The Insight | February 2017

Friends Seminary

Edition 2

February 2017

Friends Marches for Women’s Rights

By ESME FAIRBAIRN ’17

Queers and Peers

By ZARA SCHREIBER ’17

Several Friends community members participated in the Women’s March in both Washington and New York and shared photos from their experiences on Instagram using the #friendsmarch hashtag.

On the 21st of January, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, millions of people throughout the country and world participated in the Women’s March. People of all backgrounds, not just women, came together in solidarity for the protection of our rights, health and families.

Many passionate students from Friends took buses in the early morning to Washington D.C. to participate in

the original march that provoked sister marches all over the country and the rest of the world. They marched with hundreds of thousands of others down the Mall and to the White House. Those who couldn’t make it marched among a similarly incredible amount of people in NYC. On our way down to D.C., it was hard

to tell when the sun rose as our bus was surrounded by an enveloping fog. These eerie conditions seemed all too fitting—our country was in mourning. When the fog began to clear, I looked out of the window and saw more and more buses carrying those who wanted their voices to be recognised.

The weight of the march first hit me at a

Inside

Continued on page 2

INAGURATION VIEWING INCITES CONTROVERSY

TOBAGO TO TREBLE: BOYS’ VARSITY SOCCER

WHERE TO EAT: A CULINARY ADVENTURE

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

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PAGE 11

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Queers and Peers Week is an annual Friends celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.

Orchestrated by the Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA), Queers and Peers week aims to bring awareness to various LGBTQ+ issues. This year, the theme was LGBTQ+ representation in the media (or the lack thereof).

Members of GSA kicked off the events with an assembly highlighting the lack of representation of queer characters in television and movies. They emphasized the rarity of bisexual and lesbian characters specifically, as well as the tendency of LGBTQ+ characters to die violent or unnecessary deaths on screen.

They also explained the reasoning behind the name change from “Ally Week” to “Queers and Peers Week.” Coraya Danu-Asmara ’17, co-leader of the GSA, explained, “We found that Queers and Peers was more inclusive of all identities.” She further elaborated, “It focuses on other things besides the allies when the week is actually about the LGBTQ+ community and education and celebration about it.”

The GSA then held a fishbowl discussion about media representation on Thursday, January 26th. A fishbowl discussion consists of an inner and outer circle of participants, including students, faculty, and parents. The inner circle discusses an issue for half an hour while the outer circle listens and proposes questions. The circles then switch spots for the second half of the discussion. Danu-Asmara prefers the fishbowl style of discussion because “it allows people to listen actively instead of just thinking about what they’re going to say next.” This year, around twenty-five people attended the discussion, which was followed by a dinner and more informal conversation.

The week ended with Color Day, a club tradition. Each grade in the Upper School was assigned a different color to wear; the rainbow of colors at school that day demonstrated the supportive environment for LGBTQ+ individuals at Friends. The GSA also organized a school-wide art project in which students and faculty could write or draw their thoughts about allyship onto rainbow-colored hands.

The hands will be displayed in the gallery later this year.

2 Continued from “Friends Marches for Women’s Rights” rest stop. I emerged sleepily from the bus only to be confronted by the longest line for the ladies bathroom that I had ever seen. Everyone was in high spirits—eager and enthusiastic about the movement that was about to unfold. When we arrived, we got onto a seemingly quiet subway car. Yet the closer we got to the Capitol, the more people flooded the cars. Groups of women waved and cheered at us from below the train bridges, their contagious warmth filling the air.

When the train doors opened, the chanting began. The crowd was a sea of pink “pussy hats.” Above them, creative signs—some witty, some serious— peppered the scene: Pussy Grabs Back.

My Body My Choice. We Will Overcomb.

Reproductive Rights are Human Rights.

Love Trumps Hate. Resist. Ugh. All the people I saw—grandparents, mothers, fathers with sons or daughters on their shoulders, and groups of strangers singing—were unified and determined to have their voices heard. We cared for and looked after one another, smiling as we marched with the knowledge that we were all working towards achieving a common goal. Despite our many differences, we came together as a unified force against the new administration. The march had little negativity. Protesters primarily focused on the empowerment of those around them rather than their hatred of President Trump.

The vast number of people who walked that day demonstrates that we truly are the voice of this country and we need to be heard.

Within one day of Presidency, the blatant misogyny of President Trump’s rhetoric caused a reversion back to a kind of blanket level of first wave feminism that corresponds to his old school “grab pussy” style sexism. The most important question to consider in this step backwards is how can we keep moving forward and generating movements that consider the multiplicity of female voices and the intersectionality of feminism in 2017?

More students share their personal experiences of the Women’s March:

Coraya Danu-Asmara ’17 NYC March: “Testimony” is a peculiar word to use about my experience at the Women’s March.

The word derives from the ancient Roman tradition of men ceremonially grabbing each other’s testicles when taking an oath.

One would think that, in 2017, the grabbing of genitals would be over, yet long before President Trump told the world the pleasure he took in sexually assaulting women, I knew that going to college would likely result in someone assaulting me. I knew that one in four college girls are sexually assaulted. I knew that native women had a 50% chance of being sexually assaulted.

I knew that more than two thirds of hate crime homicide victims are transgender women, especially black transgender women, and that they are 1.8% more likely to suffer sexual abuse. I knew that to the white man’s dollar, Asian women make 85 cents, white women make 77 cents, black women make 63 cents, and Latina women make 54 cents. Black men make less than the white woman, and hispanic men make the same as black women. Conversion camps take LGBTQ+ youth and destroy them to their very core until they are so traumatized, they have no choice but to say they are straight. Muslims are feared just for wearing cloth on their heads or praying on a rug instead of in a pew. Hard working people are kept out of this country every day because they are seen as terrorists or rapists or drug dealers. Toxic masculinity and dehumanized femininity plagues our society with gender roles.

President Trump and Vice President Pence did not create these problems. They did not cause people to become racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or to have any other kind of prejudice. Those prejudices were already there. They elected our current president. Even if those who voted for him would actively say they did not hold these prejudices, President Trump’s hate for the aforementioned minorities was not a deal breaker for his voters. I didn’t see the Women’s March as something that came about because of the events of 2016 and early 2017, but as the breaking point of endless suffering.

Prejudice has always been a part of society, in one form or another. I am often asked, “How can an individual change things?” My answer is that I don’t think an individual can change things alone. I think the Women’s March is an example of the route to effecting change—not alone, but together, with our experiences, oppression, and privileges unifying us into a group stronger than those in power. “United we are

strong” is the truest mantra. It is hierarchy within classes, races, genders, and other identities that allow those who are power to be in power. Those hierarchies are there to divide us. By uniting in our differences we can change things. That unity is what the Women’s March means to me.

Maeve Woollen ’18 Washington March:

Today I witnessed an estimated 1.4 million children, parents, and grandparents stand in unity together, fighting individual fights, all intersecting on the mutual cause of women’s rights.

Floods of signs, bodies, and chants filled up over 17 blocks. Some signs made me laugh and some signs made me cry. The overall feeling of love was amazing, if a little overwhelming. The streets were so packed it was almost impossible to walk half a foot in any direction without hitting someone. However, people continued to be sweet and kind to everyone who crossed their path. They shared their stories, took photos, and changed one another’s lives.

My mother and I arrived in Virginia early Friday morning. Sharing a house with one friend and 11 strangers, we all quickly bonded over our shared excitement for this historic movement and shared fear for the next four years.

We sat quietly as noon passed and Donald Trump became our 45th president, but soon after the Inauguration, we ran out to get materials for posters and ribbons for the march the following day. We laughed and talked all afternoon as we knitted Pussy Hats and made posters. Early the next morning, we headed out, eagerly marching to the metro with our pink hats and signs.

It took us about an hour and a half to get to the rally. A seemingly torturous experience in a crowded station, our time stuck underground actually proved to be quite moving. Washingtonian citizens

helped out the newbies get passes for the trains, and people cheered whenever another train arrived to take another group of people to the rally. I met new people and admired their signs. As people went up the escalator they snapped pictures of the crowd and waved their signs as a sendoff to their new friends. When we finally got on the train, the cars quickly filled with protestors and loud conversations.

Seas of pink flooded the train cars, and as people began to get off of the trains to find the rally, shouting and cheering began again. The constant support was incredibly empowering. I felt loved and protected by people I hadn’t even met yet. These are the people with whom I am willing to go to war. These are the people with whom I am excited to make change.

Arriving at the rally, cheers and a positive energy greeted us. It was obvious that a genuine feeling of excitement and adrenaline was washing over the sea of people. Ranging from a few months old to people in their late 90s, the largest crowd I’ve ever seen stood listening to beautiful, powerful, important people.

These speakers represented people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and various religious communities. They shared their messages and the crowds cheered in agreement and love.

One slight issue I found when participating in this march in Washington was the behavior of many men in the crowd. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy and impressed with the number of men that came and supported these beautiful women in the DC march and all over the world, but I noticed that some, particularly white males, demanded a lot of attention. These women asked for one day of attention and appreciation from the men and were happy to lend them the spotlight. Some men, however, felt the need to make a fuss over the failure of a lot of the speakers to acknowledge them and held signs that said things like, “Stop making me feel bad for my white privilege, it’s not my fault.” Seeing that made me sad; I really began to doubt the strides in gender equity that we’d made in the last 30 years. However, my spirits quickly rose after seeing young boys holding signs that said things like “Her voice should be heard” and “I’m with her.”

