V39 Issue 5

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THE EAGLE EDITION EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF DALLAS STUDENT NEWSPAPER 4100 Merrell Road Dallas Texas 75229 214.3584368

V39 No. 5

Friday April 1 Twenty22 esdeagleedition.org

In a rush? Students begin to consider

joining greek life in college amidst Abolish Greek Life movement and social media dialogue page 7

Home run New baseball coach pushes team to new heights, implements fresh routines, head of upper school helps out in practices page 26

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@theeagleedition @eagleeditionesd @esdeagleedition

For some, gambling can feel like an enlightenment, an escape or an answer.

Regardless, the world of betting doesn’t only reach an audience of adults but teenagers as well. With increased accessibility through online and sports betting, this world of poker chips, slot machines and decks of cards has grown. While it might start out as only fun and games, gambling can have larger implications. pages 14-15

All bets are off.

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Illustration by Sarah Cabrales Photo by Easterly Yeaman

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Episcopal School of Dallas

e news

Women in STEM change the equation New female NASA leader defies gender gap in field, inspires women Story and graphic by Elisabeth Siegel Life editor

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n 1898, Marie Curie discovered two new radioactive elements: radium and polonium— elements that contributed to finding treatments for cancer. In 1957, Jane Goodall traveled to Africa and began her renowned work with chimpanzees and animal rights activism. In 1992 Mae C. Jemison became the first black woman in space. And in 2022, Laurie Leshin will be the first female director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, one of the country’s most distinguished research and development labs.

Despite the feats of many famous ONE OF THE female scientists, women make up BIGGEST ISSUES only 27 percent of IN SCIENCE AS science, technology, A WHOLE RIGHT engineering and mathematics NOW IS THE workers, according LACK OF FEMALE to the United States Census Bureau.

REPRESENTATION This gap has started AND THE LACK the conversation on its root causes OF PEOPLE WHO and how it affects WOULD BE female students and the science industry MINORITIES as a whole. Some IN WHATEVER attribute this void to RESPECTIVE natural inclination for women to choose COMMUNITIES. different career paths than men, yet others attribute it to Matthew Varvir systemic issues.

Upper school science teacher “I think historically women were discouraged from participating in STEM fields, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore,” senior and potential engineering major Camille Greening said. “That being said, the AP and

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honors science classes that I’ve taken at ESD have all been boyheavy. I think the gender gap used to be a greater problem than it is now, though.”

While there are disproportionately more men in STEM in general, women are leading some branches yet lagging behind in others. They only represent a quarter of the jobs in mathematical sciences and are 13 percent of engineers, yet they dominate subjects like statistics, botany and healthcare, according to Fast Company.

“I think a lot of it comes down to what type of STEM you’re talking about because STEM is very broad,” upper school science teacher Matthew Varvir said.

“For instance, in physics, it is overwhelmingly male from the college standpoint, I think to its detriment... There are actually more women than men getting undergraduate biology degrees.

Physics and computer science are very mathematical sciences, psychology and biology less mathematical, and you definitely see a separation.”

Some attribute the disparities in fields that men and women go into based on differences of innate capabilities between gender, while others attribute it to stereotypes and bias in education.

“I think there’s unquestionably a lot of biases at play,” Varvir said. “Possibly people who are male students are more likely to be encouraged to continue going, whereas female students are not.

There are also possibilities of, to a degree, what is the goal of that particular student? What does that student think they are capable of? And what does the institution make them think they’re capable of, for instance, is a female student stopping because she does not think she’ll be successful because the

institution has, maybe not even on purpose, made them think they will not be successful? Because there’s probably a lack of professors who are women and things like that, that’s gonna basically disturb them as well.”

In 2015, only seven percent of female 15-year-old students were expected to pursue a career in STEM compared to 26 percent of male 15-year-old students, according to Zippia.com. Some point this contrast to unhealthy class environments and unfair treatment toward female students.

When Varvir was studying physics at University of Texas at Dallas graduate school in 2014, he was part of a class of around 20-30 masters and doctoral students, and about two of them were women.

“It’s kind of hard to notice discrepancies when there is no one to basically have a discrepancy happen,” Varvir said. “A lot of societal [stereotypes] are built in that [women] have a hard time getting past, and so being aware of that and trying to strike early [is important.] By early I mean at a young age, like lower school.”

According to an March 29 poll of 109 female students, 42 percent have felt overshadowed by other men in a STEM class.

“I think sometimes boys can be louder in science and math classes than girls, which can make girls quieter,” Greening said. “Overall, I don’t think there is a major issue at ESD, at least.”

While the differences between genders in classes can be unequal, some believe that the competitiveness in these higherlevel classes isn’t gender-based.

Senior and potential STEM major Gabe Kozielec, for example, has noticed this in his STEM classes.

“I think that for computer science and the other classes that

we’re taking, people are judged on their merit and how good they are with computer science,” Kozielec said. “So I don’t think that [gender] is really the issue. I think that a little bit of healthy competition isn’t bad, but I think just having students work together more and trying to cooperate could create a healthy class environment.”

Some teachers try not to have lab groups with the majority being male and only one student being female, for example, in order to curtail that student getting overpowered or ruled out. Varvir tries to set up his class this way so that everyone is being heard appropriately and that everyone’s doing their job.

“Being just knowledgeable about research, regarding it, and being very open to changing practices if research indicates that certain things need to happen is a big factor,” Varvir said. “These conversations were not as prominent [when I was a teenager] as they are now, and I’m a younger teacher.”

But today, more women than ever before are going after their STEM passions. More and more women, like Leshin for example, are becoming leaders of their disciplines and have hope to change the future of the workforce.

“One of the biggest issues in science as a whole right now is the lack of female representation and the lack of representation of people who would be minorities in whatever respective communities,” Varvir said. “So for instance, in the United States, people of color would be the minority. And I think that we’re missing perspectives by not having that there. And we have made progress because historically, this would have been even worse, but it has barely taken the first steps.”

April 1, 2022

News

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Technology leads to new modes of invasion Accessibility of tech jeopardizes security internationally and locally

By Alex Warner Views Editor

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echnology provides an easy outlet to everyday activities. From setting an Amazon reminder for later to making transactions in the stock market, technology is ubiquitous in our daily routines.

But technology is also vulnerable to hackers costing the privacy to its users and can be dangerous on a larger national security scale.

According to Cyber Security Intelligence, most hackers use advanced technology to exploit weaknesses and breach defenses in a computer system.

The prevalence of hacking, at a national level as well as in the community, produces questions on technological safety.

“It is surprisingly easy to hack a MacBook if you have the device on hand,” techie senior Tucker Sachs said. “I used to test my MacBook security: In about five minutes, a person can change the password on your device, make themselves an admin and gain access to all your information. Believe it or not, [on a larger scale], we are actually in multiple cyber wars right now. Russia, North Korea and China continuously send hackers to attack our infrastructure, our private companies and our military. The United States is now recruiting more computer scientists than ever because of this new threat.”

Aside from the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a series of cyber attacks have affected Ukraine’s digital systems since the start of Russia’s invasion.

In late February, Ukraine called on its citizens to “take their keyboards and defend the country” against Russia’s cyber threat.

“Russia undoubtedly is trying to get into Ukraine’s infrastructure,” Sachs said. “Something like controlling a part of your enemy’s

brief NEWS

A deeper look at current events and happenings on campus

energy grid, water supply [and other factors] is very valuable in the game of war. I am not sure on the details of Russia’s current advancements, but I am sure of the fact they will try to aid their chance at victory with cyber warfare.”

The global hacktivist group Anonymous, who are a decentralized international activist and hacktivist collective known for its cyberattacks against government institutions,, called on its army of cyber warriors to target Russia. The group has been operating since at least 2008, targeting big businesses and governments. They could potentially bring a significant cyber disruption for Russia’s invasions through stealing and publishing the Russian Department of Defense data and data from the Russian Nuclear Institute.

“Right now the most Anonymous has done is hacked Russian State TV a few times,” Sachs said. “They’re making an attempt to turn the citizens of Russia against the government.

While valiant in effort, the hacks have had little to no effect on the state of the conflict.”

On a smaller scale, hackers can easily hack someone’s computer system through leaking data or showing enticing pop-up ads on a website. According to Norton Antivirus, a family of anti-virus software products, there are 2,200 cyber attacks per day in the U.S. which could equate to more than 800,000 being hacked per year. In a poll of 158 faculty and students, 61.4 percent have been hacked.

Much closer to home, senior Erika Batson’s computer was hacked her freshman year when she was trying to watch a show online.

“It was me just not really being incredibly conscious about what I

Photo illustration by Emily Lichty and Easterly Yeaman

was doing and where I was online because I went to the CW website that wasn’t actually CW,” Batson said. “I wanted to watch the new episode of a TV show and I typed in the wrong URL. It wanted me to download the Adobe Flash Player, [which was fake], to my computer.

I could still use my computer, but it was getting so many pop ups and so much traffic to it that the battery would drain super fast.”

Backing up and restarting computers to wipe viruses or prevent stolen information is a dreary process, so protecting a larger community like a school that has teachers and students is a lot harder and more complicated.

“It’s pretty easy [to hack into a device] despite all the work that Apple, Microsoft and other vendors have put into securing systems,” ESD Network

Administrator and alumni Bryan Barnett ‘00 said. “There’s so many different ways hackers can get in there and they often try human engineering to hack us by asking us to give our password and to get our systems.”

In order to protect the school, the school’s technology department has implemented safety precautions to help keep the school devices safe.

“For our campus Internet, we have redundant state of the art firewalls that prevent hacking and adult websites from popping up,” Barnett said. “We pay for a service [that] keeps us constantly updated against the latest hacking threats.

We also educate our faculty and staff on phishing attempts [which is] just something [to] try and capture your username and password.”

The department educates the faculty about types of hacking styles and how they can keep their information safe. Barnett has been talking about educating the high school students and providing a multi-factor authentication for juniors and seniors when they log into their Google account.

“We use multi-factor authentication for faculty and staff accounts. When they log into their account, they have to provide Google with a random code sent to their phone before Google lets them in,” Barnett said. “This prevents hackers who have stolen their password from accessing their account. We’ve talked about possibly rolling multifactor out to juniors and seniors.

We’re not there yet, but we may do that at some point since it will get our students accustomed to real world security practices.”

Admissions adapts

Snack to basics

SATisfying solutions

The ESD Admissions Department has adopted new changes in the admission’s process due to Covid-19 and a growing applicant pool.

“We had to change a lot of things due to Covid last year when we weren’t able to have people on campus,” Director of Enrollment Management Cindy Newsom said. “We kept a few of the things virtual this year that we thought worked well in that format: student interviews done via Zoom, Parent Partnership Conversations done via Zoom, Feeder School Admission Info Sessions done via Zoom.”

Tour formats have been altered as well to allow for an overview of all upper school courses. “[We]replaced one-to-one shadow visits with a group visit instead,” Newsom said. “We had up to 12 visitors on a day and they came and visited with Mr. Heil and Mr. Baad for a few minutes, went on an in-depth campus tour with upper school ambassadors where they went into a few classes to observe but also got to see the entire campus and spend time with students sharing their experience.”

The admissions department also created an ESD admissions’ Instagram account, specifically the “Student Takeovers” where ESD Ambassadors take over the Instagram for a day, bringing viewers along to classes and clubs throughout the school day as they showcase their daily school life.

The size pool of applicants has also changed. The department recorded a 40 percent increase in all divisions.

“I have definitely noticed that the applicant pool has significantly expanded,” ESD Ambassador senior Kai Robinson said. “Both in size and in geographic diversity.”

From March 7 to 11, ESD’s Women’s Studies Organization held its seventh annual snack food drive for Genesis Women’s Shelter. Since its creation in 2015, the snack food drive has collected pre-packaged snacks to be donated to Genesis Women’s Shelter, an organization that protects women and families who have experienced domestic abuse.

“Genesis serves women from all over Dallas County,” WSO club sponsor English teacher Dr. Catherine Civello said. “Highland Park women, Preston Hollow women, Oak Cliff women, women who are victims of domestic abuse.

Sometimes we forget or just don’t know that these women also bring their children with them and that these children are also part of this web of domestic violence.

Sometimes they have been abused as well.”

Genesis asks for snack donations to be able to provide more than just meals to children in their shelter.

According to Civello, ESD has been able to aid Genesis so greatly in the way of snack donations that the shelter no longer needs to carve out money to purchase these snacks.

“Genesis provides three meals a day that come from a beautiful, restaurant caliber kitchen,” Civello said. “But, when you’re six, eight, or even 15 years old, sometimes you don’t particularly want to eat meatloaf and broccoli at six o’clock, maybe it’s just not what you want that day. So eight o’clock comes and you’re hungry. What we do is collect individually wrapped food such as macaroni and cheese, applesauce, etc. so that a child can go to the pantry and get a snack anytime they want, like they would if they were living in their own house.”

The College Board announced on Jan. 25 that the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the SAT will be going digital. The new change will go into effect in 2023 for international students and in 2024 for the U.S. students, affecting the class of 2025 and on. This new digital change will shrink the test from three hours to two hours and will include shorter reading passages, a wider range of topics as well as allow students to use a calculator. With the rising number of colleges and universities becoming test-optional, the College Board is aiming to reconstruct the exam.

“We’re not simply putting the current SAT on a digital platform— we’re taking full advantage of what delivering an assessment digitally makes possible,” College Board Vice President Priscilla Rodriguez said on Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company on Jan. 25. “With input from educators and students, we are adapting to ensure we continue to meet their evolving needs.”

Rodriguez said this new change could better reflect a student’s GPA when going through the college application process.

ESD’s college guidance coordinator Katherine Montgomery said that students will be able to know their scores faster.

“Overall it has a lot of benefits compared to the SAT on pencil and paper,” Montgomery said.

“With all the new changes of the SAT in the future, it will not greatly affect any tutors or college counselors as the test is simply meant to be easier, quicker, and more accessible to take opposed to a longer and more stressful test. The College board aims to have the SAT be the best possible standardized test option for students.”

By Sloane Hope Business Manager

By William Custard Staff Writer

By Charlotte Tomlin Asst. Web Editor

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#

$ " TELL ME SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW ESD Ambassadors host a panel on Feb. 9 for current eighth graders to ask questions about high school. # SUPER SNACKS Boxes lined around the commons hold donated goods. $TESTING A NEW TEST College board announces the SAT will now be held on a computer effective in 2023.

Photos by Cindy Newsom and the Eagle Edition staff

4 Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

Russia invades Ukraine, world watches U.S. Long held tensions reach breaking point, Putin adapts strategy following Feb. 24 attack

By Charlotte Tomlin & Easterly Yeaman Asst. Web Editor & Staff Writer

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ombings. Negotiations.

Refugees. After decades of conflict, rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine have reached a boiling point.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 under the guise of “demilitzariz[ing] and deNazify[ing] Ukraine.” At the beginning of the invasion, Russian president Vladimir Putin intended to topple the Ukrainian government, aiming to end Ukraine’s desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

However, after Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s forces, Putin was forced to reevaluate his goals. Now, Putin has changed his goal to the liberation of Donbas, Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

“I do worry [about our future] because anyone who says they know how this conflict is going to end is lying to you,” upper school history teacher Philip McCarthy said. “This conflict could drag on for years, costing thousands of peoples lives, displacing millions of people and destroying the country of Ukraine.

Any student of history can tell you that political instability, especially in Europe, can lead to disaster.”

Before the Russian invasion, multiple negotiation talks were conducted by both Russia and Ukraine. However, those talks were unsuccessful.

After the invasion started, Ukraine pleaded for a ceasefire, while the Russian foreign minister claimed that the ceasefire was never an option.

“I am not sure this conflict could have been avoided,” McCarthy said.

“When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 they saw that Western countries did very little to stop them. This probably emboldened Putin’s resolve to expand further.”

The Kremlin, the executive branch of the Russian government, demanded that Ukraine establish Crimea as a part of Russia, after the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. Furthermore, Putin insisted that Ukraine should demilitarize and give up any bid to join NATO. For Putin, NATO is a constant threat to Russian stability. Since 1997, 14 countries have joined NATO, all of them being Eastern European countries previously under Soviet influence.

“Russia treated Ukraine as a security threat since if Ukraine joins NATO, which has become NATO’s goal since 2008, NATO and Ukraine will become a much stronger security threat for Russia,” sophomore Charles Liu said.

“Therefore, Russia wants to prevent that by their annexation attempt.”

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine dates all the way back to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

When the Soviet Union fell, and surrounding territories became independent countries, Russia lost key military installations, harming the defense system. In November 2021, Russia began to station forces near the border of Ukraine, continuing into 2022. On Feb. 24, 2022, Russian troops crossed the Russia-Ukraine border, beginning an invasion into Ukraine.

“Ukraine started seeking admission to NATO years ago.

That’s the number one cause because Russia and Putin view NATO as an adversary specifically designed to ‘contain’ them,” Upper School history teacher Marc Salz said. “If Putin attacks the Baltic states or other NATO allies, we will be at war, or NATO will end.

[But] great powers can be strangled by breaks in their supply chains.

Russia can’t build new tanks or fix their planes due to sanctions.”

Since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has increasingly targeted residential areas dropping bombs on schools, homes and hospitals. According to CNN, a maternity hospital in Mariupol was hit, killing five and injuring at least 17 including women, children and doctors. In addition, on March 16, the city’s theater was bombed.

Many organizations around the world have sent aid to Ukraine through donations and nonprofits; however, The U.S., and the rest of the Western world have decided to proceed with caution when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The U.S. has found itself in a delicate situation,” said McCarthy.

“Any direct military intervention

by American military personnel could escalate this war. The US has been sending military equipment and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the conflict began. In terms of how our local community can help, there are a number of really excellent non-profits helping those in Ukraine.”

Reuters.com estimated that

21,000 people have died in the conflict, while 10 million others have been displaced. At least 1,700 buildings have been destroyed, totaling around $119 billion in property damage. However, Russia and Ukraine offered up different numbers of casualties. Ukraine reported 30,000 to 40,000 dead or wounded Russian soldiers, while Russia reported just 500 dead soldiers and 1,600 wounded soldiers. Ukraine claimed to have killed six Russian generals, while Russia confirms only one dead general. “[The U.S. is] taking in 100,000 refugees, but I hope most of these refugees will be home after the war ends,” Salz said. “[The community can] take a role in our refugee situation by looking at community service at Heart House. Find creative ways to increase awareness and funding for Ukraine. I loved the bake sale and hoped the students loved the blondies. What’s next?”

Casualty discrepancies are not the only media differences between Ukraine and the West and Russia.

Information flow to Ukraine and Russia have been vastly different, in terms of information being shared.

“Media has played a huge role [in this war],” McCarthy said. “There are a number of correspondents from the international community that are

doing excellent reporting on the conditions. I think the Ukrainians have done an excellent job using social media to garner international support for their side. President Zelensky has been the center of many videos rallying the Ukrainian people and calling on international leaders to support their cause. On the other hand, there is a pretty large media black out in Russian.

Social media platforms have been shut down or censored for content and speaking out against the invasion is punishable with jail time.”

Thousands of news sources around the world provide their views of what is happening in Eastern Europe. Some sources contain intense bias, even propaganda.

“I believe that the Internet/ media plays an essential role in the war because many people mainly gain information about the world from the Internet or certain news networks,” Liu said. “I remember I saw a news article a while ago about a Russian girl who lives in Ukraine and her parents, because of the Russian news networks, did not believe that an invasion occurred rather [it was] a “liberation” of the Ukrainian people. This shows how some media sources and the Internet can be used as influencing tools during wars.”

CHAOS IN UKRAINE A man in a wheelchair moves past rescue workers clearing the rubble of a building of the Kharkiv Regional Institute of Public Administration, damaged by shelling in Kharkiv, on March 18, 2022, amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images/ TNS.

The end of the Russia-Ukraine War does not seem imminent, but rather never-ending. The risk of worldwide destruction from nuclear weapons prevents NATO from entering the war, even while Ukrainian civilians plead for help.

People around the world wonder what this means for the future.

“I am quite concerned about the impacts this conflict can have on my future and the future of the rest of the world,” Liu said. “This conflict creates various questions: Is another invasion going to happen soon in another place in the world? What is Russia going to do about its relationship with NATO and Ukraine? How is Russia’s relationship going to change with its current allies? The yet unknown outcomes of these questions are worrying, and I think they will undeniably impact my future and the future of the rest of the world.”

