V40 Issue 5

Photoillustration by Brooke Ebner

ESD announces new courses for the 2023 school year to expand opportunities for upper school students

Nurse shortage in the country affects community

ESD welcomes a new lower school nurse to fill vacant position

S tory by Charlotte Traylor Staff writer

From Feb. 20 to March 3, ESD did not have a permanently employed nurse on campus. Lower school nurse Carla Thomas retired at the beginning of February, and a replacement was not hired until Mar. 20. Meanwhile, middle and upper school nurse Marcia Biggs was busy attending middle school camping and field trips, so she was out of her office. As a result, a slew of substitute nurses have cycled through the nurse offices as ESD struggled to find a permanent solution.

“One trouble [with the substitute nurses] is just having that consistency and then making sure that I communicate that with everyone who needs to know,” Nurse Marcia Biggs said. “Where do we send children if we need somebody, and how do we get in touch with that person when we need them?”

ESD had a pool of interim nurses, but none were willing to extend their hours and take on a full-time job. They preferred the school nurse role as a part-time job, to balance their career with personal childcare or jobs in hospitals. Nurse Natalie Beattie works in the lower school office as a pro re nata nurse (PRN), or in other words, a “work when needed” nurse.

“I was thinking, what job is very kid-friendly, with good hours, so [I thought] school nursing,” Beattie said. “I looked for schools that had

openings, and I didn’t want a full-time job or part-time because of my son.”

Some middle and high school teachers carry medical supplies in their classrooms. This is ideal because it minimizes their students’ trips to the nurse offices, which can be understaffed.

“I keep bandages, Neosporin, cough drops, alcohol and Aquaphor in my classroom,” middle school history teacher Donna Oltman said. “Sometimes I can tell they are trying to escape, and it’s not a good time for them to escape, so I have these things I like to offer them to keep them from escaping.”

Biggs just recently hired a new lower school nurse, Amanda Barbour, to streamline the nursing program. The timing of Thomas’ retirement was unideal because Biggs turned down a substitute nurse looking for a full-time position just before Thomas left. She also noted that other schools in Dallas ISD and Carrollton ISD are facing similar understaffing. But, the situation was reprimanded.

Shortage issues are not limited to the school setting; hospitals have suffered from a lack of nurses since Covid-19. With Covid-19, workload, sanitary concerns, masking demands and deaths increased in hospitals. Further, burnout was, and is, a pressing issue, with 57 percent of 12,581 nurses reporting burnout in a study by the American Nursing Association in the past few months. Many nurses quit their jobs in hospitals and transitioned to traveling nurses to receive better pay and less intense hours. Biggs remarked that the school nurse shortage may link to the Covid-19 burnout issues.

“I think a lot of folks figured out during Covid-19 that they really don’t need to work [in the hospital] or could work remotely,” Biggs said. “Or maybe [they think] it’s time to just hang out and enjoy life.”

Beattie acknowledged the stress of the hospital nurse role as well, slowly easing out of her job at the beginning of 2020.

THE HISTORY OF THE NURSE SHORTAGE

“I did work full time, but after having a baby it was too grueling because the shifts are like 10 to 12 hours a day,” Beattie said. “And so then I went from fulltime to part-time to PRN, just so I could manage.”

Lori Tench, a nurse practitioner at Medical City, has noticed a similar trend too.

“A lot of nurses left their jobs in hospitals post Covid-19 for traveling positions that both had better pay and more manageable work, so there has been somewhat of a lack,” Tench said.

“Many nurses and NP have also experienced burnout, leading to their transition to new roles.”

With this decline in nurses, there has been a decline in nurses available to serve as preceptors to train those in nursing school. According to the New York Times, solving burnout and staffing issues will allow more nursing students to receive their necessary hands-on experience and once again fill the nurse gap.

“[The nurse preceptors] may work three twelve-hour shifts, and the days when they are not officially working there being a preceptor,” Beattie said. “If [the university and hospital] cannot get preceptors, then most likely, that limits the class rise.”

As the number of qualified nurses grows, school opportunities will continue to fill alongside the other gaps in the system.

School trips begin again with the Paris trip organized by the Global Competency Council

Increased hospital construction, complex patient care procedures and the Great Depression combine to create the first nurse shortage in the U.S.

The Bolton Act created the Cadet Nurse Corps, providing $160 million in funding for nurse education and driving a surge in numbers.

aides and licensed practical nurses are used in place of nurses with a full education.

World War II causes 77,000 nurses to join the military .

The Nurse Training Act yet again funds nursing education, to compensate for shortages.

The Hill Burton Act funded further hospital construction, driving the nurse demand.

NEW NURSE IN TOWN Amanda Barbour R.N. started at ESD on March 20, permanently filling the lower school nurse position. “I was a pediatric nurse for 18 years,” Barbour said. “I really missed school nursing, and miss seeing healthy, normal happy kids.”

Photo by Charlotte Traylor

DOWN TO EARTH

Train derailments trouble nation

On Feb. 3, a train owned by Norfolk Southern carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, after a wheel bearing overheated to 253 degrees above the air temperature. The train engineer braked after being alerted of the temperature, but the 23rd train car derailed before the train could fully stop, releasing vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical, as a result. The train was carrying 115,580 gallons of the chemical, and after it was released, responders did a control burn to evaporate the leaked liquid and avoid an explosion.

Though a large, fiery black cloud formed after the burn, local officials claimed that the flames were manageable. Since the chemical is so volatile, a controlled burn is the safest method of disposal.

“As long as people don’t swim in there and stay away from it, the most noticeable effects will be gone fairly quickly,” upper school chemistry teacher Walter Warner said. “The problem is — and this is the part where they’re not being entirely honest — is that the liquid aspect of it can easily get into the groundwater and into the soil, and that is a longer-term problem. It’s not what we call an acute problem.”

Since the derailment, residents of East Palestine have expressed concern about the release of not only vinyl chloride but four other toxic chemicals associated with nausea, numbness and drowsiness, according to NBC News. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported that around 3,500 dead fish turned up in nearby waterways, and though director Mary Mertz claims that there is no evidence of death or illness in non-aquatic species, many pet owners have said that their pets have unexpectedly dropped dead or fallen ill after the chemicals’ release. Andrea Belden said that her cat was healthy at their vet appointment a few weeks before the crash, but the vinyl chloride triggered congestive heart failure, causing Belden to put down her cat.

“Wildlife officers have been there every day on the scene, working with contractors who are in the water doing the net sampling, making the estimates,” Mertz said in an interview with CBS. “We will continue to monitor and watch what’s going on and eventually hold those responsible, accountable for the loss of wildlife in the area.”

Residents evacuated right after the derailment believing that the chemicals may cause adverse health effects, but they were allowed to return home on Feb. 8 after officials deemed it safe. Since then, according to NBC News, some workers and residents in East Palestine have been diagnosed with bronchitis; doctors presume their diagnoses are linked to the leaked chemicals.

“The more long-term concern is that if there’s contaminated water, then there’s contaminated soil, so if people are eating vegetables grown in contaminated soil, they’re going to get some of the byproducts of the breakdown of the vinyl chloride,” Warner said. “Those will go into their bodies and get stuck in their liver and kidneys. When you have large chemical accidents, it’s not the original problem that kills people, but it’s the long-term effects of being exposed to high enough levels of contaminants that end up accumulating in the body because once [the chemicals] get into your system, your liver can’t clear it out.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — who recently came under fire for waiting 10 days to address the issue and three weeks to visit the site — warned the company to support the community and “do whatever it takes to stop putting communities such as East Palestine at risk.” Norfolk Southern Railway has offered $8 million to East Palestine for families and cleanup.

In late February, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced that 500,000 gallons of toxic wastewater from the site were being delivered to Deer Park, Texas, near Houston to be injected into the ground at Texas Molecular, a company that disposes of hazardous waste. While the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has made it clear that Texas Molecular is capable of disposing of the wastewater without affecting the

public, some residents have voiced their concerns over the transportation of the chemicals.

“There has to be a closer deep well injection,” Deer Park local Tammy Baxter said in an interview with KTRK-TV (Houston, Texas). “It’s foolish to put it on the roadway. We have accidents on a regular basis ... It is silly to move it that far.”

Just 10 days after the Ohio derailment, a Union Pacific train derailed in Splendora, Texas, after colliding with an 18-wheeler. According to Lieutenant Troy Teller, the spokesperson of Splendora Police, 100 gallons of diesel and 15 quarts of oil leaked, so no hazardous chemicals were released.

“I think the [railroad industry] is a necessary industry in America that our economy relies on a lot,” junior Wheeler Wood said. “But a lot of the railroad companies have considered profits over safety and the infrastructure of their own rail lines, and it’s led to derailments and otherwise issues with the rail industry, mainly just like the Norfolk Southern collapse. They’ve had multiple derailments in the past month.”

Texas train derailments are not uncommon; in 2004, a train operated by Union Pacific derailed near San Antonio after accidentally hitting a Burlington Northern-Santa Fe train. The collision released 60 tons of chlorine gas, which caused three deaths, according to railroad accident lawyers Gordon, Elias and Seely L.L.P. Everyone within a twomile radius was evacuated, 50 people were hospitalized, and property damages and environmental clean-up cost over $7 million. Six years later, Union Pacific had to pay over $500,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency for their response to the chemical release.

“Derailments are preventable,” Wood said. “It’s usually because the track conditions aren’t that great. I think it’s about time to take a look at the rail industry and make sure that they maintain their rail standard.”

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that an average of 1,704 trains derail in the U.S. every year, causing around 174 injuries and four deaths. According to the American Chemistry Council, almost 1 billion tons of hazardous materials are transported by rails each year. Additionally, the rate of hazardous material accidents has decreased by 55 percent since 2012, and most accidents are caused by a failure with train equipment, like the East Palestine derailment, or human error.

“What I hope happens in all of the places around the country where there’s a fair amount of freight train traffic is that this acts as a wakeup call,” Warner said. “I hope that the Dallas Municipal Government is reevaluating what its response to this would be, and I’m guessing that all of the places that have this as a potential problem are not as ready as they need to be.”

SMOKY SCENE The Norfolk Southern train derailment caused clouds of dark smoke to fill the air.

TOXIC WATER East Palestine creek water tainted with chemicals from the derailment.

S tory by Elliot Lovitt Copy Editor

BUTTIGIEG VISITS THE SITE U.S. secretary of Transportation visited East Palestine on Feb. 23 to assess the damage.

MICHIGAN PROTESTS Citizens of Romulus, Michigan protest against the disposal of toxic water from the crash in their city on Feb. 26.

Photos by Dustin Franz/AFP/Getty Images/TNS, Brooke LaValley/Pool/Getty Images/TNS, Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS, Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS, Michael Swensen/ Getty Images/TNS

New courses have students excited for next fall

Academic dean encourages teachers to propose potential classes

S tory by Abby Baughman Life Editor

In her first year as academic dean, Rebecca Brady has implemented a new system for adding classes to the curriculum, and teachers have taken advantage and suggested new courses. But, according to Brady, everyone who wants to propose a course needs to connect it somehow to the school’s mission.

“They must think about what we need and really have some sort of value offered by the course,” Brady said. “So [the new class] should add something to the current offerings that we don’t currently have, and maybe even something students would be interested in studying in the future.”

In order for a teacher to introduce a new course, they first need to meet with the department members and the head of the department that the class falls into. The department makes sure that there is no overlap in the purpose of a class. After receiving approval, the teacher will fill out a form and present it to the department committee and Brady. Finally, if the new course is approved, the class will be offered, and if at least six to eight students sign up for the course, it will be added to that year’s curriculum.

“If we think it would be something that we should offer for students to select, we add it to the list of classes that students can choose from,” Brady said. “Then, at that point, it’s up to the students. So we base whether a class is going to make or not make based on student requests, so as long as a class has a good number of students who have requested it, we work it into our

We’ve Been Hacked

The ESD network experienced a cyber-attack on March 17 while students were on spring break. Parents, faculty and staff were notified via email by Head of School David Baad as the ESD tech department worked to keep the network secure.

“The technology department began working immediately to recover our systems and get our network back online,” Director of Technology Bryan Barnett ’00 said. “We are grateful that we have worked over the last several years to be prepared for an incident like this.”

In order to further protect student and employee privacy, everyone had to change their password by March 27, and the tech department changed the Wi-Fi access. This was in an effort to block anyone from accessing sensitive campus information.

“As part of the ongoing forensic investigation, our IT team is trying to determine how this attack may have occurred,” Baad said. “Over the past few months, they have worked diligently to put protocols in place to guard against these types of attacks, and we continue to consider alternative procedures that could even further strengthen our cyber protections.”

The attack is one of many recent security breaches in schools, businesses, health care organizations and corporations across the country.

Senior Maxim Jovanovic, a computer science student, said ESD handled the situation well.

“From what I understand, other schools have been breached in a similar manner, losing potentially sensitive information in a way that could have been prevented,” Jovanovic said. “I feel that ESD handled it with urgency and made all the right calls.”

Brief by Iris Hernandez, Easterly Yeaman

master schedule.”

Nine new classes will be added to the 2023-24 school year: Compassion Science and Literature, Financial Literacy, Philosophy of Religion, Intro to Law, Science of Wellness, Spanish for Professionals, Intermediate Acting, Digital Art & Design, Elements of Creation: 2D & 3D. Some teachers proposed classes that were rejected because the department committee thought it was too similar to a class already offered or wouldn’t enhance the ESD curriculum.

“I think because [now] people see what they have to do to propose a course has definitely made it so that more classes are being suggested and offered,” Brady said. “[Teachers know] what they’re interested in, what their students are interested in and the gift they have to offer to students. I don’t think that we’re going to be able to have ten new classes every year.”

One of the new classes, Intro to Law, which will be taught by Adam Walsh, will be a new spring English elective. The class will be structured to have four units reflecting what real law students learn in the first year of law school.

“There are a number of kids who I think are potentially interested in going to law school at some point,” Walsh said. “I think it’s useful to get

an overview of what that process looks like. I think that part of our mission is to try to establish equity in different ways in social justice, and one of the number one professions where you can do that effectively in a hands-on way is by being an attorney, by being a lawyer.”

Before teaching at ESD, Walsh worked as a federal prosecutor in New York for seven years. “I wish I would have had [a class like pre-law] in high school to give me a sense of what you would do on a dayto-day basis as a lawyer,” Walsh said. “I can use those skills I learned [while working as a lawyer] to talk about [aspects of law] that may be helpful to people in the future. I think it is something that there is a demonstrated need for. It’s also a rigorous class.”

New classes are offered to make sure students have options to fulfill all of their graduation requirements. In order to graduate, students need to have a religion credit and one art credit spanning two semesters which can be more difficult for some students to complete.

“Sometimes it’s more difficult for students to get in those electives, so they have to make a choice,” History Department Chair Mary Hansell said. “That’s one of the reasons we tried to offer some other options for the ethics requirement for gradua-

From Saliva to Urine

Ever since ESD implemented student drug testing in the 20192020 school year, hair sample testing has been the preferred mode of test as it is the most accurate and almost impossible to cheat, while also testing within a 90-day window according to In Out Labs. ESD, wanting to be understanding and inclusive, offered students who may have a medical condition or specific reason for not participating in hair testing, a saliva test option.

“The only alternative [to hair testing] that we really thought was feasible was saliva [testing],” Head of Upper School Henry Heil said. “We were worried about urine being too invasive.”

After a full calendar year of offering hair and saliva testing, it was concluded by the third-party testing group that saliva is very inaccurate, with constant false positives. The switch to urine testing this year was seen as a better option.

tion, so if the religion class they pick didn’t fit in their schedule, they still have some other courses that they’d like to take and wouldn’t be forced to take a course just because it fits in their schedule.”

The past religion options included Biblical Theology, Ethics and World Religions.

“We added Race in America and Immigration in America,” Hansell said. “They seem to be very popular with students and very topical, more focused on social justice, so, over the years, we have tried to offer different classes.”

However, not all loved classes are returning. Due to several reasons, Culinary Chemistry, a class that combines chemistry and cooking typically for upperclassmen, will no longer be offered at ESD.

“[Culinary Chemistry] has been a popular course in the past, but we have to make decisions based on staffing that we have to use to cover our classes in the sciences,” Brady said. “We also are thinking about how colleges are viewing courses. For example, a new science selection called the Science of Wellness we’re hoping is going to be viewed in the eyes of colleges in a positive light. We think about the rigor that we’re offering and what we will set our students up well for success.”

With the new system of adding classes, there will likely be an increase in classes added.

“I don’t think the curriculum should be static but fluid,” Brady said. “I think it should grow and change according to the needs of students. If you stay student-driven, students centered and you’re offering what appeals to your student population, then I think you won’t have much trouble.”

Inspirit Accolade Award

As teachers dedicate their lives to helping students grow into the person they are meant to be, their time spent at ESD is highly celebrated. After 20 years of teaching at the school, the instructors receive recognition awards.

The Eagle Laureate Dinner, where the awards are presented, was proposed to Father Swann 12 years ago by alumni. During this dinner, two awards are given out: 20 year award where teachers are inducted to the Keri Scholtz Hall ’87 Convocation and the Inspirit Accolade Award.

The Inspirit Accolade Award is one of the highest honors that faculty and staff can achieve. Each year, the Alumni Board of Directors selects teachers or faculty to be honored.

Tolly Salz, head of the English department, was one of the two faculty who received the 2023 Inspirit Accolade Award.

“I was really stunned,” Salz said. “It was such a sweet surprise knowing the nomination came from alumni.”

1 CYBER-ATTACK ESD experienced a network cyber-attack on March 17.

“This activity is part of an alarming trend we have seen around the world in businesses and schools,” Head of School David Baad said in a letter to the community on March 20.

Image by Pixabay

2 FROM SALIVA

“We found a company that had a connection with ESD that knows some folks here, and we felt like the service was gonna be really personal and really professionally done so that it wouldn’t be invasive,” Heil said.

Urine testing goes back two to four days and is easier to cheat on by switching it out with someone else’s, but is an alternative to offer. The kids who were in the saliva pool were immediately redirected to urine testing. The saliva, now urine, pool has four students picked each week at random by a third party, so that they should be chosen around once a month.