The most important thing I learned from the march was that this fight isn’t something we can do one day, take a break, and start again some other time.

This is a battle that we have to fight for our whole lives. This is a battle that we need to fight continually, no matter how tired we get. There are people to lean on and there are people to help you keep going, but this fight is going to be a long one, and I am ready for it.

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February 2017

A Student’s Response to the Muslim Ban

By CAMILO DURR ’18

Protesters against Muslim ban gather in JFK Airport.

“I hereby proclaim that the entry of more than 50,000 refugees in fiscal year 2017 would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I determine that additional admissions would be in the national interest.”

With those words and the power given to the Executive by the United States Constitution, President Trump halted the influx of thousands of refugees fleeing the war torn Middle East. Returning Visa carriers and legal residents from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan were detained at the airports and their entry to the U.S. was barred. On the night of January 27, 2017, the epitaph on the Statue of Liberty didn’t seem true any more. No teeming masses “yearning to breathe free” entered the country, and border security agents prevented Muslims from returning to their colleges, families, and homes. If America isn’t going to be the beacon of hope for millions of refugees displaced in the greatest exodus since World War Two, who is? As the world’s sole superpower, and a nation that has dedicated itself to supporting human rights and humanitarian causes all across the world, what does it mean for the U.S. to refuse entry to war refugees?

In 1951, the United States attended the Refugee Convention and promised the world to be a guardian of all those fleeing danger. The convention required nations to take in refugees on humanitarian and moral grounds. It was there that the U.S. promised to be a safe haven for refugees fleeing war, starvation, and extreme destitution.

As President Trump’s executive action on immigration comes on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, we must remember how the U.S. failed to take in many Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany during World War Two. Ships filled with endangered citizens of Europe

were turned back at harbor. Thousands of lives could have been saved from the horrors and genocide of the Holocaust.

At the same time, America was a safe haven for those of the Jewish refugees that were admitted during the war, refugees like Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, and Marlene Dietrich. In the diaspora of millions of refugees after the war, the U.S. accepted 400,000 refugees from 1945 to 1952. The U.S. was still able to save thousands, especially religious minorities from death and persecution.

In Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, civil war has already claimed the lives of millions, with no end in sight. Tens of thousands of civilians have been caught in the crossfire, and airstrikes have vanquished entire cities. In Syria, totalitarian governments indiscriminately bomb their people, and in Yemen and Iraq, terrorist attacks claim the lives of civilians.

The whole world expects the U.S. to live up to its promise of a safe haven for refugees.

For hundreds of years America has been the beacon of hope for immigrants, and the executive actions of President Trump endanger not only a fundamental premise of our country, but undermine American leadership abroad. Who else can the world look to for leadership on the refugee crisis?

Although Germany and Canada have done a better job handling the influx of refugees, neither is the indisputable leader of the international community. For decades the U.S. has been able to promote the values of liberty and democracy through its humanitarian efforts, but when they fail to do so, American values suffer.

Who supports those American values and the rule of law over unchecked power?

A federal judge in Brooklyn ruled that the President’s actions were unlawful and the court thereby prevented the government from deporting some arrivals in the city. Within hours of the signing of the

President’s executive order, New York was protesting the actions of the White House. Taxi drivers abandoned their cabs to join the masses of people at Kennedy Airport. Thousands of people gathered all across America in opposition to the executive orders. In New York City, for two straight days following the signing of the executive order, tens of thousands of New Yorkers gathered carrying signs and protesting together. Shouts of “No wall! No ban!”, “Hey hey! Ho ho! Donald Trump has got to go!” or simply “Shame!” came in the thousands at Battery Park on Sunday, January 29th. The crowd was of every ethnicity and gender. At the place where the ancestors of President Trump had emigrated to America, thousands stood unified in defiance to the violation of their civil liberties.

In his farewell address, President Obama said, “Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power

THE

– with our participation, and the choices we make. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.” For those of you who care about what happens to our country, you must remember it is the duty of a citizen to take action and hold the government and your representatives responsible. If you’re worried about where America is headed or the policies that are being put in place, call or write to your elected officials.

To find out how to contact your representatives visit 270towin.com/elected-officials

Student Lens

Featuring the work of Olivia Berke ’17

These pieces were created by Olivia Berke ’17. If you would like to feature your own work in future editions, contact insight@friendsseminary.org.

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Students Attend Preview of Broadway Show

By MAX TEIRSTEIN ’17

In October, several students involved in the Friends drama program had the opportunity to attend a dress rehearsal of the award-winning Broadway show, Falsettos. Falsettos recounts the heartwrenching story of a broken family in 1979 that is desperately trying to hold together in the face of betrayal, infidelity, and the AIDS crisis.

David Rockwell, a Friends parent, is the set designer of the show, and after seeing the Friends production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he invited the actors to a dress rehearsal. Students were able to meet William Flynn, Broadway legend and writer of shows such as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Falsettos, as well as director James Lapine.

After the rehearsal, Rockwell took students backstage and, from onstage at the historic Walter Kerr Theater, described to them the creative process behind his imaginative, abstract set. Bookie Schwartz ’18 shared, “It was a great opportunity to learn what goes on backstage to create an amazing show!” Rockwell also invited the students back in December to see Falsettos in performance.

The students who attended the show are grateful to David Rockwell for his generosity. “The set was a beautiful piece of storytelling, and it was fascinating to hear about your process in designing it,” said Jake Eisner ’17 to Rockwell. “Thank you so much for letting us have such an in-depth experience with this show.”

Addressing the Absence of Female Voices at Friends

By MAEVE WOOLLEN ’18 “Are there any questions?” Four hands shoot up, all attached to self-identified males. The meeting continues, question after question is asked, all coming from a male voice. With two minutes left, a self-identified female has yet to ask a question. The moderator, a self-identified female, finally asks if any women have any questions to ask. One hand shoots up.

Sound familiar? It should. At Meeting on October 28, 2016, Meredith Barnett interviewed her father, Robert Barnett.

Eight self-identified males spoke, and one self-identified female asked the last question of the assembly. With a heavy heart, I admit this is not unusual.

According to a study done by Christopher F. Karpowitz, a professor at Brigham Young University, men in mixed gendered groups tend to speak 75% of the time. This study looked at meetings with senators and political officers, so one might ask, how does this relate to Friends? Aleyna Ndaw ’18 says she is very aware of the difference in who speaks in meetings. “Yeah, I’ve definitely noticed that girls don’t really speak in Meeting, and I think that other people [who] have come to the school have noticed it as well, like speakers asking to have a girl stand up.” Ndaw is referencing not only the Barnett assembly, but multiple other meetings, extending to Meeting for Worship, Meeting for Announcements, Class Meeting, and even in classes in general. When asked why she thinks this imbalance exists, Ndaw responded,“Society has told women that they can’t really speak up as much and I feel like that has been internalized and even though Friends is ideally a safe space, a lot of people feel like those pressures don’t allow them to speak as freely and they feel like they’ll be judged by the community.” When asked if she feels those same pressures, she said yes.

The pressures aren’t only felt in meetings in front of about 400 students and staff, they are also felt in classrooms, in front of a handful of peers and a teacher. Bailey Jones ’18 says, “My class participation is dependent on my mood.

Most of the time, I’m just not motivated or confident enough to say something, even if I know the right answer. However, there are other times when I feel this burning desire to speak, and I usually do.” She isn’t the only one to stay quiet, even when she knows the answer. Eight out of the ten women I interviewed said they usually did not like to talk in class.

Their reasons ranged from not feeling confident in their understanding of the topic being discussed to a general feeling of anxiety when asked to speak in class.

Sofia Gallo ’18 corroborated, saying, “It depends what class I’m in. In most classes I don’t [speak] because I’m worried people will think of me as a smartass or trying to brag or will talk about me if I get an answer wrong. And I don’t like it when people stare at me.”

This fear isn’t uncommon, and out of the ten self-identified females interviewed, nine of them mentioned feeling something similar.

It is important to see this issue not only from the female perspective, but also from the male perspective. I interviewed a few men on this topic, and their responses to my questions were generally quite different than those of the females. When asked if he had noticed that females generally do not speak as much in meeting, Navid Mamoon ’18 responded, “Not before you mentioned it, but you’re totally right. I don’t think it’s necessarily for any specific reason however, as far as schools go we’re very inclusive and I certainly hope us guys aren’t creating any kind of boundaries or anything like that.” He also mentioned that it seemed that most of the females who spoke in Meeting for Worship were teachers. Mamoon’s response is not unusual either. I interviewed six men, and four had not noticed there was a difference in the numbers of men speaking and women speaking. Most also said that they did not think women should feel afraid to speak in Meeting for Worship. Those who did notice that men tend to speak more, noticed it more in class. Fouad Dakwar ’18 said “I’ve sat next to some incredible women who

whisper the answer to me (correctly, I might add) yet don’t raise their hands in fear of getting it wrong, meanwhile a bunch of men including myself raise our hands often even when we’re way off and just have an idea.” He also said that female teachers have asked for a female voice when having a discussion in class after only males have spoken. “It really checked the privilege of all the men in the room.”

