September 2021 Panel (Vol. 70 Iss. 3)

350 Prospect Street Belmont, MA 02478

Volume 70, Issue 3

Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage Permit #58555 Boston, MA PAID

A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill School

September 30, 2021

SPEAKERS TAKE THE PODIUM New School Year Opens with Rabbi Marc Baker and Alison Crowther

By Daniel Rashes ’22 Panel Staff Note: The following is a self-reflection by Daniel Rashes ’22 on his experience organizing the informative Chapel for the student body.

When Daniel Drucker, Noah Farb,

and I were tasked with constructing a The Executive Staff Chapel Talk that could serve as an inforPanel Staff mative and personal lesson regarding the High Holidays, we quickly decided that we Alison Crowther, whose late son wanted to bring in a speaker. Rabbi Marc Welles’s heroic actions on 9/11 saved many Baker is a prominent and renowned voice lives, spoke in Chapel on September 17th in the Greater Boston Jewish community. to discuss her son’s legacy and the many Continued on Page 3 life lessons that can be learned from his

story. Welles’s life is chronicled in the book The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi, which all students read during the summer.

Mrs. Crowther’s speech was well received by Belmont Hill. The Chapel included a 15 minute segment from ESPN about Welles Crowther’s final sacrifice entitled, “The Man in the Red Bandana.”

Read more on Page 8-9

School President Luke Carroll ’22 Speaks to Student Body

By Howard Huang ’22 Panel Staff

Look Inside The Issue

News 4 Plans forSenate The New Maker Space Student Report

The new monthly Student Senate Report by Luke Carroll ’22 will be published in The Panel for a new era of transparency from student leaders.

News 2 Indoor Mask Mandates Luke Wagner ’22 sheds light on the future of Masking on campus at Belmont Hill.

Opinions 13 Debate of the Issue: Is a hot dog a sandwich?

Lev Tolkoff ’24 and Luke Trevisan ’24 debate about a favorite American food item.

Now in his third term as Class President, Luke Carroll has had a positive effect on the Belmont Hill community with his ideas and implemented projects. Luke has organized raffles, food-events, and even a class outing. Recently, the Senior Class President and leader of the whole school had the opportunity to share his ideas with younger students through his opening address.

The lively speech began with the essentials: acknowledging the administrative team, faculty, and staff for making the experience of Belmont Hill possible. He thanked them for their extensive summer work to refit every classroom after the year of pandemic learning and for their endeavors in new projects like the Makerspace.

Luke then singled out the new first form— the future of the Belmont Hill community.

“Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash (1963) Continued on Page 4 Centerspread 8 Community 3 The Panel Crossword From the Archives: 9/11 Reactions Pieces from Volume 50 Issue 2 (October 1st, Complete the cross2001) of The Panel Show Past Belmont Hill word puzzle and send students’ reactions to the 9/11 attacks. a photo to thepanel@ belmonthill.org for a prize!

Sports 12 James Donahue ’22

Lev Tolkoff ’24 writes about James’s achievements in running.

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T he Panel

Mr. Ziff Expands Belmont Hill’s Engineering Program

By Alex Lo ’23 Panel Staff Mr. Ziff joins Belmont Hill with expertise in engineering, specifically making, having overseen a larger space at City College of New York. He attended Blair Academy, where he rowed crew and wrestled on the school’s prolific team. He also excelled in theater, having started acting at a young age and he modeled and acted in several television shows. After Blair, he attended the University of Miami, where he completed his bachelor’s and masters in Industrial engineering. Following college, he moved to Los Angeles, hoping to give acting a real shot. Although he found success—

performing in several independent films and meeting actors including Sofia Vergara, Patrick Dempsey, Martin Kove, and Billy Zapka, he found teaching and engineering as his true calling. Accordingly, he moved on from acting, returning to school to complete a Masters of Sciences at The City College of New York. There, he oversaw a makerspace, gaining immense experience in overseeing maker equipment. He now joins Belmont Hill, drawn by the willingness and support of our tight-knit community.

At Belmont Hill, Mr. Ziff is overseeing the makerspace, teaching Form III engineering, and advising in Form VI. He is looking to expand engineering opportunities, specifically establishing a competitive robotics team. In the near future, Mr.

Ziff will establish a VEX robotics team—a large league with more than 20,000 schools participating. Minimal experience is required for this team, allowing everyone to join and find a place on a team. Mr. Ziff also hopes to implement a FIRST robotics team: a more competitive and demanding team. Mr. Ziff is looking forward to the advent of the new makerspace. Using the space, he wants to teach students new technologies and implement a drone program.

He hopes to break the barrier of technical skills in the makerspace, making everyone feel welcome to create anything they wish.

Outside of Belmont Hill, Mr. Ziff loves making things, as well as gardening and cooking and hanging out with his two dogs.

He emphasizes that he is happy to talk to

anyone about making and urges anyone interested to stop by. The whole Belmont Hill community is so excited to welcome Mr. Ziff to our school and looks forward to seeing the development of the robotics program! ☐

Mr. Ziff

Mr. O’Connell Returns to BH Indoor Mask Mandates Resume

dogs, Lulu and Watson. Mr. O’Connell will

By Luke Wagner ’22 be teaching Latin Alpha, Latin Gamma, and Panel Staff US Government. He is currently the head coach of Fifth Soccer, and will be coaching Mr. O’Connell, a graduate of Belmont Third Hockey in the winter. In addition, Getting the email that told the stuHill in 2017 has returned to Belmont Hill. Mr. O’Connell is co-advising for Form II. ☐ dents that we would have to wear masks inMr. O’Connell grew up in Andover, Masdoors for the time being was one of the worst sachusetts and attended the Pike School in pieces of school-related news I could have Andover before coming to Belmont Hill received over the summer. Having to combeginning in Form III. During his time at ply with the mask mandate that the town of Belmont Hill, Mr. O’Connell played hockBelmont put in place, the decision to wear ey and baseball and was a member of the masks indoors is Debate Club and Student Senate. After not one that anygraduating from Belmont Hill, Mr. O’Conone in the comnell attended Bowdoin College, where munity wanted he played baseball and majored in Govbut unfortunateernment and Legal Studies. ly was necessary.

In his free time, Mr. O’Connell enWith around 97% joys cycling and spending time with his two Mr. O’Connell of the Belmont Hill Community vaccinated, this decision to keep ing the Form II government course, Mid- the mask mandate

By Aaron Stanger ’24 dle East and China, 20th century world is extremely frusPanel Staff history, and the Form V US history course. trating. Mrs. DaThis fall, he is coaching Fourth Football, vid noted that the Mr. Martin Williams, the newest and will coach Varsity Wrestling in the decision to keep member of the History department, is ex- winter. Mr. Williams is excited to advise masks indoors “is a day to day thing in the cited to join the Belmont Hill community. his group of Form IV students and also pandemic” and that the “concerns are the He grew up in Chestnut Hill as the young- get to know students in all forms through new strain ‘MU, which is merging.” Mrs. Daest of three siblings. In his middle and high his coaching and teaching experience. ☐ vid also noted that around 25% of cases in Massachusetts are those of vaccinated peoschool years, he attended Nobles where he ple, and wearing masks also protects people wrestled and won the Graves-Kelsey tourin all areas of the Belmont Hill community. nament in 2015 at 285 lbs. After graduatWith all the restrictions still in place, ing, he attended Middlebury College from the school has struggled to feel like it did which he graduated in 2020. Before coming before Covid-19; the requirement to wear to Belmont Hill, Mr. Williams taught Hismasks indoors plays largely into that feeltory at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, ing. Although transitioning to the “norConnecticut for a year. The teaching expemal” class schedule this year, classes still are rience out-of-state made him appreciate haunted with having to wear masks for 40 to his hometown and home in Massachusetts.

75 minutes straight. With the new schedule At Belmont Hill, Mr. Williams will in place, it feels like the school is putting a teach across a multitude of grades includ- Mr. Williams

By Mac Bobo ’23 Panel Staff

Mr. Williams Joins BH

normal year in front of our faces but pulls it away with these mask mandates. It’s unfortunate that this is the case, but the only thing one can do as a part of the community is to wear the mask and hope that Covid-19 gets better because it isn’t going anywhere.

One of the biggest downfalls of last year that has continued into this year is the lack of sense of community in many public spaces, especially during lunchtime.

Having only seen what feels like the same seven boys all year last year and one advisor, I was looking forward to seeing some new faces in the Upper School and having the opportunity to talk with kids outside of my classes. The dining staff is working extremely hard to create the best possible scenario Luke Trevisan ’24 for us, and I commend them for that, but lunch feels like it’s lost almost everything I enjoyed about going to lunch.

During the summer, no part of me thought that we would come back with masks indoors, but as you all know, that decision was made right before school. Hopefully, Belmont Hill can ditch the masks indoors and bring the school back together during lunch, but that might be ambitious as the Delta variant is ravaging through many communities. This school year still feels like the 2020 Belmont Hill, and at this point, I just hope to be back to normal by the Spring so I, along with all the seniors, can enjoy the last couple of months at this school. ☐

Mr. LaLiberte ’14 Reunites with BH After Seven Years

By Luke Trevisan ’24 Panel Staff Returning to campus this year, Mr. LaLiberte has arrived for his first year of teaching here. He will enter into the math and modern language departments and coach in the fall and winter. Hailing from Needham, Mr. LaLiberte grew up in a family where almost 70% of his relatives have become teachers or educators. He grew up with his younger sister, his mom and his dad, who owns the Treat Cupcake Bar in Needham.

A first-generation student at Belmont Hill, he graduated in 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed his experience. He played three varsity sports: football, basketball, and track, and took part in many extracurriculars, including acapella, choir, improv club, and community service. What he enjoys most

about coming back, he said, is being able “to teach and advise in the classroom where he was taught and advised as a student.”

After graduating, Mr. LaLiberte moved on to Middlebury College in Vermont, where he majored in sociology and continued his football career, coincidentally playing with Mr. Williams, who is also new this year. He hosted his own ra- Mr. LaLiberte dio show there and made use of Vermont’s

beautiful landscape by skiing, hiking and cliff jumping. Once he graduated from Middlebury in 2018, Mr. LaLiberte decided to head south and joined the faculty at the Delbarton School in New Jersey, a grade 7-12 all-boys Catholic school, and spent three years there.

