VOL. LXXXIV, N O .5
D EERFIELD A CADEMY , D EERFIELD , MA 01342
October 21, 2009
“Knowledge, Pedagogy and Student Support” A Framework for Teaching By SHAYE HORN Staff Writer Many students have taken surveys about their past and present teachers and faculty residents over the past year without fully understanding to what they were contributing. The Board of Trustees instituted the Framework for Teaching program last year, which “articulates best practice for teachers in 3 different areas: knowledge of subject matter, pedagogy, and student support,” said Head of School Margarita Curtis. The plan includes a second-year review for new teachers that takes place over a 2-3 week period predetermined during the spring of their first year. A panel consisting of the teachers’ respective department heads, Dean of the Faculty John Taylor, Academic Dean Peter Warsaw, Dr. Curtis, and a teacher from another department of the reviewed teacher’s choice sit in on three classes during this time period.
This review includes detailed student surveys to be completed by all their former and current students, as well as those they have lived with or been associated with in the dorms. The teacher is also asked to write a self-reflection. “It’s affirmation of what you are already doing well, but also clear and focused feedback on where you can improve,” second-year English teacher Margaret Blake said, in reference to her upcoming winter evaluation, “I look forward to this review.” After these reviews and the accompanying professional development discussions, ten-year senior faculty members are re-evaluated. It provides accountability among all members of the community. At the upcoming Trustees meeting at the end of October, Ms. Curtis will pitch a parallel assessment procedure for administrators and the head of school. “It’s a focus on feedback, growth, and self renewal” said Ms. Curtis. “We hold our students responsible
Steph Olivas
A Halloween fog looms over the baseball field as two shadowy seniors haunt the campus. for their work, so then we as teachers also hold ourselves responsible in our work,” said Ms. Blake about Deerfield’s clear dedication to the mission of self-accountability in every discipline. “It’s nice to hear the administration is putting themselves in our shoes.”
Round Square Representatives Venture to Ajmer, India BY GRACE MURPHY Editorial Associate “We are all looking forward to it, in spite of the fact that last Monday the temperature was 102 degrees!” said Martha Lyman about the 2009 Round Square conference in India. Every year, Deerfield selects six students to attend this international Round Square Conference. This year’s students include Kayla Corcoran ’10, Jacque Hulburd ’10, Lydie Blundon ’11, Miles Griffis ’11, and Emmett Knowlton ’11. Ben Callinder ’11 was selected but was unable to attend due to health issues. The accompanying faculty members were Martha Lyman, Associate Head of School and Director of College Advising, and Francoise Ellis, Language Department Chair.
“It is the first trip to India for all of us,” Mrs. Ellis said, “But everyone is very excited and expecting big things.” All were nervous-excited on Thursday, October 10, when the five students and two faculty members departed for their eight-day adventure to India. The trip was for Round Square, a global association of 82 schools which promotes community service, adventure, and personal development in students across the world. The 2009 conference was hosted 82 miles from Jaipur, India at the beautiful Mayo College, or “The Eton of the East,” in Ajmer, India. Each day at the conference began with optional yoga and then launched into a series of speakers, conferences, and smaller workshops focused on peace and knowledge.
By the Numbers: H1N1 “Swine Flu” Andover: 100 probable cases of H1N1
Choate: 90 students fit the Center for Disease Control’s defintion for “flu” over a period of about two weeks.
Exeter: 85 cases over the course of three weeks
Hotchkiss: 100 cases of H1N1
St. Paul’s School: 90 probable cases of H1N1
Deerfield: 11 cases of Influenza-like illness (ILI) as of 10/15 2 cases of H1N1 as of 9/25
A life without Facebook?! page 4
Highlights included an adventure day to experience Indian towns and cities through hiking, sightseeing, eating, and shopping. There was also a public service day to promote rural development in small villages and afforestation (building forests) in the Pushkar Valley. Griffis said, “I absolutely love traveling and plunging into adventures.” In fact, he was so desperate to go that, to convince his parents, he worked the entire summer at a camp to help pay for the trip. Corcoran said, “The chance to experience something different, not just see it or hear it, but really feel it, will be incredibly surreal.” Hulburd admitted before she left for the trip that she was worried about getting the swine flu and catching up on homework upon return.
New Environmental Projects: Lighting and Ice-making BY LIBBY WHITTON Staff Writer One hundred seventy-three energy-saving light bulbs now illuminate the gym and with other new environmental projects, this will bring an estimated savings of 229,232.62 pounds of carbon dioxide this year. The school is setting goals to improve our environmental profile. Beginning with the ice rink, Deerfield is taking steps toward becoming a more energy efficient institution. A comprehensive environmental plan, however, cannot happen overnight. Many years’ worth of conversations has sparked the creation and implementation of numerous projects among students and faculty, coordinated and led by the Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator Kristan Bakker. One such project is the replacement of high-intensity driving lights in the hockey rink and East and West Gyms with T-5 low mercury, highefficiency lights. “The gyms are also used for testing, and with the new, bright, and effi-
cient lights they are now an improved space,” Mrs. Bakker stated. These new lights are estimated to save around 111,360 pounds of carbon dioxide a year compared to the old ones, a 51% reduction. Another new feature is the icemaking system in the hockey rink. This is a high-efficiency refrigeration system in which ice is produced using less energy, and extra energy is used in other parts of the facility. The ice temperature will be monitored and will change when it becomes too hot or too cold. Hockey player and environmental proctor Lili Gahagan ’12 believes that “the upgraded ice-making system and the new lights in the rink are not changes everyone will notice, but they are evidence that the school can become more environmentally responsible in many unexpected ways.” Mrs. Bakker is confident about the progress of all of the Academy’s environmental projects. “We are moving towards being more efficient by reducing our carbon and pollution footprint while reducing our energy expenditures during these tight economic times.”
Office of Multicultural Affairs To Survey Diversity Awareness on Campus BY THEO LIPSKY Staff Writer This December, Deerfield will send students and teachers to the People of Color (POC) Conference in Denver, which in turn has prompted an upcoming diversity survey on campus. In these two ways, Deerfield is demonstrating a growing effort at diversity awareness on campus. To prepare for the conference, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, directors Ann-Marie White, Ayodeji Perrin, and Debra Dohrmann will issue a diversity survey labeled ‘Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism’, or the AIM Survey. The purpose is to “take the pulse of the climate on campus,” Mr. Perrin explained. AIM is a two-part evaluation: an online portion and a committee-based assessment of campus life. These
The Physick Book of Deliverance: a Halloween tale page 5
committees, comprised of trained faculty members, will dissect daily life at Deerfield by “investigating standard areas of school life,” said Ms. Dohrmann. They will categorize diversity by religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and socio-economic background. The Office of Multicultural Affairs monitors the cultural climate of the school. Their current task is “to set up a blueprint for what the office would look like with a dean at its head,” said Mr. Perrin; which would make the office a more “permanent part” of school life. The goal of the POC Conference they will attend in December is to “celebrate and nurture equity and justice in independent schools,” according to a conference brochure. In simpler terms, the conference will let people “proclaim their own identities,” according to Mr. Perrin. With this in
mind, the Deerfield group will discuss the Identity Project, a school-wide initiative inspired by Kip Fulbeck, last year’s Martin Luther King Day speaker. This project allows students to write statements about their identity on index cards that may eventually be compiled into a published book. The conference’s host, the National Association of Independent Schools, described the conference as the “flagship of our equality and justice initiatives.” But as Mr. Perrin pointed out, once these varying motions are completed, the Office of Multicultural Affairs cannot assume their work is done. In the meantime, student leaders and faculty members will attend diversity workshops to learn about multicultural life at boarding schools. “Diversity work is an endless process because it is a process of introspection” said Mr. Perrin.