Sadies changed to Winter Dance for inclusivity Dynamic Duos theme selected despite end of girls-ask-guys tradition

By Easterly Yeaman Staff Writer

S

ophomore Kathryn Bakewell waited patiently in late February for her costume to show up at the front door of her house. After it arrived, she tried it on and instantly knew it was perfect for the upcoming Winter Dance. An orange jumpsuit with glasses.

On March 4 Bakewell and her friends pulled back the black curtain during the long awaited dance to reveal a dance floor soon to be filled with students dancing, dressed in their creative outfits.

“I was super excited when I saw the set up,” Bakewell said. “I thought it was a little dark, but I thought the colored lights were fun and the stage was a nice addition.”

Previously called Sadie Hawkins, named after a comic strip character, the dance became a tradition at ESD with the idea that it was a girls-ask-guys dance.

However, due to its history and ESD’s intention of being more inclusive, the name of the dance was changed this year from to Winter Dance.

“The big change this year was to move away from the ‘Sadie Hawkins’ concept,” sophomore dean and English teacher Phillip Bryan said. “Not only is the history behind Sadie Hawkins not so great, but we also want to make sure students realize that our dances are

for everyone—you don’t need a date to come to the dance.”

But the change caused students to wonder about the reason for the new name.

“I was confused why they were making a deal of this but not homecoming because it’s the same thing, just the gender roles reversed,” Bakewell said. “I feel like even then, with homecoming, people went with their friends too, so I was confused why people felt that way about Sadies. But I understand why they made the change, and it wasn’t a big deal to me.”

Even with the name change, the class officers and teachers decided to stick with Dynamic Duos as the theme of the dance, which has been done in the past. Other ideas were considered such as specific characters or outer space, but ultimately, they stuck with the familiar theme.

“The theme is something that the class officers decide on, and we tend to work from a stable of themes that we know have been successful,” Bryan said. “The goal is to pick something that has a lot of flexibility and lends itself to creative interpretations and expressions.”

Students in partners, groups or alone, usually plan their costumes weeks in advance embracing the Dynamic Duo theme. Bakewell and her friends went all out

as characters from the movie “Despicable Me.” Bakewell dressed up as Vector, the “Despicable Me” villain.

“I think it’s a fun theme, and I like that you can change your costume every year,” Bakewell said.

“I’ve decided to go full out. I feel like a lot more upperclassmen will be going full out because it’s some of their last years.”

Planning of the dance started around two month prior in order to set a date and organize reservations. With a busy winter schedule, it was difficult for the organizers to find the right weekend to host the event. Ultimately the dance was scheduled for Friday, March 4.

“The officers met with Mr. Bryan maybe two months ago to start talking about it and we organized all the things you need to reserve like photographers and a DJ,” sophomore class officer Caroline Bagley said. “In the past two months or so we’ve called the photographer and scheduled all of the appointments for the dance.”

After the date was set, planned sports schedules were affected by the early February snow days which halted most activities. This meant not everyone would be satisfied with the timing of the dance.

“The class officers do their best trying to accommodate the

various athletic teams—we even moved from our original date to avoid a lacrosse tournament.

When we picked our current date, we knew about one potential conflict, but a second game was added after the fact,” Bryan said. “We also wanted to avoid conflicts with the musical, the middle school dance and the school auction. In the end, there was no way to pick a date that didn’t coincide with something.”

After months of planning and reworking, students came from watching and even playing in the lacrosse game straight to the Winter Dance. Both student leaders and teachers ensured the dance was a night to remember.

TEARING UP THE DANCE FLOOR

High school students attending the Winter Dance crowd the dance floor as they dance to the blaring speakers and talk to one another about the best costumes. “When I got there not many people were dancing yet,” sophomore Kathryn Bakewell said. “But whenever the DJ would pick a good song, everyone would start to dance.” Photo by Easterly

Yeaman

“I thought everyone had a really creative costume and enjoyed going with their friends,” Bakewell said.

“I think the sophomore class did a nice job organizing everything, and I had a great time.”

News

April 1, 2022

Cryptocurrency attracts younger investors As the practicality of cryptocurrencies increase so does its popularity Story and infographic by Katherine Mote News Editor

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Price of one Bitcoin from 2011-2022 60,000

in thousands of dollars

n recent years cryptocurrency has gained a lot of attention because of its ability to change the economy and how people normally invest.

Its ability to operate without an essential organization or national government allows money to be transferred across all different kinds of borders. Being so new, cryptocurrency can be hard to understand especially for teenagers possibly using it as a form of exchange in the future.

The biggest question people ask is how is cryptocurrency held in value. How can we really assign value to something that’s digital and does not depend on another item or currency to have wealth?

Cryptocurrencies are digitally “mined” for in “farms,” which uses a lot of energy to discover new amounts of the cryptocurrency.

“Mining is different for most cryptos, but the basic idea is that a computer solves complex or sometimes random equations,” junior Maxim Jovanovic said.

“When the computer gets the equation correct it is awarded with a crypto.”

Crypto mining involves validating cryptocurrency transactions on a network as well as preventing the double-spending of digital currency. When one member spends cryptocurrency, the miner must debt one account and credit the other. However, the challenge of a digital currency is that digital platforms are easily manipulated. Miners are incentivized to secure the network by participating in the transaction validation process that increases their chances of winning newly minted coins.

“I think the allure of online currency is that it is unregulated,” upper school microeconomics teacher Amy Livingston said.

“There is not a central authority that can artificially manipulate it’s value, like our [Federal Reserve].

Some types of crypto have a limited supply that can be mined.”

While crypto isn’t officially regulated, the United States Treasury Department will put sanctions on a cryptocurrency exchange for facilitating ransomware payments.

Additionally, new tax and trading rules are currently being passed

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Source: Google Market Summary

through Congress in hopes of greater enforcement.

“I believe that the same thing that brings people to like crypto is the same thing that scares people,” Jovanovic said. “It’s the fact that it’s unregulated and can be used to purchase virtually anything from anyone and anywhere that makes people fear its use. Terrorists can use it to buy weapons, and some people use it to make their living through mining and not actually any labor. Crypto is like a double edged sword, it brings people together, just not always good people.”

This was especially relevant in the recent breach on crypto.com.

The same way any kind of website can be hacked, crypto.com was hacked but in this case they passed through a two factor authentication system and withdrew funds from 483 customer accounts.

“Criticisms of crypto in the U.S. have been mostly from politicians who dislike the fact that it is unregulated, citing that it is easily used by criminals, and because it cannot be tracked by a federal authority, then it encourages crime,” Livingston said. “However, people

who break the laws will always years break the law, and regulating crypto isn’t going to prevent that illicit activity. Proponents of crypto cite it as a safety measure or hedge against inflation caused by politics and outside influences.”

As policies change with the addition of cryptocurrency into everyday life the question of whether or not it should be legal and used as a medium of exchange in all circumstances has become a major debate. Even within our own nation, candidates such as Don Huffines, a former candidate of the Texas governor race, said he would make cryptocurrencies legal tenders as well. Although there is criticism, cryptocurrency does help the economy.

“It is a deregulated currency that is based solely on the supply and demand of the currency,” Livingston said. “It puts the power of the currency in the peoples’ hands. It is not regulated by some federal authority that can change it. It is also a form of investment, so for people looking to diversify, I think it makes a great option. You are also not limited by government

decree of the currency, meaning I can go anywhere in the world that accepts crypto and be able to use it without worrying about exchange rates or fees or who is in office at the time. This is why there was such opposition to the recent Congressional proposal to begin oversight of the crypto market.”

Cryptocurrencies can be used in almost any kind of transfer of money but most notably across borders and countries because of the ways in which it can be bartered without exchange rates. This also minorly protects cryptocurrencies from interest rates and in many ways, inflation.

“I believe that either the most important or one of the most important parts of cryptocurrencies is their online use,” Jovanovic said. “Crypto, like Bitcoin, can be used to purchase things from any place that accepts it and with minimal fees. It also allows for easy peer to peer transactions, meaning I could buy something directly from a person without the need for a central bank, government, or middleman of any kind.

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Belizean Protestors

Arab and Isreali Summit

A Chinese Eastern Airlines flight from Kunming to Guangzhou crashed on March 21. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 series, was set to carry 132 people through southern China. About an hour into the flight the plane pitched into a vertical dive descending at extremely high speeds. Traveling thousands of feet per minute, the airplane eventually slammed into a hillside, immediately consumed in flames. The flight’s black boxes, the cockpit voice recordings and flight data, were retrieved. The airplane had no prior fault history and was less than seven years old. Some experts speculated that the reason for the crash could have been mechanical errors or failure of the plane’s horizontal tail. Chinese investigators invited United States aviation experts to help with the investigation since the Boeing airplane was manufactured in the U.S. By press time, there were no signs of survivors and the official death count had not yet been released.

On March 19, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge cut short a recent trip to Belize while on their Caribbean royal tour after protests broke out during their visit.

As the tour of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee began, they visited Indian Creek, a small village in Belize where they were met with anti-colonialism protesters. The locals referenced Prince William‘s association with the Fauna and Flora International charity as well as their opposition to the Crown in the protests. The charity is the oldest conservation created by British aristocrats and it aims to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide. This same group owns property in the Indian Creek Village and is currently facing legal troubles against locals over the land rights which is why the protests took place.

The royal couple continued on their tour in Jamaica and the Bahamas meeting with politicians and civic leaders despite this setback.

During the weekend of March 26, Israel and four Arab countries convened for a two day summit in Sde Boker, a kibbutz in southern Israel. The United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt and the United States were all in attendance. This summit symbolized a stronger relationship between the United States and the Middle East as Arab countries and Israel begin to accept help from the United States regarding a common enemy, Iran. The historic meetings provided a forum to discuss the Ukraine war, the possibility of a new Iran nuclear deal, and the Israeli-occupied territories. On March 27, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement in Jerusalem that both Israel and the United States were committed that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon.

I BELIEVE THAT THE SAME THING THAT BRINGS PEOPLE TO LIKE CRYPTO IS THE SAME THING THAT SCARES PEOPLE. Maxim Jovanovic Junior

around THE WORLD A quick overview of international events you should know compiled by News Editor Katherine Mote

FATAL FLIGHT The Boeing 737-800 that crashed in to the mountains of southern china is shown flying through the air. (Photo by TNS) THE ROYALS RUN AWAY Pictures of the Royal couple circulate as they pose for appearances along the Queens tour before being met with protesters in Belize. (Chris Jackson/Pool/Getty Images/TNS) HISTORICAL SUMMIT A map depicts the location of the Arab-Israeli summit that brought together the U.S., Israel, U.AE., Morocco, Bahrain, and Egypt to discuss Ukraine, Russia, and Iran. (map by TeachMideast)

5

6 Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

life

TV affects relationships, drug use, self-worth Adolescents relate to exaggerated shows

Story and graphic by Grace Worsham Life Editor

R

omantic relationships, dramatic scenes, surprising twists, teenage trouble and intense endings, all a part of high school—or in television’s version at least. But one thing is certain; connecting to a certain character or falling in love with one on screen, becoming influenced by an actor’s choices or trying to make life more similar to a show: it all influences reality.

Television has construed and I THINK THAT EVERY manipulated the truth or reality of SCHOOL HAS A UNIQUE various topics and PERSONALITY AND events for decades, A UNIQUE GROUP but the portrayal of high school has OF STUDENTS... fluctuated and CERTAIN SCHOOLS often arguably reshaped the CAN IDENTIFY WITH environment A CERTAIN PART surrounding it.

One example THAT THE MEDIA IS of how high PORTRAYING AND school is currently represented in OTHERS CAN’T. IT WILL the media is the NEVER FIT PERFECTLY television series FOR EVERY SCHOOL. “Euphoria.” The HBO Max teen drama follows the Merredith Stuelpe lives of high school students and their Upper school counselor encounters with identity, trauma, relationships, drugs and love. The show is an American adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name, but writer Sam Levinson added new ideas and combined flashing saturated lights, constantly moving cameras and captivating music to create something entirely new. Levison further explains the premise of the show in an interview with Vulture.

“We established early on that each scene ought to be an interpretation of reality or a representation of an emotional reality,” Levinson said. “[The show] isn’t real… but at the same time, there [are] people constantly saying how real the show feels, which creates an interesting paradox.”

Whether the show exaggerates aspects of high school or not, two young women, interviewed by the New York Times on June 24, 2019, relate to the show.

Identified by their initials N. and M. to protect anonymity, the two women recounted their addiction to drugs and alcohol in high school. They also said that their experiences were sometimes even worse than those that the main character Rue, played by actress Zendaya Coleman, goes through in the show.

“When I was using literally every move I made was to get high,” N. said during the NYT interview. “In some parts it shows that [Euphoria] is a TV show [because] realistically [some scenes] would’ve ended [more] badly [than they did].”

M. went on to say that the show does exhibit the consequences of addiction and the harsh reality of it, but still finds herself trying to shield it from the younger people she cares about.

“

“Maybe having just gone through a lot of that stuff, I don’t want other people to,” M. said in the interview. “It’s a delicate balance.”

Many parents argue the show glorifies the use of drugs or highlights them in a way that teenagers should not be exposed to yet, but others watch it as a way to feel less alone in their struggles or to better understand the harmful effects of drugs.

Junior Justin McCray, who watches the show, emphasized that even though the show demonstrates the use of drugs, it in return shows the danger of addiction.

“In my opinion the show is overrated, but I do not think it glorifies drugs in any way,” McCray said. “If anything it shows the bad effects of drugs and how bad they are for you.”

But upper school counselor Merredith Stuelpe said that even if parts of the show are exaggerated or depicted to be more engaging, because of the disparity and uniqueness of each school, some students can relate to specific facets of the show.

“Some students can identify with what is being portrayed in [television and social media] and others can't,” Stuelpe said.

“For example, some students can relate to certain aspects of ‘Euphoria’ and [are] glad it is being portrayed, and others are very surprised by the show and can't relate to it. It just depends on the school.”

Another way television shows often exaggerate high school is through the depiction of private versus public school. Sophomore Libby Cuccia, who previously attended Woodrow Wilson High School, said that although she has not seen “Euphoria,” she believes other shows often portray an unrealistic contrast between public and private schools.

“I think the difference between private schools is definitely way different from public schools in shows,” Cuccia said. “In the show I am watching, ‘Gilmore Girls,’ the private school is very strict and disciplined whereas public schools are portrayed as having no rules.

My experience at Woodrow was obviously different from ESD, but… it was still about school and getting work done.”

Cuccia also said that private and public schools do have

contrasting differences, but education is just a mere factor of the environment a school provides. U.S. News & World Report published an article on Sept. 15 2021 that compared the differences of private and public schools: the article concluded that factors taken into consideration for all schools, besides educational outcomes for parental school decisions, include class size, teacher training, affordability, diversity and availability of programs.

“The people and circumstances are different at every school,” Cuccia said. “Where the schools are located and the things going on are very different. There was fighting at Woodrow in the middle of the school day across the street in between students, and you don’t see that at ESD. I just think where the school is, the people that go there and whether the school is private or public can change a lot.”

McCray, who previously attended Allen High School, also believed every school is different and that each one has a unique community.

“At Allen there are tons more people, and a lot more personalities to come across,” McCray said. “[Whereas] at ESD there is a more intimate feeling when it comes to friend groups because everybody knows everyone. [So, I think] the school you’re at definitely affects your experience overall.”

Television also portrays high school in a different light with the actors they choose to cast.

Many popular shows such as previously mentioned “Euphoria” and “Gilmore Girls'' and others including “Pretty Little Liars,” “Glee” and “Riverdale” cast actors in their mid-‘20s and ‘30s for main character roles. Directors and media workers attribute it to the legal limitations surrounding having a minor on set. Interviewed

by VICE, casting director Todd Thaler said that it is all about labor laws.

“The number of hours that children are allowed to work are highly restricted, which limits the amount of time that producers can actually have adolescents on set,” Thaler said to VICE. “Within those limited hours that children can work, part of that time [must include] education, rest and meals.”

Yet, these castings create

unrealistic expectations and standards for teens viewing these shows.

Featured in an article by Teen Vogue on June 7, 2017, clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg Ph.D. said that these castings often cause complications for teens.

“It can give the message that [teenagers] are supposed to look good all the time,” Greenburg said.

“Some days they’re thinner, they're a little heavier, they have pimples, their hair is frizzy. It's all okay.

[But when the media portrays these high school characters as perfect it] leads to all kinds of body-image and social-comparison issues.”

Television can also be a strong influence on teen’s sexuality.

In shows, the characters in relationships always seem to be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful, which tends to reinforce the importance of physical attractiveness. Along with this, viewers who often relate to an on screen character will often compare their characteristics with the people around them. In a content analysis of relationships and intimacy in teen dramas on television published by Brigham Young University on July, 1 2018, author and student of communications Sara Valoise Lamb said that the media exaggerates the depiction of relationships.

“Most media, especially in the United States, teaches through their television programs and films that an acceptable person to date must be physically attractive,” Lamb wrote in her BYU content analysis. “...When the consumer empathizes and identifies with a character, their perception of themselves blend in with that character. …[Viewers] begin to compare their character counterpart to people in real life, and they look for similar traits and physical attractiveness of a particular actor.”

Stuelpe added that when teens associate themselves with adults acting as teenagers on TV, they struggle to relate to the characters.

“I think that in the media an adult acting like a teenager comes across completely differently than a teenager would,” Stuelpe said.

“So when [a teenager is] watching a show, [they] think ‘why don't I sound like that when I talk, or why don't I like that at this age or why am I awkward and they aren't.’ I think it can make it a little confusing for teenagers and lead them to doubt themselves and doubt where they need to be at this stage.”

Television portrays high school in an array of lights that never fit into every category a school has to offer. Some students relate while others don’t, certain schools correlate to shows and others are extremely different, and students often don’t look like their onscreen doubles, but it can never be constantly accurate either way.

“I think that every school has a unique personality and a unique group of students,” Stuelpe said.

Based on what your interests are and how the school can accommodate those interests your high school life will be different… certain schools can identify with a certain part that the media is portraying and others can’t. It will never fit perfectly for every school.”

Life

April 1, 2022

7

Students grow weary of Greek life Teens begin to consider Greek life in high school, social media sheds light on toxicity Story and photoillustration By Elliot Lovitt Staff writer

A

s senior girls sat in the Bell Theater on Jan. 31, a slew of information about the ins and outs of sorority recruitment was presented with a slideshow detailing all the do’s and don’ts of rush: the process of joining a sorority. While the presentation excited some, the profusion of unknown information brought apprehension and anxiety to others.

Senior Hannah Scheel entered the meeting thinking that she might want to rush next year since many of her family members were in sororities, but after the meeting, she wasn’t so sure.

“I haven’t given much thought about rushing until this year,” Scheel said. “My mom, aunts and older cousins all rushed in college, so it just seemed like something I may want to do. But after the meeting, the whole process seems intimidating and stressful, and there are other organizations on college campuses to join that are not affiliated with Greek life.”

Though the recruitment process can be hectic and stressful, the long term payoff can make it worth it. For many, sororities not only provide instant friendships that last a lifetime, but also academic support.

“I am still in close touch with my sorority pledge class, and we’ve been in each other’s weddings, networked for jobs and been a support group throughout our adult lives,” ESD parent and Greek Recruitment Chair Ashley Young said. “Sororities also have a huge community service focus and allow college-aged young adults to continue to serve their community.

Finally, there is also a huge focus on academics, so whether it is help with classes, tutoring or guidance, a sorority can help you navigate the academics of college.”

The process of rushing begins in high school for many, as detailed digital recruitment packets are required to be sent to sororities

by May 1 of senior year. The packet includes a resume, transcript, test scores and pictures. Senior girls who plan on rushing also have to fill out recruitment forms and get letters of support from alumnae.

“Some of the schools I applied to have delayed rush, which is when

61

you rush second semester,” Scheel said. “If I do delayed rush, I will have a semester to adjust to the new environment and not worry about rushing right away.”

