The Panel September 2020 (Vol. 69, Issue 3)

350 Prospect Street Belmont, MA 02478

Volume 69, Issue 3

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

September 24, 2020

A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill School

BHS FINALLY RETURNS Belmont Hill School Reopens with COVID-19 Protocols after Six Months

By Sreetej Digumarthi ’21 and Charlie Wells ’21 Panel Staff

On September 1, for the first time in nearly six months, students, faculty, and staff filled the campus and classrooms of Belmont Hill. Donning navy blue three-ply masks with sextants and staying six feet apart from one another, the BH community has quickly adapted to the new mode of learning and has responded overwhelmingly positively to it.

In addition to masks and social distancing, the school has upgraded the HVAC system, implemented a testing program, instituted a new schedule to minimize contact between students, and created a new system of boxed lunches to replace the traditional family-style meals. The Panel urges everyone to continue to adhere to the school’s protocols.

As we re-enter the school year, we should also not forget about the events happening in the world around us. We are facing an ongoing global pandemic, issues of racial injustice, a major election cycle, a climate crisis that has manifested in the West Coast wildfires, and much more. In such a tumultuous time, The Panel is exBH Communications cited to have everyone back on campus so we can discuss these issues together. ☐

Many larger spaces are now being used as classroom spaces to accomodate distancing.

Black Lives Matter Historic Bell Removal Marks Hope for Sustained Change Belmont Hill Board (linked here). In their tion, but whatever the case, its history is

By Abe Tolkoff ’21 and and Belmont Hill research, students dis- covered that deeply entwined with that of Belmont Hill.

Luke Wagner ’22

By Abe tolkoff ’21 Panel Staff Over the past two weeks, I sat down with a handful of members of our community: Head of School Mr. Schneider, Mr. Collins, Ms. D’Annolfo, Mr. Rosser, Ikenna Ugbaja, and Stalin Polanco. While all six of them expressed similar sentiments, each of their distinct roles and life experiences have shaped their messaging. What remains abundantly clear are three main things: Belmont Hill has struggled to have important conversations surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the past, the school has doubled down on its effort to integrate these topics into our daily lives with pointed Advisory conversations, and that every voice in our community must be heard to find success. Instead of analyzing each conversation, I thought it more interesting to view a variety of quotations drawn from each of these interactions. I hope that this gives you an opportunity to hear what some members of our community are saying, strike up conversations with them and others, and take away a renewed acknowledgement that our school is working hard to make it all possible.

Continued on Pages 6-7

Panel Staff

Towards the end of a summer filled with tremendous amounts of global conversation surrounding both racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic, an email outlining one of Belmont Hill’s initiatives may have flown under the radar o f many students. This particular email, sent by the Chair of Belmont Hill’s Board of Trustees, Jon Biotti ’87, outlined the school’s plans to remove one of two historic bells from our campus. In writing, Mr. Biotti said, “We have to take the bell down— the lessons from our history are eclipsed by the need to make our environment more comfortable and inclusive for all of our students.” While most students are more familiar with the bell beside the Chapel, among other things the namesake of our Middle School Newspaper, the bell in question sat beside the Head of School’s office since 1926 and was mounted upon two pillars of wood.

Those who are unfamiliar with the history of the bell are encouraged to learn more from this presentation made by former students in the Spring of 2018 to the

Look Inside The Panel

News 6-7 Belmont Hill School Diversity Initiatives

The Panel reports on the school’s diversity initiatives and presents quotes and images from the community about racial injustice.

has close ties to a small handful of school founders and benefactors from the first quarter of the 20th century.

Their re-

A school conversation about the history of this bell began after Diversity Day in mid-May of 2017. Students in Mr. Hegarty’s Advanced History Research class shared their findings of the bell’s history to the entire school in Chapel. The following year AHR students presented a formal report of findings to the Belmont Hill Board, recommending a wide array of possible actions including commemorative plaques, school remembrance Chapels, ceremonial ringing, and online documentation among other things. During his transition to Belmont Hill throughout the first half of 2018, Mr. Schnei- d e r says the history of the bell was presented to him by then-Headmassearch ter Dr. led them to Melvoin conclude that “as it was, unthe bell was origresolved.”

Furtherinally rung to indicate more, no formal recomthe beginning and end of the mendation had been made work day for enslaved (and formerly surrounding the removal of the bell, as enslaved) workers on a Cuban sugar plan- conversation was more focused on how to tation. It is not evident whether Belmont incorporate its history more effectively into Hill’s bell was a replica or the original one the daily lives of all Belmont Hill students. seen in photos from 1895 of the plantaWhile the school was Illustration by Riley Shafer ’21 Continued on Page 4 Opinions 8 Debate of the Issue

News 2-3 New Faculty Members

Eleven new faculty members joined the Belmont Hill community at the start of the school year.

the bell

Adam Alto and Henry Moses debate a question on everyone’s minds: are otters or monkeys cuter?

Sports 10 Catching up with Recruited Athletes The Panel editor Mac Bobo '23 gives an update on Belmont Hill alums playing college sports this year.

Arts 10 Playlist of the Issue Jalen Walker ’21 and Henry Moses ’21 write

about five of their favorite songs for the September Playlist of the Issue.

B elmont Hill NEWS

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T he Panel

Dr. Goldberg Joins BH as Head of the Science Department

By Cooper Nelson ’23 and Alex Lo ’23 Panel Staff Dr. Goldberg joins Belmont Hill with expertise in the sciences and years of working with students at Johns Hopkins University. He is taking on the role of Science Department Chair and is teaching AP Biology, Biology, and Biomedical Engineering and Design.

The Biomedical Engineering course will be co-taught by his colleagues at Johns Hopkins. His role will be to support the academic needs of five Belmont Hill students who will be working alongside Hopkins students. He is also an advisor in the Fourth Form and looks forward to leading an extracurricular leadership program and coaching lacrosse in the spring season. Dr. Goldberg is excited to be a part of the

Belmont Hill community and hopes to help students realize their potential throughout the year and beyond.

Dr. Goldberg grew up in Baltimore, attending the Friends School.

There, he played lacrosse and soccer, as well as developed his interest in science. He then attended Franklin and Marshall college, where he majored in Biology and continued to play lacrosse.