This year, in addition to teaching and coaching, he has enrolled in the UPenn School Lead-

ership program. There he will spend one weekend a month in person and engage in online classes to earn his Master’s Degree.

Outside of school, Mr. LaLiberte enjoys the outdoors, where he hikes, water skis, and bikes. Every year, he commits himself to partake in one triathlon or bike race while also participating in the Pan-Mass Challenge to raise money for cancer research. Since college, he has enjoyed skiing and takes trips out west to ski the imposing Rockies with his friends.

Mr. LaLiberte will teach Form I and II math classes along with a Spanish I class. This fall, he will join the coaches on the Varsity football team and will coach the fourth basketball team in the winter. The Panel welcomes Mr. LaLiberte and looks forward to learning more about him in and out of the classroom. ☐

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Summer Scholars

By Mac Bobo ’23 And Alex Lo ’23 Panel Staff In August of this past summer, the Belmont Hill classrooms were bustling with chatter and excitement. Summer Scholars had recently begun, with new Belmont Hill students treading the path of many before them, hoping not to get lost on the campus. Instead of the Head Start program, which was held every summer for new incoming students, Mr. Masiiwa, Mr. Smith, and others on the faculty constructed a two-week plan for preparing incoming Belmont Hill students for the coming year—the Summer Scholars program. This new summer program was established to offer a more comprehensive program than that of the old Head Start program, and hopefully, it will have contributed to a smoother transition into the school for many newcomers. Because of the pandemic, many middle school students fell behind as their respective schools’ curricula, and more comprehensive summer program became necessary. Summer Scholars was a great first introduction for many incoming Belmont Hill students. The two-week program allowed them to meet their peers and gain more comfort in the curriculum.

Each day, beginning at 8:30, the students split into several classrooms—each with a teacher and a couple of older student mentors. The day was split into two sections: math and humanities. After the math section in the morning, the students had snack time—an obvious favorite. They got to meet with the larger group and many went outside, playing football and spikeball. The students also met several older students and teachers. Given the smiles on the faces of the students inside and outside the classroom, they had a blast learning new material and meeting their peers.

Because of the pandemic, Summer Scholars was necessary for this past summer, but the scale of this project will most likely not be needed as we move past COVID. Given the success of this past summer, some aspects of the Summer Scholars program are sure to be implemented in the coming summers. Overall, the program was a success, as all of those involved agree. ☐

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Mr. Calloway: Rower and English Teacher

By Duncan Kilbride ’24 and Brian Lee ’24 Panel Staff Mr. Calloway is one of the seven incoming Belmont Hill teachers for the 20212022 school year. He was born and raised in rural Vermont and attended Hanover High school and later Dartmouth College, where he majored in English. He belonged to a fraternity and rowed crew too.

Furthermore, he was a teaching intern at Choate Rosemary Hall. After graduating college, Mr. Calloway earned his Ph.D. in English from Tufts University during a period of six years, then went on to work at the Gunnery School where he taught ninth and eleventh grade English. At Belmont Hill, Mr. Calloway will teach two sections each of Form II and IV English and serve as a Form IV advisor; additionally, he will coach Fourth soccer and Varsity crew.

Despite all of this schooling, Mr. Calloway has plenty of hobbies. He still rows every morning and sometimes also cycles in the afternoons when there is time.

Mr. Calloway also runs an immense number of Harvard stadiums which consist of climbing up and down the thirty-seven sections as fast as possible. Incredibly, Mr. Calloway just recently ran his Mr. Calloway fiftieth stadium in the past one hundred days. His overall sports experience is unique; he had played soccer for most of elementary and middle school until being cut in his freshman year in high school. After overcoming this, he joined the rowing team, which he would later fall in love with, and founded the cricket club.

He fuels all of these physical activities with

his deep love of coffee. In terms of previous coaching experience, Mr. Calloway was a strength and conditioning coach and also coached at BBN and Riverside Boat Club.

Mr. Calloway’s father is originally from England, and Mr. Calloway also used to play the bagpipes in grade school. He has a sister who now lives in New York City and works in the fashion industry. Although he had no personal connections to any private or all-boys schools before coming to Belmont Hill, he had many friends who did; in fact, all of his crew coaches went to Belmont Hill. We wish Mr. Calloway the best of luck as he starts a new chapter of his life at Belmont Hill and look forward to seeing him around on campus! ☐

also enjoyed translating epics and poetry in Latin. On the extracurricular side, Mr. Ryan was an avid participant in the theatre program while also a peer leader head, a member of B Flats, and the founder the Botany Club. In the athletic program, Mr. Ryan played football and cross country but was also a captain of wrestling and rowing which were his favourites. As a faculty member, Mr. Ryan will now be coaching Third wrestling and rowing. He is also hoping to lead a new cooking club which is currently in discussion. Mr. Ryan actually also made some of the vinyl stickers for the weight room in the Jordan athletic centre too.

Outside of Belmont Hill, Mr. Ryan is an avid runner represented by his commitment to run the Boston Marathon on October 11th this year! He is also a professional chef and enjoys discussing many aspects of cooking. When asked if he has any advice for students, Mr. Ryan responded, “Don’t be afraid to try something new. Seriously. BH lets you be so many different things, you don’t have to specialize here. If you’re organized and willing to put yourself out there, you can find success in so many areas of campus life.”

To finish off this article, I find it important to note how Mr. Ryan was actually my senior “Big Brother” when I entered Belmont Hill in seventh grade (It takes a lot of restraint to not mistakenly call Mr. Ryan by his first name in class!). I and the rest of The Panel staff are excited for Mr. Ryan’s re-integration to the community and to see what he has in store for us. Welcome back! ☐

Mr. Ryan ’17 Joins Science Department

By Luke Hogan ’22 Panel Staff Mr. Ryan, Class of 2017, has returned to Belmont Hill as a faculty member of the math and science departments. Mr. Ryan grew up near Belmont Hill in Winchester, MA with his three brothers (also alumni of Belmont Hill) and sisters. Interestingly, Mr. Ryan also lived in Washington D.C for a few years prior to entering Belmont Hill.

Mr Ryan arrived at Belmont Hill straight after studying Computer Engineering at Columbia University where he also earned a minor in music theory. Even though this is his first year teaching, Mr. Ryan has previously taught computer science at the Belmont Hill summer school program. Mr. Ryan brings his breadth of knowledge to his Geometry, AP Computer Science Principles, and AP Computer Science A classes.

While attending Belmont Hill, one of Mr. Ryan’s favourite classes was IPS, but, “breaking down the physics of a sky-diving jump with Mr. Feldman in multivariable calculus was also pretty darn fun”. He

Mr. Ryan

Mr. Davis ’07 to Teach Latin and Woodworking

By Kevin Weldon ’24 Panel Staff Mr. Davis, a graduate from Belmont Hill in 2007, is rejoining the Belmont Hill community teaching Latin Alpha, Latin Gamma Advanced, and Woodworking and helping out as the Assistant Director of Athletics. He coaches JV B Soccer, JV Hockey in the winter, and Third Baseball in the spring. Originally from Woburn, Mr. Davis enrolled at Belmont Hill in Form I and

stayed through Form VI, playing hockey, football, baseball, crew, and running cross country. In addition, he helped out with Theater production and participated in the Chess club and the Darts club. After his time at Belmont Hill, he went on to Tufts University, where he continued to play hockey through his Mr. Davis

time at college and was the captain of his team, and after that, he played for one year in Germany. During college and after playing hockey in Europe, Mr. Davis was a construction worker until he returned to Belmont Hill on a one-year internship.

After the internship, Mr. Davis worked for

three years at the Lab Program, and then he taught at Mount Alvernia for the last three years, where he taught Latin, coached, and worked as the Assistant Athletic Director.

Mr. Davis got married this summer.

He loves to spend time working around the house, where he lives with his wife and dog, and he recently worked on projects for his porch and in his yard. In addition to teaching and working around the house, Mr. Davis plays golf in his spare time. Welcome back to the Belmont Hill community, and we hope you have a great year. ☐

Mr. Molloy Joins BH as Part of New Safety Initiative

By Andrew Bittner ’24 Panel Staff If you have driven into the main entrance of Belmont Hill this year, you were probably greeted by the jovial smiling face of Mr. Molloy. Prior to his arrival at Belmont Hill, Mr. Molloy graduated from the Massachusetts D.O.C. 82nd basic training academy, worked as a supervisor for campus safety at Pine Manor College in Brookline, and was the recipient of the MSPCA’s 1990 Human Hero of the Year Award. Mr. Molloy has approached every day since then with enthusiasm and optimism that

brightens the lives of all those given the pleasure of passing him in the morning.

Before understanding Mr. Molloy’s responsibilities at BH, including greeting cars in the morning and checking for parking passes, one must first understand the newly-instituted approach to campus security.

While the initial approach to campus security may be to deny public access to the school’s campus entirely, it is important to consider that Belmont Hill serves as an excellent resource to the Belmont community: it has well-maintained athletic fields and direct access to the Audubon habitat.

In the past, Belmont Hill has graciously allowed members of the Belmont community

to use the fields and entrance to the Habitat, and before the Covid-19 pandemic, the public had unrestricted access to the campus. This system allowed anybody to be on campus at any time and for any reason.

Belmont Hill has created the aforementioned security initiative as a compromise that allows the public to utilize the school campus under the following conditions: public access to academic and residential buildings is prohibited; public access to the track and field facilities while in use by students is prohibited; on-campus public parking from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. is prohibited; and dogs must be leashed at all times.

The bulk of Mr. Molloy’s responsibili-

ties lie in enforcing these conditions. To do so, Mr. Molloy has employed a method which he referred to as “passive enforcement;” rather than “actively” enforcing the rules he focuses on the education of the Belmont community about the school’s new policies.

These new security initiatives are an enormous step towards ensuring the protection and wellbeing of all members of the Belmont Hill community. Hopefully, knowledge of Mr. Molloy’s efforts to maintain security at Belmont Hill has reaffirmed your sense of safety while on campus. ☐

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Cont.

President

Continued from the front page.

