role of Benedick opposite Caroline Nolan’s Beatrice. The two exchanged barbed banter, fell for their friends’ and families’ conspiring to bring them together, and eventually fell for each other. The production featured great physical comedy (hedge-jumping while eavesdropping and Henry Vettel’s Dogberry were particular highlights) as well as the villainous scheming of Macdony Charles’ Don John.

The Belmont Hill and Winsor players produced yet another marvelous show, with a rendition of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Featuring some of the Hill’s most experienced actors -- Peter Knowlton, Owen Pickette, Theo Why, Macdony Charles, and Henry Vettel -the play also introduced sixth-form theater novices Ben London and Marshall Knight. Winsor’s players included returning and novice performers as well.

Although it is a great comedy, Much Ado is one of Shakespeare’s most underrated plays. Its themes are love and gossip, with two intertwined romantic stories complicated by deception and unexpected turns. At the same time it realistically explores how outside forces (jealousy, ambition, politics) can influence and shape relationships, and features, of course, Shakespeare’s classic dramatic irony.

Much Ado About Nothing marks Ms. Robison’s second (and Mr. Debling’s first) Shakespeare production on the Hill, after MacBeth two years ago. Her mastery of the genre and the actors’ facility with Shake-Owen Pickette and Peter Knowlton perform as Claudio and speare’s language enabled herBenedick. to realize her vision. Ms. Robison’s style and influence is a major Much Ado About Nothing marked the contribution to the Belmont Hill the- versatility that is Belmont Hill theater, ater legacy, implementing a modern performing Shakespearean comedies, twist with pop music and occasional tragedies, as well as many other genres 21st-century props and costumes. of drama. The theater community and A few seniors tried their those who support it rallied around hands at acting this fall as a kind of Much Ado, and put together a play that Belmont Hill bucket list. Marshall will be remembered for years to come. ☐ Knight and Ben London have been

This Month in the Landau Gallery: Deborah Dendler B y B e n ja m i n L o n d o n Pa n e l S ta f f For t h e n e x t m ont h , t h e L a n d au Galler y will be featuring a variety of drawings and sculptures created b y D e b o r a h D e n d l e r, a l o c a l a r t i s t .

S ome of her most fascinating works are her relief sculptures.

Relief sculpting is the process in which the artist car ves out sculpted parts while still leaving the sculpture attached to a background from which it has been car ved.

He r w o r k s a r e v e r y c o m p l e x and typically shallow relief, which makes the process of drawing and sculpting significantly more diff i c u l t . A s a s c u l p t o r, h e r d r a w ings are produced differently t h a n t h o s e o f a d r a w e r. T h e a r t ist says that, while a drawer is concerned with foreshortening and perspective, a sculptor like herself uses paintings as blueprints for a sculpture. She goes on to say that she believes a good d r a w i n g f o r h e r i s a ny t h i n g s h e can turn into a good sculpture.

Mo s t o f h e r d r a w i n g s a r e done in red and white chalk on t i n t e d p a p e r. He r m a ny d r a w i n g s in the galler y are all ver y intricate and focus mainly on people, from babies to adults. She writes in her artist statement, “ The human condition is the main subj e c t o f my w o r k . I b e l i e v e i n t h e resilience of the human spirit and find the human form the most perfect and eloquent exp r e s s i o n o f t h e h u m a n s p i r i t .”

D e n d l e r ’s v e r y u n i q u e a n d a graceful work will be on display u n t i l Ja n u a r y 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 , s o t a k e a walk through the galler y and see

L ast Lo ok Issa Back Page

Pa g e 2 0

Th e Pan el

~Ballfam~ It’s that time of year, when you wake up every morning to the incumbent darkness of your bedroom and drag yourself to school most probably still without any generous rays of sunlight. It’s winter, and, ask anyone, that means one thing to the Winsor community: the season of our favorite and winningest team, Winsor Varsity Basketball, affectionately/infamously referred to as #ballfam. We sat down with two of the three captains of WVHOOPS, Isabelle Bastian ’17 and Maggie Hart ’17, to seek some insight into their elusive world. Here’s what they had to say about the most exclusive squad in the school (yes, even more than crew and mock trial).

I: “Ballfam is life.”

M: “We won yesterday. We blew BB&N out. 30 points.”

I: “We do the high school musical cheer ‘What Team?’ before every game.”

I: “Last year, the only really new person was Mom. We made a beautiful bond.”

I: “Our key bonding experience is our visit to the Yankee Candle superstore ‘the Scenter of the Universe’ in Western Massachusetts.”

M: “At Yankee Candle I’m gonna wait in line to see Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and I’m gonna sit on Santa’s lap.”

M: “People say ‘OMG it snows!’ Like, in the store. But it’s just wierd bubbles. It’s weird” I: “No it’s unbelievable” M: “They have elves.”

M: “We’re looking forward to adding new terms to our sacred #ballfam dictionary.”

M: “Oh my God. Our bench lingo is going to be off the charts this year. It’s gonna be like, A+.”