“I think that the majority of students at ESD who are in saliva testing know that within their families that they didn’t do drugs and that it isn’t an issue,” Margaret Shirey, a junior student in the urine testing group, said. “Hair seems very extreme, but for me, urine is very invasive.”

Brief by Jamie Henderson

This award is a great honor for teachers as it provides appreciation to the nominated faculty.

“I was enormously excited to have it announced that I would receive the award,” William Cook, former middle school English teacher, said.

“My calling [is] to help students,” Salz said. “It’s my purpose to help bring up the next generation to help lead our beautiful way.”

This award is unique to ESD and provides recognition and gratitude to teachers who serve ESD beyond the expectation.

“I feel so lucky,” Salz said. “It’s an honor in itself to be able just to get up and come work with kids and see people grow, and I love it.”

The award mentions teachers who dedicate their lives to teaching and helping students.

“I hope all other future graduates, when the time comes, will become members of the Association,” Cook said. “That you all can be part of a continuing love for ESD.”

Brief by Sophia Sardiña

“[Teachers know] what they’re interested in, what their students are interested in and the gift they have to offer to students.”

Rebecca Brady

Academic Dean

Teenage fentanyl epidemic affects Dallas

Nationwide drug crises creates awareness in overdoses, calls for action

S tory by Alexandra Warner Views Editor

In North Dallas a father and son allegedly operated a section of the powerful Sinaloa cartel from Plano, Texas, according to the Dallas Morning News.

On Feb. 15, 22-year-old Jason Xavier Villanueva was arrested for supplying adolescents and young drug dealers with fentanyl-laced pills, leading to three teenager deaths in Carrollton, Texas. These pills have also been linked to 10 overdoses of adolescents ranging from 13 to 17.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Currently, the U.S. is experiencing a drug overdose epidemic, specifically fentanyl, and it is advancing quickly toward Dallas.

“The usage levels of street drugs like heroin or methamphetamine in the United States has never been lower, and yet, the reason the fentanyl crisis is so bad is not that there’s a ton more drug use,” Will Straughan, founder and CEO of Soundcheck Prevention, said. “The deaths have increased because of the potency of fentanyl and the way young teenagers are about to access it.”

Accessing drugs has become easier for students and teenagers; however, that does lead to consequences like overdoses. Senior Rohan Schlehuber, who is doing a project on fentanyl in his forensics chemistry class, understands how lethal fentanyl can be and how alarming these incidents are so close to home.

“I feel that teen deaths regarding fentanyl are bad in the Dallas [area] and there needs to be more awareness around it to prevent future cases from happening,” Schlehuber said. “I’ve learned a lot from researching on my forensics project, so I wish there was more information for everyone.”

In 2022, the Drug Enforcement

Administration announced the seizure of over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder — double the amount caught in 2021. Most of the fentanyl transported in the U.S. is trafficked by the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels based out of Mexico.

So its initial reason that it’s been produced is for pain medicine, and in that arena, it works very well,” Dr. Alexandra Dresel Lovitt, who practices with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, said. “It’s usually used in the operating room or in the postoperative setting and is very effective at controlling pain after [and] during surgery.”

In 2021, the DEA issued a Public Safety Alert on the widespread fentanyl trafficking in the form of fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills. These pills are made to look identical to real prescription medications — including OxyContin®, Percocet® and Xanax®. The only safe medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.

“There are three types of medications: opioid pain relievers, ADHD medications like Adderall or anti-anxiety medications like Xanax,” Straughan said. “What drug dealers are doing now is stamping pills that look exactly like that, but it’s laced with fentanyl.”

Adolescents are obtaining fentanyl; however, it may not all be through the same way. Some may be using drug dealers to get medication like Adderall, but the drug contains fentanyl; some may be stressed and use drugs to cope or

alcohol compromises their decisions and a teenager tries a drug at a party. According to the DEA, 60 percent of fake prescription pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.

“It sounds like teenagers and young adults are getting [drugs] off of social media primarily like Snapchat and other websites where these drug dealers are hiding,” Straughan said. “Students who go to a high-achieving school put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed and with that comes stress. Not to make the assumption necessarily, but that could lead to bad decisions and unhealthy relief outlets.”

The most common pathway for addiction to fentanyl is when it was “legitimately prescribed” to patients post surgery after experiencing a bad injury. However, the potency of the drug can make patients become easily addicted to it.

“After a surgery and after it has been prescribed, the patient realizes how good they feel when they take it and becomes quickly dependent on it,” Lovitt said. “It’s similar to heroin and morphine and so the same family of drugs, and those drugs all have a very high rate of both physical dependency and emotional dependency.”

Doctors and those who work in hospitals are also becoming addicted to fentanyl because of drug access in the operating room. Around four years ago, there was a surge in anesthesiologist and nurse deaths due to fentanyl usage.

“It’s been really cracked down on because there were so many for a while where [doctors] would come in the morning and find a dead anesthesiologist or a dead nurse in the operating room,” Lovitt said. “And so now, every case that we do

has a drug box where everything is accounted for. And a nurse has to witness the anesthesiologist waste anything that they didn’t give to the patient, and then they have to document that it got disposed of into a trash can.”

There are solutions to prevent fentanyl overdoses. One way is through a prescription medicine called NARCAN. It’s used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose emergency with signs of breathing problems and severe sleepiness or not being able to respond.

“Having NARCAN or Naloxone [in schools] and training on campus in case of an emergency are worth exploring and implementing,” Straughan said. “[NARCAN is an] opiate agonist that just reverses the effects [of fentanyl]. It can be sprayed into somebody’s nose who’s overdosed or an injection on the thigh.”

On a larger scale, the Texas government has begun to write bills and converse about legislation that should be passed, such as universal test strips, to resolve this issue and help limit the number of deaths or accidental overdoses.

“The Texas government [both] Republicans and Democrats used to be against providing test strips for people to be able to test whether something was laced with fentanyl,” Straughan said. “Now in the Texas Legislature, both Democrats and Republicans have put forth a bunch of bills that would make it legal for test strips to be provided for people.”

From the government to organizations like Soundcheck, people are becoming more involved in preventing and educating people on addiction and overdose.

“We want to make as many tools available to prevent death and possible overdoses,” Straughan said. “It is worth exploring and pushing for because we want to reduce the harm that these drugs and fentanyl can cause.”

Curriculum features Turkey-Syria earthquake

Teachers include the recent disaster into classes, students take to material

Nearly 7,000 miles away from the U.S., a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rattled lives on the Turkey-Syria border on Feb. 6. Catastrophic death and damage ensued, and authorities scrambled to restore order in the region.

The Turkey Syria earthquake was caused by the collision of the Anatolian and Arabian tectonic plates, horizontally sliding past each other. Many minor aftershock quakes followed, as the tectonic plates settled back into place. There is a great history of earthquakes in the region. In the past 20 years, three earthquakes with magnitudes above seven, and two with magnitudes above six, have affected Turkey and its bordering nations. While still recovering from the initial earthquake, another tremor was reported on Mar. 23 in Turkey.

For junior Dalayn Prieto-Akmansoy, updates on the disaster arrived with greater anticipation as her uncle and cousin live in Marmaris, Turkey, in the heat of the chaos.

“Luckily, my family was personally not affected by [the earthquake],” Prieto-Akmansoy said. “[But my cousin] does campaigns in school where they gather items and then send them to [refugee] families who are temporarily in the hotels in Marmaris.”

Mobilizing the nation has been necessary for the earthquake recovery, according to Prieto-Akmansoy.

Even amidst the destruction, education is made possible for children from destroyed regions of Turkey by programs known as misafir öğrenci, or “extension student.”

Many schools, including Prieto-Akmansoy’s cousin’s school, are offering scholarships for these students, and families are providing housing arrangements for the students.

Outside organizations, such as the Turkish and Syrian Red Crescent or Red Cross, have distributed hot meals and first aid kits and provided blood for the injured. Palestinian refugee camps are providing shelter for displaced families, who would otherwise be restricted to their cars in the freezing weather.

“The most urgent needs are shelter, health care and sanitation, food and water,” Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in an address in response to the earthquake. “People are also facing major distress — early access to mental

health and psychosocial support is critical.”

Locally, the Turkish American Association of Northern Texas raised funds and supplies for the cause, shipping out baby items, hygiene materials and winter clothing on Turkish Airlines and Turkish Cargo. ESD may be hosting a similar campaign under the Asian Student Union, but details are yet to be confirmed.

In addition to proposed volunteer ventures, teachers have raised awareness by incorporating earthquake news into the curriculum. Eighth grade science teacher Scott Goestch teaches earthquake science, and this crisis happened to fall during their unit.

“We learned about the damage and collapsed buildings from the Turkey earthquake,” eighth grader Mary Claire Zimmer said. “The information we learned about the earthquake made sense because of the other material we covered in the unit.” Goestch explained earthquake

intensity and aftershock in context to the current crisis, as well as allowing students to research this earthquake for their oral presentation on a specific quake.

“By covering natural disasters like the Turkey earthquake, students can see the need for fulfilling the mission of ESD, igniting lives of purpose,” Goestch said. “Maybe someone in our community will learn how to engineer buildings to withstand large earthquakes, discover precursors to predict earthquakes, lead or join a team to rescue or provide aid to the victims or help educate the populations of at-risk areas.”

Many students were first informed of the earthquake in school, which is relevant to raising awareness for the issue and support needed by Turkey and Syria.

“I was surprised that not many of my students were aware of the Turkey earthquake before I brought it up in class; only 20 or 25 percent [knew of the quake],” Goestch said.

French teacher Geradine Owens incorporated the pressing news into class by playing a French news report of a journalist stuck in the rubble. While learning about French media, students were made aware of the disaster.

“We watched a video in French about the Turkey-Syria earthquake the day after the disaster,” sophomore Katelyn Hurt said. “I think learning about this event in class is important to keeping students informed.

“We want to make as many tools available to prevent death and possible overdoses.”

Will Straughan Soundcheck Prevention founder and CEO

S tory by Charlotte Traylor Staff writer

TURKEY CATASTROPHE The aftermath of the earthquake in Antakya, southern Turkey on Feb. 20, 2023. On Feb. 6, a 7.8- magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep, Turkey followed by a 7.5magnitude tremor after midday. Photo by Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images

ESD honors Women’s History Month

Jan Langbein visits ESD to promote the Genesis Women’s Shelter food drive

S tory by Abby Baughman Life Editor

On March 3, Jan Langbein, founder of Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support, spoke during chapel. She talked about the purpose of the shelter: providing support to women and children escaping domestic violence situations. She also spoke in detail about how anyone is able to fall victim to abuse. She spoke on behalf of the Women’s Studies Organization for National Women’s History Month.

“I think [Jan Langbein speaking in chapel is] a great opportunity to listen to someone who has seen and been through these different communities and has one on one talks to these women that have been through these particular situations,” freshman member of WSO Elle Williams said. “I think she will be able to promote the snack food drive to our community, which will lead us to have more people donate as well.”

However, not all students thought chapel was the right place to have such a heavy discussion about abuse. Out of a poll of 117 community members who attended the chapel talk 49 percent thought it was appropriate for chapel compared to 33 percent who thought it was inappropriate.

“I liked the message of [the chapel talk], but the execution wasn’t very appropriate with the place and the context, like she kind of just jumped in, very rushed and choppy, no real explanation,” junior Dalyan Prieto-Akmansoy said. “They should have given us more

context or introduced this to us more carefully and appropriately. [The talk] almost seemed not empathetic towards abuse victims, but chapel was definitely not the time to have that conversation.”

Every year, the WSO holds a food drive for Genesis Women’s Shelter. The club aims to make the families there more comfortable.

“Children at Genesis with their mothers eat similar meals every night, and it’s a good meal, but it’s, in other words, roast beef, meatloaf, chicken,” WSO Sponsor Catherine Civello said. “When you’re five or six, let’s face it, you want mac and cheese. The drive looks to bring them comfort food because kids are often an afterthought. You always think about the women, which you should, but there are more children at the shelter.”

The purpose of the WSO is to bring female-identifying students together to celebrate female identity, insert the female voice in ESD’s co-educational environment and run the snack and food drive The food drive was held from March 6 to March 9. The seniors donated the most food, and, in total, 2,960 food items were donated by the ESD community, over the course of the food drive.

“A lot of our club is educational and informative,” Civello said. “We don’t sit around discussing the oppression of women as much as we talk about the history of women and watch films, find time to support each other and provide outreach. It’s like a class because we learn things and have great discussions.”

This year, Civello is retiring and

PASSING THE BATON

LEFT: Catherine Civello, current sponsor of the Women’s Studies Organization stands with Lynda Gonzalez who will be taking over next year.

“Dr. Civello noticed early on that had a lot of interest in the Women’s Studies Organization, and she told me to come to the first meeting and immediately made me a co-sponsor,” Gonzalez said. “So I’m really excited about the possibility of taking over for next year.”

RIGHT: A collection of snacks collected by ESD students separated by grade. A total of 2,960 items were collected. Photos by Abby Baughman and Lynda Gonzalez.

Révolution

French citizens have taken to the streets since March 14 to protest on a pension reform that plans to push retirement age for workers from 62 to 64. Over 1 million protesters gathered to show their outrage and anger. Protests have paralyzed major services across the country, piles of garbage have been accumulating on the streets as it has not been picked up since protests began. Fires were started and police were injured and charged by crowds. King Charles III was scheduled to visit on March 28, but postponed the trip. Despite this chaos, French president Emmanuel Macron and the French government have shown no sign of granting the protesters wishes.

moving to be close to her family in California. The WSO will be transferred to Lynda Gonzalez, who is currently co-sponsoring the club to learn the ropes.

“[Gonzalez taking over] is wonderful,” Civello said. “She actually [has experience teaching in] high school and she worked for the Dallas Morning News, so she comes to us very talented with a very rich background. She’s already started working with members of the organization on the snack food drive, and they like her very much. And she’s working very hard, especially on the graphics, the fliers and the posters that go along with the snack food drive. So I feel that I’m leaving the Women’s Studies Organization in wonderful hands with her.”

WSO has 20 members and meets one to two times per month. The club also learns about and discusses current political issues and how they affect women.

“I decided to join this club because I wanted to be able to better pursue my knowledge about women and gender and some issues still going on today and be able to know what to do to be able to promote and support women,” Williams said. “We have discussed many issues facing women today globally, such as the Iranian protests and how as a community, we are able to support and promote those ongoing movements for the women living there.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, the Genesis Women’s Shelter 24-hour hotline is always available for help and guidance: 421-946-HELP (4347).

1.5

million high school students experience abuse in their relationships every year

Every nine seconds, a woman is assaulted. These assaults can include punching, use of weapons and attempted murder

25

9 percent of teenagers in relationships are harassed online by their significant other

Source: Genesis Women’s Shelter

LGBTQ criminalization Rahul gone-di

The Ugandan parliament passed a bill on march 21 criminalizing identifying as LGBTQ and imposed death penalty for some offenses. The country had already banned same-sex relationships and they were punishable by life in prison. Due to a strong connection to religion being deeply ingrained in their culture, many African countries have also banned samesex relationships. The reasoning for this new bill stated that LGBTQ people threatened traditional family values. The bill is expected to go to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for approval.

Cartel Kidnapping

On March 3, four Americans crossed the U.S.—Mexico border and were intercepted by gunmen who fired at the van they were traveling in. The Americans, who were taken hostage and transported to multiple locations, were found in a house near Matamoros on March 7. Two of the victims were found dead. The drug cartel that kidnapped the Americans apologized and said that the kidnapped group was not targeted and they were possibly mistaken for a part of an opposing human trafficking organization. The two surviving victims were treated in a Texas hospital. They had traveled across the border in order to get cosmetic surgery for one of the victims.

After being convicted for defamation and given a 2-year sentence, Rahul Gandhi was stripped of the title of lawmaker in India. Ghandi was a part of the opposition party, which has been having problems in recent months. He gave a speech in 2019 that criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and compared him to a thief. Gandhi lost an election against Modi in 2014 but remained influential. Many Indians are unhappy with the conviction and subsequent disqualification, as they support Gandhi and his efforts to inform the public.

School organizes trip, forms lifelong memories

Students learn about Paris’ Black history, visit monuments, learn about culture

S tory by Easterly Yeaman Arts Editor

ESD students gather around, eager to learn more about the history of Black American artists who traveled to Paris in the 1920s and ’30s. They’re offered a glimpse into the secrets of where these famous artists ate, slept, studied– and it’s right where they are standing.

Students from the Interdisciplinary Humanities Club, AP European History, AP French IV, AP Art History and Race in America class took on Paris from March 1 to 7.

Lindsey Cullins, coordinator of the Global Competency Council at ESD, along with Antonia Moran, the travel representative for the GCC, both fought to pull the trip together for students this year. The GCC, which helps promote global competency in the ESD community, was an advocate for and part of making the trip possible.

“We try to get as many different facets of the school represented on this team and help align what global competency means,” Cullins said. “We make sure that global competency skills are worked into our curriculum and that we’re highlighting it, and we’re giving kids opportunities both in the classroom and out of the classroom to really stretch themselves globally.”

The Paris trip provided the opportunity for students to do just that. Cullins believes the trip was an enriching experience that expanded students’ global competency skills.

“One of the things that we really want to make sure happens whenever we are supporting student travel is it’s not just a check off the box like I went to Paris, I ate a croissant and I’ve had a pleasant experience,” Cullins said. “Global competency is about really connecting with the culture, challeng -

and

Social Media Manager

ing yourself to stretch your interpersonal skills, using the language if you’ve had that preparation, and to understand a new perspective.”

Planning the trip was not without its challenges, however. Teachers had to go through the school’s international travel policy and make sure they had the right forms to give to students.

“Finding our travel policy, figuring out how the insurance works, making sure that we have the right forms to get to students — it was kind of an all hands on deck approach,” Cullins said. “But we were able to pull it off and with a new chief academic officer who is totally on board, helping us make sure that this was an opportunity that kids can have.”

Upper school French and Arabic teacher and Language Department Chair Laila Kharrat traveled with the group as an expert on French and Impressionism, as well as having experience with taking students abroad. She has also been to Paris many times.