Dr. Goldberg entered the professional sector as a teacher at The Gilman School and then at The Friends School, returning to his Baltimore roots. At Gilman he taught math while also coaching the lacrosse and soccer teams. At Friends he taught Biology and coached both lacrosse and soccer. During this time, Dr. Goldberg pursued a Master’s Degree in computer science and another in education at Johns Hopkins. After seven years of teaching, he became

a full-time student and attended The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as a doctoral student in the Department of Molecular Biophysics. His thesis work centered on designing DNA binding proteins involved in gene regulation.

After receiving his degree, Dr. Goldberg became an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and accepted the position of Assistant Dean at the School of Medicine.

After filling so many roles at John Hopkins University, we are lucky to have Dr. Goldberg at Belmont Hill.

Dr. Goldberg emphasizes that he looks forward to being part of the Belmont Hill community, stating “After my interview, it was clear that I’d be able to interact with wonderful students and colleagues.” He has moved to the area with his wife Cinnie and their two Bernese Mountain dogs. In his

free time, he enjoys woodworking and skiing, both on snow and water.

All of us in the Belmont Hill community, especially his science students and lacrosse players, are excited to welcome Dr. Goldberg to our school! ☐

Photo Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine

Mr. Rosser Joins the Community Mr. Simpson Takes on a Bigger Role

By Luke Wagner ’22 Panel Staff Mr. Rosser is from Patterson, NJ, and attended Tennessee State on an athletic scholarship and started at the QB position for all four years of college. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Tennessee State and after graduating college, Mr. Rosser stayed in state to coach the Knoxville Central High School football team.

While he began as an assistant in 2008, he was promoted to a head coaching role in 2014. Mr. Rosser led an extremely successful team and went on to win back to back 5A state championships (2018-19) in Tennessee and become number seven in the nation. In February, he and his wife Brook moved to Massachusetts after his wife received a job at Harvard Business School’s admissions office. At Belmont Hill, Mr. Rosser looks for-

ward to contributing to the expanded DEI faculty team, serving as our assistant athletic director, and advising in the Fifth Form.

He has joined Belmont Hill with great enthusiasm in a time where uncomfortable conversations and COVID-19 protocols have created a new normal on campus.

When not at school, he enjoys spending time with his family, including his dog, as well as traveling and writing poetry. The Panel wishes Mr. Rosser the best as we continue this fall and looks forward to his contributions to our Courtesy of Mr. Rosser community. ☐

By Daniel Cho ’23 Panel Staff

This year, Mr. Simpson is joining Belmont Hill and looks forward to teaching panel carving, basic and advanced woodworking, while also offering independent studies.

Mr. Simpson previously taught woodworking at Belmont Hill two years ago as a substitute teacher for Mr. Kaplan. Mr. Simpson was impressed by the “caliber, maturity, and professionalism” of Belmont Hill students.

Growing up in central Illinois, Mr. Simpson learned to love the outdoors from his boy scouting experience.

Mr. Simpson’s love of 19th-century woodworking, which he would continue exploring later in his career, came from his time at his father’s custom woodworking shop.

At age seventeen, he decided to join the Illinois Army National Guard because he believed that After he graduated from Belmont Hill, he he could contribute to something attended Middlebury College and received larger than himself with his mindset and drive. There, Mr. Simpson a Bachelor’s Dequickly became a trainer and travgree in Biology eled a lot from base to base. He enand Environmenjoyed and was proud of his time there. tal Studies with a Mr. Simpson’s earliest teaching global health miexperience came when he was twelve nor. Mr. Rohrer is years old when he would give pubexcited to be back lic demonstrations on 19th-century at Belmont Hill, woodworking.

After eight years of inand to be teachstructing soldiers on marksmanship ing math and and combative training, he began his coaching running career as a woodworker in Chicago.

Mr. Rohrer and skiing. ☐

During that time, he taught woodworking at Chicago schools and hosted workshops at his woodshop. In 2016, he moved to Boston, and attended the North Bennet St. School’s Furniture and Cabinet making program, both learning and teaching as a student.

In addition to teaching woodworking, he will be a co-advisor with Doc Fast. Mr. Simpson pursues many other hobbies, including hiking, rock climbing, and sailing, and he participates in other mediums of arts such as drawing with pen and ink, charcoal, pastels, painting, and sculpting. The Panel welcomes Mr. Simpson to Belmont Hill and wishes him the best this year! ☐

Mr. Rohrer ’16 Returns to the Hill

By Tyler Forg ’21 Panel Staff Mr. Rohrer, a 2016 Belmont Hill graduate, steps back into the school community as a Form II Algebra teacher. Growing up next to Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, he explored nature and ran around Fresh Pond. In his seventh grade year, he decided to attend Belmont Hill and started out playing middle school football. However, as a student of smaller stature, he knew that his football playing days were numbered and switched to cross country and track.

Ms.

Ahearne

By Abe Tolkoff ’21 and Jalen Walker ’21 Panel Staff Joining a wave of new, young teachers, Ms. Ahearne comes to Belmont Hill to teach in the History and Modern Languages Departments and coach all three seasons. A recent graduate of Bowdoin College with degrees in government and legal studies, education, and Francophone studies, she also co-captained the Nordic Skiing team in her senior year. Nordic Skiing has played an important role in her educational and now professional lives since beginning the sport in elementary school. Ms. Ahearne graduated from Maine Coast Waldorf School in a class of only six students, in a school of thirty-nine. She remembers fondly a senior play which was cast perfectly for the gender makeup of her grade. The one male student played both male roles, and the five girls (herself included), played his sisters.

As she began her senior year in high school, Ms. Ahearne was in commu-

Skis

Her

Way

Courtesy of Mr. Simpson

onto

nication with college Nordic Skiing coach- Jr. and Malcolm X. While all of her classes es and eventually applied Early Decision to were difficult, she remembers her first and Bowdoin and joined only “all-nighter” while the team. While she working on a painting describes the team last fall for her Painting then as “up and com1 class. It was especialing,” the commitly apt because she was ment was intense. painting a sunrise, “then They practiced eight the sun rose!” While times per week from she had already studSeptember through ied in France in high February and spent school, Ms. Ahearne most school breaks wanted to travel abroad and some weekends again in college and peon training trips titioned the school to across New England add a new program in and into Canada. a more mountainous On the acregion of France to alademic side of camlow her to continue her Photo Courtesy of Ms. Ahearne Nordic Skiing training. pus, Ms. Ahearne gravitated towards the humanities, taking a While skiing played a large role wide swath of classes, but eventually settling in her choosing Bowdoin, the sport led her into her government and education focused directly to Belmont Hill last winter. At an majors. Her favorite class was a seminar in Eastern Cup Race, a regional series with top her Junior year about Martin Luther King high school and college skiers (and three

Campus

Belmont Hill skiers), she ran into the mom of Belmont Hill alumn James Eyesenbach ’19. Mrs. Eysenbach had recently heard that Mr. Courtney, the Belmont Hill Nordic Ski coach last year, was moving to Pennsylvania and the school was searching for someone to fill that role on campus. While Ms. Ahearne was unsure at the time, she came to be extremely interested and excited by the opportunity to teach at Belmont Hill. Once she had accepted the position, many of her friends were skeptical about her teaching at an all boys school. While this was certainly a concern, her experience working as a sailing instructor with a team of mostly, what she would call “rowdy boys,” seemed enough preparation for whatever Belmont Hill could throw her way.