Throughout the interviews, it became obvious that action must be taken to address and solve this gender divide.

Some women had interesting ideas. Jones said that teachers should make sure that the boys in their classes don’t call out so much. “They have booming voices, and it’s easy to feel overshadowed, even if they’re not intentionally controlling the class. I guess teachers could make an effort to make sure girls feel heard and that their opinion matters, too.” Others suggested that we make a public speaking course mandatory so people of all genders can become more comfortable speaking in large groups. However, some believed there was no fix for this situation.

Many female respondents felt that this was a larger issue in society and that there is no way Friends can change to make women feel more comfortable speaking in public. No matter how we address the situation within our community, it is important to realize that this is a larger issue amongst our world, and to ask ourselves how we, with our voices, can make all genders equal in any environment. It’s a larger fight than making sure everyone is comfortable within our school grounds, but it’s one of the most important movements happening right now. We can make a difference.

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February 2017

A Critique of the English Syllabus

By OLIVIA ALCABES ’17 The Friends Seminary Upper School English Department has one of the strongest, most intense programs in the city, but although the curriculum is filled with literary classics, it has a distinct lack of diversity. The Department struggles to balance a manageable workload with reading the most influential books for the various academic focuses in the ninth through eleventh grades. As a result, books written by men have thoroughly dominated the syllabus. The deficiency in women writers in the English curriculum is not only a problem within the Friends community, but for nearly all independent high schools across New York City.

The curriculum of the English Department is carefully chosen for grades nine to eleven, and the last year is split into different electives taught by Kate Olson, Noel Capozzalo, Chris Doire, and Maria Fahey. The literature from grades nine to eleven is based around particular themes. The ninth grade course, “Literature and Composition,” is structured around teaching new high schoolers how to write and read books such as the Bible and Antigone that are often referenced in the texts of later courses. In tenth grade, students learn about British Literature, and read texts such as The Canterbury Tales, Beowulf, The Tempest, and Pride and Prejudice. Finally, in eleventh grade, students focus on American Literature and read a slave narrative, The Scarlet Letter, and Huckleberry Finn, among other works.

When asked about the limitations in the English curriculum, Kate Olson, chair of the English Department, responded, “A lot of it has to do with time. There isn’t enough time.” With the growing concern surrounding the amount of time students spend doing their homework, the amount of books read in Friends English classes per year has been reduced. As a result, the curricula are often limited to the most important texts for each theme that they follow, many of which have been listed above, and are unfortunately written by white men.

However, it is not as if there aren’t female authors that are incredibly talented and can fit into each of the themes. Olson mentioned how she would be thrilled to see the addition of women and writers of color such as Virginia Woolf, Alice Monroe, Flannery O’Conner, Haruki Murakami, and Toni Morrison, among others. She remarks, with a bit of chagrin, that even her own senior elective fails to have a single female writer, referring to it as “Kate and the Boys.” It is incredibly important, she says, that the authors of the curriculum aren’t chosen specifically because they are men

Beyersdorf Recieves Art of Teaching Award

By JAMES BURGE ’20

or women or white or black, but because they have remarkable command over the English language. That’s why Shakespeare is read three times over the four years, and also accounts for the diversity the curriculum already has, including James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. Similarly, the sheer influence that books like The Canterbury Tales and the Bible have had throughout English and American cultures make them vital to the broad survey the Department tries to bring to students.

The English Department has tried to increase the diversity within its curriculum, but it still is far from where it needs to be.

However, this lack of diversity is not a problem solely at Friends Seminary. Other progressive schools such as St. Ann’s still have a curriculum largely dominated

by American and European writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Orwell, and William Shakespeare, although they do include Toni Morrison in what they call the “backbone” of their program. Schools like Packer, Trinity, and Brearley are much the same. Additions like Between the World and Me bring the Friends community forward, but the student body, particularly women and students of color, still lack the representation that is necessary to show them that they, too, have the power to write works just as influential as Shakespeare.

The English Department continues to amend its curriculum to reflect Friends’ mission to enrich all of its students, and hopefully will find a balance that will show just how important the writing of all peoples is to the English language.

Sue Beyersdorf, a long time math teacher, recently gave a lecture on “The Art of Teaching,” as part of the Friends lecture series. In addition to her passion for math in early life, Beyersdorf spoke about the various strategies she uses in her math classes to keep students engaged and ensure they do not fall behind.

The lecture began with Beyersdorf thanking many of the people who helped get her career and teaching to where it is today. Faculty members such as Ben Frisch, Larry Carter, Rich Eldridge, the principal when she started, were her mentors early on in her career, providing answers and advice whenever she needed.

Beyersdorf described the impact math has had on her throughout her life.

As a child, Beyersdorf would receive geometry problems from the Easter Bunny. The problems’ solutions would be the number of feet away that her Easter basket was hidden. The game thrilled her not only because of the candy but also because it was a chance to do an extra math problem. Whether it was Easter or making hexaflexagons with her father, Beyersdorf felt that math was “a warm and loving family activity.” In seventh grade she had a math teacher who was not passionate about the subject and refused to take heed of her questions. He showed her that he felt “math was arbitrary, you weren’t supposed to know why, and you weren’t supposed to care why, you were just supposed to do the problems.” His negativity only motivated her to disprove him, and she continued learning math at

home and at various summer programs.

Beyersdorf also learned the importance of connecting with all her students while she was in school. Once, on a college homework assignment, a problem stated, “We ask the reader to do this for himself.” She came to class the next day with a blank piece of paper, saying, “This text doesn’t speak to me, this text only speaks to boys.” This experience was instrumental in her understanding of the importance of feeling welcomed and included in the classroom.

In her 26 years of teaching, Beyersdorf has striven to make the classroom a comfortable place for all students, regardless of their skill in math. She believes that it is okay when a student gets an incorrect answer because the student’s mistake is actually an opportunity for learning. She also spoke of strategies that her college math professors taught her, which she suggests everyone use. One of these strategies is connecting “what you know” to “what you need to know.” This strategy helps students to work through problems and conclude final answers.

Beyersdorf also encourages students not to be afraid to ask questions in the classroom. She tells them, “It’s okay that math is hard, you can still do it.”

She firmly believes that using graphs and new readily available statistics help engage learners. Beyersdorf’s accepting nature, quick wit, and strategic teaching abilities demonstrate her deservedness of the 2016 Art of Teaching Award.

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Overrated/Underrated: The Music of 2016 Overated: Bon Iver - 22, A Million

Overrated: Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love!

6/10

Favorite Tracks: Me and Your Mama, Redbone, Stand Tall Least Favorite Tracks: Boogieman, Zombies, California

By Jackson Wald While Awaken, My Love! is unquestionably a solid album, with a soulful and funky vibe unlike any piece of music from Gambino in the past, the lackluster nature of a number of tracks on this record hold it back. “California,” the seventh song on the album, is loaded with cringey vocals and a trite-sounding tropical beat that completely breaks the cohesion of the album. Also, whereas various parts of the tracks “Boogieman” and “Zombies” are soulful and portray a deep message, other sections sound comical and cartoonish. Yet, tracks like “Redbone”, a soul explosion, and “Me and Your Mama,” a track in which Gambino’s sudden impassioned singing and overpowering electric guitar flood your ears, save the album. Overall, Gambino delivers an album that simultaneously pays respect to artists such as Funkadelic and delivers on the soulful and jazzy artist that he envisions himself becoming.

4.5/10

Favorite Tracks: 22 (OVER S∞∞N), 10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄, 666 ʇ Least Favorite Tracks: 715 - CR∑∑KS, 21 M◊◊N WATER, 8 (circle), ____45_____

By Gus Bahl Indie darlings Bon Iver venture out from their now-comfortable indie-folk sound in favor of a more experimental direction on their third LP, the electronically-tinged 22, A Million. Glitchy arrangements and vocal manipulations envelop Bon Iver’s familiar hearty, soulful sound, attempting to marry human and machine. What results is an ultimately ethereal and atmospheric experience. That being said, like a beautiful but bland cake, what 22, A Million’s songs make up for in surface-level aesthetics, they blatantly miss in fundamental quality.

22, A Million is ultimately a boring, sleepy, forgetful, unfocused, and underdeveloped foray into unfamiliar territory, with the vast majority of its smongs being consistent only in their utter repetition, blandness, and predictability. Songs are poorly-structured

and directionless, rarely progressing past amateurish and rudimentary beats/vocals that lack sonic diversity and that easily grow tiresome and expectable. The lack of depth additionally contributes to the album’s general quality of feeling and sounding unfinished or not yet fleshed out.

Thus, with its profoundly calculated, cold, and uneventful nature, 22, A Million comes across as a failed attempt at translating the emotion and tenderness of slow, guitarbased folk to a newer electronic-based sound. I would love for it to trigger somber and emotional introspection (as it apparently intends to), but I don’t wish for it to bore me and put me to sleep simultaneously. It acts as a forgettable ambient album, and an even more forgettable artpop/folktronica album.