Parents’ Weekend game summary page 6
OPINION / EDITORIAL
2 The Deerfield Scroll
October 21, 2009
Parietals—Keep Up the Discussion VOL. LXXXIV, NO. 5
October 21 , 2009
Editor-in-Chief
LUCY COBBS
Opinion/Editorial JOHANNA FLATO
Layout Editor ELLEN SHIN Assistant Layout Editor SARAH KIM Photo Editor STEPHANIE OLIVAS
Arts & Entertainment TAO TAO HOLMES
Photo Associate ELEANOR PARKER
Features AMANDA MINOFF
Online Associate JAKE BARNWELL Business Manager WILL SCOTT
Front Page CAMILLE COPPOLA
Sports CYRUS WITTIG
Editorial Associates EMMETT KNOWLTON YU-JIN NAM GRACE MURPHY ELISABETH STRAYER
Online Editor CAMILLE VILLA Advisors
SUZANNE HANNAY & JOHN PALMER STAFF REPORTERS: Nastassia Adkins, Mary Banalagay, Audrey Cho, Jacqueline Colt, Daryl Cooley, Kayla Corcoran, Danielle Dalton, Ashik Desai, Malou Flato, Albert Ford, Anna Gonzales, Miles Griffis, Sonja Holmberg, Shaye Horn, Ritchey Howe, Jade Kasoff, Charles Kim, Francis Lauw, Eunice Lee, Theo Lipsky, Daniel Litke, Matt McKelvey, Hadley Newton, Sarah Oh, Eliot Taft, Julia Trehu, Libby Whitton, Christopher Wong, Michael Yang STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS: Arleen Chien, Jennifer Coulombe, Susanna Kvam
President of School Paul Pasiucco and Senior Class Representative West Hubbard represent Student Council Parietals. We hope we now have your attention. At the beginning of the school year, the members of Student Council met to discuss the most pressing student issues. The topic of parietals arose, and as we continued to explore the topic, it became clear that changes had to be made. At Deerfield, we are constantly reminded by the administration of the honor and trust shared within community. With parietals, it appears those words hold no meaning. An 18 yearold senior is confined to the same rules as a new 13-year-old freshman?
With this pressing at the minds of those on Student Council, we set about to find a viable solution. After much discussion, the Council passed a new proposal on the rules governing parietals. In short, the proposal created a more reasonable system that accounted for class differences. Using the current rules as a base for the sophomore class, as we felt was appropriate, we proposed to set the rules according to a class scale. As a student progresses through his or her Deerfield career, he or she would be awarded more trust. In the opinion of the Council, the proposal also addresses some of the gender issues on campus by encouraging healthy relationships. When the proposal was brought to the Dorm Council, the sitting facul-
Why I’ve Been Wearing A Uniform I don’t get it.
The Deerfield Scroll, established in 1925, is the official student newspaper of Deerfield Academy. The Scroll encourages informed discussion of pertinent issues that concern the Academy and the world. Signed letters to the editor that express legitimate opinions are welcomed. We hold the right to edit for brevity. The Scroll, published nine times yearly, is entered as third class bulk rate at the U.S. Post Office at Deerfield, Mass. 01342. Advertising rates provided upon request. Opinion articles with contributors’ names attached solely represent the views of the respective writers. Opinion articles without names represent consensus views of the editorial staff unless otherwise specified.
She’s trying to get the bookstore to sell them.
Helping Out Our Hard-Pressed Staff This summer, due to losses in the endowment and as part of its financial restructuring plan, Deerfield had to lay off twenty-six members of the staff. While trying to address all fiscal issues within one year, these staff cuts caused a sudden, shocking change that is, of course, a blow to all members of the Deerfield community. Those working in the Dining Hall, in the dorms, and elsewhere around campus, are feeling the significant loss of several co-workers. During this time of healing, it is crucial that the Deerfield community supports them.
We encourage open communication between the administration and staff—a start in this direction will be demonstrated in a document to be published on DAnet with the thoughts of those working in all areas of the Deerfield Staff. Students and faculty should help make this transition easier, as those who used to clean the Greer or sweep the Dining Hall floor are among the individuals no longer employed. Let’s keep things clean—picking up after ourselves in the hallways, the classrooms, and in the Greer, giving them a hand and helping rebuild the community in which we live.
Cell Phones—Yes, or No. Students have commented often on unexpected rule changes during these first few weeks of school. One rule that has not changed, however, is the clearly-articulated limitation of cell phone use on campus—and yet this fall has seen more visible violation of the policy than ever before. As cell phones play an increasingly central role in lives all around the world, banning them here seems more and more unrealistic. However, we should evaluate their role in Deerfield life by examining our own values. The elimination of room phones has certainly made cell phones a more necessary form of communication
among students, but texting in class, answering calls outside of the dining hall, reading e-mails on the way to sports practice—do these activities fall into the category of “necessary” or simply “isolating?” As we revise new rules this fall, we should revisit the principles behind our old ones. Cell phones, while useful, isolate and distract their users from the world around them. Do such features make them simply incompatible with the community-based character of Deerfield? It’s time for students and faculty alike to pick a side and decide whether to let this rule stand or slide.
Why Aren’t We Truly Bleeding Green? When it comes to environmental awareness, it is students who are taking the initiative. The role of environmental proctor is shaping up to be a competitive leadership position, and student-led organizations such as the Environmental Club and the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee are doing what they can to promote small lifestyle changes within our community. However, where is a grand, school-wide initiative that we can all unite behind? Where does the interest of alumni, the Board of Trustees, and the administration lie? From Admissions’ careless printing of huge single-sided packets, to the waste of energy in academy buildings that could be lessened by simply turning
down the temperature by two degrees, the Powers-That-Be of Deerfield Academy aren’t setting a very good example. Deerfield Academy often finds itself torn between its devotion to tradition and the need for change. We try to cast a favorable light upon the fact that often we are among the last of our peer boarding schools to embrace a new trend (coeducation, etc.), claiming that a conservative approach gives us time to make a safe decision that analyzes the risks of others. We may call this method “safe,” but it also means that we are being timid and, sometimes, indifferent. If this Academy wants to produce leaders of our generation, where are the lessons in initiative and risk?
The Deerfield Scroll would like to make corrections to the article “2009 Heritage Award: Ralph Earle ’49” on page 1 of the September 30, 2009 issue. Ralph Earle is an alum of the class of ’46 not ’49. Mr. Earle was not the governor of Pennsylvania; his father was. We regret the editorial error.
ty objected, not on a practical basis, but rather one of emotion. Their counter-proposal seemed to be a Trojan horse for increased rules and stripped our proposal of the important staggering of rules that are central to the Council’s plan. We ask why the faculty continue to feel that Deerfield students are unable to make good decisions in their personal lives, yet are expected to do so elsewhere? Student Council plans to continue to press the issue with the administration, and we ask that students bring the topic up with each other and the faculty. We strongly believe this is a topic that needs to be addressed and feel there needs to be an honest and open discussion about it on campus.
cute! I like planning my outfits.
She wants us all to wear one!
So not Deerfield.
By KATIE WALKER Contributing Writer You may have noticed that for the past two weeks I’ve been wearing a uniform to class everyday. The ensemble includes flip-flops or sneaks, a green or plaid pleated skirt, a white polo shirt usually with a Deerfield Door logo that I bought in Hitchcock House, and some form of a second layer. The outfit is simple and practical. I occasionally time myself in the morning to see how quickly I can get dressed, and the uniform has improved my best time to a record of six minutes from when my alarm goes off to when I’m walking out the door. It definitely helps that I can keep my pajama boxers on underneath the skirt without looking sloppy. I am not proposing that everyone wears a mandatory uniform. I simply think that girls’ class dress is vague and hard to follow. So until we come up with a better solution, I’m merely providing an alternative that adheres to the rules while taking the emphasis off fancy clothes during the academic day. It allows girls to be taken seriously without having to wonder whether their dresses are too short or their shirts too low. We all have busy lives at Deerfield and we all have more important things to worry about. I haven’t decided yet how the uniform will make the transition into winter, but so long as it’s warm enough, I invite you all to stop by Bewkes House and try on a uniform. You can keep it; I have lots of extras!