He advised them to make the most out of the school’s opportunities as their time here will feel much quicker than they expect, a sentiment that resonated with many alumni who remarked that they would do nearly anything to experience another day at Belmont Hill.

The key to Luke’s speech was his message to the younger students to try something new. He suggested they avoid simply going to school for the academic day and the subsequent sports practices as one can gain the most from Belmont Hill by taking advantage of its extracurricular resources, like the Model UN club Luke stumbled upon in 8th grade.

Luke also mentioned the intercon-

Headmaster

By Joshua Doolan ’23 and Merhawi Ghebrelul ’23 Panel Staff Mr. Schneider welcomed students back from a long and restful summer and kicked off the first chapel with a round of applause to celebrate the first full school chapel since the pandemic started in March 2020. Over the summer, students read The Red Bandanna to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Mr. Schneider acknowledged Wells Crowther’s unhesitant act of heroism and transitioned into a discussion about his personal experience during the attack. In 2001, Mr. Schneider was a new teacher at a school in New York.

On September 11th, he was chaperoning a class trip in Washington D.C. when he had been told that a plane flew into the North Tower. At first, Mr. Schneider thought that it was just someone flying his plane too low who accidentally hit the tower. Despite the

T he Panel

Carroll Cont. Rabbi Marc Baker

nectedness of the Belmont Hill community, which he hammered home through his references to Johnny Cash’s 1963 song, “Ring of Fire.” He recounted a story of when “Ring of Fire” references were seemingly omnipresent on campus after the lyrics were written in a math class, emphasizing the unified nature of Belmont Hill. His speech fittingly ended with the school exiting the chapel to “Ring of Fire.”

Luke Carroll gave younger students food for thought, and probably encouraged many of them to try a new club or student group. While any club works, a good choice would be to join one of the school’s publications including The Panel (upper school newspaper) or The Hill (middle school newspaper). ☐

Schneider

Continued from the front page.

With Rabbi Baker’s intimate knowledge of community building and education, he seemed a perfect fit to not only demystify the Jewish holidays but make the subject matter interesting to a larger audience. Rabbi Baker was the Head of Gann Academy for over a decade, so he is at home in front of a crowd of teenagers.

Rabbi Baker graciously agreed to speak to our community. Curious about Belmont Hill, Rabbi Baker spoke with Mrs. Rupley and me to learn more about our school’s mission and community. With a week of prep time, Rabbi Baker pulled together remarks that eloquently tied together messages on character, forgiveness, and self-improvement in relation to the High

Welcomes

Holidays. I was inspired by his openness in sharing his relation to religion as a teenager and prompting us to ask ourselves hard questions at the start of the academic year.

His description of the High Holidays as a technology and “one-two punch of character development:… accountability and forgiveness” resonated with me as someone who observes the holidays.. I was thrilled to be approached by many students and faculty members who felt both educated and enlightened by the talk, which is undoubtedly a testament to Rabbi Baker’s dynamic speaking abilities and unique personal outlook. I am eternally grateful to Rabbi Baker for lending his time to our community.

Belmont Hill and The Panel thank Rabbi Marc Baker for an inspiring Chapel. ☐

Back

severe attack on the World Trade Center, Mr. Schneider and his students were closer to the attack on the Pentagon. Mr. Schneider recalled the cloud of smoke he saw coming from the Pentagon and how it escalated quickly from a plane crash to a domino effect of attacks. Mr. Schneider was first informed of what had suddenly happened by an anxious parent of his students on the trip, “ get my kid out of there, what are you doing, we’re under attack, get my kid out of there, let me talk to him.” Mr. Schneider talked about how every generation is defined by a youthful memory seared into its consciousness. However, the student body consisting of young men born in 2002 and later, didn’t experience the 9/11 attacks. For us it was the Boston Marathon Bombing. Though some of us may or may not be able to honestly say that we would go back up those stairs, most of us can agree that Welles Crowther’s resilience, compassion, and firefighter mentality deserve the utmost respect. ☐ Headmaster Schneider Addresses the School

Students

Adam Richins

Oct. Student Senate Report

By Luke Carroll ’22 Form VI President Welcome to the new Student Senate Section of The Panel! Here, a different class officer will offer a summary of what’s in store for the school from the Student Senate each new edition, ranging from Form I to VI. To begin the very first rendition of the Senate Section, here are the names of all the class officers for each form in the 202122 school year, excluding Form I which will elect its two officers later in the fall: Form VI: Luke Carroll; Adam Figler; Ben Trotsky; Thomas Madden; Shane Kelly Form V: John Goguen; Daniel Drucker; Joe “Pugs” Puglielli; Dan Moran Form IV: James Mullowney; Nolan Bibbo; Zach Khozozian Form III: Evan Dresser; Sam Caulfield; Christopher McEvoy Form II: Will Achtmeyer; Nathan Zhang On the senior front this Fall, the Senate is working on a senior sports waiver, substituting one season of an intramural sport with a waiver for athletics. Not only would it release more time during the already-stretched day for Sixth Formers in the season of their choice, but Adam Figler argues it would remove an obstacle for students seeking mental health resources or a simple break from the long hours.

Thomas Madden (AKA the co-“fearless leader” of the Loop with Shane Kelly) has a Form VI holiday gift-ex-

change in the works for December. In a quote to The Panel, he hopes to finally “show Santa who’s boss in Belmont.”

Dan Moran (V) is aiming to double last year’s returns in the Think Pink charity drive to raise money toward the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The signature Think Pink merchandise is scheduled to make a return this October, plus brand new athletic shirts.

The Belmont Hill Textbook Exchange (https://belmonthill.winsor.club/) is already earning money for sellers and saving money for buyers. If you haven’t yet, take 5 minutes to list some of your old textbooks and their condition to earn some cash!

Other recent and developing initiatives include changes to the dining program with an eye toward the pre-pandemic style; gearing up for a reinvigorated Party With a Purpose 2022 (especially with the help of the Senate’s own Daniel Drucker and Tommy Madden); singing contests led by Mr. Patterson; potential guests to the Chapel and senior-led Friday Forums; and more.

The Student Senate, though, is also a resource for the small things that would otherwise fall through the cracks. From furniture in the Senior Commons to expanding Upper School lunch times, from helping you get a parking pass or helping Stephen Warming find a mask that actually stays above his nose, class officers are your resource to use.

Just a month in, every class officer is optimistic about what the year holds on the tail end of the pandemic. Not only is the theme of the year the “new normal” that we’ve been waiting for over the last year and a half, but it’s also “yes” to all the new ideas, initiatives, and projects that are just beginning this September. ☐

Editors-In-Chief Online Editor

Luke Hogan '22 Howard Huang '22

Faculty Advisors

Alex Lo '23

Executive Editor

Digital Media Editor

Arec Keomurjian '22

David Hegarty Juliette Zener

Graphics Editor

News Editor

Kevin Jiang '22

David Cho '23

Photo Editors

Opinion Editor

Digital Design Editor

Back Page Editors

Cooper Nelson '23

Arts Editor

Daniel Rashes '22

Sports Editor Daniel Bittner '22

Drew Dummer '22 Alex Sousa '22 Chris Brusie '23

Andrew Bittner '24 Merhawi Ghebrelul '23 Daniel Moran '23 Jack Abbrecht '23 Cam Carey '23 Joshua Doolan '23 Duncan Kilbride '24 Timo Simonin '22 Garrett Theberge '24

Assistant Editors

Mac Bobo '23

Jackson Kendall '22 Tommy Madden '22 Charlie March '22

Daniel Cho '23 Aidan Lee '24 Luke Trevisan '24 Daniel Xie '24

Noah Farb '24 Brian Lee '24 Kevin Weldon '24

Igaju Agba '22 Jarrett Chen '22 Luke Guleserian '24 Jake Kornmehl '24 Aaron Stanger '24 Lev Tolkoff '24

Nick Andersen '24 Austin Curtis '23 Matthew Flaherty '24 Kailen Richards '22 Lawrence Tang '22 Luke Wagner '22

Staff Artists/Writers

The Panel, founded in 1953, is the official school newspaper of the Belmont Hill. 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 © 2021 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.

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Belmont HIll c ommun it y

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The Panel Volume 70 Issue 3 Crossword Challenge

Rules: All answers will be a string of characters. Some answers have multiple words: remove the space (Ex. Belmont Hill School becomes “belmonthillschool”). All answers are within the newspaper. Fastest submissions of a picture of a correctly completed crossword puzzle to thepanel@belmonthill.org win $15 gift cards.

ACROSS 2. The instrument present in the picture of the orchestra 5. The month when performances of “It’s a Wonderful Life” will begin 10. The store Mr. LaLiberte’s dad owns 11. A 6-letter fruit present in a photo in this issue (not the apple drawing) 13. The place where Mr. Williams grew up 14. The general manager of the Celtics 18. The sport Mr. Davis played at Tufts 19. Mr. Ryan will participate in this on October 11th

DOWN 1. Mr. Molloy’s mode of transportation 3. Mr. DeCaprio’s age 4. The snack brand used in the “Flaming Hot Chicken Wrap” 5. U.S. men’s eight’s place in the finals of the Tokyo Olympics 6. The song President Luke Carroll kept finding references to on campus 7. The month by which President Biden hoped to have all troops out of Afghanistan 8. The man who first sold the original hot dog 9. The name for the revamped Head Start program 12. The school Mr. O’Connell attended before Belmont Hill 15. Total damage from “Meat Slap” 16. The color of the words “the Life” 17. The state in which Matthew McConaughey went to high school

B elmont Hill arts

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T he Panel

Album Review: DONDA VS. CERTIFIED LOVER BOY

By Mac Bobo ’23 and Luke Wagner ’22 Panel Staff The end of the summer brought the release of two of the most highly anticipated albums in the world of hip hop. Over the last twenty years, both Drake and Kanye West have cemented themselves as ones of the best in the world of hip-hop, providing countless hits. On August 29th, Kanye West dropped his 10th studio album Donda. This album has been highly anticipated since last summer when it was first said to release, and was not until three listening parties that the album dropped. Kanye West noted on his Instagram however, that his studio dropped the album prematurely. The following week, on September 3rd, Drake released his 6th studio album entitled Certified Lover Boy (CLB), almost entirely out of the blue. Both albums, dropping one after the other, is unorthodox and provided the music community with a hot topic of debate: what is the better album?