On campus she looks forward to teaching Form II history and French, while coaching Middle School Cross Country, Varsity Nordic Skiing, and Varsity Sailing. The Panel wishes Ms. Ahearne good luck and we hope to spend many more days on campus with her! ☐

S e ptemb er 24, 2020

B elmont HIll NEWS

Mr.

Returns

Ekhator

the admissions office. A graduate of both

By Henry Moses ’21 Amherst College and the University of Panel Staff Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of EducaPart of the large cohort of newly tion, Mr. Ekhator comes well prepared to hired teachers, Mr. Ekhator comes to Bel- fill the many roles he has taken on campus.

In a way, Mr. Ekhator’s arrival to mont Hill to teach Middle School history, campus is a return. A graduate of fellow coach football and basketball, and work in ISL school St. Mark’s, he looks forward to returning to the ISL, albeit in a different capacity. He remarked that for a while it will feel a little weird, seeing things from the other side, but that he’ll get used to it. He speaks fondly of his time at St. Mark’s; the leadership roles he assumed and the independence he found both made his time there a positive experience, one which he looks forward to helping create for Belmont Hill students now. Football also played a big part in his high school experience and he is excited to return to the high school football world, mostly bePhoto Courtesy of Mr. Ekhator cause of the sense of commu-

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his

nity it can provide. Still, Mr. Ekhator looks forward to creating a new experience for himself, even if it’s in a familiar world.

After graduating from St. Mark’s, Mr. Ekhator headed to Amherst College, where he studied political science and continued his football career. Because he was at a Division Three school, he didn’t find it hard to manage the two sides of himself that had emerged. In season, he was a serious athlete, but after that, he was primarily a student.

He had a toe on each side of the experience, which didn’t make it difficult for him to experience his four years there as a normal college student. This balance between athletics and academics is an aspect that he already sees present at Belmont Hill, and one which he hopes to facilitate for students.

Towards the end of his college experience, his interest in education bloomed, and he had his eyes on graduate programs to pursue. He ended up at UPenn’s Graduate School of Education, a program that he looks back on with only positive memories.

As a student in this program, Mr. Ekhator had the opportunity to work in a classroom setting to apply what he was learning. In this context, he worked for two years as a

ISL

Roots

history teacher and basketball coach at the Trinity School in New York City. He worked as both a student and teacher at the same time, an experience that helped him formulate his own teaching philosophy. The experience made it very clear to him that his students had lives outside of school, and that he had to approach this fact with empathy.

It’s certainly a strange time to enter a new community, but Mr. Ekhator is up for the challenge. Like all of us, he excitedly awaits the day when we can return to a normal school environment. Beyond that, he is excited to continue the much-needed conversations surrounding racial justice in the country and in our community. He recognizes that the most powerful conversations are the ones that are led by students, so he is ready to facilitate and provide a platform for these students to direct a dialogue. He also gears up to work in the admissions office, where he hopes to make Belmont Hill more accessible to communities that aren’t principally represented here. The Panel is excited to welcome Mr. Ekhator to Belmont Hill and to see the many ways he will make a positive impact on our community!

Mr. Horwitz Brings a Host of Talents Ms. Taylor Joins Communications Team

By Tyler Forg ’21 Panel Staff Belmont Hill welcomes Mr. Horwitz as an interim math and English teacher for the 2020-2021 school year. Along with teaching, he will coach three sports, including baseball, which he played in college.

Graduating from BB&N in 2016, Mr. Horwitz was a left handed pitcher for the varsity baseball team and the school president.

He continued to pursue his baseball career at Amherst College and was unanimously voted 2020 team captain. At Amherst, he also worked as a statistician for the Amherst

College football program. Academically, he received his B.A. in economics with concentrations in English and theater. Mr. Horwitz is excited to receive the opportunity to teach at Belmont Hill, and The Panel wishes him the best of luck for this Amherst Baseball school year! ☐

Ms. Lindsey Taylor, the newest member of the communications team, is excited to share our Belmont Hill life with the rest of the world. Ms. Taylor grew up in Arlington and attended high school at Arlington Catholic. Following graduation, she went to Assumption College to continue playing basketball, before transferring to Babson College to pursue a degree in business marketing. She now lives in Boston, and loves to cook, read, and coach the Arlington High School’s girls basketball team.

Ms. Taylor will be working in the communications department, mainly focusing on updating the school website, publishing The Bulletin, and working on the school’s social media accounts.

We’re excited to have you, Ms. Taylor, and hope you have an excellent time here! ☐ BH Communications

ing between speaking Chinese and English. chemistry, and he hopes to receive a Masters According to Mr. DeCaprio, one of in Organic Chemistry soon from Tufts as the most rewarding experiences he had at well. While in college, Mr. DeCaprio served Belmont Hill was a trip during Form V to as an assistant coach on Belmont Hill’s varCrested Butte, CO organized by Dr. Buck- sity nordic skiing and cross country, where ley, who was the forhe was affectionately mer history department nicknamed “The Blue chair. The group (which Bolt” for his neon-blue included Mr. Rohrer) running attire. Mr. Despent the week hiking, Caprio also served as a white-water rafting and teaching assistant for kayaking, and Mr. DeChemistry at Tufts and Caprio remembers the tutored at Charleston trip as “challenging and High School, while scary at times, but was an working as the Assisincredibly rewarding extant Camp Director perience for me as I faced of the Belmont Hill my fears and pushed summer sports camps myself to persevere where he learned many throughout the week.” valuable experiences in Mr. DeCaprio atworking with students. tended Tufts University As a Varsity NorPhoto Courtesy of Mr. DeCaprio where he majored in Biodic Skiing coach, Mr.