Greek life is not just a popular conversation among ESD students right now, however, Greek life, specifically sorority rush, has become a popular topic in recent years because of its increasing presence on social media. TikTok videos of girls showing their “outfit-of-the-days” grossed millions of likes and thousands of followers, especially on “Bama RushTok,” which refers to all of the videos on TikTok made by girls rushing at the University of Alabama. According to Fortune and U.S. News & World Report, around 2,500 girls rushed for approximately 2,000 spots at the University of Alabama, and 40 percent of female students at the University of Alabama are in a sorority, making Greek life significant to many Alabama students.

This past August, throughout the week of recruitment, girls rushing at sororities around the country, including, but not limited to, University of Alabama, University of Oklahoma, Auburn University and Ole Miss uploaded videos on TikTok explaining their outfits and day-to-day routines. However, the colorful and lighthearted videos came with a conversation about the history and controversy of Greek life. Despite the controversy, many view Greek life as providing leadership skills and an opportunity to make lifelong bonds with sorority sisters or fraternity brothers.

“I wanted to join a sorority because going into college I didn’t really know anyone and wanted to find an automatic group of girls to hang out with,” current University of Oklahoma student and member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Lauren Egger ‘20 said. “I wanted to find a community within such a big school. Joining a sorority gives you a community of other girls that support you and become your best friends.”

A recent obstacle Greek life faced was the fact that, due to Covid-19, rushing went virtual.

Traditionally, potential new members would go to the houses of the sororities that they were interested in and have face to face interactions with active members, but the pandemic forced the

conversations to move to video chat platforms.

“Covid-19 forced the rush process, like everything else, to be re-imagined and virtual to keep everyone safe,” Young said.

“Instead of going to each of the sorority houses for rush parties, the parties were held over Zoom.

It was a huge shift to meet and connect with actives in a virtual setting and make a decision about which house was right for the potential new member without going to the houses. It forced the potential new members to be direct and express what houses they liked.”

The heavy costs of sororities and fraternities, ranging from $500 to $1,500 per semester, according to Vox, can dissuade college students or high school seniors from choosing to rush. Like the substantial dues, sororities can also be particular about potential new members’ behavior on social media, steering girls away from going through the rush process.

Posts deemed trashy or a bad look for the sorority can result in a potential new member being dropped from sororities. In the presentation given to the senior girls at ESD, a slide titled Pro Tips instructed girls to clean up their social media accounts and “make sure all posts are appropriate” [including] no alcohol in any posts.

Additionally, the slideshow said to “maintain a low profile for the week of recruitment.”

“I was conscious of my social media during recruitment because I wanted to show the ‘right’ image to the houses,” Egger said. “But, I don’t think you have to change who you are on social media to rush. I think it’s kind of a misconception about rushing.”

Along with discourse about social media’s role in rushing, the “Abolish Greek Life” movement has grown among university students with a focus on racism and misogyny. At Duke University, the independent student newspaper, The Chronicle, wrote an open letter to the Duke community about abolishing the National Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Community, claiming that Greek life was founded on ideas of classism and sexism. Additionally, the letter condemned the history of sexual assault from fraternity brothers and said that a fraternity

percent of students are interested in joining Greek life in college

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member is three times more likely to commit sexual assault than a male college student not involved in Greek life. According to Teen Vogue, the Interfraternity Community and National Panhellenic Council have proposed reforms to the Greek system like making it free to rush, but few reforms have been effective.

“Greek life is not a broken system; it’s exclusive because it was built to be exclusive,” a sorority member at Washington University said in an interview with Teen Vogue in 2020. “Birds of a feather flock together. You end up breeding these groups of people that are predominantly white and predominantly wealthy that are going to inherently exclude people of color.”

Since the first sorority was founded in the late 19th century, according to Town and Country Magazine, the culture and dynamics of sorority life and recruitment—and Greek life in general—are constantly changing; gone are the days where you have to be a legacy to be accepted into your top choice. However, many minorities still struggle to find their place in the historically white institutions, as 71 percent of the Interfraternity Community and National Panhellenic Council are made up of white students, according to a 2014 Daily Northwestern article. In the 20th century, the “Divine Nine” sororities and fraternities were formed by black students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities like Howard University. According to HBCU Lifestyle, the Divine Nine created a community for black college students to fight for equal rights.

“I love [that] academic scholarship; community service and campus involvement have remained a huge focus in Greek life,” Young said. “The rush process has become much more accessible to all students. The parties are not as formal as they used to be, and you now have a chance to see and consider every house on a college campus.

Sororities now use their platform and involvement to lift service organizations to a national level, making significant contributions to charitable organizations. And, the accomplishments that women in sororities have achieved are recognized at a national level.”

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THE RUSH PROCESS HAS BECOME MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STUDENTS. SORORITIES NOW USE THEIR PLATFORM AND INVOLVEMENT TO LIFT SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS TO A NATIONAL LEVEL, MAKING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.

Ashley Young ESD Greek Recruitment Chair

percent of students do not support the Abolish Greek life movement

Source: March 28 poll of 158 upper school students

8 Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

hallway chatter

Erika Batson ‘22

By Alexandra Warner Views Editor

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It’s been

A compilation of the most interesting and hilarious out of context conversations overheard at school

“

5 hours of me having a baby, and I’ve already killed it.”

Dani Nisbet ‘22

Elise Bostian ‘23

IN MY E PERIOD CLASS, ME, VICTORIA FEUER AND MRS. FERRIS ALL HAVE THE SAME BIRTHDAY ON MARCH 8. ME AND VICTORIA ALREADY KNEW WE HAD THE SAME BIRTHDAY. SO WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT IT IN CLASS ONE DAY, MRS. FERRIS COMMENTED THAT IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY, TOO. WE ARE ALL SUPER EXCITED TO GET TO MATH CLASS ON MARCH 8 AND WE ALL GOT A FUN PICTURE IN FRONT OF THE WHITE BOARD WHERE THEY WROTE HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

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You were born in the 1900s?

Addie Click‘24 to trainer Lesly Mathurin

” “CARTER IF YOU WEAR SPEEDOS AND A COCONUT BRA FOR THURSDAY’S RALLY DAY, THE WHOLE GRADE WILL DO YOUR SURVEY .”

Eduardo Carbonel ‘22 to the class of 2022 GroupMe

Mental

toughness is when you can find fuel in an empty tank Katherine Clark ‘25

“It’s all gonna be okay because it’s beefy mac day. “

“The theme for Prom was not what I was expecting.

I thought the theme was going to be 2000s, so when ‘Circus’ by Britney Spears came on I was a little confused. But then, a Britney Spears look alike came out of the side of the theater, and everyone was so shocked. People were videoing the performance and laughing with each other. It was really entertaining.

We got personalized bags filled with a shirt and some snacks that went with the theme which made it special.”

Reagan Grady ‘23

Photos by Alexandra Warner

Life

April 1, 2022

9

e CRA r u t

SH

cul

A variety of the top trending pop culture phenomena compiled

by Life Editors Elisabeth Siegel and Grace Worsham

QUEEN OF CON

The original Netflix series “Inventing Anna” is about the true story of fraudster Anna Sorokin who climbed to the top of New York City prestige by posing as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey. The show gained millions of streams, not from critics but more from word of mouth, which set a surprising record for Netflix. According to Forbes, the show was the most-watched Englishlanguage series in a single week, receiving 196 million hours of viewing time in the week of Feb. 14.

2

VENGEANCE

With the competition of Marvel Films, DC Entertainment struggled to surpass the popularity of the Avengers franchise. “The Batman” created a shift in superhero cinema and earned $134 million at the domestic box office the opening weekend of March 4. Robert Pattinsonwas featured as the young Dark Knight and Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman. According to the Washington Post, to continue to uphold what “The Batman” had achieved, DC must allow Pattinson to continue to shine on his own, with possibly the reappearance of sidekick Robin in the future.

PARTING WITH PLASTICS

Supermodel Bella Hadid opened up about the controversies surrounding the naturalness of her face. In an interview and photo shoot with Ethan James Green and then again in one of The Daily’s articles, Hadid talked about her mental health and her struggles. Hadid told Green that she regreted getting a nose job at age 14 and “[wished she] had kept the nose of [her] ancestors.” She debunk ed the controversies around cosmetic surgeries and said that she had never used filler “whoever thinks I’ve gotten my face lifted… its face tape.

The oldest trick in the book,” she said.

4

3

THAT’S NOT MY NAME

After much speculation, Kylie Jenner announced the gender of her second child with father Travis Scott in an Instagram post.

The post was published on Feb. 6 and featured a black and white photo of Jenner holding her baby’s wrist with a blue heart in the caption.

The Kylie Beauty mogul took to the Internet to announce the baby boy’s name as Wolf Webster just a week after he was born, but the following month, Kylie announced she and Travis decided to change their son’s name. As of now, the name is a mystery.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

At the Oscars on Sunday, actor Will Smith walked on stage unprompted and hit comedian Chris Rock square in the face. This response was right after Rock made an joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, comparing her bald head from alopecia to “G.I. Jane.” For viewers watching from home, the verbal exchange between the two men was muted, but Smith was seen yelling at Rock. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Rock declined to press charges.

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1

WELCOME HOME

5

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Harry Styles announced “Harry’s House,” his new album, set to come out May 20. The title is a reference to singer Joni Mitchell’s song “Harry’s House / Centerpiece.” Styles announced that the album will have 13 tracks, more than his two previous albums. The cover art was also revealed as a photo of Styles standing on an upside-down ceiling of a living room. He also released a 40-second trailer where he walks into a theater and smiles as a yellow house rises on a stage behind him.

THE BRIDGERTON BRIGADE

The second season of the popular Netflix show “Bridgerton” was released on March 25. The series is set during the Regency era in England, following eight siblings of the Bridgerton family as they attempt to find love. The newest season follows the eldest son, Anthony, in his search for a wife. While his sister Daphne was the star of season one, she is seen more infrequently in season two. Nevertheless, the drama, romance, scandal and comedy continue.

7

Volume 47 of Carillion completed Yearbook staff works diligently to complete a unique book

By Kara Dross Web Editor

S

eniors and Co-Editors-in-Chief Erika Batson and Grace Herburger take one final look at the completed yearbook pages before sending them off to be printed. After months of planning and editing, Carillon, ESD’s school yearbook, is finally complete.

Every year, ESD students eagerly receive the school’s yearbook in May and explore the school year’s recap. Pages are filled with student pictures, sports, clubs, senior superlatives and much more. Yearbooks are a one-of-a-kind keepsake that many students will refer to year after year. While the yearbook is enthusiastically explored by the ESD community at the end of each year, many do not take time to think about what happens behind the scenes during the creation of the yearbook.

“I think most people don’t ever think about how much time is spent in creating the yearbook,” Batson said. “It is a very overlooked process, but in reality, it actually requires tons of planning.”

The first step of creating a yearbook required the editors-in-chief, Herburger and Batson, and the yearbook’s faculty adviser, Ana Rosenthal, to meet in the summer to begin brainstorming the book’s theme and design. The group met every day for a week in June to start the process.

“You start by looking for inspiration from places like Pinterest, magazines and books,” Herburger said. “Everything from the layout to fonts and colors all have to be decided prior to the start of the school year.”

By the end of the week, templates for each spread were created, designs were made and a theme for the book was chosen. Next, senior and Managing Editor Day Nettle began assigning pages to each member on staff.

“Every page is unique in its own way to the yearbook,” Nettle said. “Typically, I try to give some more interesting pages to people who have been on staff longer. Pages such as sports pages or academic pages will go to newer members of staff because they are more straightforward. I also try to match pages to people's personalities or interests. For instance, if I know someone is involved in a certain club or sport, I will give them a page about that activity because they know more about it and will have more opportunities to take pictures.”

Once pages were assigned, the yearbook staff began working on creating the content for the page. This involved taking pictures at various events, interviewing people and writing stories.

“The biggest part of creating a yearbook is getting good pictures,” Batson said. “It is not just about taking a picture, it is also about angles, lighting and focus. Even if someone takes a picture from an event, it doesn’t always mean we will use it. Sometimes a good picture requires multiple tries.”

The yearbook is such a big publication, over 360 pages, that deadlines were assigned throughout the school year in order to ensure staff members completed their work on time.

“I think something a lot of people don’t realize about the yearbook is that we don’t just have one big final deadline in spring,” Herburger said. “We still have to find ways to keep people on top of their work, so that comes with a lot of mini deadlines scattered throughout the year. Senior pages are usually the first to be completed and are sent off before any other ones.”

As the school year continued, Batson and Herburger began preparing the pages to be sent off to Balfour, a publishing company in Dallas, that prints the books IT IS A VERY given to students at the end of the school OVERLOOKED year. On average, Balfour prints roughly PROCESS, BUT 800 ESD yearbooks IN REALITY, by the end of May. This year, Balfour is IT ACTUALLY printing 875 Carillon REQUIRES TONS copies with each book containing roughly PLANNING 376 pages. Each book costs approximately $80 to $100 to be produced, depending Erika Batson on what materials are used to create Senior it. The yearbook’s final deadline is April 5. The book will be finished and sent back to ESD during the second week of May. “We get assigned a budget every year that we use for production and other expenses such as camera equipment and computers,” Batson said. “Once we send off our pages to the Balfour, they immediately start producing them so we can have them back in May for the end of the school year. The cost of each book ranges depending on what type of paper we choose, the type of cover we use, and other design elements we select.”

This year, yearbook pages will print on 100 lb Polar Bear Matte stock, and endsheets on 80 lb white opaque super smooth stock. After printing, the book will be smyth sewn. The yearbook cover this year is a 145 pt binder board and fonts selected for the design were Ageo, Cagliari and Mirtha families.

“Even though there are endless hours put into creating the yearbook,” Batson said. “It is all worth it when we finally get to see it all put together. I know it will be a really exciting moment when we finally get the book back in May and get to see everything come to life.”

“

OF

FINAL TOUCH Editors-in-Chief Erika Batson and Grace Herburger make final design decisions before sending the yearbook to press on March 8. “We send pages every couple of months to get the printed proofs back so we can see how the look.

From there, we always have edits to make and mistakes to fix. It is a long process, but it is always nice to see how the pages turn out in the end.”

Photo provided by Sophie Goelzer

10

Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

arts

MIXED MEDIA

Dance program sees changes Classes during the day canceled, morning classes offered instead

By Maddy Hammett Copy Editor

T

he ESD dance program will be seeing changes next year as the program, according to Chief Academic Officer Eric Boberg, will no longer be offered as an official class and will instead only be available in the mornings before school for middle and upper schoolers. This marks a shift in the program that found its roots nearly eight years ago with dance teacher Glen Dawson.

The biggest change for students will be the moving of middle school day dance classes to before school. Prior to this change, upper school danced in the morning while middle school A LOT ABOUT danced during the DANCE IS day in separate blocks.

PUTTING YOUR BEST “Upper EFFORT FORWARD. school [dance] is already before [DAWSON] PUTS A school,” junior BIG EMPHASIS ON [IT dance participant Elisabeth Siegel NOT MATTERING] IF said. “So I’m YOU’RE GOOD OR BAD. confused how we’re going to have class NO MATTER WHAT together and if STAGE YOU’RE [IN,] we’re going to have YOU CAN ALWAYS one teacher for both of us at the IMPROVE same time.”

Boberg suggests that scheduling Cren Boyd will be up to the Junior teacher as beforeschool orchestra and band.

“For instance, the teacher could decide to offer middle school dance two days a week and upper school dance three days or divide the days by beginning and advanced levels,” Boberg said.

According to Boberg, the

“

ART IN MOTION The annual Art in Motion performance takes the audience to different spots all around campus, including the fountain.

This year’s event took place on Oct. 5. “I really enjoy performing.

I think [Art in Motion] was a great way to really get to know the school better because I was new here this year,” seventh grader Wendy Chen said. “I enjoyed it very much and I think it’s a great concept. I just think that’s a wonderful program and Miss Dawson is a good teacher adn I just have so much fun in class.”

Photo by Kristin Doebele

school started reviewing the dance program four years ago and made the decision this fall to make a change, primarily based on the lack of overall enrollment and sustained participation.

Dawson encountered engagement issues in the upper school since her start at ESD when she was first building the program in 2013.

“I had built programs before [ESD] so I knew what to expect,” Dawson said. “This one was a little bit more difficult. The upper school girls had to come before school because, of course, in the afternoon there were sports.”

Because of the five upper school girls who preferred to take dance in the mornings, many in the administration felt it was only natural to cancel classes during the day and push the elective to before school.

“At least in the short term, but most likely forever, we are ending classes during the school day,” Eric Boberg said. “But just continuing to watch the trends, we currently have five upper school students [in dance]. I believe all of them do before school dance [as] that has been pretty much the choice of upper school students.”

After watching dance engagement trends over the past eight years, Boberg has found that sustained engagement has remained low.

“There has been an uptick in quarter four fifth grade this year,” Boberg said. “We average five fifth graders and this quarter we have thirteen. We have had similar upticks in the past here and there, but they haven’t translated into sustained involvement.

For instance, in 2017-2018, we had thirteen sixth graders in quarter two and 10 fifth graders in quarter two of 2020-2021.

Nevertheless, we average just under three seventh graders and two eighth graders in dance. This

year we have four seventh graders and no eighth graders in dance .”

The major threat that has been posed to the dance program is how default scheduling works in middle school. Because dance is a performing art that is not for everyone, there is some hesitancy in automatically placing students in the class when they are looking for a new elective to take.

“I mean it’s different from the other arts in the middle school,” Boberg said. “Now we always promote dance, but we don’t feel comfortable saying [that another art is too full], so you have to take dance.”

The reasons for the dance program being changed, however, become more ambiguous to some when examining the amount of engagement the performing art has seen in the middle school this year. Dawson said that middle school engagement has never been higher.

“The numbers have really bloomed this year with the middle school,” Dawson said. “The numbers have gone up, and now I even have an honors dance that meets at lunchtime and [it] has 11 girls in it. That’s why this has been a surprise.”

In place of the dance program, a tech theater class will be added to middle school course selections.

The administration hopes that this class will have higher engagement among students than dance and help support performing art productions.

“We’ve posted for a middle school technical theater,” Boberg said. “We think that is an area that we can say, OK you’ve asked for a year of choir, for instance, but choir’s full, we’ll give you a semester and we want you to consider another production type [class.] I think that will attract a wider range of students.”

While it has not been said explicitly that Dawson will be

leaving, one thing is certain: those who have had the privilege of dancing with Dawson for any period of time recall the time spent in dance with fondness.

Senior Mary Grace Altizer was one of the first to dance with Dawson and remembers her time in middle school in which Dawson shaped her as a dancer and as a student.

“It was very fun and exciting being one of the first students in the ESD dance program,” Altizer said. “While being in Mrs. Dawson’s dance class, I was definitely stretched as a dancer.

She encouraged me to try new styles of dance, and to step out of my comfort zone. I am really glad that I got to work with her.”

Dawson, if she decides not to return to ESD this next school year, will continue to teach students the art of dance. She is excited to continue her work at community college Collin College in McKinney.

“I’m an associate professor at Collin College right now and [I’ve] been there for 15, 20 years,” Dawson said. “I’m looking at going back and teaching full time college.”

Junior Cren Boyd, who has been dancing with Dawson since sixth grade, had no previous dance experience outside of ESD when she joined the program and still found a way to appreciate the art because of Dawson’s work. “[Miss Dawson] is one of my favorite teachers,’’ Boyd said. “A lot about dance is about putting your best effort forward. She puts a big emphasis on it [not mattering] if you’re good or bad.

No matter what stage you are [in], you can always find a way to improve.”

The ESD dance program has offered many opportunities for students whether they are experienced in the art or not. Wu enjoys the way that ESD dance helps her to branch out of her comfort zone and try new styles of dance.

“ESD dance is different from dancing outside of ESD because you get to dance with your peers, and you walk into class everyday, not knowing what type of class we will have,” Wu said. “For example, I know that from Monday to Wednesday, I have ballet for an hour and a half at my dance studio, whereas at ESD dance I could be doing pilates, ballet or jazz class for an hour.”

Regardless of the changes that will be made to the program for this upcoming year, students of Dawson and those who have been products of the class have taken with them lessons that will follow them for the rest of their lives. These lessons will continue to serve in their importance regardless if the students decide to continue dance. “[In dance] you can find a way to collaborate with people who have more skills than you,” said Boyd. “And I translate that a lot into my daily life. [I learned] there is always a way to help other people. There is always a way.”