These two albums, although charting similar numbers and gaining millions of listeners, are not quite the same style of music. Kanye West, the more creative and unorthodox rapper, tends to create new music that generally is not loved at first, but tends to win people over after listening

multiple times. This can be seen with his previous album Yeezus and 808s and Heartbreak. Drake on the other hand generally makes “hits,” or songs that are made for the charts (generally revolving around his love life and party lifestyle). Drake’s albums Take Care and Nothing was the Same are some of Drake’s best music, providing catchy songs and catching beats, but don’t really have the same audience as Kanye West.Donda/CLB Album Covers Both artists have changed the game a lot, but with different perspectives. Drake has brought in more melodic songs about love and heartbreak, whereas Kanye West tends to try experimenting with songs and beats.

The two provided generally what I expected. Because both albums seemed like they were kinda out of the blue, their

album art was horrible. I don’t think anyone thinks that either parts of these albums were great. Although having heard most of Kanye’s songs at his listening parties, not all of his songs on this project were known and it wasn’t all polished.

His official release of Donda is more polished than his listening parties were, and although very long, kept me engaged for most of the album.

West utilizes many more features on this album than he ever has before. This Daniel Rashescould be because of a lack of creativity for his own vocals, and he could make up for this lack of creativity by utilizing someone else’s talents.

My biggest knock on the album is the fact that West seems to be outshined by all of his features. I know people argue that he was the one who organized this album so he should be complimented for this, but I

think that it outshone him on this album because he always is used to shining himself. Drake on the other hand did not use an immense number of features, but he had features on some of his most popular songs.

This album definitely has some good songs on it, but it seems a little bit washed down and repetitive. It’s not one of Drake’s better albums in my opinion, and because he released it right after Kanye dropped I think he forced this album way too much. It has been teased since last year, but it just did not replicate the old Drake that I know and love.

Overall, I think Donda, holistically, is a much better album. It flows a lot more and it is not super washed down like CLB is. I think some of what Drake was trying to do on CLB created some good outcomes, but mainly when those occurred when he had a feature (Knife Talk and Way 2 Sexy to name a few). I think Donda, although it felt really long, was a lot more intentional and has some of Kanye’s best stuff that has come out in the past few years. Some of my favorites on Donda were: Off the Grid, Hurricane, Remote Control, and Moon (basic ones, I know). Anthony Fantano, a music reviewer who sometimes has some hot takes, got this battle correct in my opinion.

He rates Donda seven stars out of ten and CLB three stars out of ten, and although I don’t think CLB is that bad, I agree with his overall opinion on the two albums. ☐

2021-2022 Theater Preview Book Review: Greenlights

By Daniel Rashes ’22 Panel Staff Theater is back at Belmont Hill. After a year of cancellations, compromises, and creative workarounds, the stage is set for a return to normal. Mr. DiResta enthusiastically details the program’s current production Take Ten as an “incredible set of short 10-min plays.” He guarantees that “audience members will be treated with back-to-back, short and action-packed shows, detailing distorted realities and identities, judgLuke Trevisan ment and jealousy, comedy, drama, thrillers and everything in between!

We’re so excited that this concept of performing so many back-to-back 10-minute plays will be a FIRST for our program, and will certainly be a night not to miss!”

Currently being rehearsed across the Middle and Upper school, the show is set

to perform in November. In the pipeline, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, a collaboration with Winsor, will start rehearsals in November before performances begin in February. The spring will see the arrival of both Middle and Upper school musicals. The middle schoolers are heading into the swamp with Winsor for Shrek the Musical, Jr., which will “bring the house down!” Concurrently, the upper schoolers will venture to Dana Hall for Into the Woods.

If any of these shows sound like something you might want to be a part of, Mr. Conway recommends you give it a try and imparts on you this message: “As we work together to come out of COVID and regain our normal schedule, now is the perfect time to try something new. Work together, have some fun with friends, and make something you can be proud to show off at the end of the day.” ☐

By Luke Wagner ’22 Panel Staff Matthew McConaughey’s Greenlights is an autobiography that follows his life from growing up in Texas to adulthood. Not being a huge McConaughey fan, I noticed the book Greenlights in the New York Times Nonfiction best sellers for 44 weeks, and thought about giving it a shot. The book follows a non-conventional style, with scraps of anecdotes of quotes, and other snippets unrelated to the storyline that provide value to the novel. After finishing the novel in a couple of days, I was impressed with how well-written and captivating the autobiography was.

The book revolved around the idea of a “greenlight,” which McConaughey describes as, “an affirmation that sets yourself up for success.” These greenlights come throughout the novel, after McConaughey makes groundbreaking realizations about how hustle and being yourself helps you to become a better person. McConaughey riddles the novel with stories about his late high

school years in Texas, where his focus revolved around school and women, through his early days in the acting industry. McConaughey takes chances throughout the novel, abandoning class entirely to pursue his acting career (which at the time was hand modeling), and cutting a deal with his teachers to give him all Cs in college. There are many more anecdotes about his life throughout the book, and I always found myself interested in what he was going to do next.

I was happy to read that his focus in the book was not always about his acting roles themselves, but more about the process he went about making those characters come to life, and how a couple of breaks early in his career went a long way. This novel was extremely captivating and definitely deserved its place in the New York Times Nonfiction best sellers for almost a year. The autobiography was wildly anticipated by New York Times reviewers and subscribers. Any student reader who likes Matthew McConaughey, or nonfiction literature in general should give this book a chance and you will not be disappointed. ☐

Music Program Restarts After Pandemic Hiatus

By Daniel Bittner ’22 Panel Staff

For the first time in over a year and a half, Belmont Hill’s music ensembles have been able to practice on a consistent basis in person. With the B-Flats, Upper School Jazz Ensemble, Orchestra, and other groups finally able to play in person, the Prenatt Building once again echoes its once familiar array of melodies and harmonies that liven up campus.

As Belmont Hill’s ensembles had been meeting virtually throughout the pandemic, attempting to rehearse and compose songs despite the challenges of Zoom, these groups have not been able to practice together out of caution of transmitting the coronavirus.

While the ensemble pieces ultimately put together by Mr. Fiori and Mr. Patterson were remarkably constructed, in-person

performances undoubtedly trump even the best virtual compositions. However, with new safety measures and guidelines having been implemented to minimize the virus’ spread, such as the B-Flats wearing masks while singing or the Jazz Ensemble’s trumpet and saxophone players putting covers over their instruments, these groups have been able to safely return to their routine practice schedule. These consistent, in-person rehearsals allow the ensembles to create cohesive music that was previously difficult in the disjointed Zoom setting.

With hopes of eventually being able to perform live in the new chapel, these groups will continue to refine their repertoires. Although it is still unknown when live performances could occur, these groups will undoubtedly be prepared to display their musical talents whenever the occasion arrives. ☐ Orchestra Rehearsal

Adam Richins

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The Archives: Living in Fear: A Muslim’s Perspective

By Taimur Khan ’03 Former Contributing Writer I am mentally and emotionally exhausted, as, I’m sure, most of us are.

When I first heard that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers, as expected, my first reaction was shock and dismay. But never at that point would I have realized the effects of the incident on my life.

For those of you who don’t know me especially well, I consider myself a Muslim first, an American second, and a Pakistani third.

A Muslim—what is a Muslim?

Translated from Arabic, it means “one who submits to the will of Allah (God).” No, a Muslim is not one who goes around terrorizing the lives of thousands; nor is he a man who kills himself or others for the sake of Allah or Islam. Those who do are not martyrs. They are cold-hearted killers.

These incidents were a huge step backwards for the Islamic community in America and around the world. I remember having a conversation with one of my Muslim friends on the evening of September 11th and saying, “The last thing I want to hear is that this was due to some ‘Islamic Extremists’.”

And speak of the devil! For the past few years, the Muslim community had been working so diligently to better the name of Islam in America, and now all those efforts were made useless, due to only a handful of ill-advised terrorists.

On Sunday, September 16th, I attended a lecture and discussion group held at my mosque in Wayland. I could see the fear in the eyes of those present and hear it when they spoke. Even I felt the fear when I looked out the window and saw the police keeping guard around the mosque. One of the mothers during the discussion spoke up and said, “I’m scared. I’m scared for my life and for the lives of my children. Our basic right to practice our religion in safety has been taken away from us. Our right to feel safe in

military coup, and interpreted it as something gone wrong. But in fact it was a constructive move for the entire c o u nt r y.

For years Pakistan has been ruled by criminal and corrupt leadUnsourced Photo taken in 2001 and Published in The Panel Vol. 50 Iss. 3 ers (Prime Ministers), making matters worse for the public areas has been stolen from us.” country.

And now, for the first time we I was born in Boston, and I’ve have been presented with a leader whose lived here ever since. I have attended public school for ten years. And for priorities are straight, a leader who every day of those ten years of public puts his nation’s needs before his own.

Last December when I went on school I have stood up, faced the Amermy annual trip to Pakistan (chancican Stars and Stripes, placed my hand es, obviously of my going this year over my heart, and recited the Pledge are very bleak), I could see noticeof Allegiance. Neither do I take the able improvements.

The visible polwords for granted, but rather I truly lution had decreased.

The roads, for a mean my oath to America, a country to change, were well kept and clean and which I whole-heartedly feel I belong. were no longer lined with the homeSo, as any other American, I was less and destitute.

And for the first left shocked and in a state of disbetime I felt as though there was some lief when I saw the Boeing 757 crash hope for Pakistan.

I thought all of the into the second World Trade Center Pakistani emigrants who continuously building, again and again and again, each time my soul growing more and said, “Pakistan has no chance of getmore numb. This soon grew into con- ting back up on its feet.” Now she has fusion and then anger. Like every oth- begun to stand, but it seems inevitaer American, I want the terrorists be- ble that she will be pushed back down.

