November 2021 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

Evergreen

November 3, 2021 Volume 57, Issue 2

the

Everything Greenhill

strains of

success

Photo Illustration by Ravi Vasan

Discipline

Achievement

Development

How does Greenhill discipline students?

Dean of Students Jack Oros discusses his enforcement philosophy, p. 8

What is a “good” student? In a time of rising college admissions pressures and COVID-19 stress, the definition is evolving, p. 9

The social and emotional costs of COVID-19 are still emerging, and the impact on adolescents is significant, p. 10

Informing Greenhill since 1966

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2

News

Seeking Equity in Gr

ing

Saara Bidiwala

G

rades are a source of anxiety for many Upper Schoolers, but this is especially true for students with learning differences. For them, small details in questions can make a world of difference in their test grade.

“To contextualize what a dyslexic error is for me, I have solved math problems completely correctly only to copy my answer from 139 to 193 and box the switched-up numbers,” senior Aimee Stachowiak said.

“I have read test questions but missed out on important words like which answer does ‘not’ show, or simply was unable to spot the difference between two test answers that look identical besides one word being switched.”

In an effort to reduce some of students’ worries and establish more equitable grading practices at Greenhill, members of the faculty read a book over the summer called “Grading for Equity.” The book sparked many reflections among teachers as to how Greenhill’s grading practices could better fit the ideals discussed by author Joe Feldman.

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I think that it allows kids to take the class at a bit of a personalized pace. Since Greenhill is so academically demanding, I appreciate the forgiveness of reassessments.”

For one thing, Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester says he was prompted to change how grades are entered into the school’s learning management system, Blackbaud. Teachers are now required to use letter grades or scores between one and four based on the competency-based learning system.

“We have wanted to align grade books to the 4.0 [GPA] scale, and when we were transitioning to Blackbaud, we had been told that the Blackbaud grade book would allow us to do just that – have a conversion scale where every grade is entered as a letter grade, which would then convert to the 4.0 scale,” Worcester said. “The reading spurred on my decision to get us closer to the letter grade/4.0 scale, even if the Blackbaud grade book does not provide us with that option.”

Competency-Based Learning More Upper School teachers and departments in general have been adopting competency-based learning practices, which allows students to be tested on different skills and reassess those skills as many times as they want.

The Science Department is one of the main proponents of this system as the majority of its teachers use a competencybased or similar grading system.

“We use CBL models in part because

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Photo by Max Kettles

REASSESSING: Sophomore Alex Wetzler reviews his Honors Algebra test. The Math Department is introducing new grading for students to prove concept mastery.

it shifts the conversation to, ‘Where am I in terms of gaining this skill or using this knowledge?’ as opposed to, ‘Why did I lose 4 points instead of 3,’” Upper School Science Department Chair Treavor Kendall said. “It also gives students multiple opportunities to demonstrate what they can do.”

Many students have responded favorably to this shift, citing reassessments as their favorite part about it.

“I think that it allows kids to take the class at a bit of a personalized pace,” senior Will McDonald said. “Since Greenhill is so academically demanding, I appreciate the forgiveness of reassessments.”

Teachers from other departments are gradually inserting competency-based grading practices into their classes. One such example is the Math Department, which is exploring and starting to introduce different “non-traditional assessments” to give students the flexibility offered by competency-based assessments and the structure of traditional numerical grading, according to Upper School Math Department Chair Darryn Sandler.

Upper School math teacher Melissa Battis is implementing reassessments already to better reflect students’ understanding of material rather than just their test performance.

“Because students learn and understand material at different speeds but the test is at one set time, we have created a way for students to show mastery of prior material later in the year,” Battis said.

Traditional Systems Though many students are generally in favor of this trend toward competencybased learning systems in the Upper School, some still say they prefer the simplicity of a

Photo by Max Kettles

GRADING CHANGES: Upper School recently shifted the grading policy to reflect letter grades and standards-based scores as opposed to numerical grades on a 100-point scale.

traditional numerical grading system.

Senior Isabelle Kronick is one of these people, saying that, because she’s more familiar with the numerical grading system, she prefers it.

“I guess that’s how I think of it because that’s what I used first,” Kronick said. “You turn in an assignment, and you get a grade.”

Kronick is not the only person to feel this way. Teachers at Greenhill can choose which grading system they want to use, so long as multi-sectioned classes use the same grading system and courses’ scores can be translated to letter grades on Blackbaud.

Thus, many teachers, including Upper School history teacher Adrian Martinez, haven’t embraced competency-based grading systems.

Martinez uses a “comparative system” for his Global History class where he places papers into different piles based on how each paper compares to other students’ and then assigns a letter grade to each pile.

“I grade like this because I detest rubrics,” Martinez said. “In a nutshell, I think they are inherently subjective and provide merely the guise of objectivity. I do think it’s possible for two papers to meet the terms of a rubric and [to] walk away thinking one paper is clearly better than the other. I’d rather reward the paper I think is better with a better grade.”

Sophomore Hannah Gaswirth, who was in Martinez’s Global History class last year, says she was skeptical of comparative grading at first but ultimately learned a lot from Martinez’s methodology.

“He was the teacher that really taught me how to write, and I wouldn’t be nearly as good of a writer without being in his class,” Gaswirth said.

Consistency Is Key Stachowiak believes that no matter which grading systems are used in Greenhill classrooms they should remain consistent to make sure students can appropriately gauge their progress.

“When Greenhill picks a policy, this policy should be universal and consistent from class to class, from teacher to teacher,” she said. “It should be made clear what constitutes a 2 or a 3 besides simply stating, ‘A student makes frequent errors,’ versus, ‘A student makes some errors.’”

At the end of the day, Upper School department chairs and administrators are welcoming student feedback because it is valuable in shaping the division’s grading policies.

“We are constantly evaluating what is best,” Sandler said. “We are open to exploring other grading systems to determine what is best for our students.”

Southwest Preparatory Conference Fall Championships New Family Mid-Year Check-In with Lee Hark

!0%1'()*!+,-.!2 SPC Fall Championships

!3(4$%'()*!+,-.!5 SPC Fall Championships

!3$6'()*!+,-.!7 Graduation Style Preview and Tea

!"$8&'()*!+,-.!9 Plural Commons Book Discussions Parents Association Forum: Tackling Difficult Conversations with Our Children (grades 5-6)

This Month !+,-.!:; Preschool and Lower School Conferences

!+,-.!:< Varsity Boys Basketball at Cowtown Tip-Off Tournament

!+,-.!:5 Association of Texas Small School Bands Jazz Clinic Concert Middle School Musical Performance of “Elf, Jr.”

!+,-.!:9 Early Dismissal for Thanksgiving Break (Nov. 19-29) Junior Varsity Boys Basketball at Guyer Tournament Varsity Girls Basketball the Houston Christian Tournament

!+,-.!;: Varsity Boys Basketball the RJ Hampton Showcase

!+,-.!;; Varsity Boys Basketball at the Mavericks Showcase

!+,-.!;9 Professional Development Day

!+,-.!<= Parents Association Forums: SocialEmotional Learning Workshop Series

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Evergreen Ever the

News

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Texas Hold’Em: The 2022 Governor’s Race Comes Into Focus Sophia Li, Pooja Sanghvi

conservative record as governor, but he is taking criticism from the right and the left.

O’Rourke was quick to point out the consistent failures of Abbott and the Republican-dominated Texas legislature.

“The fight in front of us right now is [winning the governorship],” O’Rourke told the New York Times.

“And given the deep

T

he votes in the Nov. 2 balloting on eight state constitutional amendments have barely been counted, but most politically minded Greenhill students and faculty are already looking ahead to 2022 and one of the most closely watched gubernatorial elections in recent memory.

The fireworks will start on March 1 with the primary election. Incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is currently facing four confirmed Republican challengers, including Allen West, the far-right Army veteran and former Florida congressman who recently concluded a stormy tenure as head of the Texas Republican party. West has been an outspoken critic of Abbott, claiming the conservative governor is too liberal.

So far, three littleknown

Democrats have announced their candidacies for governor. There is also speculation that former Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke will throw his hat in the ring after losing a hardfought U.S. Senate race against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.

Another potential electoral wildcard is actor Matthew McConaughey, an Austin resident who has mused openly about running for Texas governor, although he hasn’t expressed a party preference. The filing deadline is Dec. 13.

The general election is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2022.

“Abbott is being challenged so far on the right, but there is no Democratic candidate right now,” said Upper School History Department Chair Amy Bresie ’96. “When that gets settled out, we will have many more conversations.”

A Democratic win would be historic.

Given that Texas is a traditionally red state, students doubt that will happen. The last Democratic governor of Texas, Ann Richards, left office in 2006.

Abbott has held the office of governor since 2015.

Most of the heat thus far has been generated by Texas Republicans, with farright elements criticizing Abbott for his

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

early support of COVID-19 quarantines and other measures deemed as “anti-liberty.” Among the loudest voices has been that of West.

During West’s time as chair of the Texas GOP, he critiqued vaccine mandates, supported allegations of 2016 voter fraud, and praised the S.B. 8 law banning abortions after six weeks.

In response to criticism from the Republican fringe, Abbott has tacked to the right in his political stands on abortion rights and immigration and, more recently, transgender rights and the teaching of critical race theory in public schools.

Abbott’s Record Abbott contends that he has a strong

damage and chaos a n d incompetence that is connected to Greg Abbott, from the winter freeze, the abortion ban, the permitless carry, the antimask mandate, the terrible toll that COVID has taken on this state and where it has decimated populations along the border, like in my hometown of El Paso, this is what we need to be focused on right now.”

The winter freeze that O’Rourke referred to, in February 2021, demonstrated what many believe to be the inability of Abbott and the Texas government to safeguard state residents.

In an effort to boost profits for the Texas economy, the state’s energy grid is independent of the national grid. This led to devastation across the state, as 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power in the severe winterstorm.

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Abbott is being challenged so far on the right, but there is no Democratic candidate right now. When that gets settled out, we will have many more conversations.”

Photo courtesy of Flickr Images

Photo courtesy of the US Congress

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Incumbent Governor Greg Abbott, left, and challenger Allen West compete in the Republican Primary for the upcoming Texas gubernatorial election.

If a Democrat hopes to credibly challenge Abbott, O’Rourke’s scrappy 2018 Senate race against Cruz could prove to be a model.

Zack Malitz, field director of O’Rourke’s senatorial campaign, described the strategy: “Build a voter contact machine that enables thousands of volunteers in every single one of Texas’ 254 counties to have conversations with more voters across the state than any campaign in Texas history.”

Civic Duty Many Greenhill students say they view Abbott’s possible reelection with dread.

“Abbott has accomplished a lot of

his personal goals already, especially with the abortion ban,” senior Ari Appel said. “If he were to be reelected, he will take a more hardline approach to things he’s already attacked.”

Despite the election still being a year out, it has already generated interest and discourse throughout the Greenhill community.

“When elections come around, teachers will promote voting,” senior Alex Little said.

“Students that are eligible to vote are pretty well aware of their civic duty.”

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Given the deep damage and chaos and incompetence that is connected to Greg Abbott, from the winter freeze, the abortion ban, the permitless carry, the anti-mask mandate, the terrible toll that COVID has taken on this state and where it has decimated populations along the border, like in my hometown of El Paso, this is what we need to be focused on right now.”

A survey of 22 members of the senior class reflected high levels of political engagement among eligible voters, with nearly 70% of seniors aware of the governor’s race. 100% of those eligible to vote have already registered to vote, and roughly 71% of those surveyed plan on voting in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

Greenhill students have traditionally taken pride in making their voices heard on election day.

“Voting is our responsibility, and the most accessible way to use your voice and create tangible change,” Little said. “If you are passionate about a particular issue in society, voting is the best way to see change happen.”

4 News

Evergreen Ever

Isabel Martinez

The new building is intended to be a place where students from all grades can gather to work on STEMrelated activities at any time, not only when students have a class in the building. The new center will include places to gather and talk, places to watch engineering projects, and classrooms and labs.

“When you think about the Agnich Science Building, students didn’t go there unless they had a class,” Head of School Lee Hark said. “What we want this new building to be is a magnet for students. My hope is that, when the building opens, you’re going to want to be there.”

Hark says that because nobody could ever see what was really going on in the previous science building the new STEM Center will also have more windows and natural light worked into its design.

As for the curriculum, the STEM Center will house more than just the chemistry, biology and physics programs.

Upper School Robotics, Middle School Engineering and Design, and math and science classes will all be housed in the new building.

In addition, Director of Innovation Matt Abbondanzio will be leading a new innovation program when the STEM Center opens.

“The science faculty are all working hard to redesign how we teach science,” Hark said. “This is a whole new product launch, almost like a school within a school. It’s something entirely unique with a heavy emphasis on engineering and design.”

Hark says that people have had great reactions toward the new layout of the STEM Center and are extremely excited for its grand opening in 2023.

“It’s an unbelievably exciting project for the school that has the potential to change [lives],” Hark said. “This is a really exciting moment in this school’s history.”

the

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

STEM Center Planning Progresses

T

he Women in STEM club got a preview of the muchanticipated new science, technology and math center in a recent campus presentation by the project manager.