Check out the Deerfield Scroll online for reactions to school rules in the Student Handbook! www.scroll.deerfield.edu
Immunity Causes Political Disease By AMANDA BENNETT Contributing Writer “You’ll see what I’m made of!” The headline is on the second page of El Pais and the main article of the world news section of El Heraldo, a juicy line from Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister. The cause of his outrage: the Italian government has eliminated the law giving politicians immunity in case of misdemeanors and minor crimes. Berlusconi will now have to appear in court and face the corruption charges that have been gathering around him for a few years. When I first read the article in Spanish, of course, I thought its meaning must have eluded me. I asked my host mother for clarification: what exactly had happened that made Berlusconi mad? “The Italian parliament rescinded his political immunity,” she said matter-of-factly. “Berlusconi’s lawyer is going to argue that the change was unconstitutional.” “Politicians in Italy can do anything they like without being tried in a court?” I asked incredulously, adding, “well, they could?” “Yes, and I’m pretty sure it exists in Spain too, unfortunately,” she said,
“but I’m not sure. Ask your political science teacher tomorrow.” Intrigued, I did. And he explained that Spain does indeed have a law protecting politicians from lawsuits during their terms in office. The law has a reasonable root: in the past, if a king or dictator didn’t like a particular representative, the higher power could simply charge him with a misdemeanor and cart him off to jail. The protection originally guaranteed that politicians could contradict or criticize important and powerful figures and still serve their entire term without fear of reprisals. The current law stipulates that politicians cannot be charged while holding office, and in the case of a charge after office, the only court that can hold the hearing is the Tribunal Supremo, the equivalent of the Supreme Court. Recently, a handful of governors and a mayor in Valencia have been accused of corruption. A few of them left their party, the Partido Popular (PP), of their own accord, and others were expelled by the party president. However, all still hold their posts; they’ve just switched to a minor party to make clear that they are the guilty ones, not the PP. Valencia’s assembly is tinged by corruption, and Berlusconi is outraged
in Italy (but the Italian people are even madder). And I’m still confused about how such an outdated law persists in a country as modern as Spain. True, Franco’s dictatorship ended just 34 years ago, and Spain’s constitution is only that old. The law would function should the politicians comport themselves lawfully. However, the news of the last week has proven that, unfortunately, some representatives do not deserve such trust. The law allows corruption to occur without penalty, condoning crime. Representatives have special privileges, raising them above the laws that govern the people who elected them. This originally democratic law has now become abused. In the United States, politicians resign in the wake of affairs and adultery, personal life problems that, to me, have nothing to do with representing the people. Here, even corruption cannot force a governor out of office. Something as grand as Berlusconi’s massive corruption (not to mention his abysmal personal behavior, widely publicized here in Spain) is what it took for Italy to realize the harm of giving representatives special privileges; what will it take in Spain?
OPINION / EDITORIAL
The Deerfield Scroll
Swine Flu
A Socratic Exchange By CHASE WEIDNER and BRENDAN GALLAGHER Contributing Writers Chase: Can you believe the school wants us to get these swine flu vaccines? Brendan: Of course, I’d rather not have to drive back to New Jersey for a week if I get swine flu. Chase: Well, obviously, but the biggest problem I have is the way the school’s handling the situation. Don’t you think they’re being rather Athenian in their attitude towards the entire idea? Brendan: What do you mean rather Athenian? What are you even talking about? Chase: They’re acting as if we only have two options: get the vaccine or get the swine flu. The Athenians acted as if the Melians could only surrender or be decimated, yet there were many more options to be had. Don’t you see the parallel? Brendan: Well, I guess I see what you mean. Dr. Hagamen did sound a little bit like Creon in his speech at dinner. But, still, I think that he’s right, and we all would be better off if the community as a whole got the vaccine. What’s with all these Greek connections anyway? Chase: A little like Creon? He might as well have worn Creon’s tunic! I think Sophocles wrote that his exact words were, “I’ll have no dealings with rule breakers, critics of DA’s administration: Whoever is chosen to run the health center should be obeyed, must be obeyed, in all things, great and small, Just and unjust!” Doesn’t that sound just a touch like Creon to you? Brendan: It does, almost word for word. I don’t really pay attention at dinner though. I didn’t realize anyone did, particularly closely enough to quote the announcements. To be honest, in keeping with the Antigone parallels, are you sure you weren’t just looking for a way to defy the administration and challenge their authority? Chase: No, I don’t mean to challenge their authority. I love Deerfield, and I wouldn’t want to endanger my fellow students, but I think that the way the school is presenting the situation is over the top and just wrong. For example, they’re acting as if it’s inevitable that we’re all going to be infected; the only person who’s had it so far didn’t infect anyone else, and said that it was milder than having the regular, seasonal flu. It seems to me that it’s a far cry from the life-anddeath epidemic that the school has portrayed it to be. Brendan: I think that the reason that he didn’t infect anyone else was that the school did such a fantastic job of reacting swiftly and proactively to the threat. Furthermore, I would say that the student who was infected was most likely the exception rather than the rule. Chase: Well, thus far, he’s the only case on campus, so he’s the only case we can use to judge. The school is making such a big deal about the swine flu only because the media are doing so. Often, even after getting the vaccine, people still end up getting a strand of the flu anyway. Furthermore, if you look at the statistics, out of 51,000 cases in the US, only 724 people have died. And, for all we know, many of those people could have been elderly or quite young or in generally poor health to begin with. It’s conceivable that some of
them may even have gotten the vaccine. So, for the school to say we all need to get the vaccine or get the flu and risk death is ludicrous. I’m more concerned about the seasonal flu. 36,000 people die from the seasonal flu annually! To me, that is a bit more threatening, don’t you think? Brendan: Look, all I know is one death at DA is one death too many, and I’m willing to prevent that by any means necessary. Chase: But why? Why do you fear death so much? Haven’t you read “The Apology,” by Plato? As Socrates said, “For to fear death, Gentlemen, is nothing but to think one is wise when one is not; for it is to think one knows what one does not. No man knows death, nor whether it is not the greatest of all goods; and yet men fear it as though they well knew it to be the worst of all evils.” Brendan: I do fear death, a truly miserable death, like one from swine flu. You and your proud idealism, you look at the world with too much of a detached view. Do you not think about how your friends and family would feel if you were to die next week? Have you given no thought to your future? To your goals? To what you mean to your family and to those around you? Chase: I have in fact. I actually feel optimism at the prospect of death, for I believe death is much more than just the end of existence. What if, as Socrates said, “if on the contrary death is like taking a journey, passing from here to another place, and the stories told are true, and all who have died are there—what greater good might there be?” Brendan: I suppose you’re right, but remember we’re only talking about a case of swine flu here. Is there really a need for all this high-minded, philosophical talk? At the end of the day, don’t you think it might be narrowminded of you to think that there is no such thing as life after Deerfield? I think there are many pleasures to be had along the way, because to me, the journey is nearly as good as the destination. If you really want to get your Greek philosopher on, I think I’d have to take the side of Aristotle. While I understand his position on the point of happiness—that is, that it can only be achieved at the end of a long life of constant examination and education—I think you’re still young, and you haven’t even been truly educated yet. Wouldn’t you like to die a happy old man, rather than swine flu’s 725th “martyr?” Chase: I am a man of principle and I will not sacrifice my ideals regardless of the triviality or importance of a given situation. Fast forward to after the Swine Flu Immunization Brendan: I can’t believe after all that, you ended up getting a shot anyway. Chase: Yeah, I know. I just felt that ultimately I needed to be more practical; in the end, it wasn’t worth getting the flu when it could have been prevented. I guess in some ways it was more that I just wanted to fight the school’s authority, and I didn’t really have a serious issue with getting the vaccine. Brendan: At any rate, for some reason I feel like this talk has been about more than just swine flu. Chase: Yeah, I agree. Forget Aristotle’s “On Happiness,” personally, I think Brendan and Chase’s “On Swine Flu” is a much better read.