I found it interesting that here I hind these attacks to meet justice for am, living in America, in Boston, not their inhumane acts. The hatred tofar from New York City, and my famiward those who committed this horly back in Pakistan will feel the effects rendous crime burns within me just of this even more than I. Already my as much within any other America. cousin has told me that all the teachAnd lastly, but still importantly, ers from her school, Lahore AmerI’m a Pakistani. I’m sure most of you ican School, are being sent back to have heard of the situations in Pakistan America.

All this is happening to her before the attacks happened. You must have heard about our gaining nuclear during her senior year, and I sympapower. Or maybe you’ve heard of the thize with her. And I wonder what

will become of my family in Pakistan through any of the coming events.

Pakistan has been faced with a lose-lose situation. If they choose not to help America, Pakistan will not only receive a dire reputation for not aiding the fight against terrorism, but they will also lose a very valuable ally, America, whose relations with Pakistan are crucial. On the other hand, if Pakistan does side with America, the terrorists, along with all their allies, will turn their targets eastward onto Pakistan.

The question that I have the most difficult time with is this: “What would you do?” And I would honestly answer, “I don’t know.” And I say that for many reasons. First and foremost, I don’t even know at this point how America plans on dealing with the situation. So far, threats have been made to the countries in which these terrorists live. So therefore, it can be assumed that many innocent lives will be lost in the process of serving attempted justice. As a Muslim.

I would strongly oppose any action of that sort. Then as any American, I would say, “Well, that’s what they deserve.”

And then as a Pakistani, I think of all the after-after effects. How would this scar Pakistan? Will there be a war with Pakistan and neighboring countries?

Every morning I get up and wonder, if anything else happened, if any more innocent lives were destroyed, either by the terrorists or by America; if my family is alive and well in Pakistan; if my muslim friends in America are unharmed. Insecurity is pumping through everybody’s blood. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, and maybe we never will again. I guess what I’m saying is, don’t take “today” for granted anymore.

It really is sad. It’s sad that I even have to write this account. It’s sad that I have to defend Islam and Muslims because of the acts of criminals.

I was going to end simply with a customary “God Bless America,” though I think it may now be more fitting to say “God—Allah—Bless the entire world.”

From Volume 50 Issue 3 ☐

The Archives: Attacks in NYC, D.C. stuns Belmont Hill

By Mike Darman ’02 Former Editor-In-Chief Tuesday, September 11th, began like every other day for the Belmont Hill community. Students attended homeroom in the morning and the first two class periods ran smoothly. Boys congregated in the snack bar in small groups, and the mail sat in the office waiting to be sorted.

It was just before the end of C Block when students began noticing irregularities. Teachers were called out of their classrooms by other faculty members, and signs were posted reading “Stand-Up faculty meeting—9:45, School Meeting—9:55.”

As students left their classrooms and began to head toward the Chapel, they speculated about what news could be so pressing that sudden faculty and school meetings were called for. Many thought a disciplinary case of great magnitude had occurred. Others believed that an accident recently affecting a member of the community had happened. By the time boys had taken their seats in the Chapel, the real news had spread: two planes had been hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center towers, and a third

was thought to have hit the Pentagon.

Senate president and vice president Ben Nauman and Kent Harrington kept order in the Chapel as the faculty was briefed on the situation in the MacPherson Room. When Mr. Melvoin entered and climbed the stairs to the dais, the room went silent. A full house sat anxiously waiting to hear what the headmaster had to say, wondering if he would confirm the rumors about the World Trade Center. Sure enough, Mr. Melvoin informed the students about the morning’s tragic events, and needless to say, everyone was stunned.

Mr. Melvoin proceeded to encourage students to speak with faculty members about the events, and to see Mrs. David if they are overwhelmed by the news. He also made it clear that if anyone needed to leave school early to go home, that would be acceptable.

Following the meeting classes resumed, although most teachers allowed students to watch the story unfold on television. Shortly after the collapse of the twin towers, Mr. Melvoin made an announcement over the rarely used P.A. system. He explained that it was safer and more sensible not to dismiss the school early that day, so that amidst the uncertainty individual boys, fac-

ulty, and staff could be accounted for.

Athletic practices in the Middle and Upper School went on as scheduled, although the mood was far from upbeat.

The following morning on September 12th, a second school meeting was held in which everyone participated in moments of silence for the victims, their families, and the heroic workers at the crash sites. Mr. Hejduk led the school in the singing of “America the Beautiful” and “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” in an effort to support patriotic feelings and to boost the energy of the somber group. Later that day, a large contingent of juniors and seniors made their way to Payson Park Church in Belmont to assist Red Cross staff in setting up an emergency blood donation station and then to become donors, many for the first time.

In classes and homerooms, at lunch tables and on Belmont Hill email conferences, reflection on the crisis continued as the week went on. September 14th’s school meeting, a Forum, was also set aside for this purpose, and several boys and faculty, including Mr. Melvoin again, rose to speak. A half-hour voluntary interfaith service was offered in the Chapel before noon that day by Mr. Prenatt, with music

by Mr. Hejduk, and a number of students, faculty, and staff participated.

In addition to responding dramatically to relief fundraising efforts, hundreds of people in the school community later inscribed their names on a poster offering solidarity to the Belmont Fire Department as it remembered brother firemen of the F.D.N.Y. lost at the Trade Center. Ben Naumen presented it on September 20th to department officers, who declared they would hang it in their station house.

In the days following the attacks, the Belmont Hill students, faculty, and staff have endured a number of hardships. Some have learned of friends and relatives who lost loved ones. At least one student was the victim of a hate crime because of his ethnic background, and others worried about their daily safety. Through it all, the community has stayed strong and self-supportive.

As Mr. Melvoin said on September 12th, “This is not yesterday’s news.”

These tragic events will leave their mark on everyone. It will not be easy, but the inherent strength of the Belmont Hill community will likely help all its members in the uncertain days ahead.

From Volume 50 Issue 3 ☐

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Twenty Years After the September 11th Attacks

By Arec Keomurjian ’22 Panel Staff Twenty years ago, Americans watched in horror as two planes crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Centers.

Now, with the start of the military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the nation has, in a sense, come full circle.

Most of us at Belmont Hill were not alive during the attacks, but the legacy of 9/11 lives on through the devastating emotional toll it had nationwide. Ninety-two percent of Americans remember exactly where they were and what they were doing on that fateful day, which only exemplifies how profound an event it was.

Together, we commemorate every emergency worker and civilian who risked their lives to save others, and we mourn the loss of thousands of innocent Americans. ☐

Photo by Jin S. Lee Published on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Webpage

Summer Reading: The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi

By Lawrence Tang ’22 Panel Staff Tom Rinaldi’s The Red Bandanna explores the life of Welles Crowther and tells a tale of heroism. During a time of pure violence, fear, and unrest on 9/11, it was the average man, ill-prepared for such a catastrophe, who acted selflessly, putting himself in harm’s way and sacrificed his own life for others. Throughout the book, Rinaldi builds on the central theme of how to make a hero.

As Welles grows up as a child and begins to play sports, he “epitomized the try-hard guy, the striver, the kid wringing out whatever ability he has through practice and will.”

Welles proves to be a hard worker and a dedicated team player. He knows that “a good whole allows everyone, the good and the not as good, to get better.” This selfless characteristic instilled into Welles at a young age stays with him his whole life and ultimately contributes to his actions during 9/11.

Welles also trains for and becomes a junior firefighter at Empire Hook and Ladder. He works his first fire along-

side his dad and feels a sense of joy and pride as he helps put out the fire; Jeff asks Welles how he feels afterward: “the smile through the grime was answer enough.” As a teenager, Welles has this selfless attribute of wanting to help others. This characteristic shines again when a fire alarm goes off in high school.

As Lee Burns, Welles’s friend, recounts, “He’s gone. We’re having a good time, and that alarm goes off. He went to Superman mode and just went to the call.”

Welles’s willingness to help others shines again when he stops Lee from getting into a fistfight in high school.

Welles calms down Lee: “Think of everything you have to lose. This guy has nothing to lose.” Lee later finds out the bully who he was about to fight does time for assault and dies at 33 from a fight. Lee believes in the end, Welles saved him from a life-changing moment: “If he had not said something to me [...] I would not be sitting [here] today. I would not be the parent of my daughter. I would not be a lot of things.” Welles is able to think clearly in a time of turmoil and help his friend.

Having been instilled with these

attributes starting as a child, Welles is perfectly positioned to make that key choice and save others on 9/11.

Welles has learned teamwork from engaging in sports, and the volunteer fire department showed him the importance of making a difference.

As a fireman, Welles learned to take risks, move toward a problem instead of away from it, and rescue others in emergency situations. Thus, when Welles is thrown into the midst of chaos during 9/11, he is able to make the active choice to become a hero.

Welles’s heroism is symbolized in his red bandanna, which he receives from his father at a young age. Throughout his life, the bandanna becomes a part of him, traveling with him as he starts to become a hero. In the end, he wears his red bandanna as he rescues countless others during 9/11. All the people Welles saved distinctly remember his red bandanna and the courage he possessed in his final moments.

The red bandanna symbolizes his self-sacrifice and his selflessness both as a child all the way until his death.

I believe Rinaldi’s book does an

excellent job of infusing Rinaldi’s life story with the theme of building a hero. While Rinaldi is telling the tale of Welles, I myself feel empowered and uplifted by his story in a way that makes me want to help others. I definitely recommend The Red Bandanna to others, as not only does the book contain a great, engaging story, but also it inspires me to be the best person I can be. ☐

Photos from Mrs. Alison Crowther’s Chapel Talk

Credit: Adam Richins/BH Communications

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Alumni Compete in Tokyo 2020

By Daniel Xie ’24 Panel Staff Every athlete’s dream is to play in the Olympics. This past summer, Belmont Hill was proud to have four alumni participating at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the most ever in a year in the history of the school.

Three out of four of these athletes were rowers, with Andrew Reed ‘10 placing 5th in the US men’s four after clinching second in the first heat, Alexander Richards ‘14 placing 4th in the US men’s eight after getting 3rd in repechage one, and Dara Alizadeh ‘11

An

Eventful

By Ben Hack ’24 Panel Staff

The Bruins’ offseason started in July with the loss of defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to the newly founded Seattle Kraken in the NHL expansion draft.