The presentation was delivered by architect Margaret Sledge of the Philadelphia firm of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, students said.

“I’m really grateful we got the opportunity to see the building plans,” said Women in STEM President Varsha Gande. “It’s going to be really interesting to see the building process start soon.”

The official plan for the new STEM Center won’t be released until January.

“The architects [from] Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Architecture just finished what they call the ‘design development’ phase,” Associate Head of School and Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer Kendra Grace said. “That was pretty final, and now we can really move on from here.”

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When you think about the Agnich Science Building, students didn’t go there unless they had a class. What we want this new building to be is a magnet for students. My hope is that, when the building opens, you’re going to want to be there.”

At the Oct. 20 campus presentation, the Women in STEM club members got a “tour” of the new center with virtual reality goggles. A short question-and-answer session followed.

Greenhill plans to open the new STEM Center in August 2023.

The Facebook Whistleblower Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen came forward and released thousands of internal research documents, known as the Facebook Files, in early October. The files showed that Facebook has deliberately prioritized its interests over those of users.

These documents first appeared in the Wall Street Journal before Haugen revealed her identity.

She shared the fact that Facebook boosts misinformation and hate speech intentionally because that content gets the most engagement and reaction from its users, which is the goal for any social media company. Instead of implementing measures to ensure safety across the platform, Facebook hid its knowledge of the potential danger to users, maximizing its profits instead.

On Oct. 18, Haugen testified in front of Congress.

The social network has ignored the controversy. On Oct. 28, Facebook announced that it’s changing its company name to Meta.

Military Coup in Sudan The military took control of Sudan’s government on Oct. 25. Many government officials, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, were taken to unknown locations after being detained and arrested.

In 2019, Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a coup. Since then, the country had been ruled by a shaky government compromised of military officials and civilian groups.

Recently, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan claimed that cooperation with civilians threatened the peace of the country and led another coup; however, he claimed that an “independent and fair representative government” would stay in control as the country waits for the 2023 elections.

There have been thousands of protesters in the streets of the capital, Khartoum, opposing the military coup. Two people were killed and as many as 80 injured when security forces opened fire on protesters marching for a peaceful transition of power and fair elections.

Russian and Chinese Warships Threaten Japan

Photos by Hanlon Shedd and Pooja Sanghvi

STEM AND INNOVATION: The location of the new STEM Center is ready for groundbreaking. The Women in STEM Club was able to preview the building design and ask questions about the project using virtual reality goggles.

On Oct. 18, five Russian and five Chinese warships completed a circle around the Japanese mainland amid rising tensions between China and Japan over China’s breakaway province of Taiwan. Taiwan’s growing trade with Japan has antagonized China. Japan, which relies on Taiwan for 90% of its energy needs, views Taiwanese security as critically important. Nonetheless, China follows its “One China Policy,” which states that Taiwan is part of mainland China. China has recently flown an unprecedented number of war planes through the Taiwanese air defense zone and has developed intercontinental ballistic missiles that travel at hypersonic speeds.

The ships were meant to intimidate Japan, and by extension the United States, because Taiwan and Japan are both allies of the U.S. The Japanese government is already calling for an increase in military spending to counter Chinese hostility.

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n his presidential campaign, President Joe Biden promised to stop the construction of the border wall and reunite families.

A year after his win, 545 families remain separated and more continue to be detained.

In Hidalgo County, Texas, wall construction started this summer. I guess promises are optional.

Biden actually proposed a comprehensive immigration plan in February. It included a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants and generally expanded routes for legal immigration. Now, Biden’s given up on his own plan and is only pushing Republicans to pass specific policies, like expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which they already agreed on.

The thing is, Biden could have gotten most of his more comprehensive plan into law even without Republican support.

The president has expansive power when it comes to immigration he can freely designate temporary status to people the administration determines cannot return home or grant “parole-in-place” to waive the normal legal barriers to entry. There is no reason why he couldn’t use both these paths to protect immigrants without asking congress to vote on anything.

So the fact that Biden has abandoned these options shows he’s content with acting only through compromise with Congress, even though he knows that without abolishing the filibuster, the stuff Democrats really want won’t happen that way.

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The humanitarian crisis happening under this administration on the southern border disgustingly mirrors some of the darkest moments in America’s history."

But compromising on major issues for the Democratic Party has consequences, especially when remnants of the Trump administration’s strategy remain in place a year into Biden’s term.

Within the Democratic Party, immigration is deeply divisive. According to a 2019 NPR poll, 51% of Democrats support decriminalizing illegal border crossing. Even Vice President Kamala Harris advocated for this strategy during her bid for the presidency. While Biden never supported this and neither did most of the country, it’s his approval ratings among Democrats, not moderates, that is falling.

According to an Oct. 6 Quinnipiac University poll, only 49% of Democrats think Biden is handling deportations appropriately. 22% of moderates and 3%

of Republicans approve. If Biden isn’t convincing Republicans on immigration now, he’s never going to.

The test of any administration is how it responds to crises. A sudden influx of refugees to the U.S.-Mexico border in midSeptember meant Biden could prove he was true to his word. But since then, his administration has deported 4,000 Haitian refugees. Border patrol officers were filmed chasing and corralling refugees attempting to seek asylum. These migrants were treated like cattle by the Department of Homeland Security under a president that promised to treat migrants humanely.

“The humanitarian crisis happening under this administration on the southern border disgustingly mirrors some of the darkest moments in America’s history,” said National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Derrick Johnson to the Washington Post. “If we were to close our eyes and this was occurring under the Trump administration, what would we do?

The inhumane treatment of the Haitian refugees is utterly sickening.”

Even worse, the Biden administration treated the Haitian refugee crisis as a public relations problem without ever stopping the deportations.

“To see people treated like they did, horses barely running them over and people being strapped, it was outrageous,” Biden said in a press conference. “I promise those people will pay.”

His administration, however, continues to use Title 42 of the Public Health Service Act, which allows officials to use extraordinary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, to deport Haitian refugees without allowing them to make a claim for asylum.

To be fair, most border wall construction has been paused, the travel ban on people from 13 Muslim-majority countries has been lifted, and a task force to reunite families was created – although a task force that doesn’t do anything can’t really be considered a big positive.

That was the bare minimum. Any Democrat would have done that.

What Biden needed to do was not just reverse almost universally criticized policies. He needed to set a new plan to fix the U.S. immigration system. Even though Republicans don’t currently support it, they cannot be blamed fully for the failure of our president to create such a plan. Biden has the bully pulpit and the power of executive order, and he should at least try to use them.

What Biden says and doesn’t say on core party issues like immigration matters.

As president, Biden is the leader of the Democratic Party. It’s time for him to start acting like it.

mmigration has been an important issue in America for decades, and it's no surprise that public interest has only grown with a new president in office in a far more normal term.

Many liberals have been dissatisfied with the Biden administration’s efforts at the border. They feel that there is a lack of fundamental change to create an immigration plan that looks different than that of the previous Republican administration.

One Trump-era policy that President Joe Biden has left in place is Title 42, an emergency policy that allows U.S. authorities to bypass regular immigration laws and automatically expel almost all undocumented migrants to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Biden administration recently deported 5,000 Haitians and sent over 12,000 others to federal immigration facilities throughout the Southwest.

Biden loudly encouraged an increase in tolerance for immigrants during his election campaign. He also made many promises about what he would do to help undocumented immigrants, saying that he would direct Congress to create a legislative pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. But now that he is in office, and the people that he encouraged to come to America are here, Biden has decided to take a different approach.

It almost seems as if he can’t live up to the unrealistic picture he painted of what U.S immigration could look like if he was elected, and his supporters can’t seem to understand why he isn’t fulfilling his promises. But for those of us who never bought into Biden’s utopian immigration promises, it makes perfect sense why he is turning people away and keeping some policies from the Trump administration in place.

I find it important to note that in a perfect world, almost every American citizen would believe in Biden’s plan for immigration.

Conservatives are often accused of not caring about immigrants and not feeling sympathy for the unfathomable struggle of those who have been forced to leave their home countries to try to seek asylum in America. I genuinely wish that our nation could open its doors to every person who seeks the opportunities that America provides.

But those who lean to the right see that opening our doors to every single person does not give immigrants the support and benefits of the American economy and infrastructure. Instead, it threatens their opportunities and the opportunities of other

Americans.

When we open our borders to innocent people in need, we are also unfortunately opening them to those who are not so innocent. Welcoming people into our nation without limits exposes us to a higher threat of human-trafficking, crime and violence.

If America stops putting an emphasis on the systems in place to encourage legal immigration rather than illegal immigration, unemployed citizens will face the consequences. The Pew Research Center estimates there are more than 7.5 million undocumented immigrants in the labor force. Assuming that their unemployment rate is similar to the national average of 3.7%, undocumented workers hold more than seven million jobs.

This negatively impacts wages and opportunities for unemployed Americans, as undocumented workers are often preferred because of their willingness to accept lower pay and their reluctance to complain or cause problems that could lead to their deportation.

This disproportionately impacts people of color, as their unemployment rate is about twice as high as the white unemployment rate.

Illegal immigration also has a negative impact on the public school system, and an influx of undocumented children is a burden that schools are not equipped to bear. Most urban schools are already overcrowded, and the rapid increase of undocumented children has put a strain on America’s schools and caused a decline in the quality of public school education.

Taxpayers end up bearing the brunt of this education burden, particularly since many immigrants aren’t paying taxes commensurate with their children’s educational needs. Many undocumented children also need more assistance to help them become more familiar with the English language, which means that schools must allocate more funds toward language programs and less money toward extracurriculars and supplies such as books and new technology.

Immigration is important, but only when regulated and managed at the local and national level. As Americans, we have to stop glamorizing the idea of illegal immigration, as its negative effects have a large impact on American citizens that have needed support and attention for decades.

Tighter borders obviously don’t fix everyone’s problems. But in a situation where every answer seems wrong, I believe that acting in the best interest of U.S citizens and helping immigrants in a more limited and systematic way addresses the problem best.

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Features

Carrying on the Kasten Legacy: Amy Bresie ’96 Ava Iwasko

I

n the summer of 1983, almostkindergartener Amy Kasten had no idea that a family trip to the Six Flags Over Texas theme park in Arlington would turn out to be her introduction to the area she would one day call home.

Days earlier, her father, Dan Kasten, had gotten a call from Greenhill School asking him to come to campus for a job interview.

Kasten had already interviewed for a job at a school in Kansas City and had every intention of taking it, but his daughters, Amy and Jennifer, desperately wanted to go to Six Flags.

For the Kasten family, the interview at Greenhill was an excuse to visit the theme park. That changed when Kasten arrived for his interview.

“We came to Greenhill, and my dad put one foot on campus, met with people and absolutely loved it,” said Upper School History Department Chair Amy Bresie. “My sister and I both literally interviewed to become Greenhill students in our swimsuits, having just been pulled out of the hotel pool.

The rest is history.”

Student Life The best moments Bresie remembers from her time as a student were from the connections she made with teachers. She loved participating in the design and layout processes of Greenhill’s newspaper and literary arts magazine. She also enjoyed tech theater.

“Synthia Rogers in the Theater Department and Marilyn Stewart and Christine Eastus in the English Department were people that had so much influence on me growing up and continue to have influence on me,” Bresie said. “I still keep in touch with all of them.”

Bresie says Greenhill prepared her well for her future experiences in academia.

“When I went to college, I was one of the best prepared people that I knew,” she said. “I still have never had a class that was harder than the AP Literature class I took here at Greenhill. [The class] taught me how to write, how to think and how to work hard.”

While academic skills were crucial to Bresie’s growth and success, she says the most important thing Greenhill gave her was a sense of shared connection with a larger group.

“Greenhill taught me to care about being part of a community, and that being

a part of a community and finding my own community matters,” Bresie said. “That’s something I’ve been really passionate about for my whole life.”

A Passion for Teaching After graduating from Greenhill in 1996, Bresie attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. She then received a master’s degree in American studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002.

Following a six-year period of teaching English at two different Catholic schools, Bresie received her doctorate in history from Texas Christian University in 2014.

Around the time she completed her graduate studies, a position opened in Greenhill’s History Department. Bresie has been teaching Upper School history ever since.

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I just get excited because there are different ways that students find themselves in that class, and a lot of students let it move them toward action.”

Because both her parents were teachers, Bresie feels that teaching is a part of who she is.

I’ve always been a person that loves school,” Bresie said. “I love learning new stuff and talking about new ideas and I love sharing those ideas. I learned from my parents the satisfaction and joy that come from education.”

Bresie currently teaches U.S. History, Women’s History, and War at Home: The WWII Homefront. She says one of her favorite classes to teach is Women’s History.

“There’s something really incredible about getting to teach that class, especially to high school students,” Bresie said. “Usually that’s a class that most people don’t take until they get into college, and I think that’s a shame because there are so many issues that, to be honest, 16-year-olds really need to talk about when it comes to gender, equality and history. I love having those conversations with students.”

In past years, the class hung up consent posters around the school and created artistic educational zines on gender equality issues. Last year, the class even organized a protest of Greenhill’s High Performance Center’s policies that led to a change in the dress code.