Underrated: Death Grips - Bottomless Pit

8/10

Favorite Tracks: Giving Bad People Good Ideas, Hot Head, Spikes, Eh, Houdini, Three Bedrooms in a Good Neighborhood Least Favorite Tracks: Warping

By Gus Bahl Following their short-lived “breakup” and the subsequent release of Jenny Death, experimental hip-hop trio Death Grips return to the scene with Bottomless Pit, an album that simultaneously combines and develops a number of the band’s past sonic explorations for one multifaceted, all-encompassing experience.

What Bottomless Pit most expertly does, perhaps, is offer a listening experience equally pleasing to both the befuddled newcomer and the seasoned fan. The album is laden with pop elements reminiscent of the band’s magnum opus The Money Store (i.e. catchy hooks and groovy synthetic elements - see “Spikes”, “Eh”, “Trash”), which easily invite casual listeners in. At the same time, Death Grips refuse to water down their music; they continue to push

the envelope, exploring and experimenting with new sounds, easily pleasing faithful listeners (and brave, intrigued new listeners), such as on the comically absurd “Hot Head”. Furthermore, experimentation and self-awareness have never been as abrasive as on the joyfully loud opening track, “Giving Bad People Good Ideas”, in which MC Ride makes his introductory message clear, proudly asserting his dissent towards onlookers that still refuse to accept Death Grips’ unconventionality: “Those who can’t adjust / Tenfold dismantled pus / Operandi minus modus / My phlegm you to dust”. At its core, Bottomless Pit maintains and perfects themes that have defined the majority of Death Grips’ discography - hard, fast, and abrasive hip-hop with sinister and wicked senses of paranoia and cynicism.

Underrated: Anderson .Paak - Malibu 8/10

Favorite Tracks: Without You, The Season/Carry Me, Silicon Valley, The Dreamer Least Favorite Tracks: Your Prime

By Jackson Wald Anderson .Paak has had a breakout year in 2016. Not only has he released his breakout album Malibu, but he was featured multiple times on Dr. Dre’s Compton and released a joint album with Knxwledge titled Yes Lawd!

On Malibu, .Paak offers a soulful, deeply personal view into his life, with boisterous vocals and a raspy, unique voice. Tracks like “Silicon Valley,” in which .Paak delivers

powerful and impassioned vocals, are not uncommon. However, there are also more heartfelt tracks, such as “The Season/Carry Me,” in which he delivers exceptionally personal lines: for example, “Your mom’s in prison, your father need a new kidney // You family’s splitting, rivalries between siblings.” Lastly, .Paak’s features on this album deliver great verses, such as The Game on “Room in Here,” and Rapsody on “Without You.”

7

February 2017

Inauguration Viewing Incites Controversy

By LILY WEISBERG ’17 On Friday January 20th, the Friends Administration held a screening of the Inauguration. Planning it was no easy task.

The Agenda Committee first entertained the possibility of viewing the Inauguration about eight weeks prior to the election on January 20th. Friends last screened an Inauguration in 2008, and Agenda believed that as a school focused on activism, service, and political engagement, it has a responsibility to keep students aware of the political situation.

Not surprisingly, the election results complicated things. The Committee revisited the idea of screening the Inauguration with the awareness that much of the student body might be uncomfortable watching Donald Trump’s swearing in.

Student anxiety extended beyond partisan disagreement, as many had been personally victimized by the President’s rhetoric.

Yet Agenda decided to move forward, committed to keeping students civically engaged.

Morgan Carmen ’17 and Mateo Zules ’18 drafted a proposal for a mandatory screening of the Inauguration on behalf of Agenda. The proposal suggested that classes be cancelled for the viewing, and given the potentially volatile nature of the inaugural address, that the viewing be followed by group discussions. The proposal stressed that in order to “bring about the world that ought to be,” students must understand the world around them.

The proposal was met with mixed reactions on the part of the faculty. Some were against the viewing not only because of concern over students’ feelings, but also due to a sense of inaugurations as purely ceremonial and unimportant events.

Wendy Wilderotter, who had initially been in favor of the viewing, felt that in light of the rise in hate crimes in response to the election, it would not be advisable to have a school-wide viewing. “It became really clear that this president is incredibly divisive, and for some in this community, this is very painful,” she explained. She also noted that this Inauguration had become more politicized than most, and that watching amid calls for boycotts and protests would be akin to the school “taking some kind of stance.” She expressed this sentiment at the beginning of the following faculty meeting, and the consensus then was that any screening, even an optional one, was a bad idea.

However, the decision was not solely determined by the Upper School faculty— it was also subject to review by the administration. Bo Lauder reached out to the Agenda Committee and reviewed its proposal with the Administrative Committee.

Lauder cited the proposal’s stress on the importance of processing the Inauguration together as a community as the one that convinced him. He said, “​I was very moved by the well-considered letter from Agenda, especially the point about experiencing the Inauguration as a community.” Despite the Upper School faculty’s decision against holding a screening, the Administration decided otherwise. The result was an optional viewing of a recording of the Inauguration during the shared high school and middle school lunch period. Roughly 60 students in the middle and upper school attended, watching only the swearing in and the inaugural address before moving into silence.

The student body seemed pleased with the decision. No one who felt uncomfortable was forced to watch. Agenda, however, still believes that in the coming years, regardless of who the presidentelect is, everyone should watch the Inauguration. As President, this person will be affecting the students’ futures and shaping the world they live in. Furthermore, the youngest high school students are only a few years away from voting eligibility, and it is the school’s responsibility to help prepare those students to be informed citizens. Wilderotter spoke about the Inauguration afterward, agreeing with the Agenda Committee that “you have to have an educated citizenry if you’re going to have a democracy.” She considered how the community’s lack of political engagement in the last few years has led to complacency, allowing us to forget how fragile

Friends Outdoors Club

the things we value about our government and our political system really are.

This particular election has raised more issues that are difficult for the school to handle. How does one talk about a President who threatens the basic rights of many members of our community? There are, and will continue to be, members of the community who support the President.

While many students did not want to participate in the viewing, those on Agenda felt passionately that everyone needed to see the Inauguration in order to understand the climate of the world around them. These students insisted that they did not need to see the Inauguration. What the Agenda Committee and others failed to recognize was that those who were uncomfortable with the idea of watching the Inauguration are already politically aware, because they are forced to be; many students at Friends could not afford the luxury of ignorance during this election, because President Trump’s rhetoric directly attacked them.

The complications surrounding this issue do not end with the Inauguration.

The school needs to navigate talking about President Trump as someone who is both the president and a bully. The Administration has been discussing the evolving role of the school in the Trump Era, specifically, pushing back against a presidential administration that stands in opposition to the many of the school’s core values while maintaining and supporting a diversity of opinion within the community.

This fall, Max Teirstein ’17 and Declan Smith ’17 unveiled the new Friends Outdoors Club. The Outdoors Club strives to inspire its membership and the greater Friends community to spend more time outdoors to promote healthy options for outdoor recreation. With history teacher Stefan Stawnychy as the faculty advisor, students are attracted to the club both for fulfilling hikes as well as gripping conversation, which Stawnychy is sure to provide.

After a bake sale in November, participants in the Outdoors Club were able to get outside and go for a relaxing day hike along the Hudson River. This Spring, the club hopes to continue its success with more hikes, climbing the new climbing wall in the gym, and fun outdoorsy movie viewings.

8

The Economic Implications of Climate Change

By NAHID MAHMUD ’17

At the end of most of Friends students’ emails, a short citation reads, “Please consider Friends Seminary’s commitment to environmental sustainability before printing this email.” This message is one of the many ways Friends is attempting to preserve the environment. This label, stating the school’s mission to dilute the impact we have on the world, serves to remind recipients of the effects of human actions on our climate. But more often than not, people are left to imagine what the impact of our actions on the environment really is, and adopting an economic perspective on climate change is just one way to see the extent of damage climate change can have.

The impact of climate change on the world economy is beneficial in the shortterm and detrimental in the long-term.

Severe weather conditions linked to global warming like recent hurricanes Joaquin and Matthew that flooded much of eastern New York or this year’s unusually high temperatures incite proactive reactions.

These initial economic responses tend to add substantial liquidity, or cash flow, to the global market, especially if the response includes an international linking of global economies due to the sheer amount of money that begins to circulate.

After Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans in 2005, countries like Argentina and Austria offered not only humanitarian aid like bilingual mental health professionals and tools like water pumps but also tens of millions of dollars in aid. Economic responses to natural disasters can thus lead to a higher GDP due to a more stimulated global economy, but these benefits are temporary and limited.

In episodes of harsh weather, the probability of property and infrastructure damage and loss often increase. Businesses face increasing disruptions, costs, and debt as rising sea-levels, droughts, and wildfires become more common and contribute to a growing net loss in productivity for global industries like tourism and trade. For

instance, severe rainfall and snowstorms can delay planting and harvesting and ultimately hurt the agricultural sector of the world economy because of high inflation due to reduced supplies and increased prices. Stronger wind currents could potentially delay air travel and limit international flying, while extreme heat waves could slow down construction and discourage consumers from leaving their homes. The migration of people across regions because of drought, famine, or flooding greatly increases the demand for land, although availability would remain limited. The higher concentration of people in certain areas increases real estate prices as inflation reduces economic diversification.