DeCaprio hopes to lead Belmont Hill to another Lakes Region championship and even the team’s first NEPSACs win. While an assistant coach, he learned how to ski alongside the team while enjoying trips up north to races and the annual Craftsbury training trip when the entire team trained together for three days on Craftsbury’s beautifully designed and maintained trail system in Vermont. During last year’s trip to Craftsbury, he managed to crash the bus into a snowbank on the highway.

While being an alumnus of Belmont Hill played a big part in Mr. DeCaprio’s decision to teach and coach, he also “loves working with BH students, alumni, faculty, and staff ” and thinks that a year at Belmont Hill will be a rewarding experience. Mr. DeCaprio is excited to teach science and coach Varsity Nordic Skiing in the winter. The Panel wishes Mr. DeCaprio good luck and looks forward to spending the rest of the school year with him! ☐

high school, where she played basketball, ran Track & Field, was the president of the Athletic Leadership Council, and was a part of the Environmental Action club.

Ms. Otley just completed her degree in applied mathematics with a minor in physics at Tufts University. She also played college basketball there with an impressive record over her four years, including a 2019 NESCAC Championship and a 2017 NCAA Division III National Runner-up.

When asked if she had any tips for students, Ms. Otley says that for math problems, “talking through tough problems and working together will help you gain

Mr. Schneider. She hopes to coach basketball in the future. The Panel looks forward to seeing Ms. Otley around campus in the coming year and wishes her the best of luck as she starts her first year at Belmont Hill. ☐

By Charlie Wells ’21 Panel Staff

Jake DeCaprio ’16 Rejoins Community as Mr. DeCaprio

By Howard Huang ’22 Panel Staff

Along with a wave of newly hired teachers, Mr. DeCaprio enters the Belmont Hill Science Department as an interim teacher. He was a member of the Belmont Hill Class of 2016, and some of his favorite experiences in high school were with the cross country team. Mr. DeCaprio particularly enjoyed the overnight trips for the Martha’s Vineyard race and NEPSACs because they were a fun team bonding experience.

He also was a part of many clubs on campus, including serving as the Editor-In-Chief of The Panel newspaper! During his time as a student at Belmont Hill, Mr. DeCaprio was successful in his Chinese language studies and even achieved third place in a Chinese speech competition. He wrote a speech called “The Language Switch” in which he discussed the difficulty of switch-

Ms.

Otley

By Howard Huang ’22 and Luke Hogan ’22 Panel Staff Ms. Otley has joined Belmont Hill as a math teacher and advisor. Ms. Otley grew up in Charlotte, Vermont, a small town that, according to her, “arguably has a larger cow population than the human population.” She has two siblings who are twin brothers, and they are occasionally mistaken by others as triplets because of their similar ages. She attended Champlain Valley Union High School, the local public

Swoops

in

and

Saves

familiarity and confidence with the material. Work on assignments together over Zoom, call each other to check your answers, participate in virtual X-Block. The more you engage with the material, the more success you will find with it.”

Even though this is Ms. Otley’s first year teaching, she has experience in outdoor education where she led middle school students on backpacking, camping and rafting trips in the Colorado Rockies. Ms. Otley is teaching two sections of AP AB Calculus and one section of regular calculus while also co-advising with

the

Day

Photo Courtesy of Ms. Otley

B elmont Hill News

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Making Lemonade out of COVID Lemons Historical side, whether hiking, biking, bird watching, golfing, or gardening was also a common thread.

O n a more While it is clear that the COVID-19 s e r i o u s note, Pandemic has significantly impacted the t h e lives of everyone in our communi- ty s o in various ways, there are some cial justice silver linings. In a recent movement that survey, many students rewas sparked by sponded that they found the killing of George more time through the Floyd was reflected in spring and into the many students’ experisummer to read and ences throughout the summer. to work out. Spending Some reported having the opportime with family arose as tunity to read thought provoking both a positive and negbooks and articles, attend protests, and ative for many, though some appreciate the people around them more. students, faculty, and staff reflected that As we begin to see each other more they enjoyed the chance to take a in our day to day lives, many have step back from their busy lives. reported a new appreciation Beyond the more for historically “normal” tasks common answers, some and interactions.

While the respondents reported exfuture remains uncertain, tremely interesting ways what is clear is that we must their lives changed and appreciate every day, every unique hobbies they took person, and every moment up. One began collecting we have together.

Perhaps that rocks and shells throughout is one of the true positives to the summer, and another had ☐ emerge out of the pandemic. more time to explore their interest in LEGOs and architecDrawing by Chris Brusie ’23 ture. Spending more time outBy Abe Tolkoff ’21 Panel Staff

T he Panel

Bell

experiencing a period of intense change, the centennial anniversary of its inception was fast approaching. The students who presented on the history of Belmont Hill and specifically this bell asked the community at large “Who are we as a school? And what do we stand for?” These questions, and so many more, were not fully addressed head-on until this past summer as Belmont Hill conducted listening sessions with young alums of color, students, faculty, and a host of other community members. Through these discussions, it became clear that, in the words of Mr. Schneider “there was a new level of both clarity and strength around concerns about the bell staying up,” and decisive action was necessary. After the decision worked its way through the committees of Belmont Hill’s Board, it came to a vote before the full group in late July. The board voted unanimously to remove the bell from campus.

Mr. Schneider also notes that “what’s important as part of that is that it was not an ‘either or’ conversation, it was an ‘and also’ conversation. There was a sense that it was time for the bell to come down and we also need to make sure we preserve, honor, understand our history and not create any perception that this was about trying to act like our history wasn’t there.”

This sentiment is key, especially as our nation grapples with similar concerns about names, family stories, and connections.

Removal

cont.

Some community members did not support the removal of the bell, however Mr. Schneider is clear that “having that bell on campus was hindering our ability to deliver [our school’s] mission to a group of students at our campus today,” and that was the main reason its removal was so vital.

