December 2015 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

Evergreen the

december 16, 2015

Everything Greenhill

volume 51, issue 3

Penetrating the Bubble An investigation of how political correctness affects communication at Greenhill A

t the beginning of the school year, two students that will remain anonymous to protect their identities, had a falling out.

They were sitting in a classroom during a free period, chatting among their separate groups of friends. The two students have known each other for 12 years and were best friends for several of them.

John, as we’ll call him throughout the story, started talking to a friend and jumping topics. Randomly, the idea of having a daughter came up. “I was saying to the other guy, you have a daughter, would you prefer her to be a lesbian then […] the idea of my daughter getting penetrated like sexually. To me penetration is like a power thing. Do I want another guy to do that with my daughter? Eh, no not really, but if she’s a lesbian you don’t really have that fear,” John said.

Jane, as we will call her throughout the story, was within earshot of the conversation and felt that the comment was sexist.

Any woman, even John’s future daughter, should be allowed to have sex with whomever she chooses, Jane said. His comments made her “pissed and frustrated”.

So she confronted him and told him as much. She raised her voice, and, in the heat of the moment, called him a sexist.

According to administrators, at Greenhill calling someone sexist is a fighting word.

The conversation quickly escalated. John, who hadn’t purposely meant anything sexist by his comments, then took offense to Jane’s attack. He tried to explain himself, he said. Jane felt like he was “shutting her down”, she said. “He was still trying to correct me and tell me why I was wrong.”

John disagreed. He felt like she continued with an attack. “It was just really accusatory, really nasty stuff.

[Jane] took one thing that I was saying and […] then made all these assumptions. She got really bitter and angry and started accusing me of other things,” said John.

This type of argument is happening all the time – and not just at Greenhill. At high schools and colleges across the United States, students and teachers clash over the fine line between respectful speech and free speech.

Diversity enriches education, but stifling conversation in an effort to respect this diversity can also endanger the academic progress, experts say.

Unlike many schools that have shied away from debating the difference between free and offensive speech, Greenhill administrators have confronted this conversation by speaking at all school assemblies and in classes, trying to encourage students to air their differences.

Nevertheless, administrators say that students are still learning how to communicate. This learning process is bound to be fraught with struggles.

The trouble is the students naturally disagree about topics.

Instead of talking through them, it often turns into “a debate,” says Director of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Karen Bradberry. “The difference between dialogue and debate is that debate has a winner.

There’s a right and wrong, whereas a dialogue is the opposite. With dialogue, everyone is a winner. We all walk away knowing things that we didn’t know previously.”

As a result, students do not feel safe expressing their views and they overcompensate by not talking or censoring speech. Dr.

Bradberry, believes that institutionalizing “political correctness” can cause an environment where people become hesitant to speak their mind in fear of offending someone.

“I think political correctness at Greenhill, a better term for it would be a culture of niceness or perceived safety,” she said.

Last year, in an attempt to combat this perceived culture of “niceness”, Greenhill ran a special series that encouraged students to openly speak about microaggressions. This campaign even received local media attention.

The goal, according to Dr. Bradberry and Laura Ross, Head of Upper School, was to teach Greenhill students to respectfully disagree with each other and at the same time be aware of the consequences to what they say.

“I think it’s hard to voice an opinion that’s thoughtful because it’s hard to get it out there thoughtfully,” Mrs. Ross said.

Mrs. Ross said Greenhill is unique, because although it might have been challenging to have such conversations, some other schools aren’t even allowed to talk about each other’s differences the way that Greenhill does, she says.

“I don’t want to be a school that’s afraid to talk about hard issues,” she said.

Nevertheless, Greenhill can

strive to be b e t t e r, s a i d s ophomore Sloan Touchet. “ I ’ m uncomfortable with the fact that Greenhill as a community is content with being better than other schools. We should be striving to be the best Greenhill we can be, and I don’t think this is the best we can be.”

Senior, President of Students Advocating Informed Decisions (SAID) club Meha Elhence said she feels that political correctness has some benefits.

“I think at Greenhill, people are really afraid of the idea of political correctness sometimes because they feel like that will get them in trouble somehow, but I think that sometimes people forget to look at the reasons behind why political correctness exists,” Meha said.

Other students want their peers to speak out more often. Junior Julia Halm said she has mixed opinions on the benefits of being politically correct.

“I definitely think sometimes if you’re trying to be too politically correct you can’t really say anything or identify anyone.” Julia said.

Students often look to their teachers for answers. But teachers are also trying hard to understand the nuances.

In November and early December, Upper School English teacher Joel Garza was having discussions with students about

Views

News

Feat.

Arts

Greenhill’s oldest and weirdest clubs p.3

Eighth grade students create Humans of Greenhill bulletin board p. 4

Serving Greenhill since 1966

Staff members meet Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton p. 10

Editor Megan Wiora teaches how to make holiday sweaters p. 6

4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, TX 75001

slavery and gender roles in Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Frequently, to preface his analysis, he would apologize for mentioning how a character embodied a certain stereotype. He says his frequent pauses came from a place of teaching and that he wanted to make sure no one thought that his generalizations about the story were true, and that in fact, they were just opinions.

“If an author is trafficking in a stereotype, I want to be sure the student knows that the author knows,” Mr. Garza said.

He wanted students to know that stereotypes were intentionally made by the author.

So by prefacing the lesson, he says he tries to further the students’ understanding of the novel.

As Greenhill students and faculty continue to learn how to engage in civil discourse, Dr. Bradberry cautions that words can hurt, and students should question rather than attack.

Like the students that clashed over the word “sexist”, she says words cause lasting damage, and they can cause rifts among people who have been friends for years.

“The reality is this: as a human being I have the right to do whatever I want to do, say whatever I want to say, believe whatever I want to believe. My right to make these decisions is not the issue,” Dr. Bradberry says. “The issue resides in my willingness to accept and live with the inevitable consequences of my decisions.

To me the dissonance begins here when people do not want to accept the responsibility for the consequences of their words, actions, etc. This is the problem that needs to be addressed.” story by Madison Goodrich and Catherine Leffert graphic by Anurag Kurapati

Sports

Four freshman girls start on varsity basketball p. 12

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Rants & Raves A RAVE to the coffee machine in The Buzz. Oh, the joys of coffee and cocoa. As we all know, the stress of the academic rigor here on the Hill peaks at the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the new addition has really brightened up the holiday spirit. Caffeine truly is the greatest present we could ask for.

A RANT to the lack of a working heater in the swimming pool. It’s hard enough to jump into a pool every day, but imagine doing it into the frigid Greenhill swimming pool that lacks even the most basic of necessities: a heater.

The swim team truly gets a taste of what being a resident of the most northern regions of Canada can be like in the dead of winter.

A RAVE to the Omniglobe in the Science Building. As if descended from science heaven, we have been blessed with the allknowing Omni-globe.

The true importance of it is signified by the velvet ropes keeping it away from the peasants who seek to exploit its omnipotent power.

A RANT to the amount of trash left on the pods’ tables and floors. Your pod takes care of you, so take care of your pod. No floor deserves the trials and tribulations of having litter ruin its beauty.

A RAVE to the free seating days in the Middle School. The United States was founded on the basic ideas of independence, liberty, and freedom. Finally, the Middle Schoolers who so rightfully deserve free-seating in the cafeteria get it…once a week, or rotation. Just the smallest of glimpses into the free world can fill a soul.

A RANT to the unlit fireplace. It’s almost impossible to get into the holiday spirit without a fire in the Montgomery Library.

Actually, it’s just straight up impossible. Someone get on this ASAP.

A RAVE to creative mass emails. Please, don’t clog our inboxes with pointless emails that won’t even make us laugh. If you’re going to clog our inboxes, at least put some humor, funk, and spunk into it.

Thank you very much.

A RANT to the wooden plank on Hornet Road. We all know that we are supposed to maintain 10 miles per hour inside of Greenhill, and an annoying, rickety new speed bump only infuriates us. This new addition to our morning routine only makes the thought of school that much worse.

A RAVE to the sourdough bread in the Cafeteria. After raving the panini-makers earlier in the year, it seems only vital that we rave the bread that truly completes an exceptional sandwich: sourdough. No grilled cheese is complete without the comforting texture and delectableness that sourdough provides.

Content courtesy of Zoe Allen

Rumor Has It Is so-and-so good in bed?; I think so-andso is the hottest guy I would drink his bath water; Are so-and-so’s jugs real?

After School-Funny Anonymous School News is a gossip app that allows students to anonymously post about peers.

It’s a Whisper-like forum. It hosts a series of “secrets” or “confessions” accompanied by a GIF – a photo graphic that has temporary animation or movement. The app claims to have a zero-tolerance policy against cyberbullying, but is fraught with problems. In addition to allowing anonymous posts, the app appears to generate random content as well. This content runs alongside the posts from Greenhill students, and is far from innocent.

Staff Editorial

According to the app, over 350 Greenhill students have an account. Content is generated fairly regularly, and users are allowed to ‘like’ and comment on posts while remaining anonymous.

But regardless of who produces the content, it is indisputable that the app publishes things about students’— minors’— sexuality without their express consent, leaving many students feeling uncomfortable. Even if the origin of the post is positive in nature, it leaves open the possibility for negative criticism. After School promotes an environment conducive to sexual harassment, and that is not okay.

We at The Evergreen urge Greenhill students to think twice before engaging in social

media platforms like After School.

Let’s be real: we download After School because it’s exciting, and hey, everyone’s doing it. It’s the new fad and no one wants to be left out. But no matter the reason, when we hit that download button and use the app, we are perpetuating the type of abuse and harassment it condones. But After School is only successful because we continue to give it a platform. Much like reality TV, the app creators don’t care if you love it, or hate it, as long as you continue to engage.

Additionally, the app’s anonymity does not assuage matters. It does not take a genius to know that students are more willing to post risky material if they cannot be held responsible for their actions. Simply put,

there are no individual consequences. But the consequences for the school are dire.

From the girl who takes an extra 5 minutes picking out clothes for the next school day, to the boy who questions his masculinity, this app promotes sexual bullying. Actions online don’t disappear with the click of a button.