I: “We’re working really hard on bench lingo.”

I: “This year ballfam is going to be healthy.”

I: “There are rumors that we are going to haze our freshmen, but we’re not!!

That is completely untrue and unfounded! Ballfam is nothing but love.”

M: “Very true.”

I and M: “Actually we’re really already starting to bond together. I’m excited. I’m really excited.”

Coach Kirwan (“Mom”): “Without it I don’t know who I am.”

Thank you, Ballfam, for imparting to us your profound knowledge of sport and of life.

Fantastic Words: Try to Find Them!

Across 3. Ginny’s full name.

4. Skiving ______box.

7. The corridor on this floor was off-limits during Harry’s first year at Hogwarts.

11. The Chosen One. 13. This sweet helps after an encounter with a dementor.

14. A tricky puzzle, or Voldemort’s real last name.

18. He was the master of the Elder Wand before Dumbledore.

20. Albus Percival _______ Brian Dumbledore 21. His favorite color is lilac (and he taught Defense Against the Dark Arts!).

23. ______ Hagrid 25. The last name of the actual three brothers.

26. The great-great-granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney.

27. The house elf of the Crouch family.

From the Desk of the Editor in Chief: The BH Back Page™ received a leaked copy of Belmont Hill teachers’ and students’ wish list to Santa Claus. In the interest of tranparency, here are their requests.

The Wind Orchid: Some respeck on it’s name.

Mr. English: Somebody to move the office supplies out of his room.

Mr. Curran: A hug.

Pat Shea: A pre-Algebra peer tutor.

The Student Body: A new fall sports team to make fun of.

Michael Piazza: A new barber.

Peter Flaherty: The Instagram followers he lost after posting with Trump and Cubes.

Jack Ablon: A wall mounting of the deer he hit and posted Snapchats of.

Nick Delhome: Use of his thumb.

Ray Hunt: Not to have the hair of a villain from a street racing movie.

Bradley Hart: A different weight room playlist.

Mr. Sherman: Another NFL referee strike to showcase his reffing skills.

Non-crew Kids: For the crew team to keep their shirts on.

Bobby Jahrling: Shorts longer than mid-thigh.

Did Rae Sremmurd Predict Trump’s Populist Movement? A Back Page Investigation!

Surely most of you are familiar with Rae Sremmurd’s January 2015 smash hit, “Up Like Trump.” However, could there be more to the track than meets the eye? In the song’s hook, twenty year-old Swae Lee delivers a few encrypted messages.

After proclaiming that he feels as though he is on a curve of upward mobility similar to that which guided Donald Trump’s life, he then asserts that his “chain swings like nunchucks.” At first, this line appears to have been formed to fit the rhyme scheme of the prior phrase. However, we could not help but notice that President-elect Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader was with Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, a country where nunchucks have quite a long history. This may seem like a mere coincidence, but just a line later, Mr. Lee strikes again. Remarking that a young woman is suggestively dancing “like she’s from Russia,” he then presents the haunting image of “soldiers at a ten hut.” Could it be that Trump’s seemingly close friendship with Putin may soon fall apart, leading to a major world conflict?

If you’re still not convinced that these two brothers from Tupelo, Mississippi may in fact be soothsayers, take a look at Swae Lee’s first verse. Musing about stopping at the bank before taking a young woman out for a date one night, he states that the trip was unsuccessful, as the “ATM go nuts, I do what I want.” While the market instability following the election was surely considerable, far more evocative is the image of one being able to “do what [they] want,” possibly hinting to an anarchist society following a government collapse. His verse is ended with the stirring proposition of U.S. citizens someday religiously reading the Forbes list “like the Bible.”

Keeping in mind that the song was released five months before Mr. Trump even announced his candidacy, take a look at Slim Jimmy’s cipher. He voices his opinion that “...green ain’t the issue.” Could Slim Jimmy have known that Trump would be an ardent supporter of medical marijuana treatment? While there is not space enough here to detail all our other observations, they are truly endless. Perhaps the most important warning from Rae Sremmurd comes in the last four words of the song, where Swae Lee speaks claims that there are impending negative consequences of a Trump election, stating, “now you done [expletive] up.”

Down 1. Amos _______ 2. This magizoologist traveled to New York City in the 1920s.

4. “I open at the close.” (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) 5. “Where those of wit and learning,/Will always find their kind...” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) 6. The sister of the Beauxbatons’ champion.

7. Pet of Neville Longbottom.

8. Lockhart won their “Most Charming Smile” award five times.

9. Parvati Patil’s twin.

10. The phoenix that provided the cores of Voldemort’s and Harry’s wands.

12. This magical creature is the mascot of the Irish Quidditch Team.

15. The cry of a mature specimen of this magical plant is fatal.

16. All first-years at Hogwarts must have a cauldron made out of this metal.

17. Equal in value to seventeen Sickles.

19. The Daily ______ 22. The name of Harry’s daughter (named after his mother).

24. Felix_______