Fourcast December 2015

The Fourcast

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The Hockaday School 11600 Welch Rd. Dallas, Texas 75229 214.363.6311

INSIDE news 2 features 7 photo essay 11 in focus 12 arts & entertainment 14 sports 18 perspectives 21 cast off 24

HOCKADAY PROMOTES LITERACY p2

Y The Fourcast uncovers how the events at the University of Missouri sparked discussions and protests at college institutions across the country. p 12

ILLUSTRATION BY WENDY HO

Racism, Institutionalized: Protests Spark Discussion

hockadayfourcast.org Volume 66 • Issue 3 Friday, December 18, 2015

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Is this really a healthy diet? p 20

SENIOR IS REGIONAL FINALIST IN SCIENCE COMPETITION Senior Emma Winson selected as a regional finalist in the Siemens Competition p 9

THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

DECEMBER 18, 2015

2/news Currently

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The Fourcast explores how much we use phones p3

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Learn about gifts for this holiday season p4

Significance of the Paris attacks p4

Update on the Presidential Campaign p6

Hockaday Promotes Literacy Students of all ages came together on the Day of Service to fight illiteracy in DISD schools.

PHOTO BY CLAIRE FLETCHER

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HockaBriefs

A look at recent news on campus Printing Limits  On Nov. 17, the technolo-

gy department established printing limits. Now, students are only allowed to print 62 black and white pages and 7 colored pages per day.

If a student needs to print more pages, they will need to forward the printing job to their teacher. This is in order to encourage students to be more conscious and decrease the amount of paper waste.

“Pick Me Ups”  Upper School math

teacher Jessica Chu decided to create “pick-me-ups” for the faculty and staff by asking students to submit compliments and thank-you notes for them. Chu distributed these notes during the week before holiday break. “I just wanted to do something that would make someone smile,” Chu said.

10: 30 a.m. Nov . 12 Upper School History Teacher Tracy Walder and Middle School Math Teacher Jenni Stout help out at George Bannerman Dealey Montessori School.

Poetry Out Loud  Twenty-one Upper School

BY AMANDA KIM

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here’s no denying that America has a literacy problem. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only one-fourth of fourth graders in the United States can read proficiently. The Day of Service on Nov. 12 addressed this issue by helping to bring children at public schools in the DISD area up to the reading level.

The Day of Service, a day on which Hockaday students devote time usually spent in class to improving the community, began two years ago as a part of the Centennial Campaign.

Although it was initially intended to be a one-time event, it received so much positive feedback that the school decided to bring it back two years in a row.

The first Day of Service had no single theme; collaborating organizations were picked at random. Director of Service Learning Laura Day shifted the focus onto the issue of illiteracy in Dallas in the last year.

“I see [illiteracy] as the biggest issue our city faces,” Day said. “I feel like we can make a real dent in that.”

Senior and Community Service Board Chair Allie Charlton helped organize the Day of Service events. Charlton, who spends time tutoring children at the Sudie L. Williams Elementary School, believes that illiteracy is the root of many loopholes in elementary education. “[My friend and I] were tutoring first grade boys and they couldn’t read.

They were illiterate. We were trying to read the word ‘hat’ and they just weren’t getting it at all. It strikes you that if you’re in first grade and you don’t know the basics, your teacher might just assume that you know how to read and that’s such a huge gap,” Charlton said. “You won’t be able to catch up.”

For this year’s Day of Service, sophomores and seniors traveled off-campus and divided books in public school libraries by reading difficulty, which has proven to help literacy rates for children. Sorting books according to reading level helps children access age-appropriate books.

“If the library is just the Dewey Decimal System and you’re a kid who can’t read, and you go pick out a book, you can get discouraged because you can’t read it. If you go in and level libraries so you know the trajectory, it’s statistically proven that is going to help those kids catch up to grade level reading,” Day said.

Tom C. Gooch Elementary School was one of the public elementary schools that Hockaday girls visited on the Day of Service. Hockaday students frequently volunteer at Gooch to tutor during weekdays and on Saturdays.

Martha Bujanda is the principal of Gooch Elementary School and gave one of the speeches that kicked off the Day of Service. “[The Day of Service was] incredibly helpful,” Bujanda said. “Leveling libraries is a crucial component in helping us to ensure that all our kids are reading on or above grade level.”

While the seniors and sophomores ventured off-campus, freshmen and juniors stayed behind and rotated between activities that included making book bins for children to store their books in. The book bin project was headed by Reading Partners, a nationwide children’s literacy nonprofit. Book bins not only create a space for kids to put their books, but encourage students to read more through a Take Home Library system implemented by Reading Partners. Through the system, each student receives a book and is allowed to take that book home. Students are asked to write a book report on that book, and once a student turns in 10 book reports, they receive a book bin.

Jackie Walker, the Community Engagement Associate at the Reading Partners Organization, advocates for the importance of book bins.

“Encouraging [a] love of reading is essential for seeing our students’ succeed, and these book bins play a large part in cultivating this passion,” Walker said.

Walker believes that the Day of Service was not only impactful for the elementary schools – it also helped to give the Hockaday community a broader understanding of literacy and its importance.

“Literacy…is about our everyday life. We use our reading skills to navigate so many aspects of our daily routines,” Walker said. “The Day of Service’s focus on literacy both highlights the challenges that so many students face while also making a difference for these young people.”

Those who receive a Hockaday education are privileged enough to learn how to read on or above grade level in elementary school, but this is not the case for many students.

A 2013 report by The Annie E. Casey Foundation revealed that nearly 65 percent of third-graders lack the cognitive skills and knowledge necessary to succeed academically nationwide.

We are This information becomes more startling upon learning that studies have proven there are incredibly direct links between third grade reading efficiency and high school dropout rates. A 2012 study by appreciative the City University of New York says that a third grader who reads below grade level is four times to Hockaday less likely to graduate high school on time than a classmate who reads on or above grade level. The Martha Bujanda odds are even worse for low-income students, Principal of Tom C. Gooch who are 13 times less likely to graduate by age 19 Elementary School if they are behind by the third grade.

“Hockaday girls have so much talent to offer, and we’re using that talent to drive our students’ academic gains,” Bujanda said.

Although leveling libraries and constructing book bins are only two steps in the long process of improving literacy at elementary schools, Day “can only imagine that [it] has really helped those schools.”

Walker agrees that Hockaday’s work has had an impact on the community, and added that “the work that the students at Hockaday… are doing is truly making a difference.”

“We are incredibly appreciative to Hockaday,” Bujanda said. “And to all the Hockaday girls who have devoted time and energy to ensure that our kids are getting a fair shot at life.”

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students participated in the qualifying round for Poetry Out Loud, a competition hosted by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts featuring participants who memorize and recite poems in front of an audience, on Nov. 17. Six students went on to perform their poems during the Hockaday final round on Dec. 14. The winner will perform at the state finals in Austin on Feb. 27.

Student Diversity Leadership Conference  Six students and four

teachers traveled to Tampa for the Student Diversity Leadership Conference from Dec. 3 to 5. Junior Sabah Shams attended the conference for the first time and learned a lot about herself and diversity in general. “I learned about how to create spaces for conversation about diversity, and how to get people involved in these conversations who aren’t always willing,” Shams said.

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Percentage of American fourth graders who can read proficiently

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n a chilly morning in November, Jessica Savage ‘15 sat down in her advanced French

creative writing class at Colorado College and began to compose a fictional essay in French. Although Savage is as competent in expressing her ideas in French as the rest of the students are, one thing separates her from everyone else: Savage is the only freshman in the classroom.

Savage attributes her advanced linguistic skills to taking French for 13 years at Hockaday and culminating her high school career with the Business French course.

Established in 2008 by Upper School French teacher Catherine Berryman, the Business French class teaches students grammatical concepts and vocabulary that are relevant in a professional setting.

After witnessing Berryman teach the course, Upper School French teacher Mollie Monaco published an article on Nov. 9 about the course in “The Language Educator,” a magazine published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Monaco wrote the article to spread the word about the singularity and practicality of the Business French course, which is unique to Hockaday.

“I wanted to write about the Business French course because there are no other schools in the area that offer a course like it,” Monaco said. “I loved the practicality of the course and the fact that it prepares you for French courses taken at the university level.”

This article put the Business French course at Hockaday in the spotlight at a national level. After Monaco published the article, the foreign language departments at St. John’s School in Houston and Greater Latrobe Senior High School in Latrobe, Pa., contacted Monaco and Berryman to explore the possibility of offering the Business French course at their respective schools.

“The representatives asked me about the Business French curriculum and when girls would normally take the course in their sequence of language study,” Berryman said.

Berryman developed this course to allow students to take an exam and earn the Diplôme de Français Professionnel, a certification that is only offered at the university level and affirms that the speaker can converse in a business setting.

Though all Business French students take the certification exam to earn the Diplôme de Français Professionnel, the goal of the class is not to simply pass the exam, but to learn vocabulary and grammar useful in a variety of business settings.

For this reason, Business French covers essential skills such as learning how to answer a phone, composing emails and reading articles related to business, economics and finance.

“I want girls to know how to function in a business French setting so that they can put it on their resume when looking for a job,” Berryman said. “Ultimately, I want girls to be able to feel confident in expressing their ideas when they go to a French-speaking country.”

Savage, who took the Business French course as a senior at Hockaday, plans to pursue a major in French and eventually become a nurse who can converse in French with her patients.

“I’m interested in medicine, psychology and French, but I also want to connect with patients, so this career would be my goal,” Savage said.

Because of the writing and speaking proficiency skills she gleaned from the course, Savage feels grateful for the opportunity and recognizes that being able to take Business French at Hockaday is a privilege.

“The fact that we’re the only high school in America that offers the Business French course is something very special,” Savage said. “[It’s] something that we shouldn’t take for granted.”

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TWEET OR SLEEP Senior Julia Pasquinelli stands in the lunch line. Her friends are close by, smartphones in hand as they check social media and surf the web. Pasquinelli, unlike her friends, is not holding any electronic device. In November, she replaced her smartphone with a prepaid phone.

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asquinelli’s decision to make this change stemmed from her belief that she used her phone too much. Now, she can only text and call with her AT&T Z432.

“It just bugs me. I don’t want to be doing it, but I don’t have the self-control to stop if it’s right there,” Pasquinelli said.

A study released in early November by Common Sense media, a company that offers family reviews and ratings regarding movies, television shows, video games and other forms of entertainment media, explored media usage by teenagers and children.

Common Sense Media characterizes “entertainment media” as video games, computer use, using smartphone apps, texting, social media, watching TV and listening to music.

The study, which surveyed 2,658 youths nationwide, found that teenagers aged 13-18 use entertainment media for an average of nine hours a day, more than the amount of sleep the average teenager gets (about seven hours). On the other hand, preteens aged 8-12 spend about four and a half hours on entertainment media.

Michael Grizzard, assistant professor of communication at the University of Buffalo in New York, believes the greater freedom and autonomy teens have, compared to preteens, leads to this disparity.

“Tweens’ media diet is likely more restricted by parents and tweens may be less likely to have smartphones and other devices that could increase usage,” Grizzard said.

Although Pasquinelli has decreased her phone usage, her daily interactions, such as email, no longer center around her phone. Instead, they have transferred to her laptop.

Sophomore Bailey Brand admits to using her phone for “too long” as well.

An avid user of Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Spotify, Brand uses her phone during lunch and when she gets home.

Recognizing the long periods of time she passes on her phone, Brand has developed a system to keep herself from overusing it. From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., she will use it. Then, she will put it up for an hour and use it again from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. In total, she estimates that she uses her phone for 6 to 7 hours each day. She uses it mainly for Snapchat. continues on p4

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Hockaday’s French Connection

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Students Step Into Other Shoes

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onna Carlisle, the Hockaday Parents’ Association Benefit Chair, conceptualized a school-wide project when re-reading Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird.” “You don’t really know a person until you walk around in their skin. I think that is an interesting way to think about

Hockaday,” Carlisle said. “You see the uniform, but you don’t really know the girl.”

Over the summer, Carlisle pitched the idea of a school-wide project to HPA Liaison Holly Hook and HPA President Ariana Held replace the annual class projects that are auctioned off during the annual Benefit.

Her idea, inspired by the work of New

York photographer Henry Leutwyler, is to have parents and students submit photographs that capture the image of a student from the skirt down to her saddle shoes. But these photos have specific guidelines. While the picture should depict the legs of a girl in uniform, one foot represents Hockaday with the saddle shoe and the other foot represents

the girl’s individual interests. And as the background, all the photos should be taken against the brick wall surrounding the Foucault’s pendulum in the Lyda Hill Science Building.

“These aren’t just photographs. They really are portraits of each girl and like any portrait, are being taken to tell an individual story.

One foot will be dressed in the uniform shoe, representing this school, the place where they are discovering themselves each day and the place they all have in common,” Carlisle said.

“The other foot dressed in a way that expresses their individuality, who they are or aspire to be. Perhaps the girls will choose a pointe shoe, a flip flop, a field hockey cleat, a highly adorned or just bare foot.”

All submitted photographs will be fea-

tured in a one-time exhibition during the Benefit on March 12, and then will be for sale in the silent auction. Carlisle’s goal is to have a multitude of portraits to represent each grade.

“I hope that it spreads to all classes, so that there are people in each class that really get excited about it. I don’t think we will be 100 percent happy if it is not representative of each grade,” Hook said.

With these sales, the HPA aims to raise money for the Ela Hockaday Fund for Faculty Excellence, which provides professional development for faculty and staff to continue education and travel as a way to bring new experiences into the classroom.

Logistically, Carlisle hopes to receive photographs representing every student in continues on p6

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Christmas Gifts by the Numbers November 21 2015

$781 Amount spent by the average U.S. citizen on holiday gifts last year

On this day, prices were low and gift availability high for shoppers looking to avoid the Black Friday rush.

1.76 billion

The number of candy canes made each year

44%

s of e l i m 38K

The percentage of holiday shopping most people do online

ribbon

$60million

d if e v a s

reused

Worth of returned gifts each holiday season

family h c ea

eet f o tw

The average number of new employees the National Retail Federation predicted would be hired to fill holiday positions

700,250

1996-2008

,00 0

ft.

Height of the largest Christmas present ever: the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the nation of France to the United States in 1886

45

3 0 4

The years that Elmo toys were the most popular gifts purchased for the holidays. Seven years ago, the most popular toy was Fisher Price’s Elmo Alive, and 12 years before that, the original Tickle Me Elmo hit the shelves.

The number of football fields that could be covered with the wrapping paper saved if every family reused paper to wrap three presents

$28,000 The cost of the most expensive Christmas card ever, designed

by Englishman John Corcott Horsley in the 1840s. The reason for the hefty price ticket? Horsley was one of the inventors of the original Christmas card.

SOURCES: bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com, quickfacts.census.gov, http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mli45ikdf/3-dallas-cowboys-2/, http://www.visitdallas.com, http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/windiest-cities.php, Movoto.com

continued from p 3 “I honestly just feel inclined, whenever I get a Snapchat, to respond to it right away or something – not have people waiting,” Brand said. “But I guess that’s just really it.”

Grizzard, who has conducted social scientific studies on the psychological effects of entertainment media, is not surprised by how much teenagers use various forms of media. However, he found that usage decreases in college due to a healthier, non-mediate social life.

The use of media has a science behind it.

According to Grizzard, teens use media for a variety of reasons.

“Some of the most important ones include socialization and relationship maintenance (e.g., through social media websites), relaxation (e.g., listening to music), competition (e.g., video game play) and simply to pass the time,” he said.

While some forms of entertainment media, such as social media, help teenagers stay in touch and enhance social ties, social media can have detrimental effects.

Grizzard said, “The anonymity provided by online behaviors can also foster negative behaviors such as cyberbullying.”

Another negative effect of entertainment media concerns the issue of distraction. According to Grizzard, the processing of tasks decreases in quality when attention is divided between more than one task.

“For example, imagine you’re trying to count some coins in a pile. It’s much harder to do that if you have a friend yelling various numbers at you while you are doing it,” Grizzard said.

Similarly, as students listen to music or do other activities while they are trying to study or doing homework, it proves to be more difficult to remember the material. Furthermore, multitasking makes it difficult to encode the information students try to learn.

Thus, students need to spend more time on a task for the same result.

Brand attests to this.

“It affects how I focus. Not really my schoolwork or my grades or anything, but just the amount of time it takes for me to get things done is longer than it should be,” she said.

As for Pasquinelli, she has seen a change in her daily interactions since she switched to a basic cell phone.

“If I’m at lunch or something, or waiting in the lunch line or just casually in places with my friends, I won’t be on my phone,” she said. “I will be sitting there ready to talk.

Then the problem is they’re on their phones. I feel like I’m just more present.”

SONYA XU PERSPECTIVES EDITOR

GRAPHIC BY MARIA KATSULOS

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THE FOURCAST

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YOUR WORLD TODAY | A Look Into the Paris Attacks

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THOMAS HAWK UNDER CC BY-NC 2.0

A

Paris Attacks Shake the World

s explosions and gunfire reverberated through Paris on Friday, Nov. 13, terror

resounded throughout the world. Both the citizens of Paris and those of the rest of the world entered into a hysteric fear, wondering who was next.

What Happened At 9:20 on Friday night, an explosion was heard outside the Stade de France, also known as the Paris Stadium, located in Northern Paris.

Inside, visiting team Germany faced off against France in front of an audience of nearly 80,000 people. A man, dressed in black and wearing a mask, detonated a suicide bomb near Gate D. The bomber also killed a bystander entering through the Gate.

Five minutes later, shots rang out across town as a man opened fire on Le Petit Cambodge, a local Cambodian eatery situated in Paris’s tenth district.

The man exited a black vehicle with an AK-47 rifle and entered the restaurant.

Fifteen people were killed.

At 9:30 p.m., a second explosion occurred at the Stade de France. Similar to the previous attack there, the bomber wore a suicide vest. However, the bomber was the only person killed in this explosion.