The main part of the Bruins’ offseason started on July 23rd with the annual NHL draft. With the 21st overall pick the Bruins selected winger Fabian Lysell from the Swedish Hockey League. Lysell is one of the best skaters in this year’s draft class. He also has one of the best wrist shots in the draft.

One of his weaknesses is that he is on the shorter end, being only 5’10. He has drawn NHL comparisons to Mitch Marner. The Bruins did not have a second round pick due to the Taylor Hall trade. In the third round the Bruins selected Brett Harrison, a center from the Ontario Hockey League. In round four the Bruins selected goaltender Philip Svedeback from the Swedish Hockey League. In the fifth round the Bruins picked forward Oskar Jellvik, also from the Swedish Hockey League. With their sixth round pick the Bruins chose a big defenseman, 6’4 Ryan Mast from the Ontario Hockey League. And to end off the draft the Bruins had two seventh round picks, choosing Andre Gasseau, a big power forward, and defenseman Ty Gallagher. Overall the Bruins had a successful draft, drafting many needs and rebuilding their farm system.

In NHL free agency, GM Don Swee-

Recap

and

By Noah Farb ’23 Panel Staff The Celtics’ first offseason with Brad Stevens as general manager did not exactly light up the headlines, but he made many moves that could eventually help out the Celtics on their quest to secure an NBA title.

Stevens’ first official move as GM was to trade Kemba Walker, the 16th overall pick in the draft , and a 2025 2nd round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for Al Horford, Moses Brown, and a 2023 2nd round pick. Walker’s contract prohibited the chances of the Celtics acquiring a 3rd star to pair with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and this trade was effectively a salary dump of Kemba’s prohibitive contract (using the 16th pick as bait). In return for one season of Horford until his expensive contract expires, and Moses Brown. A few weeks later, Moses Brown was traded to the Mavericks for Josh Richardson, giving the Celtics an elite backcourt defender if he can rediscover his three-point shot from his time with the Heat as a playoff-caliber starting shooting guard.

In the draft, the Celtics had a singular draft pick, the 45th overall selection. They selected French point guard Juhann Begerin who will play in the French Pro League for at least the 2021-2022 season. The team also signed the undrafted free agent, Sam Haus-

representing Team Bermuda while placing 6th in the men’s single sculls after getting 3rd in the first Semi Final C/D. In addition, Benny Wanger from the class of 2015 represented Team Israel in baseball as a pitcher.

There is a reason that participating in the Olympic Games is simply a dream for most. The amount of training by these men to even qualify to join their national teams is astounding. For Alex and Andrew, practice on the water usually happened multiple times per day, along with ergometer and weight training. Waking up early was a common occurrence, and fitting in Olympic training with daily life can be quite a strug-

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gle. However, their time at Belmont Hill, and later various Ivy League colleges, prepared them well for the challenges to come.

The school’s mission to shape men of character is visible clearly through these athletes’ determination, relentless training, and selflessness. They took the unique opportunity to represent their countries in stride, and it is evident through their incredible achievements. Although none of the athletes managed to clinch medals, their feats are still very impressive, ranking them among some of the top athletes in the world. Congratulations to them on their wonderful accomBelmont Hill Winter Bulletin plishments, and good luck in Paris 2024! ☐

the

Boston

ney turned to his own free agents first when re-signing key lockdown defenseman Brandon Carlo. He re-signed Carlo to a six year contract worth $24.6 million. Next Don Sweeney re-signed his huge trade-deadline acquisition Taylor Hall to a 4 year contract.

Then Sweeney turned to another trade deadline acquisition Mike Reilly, signing him to a 3 year contract worth $9 million.

After finishing his current free agents Sweeney still realized there were some missing pieces to complete his team. He then transitioned to the open market to strengthen his core. The past few seasons the Bruins have needed depth scoring in crucial situations and that has not always been provided.

So Don Sweeney decided to sign Nick Foligno and Erik Haula. Foligno is a gritty power forward who isn’t afraid of playing the body, someone who can put pucks in the net, and was a former captain. Haula is not the flashiest of players, but can be a great playmaker on the third line and can help the depth scoring. On the back end the Bruins replaced Jeremy Lauzon by signing former Winnipeg Jets defenseman Derek Forbort to a three year contract. Forbort is a stay-at-home defenseman who will be a great penalty kill specialist and a shutdown defenseman. With goalie Tuukka Rask out until early 2022 the Bruins needed to sign a 1A goalie. Even though the Bruins have Jermy Swayman in the system they took a different route by signing veteran goaltender Linus Ullmark.

The one concern for me is the key de-

parture of center David Krejci. Krejci has been a Bruins player since 2007 but decided to take his talents back to his home country in the Czech Republic. Krejci had been the Bruins’ second line center and was the team’s best playmaker and always provided depth scoring. The Bruins did not address this need in the offseason, meaning current third line center Charlie Coyle will get the call up to the second line spot this season.

If Coyle can not fulfil in Krejci’s footsteps I wonder if Sweeney will make a splash and maybe trade for a more well known sec-

er, out of Virginia. After Evan Fournier had already agreed to a contract with the Knicks at the start of free agency, the Celtics completed a sign and trade with New York. They sent a 2023 2nd round pick to the Knicks in return for a $17.2 million trade exception. This move is similar to the Gordon Hayward sign and trade last offseason. The Celtics also sent out a 2nd round pick and received a significant trade exception for a player who had already decided to sign with another team. The Celtics can use this trade exception to acquire a player worth up to $17.2 million without sending a similar salary back in return, even if the team is over the cap until the end of the 2022 offseason. They then traded Tristian Thompson to the Kings as part of a three-team deal in which the Hawks sent center Bruno Fernando and point guard elite defensive stopper Kris Dunn to the Celtics. The Celtics’ most prominent free agent signings brought back Enes Kanter, who played with Portland last season and signed point guard Dennis Schröder for $5.9 million.

The Schröder signing, in particular, is an extremely wise move as he tries to rebuild his value after a poor season in 2020-2021 with the Lakers. Schröder turned down a four-year $80 million extension before the season and will likely start the majority of the Celtics games this season and can be effective as both a facilitator and on lock-

ing down the opposing team’s top guard.

Even with all the trades and signings, the most significant long-term moves for the Celtics were the extensions given to Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, and Josh Richardson within the same week. Smart signed a four-year contract worth $77 million, Williams signed a four-year contract worth $54 million, and Richardson signed for two years $24 million. While these moves on the surface would appear to hurt the Celtics chances of acquiring a 3rd star, I think that Stevens purposely locked up all of Smart, Williams, and Richardson now instead of waiting until they were free agents next offseason to potentially prevent losing them for nothing, while still having the ability to use them in a trade for someone like Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine at the trade deadline or next season. Marcus Smart’s trade kicker supports this assumption as a stipulation of his extension is that he will be paid more money if traded before his

Analysis

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ond line center, but that is still unknown.

Overall Don Sweeney had a terrific off-season by adding Fabian Lysell through the draft. Also by boosting the core with stronger depth scoring, getting a shutdown defenseman, and signing a great goalie (before Tuukka Rask comes back from his injury), Don Sweeney worked the offseason to build a promising team.

The pressure is on Coyle to step into Krejci’s skates. I can’t wait until the Bruins open their regular season against the Dallas Stars on October 16th. Go Bruins! ☐

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Celtics

Offseason

current extension ends. The Celtics then finished up their offseason by signing former Jazz forward Juwan Morgan to a non-guaranteed deal and trading the recently signed Kris Dunn and former second-round pick Carsen Edwards to the Grizzlies for Juancho Hernangomez. He will add needed big man depth behind Robert Williams as Jayson Tatum isn’t a true power forward.

The Celtics had a relatively good offseason in terms of adding help towards this year’s team’s chances of contending a championship while still keeping flexibility for the future in terms of trading for a 3rd star, a reasonable goal to accomplish in the next year or two. ☐

2021 Celtics

B elmont Hill Sp orts

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Athlete

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By Lev Tolkoff ’24 Panel Staff James Donahue ’22, the captain of the varsity cross country, Nordic skiing, and track teams, started running cross country when he was 10 years old with the Reading middle school cross country team. Although James was only in 5th grade, he was able to join and was the best on the team. During this time, he also started doing the junior olympic USA Track & Field races. Upon entering Form I, he made the varsity team, but unfortunately broke his leg playing hockey that season and was out in mid-september.

After the injury in Form I, James suffered another injury in Form III requiring hip surgery. After a year of recovery, James returned eager to come back to his original form, but fell short remarking that he, “was not satisfied with my cross country season because I did not build enough fitness over the summer with training”. Then in the spring of his sophomore year COVID hit; however during this chaos, James was able

the

Issue:

James

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Donahue

perfect year because junior year is the only year colleges look at for times”. James remarked on his favorite race in Oregon, running the mile and placing 4th with a 4:08 time which, “is one of my best performances so far”. James believes that Coach Trautz has “ definitely been a role model of mine since I entered in seventh grade” and he has “built a great relationship with him since I have been here both on the academic side and cross counJames Donahue ’22 Photo by Adam Richins try”. James also recounts how “Coach “to put in some really consistent work … it Decap has been a huge help for me both all sort of came together last year, and the in cross country, track, and nordic ski-

’22

ing… Coach Gorman is always there with advice and Coach Harder has been instrumental in the track side of things”.

James wants to win the ISL which is their main goal this season as a team. He also wants to make it to the Footlocker cross country nationals in San Diego, but in order to go he must go to regionals at Van Cortlandt park in New York and place in the top 10. James was looking at colleges including UVA, Harvard, Columbia, and Notre Dame, but recently committed to UVA. James wishes to compete in the Olympic games, “whether it’s in three years at the next cycle or in seven years, but it’s definitely going to take a lot day in and day out from here on out to achieve those goals in the 1500.”

James’s message is, “not to focus on one thing for as long as you can because playing different sports is certainly important… in order to stay fresh mentally and physically to use as many muscles as you can in different sports… and have fun with as many sports as you can”. The Panel wishes James Donahue ‘22 luck in the fall season. ☐

Fantasy Football Preview MLB Playoff Predictions

By Cam Carey ’23 Panel Staff

School is back in full swing which can only mean one thing: football is back and more importantly, fantasy football is back.