“Dr. Bresie has taught me that uncomfortable things should be talked

Photo by Hanlon Shedd

INSPIRING ACTION: One of the classes that Amy Bresie teaches is Women’s History, a semester-long elective course. Bresie says she hopes to give students the agency to create change in crucial issues such as gender-based discrimination in the workplace.

about, especially when it concerns the campus which we learn on,” said senior Lilly Thieberg, who is currently taking Women’s History. “I don’t think many other teachers would do it, but she always lets us express our opinions and never shuts us down when we have something important to say.”

Bresie enjoys watching students find their interests during this semester-long course.

“I just get excited because there are different ways that students find themselves in that class, and a lot of students let it move them toward action,” Bresie said. “To me, that seems like the point of education: not just to have people memorize things, but to have [those things] then internalized and lead them towards making the world a better place.”

Junior Chancey Stefanos, who took Bresie’s U.S. History course last year, agrees that Bresie’s teaching style and energy allowed her to truly learn about her interests during a year characterized by virtual learning.

“Last year, I was able to do my final research project on gender inequality in art museums,” Stefanos said. “I really loved how Dr. Bresie gave me as much leeway to research as I wanted, and I was able to dive deeper into a topic that truly interests me.

Not many teachers give their students as much freedom in their assignments as Dr. Bresie does.”

Coming Back to the Hill There were many reasons Bresie decided to come back to Greenhill to teach after being a student and child of a faculty member here.

“I came back to Greenhill because Greenhill gave me a lot and I wanted to give something back,” Bresie said. “I came back to Greenhill because this is a community that I loved and that had been a part of my life for a long time. I came back to it because how cool is it that I got to overlap with my dad for a while?”

Dan Kasten left a lasting impact on the Greenhill community. He became a Greenhill Legend in 2011 and even has a room named after him in the English pod.

One particularly important contribution Kasten made was coming up with Greenhill’s original core values of honor, respect and compassion.

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He taught me to question. He taught me to treat people with respect and to treat everybody as if I have something to learn from them. He taught me a lot about compassion, and that, when you lead with compassion, you’re never going to go wrong.”

Bresie and her father were coworkers for two years before Kasten retired in 2016 after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

He died in 2017, leaving behind a legacy of 33 years as a Greenhill teacher, mentor and moral compass.

“When that happened, it was sort of remarkable: The entire school just wrapped him and my whole family in the most amazing love and support,” Bresie said.

Kasten wrote a letter to the Greenhill community that was published in the October 2016 issue of The Evergreen that expressed the gratitude he felt after being diagnosed with cancer. His letter also reflects his daughter’s thoughts on the Greenhill community.

“For thirty-three years, I have been part of a community that, again and again, finds ways to bring honor, respect and compassion to the murky challenges that confront us,”

Photo by Hanlon Shedd

IN ‘HERSTORY’: Amy Bresie follows in the footsteps of her father, Dan Kasten, a Greenhill teacher and icon for 33 years.

Kasten wrote.

Bresie shares her father’s sentiment.

“We have nice buildings, but a lot of schools have nice buildings,” Bresie said. “We have great programs, and a lot of schools have great programs. We have peacocks, and I guess that’s unique. But the thing that makes this place magical for me is just the people here, the sense of history.

People here have my back. There’s a level of support with my fellow faculty members that is really special.”

The Kasten Legacy Bresie says her father remains her biggest inspiration for how to live her life as both a teacher and student of the world.

“When I wake up in the morning, I pretty much think, ‘What would Dan Kasten do?’ and try to implement that through my own little lens,” she said.

Kasten taught Bresie to approach the world as a “curious pilgrim.”

“That’s certainly how he lived: always learning new things, always approaching the world with a sense of awe and wonder,” Bresie said. “He used to remind his students that they were all made of stardust and that we should have this sense of awe in approaching the universe.”

Bresie says her father’s wisdom guides her in the way she moves through life.

“He taught me to surround myself with people that make me better,” she said. “He taught me to question. He taught me to treat people with respect and to treat everybody as if I have something to learn from them.

He taught me a lot about compassion, and that, when you lead with compassion, you’re never going to go wrong.”

The third generation of Kastens at Greenhill comes in the form of Bresie’s son, sixth grader Leo Bresie. Bresie hopes her son will find the same lifelong relationships she found when she was a student at Greenhill.

“I’m still friends with people I went to Greenhill with,” Bresie said. “Those connections go really, really deep and [are] lasting. I want him to have that level of depth to his relationships. I want the people he’s friends with now to be people he’s still talking to when he’s middle-aged.”

This gift of understanding and appreciation Bresie speaks of is something she hopes she also instills in all her students by the time they walk out of her classroom.

“I hope that I made people feel seen, appreciated and heard,” Bresie said. “I hope that I would’ve steered them to try to understand their world a little bit better, to take action when they see something that’s wrong and to have a compass to guide their actions. If I’ve done that, then that’s a pretty good career.”

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Evergreen Ever the

Features

7

How to be Successful in AP Physics C Jothi Gupta

A

P Physics C is a high-level physics course offered by the Upper School Science Department.

Current seniors faced different requirements in their journey to AP Physics C, but the restructuring of the science curriculum has changed the path for students going forward. Freshmen are now required to take the year-long Physics class. Incoming sophomores, juniors and seniors wishing to take AP Physics C must have completed the freshman Physics course.

The math prerequisite for the class is AP Calculus AB or BC, although either math class may be taken at the same time as the AP Physics C class.

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but it is good preparation for the AP exam.

Nightly homework consists of problem sets, and test review incorporates numerous multiple choice and free response questions available on AP Classroom. It is important to spread out homework across multiple nights because it can easily become unmanageable if it piles up on one day.”

- senior Pranav Mukund

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“Make sure to review all of the material from AP Physics 1, which really helps with the mechanics portion of the class. Most of what we’re doing right now is expanding on last year’s material, so it’s important that you have a good grasp on the AP Physics 1 content.”

- senior Ella Dzialowski

“I used more active preparation methods. Instead of only reading through class notes, I went through more practice problems, which were really helpful.”

- Anagha Gouru ’21

9",)' .(' )"*' :#0;%#,&' %.;*' .+' 45' 5"-(.6(' 78' “The workload in AP Physics C is heavy,

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

Ravi Vasan

The first semester is focused on physics mechanics, which is most like AP Physics 1.

The second semester is focused on electricity and magnetism, which comprises most of the new material.

The class is most often taken by students interested in engineering or physical sciences. At the end of the year, students take two AP Physics C exams: the Mechanics exam and the Electricity & Magnetism exam.

The class is taken by seniors and occasionally juniors. Last year’s students took the class in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, so their experiences may differ slightly from those of current students.

Nonetheless, Anagha Gouru ’21, a former AP Physics C student, says the class adapted well to the virtual learning environment.

We’ve asked AP Physics C alumni and current students about the class, and here’s what we learned:

<#:' &.&' -#$' 20*2,0*' 3#0' 1,=#0' %,>(' #0' *?,1('.+'45'5"-(.6('78 “I would go over the weekly quizzes and my answers so that I knew why I got them wrong. AP Classroom had a lot of practice problems, too, so I used those as well. For labs, one piece of advice I would give is to not procrastinate. Space them out and try to get them done as soon as you finish the lab.”

- Anagha Gouru ’21

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-#$')"*'1#()8' “We do a lot of hands-on labs that test the relationship between various forces and

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

types of energy. One lab that resonated with me was when we shot a projectile into the air and calculated the amount of energy it contained at certain points.

We used that information to calculate the maximum height the projectile would reach.

Another cool lab involved determining the relationship between a string’s length and the number of times it wrapped around a bar.”

- senior Pranav Mukund <#:':,(')"*'*?,1'6#12,0*&')#')"*'6%,((8 “The class prepares you well for the exam because much of what you do in the class (i.e. quizzes and practice problems) already utilizes past AP questions.”

- Anagha Gouru ’21

Seniors Regain Privileges

enior off-campus privileges resumed Sept. 6 after suspension during the 2020-2021 school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, seniors were only allowed to leave campus for lunch during the last month of the school year. This year, class officers introduced a contract early in the year that each senior and a parent were required to sign to be eligible for privileges.

“We talked to previous senior class officers from the past two years to figure out what would be reasonable goals and expectations,” Senior Class President Will McDonald said.

Class officers worked with Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester to craft parameters for seniors. For the first semester, seniors are allowed to leave campus twice a week for lunch. During the second semester,

they will be able to leave three times a week.

Juniors may also earn these privileges later in the year. Junior privileges will depend on the discretion of administrators and negotiations done by the junior class officers.

“Juniors usually get some sort of privileges in the spring, but I don’t think that happened last year because of COVID,” said Senior Class Dean April Burns.

Senior privileges can be taken away.

“Leaving campus without checking out is very clearly not okay,” Burns said, “As stated in the handbook, it could create a consequence as severe as suspension.”

So far, there have been no confirmed infractions. Burns and senior class leaders say they expect a year without any major impediments.

Nonetheless, senior class officers and

Upper School administrators are concerned that allowing senior privileges means oncampus protocols will not be followed.

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I think they’d have to go pretty much out of their way to violate the guidelines and rules. I don’t think anyone in the grade would want to do that because they know that it would put senior privileges for the entire student body at risk.”

Greenhill requires all individuals on campus, vaccinated or not, to wear a mask when indoors. But it’s impossible to ensure that seniors are wearing masks or are following Greenhill’s COVID-19 protocols when they drive off campus.

Currently, Dallas County has no mask

mandate. If seniors choose to have lunch at a restaurant where masks are not required, the responsibility for maintaining safety protocols falls on the individual.

This is just one example of how Greenhill’s protocols cannot be implemented off-campus, even though students return to campus soon after leaving.

Nevertheless, McDonald predicts little disobedience to the contract regarding senior privileges because it would be difficult for any rule-breaker to do so without facing serious repercussions.

“I think they’d have to go pretty much out of their way to violate the guidelines and rules,” McDonald said. “I don’t think anyone in the grade would want to do that because they know that it would put senior privileges for the entire student body at risk.”

Photos by Ravi Vasan

BACK TO “NORMAL:” Groups of freshmen, left, get their lunch from the Crossman Dining Hall and remain on campus, while seniors have the privilege of going off campus to eat two times a week in the fall semester and three times in the spring. Juniors may also earn these privileges later in the year, if they meet certain behavioral standards.

Evergreen Ever the

8 Features

Upper School Discipline: “Stern with a Heart” Diane Lin, Pooja Sanghvi

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hether it’s managing the cafeteria line, teaching Advanced Placement Statistics or making Community Time announcements, Jack Oros can be seen all around Greenhill’s campus. His role as Upper School Dean of Students means Oros is a friendly face that students often rely on for support.

It also places him in charge of Upper School discipline.

Oros has been the student dean for 10 years and a teacher for 33. He describes his approach to discipline as strict but compassionate.

“You have to be stern with a heart,” Oros said. “You have to make sure that kids understand that there are consequences, but kids are kids. If a Jack Oros student skips class, they c a n’ t be suspended for a day because there are reasons behind their actions.”

Oros believes that being empathetic and forgiving makes for an effective disciplinary system.

“Not only are we teaching students how to write and how to balance equations, but [also] how to be good citizens,” Oros said. “And if a kid screws up, you can’t immediately kick them out of school, and you can’t dismiss it. The community cannot ‘cancel’ a student just because they made a bad decision.”

reflection,” Oros said. “But, if [a student] were to repeat it, it means they haven’t learned anything from the process, so we may have to go through some process again.

If that happens again, they’re obviously not willing to take the steps necessary to be a part of the community.”

Another method of reporting misbehavior like cheating is through the Honor Council. The council, which is made up of two to four representatives from each grade and a faculty sponsor, sees between six and 12 cases a school year, according to its former faculty sponsor, Jason Gajderowicz.

“All the time with detentions, students will be doing [their assigned task] and will think, ‘Oh, this is fun,’” Oros said. “One time last year, I assigned a kid detention to deliver snacks with me at snack time, but he liked it so much, he continued to deliver snacks with me for weeks after his detention was over.”

Hate Speech While the more common infractions, like eating food in the Learning Commons

Infraction Response According to Oros, the most common infractions he encounters are things like plagiarism or being absent or tardy multiple times. For these incidents, a student will usually receive what is known as a detention.

Detentions vary in length from one to four hours and can be either after school or on a Saturday. They’re task-oriented, so they involve activities such as cleaning whiteboards or sorting through dry-erase markers. Longer detentions include writing reflections or reading articles.

Suspensions are reserved for more serious offenses, such as using offensive language and egregious or repeated honor violations.

Suspensions range from one to two days. Suspensions are also reported on a student’s transcript, which is sent to colleges at the end of their high school career.

“Suspensions are issued so the students are separated from the community,” Oros said. “But they don’t last more than two days, because again, it’s more about education than anything else.”

Expulsions are the most severe and rarest of the responses and are only issued for students whose infractions are so severe that they are no longer welcome in the Greenhill community.

Expulsions are handed down for repeat offenses or particularly egregious infractions.

“The first time, we’ve explained why it’s hurtful, they’ve gone through some

The Honor Council holds hearings to determine whether or not a student committed an infraction, hearing from all parties involved before reaching a decision.