Just two minutes later, at 9:32 p.m., the same group of men who killed 15 people at the Cambodian restaurant drove just down the street to Casa Nostra pizzeria, outside of the bar next door, and shot another five people.

At 9:36 p.m., gunmen in a similar black vehicle that appeared at the other two shootings (although it is unclear if it was the same group of men) parked outside of La Belle Equipe restaurant.

Another 19 people were killed, and many injuries were sustained.

Four minutes later, the final restaurant attack took place as a suicide bomber entered Boulevard Voltaire. No one was killed except for the suicide bomber, whose body was discovered later.

Just a little bit down the road at the same time, three masked men exited a black Volkswagen and stormed the Bataclan concert venue where an American band, Eagles of Deathmetal, played inside. After taking hostages and giving a short speech on the stage, shots rang out across the room as the audience and band members entered a state of chaos.

Nearly three hours later, at 12:20 a.m., French police entered the building in an attempt to free the hostages inside. One of the attackers was killed by the police, but the other two detonated suicide vests, taking many lives with them in

6:30 p.m. Nov. 13 the explosions. A total of 89 people died inside of the concert venue. The final attack outside of the Bataclan took place at the Stade de France at 9:53 p.m. No one was killed except the suicide bomber.

According to the New York Times, ISIS, an Islamic militant group, claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks. According to Business Insider, the group is more dangerous than Al Qaeda. Although both groups strive for similar goals, ISIS has shown more violence. In a statement released via one of its messaging accounts in the aftermath of the attacks, ISIS mocked Paris and warned that the Paris attack was “just the first of the storm.”

Who it Affected Although the attacks were localized to Paris, the impact created struck far deeper and wider than city limits or even the French border.

Many U.S. colleges and universities urged their students studying in Paris to seek refuge and find help from the United States Embassy in Paris.

Additionally, many citizens and tourists used varying mediums of social media to assure family and friends overseas that they were safe.

Upper School French teacher Catherine Berryman, who is from France, received news from both her god-

daughter and close friends that live in Paris.

“I was able to see through Facebook that they were all okay,” Berryman said, who lived in Paris until the age of 18, when she came to the United States as an exchange student.

Berryman first heard of the terrors going on in Paris after receiving a text message from a friend in the United States friend regarding the matter.

“A friend of mine texted me on that Friday in the afternoon, and said, ‘I am sorry about what happened in Paris,’” Berryman said. “I had no clue what she was talking about, so I got on NPR and I listened.”

News of the attacks also affected senior Nathalie Naor, whose mother, stepfather and stepsisters live in Paris, roughly five minutes from the Bataclan concert hall. Naor was on the phone with her mother when the first explosions occurred.

“I heard this muffled boom sound. I honestly thought it was just my mom breathing heavily into the mic or something, until I heard her say, ‘Honey, did you hear that?’” Naor said. “In the background, my step dad was laughing at my mom’s reaction saying, ‘Calm down Michelle, it was probably fireworks! There’s a big game tonight.’”

After receiving a text message and looking at an online news site, Naor was informed of the terror go-

The US Capitol is illuminated in French colors to honor those who died.

President Obama pledged to allocate all resources to the war against ISIS

ing on in Paris.

Naor’s family members in Paris are safe.

Upper School history teacher Tracy Walder was affected in a different way. Although she was not teaching a class when she heard the news, her immediate thought was of senior Wallis Jacobson, one of her advisees.

“I knew that her mom had just arrived in Paris that morning,” Walder said. She also received many texts and emails from previous students who wanted to know Walder’s take on the recent events.

Jacobson was able to get in contact with her mother almost immediately after the attacks.

“She received lots of texts and calls from the rest of my family and my extended family, and I emailed her,” Jacobson said.

What it Caused In wake of the terror attacks in Paris, President Barack Obama gave a speech on Friday, Nov. 13. He called the events “an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”

According to both Berryman and Walder, the fear that spread throughout the world was rooted in the attack on daily life.

“I think I was angry because of the feeling that innocent people were sitting in cafe and were killed,” Berryman said. “I thought, how cowardly of them to do that, and I hated the way they attacked the French way of life.”

Similarly, Walder believes the fear is the result of an attack on a European country.

“This is a Western, European country, and we tend to look at the Middle East or Africa or those kinds of countries as ‘Oh, I wouldn’t really go there anyways, right?’ I am not trying to say people are ignorant, but I just think that is not a mindset that people have,” Walder said.

Recent attacks will not hinder Walder or Berryman from visiting. “[ISIS’s] goal is to paralyze you with fear. These [attacks] can seriously happen anywhere, and I know that is scary to a lot of people, and I understand that, but you can’t really live your life that way,” Walder said.

Lasting effects will continue to affect daily life in Paris, at least for now.

Naor received a text from her mother a few days after the attack.

“It’s just not the same. Paris has lost its charm,” she wrote to her daughter. “I can’t enjoy this city anymore. I don’t feel safe like I used to.”

MARY CLAIRE WILSON SPORTS EDITOR

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JACK GORDON UNDER CC BY-SA 2.0

PHOTO PROVIDED BY STOLBOVSKY

PHOTO PROVIDED BY FLIXR

PHOTO PROVIDED BY AGÊNCIA BRASILT

NOVEMBER PARIS ATTACKS (Left) Eiffel Tower lit in remembrance of those who died. (Center Left) The day after the attacks, police investigations continued at the Bataclan concert hall. (Center Right) A memorial was set up in Moscow. (Right) Many national monuments around the world, including the London Eye, paid their respects.

San Bernardino Shootings

Terror struck the West Coast, in San Bernardino, Calif., when a married couple opened fire at the Inland Regional Center on Dec. 2.

The two were later identified as 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife 29-year-old Tashfeen Malik. It is believed they had been planning the attack for some time.

FBI official Dan Bowdich said to Fox News that this “act of terrorism” involved “extreme planning.”

During the attack, the couple opened fire, injuring as many as 21 people and killing 14.

Many of the victims were Farook’s co-workers.

The couple was killed later that day during a shootout with the police. They left behind a

six-month-old daughter, who was staying with Farook’s mother. She was told they were going to a doctor’s appointment.

Original motives for the attack were initially unknown to law officials. But on Friday, Dec. 10, the FBI announced that the shooting was being investigated as an act of terrorism.

According to CNN, the two shooters were supporters of the Islamic terrorist group ISIS. Right before the shootout, Malik pledged her allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook.

The day following the announcement by Bowdich regarding the investigation, ISIS released a statement over their radio that said,

“we pray to God to accept them as martyrs.”

Although the two are said to have been supporters of ISIS, according to CNN, many police officials believe that they never had direct contact with the organization.

“Both were radicalized and had been for some time,” Bowdich said on Fox News. He also said that the radicalization could have been achieved over the Internet and may not have involved a member of ISIS who actively turned them towards fundamental Islam.

MARY CLAIRE WILSON SPORTS EDITOR

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continued from p3 Lower and Middle School, whereas Upper School involvement will be more difficult due to the larger number of students and class scheduling.

Senior photography student Molly Waring received an email from Senior Class Parent Representative Beth Fitzpatrick asking if she would take the photographs for the senior class.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to just take a bunch of photos, to get practice in,” Waring said. Waring coordinated with fellow senior photography student Nina La Barba.

“I like the project because it really does show the activities that everyone does and what they are like outside of their studies,” La Barba said. “I think it’s really unique because we all have different hobbies.”

Waring and La Barba scheduled several time slots when seniors can come and pose for the photographs. The first sessions took place in late November and early December. Senior Nathalie Naor posed for a photo representing her love of music.

“Nathalie actually let us take a photo of her with headphones wrapped around her foot which is really cool because she is really into music,” La Barba said.

Waring and La Barba have planned to take a variety of photographs that capture the artistic interests, cultural traditions and athletic pursuits of the senior class.

“I think that a couple of [the AP Art students] are planning on painting their feet and we might have someone do henna on their foot.

I think [senior] Grace Warner said she would do skis,” La Barba said.

The students hope the entire school will participate.

“Getting Upper School involved would be a really important part of the project in order to see all the different ages,” Carlisle said. “Not to mention that [Upper School] saddle shoes – beaten and battered – they have personality of their own.”

Leutwyler’s work, which inspired Carlisle, focused on the backstage life on the New York City Ballet. His most recognized photographs captured a ballerina with one point shoe on and the other foot bare. In a similar fashion, the HPA hopes to tell the individual stories of students.

“The powerful message portrayed in each of the project’s photographs is that while the uniform saddle shoe unites our girls, tying them all to this exceptional place, Hockaday also supports and nurtures each Hockadaisy’s individuality, as represented by the other foot,” Held said.

When asked what she would include in her portrait as a Hockaday alumna, Held would have incorporated her old, beat up saddle shoes.

“I might add a few accessories as well – a charm necklace with my children’s names on it, my wedding ring, my Hockaday ring, a necklace I received on my Bat Mitzvah and a watch I received when I graduated from law school, as these mementos represent parts of who I am today.”

The goal is to include as many different types of portraits in order to encapsulate the variety of interests and personalities of the student body.

“I hope is that when all the pictures are up, we learn something about Hockaday – the diversity here, the ambition of each girl, who each girl thinks she is and what it looks like when they all come together,” Carlisle said. “I hope

Campaign Central A look at the 2016 presidential election thus far.

Republican Due to a lack of financial backing and impressive poll standings, GOP candidate Bobby Jindal dropped out of the presidential race on Nov. 17. With his departure, 14 candidates on the Republican ballot. Eight of those candidates took part in the GOP debate held on Nov. 10 and made many memorable remarks. Although they are not front-runners in the polls, Jeb Bush and Rand Paul had their best nights during this debate. On the other hand, Ben Carson faltered in this debate by delivering a shaky answer regarding ISIS. His weakness in foreign policy has caused him to drop seven points in approval ratings. Aside from the three aforementioned candidates, the GOP candidates remained the same in their debate styles and responses. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz remained adamant on their anti-immigration stance, Rubio performed well throughout the night and everyone, but mostly Carly Fiorina, made sure to attack Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party.

Trump has been the center of major controversy after he expressed his desire to place a ban on any foreign Muslims entering the United States.

He leads the polls with 35 percent in popularity.

Behind Trump, Carson takes the second spot with 12.8 percent, Cruz has 12.3 percent and Rubio takes fourth with 11.9 percent. The fifth GOP debate was held on Dec. 15; check mainstream news for a recap of the debate.

Democrats Lawrence Lessig dropped out of the Democratic race on Nov. 2, citing lack of finances and publicity as the reasons for his withdrawal.

This leaves three Democratic candidates in the competition. Hillary Clinton is in the lead with 55.4 percent popularity, while Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has 32.5 percent. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley comes in third with 2.5 percent popularity. While Clinton has the obvious lead, Sanders has managed to elevate his popularity by creating a strong presence in the Nov. 15 debate and dominating social media and Google trends.

During the debate, Clinton commanded questions about foreign policy but was attacked for accepting campaign money from Wall Street donors. Recently, Sanders has been praised on many social media platforms including Twitter and Tumblr and has a strong support base in young Democrats. Many people who dislike Clinton’s past weakness in issues besides foreign policy, such as racial justice and Islamophobia, are now turning to Sanders with their vote. Although he has more support in the younger community, Sanders still polls far behind Clinton in the race. The third Democratic debate was held on Dec. 14; check mainstream news for a recap of the debate.

SHREYA GUNUKULA STAFF WRITER

Deadline: January 12 Posters displayed around the school to promote the Saddle Shoe Project.

this project will drive self-expression and limitless creativity and I look forward to discovering something about each girl. There is such potential to create something truly beautiful with each portrait and something incredible collectively.”

Although this project is specific to this year’s benefit, there are possibilities for it to influence future class and school projects.

“I love the idea of an all-school project,” Hook said. “We will wait and see how well this takes off to see what we can use as a launching point from this point onward.”

The deadline for submission is Jan. 12.

To see some of the project’s photographs visit hockadayfourcast.org.

CLAIRE FLETCHER PHOTO & GRAPHICS EDITOR

WINTER BREAK No School

SWEETHEART TEA Great Hall at 4 p.m.

Feb. 11

Feb. 10

Feb. 8

AP ART EXHIBITION RECEPTION, Ownby Lobby at 6 p.m.

Feb. 5 7:00 p.m.

FOOD DRIVE Ends Jan. 29

US MUSICAL “CURTAINS,”

Jan. 19

Jan. 14

UPPER SCHOOL ADMISSION PARENT VISITATION

Jan. 5

CLASSES RESUME

Dec. 18-Jan. 4

HOLIDAY BREAK

Dec. 18

Sources: CNN and Politco All percentages up to date at press time.

Austin, Texas

Winter SPC

Feb. 11

UPPER SCHOOL SPRING PLAY Auditions at 4 p.m.

US CERAMICS EXHIBITION RECEPTION Ownby Lobby, 11:45 a.m.- 1 p.m.

Jan. 20

Feb. 9

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY No School Jan. 18

HOCKADAY GOES RED WALK

COFFEEHOUSE Clements Lecture Hall 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 9

Feb. 5

FACULTY IN-SERVICE DAY No School Jan. 4

12 p.m.

Dec. 18

EARLY DISMISSAL FOR HOLIDAY BREAK

FOURWARD

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THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

1/features Y

Currently

Christmas birthdays p8

Alumna pursues career as welder p9

DECEMBER 18, 2015

THE FOURCAST

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Emma Winson selected as Siemens Competition Regional Finalist p9

Lydia Li takes college level math course p8

Students Sleep for a Cause Upper School students experience homelessness to raise money for Promise House PHOTO PROVIDED BY PROMISE HOUSE

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Alumna of the Issue When she retired on Oct. 2014, Marla Buckles ‘71 was the chief nurse of United States Air Force hospital, Malcolm Grow Medical Clinic and Surgery Center in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Prior to this job, Buckles held a multitude of positions, including chief consultant of nursing services, medical operations squadron commander, aerospace medicine flight commander, medical services flight commander, nurse manager, charge nurse and clinical nurse.

What did you do as chief nurse of a United States Air Force Hospital?

When I retired, I was the

chief nurse at an air force base. I was in charge of about 200 nurses and some medical technicians. I had nurses at Walter Reed Hospital, Fort Belvoir and Andrews Air Force Base. I was responsible for the nursing practice and standards, personnel assignments and career counseling to help nurses determine their career goals.

12 a.m. Nov. 19 Penelope Picagli, asleep in the center, simulated what it would be like to sleep on the streets.

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By Inaara Padani

ost people wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to leave the comfort of their warm, cozy bed and sleep outside on concrete in the middle of November. However, freshmen Avery Sahm, Audrey Van Den Branden and Penelope Piccagli, along with Penelope’s mother Stacy Piccagli, decided to do just that. On Thursday, Nov. 19, Promise House, one of Dallas’s emergency and transitional living shelters for young children and adolescents, held a sleep out called A Night Under the Stars.

After hearing about the event from her mother, Penelope Piccagli asked three of her friends to join, and the five of them signed up together.

Additionally, the group was able to raise $5,000 for the shelter, which is the minimum amount that Promise House encouraged sleepers to contribute prior to the sleep out.

“Originally, we were just supposed to donate, but I wanted to be involved,” Penelope Piccagli said. “I talked to a few of my friends who go here, and we all went together after soccer one day.”

For 12 hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., participants spent their time learning about the problems that homeless youth face and how the community can become more involved in improving the situation. To simulate the reality of homelessness, Promise House provided sleeping bags, cardboard and beanies, although participants also had access to luxuries such as restrooms, on-site security, food and beverages.

Furthermore, the shelter catered a dinner from Blue Mesa Grill, and those present had the opportunity to listen to speeches by both the organization’s President Dr. Ashley Lind and a previous Promise House client. Participants also enjoyed a live band performance from Revolution 9 and discussed homelessness while sitting around fire pits.

Communications Manager Ginny Martin, who has been working with Promise House for approximately four years, believes that such an event is a valuable way to “raise awareness for homeless and abused youth” and can provide individuals with unique opportunities.

“It’s by no means what homeless youth experience each night, but it is a way to simulate a little bit of what they go through,” she said.

There are currently 1,246 known homeless children in Dallas, according to the 2015 Homeless Count and Survey Report conducted by the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. Therefore, the funds collected will have a beneficial impact on the shelter, as it can only hold about 30 individuals at the moment. “[The sleep out] is a really easy way for people to get involved,” Martin said. “With people doing personal fundraising, it gave us 625 new contacts who didn’t know about Promise House, and we also raised $86,000.”

Although Promise House and Hockaday have established a relationship over the past five years, Director of Service Learning Laura Day did not announce the Sleep Out event to the Hockaday community due to Promise House’s request that the sleepers raise a minimum of $5,000 prior to Nov. 19.

Upon hearing about the group’s decision to participate in the event, Hockaday’s Director of Service Learning Laura Day was impressed about the girl’s passion for their community.

“I was pumped that freshmen on their own were doing it,” she said. “I was actually very happy when I heard that. It’s awesome that the younger people are thinking about doing it.”

Stacy Piccagli shared Day’s sentiment, and is proud of both the girls and the organization for this initiative.

“I think it says that these girls were willing to step outside of their comfort zone and see a different situation than where they are,” she said. “They were willing to do it not only because they’re friends, but because they felt it was a good cause, and they wanted to see what it was all about, so their curiosity level was up.”

Aside from the experience of sleeping on concrete, participants were educated about Promise House’s mission and the difficulties of homelessness.

To Stacy Piccagli, who hadn’t heard of Promise House prior to the Sleep Out, the event certainly raised awareness about the organization.

“When we got there, they took [the girls] through a simulation where they would experience what it would be like to basically have Child Protective Services drop you off at this place, or your school bring you there, or you’re a runaway and someone grabs you and brought you there,” she said.

If you can Piccagli explained that the Promise House employees then posed various questions such as, shake your life “Have you ever been in school before? What’s your story? What’s your background? How can we help up a little bit, I you get back on your feet?”

