November 2016 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

november 16, 2016 volume 52, issue 2

the Everything Greenhill

evergreengreenhill.org

Graphic by Arhum Khan

Sophie Bernstein Backpage Editor

When a class of preschoolers takes a “brain break,” their teacher puts a video by Koo Koo Kanga Roo on the TV monitor and the young students break out in silly dances and giggles. Moving along to “Pop See Ko,” one of their favorite songs from GoNoodle, a website dedicated to getting kids active, the four-and-five -year olds shimmy and shout lyrics before returning to the rest of their activities for the school day.

According to Prekindergarten (Pre-K) teacher Sari Pogorzelski, these brain breaks allow students to refocus their short attention spans.

Brain breaks are just one of the many activities that have evolved as a result

Views

Political demographics at Greenhill p. 4

News

of new technology in the Preschool This year, the Greenhill Preschool has introduced technology for the first time. Each classroom in the department now has an Apple TV, a monitor and an iPad. These devices are used to supplement classroom activities through programs such as Osmo and Handwriting Without Tears.

“Our world is changing and evolving rapidly, therefore, some ways we need to engage our students is different from ten years ago. We are able to enhance the learning experience for our students in a variety of different ways with technology as one of those tools,” said Head of Preschool Netra Fitzgerald.

The school is introducing

Eighth grade students in D.C. on election night p. 6

Serving Greenhill since 1966

Feat.

Dr. Daniels earns her doctorate degree p. 7

technology gradually, beginning with monitors, then moving on to iPads and potentially introducing other devices, such as BeeBots, robots that children can code.

Pre-K student Abigail Metcalf said that she likes technology and that it helps her learn.

“It’s coming down to our brains,” Abigail said.

The recent introduction of this technology to the classroom may be new to the Preschool, but Greenhill’s youngest students are growing up accustomed to it.

“They are definitely digital natives, whereas I’m a digital immigrant,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said. cont’d on page 5

Arts

The technical aspect of Tartuffe p. 13

Sports

Dak or Tony? p. 17

4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, TX 75001

the

Views

Rants & Raves

the

Evergreen staff editor-in-chief Zayna Syed

executive editors

A RAVE to the flag decorations staying up well past homecoming week. It’s only fair; SOMEONE out there spent many precious hours slaving over the finishing touches on the Belarusian flag. Here at Greenhill, we like to celebrate our diversity and crafting skills all at once!

A RANT to loudness in the library.

Nothing’s more relaxing than getting to work one afternoon in our wonderfully silent library… Oh wait, what’s that?

We can’t hear you over the sound of the unnecessary noise. If you wanted to socialize, maybe try outdoors. You know, the place where you’re actually supposed to use your outside voice.

A RAVE to the lack of school days in October. This glorious month of shortened weeks was great while it lasted, but now surviving one five-day week feels like a battle. Support systems have been put in place to ensure that we can handle a crushing November of attending full weeks of classes. Take a deep breath. Now we tell ourselves, “we can handle this.”

Ellen Margaret Andrews Ben Schachter

managing editor

Joseph Weinberg

copy editor

Simra Abedi

design editors Areeba Amer Arhum Khan

arts editor Zoe Allen

backpage editors Sophie Bernstein Maya Ghosh

features editor

Radhe Melwani

news editor

A RANT to letting students out late from class. We hate when teachers ask us where we’re coming from and why we’re late.

This campus is larger than all of Rhode Island, so we have no idea how you expect us to get all the way to the science building from the math pod in thirty seconds.

A RAVE to the Arts Board performances.

We’re sure that we will never get tired of hearing amazing slam poetry or stellar musical pieces. On behalf of many tired students, we thank the Arts Board for gifting us with these much-needed breaks from our daily reality.

A RANT to the lack of vegetarian options in the cafeteria. Dear Sage, we are vegetarians, not herbivorous dinosaurs that feed off your spinach leaves in the salad bar! And for future reference, note that it is in fact possible to make macaroni without mixing it with beef.

Abbas Hasan

sports editors

Lili Stern Jordan Sternblitz

views editor

Annika Squires

asst. arts editor Alice Zhang

asst. views editor Ross Rubin

staff manager Josh Rudner

online managing editor Suman Chebrolu

A RANT to the water bottles in the Rafters. Greenhill hosts a number of beautiful things: peacocks, greenery, and overwhelmingly exuberant school spirit. You know what didn’t make this list, though? All those water bottles that some delinquents are throwing up in the rafters. Whoever you are, please stop. It’s ruining the aesthetic.

A RANT to early conferences and late mid-term comments. If little Timmy happened to be failing Geometry, he wouldn’t find out until it was too late, and his adviser would be unable to put the proper time into staging an intervention.

Poor Timmy! Another victim of Greenhill’s wacky schedule.

A RAVE to Greenhill Varsity Football’s amazing season this year! Sure we didn’t go to SPC, but at least we are sensible enough not to start some unnecessary twitter beef about good ol’ King Konnell.

Staff Editorial: Why we need an Arabic program we need to take this seriously. Luckily, Greenhill has a chance to rectify this by creating an Arabic program.

This year, Greenhill is offering an “Arabic for Beginners” class, after multiple students requested Arabic tutorials from Ms. Chlone. However, the class has not been put on the course catalog for next year. We at The Evergreen urge administrators to reconsider.

Aside from cultural fluency, learning Arabic offers many advantages. Speaking Arabic opens doors to a number of professions, including business, foreign service, banking, journalism, consulting and translating. Furthermore, the State Department has named Arabic a “Critical Language” and it is the fifth most commonly spoken language in the world. An Arabic program could also be an admissions draw, as Greenhill would be the only coeducational private school in Dallas-Fort Worth to offer the language.