All of these factors contribute to a decrease in productivity, which translates into slowed-down economics on a global scale.

Even though climate change may seem to increase cash flow in the economy, the long-term repercussions of global warming can have a devastating effect on our global markets. In order to both protect the environment and invest in a stable future for our world economy, we can start implementing new energy conservative practices today. From shortening the amount of time spent in the shower, or carpooling to school, or even sending a letter to the government, small changes to our daily routines can serve to prevent waste, conserve energy, and contribute to a better future.

SEED Works for a Greener Friends Future

By MALI AXINN ’17 AND CARLEY WOOTTON ’18 This year, SEED (Sustainable Environmental Education and Development) has been working on many initiatives to make Friends Seminary more environmentally friendly. We are dedicated to making our community a more sustainable place and combating the effects of climate change. Given the current political climate and the presidency of Donald Trump, SEED has been working especially hard to raise awareness and inform students about the importance of environmental protection.

SEED works within the Friends community to lower our carbon footprint through individual and community efforts. We are working with the Agenda Committee to change the waste habits of Friends Seminary. Our main initiatives are to ban the use of disposable coffee cups in the cafeteria to reduce our daily waste and to find a sustainable, costsensitive alternative to the cups, perhaps

by replacing them with reusable mugs.

Additionally, we are hoping that the school will switch to LED lights, install hand dryers in bathrooms, and have more climate-controlled classrooms with the new renovations.

SEED encourages students to alter their daily habits to create a more sustainable future. As an individual, there are lots of small things you can do that have a large impact on the environment. Little things like printing double sided and turning off the lights when you leave the bathroom will reduce your carbon footprint. Other individual efforts students can make include bringing a reusable water bottle to school, taking public transportation, bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, composting, and simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Every effort counts whether it be at home, in school, or in congress when working to a greener future.

Annual MLK Concert Raises Record Amount

By BELLA REID ’18

This year marked the 27th anniversary of the Friends Benefit Shelter Concert, which both raises money for the Friends Shelter and honors the life and work of activist Martin Luther King Jr. The Friends Shelter is a homeless shelter run by the Fifteenth Street Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Three hundred and sixty five nights a year, the Common Room houses 14 homeless individuals, providing a meal and a bed to each person. The shelter is entirely volunteer-run, and all donations go towards paying for supplies that cannot be provided by the Meetinghouse or school, such as meals on holidays and weekends. This year, the MLK concert raised a record of

about $5,000, all of which will help to keep the shelter running.

Founded by our very own Bob Rosen in 1994, The Meetinghouse Jazz Orchestra is a large ensemble that performs both the works of celebrated jazz composers and arrangers and keeps the tradition of live jazz music alive and well. Every year, Friends also continues its tradition of having students open for the meetinghouse band.

This year, students from the Friends jazz band titled “Little Big Horn” performed two songs, the second of which featured Curtis Edwards ’19 on vocals.

The Meetinghouse Jazz Orchestra then went on to play a full two hours of music, including original songs by both Todd Anderson and the conductor of the band, Erica Seguine. The band also featured Jason Craige Harris twice throughout the evening, performing an excerpt from MLK’s “Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break Silence,” and a spoken word piece woven into one of the conductors compositions. The night concluded with a moving performance of “We Shall Overcome,” featuring John Martin Greene on vocals, providing hope for what the future may hold.

9

February 2017

Tech Review: iPhone 7 and Google Pixel Comparison

Experiential Education at Friends

By BEN WERTHEIM ’19 and NATE WEISBERG ’19

By MAXWELL KHADEM ’20

In the past few months, technology has been changing very quickly. Apple has been making radical changes to all of their products, the most notable being the new iPhone 7.

As was the case with all of the iPhones in the past years, the iPhone 7 was one of the most anticipated pieces of technology in 2016. Despite the hype, the things the new phone would bring to the table were for the most part understood: a slightly better camera, a somewhat better processor that would be dubbed “next-generation tech,” the same screen, and a slightly thinner body.

Overall, it would be almost identical to past models, except more expensive. However, when the iPhone 7 debuted in September of this year, nobody expected Apple to drop the 3.5mm headphone jack from the phone.

Within days of the reveal, over three hundred thousand people had signed a petition saying they wanted Apple to bring back the jack, but Apple refused to listen and kept the jack-less phones.

It turns out that the reason why Apple dropped the 3.5mm jack is simple, yet selfish: Apple had only recently achieved full ownership rights over their Lightning port, meaning that they were now able to charge royalty to whomever made something utilizing a Lighting device. The elimination of the audio jack forced consumers who bought the new phone to use accessories that utilize a Lightning plug which meant that if thirdparty manufactures wanted to keep their revenues from iPhone users (quite a lot of people), they would have to pay a royalty to Apple for every device they make that has a Lightning device. Every single accessory.

Disgusting, right?

Though the reasoning behind the drop is selfish, there are a few benefits that come with the change. Lightning plug accessories work better than those that use a headphone jack, especially for headphones. Plus, audio jacks can’t input or output power, both of which are something the the Lightning port

Continued on page 10

Math, science, history, and English courses need no explanation; mention these traditional subjects to parents or friends at other schools, and the subject matter speaks for itself. There is, however, one mandatory class at Friends Seminary that elicits a confused reaction.

Friends students in the tenth grade are required to take a one-semester Experiential Education (Ex-Ed) course.

While most students put emphasis on the outdoor experience, the in-class learning is critical to the engagement as well. That is, the class is not simply the excursion, it is the education that comes with it. In the classroom, students watch documentaries about rigorous journeys to Antarctica and perilous adventures on rough rivers to teach them about good expedition behavior.

They are able to engage in team-building activities as well, such as scavenger hunts and puzzles. The course meets two times per cycle, even after the trip has been completed.

Jack Phelan, one of the co-leaders of Ex Ed shares, “I started at Friends Seminary in 1989 [10 years after the Ex-Ed department was founded]. During my early years at Friends, 10th graders took Ex Ed for one semester, like now, and participated on two trips during the semester—a rockclimbing/ service trip and a cold weather backpacking trip… Currently, students can choose from several outdoor pursuits: sea kayaking, backpacking, and telemark skiing.”

Above all, Phelan highlights the positive aspects of the trip. The physical activity in the outdoors offers a brief break from urban life and the classroom environment.

The trip itself promotes bonding among students and a shared experience outside of the classroom.

This Fall, 13 Sophomores travelled to Staatsburg, New York, for an overnight

kayaking trip. The weather was fairly cold throughout (the highest temperature reached was 59°F), but they had clear skies the entire time. The Hudson was serene, providing a nice getaway from the turbulence of New York City. The actual kayaking was not especially intense and provided views of bald eagles and paddling adventures down Black Creek.

The other kayaking trip, which took place from October 20th through 22nd, had slightly different conditions. It rained for one of the days, and it was very humid throughout the trip. The students on the trip still made the most of it, however. “I didn’t like the weather, but I really liked the company of people I don’t usually hang out with and the late-night adventures,” says Theo Pappas ’19, who was on the trip.

Luca Matts ’19, who was also on the trip, says, “The highlight was coming together as a community and having to share a tent with another classmate.” With a laugh, he adds, “I thought it was fun, even though I

didn’t like not being able to shower.”

This January, eight Sophomores headed upstate to Highmount, NY, for a telemark ski trip at Belleayre Mountain.

They departed on a Sunday morning, and quickly understood the climate difference once they reached Belleayre. The overnight low temperature while they were camping was 1ºF. Denis Seidaliev ‘19, who was on the trip, says, “The weather was brutal.

We slept in tents with all of our coats, hats, scarves, gloves on. Although the cold made it hard to sleep, it also brought us closer together and made it feel like we were all in something together.” When asked to describe his experience with telemark skiing, Daniel Vebman ‘19, says, “It is quite similar to typical alpine skiing, it just allows for more movement in the knees.

Honestly I could not tell the difference.

The mountain was perfect, the skiing was awesome.” The common consensus about the trip was that everyone had a great time skiing, and became much closer with the others on the trip. Ex-Ed trips are all bonding experiences that benefit all of the people involved.

“I’m taking Ex-Ed” will always be baffling to people unfamiliar with the Friends Seminary curriculum. Within the Senior, Junior, and Sophomore communities, however, this unique course triggers memories of bonding, and represents a mid-semester hiatus from classroom learning. It serves as yet another reminder of the singularity of a Friends education.

“Outside the classroom learning is so important because students can interact and support each other in the outdoors. The outdoor environment challenges students and requires them to reach beyond their comfort zones and realize they can do more than they might have thought,” Phelan says.

10 Continued from “Tech Review” can do. A headphone jack can’t transfer data either, another of the Lightning’s abilities.