The simulation showed Stacy Piccagli and think it’s super the four freshmen a very real and somewhat intimidating experience that homeless teens may important. endure.

Laura Day “I felt like it was a good exposure for them; Director of Service Learning they didn’t really have any idea that could happen,” she said. “Coming from Hockaday, it’s just a totally different scenario.”

According to Penelope Piccagli, A Night Under the Stars accomplished its purpose.

“It’s life-changing to see how people in Dallas so close to us live in comparison,” she said. “It was fun, but living like that would be really hard.”

By taking part in events such as the Promise House Sleep Out, people can begin to understand something they may have never known before.

“I am a big fan of getting out of your comfort zone because I think there is only the potential for growth,” Day said. “If you can shake your life up a little bit, I think it’s super important.”

‘‘

What was the coolest experience you had during your career?

I was deployed to Germany to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to take care of returning wounded warriors, and that experience was really amazing. [In field medicine], the cure and standards are the same and quality of care is the same, but the environment makes it different. Supporting military people that have made the decision to go to war and defend our country is what makes it different.

How do you think Hockaday prepared you for your job and leadership roles? I was a boarder at Hockaday so I think, number one, you get the maturity and independence quicker because you are away from home. And when you are living with girls and you are around girls, you learn how to build relationships and deal with different personalities.

SHREYA GUNUKALA STAFF WRITER

V

I was in charge of about 200 nurses and some medical technicians.

Marla Buckles‘71

08

THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL DECEMBER 18, 2015

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HOCKADAYFOURCAST.ORG

I

f 2+3=8, 3+7=27, 4+5=32, 5+8=60 and 6+7=72, what is 7+8? Confused yet? You are not alone if you are racking your brain trying to figure it out . Senior Lydia Li, on the other hand, solved this teaser in 6.6 seconds. After maxing out on all math courses

offered at Hockaday, Li is now pursuing a linear algebra independent study with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Entering Hockaday in ninth grade as a boarder from China, Li took Integrated Math III Enriched followed by Precalculus Enriched during her sophomore year. But while enrolled in Precalculus, she studied BC Calculus on the side; this allowed her to study Multivariable Calculus, the highest level of math offered at Hockaday, during her junior year.

With Hockaday’s math curriculum ending at Multivariable Calculus, Li looked beyond the school’s resources to find her senior math credits. Toward the end of last year, Li, along with her advisor and Upper School math teacher Jessica Chu, researched different topics that she was interested in. After looking at many topics including number theory, Li decided on MIT’s open courseware on linear algebra.

“The linear algebra course is actually not that much harder than my previous multivariable class, but there is definitely challenging aspects to it,” Li said. “I really preferred this course over online school because I wasn’t interested in taking those classes.”

Unlike Li, most Hockaday students start with Integrated Math III in Upper School then continue to Pre-

calculus, AB Calculus, and finally BC Calculus. But in just three years, Li maxed out. It is rare to see a junior take Multivariable Calculus, which is a class usually dominated by seniors, but Li is one of the few students in Hockaday’s history who has extended her prospects to independent studies. In Chu’s fourth year at Hockaday, Li has been one of the only ones.

“My first or second year at Hockaday, a student worked with Mr. Brown on a linear algebra course but it’s different from what Lydia is doing, her study is pretty unique” Chu said.

Although this course is independent, Li meets with Upper School math teacher Rachel Grabow every rotation to ask her questions and to work practice problems together. For Lydia, a main advantage of an independent study is its flexible nature, but she still prefers attending a real class.

“I really want to do the course as much as possible but sometimes I’m busy with other stuff,” Li said.

“Since it’s not within a course slot, it’s hard to find time, especially when I’m really busy with applications or exams.”

Li luckily has had experience with studying a course on her own due to BC Calculus in her sophomore year, so her indepen-

dent study is not too unfamiliar. However, an independent study requires work ethic and motivation. According to Grabow, Li embodies these ideals well.

“She has the passion for learning and is really willing to sit there and work through a problem even if different methods don’t work,” Grabow said.

“She is willing to go back to the drawing board and start again, and that’s what you have to do to be successful in math.”

For Li, one of the most important things of taking on an independent study was choosing something that interested her. Because of Li’s interest in computer science, a class she is currently taking, the MIT courseware was ultimately the winner, as it requires coding and computation skills.

“I haven’t learned all the stuff that’s in the courseware in computer class, but since it requires me to learn it, I am able to learn a lot more and can get a head start on computer science. This helps me stay interested in the course because it includes things I’m really interested in which is a big advantage,” Li said.

Although Li, a member of the math team and recipient of national recognitions, has a real

ILLUSTRATION BY SOFI MIRA

Senior Surpasses Math Courses

passion for math, she also holds interests in other fields including science and history. As she prepares to graduate in May, Li’s teachers are excited to see where her interests lead her. Even teachers who have not seen Li in the classrooms for years have a lasting im-

pression of her.

Dr. Beverly Lawson, her sophomore chemistry teacher, who has only been an observer in the last couple of years, said, “[Li] is one of the most curious students, and she is always wanting to learn more.

She is voracious in her appetite for learning and is always asking questions that sometimes I can’t even answer. She will find great success, I know it.”

If you are still trying to solve it, ninety-eight, is the answer to the brain teaser. But you are with the rest of the Upper School if you guessed 15. It’s not just a simple addition, it requires a confusing sequence of multiplication and subtraction. Stay in math, kids.

AURELIA HAN STAFF WRITER

‘Tis the Season to Celebrate Your Birthday

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any approach the holidays in anticipation of religious traditions, family bonding and the exciting spirit that comes along with them, but for some, this festive time of the year marks another important

celebration: their birthday.

Fine Arts Department Chair Freshman Tosca Langbert, a Beth Wortley shares a Dec. 25 birthtriplet to her sister Chaucer and day with Tosca Langbert. Because brother Christopher, was born on of the unique date of her birthday, Christmas Day. Her family has four when Wortley was younger her celebrations on Dec. 25. Because family would have to celebrate her of this, Langbert has not always special day differently than most. been a fan of the fact that her spe- Instead of having a birthday parcial day overlaps with an interna- ty on her actual birthday with her tional holiday. school friends, who were likely out “Think of it this way: there of town, her family would throw are three of us, so already sharing the party Christmas Eve or the day a birthday with two other people after Christmas with her neighboris kind of a lot, and then sharing it hood friends. with the entire [world] is also a lot,” As for Wortley’s actual birthLangbert said. day, her family always have a Holidays can be a hectic time for many families, what with planning holiday parties, family gatherings, buying presents and traveling.

When birthday festivities are part of the equation, this chaos reaches new levels.

Although there is a lot going on, the Langbert family makes sure to separate their holiday celebrations from those for their triplets’ birthdays.

“One of the sides of my family is Jewish, so that’s actually kind of nice because then they are really more focused on my birthday,” Langbert said. “Even the other side of my family, while they are celebrating Christmas, will have a little cake, so it’s always cute.”

According to Langbert’s father, Jon Langbert, because December gets so busy, sometimes the triplets’ individual celebrations do not always fall during their birthday month.

“As they have gotten older, they have generated their own identities and so usually the things they want to do for their parties are different,” Jon Langbert said. “So we wind ILLUSTRATION BY ANNABELLE FOLSOM up having three separate parties.”

packed schedule on Christmas Day. “It would be Christmas morning, we’d do all of that, have Christmas lunch, and then it would suddenly turn into my birthday,” Wortley said. “So, I guess when some people have a lull in the day, we just keep celebrating.”

But often, the two celebrations would blend. From the time Wortley was a young age, Wortley’s mother would have a cake decorated with a Christmas theme that would have “Happy Birthday to our Christmas Angel” written in icing.

Junior twins Cameron and Erin Blotcky, who are Jewish, share a similar story to the Langbert triplets. The Blotckys’ birthday on Dec. 7 normally falls during Hanukkah.

For Cameron, the mix of celebrations can get crazy.

“It’s chaotic because family members come in town and a lot of holiday parties are happening,” Blotcky said.

But, even during the chaos, the Blotckys get to celebrate their day in many ways.

“I’ll have my own birthday celebration, we’ll have a Hanukkah celebration, Erin and I will celebrate together and then I’ll have a separate party with my friends,” Blotcky said.

Although Langbert and Blotcky mentioned it may not be ideal to have a birthday on a day already dedicated to special celebration, they note that the season puts everyone in the festive spirit.

“People are always very excited for Dec. 25, just not because it’s our birthday, but it’s nice,” Tosca Langbert said. “It can be frustrating at times just because people are more concerned with holidays, but at the same time, a birthday isn’t really as big of a deal as an [international] holiday, so I don’t really mind that much.”

And the holiday season is a time when many have some extra cheer.

“It’s really spirited. There is a lot going on, so it’s fun,” Blotcky said. “Even if people aren’t excited for my birthday, they’re excited for Christmas or whatever holiday they celebrate.”

And having a holiday birthday can have some perks. When Wortley was very young, one of her

parents sent in a picture of her to a newspaper contest for children who were born on Dec. 25. Santa Claus, Ind. was looking for Christmas babies to hold honorary positions as the“mayors” for their town. Wortley received one of the coveted spots and claimed the title of “mayor” of Santa Claus for the month of October of that year.

“They sent you toys and pictures, so I have a lot of stuff from that,” Wortley said. “And I have a certificate that says I was mayor of Santa Claus, Indiana.”

Plus, people will notice the special date. Wortley’s shared birthday with Christmas comes up in conversations whenever anyone sees it on her driver’s license all year round – one reason she doesn’t mind the overlap of celebration.

“If [my birthday] is going to be that close to Christmas, the conversation piece that it creates, being actually on Christmas day,” Wortley said. “I think I’m glad because at least it’s a novelty.”

MEGAN PHILIPS FEATURES EDITOR

Famous Christmas Babies Scientist Isaac Newton: 1642 Founder of the Red Cross Clara Barton: 1821 Cosmetic Entrepreneur Helena Rubinstein: 1870 Hotel Entrepreneur Conrad Hilton: 1887 Former President of Egypt Anwar Sadat: 1918 Singer Jimmy Buffet: 1946 Actress Sissy Spacek: 1949 President George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff Karl Rove: 1950 Singer Annie Lennox: 1954 Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeou: 1971

SOURCES: theweek.com, amousbirthdays.com

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THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

DECEMBER 18, 2015 THE FOURCAST

09

Alumna Steels the Show

Kelly Rae Potter ‘07 is a professional blacksmith.

After Hockaday, Potter studied at the University of Colorado and pursued a degree in architecture. She became interested in making jewelry while living in Boulder and after moving back to the Dallas area, she decided to take a jewelry design class at Brookhaven Community College.

Eventually, a professor came by to promote his blacksmith class at the college. Potter followed her creative nature, jumped at the opportunity to try something new and enrolled in the course. She left her jewels behind in pursuit of crafting metal.

She met several experienced blacksmiths in the course and decided to continue perfecting the craft.

“I learned by going and finding people in the area [who knew

about blacksmithing],” Potter says.

Potter currently works at Smith Designs in Gunter, Texas where she does architectural metal fitting. Using bronze, steel, aluminum and brass, Potter designs and crafts custom doors, stairs and other items. Smith Designs employs over twenty designers who specialize in different areas of their crafts. The company’s work has been featured in Architectural Digest and Houston Home and Garden for their metal fitting work. They have designed work for the homes of many notable celebrities including Mark Cuban and Eva Longoria.

Potter is generally surrounded by male co-workers on construction sites while designing beautiful metalwork for spaces. She mentions often being viewed by the other workers on the sites as more

of a visitor or misplaced individual than an employee. According to American Welder and the American Welding Society, five to six percent of welders are female.

“Someone [might] say, that’s cute using this tool, but no I am actually using this tool,” Potter says.

Despite, rude comments at times from male co-workers, Potter has risen to an elite level in her field. She recently participated in a national silversmithing competition. This competition allowed Potter to explore another creative outlet and focus on the crafting of weapons like knives and swords.

Potter feels that Upper School ceramics teacher Kevin Brady allowed her to push herself to new creative limits in a ceramics class.

“Everybody is creative: some have to learn that they are, some are born more creative than others,” Brady said. “In Kelly’s case, she was über-creative.”

Brady is not surprised by Potter’s ability to excel in a male-dominated field.

“She was a young lady who would take no grief from anybody,” he said. “She was her own person.”

PHOTO PROVIDED BY KELLY RAE POTTER

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s a Hockaday student, she imagined a future in architecture. Today, she does not design buildings; rather, she works on the metal pieces that make the structures accessible and attractive.

This strong personality has allowed Potter to be resourceful and bold as a female blacksmith.

Check hockadayfourcast.org in the spring for more information regarding the release of results from Potter’s silversmithing competition.

3:00 p.m. on a Recent Sunday Alumna Kelly Rae Potter welds one of her metal pieces

AUSTRIA ARNOLD CASTOFF EDITOR

Winson Recognized for her Step Toward Combating Cancer PHOTO PROVIDED BY EMMA WINSON

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ver 1000 groups from across the U.S. submitted their projects to the Siemens Competition, a premier science and technology research competition. Only 97 were selected as Regional Finalists.

Projects were submitted in late September and on Oct. 19 senior Emma Winson found out that her work was among those 97 selected.

One group was selected out of the 97 to go on to be National Finalists. While her group did not advance to the National Finals, Winson is the third student in Hockaday’s recent history to be

d

selected as a Regional Finalist.

Shriya Das ‘15 advanced as a Regional Finalist in 2014. Christine Chen ‘13 also participated in the competition, advancing as a Regional Semifinalist in 2012.

Upper School science teacher and Dean of Studies Barbara Fishel praised Winson’s accomplishment.

“It’s not something that happens

every year here,” Fishel said.

Last summer, Winson worked for eight weeks for her uncle, James R. Heath, in his lab at the California Institute of Technology as a part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program.

After completing eight weeks of research at Caltech, Winson’s group decided to submit its project to the competition.

According to Winson, that decision to apply for Siemens was “pretty random.”

After hearing about Das’s accomplishment, Winson remembers thinking, “Man! I’d never heard about that much at Hockaday but this seems like a really good competition to apply to.

It’s very competitive. We’re doing this cutting edge research. Why shouldn’t we apply?”

The application process was “very complicated,” Winston said, entailing an 18-page report on their research, as well as poster and slideshow presentations. For the Regional Finals, the group presented in front of eight Massachusetts Institute of Technology judges. “It was truly the most nerve-wracking experience of my entire life,” Winson said.

Although Winson found it “very stressful,” she found it to be overall a “good experience.”

Fishel acknowledges the effort Winson put forth. “I can tell

you that she worked very hard to prepare for the presentation that she had to give with her partners.”

Although Winson’s mentor, Heath lab graduate student Ryan Henning, did not participate in any high school science fair competitions, he acknowledges their importance.

“I think it is a tremendous opportunity to foster scientific interest in the next generation of scientists and engineers,” Henning said.

“I hope more high school students follow Emma’s example and get involved with scientific research.”

Winson was originally motivated to do research at Caltech because she’d always known she loved science. Also, Winson did a biology research internship the previous summer at University of Chicago.

“Going into college, I was thinking what I might narrow down my choices of majors and figure out what I really like. Do I like engineering?” Winson said.

“You just can’t pass it up!”

According to Winson, the Heath lab studies cancer, specifically one protein found in the human body called KRAS, which regulates cell production and division and, when mutated, results in tumorigenesis. Winson said that KRAS’s mutated form is found in about 25 to 30 percent of all human cancers, so “it’s a really big protein that’s gone after in the search for a cure to cancer.”

Winson worked on the project with two other high school students, Heath and his friend Joseph (Jun Hyuk) Oh. The project’s focus was to determine a way to inhibit or create a drug for mutated KRAS using a novel technique called protein catalyzed capture agents, which are small molecules that function as antibodies in order to take advantage of possible inhibitory allosteric sites on the protein.

“We had success, so that’s good,” Winson said.

While the project has been going on for about a year now, it is still continuing in the Heath lab.

As Winson had always been focused on biology, she found the lab experience at first “super daunting.”

“I didn’t really know much about chemistry going in, which is surprising seeing as it was a chemical engineering internship,” she said.

Over eight weeks, Winson and her teammates were primarily mentored by Henning.

Henning taught the students the laboratory techniques they used to perform their experiments, the underlying theories behind those techniques as well as other skills. “I also tried to emphasize the importance of communicating their results to others, and I think the students really succeeded in this area with the science fair competition,” Henning said. continues on p10

Daisy Duels

A look into the tussles and quarrels of the Upper School community.

VS.

VS.

VS. JRP

As Holiday Break fast approaches, there is only one thing on the minds of the junior class – and it’s not the holidays. The due date for the infamous Junior Research Paper is finally upon them on December 18, and although it is silent, it is also deadly. These last few weeks consisted only of 14 Internet tabs pulled up but forgotten, documents within documents, tears and turmoil. Exhausted and overcome with relief, the juniors crawl desperately into hibernation, and intend to never utter the words “junior,” “research” and “paper” in the same sentence ever again.

BOARDERS

THE MORNING TREK

Although it is true that living on campus is convenient, boarders have their own morning battles that they must fight every day. While the long, narrow hallway that leads to the doors of the Residence Department appears to be within reach, when boarders are finally peeled from their beds and are ready to attend classes, this walk is anything but that. Boarders on Upper Morgan, in particular, are forced to go down the seemingly endless staircase, trudge through the bridge that connects the two halls, and then make the journey through the Middle School hallways to their class with eyes half open and minds still on snooze.

SENIORS

COLLEGE APPS

It’s the Class of 2016’s final year at Hockaday. Every milestone that seemed insignificant in the past begins to take on a new importance because every moment counts.

However, there is one thing that is currently keeping them from fully enjoying their senior year: college applications.

The big question for many is still left unanswered. Where are they going to college? With frequent meetings with the college counselors and late-night espresso shots to finish those cruel and unusual supplements, the seniors have been through it all. But all the seniors before them have survived, so somehow they will too.