In addition to the removal of the bell, the Board’s standing Diversity Committee has established a history task force, led by Trustees Gretchen Cook-Anderson (parent ‘19) and Emmett Lyne ’77. This group, including both Ms. Zener and Mr. Zellner, is charged with evaluating the history of Belmont Hill, campus signage, building names, and awards, as well as creating a plan for the future of the bell. While it remains physically on campus in storage, the school is in the beginning stages of communication with local museums about possible future placement. Mr. Schneider says that “we see it as a beginning and not an ending. It’s easy to see that taking down the bell is a conclusion to that challenge…

I think it’s quite the opposite.” As the Belmont Hill community continues to discuss issues surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion this year and into the future, it is crucial that we remember that every student experiences life at school differently and it is our job as an institution to welcome every perspective, opinion, and background onto our campus with open arms. ☐

S e ptemb er 24, 2020

B elmont HIll News

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BLACK LIVES MATTER AND BELMONT HILL

"I hope that students see other classmates who may not be as privileged as them, or may be more privileged than them and learn from each other...I hope that kids lean into conversations. It took a while for me to really put my input into conversations but I hope that our form can encourage younger kids to use their voices more." - Ikenna Ugbaja '21

"Schools are places of deep hope, where new leaders are made. Our whole goal is to learn stuff, lots of stuff, important stuff. There's no place I'd rather be." -Ms. D'Annolfo

"Let's be intentional in having conversations with people who don't look like us, sound like us, think like us..." - Mr. Rosser "We're all in this together. This is a collective responsibility that I hope we're all accepting and leaning into together." - Mr. Collins

"The reality is when we look at the entire Belmont Hill community, adults and kids, everybody is at a different moment in their journey on this conversation and it’s important to me as the leader to say that all of those moments are valid.

People are in different places." - Mr. Schneider What excites me about this fall is "all these great conversations, all these great initiatives, all this great teamwork." - Mr. Rosser

"I don't want this movement

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"My biggest hope that students take away from this is that these conversations apply to me as much as they apply to you. As an AfroLatino immigrant, these problems are real to me. Just because they may not affect you personally doesn't mean they cannot be important to you". - Stalin Polanco '21

"Our school is strongest and the work will be the best if we have all voices at the table engaged in the conversation." - Mr. Schneider

to just be a moment."

-Mr. Collins

"We're trying to prepare you young guys for your world and not our world. We can't be a school that spends so much time talking about the development of the character of our young men and not be talking about some of these issues, talking about justice or injustice, and what that looks like."

- Mr. Collins

"My humanity is bound up in yours for we can only be human together."

- Desmond Tutu (Referenced by Ms. D'Annolfo)

"We're at a time when it takes courage to speak up, it takes courage to listen. Courage and humility, that's how learning happens. All of this gets easier with practice." -Ms. D'Annolfo

B elmont Hill Opinions

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T he Panel

Debate of the Issue: Who’s Cuter? Monkeys or Otters?

The first zoos were constructed by the elite in order to flaunt their wealth, a classic case of conspicuous consumption. However, as society has evolved, so too has the culture of zoos, and in the 18th century, the modern conception of the zoo took form. Now, in the age of advanced media, humans have returned to nature, once again altering conceptions of our relation to the animal kingdom. On the internet today, it’s hard to avoid animal videos. Still, there is diversity of thought among consumers. What species does one go to in order to get the joy that comes from watching animals? The answer to this question shows a lot about a person. Adam Alto ’21 and Henry Moses ’21 weigh in on this conversation.

Team Monkey

Team Otter

descendants of monkeys; they are our closBy Henry Moses ’21 est brothers and sisters among animals.

Panel Staff To conclude, monkeys are the Chads of the animal kingdom. They know how Monkeys are badass. You always Nothing brightens my day like scrollto have a good time and make people see them swingin’ from the trees, eating through Instagram and seeing a video of laugh, which I feel is critical to success in ing bananas, and just being goofballs. an otter.

Man, the feeling is unmatched. Just both the world of monkeys and humans.

Just writing this makes me want to hoot writing this is putting a smile on my face. like a monkey and jump through the lush canopy of the Amazon rainforest.

Monkeys, for the most part, aren’t cute, and I admire that. They are lanky and hairy and toothy, and they aren’t afraid to be absolute lunatics. Truthfully, monkeys have more fun than any human ever could, and look delightfully terrifying in the process.

Otters, on the other hand, are lame. They might toss a ball around or go for a float, but that’s about it. In fact, all they do is look cute, which seems to be the source of my opponent’s love for otters. While being cute is relatively valid when it comes to animals, otters only have their cuteness. Monkeys, however, have the best of both worlds. Many people would agree that baby monkeys easily trounce otters in the cuteness contest, and that adult monkeys are much more exciting to be around than a lazy adult otter.

Monkeys are also an incredibly diverse group of animals. Underneath the umbrella term “monkey” resides more Drawing by Luke Trevisan ’24 than 260 species of primates; the mere To start my argument, I’d invite you Although some people might think the 13 known species of otter looks pathetic to consider the nature of the otter. These monkey’s free-spirited nature and brashin comparison. Monkeys live all over the playful little creatures are undeniably cute. ness is “scary,” it is clear to me that this world and come in many different shapes They spend their days swimming and eatanimal is proactive about having fun, a and colors, which adds to their value as a ing, and really just chilling. You really can’t quality the otter is sorely lacking’ in! ☐ species and speaks volumes about their knock that lifestyle. While I can admit that Monkeys or otters? You can some monkey videos are pretty cute, every evolutionary superiority over the otter.

Also, according to Darwin, humans are vote @bhpanel on Instagram. time I watch one, I can’t help but feel a little

By Adam Alto ’21 Panel Staff

Why

Wasn’t

This is the first opinion in a two part series. Next issue, The Panel will address this issue from a different angle to acknowledge differing political viewpoints.

By Sammy Jomaa ’21 Panel Staff

Following the murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, the U.S. seemed primed for much-need changes in how it polices its citizens. A broad majority of Americans, including a critical number of whites and Republicans, supported national police reform. Yet more than three months later, no such reform has materialized. Furthermore, bipartisan momentum for reform has all but disappeared. This raises an im-

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC).

There

National

portant question: What happened?

The answer is the Democratic Party’s election strategy. By filibustering Republican Senator Tim Scott’s police reform bill and by not subduing violent protests fast enough, Democratic politicians at all levels of government have destroyed any chance of reform.

On June 17th, Scott - an African-American senator from South Carolina - introduced the JUSTICE Act into the Senate. Although it didn’t contain every measure left-wing activists wanted, it would have been an important step forward. In fact, in some cases his bill was stricter than the Democrats’ own proposal: for example, the JUSTICE Act would cut 20% of federal funding to police departments that continued to use chokeholds instead of just 10%. Moreover, Scott offered more than twenty amendments to rectify his Democratic colleagues’ issues with the bill - a good-faith gesture that House Democrats didn’t extend to the Republican minority for their own proposal.

Despite this, prominent Democrats denGoogle Images igrated the bill and by extension

bit of fear in the bottom of my stomach. A monkey can really mess a person up; their strength is alarming. Just google “monkey attacks person” and watch the videos. You’ll never view monkeys the same way again.