“We went to the Château de Versailles, which is that castle where King Louis XIV lived before he was executed along with Marie Antoinette,” Kharrat said. “And Musee d’Orsay is my favorite. The Louvre was great too, and it has the Mona Lisa, it has the winged Victory of Samothrace, so there were some amazing pieces there too.”

Students visited Notre Dame, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, The Centre Pompidou and, of

course, the Eiffel Tower.

In addition, the group took a tour of Black history in Paris, which was the group’s initial area of study that sparked the trip. The well-established tour is called “Entree to Black Paris” by Monique Wells.

“During the Harlem Renaissance, many people fled to the northeast to try to be able to be an artist in society and produce and create work without discrimination,” Kharrat said. “But when they reached their cap in the north, so many went to Paris, where they didn’t have the same kind of history of slavery. There’s artists, musicians, dancers, poets, writers; we’re looking at a slew of people who had more opportunities in France.”

Junior Heaven Henderson, who is part of the humanities club and AP Art History, studied African American artists from the Harlem Renaissance who moved to Paris. Once in Paris, she dove deeper into these studies. “In humanities club, we studied James Baldwin and Buford Delaney, who were two African American artists and authors that moved there to be able to pursue their dreams,” Henderson said. “During the tour, we just went to places they frequented often and that were really influential to them and looked at their writings and stuff like that.”

Joining Kharrat was upper school English teacher Heather Cernoch who facilitated the logistics of the trip, Moran who brought “Entree to Black Paris”

to ESD, and upper school studio art teacher Juan Alberto Negroni who is well versed in the arts.

The trip was designed, at its core, as an academic trip for students to learn new things and study for their respective classes as well as completing a project.

“I’m really glad that this meets the rigor of what we want an experience like this to be,” Cullins said. “I think it’s one that challenges you to know more, to think deeply about it from an academic standpoint, and then to stretch yourself to really employ some of those competencies that we are trying to cultivate.”

Henderson said the Paris trip was an educational and social experience.

“I really enjoyed visiting the museums and seeing the history of Paris,” Henderson said. “I really liked the Maasai, and seeing Marie Antoinette’s bedroom was really fun. I also enjoy being able to see people I usually wouldn’t talk to outside of a school setting and just getting to know them in that way.”

Students and teachers came back with many stories to tell about their Paris experience. Kharrat hopes the trip encourages students to keep traveling in the future.

“I hope it’s life-changing for some of these students ” Kharrat said. “I hope they have an awakening. I hope they see something that sparks a curiosity inside of them that is insatiable where they have to go back, and if they don’t want to go to France they can go to Spain, go to Germany, go anywhere in the world that doesn’t speak English and discover yourself and figure out what you’re good at and what you love and bring something back that you can share and make this place a better place.”

I SPY VERSAILLES Students gather in front of the Palace of Versailles for a group picture. “Being able to see with my own eyes the history of France, and being able to stand where historical figures stood many years ago

A look into alumni relationships with the school and the friendships they forged during their time at ESD

Senior advisory chapel talks raise questions about whether or not they should focus on religion

Seniors support teachers and underclassmen

Teacher assistants gain experience by helping teachers grade work and lead classes

Senior Bryce Hill carefully reads through a rough draft of a less experienced film student’s script adding comments and suggestions as she goes along. Although Hill isn’t the teacher, she advises the younger film students to improve their writing and directing.

Whether for a credit or not, students have taken the opportunity to be teaching assistants. Teachers get grading, teaching and tutoring help from their most trusted students.

Students can assist in many disciplines. Senior Neel Mallipeddi was a teaching assistant last semester for upper school math teacher Vanalet Rusuriye.

“I was a teaching assistant for Precalculus under Mr. Rusuriye, and basically I just helped with things like trigonometry and helped with the homework problems,” Mallipeddi said. “I did it last semester, and I went during my study halls.”

For some classes, Mallipeddi would give a lecture on a topic or certain concepts the class would focus on that day, while in others, he would offer help with certain problems or answer questions.

“I’d help with homework questions,” Mallipeddi said. “I also helped with both the test reviews and the exam reviews. Whenever someone had a question about a certain problem in the test or exam review, I would just go over and help them.”

Rusuriye appreciated Mallipeddi’s help in group and individual work and trusted him to lead the class.

“He made it easier for each student to get more individualized attention which meant more student engagement and better practice of the concepts learned,” Rusuriye said. “After a while in my classroom, I allowed Neel to teach and lead out some of the classroom activities. Students enjoyed having Neel explain some concepts from a student perspective.”

This year was the first time Rusuriye had a teaching assistant at ESD.

Upper school math teacher Chris Northrup recommended Mallipeddi

for the position, and Rusuriye knew he would do well in the role.

“Neel was more than qualified to be a teacher assistant for the calculus class,” Rusuriye said. “The qualification would be to have taken and done well in the course of the assistantship. I look for students who love the subject and love sharing what they know with other students. My students loved interacting with Neel, and he was very helpful to them.”

Virginia Nussbaumer ‘22 also took on the role of teaching assistant her senior year. Like Mallipeddi, she answered students’ questions for math classes, but she spent most of her time as a teaching assistant for French.

“I was a TA for French 3 honors and miscellaneous math classes; I mostly hosted office hours,” Nussbaumer said. “For French, I spent most days in the class. I had certain days I presented, certain days when I would practice conversation with the students, and then sometimes I just sat in the class to understand first-hand what the students discussed with Mme. Kharrat, so I was following the curriculum correctly.”

Nussbaumer was able to receive an honors credit for her role as a teaching assistant.

“It was treated as an honors credit for me,” Nussbaumer said. “I think this was the right ‘level’ to select as the reason I was a TA was because I had already finished all other possible courses in the subject.”

However, Mallipeddi was a teaching assistant mainly for fun and as a part of his multivariable calculus class. Either way, both students receive a credit whether helping out was part of the course or not.

“My multi-variable calculus class

is not just called that,” Mallipeddi said. “The entire first name is Multivariate Calculus and Math Mentor, which means, as part of the class, even though I don’t get any extra credit for it, all of my grades come purely from just the tests, quizzes and homework assignments that I do in the class.”

Recently, more assistant positions have opened up in fine arts and humanities classes. Hill also took on the role of teaching assistant for a beginning film class. “I help the beginning film students learn how to organize their ideas, give tips and guidance and help them learn how to edit their films,” Hill said.

“I have absolutely loved it because I feel like I am learning more by helping everyone else.”

Hill asked upper school film teacher Lynda Gonzalez about being a teaching assistant for film. The role doesn’t count for a credit.

“When I was in the process of dropping a class, there weren’t any available classes that I was interested in, so my college guidance counselor suggested that I reach out to my film teacher about being a teaching assistant,” Hill said. “Since I have taken film for 4 years, my teacher agreed to let me assist in the class.”

Gonzalez began teaching at ESD in January, and Hill has been providing guidance for and editing her students’ scripts.

“Bryce is my teaching assistant for my beginning film class, and she helps me tremendously by working one-on-one with the beginning film students to create their first short films,” Gonzalez said. “She reads through scripts and gives thorough feedback to students on how to develop plot and character.”

Students prepared for the Film Festival that took place on March 23. Hill was the executive producer for the festival.

“She’s been so instrumental in helping each beginning film student edit a strong film to showcase at that event,” Gonzalez said. “She’s also the executive producer of the film festival, so she’ll work on production tasks during the class period that I have her as a teaching assistant.”

Gonzalez looks for seniors who have good leadership skills and are good at giving constructive feedback and advice to novice filmmakers.

“I’m looking for senior students who are personable and display strong leadership skills — I have my teaching assistant do a lot of one-onone feedback sessions with students in order to develop their skills as they continue through the film or photo programs,” Gonzalez said. “They’ll also have to be confident in giving plenty of guidance and feedback in a group setting when we do class screenings of each other’s work. It’s been such a blessing to have her in our class to guide the next group of rising filmmakers.”

Rusuriye believes the teaching assistant program can be very beneficial for both teachers, their students and the teaching assistants themselves.

“Students buy-in from when the assistant knows what he/she is doing,” Rusuriye said. “The assistantship program gives the student a good opportunity to get a firsthand experience of what it is like to work with students in a classroom setting.

Hill has really enjoyed being a teaching assistant and says it has been a rewarding experience.

“It feels really great to have people appreciate my help especially with something that I’m so passionate about like film,” Hill said. “Its also so interesting to see people in a creative atmosphere. I love hearing all of their ideas and helping them develop them into something they are proud of. Its definitely one of the most rewarding experiences I have done at ESD.”

S tory by Easterly Yeaman Arts Editor and Social Media Manager

“I have absolutely loved it because I feel like I am learning more by helping everyone else.”

Bryce Hill senior

BRYCE TO THE RESCUE Senior Bryce Hill helps freshman Kate Smith with her work during film class on March 28. “I absolutely love helping the beginning students,” Hill said “They are always so respectful and so fun to help.” Photo by Easterly Yeaman

Many alums return to ESD, rekindle friendships

Past students cherish the connections, relationships, opportunities ESD provides

S tory by Abby Baughman Life Editor

From During winter break, Sydney Goodiel ‘20 laughs and spends time with her friends from high school. Although an alumna, Goodiel cherishes her time and memories with her high school friends when she is home from college.

“I think that there are amazing friendships cultivated at ESD, or at least that is my personal experience,” Goodiel said. “I made some of my best friends at ESD as early as first grade. I do believe ESD is special in how connected the alumni are not only in the professional sense but also friendships made. I know that a good amount of ESD alumni will look out for you because of that bond you share. ESD has a variety of treasured traditions that further connect the community of students and that truly differentiates ESD from other schools.”

ESD works to make sure seniors are prepared for college and stay connected after graduation.

“[Alumni] come back in the summer, in November, during Christmas, they have their gatherings,” Senior Class Dean Marcela Garcini said. “It’s a very large group mixed with boys and girls, and I think it has become a part of their social circle. Even if they go to sororities [or] other schools, I think they come back to a community. Their friendship is really, really important for them. I think everybody comes home, and they want to look for the memories of the friendship that they built for many, many, many years.”

During the summers, ESD offers a range of activities for alumni to participate in. Upper school theater teacher Lauren Redmond directs a play or musical every few summers for alumni to watch and participate in.

“I’m so thankful that the school supports this production with a bud-

get, rehearsal time/space and use of the amazing facilities,” OJ DeSouza

‘02, who has done ten summer productions, said. “The musicals are a fantastic way to connect and have fun with other alumni during the summer. It’s always fun to meet new alumni that graduate [from] ESD and join the summer shows.”

This year they are performing the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee from August 3 through 5 at 7:30 pm. This year is the tenth show that Redmond has directed, and to honor that they are doing the same show that they did her first year directing.

“We put [summer productions] on in about two months in the summer,” Redmond said. “I’m usually working with a core group of alums, but sometimes I get some random kiddos that maybe are home for the summer from college for one summer.

still carry a lot of the friendships with you, and that’s primarily the main way that alums tend to stay connected to each other and to the school.”

said. “And after that, they go and have dinner and see each other again, and they come back and play probably one more time during the week or the following week. But I think that’s really, really cool. So it’s like ESD is the connector place.” It is not just athletics that bring alumni together, but also sometimes clubs get together. Garcini meets with alumni who were part of Latinos Unidos club and gets lunch or dinner with them. “We gather, and it’s very informal, like we go and meet on a Sunday and have dinner,” Garcini said. “We always try to reconnect with the kids that you were close to or that you had an impact on their life. So they make an impact on mine.”

Hawkins

connected to each other and to the school.”

Some ESD students struggle to go from a small connected campus to a large university where they don’t know anyone. From a poll of 130 students, 24 percent said they were scared to make friends in college.

“I realize that everybody has the goal to be in a frat or a sorority, and sometimes it’s not for everyone,” Garcini said. “I know kids that are alumni that are not part of frats or sororities, and they are doing great. You have to discover, and we tell the kids this, your passion. If you play lacrosse here but you don’t play college level, you can be part of the club. We try to encourage the kids to become part of something and enjoy college as much as they can.”

Senior advisors try to focus on preparing students for life in college, as they have discussions focused on college.

I’m usually having to look at who are the people who live around here and then who might be my extras as we progress. We just take a look at what would be fun to do, what would be easy enough to do in the summer.”

Also in the summers, ESD allows alumni to come back and play sports like soccer or basketball. The gym is also open for alumni to use.

“So ESD lets [alumni] come and use the gym, and it’s a blast because it’s not only the kids [attending] ESD, it’s also the alumni,” Garcini

Alumni can reach out to Head of Alumni Relations Asia Hawkins to come back and visit the school and old teachers. ESD also will give tours to alumni if the school has changed a lot.

“I think the biggest thing is just the sense of community, so even in my role as I meet with alums day to day, overwhelmingly the number one thing that they say as to ways they stay engaged with ESD after graduation is their community and the friends that they made while they were here,” Hawkins said. “It’s true that once you graduate, you’ll still carry a lot of the friendships with you, and that’s primarily the main way that alums tend to stay

“Twelfth grade [advisory] is more about talking about the important things that are coming after ESD,” Garcini said. “One of the topics that we talked about recently was bullying online. So what do you do when you see that people are chatting and posting things that are very aggressive? What should be our position in helping? So because those are the things that you are going to experience in college.”

Alumni are always welcome back to ESD, and many teachers enjoy seeing them.

“Here, we always get very excited when we see the alumni,” Garcini said. “You don’t know how happy we are when we see you guys walking and coming back. It is like you’re coming back to your home, and it’s a pleasure. So every time they see alumni, I get really happy, and I’m like, oh my God, they remember us. Hopefully, we became an important part of your lives and becoming who you are.”

Students create a culture around spring break

to Mexico as seniors

Leading up to March, after ceaseless five-day school weeks, everyone is counting down the days until they can have a week to relax: spring break. Every year, ESD seniors spend the first few days of spring break in Cancún, Mexico, to bond before they graduate.

“I was super pumped to go on the trip because I’d been looking forward to it since freshman year when I saw the class of 2020 go,” senior Liam Pham said. 24 percent of seniors have also been excited about this trip since freshman year according to a poll of 41 senior responses on March 28.

While most seniors decide to go, there are some who go on their own trips. Billy Bryan, a senior this year, opted to travel to New York City for the first time with his mom and twin sister instead.

“While I am a little disappointed to miss the trip all my friends are going on, I am really excited for New York,” Bryan said. “I am excited for the museums, good food and fun streets.”

Spending quality time with his family sounds like a great trip to Bryan. Other seniors, like Briggs Briner, went on the trip and could not wait to finally experience the famous trip that fills everyone’s conversations.

“There’s obviously a lot of excitement around spring break because we don’t have school, but I also think it’s really important because it is the last big thing before graduation, exams, and the end of the year,” Briner said. “It is also one of the last times we get to bond with our grade.”

Senior spring break is run completely by the parents, and the school does not play a part in this trip. Last year, the seniors stayed at the a hotel called Dreams Riviera Cancún Resort and Spa, but because of certain behavior, they were not

invited back. This year’s seniors stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel instead.

“The hotel change did not bother me because I have heard that Hard Rock is supposedly nicer than Dreams anyways,” Briner said.

The Eagle Edition contacted the Hard Rock Hotel to get further information about the ESD trip, but they did not respond to our request. Their website, however, explains some ground rules for groups staying at their hotel.

“The hotel change did not bother me because I have heard that Hard Rock is supposedly nicer than Dreams anyways,” Briner said.

The Student Group Policy, created by the Hard Rock Hotel, states that students traveling with parents must have a legal guardian or adult over 30 staying in each room and that each student under 18 must travel with a guardian and share a room with that guardian. Valid passports must be shown as proof of age, and anyone under 18 will not be served alcohol legally.

“The hotel can and will suspend any or all of its services to guests who, in the hotel’s opinion, display or enact improper conduct offensive and/or unacceptable and/ or dangerous to the others and/or themselves,” Hard Rock Policy said.

This trip did not cover the entire length of spring break, however, and gave students the option to extend the trip travel with their families afterward. Briner went with his friends after the senior trip to Isla Mujeres, which is a 30 minute ferry ride from Cancún. He finished out the break there with his smaller group.

“I was really excited about the senior trip because it is talked about all your years of high school, and it’s finally here,” Briner said.

But not only seniors enjoyed the break with a group. Many other un-

CARE TO CANCUN?

Students in the class of 2023 gather on the beach in Cancún for a group photo. ”I’ve never had a more action packed spring break that left me with so many great memories,” senior Liam Pham said. “I’m grateful for the class of 2023.”

derclassmen traveled with friends as well. Junior Kate Eastin went with her group of friends and their families to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

“I personally enjoy going on spring break with my friends, and we’ve been going to Mexico for the past couple years,” Eastin said. “I like going with my friends because it’s more fun for me.”

Sophomore Libby Miller went to Rosemary, Florida, right outside of Seaside, which is a very popular spot for high school kids. In a poll with 145 students and faculty, 79 went to some sort of beach destination for their spring break. She had been going, for the past two years and was looking forward to spending her third with her best friends and their families.

“I have gone to Rosemary Beach the past three spring breaks and every time we go, I come back with the best memories from the group I go with,” Miller said. “I always enjoy spring break because it is such a fun time to enjoy with my friends and family.”

The craziness before spring break is filled with last minute shopping for the best bathing suits and making

sure everything is packed and ready to go.

“I love shopping for clothes before spring break because I can finally wear spring and summer clothes instead of winter clothes,” Eastin said. “It is also so fun going shopping with my friends before because we all went on a trip together and got to get each other’s opinion on the clothes.”

Then, of course, the classic Thursday and Friday before the break are filled with many absences and teachers giving an easy class. Upper school French teacher Geraldine Owens thinks this day is a waste of teaching time and believes the faculty in-service day scheduled on Monday after spring break should be moved to the Friday before spring break and the senior skip day pushed to Thursday.

“This year, I had my class last period on the Friday before spring break, and I knew there would not be many students, so I made sure there were no tests or quizzes,” Owens said. “This year, we just made crepes and played ‘conjuguemos’ review game with no new material or homework.”