PHOTOS BY MERCER MALAKOFF< CLAIRE FLETCHER AND SADIE LIDJI

JUNIORS

BY HEIDI KIM

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THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

DECEMBER 18, 2015

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HOCKADAYFOURCAST.ORG

HUMANS OF HOCKADAY | A Look Into the Lives, Passions and Secrets of the People at Hockaday

Q

What about music inspires you?

The Fourcast is introducing a new segment based off of the widely acclaimed series Humans of New York. Each issue a broad question will be presented, and the responses of a different group of Humans at Hockaday will be featured. This issue focuses on musicians.

ALLYSON GUBA

KAITLEN CERNEY

LILY JOHNSON

CHRISTINE LEEFATT

SENIOR

JUNIOR

SOPHOMORE

JUNIOR

SENIOR

“The honesty of music. For example, I just don’t think that you can write a good song about heartbreak or lost love if you’ve never been heartbroken. Making music forces you to be honest about what you’re feeling, which is something that I personally would never do without music.

You have to get in touch with your emotions, or every single note will sound forced or fake. I kind of love that though.”

“For me, singing is a stress reliever. I [especially] like musical theatre because you can tell a story and affect people.

You become the character, and so you’re not yourself in that moment. I don’t like being in front of large crowds. It helps me to become someone else.

If I was just singing myself I would be a lot more nervous and uncomfortable. Part of it is that I actually hate hearing myself sing. Part of that is to be able to grow and learn from listening to yourself.”

“The lyrics. Lyrics create a bond between the artist and the audience, and that is what I strive for most. I have always had music playing since the day I was born.

My mom would play bands like The Smiths and Depeche Mode in order to get me to fall asleep.

I write, record and produce my own songs, and I am working on setting up a record label. Every time I go to a concert, I always turn around to see the audience and imagine that that crowd will one day be there for me.”

“Music inspires me to finetune my abilities and explore all the different genres and little corners of music to learn about other people and parts of culture. Music inspires me to be my best and follow my dreams.

To me, music is everything; it plays constantly wherever I am.

I constantly think, ‘How could I perform that?’ or ‘How could I arrange this?’ Music is my way of seeing the world and my way of making an impact.”

PHOTOS BY LUCY ZHU

EVAN MICHELLE MILLER

Miller is co-president of Show Choir and has an album out called “Heiress.”

Guba participates in musical theatre and has an album out called “Allyson Guba.”

continued from p9 competition,” Henning said.

But while Winson worked the most with Henning, she said she didn’t just have one mentor.

Rather, Winson feels that all six graduate students in the lab mentored her and were “very, very helpful.”

“They really just wanted to teach you about what was going on. They wanted you to be interested in what was going on, and they wanted you to help them. Granted, I wasn’t just there for the fun!” Winson said.

Working in the lab was no easy task. “Being called a SURF, you are practically a serf of the lab in the most feudal sense, so lots of working and doing what the grad students tell you to do, but you also get to do a lot of, ‘Come

Cerney has a band called “My Casual Weekend.”

up with your own protocols,’” Winson said.

Over eight weeks, Winson got to work several interesting scientific research machines, including the Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization Time of Flight machine, which she used to complete mass spectrometry.

“We were given free reign over all the machines,” she said. “It’s super exciting because you basically get to shoot lasers at things and learn how to read the graphs, how to interpret your data.”

Besides mass spectrometry, Winson also completed High Profile Liquid Chromatography runs and many Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR), which amplify pieces of selected DNA. “Coming from a [biology] background, that was the one thing that I knew how to do, so I was pretty confident in my PCR skills,” she said.

Johnson is the Vice President of Hockapella.

Winson learned much about chemistry during her time at Caltech. “It was a lot of learning, a lot of reading, a lot of research on just like the background of what we were doing, but other than that, long days, long nights.”

In light of her achievements, Winson looks forward to a potential career in the science field. She hopes to major in science in college, specifically nanotechnology or materials engineering. However, she finds that “working at a lab is a lot different than most people think it is.”

“It can be depressing. The days are very long, and you’re in a basement for 10 hours,” Winson said. “You’re expected to be in there at all hours of the day. You get a call and they’re like, ‘Our experiments end at 1 a.m., you need to be there to stop it.’ I’m like, ‘Why?’ I like sleeping.”

“I love it. Been playing for years so it’s just a part of me. I believe that music is a language that everyone understands, so it’s a vital part of my daily routine. Music inspires me and that’s why I play. It’s calming and stress relieving and motivates me to do work. Without it, I would be a freak and stressed all the time.”

LeeFatt is the Hockaday Orchestra violin soloist and a First Violin in the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Philharmonic.

This lab experience influenced Winson’s decision on possible careers.

“I realized that I do like lab work and I like understanding laboratory technologies and processes, but I don’t know if I want to work in a lab for my entire life,” she said.

As a result, Winson has considered studying the business aspect behind scientific research.

“I really like understanding the science behind it, because I think that’s incredibly important,” Winson said. “But on the business side, your clients also really need to understand the science, and who better to describe it to them than somebody who has studied it, who understands it and maybe doesn’t work in the lab all day.”

CATHERINE JIANG WEB EDITOR

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DECEMBER 18, 2015

THE FOURCAST

photo essay/

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Winter Is Just Around the Corner In anticipation of the Holiday Break, sophomore Harper Lay looked back on the photographs she captured during her many holiday vacations in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

1. Lay captured a photograph of the Steamboat Ski instructors skiing down the mountain while carrying torches.

2, 3, 4. Taking breaks between ski runs, Lay took photographs of the surrounding pine and aspen trees.

1

5. Steamboat’s winter streetlights contrast with the fresh winter snow.

2

3

5

4

To check out more of Lay’s work, visit hockadayfourcast.org or scan the QR code.

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THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

in focu

DECEMBER 18, 2015

RACIAL EQUALITY: STUDENTS RALLY FOR A CHANGE For seven days, Mizzou’s grad student Jonathan Butler did not consume a single bite of food. His body began to shut down: he was dying. But none of that mattered. Butler vowed to continue his hunger strike until one of two things occurred: the president of the university was removed from office or his “internal organs failed.”

1000 More than 1000 complaints about racial harassment within higher level education have been submitted to the Office of Civil Rights since 2008.

What Happened at Mizzou?

On Sept. 11, while Payton Head, the head of the Missouri S was walking through campus, he encountered “some guys rid pickup [who] decided that it would be okay [to] continuously He posted about this on his Facebook the following day. This wa Head had endured on campus, and it would not be the last: he to wake up Mizzou.”

As a result of Head’s call for action, five days later Chancellor R ed that “Hate has no place on the Mizzou campus” on Twitter. A was intended to appease the outcries, it did the exact opposite: it The University of Missouri at Columbia’s (Mizzou) Legion o black student government union, tweeted on Oct. 5 about an incid cated white male interrupted their play rehearsal and called the m “On a daily basis, we face the reality that we are in fact the m inantly white campus,” the group tweeted.

Although Loftin specified that he would handle the problem, but empty promises. Despite mandatory online diversity training real change was made.

Two days later, a group of students organized under the na dent 1950,” named after the year black students were first adm ty, protested the school’s homecoming parade and blocked the President Tim Wolfe was riding in. They rallied and accused th failing to address racism on campus.

Concerned Student 1950 demanded that Wolfe issue an apo though Wolfe attempted to negotiate with the group, he refused of their demands.

As a result, graduate student and member of Concerned Stu clared a hunger strike until Wolfe resigned. Because Wolfe first ler’s strike, student activists camped out on the university’s Tr refused to leave until Wolfe stepped down from his position.

The resistance continued to grow. On Nov. 7, a group of black foot stated that they would boycott the season until Wolfe either resigned Two days later, Wolfe announced his resignation. Soon aft that he would also step down from his position as the universit end of the year.

Although the students were happy to see Wolfe and Loftin r pressed that there is still a lot of work to do. “There is still an is not be resolved overnight,” a student said in a statement release

Racial Protests Spread to Colleges Around America Protests on college campuses are not a new occurrence, bu vast media attention following the events at Mizzou.

Caroline Sydney ‘12 is currently a senior at Yale, one of th there has been widespread racial protests.

To Sydney, it was only a matter of time before protests erupt “When the air is filled with gasoline, it doesn’t matter wh Sydney said.

Around the same time as the events at Mizzou, Yale was h tensions. Prior to Halloween, the Intercultural Affairs Committe that urged all students to be mindful of their costumes and mak “culturally unaware and insensitive.” A professor at the univers responded to the email saying that it was the costumes were t even if offensive. This, accompanied by a “white-girls only” fra

13 The percentage of collegiate racial incidents that are reported every year.

us

HOCKADAYFOURCAST.ORG

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having similar racial ee sent out an email ke sure they were not sity, Erika Christakis, the students’ choice, aternity party, incited

racial protest within the university.

“There was a march of resilience that had over 1,200 students and faculty march around campus and through New Haven just as a show of support,” Sydney said.

“Around 1,000 students have gathered around to listen to students of color talk about their experiences and their grievances.”

As a result of the uproar caused by the email controversy, Christakis resigned in early December.

Similar to those at Yale and Mizzou, there have also been a surplus of racial protests at Johns Hopkins University. After noticing that many of the problems at Mizzou were applicable to their own school, the members of the Johns Hopkins Black Student Union organized a protest on campus during which they held up signs with slogans such as “It Happens at Mizzou, It Happens Here Too,” and “Why Don’t My Teachers Look at Me?” Anisha Anand ‘14, a sophomore at Johns Hopkins, has friends who joined in on the protest. “[The students’] complaints were really just that there is still discrimination on campus and that [students of color] are the target of discrimination by faculty members and other students,” Anand said. “It seems like Hopkins is a little bubble in the city and we don’t reflect the diversity of [it].”

Some, such as Staci Shelby ‘15, a freshman at Louisiana State University and active member of the Black Student Union, believe that these issues have been prevalent on college campuses for quite some time.

“I feel like, at least black communities on college campuses, have had these same complaints [as the students at Mizzou] and no one has listened,” Shelby said. “I don’t know if it’s a new issue, I just think it’s a new issue to the media.”

These universities are just a few of the many where students are rising up and starting discussions regarding racism and discrimination on campus. Other universities across America such as Ithaca College, Smith College, Claremont McKenna University, Vanderbilt University, Occidental College, the University of California--Los Angeles, the University of Southern California and many others have joined this growing national discussion.

In November, Harvard University and Princeton University both announced that they would no longer be using the terms “house master” and “master” because many students connected the terms with slavery. This term was used to describe the university faculty members who overlook academic and social programs and serve as advisers for undergraduate students.

Moving forward, Princeton will refer to these members as “heads of college.”

Harvard has yet to assign a new title but plans to do so in the future. As a result of these changes, Yale has also revealed that it will be making a decision regarding the term before the end of the school year.

The universities are hoping that with these changes, minority students will feel more comfortable not only with their advisers but on campus in general.

Hockaday’s Director of Inclusion and Community Tresa Wilson believes that these protests, and subsequently how the school administration’s are handling them, have a critical impact on how current seniors view the colleges they are applying to. “The [seniors] I’ve talked to are really watching those college campuses in which [protests] are happening,” Wilson said. “So, there’s a lot of awareness and concern going on. Especially when [they] start to think, ‘This could affect my experience when I’m on campus.’”

Hockaday Reacts With the changing climate of racial diversity within these college campuses, Hockaday has instigated a conscious effort to make sure that every student feels comfortable and included on campus.

“This is actually the first time we’ve had a Director of Inclusion and Community,” Wilson said. “This is all I do. And, with that being the case, [I am] trying to do some deliberate programing for each division and see what the students need, how we can be supportive and how we can start having these discussions.”

In order to make sure that students feel supported, Wilson explained that the entire school year is dedicated to a theme: engaging in self-awareness and building courageous conversation skills. With these skills, students can have important conversations in a safe manner that respects all parties.

Part of this process includes bringing in speakers to start conversations about inclusion and diversity. Rosetta Lee, a diversity speaker and a teacher at Seattle Girls’ School, spoke at Hockaday in September. Lee said that it can be easy for people to overlook diversity issues when the problems do not directly affect them.

“When it doesn’t directly impact you and you’re not in the marginalized or invis-

36 The percentage of students at Hockaday who reported that they are students of color.

THE FOURCAST

ible bias sedition, it’s a place of privilege because you can go through your day without ever having to think about it,” Lee said. “When reaction and action happens, folks don’t necessarily get involved because they feel like they have no skin in the game.”

Lee believes that there is a way to solve this issue: increase awareness.

“Without preemptive and proactive educational conversations happening, it’s entirely possible to remain ignorant,” Lee said. “Ultimately, it’s not that they are bad people, it’s just that they are not reminded on daily basis what that experience is like.”

Both students and alumnae call for a more direct approach for educating the students on matters of race. “I have preached this since the first [Dallas Area Diversity Youth Organization] meeting I ever went to: I think some sort of mandatory understanding of race and race relations is needed so bad,” Shelby said.

“I think education would cure so many problems even in the Hockaday community.”

Interim Headmistress Liza Lee agrees. At her previous school, the Columbus School for Girls, they allotted an entire day to celebrate Martin Luther King and invited speakers, individual students and faculty to speak about their personal experiences at the school due to their race.

Wilson hopes to have a similar sort of experience by extending the conversation through the International Conversation series. Wilson imagines an environment “where we all learn from each other and talk about the different experiences that we are having, but also hear each other.”

Rosetta Lee hopes that communities will see events like the recent protests at Mizzou as a chance to learn from past mistakes and work towards cultivating a more supportive and inclusive environment.

“I hope that what we do is see these issues of invisible voices speaking up loudly and dramatically and institutions responding and [learning] how to set up positive, inclusive communities that are critically aware of the experiences of all people,” Rosetta Lee said.

Form IV President Brianna Buford also believes that this sort of conversation is necessary.

“Hockaday loves to live under the guise that they are open to discussion with three optional student diversity forums a year, but when this issue When the air and other issues facing people of color on the daily occur, Hockaday stays silent,” she said. is filled with In order to improve upon their conversations with all students, including students of color, Shelgasoline, it by recommends “taking the time to sit down with these groups of students to understand what their doesn’t matter specific issues are.” who struck the This is especially important because of the differing experiences students of color have from the match. rest of the community. “Because society has reminded you through the language they use to refer Caroline Sydney ‘12 to you, then also, your family has taught you cerCurrent Student at Yale University tain ways to conduct yourself – you put all those layers on top of you and you’re going to walk in, not being completely your whole self all the time,” Wilson said.

Buford shared that her experience as a student of color is different than that of white students.

“I think Hockaday administration should listen before saying and asking anything,” Buford said. “They need to realize that my, and other people of color’s, experience at Hockaday is very different from that of a white student’s and the only way to do that is to listen to their experiences.”

Liza Lee hopes that Hockaday has fostered an inclusive environment where students feel comfortable.

“What I hope is that students don’t feel as helpless here because we are trying to make opportunities for them to talk with trustees, with administrators and with the sponsors of the committees in which they participate,”she said.

Although the recent events on college campuses may suggest that change is starting in a dramatic way, Rosetta Lee thinks that these events will not resonate with the public for long unless proactive conversations ensue.

Quoting from German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Rosetta Lee said, “The only lesson we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history.”

In a larger sense, Liza Lee believes that racial bias and protests within universities will not end anytime soon. The only thing Hockaday can do is make sure that the students are prepared for future conversations.

“I think we try very hard in our curriculum to make sure that we are sending out students who will be comfortable in being leaders in ensuring that harassment doesn’t occur wherever they are, wherever they can,” she said.

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STORY BY HEIDI KIM & ASHNA KUMAR | STAFF WRITERS ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY INAARA PADAANI, MANISHA RATAKONDA AND SUNILA STEEPHEN ILLUSTRATION BY WENDY HO

17 The percentage of students at Hockaday who reported that they are African American.

SOURCE: MOLLY AVERITT , UCLA HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE, ST . LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

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Interview Tips on What to Wear, Do and Say p15

Best Podcasts p17

Social Media, Unfiltered

In the face of rising expectations of perfection, students turn to fake personas online PHOTO BY GRACE VOORHEIS

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Daisy in the Arts An avid participant in the Dallas art community, freshman Megan Ortman is in the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, a member of Hockadance and has a unique gift for singing in the operatic style. Read more about her talent below.

How did you get into opera?  In sixth grade, my music

teacher would show us movie versions of operas, and I got really into them. Since then I’ve been dragging my mom to The Dallas Opera, and in seventh and eighth grades I took voice lessons from the same sixth grade music teacher.

What’s your favorite opera piece?  I would have to say “O

1:45 p.m. Dec. 6 Taking a selfie, junior Samantha Galardi layers on makeup in order to present a facade of effortless perfection.

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mio babbino caro” (“Oh My Beloved Father”). The story of it is “Dad, I want to marry this guy, we’re getting the ring, and if you don’t let me I’m going to throw myself into the river.” It escalates very quickly, but it’s a beautiful song.

BY JENNY ZHU

ssena O’Neill seems like she belongs. At least, her selfie does. With blonde locks tucked behind her ear, a smooth glow kissing her smiling cheeks and one polished eyebrow arched knowingly, O’Neill looks carefree in her selfie. The photo seems like it fits in on the Instagram homepage, which displays an artisanal kale panini here, an attractive swimsuit-clad couple there, all under the sheen of filtered lacquer. But on a closer look, the caption of O’Neill’s selfie reads, “I had acne here, this is a lot of makeup. I was smiling because I thought I looked good.

Happiness based on aesthetics will suffocate your potential on earth.”

This truth-revealing caption was part of a campaign against social media led by 19-year-old O’Neill, a former Instagram model who has amassed over 800,000 followers with photos of her seemingly happy life.

On Nov. 2, she shocked followers when she denounced the superficiality of Instagram in a 17-minute, tear-filled video, re-captioning her Instagram photos to reflect the realities behind them. One of these second-try captions describes a photo of her in a bikini. “Took over 100 in similar poses to make my stomach look good. Would have hardly eaten that day. Would have yelled at my little sister to keep taking them until I was somewhat proud of this. Yep so totally #goals.”