I don’t get that feeling with otters because they’re essentially harmless. The worst they can do is nibble your skin with their little teeth or scratch you with their nails. A lot of what happens in the world today is scary.

Why would someone want to actively pursue scary things online? This seems like a question my opponent should ask himself.

I’d now like to give a bit of a sampling of the kinds of otter videos that are out there in an attempt to pique someone’s interest. The foremost otter instagram is @ponchan918, who is also the owner of a youtube channel called “otter familyカワウ ソの竹千代と葵.” In what I think is my favorite video, an otter is swimming circles inside a small basket, while simultaneously delighted by the water hose the human is spraying it with. Everytime the otter looks up at the camera, a little smile is visible, joy radiates from its face. Then, the otter hops out of the water and starts trying to catch the water coming from the hose with its paws. It’s adorable! Both myself and my opponent would be hard pressed to find a video of a monkey as cute as this.

To close, I’d like to ask you to consider something. The world is a scary place.

The internet is a scary place. Still, a lot of us turn to the internet to escape the scariness of the real world. It’s undeniable that this is the case. What would you rather find on the internet? Cute otter videos or monkey videos that leave you feeling a bit scared? ☐

Police

Senator Scott. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois disparaged the JUSTICE Act as a “token, half-hearted approach.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi went so far as to say that the Act was “trying to get away with murder… the murder of George Floyd.” Although they both apologized, for two white people to alternatively blame Scott - himself a victim of police discrimination - for the murder of a Black man by the police and to question his sincerity in fighting police brutality was disgraceful.

On June 24th, to add injury to insult, forty-four Democrats filibustered the bill, stopping it from advancing through the Senate into the amendment stage. This decision and rhetoric made it clear that, as Senator Scott explained to National Review, Democrats “believe that campaigning on police brutality is more important than solving police brutality.” Even if they wouldn’t have gotten everything they wanted, he asked on the Senate floor, “why wouldn’t you take the 80 percent now, see if you can win the election and add on the other 20 percent?” The answer is that instead of working to fix the problem, Democrats chose to use the safety of Black Americans as an election issue.

Democratic politicians, this time at the local and state levels, further damaged the prospects of police reform by failing to clamp down on violent protesting early and hard enough. With few exceptions, Democratic mayors and governors were slow to deploy additional police and

Reform?

national guardsmen. At times, like in Kenosha and Portland, local governments refused and even worked against much-needed federal support.

In part because of these functionally pro-unrest decisions, widespread violent protests have rocked the nation. In fact, according to a Princeton study, 7% of pro-BLM protests this past summer have been violent, meaning there’ve been nearly 570 violent demonstrations over the past three months, or more than five per day - a shockingly high number. This has predictably resulted in an unfair but significant increase of white and Republican opposition to BLM - both critical demographics if police reform is to be passed - to above even pre-Floyd levels.

The only conceivable explanation for these policies is that Democrats believed that unrest would hurt President Trump’s reelection since they were happening under his watch. Some politicians, like in far-left Portland and Seattle, may have even feared that cracking down on riots would hurt their own chance of reelection. The effects of this strategy are still unclear: while the President’s campaign has capitalized on voter’s newfound fear of violent crime, a sizable plurality of Americans still believe that Vice President Biden is better suited to handle unrest than Trump.

Unfortunately, what is clear is that Democrats chose to sacrifice a unique opportunity for police reform - and thus Black lives - for an at-best marginal boost in the coming election. ☐

S e ptemb er 24, 2020

B elmont HIll Opinions

Pa g e 9

The Election Might Be Much Closer Than You Think

By Jason Wong ’23 Panel Staff As we head into October, less than 45 days until the presidential election, Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads incumbent Donald Trump in almost every national poll. However, those polls have received wide criticism due to their problematic forecast in the 2016 election, in which Trump won a number of states where he was trailing by a large margin in the polls.

Therefore, should we believe in pollsters this time or, like 2016, are they underestimating the popularity and support of Trump?

In the US election, the number of electoral votes each state has is equal to the sum of the number of its senators and the number of its representatives, with 538 delegates in total. In almost all states, the candidate who has the highest vote total takes all the delegates for that state which is usually called winner-take-all. The candidate who first reaches 270 votes (majority) in the Electoral College wins the election.

Due to the winner-take-all style of the Electoral College, the states that regularly lean to a single party are known as safe states. Meanwhile, any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democrats or Republicans

are “swing states” or “battleground states.” The states of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin are commonly recognized as “swing states”. In the national polls, safe states can often mislead pollsters due to a candidate’s high popularity in larger states like California or New York. For tion this reason, elecanalysts

focus less on national polls and more on polls from “swing states”. These states — even as few as two or three of them — will decide the 2020 election.

Nevertheless, those state polls underestimate Trump’s support by a historical margin. The final poll averages

in 2016 underestimated Trump’s margin over Clinton by more than five points in several swing states: North Carolina (5.3), Iowa (5.7), Minnesota (5.7), Ohio (6.9) and Wisconsin (7.2). A review of 2016 polling by the American Association of Public Opinion Research examined a number of hypotheses about the bias of state-level polls in 2016.

In the first place, the number of undecided voters in 2016 was more than twice as many as in prior elections, and a disproportionately high percentage of these voters broke for Trump. But 2020 polling to date reveals far fewer undecided voters, even fewer than b o t h

the non-urban white and low education voter’s turnout rate observed a significant increase. This year will likely see high levels of engagement from both sides and potentially a surge in turnout unseen in decades, further undermining the accuracy of election polls.

The latest state poll averages imply Biden will win the election in a landslide with an Electoral College victory of 334 votes to 204. But if we subtract Biden’s lead in each state by the final poll error in the 2016 election to mimic the inaccuracy of polls in 2016, then Trump actually leads in Wisconsin, Florida and North Carolina. Even so, Biden would still win the election by an admittedly close margin of 280 to 258. To win, Trump needs to additionally carry Pennsylvania or Michigan, in which he is trailing by 1.7 (4.9 – 1.7) and 3.5 (7.6 – 4.1) percent respectively after simulating the errors in 2016.

This year’s election seems to have historically low levels of undecided voters which theoretically increases the accuracy of Daniel Xie ’24 the polls. However, Trump’s chances of reelection are likely higher than the 2012 and 2008 elections, suggest- suggested by the polling we have seen ing that its margin of error should, to date. Ultimately, when forecastin theory, be smaller than in 2016. ing the 2020 election with current Secondly, due to the high polling polls, it is important to be cautious average of Clinton, the voter turnout and keep in mind that pollsters typrate of expected Democratic districts ically underestimate the popularwas lower than expected. In contrast, ity of the incumbent president. ☐

Review of Canvas and Veracross: It’s a Success

systems, The Panel decided to analyze

By Luke Hogan ’22 and Daniel Bittner the changes and positive advance’22 ments made to our online platforms.