S tory and Photo by Jamie Henderson Staff Writer

The anticipation of spring break runs through many, students look forward

“

It’s true that once you graduate, you’ll

Asia

head of alumni relations

Photo by Carol Vig

fashion

Staff writer Lauren Shushi features fashionable Spring Break outfits worn at exciting destination spots by our high schoolers.

Harper Sands

Harper Sands

Break in Bluff

Break in Bluff

Matthew Durante

Cold in Colorado

Cara Lichty

Viva Las Vegas

Justin McCray

Cancun is Calling

Flacrosse play.”

Freshman Harper Sands spent spring break in Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina. She sports the blue and white, Verity-Stripe-and-Tieredcotton-dress from Zimmerman. “I chose to wear this [dress] because it complemented the marsh in the background along with the sunsets,” Sands said. “I went to South Carolina, specifically Palmetto Bluff, before heading to Charleston to watch the ESD boys lacrosse [team] play.”

Sophomore Matthew Durante dons a classic navy blue winter coat with black North Face pants and black Burton snowboarding boots. Burton Snowboards was founded in 1977 in Vermont and was the world’s first snowboard manufacturing company. Durante has enjoyed learning the chilly sport for fun. “This was my third time snowboarding in Colorado,” said Durante, “I just started this year, and I’m really enjoying it.”

Junior Cara Lichty rocks the patterned Lina-broderie-anglaise--blackdress to her trip to Las Vegas. The dresses’ brand, Charo Ruiz Ibiza, has retail outlets in more than 20 countries with fashionable clothing in the wardrobes of many actresses, singers, models and more. “I was excited to go to somewhere for warmer weather,” said Lichty. “So I bought a lot of sundresses for this trip. I bought this dress because it is nicer and I felt it was better for Vegas.”

The senior class this year visited Cancun, Mexico for their spring break trip. Night one, the class gathered for a “welcoming party,” and on the third and last night, McCray wore an all white set from Amazon for the “White Night” party. “I thought the [senior trip] was super fun and I’m honestly pretty sad it ended,” McCray said. “It was a perfect day for photos and dancing so I was super happy with it. P.S. Manna you owe me.”

crash

outfits, posts and even her cooking show. Both Bieber and Gomez have called for fans to stop pushing the drama.

Advisory chapel topics

Questions arise over the subject matter of senior-led chapels

S

Lauren Shushi staff writer

Senior Caroline Ragan sits down to write her chapel talk after her advisory finally decided on the creative direction they wanted to go in for their time in chapel: a mystery box containing duct tape, a pre-recorded video of the advisees and a sermon which all encompassed the virtue of the month: openness.

Senior advisory chapels, beginning in recent years, have been meant to be an exciting and entertaining activity for the entire advisory to partake in. A whole advisory has one chapel dedicated to them to showcase the heart, personality and connection of their advisory; this can come in the form of a chapel talk, a game like Kahoot!, a mystery box, performing a song or something else.

awesome,” Bostian said. “If the Bible is part of what they want to talk about, great. But really, what I emphasize is: how have you found your purpose? How have you ignited your life and purpose, and what values or experiences have helped you live into your best self? So I think more about purpose and living in your best self and encouraging them to think along those lines, then to make it specifically religious.”

Upper school chemistry teacher Walter Warner believes chapel talks should have a spiritual theme to them or at least try to connect the community in some deeper way.

“I do believe that each senior chapel should have some type of spiritual component to it,” Warner said. “I like that, but I also think it’s important that we have fun. I do believe that our fun should be within the structure of what the overall main purpose of going to

original print of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese printmaker Katsushika

Wave off Kanagawa was originally made in the 1830s and a few thousand prints were made. However, today there are only a hundred or so copies, and the copy sold on March 21 is one of the best preserved seen and set the record for being the most expensive copy.

Tiktok CEO in Congress

was sold for $2.7 million on March 21.

The Wave sold 3

On March 23, TikTok CEO, Shou Chew, appeared before Congress in an over fivehour-long hearing. Chew and TikTok were accused of selling American data to the Chinese Communist Party and being a dangerous platform for kids. Chew recounted these points by saying that he has “seen no evidence that the Chinese government has access to that data; they have never asked us, we have not provided it.” Chew also pointed out that the app has an age restriction of 13 and guidelines for children.

Paltrow’s court case

Oscar winning actress and wellness brand Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow took the stand on March 24. Paltrow is being civilly sued by Terry Sanderson for $300,000 after a 2016 skiing accident left him with four broken ribs and a brain injury. Sanderson accuses Paltrow of skiing into him, causing the collision, while Paltrow is adamant that Sanderson skied into her. Paltrow is countersuing for one dollar and attorney fees.

“I wrote my talk, and I had the idea of talking about looking at things in a different light because I think that’s a really important message, especially in high school because you know there’s all the cliques and all that,” Ragan said. “Plus, a lot of us have known these people our whole lives, and we tend to think of them in the same way that we did in first grade, so I feel like it’s important to look at things in a different way.”

Ragan did connect her talk to openness, as it was the virtue of the month, but some have raised the question of if all of the senior advisory chapels should be connected to God, religion or the virtue, at least in some way.

“For the senior chapels specifically, I feel like it really should be whatever speaks to the advisory itself,” Ragan said. “I’m religious, and I wrote the talk, so I connected it to God, but I feel like it really just is up to the person giving it’s religious background. I feel like you know it’s really what [the advisory] wants to do because chapel is a time for openness and deciding, and it’s their time to do whatever they want.”

Father Nate Bostian, upper school chaplain, shared the purpose of the advisory chapels as a way to shine a light on the advisory’s personality and connection as a whole.

“After we talk about the structure [of chapel], then we talk about, well, what do you want to share?” Bostian said. “And I get them in a brainstorming session where we talk about all the different ways of sharing. We talk about if they want somebody to speak or if they want multiple people to speak. Do they want a mystery box? Do they want a game? But also asking, what is it that really bonded their advisory together is important too.”

Bostian tries to have the message of living into your best self and finding your own purpose through chapel.

“What I really try to do is if God is part of what they want to talk about,

“What I emphasize is: how have you found your purpose? How have you ignited your life and purpose, and what values or experiences have helped you live into your best self.”

Fr. Nate Bostian senior chaplain

chapel every day is, which is to bring the community together and find things that bring us together. There are enough things that every person in the community can find some connection to and can help them to feel a sense of connectedness to our community.”

Warner, a senior advisor himself, has liked his students having their own time in chapel, as long as it can be fun as well as respectful.

“I do think that the groups should take the responsibility of leading a whole community activity seriously enough so that if you are going to make it more lighthearted and fun, that it’s not a parody of going to church,” Warner said. “I also really like what Father Nate does with the whole notion of finding different gifts that different people have and putting people up in front of our community that really do have gifts to bring us together.”

“THE TIMEKEEPER

READ: 56... 57... 58... 59!”

Senior John Cahoon pictured giving a talk on March 23 during the Cupp advisory chapel over the story of Roger Bannister: a determined man who was the first ever to run a mile in under four minutes. This inspiring story ties into the virtue of the month of March: perseverance. “I have always enjoyed hearing Mr. Lutken tell the story of Roger Bannister,” said Cahoon. “I feel like despite the fact he ran more than half a century ago on the other side of the world, the story seems inherently connected with an ESD education, so I felt the need to continue it. Not to mention it is one impressive story.”

Hailey Bieber has been accused by fans of bullying Selena Gomez and being a “mean girl.” Gomez had an eight-year, on-and-off relationship with Justin Bieber prior to his marriage with Hailey Bieber. Hailey Bieber has posted various things to her Instagram story, seemingly attacking Gomez with her friends. For example, she posted a link to the song “Calm Down” by Rema, but without Gomez’s feature. Fans have also accused Hailey of copying Selena’s

tory by

Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images/TNS

An

Hokusai

The Great

Photo by Head of Upper School Henry Heil.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/TNS

Photo by Rick Bowmer/Pool/Getty Images/TNS

A permanent way of expression

Teachers and students share their experiences with tattoos, along with some advice

S tory by Iris Hernandez News Editor

Despite ESD’s dress code that dictates issues such as facial hair and skirt length, there is nothing written about tattoos.

“I got my tattoo over spring break in Santa Fe. I had been planning on getting it for a while so a vacation sounded like a good idea,” senior Elise Bostian said. “My tattoo is matching with my dad. He has it in my handwriting and I have it in his. It says “walk in love,” which was the theme for one of my weeks of camp at Camp Capers, an Episcopal camp I went to every year growing up. ”

Some students that want a tattoo but are underage have found a workaround. Stick and poke tattoos are usually done at home and carry a risk of infection and, for some, could end up not looking the way they expected.

“I know a lot of tattoo artists personally that spend a lot of time covering up sticks and pokes because people get them in high school and immediately regret them,” English teacher Hannah Bowick, who is in her 30s and has gotten five tattoos since the age of 18, said. “I don’t think [they] are worth the time and the risk. A stick and poke to me honestly feels like the pansy way out.”

However, these students feel it is a way for them to express themselves and their creativity. They also don’t last as long, as people often don’t push into the skin far enough. Junior Annalise Shultz* has two, both done free hand and with as much sterilization as possible for an at-home procedure.

“I’m glad I decided to tattoo myself, and in the worst-case scenario, I would have gotten a professional to touch it up when I’m older,” Schultz said. “I think tattoos are a great way to show your personality and style even when fashion and trends are always changing.”

Nearly 98.9 million people in America have tattoos, and 23 percent experience regret, according to Astanza Lazer.com. For teens thinking about getting tattoos, Bowick says it is extremely important to research beforehand.

“If anyone is interested in get-

ting a tattoo and they are on the fence, and they don’t know, they should talk to someone who’s gotten tattoos or somebody who has been through the experience,” Bowick said. “It’s painful, and it’s expensive, and it is very permanent. It is very different than a piercing in that you can take a piercing out, and the hole will close, usually. And you can pretend you never got it.”

The tattoo removal process is long, painful and expensive. Americans spend nearly $1.6 billion on removing ink each year, according to New Look Laser College. Bowick had a tattoo on her chest that no longer fit her, so she looked into removal, but after researching, she decided on a cover-up.

“The removal process is costly, and it’s very painful,” Bowick said. “It ends up leading to a lot of really permanent scarring that isn’t cute. It’s not like a scar from an injury or a surgery. It’s almost like a burn scar.”

Many people with tattoos find that it is important to think about what is being put on their skin before getting tattooed. Some just want a tattoo to have a tattoo and don’t truly comprehend that it will be on their skin forever.

“I don’t think tattoos, necessarily, have to be super meaningful,” Bowick said. “In fact, I think the risk [of regret] vanishes if your tattoo isn’t very meaningful.”

Before getting tattooed, Bowick sat down and deeply thought about the things she values and thinks are lasting. After her first tattoo, Bowick has ensured that her tattoos are symbolic but outwardly ambiguous. She has multiple flowers from the Bible and one for her husband’s birth month.

“I think it is dangerous to get names, words [and] blatant symbols,” Bowick said. “At the end of the day, I can divorce meaning from

“I

certain tattoos on my skin if ever the meaning does change for me, unlike the symbol I originally had tattooed on my chest.”

Since tattoos aren’t regulated, teachers are able to show off their ink with pride. Upper school Studio Art teacher Juan Negroni has about 13 tattoos and got his first one at 21.

“I cover them for interviews or things like that,” Negroni said. “In the past 15 years, they have become a common thing. So, people with tattoos don’t get targeted as they used to back in the day.”

Negroni has always been interested in tattoos. He used to sneak out of art class to hang around tattoo shops and draw tattoos for them. He would get offers from artists to pay him for the drawings, but he always declined.

Juan Negroni

“My dad got [a tattoo] when he was in the army,” Negroni said. “He was really young. So I guess that the fact that I was exposed to it since I was born made it really normal. It became a curiosity that grew with me. My dad was an amazing father; he was honest and hard worker with a great sense of ethics. So I was sure that all the myths about tattoos and people with tattoos were just myths.” Teachers are able to show off their ink with pride. Art teacher

Juan Negroni has about 13 tattoos and got his first one at 21.

“I cover them for interviews or things like that,” Negroni said. “In the past 15 years, they have become a common thing. So, people with tattoos don’t get targeted as they used to back in the day.”

Negroni has always been interested in tattoos. He used to sneak out of art class to hang around tattoo shops and draw tattoos for them. He would get offers from artists to pay him for the drawings, but he always declined.

“My dad got [a tattoo] when he was in the army,” Negroni said. “He was

really young. So I guess that the fact that I was exposed to it since I was born made it really normal. It became a curiosity that grew with me. My dad was an amazing father; he was honest and hard worker with a great sense of ethics. So I was sure that all the myths about tattoos and people with tattoos were just myths.”

The History of Tattoos

Humans have been tattooing for thousands of years, the earliest dating back to nearly 5,000 BCE. From the beginning, tattoos have been directly related to one’s identity and sense of self. During tribal times tattoos were symbols of status, tribe identity and even marital status. Tattoos were incredibly common outside of Europe, as the practices that did exist were run underground. When colonization and the slave trade began, tattooed people were more likely to be captured, which was very destructive as they were often leaders of their community. This created a ‘tattooed savage’ stereotype that was only reinforced by individuals with many tattoos entering into circuses and freak shows, often creating false narratives that they were forcibly tattooed by marginalized groups. Even today, some see tattoos in a negative light, especially with older generations.

In the 1930s when social security numbers had just been created, people began getting them tattooed, finding the nine-digit number too difficult to memorize. But, the tattoo craze didn’t occur until the 1970s. During this time, there was an influx of common people getting tattoos due to the rebellious and free nature that the ’70s cultivated. Only a decade before, people shied away out of fear of hepatitis, a fear that got tattoos banned from New York City until 1997, according to Time. com. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, the rock scene grew, making tattoos increasingly popular as many wanted to match with their favorite celebrities. People in the ’90s and early 2000s really embraced tattoos, making back, neck and arm bands a common occurrence. The 2010s, as many can remember, were all about trends. Inner lip and finger tattoos were very popular.

*Students names have been changed at their request.

Community members use tattoos as a form of expression, despite school dress code

News editor Iris Hernandez explores Dallas’ West Village and all that it has to offer

see tattoos more as a collection. Like any other person who collects rocks or coins. My artwork is very different because it is my opportunity to expand on the things that worries me as a human being.

INKED UP LEFT: US Studio Art teacher Juan Negroni reveals his tattoo during a critique with Vivian Chen in the AP 2D Art class. “Depending on the situation I either cover [the tattoos], or I don’t,” Negroni said.

Photo by Iris Hernandez RIGHT: Elise Bostain and her father, Fr. Nate Bostain, flaunt their matching fatherdaughter tattoos. “[It hurt] less than expected,” Elise said. “Almost like someone was scratching at your skin.”

Photo provided by Elise Bostian

POST CARDS FROM DALLAS V.40

I have always loved Lower Greenville. It holds the kindest and most interesting people, the coolest shops and an overall great vibe. A few weekends ago, my mom and I dedicated a day to visit our favorite places. We had breakfast, went to my favorite shops and finally ate dinner. This is an under-rated area of Dallas that has quite a fun adventure for all who enter.

UNDERGROUND MARKET 11:10 A.M.

Next, we took the three-minute drive over to the Underground Market on 5700 Oram St. It was a great day to go as it was not windy and quite warm. The market consists of around 20 booths, all stocked full of interesting items ranging from hot sauce to vintage clothes to crystals. I got a ring, croc jibbitz and a vintage shirt. There was also a man across the street that was selling sea shells out of his car. He had them all on display and was ready to educate passers by on his collection. The market felt like a little community that I became enveloped into.

THE PLANTING HAND 12:00

P.M.

WABI HOUSE

5:10 P.M.

This was my first time at Wabi House at 1802 Greenville Ave., a ramen restaurant, and it definitely lived up to the hype. They are open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends and on weekdays they take a break from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.. It is great for any special occasion or a nice get-together. They have an elevated ambiance, with great choice in music and beautiful moody lighting. We had to wait 20 minutes for a table, but we passed the time sitting outside and people-watching. We ordered edamame and beets and Brussels for the appetizers. If you don’t like Brussel sprouts, you may reevaluate after having these because the savory seasoning and soft texture of the sprouts makes them the best I have ever had. I had the Dry Garlic Ramen, while my mom had the Shoyu Ramen. We both used chopsticks to eat, but neither of us were very skilled. We used it as a time to practice and by the end of our meal we felt like pros. Both were amazing.

S tory and photos by Iris Hernandez News Ediitor

We then headed over to the Planting Hand on 2010 Greenville Ave., which is tucked between two busy restaurants. They sell all things plant: greenery, soil, watering cans, pots and more. All of their plants were flourishing and healthy looking. I was shocked to see that the plants were not very expensive, so I was able to get two plants.

Is your fake your

Senior Carrie Johnson* stands frozen as the cashier at 7-Eleven scans her ID. No beep. “Can you try it again?” Johnson asked. No beep again. Johnson scours her brain, trying to think of the date of birth written on the card. The cashier looks Johnson up and down and at the beer cans that are patiently waiting on the counter. “Sometimes it’s finicky, it’s a new one,” Johnson said. She braced herself as the cashier scanned it again… Beep. Johnson quickly grabbed her cans off the counter and dashed out of the store.

Business Manager and Brooke

your friend?

Brooke Ebner Staff writer

community of independent schools,” Straughan said. “That puts students and young people at sort of higher risk for thinking that alcohol use is the main way to socialize, so I think that’s what stands out most about ESD.”

Soundcheck’s surveys observed that the desire to purchase a fake ID stems from the desire to fit in with a friend group or relieve stress through alcohol.

“I think sometimes the desire to fit in to kind of go along with our friend group, which again I don’t think we should say that in and of itself is a bad thing, but this desire to go with the flow and not stand out as well as those are a couple of reasons why people might buy a fake ID, “ Straughan said. “As well as like when it comes to like substance use it’s like well you know I’m willing to take this risk because maybe it just makes me feel better and relieves stress.”

Teenagers having access to alcohol has always been an issue, but the problem has been chalked up to parents giving it to their children or leaving it in the open for the students to take. Now the issue completely circumvents the parents and only involves the institution selling alcohol and the student.

“I do honestly think having a fake ID is becoming more of a thing, and a lot of underclassmen are getting them sooner than they have before,” Barkley said. “I don’t know what the solution to this problem is, but awareness will certainly help the situation.”