If an individual is found guilty of the infraction, they face repercussions. They may have to write an apology, receive an academic penalty or serve a suspension.

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The only way we can really do something is to let kids or families know that the situation was handled and there were consequences given out. You are never going to be able to know what those consequences were, and you have to trust that we’re doing the right thing.”

Gajderowicz also sees a different side of discipline at Greenhill as the sophomore class dean. His involvement adds a sense of urgency to a situation, but he spends more time in meetings with advisers and students to find solutions.

“I get brought in more often when an adviser is concerned about a kid and wants to help them but feels like they’re not connecting with the kid,” Gajderowicz said.

Connection and understanding of students are important to the discipline system.

Oros explains that the goal of discipline at Greenhill isn’t completely about punishing or rejecting students who have violated school rules. He says he’s aware of the fact that detentions don’t always achieve the goal of disciplinary action.

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

or showing up late to class, have a gentler response, severe infractions such as hate speech rise to another level.

“With hate speech and harassment, it’s directed right at an individual or group,” Oros said. “Those things can’t be tolerated.

We have to nip those things in the bud.”

The use of hate speech prompts more severe and less forgiving repercussions, like suspensions.

“With plagiarism, there’s kind of forgiveness and reasons why you did it, but there’s no excuse and no reason for using offensive language,” Oros said. “You can’t talk your way out of using that kind of language, especially when it’s directed at a person or group.”

The definition of “offensive language” is constantly evolving, and that’s especially been the case in the wake of #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and other contemporary movements related to gender and racial identity.

“Twenty years ago, you could use words and say things that could be misogynistic and not suffer any consequences,” Oros said. “We’re getting to a point where we as a society are not going to tolerate those things in our community.”

Some believe that the publicity and visibility of the consequences are important when the target of the offense is a person or group of people.

“The people who were affected should know what repercussions someone is facing, because they deserve to know something has happened,” said sophomore Marina Richard.

“They need to know that what happened to them isn’t being pushed aside.”

At Greenhill, however, discipline isn’t publicized, no matter the type of infraction.

“The only way we can really do something is to let kids or families know that the situation was handled and there were consequences given out,” Oros said. “You are never going to be able to know what those consequences were, and you have to trust that we’re doing the right thing.”

As communities around the school change, Oros says. Greenhill will adapt as a community.

“Using the N-word as hate speech, or just singing the lyrics of a song that’s on the radio with the N-word in it, you’re not directing that at a person, but you’re using that word which has a lot of history behind it,” Oros said. “And that’s why the conversations are necessary. We’re not going to assess disciplinary consequences on hearsay and things we’ve heard or things that may have been interpreted incorrectly.”

Some students disagree with that view.

“Saying the N-word, in any situation, is not okay, depending on who you are,” Richard said. “If you are somebody of a different race, it’s not about you, so it’s not your choice.”

Richard isn’t alone in her opinions.

“Especially as an Upper School student, people should know better than to say the N-word, even if it’s part of a song’s lyrics,” said sophomore Krish Mysoor. “We’ve been taught the history behind the word, so the use of it, no matter the circumstance, shouldn’t go unpunished.”

The Road to Reform Clear communication and trying to understand the reasoning behind student misbehavior are at the core of Oros’s approach toward discipline.

“I always ask students why they acted the way that they did,” Oros said. “‘Why are they habitually late? Why are they not wearing a mask?’ There’s usually an underlying reason.

Maybe they’ve been hurt before and they’re lashing out.”

Some students question the effectiveness of Greenhill’s discipline system.

“Students shouldn’t be able to get away with their actions,” Richard said. “But I feel like the discipline system in place wouldn’t prevent them from committing those actions.”

Oros, however, says he believes that his approach is typically effective, judging from the way students respond.

“I had a student, who had some issues early in the year,” Oros said. “When I spoke to them just yesterday, they told me that having those discussions really helped them.

They feel like they’re a better person after the readings, the reflection and healing.”

Oros believes that the key things for students to remember are respect and responsibility.

“What students need to take away is that when they make a mistake, they take responsibility for that,” Oros said. “I have a lot more respect for a student that says, ‘I know that was wrong.’ It goes a long way because you’ve got to learn how to maintain yourself.”

Special Report

9

What is a “Good Student”?

Emily Hu, Nate Stitt

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reenhill students have faced immense pressure for as long as the rigorous college prep school has been around.

Still, many students and faculty alike are struggling more than usual this year.

Community members are only beginning to get back into the rhythm of things – closer to how they once were in the 2019-2020 school year than how daily life functioned in the previous, mostly-virtual school year.

With this, full 8 a.m.-6 p.m. days have returned.

“There’s definitely a level of competitiveness to not only be academically strong, but also to have all the crazy impressive extracurriculars,” senior Johrdyn Tarpeh said. “For seniors like me, there’s the added pressure of getting into amazing colleges.”

Like many independent schools, Greenhill’s culture is competitive.

“It can be super easy to compare yourself to all the other high-achieving students at Greenhill, and to let numbers and grades impact your worth,” junior Campbell Scheer said. “At the end of the day though, it’s usually students that are the ones applying this pressure on themselves because of their own high expectations.”

While there is no clear definition for what a good student at Greenhill truly is, traditional pressures to excel – whether in academics, fine arts, sports or more – help sustain this culture.

Extracurriculars The pressure of being successful goes beyond academics – it is also present in extracurriculars like sports and fine arts.

“Everyone wants to win [Southwest Preparatory Conference], and being a senior athlete in track makes me and others feel responsible for leading our team and making it happen,” Tarpeh said.

Having this pressure to succeed can be overwhelming, especially when it’s on top of academics.

“Knowing that people are looking up to you is a huge weight to carry, and I think about it a lot,’’ Tarpeh said. “It’s definitely a stressor, but it also motivates me to work hard.”

This pressure is often applied by the individuals whose job it is to push students to their athletic limits: coaches.

“Your coach sometimes sees you more than your own family or anyone else in your life,” Upper School Counselor Amanda Frederick said. “It’s important to value that relationship and understand what the role of a coach is, and to keep an eye out for some of the red flags that teachers also look for like burnout or a student feeling so overwhelmed

that they can’t function anymore.”

Despite pressure and time commitment within nonacademic pursuits, Upper School Latin teacher Laura Hudec says that unity can help students deal with the pressure collectively.

“The power of ensemble, whether it’s a sports team or an orchestra, can help in gaining perspective,” Hudec said. “It’s that you are a member of a group of people who might be going through similar challenges.

You have that to share with each other, and you’re united towards some goal of creating something greater than what you can do by yourself.”

School Policy Stress is not inherently bad – it is a necessary biological function within humans; however, when stress becomes a threat to one’s sense of stability, our brains begin to change, which is why Greenhill has made efforts to prevent stress from reaching unhealthy levels.

“When we go into that fight-or-flight mode, our amygdala takes charge,” said Director of Social-Emotional Learning and Wellness Shanti Majefski. “This makes it more difficult to access our prefrontal cortex, which is the part of our brain that allows us to engage in higher-level cognitive processes, such as attending and focusing, planning, critical thinking, impulse control, and emotional regulation.”

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It’s about being able to keep a balance in the storm because the storms are going to happen.

What a good student does is they understand that there is an end to the storm, and they need to know how they sail through that.”

Many students and teachers cite the relatively recent introduction of the block schedule as a stress reducer, in addition to making the school start time 40 minutes later, increasing the length of passing periods, lunch and snack break, and more.

“The block schedule reduces stress for me,” senior Jasmine Najari said. “I like having two days to complete assignments and to really manage my schedule in a more effective manner.”

Instead of eight 50-minute classes daily, each class meets for 80 minutes every other day, giving students more opportunities to meet with teachers in between.

“Reducing the number of classes we go to in a day also helps alleviate some of the social pressures too, as we are in fewer groups throughout the day,” senior Ashton Higgins said.

Nonetheless, for others who have difficulty with longer, lecture-style classes,

Photo by Mateo Lanzillotta

ALWAYS WORKING: Gathering during Office Hours, students approach math tutors for help in attaining mastery of concepts ranging from Algebra 1 to Vector Calculus.

the block schedule can actually increase stress.

“It’s been very hard to sit and pay attention for that long [with the block schedule],” junior Taylor Levy said.

In addition, freshmen and sophomores are experiencing a newly implemented wellness and social-emotional learning curriculum during Community Time.

“It’s difficult to design a structure for our wellness sessions that is going to impact all students and give them opportunities to apply their knowledge in the future,” Majefski said. “However, my hope for these sessions is that, when students graduate from Greenhill, they have an ability to cope and know what actions they can take to find balance, happiness and purpose in their life.”

After COVID-19 The pandemic led to much uncertainty across campus. Additionally, there were many administrative and structural changes that upended familiar routines. Students were forced to adapt, leading to isolation.

“Now, it feels almost like school before COVID, which has been amazing,” Tarpeh said. “I can definitely feel a higher, happier energy on campus that was missing last year.”

While the pandemic isn’t over, prepandemic traditions are returning. For students, this has meant school is not just about learning: it’s also about getting back into the swing of things.

“I think students are trying to adapt to new privileges and responsibilities, but there is a lot of adjustment that is necessary,” Higgins said.

Hudec believes that the school will probably not go “back to normal,” as students’ and teachers’ experiences are forever changed.

“We’ve been through a very long stretch of trauma,” Hudec said. “I think just the acknowledgement of what we’ve been going through for the past year and a half is something people don’t want to do.”

College Prospects

Photo by Mateo Lanzillotta

GETTING AHEAD: Outside the classroom, students are able to meet during lunch to go over missed problems and review the material to prepare for upcoming exams.

For seniors, the in-person return is compounded by the college application process, which has led to increased pressure.

“College apps are one of my biggest stressors, and it is definitely taking time and energy away from my other work,” Higgins said.

In addition to this increased stress, some students have not even been able to visit the colleges they plan to apply to.

“That [lack of visits] makes it a little bit strange because the feel of the campus is a big deal for determining whether it’s the right place to apply or not,” said Hudec, who

is a senior class adviser.

Some students say there is internal pressure to try to go to schools seen as prestigious. As time has progressed, some faculty are seeing a shift in this mindset.

“It’s now about finding the best school for you and where you can contribute the most to that school, not so much about the name,” Frederick said.

The Healthy Student So what makes a “good student?” The definition is changing.

“Being a ‘good student’ doesn’t have to look like being the loudest voice in class or getting every problem right on homework,” Tarpeh said. “I think it includes being on top of your work, having a genuine curiosity about the class and engaging with class material in whatever way is most beneficial to you.”

Health and well-being must be prioritized, Frederick said.

“Truthfully, healthy students have balance,” Frederick said. “I think that an unhealthy member of our community may prioritize school over their well-being – they just don’t balance right. We need to give them the tools to do so.”

Still, there is much work to do to foster a culture that is sustainable for students – especially if they don’t fit whatever the mold of a “good student” may be — particularly by peers. Some students cite competition for actions that likely should not be made competitive, such as who got fewer hours of sleep.

“I think our community can work to shift the perspective from the output (score) to the input (the work and the learning), and trust that the score will come with the process of learning, which should be the main priority,” Scheer said.

Frederick believes that being stressed is not necessarily a sign of success.

“Real success is feeling like we’re in control of our lives in our day-to-day, and our ability to stay on top of our work and keep healthy relationships,” she said. “Our definition of success has to shift in order for us to see a culture change.”

No matter what obstacles students may face in the future, how they perceive their success will always be an individual process.

Greenhill faculty and administration are working toward a future where they can help students navigate that, particularly with student input in designing changes.

“It’s about being able to keep a balance in the storm because the storms are going to happen,” Hudec said. “What a good student does is they understand that there is an end to the storm, and they need to know how they sail through that.”

Everg Ever the

10

Khushi Chhaya, Valerie Xu

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Mental Developme Are We Still Who We

ne of the most widely cited statistics during America’s grueling struggle with COVID-19 has been the death toll. Harder to measure is what many experts believe may be the most enduring effect of the pandemic: the academic and developmental impact on children and adolescents forced into remote learning and denied the peer interaction so critical to intellectual and social growth.

While researchers are hard at work on studies aimed at assessing the toll, Greenhill students, teachers, counselors and administ rators d e s c r i b e m o u n t i n g a n e c d o t a l evidence that hints at the impact. The issues emerging from the pandemic’s pall include behavioral problems, social

anxieties and academic struggles that cut across grades.

The purpose of high school is to guide students to grow and mature, but Director of Social-Emotional Learning and Wellness Shanti Majefski says COVID-19 quarantines and restrictions have interfered with that process.

Dean of Students Jack Oros says anxiety related to the return to fully inperson classes and more normal social interaction after months of relative isolation can be seen through the recent increase in infractions a m o n g Upper

Schoolers.

“It’s an unproven theory, but it’s my theory that the year and a half of being apart has caused [students’] emotional age to be stunted,” Oros said. “Behaviors that typically ninth graders do, the juniors were doing those behaviors. And then some of the behaviors that ninth graders are doing is seventh grade behavior.”