We wish to extend our deepest sympathy to Cynthia Busbee Sullivan Cory Sullivan '05 T. J. Sullivan '09 on the death of her husband and their father
JOHN K. SULLIVAN
October 21, 2009
3
Congratulations, Rehabilitated Politicians! Debate Finalist Charles Gianinni’s After Dinner Speech Thank you and good evening, I’m honored to be here and to take part in this celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of The Center for the Rehabilitation of Disgraced Politicians. Over the last quarter century, the center has done all in its power to fulfill its mission and, I quote from the bylaws, “to give every public servant whose name has been slandered by the media a second chance at success.” As many of you know, the center was founded in the wake of the resignation of President Richard Nixon, or as his friends knew him “Tricky Dick,” with the goal of ensuring that such verbal sodomy from the mainstream media befall no other politician without his having some shot at redemption. And I have to say, the center has been remarkably successful at accomplishing that goal. Whether they have helped regain their office, or just get a multimillion dollar book deal, they have ensured that every one of these men and women get a second chance. And I would like to take a moment, to reflect on some of my personal favorite stories of redemption. First I would like to take a look at the center’s most recent case— that of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, whose story is a favorite of mine. Mr. Blagojevich was elected Governor of Illinois—the first Democrat governor since 1972. He was the people’s champion. However, he was removed from office because of accusations that he tried selling President Obama’s vacated senate seat—Which Apparently is against the Rules!?! Who knew—well anyway, since his removal, Mr. Blagojevich has become a new man—thanks to the center’s efforts. He has been on every
major news and talk show—nearly had a reality show on VH1—and starred in a musical. Not to mention he just landed a multimillion dollar book deal. So congratulations, Rod— You’re Back! Next I would like to look at the infamous case of former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. Mr. Barry was the people’s champion in D.C— he has the longest tenure of any D.C. mayor, and has done some remarkable things during his time in office— including leading a major drug crackdown across D.C. Now, being the mayor of a large city such as D.C. is obviously a very stressful job, so in an effort to relax, Mr. Barry checked into a hotel room with his girlfriend and some substances to help him unwind. Little did he know there was a camera in the room, and it was a sting operation—and this came to that and he was arrested for the possession and use of crack-cocaine. For this slight lapse in judgment Mr. Barry was sent to prison for six months. Outrageous, right? After his incarceration, he immediately came to the center and, thanks to the Center’s efforts, Mr. Barry was reelected by the people of Washington, D.C., in 1995, just three years after finishing his prison sentence for the possession and use of crack cocaine. It’s a beautiful story; it touches my heart every time. Now I would just like to take a moment and look at the case that has given the Center for the Rehabilitation of Disgraced Politicians its incredible reputation. The Case of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is here so frequently he actually has his own bed in the center. Mr. Berlusconi has been Prime Minister of Italy on three separate occasions from 1994 to 1995,
from 2001 to 2006, and from 2008 to now. During his tenure, the longest tenure of any G8 leader, he has had some extraordinary conduct that you can only see in Italian politics. Let me give you some examples. Once, as an election strategy, he announced that his party’s female candidates were the most attractive. He was recently divorced by his wife because she was tired of claims that the 72-year-old prime minister was having “affairs” with 18-year-old girls. He claims that Benito Mussolini “was a benign dictator who did not kill his opponents, but sent them on holiday,” and defends his claim that the Communists ate children. He has gone on trial for corruption six times (but never convicted) and is currently under investigation for the exploitation of prostitution after some “questionable” pictures surfaced of him, the Czech prime minister, and 11 naked prostitutes. Now, while Mr. Berlusconi may make a few too many decisions from below his belt—he is ultimately a good man just looking to spice up the mundane nature of politics. So keep it up Silvio, nothing has been able to stop you so far—and the center will be there to help you every step of the way. As my address draws to a close— I just want to say, keep it up everyone. Every politician deserves a second chance, whether he tried to sell political office, used crack cocaine, or engaged in orgies with fellow leaders and prostitutes, they are all people and all make mistakes. So let’s make sure that the Center for the Rehabilitation of Disgraced Politicians’ next 25 years are better than the last. sources: www.nytimes.com www.bbc.co.uk
DA: Non-Denominational or Disregarding? By RAVONNE NEVELS Contributing Writer Yes, I come from that Pentecostal stock where the women who say amen wear broad-rimmed hats and the men who shout themselves to trembles hold hankies to wipe their sweaty brows clean. However, I intentionally came to Deerfield largely because of its nondenominational stance. As a prospective student, I was under the impression that the Brick House Church had nothing to do with the Academy. In addition, it seemed that students were encouraged to worship only if they so desired. Coming from a strict household where Christian living was the utmost priority, I found the freedom at Deerfield to choose a religious lifestyle wonderful. But after three years, I am ambivalent about how wonderful it really is. I have noticed that, at Deerfield, religious freedom has produced a tendency towards religious disregard. I do not mean disregard as in disrespect, but disregard as in letting religion somehow become remote and unnoticeable.
I find this strange since Deerfield is such a diverse community. Many have their own sets of beliefs, even if they are atheistic, agnostic, or purely spiritual. The learning opportunity within the religious context of our community is astounding. Yet religion is not a truly open discourse here at Deerfield. The IDEA initiative seems well intentioned. Jan Flaska, our Dean of Spiritual Life, heads the program. The aim is to provide a spiritual and philosophical outlet for the Deerfield community. Its website, lists IDEA’s six basic descriptors: “interfaith, global, pluralistic, cross-cultural, philosophical, and thought and dialogue-provoking.” IDEA is not a new program. The community benefits from its existence. However, my suspicion is that the student body is not aware of all of its messages or opportunities. Also, not to be forgotten is the average student’s numerous responsibilities. If there is scarcely enough time to sleep, how much time and support does that leave for necessary prayer, meditation, studying of text, and fasting for those who need it—or discourse about those things for those who seek it. This is even more prob-
lematic because religion at Deerfield seems too personal, too sensitive to talk about. Religion here is a quiet matter. It does not get as much chat time as politics, music, or world happenings. It might be that Deerfield students as a whole do not participate in religious activities. Or maybe they are unsure of religion. On the other hand, maybe they are religious but are wary of offending others who hold different beliefs. Alternatively, it could just be that we feel that religion truly is a quiet matter that must be held privately. These are all possible reasons as to why there has been such a serious lack of public discourse about beliefs here at Deerfield. Before I graduate, I in no way expect to see the student body lamenting to the administration about Deerfield’s lack of a weekly chapel. I do not see a proliferation of Bible or Torah or Qur’an study groups within the next few weeks. Moreover, I definitely do not expect table heads to force the students at their tables to tell what they do or do not believe at the beginning of a rotation. I just want this community to consider what religion and religious discourse means at Deerfield.
What Happens Over in ITS? By GRACE BURNS Contributing Writer Last Friday, as I took my seat in my English class, one of my peers mentioned a struggle she had just been through with the IT Help Desk. She started to describe what had happened to her computer, and the class burst into discussion—almost everyone had a similar problem. She had had difficulties printing from a personal Mac laptop to campus printers, and the faculty’s response was to upgrade to a newer operating system. The student purchased this software and, while downloading it, she fried her entire hard drive. She now has to send her laptop to an Apple store and spend an absurd amount of money on data-recovery. This inconvenience could have been avoided if the staff at the help desk had mentioned to her that you cannot jump two levels when upgrading the operating system, or else the hard drive will crash. Her frustration hit home with all of us, and we proceeded to tell our
stories. The most frequent concerns are ITS’ apparent refusal to help students with non-school-issued computers, the all-too-common re-imaging that erases all of the student’s documents, music, and pictures, and my personal dilemma—my computer randomly shuts down and will not turn on again. As many classes at Deerfield require programs on our laptops, most students have become dependent on their computers. No one expects that students go through all four years without experiencing technical difficulties at some point, so we should be able to turn to familiar faces at the Help Desk and trust that they will fix the problem. So why does everyone get a feeling of dread when they come to the realization that they must take their computer to the Koch Center and leave it in the hands of the computer experts? It is the fear of the unknown. Most students on campus feel a disconnect with the staff at ITS and do not like the idea of dropping off their laptop with no information of what
will happen to their computer over the indefinite period of time it remains in the hands of the tech staff. I have taken my computer in three times for the same problem, so I cannot help feeling hesitant to take it in again. From my point of view, when the staff cannot figure out what to do, they take a look at it and return it to me without addressing the problem at hand. This is my only explanation since ITS has not reached out to tell me what is going on. So can the student body develop a friendly relationship with the IT department? Who are the people in ITS? We feel that since no one really knows people on the staff—and they most likely don’t know us—then they don’t feel a responsibility to do all they can to help us. If we want to eliminate this judgment, we should make an effort to get to know the people behind the Help Desk, and increase the level of communication so that we can walk in feeling comfortable dropping off our laptops, and leave knowing exactly what they are going to do to fix it.