ACQUISITION

Through a simple search on the internet, teens can figure out how to get their hands on their own fake ID. With high-tech printers and dozens of companies online selling fake IDs, it has become much more accessible for minors to purchase them online. According to Marquette Law Review, in 2000, at least 10,000 websites offered fake ID templates, and some sites even reached over 10,000 inquiries a day.

“I personally purchased mine online, but I know people that have friends that will get it for them or do a group order online,” sophomore Mary Ellis Schmidt* said. “I’ve heard of a ton of people getting scammed, and it can be really dangerous because you might be putting your real information out there to whoever you’re ordering from.”

There are many debates on whether or not you should put your real information online or use fake addresses and names to protect yourself from the authorities. Scams can happen without them leaking information as well. Issues such as not delivering the product to the quality standard promised or up charging significant amounts also happen often.

“I’ve had friends order and receive a totally fake-looking product when they were promised an ID that scanned and looked real,” Schmidt said. “Issues like paper thin IDs or waiting way longer than expected can also occur when purchasing a fake ID.”

And if someone asks around the halls of the school, they will quickly learn a name or two of people in the student body who “deal” IDs. These dealers usually ask a third party to create the IDs, and then the dealer delivers one or two copies to the customer. A majority of the time students will buy them in a group, whether it be through a dealer or mutual friend.

“I asked my friend, and I knew he was having an order of fakes,” senior Rachel West* said. “I just asked him to give me one of his orders, and it should be coming soon. A lot of people just know who the dealers are in their grade.”

West is willing to pay a high price for a dependable fake ID. Sixty-five percent of students with fake IDs have spent $50 to $100 to obtain them.

“I actually have no clue [what the price is yet], but the other orders I’ve looked at in the past have ranged from like 50, the 50 ones are kind of crappy, to like 100 bucks,” West said. “If you buy the 100 bucks one you know you’re getting a scannable one, but sometimes they might scam you.”

Senior Bradley Greene* decided to take the risk and bought a fake ID for $40 from a former ESD student.

“It was a really good deal, and it was a big order,” Greene said. “The ID is poor quality, but I haven’t gotten caught yet, so it works for me.”

AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM

Drinking ages vary between different states and countries, which impacts the use of fake IDs around the world. In 1984, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age in the United States was established as 21 years old, whereas prior to the act, it varied from state to state. This decision made the United States have one of the highest drinking age allowances in the world.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving suggests that the MLDA was passed to combat the drunk driving epidemic of the 1970s. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s been a 16 percent decline in traffic fatalities per year as a result of setting the minimum legal drinking age back to 21 — equating to about 800 lives saved annually, according to the American Journal of Public Health. New Zealand, which lowered its drinking age from 20 to 18 in 1999, saw a rise in alcoholrelated crashes among 15 to19-year-olds.

“A good question is, does the higher drinking age make it more likely?” Straughan asked. “What causes [the age] to go up? Sometimes [the high age] makes people want to break the rules in the first place. I wonder if the longer we go without them, the more likely we are to get one.

Mexico has a drinking age of 18. Places such as France, Greece and Italy have a minimum age of 18 to buy alcohol, while Belgium, Denmark and Germany have a minimum age of 16 for buying beverages with less than 1.2 percent of distilled alcohol and 18 for buying spirits which have over 1.2 percent of distilled alcohol.

“I think it’s not fair [that people in other countries don’t have to get fake IDs like Americans do],” West said. “In their country, it’s in their constitution that it is their God-given right to party from the age of 18. Our country has it in its constitution that there is a God-given right to have guns. That’s just wild. They don’t want us to party, but they want us to shoot up a party. That’s just crazy. Protect our God-given right to party.”

Some believe that a lower drinking age promotes the safe use of alcohol because they could be less inclined to binge drink at an older age. But according to data from the World Health Organization, European teens ages 15 to 19 tend to report higher levels of binge drinking than American teens.

CONSEQUENCES

For most students, the idea of having a fake ID and the consequences associated with it are completely removed from each other. A majority of the time, when a fake ID is spotted while being used, the worst punishment is it being taken away. In Texas, the possession of a fake ID is considered a Class B misdemeanor, which technically comes with a presumptive sentence of up to 180 days in jail or fines of up to $2,000. States have come up with solutions in order to detect fake IDs more accurately. According to Susan Dworak, CEO of Real Identities, a nationwide team encouraged to prevent the use of fake IDs, some states require training for anyone who sells or serves alcohol. Serving training programs are available online, but they often don’t include great detail. ID checking books have also been established, which contain photos of IDs and describe the features on them to be on the lookout for. These books, however, can get outdated or not have a sufficient amount of detail to catch fake IDs. Scanners with the ability to read barcodes have also been established to catch fake IDs, but the growth of technology has made them less effective.

“I think people forget that having a fake ID is illegal and can result in the cops being called,” Barkley said. “Most of the people I’ve heard of getting their fakes caught have had them snapped in half or permanently taken without any legal repercussions.”

Others consider the punishments for possession of a fake ID light and are, therefore, willing to take the risk.

“I’m not scared because what happens if I get caught?” West said. “I’m not going to go to jail. The only way I can get caught is really if I leave it on campus somewhere. And even then, what is the Discipline Council going to do?”

This year, senior Tatiana Morris* lost her wallet on campus, and it was picked up by a school administrator. When looking for whom the wallet belonged to, they found her fake ID.

“I felt like a part of my life that’s very separate from ESD was suddenly affecting the part of my life that is ESD,” Morris said. “It was kind of scary to watch those two parts of my life come together because they shouldn’t.”

The Discipline Council is a group of student leaders in charge of listening to cases involving behavior violations that violate the school’s handbook. If a student is caught with a fake ID, the Council hears the case.

“We treat each case uniquely because they all have different circumstances, so there’s not quite a set punishment for [a fake ID],” senior Discipline Council member Bridget Wang said. “We’ve had multiple fake ID cases this year. It is important to enforce a set of rules that should be followed. But it does get a little difficult at times because giving our punishments to peers can be a challenge.”

For cheating and plagiarism, the Honor Council usually sentences students to a day of separation and a recorded behavior violation. The Discipline Council only sentenced Morris to serve a Saturday detention without harm to her resume.

“I think the punishment made sense,” Morris said. “I was thinking about what it would be like if I was given a day of separation, and while that would make sense for what I was doing, it is so normalized in our community that I think it would be unfair for people on the council who know I have a fake ID to give me such a severe punishment. And I think they realized that too because if the people on the council didn’t have a fake ID themselves, they had a friend who had a fake ID, or they were friends with me.”

For Morris, the hardest thing was knowing that administrators knew about her outside-of-school life.

“It’s not that any faculty at ESD would label me or write me off, but it’s kind of embarrassing,” Morris said. “I kind of had my reservations about Discipline Council at first, but at the end of the day, I was thankful for it because I do think since they are students in the community, they are much more connected to the culture [than faculty].”

Some think that people buy fake IDs in order to feel the rush of taking a risk or breaking a rule. Fake IDs not only give students access to illegal substances but also to a social scene of “rule breakers.”

“I don’t think it’s okay to have [a fake ID], but I think it’s okay to recognize this as people who are in the process of taking risks, especially 16 to 20-year-olds,” Straughan said. “That’s okay and should be validated. It’s interesting what risks we take even though we know the consequences of substance use or potentially getting busted with a fake ID… why do we still do that?”

Photoillustration by Elisabeth Siegel and Katherine Mote

Diet Culture reaches more groups through social media

Diet culture: a pervasive, damaging and dangerous social standard that tells us how we should eat — and further, look a certain way resembling thinness or fitness, in order to be accepted or worth more. Diet culture is harmful today because it can reach out toward all demographics of people regardless of gender, size, race, background or age.

The issue with diet culture is that it is common and normalized. It may hide between posts on social media or remarks passed among friends. The Eagle Edition believes that social media is a large factor in perpetuating diet culture standards and that the natural, familiar vocabulary centered around diet and body image needs to be changed. Examples of discourse that maintain diet culture would sound like a part of natural and everyday conversation. Calling foods “good” or “bad,” eating “clean” or being “guilt-free” after eating what is perceived as healthy are all instances of potentially destructive vocabulary in the realm of diet culture.

Even common phrases like having a “cheat day” or “eating bad” and the like imply that you are doing something you should not be doing: something that is worth reproach accompanied by feelings of guilt. The language of diet culture is so fixed in our society that it finds itself in high schools as well.

It is proven that social media has a severe impact on body image; men and women alike often view images of unattainable physical standards which can have a negative effect on their well being. Statistics shared by writer Jennifer Daw in 2001 with the American Psychological Association showed that 8 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder, with about 90 percent of them being

young women; many of these disorders can be fueled by toxic presence on social media.

In order to recognize diet culture, these are examples that include but are not limited to: feeling the need to justify your eating, associating worth with what or how you eat, eliminating entire food groups, equating thinness with health, avoiding social situations because of food, having the scale dictate happiness or worth, exercising for punishment, excessive exercising and more.

Doctor Kerri Boutelle, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at UC San Diego and clinical psychologist, has specialized in studying and treating weight management and eating disorders since 1992 and has been consistently funded by NIH since 2002. Dr. Boutelle is also the senior supervising psychologist at the UCSD Eating Disorder and Treatment Program.

In 2002 she and other researchers published work in the National Center for Biotechnology on weight control behaviors among obese, overweight, and non overweight adolescents. They found that 35 to 57 percent of adolescent girls engage in “crash dieting,” or an extremely low-calorie diet with very low daily food energy consumption which is also known as a semistarvation diet, fasting, self-induced vomiting, diet pills, or laxatives.

Writing for a high school paper on diet culture and the pervasive nature of harmful habits that high

school students may pick up on is especially imperative to cover today. The toll of diet culture weighs heavily on high school and even younger students as the relationship between a fixation on all things diet and consumption may be closely linked to eating disorders. The National Eating Disorders Association in their statistics and research on eating disorders included a study that showed a large range of 14-to-15-year-olds, in which dieting was the greatest predictor of developing an eating disorder. Those who dieted moderately were five times more likely to develop an eating disorder, and those who extremely restricted their diets found a likelihood of 18 times higher to develop an eating disorder. Social media’s influence on body image and dieting is staggering: many times social media platforms spread extreme, unhealthy and unrealistic weight loss methods. Some ways that are promoted include but are not limited to green tea pills, medications, skipping meals, liquid diets, cutting entire food groups and collagen power to lose weight. While numerous platforms spread body positivity, there are still all too many cites that glorify “thinness” or what is seen as healthy which can cause damage to those that are impressionable to these posts. Also closely linked with diet culture is impressions of food anxiety. Food anxiety is characterized by strong feelings of nervousness trig -

gered by the presence of any or specific foods or certain situations. These feelings interfere with an individual’s health, quality of life and ability to perform day-to-day activities. This can also cause a physiological reaction called “fight or flight,” creating an erratic heartbeat and other adrenaline-inducing symptoms.

Orthorexia, a term coined in 1998 meaning an obsession with proper or “healthy” eating, or when healthy eating goes wrong and having an intense focus on your diet or eating healthy. This is becoming fixated on healthy eating to a point where you damage their own well-being–studies also show that many with orthorexia also have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Symptoms include compulsive checking of ingredient lists and nutritional labels, being concerned over the health of ingredients, showing high levels of distress when “safe” or “healthy” foods aren’t available, the obsessive following of food and healthy lifestyle pages on social media and more.

Diet culture is a lens through which many of us perceive beauty, health, our own bodies and worth. This lens adds pressure that can affect one’s decision making and judgment about how you treat yourself. Placing fitness or thinness as the ideal of worthiness which can only be achieved by eating a certain way is simply not a feasible way to upkeep one’s health.

Even with some concerning statistics accompanying this topic, there are ways to fight diet culture. Focusing and thanking your body for what it can do versus what it ought to be is key, and likewise, thinking of your body as a vessel through which you are cared for, and it turn you care for it. Fighting harmful language by not labeling foods as good or bad, fat-gaining or slimming and avoiding harmful kinds of media and educating yourself on true health are all important ways to combat falling into a spiral of diet culture.

Elisabeth Siegel writes about the prevalence of fast fashion in the country and ways to combat the spread

Editors-In-Chief Maddy Hammett and Grace Worsham discuss their time spent in Paris, France with the school

“Diet culture is a lens through which many of us perceive beauty, health, our own bodies and worth. This lens adds pressure that can affect one’s decision making and judgment about how you treat yourself. ”

Eagle Edition Staff

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.

Graphic by Maddy Hammett and Grace Worsham Co-Editors-in-Chief

Trendy vs Staple fashion

S tory by Elisabeth Siegel Managing Editor

One hundred dollar online shopping haul. Amazon storefront. Summer essentials. As I scroll through my Instagram or TikTok feeds, these phrases pop up repeatedly. Video after video of mass consumption leaves me looking at my closet in dismay and yearning for more. But do I really need that flower-shaped hair clip? Will I really wear those pink, checkered pants again? The internet has amplified people’s desire to be “trendy,” causing many to over consume and shop irresponsibly. Shopping for staple pieces of clothing that are high in quality and timeless in style is not only better for the environment but also better for your bank account.

Fast fashion stores are online brands that sell clothes that keep up with current styles for low prices. Stores such as H&M, Urban Outfitters and Victoria’s Secret are most likely to be found at your local mall.

Most recently, Shein has gained immense popularity on social media and is now the second-biggest online apparel retailer, trailing behind Macy’s. Although at first it may seem like a bargain on a shirt, the effects of these purchases are detrimental.

The clothing industry as a whole is known to have a gigantic carbon footprint and water use requirement. But fast fashion brands specifically are exacerbating the negative impact on the environment. Plastic is an endemic problem to fast fashion brands, which often use synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, acrylic and elastane, which are all made from fossil fuels. The textile sector accounts for 15 percent of total plastic use according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Only 0.5 percent of Shein’s clothes are made from recycled content according to EthicalConsumer. org. The fashion industry produces an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste annually according to Earth.org, a number which has sky-

rocketed in recent decades due to the poor quality and high consumption of fast fashion. Some of this waste never reaches the consumer, as brands have to throw the clothes away to make room for the latest trends.

One way fast fashion brands guarantee low prices is to keep their wages low. Workers are exploited in countries with low labor standards, working in abusive sweatshops. The fast fashion business model requires employees to work long hours to produce inventory at a rapid rate. According to The True Cost, an estimated 2 percent of workers in the fashion industry are earning a livable salary. Kids, who are inherently caught in this cycle of poverty, are particularly compelled to work in these factories; according to a survey by The Guardian on garment mills in India, 60 percent of employees were under the age of 18 when they started working.

In addition to the ethical problems surrounding fast fashion, it hurts the consumer too. These pieces of clothing are so poor in quality that people will probably be able to wear them a few times, then will throw them away. Or the garment will go out of style quickly as influencers constantly push new trends and desires upon their wide-eyed audiences. This cycle results in the consumer draining their bank account as they keep reordering clothes. In 2019, The Guardian reported that one in three young women considered an item to be old if it was worn just once or twice. It’s estimated that the average piece of clothing is worn just 14 times.

Before you buy, it is important to make sure that you are not contributing to the injustice that is fast fashion. Slow fashion, as the name suggests, is the opposite of fast fashion; it consists of high-quality clothing while advocating for fair working conditions and eco-friendly practices. Yes, slow fashion has a more expensive price tag than fast fashion. However, these garments are sustainable and long-lasting; consumers won’t have to worry about their shirts ripping after only a couple of wears. Slow fashion also allows buyers to stop and consider if they really need this new piece of clothing or if they can just repurpose the closet they already have. Besides, if you have a closet full of timeless, staple pieces, your clothes will be in style no matter the season, and you won’t need to break the bank on new clothes every month.

Shopping at thrift stores is another mindful way to shop and decrease the consumption of new materials. Vintage clothing is not only “trendy” but also more authentic than clothes made of plastic.

Truly sustainable brands are transparent about their supply chains by sharing information on their websites. Product and material information should be clearly labeled. Most eco-friendly brands are accredited through a regulatory body, such as the Global Organic Textile Standard certification. Packaging should usually be biodegradable. Discounts and huge sales such as Black Friday should often be avoided. With the rise of social media and expedited shipping, let’s remember to think and do our research before we click “order.”

by Sophia Sardiña Staff writer

When is Soundcheck planning on coming back and what are your plans for the following visit?

We definitely hope the plan would be to come back next year, in the fall, to continue the conversation and education with students in the rest of the community. What I think will happen this spring is an opportunity to plan for fall; and so that will be with administration, counselors, other staff to kind of what would be helpful to talk about. I think it would be really cool to meet with y’all again, like journalism, but also other students to be asked what conversations feel like they would be important to you and your peers to have going into next year. So I think it would be cool to have some of the student voices brought into the plans for next year.

Is there any new information or process that you will talk about this year?

We have a potential approach which we sort of used this fall but I think we would find a unit specified for each grade. For example, it can be helpful to have a conversation with ninth graders about your brain development and coping skills and sort of being able to navigate pressure situations. This is the best approach because ninth graders are 14 [years old] and if you start using [drugs] at that age, they are like four to five times more likely to get addicted. And so, it would be great to help them understand that even though you may feel like everyone’s using substances it’s actually a lot less than you think. So typically that’s our approach. And what we see with tenth graders is that they’re starting to make decisions. And that can be confusing. They’re asking ‘Am I still in ninth grade? Or should I be more like an 11th grader?’ I think teaching them to still hold onto postponing or de -

laying use of alcohol is important. However for eleventh grade I think incorporating the talk about how to deal with stress would be great. Many of them ask, is there a way to drink responsibly as a way to cope? And possibly providing some sort of answer of what are good and bad ways to cope can or would help. And then the big question for 12th graders is ‘what’s next’? Their next step is college so they’re going to be exposed to new things and it is good to teach them how to approach these situations, and kind of ask ‘What are my plans for life after high school?’

Any more information that would be beneficial to the Soundcheck program or ESD student body/community?