Pandemic Impacts A November 2020 report by the National Center for Biotechnology Information cited a plethora of issues that can explain the developmental impediment caused by the pandemic. These include “decreased physical activity; increased screen time, irregular sleep patterns, and less appropriate diets in children and adolescents.”

The report also cited a study that revealed “a high prevalence of fear in quarantined children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A 2018 information sheet published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services noted that “digital interaction may curtail nonverbal communication and cues that are important for developing social skills.”

The document touched on other ways the pandemic had impaired adolescent development: “Having a broad social network [allows] adolescents to become more aware of how other people feel. The ability to empathize and to appreciate the unique differences among people increases in adolescence.

Adolescents often learn to take other people’s feelings into account, be compassionate about the suffering of others, listen actively and

interpret nonverbal cues.”

Teenagers are already predisposed to making impulsive decisions due to the lack of development in the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain responsible for decisionmaking and critical thinking, Majefski said.

The pandemic’s impact has disrupted this process.

“I would argue that maybe some of the choices that some people have made this year could be because they don’t understand what’s okay and what’s not okay,” Majefski said. “I think we have three grade levels right now that haven’t really gotten the same experience that Upper Schoolers typically get in order to learn that.”

During hybrid learning, students were highly regulated: they had to be six feet apart, were assigned seats, and were supervised constantly. There was almost no ability for incoming high schoolers to exercise their independence.

Fully remote learners who have been isolated behind computer screens for over a year are even more disconnected from their peers. As a result of being online, they have not had the opportunity to socialize or communicate, which creates an immense emotional and developmental roadblock, Majefski said.

The freshman class has been especially affected by the psychological impact of the pandemic.

“I think a lot of people don’t know where they left off with their friends,” Upper School counselor Amanda Frederick said. “High school is already a transformative time for

a lot of people, and when you didn’t get to leave things the way you wanted to, it changes the way that that transition happens in Upper School, in terms of your identity, purpose, friendships and social circle, so there is a little bit of regression.”

Freedom and responsibility are introduced in increments throughout students’ time in the Upper School. Upper School students can take more liberties when choosing classes and managing free time.

These freedoms are not given to Middle and Lower School students.

Much of the preparation for that jump comes in seventh and eighth grade, but with freshmen, students were either at home or very closely regulated when on campus, preventing them from being able to experience the transition to said responsibilities and have the “fair shot” that Fredrick mentioned. Relaxed tasks such as getting lunch or leaving class to go to the bathroom were converted to strict procedures with rules that had to be followed.

“In the last 18 months, students of all ages were managed really [closely],” Majefski said. “They didn’t have the opportunities to practice the skills that are necessary to make the good decisions and deal with day-to-day life without an adult right there. They need that independence to develop the skills that we’re talking about.”

green

ent Post Pandemic: e Were a Year Ago? Shifting Back to Normal For months last year, the only faces that freshman Aditi Vikram saw were the ones on her computer screen. The freedom and independence to interact with students and mature as a person were restricted to online discussions and Microsoft Teams calls.

Over the past two months, after going from a computer screen to a classroom, Vikram could not be more relieved for the relatively normal start to the new school year.

“I think people are a lot less close online, and you lose some connections there,” Vikram said. “So, I’m really glad to be in person, and get to interact [with] and see more faces.”

Still, for Vikram, the transition to high school is daunting enough without the added social anxiety of the sudden shift from online to in-person learning.

“High school is a lot harder than middle school,” Vikram said. “There’s a lot more work academically, and students are trying to discover who they are right now.”

Resulting Incidents Frederick says students rely on feedback from peers and adults in their lives to correct their actions and learn good habits. During the pandemic, students lost out on learning good behavior practices from their peers and adults on campus.

Last year, students were mostly corrected for behavior that broke Greenhill’s safety guidelines, such as social distancing, proper mask-wearing and one-way traffic. Students at home were getting little to no feedback, nor were they learning what not to do from their peers.

Those factors – combined with the slowed social and emotional development during the worst months of the pandemic isolation – has translated into a surge in misconduct at Greenhill. Although mostly minor, these infractions are weighing on campus culture, Oros said.

A recent trend dubbed “devious licks” on TikTok featured students vandalizing

and stealing school property and posting their results to the app afterward. The trend gained traction, setting into motion a national wave of students ripping out soap dispensers, clogging toilets

and vandalizing restroom mirrors. Greenhill had its own “devious licks” incident in late September.

Aside from more serious incidents, smaller infractions such as cutting the lunch line and littering the Student Center have become commonplace. “[Cutting the line] is something that kids are sometimes doing deliberately, but I think some kids just [haven’t developed that consideration] of themselves and others,” Oros said. “They don’t see that there’s anything wrong with that.”

Vikram says some rules violations are the result of ignorance by freshmen or a lack of familiarity with the classroom setting after a year of isolation.

“Going forward, I hope Greenhill will address things a little bit more specifically and clearly,” Vikram said. “This way, people know the consequences and know why it is wrong.”

Frederick says that creating an ideal learning space at Greenhill is a matter of balance.

“Yes, we have grace with [students] and we understand that, at this age, kids make mistakes and no one’s going to be perfect,” Frederick said.

“Greenhill still has community values that need to be upheld. Part of life is learning while still having responsibilities or repercussions.”

Setbacks and Solutions Among the enduring impacts of the months of pandemic isolation is heightened social anxiety.

“There are a lot of people that felt super trapped during the pandemic, and they were really excited to get back out and be around other people,” Frederick said. “Other people quietly liked being able to close themselves off and not have social obligations. This was zero to a hundred to come back to school so anxiety has popped up a lot.”

Spending much of last year on a screen, especially for students learning remotely, offered the option to be passively present.

Now that students are in-person, they need to be physically present in their classes and able to actively listen and respond.

“We got so used to the screen time stuff where you’re able to cop out a little bit in some ways and it doesn’t take as much energy to be there,” Frederick said. “It’s just all of it catching up with us and realizing that the world is slowly opening back up again, we’ve got to get our things together, I can’t hide to get away from this, I can’t put things off anymore.”

These “ripple effects” have not been felt in full but will continue to surface as time goes on, Majefski says. As those gaps become apparent, faculty can begin to fill them in and provide assistance and support as necessary.

Greenhill has recognized the psychological and “ripple effects” that the pandemic has had on teenagers. During class meetings, freshmen have social-emotional learning classes dedicated to addressing topics such as stress, anxiety and depression.

Although Vikram says that she believes

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

11

support programs like SEL are key to helping freshman students transition to the stressful nature of high school, she believes that the delivery of the program is not engaging enough to ensure that the message is being effectively delivered.

“During the class, we just talk about how to manage stress, how to talk to people and how to like react to different situations that might come up in our life,” Vikram said. “A lot of people just complain about it and don’t really pay attention to it, so the classes are not the most efficient.”

Instead of having a large lecture in Rose Hall, Vikram believes that the program should be broken down into shorter sessions and smaller groups to make it more engaging and connective toward students.

Freshman Samantha Aidala sees the social-emotional learning initiative as a key educational program that guides students through their complex high school journey.

“A lot of people will tell you right off the bat they don’t like it, and it’s not necessarily my favorite time of the day, but I think there

are some benefits to it when looking at raising awareness for stress and anxiety,” Aidala said.

These conversations, Aidala said, are important because they address the root cause of many infractions: stress.

In order to account for the disproportionate amount of mental health issues adolescents face, Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester says that he, in addition to counselors and faculty, are all available as support systems for students, especially during this unprecedented time.

As the school emerges from theshadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, Worcester says that it is imperative to emphasize Greenhill’s culture and core principles.

Students must have clear guidelines and restrictions as to what inappropriate behavior is to avoid it in the first place. At the same time, students must have enough freedom and liberty in their school environment so that they are able to develop and practice independence, maturity and social skills, Worcester said.

“We need to be more intentional in our conversations, get student leaders involved in reaffirming the culture we want to have in Upper School, and continue to hold accountable students who choose not to make good decisions,” Worcester said.

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

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Arts

Fall Play: The Curtain Rises

From Rehearsal to the Opening Night of “Baskerville” Emma Hoffman, Ava Iwasko

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alking into the Nancy A. Nasher & David J. Haemisegger Family Studio Theater in the final days of preparations for the Fall Play, an air of camaraderie engulfed the cast and crew as they prepared to rehearse until 9 p.m. every night.

The Oct. 28-30 production of Ken Ludwig’s “Baskerville: A Sherlock Homes Mystery,” marked a return to in-person performances by the Greenhill Theater Company after a year of pandemic restrictions. The sold-out performances capped weeks of preparations that culminated with two weeks of intense final rehearsals.

As opening approached, the cast and crew immersed themselves in the work of polishing their performances, with actors specifically perfecting their line memorization and physical blocking, or the way the actors move around the stage at different parts of the performance. Most actors were completely “off-book” and only occasionally asked for help with lines.

The play is based on “The Hound of the Baskervilles”

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a mystery novel that follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as they investigate the legend of a supernatural hound. Greenhill’s production of “Baskerville” was a mystery-comedy.

“I think it actually works in a way,” junior Ella-Rose

they’ve done. We’ve read their basic outlines and seeing their personal touch on the characters is really, really cool.”

After seeing the show, Arbuckle agrees that the characters were unique.

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We have these entire class periods that are dedicated to the characters and the actors working out who their characters are on a deeper level so they can connect to them more personally.”

“I thought the cast was very well rounded and they played their parts well,” said Arbuckle. “I also liked how a lot of the cast members played multiple roles and went Photo by Emma Hoffman against gender stereotypes.”

Students say one of the main reasons the show was TEACHING BY EXAMPLE: Under the guidance of Upper School Drama and Theater teacher Valerie Hauss-Smith, so successful was because of direction from Upper School above, the cast and crew of “Baskerville” prepare for Drama and Theater teacher Valerie Hauss-Smith. She often steps in during rehearsals, showing students how or opening night. what to improve rather than just telling them.

“I like playing a crazy character,” Levy said. “I think it’s fun to just get out of your comfort zone. It’s easier to be something else because you can play around with it more.”

Senior Will McDonald, who played the titular role of Sherlock Holmes, felt he had to unpack his character before he could truly play him.

“It was understanding the way that he thinks, that everything to him is a puzzle and that he’s constantly solving them,” McDonald said. “When there’s no puzzles for him to solve and nothing for him Photo by Hanlon Shedd to do and figure out, I think his life becomes meaningless and boring. For him, the idea Hauss-Smith also takes advice and input from her Photo by Mateo Lanzillotta of working and figuring things out is akin students, said senior Ben Hark. to breathing and thinking.”

“I’m not afraid to go over to her and ask, ‘Hey, what if we Each actor’s personal character did this?’ and she’ll listen,” Hark said. “We have these entire development process was different. The class periods that are dedicated to the characters and the characters seen on stage were heavily influenced by the actors working out who their characters are on a deeper level actors’ own changes to and elaborations of their original so they can connect to them more personally. She basically I like playing a crazy character. I think it’s characters, said Levy. finds a way to interlink everything.” fun to just get out of your comfort zone. It’s “None of these characters are really boring,” Levy said.

Even though there is always some concern that the easier to be something else because you can “Each one has something to it that these actors are [adding]. actors and crew will not be ready for opening night, Hark play around with it.”

On stage, what’s really been interesting about being a part of expressed confidence that they would put on a successful this show is seeing all of their characters’ touches and what show.

Levy said amid the final rehearsals. “These characters are so Hignite agreed. Before opening night, cast out there that it’s almost like watching a vaudeville show, members said that while amateur productions are seeing these comical characters playing usually serious always prone to error, they anticipated the show roles.” would go well.

The comedy of the play was one of the most “You can probably expect a couple of mistakes enjoyable aspects of the show, according to audience because that often happens, but I think it will go members. The humor and cues actors utilized were well in general as long as everybody knows their very entertaining, and created a fun and energetic lines,” Hignite said. atmosphere.

Actors wore masks on stage during “I think it worked really well with the murder and rehearsals, but not for performances. After a year comedy,” said freshman J.J. Arbuckle. “You don’t usually of pandemic isolation, students dealt with the see those two things combined. It really spiced things nerves and anticipation of returning to in-person up and made it interesting.” theater.

During final rehearsals, some actors frequently “It will be really nice to be able to do a regular stayed in character. Each character had a specific accent show again,” McDonald said as opening night to perfect, which they continued to polish off stage. approached. “But I’m still getting used to it, not “Figuring out the accent [was the most challenging being online. I’m nervous, but I’m excited.” part],” said freshman Fern Hignite. “I’ve always been As the actors predicted, opening night was pretty good at accents, but I haven’t had to do a German a success, and the actors’ performances were accent for anything except this, so I kind of had to enjoyable to watch, said Arbuckle. practice that.”

“They were definitely prepared,” Arbuckle Levy, who played a domestic helper for the said. “Overall, the technical aspect was amazing, Photo by Mateo Lanzillotta Baskerville clan named Eliza Barrymore, says there is and the actors were really good and seemed almost REHEARSING: As opening night approached, actors something valuable in portraying a character that is so professional.” worked on polishing their line memorization. The fall unlike herself. play “Baskerville” ran from Oct. 28 to Oct. 30.