After week one, the usual suspects are leading the pack at quarterback, with the exception of a few. Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady all rank in the top 5 while Jared Goff and Jameis Winston fill out the rest of the top 5. At running back, it is not

time to panic if you drafted Saquon Barkley with your first round pick. After two games he has struggled on the ground with limited volume as the Giants coaching staff is trying to ease him back into work to avoid another catastrophic injury. While this may seem like the exact reason to not target Barkley, at such a cheap asking price, it is a good idea to go after him in the trading market. He was on the field for 84% of the Giants’ snaps this past Thursday, which means he should see big games coming soon, so, get him while you can for a cheap price. While many may see reason for worry in Green Bay, if you se-

Recap

By Mac Bobo ’23 Panel Staff

of

While many sports-lovers anticipated the arrival of the NFL on September 9th, small college towns and football powerhouse programs rejoiced as the college football season was underway by the 28th of August. The week of the 28th is named “Week 0”, for only a few games are played and most of the Power-5 teams wait for the following Saturday. At 1pm in Week 0, Nebraska faced off against Illinois, whose new head coach Brett Billema had just been hired off the Patriots coaching staff. The Fighting Illini held off Nebraska for a final score of 22-30, an excellent way to kick off the college football season.

On the Saturday of Week 1, perhaps

lected Davante Adams with your first round pick, there is no need to look for a trade.

After a horrible week one start, Aaron Rodgers regained form this week which means his favorite target saw a much better game than a weak WR52 performance in week 1. Adams tallied 20.1 points in PPR formats boosting him up to WR27 for the year, letting fantasy owners breathe about drafting him with their first round pick.

The running backs that scored the most points through two weeks are led by none other than Derrick Henry, followed closely

by Christian McCaffrey, Aaron Jones who had a monster week two, Nick Chub and Dalvin Cook.

McCaffrey continues to be the number one option in fantasy again this year, and while Henry has put up fantastic numbers so far, looking to trade him may not be Fantasy Football such a bad idea. Henry averages only 50 yards per game in Titans losses, while he does average 100+ yards per game when they win, the Titans are not a good football team this year. This means they are going to lose a lot of games, and without the touchdown volume that inevitably will not come when Tennessee is not scoring points, looking to trade him while his price is so high is not out of the question.

Fantasy football is back and as the year has begun we are seeing a lot of unfamiliar faces at the top of fantasy lineups, making for what should be a great season of professional football. ☐

College

the most intriguing game was Georgia vs. Clemson, an SEC/ACC matchup that would have large implications for the college football playoff. While neither team’s offense scored, the Bulldogs still managed to look like playoff-material, with the defense holding the Tigers to just two rushing yards and giving Georgia their only touchdown of the game. Earlier that Sunday, Alabama trampled over the Miami Hurricanes, quieting pre-season opinions that they weren’t going to be as good as last year.

The following week, the biggest stunner was Oregon’s triumph over the Ohio State Buckeyes. With their win, the Ducks all but cemented their place in the playoffs in the minds of many college football fans.

On the other hand, the Texas Longhorns suffered a humiliating defeat to the Arkan-

By Nick Andersen ’24 Panel Staff With the Major League Baseball regular season concluding in just under two weeks, many baseball fans are looking forward to this fall and the upcoming playoff.

In the American League, all three divisions are led by a decent margin as of the current date. With all three divisions having clear cut leaders going into the final few weeks, the two wild card spots are up in the air. It is likely that the Yankees will play the Red Sox in New York to determine who would play at Toronto in the American League wild card.

As for the National League, the East has fallen out of the New York Mets hands quickly, and the Atlanta Braves have begun to run away with the division, but the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets do still linger.. In the Central, the Milwaukee Brewers have run away with the division. While it is mathematically possible for Cincy to win the division for the first time since 2012, the Brewers have almost secured the division easily. The NL West has been the best division in baseball this year, as the Giants, who have been the biggest surprise in the league this year, lead the division. The San Diego Padres, who were thought to battle out the division title with the Dodgers when the season began are very well alive in the wild card. The National League Wild Card has 6 teams battling for 2 spots. With the Giants or Dodgers basically securing the top spot, that leaves 5 teams going for 1 spot. Whoever gets the 2nd wild card will play at LA or San Francisco.

Football sas Razorbacks in Week 2, disappointing many Longhorn fans that were promised a successful season after the hiring of Steve Sarkisan after last year.

For many football fans, the first three weeks of college football offered a very promising glimpse into future weeks and a very exciting season and college football playoff. ☐

In the AL, I can see the Red Sox getting the 2nd wild card, but losing to MVP candidate Vladimir Gurrero Jr. and the Blue Jays. Toronto would then go on to play Tampa Bay, and I see Tampa winning the best-of-5 series. To see who plays Tampa in the ALCS, Houston plays Chicago, and I see Houston winning. That leaves Tampa and Houston for the ALCS. With both teams having high powered offense and good pitching, this is a dream series for casual baseball fans. I see Tampa winning for the 2nd straight season and going to their 2nd consecutive World Series.

In the NL, I see the Reds keeping their lead and earning the 2nd wild card spot, but losing to the Dodgers. The Dodgers would then play the Giants in a high anticipated matchup. I see San Francisco winning the series. Atlanta would then play the Brewers, and I see the Brewers winning with ease. That leaves Milwaukee and San Fran.

With the Brewers having one of the best pitching staffs in the league, I see the Giants winning the series in an upset, matching up against the Rays in a World Series.

To finish the season on an incredibly high note for the league and game of baseball, I see the Rays winning the World Series over the Giants in 6 games, getting redemption after losing last year’s title. ☐

First

Weeks

BC Eagles Football

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B elmont HIll Opinions

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Debate of the Issue: Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich?

By Lev Tolkoff ’24 Panel staff Intellectuals such as Einstein, Confucius, and Nikola Tesla have been debating one thing throughout history, and that is whether a hot dog is a sandwich. While people may tell you it is not a sandwich, I am here to persuade you otherwise. This debate entirely revolves around the question of what constitutes a sandwich. For me, it is meat, vegetables, or other fillings enclosed in bread with an opening.

So does a hot dog fit this description? A hotdog has meat and is enclosed in bread, thus making it a sandwich.

Some claim that there must be two distinct pieces of bread, however does that make a sub not a sandwich? I would still consider a sub to be a sandwich even though it only is one slice of bread.

So I have modified my definition to something enclosed in bread with an opening. That last part, with an opening, is also integral to the definition of a sandwich. Without this section a calzone would be a sandwich or even a

wrap. Now for the most subjective part of the definition, the inside of a sandwich. Some people say that a sandwich must have meat in it, although one of my favorite sandwiches (eggplant parm) does not have meat although it is still a sandwich. Also different sauces or condiments do not need to be added in order for it to b e a sandwich. Iif a BLT does not have mayo or mustard is it still a sandwich? Yes it is.

And the argument that a hot dog only has one substance and there- Luke Trevisan fore, is not a sandwich is complete confluffery. Does that make a peanut butter sandwich not a sandwich or a grilled cheese? That is simply blasphemous: to disqualify staples of the culinary industry from the category of sandwiches is dishonest to culinary experts around the world. ☐

By luke trevisan ‘24 panel staff What is a hot dog? Is it a sandwich? Is it something else? These questions have been asked since the dawn of time but have only started to make sense since the creation of the hot dog.

The creation of the food and the coining of the name are typically given two separate dates. The original hot dog was first sold in 1871 by Charles Feltman and was thought of as a skinny “frankfurter”. Afterwards, the term was supposedly coined in 1901, at the New York Polo Grounds.

Since then it has remained a staple in backyards and ballparks.

Now we come to the question: is it a sandwich? I say no, for two reasons. First of all a hotdog does not have nearly enough substance to be a sandwich. A “sandwich” should have at least two distinctly different and filling substances that both add to the taste and texture of the sandwich. A turkey sandwich? Turkey and cheese. A BLT?

Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato. A hot dog only ever has ketchup, mustard, or other things relish or onions, all of which are not filling (if you somehow eat enough of any to be full, you’re a monster). Therefore, a hot dog does not meet the criteria for a sandwich.

Second, a problem lies in the cookery around the hot dog: the bread.

A hot dog only has one (1) piece of bread, whereas a sandwich has two (2). If you’ve passed Pre-Algebra, sorry 7th graders, you’d know that 1 < 2.

So how can a hot dog equal a sandwich if mathematics deem them different? I don’t see how it could be true.

All of this debate begs the question as to what a hot dog really is. If it’s not not a sandwich, what is it?

Could it be that it falls into a pre-existing category that has yet to be brought up? Based on my reasoning above, a hot dog could be considered a toast, since there is only one piece of bread. But it could also be a taco, since it is surrounded by three sides of starch. However, those are debates for another time. To answer this question, a hot dog is NOT a sandwich.☐

The Future of Masking in School: Will it Continue?

By luke gulesarian ‘24, duncan kilbride ‘24, mac bobo ‘23

Masking in school this year has become a topic of uncertainty as some schools around the country have loosened or even completely removed their COVID-19 precautions. While the CDC had recommended on August 31st that

“all schools require universal masking,” we have seen schools such as Belmont Hill loosen their masking rules and social distancing strategies. Belmont Hill has been able to not only make life more normal for the students, but also keep them healthy, with no reports of

a large outbreak yet. While masking may remain important inside the classrooms, it seems that with a school that has such a high vaccination rate such as Belmont Hill, the precautions should be lowered. With over a 90% vaccination rate, the chances of an outbreak are slim to none, especially considering COVID numbers as a whole in Massachusetts are seeing a decline. In addition, not only are the chances of students at Belmont Hill getting COVID-19 low, but the risk of fatality or even serious illness are extremely low considering the age demographic. While the school must keep in mind those who are immunocompromised and older faculty and staff, making masking a choice would allow those who feel safer wearing a mask, the ability to wear one.