Panel Staff Veracross is 100% web based, fostering school communications that make life As students returned to a social- easier for faculty, students and parents. ly distant school, Belmont Hill parted Now, parents have access to a range of ways with Google Classroom, and Ve- digital tools including their student’s racross and Canvas, the new school daily schedule, attendance, news reinformation system (SIS) and learn- lated to the student’s respective grade ing management system (LMS) made levels and much more. This year also their debut. While students and fac- marks the first time Belmont Hill is usulty become accustomed to these new ing an online invoice system to collect payments, saving time, money, and paper for the business office. One point of improvement for Veracross would be to activate more digital tools in the portal for parents, but especially students.

The student portal really only contains a student’s current class schedule and upcoming calendar events across the school. If possible, the school should try to utilize Veracross as a student Kevin Jiang ’22 information centre. They could use it

to keep all important information and forms to enable students more control of their Belmont Hill experience.

Another new digital website introduced at the beginning of this year is Canvas, a site similar to Google Classroom which allows students the chance to keep all classwork digital, a much needed solution in the age of COVID. Canvas centralizes students’ coursework in one site, with tools such as a personalized calendar, system of organization for all assignments, and a convenient area to post announcements.

Canvas serves as an overall upgrade.

However, just like any other new learning system, students are still adjusting to some of the unfamiliar and perhaps unideal aspects of Canvas. For example, difficulties have arisen regarding the ability to submit Google Documents to Canvas. While students over the past few years have become accustomed to this method of submitting essays,

ally perceived as “healthier” snacks is significant. 50.4% of respondents said they enjoyed Smoothies or Shakes, and 36.9% voted for Fruits and Vegetables, either raw or cooked. While the data do not appear to be exceptionally mind boggling, certain s n a ck s scored sig-

On the specific snack front, Smartfood popcorn, Doritos, Oreos, Cheez-Its, pretzels, watermelon, bananas, and almonds all appeared multiple times. And it seems as though a majority of the community agrees that snacking during the pandemic definitely increased, with over 65% answering yes. Back on campus, the favorite snack is quite clear, cookies and milk. Some students questioned the availability of milk during the infamous fifteen minute morning break.

While it certainly completes the experience, I don’t think anyone wants to drink milk left out all morning during first class. As we head into the school year having spent months at home, it was certainly interesting to see what everyone has been snacking on. Maybe some of the fan favorites will migrate into our boxed lunches soon! ☐

Snacking During Stay-at-Home Days

By Abe Tolkoff ’21 Panel Staff

Spending more time at home than ever before has meant one thing and that’s more snacks. Whether it’s a quick bite in that awkward ten minutes between virtual classes, stuffing down breakfast at 8:29am, or trying to find lunch in the fridge that never seems to have anything good in it, eating during the pandemic has been a wild ride.

Based on polling, it is clear that Belmont Hill students and faculty have a sweet tooth when it comes to snacking, and I have to admit I do too. While the clear winner was “chips,” with votes from 61% of respondents, cookies and ice cream were close behind, receiving 51.1% and 46.8% respectively. That said, the contingent of community members indulging in what are gener-

Riley Shafer ’21 nificantly lower than I expected. For one, energy/protein bars, a favorite on the go snack of mine pre-pandemic, only enticed 40.4% of respondents and popcorn and crackers scored near 30% each.

worksheets, and other assignments, Canvas’s technological makeup limits its ability to easily process Google Documents. As a result, submitting documents through Microsoft Word has become the preferred method of turning in assignments. However, Canvas does present some dramatic improvements in other aspects of assignment submission. For example, with the easily accessible Canvas digital app, submitting videos has become much easier than before. Useful for courses throughout the school, features such as these save much time and effort for both faculty and students. Although unfamiliar in certain aspects for some students, the relative quantity of inconveniences associated with Canvas is minor in comparison to the vast benefits the website provides. Thus, with just a few more weeks of practice and exploration, students should have no problem navigating Canvas for the future. ☐

Pa g e 1 0

B elmont Hill Arts

T he Panel

S e ptemb er 24, 2020

Be lmont H Ill Arts and Sp orts

Tenet: A Visual Spectacle Music

By Luke Wagner ’22 Panel Staff Tenet was filled with stunning and extremely detailed visuals; however, its time-travel narrative was bewildering.

From the opening scene, every frame was intense and packed with information.

Director Christopher Nolan is known for his nonlinear plots, but Tenet was especially hard to follow. The videography could not compensate for the overly-complex plotline, in which the story seems to be told backwards. Events in the movie’s timeline

directly affect the past and the subsequent future in various ways and it becomes overwhelming. It seems to be a closed-loop where the characters move simultaneously forward and backward, which can lead to confusion.

Though Tenet was a difficult movie to comprehend, its technical craftsmanship is still noteworthy. It is a magnificent film simply to experience, with powerful sound design and grandiloquent cinematography. Tenet requires extensive plot analysis to be completely comprehended, so if you are looking for an easy watch, Tenet is probably not the best choice. ☐

Pa g e 1 1

Returns

Virtually

Hollywood Reporter

Due to the global pandemic, the music industry throughout the world has unfortunately experienced immense hardship, as live performances and group rehearsals have proved to be impractical and unsafe.

While not experiencing the same degree of distress as the professional industry, music ensembles within Belmont Hill similarly will not be able to practice and perform in the same manner as in the past.

Last spring, the music department came up with creative solutions to this problem, including having live virtual performances on Zoom as well as prerecorded and prearranged compositions for larger groups. This solution proved to be viable in the short term; however, without the first section of the year to calibrate to each other, new, innovative methods had to be created. Thanks to Mr. Fiori & Mr. Patterson, Belmont Hill’s ensembles have been able to maximize this year’s opportunity.

One alternative solution ensembles

are implementing includes an increased emphasis on listening and analyzing music.

Exploring the ways in which both professionals and ensemble members perform a given piece, these groups try to appreciate or even imitate each other’s techniques.