That is not who we are. Greenhill is a school that prides itself on being inclusive and compassionate. We support our peers in their endeavors, from football to a 90s appreciation club, and celebrate cultural and religious differences. We are a community that encourages communication and speech, not veiling our comments behind an anonymous screen.

the

Evergreen staff editors-in-chief

content editor

Madison Goodrich Catherine Leffert

Mia Krumerman

executive editor

Erratas, November 2015 issue

sports editors

design editor

backpage editor

news editor

asst. arts editor

copy editor

arts editors

views editors

Zoe Allen Zach Rudner

Areeba Amer Zayna Syed

asst. features editors

managing editor

features editor

online editors

Varun Gupta

Christina Zhu

Amna Naseem

Megan Wiora

Ben Schachter

Ellen Margaret Andrews Joseph Weinberg Suman Chebrolu

Lane Hirsch Ben Krakow

Arhum Khan

Sophie Bernstein Simra Abedi Radhe Melwani

asst. sports editor Lili Stern

asst. news editor

staff writers

staff artists

Samar Ahmad Anurag Kurapati Stephen Crotty Adam Weider Allie Frymire Avery Jane Williams asst. online editor Maya Ghosh Josh Rudner Christian Quintero business manager Kathie Rojas Annika Squires Ryan Diebner Jordan Sternblitz Ross Rubin advisor Kionce Woods Lauren Silva Laughlin Alice Zhang Abbas Hasan

pg. 13 The late night at the DMA is not happening on December 18th. pg. 20 Mr. Stuart’s name was mispelled.

wednesday, december 16, 2015

the

Evergreen

Dear Mr. Kasten, These last few months without you have not been easy, for us, or you, we imagine.

Our minds have been preoccupied by the thought of you going through such a painful and difficult time. It’s tough to be on “The Hill” without the committed teacher, loyal husband, loving father, and affectionate grandfather that we’ve all come to know.

While you’ve been away, other teachers have had to teach your classes. At the beginning of the year, one of the teachers taking your place told his students that he was sorry that they had to have him as a teacher. He said this not because he is an incapable teacher, but because he wanted them to have the opportunity to be taught by you.

Upper School students are not just missing a phenomenal teacher, but also a wonderful human being with an infectious personality. Nobody can forget last year, when you brought comedy to the Upper School with your depiction of a “wise man” for the introduction of a color-wars event.

In your classroom, you bring a sense

of calmness to students in their otherwise chaotic, hectic schedules with your routine practicing of “mindfulness” at the beginning of class.

At Honor Council meetings, you are a voice of reason, honesty, and respect that cannot be replicated or replaced. The Upper School, teachers and students alike, feels your absence in some way. There has been a pit left in our community during your time away from Greenhill.

The Evergreen staff wants you to know that we are wishing you well. You are one of our most devoted followers, always reading The Evergreen cover-to-cover. Over the years, you have been a loyal supporter, huge advocate, and honest feedback panelist to our paper. Feedback panels often seemed empty without you, probably because they were. Sometimes there were 20 other people there, more often, there was just one—you.

The Upper School misses you. We miss your 30-plus years of teaching experience.

We miss the advisor to clubs and committees.

We miss an integral part to our only three-

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generation family on “The Hill.” We miss the caring father and grandfather. We miss the man with the warm, loving smile. We miss the “fighter” that we’ve come to know over the past couple of months.

We hope that it’s just a matter of time before we see you walking around Greenhill again. This is where you belong.

All our best, Greenhill School and The Evergreen staff

Photo courtesy of Dr. Amy Bresie

Greenhill’s Oldest and Weirdest Clubs

3

What’s Your Favorite Holiday Tradition?

For the past four years, from Black Friday until Christmas, I volunteer every weekend at NorthPark Center with the SPCA of Texas’ “Home for the Holidays” adoption event. This is my favorite part of the holidays because I get to spend so much time helping hundreds of homeless animals find loving, forever homes and it’s a great opportunity to educate the public on adopting rather than buying their pets and on the importance of spaying and neutering. It’s so much fun to be able to see families choosing to rescue an animal from life at a shelter and go home with a new friend for the holidays.

-Kailey McNeal, junior

Greenhill’s club culture has been a large part of the school since it was first founded in 1950, though it has evolved since then. Here is a compilation of Greenhill’s oldest and wierdest clubs that were once popular.

Lonely Hearts Club (1968)

Pessimist International (1968)

“The Lonely Hearts Club was a huge success in its first year of existence. The organization seeks to bring together those who have lost their hearts and ways on the stormy sea of life.

The senior members of the club held counciling sessions this year to raise money for its “Send a Girl to Boys Town” campaign.”

Content courtesy of Calvacade 1968

“The Pessimist Club has reached a new high in both membership and cynicism this year.

Under the guidance of President Curt Land and Vice President Roy Clark the pessimists have plumbed the depths of existential cynicism from Mr. Schroeder’s English class to metaphysical mazes in the south-east terminal of Love Field.

Unfortunately we cannot be too optimistical about the continued existence of this group.”

Content courtesy of Calvacade 1968

Rocket Club (1968) “The Rocket Club was formed for the study of space travel, and the vehicles used.

The club builds rockets from the members own designs. The officers of the club include: John Fulton, President; Jeff Miller, V.P.; Tony Bangs, Sec.-Tres.

Mr. Dunn, the sponsor of the club, got the boys interested in rocketry when he first came to Greenhill. Mr. Dunn is one of the heads of the Science Department of Greenhill.”

Content courtesy of Calvacade 1968

Dear Editor, The new schedule is fantastic in that my peers and I can now bask in the glory of an extra hour in the morning. Unfortunately, it also has its own fatal flaw. The new schedule is killing clubs by subjecting them to “natural selection.” The current club time of 8:10 a.m. forces students to sacrifice an extra hour of sleep if they want to participate in a discussion and nibble on some free food. Unsurprisingly, more often than not, students —myself included— will choose sleep (duh).

Although some Greenhillians might not care about the state of the clubs, I think that the clubs are a huge part of Greenhill culture. You have your weird clubs, your poetic clubs, and your careeroriented clubs, which all embody the super-strange, beautiful, and academic spirit of Greenhill. The unique club culture is important for presenting the school to prospective students and families, enabling students to share common interests, and demonstrating extracurricular activities to colleges. The diminished presence of clubs

Gun Club (1951) “The Gun Club meets twice a week, during activity period, under the direction of Mr. Pearce. In this activity, the students are taught safety with guns, site alignment, how targets are scored, aiming points, and how to read hits and near hits. This club is to be affiliated with the National Rifle Association, and the guns and ammunition are furnished by the Director of Civilian Marksmanship of Washington, D.C. (a branch of the War Department.)”

Content courtesy of Calvacade 1951

Sports Mortarboard (G.I.V.E) (1968) Mortarboard began in 1968 and is what everyone now knows as “G.I.V.E” or “Greenhill Is Volunteering Everyday.” It originally was an all-girls club until 1977 when it officially became a co-ed club.

at Greenhill is not only upsetting, but it also hurts Greenhill and its students.

As president of the 90s Appreciation Club, I totally understand club leaders’ frustration with my peers’ lack of attendance at club meetings. It is disheartening to see my club’s attendance plummet from around 20 attendees per meeting to 10 (on a good day). I created my club to relieve stress and have fun, but clearly it has become a burden for club members, my vice-president, and myself. Junior year at Greenhill is no joke, so waking up early for my own club after a late night of studying is pretty difficult.

Therefore, if my vice president or I have a test on the day our club is scheduled to meet, we end up canceling our club meetings.

Besides, it is awkward to walk around campus saying, “Hey, do you want a donut?

No one came to my club this morning.”

After listing all my grievances of this new schedule, I do have a proposal for a solution to our dilemma. Right now we have an unproductive 20 minute break between second and third period. I always see students just wandering around with nothing to do. Basically this time is Bagel Break—without clubs. I think we should extend this break by 10 minutes and

Car (1951)

Club

Started in early October by Mr. Brookes, the Sports Car Club has held many rallies and contributed greatly to the effort to introduced safety into cars. The club is currently under the sponsorship of Mr. Smith and Mr. Gonzales.

My family and I usually wake up, open presents, and have a light breakfast. Then we drive to my grandmother’s house to see other family and have a big Christmas dinner.

- Pearson Brooks, eighth-grader

​I love hanging out with my family without having to carry the burden of knowing that I have to go to school the next day. I love opening presents on the morning of Dec. 25th, because the entire day my entire family just toys around with their gifts and it’s super fun.

- Brinia Zhang, eighth-grader

Content courtesy of Calvacade 1953

revive Bagel Break. This new era of Bagel Break will enable students to attend all the meetings and munch on all the yummy, free snacks that clubs have to offer. Of course, those extra 10 minutes need be accounted for somewhere. Accordingly, the school day can be refurbished to start at 8:30 a.m., to end at 4:10 p.m., or to finish lunch 10 minutes early.

I hope that we can effectively address this issue, so that we can restore the state of Greenhill’s clubs and culture.

Some of my favorite holiday traditions take place on a cold snowy night. We all sit around the fire place roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate. We watch the Polar Express and Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas. It is very special to me because we have done it ever since I was a little baby.

-Drewv Desai, seventh-grader

-Rachel Friedman, junior

My holiday tradition is sitting by the fire and roasting marshmallows with my family. I love doing this ever year because it’s a way for my family to bond and have a good time in the winter.

- Natalie Park, eighth-grader Photo courtesy of Rachel Friedman

News the

See p.5 for fifth graders starting small businesses in their math classes.

A Story is Worth a Thousand Pictures

Humans on the The Cavalcade staff makes changes to the Cavalcade; Hill: GHS’s take on HONY takes a more journalistic approach to the yearbook Areeba Amer Views Editor

Melwani Radhe Asst. Features Editor

Lili Stern

Asst. Features Editor

Each year, Greenhill students receive a brand new yearbook, just out of the box.

They sign them, laugh at their pictures, and read the funny anecdotes that the student body has contributed. The yearbook, the Cavalcade, is a school-wide publication run only by Upper School students.

Over the past few years, the Cavalcade has been undergoing a process to focus more closely on memorable moments of all grades of the school. This includes having a wider-range of coverage and an alteration of the layout of senior pages. To help with this transition, the yearbook staff has tried to add context around the pictures with more stories, something Cavalcade Yearbook advisor Lesley Rucker said is a more “journalistic approach.” It’s a difficult balance to strike, and one the staff continues to improve upon, Cavalcade members say.

“If you look at the book from 2013 and you look at last year’s book you’ll see that there’s a theme. There’s continuity, there’s design, there are stories. It’s not a picture book,” said Cavalcade Co-Editor in Chief Madison Grimes.

Madison also said she feels strongly about the new ideas that the yearbook is implementing.

“If the book is just pictures, you can only get so many people in the pictures. But if you can [add] stories, you can give a fuller picture to what exactly is going on [during] the year,” Madison said.

Along with the journalistic approach, Cavalcade has been expanding coverage on the Lower School, Middle School, and the Fine Arts, further making the Cavalcade a whole-school yearbook.

“It is important that we show a whole bunch of different sides of the school; including the Lower School and the Middle School, and [how] what they are doing is just as important as the Upper School,” said Madison.

Senior pages, a part of the yearbook in which each senior is dedicated their own page, have also been reformatted in the past few years. In the past, seniors would write ‘blurbs’ about each other or inside jokes, and those would be included in the pages. Also, seniors were allotted up to 950 words to write to their families, friends, and teachers.