Arts

April 1, 2022

meet

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cri ics

A compilation of staff and community opinions of recent art and culture phenomena, highlighting a specific piece of media, events, films, collections, performances and music.

Anime Antics

Students and staff review their favorite Anime programs Over the past few years, anime has made its way into the forefront of American pop culture as TV shows, movies, and other forms of the Japanese entertainment industry have skyrocketed in popularity.

Invented in Japan in 1917 by Shimokawa Oten, the first anime was a collection of pictures taken of chalk drawings and lasted less than five minutes. From there, the industry took off, with 20 more of these types of films being created and released in that same year. These films, despite looking different from the anime we know today, contained many of the same themes and short-story designs. In the 1930’s and 40s, modern anime took form as characters were painted onto sheets of celluloid, a transparent material, and layered on top of each other. While anime studios struggled to generate funding to create entertainment-only pieces, the Japanese government began using anime as war propaganda, companies used it in advertising, and children’s educational videos began adopting the style as well.

After the war, anime studios began collecting enough revenue to return to the entertainment platform that they had originally hoped to create. The studio Toei is responsible for creating the first feature-length anime film, which sparked the giant industry we now know today.

Anime made its way to the US with the release of the series Astro Boy, which began airing in the US on NBC in September of 1963 and was very well received. As more shows like Gigantor and Speed Racer began appearing on American tv screens, it was revealed that a lot of the original Japanese content, like names and certain plot aspects were often removed as they were deemed too violent or graphic for an American audience.

Over the next 20 and 30 years, notable series’ like Sailor Moon, Pokemon and more were made more available to American audiences as Cartoon Network introduced special programming blocks, like Toonami, that aired exclusively anime, providing viewers with more opportunity to watch it than ever before.

Recently, however, anime has become more popular with US audiences.

According to an article posted by Netflix in October 2020, 100 million households watched at least one anime title between 2019 and 2020, a number that saw over a 50 percent increase from the year prior. One reason for this, according to The Japanese Shop, is a shrinking Japanese population. As Japanese audiences grow smaller, anime creators have begun incorporating popular western themes and ideas into their shows to try and make up for the loss of audience at home.

Whatever the reason may be, anime is rapidly making its way into the vanguard of American pop-culture, and many more are watching as a result.

By Sloane Hope Business Manager

Illustrations by Sarah Cabrales Cartoonist

“To Your Eternity” is a shounen fantasy anime that will make you appreciate the journey we call life. An immortal orb, “It,” falls to earth and begins taking on the shape of any beings to cross its path, eventually settling on the form of the boy Fushi. From the mundane to the sublime, the many highs and inevitable lows, all moments are celebrated in this tale. Like a child learning to walk, Fushi tries and fails and tries again. As an immortal, Fushi suffers the loss of any connections he makes but takes on the form of his friends to carry on their memory (and often to pursue their unfinished dreams). This is a heartfelt, powerful, unique story about what it means to live - you won’t be sorry you watched it.

By Kiley McAbee Guest Writer

I would say that Attack on Titan is a good “starter anime” for anyone who has never watched any anime before because AOT progresses like any other show, and it doesn’t seem too “anime”, as that is what I have noticed deters some people from watching anime shows; however, I will say that if someone were to use AOT as their starter anime, it would be a tough show to top because everything about it is so meticulously put together. In my opinion, this is the most complex plot of a show that I have ever watched, and yet, the storyline isn’t too hard to follow; furthermore, there are so many plot twists that just when you think you have a grasp on the reality of the show, your entire perspective shifts. Also, the voice actors, both Japanese and English, all fit their characters perfectly and the music and animation styles both create an entirely new element of immersion to the show. Speaking of animation styles, there was a change in the animation studio between Season 3 and 4, but I feel like this shift in the animation style complimented the story and what was happening at this moment in the plot. I would go a little further, but it’s getting a little into spoiler territory. My favorite season right now is Season 4, solely because it creates an entirely new dynamic and shift from the existing plot line leading up to it. Of course, I have loved every season so far, but the 4th Season just gives it the last push over the edge to make the show amazing. I hope that the studio continues to make 25 minute episodes to complete the 4th Season; however, with the amount of content left in the story, there will either need to be a Season 5, hour long episodes, or an Attack on Titan movie. I have loved every minute of it, mostly because it keeps me on the edge of my seat, never knowing what’s coming next. I have also enjoyed how every time I watch the show again, there are more and more details that I am piecing together as essential to the story. In my opinion, this show is a 10/10 and I definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a good show to watch.

By Connor Awbrey Guest Writer

The best show I have ever seen was an anime called Neon Genesis Evangelion. I saw it on the Netflix home page and clicked on it because the plot seemed somewhat engaging and the animation was visually pleasing. On the surface, the show appeared to be about giant robots defending the Earth from alien invasion. However, I soon discovered that this anime would take on some of the most advanced subject matter I’ve seen in entertainment or literature. From offering accurate and impactful representations of depression and PTSD to wrestling with technology’s role in the progression of humanity, this show took me on quite the existential roller coaster. Overall, if you want a show that looks nice, isn’t too long, and makes you think, Neon Genesis Evangelion is for you. It also has a 100% critic score on rotten tomatoes.

By Holden Moore Guest Writer

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Episcopal School of Dallas

Story by Abby Baughman, staff writer, Iris

QUIT WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD

$

The light of the screen shines on the teen’s face, as he sits and watches the team he bet on lose. He waits for the next football game, betting even more and chasing the loss. It is a cycle he doesn’t know how to stop.

On Feb. 1, Head of Upper School Henry Heil sent an email to parents letting them know about a concern of underage gambling happening in the community.

“There was a lot of talk among the faculty about overhearing conversations, of primarily boys, talking about gambling,” Heil said. “I wanted to make sure parents were aware [of this concern].”

UNDERAGE GAMBLING

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Underage gambling has become an increasingly large problem with the growth and accessibility of online casinos. Gambling online allows more people, especially teenagers, to lay a bet. According to a March 29 Eagle Edition poll of 158 students, 24 percent of responders said they gamble, and 50 percent know of a teenager who has a gambling problem.

“People can leave a casino, but most have their phones at all times” Will Straughan, founder and CEO of Sound Check Prevention Network, an addiction prevention company, said. “When it comes down to it, gambling is gambling wherever it is. I can see online gambling being a bigger risk for a teenager because having it on the phone and being able to access it at any time.”

This is the first year that gambling has become a concern to the school’s administration. According to the American Gaming Association sports betting rose 69 percent in 2020.

“Here at ESD [gambling] is relatively new,” Heil said. “It has become more and more mainstream and normalized in our culture. I expect the pandemic had a lot to do with the sudden increase], when people [are] at home and looking for things to entertain themselves [with].”

According to the Federal Trade Commission, a study in 2002 showed that many gambling sites’ underage warnings were hard-to-find, and 20 percent had none. The large majority of minors are only exposed to gambling online through sports betting websites.

“It’s easier for minors to manipulate systems online to get that verification and approval” Executive Casino Host Brandon Wooden said.

I know [at casinos] we do very extensive background checks of IDs before we allow anybody to participate. I can’t speak for all the online gambling companies, but I know that it’s much easier for minors to maneuver within their parameters.”

The NIH published in 2020 that the average online gambler is a 15 year old male, and according to a BusinessWomanPA.com article, published in 2020, four to six percent of teens have a major gambling problem, and 80 percent of teens have gambled in the past year. Like all addictions, gambling addicts are filled with the need to continue despite their monetary losses.

“I go through hot streaks and cold streaks, but I have lost mostly,” junior Pat Simmingtons* said. “Amongst my friends I’d say I am down a bit, but not a crazy amount. I lost hundreds of dollars on online sports betting [though].”

However, students don’t just have access to gambling digitally. At the Junior Symphony Ball, an annual dance for the sophomores, juniors and seniors from various schools in the Dallas area, there is a room where kids use fake money in order to gambling. Games such as blackjack, poker and craps are available. The same student poll revealed that, while attending JSB, 32 percent of respondents gambled.

“I gambled for about an hour and a half, [and] I understand the addictive nature of gambling,” sophomore Ralph Marks* said. “I realize that I could become addicted if not disciplined.”

Despite casino gambling being illegal in Texas, it is still very popular.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Texans spend $2.5 billion dollars annually on gambling. Gamblers also engage in post loss speeding—they place bets faster after a loss, trying to win back money.

“I probably know like 20 people in my grade that sports bet and lose money, every one of them,” sophomore Tom Mossman* said. “There’s only one person I know in all of ESD who hasn’t lost money on sports betting.

At first you lose only a minor enough amount of money that you can be like ‘Oh, I didn’t really lose that much money,’ but I know a lot of kids who have just lost thousands of dollars. I know a kid who has lost $3,000 in the past month and a half.”

According to the National Library of Medicine, in 2002, 19 percent of gamblers filed for bankruptcy opposed to the non-gambling average of 4 percent.

“I think that [gambling] promotes irresponsibility with your finances and

teaches people that money is relationships and ruin marriag of being that out of control of It is illegal in Texas to gam through an organization. How a small group of people, on p excluding skill. Social gamblin where everyone has a fair cha win a cash prize is the winner. private location with a small so without a door fee.

While some people migh Madness brackets as example Every year when late August a looking at football players’ sta to ‘draft.’ At ESD, 42 percent Football competition, the poll “My fantasy football grou sophomore Ben Guerriero said up receiving $240. At the draf loser’s hair. I ended up being Some may think fantasy f is a safe way to make sports p of money on sports games, pl Constant online ads and comm it seem like a way to win easy people can lose money, makin from winning hundreds of dol “It’s like beer commercial and do it, but it makes it norm money,” Straughan said. “The middle of an event where lots According to Consumer N 45.2 million Americans were e form. Many people, especially money on football games. Acc Mack, owner of Gallery Furnit “I think celebrities and ad they perceive themselves to h but gambling will never be a s Chairuangdej said. “As a Vega everywhere. Gambling and alc addictive coping mechanisms have full control [over] their m probability and their egos. So betting high amounts of mone they are simply trying to have are naive to the way it can ruin March Madness is also an for basketball enthusiasts. The 32 college basketball teams to other to win the grand Nation Association title. Every year p predicting how they believe th go. Typically ESD students wil bet with their friends or family will receive a prize or a dinner “March Madness is defini my love for competition,” Am always loved basketball, so I e games. I think this is a great w also just watch basketball.”

Making the perfect baske are a myriad of possibilities. A takes a random guess when p of winning and if one decides a one in 120.2 billion chance o is widespread as 62 precent o bracket.

“I believe it was 2019 wh sophomore Hunt Sands said. “ only a couple hundred people definitely a game of luck. Nob bracket.”

There is a debate over wh gateway to hard gambling. So someone gets a taste of victo think they are lucky. Others be with friends and family.

“I believe that when peop their minds,” Chairuangdej sa can keep on going to greater chances of winning, the saying

PSYCHOLOGY OF GAM

Gambling disorder, or pa of a person who gambles com beyond rational control, accor Gambling addictions can caus and their family. Most gamblin

April 1, 2022

Centerspread

17

by Baughman, staff writer, Iris Hernandez, staff writer and Olivia Hohmann, social media manager. Photoilllustrations by Abby Baughman and Iris Hernandez teaches people that money is a toy. It can also severely damage families in the lower class who most likely began gambling in their relationships and ruin marriages,” sophomore Olivia Marquez said. “The idea teenage years and abuse substances. Twenty-six percent of being that out of control of my money is honestly a little unsettling.” of the population gambles, but only 4 percent of the It is illegal in Texas to gamble at a casino or bet on a sports game population and 8 percent of college students are addicted through an organization. However, it is legal to bet on a game amongst to gambling. a small group of people, on private land and with equal odds of winning “The adolescent brain, roughly below 24, is still excluding skill. Social gambling is solely meant for having fun and socializing, developing, so much like drinking, gambling can really where everyone has a fair chance of winning and the only person who will [affect] the connections in the lower part of the brain win a cash prize is the winner. This type of gambling must be done in a where a lot of the basic instincts and the pleasure and private location with a small social group that is not open to the public and reward system are,” psychologist Dr. Adam Hinshaw said in without a door fee. an interview with the Eagle Edition. “Those neural pathways While some people might not think of Fantasy Football or March are really quickly going to get laid down by any sort of very Madness brackets as examples of gambling, they qualify as social gambling. stimulating, pleasurable experience. It’d be easy for [teenagers] Every year when late August and early September roll around, people start to kind of get hooked on gambling because they don’t have looking at football players’ stats to figure out who would be the best person the kind of resources in your neocortex, the top of your brain, PERCENT OF STUDENTS to ‘draft.’ At ESD, 42 percent of students have participated in a Fantasy and the lower part of your brain to emotionally be able to AND FACULTY KNOW Football competition, the poll revealed. regulate gambling, so [addiction] may happen really quickly.”

SOMEONE WHO HAS A “My fantasy football group was made up of a total of 12 players,” Unlike many other types of addictions, gambling is cited to GAMBLING PROBLEM sophomore Ben Guerriero said. “We all put in $20, so the winner ended be linked to psychological issues rather than strictly biological. up receiving $240. At the draft, we decided that the winner would cut the The vast majority of gambling addicts are already addicted to loser’s hair. I ended up being the loser of the 2021 draft.” alcohol or drugs, so are therefore more vulnerable to addiction.

Some may think fantasy football amongst friends including a small prize Teenagers are the most vulnerable to developing drug and alcohol addiction. is a safe way to make sports predictions; however, betting larger amounts According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 37 percent of highschool of money on sports games, players and seasons has become more popular. seniors abuse drugs.

Constant online ads and commercials glamorize sports betting and make “The reward pathway is very powerful for conditioning,” Hinshaw it seem like a way to win easy cash. These promotions do not show how said. “Cocaine acts directly on the open pathway into the other stimulants. people can lose money, making it seem like the gambler is only a click away Alcohol acts indirectly like heroin or prescription painkillers. Marijuana from winning hundreds of dollars. acts directly but in slightly different ways. Gambling tends to act on the “It’s like beer commercials where it might not make somebody run out dopamine pathway. It’s not necessarily because gamling is inherently bad, and do it, but it makes it normalized and reduces the associations of losing but because of what money is as a source of access to other experiences. money,” Straughan said. “They’re making it normalized and right in the Research shows that it is the same pathway that is activated in someone who middle of an event where lots of people are watching a game.” has a gambling problem and someone has a drug problem.”

According to Consumer News and Business Channel, in 2021 alone, According to data from the U.S. National Comorbidity Survey 45.2 million Americans were expected to wager on the NFL season in some Replication with 9,282 participants, 96 percent of those who met the form. Many people, especially celebrities, like to bet extremely large sums of requirements of gambling addiction had one or more psychiatric diagnoses, money on football games. According to Forbes, Jim McIngvale aka Mattress 49 percent were treated for a mental illness and 57.5 percent had a Mack, owner of Gallery Furniture, lost $9.5 million on his Super Bowl bet. substance addiction “I think celebrities and adults control their own money in ways [where] “The main reason someone with more mental health issues developed PERCENT OF STUDENTS they perceive themselves to have full control over their money gambling addictions easier is they might have other problems besides GAMBLED AT JUNIOR but gambling will never be a smart investment,” junior Drew compulsive or impulsive behavior,” Hinshaw said. “Usually, people who SYMPHONY BALL Chairuangdej said. “As a Vegas native, I used to see that do develop problems with [addiction] tend to have other preexisting everywhere. Gambling and alcoholism are the same problems like psychological problems passed down from the family of addictive coping mechanisms, but people perceive to origin. Most of these [problems] are issues of regulating emotions. have full control [over] their money despite the rigged Then they’re introduced to something like gambling, and it becomes probability and their egos. So when people start a habit because it’s pleasurable.” betting high amounts of money on things, I believe Common symptoms of gambling disorder are the need to they are simply trying to have fun and win, but they chase or bet with larger amounts of money to make up for the are naive to the way it can ruin their finances.” losses, increasing the amount of money being bet to combat March Madness is also an exciting time of year the brain’s tolerance and the unquenchable feeling of needing for basketball enthusiasts. The tournament brings to gamble or the feeling of withdrawal. Compared to people 32 college basketball teams to compete against each without gambling disorders, gambling addicts have a lower other to win the grand National Collegiate Athletic tendency to assess risks and rewards when making a decision. In this Association title. Every year people create brackets, study, alcoholics scored similarly to gambling addicts. predicting how they believe the competition will “Any sort of addiction the brain acts the same way - there go. Typically ESD students will just do a friendly is a ‘switch’ that they need more and more,” AP psychology PERCENT OF STUDENTS bet with their friends or family where the winner teacher Amy Henderson said. “The difference is that drugs AND FACULTY SAID THEY will receive a prize or a dinner at any restaurant. and alcohol can be a physical dependency, and gambling is a HAVE GAMBLED “March Madness is definitely a mix of fun and psychological dependency.” my love for competition,” Amison said. “I have Like all other forms of addiction, gambling chemically PERCENT OF STUDENTS AND FACULTY HAVE always loved basketball, so I enjoy watching the affects the brain, mainly the endocrine system or hormone PARTICIPATED IN FANTASY games. I think this is a great way to have a competition with your friends and production. The brain grows a tolerance to gambling, so in order to FOOTBALL also just watch basketball.” produce the same amount of adrenaline the gambler must make riskier Making the perfect basketball bracket is extremely difficult as there bets. The brain responds most between when the bet is placed and are a myriad of possibilities. According to the NCAA if one flips a coin or learning the results. Actually, gaining the win does not produce as strong takes a random guess when picking teams there is a 1 in 9.2 trillion chance of a reaction as the anticipation between. This may be why gamblers are of winning and if one decides to use their basketball knowledge there is never satisfied with their winnings and crave the feeling of betting again. a one in 120.2 billion chance of a perfect bracket. This form of gambling “As with any addiction, you always want more—it is never enough,” is widespread as 62 precent of students have created a March Madness Henderson said. “An alcoholic can say I am just having one beer tonight and bracket. then [are] unable to stop. That is the illness of the addiction, it has a hold on “I believe it was 2019 when I actually got the whole first round correct,” them that is hard to break away from.” sophomore Hunt Sands said. “It was insanely impressive as there were Casinos are infamous for their tricks to keep people inside only a couple hundred people with a perfect first round. March Madness is and spending money for as long as possible. Casinos have definitely a game of luck. Nobody has ever even gotten close to a perfect a unique design because there are purposely no exit bracket.” signs, windows, straight walls or right turns. According There is a debate over whether or not making these brackets is a to the Guardian, these design choices are done with gateway to hard gambling. Some believe that it is dangerous because once the intention for people to get lost and confused when someone gets a taste of victory, people play for a higher prize because they trying to find the exit. When a person is trying to find think they are lucky. Others believe that the game is just something fun to do the exit they will have to walk through multiple games or with friends and family. machines tempting their attention. Combined with the “I believe that when people win, they develop a pleasure to comfort free alcoholic drinks and no clocks or windows, people their minds,” Chairuangdej said. “I believe once you win, you feel like you are meant to lose track of time and stay for hours longer can keep on going to greater and greater distances to soak out any more than they were planning. chances of winning, the saying deems true… ‘high risk, high reward.’”

“The casinos do a lot of different things to keep customers gambling” Wooden said. “They make sure to PSYCHOLOGY OF GAMBLING leave very limited windows and there are no clocks in the Gambling disorder, or pathological gambling disorder, is the behavior building, so you lose track of time. Casinos also pump oxygen of a person who gambles compulsively, repeatedly and in a way seemingly into the building and constantly have cocktails revolving around PERCENT OF STUDENTS beyond rational control, according to the National Institutes of Health. to keep people awake and alert. There are always bright lights HAVE CREATED A MARCH MADNESS BRACKET Gambling addictions can cause major effects on the life of the gambler in any area where people are playing. You’ll never see a dark, and their family. Most gambling addicts, according to the NIH, are men dim gambling area.”

50

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*These students’ names have been changed at their request for privacy reasons.