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Evergreen Ever the

Arts

13

Debate Opens Season with Success Emma Rikalo

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he debate team has started the season with success at multiple competitions, including the Newman Smith tournament, the Greenhill Fall Classic and the Grapevine Classic.

Debate tournaments have been virtual since the beginning of the pandemic, and the program hasn’t opened up the same way as other extracurriculars, such as sports or performing arts.

“I understand why many tournaments haven’t been moved back in person for debate – audibility and seeing one’s facial expressions is way more important than it is in a sport, which means masks really inhibit one’s speech,” senior Ashley Shan said. “Even further, debate can be hosted online – it doesn’t require physical interaction, which means that it makes sense that the activities that demand physical interaction would move back in person first.”

Regardless of the venue, Greenhill students have placed highly in many events.

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Speech and debate go beyond just trophies. I think it should be part of a culture of how we approach thinking, how we approach learning and how we approach engaging difference.”

The team comprised of seniors Caroline Greenstone, Ashton Higgins, Cam Kettles, Ashley Shan and Aimee Stachowiak won the World Schools Debate event at Newman Smith. At the Grapevine Classic, Greenstone, Higgins and juniors Carcyn Coleman, Sophia Mohamed and Nate Stitt placed first.

Juniors Isabel Martinez and Madison Rojas reached the quarterfinals in the policy format at Newman Smith, and senior Shruti Siva and junior Shreeya Madhavanur were quarterfinalists at the Grapevine Classic.

Senior Varsha Gande, who competes

in Lincoln-Douglas debate, reached the semifinals at the Grapevine Classic and was tournament champion at Newman Smith.

Many students also earned individual speaker awards at the tournaments, including Kettles, Shan and Stachowiak as first through third individual speakers at Newman Smith, respectively.

Shan says the tournament was a good way to kick off the season.

“It’s a really good tournament for our team because we’re able to try out different speaker positions, as well as just get back into the groove of things and get reintroduced to debate after having such a long break over the summer,” Shan said.

COVID-19 Restrictions The remote nature of the tournaments has raised the level of competition at events that would usually be limited by geography, Director of Debate Aaron Timmons said.

“The competition is even stronger at regional events,” Timmons said. “Our tournament was one of, some would say, the most competitive major national circuit tournaments. We had folks from around forty states who were competing, and teams from Mexico and Taiwan. The national team in World Schools was also competing.”

Though debaters aren’t traveling to tournaments, students have been meeting on campus to compete in virtual events together, bringing back some in-person interaction. Higgins says this made competing in the Grapevine Classic especially memorable because he had not competed with his team in person in over a year.

Being on campus meant students like freshman Sherry Zhang were able to work more closely together and motivate one another while debating.

“For the Newman Smith tournament, we made it to quarterfinals, and I just remember giving each other hype-up speeches before our last round because we needed to win this round,” Zhang said.

Photo by Payton Blalock

ALWAYS PREPPING: The Lincoln-Douglas debate team prepares for a tournament. The program is excelling in the pandemic-era online format still used in debate competitions.

Gande says she hopes debaters will be able grow closer together this year amid easing COVID-19 safety restrictions.

“We’re trying to do a lot more team bonding this year,” Gande said.

The Long View Timmons says that students are currently working to prepare for tournaments coming up over the next several weeks, with both Lincoln-Douglas and Policy debaters switching to arguing a new topic.

In March, debaters who qualify will compete in the Texas Forensic Association state tournament. Higgins, Shan and Greenstone have already qualified.

“We’ll have a fairly large presence for the state tournament,” Timmons said.

“That is always a big goal of ours as a team.”

Students also have other opportunities to compete at high levels, such as trying out for the USA Debate National and

Development Teams. Shan and Kettles are both two-year members of the national team. Sophomore Natalie Stachowiak was selected to join the development team this fall.

“Being on the team was a really fulfilling experience,” Shan said. “Being chosen for it obviously was something I was really excited for.”

Beyond competitive success, Timmons wants the debate program to help students develop skills that will help them interact with and change the world around them.

“Speech and debate go beyond just trophies,” Timmons said. “I think it should be part of a culture of how we approach thinking, how we approach learning and how we approach engaging difference. It is developing skills to think about yourself, others and the world in a bit of a different way.” !"#$%&'(")'%*+(,#%&#-.(%/0+"'(12")3%"0%"4(,% ')50'"6

Cinema Scene: “No Time to Die” to retrieve and destroy Project Heracles, a bioweapon that binds to the target’s he long-awaited film “No Time to DNA and kills them. The villain, Lyutsifer Die” hit theaters Oct. 8 after many Safin, portrayed by Rami Malek, comes delays in its production due to the into possession of the weapon and plans COVID-19 pandemic. Anticipation has to avenge the deaths of family members been particularly intense because the film killed by the SPECTRE crime syndicate. is Daniel Craig’s last performance in the “No Time to Die” heavily alludes role of British secret to Craig’s previous Bond movies by agent James Bond. including characters like CIA agent Felix As the face of Leiter and villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Bond for the last Bond’s longtime MI6 colleagues like Q 15 years, Craig has and Moneypenny. transformed the In true Bond fashion, the film features British spy from a exotic locations in countries such as Italy, reckless womanizer, Jamaica, Norway, the Faroe Islands as portrayed by such and Cuba. Of course, the film also actors as Sean Connery, includes the quintessential Roger Moore and Bond accessories: his classic Pierce Brosnan, black suit and Aston to a deeper and Martin cars. more thoughtful The film also has character. dangerous stunts, fight “No Time to scenes and trademark Die” depicts James Bond quips.

Bond in his most With its many vulnerable state, plot twists and with everything to poignant ending, lose.

“No Time to The film Die” has stirred follows the up conversation story of Bond, in the Greenhill agent 007, as community.

We he embarks asked faculty and Photo Illustration by Emma Nguyen on a mission students what they Aria Kutty, Riya Kommineni

T

thought about the movie, and here’s some of what they had to say: !"#$% &#'(% )*+% ,#-$% $*% .((% /0*% 12&(% $*%32(45 “I’m the only girl in my family, so Bond has been a huge part of my childhood.

Every Thanksgiving, [my family and I] would go watch the films when they were released. We would do [Bond] marathons, so it was just something we anticipated.

We were just really excited about it.” Upper School history teacher Sidrah Khan “It was Daniel Craig’s last time as James Bond, and me and my family grew up watching him as James Bond, so we wanted to see his last movie as the character.” - senior Molly Fagelman 6*,% '2'% $"(% .($.78#9:;<*+-'.% *=% $"(% &*>2(% 9*-$<28+$(% $*% $"(% *>(<#??% @?&% (AB(<2(-9(5 “The sets were really good. I think they did a really good job of making everything look realistic, and that made me feel like I was in the movie.” - freshman Zara Paul “A lot of it took place in Europe. I loved getting to see the background of the European streets. I also liked getting to see all the changes in the scenery.” - senior Molly Fagelman 6*,%'2'%3#-2(?%C<#2;%$<#-.=*<&%D#&(.%

E*-'%*>(<%$"(%9*+<.(%*=%"2.%9#<((<5% “I felt like Daniel Craig progressed Bond from being this kind of guy who treats women as toys to finally having a woman that he loves.” - sophomore Pranav Joshi “I think he’s matured quite a bit, and he’s grown more confident from the insecurities of his past. We’ve never really gotten that from any other Bond, so I thought his character was deeper. I really like the depth of Daniel Craig’s character.”

- Upper School history teacher Sidrah Khan !"#$%'*%)*+%?**:%=*<,#<'%$*%-(A$%2-%$"(% E*-'%=<#-9"2.(5 “I hope they keep it going as a separate franchise rather than making a sequel or a prequel. I hope they create a new series entirely without carrying over old actors or actresses. I really hope that it’s able to have its own identity rather than being tied to Craig’s Bond.” - sophomore Pranav Joshi “I am so excited to find out who is going to play the next James Bond. There are rumors floating around that it will be a female possibly. So I want to see how that affects the storyline.” - senior Molly Fagelman

14 Arts

Evergreen Ever the

Senior Earns Latin Grammy Nomination Jothi Gupta

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t the age of 13, armed with a rudimentary understanding of the GarageBand app and the seclusion of his bedroom, senior Alex Stein found his passion: editing and producing music.

Five years later, Stein is waiting to learn whether an album on which he worked as a co-producer — “Monarca,” by rapper Eladio Carrión — will win a Latin Grammy award. The winners will be announced at the 22nd Latin Grammy Awards ceremonies in Las Vegas on Nov. 18.

“The idea that something you can make in your bedroom can go global is insane,” Stein said. “I’m always thinking about that.”

As an internet sensation known to fans and peers as “culturethewave,” Stein is still honing his craft in his home.

These days his bedroom workspace is filled with musical instruments and recording equipment from around the world. There are speakers, sound boards, amplifiers, microphones, a large computer perched on a huge desk and mood-setting neon lights.

Stein makes the melody for songs, putting together the instrumentals, drums and other background tracks with the online software Logic Pro. Bands aren’t as prevalent as they used to be, so solo artists have become more popular.

Stein says he plays his own instruments or enlists the help of others to add to his track. Artists then use his melodies to sing or rap over.

Almost immediately after he started learning the craft, Stein says he knew he wanted to produce music for a living.

“I want to be able to produce records that will be on the radio and songs that will last a long time,” Stein said.

Just like anything else, it started small.

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When I was in middle school, everyone roasted me. I kept working, and now all these same kids want to hear my music.

Just keep working. The people roasting you will change.”

“At first, [my parents] thought it was just a hobby,” Stein said. “I’m glad they thought that because it pushed me.”

In those early days, he was a self-proclaimed amateur.

“People didn’t take me seriously because my music was terrible, which was fair enough,” Stein said.

It took years of work for Stein to get to the level of skill he has now.

“When I was in middle school, everyone roasted me,” Stein said. “I kept working, and now all these same kids want to hear my music. Just keep working. The people roasting you will change.”

Stein has been an avid consumer of music since he was young, and that has informed his own compositions. He

spent years developing his skills without sending his work to any artists. He worked on his melodies and sharpened his skills on each instrument.

“I realized some of this stuff sounded like it could be on the radio,” Stein said. “I thought that maybe this can be a real

career for me.”

Although his work can be a solitary affair, Stein prefers not to work alone. Stein has collaborated with other producers and, through Instagram, connected with students his age working in the industry. He has worked with big artists and small producers, messaging them on Instagram to collaborate with them on their records, he said.

“I kept working with small producers, and we built friendships together,” Stein said. “Then we slowly started getting bigger opportunities together.”

Since he started producing music professionally at age 16, Stein taught himself how to play the trumpet, guitar, flute and percussion instruments, building on his classical training in piano. Stein says he spends hours scouring the internet for new sounds from instruments from around the world.

Once Stein needed a lawyer to ensure he would get paid, his parents realized how serious it was. Stein now has a whole team: a lawyer, a manager and fellow producers. He says he hopes that he will have a record label to support his work in the future.

After an eight-hour school day, producing music is another commitment for Stein that can sometimes be even more demanding than school.

“I probably spend eight hours working on [producing music],” Stein said.

The time he had to commit to music has grown along with his opportunities, he said.

Then, on Sept. 28, in the middle of the school day, Stein got a life-changing text. In a group chat with the two producers he worked with on “Monarca,” he received a link

to the Latin Grammy nomination website.

“I went to class after that, and I was not even thinking then,” Stein said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god.’”

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I kept working with small producers, and we built friendships together. Then we slowly started getting bigger opportunities together.”

“Monarca” is nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Best Urban Music Album category.

The Grammy-nominated work began with Stein playing around with some melodies. A producer he was working with recorded the guitar and Stein was on the trumpet. The two of them sent the sample to another producer who was on drums.

It became serious when that producer linked them to Carrión and got the beat to him. Carrión liked their track enough to use it for his hit song, “Ele Uve.” The remixed version of the song is included in the Latin Grammy-nominated album.

Carrión was the first Latin artist Stein worked with, something that thrilled him because of the inspiration he draws from listening to old Latin music from the 1930s, Stein said.

The album was especially exciting for Stein because the influence of other cultures on his sound is the reason he chose his internet name “culturethewave.”

“I listen to music from all over the world, and I’m inspired by every culture,” Stein said.

What lies in the future? Stein isn’t sure. He’s working on two big songs that are about to be released and, like most other Greenhill seniors, he is filling out college applications and trying to stay on top of schoolwork.

His dream, however, is to move to Los Angeles and continue his passion there.

“I’ll probably go to college eventually, but I don’t know if it will be right away,” Stein said. “My plan is to just get to work seriously. I’m probably going to sign a deal after I graduate and then, if I do, I’ll move to Los Angeles and see what happens.”

Photos courtesy of Alex Stein

PRODUCER AND MUSICIAN: Senior Alex Stein produces music in his home studio after being nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for co-producing a track on Eladio Carrion’s album “Monarca.” His workspace consists of speakers, sound boards, microphones and instruments, including the trumpet and guitar he played on “Ele Uve.”

Sports

15

Looking Beyond Wins and Losses

Photo by Mateo Lanzillotta

Photo by Ravi Vasan

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Head of School Lee Hark, right, and Director of Academics Jason Yaffe converse at a recent home football game at Brinkmann Field. Hark says that the success of Greenhill’s sports teams should be measured by the attitude of athletes, their work ethic and sense of school pride, not the number of games won or lost.