Instead of the traditional blurbs, students have been asked to write about their favorite Greenhill memories. The Cavalcade members said that paragraphs are now reflective of experiences at

Photo by Suman Chebrolu

WAY WITH WORDS: Cavalcade Co-Editors-in-Chief Madison Grimes (right) and Jordan A Malveaux (middle) diligently work on designs for pages while staffers do the same.

Greenhill, although students may still thank teachers and people who have helped them throughout the years. Additionally, seniors have been asked to cut the word count of their senior pages to 450 words to focus their comments. “[The Cavalcade staff] challenged seniors to think more about what they’re writing. It’s not a senior book; it’s not an Upper School book. It’s a community book,” Ms. Rucker said. She added, “it’s also an archival representation [of the school], so we wanted it to represent the school, and represent the seniors to everybody, not just themselves.”

Although seniors write shorter passages, Cavalcade Co-Editor in Chief Jordan Malveaux said that the senior section has added other components that reflect the seniors’ experiences. For example, the Cavalcade has reached out to seniors to write articles in the senior section that were traditionally written by staff members.

“We are not actively trying to make up for the freedom the seniors lost in their senior page but I feel like some of the new things we’ve decided on this year do allow for the senior class to be included in the yearbook in other ways beside the senior page,” Jordan said.

The Cavalcade staff has made the changes in hopes that when seniors look back at the Cavalcade after they graduate, words rather than simply pictures will trigger memories of a high school environment they otherwise wouldn’t be able remember.

“The changes we made were not meant

News In Brief...

to inhibit. Seniors can [still] show their voice,” Ms. Rucker said.

While there is no formal way to receive feedback from the community, Cavalcade student staff members receive emails from various members of the school including administration and faculty while also keeping their ears to the ground to hear their peers’ thoughts on the yearbook.

According to Ms. Rucker, the administration’s input and thoughts on Cavalcade is particularly important to the Cavalcade staff because the yearbook is a window into the school for those who aren’t currently attending the school but may want to understand the school’s culture.

“

If the book is just pictures, you can only get so many people in the pictures. But if you can [add] stories, you can give a fuller picture to what exactly is going on [during] the year.”

The process of taking and considering advice from school participants, and then implementing changes, continues to be reevaluated as the year progresses.

“In the future of Cavalcade, next year and the years after and all, I am 100 percent sure they will be making more changes [such as] making the Cavalcade more inclusive and more available everyone, there are always ways to improve,” Madison said.

At the beginning of this school year, eighth-graders Veda Velamuri, Anand Jain, Adam Mehdi, and Michelle Liang started a “Human on the Hill” bulletin board, inspired by “Humans of New York.” It is located in the 8th grade pod hallway and features a question-and-answer by a randomly chosen eighth grade student every week along with a picture of the student.

The students originally created the board because they felt their peers did not know each other as well as they should.

“I thought doing [something like HONY] would be fun to do and an interesting experiment,” Michelle said. “[Because,] even though… we know how everyone looks like, how they act like we don’t know anyone’s personal thoughts: what they are thinking all the time.”

Students in the eighth grade feel like they are beginning to have a better understanding of each other.

“I like [the concept]. It gives you an insight to what the [featured] student is thinking,” said eighth-grader Guy Busamrong.

Along with students, teachers and adults have also expressed interest for the board.

“I’ve heard adults walk up the hall and look back and say ‘Oh, where did that come from? That’s really neat!’,” said Susan Bauman, Middle School English Teacher and the advisor of Humans on the Hill.

“They express interest and admiration.”

The group randomly selects and interviews student. Then Anand photographs the student. The board includes questions and answers from the interview.

While the Middle School Humans on the Hill board is up and running, junior Kaavya Venkat is working with Student Council on starting a “Humans on the Hill” Instagram account for the Upper School.

The account is currently in the approval process by the Board of Trustees.

Photo by Abbas Hasan

BULLETIN BOARD: Eighth-grader Natalie Gonchar is currently on the Humans on the Hill board. It hangs in the hallway of the eighth grade.

Peace Path paves the way toward resolutions

Kindergarten Nutcracker shifts venue off-campus

Next to the Lower School playground, the Lower School Counselor, Shanti Majefski ’95, painted the Peace Path, a tool used to help resolve conflicts between the students.

The Peace Path consists of a trail marked by footprints with a script on the ground to begin their statements describing their experiences with their fellow student having their own script and set of footprints.

“The Peace Path is designed to help students resolve conflicts. It gives them the words to use so they can better understand the other person’s perspective,” said Ms. Majefski.

The annual Kindergarten performance of The Nutcracker will be performed at George H.W. Bush Elementary School, only a few minutes away from Greenhill School.

This is the first time the performance will not be on campus.

The show will be on Dec. 17 at 9:30 a.m., but only parents of the kindergarteners are invited due to limited seating. On Dec. 16, seniors and their families who performed in The Nutcracker are welcome to attend the dress rehearsal.

The shift of venue occurred as a result of delays in the Building Campaign. The Za-

She heard about the Peace Path from a colleague in Connecticut and implanted her own version of it onto the Greenhill campus, with the wording changed. She painted it last summer.

Ms. Majefski says some students feel more comfortable sharing their side of the conflict than approaching a teacher.

The Peace Path, according to her, teaches Lower School students to be independent problem solvers, starting at a young age.

Recess, a time to hang out with friends, now also facilitates organized conversations. story by Stephen Crotty

le-Fields Theater has been converted to the Buzz, and the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center is still under construction, set to officially open on Jan. 26. Administrators considered shifting the performance either to the Phillips Gym or the Cox Gym, but said they felt that the options were too large for the intimate experience they wanted.

The Nutcracker performance will be moved to the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center next school year. story by Suman Chebrolu

wednesday, december 16, 2015

5

the

Evergreen

Fifth grade students create businesses; learn real-world skills Areeba Amer Views Editor

Joseph Weinberg Sports Editor

This year, in every fifth-grade math class, students are working in groups to simulate different aspects of a business. Each business is creating handmade products, such as hot chocolate spoons or stress balls that they will sell at their first “Holiday Bazaar” on Dec. 16th.

The students are inviting parents, other Greenhill students, and anyone else to shop the bazaar and buy their products. The profit gained from sales at the bazaar will be donated to Vogel Alcove, an organization that strives to help and serve homeless children.

The project allows students to explore different aspects of a business. The idea, designed by Middle School Math Teacher Celeste Sanders ‘00 is to develop not only student’s mathematical skills but social ones as well.

“The biggest thing we want them to take away from this assignment is learning to collaborate,” Mrs. Sanders said.

Each member of the group has a specific role in the business, such as the Director of Marketing and the Director of Finance. The math instructors emphasize the importance of working as a true team with everyone pulling their weight.

“They got to decide their positions, we talked about how different people bring out different strengths, different jobs, and how

it’s time to think about what you can contribute to the group that will best serve your group,” said Middle School Math Teacher Rachel Annunziata.

The fifth grade math teachers are the “CEOs” of all the groups that contain four or five students, and are only giving input when they feel it is absolutely necessary.

“We will give them suggestions sometimes but other times we want to let them head down

the wrong path,” said Mrs. Sanders.

“We want them to make mistakes.”

As part of the project, all groups took a class field trip to Walmart where they were given $25 to purchase all the resources necessary to massproduce their good.

“A lot of them didn’t know how money works. They didn’t know what a sale was, they didn’t understand how taxes worked,” said Mrs. Sanders.

“They had to learn how to manage their budget and the trip also increased their brand-awareness.”

Students have learned to strategize how they will use their materials and time. In addition to the 25 real dollars they were given, they were given 1000 fake dollars to spend on basic supplies the school could provide, such as tri-fold boards and paper. That money could also be used to buy time to work in the kitchen or

Photo by Adam Weider

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS: Fifth-graders Chas Bianco, Ali Mehdi, Lian Hahn, and Kaylee Wilson (left to right) hold up their handmade origami products that they plan to sell at the Holiday Bazaar on Dec. 16th.

computer lab.

However, many students spent that money sparingly and saved it to purchase a good spot at the bazaar because every group had to auction for a certain spot.

“We are trying to go for a spot in the Rotunda so people see our group before the other groups.

There’s a lot of competition,” said Jackson Benners, the Director of Finance of a group who saved up nearly all their fake money for a spot in the Rotunda.

Students have to write a short speech to present in front of the fifth grade as a “press release” for their product.

Although the project is unconventional compared to a normal math lecture, students learn skills that cannot be written on a SmartBoard.

“When you think about math, rarely do you just walk around solving equations,” Mrs. Sanders said. “This is a realworld application.”

And the students say they are enjoying themselves.

“It’s interesting and pretty cool how we get to make our own thing and sell it to people,” said fifth-grader Grant Fisher. “And I think it’s really nice that we get to give the money we earn to Vogel Alcove.”

“The students are having an awesome time,” said Ms. Annunziata. “Every day they [came] to math saying, ‘Oh is it a business day?!’ and I’m like, ‘No, it’s a normal lesson day. Sorry.’”

Arts the

See p. 7 for opinions on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

The Spot Behind The Spotlight Abbas Hasan Asst. News Editor

Maya Ghosh Staff Writer

Everyone waits for their 15 minutes of fame, a time in the spotlight. But people can forget about who is behind that spotlight.

Technical theatre (Tech) is the art of putting costumes together, building stages, running backstage, and making sure props are in order for productions of plays and musicals.

Technical theater has played a big part in Grace Cooper Jackson’s life ever since she was in sixth grade. She came to Greenhill this year as a sophomore from Atlanta, GA. At her old school, Holy Innocents Episcopal School, she was a major contributor to their Tech department as Mic Wrangler.

While working on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grace also helped with her previous school’s fall production.

During weekend trips and through regular FaceTime meetings, Grace talked with the Tech members at her old school to help with sound-design and lights. She watched the show through FaceTime and instructed the crew members who were working with sound during the performance.

She used her tech skills to aid Greenhill’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She was a part of the “run crew,” a group backstage that assists with costume, microphone and prop changes. According

to Grace, this play was the most elaborate and complex show she had ever been part of, but she wasted no time in adapting to her new environment.

“Being a new student, [tech] was a great way to find a group of people who enjoy something that I love too,” said Grace. “I get to interact with a group of people who otherwise I would not know. Now, we even have our own inside jokes.”

Though she had experience in Tech at her previous school, the new colloquialisms and idiosyncrasies of Greenhill Tech put her on a learning curve during her first few months.

“There are definitely different dialects of Tech. Here they call the stage the ‘deck’, where at my old school it was the ‘platform’. One time I confused the way to turn the scaffolding [where they put the lights] so I held it for 15 minutes without knowing what I was doing, because I couldn’t understand what they were saying,” she said.

She is currently the Assistant Stage Manager for Greenhill’s upcoming production of Annie.

“They joke that I’m the intern, and that I need to bring them water and food. They also call me ASM, which took me some time to figure out, but I get it, it stands for ‘Assistant Stage Manager’,” said Grace. “But I also get to learn what being a stage manager means.”