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Features
The Deerfield Scroll
October 21, 2009
Beyond the Nametags: A Few New Faculty By HADLEY NEWTON Staff Writer
Peter Nilsson
Samuel Savage
Peter Nilsson, assistant academic dean and study skills coordinator, joins the faculty this year as a sophomore English teacher and a dorm resident on Barton II, the same hall he lived in over four years ago. Mr. Nilsson taught at Deerfield from 2001-2005 before leaving to pursue a music career in New York City. There, Mr. Nilsson focused on playing the piano as well as composing and producing his own music. During this time, he said, “I performed with a rock group, funk group, jazz group, Nigerian reggae group, as well as Manhattan-based Americana group, among others.” Mr. Nilsson also composed music for theater and small chamber ensembles, dabbling in folk soul, hip hop, and musical theater. When confronted about these successes, Mr. Nilsson modestly joked, “Whether or not I was good is yet to be determined.” While in New York City, he met and married his wife Crystal, whom he has brought with him back to Barton. “Having been here before, it’s not much of an adjustment,” explained Mr. Nilsson. During his previous stay on Barton II, he even turned his apartment into a mini-recording studio, where students could come to sing and play music. He expressed his excitement to please his hall-mates in “hoping to have a chocolate-covered pretzel stick feed. They’re delicious and it would really bring us all together as a hall.” When not in his English classroom, Mr. Nilsson can be seen playing the piano during school meeting and coaching an ultimate Frisbee team.
Samuel Savage is a new language teacher this year who is living just off campus on Wells Street with his wife Caroline and two boys, Eli and Phineas. This year he is teaching Spanish 2 as well as Latin 3 and 5. Mr. Savage is familiar with the boarding school experience. He attended the Groton School for several years before earning a major in Classics and a minor in Spanish from Columbia University. He has also taught at the Groton School, Head Royce in Oakland California, and most recently at the School Year Abroad Program in Italy. Mr. Savage is associated with Mather II. But he noted that while at Groton he ran a dorm, “so I actually miss living in one.” When asked what feed he would be most excited to host, he responded, “My wife makes this varsity-level pepper-mint bark. It’s so much better than that jv William-Sonoma stuff.” While not teaching or coaching, Mr. Savage enjoys being with his family, cycling and playing the bass. In college, he sailed competitively in laser regattas (single-handed ship races). He loves to travel, remarking “While I can’t see myself doing anything else [besides teaching], I’d like to be a guide for small tour groups in a foreign country.” One of the places he is most interested in visiting is Angkor Wat, because he “would like to see more of Asia” and he is very interested in archaeology. In addition to teaching, Mr. Savage will be coaching Thirds Boys’ Basketball in the winter and junior varsity boys’ lacrosse in the spring.
Status Update: Students Really Can Survive without Facebook By MAE FLATO Staff Writer Facebook is a social networking service we all know. It was started exclusively for Harvard students but has since become a global phenomenon. Facebook has more than 300 million registered users worldwide, but at Deerfield, some students still have not bought into the trend. Connor Scott ’10, Gavin Fuller ’12, Willa Gustavson ’12, Claire Hutchins ’12, and Meghana Vunnamadala ’12 are five of the small percentage of Deerfield students who are do not have accounts. Fuller commented, “I have never had a Facebook and have never been tempted. Without one, I can diligently work without wasting my time during study hall.” “It is negative distraction, especially during study hall,” said Vunnamadala. “And with all the stories that I have heard about Facebook harassment cases, I know I don’t want to take a chance with that.” Willa Gustavson has never had a Facebook and thinks that if she were to get one, “I would be totally obsessed and I don’t want it to take over my life.” When asked if she felt out of communication, Gustavson explained that, “Everyone I need to talk to I can email or call them.” Hutchins did once have an account but deleted it over the summer so she would have time to recover from “withdrawal” before school started. Hutchins attested that, “No
matter how much I miss having a Facebook, I now have much more free time, and will get into college,” alluding to the fact that some colleges can see applicants’ Facebook pages and reject them based on what they have posted. Vunnamadala also considered this factor of uncertain online security in her decision not to get a Facebook. “I know I would never put anything up on my account that would harm my chance of acceptance into college or a job, but it’s still possible for others to post photos of you without your consent.” Scott explained his reason for not having an account as “all really starting with [his] father.” Scott had a Facebook in the eighth grade, but his father asked him to delete it in high school. “I would be allowed to get one again if I wanted to, but after years of not having one, I know it’s just a waste of time.” One reason Scott has steered clear of it is the effect it has on his peers. “When I walk into my proctees’ rooms during study hall I see them on Facebook, tell them to get off, come back in at 8:30p.m., and they are still on. I’d rather not have this extra distraction in my life.” These five Facebook-free Deerfield students are confident they are better off. More free time, no study time wasted on stalking friends profiles, and they aren’t planning on giving colleges a reason to deny them based on inappropriate photos or information.
Jenn Coulombe Members of the King’s Academy debate team from Jordan, including their coach, Joe Zych ’08, strike a pensive pose outside the Koch Center. Deerfield hosted 46 schools from eight different countries for the competition.
IISPSC Debate called “One of the most educationally beneficial things they have done in their school careers” By DANIELLE DALTON Staff Writer Over two hundred and thirty students and coaches traveled from across the globe to compete in the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition hosted by Deerfield on October 1 - 4, 2009. Katie Walker ’10, Charles Giannini ’11, and Grace Mermel ’12 represented Deerfield. Giannini competed in many events, including After-Dinner speaking. “My after-dinner speech (reprinted on page 3 of this issue), “The Center for the Rehab of Disgraced Politicians” was something I came up with over the summer when former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was trying to get his own reality television show. However, I wrote my speech six days before the event and I diligently tried to memorize it with the help of my friends throughout the week. I knew it, but I didn’t know it word for word, allowing me to be comfortable, but not too nervous.” Giannini qualified for, and is planning to attend, the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in Lithuania this coming spring. Mermel competed in public speaking events, including interpretive reading. She explained, “Interpretative
Suzanne Hannay
moment was making my persuasive speech for the first time in the Koch Center.” When asked how he prepared his speech on rural African development, he responded, “I spent a year analyzing the news and went to some parliamentary debates. Then, I spent three months writing my speech and then I continued to practice it.” Debate Coordinator and Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Chair Michael O’Donnell reflected, “The Deerfield community really stepped up and filled their roles admirably, not just a couple people, but hundreds of members of the community: students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and local neighbors.” The effort and planning put in by the community did not go unnoticed. Many visitors commented on how they were welcomed into the community and their enjoyable weekend, for some their first time in the United States. A coach from Eton College (UK) wrote in a thank you letter, “For our group of students, it was one of the most educationally beneficial things they will have done in their school careers. I think, for all of us, the regret at having to leave so soon the loving yet scholarly warmth of the community at Deerfield will turn into happy memories that will sustain us until our next visit.”
Wattanawaroon Comes to Enjoy the Challenge By EUNICE LEE Staff Writer Each year, Deerfield Academy welcomes the most outstanding applicant from Thailand, and dubs him or her “Thai scholar.” These students have demonstrated extraordinary abilities in mathematics and science, in the classrooms as well as in larger venues. For this academic year, another new and ambitious Thai scholar has arrived: Tana Wattanawaroon ‘10. Coming straight from Bangkok, Thailand, Wattanawaroon is still managing to adjust to Deerfield. “I come from the heart of the city,” explained Wattanawaroon, “So you can imagine, it’s totally different from here. Everywhere I’d go there would be traffic jams and buildings…But I must say this is a great change. I love the scenery here.” Back in Bangkok, Wattanawaroon had attended a local school where he learned to speak English and develop his mathematics skills.