O’Neill’s drastic action, however, drew criticism from viewers who called it a hoax and a ploy to get attention. Whether she’s a brave young woman, a confused teenager or an unusually creative attention hog, O’Neill has done one thing: point out the superficiality of Instagram.

The Greater End for Social Media

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Staying Honest with Instagram Accounts

In response to the superficiality and pressures of Instagram, some students have created Finstagrams, fake Instagram accounts, where they post any picture or video they want to, You don’t versus catering to followers’ wants. These accounts often provide a space that students’ always know public Instagram accounts cannot. has one such Finstagram. “You half of the story. thinkSachs that your regular instagram is ‘serious’ and so it has to be professional-looking because Ellie Bush that’s what people see you as. People have Finstas, Senior because they want to be funny and they want to be goofy, so they need a place to do that,” Sachs said.

Meanwhile, other popular Instagram accounts that directly address the superficiality of social media have also recently risen to popularity among students.

Bush follows the Instagram account Half The Story, which posts seemingly two-dimensional photos with a twist: the caption provides the real, interesting, and sometimes harsh backstories behind the images, similar to O’Neill’s crusade of re-captioning. “The point of Half The Story is that these people are opening their eyes to how controlling social media is and how they’re no longer taking pictures for pleasure,” Bush said.

Supporting the message of the account, Bush believes that although some students may contrive their personas online, she doesn’t see herself as in a place to judge them. “You don’t always know half of the story – you can’t really detect emotions through social media, and I think that’s the main issue at stake,” Bush said, “That’s the whole reason why it’s superficial. There aren’t emotions, you know? You can’t see through a picture.”

songs today are sung laterally, meaning that when you make an “a” or an “e” sound your lips are horizontal.

When you sing something operatic, it’s vertical and linear. Just the shape of your mouth changes. The second difference is that in pop songs, vowels are made by moving your lips, but opera singers make vowel sounds with their tongue.

Do you want to pursue opera as a career?  Maybe not as a career, but I know I want to continue performing.

PHOTO BY AMANDA KIM

Like O’Neill, many young people assume a fake persona online, and Hockaday students are no exception.

Junior Elinor Sachs faced this issue firsthand, when a friend approached her this summer.

“I feel like you go to parties all the time, like you’re just raging all the time.

You have an awesome life,” the friend told her. “Your Instagram looks crazy.”

On the contrary, for each of her previously posted photos, Sachs had spent approximately two days at home, deciding from a pool of similar images which picture to post, what filter to use, and a caption that might seem funny.

Dr. Rosanna Guadagno, a University of Texas at Dallas associate professor of psychology who specializes in social media, attributes part of the problem to social comparison, a phenomenon in which people compare themselves with others to gauge how well they’re doing at an activity.

“It could be social media use, calculus, job success, reading, what have you,” Guadagno said. “We like to compare ourselves with others, and we’re happiest when we compare ourselves to others and we compare favorably.”

For many students, the hard numbers of followers and likes have become a way to compete with each other. “People don’t say, ‘Wow, I think people would be really interested by what I did this weekend,’” Sachs said. “It’s more like, ‘Wow, I got 300 likes,’ or ‘Wow, I need the best filter for this picture.’”

Though senior Ellie Bush uses Instagram to appreciate photography, she also observes that some people take pictures to achieve a greater end, which she describes as to “receive likes and create a virtual reputation.”

To enhance this reputation, users engage in impression management, putting their best foot forward in interactions to give off a good impression.

“When you don’t know what a person looks like or you hear someone talk about a person, you immediately go look them up on Facebook and that’s how

you’re judging them,” Sachs said. But impression management on social media can become warped. Because there’s no “checks-and-balances” system to fact-check photos and information for accuracy, adolescents using impression management online can cross over into deceptiveness about their lives. “They basically present the idea that they’re doing really, really well in life, when they’re not,” Guadagno said.

Followers can actually misinterpret someone’s deceptive online persona as real. Studies from Pace University published in May 2015 show a link between the number of strangers an Instagram user follows and their probability of experiencing depressive symptoms like fearfulness, loneliness or fatigue.

Because of this misinterpretation, deceptive online personas may also encourage a vicious cycle. “Not only does superficiality in social media make followers feel worse, but it also drives them to engage in the same kind of deceptive impression management strategies,” Guadagno said.

What’s makes opera singing different?  It’s all in the vowels. Pop

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Netflix and Kill the Stereotypes

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“Master of None” is centered on first-generation American Dev, portrayed by Ansari, and his personal and professional life as an actor living in New York.

“Master of None” is semi-autobiographical, and many scenes from the show are based off of Ansari’s life experiences, but Ansari has still avoided cracking jokes that perpetuate racial stereotypes. Dev’s struggles, while comical, are also extremely relatable to first-generation Americans.

Senior Mahima Agrawal, an avid supporter of the show, finds that “Master of None” discusses many issues that are relevant in her life, too.

Much like Ansari’s parents, Agrawal’s parents immigrated to the United States from India.

Agrawal strongly related to the “Parents” episode. “[My mother] talks about how hard it was for her living in America and not knowing the language and also having to go to school here,” she said.

The second episode of the show, “Parents,” focuses on Dev’s parents and the struggles they had to overcome while immigrating to

America. The episode featured realistic flashbacks of his parents’ lives and the difficulties and inequalities they experienced in their jobs and in their lives in general.

Although she hasn’t watched “Master of None,” junior Neha Kapoor agrees that her parents have had struggles as well.

“When my parents first came [to America], I guess it was hard for them to adjust because of accents and everything, and I think it’s hard for other people to understand them,” Kapoor said. “I think they had much harder lives than I do now, and I don’t think I thank them enough for that.”

Because Indian parents are usually treated as funny stereotypes, Ansari ended up casting his own parents for the role of Dev’s parents in order to more accurately portray them.

“Every time I see Indian parents portrayed on film or TV they’re not three-dimensional, they’re excuses for hacky ethnic jokes,” Ansari said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times this November. “I wanted the parents to feel real.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MANISHA RATAKONDA

tereotypes, sexism and relationships are just a few of the topics discussed in American actor and comedian Aziz Ansari’s new Netflix show “Master of None.” The series was released on Nov. 6 and has been gaining a steady following.

While Ansari’s show is an example of the strides that first-generation Americans have been able to make, “there are still so many stereotypes that we have to push past if we want to really break the racial constructs and discrimination,” Agrawal said.

Stereotypes and discrimination, no matter how big or small, are exactly what Ansari aims to get rid of.

He has avoided accepting stereotypical roles such as a 7/11 worker or an IT nerd.

“Any movies stuff or TV stuff I’ve acted in has not been ethnicity dependent. It was done as me a comedian, not me as an Indian guy,” Ansari said.

While Ansari’s touches on the topic of discrimination in “Master of None,” he represents it in a way that is humorous yet meaningful, which is reflected in the 100 percent rating that the show was given

by Rotten Tomatoes.

Traditionally, Indians and other minorities are casted with sec-

ondary roles in films and TV. For Agrawal, finally seeing an Indian man in a non-typical role while discussing everyday racism teaches her to “not let the limitations that others have set get me down, and teaches others to be aware of the stereotypes they enforce.”

Over the past few years, there has definitely been a rise in the number of South Asian leads of shows, but there is still a ways to go. A Hollywood Report done by the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014 determined that minorities make up only 10.5 percent of lead movie roles.

Ansari’s “Master of None” is important not only because it is quality entertainment, but also because it is breaking the mold of typical lead roles that we are used to seeing on TV. “Master of None,” however, is not the first show to feature South Asian actors. “The Mindy Project” with Mindy Kaling and “Quantico” featuring Priyanka Chopra have Indian women as leads of the shows.

Hopefully these shows set the stage for many others to come.

Season One, which includes 10 episodes of Ansari’s “Master of None,” can be found on Netflix.

MANISHA RATAKONDA SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

The Do’s and Don’ts of Interviews Whether it is for your next job or your dream college, everyone will go through the interview process at least once in their lifetime. To help you out in light of on-going college and summer internships interviews, The Fourcast’s Video Editor Emily Fuller has compiled a relevant list of what to do during an interview – and what not to do. lipstick, go easy on the eye shadWhat to Bring ow, and vice versa. Harvard • A blazer, heels and an umbrella, in studies even show that the more case of rain, are critical to looking makeup worn correlates with professional and competent when your co-workers’ perception of entering an interview. your competence. A natural bal• Having your resume and idenance is key in the workplace. It is tification at the ready are pivotreally about your overall preal to making any interview run sentation and ability to look smoothly. put-together and not • Coming prepared with extra lipover-done. stick or lip-gloss as well as breath mints will assure you look and feel professional during the interview.

What to Do • Plan ahead. Arrive at least five minutes early to show respect for their time.

• Do your research. You want to know as much as you can about the company or college you are interviewing for (as the Scouts say, “Be Prepared.”).

• Come prepared with questions and talking points relevant to the position you are applying for.

• A strong handshake is vitally im-

What Hockaday Recommends • Junior Hannah Sung, who has held positions at LF and Pacsun clothing stores, says to “always smile.

Try to make a joke – you will seem more confident.”

• According to Susan Brower, Hockaday’s Director of Communications, “A functional tote bag will always make you look more professional.”

She also feels a functional tote bag makes anyone look more professional.

“Plan the day ahead, so that you are not rushed and panicked. Be respectful of their time by arriving at least five minutes early.” Brower said.

Form II mother and Assistant United States Attorney, Heather Rattan, gives the pro tip to go to the college or company website and mimic the style of the ILLUSTRATION BY LILY SUMROW students or employees.

What to Wear • Know the culture of the company when walking into a job or internship interview. Make it clear that you can fit in.

• When in doubt, err on the conservative side.

• Better to be overdressed than under-dressed.

• Large or colorful earrings, necklaces or rings should be worn with other understated pieces.

• Clothes should not be too tight or too loose and those that cover your knees and shoulders are preferable.

• In the workplace, makeup should be balanced. If you wear bright

a

portant to being perceived as professional and sets the tone for the interview.

• Maintain eye contact and try not to let your eyes wander around the room.

• Sit fully in your chair. Avoid slouching and sitting on the edge of your seat.

. .

Sources: Harvard University studies and IvyExec.com

• According to Rattan, business casual for a woman is defined as a “knee-length skirt or dress pants with a shirt that has sleeves and a collar.” She believes pearls pull together a professional outfit.

Specifically, interviewees should steer clear of anything too tight, short, revealing or casual.

• “A good rule in ‘business casual’ is: No one wants to see too much of a colleague’s body – including feet.” Rattan said.

• It is critical to know the culture of the organization for an interview, because interviewers look to see if their candidate would integrate into the company nicely.

• Hannah Sung suggests always entering an interview well-prepared. “In retail, the interviewer will certainly ask you about your favorite brands the store carries, so be ready for anything and do your research and know the product,” Sung said.

• “Let what you have done speak for itself, do not overcompensate by trying to draw attention to your outfit,” Brower said. Only accessorizing with things that will absolutely add to the outfit is important to both Brower and Rattan.

• Sung advises going into an interview with a smile and as much confidence as you can, despite any nerves you may have.

The Masterpieces of Dallas and Fort Worth A Closer Look at the Art Housed in the Metroplex

BY KATHERINE CLEMENT

THE SOL OF SPAIN Meadows Museum

MARBLE IN THE MINES Kimbell Art Museum

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS Dallas Museum of Art

Before Picasso, the Luminist/Impressionist Joaquin Sorolla y Batista was the most internationally known Spanish artist. After excellent reception at the 1901 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Sorolla’s works were in high demand from American and European collectors. He was inducted into the Hispanic Society of America in 1908 and became close to many of American Impressionists like John Singer Sargent and William Merritt Chase. His beach scenes, which occasionally portrayed nude people, and other en plein aire works, which lean more toward studies of light and figures with expressive brushstrokes, are his most popular works. The Meadows owns three works by the master: ‘The Blind Man of Toledo,’ shown to the left, ‘Valencia Beach’ and ‘Farm-House, Alcira.’

In 1945, this bust languished at the bottom of a salt mine in Altaussee, Germany, along with Michelangelo’s ‘Bruges Madonna,’ van Eyck’s ‘Ghent Altarpiece’ and two pieces by Vermeer: ‘The Astronomer’ and ‘The Art of Painting.’ This rare terracotta bust of Renaissance benefactor Isabella d’Este was attributed to Gian Cristoforo Romano and was originally painted. Put up for auction by a fleeing Jewish art collector, the sculpture was purchased in Switzerland in 1942 by Hitler’s art curator, Hans Posse. It was repatriated to the Netherlands Art Property Foundation in 1946 and then sold to private collectors after being sent to the Munich Collecting Point as the 1,246th object recovered by the Monuments Men. The Kimbell acquired the sculpture in 2004.

Julian Onderdonk’s paintings decorated the White House during George W. Bush’s presidency.

One of the most well-known Texas artists, Onderdonk almost exclusively painted en plein aire, after instruction from the American Impressionist William Merritt Chase. Onderdonk took a uniquely Texas perspective by creating vibrant bluebonnet landscapes. However, the Dallas Museum of Art’s latest masterpiece from the “Father of Texas painting” lacks his signature touch and rather depicts an isolated white road in the Texas Hill Country. ‘Road to the Hill’ c. 1918, was taken off of display over 60 years ago and was recently restored in August. Hockaday owns one of his largest bluebonnets paintings. It hangs in the Whittenberg Dining Hall.

REPRODUCTIONS PROVIDED BY MEADOWS MUSEUM, KIMBELL ART MUSEUM, DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART

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PHOTO BY AMANDA KIM

Seniors Branch Out

E

xhausted from a long day at school and hours of trying to make people laugh, senior Caroline Greenblatt lays in her bed, thinking about her performance at the upcoming Coffeehouse with Improv.

Despite her previous experience with structured theater and show choir, Greenblatt never thought to venture into a new realm of theater.

As first semester draws to a close, many Upper School seniors lose interest in academics and extracurriculars. But unlike most, some seniors choose to use their last year to explore new interests.

The website stageoflife.com runs surveys on a multitude of topics; one asked seniors what they considered their greatest accomplishment in high school. While the top answer focused on college acceptances, 32 percent of all seniors interviewed listed either a new skill learned or a new task that they had taken to a successful conclusion as their top achievement in high school.

“There is no such thing as too late,” Fine Arts Chair Ed Long said.

“There is always an opportunity to learn something new and if you want to do something, nothing should stop you.”

Long is not alone in this opinion. Greenblatt, in an effort to savor her last year and get a “full Hockaday experience,” tried out for Improv.

“I’m so glad I did Improv this year,” Greenblatt said. “It’s so great to be part of such a loving community.”

To her, Improv has provided a new sense of confidence that will continue to serve her throughout her college career.

Some seniors decided to try a new sport. Three-season varsity athlete Frances Burton suffered multiple injuries, including concussions, over her Upper School athletic career, and is no longer able to play the contact sports she used to participate in such as field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse.

But Burton did not let that stop her from trying something new. She decided to run on the varsity cross country team for the first time this year, even becoming one of the team captains.

“I wanted to branch out and get to know an entirely new team, one that was so different from all the teams I had been on in all my previous years,” Burton said.

Although she does not plan to

continue running cross country in college, Burton still hopes to use the skills she learned during the season.

“Cross country by nature is a very disciplined and sometimes really painful sport, so participating in the sport this year definitely taught me a lot about pushing myself,” she said.

In addition to clubs and sports, seniors have also chosen music as their avenue to diversify their interest. Senior Elise Gunter, who has played piano for the past five years, took on orchestra since scheduling conflicts prevented her from taking choir. Like Burton, Gunter didn’t let this change this get in the way of her interests. She still decided to pursue music, but in a different way.

“I was hoping to get a new per-

‘‘

9:30 a.m. Dec. 13 Some Christians accuse Starbucks of attacking their faith by getting rid of Christmas-themed cups.

Starbucks Cup Provokes Controversy

A

s the Halloween festivities came to a close , Starbucks unveiled their new two-toned red holiday cup, which deviated from the typical cups elaborately decorated with Christmas-themed illustrations. Starbucks created this new design, which allows customers to decorate the cup with images of their own holiday traditions, in order to promote inclusion for customers

who do not celebrate Christmas. In response, some offended customers have tried to coerce Starbucks into bringing back religious sentiments: Joshua Feurerstein, a self-proclaimed American evangelist and social media celebrity, urged followers to tell Starbucks employees that their name is Merry Christmas in order to “trick” baristas into writing Christian sayings on the cups and thereby endorse the religion.

Feuerstein added to his critique of Starbucks on his Facebook profile page. “Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus.”

Feurerstein is not alone in his disapproval of the new red cup. Many people have taken to social media platforms, such as Twitter, to condemn Starbucks for removing their beloved Christmas icons and waging a “war against Christmas,” a phrase popularized by Bill O’Reilly in 2004. Not long after, the controversy became political as business tycoon and 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump chimed in.

“Maybe we should boycott Starbucks?” Trump said to a crowd of supporters in Springfield, Ill. “I don’t know.”

Khalid Hamideh, an attorney who represents the Islamic Association of North Texas, is not a Starbucks customer but finds the new cup offensive as well.

“I do not care for Starbucks and think they are very manipulative in all they do, and [I] for one do not endorse or use their products,” Hamideh said. “I think it is very disrespectful not to put the Christmas tree on their cups; it smacks of corporate bigotry.”

While both media personas and local Dallasites have criticized the company for anti-Christian sentiments, sophomore Maye McPhail, a Christian, does not understand the reason for the magnitude of this controversy. Starbucks has continued to promote Christmas-themed products such as advent calendars and Christmas-blend Keurig cups, proving they have not completely gotten rid of the holiday’s influence.

“Red and green, Christmas trees, snowflakes, all those are secular images of the holiday season that have transcended a certain religion to be more about the holiday season, and so really making the cup plain red is not much of a deviation from that but more of, to me, an aesthetic choice,” McPhail said.