Other than the loss of the jack, the new phone received some neat much-needed upgrades. The regular iPhone 7 did get a camera upgrade, but the iPhone 7 Plus was endowed with something customers had been asking for a long time: optical zoom, which replaced Apple’s old digital zoom.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the difference between digital zoom and optical zoom, optical zoom uses the lenses of the camera to zoom, resulting in a much clearer picture; while digital zoom only crops the picture which makes the image ‘zoom’ in. (That’s why pictures turn grainy when you zoom in on an phone). Another much-needed upgrade that customers had been asking for since, seemingly, the dawn of time, is water resistance. Both the iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus were given very strong protection against water. They received an IP67 water and dust rating (a very impressive feat for any company) which, in short, means that the new phones are so resistant to water that they can be submerged water up to one meter in depth for up to thirty minutes. You can even take it into the shower, though I

wouldn’t recommend it since steam can sometimes evade the phone’s water protection.

Aside from these two, the basic upgrades included stereo speakers, new color finishes called Black and Jet Black that replaced the old Space Gray and Silver, a new home button that really isn’t a button, but a piece of glass that makes the phone vibrate when you ‘press’ it. It was made this way to further the iPhone’s resistance to water. Though Apple claims that you can customize how the button responds to your touch, the only thing the user can change is how strong the vibration is, and not how the phone actually reacts.

So, how did the Pixel compare to this?

When Google first announced the Pixel in the summer, most tech reviews thought that it was going to be a flop, since previous Google-made phones such as the Nexus line had all been on the border of terrible. They were slow, they weren’t made well, and they simply didn’t work. In the case of the Pixel, however, things changed. Google had employed HTC to build the phone, and the Google part of the phone was their software.

This was a much better setup for the phone, since Google’s software-making capabilities outdo their hardware-making capabilities by

quite a bit, and HTC is known for making solidly-built phones.

The build proved to be a success, with the phone debuting with Android 7.1 Nougat, the best Android operating system yet, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.6GHz processor. Even though it isn’t as fast as the iPhone’s processor, it’s one of the fastest processors made for a phone, with truly stunning graphics; after all, 1.6GHz is the same speed as the processor in the MacBook Air. The Pixel also has a much more sophisticated camera than the iPhone, as well as a bigger battery, a better screen, and double the RAM memory capacity of the iPhone (which is what makes the Pixel capable of handling a very large load). It also featured compatibility with Virtual Reality goggles (VR goggles) and *ahem*, a headphone jack.

One of the biggest advertisements Google made with the Pixel was the ability to charge seven hours of battery life in fifteen minutes through the USB-C port.

As many of us know, most Androids don’t last more than a day on normal use without charging, and their batteries begin to fail very quickly. However, it is a new day with Google and the Android platform and the

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batteries have improved—you certainly can get seven hours of charge through fifteen minutes of charging the phone. It’s been nearly three months of Pixel’s release and I haven’t heard any critical problems come up from the battery.

With all these things in mind, I would choose the Pixel over the iPhone. Its performance capabilities are amazing, the battery performs nicely, and cheap yet reliable network is available from Google (Google created a network specifically for Pixel users that costs much less than networks such as Verizon but have the same capability). Furthermore, the AMOLED screen is fantastic, delivering “true colors” and “true blacks”— the actual black color instead of an uber dark grey. Although the iPhone competes with the Pixel in many aspects, Apple has had a long reputation of not meeting needs when it comes to serving the customers, and Google Pixel has clearly shown that it meets expectations and goes beyond. It defies the iPhone’s performance capabilities, and it really serves its user well. At the same price as the iPhone ($649), it’s just another reason to go with what is really an outstanding and impressive piece of machinery that, in truth, beats the iPhone.

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February 2017

Tobago to Treble: A Look Back at the Boys’ Varsity Soccer Season

By MARTIN WILKINSON ’19 New York State Champions 2016. Those are the words written on the Boys Varsity Soccer Team’s championship banner following a historic season for the school. Not only did the team defend its ACIS league and playoff titles for the third consecutive year, but the boys also earned the #1 seed in the NYSAIS bracket and advanced to the finals for the first time ever, bringing home a 2-0 victory over Long Island Lutheran.

This journey, starting with the rigorous pre-season training at Oakwood Friends and the bonding experience in Tobago, ultimately ended when the boys won the Treble (league, conference playoffs, state tournament) for the first time in Friends Seminary history.

The boys had envisioned bringing home the Treble since day one of soccer camp.

There, the team worked hard to get in season form to take on the demanding tasks of 90 minutes of running and muscling out big opponents. On the trip to Tobago, the team gained cohesion and developed team chemistry in three friendly scrimmage matches.

Coming off impressive performances in Tobago, the sky seemed to be the limit for where this team could go.

However, a September 12 debut 8-1 blowout win against York Prep was spoiled after MRI’s showed that star Senior and Division I Georgetown soccer commit, Rio Hope-Gund, had torn two ligaments in his ankle. Although this seemed to be a major set back, the boys kept their heads high and fired onto a thrilling 2-1 win against the highly-skilled Masters team. That Saturday, September 17, an injury-riddled squad set out to face Long Island Lutheran in an away game that resulted in an uncharacteristic 3-1 loss. Disappointed with this loss, the players quickly bounced back, characterized by a dominant 5-1 win versus school rival Packer and Rio Hope-Gund’s return on October 5 in a 4-0 commanding victory against Berkeley Carroll.

After clinching the ACIS league title for the fourth consecutive year in a 3-0 win against Brooklyn Friends on October 17, the team began to prepare for the conference semi-final match just eight days later.

With goalkeeper Kofi Hope-Gund ’17 out with a head injury, secondary goalkeeper Sam Jacovitz ’18 stepped into the position and kept his composure as he made some key saves throughout the game. However, Friends came more than prepared to play as the boys defeated fourth-place Berkeley Carroll 7-0 in a match that seemed onesided from the moment the referee blew the whistle.

Friends Seminary was set to face Packer in the ACIS finals October 27, but fortune was not on their side. The bus driving the team broke down, and the boys were forced to split up into different carpools, departing an hour later than planned. As a result, the team had limited warm-up time on a chilly afternoon for a Finals match with rainy and windy conditions. Although Packer oneupped Rio Hope-Gund’s left-footed goal at the end of the first half to give themselves a 2-1 lead over Friends, Senior midfielder Will Cohen pulled off a low, well-placed strike into the bottom left corner from the top of the box to send the game into extra time, much to the excitement of the crowd.

Still level at the end of extra time, the match went into penalties. Goalkeeper Kofi HopeGund, unafraid of the big moment, was heroic as he made two stellar saves to pull out a 3-2 victory over Packer in penalties and reclaim the ACIS conference playoffs title for the third consecutive year. The night was especially meaningful for head coach Warren Salandy, as this victory marked his 200th win with the Friends Seminary program.

The boys were not done just yet, however, as the next day the mindset had already shifted to capturing the Treble, the primary objective of the season. Due to consistently great performances, Friends was named #1 seed in the NYSAIS tournament for the first time in school history. The team did not pay much attention to this, knowing that other schools would come hungry to knock off the #1 seed.

Quarter-finals arrive, and the Friends team went to Aviator Field to face 8-seed Hackley, the school that had defeated Friends the prior year. With the team trailing 2-0 in the second half, coach Warren Salandy made a tactical switch to send captain and center-back Lucas Pryor ’17 up top, who got on the score sheet soon after. However, a foul in the box midway in the second half gave Hackley a great opportunity to go up 3-1, leaving the team very worried. All were concerned except for Kofi Hope-Gund, that is, who picked the correct side to make another spectacular save and keep Friends Seminary in the game. That save turned the game around, as it ignited an already-determined Friends squad to out-play Hackley and create a second opportunity for Pryor, who scored again to even up the game. Then, late in the second-half Rio Hope-Gund made a welltimed run to receive a magnificent through ball, on which he easily capitalized by placing the ball in the corner with ease. 3-2. On

to the semi-finals.

On November 4, Wendy called for an early dismissal of the upper school so students could come support the team in its NYSAIS semi-final match versus Collegiate. With a turnout of close to 100 people, the Friends team found itself having to dig out of another deficit as they trailed 1-0 in the second half. A career defensive performance from center-back Jayson Pitagorsky ’17 kept the team in the game while the electric play of Eli Eshaghpour ’17, created opportunities from the wing to score. However, Rio Hope-Gund’s two last-minute goals carried the team to a 2-1 victory and the first NYSAIS finals ever.

The finals were against Long Island Lutheran on Sunday, November 6 at 5:30.

Rio Hope-Gund once again got on the score sheet after receiving the ball following a defensive blunder and calmly using the inside of his foot to place the ball in the back of the net. Then, good combination play in the midfield led to a pass to set up Pryor for the second goal of the match. In one of the greatest team performances of the season, the Friends Seminary Boys were able to

avenge the previous defeat to Long Island Lutheran, and capture the first NYSAIS title for soccer in Friends Seminary history. Finally, Friends Seminary soccer had completed the greatest accomplishment possible: New York State champions. The goal set at the beginning of soccer camp, despite its seemingly impossible nature, was completed, and the boys fulfilled their expectations in historic fashion.

This season campaign has been remarkable for Friends, as it showed that the small school on 16th Street and Rutherford Place, with no soccer field and only about 70 students per grade, could become New York State soccer champions against hundreds of better-equipped schools. The Friends Seminary Boys’ Varsity Team’s success reflected that quantity is not correlated with quality, for although the Friends team’s resources were limited, the team’s play was sensational throughout the entire season. This championship team will never be forgotten, and no other team in New York was more deserving of the State Champions title.