W ine and Dine
Scroll Editors enjoy dinner at Hope & Olive in Greenfield. Visit the website www.hopeandolive.com to see the menu and call 413-774-3150 to make a reservation for dinner, lunch, or Sunday brunch!
reading is when you read seven to thirteen minutes aloud from a book. I chose a book that sparked my interest, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I started reading it all aloud to myself the week of the debate, but had chosen it earlier.” Walker commented on her overall experience by saying, “It was so much fun, getting to know people from all over the world. I was so impressed when sitting in the room listening to them speak. It was amazing to have the opportunity to see how talented some people really are.” However, it was not all intense competition. On Saturday night, a techno dance took place in the Kravis Room and the Greer was full of students from across the globe. When asked how the dance was going, Alfonso Velasco ’11, the DJ for the night, smiled and gave a thumbs up. Mathematics teacher Sean Keller, the faculty member on duty in the Greer, said, “It is a terrific opportunity for students to chat with other students their age from around the world, particularly students involved in an enterprise they may not have known as much about.” Kasaluchi Mmegwa from the Federal Republic of Nigeria was watching television in the Greer with a group of visiting debaters and Deerfield students. “My most exciting
“I am very thankful to my previous school. I wouldn’t have been able to even communicate in English if my old school hadn’t taught me,” he remarked. So how does word about Deerfield’s opportunities get out to students all the way in Thailand? “I first heard about Deerfield from the former Thai scholars. I heard from them that Deerfield is one of the best prep schools in the U.S. Deerfield then automatically became my first choice.” Wattanawaroon added jokingly, “plus, they told me how good the dessert was here.” Wattanawaroon has come to the U.S. with the support of the Thai government. After he has completed his higher level education, he has an obligation to return back to Thailand. “I have to return to Thailand to serve the country, probably as a teacher or a researcher for ten years. This may seem like a long time, but I enjoy teaching and researching, so I’ll be fine.”
Looking for a dining alternative for this coming Parents’ Weekend? Hope and Olive, a restaurant and bar located at the corner of Hope Street and Olive Street in Greenfield, offers a variety of dishes that can be classified as refined, yet innovative American cuisine. The very atmosphere of the restaurant exhibits the same combination of comfort and elegance that is reflected in the food. The setting has the feel of a kitchen—if the proprietor of said kitchen was impeccably tasteful with a knack for interior design. Paintings of ingredients used in the dishes adorn the walls, and next to the bar stands a whimsical, metal structure made from rolling pins. The lights are dim, the staff is friendly, and the support of local arts venues (shown in the pamphlets advertizing theater performances and art exhibits) truly gives the setting a down-to-earth quality. And “down-to-earth” it is indeed what with the ingredients all being homegrown and farminspired. So what does one order from such a wholesome and flavorful menu? The Black Bean and Corn Salad at
Having known the past two Thai scholars, Wich Huengwattanakul ’08 and Panupong (Ice) Pasupat ’09, before coming here, Wattanawaroon admitted that he was extremely nervous to try to fill their shoes. “Everybody who came here from Thailand was the best of the best and I predicted people would compare me to them.” But now, he is coming to enjoy the challenge. He admitted that it is a great means of motivation to him. So far, it seems as if Wattanawaroon is doing just fine. Enrolled in multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and AP physics, he certainly seems to be meeting the challenge that his predecessors have set for him. Wattanawaroon showed his gratitude saying, “I first want to thank Ms. Lyman and the Thai government for giving me this opportunity.” And advice for future Thai scholars? “Make the most of your time at Deerfield. This one year as a Thai scholar is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”
$10.50 serves as the perfect appetizer. A light drizzling of cilantro-lime dressing brings out the essence of organic greens while rich avocado complements crisp tortilla chip pieces. The sweet, roasted onion also goes nicely with the generous serving of corn and beans that top the salad. For entrees, Miso-Glazed Barramundi, Texas Tempeh Barbeque, and Spanish Fish Stew are all great choices to satisfy all types of palates. The Barramundi is citrus and fresh tasting with a subtle spice, and is offset with a sides of orange-ginger-glazed carrots and bok choi slaw. The Barbequed Tempeh also combines a substantial mix of textures; cornbread, tempeh and coleslaw, fused by a smoky barbeque sauce, merge together to form a tasty twist on traditional comfort food. The Fish Stew recalls a Spanish paella: crisp chunks of sausage, tender shrimp, a spray of mussels all combine on a bed of saffron rice. Any of these entrees is sure to leave you contented, and may even inspire you to muster some room for a dessert (these, too, are delicious.)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Deerfield Scroll
October 21, 2009
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FALLING IN TO ART D eer f i el d’ s F a l l A r t S howca se A display of visual art, music, and dance
By SONJA HOLMBERG Staff Writer
Freshman Mac MacDonald’s submission for the Round Square Photography competition, taken in Krueger National Park in South Africa. Other entries are on display in the Hilson Gallery.
DEERFIELD INK T a t t oos
By DARYL COOLEY and YUJIN NAM Staff Writers Tattoo, the act of marking the skin, is practiced by people of diverse ages, origins, and backgrounds. With such varied motives to get a tattoo, there is always a great story behind each one. The Scroll interviewed several students and faculty at Deerfield to discover the stories behind their tattoos. Cooper Magoon ’10 got his tree branch tattoo as a living memorial of his grandparents who funded his education. “This tattoo represents life, death, and rebirth, which I feel are important as members of my family move on and leave a lasting impression on my life,” explained Magoon. For Magoon, the location of his tattoo also has significance. “Since it’s on my back, it’s not always in the way, and I don’t have to constantly see it. Instead, it’s a gentle reminder that what I wanted to preserve will be always there.” Luigia Goodman ’10 got her tattoo last December over winter break. The tattoo, located on her wrist, is a treble clef and an eff clef—both musical symbols—tilted into a heart. “I created the design myself through multiple sketches,” explained Goodman. “I thought I was being really original, but the tattoo artist said he had done a tattoo just like it the week before!” Goodman feels that her tattoo represents who she is as a person. “The tattoo symbolizes my love for music and harmony,” said Goodman, “and that I wear my heart on my sleeve.” Although the tattoo is in a visible place, it is fairly small. “I wasn’t sure
on
C a mpu s
how I would react to tattooing,” said Goodman. “I was worried my mom would get mad. So I decided to start with something small.” Goodman’s original fear that her mother and family would not appreciate her tattoo proved untrue. “Most of my friends and family like the tattoo a lot and are very accepting of it,” explained Goodman. “But,” she continued, “there are definitely some family members who don’t understand why I would want to get a tattoo.” Reflecting on her tattoo, Goodman said, “I have no regrets and I plan to get more!”
Luigia Goodman ’10 displays the tattoo on her wrist, a design she created herself.
In the spring term of his sophomore year, Steve Kelley ’10 got his tattoo. The tattoo is on his right shoulder and is of an Irish harp. “I wanted to get a very detailed tattoo with Celtic knots in the harp,” said Kelley, “but the tattoo artist said that after a while the details would blend together. So the tattoo is just a less detailed black harp.” Kelley’s inspiration for the tattoo came from his older brother, who got an Irish harp tattooed on his shoulder when he was sixteen years old. “My brother told me when he got his tattoo but not our parents,” said
Kelley. “It became a sort of thing between us.” When his brother got his tattoo, Kelley was only seven years old, but he knew immediately he wanted the same tattoo when he turned sixteen. And, at age seventeen, his wish came true. His brother took Kelley to get the mirror image of his tattoo. Kelley explained, “Mine is on my right shoulder and his is on his left shoulder.” Kelley loves having his tattoo and said that, “I’m not an artist, so having a tattoo is a way for me to express myself.” Senior Associate Director of Admissions Debra Dohrmann, is one of the many adults at Deerfield with a tattoo. Mrs. Dohrmann got her tattoo when she was in her early 30s. “I was one of the bridesmaids in my friend’s wedding,” she explained. “We decided to get tattoos together because we were all close friends.” “We thought we would all get the same tattoo, like a sisterhood thing,” said Mrs. Dohrmann. “But we couldn’t decide so we all chose different ones.” Mrs. Dohrmann decided to get a flower about the size of a nickel on the inside of her ankle. “Cindy Crawford [the supermodel] has the same tattoo in the same place!” said Mrs. Dohrmann laughing, “But I got mine first!” While Mrs. Dohrmann doesn’t regret getting the tattoo or the design she chose, she does wish it was in a different place. “I wish I had gotten it on my shoulders so it wouldn’t be visible so much of the time,” she said. Mrs. Dohrmann doesn’t regret getting her tattoo but would remind anyone thinking of getting a tattoo that tattoos are “personal, and they are forever.”