SOURCE: MARCH 29 POLL OF 158 FACULTY AND STUDENTS

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Episcopal School of Dallas

Eagle Edition

In the past year, the social media platform TikTok has witnessed a rise in popularity over the hashtag #BookTok, where creators share book reviews and recommendations. Many books have become popular because of the hashtag and can now be recognized as “BookTok books.” In search of the best #Booktok books, Web Editor Kara Dross who has her own instagram account primarily dedicated to books, @karas.reads, read five of the most popular titles from the hashtag to review.

“ TH

“THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO”

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By Elena Armas

Elena Armas’ “The Spanish Love Deception” follows the story of Catalina Martín’s desperate attempt to prove to her family that she is over her ex-boyfriend— even if it means fake dating her coworker Aaron Blackford, who she happens to despise.

Together, Martín and Blackford travel to Spain together for Martín’s sister’s wedding.

From there, the pair begins to realize their fake relationship is becoming too real.

“The Spanish Love Deception” has a classic romantic comedy storyline and is a fairly unchallenging read. While rom-coms can be a fan favorite, “The Spanish Love Deception” lacked an original storyline. I continuously felt like I had read this story before due to the very basic rom-com plot line the story followed. Although the book was an easy read, it became more and more predictable as the story progressed.

Overall, I would not recommend this book if you are seeking an in depth, unforgettable romance story. 2/5 stars

By Taylor Jenkins Reid

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a historical-fiction novel and is certainly a must-read for anyone in a reading slump or needing a new book to become attached to. The book dives deep into the life of fictional old Hollywood actress Evelyn Hugo. We follow Hugo from her scrappy beginnings in the borough of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City to her rise to stardom in the glamorous Hollywood Hills. Hugo is widely known for the many movies she starred in from the ‘50s all the way through the eighties, and more infamously, the scandals from her seven marriages.

Many years later, Monique Grant, a reporter for the magazine Vivant, is specifically chosen by Evelyn to write a biography about her life. Grant, shocked that such a highly esteemed celebrity like Hugo would choose her, agrees to write the biography. Evelyn and Monique meet and Evelyn begins to recount her life. But, Hugo’s experience as a female-Cuban actress was not as glamorous as the films and newspapers made it seem. As Monique is getting the rundown of Evelyn’s biggest scandals and secrets, the reader gets thrown straight into a timeline based around the seven husbands Hugo had during her lifetime.

The book is broken up into several parts, each being named after one of the husbands. Celia St. James is soon introduced to the reader and unexpectedly turns out to be Evelyn’s true love. Evelyn must overcome the struggles of having to hide her relationship with Celia from the public eye.

Each part of the book is captivating and incredibly easy to get lost in. Reid does an excellent job of making the reader feel as though they are really there in the time period with the characters. The book strikes a range of emotions and creates characters that are painfully human and flawed. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” leaves you with a memorable story and a greater message about chasing your dreams.5/5 stars

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By Holly Black

“A G

UIDE RL’S G I G D OO

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By Holly Jackson

Andie Bell was the picture-perfect high school student. She was smart, popular and admired by her classmates. She had the perfect life ahead of her.

Then, she disappeared into thin air. Shortly after her disappearance, Andie’s boyfriend, Salil Singh, is found dead by suicide. Discovered with Sal’s body is a text message confessing to the murder of Andie. The shocking murder of Andie rocked the community of Fairview, Connecticut as police concluded that she was murdered by Sal despite never having found her body. Five years go by and Fairview High School senior Pippa Fitz-Amobi begins to reinvestigate the case in order to prove Sal is actually innocent.

This was a nail-biting and suspenseful book to read. I must add that this was one of the first thriller books I had read in a while, so I went in with fairly low expectations. After reading the first few chapters, I was immediately glued to the book. The reader is presented with a magnitude of thoughts and questions while reading, wondering what twist might happen next or what Pippa will shockingly come to discover in the coming chapters. I was continuously left astounded with the amount of unexpected plot twists Holly Jackson created that nearly made my brain hurt from thinking about them so much. Another aspect of the book that I loved was its unique formatting. It’s written in journal-like entries with text screenshots, newspaper clippings, charts and interview recordings added in. I would highly recommend “A Good Girls Guide to Murder” if you are interested in deep-diving into an engrossing thriller. 5/5 stars

Jude Duarte was just seven years old when she witnessed her parents brutal murder. From that moment on, her life was LS” completely changed. Jude, her twin ROYA N

By Katharine McGee A C sister Taryn, and their older sister RI Vivienne, are taken by their parents “AME Picture this: America has a royal family ruling the murderer to the High Court of country under a monarchy. “American Royals” is a Faerie to be raised as one of faeries. captivating mix of drama, romance, scandals and Flash forward ten years, Jude, a indulgence. This alternate history novel explores the mortal being, feels like an outcast in concept of America ruled by descendants of George the eyes of the Faeries. Determined Washington in modern day time. The book is told to win her place in the King’s council, through four different characters’ perspectives: Jude must figure out what she is really Princess Beatrice, Princess Samatha, Daphne capable of in order to obtain the power Deighton and Nina Gonzalez. American Royals is she desires and take down Price Cardan. a perfect mixture of “Crazy Rich Asians,” “The “The Cruel Prince” is a fantasy Crown” and “Gossip Girl” all in one book. It has book series with drama, politics, power, everything you could want and more- royalty, revenge and even a bit of romance. While romance, politics, glittering parties and loads of the book did have intriguing opening, I scandal. was left unsatisfied with how quickly the While the book is on the longer side, it is book moved on from Jude and her parent’s near impossible to put down once you become murder. It was difficult, as the reader, invested in the characters’ lives. Reading to connect and understand Jude without through different character’s perspectives hearing more about her initial upbringing undeniably adds to the narrative, as the reader and background. As for the storyline, it is is able to see different events unfold from very fast-paced which was somewhat hard to opposing points of view and get inside the keep up with for me, especially since so many heads of the characters. The only disappointment characters are introduced. While reading I I had while reading this book was that there were no male continued to notice multiple things would happen at once and were point of views. I would have really liked to read a point of view from never connected. The book is titled after Prince Cardan, which I do not Prince Jefferson, the twin of Princess Samatha, or Conor Markham, Princess think suits the book given that it was exploring Jude’s character more Beatrice’s bodyguard. I believe if the book had these perspectives it would than Cardans. Overall, “The Cruel Prince” is a diverting action-packed have helped contribute to the character exploration. With that being said, fantasy novel but would not be suitable for a reader who is new to the America Royals delivered in all ways I hoped it would, despite the lack of world of fantasy novels. 3/5 stars character perspectives. 4/5 stars

April 1, 2022

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views e

The opinions expressed in this section of the Eagle Edition do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper staff, school, adviser, faculty or staff

STAFF STANCE

The staff stance reflects the opinion of the Eagle Edition staff and it does not reflect the opinion of the school, newspaper adviser, faculty or staff.

Community should continue to aid Ukrainian people

R

ussian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has left the world shocked by the horrors of war and violence that have altered the lives of the Ukrainian people.

For the first time in history, we are able to watch the front lines of a war unfold directly from our devices, making it all the more important and easy to remain conscientious of what is going on in the world.

Whether it is through TikTok videos or social media blogs, we have been exposed to the tragedies and brutalities that are occurring in Ukraine, and it is imperative that we do not turn a blind eye. The Eagle Edition staff condemns Putin’s unjust attacks on Ukraine and encourages students and the school community to not only be aware of what is going on in the world around them but also get involved in ways to help the Ukrainian people.

Many in the school community have been inspired to help Ukraine and its people and have found ways to raise awareness and money in order to aid those affected by the war.

Students in the upper school have increasingly found ways to support Ukraine through projects and fundraisers. After playing on a club soccer team with Ukrainian immigrant Zakhar Zapolskyy, senior Grant

Jungerman quickly took action and created a GoFundMe to aid Zapolskyy’s extended family that still lives in Ukraine. The family’s goal was to help their relatives escape to Poland and make it to the U.S. embassy in Warsaw. Their ultimate goal was for their family to fly to the U.S. quickly and safely.

Jungerman was successful in raising $6,200 for the Zapolskyy family, which was used to bring their grandmother to the U.S. Jungerman promoted the fundraiser within the ESD community, and students were able to donate and rally around a tangible cause. The Eagle Edition proudly praises Jungerman’s initiative and his work toward bettering the lives of the Zapolskyy family.

Teachers and students have also come together to create ways for people to raise awareness at school through bake sales and other projects.

Baking Club partnered with the student body to make and sell baked goods where all profits would go toward helping Ukraine. Set up in the commons on March 24, seniors Claire Wooley and Tori Schmidt ran the bake sale where students were able to stop by in the afternoon to make their purchases. In just one day of sales, they were able to raise $1000, which will all be donated to the Episcopal Relief Fund to help their efforts in Ukraine.

Similarly, students also worked

last weekend to create blue and yellow bracelets. A group of sophomores came together to help make bracelets that will be donated to UNICEF and profits will be used to help Ukraine.

We applaud these students and their initiatives for actively creating ways to aid the global community in need.

Current parent, Mark Konradi even traveled to the Ukraine-Poland border to help refugees and serve as a translator between Polish volunteers and the Ukrainians.

Konradi and his family speak Russian, which is very similar to Ukranian, facilitating the Polish volunteers in making sure the refugees are getting exactly what they need. He has been posting updates on Facebook of his work on the border and is helping Ukrainians gain access to cell serve, SIM cards, and other necessities to stay in contact with their families that might have remained in Ukraine. As fellow journalists, we respect Konradi’s courage to travel to a dangerous war zone in order to not only help those in greatest need but also provide our community with a true perspective of the Ukrainian crisis. We, as a staff, value his work and reporting during such a difficult and emotional time and hope that we can continue to hear the stories of the Ukrainian people he meets.

Social media has been a

key aspect for many to stay informed and connected during the Ukraine crisis. It has served as a way for many to realize and literally see the struggles that the Ukrainians are going through. TikTok, Instagram and Facebook have all created a way for Ukrainians and people on the Ukrainian border to document the war, exposing the realities of war and how it affects people of all ages. Many upper schoolers have seen these graphic images and videos and were moved to make a change, raise awareness, and donate and send money to organizations and people that are helping during this time.

The Ukrainian struggle has served as a way for students to not only be grateful for their safety and lifestyles but also be more aware of what is going on in the world around them. Members of the school community have been able to truly demonstrate and represent the school’s commitment and value to service through their actions.

Whether it is through a fundraiser, bake sale or other projects, every action is significant and does go a long way in helping the Ukrainian people. The Eagle Edition staff hopes that students continue to stay aware of what is happening in Ukraine and support the country and its people in any way possible.

“

STUDENTS IN THE UPPER SCHOOL HAVE INCREASINGLY FOUND WAYS TO SUPPORT UKRAINE THROUGH PROJECTS AND FUNDRAISERS

BELIEVING IN THE BEADS Sophomores Katherine Phillips and Sienna Link and junior Elizabeth Sawers build bracelets with the colors of the Ukrainian flag on March 27.

“Sienna reached out to me about helping a lower school student make bracelets in support of Ukraine,” Sawers said. “They have received over 100 orders!”

Photo by Gina Montagna

20 Eagle Edition

letter

Episcopal School of Dallas

the

from

W

hile the fifth issue of the Eagle Edition might seem like any other, for us, it is probably one of the most monumental. This is our final issue as editors-in-chief. As we predicted in our first Letter From the Editors, our time as editors has gone by very quickly.

When sitting down to write this letter, we looked to the editors of past years for inspiration. Last year at this time, Evelyn Zhao and Blair Batson used the fifth issue to talk about the importance of being willing to make sacrifices for something you love, such as the newspaper, an ability to be a team player and determination when faced with a challenge you don’t know how to solve. As we have worked as editors this year, these values have definitely been important. However, we have a couple more to add to the list.

Firstly, the importance of being willing to change your mind. As journalists, we are often determined to stand firm by the facts of a story and by our opinions.

This is an important quality to have, however, keeping an open mind can also be essential. There have been times where, reading stories or opinions from members of the staff, we have changed our minds on a subject or topic. This quality is also essential to leadership. When we find that a strategy we have used in leading the staff has not worked, we regrouped and started again. One of the changes that we are the most excited about in the newsroom is the addition of two new IPads.

If we had never been willing to consider alternatives to designing graphics on Photoshop or Illustrator on the computer, we never would have discovered this convenient way of designing illustrations. We are both very excited to see the

Photo by Sloane Hope

exciting new changes that next year’s editors, Maddy Hammett and Grace Worsham will bring to the newsroom.

Additionally, the two of us have learned the importance of exploring one’s passions. While this is a lesson the two of us have been learning since our Journalism I days, this is something that has been stressed to us even more this year because we have been able to watch our staff grow their passion for journalism more closely.

An excitement for what you are working on is something that you cannot fake, and we have seen evidence of this in our staff. For example, reading personal columns from Callie Hawkins, Maddy Hammett and Katherine Mote, it is clear that these three staff members have found a passion for journalism. For Callie it is sports, Maddy, books, and Katherine,

politics. The reason that they are able to write strong articles about these topics for six issues is because they are passionate about what they are writing about, and this willingness to stick true to their passions has paid off.

Finally, we would like to stress the importance of savoring small moments. For the two of us, this issue is the first of the many lasts that senior year brings. Together, we have enjoyed so many small moments that we might have taken for granted. Our memories of decorating the journalism room for Halloween, enjoying bagels at the beginning of Sunday workday, shouting out story ideas on the first day back from a new issue and bringing stacks of newspapers home from distribution day are ones that might not stick out to us in the moment but are ones that we will want to hang on to, later.

Our biggest advice to the upcoming editors is to pay attention to these moments and to savor them. We also want to express the importance of chasing your goals and taking pride in being the editors of such an amazing publication—you deserve it! We are so excited for next year’s staff to make memories like these next year.

So, while we still will be writing a sixth letter to the editor in May, this is our first goodbye as editorsin-chief. You might be experiencing emotions of your own to see us go: sadness that we are leaving, excitement of what is to come and maybe a little relief that there is someone new behind the wheel.

However, know that we have been so honored to be editors-in-chief these past six issues and are thankful to have learned so many life lessons.

Supreme court nominations should not be political Judge Ketanji Brown is plently qualified, regardless of affiliation

Miles Wooldridge Staff writer

J

udge Ketanji Brown-Jackson is on track to be confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Since the very first United States legislature convened, there has been an established procedure for vetting a judge that has been deemed qualified by POTUS himself (or, more likely, by some unknown bureaucrat from his cabinet). After all, lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful offices that can be held in the United States government should not be given to just anybody. To ensure that they are right for the job, the nominee is subject to questioning by the senate in a “Confirmation Hearing” and a simple majority will make the judge’s promotion final.

Politicians, however, can’t make the SCOTUS hearings about themselves, they should instead look at the purpose the supreme court exists for determining who should serve on it.

One would expect that senators elected to serve the people would show some decency and class, but these hearings have devolved into solely an opportunity for

political drama. Precedent is to attack the character rather than qualifications of a nominee and pick fights in hopes of going viral. It’s important to recognize, though, that this was not always the case. The original intent of the supreme court nomination process was simply to provide basic checks and balances on the President to make sure he doesn’t appoint someone completely insane. Now senators act like they expect every SCOTUS pick to be a carbon copy of their personal policy agenda. This gives them an excuse to use the hearing as a campaign ad.

Looking back to the last few confirmation hearings, you can see the party-line voting emerge.

Amy Coney Barrett did not receive a single minority party vote. Everyone in the world of American politics remembers the fiasco of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings that culminated in his receiving only one vote from Democrat Joe Manchin to win 5048. Before that was Neil Gorsuch, who received only three minority party votes, and Merrick Garland, who was unable to even receive

any votes before the entire senate because he was shut down in the preliminary vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee. These were all in the last six years.

The job of the Supreme court is very clearly outlined in the Constitution: “The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority.” Essentially, it is the job of a Justice to interpret the laws of this nation as they are written, rather than editorializing in a way that they prefer (which is the job of the legislative branch).

Ketanji Brown-Jackson went to Harvard Law School. She has made it clear that she knows how the system works. She even sounded like she favored the originalist constitutional interpretation during the hearing, saying that she believed “the Constitution is fixed in its meaning” and that “it’s appropriate to look at the original intent, original public meaning of the words,” which should be popular with the right. This is the

After Student Body Week is finished, Student Council has one main job left: to help the students make it to the end of the year.

(I don’t mean literally. Though I am sure that everyone in Student Council would love to help you pull that B+ up to an A, that is sadly not part of the job description.)

One of the main reasons we even have a Student Council, I think, is to serve the students. To make the year as enjoyable as possible, to promote school spirit and to make things easy on everyone-- students, faculty and staff. Our number one priority is to serve the ESD community. That is why, after an entire year of mechanical bulls and outdoor dances and studentteacher basketball games, the entire Student Council sat together

last Thursday morning with about 40 small smiles on our faces.

Another fantastic year was coming to a close, and there was just one more thing left for us to do. We spent that meeting brainstorming about what our final service to the community would look like.

Walking out of that meeting, however, I realized that all of the Student Council seniors that had worked so hard to make this year amazing would not be here in a month. That soon, the junior class, my grade, would be the leaders of Student Council. We would have to take on the daunting task that Kai, Gabe, Kate, Jonathan, Austin, Anna, Gina, Jake, Riley, Tucker and Emily all excelled at this year.

I have to admit, thinking about that task made my heart drop a little.

only information that a senator should need to vote to confirm her because all that matters is her knowledge of the law.

The last two Justices to die during their time on the bench were Justice Antonin Scalia (died February 13, 2016) and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (died September 18, 2020). The two were simultaneously close friends and intense political rivals.

They celebrated New Year’s_ Eve together annually, only to write dissenting opinions on nearly every major case that came their way.

For most of this country’s history, this was not something that was odd. Ginsburg received a 96-3 vote upon her confirmation in 1993 and Scalia received a vote of 98-0 in 1986. Neither were moderate in their ideology, but there was enough respect and decency from congress to put that aside and there was enough maturity from the nominees themselves to control their personal prerogatives when they served.

Senate Republicans have an opportunity to show some dignity and confirm a judge with decades of experience in the legal system.

But then I thought of the junior class. Many of the present Student Council members are people I have worked with in Student Council since middle school. And with the thirteen spots available for seniors next year, I believe there will be so many capable juniors stepping up and running for positions as well. Though I will miss the seniors dearly, and their passionate involvement made things a lot easier on us underclassmen. I cannot wait to embark on the next chapter of Student Council with the amazing, remaining classes.

But the year is not finished, and we still have work to do!

Amelia Sinwell Junior Class President

April 1, 2022

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MOMENTS WITH

letter

Following current

to the

events helps develop empathy

Dear Editors, After always wondering what life at ESD was like, members of Hockaday’s newspaper, The Fourcast, decided to take matters into our own hands: Magazine Editor KG Estess and Co-Editor-in-Chief Maddie Stout spent an entire day as Eagles on March 24, with the intention of reporting back for a story in their paper.

Led by Eagle Edition editors, we went to classes, went to Central Market for lunch and attended chapel just like any other ESD senior. Coming from a single sex, secular school like Hockaday, we expected our day to differ greatly from a usual day as a Daisy.

We quickly noticed the difference in the length of our classes – while our class periods are 75 minutes, a 15 minute shorter class seemed to move much more quickly. Additionally, Hockaday students only attend two classes each morning, allowing us more time to spend with our advisory every day.

From observing the Eagle Edition, we learned a lot about their process, inspiring us to make some potential changes. For example, Eagle Edition writers have multiple “worknights” before going to press, while the Fourcast staff typically only uses one. Also, section editors for the Eagle Edition edit the stories in their section, while our EICs and Copy Editor solely take on that role.

We also noticed the difference in the number of AP classes that ESD students take. While most Hockaday seniors fill their schedules with semester seminars, Maddie attended four AP classes in one day while shadowing Gina.

After our morning classes, we headed to the part of the day we looked forward to most: chapel. While we weren’t sure what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised by its reality, as the time off offered a chance to share positive messages and reflect. On the day we visited, a senior advisory spoke about their bonding throughout Upper School by connecting it to a documentary they had watched together, a definite shift from any preconceived notions we had about chapel at an Episcopal school.

While our “Conference” period at Hockaday occurs right before lunch, we learned that ESD’s FLEX period occurs between their fourth and fifth classes of the day.