Sophomore Ali Hurst describes herself as a spiritual Jew. She agrees that this change does not seem worthy of the heated debate since Christmas still is represented by the majority of the country.

“It doesn’t need to be that big of a deal,” Hurst said. “It is just people being offended because their religion is slightly less represented even though it is all over the place.”

But some students, like senior Juliette Turner, who leads Hockaday’s Bible Study club, do not have a direct problem with the cup. Turner sees it as a representation of the political correctness that has been sought by companies. She wishes that corporations as well

as individuals could share their religious beliefs and celebrate their holidays without seeming intolerant of other faiths.

“In society today, I think we have become a little bit too politically correct in regards to religion and that has actually inhibited any form of celebrations from being displayed,” Turner said.

While some people have not supported this political correctness, Starbucks intended to embrace people of all backgrounds and religions. In the past, Starbucks has incorporated deer, snowflakes, ornaments and Christmas trees in their traditional holiday cup design. These special holiday cups have been around since 1997.

To share the inspiration for their new red cup, the company wrote in a press release that “creating a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity is one of the core values of Starbucks, and each year during the holidays the company aims to bring customers an experience that inspires the spirit of the season.”

Sophomore Cate Ginsberg, who celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, agrees that the inclusion of people of all religions allows everybody to engage in the holiday season.

“The more people you can include, the better,” Ginsberg said.

However, inclusion of all religions has been slow within corporations. Companies such as Frito Lay, Kellogg’s and Pepperidge Farms have created Christmas-themed food products such Christmas tree Doritos sold in Japan and Red and Green Holiday Goldfish.

These companies have not made products for other religions such as Judaism and Islam.

Hurst recognizes though that she has become so desensitized to the lack of knowledge and respect for her faith of Judaism and does not even notice the lack of Hanukkah-related decorations. But Hurst does wish that companies would include Judaism in their holiday festivities, even if by only making small cookies with a Star of David on them.

“It would be nice if [Judaism] was a little more incorporated,” Hurst said.

You may love the cup, hate the cup or have no interest in it at all, but regardless of your opinion, in the wake of all this debate and controversy, the real winner is Starbucks, which has gained the attention of religious leaders, customers and many journalists.

According to CNBC, 9.2 million articles have been written regarding the new cup and the resulting controversy. And now, yours truly has contributed to promoting Fortune Magazine’s most admired food and service company in the world. Not that they needed it.

MARY ORSAK VIDEO EDITOR

If you want to do something, nothing should stop you.”

Ed Long

Dean of Upper School

spective on my music experience,” Gunter said. “I didn’t have a specific outcome in mind.”

According to girlsgonesporty. com, “flexing the risk muscle” has many benefits. The most obvious one is overcoming fear of the unknown or the untried. In addition, it also teaches you what you are capable of and what you are good at.

Self-esteem gets a boost when one overcomes fear of the unknown and opens up to new experiences.

Greenblatt, Burton and Gunter each decided to expand their horizons. By choosing to navigate previously unchartered territory, they are pushing the limits of their comfort zone to kick-start the life they will be living over the next four years of their college careers.

Yeezus Season

BY ANNABELLE FOLSOM

NEHA DRONAMRAJU STAFF WRITER

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CULTURE POPS | The Fourcast’s Favorite Restaurants, Movies, Music, TV Shows and More

Brooklyn PHOTO PROVIDED BY LIONSGATE

PHOTO BY ERIN THOMAS

Brooklyn John Crowley

Now Watch Me (Whisk) Here’s a pro tip: Do not make any assumptions.

Let me be clear – I am the ultimate crepe connoisseur. I have traveled the world far and wide in search of the BEST crepe – to San Francisco, Austin, New York City and even Paris. To be honest with you, I never would have thought that the best crepe resided in the very city where I live.

So when I stumbled into Whisk, a rather quaint, French café located in a shopping center on Sylvan Ave. in Dallas, I assumed, based on the few occupants sitting at the tables, that I was out of luck.

My search for the best crepe would have to continue.

But as a show of respect, my friend and I stayed and ordered from a plethora of unique crepes.

We settled on the cinnamon apple crepe ($9), lusciously filled with cream cheese, pecans and caramel, as well as the strawberry Nutella crepe ($10), served with whipped cream, ice cream (your choice of vanilla or chocolate) and topped off with chocolate sauce. If you’re into coffee, I recommend the cappuccino for $3 – it comes in a small glass and compliments both crepes well.

The service was fast – probably because of the mere four other customers there – and the employees were extremely nice and dedicated to their work. A glass window

separates the kitchen from the dining area, so patrons can visibly see the chef work his magic.

After a small amount of time had passed, the food arrived. Cue the music because I was about to take another trip down memory lane to ‘Cool But Common Crepe City.’

But as I chowed down on these delicious delicacies, only two words came to mind: holy crepe.

After years of searching, I had finally found the ultimate French pastry. I was more than pleased.

To top it all off, Whisk uses organically grown ingredients from Texas food producers and distributors in their state-of-the-art crepes. Not only does this make their crepes exquisite, but organic as well.

So, all assumptions aside, I’ll leave you all with this: don’t judge a whisk by its cover.

To find out more about Whisk, visit their website www.whiskdallas.com, like them on Facebook at facebook.com/whiskcrepescafe or follow them on Instagram at whiskcrepes. $$ 1888 Sylvan Avenue Tuesday – Friday 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Saturday - Sunday 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.

ERIN THOMAS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Yes, that’s right, there are more podcasts than just NPR, and no, podcasts aren’t just for old people. Podcasts tend to be pretty unpopular amongst teens, and I can’t see why. Almost all of them are free (unless hosted by some random hotshot), they’re really accessible (no sketchy websites) and Business Insider says some of them will make you smarter. I promise, if you find the right one, you will be hooked for life. Staff Writer Cheryl Hao reviewed a range of podcasts, and hopefully at least one will intrigue you. Join us in the wonderful world of podcasts. We’re waiting.

1 Hosted by former Baltimore Sun reporter Sarah Koenig, “Serial” covers a true story revolving around the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, a popular high school senior who was manually strangled in Baltimore. Adnan Syed, Lee’s ex-boyfriend, was indicted and incarcerated, where he remains today, believing he is innocent and was wrongly convicted. It seems like a very typical “high school love story gone wrong” scenario; the thing is (and what Koenig has spent the past year of her life investigating), there was no tangible proof to indict Syed. So who killed Lee? With “Serial,” listeners go behind the scenes with this investigation – Koenig inserts recordings of interviews and phone conversations she obtained with people who are directly involved with this case.

Even though there’s no solution by the end of season one, listeners can make their own decision based on the evidence Koenig uncovers and shares. All of season one and the most recent episodes of season two are online at serialpodcast.org.

2 If detailed knowledge of strange and random facts equates to money, I would be laying on a beach in the Bahamas, sipping on some tea while looking through my Instagram feed on my iPhone 9 (it’s not available to the general public yet). And I would have “Stuff You Should Know” to thank. This informational podcast, published by HowStuffWorks.com, is hosted by the semi-awkward yet humorous Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, both writers at HowStuffWorks. Starting with a detailed history and background on the specified topic, the hosts smoothly guide listeners through rarely thought about questions and topics. With episodes titled “Nirvana: Not the Band,” “How Tupperware Works” or “Juggling: What the Heck,” the audience knows exactly what they’re getting into. Because each episode is 40 to 80 minutes, they’re great for a detailed answer on the topic, but it’s nothing a quick two and a half minute Google search can’t tell you. New episodes come out every two days at stuffyoushouldknow. com/podcasts.

3 Nothing is classier than Ezra Koenig’s (Vampire Weekend) radio show, “Time Crisis.” The Columbia University alum and Grammy Award winner hosts his show every two weeks on “Beats 1 Radio,” a global radio station on Apple Music. Casual conversations between Koenig and his guests and famous friends are entertaining, usually without any structured set up, just Koenig improvising, which makes it extremely genuine. Most conversations revolve around music: an enjoyable segment is Koenig wand his guests analyzing (and bashing) popular songs. His guests include Mark Ronson (episode one), Florence + the Machine (episode two) and Jonah Hill and ILoveMakonnen (episode eight). Each episode is around two hours long because almost half of it is Koenig playing music of his choice, so if you have two hours free to do as you please, Koenig and his friends can keep you company. Find past episodes on SoundCloud or listen live on Apple Music every other Sunday at 2 p.m. central standard time.

4 Did you know that Tyler Oakley was a telemarketer before his YouTube fame? I didn’t either.

Nor did I really care to know, but if it interests you, check out Grace Helbig’s podcast “Not Too Deep,” where Oakley guest stars. Helbig, a YouTube star herself, has around 2.7 million subscribers. Although she’s already rich and famous, she created this podcast in 2014 to keep her fanbase busy. This podcast lacks depth; not that podcasts need to be deep, but I’ve listened to four-and-a-half episodes and gained nothing. In fact, I may have even lost some brain cells. That might be harsh, but even Helbig describes her podcast as “ridiculous, silly and unapologetically superficial.” That’s when you know it’s a blow-off side project. If you’re ever extremely bored and would like to know what Grace Helbig and her guest star for that episode did that day in detail, listen to “Not Too Deep” on SoundCloud or subscribe in the Apple Podcast App. Don’t forget to thumbs up (or should I say down?) and leave a comment in the description below.

While the psychological argument that where we come from heavily influences who we are might be true, the journey of finding yourself holds just as much merit. “Brooklyn” proves exactly that.

This emotion-evoking film, set in the early ‘50s in the titular borough and in a small Irish town that’s always ripe with gossip, tells a classic immigrant romance tale.

But unlike the typical American Dream melodrama, “Brooklyn,” adapted from the novel by Colm Tóibín, avoids nearly all cliches.

Aside from the seasickness and homesickness that Eilis must endure due to her journey from Ireland to Brooklyn, she learns quickly. Through the assistance of a kind Irish priest (Jim Broadbent), Eilis is promised a sales position at a fashionable department store and a room in a boarding house upon her arrival. Timid and slightly vulnerable at first, Eilis is taught the American way of life by her stern yet motherly landlady (Julie Walters) and the other boarding house residents.

However, the most captivating individual that this naive Irish lass meets is an Italian-American gentleman, and future boyfriend, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen).

Although Tony’s family somewhat resembles an ethnic stereotype (they love baseball and eat spaghetti when Eilis comes over for dinner), it’s almost impossible not to root for the two lovers. Writer Nick Hornby designs a happy-go-lucky relationship, complete with the perfect amount of passion and awkward tension. While Eilis does rely on Tony to fulfill the loneliness that she feels after leaving Ireland behind, Eilis seems to be in control of the relationship. By the end of the film, she becomes a self-respecting, fearless female character, which makes it difficult not to like her despite some questionable decisions she makes.

The turning point of the film nearly writes itself — Eilis has straight-A’s in her night classes, a good job, a pleasant place to stay and a caring boyfriend. Something was bound to go wrong. And it certainly does, compelling Eilis to return home.

Upon her arrival in Ireland, she is greeted with a dream job and a new suitor. Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer the romantic, Italian plumber over a skinny red-head named Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson). Regardless, her romantic plight is one that you can’t help but have an opinion about.

Perhaps what contributes to the picture’s authenticity is director John Crowley’s clever instruction. The film seems rather apathetic in depicting its two settings; rather, the camera remains focused on Eilis and her experiences. At one point, Eilis and Tony take an excursion to a popular tourist location.

While it’s clear that the two are on a date at Coney Island, the camera essentially ignores the surrounding environment, therefore allowing Ronan to use every breath, word, facial expression and movement to passionately yet subtly convey a sea of emotion that absorbs the audience one wave at a time without losing a single drop of heartache, excitement, worry or joy.

It’s clear that Saoirse Ronan has remarkably transformed from a child actor in Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” to a brilliant and compelling performer. Love might be the superficial conflict throughout much of the film, but Ronan effectively expresses the true, raw friction that emerges from the contrasting aspects of Eilis’s life — her identity in Brooklyn versus her identity in Ireland. It’s the struggle of letting go and personal discovery that the audience can directly relate to. By the end of “Brooklyn,” Eilis has developed a true sense of self, and it’s a conclusion that feels just like home.

INAARA PADANI MANAGING EDITOR

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Currently

Y

Stay in shape over the Holiday break! p19

To juice cleanse or not to juice cleanse p20

HOCKADAYFOURCAST.ORG

Why injuries put athletes behind p20

Varsity Basketball team ramps up fitness p20

E. Coli Scare Prompts Food Safety Discussion Recent Chipotle bacterial outbreak stems from minimal sanitary precautions PHOTO BY CLAIRE FLETCHER

PHOTO BY NOOR ADATIA

4 FourScore

A look into the numbers that define athletics.

3

The total number of soccer teams (2 JV, 1 Varsity) at Hockaday after soccer coaches decided not to cut any players who tried out.

12 p.m., Dec. 10 Hockaday food services Juan Lares places a bowl in the dishwasher to prevent the spread of germs

27.22

BY NOOR ADATIA

F

or a company that prides itself on fresh ingredients and wholesome burritos, Chipotle’s e. coli outbreak took the public by storm. The scare prompted Chipotle to temporarily shut down 43 stores in Portland, Seattle and surrounding areas on Nov. 2. As a result, Chipotle’s stocks reached an 18-month all time low in November, according to Business Insider. The E. coli strain has not been traced to a singular food item at Chipotle. But according to TIME, it has sickened 52 people, 47 of whom claimed to be eating at the restaurant prior to

falling ill. Most recently, in early December, 30 Boston College students fell sick after eating Chipotle over the weekend; however there are no confirmed cases of E. coli connected to Chipotle in Massachusetts.

WHAT IS E.COLI? Escherichia coli, or E. coli, is a single-celled bacteria which comes in several different types, or strains. The most popular strain is the one found in such outbreaks, which results in a disruption of body functions and diarrhea.

Upper School science teacher Dr. Barbara Fishel is familiar with E. coli and has dealt with the bacteria in class labs.

“If we eat food which has been contaminated with a strain of E. coli that is harmful to us, it generally means that there is so much E. coli in the food we ingest.” Fishel said.

E. coli then “overwhelms our defense mechanisms before they have enough time to mount a defense.”

While closed Chipotle stores have been reopened as of Nov. 12, the outbreak has led to an E. coli scare, prompting the recall of products at Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Costco, Albertsons and Walmart due to a harmful strain found in the celery.

KEEPING THINGS CLEAN Senior Sofi Mira, who started working at a Chipotle store in Dallas last March, is familiar with the food preparation process. She worked at Chipotle during the outbreak.

“On the first day the news broke out, the store was empty,” Mira said.

Nevertheless, people still love their Chipotle, and the store was in full swing the next day. Chipotle earned their customers’ trust back through transparency they’ve shown in similar past events, including the recent shortage of carnitas.

The carnitas compromised the integrity of their food standards.

“I truly believe that we do everything we say we do, and there is nothing secretive going on in the back or something we wouldn’t be afraid to show people,” Mira said.

In fact, Chipotle, like Hockaday, has many standards and policies set in place to ensure the cleanliness and freshness of ingredients. These range from top-of-the-hour hand washings to glove changes whenever handling different foods to regulating temperatures of the food served.

“All the hot food has to be 145 degrees, and the cold food below 40 degrees,” Mira said. “If it’s not, then we have to fix it because we’re not completely sure it’s safe anymore.”

The temperatures between 42 and 135 are generally known as being in the temperature danger zone, meaning food served at these temperatures is regarded as unsafe for consumption.

At Hockaday, Director of Food Catering Katie Williams oversees the kitchen during preparation. It is crucial for her to understand food safety in order to serve healthy and safe food to students and faculty.

“The temperature danger zone is where microbes really want to grow,” Williams said.

Chipotle employees change the water placed beneath the food to regulate temperature of the food above it so it isn’t overcooked or undercooked, while Hockaday stores food in hot boxes and places trays in the boiling water.

Additionally, Chipotle has specific cleaning systems for each of their items, including cutting boards and workstations.

“Germs can come up from so many places, and it’s our job to be proactive about that,” Mira said.

Hockaday Dining Services also guarantees hygiene in preparing food by replacing the washing water every two hours and constantly switching out gloves when dealing with different food. In fact, the city of Dallas has specific guidelines for school cafeterias, and a health inspector checks to see if Hockaday meets these requirements three times a year.

“However, we follow those policies all year, so our hot water for washing and sanitizing is always hot. It always follows the correct temperature and the correct amount of soap,” Williams Germs can come said.

‘‘

up from so many CONTAMINATION Problems arise when temperature standards places, and it is aren’t met and equipment isn’t well-maintained.

“The two main problems are cross-contamiour job to be nation and making sure everything’s kept hot and proactive about it.cold,” Williams said.

According to Williams, Chipotle’s main downfall is the former: there are too many people touching the food.

Regarding the skepticism where the E. coli is coming from, Williams thinks this is due to the fact that Chipotle’s food shipments come from so many different sources.

But students here at Hockaday can rest assured. Eighty percent of our food comes from U.S. Food Services, so it’s easy to track down where each meal is coming from.

“We receive fresh meat, fresh fruit and vegetable deliveries every week,” Williams said. “Everything goes out fresh.”

Senior Sofi Mira, Chipotle worker

The number of seconds that senior and varsity swimming and diving captain Rachel Becker took to swim the 50 yard freestyle at the St. Mark’s Invitational on Dec. 3.

6

The number of freshman on the varsity swimming and diving team.

34-29

The final score of the junior varsity basketball’s game against Callisburg High School at the Valley View Tournament in Valley View, TX on Dec. 3.

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Tis’ the Season to Stay Fit The Holiday break is full of family, festivities, and of course, food. With all the distractions, it’s easy to forget to hit the gym and to watch the calories. While it can be difficult to motivate yourself to get up and workout over break, try to pause your Netflix and put down your snacks for one of these quick workouts. The Fourcast recommends these exercises for different scenarios, and they’re sure to work for all age groups!