WHAT YOU NEED:

Tinsel garland, mini hula hoop, bells, string, lots of safety pins, pom poms, mini ornaments, and a green sweater.

STEP 3:

Pin the garland from bottom up diagonally.

Photos by Megan Wiora and courtesy of Grace Cooper Jackson TALENTED TECHIE: Grace Cooper Jackson cuts a piece of wood with a power saw (top), searches for a drill (left), and takes a curtain call after her former school’s fall production.

STEP 1:

Tuck the hula hoop under the sweater and pin the sweater securely.

STEP 4:

Add pom poms and ornaments with safety pins, and decorate to your hearts content.

STEP 2:

String the bells on the string and pin the string to the bottom of the sweater.

STEP 5:

Get in tree position!

Content and photos courtesy of Megan Wiora

wednesday, december 16, 2015

the

Evergreen

arts

7

An enlightened debate on the musical stylings of Kanye West The Evergreen’s resident music aficionados debate over West’s album, dubbed one of the most perfect rap albums of all time, in honor of its five year anniversary It is very rare for hip-hop albums to be labeled as “perfection” or as a “masterpiece”, nonetheless, Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (MBDTF) absolutely qualifies. We’ve seen artists like Kendrick Lamar attain this prestige, but its occurrence is limited and eventful. It’s been five years since Kanye dropped MBDTF, and I can confidently say it is one of the greatest rap albums of all time. Yes, I acknowledge that the album may have received unnecessary hype because of its branded and mainstream foundation, but it seems like most haters are merely providing a reaction to the album’s popularity. This is nothing new. Time after time, the stereotypical music nerd “wanna be” hates a release just because the artist is a different thinker with fresh opinions. Do not be that pretentious person, please. I understand that MBDTF has some weak points, but its innovative production and composition make it undeniably classic.

Kanye West has always been an inventive rapper and this is most unequivocal in MBDTF as he set the bar for production to an all time high. The beats on MBDTF are an incredible portion of its genius. On “Devil in a New Dress,” a Smokey Robinson sample and an attractive drum break create a magical beat. Kanye’s rap is well written and straightforward and he starts the song off perfectly. Rick Ross, who no one really likes, delivers an average verse after a long melodic electric guitar interlude, but it is ultimately fitting. Amidst the average prose, Kanye is still able to salvage a sonic gem that I have yet to get tired of.

Another example of magnificent production is exemplified in “Runaway,” where a piano loop is elongated for nine minutes as it is beautifully distorted.

“Blame Game,” featuring John Legend, uses piano by Aphex Twin as its core melody and it serves as a mesmerizing instrumental. The structure is pleasing with John Legend’s soothing voice and comedian Chris Rock’s hilarious bit at the end.

A common criticism of MBDTF is the disappointing performance by its all star feature lineup. I completely disagree.

Aside from the massively overrated and so called legend Jay Z, who offered little to nothing valuable, Big Sean, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Beyoncé, Wu Tang Clan’s

RZA, and Raekwon all held up their ends of the bargain with solid appearances. We must not forget about Nicki Minaj, who stole the show on “Monster” and recited an amusing and intimidating introduction on “Dark Fantasy.”

I love how Kanye brings on Bon Iver and their song “Woods” to make a unique track in “Lost in the World.” MBDTF pushes hip-hop’s long tradition of merging various genres together and that’s what gives the album an exceptional and exclusive sound.

Initially, when I saw the list of names credited for writing and production on iconic songs like “All of the Lights” with Rihanna and Fergie, I was outraged. I grew up listening to a Kanye West that wrote every word and mastered every beat all by himself—that’s what made albums like The College Dropout so impressive.

However, this collaboration just proved to be an illustration of Kanye’s brilliance as he always strives to push the envelope.

The craft speaks for itself. story by Arhum Khan

Graphic by Arhum Khan

“Would you rather be underpaid or overrated?” As Jay Z laments his (sometimes necessary) vices on “So Appalled”, the nihilistic midpoint of Kanye Wests’ seminal opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, I can’t help but notice how the lyric coincidentally encompasses how I feel about the album as a whole.

Now, I must mention that I do not think that MBDTF is a bad album; I think Yeezy displays remarkable forward thinking ambition that should undoubtedly be admired. However, I don’t think the album deserves the seas of perfect scores (including being lauded as the best album of the decade currently) music critics have given it since its release five years ago.

I praise the album for its excess, however I criticize it for the same reason.

Specifically, I find the song lengths to be very drawn out with insufficient justification.

All the sounds I’m hearing are lovely, but the repetition of them can get exhausting and irritating.

The most prominent example, the

outro of “Runaway” features Ye noodling over vocoder vocals for three minutes.

Maybe there’s some deeper meaning to this moment that I’m not picking up on, but repeated listens haven’t brought it out and into my ears. Even though I found the track initially to be engaging for its emotionally vulnerability, this moment left me with an unfortunately bitter aftertaste. Likewise, the song “Blame Game” loops Aphex Twin’s achingly gorgeous “Avril 14th” to death for eight minutes until the sample loses its initial poignancy and beauty. “Devil in a New Dress” is a similar case, featuring a gorgeous beat, which is unfortunately undermined by its relentless repetition, save for an underwhelming guitar solo and verse from Rick Ross. The song, “Lost in the World” sounds like newer Coldplay hopped on a disco beat, with Kanye rapping over it.

It doesn’t sit well with me; I’m sorry.

The top quality production doesn’t always serve the album either: the beat on “Monster” doesn’t feel as animalistic or primal as it should, rather it feels more clean and pristine, making the instrumental feel sterile (not to mention the completely flaccid synth chords). Kanye and Jay Z’s verses are mediocre for their standards, especially after they are completely upstaged by Nicki Minaj. Further, hearing Jay compare himself to some kind of villain who has a sensitive side (from “I still hear fiends scream in my dreams” to “love, I cant get enough of it”) is always very cheesy to me.

I understand that hip-hop is a genre that focuses heavily on lyrics, and there are certainly well thought out rhymes delivered by Kanye and even some of his peers that paint a compelling portrait of a man driven to madness by fame. Yet hip-hop is a genre of music, and if the music under your lyrics doesn’t grab me, I’m lost. I continually find myself in that situation with this album, despite the bombastic and lavish production.

There are certainly incredible successes on the album. “Dark Fantasy,” “Power”, and “So Appalled” are tracks where I feel the production is on the same level as, or even surpasses and makes up for, the lyrical content. But for my two cents, they do not make up for the album’s flaws as a whole, and they certainly do not make it the best album of the decade. story by Evan O’Brien

the

8

Everg

Religion Under Attac

“

#PrayForParis (and #Beirut and #Baghdad)

Radical Islamic extremism is the most relevant topic when brought up with jihad.

I’ve never really heard the term in any other context besides terrorism.”

-Bridge Brinkmann

The Facts of the Attacks

In the past few weeks, multiple attacks in Paris carried out by terrorists have flooded the front pages of major news sites. Initially, world leaders and public figures, as well as local officials, sent compassionate condolences to victims and countries.

But as the initial aftermath of the attacks has subsided, politicians have moved in varying directions. Some leading national public figures are cautioning against allowing Muslims into the country. Meanwhile, local politicians like Dallas’s mayor, Mike Rawlings, have taken the opposite stance.

At Greenhill, students say their views of the attacks have been significantly swayed by the way the media figureheads have favored certain aspects of the attacks, particularly those in the “western world” – Paris. While students try to keep an open mind, they say, it is difficult not to let one-sided news coverage form unfair views.

On Friday, Nov. 13, a group of Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists attacked The Bataclan Concert Hall, Stade de France, and four smaller cafes and bars in Paris.

This is the biggest terrorist attack on the western world since 9/11, with a death toll of 139 and 368 people injured, 99 of whom are in critical condition, according to CNN. Just a day earlier, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked the capital of Lebanon, Beirut. Two suicide bombings killed over 40 and wounded 239 civilians, according to CNN. The bombings took place in southern Beirut. Many people were pursuing their normal evening activities when the first bomb hit the Bourj al-Barajneh district near Beirut’s airport. The second bomb went off about five minutes later approximately 150 meters away from the first blast, according to Al Jazeerah America.

On the same day as the Paris bombings, a suicide blast and a roadside bombing, claimed by ISIL, targeted Shiites in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, killing 26 people and injuring at least 61. The suicide bombing took place at the funeral of a member of the volunteer paramilitary force battling ISIS, known as the Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU). The roadside bombing detonated outside a Shiite shrine in Sadr City.

However, Beirut and Baghdad were less-noticed. Popular news sources such as CNN, The New York Times, and BBC did not cover the attacks as extensively as Paris. When searching the number of times “Paris attacks” was referenced in the New York Times, there are 22,569 results, while “Baghdad attacks” had only 8,529 results and “Beirut attacks” 5,534 results. The hashtag #PrayforParis filled social media immediately after the attacks. According to a survey conducted by the Evergreen, 97.9 percent of responses believed that events in Paris had the most media coverage, and 26.1 percent of responses were not aware of the bombings in Beirut and Baghdad.

They also received less global attention and support. Multiple landmarks around the world were lighting up in France’s national colors in support of the attacks, but none showed support for Lebanon.

Zachery Lillard, a senior, was unaware of the attacks on Beirut and Baghdad.

“No I didn’t hear about it. I don’t think I heard about it because the media wants to focus on American bound issues rather than the issues happening elsewhere,” Zach said.

Some Greenhill students and alumni who took notice of the attacks were frustrated that the conversation only focused on Paris.

“Beirut was attacked by suicide bombers the day before the attacks in Paris. Why are we not talking about this? Why aren’t people posting about #Beirut, and why doesn’t Facebook have a Lebanese flag filter?” said Ariana Zhang ‘15 on Facebook. “...The support that people have shown in light of this event has been beautiful and inspiring. However, it is just as important to be aware of the stories that are not being publicized, the lives lost and subsequently erased in silence….”

Ruchita Iyer, a senior and Global Action Club leader, shared her thoughts on why she believed Baghdad and Beirut received less coverage.

“After learning about Beirut and Baghdad I asked myself ‘why aren’t they talking about this.’

I think that’s the culture that surrounds the Middle East though. It’s that there’s so many terrible things that happen on a daily basis. I don’t want to say it has become the norm, I think just hearing it on the news, it’s not financially worthy and so news organizations just do not make that their headline,” said Ruchita. “It just becomes a little side note ‘Oh in the Middle East another explosion happened.” And you think ‘oh that’s terrible’ but at the same time it’s like you hear it so often that it doesn’t register in your brain as something terrible that has happened and it is. We should care about it a lot more than we do.”

“

Essentially, Jihad is a Muslim’s duty to uphold Islamic beliefs and tradition.”

-Annah Abedi

green

wednesday, december 16, 2015

ck: 48 Hours of Terror

“

9

graphic by Arhum Khan

I don’t know the technical term, but I’ve always heard [Jihad] used as a religious extremist group....I think it’s used incorrectly, but I don’t know the specific definition.”