During this time, we attended a meeting for Itinerary, a magazine similar to Hockaday’s “Vibrato.” While at Hockaday Vibrato is a separate class, we appreciated how Eagle Edition writers could write for both publications since they meet during different periods.

The aspect of an ESD education that interested us most was its co-educational aspect – as Hockaday lifers, we had hardly ever attended a class with boys. Still, the experience was not as scary as we had once thought: we could hardly notice a difference, and the differences between our schools are not as different as we had once thought.

Both of us greatly appreciate how welcoming our peers were at ESD, especially Emily and Gina. After an enlightening day, we can only hope for more collaboration between our schools.

Sincerely, Maddie Stout and KG Estess

Awareness proves vital in times of war

MO TE

I

’m not saying I’m perfect at fully being aware of my situations and those around me, but keeping up with the news and understanding what’s going on in the world and hearing first-hand accounts, gives one the perspective and insight needed to be empathetic.

It is imperative young adults develop empathy through exposure to current events and global awareness.

Tensions have been mounting between Russia and Ukraine since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity when protesters met in Kyiv, Ukraine, to attempt to overthrow President Viktor Yanukovych and the Ukrainian government after his decision to develop closer ties with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union instead of signing a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union.

As Russia started moving in on the Ukrainian border in early January of this year, people around the world grew more and more interested in the conflict. Millions of Ukrainians are fleeing the country leaving all their belongings behind. Families are forced to split up because males aged 18-60 are forced to stay in Ukraine to fight. This war is having worldwide impact as we’ve already begun to see with the economic sanctions such as halting the importation of Russian gas to the United States and an increase in fuel prices.

Additionally, entertainment and sporting events have shifted.

Athlete Britney Griner, for example, is being held in Russia under minor drug charges, affecting the Womens National Basketball Association. And events such as the Russian Grand Prix and the skiing world cup, both set to take place in Russia, have been cancelled or moved elsewhere,

By Katherine Mote News Editor

respectively.

This will be the first large-scale war that will be largely viewed on social media platforms. As a 17-year-old girl I’ve seen footage and accounts on all forms of social media including TikTok and Instagram referring to or about the war in Ukraine. I could never begin to understand the crisis these families are going through, but seeing their lives through a screen and the challenges they are facing provides an inside view to their lives. It makes me grateful for my circumstances but it also puts some perspective on the issues I face in my daily life.

Growing up in a bubble, I hope to be a student aware of my surroundings and my privilege.

Although I will never be an Afghan woman fleeing for her life or be a Ukrainian child hoping to reach Poland before their country is completely seized, by following the news cycle and exposing myself to different views and perspectives I hope to make myself a more aware and informed citizen.

The last week of February an episode on the popular TV series “The View ‘’ aired where co-host Sunny Hostin and Joy Behar discussed the refugee crisis as a result of the Ukraine and Russia’s war. Hostin started a conversation by saying 50,000 Ukrainians would die or be wounded and there would be a refugee crisis in all of Europe with over five million Ukrainians displaced. The sheer numbers alone are terrifying and seeing how many people’s lives will be permanently affected by this war is extremely unsettling.

Just following this statement, Behar said that after four years of a pandemic, and the inability to travel abroad or to other countries without difficulty, she was upset that she would miss her vacation to Italy this summer. Hearing it

being said out loud following such a traumatic statement really struck me. I don’t think she understood what she was really saying. I don’t think she was trying to look past the refugee crisis or the number of deaths that will be caused, but at that moment she was only thinking of herself and how the situation would hurt her. The statement seemed extremely out of touch and inappropriate to be saying on national TV, but it brings me back to the creation of a bubble. Behar was sitting on a stage surrounded by wealthy and powerful women, a place where she’s comfortable being herself and stating her own beliefs because that is the entire purpose of her job. She was surrounded by women with similar interests, so by stating this, she assumed her words were accepted by others on that stage.

As hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens wait over 48 hours on crammed trains to make it only six miles out of Ukraine into the border country of Poland, American citizens are worried their Italian vacations will be ruined because of this refugee crisis.

News and current events, normally not considered by many teenagers in particular, is now more important than ever. Social media has made the spread of news more accessible and ubiquitous in our society, helping create a more unified world with the call to action being more widespread than ever.

I’m lucky to have grown up in such a safe community and neighborhood, and I must use those same feelings to generate gratitude, empathy and thankfulness in light of other people’s circumstances, and work to make the people around me more aware of their surroundings as well.

What’s the Wordle? by Sarah Cabrales

EAGLES FOR THE DAY Hockaday seniors Maddie Stout and KG Estess eagerly stand outside of chapel during their visit to ESD. The two Daisies visited campus alongside the ESD editors and got a taste of what a day at ESD is like. “As lifers at Hockaday, we always wondered what life at another Dallas private school was like,” Stout said. “Visiting ESD gave us such a great look into another world, and we learned we aren’t as different as we once thought.”

Photo by Gina Montagna

22 Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

pro

con

Should we change to a four-day work week?

Photo illustration by Charlotte Tomlin Asst. Web Editor

Charlotte Tomlin Asst. Web Editor

Pro: Yes

It’s not a shock that students rejoice when the blessed email comes out that school is cancelled due to weather or unforeseen circumstances and a fourday weekend awaits. Many students find themselves exhausted at the end of the week because of ongoing stressors and a lack of rest time. Not to mention, many employees and workers feel the same after a long 40-hour work week. I, myself, often get sick when I don’t get enough sleep for an extended period of time. Whether the lack of sleep is from staying up late doing homework or sleeping poorly because of stress, it is imperative that we sleep and rest to avoid falling ill.

There is a solution that many companies have already put into practice to avoid the imminent threat of academic or professional burnout: a four-day work week.

There are two basic types of four-day work weeks: one where the entire company or organization shuts down for 72 hours, and one where employees can choose which four days they want to work. Instead of the usual eight hours a day for five days a week, employees work 10 hours a day for four days, enjoying a three day weekend.

Microsoft Japan, for example, switched to a four-day work week and reaped numerous benefits. According to Forbes.com, worker productivity rose 40 percent after switching to the new schedule. And employee satisfaction can rise with a four-day work week. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 60 percent of organizations that use a four-day work week reported higher productivity and increased employee satisfaction.

Companies and organizations that switch to a four-day work week find that the structure makes for a beneficial work-life balance. The structure makes employees more engaged and allows them to use their time and company resources. According to Forbes, the fourday work week can reduce overhead costs, along with other costs: costs of electricity usage, office supplies and cafeteria costs lessened. Additionally, employees use fewer sick days and are generally more productive.

According to Forbes.com, 74 percent of surveyed office workers supported a four-day work week. It could attract a broader talent pool, as it is more accessible to larger groups of people. Fewer hours on a computer at a desk benefits workers who may have chronic illnesses, employees who need to take care of young children and caregivers of elderly parents. With a four-day work week, workplace talent, personal wellness and a work-life balance could improve.

We do have the pandemic to thank, partly, for the rise in consideration for the four-day work week. Although the idea has been experimented with since the ‘90s, the pandemic pushed employers to consider a four-day work week or working remotely. California Rep. Mark Takano introduced a bill that would implement a four-day work week in his state.

This bill would require employers to pay overtime for hours worked above 32 hours a week.

The U.S. House of Representatives is not the only government to consider implementing a four-day work week— the Scottish, Japanese and Spanish governments have all encouraged a four-day work week.

While only a number of companies have made the complete switch to the shortened work week, many plans to make the switch are in order. The U.K. is launching a four-day work week test drive, lasting from June to December of 2022.

However, the four-day work week is not only prevalent in professional situations. Some schools across the U.S. have implemented a four-day school week program. According to edweek, students in a four-day school week program spent more time on school sports, chores, homework, jobs, school activities and personal hobbies compared to their counterparts that attended a five-day school week.

Some may argue that more employees working for a shorter amount of time with the same amount of pay seems like it would be an incentive to work less hard. However, this is not the case. In a study conducted in 2018 by a New Zealand based company, Perpetual Guardian, it was reported that employee productivity remained the same, while they also showed an increase in job satisfaction, teamwork, work-life balance, and company loyalty. The study also reported that employees experienced less stress, decreasing from 45 percent to 38 percent.

The implementation of a four-day work week would provide flexibility for employees, encouraging a better work-life balance. Productivity in companies would increase with the administration of a four-day work week, and overall costs would decrease. Employees would have more time for themselves, their families and to pursue their interests. It would also allow more time for employees to rest and stay healthy.

54

percent of students support the four day work week

Alex Warner Views Editor

Con: No

The idea of shorter school and work days sounds promising, allowing people to have extra free time to hang out with friends or take the time off to improve mental health. However, it’s a lot more complicated and unnecessary with important factors to consider such as risked financial stability, overschedulings and fatigue that may arise from cramming four days into four. All these issues make four-day work and school weeks less enticing.

According to Global Citizen, more than 30 million children in the U.S. rely on free or reduced-price meals at school, which helps improve children’s academic performance and their short and long term health. If a school week is shortened, children who rely on those free meals won’t have access to them. Three-day weekends would become more stressful for the parents who would have to work longer hours to compensate for an extra day of food.

Along with financial disadvantages, changing school scheduling means parents will need to secure childcare for when their children aren’t in school. Especially for families on a budget, childcare can be expensive and even unfeasible. School is supposed to provide a safe environment for children and engage them in educational and developmental activities.

Similarly to shortening work days, many employees are paid by the hour, shortening to a four-day work week would only emphasize the inequality in the work community. In a 2014 YouGov and HuffPost poll, approximately 50 percent of American workers said they would work an additional day a week for 20 percent more pay. Shorter work weeks would also affect businesses financially; the cost of a full-time employee to a business is greater than their annual salary because employers cover the costs of benefits such as pensions and health insurance. Employers may not be able to hire more people to cover decreased working hours.

If shorter work and school days were implemented, there would be more effort in scheduling and forethought. One of the bigger scheduling changes could lead to longer hours in school and work. In schools, younger children might not be able to adapt as easily to longer days at school. For teenagers, this could affect children’s mental health.

Longer days mean longer nights studying for tests and completing homework assignments.

Increasing the amount of hours in a school day to compensate for a lost day makes it harder for students to effectively learn in class as fatigue and concentration difficulty rises.

It’s understandable that students spend a lot of time at school, so why extend it for an extra hour just to have one more day off? According to the Sleep Better Council, more than 79 percent of teens get seven hours of sleep or less on a typical school night. Forty three percent of teens go to bed at 11 p.m. or later, and about 33 percent of these same teens wake up at 6 a.m. or earlier. The more stressed a teen feels, the more likely they are to get less sleep, go to bed later and wake up earlier.

Also, a New York Times article published in 2009 stated that, in Chicago, about $10 million were spent in 2011 for 50 public schools to lengthen their days. Schools received up to $150,000 to use to compensate employees for the extra time. The total projected cost for all schools in the district was $84 million. For a 10 percent increase in time, schools would need to increase their budgets by six to seven percent, not including additional money needed for electricity, maintenance and other utilities costs. This counteracts the whole idea of a shorter work and school week.

In the working industry, not all industries qualify for shortened weeks because they require constant presence or scheduling for optimal flow; this makes a four-day work week hard to implement. Companies like Amazon are constantly working because they rely on good customer service to continue to have a thriving company. Certain jobs may also not be suited for reduced hours. In four-day work week experiments that France has been implementing, researchers found that the workers ended up putting in the same hours as a regular five-day work week. The difference was that the company had to pay overtime, so it was overall an unsuccessful experiment.

Shorter school weeks could harm students’ performance in and after school. Longer work days can also harm workers because their attention span is shorter as the day goes on. If there are longer office hours, workers may be careless or inefficient in their work. According to the United States Department of Labor long work hours can result in increased levels of stress, poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and illness.

Shortening weeks seems like a great idea;but the costs are great and unpredictable. I do believe, however, that an alternative such as having five days but shortening the fifth day would be convenient and more realistic for everyone.

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percent of students do not support the four day work week Source: March. 29 poll of 158 upper school students

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April 1, 2022

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The issues in banning books from school communities Maddy Hammett Copy Editor

THE MARKUP WITH MADDY

B

ooks yield knowledge.

This is a fundamental truth that I have come to learn from nearly 12 years of reading. Starting when I was little, my parents and school encouraged me to read nearly anything and everything that I could get my hands on. I’ve come to know now that this was an immense privilege as many children in this country are now faced with increasing limits on what they are allowed to read.

The banned books debate has always been rather prevalent in this country. Each time the tide becomes hot with political discourse, more limitations are set on the rising generation of readers. This epidemic was one that I was never aware of growing up, but now in 2022, it appears the fervor has returned, hotter and with more indignant individuals than ever. This shift is troubling to me; I fear adolescents may not be introduced to important topics that will serve them well in the future.

I find that the attack on difficult

Elisabeth Siegel Life editor

T

he music ends and the bright lights hit. I spot the smiling faces of my family in the crowd as they applaud.

Despite my feet being sore from pointe shoes and pirouettes, I walk out of the theater and am immediately greeted by hugs and a bouquet of flowers. Though it’s just movement to some, for many dance is so much more. However, the curtains for ESD dancers could be closing.

Dance will not be built into the schedule for students at ESD starting next year.

Though upper school dance has always been a before-school activity, middle school dance will also be moved to a before-school activity after being part of the school schedule for years. The administration’s goal is to introduce a new middle school theatre tech class during school hours instead.

According to Chief Academic Officer Eric Boberg, whoever teaches dance next year will decide how the class will be structured and if we will have any performances.

But I have had trouble trying to understand how this change will play out, especially if both upper

books comes ultimately out of fear and misunderstanding of the books themselves.

The first instance of banning books in our country occurred in 1600—before our nation was even formally established. New England Puritans were outraged by Thomas Mortan’s “New Canaan.” In the book, Mortan used political satire to poke fun at the New England Puritans. Following a strict moral compass, Puritans banned the book in the Americas. This set precedent for the many books of future generations that would be unlawfully banned in the states.

“New Canaan’’ is an example of a book that deviated from the status quo. The Puritans feared the book was greater than just an insult to their faith; they feared the effect that the book could have on the minds of community members.

This fear has continued into the twenty-first century as the fear now surrounds new ideas in books that are deemed ‘too progressive.’

Some of the most banned books today include “1984” by George Orwell, “The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, “The Catcher in the Rye”

by JD Salinger and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou.

The thing I may love the most about a book is its ability to follow people. After reading a book that contains difficult subject matters, the content will follow the reader.

More often than not, this allows for some discomfort to creep in.

Take for instance Albert Camus “The Stranger.” This book contains themes of death and the narrator’s attitude towards life is nihilistic in nature. Although the book is short, I found myself rereading it this past summer to understand the difficult themes more fully. The most notable aspect of this book is how, to this day, I still find myself thinking about the themes the book covered. And while for the remainder of that summer I found myself slightly annoyed at my unwillingness to let the book go, I was ultimately thankful that the book helped me to see life through a different lens.

I understand that certain books are not for everyone. Trauma victims can find their wounds reopened between the pages of a book. One of the most frequently banned books in the U.S., “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou is banned in some schools in order to safe-guard adolescents against themes of sexual assault. But in the same way that a book can hurt one person, they may also be able to create a feeling of validation in another.

A teenager who may have fallen victim to sexual assault may find their experience to be something that feels less isolating when they are given the chance to read books like these. Some people rely on these kinds of books to be written; otherwise, they find themselves alone in their experiences. If we were to ban these kinds of books from libraries, we could potentially be cutting off a person’s opportunity to work through an issue.

In 2014, Christopher Ferguson, a professor at Stetson University in Florida conducted research among children ranging in age from 12 to 18 on banned books and the physiological effects the books can have on the young reader. The 282 students were tasked with reading banned books ranging from “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” to “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher. These two books have been challenged for themes of racism, drug abuse, smoking, sexuality and suicide.

Ferguson found that there was no correlation in children reading banned books and committing violent or nonviolent crimes.

Conversely, Ferguson found that these books were actually beneficial to the children in that the books correlated positively to civil behavior as children found themselves more interested in politics and more involved in charitable causes.

From seeing this debate circulated in national news and on various other social media platforms lately, I don’t think that it is most parents’ intention to ban difficult books in totality. Rather, I think most of the parents are set on enforcing age restrictions on books or keeping certain topics out of the community library. On social media, from what I’ve seen, when parents post about being uncomfortable with a certain book, they are primarily just concerned with the age of the student checking out the “controversial” book. And even as passionately I feel about this topic, I don’t think that we should demonize these concerned parents. I want to believe that they are passionate about this topic in the same way that I am, just for different reasons.

They are concerned about their child’s well-being.

Placing age restrictions on certain books is understandable. A child won’t be able to understand a difficult book to the same extent as a better developed teenager.

I have no issue with placing age

restrictions on books as far as they are reasonable.

What I am more concerned with is some parents’ plan to ban books from community libraries. Some of these books that are being called into question are books that could provide healthy insight into topics that adolescents need to better understand. Books that encompass sexuality, gender, sexual assault, illicit substances and anything else deemed “inappropriate” help teenagers better understand the world around them. These are books that are needed in public spheres so that teenagers are brought up with an understanding that extends further than the walls of their high school. It’s necessary that teenagers- and anyone for that matter- avoid provincialism at all costs.

Change is frightening.

Conversations that are being had in books and classrooms today sound different from the conversations that were being had 50 years ago.

Topics such as gender identity, sexuality, mental health and the myriad of other difficult talking points have become increasingly pervasive with twenty-first century communication. These conversations and ideas that are circulating today as the ‘norm’ may still seem foreign or uncomfortable to those who hadn’t had these conversations in school. I just ask that individuals who have their intentions set on banning books open their minds a bit more. I hope that they are able to find a book that resonates with them and I hope it is a book that encompasses a difficult topic. Then, perhaps, they will be able to understand the necessity of books such as these and the positive impact that they can have on the readers.

“If you have a worldview that can be undone by a novel, let me suggest that the problem is not the novel,” Pennsylvania librarian Adele Uphause-Connor said on Twitter Nov. 16, 2021.

The dance program deserves to be valued higher and middle schoolers will take classes in the morning with only one teacher. Furthermore, dance is not listed as a course on the 2022-2023 Course Guides because it is unclear if it will be offered; the school hopes to post for an instructor in the upcoming weeks.

These changes scare me that the dance program will slowly fade away, which would send a message that dance is not a valued part of our community.

Dance is just as important as any other fine art, sport or academic class at ESD, and should be treated as such. It is an art form that can speak to people of all languages. It is unique and cultural, it is beautiful, yet it is hard work.

It creates community and bonds students and faculty alike. It takes building individual strength to be able to move as a team.

I have taken dance with dance teacher Glen Dawson since fifth grade, and I am now a part of the ESD Fine Arts Network Board representing dance. I am so glad that I stuck with dance during upper school. It has allowed me to let loose and escape before a day of stressful classes. When I see my progress in the mirror, whether it’s from my splits getting deeper or from hitting an extra turn, my self-confidence shoots through the roof. Dance has proven to have a long list of benefits.

Dance is a fun way for students to exercise yet partake in the fine arts at the same time. According to Healthline, it

improves cardiovascular health and improves balance and strength. It incorporates movements from all directions and planes of movement and challenges heart rate. It can promote physical fitness for creatives or people who don’t normally work out.

Yet dance is also a mental exercise. Harvard Medical School research shows how dancing can maintain and even boost your ability to think as you age. The brainpower specifically needed for dance requires the dancer to focus on and memorize the constantly changing moves and patterns. And, according to WebMD, dancing, like any form of exercise, can help with symptoms of depression and anxiety by releasing certain chemicals in your brain. It also can provide an outlet for students to escape repetitive worries and negative thoughts.

After doing competitive dance for years at a studio, I decided to only dance at school.

Studio classes can be extremely expensive and not everyone can afford them. It can also take up the time needed for homework, sports or other commitments.

Having dance at school is so easy because there is no added cost or time dedication. Additionally, the dance program at school has allowed me to let go of the insecurities and fear that I often felt at the many competitive dance companies I have partaken in.

No longer providing the option to take a dance class at school

may take away the possibility of students dancing at all, and I am strongly urging the administration to continue that option.