First of all, we’re grateful to the paper for being willing to be a voice about this, because the most important thing is to have not just one conversation, but ongoing conversations about these topics, not just drugs, but about what ED identity and how students portray themselves. We, at Soundcheck, really appreciate the level of investment and open mindedness. It is great to see students’ eager to learn and they want to learn about this topic. For processes, I believe that our next step is a survey that gives us qualitative information to pair with all of the conversations that we’re having. That would be the one thing I would say, if there could be another effort. I know there was an effort to take a survey but there was a lot of push-back about it. If people could find, you know, find a way to collect data, then that collects the student voice and maybe other members of the community. That’s always a good thing to get. So that we can look at the sort of goals we want to set and things moving forward. So in a nutshell, like thank you to the paper, and to the students we can’t wait to see you all again.

“Shopping for staple pieces of clothing that are high in quality and timeless in style is not only better for the environment but also better for your bank account. ”

Elisabeth Siegel Managing Editor

INTERVIEW

views

How should consent be taught?

did they report it?

what will the consequences be?

was that assault?

aretheygoing

did they make a mistake?

didtheysayyes?

Moral Legal

By Elliot Lovitt Copy Editor

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been told that hurting others is wrong. Whether it comes from my parents, teachers or other adults, this fundamental message has been instilled into my brain, as well as most teenagers’ brains. As we have gotten older and entered upper school, “don’t hurt others” has evolved into conversations about sexual assault and harassment and why it is morally wrong, no matter the circumstances. As important as education about the moral aspect of sexual assault is, it is of utmost importance that students are instructed on both the legal definition and the legal consequences of sexual assault.

Laurie Anderson, the author of “Speak,” a novel about a teenage girl who was raped, has visited schools across the country to discuss her book with teenagers. She found that the vast majority of teenage boys are not informed on what rape actually is; they think that “a rapist is a bad guy in the bushes with a gun,” so since they don’t consider themselves to be that bad guy, they cannot be rapists. This misinformation on how the law defines rape is incredibly harmful to both boys and girls. Anderson claims that teenage boys want to talk about consent and what is considered assault so they can be better people, but she says that there still is not enough education on consent.

Of course, it is absolutely necessary that people know why sexual violence is morally wrong, but I do not believe that there is a lack of education on the morals of assault. Teens know that violence is bad. Schools need to turn their focus to clarifying what rape is rather than simplifying the message to “don’t rape; it’s wrong.” There is a federal definition of consent as well as state-specific definitions, and the definition of rape differs from sexual assault, but I have never been taught the specifics of these terms. It is crucial that schools teach students these definitions so that they know the law if they are ever in a situation where they think they might have been the victim of a sexual crime.

An unfortunate but real aspect of getting the message across to teenagers is education on the consequences of sexual crimes. In Texas, the penalty for sexual assault is a jail sentence of up to 20 years, while aggravated sexual assault can land someone behind bars for up to 99 years. These consequences can open students’ eyes to how committing a sexual offense can be detrimental to their futures. Even if someone does not believe that they committed a sexual crime, if it fits the legal definition, they can be charged.

The legal age of consent in Texas is 17, meaning that anyone under this age cannot consent to sex. However, Texas has a Romeo and Juliet Law which says that “anyone between the ages of 14 and 17 can legally give consent to have sex with someone within three years of age,” according to Sharp Criminal Attorney, a Houston-based criminal defense firm. These technicalities need to be taught in high schools so that still-developing teenagers are aware of the potential consequences of violating the law.

Additionally, sexual photos or videos of anyone under 18 years old can lead Production of Child Pornography charges, and if one spreads such photos or videos, they can be charged with Dissemination of Child Pornography, leading to a required sex offender registration. A 2019 study by researchers from Florida Atlantic University found that, out of 5,593 middle and high school students, 14 percent had received a sexually explicit image from a romantic partner. Over 13 percent reportedly had received an inappropriate image from someone who was not a romantic partner, and 64 percent of kids had agreed to send a “nude” before when asked by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Prior to writing this article, I was completely unaware of the consequences for teenagers because I had never been taught; although there was a brief presentation on teen sex in Health class, it did not explain the complexities of the law surrounding sexual violence.

For a lot of teenagers, high school is a time for experimenting with alcohol, and if a student does not know their limits, they can be at an increased risk for committing a sexual crime. A Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Center found that 47 percent of victims seeking treatment reported that alcohol or drugs were used right before the assault. Alcohol-related assaults are more likely to take place at parties where there is little adult supervision, according to a study from the University of Michigan. Not only should students be taught the law around sexual assault, but also violence in conjunction with alcohol. Kathryn Stamoulis, Ph.D., suggests that parents and educators teach teenagers the consent laws, so they do not unknowingly rape someone and that alcohol can lead to regretted decisions.

Schools and parents should continue to instill in students’ minds that sexual violence is unethical and not tolerated but should implement the legal aspect into sexual education, so teenagers are equipped with everything they need to know about sexual crimes.

percent of students think that consent should be taught from a legal perspective

When teaching children about sexual consent and its importance, the question of how to teach it arises.

From legal to moral consent, teaching moral consent plays a more central role in making a variety of actions and activities permissible than acknowledging the legal reasons for consent.

The most effective way to prevent sexual violence is through primary prevention, stopping it before it occurs. And according to the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, prevention efforts will work best when they target risk factors at the individual, relationship, community and societal levels. And while understanding the legal risks is important, it doesn’t involve the target factors and the personable and emotional reasons to why consent is crucial. If a person doesn’t understand the moral reasons, they are unaware and become desensitized to the idea that they have no emotional awareness and could hurt their partner through greater, more harmful acts. In other words, maintaining a basic understanding of moral consent helps more than memorizing the legal consequences.

In a dissertation written in graduate school at the University of Alabama, Jessica Ashley Carroll studied moral disengagement and rape-supported attitudes between fraternity and non-fraternity men. She found that when moral judgment is higher, the relationship between moral disengagement and rape-supportive attitudes becomes weaker, and when moral judgment is lower, the relationship between moral disengagement and rape-supportive attitudes is strengthened.

Teaching young kids about the moral reason as to why consent is important at a younger age would help them understand the basic concepts of consent. An example of this could be using words like body, space and touch. The goal is that if a kid doesn’t want to be hugged by another kid, he or she can say, “This is my body,” and be understood. And as they get older, the situations would obviously become more mature in a sexual context. Gideon Kahn, a teacher who has taught in preschools in California and New York, said that “emotional intelligence, perspective-taking, empathy — these all allow you to basically understand your own feelings and the feelings of others, and are foundational to respect.” And if you have a good foundation for morals, it is easier not to be as tempted when you get older.

However, many children in the U.S. are also not well educated on the morals behind consent. While we may believe our understanding of consent is direct, there are students who still don’t understand consent or were never taught it. According to Planned Parenthood, currently, 39 states and the District of Columbia require that HIV and/or sex education be covered in school. However, there’s no guarantee that the sex education students get is high quality or covers the topics young people need to learn about to stay healthy, and less than half of those states mandate education on consent.

According to Eva Goldfarb, professor of public health, only 1 in 10 students come to her college campus having had “decent sex education.” She estimated that 90 percent of her students arrive on campus poorly prepared and informed about their sexual health. All schools should aim to start providing higher quality education on consent and topics surrounding it.

According to Asma J. Chattha, M.B.B.S., pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Children’s Center, consent and “body basics” should be taught and established long before puberty. “A child should be aware of their consent to being touched or handled — or their space being invaded — from age 5.” This is known as the critical period. Starting at two and ending around seven, children are able to learn and grasp concepts more successfully. If more parents start teaching their children earlier about how asking for consent is good and not asking for consent is bad, it reinforces their behavior and provides a foundation for children that they will carry to adulthood.

When accurate education on consent is not available or taught in schools, teens start to consume media that condone sexual violence and promote an unhealthy culture. It could be argued that this portrayal desensitizes people to the horrors of sexual assault, another important reason for teaching students the morality of consent sooner rather than later. While they process new information as they get older, their groundwork of morals will have already been laid out.

I do believe that acknowledging the legal consequences is important, and you could even argue it reinforces good behavior. However, many people break the law knowing they could be incarcerated. According to prisonpolicy.org, 505,000 different people go to local jails in Texas alone per year. So at some point, we have to recognize that this may be due to people’s morals and the environment they grew up in or who they were taught by. Moral consent has a crucial and principal role in consent, and parents and teachers should be prioritizing teaching their children earlier rather than later.

percent of students think that consent should be taught from a moral perspective

B y Alexandra Warner Views Editor

I llustration by Elliot Lovitt

I thought they were a good person.

that was wrong.

Grace: In the highest district of Paris stands

La Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre. On the last day, our Paris group traveled up the steep slope to the top, where the basilica overlooked all of Paris, all the places we had spent the last six days exploring. Our itinerary didn’t include exploration inside the basilica, but we unanimously decided to enter, whether that was from the sheer awe of the building’s expanse or the holy feeling lingering in the air. Immediately after passing through the door, we were greeted by silence, a rule set in place to respect worship. It wasn’t the kind of chilled silence that makes your ears ring, but one of warm wicks burning and whispering prayers. I purchased a candle for 10 euros — the lengthy clear ones that have portraits of biblical figures and often reside near altars — and placed it at the feet of the Virgin Mary alongside other candles, some of which had no more wax left to burn. I continued around, viewing the statues and art that ornated the walls, before

finding a pew to sit in. When I looked up at the ceiling, I was awestruck. Painted on the arc of the ceiling was Jesus glowing in white, surrounded by angels on either side. His arms were outstretched so far that it seemed as if his hands were reaching out to grab me. Our group all sat and gazed at this sacred place, whether it was holy to some of us or simply comforting to others, it all made us feel a sense of awe and warmth that is very rare to find in the world today. When we walked back out into the hustle and bustle of moving feet, friendly chatter, street merchants and painters, crepe stands and shops, it felt different than before. I think we all felt more at peace, a little bit more calm and appreciative of where we were and where we had yet to go.

Maddy: For me, my moment of awe also came in the basilica. I wasn’t sure if it was because it had contrasted the rest of our trip (we had constantly been moving quickly, surrounded by noise and energy) or if my limited experience with traveling made this experience so gratifying. Regardless of the reason, I found myself, just like Grace, in awe. I moved through the aortas of the

basilica alone, stopping occasionally to read plaques. After being about halfway through, I began to smell soap. Looking to my left, I saw standing an older woman who smelled and looked exactly like my grandmother. My grandmother is from a small town of 2,000 people in rural Iowa. Her house is fixed in my mind as the smell of soap, fresh linens and the unpolluted air that pours through the house’s window screens. Standing in this church thousands of miles from home, I found myself in awe of something that reminded me of home; I

Every junior and senior feels the stress of waking up early on a Saturday morning and driving to a testing center 20 minutes away, preparing themselves to sit down for a standardized test that could determine their future. After a grueling three to four hours, they walk out of the testing center, lamenting the last 10 questions of the math and science sections that they didn’t have time to finish. But the most challenging part of standardized testing, especially the ACT, is the timing. Those tests are meant to challenge students, forcing them to make quick decisions and hone skills that they’ve developed over their high school careers. But, some students get the opportunity to add extra time to their testing or take the tests over multiple days in a comfortable environment.

I think this is wrong. I want to emphasize that I am not saying that extended time shouldn’t exist — simply, students that use extended time on standardized tests should tell colleges when they submit their scores that they used extended time. This would strengthen the scores of students without extended time, without taking away the ability to use extended time for students with learning differences.

For the SAT, extra time is not as much of an advantage as many people think. The SAT is de -

found myself im -

pressed by memory and the foundations of my identity. I had never been to Europe before. I came with expectations limited by my experience. But it was in my limited experience that I was able to find an appreciation for all that I was surrounded by. There are many things that I have yet to understand. The admission of that has always been a difficult thing for me. But I found, in my first experiences with awe, that my limited experience is a fundamental part of who I am and where I come from.

Extra time should be disclosed to colleges

signed so that the student either knows the answer or doesn’t. It does not test the speed of reading, analysis and calculation like the ACT does. Therefore, extended time on the ACT is a significant advantage compared to extended time on the SAT. In order to even the playing field, students with extended time should disclose to the colleges that they apply to that they used extra time on their standardized test.

With the use of extended time, the most intentionally challenging part of the tests, the timing, is thrown away— especially for the ACT. The ACT tests students on how quickly they can read and analyze data, determine answers and fill them out on a scantron sheet. In the reading and science sections, students are allotted 35 minutes for 40 questions. It’s meant to be challenging; that’s the whole point of standardized testing. However, the minimum amount of extra time awarded to students taking the ACT that request it is 50 percent, meaning they get 55 minutes for the reading and science sections as opposed to the usual 35 minutes, 70 minutes for English instead of the standard 45 and 90 minutes for math rather than the normal 60 minutes. These additions provide students with substantially more time than their counterparts with regular time, making the test less challenging.

By taking away the same amount of time for all test-takers, the “standardized” part of standardized testing is taken away. Does this not take away from the whole point of these tests?

Oftentimes, students don’t need the full 50 percent of extended time, but they still get all 50 percent. This provides students with an unfair advantage compared to their counterparts without extended time. According to Summit Prep, because of the extended time accommodations, students with extended time tend to score higher than their counterparts, especially for students that are allowed to take their tests over multiple days. In a study done by the National Center of Educational Outcomes, extended time can raise test scores for students that have a grasp of the material, whether or not they have a learning disability.

One of the options for extended time testing offered to ESD students for the ACT is to take the ACT over the course of two weekends, one section per day. The test starts at 9:00 a.m. and is taken in ESD classrooms with an ESD-provided proctor. However, regular testing for the ACT is at testing sites across the metroplex, not including ESD, with the test site shutting their doors at 8:00 a.m.. Despite the glaring differences in testing conditions, students with extended time are also able to prepare in different ways. On the night before the test, these students can prepare for their tests one section at a time instead of for all four sections, like their counterparts without extended time. So, students are given an advantage with the addition of time that they might not necessarily need, as well as time to focus on one section at a time. Thus, stu-

dents should have to disclose to colleges that they used extended time on standardized tests, including the ACT and SAT.

Not to mention, attaining extended time can cost large sums of money. In order to gain extended time in school, students must obtain a 504 Plan — these plans are a federal disability designation that allow students to gain extra time. The plan itself is free, but getting a diagnosis for these plans is what costs. According to the New York Times, 5.8 percent of students in the top 1 percent of wealth have a 504 Plan. In contrast, the same study found that in the bottom 1 percent of wealth, only 1.5 percent of students have a 504 Plan. At ESD, 38 percent of Upper School students have a 504 Plan— the highest being in the Class of 2024, with 46 percent of juniors using a 504 Plan. Thus, wealth plays a big factor in gaining a 504 Plan and, in effect, extended time on standardized tests. So, if tests are supposed to be standardized for the whole nation, then how does an obvious wealth disparity make a test standardized?

Thus, in order to even out the disparities of testing, students with extended time should disclose to colleges that they used extended time on their standardized tests. This way, they still have the option to use extended time, but for students without it, their scores are evaluated appropriately by colleges. In this scenario, tests become more standard, without taking away from accommodations that students may need.

Co-Editors-in-Chief Grace Worsham and Maddy Hammett recall their experiences of awe while traveling to Paris on a school organized trip

Photoillustration by Grace Worsham and Maddy Hammett Co-Editors-in-Chief

O pinion by Charlotte Tomlin Web Editor

“

I think we all felt more at peace, a little bit more calm and appreciative of where we were and where we had yet to go.”

Grace Worsham

“By taking away the same amount of time for all test-takers, the “standardized” part of standardized testing is taken away. ”

Charlotte Tomlin

Dear Editors,

One stuffy morning near the end of Aug. 2019, Mr. Auge dropped the most crucial metaphor of my life onto a class of 12, unwitting freshmen. He stood, cupped his hands around his eyes, and said something along the lines of, “Have you all ever watched horse racing before?” He proceeded to describe his hands as the blinders that horses wear to obscure their peripheral vision. “My job, as a teacher,” he continued, “is to widen your blinders. It won’t happen in a day, or month or even by the time you complete my course. But gradually,” he began to turn his cupped hands outward, “you’ll be able to see more.”

I told myself I understood what he meant. But now, thinking back to my mentality freshman year, I always have to scrunch my eyes closed with residual shame. I was so self-consumed, and I thought I knew everything. I think I’d give a limb or two to turn back the clock and experience high school with the knowledge I have now.

Despite that inevitable feeling of regret, I’ve come to realize that it’s normal to have this path of blinder-widening. It’s shocking to see how right Mr. Auge was.

…Or is it shocking? Mr. Auge, as an adult, is also going through the process of blinderwidening — he’s just ahead of us. He’s already been a freshman, and a senior and a college student. Of course, he would be right about growing up. Thus, the single piece of advice I’d give my freshman self: listen to people with experience.

If you want to be the smartest in the room, find rooms with people smarter than you, and listen. Absorb. Take notes. Teachers are the best resource for this — it’s so easy to sit in their offices during study hall and hear about Mrs. Grosvenor’s trip to Dubai, Mr. Cupp’s favorite course in college or why Ms. Phelps decided to change her career. Have you ever played a video game and thought, “I wish there was someone who’s done this level before to tell me how to beat it?” My guess is, at least one teacher at ESD has beaten that level. We have the crazy benefit of going to a small school where our teachers know and even, sometimes, like us. If you have any questions about the world, you can ask.

Of course, experience is the best teacher — sometimes asking questions isn’t enough, and the only way to learn is through your own failures and successes. But even being aware of the lessons the adults in our lives have learned, provides a unique edge for navigating life that you can’t find anywhere else.

I honestly think about Mr. Auge’s metaphor at least once a day. It’s kind of poetic how, as someone who teaches the science of life, he knows a lot about navigating life, too.

Amelia Sinwell Senior

Prom Problems

by Sarah Cabrales

Wingin’ it with Warner

Keeping gun freedoms, implementing stricter laws

B y Alexandra Warner Views Editor

On Tuesday, March 23, a shooting occurred at the Thomas Jefferson High School along the 4000 block of Walnut Hill Lane in Northwest Dallas. The shooting took place in the afternoon in the school’s parking lot, where a student was shot in the arm and is currently recovering. An arrest was made later that evening, the alleged suspect is a TJHS student. This event followed one day after a 16-year-old boy was killed and a juvenile girl was wounded in a shooting outside Lamar High School in the Arlington Independent School District. The alleged shooter, a 15-year-old boy, was arrested nearby and is being held on a capital murder charge. In light of recent events, it’s only fair to talk about gun control. The main argument for an increase in strict gun control is that limiting access to guns will save lives and reduce crime; opponents insist that it would actually do the opposite by preventing law-abiding citizens from defending themselves against armed criminals. I believe U.S. citizens should have the right to own, carry and use guns, but there should be a more strict level of control when buying guns.