-Kailey McNeal

Mediating the Media

After the shock of the recent events subsided, politicians and world leaders turn their attention to domestic policy.

In response to the U.S. bringing in Syrian refugees, Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said, “The Statue of Liberty says, ‘Bring us your tired and your weary.’ It didn’t say, ‘Bring us your terrorists and let them come in here and bomb neighborhoods, cafes, and concert halls.’”

Presidential candidate Donald Trump called the Syrian refugees coming a “Trojan horse.”

Yet other politicians like Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said they believe the refugees still need to be let in.

“ISIS wants us to demonize these Syrian refugees. ISIS is no more Islamic than the Nazi senior staff is Christian,” he said in an interview with MSNBC. “I am more fearful of large gatherings of white men that come into schools, theaters and shoot people up, but we don’t isolate young white men on this issue.”

Many Greenhill Muslims said they feel that the backlash from the attacks is unfair.

“I think that all Muslims should not be held responsible for the actions of ISIS...because they are not showing what Islam is,” said freshman Anaah Abedi. “It’s wrong that people think that whatever they’re doing is what Islam [teaches].”

Sophomore Sofia Babool also said she believes that terrorist groups are not Islamic and that negative feelings towards the entire religion are misplaced.

“No matter how much backlash was shown after the Paris attacks, ISIS does not understand the true essence of Islam. Islam is a religion of peace,” said Sofia. “Although the name of Islam now has a negative connotation around it for some people, terrorists groups do not define a religion because they take texts from the Quran into wrong contexts to back up their unjustifiable actions.”

Perform Your Jihad: A Narrative

Jihad means struggle. More specifically, jihad means “struggling” or “striving,” as defined in the Quran.

Right now, I am struggling. I’m struggling with the fact that people could find it in their hearts to kill 139 innocent civilians. I’m struggling with the fact that they’re doing it in the name of a religion, Islam, which translates to peace and submission to God. Though I carry this with me every day, nobody sees me struggle because it’s jihad, and that means it’s internal.

It may be hard to believe this true definition of jihad. Merriam–Webster Dictionary defines jihad as “a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty.” That’s not jihad. For me, putting my hijab on every day and dressing modestly is jihad. Keeping my religion at the forefront of my mind throughout my day is jihad. None of this is violent in any way, but by reading Merriam–Webster Dictionary or watching CNN or listening to the radio, you would not know it. I’m sick of being afraid of and for my religion because of these false definitions.

What is wrong with believing in one God and his messenger? What is wrong with wearing a scarf over my head instead of around my neck? With praying five times a day? With giving to charity?

These are core values of Islam. Apart from how I look, do these core values sound familiar? They should, because they are values that are similar to those of Christianity and Judaism.

Here at Greenhill, people have always been very interested in Islam. Through the years of devastating terrorist activity, Greenhill students and faculty have remained true to our three core principals: honor, respect, and compassion. Greenhill community has never wavered in its acceptance of me or the religion I practice, even as I began wearing my hijab at the end of Oct. At Greenhill, I am protected from people who may react to the fact that I am a Muslim. This is what gives me hope.

While to this day, I have not received racist comments, I believe that there will be a day that will change.

I am preparing for it, but I shouldn’t have to. Our generation has the power to change the world’s view on Islam.

So when you leave Greenhill, spread that message to the world. ISIS – not Muslims – is killing people.

They have killed more Muslims than practitioners of any other religion. Hating someone of another religion does not make you a better person. Remind the world that the Quran teaches us that killing one human being is the equivalent in God’s eyes to killing everyone on earth. Remind the world that Islam means peace.

This is our jihad, our struggle. It won’t always be easy, given the way our world is becoming, but teaching the world true Islam will have an unimaginable, positive impact. Look to the Muslims you know in your lives and learn about what they believe in. You will find it is not much different than what you believe.

Replicate Greenhill’s core values of honor, respect, and compassion to show the world that Islam is not ISIS, and ISIS isn’t Islamic. Ask us questions, and use the knowledge you gain to show the world that we’re only human, but ISIS is inhumane. It’s easier than it seems if you know what Islam stands for. Even if you can change one person’s mind beyond the walls of Greenhill, you will have had an incredible impact on every Muslim and on the rest of the world. Take a stand. Perform your jihad. It’s a jihad against terrorism, not a jihad against Islam, and we can do it peacefully. story by Christina Zhu, Suman Chebrolu, Areeba Amer, and Kathie Rojas narrative by Simra Abedi

Features the

See p. 11 for more on senior Kas Tebbetts’ cooking blog.

Youth Movement

2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton held a campaign rally in Dallas in Nov., which three Evergreen reporters attended Madison Goodrich Editor-in-Chief

Megan Wiora Backpage Editor

Josh Rudner

Asst. Online Editor

It was a Tuesday morning outside of Mountain View College in Dallas, TX the day Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton came to speak at her grassroots campaign rally.

Hillary Clinton supporters started to file into the gymnasium of the college. Some supporters suited ‘Hillary’ stickers and buttons, some sang chants such as “I’m with her!” and “Hill yes!” while waiting for Mrs. Clinton to speak.

But something stood out: many of the rally attendees were high school and college students.

Hundreds of young people showed up as volunteers, some to help with crowd control.

Two high school students

from Garland, TX, Tori and Jordan, said they felt it was particularly important that young people be politically aware because they should be informed voters.

“We have to know what’s going on and get a head start on being informed,” Tori said.

“We’re the next voters,” Jordan agreed.

Jordan also feels it’s important to come to rallies because you can, “come hear first hand what’s being offered,” and it, “allows more people to be passionate about politics.”

These younger voters demonstrated interest in her specific policies.

“I’m here to hear what she has to say,” said two women.

Two young, AfricanAmerican men from the Next Generation Action Network, which, according to their website is a “multicultural organization

striving for social change for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender, or age,” were here to figure out why they should vote for Mrs. Clinton.

“How is she different from Bernie Sanders? What will she do as a progressive? All these things that affect the minority communities and the country as a whole, we need to know these answers,” one of the young men said.

Another young woman was interested in Mrs. Clinton’s platforms.

“I love Bernie, too, but I support Hillary because I want to go into foreign policy and Bernie obviously doesn’t have as much experience as Hillary,” Casey Strickland said.

Even a four-year-old girl said, “I’m looking forward to seeing the girl who’s gonna be president.”

Get in losers. We’re going campaigning.

Disclaimer: The following is a personal narrative from an Evergreen staffer who attended the event. This opinion does not represent the views of The Evergreen, or Greenhill School.

It’s 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Mariachi music fills the gymnasium of Mountain View College as the crowd excitedly chants, “Hill Yes!”. Cameras are rolling; signs are held high; it seems everyone is wearing “Hillary” campaign buttons.

I had been standing in this spot for more than three hours, and my aching feet were telling me I was more than ready to see the next potential President of the United States. I look across from me to see an elderly lady sporting a bright pink shirt with Hillary Clinton’s face stating, “Get in Losers, we’re going campaigning,” it said.

I laugh – “Yeah losers,” I think, “Pretty soon I will be a mere three feet away from the potential president of the United States.” Little did I know, I’d get a selfie and even ask her a question too.

The doors fly open and I’m pushed against the rail that

separates me from the stage where Hillary will be speaking. Fans push to get the best view possible. Cheers and chants fill my ears and flashes illuminate the gym. Even at 5’7’’, Mrs. Clinton looked tiny compared to the security guards who paved her way. Although I was disappointed she wasn’t sporting her staple pantsuit, her black coat with neon specks reflected her overall ambiance quite nicely: she’s controlled with a bit of spark.

As she walked on stage, the crowd reached a level of noise I did not know existed. Her speech was what anyone would expect: rehearsed, but passionate. She opened with education, which fit the college setting quite nicely. She moved from topic to topic with ease. From healthcare to immigration reform, the crowd hollered and hooted, excited to be exposed to the lens of the women who would make these changes.

Although I could hear the tinge of over-preparedness in her voice, knowing that she echoed these same words many times, there was something electric about the atmosphere, and I hooted and hollered along with the rest of the crowd (though as a journalist, I was more judgmental,

naturally). As she finished her speech, I anxiously hoped that she would come my way.

At first she veered in a different direction. But then she turned around, and I knew I only had one shot to ask my question. I made eye contact with her. Before I even knew what was happening, words blurted out of my mouth.

“I’m 17. What are you going to do for my generation?”

I asked.

“Well, when do you turn 18?” she replied.

The crowd around me erupted in laughter. Hillary and I exchanged a moment of laughter too. As she posed for a selfie with me, I knew that as unconventional as the answer was, it reflected everything about what she wanted for her campaign: uniqueness. Hey, Hillary Clinton made me, Megan Wiora, from Dallas Texas, laugh.

I reconnected with the other members of the school paper, excited to share that our mission was complete. As we exited the parking lot, there was only one way I can express my excitement and awe of the day: Hill Yes! story by Megan Wiora

Photos by Megan Wiora

HELPING HAND: (Top) Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton poses for a quick selfie with the Evergreen staffer Megan Wiora. (Left) Hillary at the podium discussing her political platforms. (Right) Evergreen staffers Megan Wiora, Josh Rudner, and Madison Goodrich pose for a picture at the rally, which was held Nov. 17 at Mountain View College in Dallas.

the

Evergreen

wednesday, december 16, 2015

features

11

A Texas Take on Baking

Mia Krumerman Content Editor

One in a long lineage of EastTexan bakers, senior Kas Tebbetts is nostalgic for her grandparents’ traditional southern kitchen.

Alongside the fetching photos of confections and recipes that she posts on her popular weekly baking blog, “Baking in Black and White,” she redesigns just enough of the vintage recipes she has acquired to keep her modern followers engaged and clicking for more.

Kas has been experimenting with baking since she was 13. In Nov. 2014, with a goal of bringing attention back to the “classic, good old family recipe,” she published her blog. Since then, she has gained over 3,000 followers, a reputation as the “baker,” and a job at Emporium Pies.

“I started my blog last year during Thanksgiving break. My mom and I went to Waxahachie, TX and went antique shopping.

I found a whole shelf of antique cookbooks and bought a bunch.

[That’s when] I got the idea for my blog,” she said. “I read other food blogs and I was like ‘Surely

someone is doing something where they cook out of antique cookbooks and use old recipes,’ and I couldn’t find anyone doing it on the Internet, so I was like ‘okay, I’ll try.”

She has blogged desserts ranging from upside-down peach cakes to blackberry cinnamon roll cookies to almond rum cream pie. Each of these recipes comes from one of her fifteen antique cookbooks, but has been redesigned by Kas to accommodate her millennial readers’ interests, which she jokes are mainly five minute desserts and Nutella.

“

I could make a pie in my sleep now.

I’ve learned how to work with quality and efficiency .”