Dawson has helped me develop my technique and has given me a strong foundation for all types of dance and dance history. She has trained under many legends in the dance world such as Agnes De Mille, Marcel Marceau and Alvin Ailey. Every morning, she pushes me to challenge myself and my mentality toward certain steps or styles of dance. She has constantly supported the dancers, whether that’s by bringing us food, costumes or just positive words of encouragement. Throughout the seven years I have been in her class, I have felt myself associate dance as being more of an emotional and artistic outlet instead of a place for competition.

It will be a shame if students will no longer be able to take daily dance classes with Dawson.

One of my favorite things about dance at the school specifically is that anyone can participate.

Every dance class I have taken at school has been composed of students of all levels: competitionwinning dancers and those who have never stepped inside of a dance studio before. Everyone, regardless of body type, gender or age can dance; even if you can only move your upper body, you can dance. At a studio, there can be 50 students in a class that are all on a similar skill level. Having a more intimate and diverse class

environment like at school has allowed me to mentor and learn from my classmates, and I feel like I can get more attention and corrections from Dawson.

While there are many middle school dancers, I recognize that numbers are an issue in the upper school. There are only nine dance students from grades seven to 12. Instead of the moving middle school class, I hope that there could be a more viable option to support and build the program.

Many other private schools in the area, such as Hockaday, Parish Episcopal and Greenhill seem to have thriving dance programs, showing that participation is not impossible. While the school is hoping that a before-school program will support more students, it still scares me that fewer and fewer dancers will want to attend a class that early and that the numbers problem will get even worse.

By changing it to just beforeschool classes, I hope that it is not a step on the path to the program’s cancellation. And if this new form continues with a different instructor, I hope that they continue to support the annual performances such as Art in Motion, the Christmas Show and the Spring Show, among others.

The experience I have had with the ESD Dance program has been a defining experience for myself and so many other students and is extremely valuable to FAN and to the school as a whole.

24 Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

sports

Baseball program sees changes in coaches New coaching staff brings higher expectations for team

By Callie Hawkins Sports Editor

A

s the spring season began, the baseball program underwent changes with a new coaching staff. This new crew came with high expectations and highly qualified coaches and team leaders.

The athletic department hired previous college coach Gregg Bennis to become the new baseball program director. With Head of Upper School Henry Heil helping THERE SEEMS TO BE out and motivated MORE OF A WANT upperclassmen, the team was excited TO WIN. WE ARE and hopeful for the WAY MORE FOCUSED season ahead of AND WAY MORE them.

“The team DEDICATED, AND dynamics have HONESTLY, WE’RE JUST definitely shifted this year,” junior BETTER AS A TEAM. and varsity baseball player Jack Massey said. “There seems JACK MASSEY to be more of a want Junior and varsity to win. We are way more focused and baseball player way more dedicated, and honestly, we’re just better as a team.

[This is] definitely due to coach Bennis coming in knowing how to run a baseball program.”

Bennis played college baseball

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HUDDLE UP During the game against Hillcrest High School on Saturday, March 5 in the Bryan Martin Memorial tournament, the Panthers are up to bat and coach Gregg Bennis gathers the fielding team at the pitching mound to discuss their game plan. “We knew that Hillcrest was going to be a pretty hard game,” Jack Massey (far left) said. “We played pretty well but we took a tough loss.

We were able to lay bricks for the rest of our season and learn from it.”

Photos by Callie Hawkins

at Florida Atlantic University from 2009-2013 and coached college baseball for seven years, becoming the head coach at Broward College in Davie, Florida in 2019 until his program was shut down due to Covid-19.

“A year later, I got a phone call from ESD, came and toured the campus, loved it, and here I am,” Bennis said.

Now, with a record of 2-2 early on in the regular season, the team is looking forward to a more successful season than in the past.

Senior and varsity player Adam Russell has been a part of the program since his freshman year and can testify for this common hopefulness of the team.

“This year is like playing for a whole new team,” Russell said.

“The past years have been too laid back, and we didn’t see as much success as we could have. This year, Coach Bennis holds every player accountable and holds us to a higher standard than we have been in the past three years.”

Having moved from Florida and taking on a day job on campus, Bennis had a more extreme transition than most. “[The transition] has been great because, and I say this to just about everybody that I try to describe the school to, when I walk on campus, it is very hard to find someone in a bad mood here, whether that is teachers or students,” Bennis said. “It’s a place where it seems everyone is taken care of for the most part and it just makes for a very easy work day for both staff and students. With regards to the baseball program

specifically, it has been more of the same. The kids seem eager to be coached. I am not dealing with a lot of egos which is something I have come from a world where there are quite a bit of egos and it doesn’t seem to be a problem here so that is refreshing.”

Heil is helping him with this transition and by being one of the assistant coaches for the varsity team. Heil played baseball for four years at Davidson College from 1993 to 1997 and coached for many years after that. After taking an eight year break, he is back to help coach the Eagles.

“I am excited about it because coach Bennis is a really knowledgeable baseball coach,” Heil said. “He and I have a lot of similar views on the game and so it has been really fun to work with someone who has a really rich and deep baseball background. It also doesn’t hurt that there is a great group of guys out there who I know well, and I really enjoy helping.”

Having a head coach that has much experience in higher levels of baseball, the team is adapting to some new rules and expectations.

“Coach Bennis is a very smart and intellectual coach,” Massey said. “He posts a practice plan before every practice so we know exactly what we do before we actually start the practice. On that [email] is a quote and it kind of sets us straight, for example, how to be a leader, how to show up, work hard and stuff like that. He wants us to look the part that’s why we’ve had to run a couple times.”

Bennis described his rules based

on two big words: accountability and mindfulness. Other than that his rules are vague in order for the boys to figure out for themselves what is right from wrong. But when an individual or the team as a whole has not been mindful or accountable, they have had to sit the bench for games, run sprints, and perform other consequences for their actions.

Although these guidelines might seem harsh, they are building towards a better team and helping everyone build character.

“These changes are a beginning to changing the culture of ESD baseball and creating a winning program,” Russell said. “The seniors are all grateful these changes are being made because they are already making us a better team and everyone wants to have a [successful] senior season.”

All of these transitions, from the team they used to be to the team they are now, have improved not only the attitude and chemistry of the team, but also their ability to perform. The changes have been beneficial in many ways to every member of the team.

“I am most excited about the fact that [the team] has some really good senior leadership, and the guys are all just solid baseball players who have been playing the game for a long time and understand it, who are going to be steady and consistent which I think is going to help them a lot,” Heil said. “In years past, there has been a lot of up and down for them, inconsistencies. They have been getting a lot better and still are getting better.”

Sports

April 1, 2022

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Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

P.E. credits provide alternative to team sports Some students struggle to keep up with course demands

By Sloane Hope Business manager FLEXIBLE FITNESS Senior Esme McGaughy works out in her home gym during a workout for her Personal Fitness course on March 28. “One of my favorite aspects of Personal Fitness is having the ability to workout wherever I want and however I want,” McGaughy said. “It’s very nice to have the option to workout at the gym or at my own house. I also enjoy how I can do Soul Cycle as my workout one day and something entirely different the next day. The flexibility is amazing.”

Photo by Sloane Hope

R

unning on the treadmill at her neighborhood Young Men’s Christian Association gym, senior Anna Baranski checks her watch to see how much longer she has to workout to fulfill her personal fitness requirement for that day. She knows that she must meet the specificity of the weekly requirement or else she faces something she knows could be detrimental to her overall grade.

[OUTDOOR ED] MAKES A zero.

ME EXERCISE WHILE Each student is responsible for ALSO TEACHING meeting a specific SKILLS THAT I MAY sports credit quota before they graduate: NEED LATER IN LIFE two credits in both their freshman and sophomore years and Lyles Etcheverry one credit for each of Junior their junior and senior years. While many choose to do team sports to fulfill this requirement, those who don’t also have a variety of options.

Often, the most popular of these

“

options is Personal Fitness, in which students work out on their own, log their workouts and meet a certain number of workout minutes per week. However, the very specific rules surrounding how much one can workout each day and how the workouts must be spread out throughout the week have caused more than a few students to fail the pass/fail class, and has earned Personal Fitness the accolade as one of the classes with the highest fail rates.

“There are 55 people enrolled in Personal Fitness this semester,” upper school physical education teacher Mike Schneider said.

“I believe it is popular because students have a lot of freedom and independence…there are only a few students who have failed, but many have dropped [the class]. They seemed to have difficulty submitting workouts and following directions.”

Baranski has enrolled in Personal Fitness only one semester, but said that she preferred it to doing team sports. Although she didn’t particularly enjoy the class, she liked the freedom and flexibility it provided.

“I have to get a sports credit and I like doing it this way because

it gives me the freedom to choose what I want to do and get fit in the way I want to,” Baranski said.

“I thought it was demanding to a certain extent. It requires some time commitment, but definitely not as much as sports so overall I don’t think it’s that demanding. To fulfill the requirements, I would go to the gym, workout with my mom or my brother, walk my dog, ride my bike or do dance workouts.”

Despite never being in danger of failing the class, Baranski can see how it would be easy to do so.

“Although I was never failing the class, I don’t blame the people who do, because it’s honestly very easy to do so,” Baranski said. “I think so many people have trouble with Personal Fitness because there are so many tiny rules and details that you have to pay attention to. For example, it says the total number of minutes per week is 180. On the last day of workouts that week I had 160 minutes, so I only did a 20 minute workout but I didn’t realize there was a 30 minute workout requirement so I finished that week with an 80 or something like that.

It’s not hard, it just takes some time to get used to how the system works.”

Another popular choice for a P.E. credit is Outdoor Education, a course that teaches students the “soft (relational) and hard (technical) skills associated with outdoor activities.” During the course, students learn a variety of skills, including how to pitch a tent, and are required to go on a multiday and multi-night camping trip.

Junior Lyles Etcheverry has taken Outdoor Education two semesters , and has thoroughly enjoyed the course and everything she has been able to take away from it.

“During [Outdoor Education] last year, I learned how to build a tent, start a fire, use the stars as navigation and other tools one would need for camping outdoors,” Etcheverry said. “However, we were not able to go on the camping trip last year because of Covid-19, so I am really excited for that this year, especially considering that my friends are doing it with me.”

Outdoor Education has a grading scale similar to that of Personal Fitness. Along with being a pass/fail course, outdoor education students are also required to meet a certain exercise quota each week.

“Part of the reason I chose Outdoor Education over Personal Fitness is because I get to learn something while fulfilling my credit,” Etcheverry said. “It makes me exercise while also teaching skills that I may need later in life.

For instance, last year, we had to learn how to cook on a portable stove, given to us by the school, and video ourselves cooking a whole meal on this little stove. I remember being so excited to go home and cook as a school project, especially as a way to fulfill my P.E. credit.”

EAGLE EYE Double Trouble, senior excels at two sports this season Senior Mary Lou McMillan takes on the challenge of playing both golf and tennis Interview by William Custard Staff Writer

Q A Photo provided by Mary Lou McMillan

What made your first start playing tennis and golf?

What prompted you to play golf and tennis in the same season?

What have these two sports taught you?

My parents signed me up for tennis lessons when I was really young, and I spent years playing on our country club’s competitive team. My whole family plays, so I got to grow up with the sport. Around the time I was eight, two of my friends had decided to start taking golf lessons, and they asked me to join them. I have been playing golf ever since. Outside of the school season, I’ve played in a few [North Texas Professional Golfers’ Association Junior Golf] tournaments and local club tournaments.

I’ve been playing tennis my whole life and golf for over 10 years, so I wanted to get one last chance to play both competitively. I played both for school my freshman year and, although it was difficult managing the two schedules, it went really well. My sophomore and junior year, I decided to only play golf because I wanted to have enough time to focus on school. Now that it is the end of senior year, I figured I would have enough time to play both again. My little sister Phoebe is a freshman on the tennis team this year, and I wanted to get the chance to spend more time with her and play on a team together, but also a chance to finish my golf career with some tournaments.

Golf and tennis have taught me a lot of patience, because they are both such mental sports. I’ve also learned about how important physical activity is in your life. I’m definitely my happiest when I’m busy playing outdoor sports.

Sports

April 1, 2022

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HALFTIME WITH HAWKINS Photo by Emily Lichty

Including women in March Madness is a positive change

By Callie Hawkins Sports Editor

W

ith March Madness in full swing, one can notice some major differences in the tournament from years past, the biggest of these being the representation of the women’s teams having their own March Madness.

Last year, numerous comments were made to the National College Athletic Association by athletes within the program and professional players about the unfairness in men and women’s facilities, equipment and other amenities in the tournament.

This led to an official statement released by Lynn Holzman, the vice president of NCAA women’s basketball. In this statement on Twitter, she claimed that the unequalness “[was] due to limited space.”

In response to this statement, Oregon Ducks womens basketball player Sedona Prince created a TikTok video with proof of an extremely large amount of empty

space where facilities like the mens could be placed. The video went viral and lured the attention of many big names in the world of basketball. National Basketball Association players Steph Curry and Anfernee Simons along with retired womens Canadian, olympic basketball player and current National Football League reporter Stacy Dales reposted the TikTok on their Twitter accounts, drawing more attention to the issue. The NCAA received great amounts of backlash and were pressured to make significant changes.

This year is the first year that the NCAA women’s basketball tournament is now included in March Madness branding. Prince has been updating her TikTok followers throughout this year’s tournament, showing them the gifts and amenities they are being given in contrast to last year’s tournament.

Because they were able to make these changes, the inequity between the men and women’s amenities was exposed as a lack of attention and care for the women’s

association. Unfortunately, this story can correlate with something that happened recently within our community.

On March 10, the student section of the Jerry Jones stadium for the men’s lacrosse home game versus Highland Park was moved from the northern side of the bleachers to the southern side to accommodate where the team entered the field and the large crowd of HP students that was there to fill the southern side.

Nobody thought anything of it at the time and everyone had a blast at the game, but the change seemed to please the athletic association. Signs were put up labeling permanently the South side the home section and the North side the visitor section. For every other team that competes on that field throughout the year, the home section is on the North side, including women’s lacrosse.

The athletic association put no thought into the women’s program before they carried out this change. Being part of that team, I was one of many girls that were

58 Percent of students are aware of the discrepancies between men’s and women’s March Madness Source: March 30 poll of 158 upper school students

frustrated with this. The junior captain for our team, Camryn Kowalewski, spoke for our team and our disappointment on this change, contacting athletic director Dan Gill about the situation. “I feel like women’s lacrosse kind of gets brushed under and forgotten,” Kowelewski said. “Even the little things like moving the home and visitor sections matter to us.” In response to Kowelewski, Gill was apologetic and the signs were taken down so that the home and visitor sections could be flexible for different home competitions.

Although outcomes of both situations were positive for the womens teams, the important thing is that they were not considered in the first place.

Both teams should be equally important in decision making and this is not the first instance the womens team have been ignored. Hopefully in light of the situation in our community and in the larger community of the NCAA, both associations take into consideration the women’s teams without thought from now on.

28 Eagle Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas | April 1, 2022

what’s? in my fly box

Topwater Gurglers and Ants

These flies are used by Cahoon only when fishing for panfish. “I use the gurglers when they are keyed in on topwater and the ants for subsurface.”

“

FLY FISHING INSTILLS A LOT OF GOOD VALUES SUCH AS PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE, AND BEING PRESENT IN THE MOMENT. John Cahoon Junior

Topwater Poppers

Poppers are used to target large mouth bass and can be made with either deer hair or foam. These flies imitate a frog or simply get the fish to bite purely out of reaction.

Finesse Game Changer Flies

These flies are made to emulate any type of small bait fish. They do this by using small articulated spines to provide a serpentine action.

Carp Flies

These flies are meant to imitate small aquatic bugs. “Carp flies just need to be buggy looking because carp are bottom feeders and have bad eyesight, so if you can get the fly in front of their face, you are likely in for a good fight.”

Clousers

These flies are some of the most versatile and famous flies in the sport. “They can be used for many species of fish as they imitate any small baitfish and work surprisingly well given the simplicity.”

A

s the bright sun hardly peeks over the horizon, junior John Cahoon is up and ready before the fish. Cahoon wants as many advantages as possible so he can optimize his success and experience out on the water.

Cahoon, a fly fishing enthusiast, has been pursuing his hobby for over six years. His interest in the sport was first sparked when he tried it out one summer in Crested Butte, Colorado.

“The more I did it the more I enjoyed it,” Cahoon said. “My grandfather loved to fly fish. Once he was unable to do it anymore I got a lot of his equipment which helped me kick start into my real passion for fly fishing.”

With all the new gear handed down to Cahoon, it motivated him to get out more and partake in his new hobby.

“Fly fishing instills a lot of good values such as patience, perseverance, and being present in the moment.” Cahoon said.

“Fly fishing has shown me the skill of refining a craft. No matter how much you do it you can always get better.”

As much as Cahoon loves to fly fish, he also enjoys tying his own flies for his own personal use when he is out on the water in action.

“I started tying most of my own flies particularly recently. I’ve gotten really into tying [flies] and do it more than I actually fly fish

because it’s quick, easy and a fun thing to do whenever I have a spare minute.”

Tying flies can be a complicated and frustrating process with the large amount of different materials required, but Cahoon has found it to be a relaxing and entertaining activity whenever he needs to pass some time.

“Each fly has its own unique use for different purposes,” Cahoon said. “The certain type of fly I use really just depends on where I am and what fish I am targeting to catch.”

Although Cahoon discovered his interest in fly fishing in Crested Butte, Colorado, he has been able to travel around Arkansas, Texas, Colorado and plans to travel to Montana over the summer.

Cahoon targets many different species of fish from trout, largemouth bass and panfish, to bigger types of fish such as red drum and carp with his wide variety of rods.

“I got the majority of my equipment and fly fishing rods from my grandfather which has really helped me get more invested in the hobby,” Cahoon said. “Having multiple fly rods and lots of gear handed down to me has allowed me to fish for many different species in freshwater and in saltwater.”

By William Custard staff writer

E

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Tom to Texas Despite former plans to retire from football completely, famous NFL quarterback Tom Brady decides to come to ESD to coach football page 14

A surplus in chicken Eggs for profit eggs from the chicken coops resulting from special food leads ESD to sell extra chicken eggs for profit page 15

esdeagleedition.org Friday April 1 Twenty22 4100 Merrell Road Dallas Texas 75229 214.3584368

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We got you! Happy April Fools! This section of this special issue of The Eagle Edition, or the Eagle Fools’ Edition, is made up entirely by satirical stories and graphics. All quotes and facts have been made up.

None of the events referenced in this section have occurred. Invented names have been used in all stories, excluding instances where permission has been given or where public figures are referenced.

14

Episcopal School of Dallas

Eagle FOOLS’!Edition

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Seniors prepare for magical college experiences

Class of 2022 accepted to schools such as Hogwarts, Monsters University Sory nd graphic by Emily Lichty Editor in Chief

S

enior Tana Beck opens her mailbox and a stream of letters, all addressed to her, pour out. She counts nearly 50 pieces of mail and adds it to the stack she keeps by the door. As a senior participating in the college admissions process, Beck receives a countless amount of mail every day. Ever since her acceptance into Hogwarts University of Witchcraft and Wizardry this winter, mail has been coming at Beck from all directions: down her chimney, through her windows and even out from her locker at school.

“I haven’t decided yet if I want to attend Hogwarts, which I think is why I receive so much mail from them,” Beck said.

“The letters say things like ‘Your Hogwarts Direction,’ ‘Find our Magic at Hogwarts’ and ‘We Will Do Anything to Have You Come to Hogwarts.’ I get a lot of emails, too.”

As colleges begin to release their decisions, seniors make big choices about the future. So far, this year’s seniors have experienced a highly successful round of college admissions, with acceptances at top universities such as Barden University and Monsters University.

According to a March -- poll of 122 seniors, 40 percent of seniors have committed to a university. One of them is senior Bailey Evans, who plans on attending Barden University in Atlanta, Georgia.

“It is such a relief to know what the future holds,” Evans said. “When someone says college to me, the first thing that comes to mind is a cappella, so I am very excited to audition for Barden’s incredibly prestigious a capella group, The Barden Bellas.

They are a large part of the reason I applied to Barden early decision.”

Like Evans, senior Trisha

Lovewell has already committed to a university. Lovewell will be attending Shiz University, located in Shiz, Gillikin.