ON A PLANE

AT HOME

AT THE GYM

Traveling to your destination on a plane can be a real bore when you forget to bring entertainment or feel sluggish. Don’t fret because here are easy exercises suggested

by Virgin Atlantic that only take up 15 minutes of your flight and leave you feeling fresh.

For the rest of you who will stay at a home or spend your break watching Netflix, here’s a workout recommended

by Fitness Republic that doesn’t require a gym, only a bed.

If you’ll be staying at a hotel, take advantage of its gym.

With an assortment of equipment, you can set your own workout. Fourcast suggests this 12-minute treadmill workout created by Lushious Lifts.

1. Lift your legs off the bed, keep your abs contracted and draw circles in the air with your feet without touching the bed for 20 circles clockwise and 20 circles counterclockwise. Repeat twice.

• Warm-up walk for the first 3 minutes

1. Lift both of your feet off the floor and rotate them in circles, five times clockwise and five times counterclockwise.

2. Lean forward slightly, wrap arms around one of your knees and lift it to your chest. After holding for 15 seconds, do the same for the other leg. Repeat four times.

2. This one’s tough! Lay flat on your back and use your arms and legs to lift yourself into the air for 15 seconds. You should look like a tabletop. Repeat 5 times if possible.

• 8 mph sprint for 30 seconds

3. Lower your right ear to your right shoulder, then roll your head around to the other shoulder.

Hold each position for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.

3. Laying down on your back, lift your legs together in the air and reach with your arms and upper body towards your ankles. Hold this position for 15 seconds. Repeat 10 times.

• Walk for 20 seconds

4. Don’t forget that planks and push-ups can be done on the bed!

• 8 mph sprint for 30 seconds

• Walk for 20 seconds • Walk for 30 seconds • 9 mph sprint for 20 seconds • 9 mph sprint for 20 seconds • Walk for one minute and 20 seconds

PHOTOS BY LAUREN PUPLAMPU

4. Contract either abdominal or gluteal muscles and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat as many times as wanted.

• 6.5 mph sprint for 40 seconds

• Walk for 30 seconds • 6.5 mph sprint for 40 seconds • Cool-down walk for the last 3 minutes

Jan. 29

Jan. 23

FRIDAY, JAN. 29

Varsity basketball vs. All Saints at 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, JAN. 22

SATURDAY, JAN. 23

Junior varsity and varsity soccer at Holland Hall. Times TBA.

Jan. Junior varsity and varsity soccer at Bishop Lynch. Times 22 TBA.

Jan. 21

THURSDAY, JAN. 21

Varsity swimming and diving at Greenhill at 6 p.m.

Jan. 19

FRIDAY, JAN. 15

TUESDAY, JAN. 19

Junior varsity and varsity basketball vs. Greenhill at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.

Varsity basketball at Trinity Valley at 6 p.m.

Jan. 15

Jan. 12

TUESDAY, JAN. 12

THURSDAY, JAN. 7

Varsity basketball at Fort Worth Country Day at 5:30 p.m.

Varsity swimming and diving at Bishop Lynch at 5:45 p.m.

Jan. 7

WORKOUTS CUSTOMIZED BY MARIA HARRISON WITH INFORMATION FROM: VIRGIN ATLANTIC, FITNESS REPUBLIC AND LUSHIOUS LIFTS

TUESDAY, JAN. 26

Junior varsity basketball vs.

Oakridge at 4:30 p.m.

Jan. 26

SATURDAY, JAN. 23

Junior varsity and varsity basketball at Holland Hall at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Jan. 23

Jan. 22

FRIDAY, JAN. 22

Junior varsity and varsity basketball at Casady at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.

p.m.

TUESDAY, JAN. 19

and junior varsity Jan. Varsity 19 soccer at Trinity Valley at 5

FRIDAY, JAN. 15

Varsity soccer at Fort Worth Country Day at 5 p.m.

Jan. 15

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13

Junior varsity basketball at Cristo Rey College Preparatory at 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 13

TUESDAY, JAN. 12

Varsity swimming and diving at Highland Park High School.

Time TBA.

Jan. 12

Jan. 6

Varsity basketball vs. Trinity Valley School at 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6

FOURWARD

20

THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

DECEMBER 18, 2015

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HOCKADAYFOURCAST.ORG

Basketball Team Gets Their Head Back in the Game ILLUSTRATION BY ANNABELLE FOLSOM

4:45 p.m. Dec. 9 At an afternoon practice, the basketball team works on plays to get a leg up on their competition.

J

umping onto the baseline during basketball practice, sophomore Shelby Schultz sprints from one line to another as coaches Amber Metoyer and Robyn Gray blows their whistles. The noise signals the start of “champions,” the coaches’ version of yo-yo’s. Slapping the court at every

designated line. Schultz sprints ready to attack the court.

This type of conditioning has been a main focus of the team this year, with each practice involving even more than in years past.

Director of Athletics Tina Slinker decided to hire two new co-head coaches after previous coach Dionde Harris announced he was leaving Hockaday in October.

Once Slinker hired Gray and Metoyer as co-head coaches just a few weeks before preseason started, the new coaches began to set their goals for the season and a new precedent for the revamped basketball program.

“Something new for the girls this year is not only holding themselves, but also especially their teammates to a higher standard,” Gray said. “We are going to breathe, eat and sleep holding your teammates accountable.”

With the goals of improvement through continued encouragement

from teammates, Gray also hopes that the girls will be receptive to the idea as hard work and effort is needed for any and all of their goals to be achieved.

“The girls are determined and excited,” Gray said. “We want to show them that they can win through small successes on the court.” Additionally, Gray, a certified fitness trainer, hopes to instill a strong conditioning portion into the program in order to help the girls stay at their top level and continue to get better. With her experience, the team has continued to improve their level of fitness since the season started.

Schultz, who played on varsity last year as well as this year, believes there are a lot of positive differences with the team this year.“It is a lot more intense this year. There is not the, ‘You already made varsity, so you are going to make it again’ aspect,” Schultz said.

“We have a lot more of a focus on begin organized as a team so I think we are going to be a lot better.”

Schultz’s philosophy on basketball aligns with Gray’s, as they both believe that in order to get better, the program must first show a united front as a team and ensure that first and foremost the team works well together.

In the long run, Gray hopes to have a basketball program similar to those in larger public schools or at the collegiate level where everyone attends games and cheers for the players. In order to achieve this goal, Gray has been attending practices by herself of not only her own team, but also in Middle and Lower School.

“I want to build a culture starting with the Lower School and change the dynamics of how basketball is thought about and approached to make it more attractive to the girls,” Gray said.

Through this re-creation of the Hockaday basketball culture, Gray additionally hopes to show the girls that winning a championship is not easy and takes a lot of hard work that does not happen overnight.

“Basketball is a totally different animal than any other sport. It is really difficult to win a championship in basketball,” Gray said. “But just to build champions on the court, I will take that any day.”

KATIE O’MEARA STAFF WRITER

The Inside Scoop on This Juicy Diet

G

ulping down bottle after bottle of bitter juices, some with cayenne pepper and others made with beets, I plugged my nose attempting to mask the taste of each juice as I forced myself to swallow every last drop. As I emptied each bottle, I stopped to look at the nutrition label, and repeatedly asked myself, “Is this really a healthy diet?”

Over the days following Thanksgiving, I substituted generous helpings of pumpkin pie and warm buttered bread with small bottles of vegetable-based juices in an attempt to “cleanse” my body and discover how this popular, but disputed, diet affected my physical and mental health.

I decided to go on the twoday day-drinker juice cleanse from the Juice Bar, a North Dallas juice chain. This cleanse consists of four pre-made juices and a light dinner of your choice, such as my choice of a kale salad and vegetable tortilla soup. After the cleanse, I gained more insight on the way food, or a lack thereof, can affect different aspects of health.

DAY 1 Waking up with 10 hours of sleep and a full stomach from the day before, I felt prepared to start my two-day cleanse. Victoria Hoff, writer for the ELLE fashion magazine, advises to de-stress and keep exercise moderate while cleansing because otherwise the cleanse may negatively affect your mental state, energy or other aspects of your health.

Despite following this advice, I felt groggy and a little light headed about six hours into the cleanse, though I couldn’t distinguish whether this was due to the fact that I barely moved from under a bundle blankets all day or if the cleanse itself didn’t provide me with the energy

boost promised by countless blogs I read beforehand.

DAY 2 On the second day of the cleanse I slept for 11 hours, which is not common for an early riser like myself. This shift in my sleeping routine may have been a result of the fatigue and lack of energy I felt throughout the cleanse. According to Melissa Valliant’s article in the Huffington Post, she explains how juicing prevents people from getting all the nutrients from a fruit’s skin and seeds. Also, she reasons that because a juice cleanse cuts out several major food groups such as fibers, proteins and fats, cleanses prevent people from acquiring all the essential nutrients they require to function. Much like Vallant’s opinion, Cari Nierenberg of Live Science explains how going on a juice cleanse can be harmful and is an extreme form of dieting.

While cleansing, a person burns a lot of their stored energy because these juices don’t provide enough nutrients to replenish their energy stores. A lack of energy can lead to irritability, which I felt increasing during the second day of the cleanse. Also, hunger can trigger irritability; for me, once my stomach is filled I have a more relaxed and content mood. Although full was impossible during the cleanse because the juices curbed my hunger, I never felt fully satisfied and content, leaving me in a perpetual bad mood.

My advice to anyone wanting to try a juice cleanse is to try it out for a short period of time. If you find yourself fatigued and irritable, forget the cleanse and return to your regular food routine.

Ni e r re n b e r g ’s article claims that the body naturally cleanses itself on a regular diet, leaving no need to go on a liquid and vegetable based diet.

AMELIA BROWN STAFF WRITER ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH CHAN

Manisha’s Mind Social Media Director Manisha Ratakonda writes her opinion on various sports issues, both globally and at Hockaday.

The cause of envy for most small children: a pair of crutches. Sure, as a kid I wanted Legos, Tamagotchis and the newest version of Nintendogs (heck, I still play that game), but there was nothing I wanted more than a pair of crutches.

I wanted so badly to injure one of my legs so that I could experience life atop the magical creatures. But alas, this dream was never fulfilled. And although I’ve played nearly every sport that Hockaday offers, I’ve miraculously never broken a bone in my body. The only major injury that I’ve ever had was a cut cornea, which I somehow received in second grade at cello jazz camp (because where else would you cut your cornea?).

There wasn’t even a cool story that went with it. I didn’t get stabbed in the eye with someone’s bow, or get in a fight with a kid over “who was a better composer: Beethoven or Mozart?” Nope, I cut my cornea because my name tag flew into my eye. To make matters worse, I had to wear an eye patch for a week in order for it to heal. The one major injury I had was the opposite of cool. It was quite lame.

Looking back, it’s pretty embarrassing that I wanted to injure myself. But as kids, these were things that mattered to us. The glory of showing up to school with a cast or crutches was well worth the injury it came with.

In Lower School, a broken bone meant getting your friends to draw on your cast and carry your books for you. Now, it means not being able to drive your car, let alone attend your sports practice or participate in games.

For athletes in all sports (and even non-athletes), there is nothing worse than being sick or injured. Classes missed at school can take more than a week to make up, and practices missed result in a loss of fitness.

Even for athletes who don’t participate in contact sports, the risk for injury is extremely high. As a rower, I myself don’t participate in a contact sport, yet I have to be careful. After pinching a nerve in my upper back, my shoulders often go numb and I have quickly learned that my body can only handle so much.

As athletes, our coaches urge us to give our maximum effort, and most of the time we tend to forget that our bodies have limits. Of course it’s awesome to put in a large amount of effort, but sometimes, wincing through the pain during the last quarter of a game isn’t worth the damage we are doing to our bodies.

So I say to you now, as an experienced athlete, take care of yourself. Don’t take your legs (or any other limbs, for that matter) for granted.

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THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

2

Currently

DECEMBER 18, 2015

THE FOURCAST

21

/perspectives Y

Editor-in-Chief answers a student’s question p21

A debate over political correctness p22

Examining Calhoun College and revisionist history p23

Remembering the humanities fields of study p22

With Great Privilege Comes Great Responsibility

Junior Erica Jones

lege or to improve their socioeconomic status. Of those students enrolled in a Dallas Independent School District public school, 83 percent of them come from economically disadvantaged families who are unable to afford the Hockaday tuition, which averages around $27,000 a year.

Along with the lack of resources available to their schools, these unfortunate family situations directly correlate to poor academic performance. In 2014, only 200 of the 3,727 seniors in DISD achieved high enough SAT and ACT scores to be considered ready for college.

In contrast, according to College Counseling Department Head Carol Wasden, 100 percent of Hockaday students gain admittance to college and most graduate ready to begin rigorous careers.

As college is the gateway to a prosperous career, many of these kids continue living with economic disadvantages their entire life. They do not become politicians who control government, nor the teachers who strive to educate and prepare students to move up in the world. So as we take on these roles as the leaders, the teachers and the policy-makers, we must form educated opinions in order to improve others’ situations.

While we should never feel guilty about the privilege we were born into, we should feel guilty if we do not use it correctly. It is our duty to use our advantages to provide op-

portunities to those who were not born with them, and the first step to fulfilling this duty is to recognize the difference between our privilege and the unfortunate situations that many others undergo.

We need to get it. We need to understand. And we need to know what it’s like. Because we are the ones who have the resources to evoke change.

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID: Mr. Brown Edition

I have found that the easiest people to brainwash are your own kids.

Berkley:

Mr. Brown, you always know exactly what candy to buy!

Mr. Brown: Are you trying to tell me I’m a teenage girl?

Berkley: Mr. Brown embodies the ideal of a teenage girl.

Senior Berkley Wood in relation to Mr. Brown’s candy stash

Sidra:

Mr. Brown in reference to himself

I DON’T LIKE THIS!

Mr. Brown doesn’t know what a cute guy is.

Mr. Brown: I have a mirror!

Senior Sidra Siddiqui and Mr. Brown in a discussion about cute boys

I’M JUST A BRICK TRYING TO MAKE MY WAY THROUGH LIFE.

Senior Sam Taussig in reference to anything Mr. Brown teaches

...shut up, old man!

Senior Caroline Bhupathi ‘s assumption of Mr. Brown’s personal philosophy

Mr. Brown’s assumption of what students think whilst in his class

e

Editor’s Corner Editor-in-Chief Erin Thomas answers the troubling questions of Upper School students.

Q: How do I tell my parents that they’re not living up to their promise of staying out of my school life?

- Anonymous Junior

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY BASCHAB

“You’re white, so you wouldn’t get it.”

“You’re a rich private school kid, so don’t even try to understand.”

“You’re given whatever you want, so you don’t know what it’s like.”

“You’ve never been in my situation, so your opinion doesn’t matter.”

Hearing these judgmental accusations, I immediately put up a wall, defensively say they’re wrong and end the conversation at that. ‘They don’t understand me,’ or ‘My life is hard, too,’ I think to myself.

But in truth, these claims are true. I do not know what it’s like to live in a household in which my parents do not speak English or to have to rely on the one school-provided meal a day to keep me full.

I was born white. I’ve attended private school my entire life.

And I’ve always had everything I’ve needed.

But why should I feel guilty about my privilege? I did not choose these things, just as those who are less fortunate did not choose to be disadvantaged. Unlike me, most kids living in Dallas do not have the chance to go to private school, to attend col-

A: As students, we all want to be the best. We want the best grades, the highest leadership positions and the best SAT scores. Sometimes we push ourselves to match our own standards, but other times we do it for our parents.

If there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that our parents live to see us shine.

They want us to excel in anything and everything that we do. So, when we disappoint them, either academically or personally, it can take a toll on them.

Sometimes, I want nothing more than to scream at my parents. They expect too much from us.

We shouldn’t always have to live our lives on their terms.

We can’t be model people all the time. Sometimes, we make mistakes!

I get it. When you come home with a low grade on a test or bad news about a paper, you may not exactly receive sunshine and rainbows from your parents. But, they want to know about our academic lives – not because they are nosy or annoying, but because they care. Sometimes, we need to let them care, as long as they don’t use grades to justify who we are. So when you think your parents aren’t giving you enough space, remind them that one low grade doesn’t speak to who we are as individuals. Sometimes, those low grades help us grow.

STAFF STANCE | #PrayForAll

GRAPHIC BY MANISHA RATAKONDA

My phone erupted with notifications on Nov. 13. The terrorist attacks in Paris on multiple restaurants, a performance hall and a stadium overflowed every news source, constantly updating me on the latest death toll or whether a suspect was found or not. When I went on Instagram, pictures flooded my feed as users offered prayers and condolences for those lost or hurt during the attacks, advising people to stay safe and using the hashtag #PrayForParis. Facebook even had a safety check feature and a filter with the colors of the French flag for profile pictures.

However, 1,989.5 miles away from Paris, in Beirut, just a day earlier, two suicide bombers killed at least 41 people and wounded over 200.

To put it into perspective: Paris is 4,670 miles away from the United States and Beirut is 6,611. Both may seem far from us, but today’s technology and social media allow news and support to spread quickly.

Yet there was no #PrayForBeirut.

There was no filter for the Lebanese flag and no safety check for them on Facebook. And President Barack Obama did not give a press conference for this city after the bombings.

It wasn’t just social media that failed to acknowledge the attack in Lebanon; it was the news as well. Why didn’t my news apps notify me of the Beirut attack every few minutes?

Are they any less deserving of our thoughts and prayers than Paris is?

I am no way saying we should not stand and rise for the people of France.

The thing is, we, as Western journalists, have chosen to portray Paris the way we want to. In our minds, we can put a face to this city as it is much more well known. After all, Paris is a glamorous and widely traveled place.

On the other hand, Beirut may be more equated to conflict even though it may be still regarded as cosmopolitan, but that doesn’t mean it should be

less considered.

Like the attacks in Paris, the attacks in Beirut were also on civilian populations. In fact, the bombers blew themselves up in a busy street of a suburb of Burj al-Barajneh. One was outside a Shiite mosque while the other occurred in a bakery.