According to Pew Research Center, around 40 percent of U.S. households in 2021 owned at least one gun. A good question to ask is why do Americans feel the need to buy a gun? A Gallup survey conducted in Oct. 2021 found that 88 percent of gun owners were most likely to cite personal safety or protection as the reason for owning a gun.

In an attempted carjacking in

the Lovers Lane shopping center on Dec. 30, 2022, LeQuazio Dade approached the victim with his rifle, demanding the wallet and keys. Dade reportedly fired shots, and an armed bystander shot Dade in the leg. One of the Democrats’ goals is to create stricter gun laws because of the mass shootings across the nation; however, according to the United States Concealed Carry Association, mass shootings account for only .1 percent of firearm homicides. They also believe the U.S. has far more school and mass shootings than other countries especially because of America owning more guns — which is true, we do own more guns. We also have a bigger population, so the information isn’t exactly accurate. Although you could argue the U.S. is first on guns per capita, while the U.S. population is 4.6 percent of the world total, only 1.43 percent of mass public shooters were on American soil. Attacks are not only less frequent in America than in other countries, they are also much less deadly on average. When looking at other countries like Scotland who haven’t had a shooting in 27 years, the evidence stating that gun control is the reason for a decrease in gun violence is inaccurate because it was already rare in the country to begin with. Lower levels of gun possession also doesn’t necessarily translate into lower levels of violent crime. Gun ownership rates in Switzerland and Austria are significantly higher than in Germany, even though the Swiss and the Austrians have lower murder rates than the Germans. Likewise, Russia has tighter gun-control laws than the U.S. does — yet they have higher homicide rates.

The question is whether more restrictions on ordinary Americans in a nation that already has more guns than people will reduce the number of lives lost. Instead of banning assault rifles, raising the age to buy long guns like semi-automatic rifles to 21 — like seven other states such as Florida and Vermont have done — from the current age of 18 is an idea I could support. This would ensure the right to buy and own a gun while responding to mass shootings driven by young adults and adolescents who have used similar weapons. Even though most mass shooters in recent decades have been over 21-years-old, and the majority of murders have been with handguns not AR-15s, I don’t believe that an 18-year-old should be able to go out and buy an AR because it’s not practical.

One idea that governments could fix are better background checks with a mental health evaluation. The assailants in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas and Highland Park, Illinois all passed their background checks, so including juvenile records and any mental illnesses evaluations could help prevent mass shootings. Instead of creating a new law, the government should try to enforce the ones already written into the books first.

Ultimately, the issue with guns is the person holding them. If a responsible person owns a gun for protection, hunting or a sport, that’s acceptable. But when put in the hands of a criminal or a person with a mental health disorder (I’m not saying all people with a mental health disorder will commit a crime or are criminals), the laws need to be enforced, and violators need severe and enforced penalties.

Athletes find value in extra training

Practice outside of school hones skills, allows high level playing

S tory by Charlotte Tomlin Web Editor

After a summer of attending showcase after showcase, traveling to and from the East Coast, junior Sean Browne hangs up his Mad Dog and Texas Nationals jersey. He replaces them with the comforting navy and white of his ESD uniform, earnestly awaiting the beginning of the 2023 lacrosse season. For Browne, nothing beats playing as an Eagle.

Adolescent and teen athletes looking to take their game to the next level often turn to club sports as a way to improve skill. Club sports are teams outside of school that require payment to join and play for. Oftentimes, these teams travel for games and tournaments and usually consist of players who look to play their sport at a higher level and often expose their players to college coaches for recruiting purposes. For many high school athletes, playing club sports in addition to school sports is a way to improve skill, confidence and playing ability.

“I decided to play club lacrosse because my older sister did, and she loved it,” Browne, varsity lacrosse captain and University of Virginia lacrosse commit, said. “ I wanted to take my game to the next level and become serious about lacrosse, and I thought club lacrosse was the way to do that. I definitely think that playing club is an advantage. All the extra reps and extra coaching gives you more experience and skill.”

For freshman Courtney Del-Cid, playing club sports is not only a onesport decision nor only a one-club experience.

“I have played club soccer for seven years and club lacrosse for five years,” Del-Cid said. “Both sports have been so enjoyable for me throughout my life. I have played for multiple different soccer clubs, but the main ones I have played for are Sting Soccer Club and FC Dallas. As for lacrosse, I have played for one [club] lacrosse team my whole life, which is Grit.”

Playing club sports offers athletes a chance to play sports year-round, consistently improving skill and gaining new experiences.

“It gives me an advantage because club sports allow me to get year-round training, keeping me on my toes,” Del-Cid said. “I also get the opportunity to play against other kids at the highest levels nationwide. Playing against better people helps me improve by learning from them, which prepares me for more extraordinary things to come.”

However, while athletes appreciate the experience that comes with playing club sports, others wouldn’t trade their high school experience for the world.

“I think it really depends on the sport,” Browne said. “But there is a different kind of pride [and] something to play for when you’re playing for your school team and representing your community.”

Many coaches and players have noticed an increase in participation in club sports. Some attest this to the hope of college-level participation in sports that many athletes strive for. According to a poll conducted by the NCAA in 2019, 91 percent of NCAA mens basketball players played both club and high school basketball, while 82 percent

of mens lacrosse players played both high school and club lacrosse. As for the women, 88 percent of soccer players played both high school and club, and 94 percent of softball players played both high school and club.

“There is definitely a major increase in club sports [in the past couple of years], which has its benefits,” Browne said. “But I do not necessarily think it’s a good thing. Some of the clubs are pay-to-play, which takes away the competitive nature of playing club. Kids don’t have to work hard to make a club because there’s so many options.”

For some athletes, training for their sport outside of school does not require joining a club team but instead taking lessons in their free time.

“I decided to take cheer lessons outside of school to improve on my flexibility and to work toward getting my jumps to be better,” senior varsity cheerleader Ava Hobbs said.

“When I first [started lessons], I felt I needed a little guidance on cheering and what it would take to get me to the varsity level, so I think having those lessons at first made me feel less pressure and more comfortable.”

In order to prepare for cheer spring tryouts, many cheerleaders, no matter their experience level, partake in private lessons at gyms across the metroplex, hoping to improve their skill and their chances of making the varsity cheer team.

“I would take most of my lessons leading up to tryouts,” Hobbs said. “I would usually go two times a week for an hour to an hour and a half. I feel like taking lessons helped me be better prepared and understand what was expected of me, the things I learned were very helpful when trying out and throughout the season.”

But some varsity athletes do not feel the need to participate in a club sport or just simply cannot find the time.

“I have never been able to find time for club sports in my schedule,” sophomore varsity field hockey and soccer player Ella Ferguson said. “Especially since high school, it has become increasingly difficult to balance academics with athletics, and I felt playing on a club team would make that balance much more difficult to control.”

Despite not participating in a club sport, Ferguson recognizes the benefits of playing at a club level.

“I feel like club sport players do have certain advantages over players that do not play club,” Ferguson said. “These advantages include more practice time, high level of skill in games and practicing with players of extreme technique. Club players are generally more comfortable in advanced playing atmospheres than players that don’t play club since they are constantly put in athletically demanding situations.”

Varsity lacrosse head coach Jay Sothoron begs to differ.

“I’d say probably 90 to 95 percent of my players play club lacrosse,” Sothoron said. “I think there’s a couple different factors that are gonna

make you a better player. I think if you’re a kid who plays club sports, but you don’t lift, you’re gonna fall behind. The nice thing about lacrosse is that there’s a lot you can do on your own. You can go out and hit the wall, shoot on your own. You don’t need a specialty coach.”

Sothoron has noticed the uptick in the prevalence of more lacrosse clubs, and as a result, more lacrosse players who play club.

“Lacrosse has become more mainstream,” Sothoron said. “There’s a lot of ways to make revenue off of kids, and that never used to be the case. There’s still some good in [playing club sports], but I don’t think it’s a necessity.”

During the summer, ESD boys lacrosse operates as a club team, traveling to two or three tournaments around the country in order to help with the recruitment process.

“In the club scene, it’s a lot of ‘me-ball,’” Sothoron said. “When I was a college coach, we always preferred to watch kids play for their high school. You can actually watch them run team offense, team defense and kinda see how they do with their lacrosse IQ, offball movement. A lot of minor things that you don’t normally think about, but recruiters are.”

Sothoron also recognizes the importance of simply taking a break from lacrosse instead of spending a summer at tournament after tournament.

“Our season is long [at ESD],” Sothoron said. “I ask a ton of these kids, but I think it’s good to be a high school kid. Some kids are on a plane, in a hotel, on a field for 80 percent of their summer. And then they’re right back at school starting football on Aug. 1. I think there’s some value in just shutting it down for a little bit and letting your body heal.”

And letting your body heal is something that every coach and ev-

ery player should take into consideration. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, an estimated 3.5 million child and teen athletes get injured each year playing sports. The CDC states that half of these injuries are preventable — most of them come from overuse, not wearing proper equipment and lack of time to rest and heal.

“I’ve been coaching for 20 years in high school and college,” Sothoron said. “I’ve never seen the amount of wear and tear injuries that I have had in the last five years. These kids never really get much of a rest. It’s hard at ESD, even outside of clubs, if you’re a three-sport athlete, you don’t get any breaks.”

However, while Sothoron recognizes the benefits of club lacrosse in terms of college recruitment, he also believes that playing club lacrosse is not necessary.

“There’s value in club lacrosse, no question about it,” Sothoron said. “[But] if you’re really, really good, club lacrosse isn’t essential because [college] coaches will find you. It’s the middle-of-the-road kids that I think club is important for because it just gives them more opportunities to get out in front of college coaches.”

Some athletes also feel pressure from their parents to participate in club sports, leading to high expenses for the parents and burnout for the athletes.

“Parents need to find the line of understanding that it’s okay not to sign up for everything,” Sothoron said. “Finding quality over quantity is really important. If you overdo it, you’re gonna burn your kid out; you’re gonna deal with injury. It’s hard [because] parents don’t want to hear that maybe their kid isn’t good enough to be recruited.”

Despite the intensity, athletes find value and take pride in playing for their club team, appreciating the extra experience that club sports provide.

“Club has helped me form relationships that will last a lifetime,” Browne said. “Whether it’s coaches or other players, I have been able to become close with people all over the country. Club was imperative for the recruiting process and really helped prepare me to play at a high level.”

Girls lacrosse team takes advantage of large, talented roster to develop strong team

More middle school athletes participate in ESD-Fit than in the past, leaving sports with small rosters

SUMMER OF SOCCER Freshman Courtney DelCid faces off against an Oklahoma opponent. “I was playing with my Olympic Development Team on December 3,” said Del-Cid. “It was a really hard fought game, but we came out with a 1-0 win.”

Photo provided by Courtney Del-Cid.

“I wanted to take my game to the next level and become serious about lacrosse, and I thought club lacrosse was the way to do that.”

Sean Browne junior

March Madness tournament braces for final games

High-stakes drama of college basketball engages fans everywhere

S tory by Callie Hawkins Sports Editor

As the dust settles on the first rounds of the NCAA tournament, basketball fans across the country are on the edge of their seats for the next wave of upsets and buzzer-beaters that March Madness never fails to deliver. With brackets busted and Cinderella stories in the making, the upcoming rounds promise to be exhilarating for die-hard basketball fans and casual March Madness observers alike.

The first NCAA tournament was in 1939, but it was not known as March Madness until 1982, when CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used the term when covering the tournament. The annual college basketball tournament has become a beloved American tradition over the years.

“I have watched March Madness as long as I can remember,” senior basketball captain Christian Rockamore said. “I have participated ever since like fourth or fifth grade because [when I lived] in Memphis, they would hand out the kids brackets [at school]. A lot of us didn’t know what we were doing, and we would just pick our favorite teams to win.”

Making brackets has been a fun way for friends and families to bond over a shared interest and have a friendly competition with each other. The bracket is chosen on what is called “Selection Sunday” by the NCAA committee of the top 68 teams who they deem worthy of an invitation to the tournament.

“I have played basketball since I was in first grade and have been participating in March Madness for the last five years,” freshman and varsity basketball player Tatum Reynolds said. “My dad has definitely influenced both my love for basketball and March Madness because we would always have a college basketball game on. My mom and dad played basketball in high school, and my dad has been making brackets for at least 25 years.”

You don’t have to be an expert in basketball either in order to make a bracket or participate in March Madness. Junior and football and

lacrosse player Charlie Neuhoff enjoys taking part in the tournament with his friends just as much as the year-round basketball fanatics.

“I normally make a bracket with my family, friends and lacrosse team,” Neuhoff said. “Even though I don’t play basketball, I feel like [March Madness] is a great way to compete while we are all over the nation, and it keeps us in touch.”

Competing with family and friends is always fun, but why not up the stakes for a reward? There are many online challenges and competitions, some for fun and some for money. The Capital One Bracket Challenge is the most popular public challenge and easy to join and make groups to compete in it. In 2014, Warren Buffett, American businessman, philanthropist and the sixth wealthiest person in the world, offered one billion dollars to any person who filled out a bracket. Of course, no one won, but it got everyone excited about the tournament and making a bracket. He stopped making that offer to the public due to privacy and security reasons but still offers it to his employees at Berkshire Hathaway.

“Usually, I do it with my friend group; you can even go on ESPN or CBS Sports and make fantasy brackets online with your friends, and then whoever wins can get a certain amount of money,” Rockamore said. “Or you can just do it for free to see what’s the best bracket. There’s also always the bracket challenge. Whoever has a perfect bracket among everyone in the US gets a lot of money. So it’s always fun, whatever way you choose to participate.”

A lot of people pay attention to either the mens or womens tournament, but some like to watch and fill out brackets for both.

“I love March Madness because of the close, high-stakes games and the crazy upsets,” Reynolds said. “I made a bracket for both the mens and the womens leagues, but I pay

Tatum Reynolds freshman

LOCKED IN Senior friends Blair Brennan, Jake Swift, and Christian Rockamore (pictured left to right) fill out a bracket on the NCAA.com Official Bracket Challenge. ”Making brackets with my friends is always really fun because we get to bond over a sport not all of us play and have friendly competition with each other,” Brennan said. “Watching the games with them are fun too as we get to watch our brackets unravel.” Photo by Callie Hawkins.

more attention to the mens. I made my brackets by looking at rankings, but mostly because I thought certain teams would [perform] better against others even though they weren’t ranked as high.”

Recruiting and Engagement

Specialist Kelly Howe has been organizing a competition for the teachers and faculty at the school for the past couple of years. This year, 33 staff members are participating in the competition.

“The Human Resources team likes to find fun ways for our staff to compete,” Howe said. “March Madness gets us talking about our favorite teams and a fun way for those, like me, who don’t know much about basketball to get involved. We’ll be crowning our top three winners soon.”

This year’s tournament is definitely madness. Among many upsets, for the second time in history, the sixteenth seed beat the number one seed in the first round. On March 17, Fairleigh Dickinson University beat Purdue University 63-58. This upset is even more shocking because, statistically, FDU has the shortest team in the league. Although FDU lost in the second round to Florida Atlantic University, they will be remembered for their firstround victory. Some other upsets include Arizona, seed two, was beaten by Princeton, seed fifteen, and Texas A&M, seed seven, was beaten by Penn State, seed ten.

“Watching the FDU vs. Purdue game was electric,” Rockamore said. “Being with my friends made it very interesting as I was happy to watch but sad because my bracket crumbled even further with another upset.”

As for the women’s tournament, in the first round, seed 11, Mississippi State, beat seed six, Creighton University, Florida Gulf Coast University, seed 12,

beat Washington State, seed five, and Toledo University, seed 12, beat Iowa State, seed five.

Womens varsity basketball coach Erma Bryant played one year in the March Madness tournament when she attended Liberty University, and her oldest daughter played in the tournament for three years on the University of Pennsylvania’s team, so she enjoys watching the women’s tournament more than others might.

“I’ll watch throughout [the tournament], and then towards the end, we’ll all watch together [as a family],” Bryant said. “We all kind of have the teams that we like and root for, and my husband likes [watching the] men’s tournament, but I kind of [watch more] of the women’s side.”

This year, the women’s final four games are being hosted in Dallas at the American Airlines Center, and through the school, Bryant is getting the opportunity to volunteer with fellow coaches.

“They’re having all these events for the women’s tournament downtown, starting Thursday, March 30, where you can watch practice and stuff,” Bryant said. “So my friend who coaches outside of here, we’re going to do it together. [We are] helping with round tables because they also have clinics and events that happen there that coaches can attend. And so the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association will have different discussions during our volunteering.”

For both men and women, this year’s March Madness tournament has been a wild ride with upsets and surprises, with underdogs prevailing and giants being defeated. As the tournament comes to an end, fans and bracket-makers will no doubt be glued to their screens, eagerly anticipating the outcomes of the remaining games.

“All in all March Madness is a great time to bond with friends and experience basketball in a new light,” Rockamore. “I encourage everyone to participate in March Madness and find their new favorite team.”

“I love March Madness because of the close, high-stakes games and the crazy upsets.”

Girls lacrosse prepare for upcoming season

Large roster, new members foster excitement

S tory by Charlotte Tomlin Web Editor

The lights slowly flicker on at the Gene and Jerry Jones Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 28, illuminating the gray lines that mark the eight and 12-meter lines.

As “Runaway,” by Galantis, blares over the stadium speakers, freshman Margot Cathey jogs around the field with her fellow teammates, eager to hear the first draw whistle blow, marking the beginning of her first game with the ESD girls varsity lacrosse team. After three weeks of intense early-morning practices, a trip to Houston and the stressful waiting game of team placement, it had all come to fruition for Cathey. It’s game time.