“Every time I tell someone I am going to Shiz, they immediately comment on the weather there,” Lovewell said. “I know there are going to be a lot of tornadoes, but I am confident that I will be able to adjust to the weather.”

Not every student plans to stay in the U.S. for school. Senior Jared Turpin has committed to a college in Genovia, a small country between Italy and France.

“I also applied to Hogwarts, as I was determined to leave the United States,” Turpin said. “I have never actually been to Genovia, and it is weird moving somewhere I have never seen before. I have been keeping up with Genovia’s royal family in preparation of moving there. I love watching the drama.”

Not every senior has finalized their future plans, however. Many are still waiting on more decisions to be released.

“I have my fingers crossed to attend California University Los Angeles (CULA) in California,” senior Daisy Everett said. “It would be a great stepping stone for me to eventually attend law school. I am ready to buckle down in college in preparation to apply to Harvard Law. If I don’t get into CULA, then maybe I will go to Faber College.”

This year, college admissions have been more selective than ever. For example, Hogwarts has seen a record high number of applications but accepts less than one percent of applicants. Those who are accepted, however, receive handwritten letters in the mail.

“Hogwarts holds a high standard for its incoming students,” Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore said.

“We do everything in our power to make sure that students who are accepted select our school. This

might mean sending more than one letter of acceptance if we think a student’s family is having trouble deciding.”

So far, ESD has had one student accepted into Hogwarts.

“I have a lot of shopping to do if I do decide to attend Hogwarts,” Beck said. “Textbooks, owls, wands and robes makeup only a small fraction of the list.

You wouldn’t believe the cost of cauldrons these days.”

Some seniors do not plan on attending college immediately, however. Senior Hank Evers plans to take a gap year at Camp Half-Blood, a highly selective training program for children with immortal parents.

“They say being a legacy doesn’t help you get into any programs, but it definitely helped me,” Evans said. “I know that this will be a great opportunity for me to hone in my demigod skills before I decide my future plans.”

When applying to college, the Head of Admissions at Monsters University, Quincy Trut, recommends that applicants try to stand out with their unique skills and talents.

“If you are good at scaring, make sure we know you are good at scaring,” Trut said. “If your skill is making people laugh, write your essay about something funny.

If you have multiple eyes or arms, tell us about how that makes you

more interesting. We are looking for quirky students.”

Regardless of where the Class of 2022 ends up, current freshman and ESD 21’ alum at CULA Clementine Barr is confident that every senior will end up where they are meant to be.

“I was scared everyone at CULA would all know each other from their days at schools such as Chilton Academy, Rushmore Academy or Constance Billard, however that wasn’t the case at all,” Barr said. “I am where I am meant to be, and this year has been the best year of my life. I am so excited for the current seniors to experience how exciting college can be.”

Tom Brady ditches retirement plan to come to Texas Former NFL Quarterback lands job coaching at ESD, follows in Troy Aikman’s footsteps Story and photoillustration by Charlotte Tomlin Assistant Web Editor

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n a surprising back and forth debate, Tom Brady retired on Feb. 1, un-retired on March 13, and then, on March 24, finally decided to head south: to North Texas. Brady, often referred to as “the greatest of all time,” has decided to head to Dallas after landing a coaching job at the greatest school in Texas.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, The Episcopal School of Dallas.

In 2019, hall of famer Troy Aikman joined ESD’s coaching staff as the quarterback coach, guiding quarterback Preston Morway in his football journey. In an October 2019 interview with The Ticket, a sports-based radio show, Aikman expressed his excitement in coaching for the Eagles.

“I’ve always wanted to help out with high school [football] here,” Aikman said. “I’d reached out to different programs, including [ESD] where my kids go, and they had said, ‘Yeah, we’d love to have you help out.’”

His impact on the program was impressive. The Eagles finished with a 6-2 record in 2019, a record that has only increased since. In 2021, the Eagles went undefeated in the regular season and made it all the way to the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championship game that ended in heartbreaking loss.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Troy Aikman,” Brady said. “It seemed only fitting that I follow his lead after my retirement.”

Before Brady’s announcement, he changed his Instagram bio to “GD2BAE,” which stands for great day to be an Eagle. This led many fans to believe that he was soon to be involved with the professional team, the Philadelphia Eagles, returning to his northern roots.

Instead, Brady is headed in the opposite direction.

“Once I heard that ESD had made it to the SPC championship, I knew this was the team I had to coach,” said Brady. “We’ll end 2022

with an SPC Championship title, I’ll make sure of it.”

Richard Williams, the ESD football program director and head coach for nearly eight years, is thrilled to have Brady join the coaching staff as a quarterback coach.

“I think Brady will elevate our [quarterback] play which will translate into wins,” Williams said. “With him on our sideline I predict that we return to the 4A SPC Championship game once again.”

Williams is confident that the presence of a major football star will not affect his team’s behavior on and off the field.

“Having had Troy Aikman on staff, our coaching staff and team are used to working with big name coaches,” Williams said.

“Patrick Burke, our starting quarterback, will be particularly excited to work with Mr. Brady.”

Williams hypothesizes that Brady’s move to Dallas is driven by his competitiveness, continuing even after the end of his NFL career.

“Tom Brady is super competitive,” Williams said. “He heard that Troy Aikman coached quarterbacks here at ESD and wanted to prove that he could do better.”

Tom Brady announced his move to Dallas by wearing a cowboy hat and boots, donning a southern accent and saying, “I’m heading to the single greatest school in the Dallas Metroplex: The Episcopal School of Dallas. Fly Eagles!”

Williams, an avid Cowboys fan, is thrilled to have Brady join the coaching staff, although it means turning a blind eye to Brady’s past.

“I am super excited to have him join even though he was a New England Patriot and Tampa Bay Buccaneer,” said Williams. “[I] will try to overlook those major flaws!”

16 Eagle FOOLS’!Edition

Episcopal School of Dallas

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Swimming pool must be added to football field Maddy Hammett Copy Editor

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have never enjoyed sports. For anyone who knows me even remotely well, reading that sentence and seeing my byline attached will not come as a surprise. And while I seem to be alone in my dislike, as ESD is a very sport-driven community, many actually share my distaste for athletics. Still; however, I have been able to find my place in the community.

The beautiful thing about ESD is that every student is given a chance to be an individual. Everyone seems to have their place. Theater kids flock to the stage, art kids flood the Frank arts building, journalism kids rush to the newsroom and, of course, our coveted athletes run to the field.

But I have noticed during my time at this school that we are missing a home for a particular group of athletes: swimmers.

To make these students feel at home, our school needs a swimming pool. And unfortunately for our campus’ sake, we have limited space.

With the addition of a lower school building on campus, we seem to be brimming with new students and new facilities.

Adding a pool on campus seems to be the least pragmatic option for the given circumstances.

This has been why, for the past couple of years, our swim team has practiced at various other private schools in the community. I want to challenge the notion that this is the only option for swimmers in the community. We must add a swimming pool on campus.

The football field takes up a lot of space. And although it seems to have a purpose for a number of athletes, its purpose could extend far greater. We must utilize this space that we have on campus for the other athletes beyond just the football

players. I propose we turn half of their field into a swimming pool.

Adding a swimming pool to the field may raise some eyebrows, and rightfully so.

But imagine how great of an experience this would be for the three ESD students that make up our swim team.

I understand that a certain comradery comes with the football team. Football games have become such well-attended events that our school has to leave notes on neighbors doors in order to warn them of the intense spirit pouring outward from the field. ESD values this comradery and to be honest, even as a student who detests athletics with my whole being, I enjoy going to football games.

But picture this. A football game takes place on one half of the field while simultaneously, a swim meet takes place on the other. Think of what this could do for our school’s student life.

Think now of the opportunities that this presents us all with: triathlons. Students, with the addition of a swimming pool to the football field, could bike on the track, run on the field then, to finish off the event, dive into the pool on the opposite end zone.

Never will there be a school as athletic as ESD. We will appeal to more students than ever before. Imagine how many individuals this will pull in with regard to admissions. While potential ESD parents tour our facilities, students could share memories of watching our athletes participate in more than just one sport.

This doesn’t just apply to football players. Every field sport can be included in this plan. From field hockey to soccer, students will be given the opportunity to participate in a school-wide triathlon.

This could be an unmatched opportunity for our student

section.

Imagine how much more interesting a football game could be if constantly there was the risk of the ball being thrown into the adjacent pool. This would make for athletes with unique skill sets unparalleled by any other private school in the metroplex.

Our football team would also be at an advantage for home games. No other school will be able to match our football team’s ability to navigate a field with a pool attached. No other students will have the drive, the coordination or sheer talent that our athletes will possess.

Gone are the days of traditional sports. We must be trailblazers and actively change in order to appeal to new masses. We must be proactive as a school and not only include our team of three swimmers, but also look to the future of possibilities that lie ahead.

ESD should provide valet parking for students

By Easterly Yeaman Staff writer n the frigid morning of Feb. 23, I struggled to open my car door against the chilly wind. Trudging from my car to the gate, numbness slowly consumed my hands and spread from my toes up the rest of my legs. Finally, I made it and reached out, cringing, as my hand gripped and twisted the cold metal handle. On any other day, I would have stopped and held the door open for my fellow sophomore who was a few paces behind me, but today, it was every man for him self.

As I made my way down the sidewalk, I quickly stuffed my rice crispy treat in my mouth, so I could stick my hands in the pockets of my puffer jacket. I plowed ahead, across the street, through the gate and finally to the doors of the commons. Opening the door, I was overcome with relief as a bubble of warm air engulfed

O

me. I arrived at my first class, newspaper, two minutes late.

It was at this moment, sitting in front of my computer in the journalism room, hands and feet tingling from the fading numbness, that I thought of a solution to this pressing issue: the school should provide valet parking.

Aside from us not getting hypothermia, there are many other benefits that come along with valet parking. For example, students will be on time in the mornings more often, we won’t have mix-ups over parking spots, we will be less fatigued from the far walk and we will be protected from dangerous weather conditions (you know Texas weather).

The first roadblock in making valet parking at ESD a reality is funding. My proposed solution is that for every minute a student is late to the first period, the school must allocate $1 to the fund.

With this policy in place for at least a month, ESD will surely have the money to support the endeavor.

Valet parking will ensure fewer students at Saturday detention halls, as fewer community violations will be given out. Personally, 66.7 percent of the CVs I have received for being tardy are from my first class of the day. In addition, there will be the elimination of CVs from students parking in the wrong spot. In a poll of 158 students and faculty, 54 percent said that they would likely be tardy to first period less often without the walk from the parking lot.

Attendance Coordinator Ashley Little is tired of hearing complaints from students about their parking spots, and she already has enough work on her hands. With valet parking, this would eliminate that problem.

“Sometimes one student parks in the wrong spot, and everyone else after that person is misplaced,” Little said. “Then it becomes a huge headache in regards to where everyone is supposed to park, and I get 20 million emails letting me know someone parked in the wrong spot!”

WebMD reports that too much exercise can make the brain dull, and when fatigued, the brain also struggles to make decisions. Many ESD students also do sports after school, so when you add the long walk to and from the parking lot, that’s a lot of exercise which can tire out the brain. So, as a result of valet parking, students will be less physically and mentally exhausted at school.

Along with eliminating physical fatigue from the walk, students will no longer have to deal with the dangerous and extreme weather conditions

that make the walk from the parking lot even more dreadful.

When the temperature is below freezing or in the hundreds, students will be grateful for a shorter walk.

It’s always colder in the mornings, students come to class with a runny nose and can possibly catch a cold.

When students get sick they miss school and fall behind.

Not only is the cold weather unbearable in the winter, but the hot weather leaves students sweaty when arriving at their first class. The smell alone could kill brain cells, decreasing a student’s capability to learn and a teacher’s capability to teach.

Once valet parking has been instituted, the ESD community will thank the administration for saving their kids from brain fatigue, declining grades, CVs, detentions and the harsh weather and its accompanying illnesses.

Trudeau, an example to all global leaders

By Miles Wooldridge Staff writer

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rime Minister Justin Trudeau is the hero that Canada needed.

Through his quick thinking and excellent display of leadership he has singlehandedly saved Canada from the brink of anarchy and ruin.

When confronted with the daunting task of holding back peaceful protesters from what was surely about to become a violent revolutionary regime change, he knew exactly what needed to happen.

First, he decided to keep a low profile. Ukrainian President Zelensky is being heralded for staying in his country and asking for guns to help fight with his nation against one of the most powerful militaries on Earth, but Trudeau knew better. He valiantly hid in a safe house in an undisclosed

location, because he knew that the top priority of his people was his own personal safety, and he always puts the needs of his people first.

He decided against any press releases or public statements for the first four days of protesters occupying the streets of Ottawa. Given that his role as prime minister includes the role of commander in chief of the Canadian army, this was most likely an example of the brilliant military strategy of giving the enemy the illusion of control, so that he could catch them off guard. Or it might have been a way to let them know that they weren’t worth his time because he could fight them all if he felt like it. Either way, it is apparent that Trudeau has been basing his actions on the wisdom of 6th century Chinese General Sun

Tzu, who said that “All warfare is based on deception… when using our forces, we must appear inactive.” However, psychological warfare was only the first step of his plan.

He broke his awe-inspiring silence with some aweinspiring tweets to belittle his opponents. He called the tens of thousands of protesters a “small fringe minority,” to humble them. Then he protected his people by making the public aware of the severity of the threat they were facing.

“A number of people are there without wanting to incite violence,” Trudeau said in a briefing. “But there are going to be, as we’ve heard, a small group of people in there who are posing a threat to themselves, to each other, to Canadians.”

This was another important move because Canadians are known for their ruthlessly violent nature.

His next brilliantly calculated political maneuver was to expose the true meaning of the protests. Having lived as a racist for many years and even wearing blackface a couple times in college, Trudeau knew how to spot racists. He publicly attributed the actions of the protesters to white supremacy, with his intuition serving as the only evidence he needed.

Once the proper narrative was established, he could justify his actions going forward and totally kick butt.

He suited up Ottawa police in riot gear and on horseback to forcibly disband the protesters.

Ever Christ-like, Trudeau took

pity on the wayward protesters and about 200 arrests were made. This was so that the government could take care of these people who were crazy enough to disagree about something. Trudeau also shut down the bank accounts of people who donated to the protests. That way, they could get a lesson about being so greedy with their money and work on one of the many character flaws that likely accompany protesting.

In the end, Justin Trudeau is a simple, humble man. He cares deeply about instilling a sense of unity in his nation.

He is a shining example of leadership for the whole world, and any Canadian who disagrees should probably keep it to themselves if they prefer not to be incarcerated.

April 1, 2022

News

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Sudden egg surplus raises revenue and excitement Special food leds to increased egg-laying in the chicken coop

By Grace Worsham Life Editor

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he chicken coop has experienced an extreme egg surplus which has allowed middle school science teacher Ellen Niell and her students to make a profit selling eggs to local grocery stores.

On the morning of March 14, the fifth grade science class experimented with a new superfood formula that supposedly would increase the speed of egg laying. The chicken coop, which currently houses eight chickens, suddenly became filled with eggs in every crevice of the small constructed house.

“We found this special food that makes [the chickens] lay more eggs,” Niell said. “We also bring the chickens fresh veggies, spaghetti and rice and on really cold nights, I [also] warm them some chicken noodle soup and bring it to them.”

After the surprising amount of eggs laid, the first instinct among students was to try the eggs out themselves. With the help of a stove, skillet and spatula, they scrambled a few eggs to eat in class.

“The eggs [were] delicious,” Neill said. “They are a very yellow color when cooked and [are] very fresh tasting.”

Junior Mackenzie Brooks appreciated the egg surplus, and she developed a new egg obsession.

“This egg surplus is my heaven,” Brooks said. “Eggs used to kinda creep me out, but I’ve become rather obsessed with them [now]. Scrambled, over-

easy, fried, the possibilities are endless.”

With the start of sales directed toward grocery stores including Kroger, Tom Thumb and Central Market, profit has increased tremendously.

“We make about $1,000 a week on eggs,” Neill said. “This allows us to buy expensive food [for the chickens]. We are also saving up to build a bigger coop.”

Brooks believed this egg surplus will affect stores in the area. She said the eggs seemed to taste better than any she had eaten before.

“This is going to put ESD in the history books,” Brooks said.

“I went to Little Katana the other day, and they gave me my hot stone bowl. I looked at the yolk on that egg, and I [thought] ‘that’s an ESD egg no doubt about it.’

[There’s] just something different about them, and now they are everywhere.”

Each chicken usually lays around five eggs a day, but the best layers, the Buff Orpington chickens, often lay up to nine.

Niell said that she desires more chickens in order to produce an even larger profit.

“I definitely would like to add at least about 20 more chickens,” Neill said. “The bigger the coop, the more chickens, the more money.”

With the overflowing profit and popularity the chickens are gaining, Neill thought it would be best to start a club to control profit, help the chickens and protect the coop.

“We could have a chicken farm club,” Neill said. “With more

chickens and then double the egg sales, I would definitely need some help with finances.”

Brooks said that she would love to join the club as she believes this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I would love to be a part of a club honoring them,” Brooks said.

“The chicken coop club sounds like something I will be a part of even after I graduate.”

Senior Dani Nisbet, who also joined the club, believed this egg

SEARCHING FOR EGGS “I think it’s cool to have the chickens on campus espically since the eggs that they lay get used,” junior Sophia Ukeni said. “Checking on them once in awhile is very fun.” Photo by

surplus was not only a great and substantial way to earn profit, but an opportunity to strengthen the community.

“ESD has found a new way to gradually introduce stable agricultural farming as a means of economic growth,” Nisbet said. “The surplus will lead to exponential growth in all aspects of school life, not just the fact that we might be having more breakfasts for lunch.”

Grace Worsham

Sixth grade field trip changes destinations Omaha, Nebraska replaces Washington D.C. as the iconic middle school trip

By Elliot Lovitt Staff Writer

By Grace Worsham Life Editor

A

fter over 30 years of visiting the nation’s capital, ESD has decided it’s time for a change.

Due to the interest of student investment, the school has reevaluated their location for the iconic sixth grade trip and have chosen the hometown of the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett. Along with learning about investing from Buffett, students will meander through corn fields and study agriculture and tour the stadium of the College World Series of Baseball. Yes, next year, instead of visiting Washington D.C., the sixth graders will take a bus to Omaha, Nebraska.

Upon hearing the news, some eighth graders were disappointed.

“I wish we could have gone to Omaha instead of D.C. on our field trip,” current eighth grade student Jack Lovitt said. “As someone who is fascinated by cornfields, I’d much rather visit one of the agricultural backbones of our country—not an irrelevant city like D.C.” As opposed to flying, ESD will be able to save money by sending kids on a 10-hour-long charter bus. On the way to Omaha, students will take a detour to scenic Council Bluffs, Iowa, which served as the connector for the first transcontinental railroad.

“The bus ride is usually the most fun part of the trip,” Lovitt said. “I’m bummed to miss out on 10 hours of forced bonding time with my classmates.”

The school has decided that the historical learning aspect of Omaha will prove to be more life-changing and substantial than D.C. Though the capital contains a plethora of history museums,

the Durham Museum in the heart of Omaha will give students the knowledge of Nebraska’s history.

The sixth grade curriculum consists of extensive lessons about Nebraska’s history and its relevance to the history of the U.S. The school believes that the trip will round out the studies and take their lessons to the next level.

“Most of my curriculum has much stronger links to Nebraska than D.C.,” sixth grade history and government teacher Constance Tution said.

“I’m excited to show my students America’s true history because I feel like D.C. doesn’t give the kids an accurate account of our country’s foundations.”

Unlike Lovitt and Tution, various members of the ESD community found the trip change disheartening. To some, the fact that future generations won’t experience the capital with their classmates is upsetting.

“I’m disappointed in the school’s decision to move the trip to Omaha,” sophomore Stuart “Stu” Dent said. “The breakfast buffet at the hotel in D.C. can never be replicated.”

Though the change of location will bring the end to an era, many students and teachers are excited for the future of the sixth grade trip. The school hopes that Omaha will leave a lasting impression on the young students.

“None of the experiences from D.C. really left a mark on me,” Lovitt said. “I think the historical, agricultural and financial lessons that the students will be able to learn makes Omaha a smart replacement for Washington D.C.”