Seniors almost slid past the March Editorial Board...
Brotherhood means building an inclusive community.
What does it take to transform Duffy into a giant jukebox?
...but they stood back up to present a discussion and column about the senior slide at Malvern.
Senior Mike McCarthy considers whether Malvern has a misogyny problem.
Faculty of the Issue Mr. Rob Muntz talks sculpture, set design, and why he chose art over accounting.
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BLACKFRIAR Chronicle
The
www.mpfriarslantern.COM
MARCH 2015
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 6
ESPN’s Pablo Torre hosts Sports Reporter Challenge
Learning Commons gets new Chromebooks
ILLUSTRATION / M. PICHOLA ‘16
AUDIENCE WATCHES PABLO TORRE MODERATE STUDENT SPORTS REPORTER DISCUSSION / J. MARCHESANI
Sports journalist Pablo Torre visited Malvern this March to show students how to report major sporting news and share wisdom on America’s many pastimes. Jack Marchesani ‘15 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF s a continuation of Malvern’s Distinguished Speaker Series, Pablo Torre, a nationally-recognized sports reporter most notably known for his work at ESPN Magazine and Around the Horn, spoke at the Duffy Center on Monday, March 23. Torre led a debate with three students who completed Malvern’s Sports Reporter Challenge, on whether college athletes should be paid. Following this, he gave a presentation on the influence of sports on American culture, stigmas about sports and mental health, and the tie between masculinity and the sporting world. A past student of Head of School Mr. Christian Talbot, Torre
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has become a household name in the world of sports reporting in the last decade. In a session with the Blackfriar Chronicle staff, Mr. Torre explained he was not involved in newspaper or journalism at Regis. Instead, he was a committed member of the debate team, which, he explained, would help him in television reporting. He would later attend Harvard University, where he majored in Sociology, wrote for the Harvard Crimson, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He then went to work for big name publications and programs such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, Olbermann, Around the Horn, and others. Mr. Torre has specialized in reporting on the seemingly overlooked areas of the sporting world. In the weeks leading up to Torre’s presentation, students were > PAGE 5
Matthew Lanetti ‘15 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF wenty newer model HP Chromebooks were added to the Learning Commons arsenal of student technology on Tuesday, March 10. According to Mrs. Diane Dougherty, Education Services Administrator, Malvern Prep purchased these laptops through a Pennsylvania Department of Education program, not directly through Malvern’s Technology Department. The 20 new computers have replaced the 20 older Chromebooks, which were in poor condition, according to Dougherty. “They don’t make the old models anymore. [The new models] are basically the same thing,” said Dougherty. Mr. John Street, Assistant Director of Technology, said that the old Chromebooks are being repurposed around campus. These devices were purchased through the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Acts 195/90/35. This program “provides for the loan of textbooks, instructional materials and equipment to Pennsylvania students enrolled in private/public schools,” according to the PA Department of Education’s website. According to Dougherty, Malvern did not use all of this year’s Department of Education funds allotted to Malvern on textbooks. “If you don’t use the money, you lose the money,” she said.
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Class of 2019 projected to be most diverse in Malvern history Admissions notes huge change in percentage, while little change in recruitment. Justice Bennett ‘16 CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER n the fall of 2013, the Board of Trustees unveiled a new plan to increase diversity, including a rarity - a quantitative goal. The school wishes to increase the diversity from 6.6% at the time it was rolled out to a schoolwide 20% by 2019. In June, as part of the plan, Malvern added its first-ever Assistant Director of Admissions and Diversity, Mr. Patrick Williams ‘03. “This 2019 class did not see much of a change [in recruitment]. I came in June, and [Director of Admissions] Mr. Kenney was only in his first year, so he was trying to make sure he was
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cultivating relationships with the feeder schools we already had in place,” said Williams. However, even without significant changes to Malvern’s recruitment process, the Diversity Oversight Committee estimates the Class of 2019 will have 13-16% racial diversity. This is largely due to the high number of diverse students in the eighth grade class expected to matriculate into the freshman class. Williams said it is the most diverse class in terms of percentage that Malvern has ever seen. This past year, Kenney said Malvern began to reach out to programs such as A Better Chance. According to their website, “A Better Chance is the oldest and only national organization
of its kind changing the life trajectory for academically talented youth of color via access to rigorous and prestigious educational opportunities for students in grades 6-12.” According to Williams, the next step is going to be building relationships with more racially diverse areas within a 10 mile radius, such as the Norristown/Methacton area. This is because busing is available for students within these areas. Williams indicated that it has been difficult to get students from more urban areas such as Philadelphia due to transportation challenges. “Imagine it like a net. There are all these students in Philadelphia and there is a huge net of independent schools along > PAGE 5