GET PSYCHED FOR SADIE’S! Compiled by ELIZABETH BANALAGAY, Staf f Writer
Past Deerfield students flaunt their coordinated Halloween costumes at the Sadie Hawkins Dance. From left to right: Charlotte Parker ’08 and Matthew Carney ’07 rock out in matching togas; Ama Francis ’07 and Sam Kaplan ’09 go as Stacy’s mom and Stacy; Joe Zych ’08 and Sarah Cyr-Mutty ’08 pose as Mario and Princess Peach. The Sadie Hawkins Dance this year will fall directly on Halloween.
CONGRA TULA TIONS TO A LL NEW MELLOW D’S A ND RHA PSO D’S!
Joining the ranks of the Mellow D’s: Phil Hah ’11, Curtis Oh ’11, Gus Wellin ’11, James Yang ’12, Chris Lin ’13 Singing for the first time with the Rhapso D’s: Indigo Fowler ’10, Becca Cooley ’12, Stephanie Dowling ’12, and Elisabeth Yancey ’12
The Fall Arts Showcase, a medley of student music, dance, and theater performances will debut on Friday, October 23, of Parents’ Weekend in the large auditorium. First in line for this three-program sampler is the music performance. With pieces from the Chamber Music class, the Friday Jazz Workshop, and various choral groups, the music department has a wide variety of students uniting to show off their abilities. Director of Music Amy Shimbo described this year’s department as “a vibrant and active place with lots of students participating, and where individuals can pursue music making at its highest level.” She also emphasized how wonderful it is as a performer to “look out into the community and see so many supportive faces.” The theater program’s portion is composed of four selected monologues and a song, all from the acting tutorial. Head of the Theater Department John Reese and student Jen Coloumbe ’10 are the main directors of the three comedies and one serious drama. Like the music group, the acting group this year is diverse in student experience. Yet Mr. Reese insists the goal is simply “to entertain the audience after a long, busy day!” The third portion, the Dance Showcase, includes student and professional choreography. Six dances, said Director of Dance Jennifer Whitcomb, will “aim to show a broad cross-section of Deerfield’s dance program.” The student-choreographed pieces include a contemporary ballet piece by Daryl Cooley ’10; a swing dance duet by Andy Harris ’10 featuring himself and Alaina Belanger ’12; and a hip-hop quartet choreographed and performed by Kevin Cho ’10, Kim Gibbons ’10, Rachel Teague ’10, and Karon Hawkins ’11. Professional choreography includes a modern piece by Billbob Brown, a dance professor at
KAYLA’S BOOK NOOK
Caught up in the mood of Halloween, Kayla takes a look Katherine Howe’s novel The Physick Book of Deliverance By KAYLA CORCORAN Book Reviewer “Shelves upon shelves of glass bottles and jars ranging over the walls, all of them containing unidentifiable powders, leaves, and syrups” greet Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin as she enters her grandmother’s long-forgotten home in Marblehead, Massachusetts. She is left with the task of preparing the old and vacant house for sale by her flighty, New Age mother who lives in Santa Fe. However, Connie would much rather spend her summer researching her colonial history dissertation topic than doing her mother (whom she lovingly refers to as Grace) a favor. But Connie soon discovers that Granna’s old house, nearly hidden “under the tightly wound bramble branches and dense thorn bushes,” and her dissertation will become even more intertwined than she would perhaps like, bringing a modernism to Katherine Howe’s mystical novel, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, that makes it enjoyable for both the intellectual and the Halloween-crazed. When a key from an old Bible found in the house sets Connie off on a search to discover an entirely original primary source—a book of shadows dating back to the Salem Witch Trials—odd coincidences have Connie believing that the book is more important than she originally thought.
University of Massachusetts; an Advanced Dance Ensemble piece by Carrie Towle, an adjunct ballet teacher; and a contemporary jazz piece by Hillary Brooks, a Deerfield alum of ’02 and Middlebury graduate. Ms. Whitcomb said her hope is to “display the most divergent styles and most experienced dancers” to emphasize the strength of Deerfield’s dance program. The non-performance portion of this showcase is artwork from David Dickinson’s and Tim Trelease’s art classes. They will be displayed in the exhibition hallway, the Russell Gallery, and the Hilson Gallery.
“It’s really important to put the arts programs front and center at the beginning of the year.” —Jen Whitcomb Mr. Dickinson plans on presenting his advanced classes’ strongest examples of line weighting, sighting, and some completed renderings. Mr. Trelease, Head of Visual Arts, will present student photography from the Round Square Competition in the Hilson Gallery and work from his AP Photo class in the Russell Gallery. His other classes will have their work up in the Arts Center’s Student Galleries. Studio art and three performing arts programs “coming together on the stage,” as Jen Whitcomb said, is a truly wonderful thing. “It’s really important to put the arts programs front and center at the beginning of the year so that people will feel inspired to sign up for them.” In any case, this will be a chance for students and teachers alike to raise awareness of Deerfield’s hidden strengths. As always, this Fall Arts Showcase is bound to be a success. Simultaneously woven into Connie’s story is the tale of Deliverance Dane, a woman wrongly accused of murder during the seventeenth-century hysteria that plagued Salem, Massachusetts. As the girls of Salem fall to fits, “contorted with biliousness, mouths opening and shutting like angry fish snapping at shreds of flesh in the water,” Deliverance’s plight grows grim. Howe’s writing of Deliverance’s story feels authentic: the characters of colonial Salem speak sincerely and plainly. Experiencing an altogether new view of the Salem panic, the reader is caught in the whirlwind of emotion and an ambiguity of moralities that overwhelmed the village during 1692.
“The reader is caught in the whirlwind of emotion and an ambiguity of moralities that overwhelmed the village during 1692” The enigmatic book is somehow related to Deliverance, and Connie struggles to piece together the gaps of the woman’s life as everything in her own life seemingly falls apart. Returning headaches, strange marks burned into the house’s door, her Harvard professor’s sudden fanatic obsession with her research, and her boyfriend’s abrupt seizures that bear a strikingly similarity to those of the Salem girls have Connie feeling the presence of something larger, something unknown, something clearly “diabolical.” Readers will find themselves yearning to peer through the yellowing pages of Deliverance’s book, intensely curious about “monkshood, henbane, foxglove, moonwort,” and all of the other “obscure flowers” that spells require. Katherine Howe’s The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is skillfully written with a high attention to detail, and will “magick” any skeptic into a true believer.
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SPORTS
The Deerfield Scroll
October 21, 2009
Strong Tradition, Young Talent Carry Girls’ Soccer By NASTASSIA ADKINS Staff Writer
Jennifer Coulombe Libbby Whitton ’12 beats a Kent player to the ball in a girls’ varsity soccer game.
