Are teachers politically biased? (p.7)
Turn to politics to read about the political views and biases of Upper School faculty and see opinion polls.
March exams moved to Feb (p.5)
Casten Trips 2013 (p.5) The Casten trips during Spring Break of 2013 have been announced for students. Turn to News to view the details of the two trips.
Turn to News to see the new exam schedule.
November 2012 | Volume 114 Issue 4
the
Dial
voices.hackleyschool.org/dial/
Voice of the student body
Rumors to trash candy at Tuck result in talks dominiquealpuche & laurenfallon editor-in-chief and staff writer
87%
Do not think the Tuck should eliminate unhealthy food.
75%
Think the Tuck should add more variety to the food options. See Politics page for poll methodology.
For over a year, conversations concerning the quality and sustainability of the food offered in the Tuck Shop have surfaced. Discussions ranging from gossip in the halls between students to opinions raised by faculty members have culminated in rumors of action. Although no definitive plans for change have been made, conversations seem to be formalizing. Specifically, members of the Health and Wellness and HEAL clubs seem to be making this a focus in recent discussions. Sustainability Coordinator Anne Gatschet is supportive of students taking the lead in bringing this issue into the spotlight. “A broad based student initiative would be the most helpful at this point for bringing about dialogue,” she said. Supporting this opinion, many students have been vocal about the prospect of change. “It is great that the Tuck may possibly be changing to healthier options because it will give students the chance to make better and healthier decisions when having a snack,” said Gabby Urken, a member of the Health and Wellness club. Others students voice a conflicting opinion. “Kids enjoy the treats in the Tuck, and if people wanted a healthier option they could go to the lunchroom where fruits are always available,” sophomore Kierstin Chu said. Gabby’s brother, sophomore Grant Urken, feels that a balance would be best. “It would be nice to be able to grab a healthy snack before sports games and practices; however, I do enjoy the foods in the Tuck right now, so if there could be more of a variety between healthier and unhealthier foods in the Tuck that would be great.” The majority of students seem to share Grant’s sentiment for addition without
elimination. In a recent Dial poll, 87 percent of students expressed discontentment with the idea of removing the unhealthy food, but with this, 75 percent said they feel that the Tuck should increase the variety in what they offer. Mr. Van Leer, who has been working as a teacher at Hackley for 37 years, has seen many attempts that Hackley has tried to make towards healthier options. “There was an experiment in the lunchroom where Hackley tried changing to healthier alternatives; however, there was a ton of opposition from the students so the old food eventually came back. Sales will defiantly go down if the Tuck changes to healthier foods, but if kids figure out that the only thing there going to get from the Tuck is healthy items they’ll eat it.” Parents working at the tuck agree that there would probably be a financial impact if the tuck changed to healthier foods. “The candies, chips, and baked goods that we sell now are the kinds of foods that kids like to eat,” said one. With these ideas on people’s minds formalized discussions are being planned. “For students interested in food culture, the upcoming HEAL meeting on the evening of November 29th will be a fantastic opportunity to learn about what it means to buy and consume food in our society,” said Ms. Gatschet. A similar event will be held in January, when the HPA and HEAL will host a potluck dinner where the conversation can be continued. With efforts being made to bring together students, faculty, and parents, it seems that changes could be in the works for the Hackley Tuck Shop.
Seniors feel the pressure of preparing for life after Hackley allymueller feature editor
C
ollege represents a time of freedom, independence, and opportunities to experience new things. “I’m excited for college because of the freedom to do whatever I want and learn things I haven’t been able to in high school,” said senior Pietro Moran. However, seniors still have to go through the arduous process of finding the right school, filling out applications, and hoping that their hard work over the past three years pays off. The past four Hackley graduating classes have attended over 124 colleges and universities, so many different colleges appeal to different people. According to Co-director of College Counseling Peter Latson, some of the most common college search criteria includes majors, location, size, social scene, cost/financial aid program, campus culture, and extracurricular offerings. Further complicating the college process is the decision whether to apply early or not. Early Decision (ED) is a binding admissions process where those students sign a commitment to
attend the college if admitted, while Early Action (EA) is non-binding and those students do not have to commit, but can find out earlier. Most Hackley seniors apply EA or ED to at least one school; this decision is made either to help their chances in applying to several schools or to try to get into one’s dream college. “After a week or so, I realized that this school I am applying EA to was the only place I wanted to go. I just wanted to let them know by applying early that it is where I want to go,” said senior Travis Henry-Reid. For seniors, the whole college process can be very stressful. Senior Katie Maguire said, “The first trimester of senior year has been the hardest at Hackley by far!” However, students cite that college counseling has been extremely helpful, especially for those families who do not know much about the college process. Whether students apply early or not, each senior will find out at some point if their hard work has paid off. However, students will ultimately end up at a place that is a good fit for them.
Most popular colleges for the past 4 graduating classes
Colgate University
Vanderbilt University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
University of Pennsylvania
Columbia University
Information provided by College Counseling. Students who attended these schools in the past four years represent less than a quarter of all students.