Therefore, in schools with high vaccination rates such as Belmont Hill, and without any major COVID outbreaks since the beginning of the year, it is im-

perative that we go back to more of a normal school year without the emphasis on masks. Until there is a positive case or outbreak, masking should be-

schools like Belmont Hill follow suit, and remove many COVID-19 precautions they once had. The October 1st reevaluation on COVID precautions in Massachusetts is a date to remember. Hopefully the state can realize that each school’s situation (especially in cases of private and boarding schools) is different, and pass legislation and guidelines that recognize this. In schools with such high Adam Richins vaccination rates come optional. While obviously there with students of low risk, the administrations should be responsible for “It seems that with a school that has creating rules that fit their school’s such a high vaccination rate such as needs. Masking in school does not have one general answer that is perBelmont Hill, precautions should be fect for all schools. Having individual lowered.” institutions make their own safety deare laws that prohibit this right now, cisions is integral to the overall suconce they do change it is important that cess of students in school this year. ☐

Is Belmont Hill Returning Too Much to its Original Ties?

Belmont Hill fortable, being in our formal dress code is not returnultimately teaches us valuable lessons. ing too much Another change made in the transito its origiThe question presented is if Belmont tion from the Covid year to a more tradinal ties. We hill is returning back to its original ties and tional year is the class schedule. The change believe that traditions too much. We believe the short “For Belmont Hill to educate us to its the Covid-19 answer is no. To expand further, as many of school year you know, due to Covid-19 and the challeng- fullest ability, going back to the schedule was a year in which all classes meet is necessary,” es we faced as a community during those that was diftimes, Belmont Hill was changed in various ferent from different ways. First and foremost, one big in class schedule is also imperative in the the norm, difference between the original Belmont Hill role of helping us become successful. As we and ultimateand the covid Belmont Hill is the dress code. all know, 3 classes a day is much easier than a ly it was less We believe that the dress code at Bel- more traditional all classes 3 days a week. We productive mont Hill plays an imperative role in the believe that many of us, if not all of us, came in develcompletion of our school’s mission. Bel- to Belmont Hill for the purpose of becoming oping our mont Hill’s goal is for us to become men well-educated students, so we believe that morals and of character and for us to show kindness, all of us should have come in knowing and our minds. compassion, and a sense of brotherhood, expecting Belmont Hill’s fast-paced schedAdam Richins We bewhile also teaching us to be professional ule. For Belmont Hill to educate us to their individuals which have the skills to suc- fullest ability, going back to the all classes traditional schedule will ultimately benefit lieve that going back to the normal state ceed in the future. So although wearing meet schedule was necessary. Although it the students and our community as a whole. of Belmont Hill will, in the end, beneTo conclude, we strongly believe that fit us and Belmont Hill as a whole. ☐ sweatpants every day may be more com- is more fast-paced, going back to a more

By Andrew bittner ’24, Aidan Lee ’24 Panel Staff

B elmont Hill Opinions

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United

States

Withdraws

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Afghanistan

Afghanistan led to the end of the war in Af- approval rating at the start of the war, with ghanistan and signaled the ascendancy of over 70% wanting a withdrawal by the sumthe Taliban as the de-facto rulers of Afghan- mer of 2021. It seemed to become an endistan. Over those years, ~2,500 American less war, with no conclusion in sight, someservice members have been killed, with an thing the citizens did not want to continue.

Only one month after the deadly additional 20,000 wounded in action. AddiWith the fast-approaching 20th anni9/11 terrorist attacks, Washington initiated tionally, ~3,800 American contractors were versary President Donald Trump was eager America’s longest-lasting war in its 300year history. The attacks were conducted by the terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda.

Nineteen of their members hijacked four American airliners and used them to attack key targets such as the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. The other plane was retaken by the passengers but ended up crashing in Pennsylvania. The total casualties of this attack were an astounding 2977 deaths. 7 days later on September 18, former President George Bush signed the 2001 Authorisation of Use of Military Force which was passed by Congress almost unanimously. By doing this, it allowed for military action against suspected culprits and those aiding them without the need for congressional approval. This hasty and somewhat ill-advised entrance into the War in Afghanistan led to the inevitable embarAtlantic Council rassment of the United States’s withdrawal. United States military personnel evacuation from Afghanistan Initially, several members of the United Nations joined the United States killed. From a civilian standpoint, ~500 aid to begin United States’ withdrawal from Afin invading Afghanistan. However, many workers and journalists died. It is important ghanistan. In February 2020, the Trump adof these nations withdrew shortly after the to note that officially, the United States nev- ministration made a withdrawal agreement invasion, leaving the United States with er fought a war in Afghanistan, as Congress with Taliban leadership. This plan called for the Afghan Army, and a small coalition of never declared war. When the invasion be- the Afghan government to set 5000 Taliban NATO member states. Against them were gan, 9/11 was very fresh in most people’s fighters free and set a date for the initial withthe Taliban, al-Qaeda, and other Islam- minds; the United States’ initial invasion drawal, May 1, 2021. President Trump soon ic extremist groups. After 19 years and 8 was less than a month after the catastroph- diminished troop numbers from 13,000 to months, the United States withdrawal from ic events in New York. There was an 88% little more than 2,500 despite the fact that the

Taliban were still harassing the Afghanistan government and accepted Al-Qaeda members into their ranks. This plan was never completed as Trump lost the next election.

Under President Biden’s original withdrawal plan, the United States would have a multi-step withdrawal. The Pentagon would first pull out most of its personnel and shut an airbase. The main aspect of this approach that was assumed was the relative strength of the Afghan government. The Department of Defense believed that the Afghan government could hold off the Taliban for around another two years, however, this proved to be a miscalculation. The State Department would keep their embassy in Kabul, but the military presence would be gone.

Biden hoped to have all troops out by September 11th, the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Although President Biden’s plan went slightly awry, the United States and their allies successfully withdrew over 114,000 soldiers and civilians in a short time. This feat is an incredible show of the United States’ efficiency, but despite this, there were still many setbacks such as the thousands left behind and the increased Taliban presence around Kabul. Without the support of an integral ally, the weakened Afghan government quickly crumpled to the growing Taliban threat. Because of the inefficacy of the Afghan government, the United States can hardly be blamed for the ultimate resurgence of the Taliban and the crumbling of the Afghan government.

If anything, this end result was inevitable, for the maintenance of the U.S.’s presence in Afghanistan was unsustainable. ☐

the cons. Firstly, many students might complain that they are burdened with significantly more homework during the current schedule, as they are now subject to five classes of homework three days a week. Although it is indefensible that there is more homework this year, we also have substantially more time to get it done, with the return of X block, 2:15, and 4 o’clock. On top of this, students are now able to meet with their teachers during free blocks, as opposed to last year’s rules. Both of these factors make it easier and more efficient for stu-

dents to get their work done during school. Secondly, I think that having long blocks t w o times a week is better than four.

Although there is less homework due on a long block day, consistent long block

classes can often make it more difficult to focus. With longer classes comes a heavier load of content in one extended period of time; thus, this plethora of information can make it difficult for students to focus and take in the material well enough to understand it. In short blocks, however, there is adequate time such that enough content can be taught, while not seeming excessive. In conclusion, because students have more time to do work during the school day and visit teachers, and also do not have the pressure of understanding too much material in one extended block four times a week, the current schedule is better for learning and Belmont Hill as a whole. ☐

for the entire week. Although this might

By Brian Lee ’24 and Aaron Stanger’24 be a small change, it eliminates the posPanel Staff sibility of forgetting to fill out the Google Form and ending up with no school lunch Last school year, due to COVID, Bel- for a whole week. Moreover, since students mont Hill reopened with a boxed lunch program. In this new program, students would order their lunch in advance through a Google Form sent out 2 weeks in advance.

Options were limited and repetitive to start; however, by the end of the year, more variety in the types of sandwiches, wraps, and salads were introduced. At the beginning of this school year, Belmont Hill took on a prepared buffet style. Students are able to go to the lunchroom at designated times where they can pick up the similar types of

Not having to deliver each boxed lunch to each advisory location like last year has also opened up the possibility of ice cream, and this is evidently a pro to the new lunch format.

In addition, there has been a recent change to Upper School lunch where students are permitted to get lunch between a wider time period, instead of having to wait for a specific time at the very end of the school day.

Although there have been many pros to this year’s new lunch program, there is still much to work on. The biggest con has been the continued lack of hot lunch, which used to be a staple of pre-COVID Belmont Hill life. The students continue to miss signature hot meals such as Thanksgiving dinner, General Tso’s chicken, and paninis. In a similar way, sit-down lunch is still nonexistent. Sit-down lunch was a time for students to get to know each other across the grades and teachers whom they would have never met in the classroom. This year, without any official assignments, lunch is eaten either inside the classroom and buildings or outside.

This approach lacks the opportunity to con-

nect with peers at the lunch table and take a break that is fully detached from school life.

To sum up, as for our personal opinion on the new lunch format this year, we think it is much better than the boxed lunches last year, but there are a lot of aspects that could be improved upon, such as a wider variety of options. However, it should be noted that the lunch program goes hand in hand with how serious the situation with COVID is, and there is not a lot of room to implement new changes unless the pandemic gets under control, especially at Belmont Hill. ☐

By Mac Bobo ’23, Luke Gulesarian ’24, and Duncan Kilbride ’24 Panel Staff

COVID Schedule vs. Current Schedule Comparison

By Jack Abbrecht ’23 Panel Staff In returning for the second year of masked learning, many aspects of preCOVID Belmont Hill are coming back, such as regular chapels, Harkness discussions, and the coat and tie dress code. Arguably, the most important change for students this year, however, is the restoration of a more normal Belmont Hill class schedule. While opinions are mixed about the recovery of the three-day-five-class schedule, limited to only two long block days, it is my belief that the pros of the returning schedule outweigh

Review of the School’s New Grab-and-Go Lunches

“Although there have been many pros to this year’s new lunch program, there is Garden Salad RecipeTin Eats still much to work on,” are given the opportunity to fill their paper prepared and packaged foods as last year.

There have been several positives to the new lunch format this year, the first one being that there is no need to fill out a Google Form to select your lunch choices

bags with whatever they want, the number of combinations have increased exponentially. For example, it was impossible last year to have a salad and a sandwich at the same time, but now it is perfectly within your reach to include both for your lunch.

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New Exhibit in Hamilton Chapel Basement: Origins

Credit: Adam Richins/BH Communications

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Belmont H ill Bac kPag e

30x2

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confuses target makes target immune to poison-type moves

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