This isn’t just about Beirut. In other Middle Eastern countries and even in countries all over the world, lives are constantly being lost to attacks and bombings every day. Yet we fail to create hashtags for them and offer our prayers and support because it is unfamiliar to us. But unfamiliar does not give us a right to ignore or to fail to offer our love and support.

Isn’t it our duty as journalists to give everyone equal coverage?

Tragedy doesn’t discriminate. It knows no country, no race, no religion and no sex.

Beirut, Paris and the rest of the world: we stand with you.

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THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

DECEMBER 18, 2015

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HOCKADAYFOURCAST.ORG

STAFF STANDOFF | Should We Be Politically Correct?

WE LOVE IT, WE LOVE IT NOT

HOLIDAY BREAK!!!

Coffeehouse is the weekend we come back from break

2nd quarter is almost over.

Hang in there!

Vs

Yale University’s Intercultural Affairs Committee sent out an email on Oct. 28, 2015 reminding students to be conscientious in their Halloween costume choices. They received a reply from the Silliman’s Associate Master Erika Christakis who told students who saw offensive costumes to “look away, or tell them you are offended.”

Yes, I agree that we can politely and patiently tell others when we feel hurt or offended. A grounded discussion can lead to healthy and productive conversation. But if you were to see something – for example, a cringe-worthy costume mimicking your culture in a derogatory way – would you simply “look away” and allow the offense to carry on?

Or would you stand up against the discriminatory action?

We should make an effort to be respectful, aware and conscious of all cultures, and this is essentially what a politically correct mindset entails.

However, a common misconception exists about political correctness.

Some, including political candidate Donald Trump, see it as suffocating, limiting and unnecessary.

“I don’t frankly have time for total political correctness,” Trump said in August during the 2016 Republican debates. “And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time either.”

Earlier (and in tandem with his political correctness comment) Trump notoriously declared that the Mexican government was sending “drugs, crime and rapists” to the U.S., thereby succeeding in offending a significant portion of the American population. Eighty percent of Latinos in the U.S. now deem Trump “unfavorable,” according to a poll from the Washington Post.

Therefore, political correctness is not such a dispensable thing.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines “politically correct” as “agreeing with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people.” As seen with Trump’s comment, throwing political correctness to the winds definitely offends people, leading to exclusion and marginalization. This is behavior that should not be morally justified.

Accordingly, politically correctness is not the same as jumping on every single comment made and silencing those with different opinions than our own.

Political correctness, then, needs to be seen as a way to combat prejudice and create a culture of empathy. When we make an effort to be politically correct, we are making an effort to understand where someone is coming from in order to avoid derogatory slurs and other harmful behavior. And when we address groups of people properly and respectfully, we are not only performing basic acts of politeness and decency; we are preventing the buildup of stereotypes.

Simple yet important reminders to be conscious of other people and cultures – which is what political correctness entails – are not an infringement on anyone’s First Amendment rights. It’s not that we should get rid of or ignore our free speech rights, but why should we, on a moral and civil basis, cheer on “free speech” that excludes and oppresses people? Political correctness gives traditionally marginalized groups in society the opportunity to voice how they want to be represented and treated. If our country does not have time for political correctness, we need to make time for it.

ELIZABETH GUO STAFF WRITER

Students began demonstrating for their right to free speech to protest the war in Vietnam and in favor of civil rights in 1962, throwing political correctness to the winds as they fought for the right to express their opinions. In 2015, students are demonstrating for the right to silence individuals whose words might “harm” them, asserting that political correctness should be a policing force on everyone’s opinions but their own.

This push for “political correctness” threatens open learning environments and has diverted attention away from classes and into time-consuming, sometimes volatile and divisive arguments about overblown minutiae, like those at Missouri, Yale and Claremont McKenna.

Students at Silliman College at Yale University took offense when their Associate Master, Erika Christakis, responded to a school-wide email regarding Halloween costumes. The Yale email reminded students to not wear costumes that could potentially offend someone of a different political mindset, sexuality, religion or culture. Associate Master Christaki called into question the dwindling free speech, the real harm in self-expression and the need for safe spaces. In response, student protesters vilified her seeming ignorance of political correctness when she voiced her opinion, stating that she created an unsafe space for them and deserved to lose her job.

At Claremont McKenna College, a poorly phrased email from its Dean of Students, Mary Spellman, speaking of “students who do not fit our CMC mold,” caused a congregation of yelling, swearing students demanding the resignation of the Dean and the creation of specific spaces for minorities. The protesters were asking for protection of their own rights, but neglected the right of those who tried to stay out of the fervor, pressuring the school to support them or suffer consequences.

Protesters at Amherst College have gone as far as to officially demand that their administration declare that it will not tolerate pro-free-speech sentiment on campus.

Political correctness should not become the law of the land, but it should exist in a lesser form that does not serve as an excuse for militant agendas. There are unjust instances that merit a filter of political correctness. For example, in the South, overt prejudices are eliminated by political correctness. But, life isn’t fair. It’s illogical to become enraged by every small injustice, until it becomes the “boy who cried wolf” paradox at the big injustices. The struggle with being politically correct is that if you are trying not to offend one person, you are inevitably offending another.

President Obama has condemned these protesters, saying, “You don’t have to be fearful of somebody spouting bad ideas. Just out-argue ‘em, beat ‘em.” However, he acknowledged the merits in combating prejudice through constructive, diplomatic conversation, instead of through hateful protests.

Free speech is guaranteed by the Constitution; however, political correctness is a right many assert they are entitled to, trumping free speech due to past injustices. Paired with the term “microaggression,” this dogmatic movement is shaping a strong binary in our society that, left unchecked, may be toxic to ideals of freedom of speech on which our nation was founded.

At its most aggressive state, political correctness creates padded rooms that stagnate intellect and perpetrate minority differences as problems in our culture. We cannot tip-toe around these issues in fear of offending someone. We must face them, head-on, in order to eliminate their impact on future generations.

KATHERINE CLEMENT

A&E EDITOR

In Defense of the Humanities

Cold weather but cozy sweaters and boots

Senior Sunila Steephen

Why is the school always so cold?

When well-meaning relatives, the neighbors and the person who I literally just met five minutes ago find out that I’m applying for college this year, I receive this dreaded question: “Well, what do you want to major in?” (Side note: I have yet to find a high school senior mired in the application process who enjoys answering this question).

“I’m not too sure – after all, I am only 17 years old,” I reply. “But I was definitely thinking of majoring in something humanities-based.”

“Humanities? You must be jok-

ing,” they say. “Where’s the return on that? Can you even make money?

What can you do with your future?”

The above conversation is part of an alarming and growing trend I’ve seen in the past couple of years.

It’s easy to discredit the humanities – after all, who actually needs a history major? I mean, is knowing the history of the United States going to be helpful when we’re trying to solve the problem of climate change?

But in reality, I say this: absolutely. Yes, an engineer can help you solve a problem in the most efficient way.

But I would also argue that humanities majors can help you figure out why the problem existed in the first place, the history of the issue and the relationship between that and human impact (if applicable), all of which are just as important as the solution to the problem itself.

But wait! Women are abundant in the humanities, so one more woman doesn’t make a difference! Good luck making money in any humanities field ever!

Well, first of all: although they

are rare, gender gaps do exist in humanities fields (namely, in economics and philosophy, where women earn less than 35 percent of the Ph.Ds in the fields, according to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post), so to place a generalized statement about gender parity in the fields is misleading and unhelpful at best.

And yes, many of us have been told that if we want to make money, we must go into STEM fields.

The money concept may be true, but when have we ever been taught to disregard all of our particular passions in the pursuit of money? We’ve heard it before – money doesn’t buy happiness – and if that happiness is pursuing something in the humanities, well, that axiom definitely doesn’t apply there.

And to another point: I totally get it. There’s a huge dearth of women in STEM fields, and academic institutions – Hockaday in particular – are taking much-needed strides to close the gender gap in those professions.

But in light of turning to those fields, we tend to forget an equally

as important educational division: the humanities.

I see the bright and spacious atmosphere of the science building and the skeleton of the soon-tocome fine arts building and wonder, “Where did the humanities go?” though I do recognize that ScienceTechnologyHistoryEngineeringArtsMath is a fairly clunky acronym. But seriously, you have school-sponsored summer research and funded lab grants and musical performances and outlets for fine arts creativity. And by no means do I think that the fine arts and STEM are less important than any other classes, and I will gladly support any Daisy in those fields.

But what about cultural anthropology lectures and explorations?

Archival work? Where did our school opportunities go?

And lest we forget: civilization started on the shoulders of the humanities, under the writings of Homer and Herodotus and Virgil. To disregard the foundational structure of the world today would be a disservice to all here.

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THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

DECEMBER 18, 2015

THE FOURCAST

23

Weighing Your Options

Junior Heidi Kim Character. Courtesy. Scholarship. Athletics. The cornerstones of our school. At Hockaday, we are encouraged to strive for excellence. But sometimes, we want to strive so badly in academics that we are willing to sacrifice our passions in return.

It is a common occurrence that students are unable to enroll in certain courses due to a conflict in their schedule. This especially affects students in Fine Arts. As someone who is involved in three Fine Arts at Hockaday, this is definitely relatable.

I was unable to participate in dance at Hockaday up until this year due to required in class health courses for a quarter. In addition, I participate in studio art outside of school because I am unable to fit the AP Studio Art class into my schedule. Hockaday requires students to take three courses before they are allowed to in

enter the AP level. This is unlike most schools which have a policy that allows students to place into levels based on their portfolio. As a result, I must juggle the requirements of both my in- and out-of-school fine arts in addition to sports.

It all comes down to this question: What’s more important? We are forced to consider what needs to be prioritized in order to get into college.

Often at a school of overachievers like Hockaday, we end up prioritizing academic courses. While this isn’t always a negative, it definitely becomes one when we start sacrificing what we love.

Unlike most high schools, Hockaday does not weigh classes, meaning that an Advanced Placement course is worth just as must as a regular course on your transcript. The purpose behind this is to encourage students to choose courses based on interest rather than extra credit.

However, this generally makes little difference in the students’ decisions.

It has become a seemingly innate tendency for people to make these academically oriented decisions in hopes of “bettering their future.” But when did

Ela Hockaday declare that scholarship was the most important cornerstone? Exactly. She didn’t.

She intended for us to work hard to not only be great scholars but also to strive for excellence in all our pursuits.

Because of the schedule restrictions put in place, many people are unable to focus more on the classes or fine arts they are really interested in. But this overbearing desire to achieve in an academic sense is what is truly holding us back.

As a highschooler in her junior year, the year that is infamously known as “the one

that really counts,” I definitely understand the pressure to succeed academically. But the truth is, we don’t have to give up what we love in the process.

In fact, there is a term that has become prevalent at Southern Methodist University that I find enlightening. A “smartist” is an example of the kind of candidate that SMU admissions states the university looks for in applicants.

This is someone who not only presents academic achievement but also shows interest and talent in a fine art. SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts like many top universities, including Yale University and Duke University, seeks out candidates who exhibit excellence beyond the classroom. To put it simply, it is not all about academics anymore.

Although academics are definitely important, they aren’t everything. Pressure to succeed can be beneficial, but we cannot let it deter our future success. If you love something, pursue it. Don’t take AP Calculus BC just because it will “look better” on your transcript.

Take it because you have a love for math. Seek out the things you love, and success will surely follow.

ILLUSTRATION BY ELISE NGUYEN

Please Do Not Forget: A Complex History of Humans

Sophomore Mary Orsak Humans have done unspeakable things to one another throughout history. We have killed, enslaved, raped, maimed and tortured one another for sport or glory or money or just sheer hatred. But humans have also done remarkable things like form governments, write volumes of poetry, explain natural phenomena and cure diseases.

We are a complex species.

But how should history remember those whose lives encompassed both ignominy and glory? It is easy to want to put people like George Washington, Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great on a ped-

estal. They have indeed shaped our history as revolutionaries, successful leaders and military generals but we cannot forget that great leaders have flaws as well.

We cannot forget that George Washington became a slave owner at the age of 11. We cannot forget that Julius Caesar, to honor his father’s death, put on elaborate funeral games, which included 640 slaves that were forced to fight with animals to the death. We cannot forget that Alexander the Great in a drunken rampage destroyed the Persian jewel, Persepolis.

Even indisputably significant humans have done things modern society would scowl at. Debate today regarding this topic has occurred on the Yale University campus. One of the residential colleges has been named after John C. Calhoun, the seventh vice president of the United States, political theorist and Yale valedictorian. However, his support of slavery as a positive good has cast a shadow over his role in history.

Many students and faculty members have advocated for renaming this residential college. Isaiah Genece, a junior in Calhoun College,

during a forum shared his support for renaming the college in an emotional speech. “As much as I’ve come to feel a part of the Calhoun community, as much as I will proudly use that name, these are the things that remind me,” he said as he pointed to a portrait of Calhoun that hung on the wall at the front of the room.

“These are the things I find disturbing and fearsome.”

The discussion regarding Calhoun has prompted a further examination of the other college names.

Several other residential colleges have been named after slave owners such as George Berkeley and Ezra Stiles. Even Elihu Yale, the namesake of Yale University, had a controversial role in the East India Company, which traded not only tea but also opium. Should all these institutions be renamed?

While the brave students, faculty and administration take on this great debate, I have one caveat. History has happened. The role of historians is to tell the history as it was, not as we wish it to be. The complexity of mankind cannot be overlooked when we summarize the accomplishments and failures of our predecessors in a

brief paragraph.

History is also not fiction.

America and Americans have screwed up in the past. That does not mean that we can change our history and rewrite the gory and horrible parts in order to promote nationalistic sentiment.

Deeming slaves as “workers,” a McGraw-Hill World Geography textbook attempted to do such a thing: to forget the horrible actions of our slave-owning founding fathers.

Such revisionist history helps no one. Without covering the complete American story including the good, such as the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, and the bad, such as slavery and the despicable treatment of Native Americans, we fail to educate future generations and do not give them the knowledge to make hard decisions such as renaming Calhoun College.

As the students and faculty at Yale continue to debate this significant issue, I applaud their bravery in challenging history. Whatever decision they make as a community will set a precedent for the many buildings and institutions named after complex people. No pressure.

f EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Erin Thomas MANAGING EDITOR Inaara Padani WEB EDITOR Catherine Jiang BUSINESS MANAGER Sunila Steephen SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Manisha Ratakonda NEWS EDITOR Noor Adatia FEATURES EDITOR Megan Philips ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Katherine Clement SPORTS & WELLNESS EDITOR Mary Claire Wilson PERSPECTIVES EDITOR Sonya Xu CASTOFF EDITOR Austria Arnold PHOTO & GRAPHICS EDITOR Claire Fletcher COPY EDITOR Maria Katsulos VIDEO EDITOR Emily Fuller, Mary Orsak STAFF WRITERS Eshani Kishore, Heidi Kim, Jenny Zhu, Aurelia Han, Cheryl Hao, Elizabeth Guo, Katie O’Meara, Shreya Gunukula, Neha Dronamraju, Maria Harrison, Amelia Brown STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Erica Jones, Nina La Barba, Lauren Puplampu, Cher Qin, Madison Smith, Lucy Zhu STAFF ARTISTS Emily Baschab, Sarah Chan, Kate Cooper, Annabelle Folsom, Wendy Ho, Christine Ji, Sofi Mira, Elise Nguyen, Lily Sumrow ADVISER Ana Rosenthal

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24

THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

DECEMBER 18, 2015

castoff

HOCKADAYFOURCAST.ORG

“You know how some people will pull out of their driveways with their coffee mug still on the hood of the car? Well, I did that,trunk of but with a computer. I put my computer on the ack. my car so that I could dig my keys out of my backp Long story short, I left the computer there and the next thing I knew, my computer was being run over in the middle of Forest Lane.

Miraculously, the computer survived. My sanity was only slightly damaged.”

“My family went to Italy this past summer, and when we were in Florence at the Accademia Gallery, where the Michelangelo’s David is, my brother thought that I had taken a picture of him and he got upset and took my phone. However, it flew out of his hand and completely smashed onto the marble floor. The room we were in was really quiet and security started yelling at us in Italian. There was so much going on: security is yelling at us, my parents are yelling at me and my brother, I’m going ballistic, and everyone is just staring at us. Like, here Good laughs about the tragic downfall of we are standing in front of the greatest iPhones, laptops and the occasional front teeth artworks known to man, and all the attention is on us. So, you could say for a hot minute my family was getting more attention than Michelangelo’s David all because my brother broke my phone.”

-Gillian Meyer Form IV

You Crack Me Up

-Isabel Smith Form III

“I dropped my iPhone 4 and dented it on Sam Taussig’s tooth, which also cracked her two front teeth.”

- Louisa Frieling Form IV

“I was riding on the Northaven Trail with my sister and I was taking a Snapchat video on my phone and then I slammed on the brakes and my phone (with its new case on it) fell on the concrete and my case, screen protector, and phone cracked.

Plus the chain on my bike broke, and I fell off.”

-Courtney Katz Form I

“It was fifth grade or so, and I had just gotten my first iPhone. I was over at my friend’s house where I was hiding in the bathroom with the lights turned off. It was quite the intense game of hide and seek, and I knew I would win. I decided to sneak around to the other side of the bathroom to fully close the door, so I set my phone on the seemingly closed lid of the toilet. Instead, when I got back from closing the door, my notification light flashed and I realized that my phone had just fallen into the bottom of the toilet. And so ended the life of my first phone.”

-Sophie Pearson Form I

“I was writing my JRP introduction and I left my document open to take a shower and when I came back my cat had been sitting on it and somehow managed to delete the entire thing and replace it with a row of k’s, which Word AutoSaved and wouldn’t undo, so I had to retype it the night before it was due.”

-Asiyah Saeed I ran over my first cell phone with a go-kart.

-Caroline Greenblatt

Form IV

Form III