Avery Franks, Ria Agarwal

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t an institution not historically known for athletic achievement, students, coaches and administrators alike grapple with the true meaning of excellence in Greenhill sports.

Head of School Lee Hark believes that success is not determined by wins, but instead by attitude, hard work and the pride players have when wearing a Greenhill jersey.

“Some people use the win-loss record of the football team as shorthand for the quality of our athletic program, and that’s simply unfair and not accurate,” Hark said. “We field really competitive teams in every sport, filled with student-athletes who are very serious about those sports, practice and train really hard and perform well.”

While varsity football has struggled in recent years, winning only one game in the past three seasons, other teams such as varsity boys lacrosse, varsity girls cross country and varsity girls basketball have won Southwest Preparatory Conference championships.

One of the main goals of the Athletics Department is to generate more excitement around all Greenhill sports to raise participation and help build back a sense of community after the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Hark.

The 2025 Strategic Plan states that the administration hopes to grow excitement by upgrading athletics facilities such as the High Performance Center. “[These improvements] will help in terms of the ability for our student-athletes to train and get better, as well as with attracting families to Greenhill for whom athletics are really important,” Hark said.

Generating Attention Having a full student section at games also motivates players to perform at their best, so Greenhill continues to work toward building up a solid fan base at home games.

“When more students came out [to the Homecoming football game], we actually had our best game of the season,” Director of Sports Performance Jessen Houston said. “Most of the time excitement brings success, so we need to generate more of that.”

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I think that Greenhill likes to recruit for more ‘popular sports’ and while it is really good for those sports, it leaves many smaller sports, like lacrosse, out to dry with a smaller bench.”

However, some athletes feel as though Greenhill focuses on promoting football and basketball without emphasizing less popular sports such as volleyball, field hockey and cross country, whose competitions do not get much student turnout.

“I think the issue is that football games are seen as

social events whereas, at field hockey games, you’re basically only going to watch the field hockey,” said senior Caroline Vos, who plays varsity field hockey.

Recruiting priorities are another point of frustration for some Greenhill athletes.

“I don’t see a problem with trying to motivate good athletes to come to our school, but you only see an effort made for that in football and basketball,” said senior Lilly Thieberg, who is a captain of the varsity field hockey team.

Sophomore varsity lacrosse player Jadon Lee agrees that less popular sports get fewer resources to bring in student athletes.

“I think that Greenhill likes to recruit for more ‘popular sports’ and while it is really good for those sports, it leaves many smaller sports, like lacrosse, out to dry with a smaller bench,” Lee said.

Promoting Participation The Athletics Department hopes that it can encourage talented student-athletes to attend Greenhill and advance the reputation of its programs through social media, personal contacts and word of mouth.

“If we get parents and our current players to speak well about our program, that’s going to attract interest,” Head Varsity Football Coach Tony Banks said. “It’s more of a mindset. It’s going to be a community deal. It’s not just the coaches. It’s not just the parents. It’s not just the administration. It’s everybody. We’ve got to be on the same page, and we’re striving to get there.”

Head of Athletics and Physical Education Jarrett Shine says he believes that the key to attracting high-level studentathletes is presenting Greenhill’s programs as an opportunity for them to stand out.

“Going to some of those bigger schools, you may not even get a chance to play,” Shine said. “You might be on the winning program, but you’re not going to get a chance to play and shine. Here you would be a big fish in a little pond, and you can get seen by a lot of different colleges.”

Greenhill also helps promote its athletes through the college recruitment process. The goal with this is to persuade students to participate in high school sports rather than just off-campus club teams that are more focused on the recruiting process.

“There’s a perception that the place where you get seen is on a club sports team, not a high school sports team,” Hark said. “That’s very tough to combat, and that kind of speculation has really hurt us.”

Because Greenhill wants its players to get exposure through high school games, the athletics administration puts a lot of effort into getting recruiters to come to games and arranging meetings with players.

“I send out a ton of game film to college coaches and open our gym for them to drop by anytime that they wish,” Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach Joey Sims said. “I also spend a lot of time emailing and talking to college coaches for Greenhill prospective college athletes. Greenhill also does a great job through social media and opening the campus for college recruiters to meet with our students.”

The Athletics Department also wants more studentathletes to understand their options to play sports at the next level. The department believes that many student-athletes could play in college and wants to encourage families to consider that option.

“It’s just a matter of our coaches having conversations with our student-athletes as ninth graders, understanding what their goals are, and then helping them achieve those goals,” Shine said. “We want to give them a road map as to what they need to do in order to find the right opportunity for them.”

Character Development Nonetheless, Greenhill’s administration maintains that its focus is on shaping well-rounded students through opportunities that help students succeed in multiple aspects of life.

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Our football players are having a successful season in the sense that they are training hard, working hard, growing as players, representing the school well, and exhibiting good sportsmanship.”

“You can be a three-sport athlete, you can be smart in the classroom, and then you can also participate in the arts,” Shine said. “I don’t want us to be fighting for certain kids to play sports or fighting for certain kids just to be in the arts. I want us to be able to understand that students can do whatever they want to at Greenhill, excel and have fun doing it.”

Hark echoes the notion that one of the most important goals of the Athletics Department is to build character.

“Our football players are having a successful season in the sense that they are training hard, working hard, growing as players, representing the school well and exhibiting good sportsmanship,” Hark said. “To deem the season unsuccessful because of the win-loss record is really short-sighted and unnecessarily limiting. I am very proud of each of them.”

There is also a sentiment that sports can be used to develop and reinforce life skills, regardless of a team’s winloss record.

“It’s okay to lose when you’re actually giving your full effort,” Shine said. “I want to see more of that hungry competitive spirit and the feeling of knowing that, when you’re out there on the court or field, your teammates can rely on you. That’s important in life when you actually get out into the workforce, and you need to be a dependable colleague.”

Staff writers Mayer Sidikaro and Zara Paul also contributed to this report.

16 Sports

Evergreen Ever the

Fall Teams Prep for SPC Championships Josie Arbuckle

W

Photo by Stephanie Rojas

RESTING UP: Cross country athletes take a break from their training routine.

ith Southwest Preparatory Conference championships set for early November, Upper School athletes’ preparations are well underway.

“Right now, we’re performing at a high level, and a lot of our teams are peaking at the right times,” said Head of Athletics and Physical Education Jarrett Shine.

Director of Sports Performance Jessen Houston says that incorporating speed development and strength work will prepare Greenhill’s teams for SPC competitions and help them make the most of their respective seasons.

“Especially now, we’re in close communication with the coaches about how we adjust the time of the sports performance sessions so it correlates with what they’re doing on the field,” Houston said. “We’re also more involved with sports nutrition with our students this time of year.”

Intense training, a tense atmosphere and excitement characterize the weeks before SPC titles are decided for any sport, but each team has a nuanced preparation plan.

Cross Country

Photo by Hanlon Shedd

ON THE COURT: Varsity boys volleyball athletes perform drills in daily practices.

Cross country uses a strategy known as tapering in anticipation of its SPC Championship meet on Nov. 6. While tapering, athletes train extremely hard for several weeks and then cut back on volume and eventually intensity.

“By week 12 of our season, the hay is in the barn,” said Head Varsity Cross Country Coach Jason Yaffe. “The work is done by that point.”

Varsity Girls Cross Country Captain Ella Dzialowski says that the runners will begin winding down their workouts to make sure the team has fresh legs at SPC. “At this point in the season, we’re already conditioned,” Dzialowski said.

In the two weeks approaching SPC, starting on Oct. 25, runners began decreasing their mileage while maintaining intensity.

“The focus on SPC week will be to keep intensity up until Tuesday and then to just run around staying loose,” Yaffe said.

Tapering is highly individual: depending on their capabilities and current fitness, athletes will start to taper at different times.

“Some people aren’t the best with a lot of volume, so we’ll cut them back early,” Yaffe said. “But others need to run longer distances right up until SPC week to feel their best. There is room for flexibility.”

Field Hockey The varsity field hockey team plans to use each game to improve so that, when SPC arrives, the players are ready to play their best.

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The best thing we can do is take care of the counter games first and then worry about SPC. Ultimately, what will help us be succesful at SPC is taking care of the little things that pop up in counters.”

The field hockey season is composed of either counter games or non-counter games. Non-counter games happen early in the season and do not affect the team’s conference record. Counters are competitive and impact the team’s conference record.

“The best thing we can do is take care of the counter games first, and then worry about SPC,” Head Varsity Field Hockey Coach Brittany Griggs said. “Ultimately, what will help us be successful at SPC is taking care of the little things that pop up in counters.”

Varsity Field Hockey Captain Claudia Hurst says that giving their best during

counter games will help them to enter SPC with a good seed and give them experience against the competition.

“We’re focusing on doing well at practice and performing well in our counters,” Hurst said.

Because the field hockey team plays each divisional opponent twice during the regular season, the athletes are able to learn their SPC competition early on and form strategies to win.

“We spent a lot of time this week working on passing, receiving and transitions,” Griggs said. “These are things that will solidify in counters that will then help us at SPC.”

Football For varsity football, SPC is like any other game. There is no tournament for football’s SPC. The team will continue their plan to loosen up at the beginning of the week and then use the back half of the week to prepare for game day.

“We make sure the players are running the lactic acid out of their muscles and getting an understanding of what’s going on,” Head Varsity Football Coach Tony Banks said.

Later in the week, the team dons fully padded gear, and begins scouting teams to find the best way to win. The day before a game, the team reviews its plays and finetunes the opponent-specific plan.

“I treat them like an NFL team in that regard,” Banks said.

Getting the team healthy so players can perform well is a top priority. Because football is such a physically demanding sport, injuries are common. This season, the team has been riddled with injuries that have prevented key players from taking part in games and practices.

“We’ve been hit pretty hard this season with injuries,” Banks said. “The main goal is to keep the players as safe as humanly possible.”

Volleyball SPC preparation for varsity boys volleyball entails developing skills as a team, said Head Coach Mauro Grasso.

“We start with the basics and go deeper based on the response,” Grasso said. “I always challenge the boys to be their best.”

The team tries to take away a new lesson from each match. Building a competitive spirit will help them perform better as a team at SPC. While the team has high hopes, Grasso says that being champions is not the main goal – their preparation is designed to make them the best they can be. An SPC title would only come as an added benefit.

“It is difficult to be champions, but that will come through the work we put in now,” Grasso said.

Varsity girls volleyball has been preparing for SPC since the beginning of the season. With every practice, scrimmage and game, they have focused on learning their weaknesses, and improving.

Head Coach Tatiane Deibert says that being able to perform under pressure is important to being successful at SPC. “Working on confidence levels during showtime is extremely important,” Deibert said.

As the season progressed, Deibert emphasized work on closing sets to build a team that could finish strong.

“If you have the ability to close strong, you get out with a win,” she said. “For SPC, I think that’s going to be it.”

Shine says that while there are differences in the way each team prepares, they all face similar challenges and are working toward the same goals.

“We’re preparing for tough competition, but the goal is to see our teams compete and do well at SPC,” Shine said.

Staff writers Ethan Vicknair and Aman Jaleel also contributed to this report.

Evergreen Ever the

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Sports

Teacher Appreciation Initiative to Advance “Greenhill Stronger Together”

17

Photos courtesy of Ramiro Mendez

GRATITUDE: Through the High Performance Center’s newly established appreciation initiative, students openly recognize their most respected teachers with certificates.

Emma Nguyen

T

o advance the “Greenhill Stronger Together” theme of this school year, the Sports Performance team has launched a new initiative that aims to bring studentathletes and Upper School teachers together.

The idea: to present appreciation certificates to teachers selected by student-athletes.

Proposed by Sports Performance Specialist Ramiro Mendez, the initiative aims to inspire the community to support everyone, regardless of the activities they participate in. There are no prerequisites for a teacher to get a certificate.

“It’s the idea of teaching students to move from a ‘me !"#$%&'()*+), mentality’ to a ‘we mentality,’” Mendez said. “This activity allows us to pause for a second and really be thankful for the people around us.”

Students participating in fall sports received the blank certificates following their weekly High Performance Center training sessions. They were divided into groups of three or four and tasked with giving their certificate to a teacher of their choice in October.

The presentations culminated with the students taking a picture of themselves with their selected teacher and their

certificate.

“What we’re doing is creating a collage of every picture we collect across athletics so we may share this with the world and the Greenhill community in the days leading up to the Southwest Preparatory Conference championships, to bring everyone together and rally around our student athletes,” Mendez said.

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“It was just a really cool moment. It made his day, and it made our day, too.”

Freshman Sami Aidala agrees with this sentiment.

Since the Athletics Department’s interactions with the Upper School is limited, she says this is a great opportunity for collaboration.

“It’s another opportunity to connect with our teachers,” Aidala said. “We’re obviously very grateful, but we don’t always show our appreciation for them.”

With her group, Aidala presented a teacher appreciation certificate to Upper and Middle School visual arts teacher Thomas Martinez.

“It was just a really cool moment,” Aidala said. “It made his day, and it made our day, too.”