12

Changing For The Better? Perspectives On The Renovations

By BEN LANZI ’19 awnd SAMUEL JACOVITZ ’18 Since last spring break, Friends has been undergoing serious renovations, resulting in a shortening of final exams and an early release for summer. Teachers and students continue to consider the long-term results of these renovations.

To publicize their varying opinions, The Insight spoke with both members of the faculty and student body. Physics teacher John Garnevicus and Math teacher Jennifer Melaragno shared their personal perspectives with The Insight below.

The Insight: What are your feelings towards the progress made regarding the renovations as of now?

John Garnevicus: I appreciate that there’s been a ton of both hard work and intentionality put in by the people working on it. There’s just a crazy number of hours that adults, students, and everybody in the community has put in, and I think that there are some specific people who have just such a giant percentage of their job which has been put into trying to make this work.

The Insight: What do you hope the renovations will bring to the school?

What are you most looking forward to?

Garnevicus: I think that there’s a chance for the student ownership and taking care of these spaces to kick up. I think that sometimes people wonder “Does this say something bad about our school that we’re putting so much time and money into a renovation project?” I think the opposite can be true: I think, sometimes, as a student body and as a group, we don’t always take the right kind of care in our spaces. We don’t clean up after ourselves in the library or cafeteria. We allow work that is considered to be “somebody else’s job” to become somebody else’s job. The real benefit would come if everybody looks at that new space, takes ownership of it, and says “It’s my job to keep this together and keep this looking good.” I think that there’s a potential for us to be less entitled, rather than more entitled, if we can all jump in and do the everyday work of taking care of our space and ourselves.

The Insight: How have the ongoing renovations on the school affected you so far?

Jennifer Melaragno: So for my annex classes, I really haven’t noticed a difference, which is nice, but I do teach two classes in the other building. I have a

seventh grade class in Room 407 and it’s right by one of the walkways where all the construction workers go on their way to get up to the roof, so it’s really noisy.

Sometimes we’ll be taking a test and the construction workers will be talking to each other, as they would be, or dropping bricks from the ceiling, so it can kind of be a distraction.

The Insight: What do you hope the renovations will bring to the school?

What are you most looking forward to?

Melaragno: Having more classrooms will be so great because teachers won’t have to move between so many different rooms. I’m in three different classrooms right now and other math teachers are in two or three different classrooms so you’re always lugging things back and forth. I think that’s one reason the classrooms don’t get decorated as much—because all the teachers are moving between them so often. So all that stuff, once we have more classrooms, will be alleviated, and I think what we’re doing in terms of having a students’ center, a better performing arts option, and things like that will be so much better for the students. Right now, students want to go off campus for everything, but once there’s a student center for more than just the Seniors, I think there will be more of a community feel rather than everyone is either in a class or off campus at Starbucks.

To gain a student perspective in the Friends Seminary community regarding the ongoing renovations, The Insight interviewed Messiah-Malachi Mccall ’18.

Insight: What is one change that the ongoing renovations will offer that you think could really benefit the school in the long run?

Messiah Malachi: I liked the loft that [Bo] was talking about. He said that it was going to give us more space to hangout. He also said that there will be another entrance for the upper school kids, I don’t know if we’re going to see that, but that sounds pretty cool for the people who are going to be able to have it.

Insight: How have the school renovations affected your school life?

Malachi: Bo came into the courtyard one day and told me that they were going to have to cut the courtyard in half, and

I said “Really?” And he said “yeah.” So now it’s really hard to play basketball because we only have half the court. It’s hard to believe it used to be double the size at one point. Also, because we’re adding another floor, I feel bad for those people who need to stand there all time to guard that door; That seems like a really tough job. I think in the long run the whole renovations will definitely be worth it though.

Despite the minor inconveniences brought about by these renovations, members of the student body and faculty at Friends appear to be pleased with the progress made so far on the renovations and are eager to see the changes made to the school.

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February 2017

Where to Eat: A Culinary Adventure Reviews and Photos By ALEXANDER WEREMCHUK ’20 Between Second and Third Avenues, many restaurants provide a wide variety of food options, from Mediterranean cuisine to pancakes. However, students tend to go to the same few spots for lunch; the Nugget Spot and Joe’s pizza are a couple of these popular lunch options. In order to diversify the Friends student diet, I decided to seek out a few places that weren’t first choices for many students .

GRAMERCY BAGELS

Gramercy Bagel, located on 20th and 3rd, offers soups, sandwiches, and bagels.

The bagel tasted good, with a near-surplus amount of cream cheese, which was complemented by the bagels that were doughy on the inside but had a nice crust on the outside. Additionally, I would highly recommend their lox and cream cheese bagels. Gramercy Bagels also offers soup, other sandwiches like paninis, and free wifi.

PINK BEAR Pink Bear, an ice cream shop, is on 14th street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, along the string of stores on that block.

While at first I was willing to write it off as just a regular ice cream shop, I found their selection to be more exciting than I had anticipated. Of the three $5 specials available, I purchased “Snickers,” which contained nuts, caramel, and chocolate, along with vanilla ice cream.

Their method of preparation, involving pouring cream over a chilled square of metal, results in a delicious final product. Overall, thought, the ice cream appeared more as a novelty than a tasty treat. While it was good, it did not trump classic ice cream styles that I am more accustomed to (i.e. sugar cone with scoops, or soft serve).

CITY GOURMET CAFE

BLUE 9 BURGER

The City Gourmet Café is possibly one of the more inconspicuous places along the string of establishments on 14th Street that sit between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. The Café functions as a deli, cafe, and pastry shop. Although you might not expect table service from somewhere that labels itself as a cafe, City Gourmet brings your meal to your table (the utensils and plates, etc. are all plastic). I ordered a brunch item, consisting of 3 pancakes, some hashbrowns, and eggs. The meal came in around $8, and tasted good. Compared to Joe Junior’s, City Gourmet Café offers diner-like food for a slightly lower price.

Blue 9 Burger on the corner of 12th and 3rd was my fourth stop, and it was definitely one of the biggest surprises for me. It has some of the least well-kept facilities of the places I’ve visited, and has a weird atmosphere that almost seems suspicious.

For $6 you can purchase a double cheeseburger with their specialized sauce. Like the restaurant, the appearance of the burger is not becoming. It has messy sauce, lettuce that lacks color saturation, a square of cheese, and a patty squished between two buns. However, the taste is superb. Although the atmosphere is unpleasant, Blue 9 is definitely somewhere I will be returning.

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Letters to the Editors Share your thoughts on issues that concern you or respond to the thoughts put forth by your peers!

Contact us at: insight@friendsseminary.org

Empower by Example Dear Editors, Our community places great emphasis on regarding the self and others equally. We aim to establish an outlet for communication through which an individual has the power to express opinions with the knowledge that they will be respected and heard.

Empowerment can be motivational and liberating, yet one’s self-empowerment has the potential to disempower others creating inequality, whereby one person’s power comes at another’s expense. Though empowerment can uplift the marginalized, empowerment and equality are not always mutually inclusive. How can we find a balance between individual empowerment and the cohesion and integrity of our community?

It begins with a new perspective. When people feel threatened by empowerment, they often disparage those seeking to improve their situation. As Jason Craige Harris, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, stresses, the solution to this response is empathy and an open mind. He shares, “We [don’t] need to agree with every strategy of

empowerment, but I do think we have a moral obligation to try to contextualize and understand it.”

If we understand that each individual has a right to be equally valued in society, can shifting our understanding of empowerment strategies alleviate the loss experienced by those already in power? Instead of denying power to our potential equals, we have the responsibility to be inclusive and share the power. Is it possible, as Craige Harris proposes, to “feel empowered by stepping back [so] that others can empower themselves by stepping forward?”

I urge you to join this discussion. Are there circumstances in which you have felt disempowered by the empowerment of others? Even with the knowledge that equality is our shared goal, has there ever been a time that you have felt that your own equal status was at risk? Please share your stories with the community so that we all may be aware and transform our perception of empowerment together.

Sincerely, Cordelia Foster ’20

In Wake of Election, a Glimmer of Positivity Dear Editors, Throughout history, protests have always broken out in response to unfavourable events. In following with this legacy, the wake of the controversial 2016 election brought a myriad of demonstrations all over the city.

For example, the left side of the 7th Avenue tunnel that connects the 6th Avenue and 14th Street subway stations is decorated by a huge wall of post-it notes. In normal circumstances, the tunnel is very dull and characterless.

The walls are tiled with square, white mosaics, and one side is decorated with various billboards. The tunnel is regularly filled with commuters running to and from school or work, making it rather stressful to walk through. However, the protests have given the tunnel a new energy.

The notes reflect a diversity of messages. Some cry for a call to arms such as “ONLY ONE SOLUTION! REVOLUTION!” and “REVOLT NOW!”. Some, however, contain less volatile messages

including “Love Trumps Hate!” and “Love always wins.” Many are a response to sexism, racism, and homophobia, all qualities President Donald Trump has espoused during his campaign. There are also some pro-Trump notes, despite the overwhelmingly liberal slant to downtown New York.