While Seasons End, Rivalries Never Die Yankees
CYRUS WITTIG
Red Sox
ALEX CHAPIN After finishing the season with a league-leading 103 wins and a three game sweep in the ALDS, all signs point to the Yankees claiming their 27th World Series Championship. The Yankees used power pitching and power hitting to get by a fatigued Twins team that snuck into the playoffs after defeating the Detroit Tigers in a one-game playoff. While every Yankees fan knows that long time Bombers like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera thrive in the hostile environment of October baseball, the key to the Yankees run this year are players such as Alex Rodriguez and C.C Sabathia, players who have not performed well in their playoff past. In the Twins series alone, Rodriguez had two HRs and six RBIs in three games. Compare this to the one HR and one RBI he totaled in his last 13 playoff games. There is no doubt he is prepared to handle the pressure of being the Yankees’ cleanup hitter. As for big C.C. Sabathia, while his 19 regular season wins has become the standard for the hefty left-hander, the 7.92 ERA he brought into the 2009 postseason was a major cause for concern. However, his Game one outing when he fanned eight Twins in 6.2 innings while allowing only one earned run showed how dominant he can be. Even without stellar performances from A-Rod or C.C., the Yankees could very well be the favorite to take home the title, as they sport the most dangerous lineup in the league, maybe the best in Yankee history. With seven of the nine everyday players with over 20 HRs in the lineup, and a team batting average of .283, there is no such thing as an easy out when facing the Yankees. The Yankees look confident behind their skipper Joe Girardi, who is wearing the number 27 this year. Coincidence? I think not.
Faculty Series Predictions Ms. Melvoin Phillies over Yankees 7 Games Mr. McV augh Yankees over Phillies 6 Games Mr. Dancer Dodgers over Angels 7 games Mr. Hamilton Phillies over Yankees 7 games Mr. Calhoun Yankees over Dodgers 6 games Mr. Barnes Phillies over Yankees 6 games Ms. V eiga Phillies over Yankees
Yankees fans seem to be drifting dangerously close to their arrogance of the late 1990s, when they could count on a World Series appearance almost every year. Since the start of the new millennium, it has been harder for Yankees fans to rely on their 26 World Championships. While this might be their best team in a decade, don’t reach for that 27th Championship Tshirt just yet Yankees fans, as it won’t be happening this year The Bronx Bombers have ridden a 103-win season into the ALCS with the help of pitcher C.C. Sabathia, slugger Mark Teixiera, former steroid abuser Alex Rodriguez, and a reenergized Johnny Damon. However, the teams they will face from now on won’t go down to overpaid players who had to bring in their right field wall nine feet for them to have a shot at a league title. The Yankees will face the Anaheim Angels in the ALCS. The Angels, who have outscored the Yankees 61-55, and boast a sizzling .315 team batting average in their 10 meetings this season. Should the Yankees, by some strange twist of fate, move on to the World Series, they will face the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies or Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez, dating back to his Red Sox days, is a notorious Yankee-killer with a .391 lifetime average, and .591 average against Sabathia. The bottom line is that, without the performance of the players they so heavily depended on this season, the Yankees are in for a rude awakening. While Nick Swisher is bleaching his mohawk and ironing his pinstripes, the Angels, Phillies, and Dodgers are all preparing for a monumental World Series win. Derek Jeter better hold on to his four World Series rings, because he won’t be adding to his collection anytime soon.
The girls’ varsity soccer team is not only one of the most promising teams on campus, but one that is deeply steeped in tradition. Their traditions include their annual Halloween game, Ghosts vs. Pumpkins, in which the girls are divided into a white and orange team, and the awarding of a mini-soccer ball after the conclusion of each game, acknowledging a player who had a strong performance. Most recently, the girls took part in a community service project. The team taught little kids to play soccer on a Saturday morning in Deerfield. They enjoyed the experience so much that they are considering making it a regular activity. Head Coach Heidi Valk, who has been coaching the team for 14 years, has lead them through numerous successful seasons. Coach Valk played both soccer and lacrosse at Mount Holyoke College as well as at Bowdoin College while involved in an exchange program. Relatively new on the scene is English teacher and Assistant Coach Matt Langione who has been a positive addition to the coaching staff. “He’s an inspiration both on and off the field,” said Allie Gray ’11 who is in her third year as a member of the team. Mr. Langione captained the soccer team at Amherst College. Last season, the girls had one of their more successful seasons to date, finishing with a record of 9-5-2 and a spot in the New England Playoffs. The girls were matched up against a perennially-strong Loomis team who
had beaten the girls earlier in the season. However, this did nothing to quell the spirit of the team, who arrived at Loomis backed by an army of rabid Deerfield fans who had turned out on a chilly Wednesday afternoon to on cheer the team. It was an exciting game and the Deerfield fans along the sidelines had a hard time containing their excitement, leading to some disagreements with an irate referee who banished many of them to the top of a nearby hill. However, this did not deter the fans who cheered until the bitter end, when Loomis edged out Deerfield 3-2 to clinch victory: a bittersweet ending to a great season. The Deerfield girls have come out with a score to settle and have certainly hit the ground running. Battling through a tough early season schedule, the team now sits at 3-2-1, the same record they had last year through the first 6 games. With important games against Taft, Andover, and Suffield coming up, they look to move to the front of the standings The team has had the benefit of a steady influx of new talent over the past couple of seasons. Allyn Bennett ’10 and Cate Wadman ’13 are two additions who have been valuable to the defense. “She’s small but she can definitely hold her own,” said Lindsey Shea ’11 of her teammate Wadman. The girls also have a new keeper this year, as Ellie Carroll ’11 made her debut in net this season. Meanwhile Captains Maddy Keeshan ’10 and Kirsten Vaughn ’10 look to continue the offensive success they had against Kent, in which the team netted four goals.
Games to Watch on Parents’ Weekend By ANNA GONZALES Staff Writer Deerfield will bleed green as usual this Parents’ Weekend, as boys’ and girls’ cross country, football, field hockey, boys’ and girls’ soccer, water polo, and volleyball all take on other prep school teams at every level of play. At the varsity level, boys’ football will play Exeter at 3:30. The team has changed most of its offensive playbook from last year, having started rebuilding after graduating all but one player from last year’s team. Exeter’s team this year is strong, having dominated Worcester, Avon, and Choate. This game is a must-see and is sure to be a great match up. Girls’ field hockey will be playing Taft at 4:15. The team is experienced this year with nine seniors, and 15 upperclassmen on the team. So far, the team has racked up a 5-1-1 record, with their only loss coming at the hands of the annually strong
Jennifer Coulombe
Some of the new cheerleaders Brooks Walker ’10, Alex Ward ’11, Julia Pielock ’10, Charlotte Dewey ’11, John Zurlo ’10, Lilly Nolan ’10, Omari Maxwell ’10, Finn Leslie ’10, Kim Gibbons ’10, Gaelen LeMelle-Brown ’11, Caroline Dickey ’10, and Tyanna Carter ’11 show off their sweaters.
Hotchkiss team. Taft’s team will bring a 3-2 record into Deerfield, marking the girls in green as the ones to conquer on the turf. Boys’ cross country will run against Exeter at 3:30. Deerfield swept all three meets at Worcester, Williston, and Cushing, and beat eight other schools at the Westminster Miller Invitational on a difficult course. Exeter’s runners have also had a good start to the season, and sit at 20. With strong leadership and a promising group of underclassmen runners, the team looks to use the familiar terrain to stay undefeated. Varsity boys’ soccer will lock horns with Exeter at 3:00. Exeter has amassed a 7-0-0 record so far, but will have to face a scrappy Deerfield team with a speedy group of midfielders led by Captain Tucker Dayton ’10. Sporting a 4-2-1, the boys are hungry for an upset, and to scratching get into the top of the standings. At the jv level, the dominant girls’ soccer team will be facing off against Taft as well at 3:30. Taft is 3-2 thus far, but might be overmatched against the 5-0-0 Deerfield squad. “We have a sick offense and our defense just gets better and better every game,” said optimistic goalie Claire Hutchins ’12. The jv water polo team plays Exeter at 3:45. The boys are sitting at 2-2 right now, but look to jumpstart their season with a win over Exeter who has a good water polo program from top to bottom. “I think our teamwork and game awareness have improved a lot from our first game, and from last year. Last year we relied on swingers and fast breaks, because we had talented individuals, but this year we work as a team,” said Gunn Herabat ’11 Finally, the jv girls’ volleyball will take on Exeter as well. The team is 22, dominating Hopkins and Cushing, but losing to Worcester and Loomis. Exeter has a powerful team this year, with a 5-0 record, but the girls are planning on handing them their first loss of the season. “I'm really excited for my mom to see the hard work that my teammates and I have done,” said Zatio Kone ’12