“I made an almond rum cream pie recently and it said ‘a crumb crust,’ and I didn’t know what that meant. It probably meant graham cracker crust, but it had way too much butter in it, and I knew the crust wouldn’t

harden,” Kas said. “So, I changed that, redid the whole recipe, and redesigned my own almond crust instead.”

Kas publishes a blog post each week, always featuring a new recipe. Her blog has gotten attention from strangers, friends, and family alike.

“I started a ton of social media accounts, like Tumblr and Pinterest, and I bought my own domain name. It’s funny how many people just comment asking questions, like ‘hey, can I use this kind of pan for this?’ By the end of the year, I will have my own website, not just a blog, where I can interact with my followers more.”

However, Kas’ greatest hardship is not the baking itself, but taking photos of the results.

She has to plan her routine around the sun.

“I make Tumblr and Pinterst posts for every recipe and I submit photos [from my blog] to other food blogs,” she said. “It’s time consuming. You’d think if the food looks good to you, then you should be able to take a picture of it and have it look really good,”

Photo courtesy of Kas Tebbetts

EASY AS PIE: Senior Kas Tebbetts has turned her love for cooking into more than just a hobby. Kas has a cooking blog with over three thousand followers and works at Emporium Pies in Oak Cliff every weekend.

she said. “No. You have to have perfect natural light. It has to be kind of over exposed. It’s so particular.”

To the baker’s eye, her obvious zeal for the kitchen is enough to prove her culinary skills, even in the popular Emporium Pies pie shop, located in the Bishop Arts District of Oak Cliff. Working long hours that start before sunrise and sometimes do not end until 4 p.m., she is the youngest person who has ever been hired to bake there.

“When I walked in [for my interview,] they were like, ‘we’ve been reading your blog all morning!” I think it was the blog

that got me the job,” Kas said. “I could make a pie in my sleep now.

I’ve learned how to work with quality and efficiency.”

Kas does not plan to attend culinary school, but she hopes to continue baking throughout her life. A large dorm kitchen is a credential that is impacting her final college decision.

“When I bake I can make something that I’m really proud of it. I can be really creative and I can share it with people who will be really happy when they eat it. Honestly, I’m just really proud of a very pretty pie. It’s extremely rewarding too, cause you get to eat it.”

In the Spotlight...

Josh Rudner

Asst. Online Editor

Some start playing an instrument or learning to play a sport earlier than others.

For senior Olivia Das, she began dancing when she was only five years old.

At her mother’s suggestion, Olivia took ballet and tumbling classes. She hated most of her early dance experiences.

“I came home crying to my mom every day,” she said.

After taking a break from dancing for a few years, Olivia started taking hiphop classes when she was nine and has been learning and performing ever since.

She attends various types of dance classes, starting at 4:30 p.m. after school, either three or four times a week at Southern Edge, a dance studio in Frisco, TX. On the weekends, she is either at the studio practicing form for over five hours, or performing with her troupe in Fort Worth.

With classes ending at 3:55 p.m. and her dancing starting at 4:30 p.m., she now has 35 minutes to pack up her things and drive to Frisco. Olivia said that the drive can be hard.

“Until freshman year, I did dance every single day after school,” said Olivia. “I would

have to spend every extra second I had in the library doing work. Even then, I would have to stay up working till 1 a.m. every night.”

She was on Greenhill’s dance troupe her freshman year, but decided to quit. Olivia said that the time and effort she devotes to dancing at Southern Edge made it difficult for her to continue doing both. Along with dancing outside of school, Olivia sings for the choir at Greenhill.

Though she currently dances at Southern Edge, Olivia has switched studios several times. Her frequent switching has made it difficult to develop close relationships with her fellow dancers.

However, Olivia has had the same dancing instructor for several years, who she has followed to different studios.

“We have gotten really close,” she said.

Now that she is a senior, Olivia has been navigating the college admissions process, trying to find a school where she can dance.

“I didn’t like the lifestyle of professional dancers, but I still wanted to dance in college, and the only program that I found that I really love is at Chapman.”

Outside of dance, Olivia said she is very interested in social sciences. She particularly enjoyed taking Mr. Lowen’s Introduction to Sociology class. Although she doesn’t foresee

Photo courtesy of Olivia Das

DANCING QUEEN: Senior Olivia Das has been dancing since she was five years old. Currently, Olivia dances at Southern Edge in Frisco, where she spends anywhere from three to five days a week. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career as an arts administrator.

a career in dancing, the fine arts are still important to Olivia.

“I’d like to be an arts administrator after college,” Olivia said.

Despite the stressful rush hour drives

and the pressures of senior year, Olivia said it’s all worth it. “[Dancing] is kind of a therapeutic thing for me,” said Olivia. “It acts as a release for me.”

the

Sports

See p. 14 to learn why you need to start cheering for the Dallas Stars.

Photo by Lili Stern

FRESH FACES: Freshmen starters Ashley Isenberg (left), Kionce Woods (middle left), Jade Currington (middle right) and Megan Olomu (right), hope to prove this season that despite their young ages, they can bring the varsity basketball team to new heights. As of Dec. 9, the team’s record was 8-3 after opening the season with a five game win streak.

Freshmen Phenoms

Girls Varsity Basketball welcomes four freshmen to their starting lineup Varun Gupta Executive Editor

A group of girls wearing green jerseys take the court, ready to run their play. The whistle blows as a speedy basketball player rounds the three-point arc and sprints towards the opponent to set a pick. Ball inbounded, the play is live. Freshman Ashley Isenberg, a few steps behind the three-point line, catches and releases the ball. This is her first made shot as a starting varsity player.

Ashley starts alongside three other freshmen this year to stack a relatively young starting lineup on the Girls varsity basketball team. Junior Ellen Margaret Andrews (also the editor of this section on the Evergreen staff) is the fifth starting member of the team.

Last year, the team graduated five players. Senior captains Naya Sharp and Elaine Pennington return for their final season. Off to a 8-3 start, the varsity girls say they are eager and ready to support these varsity newbies to help them to capture a repeat-SPC championship title.

Girls varsity basketball coach and US math teacher, Darryn Sandler said finding a rhythm with a relatively young team will take time.

“So many people have to learn so many new things that you don’t have to do with an experienced team. We are starting essentially from scratch,” said Mr. Sandler.

A few starters have played high school teams previously and find the on-court adjustment to be less daunting.

“For me, on my club team, I already play at a high school level so it was not really

By the numbers Compiled by Joseph Weinberg and Ellen Margaret Andrews

that much different,” said freshman Jade Curington.

Jade and freshman Kionce Woods moved from public schools, where they said playing basketball was a top priority. They also competed on club teams year-round since middle school.

Freshman Megan Olomu, who will start as shooting guard, decided to tryout for basketball last spring. She said the decision came after getting a concussion and fracturing her collarbone in Club Soccer last year.

“I had to drive back with [the injury] and it was just like honestly a time to think about my life and regroup and say, ‘What is beneficial for me in the future?’” said Megan.

“I plan to play [basketball] all four years because usually when I make a decision I stick with it. I don’t like switching.”

She played competitive basketball on a club and school team up until seventh grade.

“I haven’t picked up a basketball for a long time. A lot of people know things about basketball that I have missed out on, so I have a lot of catching up to do,” Megan said.

“I’m going to work really hard. It’s going to be a process, but I feel like I’m ready for it.”

Four out of five starters are learning a completely new offensive formation, called Five-Out, and other schemes for offense and defense.

Coach Sandler assessed each player during the fall to judge the girl’s compatibility with the other players.

“I see how coachable they are. When we teach them something, how quickly can they pick up on it,” Coach Sandler said.

Total number of students new to Greenhill who are on varsity sports for the winter season.

Nine of those athletes are freshman.

16

Faster pace and a higher level of physicality, he says, are the major adjustments for a varsity athlete.

“Our team doesn’t have people who are 6-foot-2 and slow. Everyone is an average height and athletic, so we are able to switch easily. We’re never at a disadvantage, so we can match up on our people pretty well,” Ashley said.

The team lacks height, however, to defend the basket. With the varsity team’s tallest player of 5-foot-10, they do not have a true post player.

“

I think we have to have the mindset that age doesn’t matter.

Even though [seniors] are four years older than me, that does not necessarily mean they are better.

Aggressiveness is not a problem, according to many of the girls. They know how to play in man-to-man and zone formations on defense.

“We have to play a different game. We have to go about how to guard them even though we don’t have someone that size. We can shutdown the guard and force them to pass it to the big man,” Ashley said.

A player’s willingness to break bad habits is another quality that Coach Sandler said he values.

“Unfortunately some people can have success with bad form and habits when they are younger, but the pace of the varsity game is so much faster and the athletes are

1

Number of seniors on the Boys varsity basketball team. After graduating six seniors last year, the team hopes the leadership of Evan Duffy, the lone senior, can translate to success on the court.

better that if you don’t have good form, it is harder to be a consistent good player with bad form and habits.”

Ashley said she wants to reach 1,000 points by the end of her high school career.

She set the goal partly due to her sister, Hayley’s success. Hayley Isenberg ‘15 earned two All-SPC awards and TABSC All-State honors. She now plays Division I basketball for Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. But she is scared to overstep her role as a freshman, and admits that communication on the court is something she needs to work on.

Traditionally, freshmen athletes observe veterans, but this year the roles are reversed.

Some freshmen say being a starter adds pressure.

Other freshmen say the playing rotation should not affect your role as a player.

“I don’t feel like starting is that big of a deal. I feel like every part of the game is very important,” said Jade. “It’s just about how you play while you are in.”

For the team to remain competitive, freshmen starters will need to outgrow their fears. The team says their first tournament was a good starting point.

“I think we have to have the mindset that age doesn’t matter. Even though [seniors] are four years older than me, that does not necessarily mean they are better. That just means they have more experience, and so playing in tournaments helped a lot,” said Ashley. “It made us not feel scared knowing we can play people who are older.”

Number of total miles the boys and girls Varsity Swim team swam in their meet against Woodrow Wilson High School and Trinity Valley School on December 9. Greemhill one both the boys’ and girls’ meet.

9.75

the

Evergreen

wednesday, december 16, 2015

Ellen Margaret Andrews Sports Editor

Since the first time junior Rheagen Smith stepped on the soccer field when she was four years old, she had a dream: to don the colors red, white, and blue, and play soccer for team USA in the Olympic Games. Since this moment, Rheagen has not stopped in her journey to reach her goal. Most recently, she got one step closer when she committed to Texas A&M University (A&M) to play the sport she loves.

“Since I was little I’ve wanted to go to the Olympics for soccer.

Not much has changed. I still love the sport just as much as I did as a kid. It’s kind of all I’ve loved.

It’s always been consistent,” she said.

Carving this path hasn’t been easy. Though Rheagen comes from a line of athletes (her father Emmitt Smith, a professional football player and her mother, Hope Wilson, a fitness instructor) Rheagan has always wanted to be her own athlete.