Everyone, regardless of political alignment, seems to have something to say about the 2016 election. The wall is a good place for everyone, regardless of their views, to express their feelings, frustrations, or thoughts. Not only is it inclusive to all, but it was also completely peaceful. Furthermore, the notes add color to the usual dreariness of the tunnel and many people take time out of their day to look at each note. While the election and subsequent events may have been ugly, this protest shows that some beauty and unification can come out of even the darkest times.

Sincerely, Ned Felsenthal ’18

Pollution Here and in LA: What is Being Done and What We Can Do Dear Editors, On a hot, humid day in New York City or LA, sometimes there is nothing better than taking a big deep breath of fresh air— or rather, a big deep breath of a mixture of sulfur oxides, carbon dioxide, particulate debris, and even lead.

Last issue, I applied the global problem of air pollution to New York City and Beijing, but what does pollution in other major cities look like? LA and NYC are among the most polluted cities in the United States. These cities are so highly polluted because they are both highly populated, and their population densities cause an increase in the combined amount of energy used. This exhaustive usage of nonrenewable resources like oil and natural gas causes higher ozone levels, and thus higher global temperatures and smog.

Smog, a combination of fog with smoke or other atmospheric pollutants, is a significant issue for major cities. However, in LA, the problem was certainly worse in the 1950’s and 60’s, when the situation in California was comparable to the current smog problem in Beijing. So how did the people of Los Angeles and the EPA work together to clean up their air? Air clearing in places like LA is especially difficult because the surrounding mountains naturally trap the dirty air. According to Mary Nichols, chairwoman of California’s Air Resources board, the effectiveness in cleaning the air stemmed from a 1975 requirement for all cars to have catalytic converters. These converters transformed extremely toxic pollutants into less harmful

ones. After 1975, the air began to clear and the situation improved.

However, the catalytic converters weren’t a long-term solution because the population increased, which only made the pollution and the cleanliness of the air in LA worsen over time. What is being done to correct the situation again, now that it has worsened since 1975? There isn’t a specific solution already decided upon. In 1975, it wasn’t the people’s behavior that changed the situation, it was the innovations in technology—the installment of catalytic converters.

People are largely unaware of air pollution’s effects on our planet, which is why, according to many environmentalists, the true solution will come with technological innovation, not changes in widespread behavior.

Behavior like recycling paper and plastic, the environmental initiatives of local businesses, and even restaurants’ getting their food from local farms aren’t sufficient solutions to the problem of air pollution because, unfortunately, these actions aren’t widespread. Significant changes will only occur if masses of people decide to make changes in wasteful behavior.

Here at Friends Seminary, our community is large enough to make an impact. We can help raise awareness about environmental problems through assemblies and discussions in advisory. It is the responsibility of the students to take initiative to protect our planet.

Sincerely, Daphne Darwish ’19

15

February 2017

Three TV Shows to Binge Watch this Year

By DENIS SEIDALIEV ’19 AND LUCAS GAFFNEY ’19 Spring break is right around the corner, and you know what that means: time to binge watch some Netflix! In this article we talk about three very popular shows and students’ opinions about them.

Stranger Things (2016)

(one season, available on Netflix)

Cipher

By RACHEL HODES ’17

Just like every show, there is always going to be a character that is not well-received, and for Lieber that is Barb. He explained why he is not fond of her: “She is a drag and not a very complicated character.” Finally, we asked Lieber to whom he would recommend Stranger Things. “I think if you enjoy shows like The Walking Dead, you’d probably love Stranger Things.”

To find out who would be interested in the show, we asked him what kind of TV watcher would be interested in The Walking Dead. He told us, “If you like Stranger Things or Game of Thrones, I would recommend The Walking Dead.”

This is a basic substitution cipher,

the plain text. Those who solve

The Walking Dead

Narcos (2015)

(2010)

(seasons one–two available on Netflix)

(seasons one-six available on Netflix)

where letters of the cipher text are substituted for specific letters in it can send either the solution or the deciphered text to insight@ friendsseminary.org.

Hint: Sequences of three nucleotides form codons, a unit of genetic code in DNA and RNA. Similarly, three numbers represent one letter.

In the small, 1980s town of Hawkins, Indiana, 12-year-old Will Byers goes missing. Stranger Things focuses on Will’s mother Joyce, his friends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, and Mike’s sister Nancy. Will’s mother, Joyce, with the assistance of the townspeople, desperately tries to find clues to the whereabouts of her son. Meanwhile, his best friends, Mike, Dustin, & Lucas befriend a mysterious girl in the woods named Eleven who believes that she can find Will and bring him home. While Joyce and the boys look for Will, Nancy starts dating Steve Harrington and has to deal with a separate disappearance.

As the search continues, they realize that their situation is not just a normal missing persons case.

Interview: Henry Lieber ’19 In interviewing Henry Lieber ’19, we got inside the head of someone who has watched the show. We asked why he loves the show, and Lieber explained, “Stranger Things takes me into a different world when I’m watching.

In only 8 episodes, it manages to tell such a great story.”

Lieber expanded on his favorite character in the series: “Dustin, he is the comic relief of the show, and he is a major part of it too.

There are some characters in the show that do not really accomplish anything, but he is not one of them.”

The Walking Dead takes place at the dawn of a zombie apocalypse in the United States.

It is centered around the journey of Rick Grimes, the sheriff of a small town in Georgia who is put into a coma after being hit by a stray bullet. He wakes up much later, and the world as he knows it is gone– his friends and family are nowhere to be found. He travels to Atlanta, Georgia and finds his wife and son along with a diverse group of survivors.

He quickly becomes the leader of the group, doing anything in his power to find them a safe haven.

Interview: Felix Schlöndorff ‘19 When interviewing Felix Schlöndorff ’19, he discussed why the show has become so popular. Schlöndorff enjoys the show because “It shows an interesting viewpoint on humans and what they become when they are stripped of everything they have except their will to survive.”

There are many characters in The Walking Dead, and picking the good from the bad is tough. When we discussed this with Schlöndorff, he said, “I’d have to say Rick Grimes is my favorite character. He is good a leader and basically the only reason why everyone else is alive. He does whatever it takes to keep his people alive. He does what no one else will because he is a natural hero.

My least favorite character is Dale Horvath.

He doesn’t really contribute anything in the show. He owned an RV which was sort of helpful, but he was always negative on the rest of the group. He just brought everyone down. In episodes he didn’t appear in, the show was better.”

Set in the late 1970s, Narcos chronicles the rise, reign, and fall of the notorious Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar.

Escobar’s illegal distribution of cocaine from Colombia to the United States causes the DEA to send American agent Steve Murphy to Colombia on a mission to help the local law enforcement capture Escobar.

However, Murphy doesn’t realize the extent of Escobar’s power .

Interview: Nate Weisberg ’19 In an interview with Nate Weisberg ’19, we asked him about why the show has been getting so much attention. Weisberg told us that, “It’s because it has a good balance between drama, action, and comedy and keeps you intrigued throughout a 60 minute episode.”

When discussing the characters in the show he explained “My favorite character is Pablo Escobar because he portrays the role of a fierce and ruthless criminal, yet he has a soft spot when it comes to his family.

My least favorite is probably The President of Colombia because he has other people make decisions for him. He may have good intentions, but I still root for Pablo.” We finally asked him who would be interested in watching Narcos, to which he replied, “Anyone who liked Breaking Bad and is interested in watching a good show.”

“912543 654923 567812321567245912567543345567 567689912765 912356 543432467 123 345578765467578245123765 321891567543432654567543432543 - 912467’356 123 891578654123543 432543567.”

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Congrats to Chris Doire for being the first to solve the previous cipher!

The first three to email us with the solution will have their names printed in the next edition. Good luck!

16

Backpage

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

By LILY WEISBERG ’17 and CAMILO DURR ’18 1

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5 2 4 6 1 7

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4 7 9 2 5

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ACROSS

DOWN

4. Eva’s domain

1. Jennifer, informally

6. Telescope, not teacher

2. SEED, e.g.

8. Friends not friends with

3. Bob ____

9. Hank, formally

5. He’s the chosen, you won’t find him dozin’, his name is...

10. “Dum Dums,” sayer 12. A42, for example 13. Beans

2016 & 2017

Writers Chief Editors

Alex Weremchuk ’20

Jackson Wald ’18

Amnon Scharia ’20

James Burge ’20

Ben Lanzi ’19

Lily Weisberg ’17

Ben Wertheim ’19

Martin Wilkinson ’19

9. Chris Doire’s favorite music genre

Camilo Durr ’18

Max Khadem ’20

11. Check if Quakerly with ____

Coco Gruson ’20

Nahid Mahmud ’17

Cordelia Foster ’20

Nate Weisberg ’19

Tessa DeFranco ’17

Daphne Darwish ’19

Olivia Alcabes ’17

Zara Schreiber ’17

Denis Seidaliev ’19

Rachel Hodes ’17

Gus Bahl ’19

Tessa DeFranco ’17

7. Dash in other context

Max Teirstein ’17 Zara Schreiber ’17

Designers Maeve Woollen ’18 Max Nitke ’18 Morgan Rosenkranz ’17

Advisors John Galayda Deanna Yurchuk