For Upper and Middle School improvisation teacher Henry Paolissi, the moment he received his certificate renewed his strong connection to his students.

“We were at the end of improv, so [the students] were leaving,” Paolissi said. “One of the kids stayed behind. He said, ‘Here, this is for you.’ At first I didn’t know what it was, and then I looked at it. It helped to make the day go a heck of a lot better. It’s nice to know that you’re appreciated every once in a while.”

This initiative comes at a time when teacher burnout is at an all-time-high. Nearly a quarter of U.S. teachers surveyed by RAND’s American Teacher Panel earlier this year said they were likely to leave their jobs after the 20202021 school year. For those continuing to teach, developing meaningful connections to students has become much harder.

“It’s really important for a teacher to know that they’re making a connection with their students,” Paolissi said.

“That’s why we teach: because we enjoy working with young people. It’s really nice for one of your students to kind of give you a pat on the back, and [the certificate] is what that’s like: you’re doing a great job, and I appreciate it.”

Mendez hopes the initiative reestablishes the connection described by Paolissi. The aim is to eventually expand the initiative to other campus divisions.

“I hear all the time that Greenhill is about the people,” Mendez said. “I hope that [this initiative] ignites that again.

We’ve been through a lot from COVID, and last year was just crazy. Now we’re back completely in person, and I hope this gives us that spark and that fire to truly march forward and grow together as a Greenhill family.”

18 Views

Evergreen Ever the

Opinion: A Selfish Refusal to get Vaccinated

the Ever Evergreen staff Evergreen Print Editors-in-Chief Jothi Gupta and Diane Lin

Executive Editors

Iyad Mohammed

I

have always been a huge National Basketball Association fan growing up, and I still am. One of the players that stood out to me the most was Kyrie Irving. His skill, dexterity and expertise never failed to fascinate me. The way he crossed players up and broke their ankles with ease was one heck of a show. Even his movie “Uncle Drew” is one of my favorite basketball movies of all time.

Recently, Kyrie Irving publicly refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, which is required to play for his team, the Brooklyn Nets. Irving addressed his stance on getting the vaccine on an Instagram Live.

“It’s about choosing what’s best for you,” Irving said. “You think I really want to lose money? You think I really want to give up on my dream to go after a championship?

You think I really just want to give up my job?”

I think, after all the effect that COVID-19 has had on all of us, refusing to take a potentially life-saving vaccine is – for lack of better terms – unwise, and I’ll have to disagree with Kyrie on this one.

Irving has received a lot of backlash for his refusal to get vaccinated.

“First of all, you don’t get the vaccine for yourself. You get it for other people,” NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said on TNT. Irving’s decision not to take the vaccine is a selfish one. The vaccine was created to

protect people. It not only keeps you safe from the virus, but it also protects the people around you.

According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based on evidence from clinical trials in people 16 years and older, the PfizerBioNTech vaccine is 95% effective at preventing COVID-19 infection in people who received two doses and had no evidence of being previously infected.

While there might be some parts of his point of view that are a bit understandable, I think it’s important to note that freedom is something that all of us have been deprived of for nearly two years: we couldn’t gather, travel or go to school – we could barely even leave our homes. When the vaccine became available, it was a way for us to escape all that, to be able to take back at least a bit of whatever normal was before the pandemic.

Refusing to get the vaccine puts you, your family and your friends at risk of contracting the virus. Many people in the world are struggling to understand that COVID-19 has affected every single person in the world with no exceptions, meaning not just the people who contracted the virus or lost loved ones. Things like masks, social distancing, and other safety precautions and protocols are simply ways to protect ourselves and each other.

COVID-19 vaccines are a key tool in fighting the pandemic. They slow the spread of the virus and they have also been shown to reduce COVID-19 deaths. Based

on a model by the National Institutes of Health, COVID-19 vaccines saved nearly 140,000 lives in the U.S. through May 2021.

The vaccine that was created to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has nothing to do with limiting freedom or suppressing rights.

I have and always will admire Irving for all of the things he has accomplished in his years playing in the NBA, and I also understand that taking the vaccine is a personal decision. But people such as Kyrie have to look at things from a different perspective and realize what’s best for not only them but those around them, too.

Avery Franks and Cam Kettles

Managing Editor - Content Saara Bidiwala

Managing Editor - Design Khushi Chhaya

Creative Director Nate Stitt

Director of Graphics Emma Nguyen

Associate Editors

Isabel Martinez and Valerie Xu

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Views Editor Emily Hu

Features Editor Sophia Li

Arts Editor Ava Iwasko

Sports Editor Josie Arbuckle

Backpage Editor Emma Hoffman

Evergreen Online Editors-in-Chief

Sumana Kethu and Spencer Jacobs

Managing Editor - Content

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Ria Agarwal

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Breaking News Editor Andrew Mann

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Arts and Entertainment Editor Photo courtesy of Iyad Mohammed

Emma Rikalo

Podcast Manager Bennett Broaddus

Greenhill Today Manager

To All the Unsung Heroes Who Make the Campus Run: Thank You.

D

Payton Blalock and Ravi Vasan

Podcast Team

Kaden Alibhai, Mateo Lanzillotta, Andrew Mann, Stephanie Rojas and Hanlon Shedd

Cross Platform Chief Staff Photographer

uring the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greenhill community has overcome many challenges to allow students to learn on campus safely. From creating lunch protocols to setting up the Science Village to reopening The Buzz, the work put into keeping Greenhill’s campus running – these past two years especially – means a lot to us.

The Evergreen believes it’s important to recognize these efforts. Although not being able to sit in table groups in class or eat with our friends during lunch in the 2020-2021 school year wasn’t ideal, these protocols kept us safe and allowed us to maintain inperson school, and for that, we should all be grateful.

More than that, we should be grateful for the all the people who made these things happen behind the scenes – the sanitation staff that are always there to wipe down door handles, the movers who relocated our beloved soft furniture, the teachers who reminded students to keep their masks on and above their noses, just to name a few.

To add on top of this massive effort, our campus was transformed over this summer.

The demolition of the Agnich Science Building and construction of the Science Village required a tremendous amount

of work. Remember, this occurred over Greenhill’s summer break, meaning that the Science Village’s creation took place under the Texas sun at its strongest.

This is all to say that the demand that’s placed on the people who ensure Greenhill runs efficiently is intense and certainly does not get recognized enough. The changes students complained about took a heavy toll on these people too – and yet they’re still working their hardest to make sure the education students receive is the best it can be.

One of these changes in the school day was lunch. To eat, students need to take their masks off, making lunch a particular COVID-19 safety concern. Because of this, our cafeteria staff, has played an important role in controlling the spread of COVID-19 on campus.

Throughout the pandemic, Greenhill’s cafeteria contractor, Sage Dining Services, has gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate more than 1,300 students and about 200 faculty and staff on a sprawling K-12 campus, including catering meals to allow the youngest students to eat in their classrooms and packaging meals for older students and faculty. This year,

with pandemic protocols easing, Sage has resumed serving sit-down meals in Crossman Dining Hall.

At a school where almost half the students are ineligible to be vaccinated, Sage has gone above and beyond in facilitating dining in the cafeteria this year. Being responsible for providing healthy and filling meals for over 1,500 students and faculty is hard enough without the added stress of stopping potential COVID-19 outbreaks.

Sage Dining has taken on a huge responsibility during this pandemic. As students, we should be appreciative. At the Evergreen, we certainly are. Even now, they continue to adapt with the changing COVID-19 climate to make sure we have food to eat each day. These workers do more for us than we could ever know.

Take a moment to say thank you to these people. While these changes might not have been convenient to you, they were the result of work and toil by those implementing these protocols. It certainly hasn’t been easy on them either. Take a small part of your day to recognize these unsung heroes that are an integral part of our community.

Our Editorial Policy

national and international events through articles and editorials written and edited by students.

The Evergreen welcomes letters and emails from readers. We reserve the right to edit submissions for accuracy, grammar and length. The Evergreen will not publish material that we judge to be libelous, obscene, invades privacy or constitutes hate speech.

Anonymous letters will not be published.

The Staff Editorial represents the opinion of The Evergreen staff, not necessarily that of Greenhill School.

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Ravi Vasan

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Evergreen Ever the

Views

19

Rants & Raves A RAVE to having lockers back and using them to store snacks. With a packed backpack, I’m really not trying to stuff in snacks that will inevitably be crushed, so stashing them in my locker is a great solution.

A RANT to everything about college application season.

I’m honestly stressed for seniors just seeing how busy they are. I think it’s everyone else’s job to just leave them alone with their massive heaps of work.

A RANT to expanding Midway Road construction. Lanes keep closing to the point where there’s literally only one lane left for the entire Upper School to wait in every morning to turn onto Hornet Road. The worst part is it doesn’t look like there’s an end in sight to the delays.

A RAVE to the return of bagels and Mr. Oros in general. I’m sure I’ll have spent at least 20 bucks on bagels by the end of the year, but I could honestly care less because it means I can enjoy food other than GoGurt after a long B block.

Mr. Oros does like four jobs every day to make this experience good for all of us, and we don’t thank him enough.

RAVENT to better snacks, although they’re pretty hitor-miss. It’s either apple slices and baby carrots, or Oreos and Goldfish.

No in-between. I will say, though, I’m extremely grateful for the really short lines, which lack any resemblance to the lunch line.

A

RANT to our flooded Outlook inboxes. As much as I would like to explore the 20 new clubs and attend volleyball or field hockey games every week, I simply cannot, and receiving so many emails crowds out important emails from my teachers.

A

A

RAVENT to the band rehearsals in the Quad. As much as I appreciate hearing the Middle Schoolers play during lunch, it does get quite loud when I’m trying to eat anywhere outside.

Y’all are great though.

A RANT to required credits, specifically Foundations of Fitness. Given that the main reason we’re even taking the class in the first place is because we’re not particularly involved in athletics, it seems a bit much to make us devote half of our elective time to a mandatory PE class.

RAVE to the cooler weather and arrival of fall.

It feels so good to make it down to the Science Village without sweating.

Fall is also basically a synonym for hoodie and sweatpants season, which I’m always stoked about.

A

20 Backpage

Evergreen’s Ever the

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021

As someone who has very few relatives in the United States, I don’t have much family to spend Thanksgiving with. Since we moved to Dallas, we found our family friends with whom we spend Thanksgiving. Every year for as long as I can remember, sophomore Ravi Vasan’s crème brûlée has been the highlight of the day. Cracking the hard layer of sugar torched on top to reveal a rich lemon custard while saying what we are thankful for is a tradition I hope will continue for years to come.

- Khushi Chhaya

Since my grandparents are from India but my parents were born in America and Canada, my family has made it a tradition to celebrate a Thanksgiving Desi-AmericanCanadian-style. Meals on the table include my grandparents’ traditional Indian food, three types of turkey, and pumpkin pie, made by my sister and me. My favorite part about Thanksgiving is how it brings the family together, whether that is when we are cooking or catching up in the kitchen.

- Saara Bidiwala

Thanksgiving in my house is a blend of Chinese and American cuisine. Our entire family gathers around a table and gobbles down dim sum delicacies such as shrimp dumplings, barbecued pork buns, chicken feet and of course pumpkin pie. The fragrant smell of sweets and food is detectable from a mile away as we talk, laugh, and sing off-pitch karaoke. In our family, food symbolizes a celebration and unifies us to gather and express our gratitude for one another.

At the Arbuckle residence, we head to California for Thanksgiving. Friends and family, young and old, crowd into our tiny kitchen and scarf down traditional foods such as slow-smoked turkey, apricot-cranberry sauce, hatch green chili mashed potatoes and my brother’s buttermilk biscuits. For dessert, we gorge on pecan chocolate pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, brownies and cookie cakes. In my family, Thanksgiving means celebrating and learning about each other by expressing gratitude.

- Josie Arbuckle

- Valerie Xu

Every year, my sister and I make a huge Thanksgiving feast to feed the mix of family we host every year. We make an American-vegetarianIndian fusion meal. My sister and I lead the kitchen, cooking food and listening to music all day. The main course includes roasted carrots with turmeric and cumin, garlic mashed potatoes, vegan stuffing and hashed Brussels sprouts with lemon. It is one of my favorite holidays since I see family from all over and spend time cooking with my sister.

Every year we FaceTime our relatives in Virginia to celebrate our family, struggles and story. While it can be hard to come together physically sometimes, our family shows appreciation and love for each other by making mulled spiced cider to keep warm as the weather gets cold, so even if not all of us can be present at the Thanksgiving table, we can remember each other’s presence and what they mean in our lives.

- Emma Nguyen

- Jothi Gupta

Growing up, my family had few relatives in the U.S. On Thanksgiving, we always find ourselves with several other Chinese-American families, each with their own dishes.

We always have Peking duck instead of turkey because it is simply the superior option. My dad makes cold noodles, which sounds incredibly unappetizing in English but tastes great. At the end of dinner, when parents have broken out the fruit and sunflower seeds, and the game room upstairs has been flipped inside out, everyone hovers by the door for another half hour, saying they are going to leave while never quite managing to put their shoes back on.

- Diane Lin

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya, Emma Nguyen, Emma Hoffman, Emily Hu