Listening as opposed to playing music also provides a different, beneficial dimension to playing music. An increased focus on this type of learning should prove advantageous when ensembles can eventually play together again. Ultimately, once all members have recorded and refined their respective parts, collective performances can be constructed similar to last year. As for individual performers, virtual music lessons are available, allowing these students to continue to improve their skills in preparation for future performances. Moreover, indiKevin Jiang ’22 vidual pieces could still be performed in a live virtual performance. Though many of these plans are still undecided, these potential options will provide Belmont Hill musicians with the optimal opportunity to display their talents and efforts. ☐

a basketball season, David says, “I don’t even know if we are having one. It’s still up in the air.” Also, the uncertainty of this winter’s season is coupled with the logistical chaos of on-campus living, as is the case for many schools who have decided to have students on campus. David just moved onto campus this weekend, and will have to stay in a separate dorm for 2 weeks until he can move into his permanent dorm.

As for NESCAC schools, fall sports have also been called off and winter and spring sports are yet to be determined.

Amherst college football player Mike Piazza ’19 has begun practicing again with the team, but contact between players is very limited. As is the case for many NESCAC schools, not all students are on campus; in fact, many schools have around half or

more attending classes remotely. However, despite the strange new environment, Mike is excited to be back, saying, “I’m definitely glad to be back since I’ve been home for so long and it’s definitely fun to have some of my teammates and friends on campus.”

Williams lacrosse player Jake Haase ’18 was hoping to continue his career, which started by winning NESCAC Rookie of The Year and USILA All-American Honorable Mention. Although the chances of a spring season are greater than in the fall and winter, athletes are hesitant to assume that a season will occur. As for classes, Jake will be attending remotely from Virginia.

Division I schools have attempted to take part in a fall season this year, and fortunately for Duke football player Jake Bobo ’18, the ACC has committed to making this

season occur. Practices and games are still taking place in the ACC, but games are conference-only. Also, Jake and the rest of the Duke football team are required to attend classes remotely while most students are in-person. Currently, games are scheduled for every week, but the long-term future of the season is very much flexible.

Lastly, Evan Sleight ’19 is hoping for Rutgers’ spring season to take place. This fall, only athletes are allowed to be on campus, and no classes are meeting in person.

Hopefully, the recent plans for the Big Ten conference to move forward in their plans to play are suggestive of a successful winter and spring season for Rutgers; nonetheless, there are no promises in today’s environment. The Panel wishes these athletes and all Belmont Hill athletes the best in this coming year! ☐

John David Washington stars as ‘the Protagonist.’

By Daniel Bittner ’22 Panel Staff

Catching Up with Belmont Hill Athletes in College

By Mac Bobo ’23 panel staff This fall has been full of confusion and uncertainty when it comes to sports and school, and Belmont Hill student-athletes currently playing in college are no exception. Although every school in the country has scaled back their respective programs this fall and potentially this year, some schools and athletic conferences have done so to varying degrees.

This season, Brown University basketball player David Mitchell ’18 was hoping to continue his promising career this winter. However, after the Ivy League canceled their fall sports, the prospect of having games this winter has come into question. Concerning the chances of having

Copy Editor Alex Lo ’23

Online Editor

Howard Huang ’22 Digital Media Editor Luke Hogan ’22

Arts Editor Tyler Forg ’21

Sports Editor Daniel Bittner ’22

Graphics Editor Kevin Jiang ’22

Top Left: Jake Bobo ’18 (Photo: Duke Football)

Top Right: Jake Haase ’18

(Photo Courtesy of Top Gun Lax)

Bottom Left: David Mitchell ’18 (Photo: Brown University)

Bottom Right: Evan Sleight ’19 (Photo: Rutgers University)

Editors-In-Chief

Sreetej Digumarthi ’21 Abe Tolkoff ’21

Executive Editor Charlie Wells ’21

Assistant Editors Luke Wagner ’22 Lawrence Tang ’22 Daniel Xie ’24 Drew Dummer ’22 Alex Sousa ’22 RC Keomurjian ’22 Mac Bobo ’23 David Cho ’23 Cooper Nelson ’23 Jason Wong ’23

Faculty Advisors David Hegarty Juliette Zener

News Editor

Henry Moses ’21

Opinion Editor Sammy Jomaa ’21

Photo Editor Jalen Walker ’21

Back Page Editors Paul Vander Vort ’21 Justin Pare ’21 Adam Alto ’21

The Panel, founded in 1953, is the official school newspaper of the Belmont Hill and Winsor schools.

The Panel is the voice of the student body. We publish articles that are of consequence to the students, as well as the school communities. The views expressed in The Panel belong solely to the authors and editors and do not necessarily represent the student body, faculty or administration of either school.

Any comment about the content should be addressed directly to the editors. The Panel encourages responsible opinion in the form of Letters to the Editor. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Copyright © 2020 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.

THE BACK PAGE

Pag e : Th e B a ck

T he Pan e l

Paul Vander Vort ’21, J ’21, Adam Alto ’21

Introducing Mr. Peck

Brand new, never-before-seen, fresh out the box teacher Mr. Peck joins the Belmont Hill community as the Assistant to the Middle School Director.

Being completely new, and having never stepped foot on Belmont Hill’s campus EVER, he will be a very unfamiliar face at first, and we hope that everyone will give him a warm “Belmont Hill Milk and Cookies” welcome. Mr. Peck also brings to our community another brand-spankin’ new 6th former: Quinn “Quinto Peg” Peck.

How Is Your Tuition Being Spent?

What They Say (Sad)

Reality (wow)

Doc Fast’s Top 5 “Bad Boys” 0: Mr. Curran 1: Justin pare: Taking off his mask to drink a protein shake and eat milkless cereal (repeat offender) 2: Aidan McCormack: Dress code violation - only 3/10 buttons fastened 3: Jerry Austen: Double offender - Growing taller and panini pressing two plain pieces of bread together 4: Theodore “Bill Clinton” Stoll - Being a slimy character 5: Lawrence Tang - Sass

Justin “Bustin McUglies” Pare

Theodore and Bill (Clinton)

Red Literally Vented Red vented, and I literally watched him do it... I already voted. I ALREADY VOTED! I watched him vent. You guys are HARD throwing if you don’t vote. YOU’RE TROLLING. Already voted. I already voted. 9 imposter game that’s crazy. WORST LOBBY I’VE EVER PLAYED WITH.

We REALLY want these shirts, but we need to order 48 to buy them. We are looking for anyone who wants one (it is $22). This is completely serious. Email one of the backpage editors and we’ll make a spreadsheet with your name and size.

Buy this fully customizable space for 100$ or highest bidder next issue Email us at backpage@panel.org. ETHERIUM OR TESLA STOCK ONLY