Coming off a third place SPC finish last season, the girls varsity lacrosse team finished with high spirits and an intense excitement for the upcoming year.

“There has been a lot of growth in the team numbers between last year and this year,” sophomore returning varsity member Katherine Clark said. “I think that has brought more energy to the team and positivity in practice which has enabled us to perform better on the field. The effort and hustle is a major difference this season I would say. I am looking forward to this season.”

In the 2022 season, the girls team consisted of only 15 players — extremely light numbers for a sport with 11 players on the field and lots of substituting required. This year, the varsity roster comes in at 20 members, eight of which are freshmen.

“This season, there are more seniors, which I think makes a big difference,” senior varsity player Ella Sjogren said. “There are more people to serve as examples for the underclassmen as well as returners who can lead the team.”

The large number of freshmen on the varsity team brings excitement, with also some apprehension, to the team.

“I love being on varsity and playing with upperclassmen because I feel like it makes me better as a player,” Cathey said. “Playing at a high school level increases my skill. It is a lot of pressure being the youngest for sure, but the upperclassmen are really nice about it and very supportive and welcoming.”

Many freshmen feel the pressure of being the youngest on the team, anxious about entering a team with players that have been playing together for two or more years already.

“It is definitely hard to be around more advanced players on the team,” freshman Harper Sands said. “Building chemistry with a team that has been together and already has chemistry is extremely difficult. But, the upperclassmen are so welcoming and helpful, so they definitely make the transition

CAROLINE GOAL

Junior Caroline Cole (left) scored six goals in the game against Westlake on March 25, leading the team in goals for the game. The Eagles won 18-8. “I was definitely really nervous going into the Westlake game,” Cole said. “But as a team we came out really strong and continued to play awesome through the whole game.” Photo by Callie Hawkins.

a lot easier.” Following the first week of full team practice, a team was selected to travel to Houston for the Coach K Playday tournament, named for the revered late Coach K of St. John’s School. The trip was used as an opportunity to display ability in a game setting that does not happen in regular season tryouts, as well as bring the team closer together and allow for chemistry to be developed off the field. The team played four games on Feb. 18, emerging triumphantly in all.

“When we first got to Houston, we all had dinner together and had some great team bonding time,” Cathey said. “I was super nervous for the games on Saturday because it was going to be my first time playing a game with the older girls and in front of the coaches. After playing in the games, my nerves were [eased] quite a bit, but I had a blast getting to play with the older girls.”

On Feb. 23, the team faced off against Walton High School in their home opener. Walton, hailing from Marietta, Georgia, was ranked fifth in the state of Georgia for lacrosse last year and 40th in the nation. The Eagles fell to Walton in a hardfought game, but spirits still remain high.

“We had a tough loss versus a very strong team, Walton,” Clark said. “We have more games in the next few weeks that will help us develop individually and build some more team chemistry. I think our team this year has so much potential to be really good, we just have to want it and work hard.”

Since the loss against Walton the girls developed a winning record. On Feb. 28, the girls faced Greenhill, ending in a 17-4 win. On March 3, the Eagles fell to Anderson, 12-10, in a hard-fought game. On March 8, the girls won 17-4 against Southlake. Coming off of spring break, the girls continued their winning streak with a 18-8 win against Westlake—the 2022 State Championship runner-up—on March 25. On March 28, the Eagles traveled to McKinney, beating the Blue Jays 19-2 in a great showing of skill and teamwork. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the girls are excited about playing difficult games against opponents and becoming closer as a team.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how far this team can go and continuing to get better every day in practice and in games,” senior captain Camryn Kowalewski said. “With a lot of young talent coming in, the team is excited for their potential, and the team is much closer this year because of lots of team bonding and joint passion for the game. We are a fast-learning team, and it’s really exciting to watch it all come together. Our team is so deep and filled with so much talent and hard-working, passionate people, so I believe we will go very far and succeed.”

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”

—Michael Jordan

Sports betting is beginning to influence younger kids

The addictive act of sports gambling needs to be more frequently monitored

S tory by Callie Hawkins Sports Editor

In a world where sports and gambling are two popular pastimes, it’s no surprise that sports betting has become a booming industry. Sports betting has been around since ancient societies according to an article on the gambling in Ancient Greece by Anna Wichmann in the Greek Reporter. Greeks are known to have bet on athletic contests and who wager on gladiators and Olympians. The modern form of sports betting did not begin to take shape until the late 19th and 20th centuries, starting mainly with betting on horse races. But now, in addition to traditional sports betting, there are now daily fantasy sports competitions, online casinos, mobile betting apps and more as the industry continues to evolve each day.

With billions of dollars at stake and fans across the globe eagerly placing their bets, the thrill of the game has taken on a whole new level of excitement. But as the industry grows, so do the concerns about its impact on society. From addiction to fraud, the negatives of sports betting are only becoming more exacerbated, affecting our own community..

Sports betting can be extremely addictive, leading to impulsive and compulsive decisions and behavior having to do with these bets, but also affecting the gamblers daily

lives. These addictions, whether large or small, are spreading to younger generations faster and faster. The availability to bet is growing, with bookies preying on underage kids, luring them into giving them their money, with sometimes a very slim chance of getting it back. A bookie, short for bookmaker, is someone who facilitates gambling, a person who determines gambling odds and receives and pays off bets. They make money by having a fee for each bet the gambler makes. Betting apps like PrizePicks on smartphones continue to enter the market, making it easy for gamblers to participate “legally” even if they are in a state where sports betting is illegal.

The finances behind sports betting are also of high concern. Like any gambling, there is the constant risk of losing the money you put in as long as you participate. Also like any other kind of gambling, most will want to keep taking that risk even if they are losing, focusing on the possibility of winning it back or even making more. This can lead to the addiction mentioned earlier. Many people have lost significant amounts of

Double Trouble Athlete | Senior Caroline Ragan

money, and are even in debt to themselves, parents or friends that have lent them money to feed their addiction. As concerning as it is for adults, it is concerning for students who have gotten into high school gambling. Some who borrow from friends and family may start their college off with no money, having lost it to this game. Even if they are on a winning streak, they have convinced themselves that they will be okay in the long run and continue to play.

Furthermore, if one has had good luck and hasn’t lost much money, there is the consistent potential for fraud. Not all sports betting is regulated, seeing as most of it is done under the radar in states where it is illegal and with kids who want to participate underage.

Because of all of these reasons, in many states, including California, Texas and Florida, sports betting is illegal. However, it is very easy to get around. Gambling on sports needs to be monitored and dealt with much more than it is now. I have heard of people as young as eighth grade losing hundreds of dollars to bookies. Gambling has

gotten worse and worse as time has passed. Although it can be a fun pastime to compete with your friends or others every once and a while, that’s not really the case anymore and there needs to be a solution before it reaches and takes over more lives of young and innocent people who aren’t mature enough to know when to stop. A solution is hard to find. It’s already infiltrated the lines of high school, and is starting to creep into middle school. It’s like a virus. One of my guy friends, who wishes to remain unnamed, explained how he couldn’t enjoy watching a sports game anymore without the high of betting on the game, supporting the research of how addicting betting is. I had trouble coming up with a solution to this problem, so I asked him what he would suggest. Without even thinking, he said there isn’t one. After my conversation with him, I realized that the only solution is for older kids to stand up and make sure others don’t spread the influence of gambling to younger generations. My friend explained to me how there really is no stopping it because of how much easier it is becoming to get involved. The development of these easily accessible sites and apps need to come to a halt. The government needs to make more stringent laws since the standing ones are clearly so easy to get around or else, this virus will continue to spread further into the middle school.

HALFTIME WITH HAWKINS EAGLE EYE

When, why, how, did you start playing lacrosse and Field hockey? Through the years have you ever felt like quitting?

I started playing lacrosse in first grade. I was watching my sister play. She’s 3 years older than me. They didn’t have enough players, and I had never played before, but I had always played lacrosse with my sister to help her practice, so I picked up a stick and played with them for the first time in [one of their games], and I kind of just have played it ever since. For field hockey, it was kind of the same thing. I started when I was in fifth grade. My sister had just started field hockey and was a goalie, and she wanted people to shoot on her and practice on her. I had never picked up a stick, but I decided to practice on her, and I loved it, [so I] kept going.

I definitely would say I’ve thought about quitting lacrosse more than field hockey. I feel like that was because I’ve always taken lacrosse more seriously. I think field hockey was just kind of a bonus that I got to play in high school and now in college too. But I’ve definitely thought about quitting club, for sure. It’s a big time commitment, and it’s very frustrating at times. I feel like that happens with every sport, and everyone who [plays this] sport really seriously. Everyone wants to quit at times. There’s definitely rough patches in practice, like when you don’t play well, and you’re just not clicking, but I really love the sport. So I’ve always talked myself out of it.

Any advice you would give to younger athletes?

For underclassmen athletes that might be going through the same thing, like quitting a sport, just keep going because if you know that you have an opportunity to play in college and you want to, it’s gonna be hard. Nothing good comes without a price, and that price for me was just mental struggles sometimes. But once you figure out how to overcome that, and once you figure out how to push through your mental struggles, it really is an outlet. So I’d just say to keep pushing. Also, in the recruiting process, don’t get discouraged if you don’t get an offer on Sept. 1. I only got one call on Sept. 1, and I was really frustrated, but, if you keep pushing, offers [will] come, and you’re going to end up where you’re meant to be.

Any advice you’d give your past self today?

I’d say [to] take what you have and run with it because I was really struggling between two opportunities for college. I just didn’t know if I should pursue the offer that I had or the offer that I didn’t know was going to come. I waited for a hypothetical offer, so I waited a long time to pursue my offer at Gettysburg because I was still waiting on another school. But, some advice was given to me that said, “What are you waiting for, you have this opportunity that you’ll love, so why not take it now?” So I think if I had made that decision earlier, it would have saved me a lot less mental stress. So, take what you have and run with it because that offer that’s waiting for you might be the perfect school for you.

I nterview and photo by Sophia Sardiña staff writer

“The availability to bet is growing, with bookies preying on underage kids, luring them into giving them their money.”

Callie Hawkins sports editor

Middle schoolers opt for ESD-fit over team sports

Spring season has become most populated for individual reasons

Middle school sports programming is seeing changes as students begin to opt for physical education classes to receive credits. These classes, known as ESD-Fit, have seen unprecedented increased numbers of students.

The reasoning as to why more students are opting for these classes appears to be unique to each student. Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach and Middle School Physical Education Teacher Rachel Faldyn believes some of the reasons stem from the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

“I know that rosters have been a little bit smaller, and I think a lot of this stems from the pandemic,” Faldyn said. “From what I’ve been told as far as people who have been here longer than I have is that there were more kids in sports than there were in ESD-Fit, and now there is that uptick.”

Some middle schoolers chose ESD-Fit because their sport of focus is not offered in middle school. Those who want to participate in crew in upper school have chosen to take ESD-Fit in order to fulfill their required sports credits while still being able to participate in crew outside of school. Beyond crew, the tennis team has a limited roster, resulting in more cuts that encourage students to participate in ESD-Fit.

“I know there are a couple of kids that are very crew focused, and that’s not an offering in middle school,” Faldyn said. “I know we have had to work around it this year; last year in the spring, we had close to 50 kids, and there were sports that didn’t have a full roster like softball. This year as of now,

right after tennis cuts, we have less than that, so that’s promising.”

Every student has their own individual reasoning for choosing to participate in ESD-Fit and not sports, but Faldyn and Volleyball Program Director and Middle School Athletic Coordinator Laura Gomez have noticed a few consistent reasons. Many middle school students try sports in seventh grade and then opt for ESD-Fit in eighth grade.

“Every kid is a little different as far as their reasoning goes,” Faldyn said. “I have noticed a couple of kids who will do sports in seventh grade at least last year, and then this year, I see that they consistently want to do ESD-Fit.”

Gomez has noticed many students take advantage of ESD-Fit as a form of “pre-season” to stay in shape for their respective sports. The coaches of the program are also well-qualified, which appeals to athletes.

“Our numbers in ESD-Fit have grown, but I feel like it is because our students have grown to appreciate the option,” Gomez said. “Many students use ESD-Fit as a ‘pre-season’ to get in shape before their next sport, and we now have three certified strength coaches in there running the program, which is also appealing to many student-athletes.”

Aida Dagmawi, current eighth grader and participant in spring

ESD-Fit, does not use ESD-Fit as a pre-season but rather because it’s an option other than lacrosse or tennis.

“None of the spring sports were really appealing to me,” Dagmawi said. “I got cut from tennis, and I have tried lacrosse a few times, but I never really got good at it.”

Athletic administrators have not made any major changes to sports teams as they view ESD-Fit as a beneficial part of athletic programming in the middle school and are careful to discourage students from participating.

“We always have a ‘fluid’ team selection process in most sports as we only limit rosters in the middle school on a few teams,” Gomez said. “We want everyone to be able to participate in middle school [sports] if space and safety aren’t an issue. So any year, our sports could have one middle school team or three; it changes with each grade.”

Some coaches have encouraged students to participate in team sports in order for them to gain the learned lessons and leadership skills that the coaches believe come with playing sports at a developmental age.

“I don’t ever want to discourage kids from choosing G-fit as an op-

tion,” Faldyn said. “If it works best for them, I am happy to support them in that choice, but I do think you can learn a lot from sports: being part of a team, learning about communication, work ethic, you know the whole nine yards.”

Faldyn is specifically focusing on sixth grade, as sports begin in seventh grade, and encouraging them to play sports whether or not they have any previous experience.

“What I am trying to do with sixth grade is encourage them, even if they don’t play that sport outside of school, to at least try it because you get to be with your friends and try something new,” Faldyn said. “Also, what you learn in one sport may lead to another that could end up being your jam and something you are really good at.”

Dagmawi played volleyball in the fall and basketball in the winter and enjoys playing team sports. Although she misses sports in the spring, she likes staying active and being able to leave early.

“I do miss playing a team sport right now,” Dagmawi said. “I have a pretty good amount of friends in my class though, 4 or 5, and it’s just something I can do. You also get to leave early.”

Middle school athletic programmers and administrators, despite noticing the change, are not concerned about its effects. Some of these changes are believed to be class-specific, as some students have different athletic affinities.

“I don’t see it as an issue moving forward,” Gomez said. “We have classes who love specific sports and have played since second grade, we have other groups who are just focused on being happy and healthy. We are proud to be able to appeal to everyone and allow them to find something they love.”

“Our numbers in ESD-Fit have grown, but I feel like it is because our students have grown to appreciate the option. Many students use ESD-Fit as a ‘preseason’ to get in shape before their next sport ”

Laura Gomez volleyball program director and middle school athletic coordinator

S tory by Maddy Hammett and Grace Worsham Co Editors-in-Chief

PRACTICE

PERFECT

middle schoolers participated in ESD-fit during the spring of 2023 before it was capped

middle schoolers participated in ESD-fit during the 2022-2023 school year

Source: Coach Laura Gomez

Q1) A bug crawls along the x-y coordinate plane, starting at the origin (0,0). Each second, the bug can crawl 1 unit in the up, down, right, or left direction. What is the probability that after 10 seconds, the bug is at the position (5,5)?

UP FOR A CHALLENGE?

SENIOR TOM QIU formulates complex mathematic equations for each issue. If you think you have found the solution please email a picture of your work to Qius@esdallas.org The first person who answers correctly will receive a prize. Good luck, it’s as easy as pi.

Q2) x-y=4, x3-y3=28. Find x2-y2

Q3) What is the unit digit of 781?

CONGRATULATIONS TO No winners last issue

Eagle Edition | vol. 40, issue 5

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LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT CHAIR PROFILE

-Step 1

6:18 a.m.

Beat the Sunrise Upper School French and Arabic Teacher and Department Chair of Classical and Modern Languages Laila Kharrat wakes up before sunrise. She starts her day by eating a hearty breakfast as well as drinking and hydrating as much as possible. This is also always started with dates to kick off the breaking the fast and the Ramadan season. This is not how every morning works, however. “Sometimes I use the morning to sleep instead of eating and drinking,” Kharrat said. “I really just have to listen to my body.”

-Step 2 10:00 a.m.

Arabic and French

She continues to power through the day as normal with teaching Arabic and French classes as well as handling all the duties as the language department chair. It helps to distract her by doing the normal everyday tasks. “I enjoy teaching my students and growing my love for languages,” Kharrat said.

-Step 3

12:15 p.m.

Time to Meditate

After the daily chapel while everyone heads to lunch, Kharrat goes into a special room in the chapel to meditate and nap before continuing the day. This makes the day easier to bear. “When I don’t eat my body becomes very tired so frequent naps and rests are needed to keep me charged,” Kharrat said.

-Step 4 2:45 p.m.

Reading Ramadan

Kharrat heads over to her alma mater and kid’s school, The Greenhill School, to read a book to students about how the Muslim community celebrates Ramadan. This is a special opportunity for Kharrat because she gets to continue to spread the word about her religion and practices.

-Step 5 4:15 p.m.

Staying Fit

Kharrat tries to keep her day as normal as possible by continuing to teach ESD’s lifetime fitness to kids after school. She keeps a variety with Mondays being cardio, core and arms, Tuesday is traditional folkloric dabkeh dance off-site, Wednesday is yoga, Thursday is cardio, core and legs, and Friday is nature walk day. Off campus on Sunday, Kharrat plays field hockey in the afternoon and ice hockey at night. “I enjoy exercising and moving my body even during Ramadan to stay healthy,” Kharrat said.

-Step 6 End of the Day

Breaking the Fast

Kharrat ends her day by heading over to her mom’s or sister’s to break the fast with a huge meal called Iftar. This meal has many stages and components and people drink many glasses of water to rehydrate. After dinner, Kharrat cleans up while everyone takes a moment to let the food settle. She later returns to the table for dessert,coffee, tea and water. After diner she goes back home. “I use this time to get extra work done, grade my student’s work, or answer emails.” Kharrat said. “It is a good time before I go to bed to just get the few last things done.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 23. FRENCH AND ARABIC TEACHER AND DEPT. CHAIR LAILA KHARRAT OBSERVES THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN WHICH, THIS YEAR, IS CELEBRATED FROM MARCH 22 TO APRIL 20.