Drawn to the unpredictability and competiveness of soccer, her coaches say that she is not only a natural talent, but a hard worker too.

Rheagen has been playing for the Dallas Texans Soccer Club in the Elite Clubs National League under Coach Leo Meric for five years.

She began getting recruited by colleges in the summer after her eighth grade year when dozens of college coaches began to watch her team play and send her letters

“She’s a very hard worker and a difference maker. When the game is tied, she can change the game in any minute.”

Throughout her recruitment process, Rheagen has had to intently focus throughout the entire time to continue to keep them impressed. It was a stressful process, she said. “[The coaches] will offer you [a spot on their team], but the offers are not going to stay there forever. I’ve been stressed since freshman year about college,” she said.

A&M immediately seemed to be the perfect fit for her, says Rheagen.

“The soccer program is historically good in the [Southeastern Conference] and last year [A&M] went to the final four and that was amazing, and finished second in the nation. It doesn’t get much better than Texas A&M,” she said.

Not only was the soccer program exactly what she was looking for, but other factors that will affect her off the field helped influence her decision.

“My parents didn’t want me to go far [from home] and I kind of wanted to have my car on campus freshman year,” she said. “[And] the food was amazing.”

This past Oct, she had the chance to go to the Chula Vista Olympics Training Camp with other top level girls soccer athletes from around the country. For Rheagen, this trip was a once in a lifetime experience.

“I got to see so many

Offseason Practices Standardized

Asst. Arts Editor

Ross Rubin Staff Writer

At the start of the 2015-2016 school year, the sports department standardized offseason practice at the start of the 20152016 school year, so that “offseason” does not become a full-time after school commitment for students who play multiple sports. While before this year, each sports team had separate offseason practices in the high performance center, now all boys’ teams go to the high performance center for thirty minutes twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays and girls on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The practices are homogenized for multiple sports so they are less specific to the workouts each team needs. In doing this, the new offseason workout sessions may free up some time for multi-sport students who would have previously spent much more required time in the high performance center.

“Obviously [it’s] not ideal that we are lifting with lacrosse and track teams because we use none of the same muscle systems,” Dan O’Brien, a senior, said. “Lifting got less specific. But I think overall an improvement because we get better access to facilities.”

In making the changes this year, the athletic department took away the word “preseason” so that now students are either in season or not in season.

“We don’t want to get stuck in our ways but we don’t want to be so flexible that we don’t have anything to stand on,” Chad Wabrek, Head of Athletics

13

Committed to a Dream

in the mail. Since then, Rheagen has gotten the opportunity to visit many colleges and meet players and coaches in the process. After the visits, she narrowed down her options to three DI schools: A&M, The University of Notre Dame, and The University of Texas at Austin.

Ultimately, she committed to A&M in July 2015.

For Rheagen, this accomplishment of committing to college was one the proudest moments in her life.

“I was super proud of myself because this is something I did on my own. My parents didn’t get me there. I got myself there. They did not put the work in on the fields, they did not score the goals, they did not get recruited. It was probably one of the greatest moments of my life,” she said.

Varsity Girls Soccer Head Coach, Paige Ashley, said she was not surprised to learn that Rheagen had committed to A&M. “She’s a very dynamic player in that she has some attributes, just natural, physical gifts, that you can’t teach someone,” she said. “She has a really super high ‘soccer IQ.’ So there are a lot of subtleties of the game, in terms of natural instincts about places to be, that she does very, very, well. She also has a lot of finer polish to her game that would make her very desirable by a lot of different programs.”

According to Coach Meric, while Rheagen’s speed and strength make her stand out as a player, other attributes help contribute to her success on her field.

Sophie Bernstein

sports

& Physical Education said about the athletic department changes. “That’s by design.

It’s not out of pressure from families. It’s not out of dissatisfaction from student athletes.”

While most students are content with the change, some wish that the offseason practices were the way they were before.

“I don’t think it’s efficient,” said junior Peter Diaz. “I think it’s helpful for some of the sports but specifically with baseball which is much more technically based, we should be putting our time towards much more important things.”

“

Obviously [it’s] not ideal that we are lifting with lacrosse and track teams because we use none of the same muscle systems.”

The athletic department also tried to clarify the rules surrounding offseason practice for students and coaches.

Coaches work with their teams for a restricted amount of time in addition to the streamlined practices if the timing does not overlap. At the same time, they are not allowed to have practice on Fridays in the offseason.

Students are required to work during their offseason and go to the practices in order for them to progress as athletes.

“We just want [student athletes] to stay healthy in the offseason-- that’s really our number one objective,” Mr. Wabrek said.

“If we want to make progress we can’t look at the offseason as a time to do nothing.”

Photo courtesy of Rheagen Smith

TURF BURNER: Future Aggie Rheagen Smith splits defenders to score.

Olympic athletes. It was kind of overwhelming but it was the most amazing experience of my life.

Everybody there was good, and everybody there was competitive,” she said.

The days at Chula Vista were busy, filled with practices twice a day, and film sessions or meetings in between.

Although there was some time for the athletes to do homework, Rheagen said that because of the busy days, and another training session looming in the evening, any free time was usually used to rest and nap.

Despite the busy schedule however, Rheagen said that she feeds off of this type of environment.

“If I want to go to the Olympics, and be on the national team, then I’m down for it. I’ll do whatever it takes to go,” she said.

Coach Meric said he thinks that Rheagen has the ability to fulfill these dreams and one day represent her country in the Olympics.

“She definitely has the talent and tools, she just needs to keep working hard and putting in the extra work. She has a lot of potential to play at the next level,” he said.

Rheagen will not leave for college for another year and a half, but she is very excited about her future as an Aggie.

“Texas A&M is going to be the team to watch out for,” she said.

14 sports

the

Evergreen

wednesday, december 16, 2015

Op-Ed: Support the Stars, They Deserve It blades. Some are perfect skaters; some have a slap shot that could bring tears to your eyes.

The game is gritty, tough, and thrilling, but at the same time, is an athletic masterpiece.

The Stars are at the top of ESPN’s Power Rankings and still, every time I walk down the hallway raving about them, I get weird looks and the classic one-liner of “nobody likes hockey.”

No matter if you call yourself a hockey aficionado or not, if you are a Dallas sports fan, it is vital that you root for the Stars. What Jamie Benn and his Stars are doing on the ice is akin, or even more impressive, to the record that the Dallas Cowboys had last season.

Photo courtesy of the Dallas Morning News

Stars attacking duo Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn celebrate a goal against the Penguins.

spotlight, is at the top of all the defensive statistics.

The Stars are managing to win in a unique fashion. After encountering severe goaltender reliability problems last season, Head Coach Lindy Ruff has decided to split time between Antti Niemi, an offseason pick up from the San Jose Sharks, and veteran Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen. This goaltending duo has been impressive from the start, and only has seven losses to date.

Anyone who enjoys competition should be able to find merriment in hockey. There is one objective in ice hockey: get the puck into the net. The game is rigorous, exciting, fast-paced, and easy to understand. Sure hockey is a low scoring game. But not Dallas Stars hockey. Exciting is what the Dallas Stars do best. They lead the NHL in goals per

game, averaging 3.48.

There is a lot of other stuff that also goes on.

Do you like a good fight? Those can be seen in hockey when tensions boil over between competitors. One of my favorite sounds in the world is Antoine Roussel, the Stars penalty man, engaging in the right kind of body-crushing check against his opponent into the plexiglass boards.

When penalties do occur, the player is sent off the ice and into the penalty box for an average of two minutes as his team plays down one player. Let’s just say, it gets pretty exciting.

One common misconception about hockey is that it is solely a game for Neanderthals. But these so-called Neanderthals glide around on tiny

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“

It is necessary that you, as Dallas sports fans, give the Stars the complete and undivided attention they deserve. Otherwise you have no right to call yourself a Dallas sports fan.”

But there is a key difference. The Cowboys was praised and talked about in every household, yet the Stars have just managed to crack the surface of the Dallas community.

This is no one’s fault, it’s part of Texas culture. I think it’s time we try to revolutionize that culture.

So jump on the bandwagon. Buy a hockey jersey, watch reruns of their latest electric victory, brag about them to your friends up North.

Don’t worry, I won’t tell them that you only jumped on the bandwagon after reading this article. written by Zoe Allen

THINK...FRAMING!

SOUTHWEST GALLERY

It’s getting hard to cheer for the Dallas Cowboys. Injuries and lack of leadership have plagued the team since Sept, and it shows in their 3-8 record. The Mavericks are bordering between being great and being average, as usual, and baseball season has concluded. For the last few years, it’s been hard to find a consistently stellar Dallas sports team to root for.

This Oct, all of that changed.

The Dallas Stars were looking to start fresh after a disappointing last season when the team missed the playoffs. There was plenty of optimism though: their captain, Jamie Benn, had won the Art Ross Trophy for the most points in the league, and offseason acquisitions, Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya from the 2015 Stanely Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks roster, added experience to the young roster.

Fast forward to late Nov. The Stars have played 25 games so far this season, and have the conference-leading record of 21-5-2 for a total of 44 points, a total that currently leads everyone else in the league by three plus points, and everyone else in the Western Conference by at least seven.

This is no minor feat. Sure, the varying Texas temperature in the dead of winter might occasionally make any Northeast hockey team temporarily wonder if the very ice they are skating on might melt under their skates. And though ice in Texas might be scarce, great ice hockey players are not.

Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have the second most and third most points (goals and assists) in the league, respectively.

Benn has tallied the most goals so far, and Seguin is not far behind. Not only has Benn posted these impressive numbers, he is widely regarded as currently the best player in the league. John Klingberg, a Swedish phenom that has gained his fair share of the

wednesday, december 16, 2015

Jewish, Not Jew...ish

the

Evergreen

afterwords

15

Sunday, praying before meals, and reading the Bible at night. However, my heritage is more than that.

My dad was raised Jewish, and in fact, didn’t fully convert to Christianity until he was 40. My dad’s whole side of the family is Jewish, and that runs deep.

My great-grandparents came here from Poland and Lithuania. They hoped for a better life in America without anti-Semitic discrimination. They didn’t know a lick of English. They left their brothers and sisters behind, who eventually died in concentration camps in the 1940’s.

Today, I feel like a part of me identifies with the Jewish community. No, I didn’t have a bat mitzvah. No, I don’t fast for Yom Kippur. But my heritage is half of that Jewish line.

I always knew that every year we sent my grandparents a Chanukah gift. I remember my dad explaining to me some New Year during September every year,

which I now know is Rosh Hashanah. To me, the Bible was always just the Torah… plus extra scripture about Jesus.

I went to an elementary school in Highland Park. I remember a Christmasfilled December: coloring Santa Claus, writing Christmas lists, and singing carols every day. When I came to Greenhill in fifth grade, I was introduced to something new: diversity.

That diversity has cultivated my love and understanding of the Jewish culture and religion itself, allowing me to better appreciate my heritage as well.

When I try, however, to bring up my background or relate to Judaism, I am shut down, even in the Greenhill community.

People tell me I’m not Jewish, that I don’t get to talk about it like I know what I’m saying.

When it comes to Judaism, I am often treated like I’m stupid. But I have a unique outlook.

I am a religiously Christian, but “culturally half-Jewish” person. But I have always been

treated just as that gentile who tries too hard to understand something she can’t.

Jewish Studies Club is the exception.

On E days, I go to Jewish Studies Club, often times the only non-religiously Jewish person there, and I learn. I relate. I can feel like a part of the Jewish community and though they may refer to me as the “token goy (a Hebrew term for a non-Jew),” there I express my opinions without disdain, and learn from others.

In third grade, I once mentioned to a classmate that my grandparents were Jewish.

The immediate response was, “They’re going to hell.”

I understand what anti-Semitism is.

I understand Jewish history. I understand more about Jewish religion than many religiously Jewish people I know. What I don’t understand is why people can write off what I have to say about a culture and a heritage that I am very much a part of.

The strong smell of Clorox and hospital beds hit my nose as I enter one of the buildings in the nursing home. I jump over blue boxes filled with Christmas ornaments and finally get to the 6-foot, artificially lit tree. Over estimating my strength, I throw down a heavy box filled with multicultural Santa clauses. “Do you need some help?” a voice said. I look down and see an old woman, probably in her mid-70’s wheeling towards me. Without waiting for an answer she pries open a box and starts to pick out

ornaments. “What if you get the top and I the bottom, deal?” she smiled. From that moment on, one of my closest friends became this spirited old woman named Ms. Ibarra.

Every time I volunteered at the nursing home I would stop by her room or meet her in the dining hall. She would tell me audacious stories about growing up in Mexico, her journey to America, and her bad taste in men. I would listen, wide-eyed and in awe, laughing at the funny parts, and tearing up at the sad parts. Our friendship continued to flourish until one afternoon, a few days after Thanksgiving, I made my way down the hallway that leads to her room. I saw two nurses standing by the door, whispering in hushed voices. I later find out that she is very sick and must be placed on bed rest. A few weeks go by and I come back to her room, a few days before Christmas, with a soft purple bunny as a gift, clutched in my hand.

A nurse opened the door into her room.

She warned me that she was very weak and may not be able to speak. I sat next to her in silence, listening to the vibrations of her oxygen tank and the Spanish news station in the background. After about an hour of sitting there, I placed the bunny next to her and left, feeling a lot worse than when I first arrived.

With school starting again for a new year and as her health declined I didn’t get to see her until spring. In the back of my closet I have a yellow bunny that I always considered to be the sister of the purple bunny I gave her. Throughout the day and every time I opened my closet, I silently worried about Ms. Ibarra. Part of me didn’t want to see her this way. The brevity of her transformation from spirited and lively to sick and weak haunted me. How could this happen? Why her?

When I came back the next spring I was faced with the news I knew was coming all along. She died a week earlier in the middle of the night in her sleep. I went to her old

room and saw it all packed up; boxes full of her stuff were ready to be thrown away or donated. Along with her stuff stacked in a corner of the room was a box with the purple bunny on top.

I was shocked. How she could go from the vibrant, talkative lady whose biggest concern was her hair to sick and unable to leave her room so quickly? We will all end up in a box.

Yes, I said it.

Life is not forever and when it ends all there will physically be left of us will be the box we are buried in. You come into this world with nothing and you leave out the same way. The only thing that truly matters is what can’t be physically left here on this earth. No one will remember the stuff you had or the purple bunny in your room. They will remember your spirit, your heart, and your intellect. So ask yourself the question.

What’s in your box?

It is a hot August late afternoon - usually the weekend before school starts - and my friends and I are gathered once again on a bunch of couches in front of a big flat-screen television. Exhausted after bowling or minigolfing, we all have our magazines and notes ready to go. Yes, it is time for the annual

fantasy football draft.

The commissioner of the league attempts to talk over all the noise and explain the draft rules to the members of the league even though someone will still ask a question about the rules five minutes later.

The league members fight over who gets each piece of furniture in the living room with no one wanting to be the fourth person squeezed onto the couch. We usually make it to the 5th round of 16 before it is time to take a break for some pizza and dessert. The arguing begins about who has drafted the better team so far.

We make it through a few more rounds that include some strange picks and a couple of attempts at drafting players who no longer play football. Then it is time for some more food and ping pong and basketball. We

finally finish the draft with practically no one caring who they are drafting by the end.

Then the debating and trade proposals (even though we just drafted) start up. Let the season begin.

This is a day my friends and I have always looked forward to for the last six years and I can only hope it continues for at least the next six. While I know we will all be going different places all over the country next year, I hope fantasy football is something that can keep us together and in communication. It is one of the few things we all find interest in and something we can do together.

While the arguments and trash talking do not stop from September to December whether we are talking at school or texting in the fantasy football group chat - it never

gets old. Despite many teachers and other students telling us it is just a game about “fantasy” football and that we should get over silly arguments, playing fantasy football with my friends is a memory that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

I have no idea where our draft will take place next year. There is a chance it will take place in a bunch of different dorm rooms and time zones across the United States. This bond and friendship that my friends and I have developed from fantasy football will never be broken. I truly believe we can keep this going even if we are not with each other every day in the coming years. Sometimes a simple game based on fantasy can bring people together like no one would have ever imagined.

“Dude, are you actually wearing that sweatshirt again? Who are you listening to because that song sucks?”

Sometimes questions only produce a yes or no response.

“Is this teacher so weird or what?”

I soon realized that not all questions are good. The saying, I learned and kept close to my heart, now felt like a dirty lie.

For example, take a BuzzFeed quiz.

Through a questionnaire called ‘Should I study or watch Netflix?’, it ultimately recommended that I procrastinate studying for a test based on my lax personality.

Switch on the evening news. Don’t you think that ObamaCare is bad? Watch the interrogation subject stutter and backtrack before even having a chance to defend him or herself. Recently, in a Presidential debate, Republican candidates publicly criticized the quality of questions from CNBC moderators.

I dissected a ten-minute segment on CNBC, pausing at sections when anchorwoman Kelly Evans asked questions

starting with the 5 W’s. I stopped the video only once at the nine-minute mark.

Evans twisted evidence to fit an agenda and argued with Senator Rand Paul to the point of anger. Rather than asking fair questions about his view on voluntary vaccines, she made false statements. The interview escalated into a yelling match, ending when Senator Rand Paul shushed Evans.

As a journalist, I was furious at the reporter’s behavior and questions. Journalists should ask questions to inform viewers and not to serve an ulterior motive.

The media sets bad examples for how to ask questions. They negatively impact how we communicate with one another.

First, we should eliminate loaded questions, or leading questions, that accuse people of committing a crime or behaving unethically when the facts are unclear.

Because these questions are misleading in nature, interactions that involve loaded questions often end in anger and disgust.

As American citizens, we have failed to uphold fair and equal treatment when we accuse a person or group without evidence.

After all, freedom of thought that drives productive discussions is the spirit of the first amendment at its heart.

We should also try to eliminate stupid questions. As a generation accustomed to tweeting and posting statutes on Facebook, we tend to think all of our words are important. Follow the general rule: if someone were to ask you that question, would you answer it? If not, keep it to yourself. There are dumb questions.

It is our civic duty to ask productive questions and spark open discussions.

Stupid questions lead to futile debates while unbiased interrogation that avoid presumptions can indeed result in positive change.

The next time you are sitting across from a peer, I urge you to ask “why?” rather than insert in your opinion. It is harder than you think.

One night every year, my mom will make latkes. My dad and I will play dreidel, we’ll say a prayer in Hebrew, light the candles of a Menorah and then the next day go to church.

No one can be defined by a word.

A few words that define me.

White. Female. Brunette. Loud.

Christian. Jewish.

Christian and Jewish, yes both of them.

I was raised Christian, going to church every

What’s In Your Box?

An Annual Tradition

Accusations Are Not Questions

“There are no bad questions.” My teachers continuously preached the saying while I devoutly listened. From a young age, I religiously believed that asking questions was the only way to learn. When I disagreed with my parents, I asked, “why?” When I got stuck on a math problem, I asked, “What am I doing wrong?”

As I grew older, however, my perception about the validity of questions began to change. Questions started to carry stronger connotations. Sometimes the questions were loaded and shot insults at my classmates.

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wednesday, december 16, 2015

Boards That Bond Members of the Greenhill community united by a love of board games Dominoes Five teachers – Jennifer Tirrell, Michael Haskins, Jim Kondysar, Cathy Falk, and Jacobo Luna – play dominoes at lunch every D-day. Since most games of dominoes are limited to four players, they play a special version of the game called the “Mexican Train”, where the object of the game is to play all of the dominoes from one’s hand onto a “train” of dominoes. According to Mr. Luna, the dominoes group was founded last year.

“The best part is I get a chance to see people of different departments at least once every cycle and we actually have a break from school,” said Mr. Luna. “It’s just creating that specific moment in which we are disconnected from our job and that takes all the stress out and we finish the game and then we go back to work happier. I wish everyone had a game so that we could build community.”

To his competitors Mr. Luna said, “See you on D-days!”

Dungeons and Dragons Seven Greenhill teachers and faculty members, including Barrett Ide, Jeff Funkhouser, Chad Bittenbender, Michael Haskins, Trevor Kendall, Steele Sternberg, and John Simpson, play Dungeons and Dragons together on alternate Fridays.

Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game where each player tells the story of their own character while interacting with the game’s setting and the other characters. Characters solve problems, find treasure, and gain experience points along the way.

Mr. Ide, who enjoyed role-playing games when he was younger, started the group with Mr. Funkhouser.

“I enjoy being able to sit down face-to-face with a group of friends for four to five hours and just hang out and have fun,” said Mr. Ide, “It’s an opportunity for me reconnect with a pastime I had so much fun with growing up.”

Role playing games don’t have winners or losers like most board games; instead the players work together to achieve their goals.

“As in any good story there are setbacks and failures along the way for the characters,” said Mr. Ide, “but as long as people are having fun, everyone wins.”

Settlers of Catan A large portion of the senior class has become hooked on the popular board game, Settlers of Catan, a civilization building game that requires strategy, trading, and luck.

Senior Abby Grindstaff brought the board game to this year’s senior retreat, where many seniors played the game for the first time.

“I just started relentlessly bothering my friends to play with me until someone finally agreed,” said Abby.

Senior Mose Kane also taught his friends to play Catan, and now, lots of seniors play Catan together, and even host Catan parties.

“I’ve hosted a few games at my house, I’ve attended one larger ‘tournament style’ Catan party, and we played a bunch of games at the senior campout,” said Abby.

Abby and Mose have the most Catan experience and Abby says she finds herself most competitive with Mose.

“He is the only player that has the experience to match my years. He plays a good game,” said Abby.

Graphic by Areeba Amer