Global Online Academy (GOA) offers only level one Arabic. This is not useful for students who would like to pursue Arabic as their foreign language requirement. While

Areeba Amer

online broadcast editor Christian Quintero

staff writers

Samar Ahmad Stephen Crotty

Content courtesy of Allie Frymire, Julia Halm and Richa Sinkre Photos by Sudeep Bharghava

When Upper School French and Arabic teacher, Cherine Chlone, asked her students to identify celebrities from the Arab world, the only Arab “celebrities” her stutudents knew were cruel dictators from the Arab Springs movement: Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar al Assad.

“At Greenhill we don’t learn about Arab countries at all. The most I learned about Arab countries or the Middle East was through [Understanding 9/11], in the context of terrorism,” said senior Zainab Noshahi. “It’s nice to learn about the better things.”

Although this lack of cultural fluency is upsetting, it is not surprising. Americans have little knowledge of Arab culture other than what they read and see in the news.

News organizations report on conflict, as they should; however, this results in little mainstream knowledge of the positive aspects of Arab culture. This cultural deficiency is not only sad, it is dangerous, allowing people to adopt stereotypes and categorize people from certain cultures as “the other.” As a school that values diversity,

online content editor

GOA said last year that they would offer a second-level Arabic class, they have yet to deliver.

Additionally, Greenhill students have already shown interest in an Arabic program.

According to a survey conducted by The Evergreen, 83 percent of 8-11 grade students said that Greenhill should offer Arabic, while 12.5 percent said they would take it and 31.3 percent said they would consider taking it.

Ms. Chlone is more than willing to work part-time as an Arabic teacher for several years to come. With interested students and a committed teacher, an Arabic program is a feasible option.

Imagine if all we knew of Hispanic culture was illegal immigration, or if all we knew of Chinese culture was communism.

Arab culture is discussed just as frequently as these cultures in the news, however Americans are less exposed to the positive facets. While Greenhill, like all schools, has to balance a limited budget, adding any program is possible if the school decides to prioritize it. Creating an Arabic program should be a priority.

business manager Rishi Vas

advisor

Nureen Patel

asst. advisor

Dr. Amy Bresie

staff photographers Simra Abedi Sudeep Bharghava

staff artists

Drake Heptig Anusha Kurapati Amy Yang

Have a response?

Opinion?

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Email us at: evergreen@greenhill.org For the editorial policy visit our website at evergreengreenhill.org

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Graphic by Drake Heptig

To Spark or Not to Spark?

Greenhill English teachers debate the use of spark notes

Not to Spark

To Spark

In no other corner of campus would a teacher accept a substitute for simply doing the work. Mr. Lopez wouldn’t critique images that you don’t make; Coach G wouldn’t credit you for pounds you don’t squat; Ms. Rosenberg wouldn’t accept service hours you didn’t complete. I see no compelling reason why an English instructor should accept anything less than a student’s sincere effort to do the work assigned. At the level of our campus standards, we should not accept reading sparknotes as a substitute for reading an assigned text. More importantly, with respect to standards of literary arts, we should not accept reading sparknotes as a substitute for reading either. In most cases, a student reading sparknotes is doing so rather than reading a story. Would you read sparknotes of Empire instead of watching it? Would you read sparknotes of Stranger Things instead of watching it? Okay, would you let a friend sparknote Empire? Stranger Things? Of course you wouldn’t. Because you know that yielding to a story well-told is one of the greatest intellectual pleasures you’ll ever know. And your English teachers know that too.

I have always encouraged my students to use SparkNotes as a supplemental resource to augment their understanding of a particular text. Some of the works we study are particularly challenging – The Scarlet Letter or The Odyssey, for example – and I see no problem with students consulting an additional source to help them comprehend basic elements of the piece so that they are better equipped to tackle the weightier aspects we spend most of our time exploring. I do make it clear that students are absolutely not to use SparkNotes instead of reading the original.

Truly experiencing the text, gaining command of it, and making it meaningful can only happen through reading it, even struggling with it. When utilized correctly, these study guides can actually enhance this experience, as students can be more certain of their understanding coming into class and thus be more confident engaging and participating in discussions. Of course, as with many things academic, students can take advantage of the possible shortcut, which ultimately undermines them, but with a little guidance from teachers as to how best incorporate them, SparkNotes can be a productive part of the learning process.

-Joel Garza Upper School English Teacher

-Andrew Mercurio Upper School English Teacher

Rat Tales: Roast session

Comic by Richa Sinkre

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According to a survey conducted by The Evergreen, these are the political demographics at Greenhill

18.9%

43.6%

For more election content, go to evergreengreenhill.org

*196 students responded to a survey sent by email to the entire Upper School

Dear Greenhill, Staff member Maya Ghosh weighs in on waste at Greenhill The trees are crying. The lakes, rivers and streams can’t even do that much, because they don’t have any water in their bodies. Instead of conserving water, we keep the taps running in the bathrooms, and after washing our hands, we are not cognizant of the paper towel wastage that occurs in the bathrooms. (It should not take five pieces of paper towel to wipe your hands dry.) For every day that a tap is left on, we lose thousands of liters of water, and at Greenhill, with multiple leaky faucets, we probably lose a lot more. In addition to water wastage, we also waste items that are not meant to be put in the garbage. Most of the items that you usually “trash” are most likely recyclable, like old papers, shoe boxes, water bottles and almost everything except for food products.

As a community, I know that we can do more. At Greenhill, we are taught to be empathetic to everybody around us. What we forget is to be kind towards the Earth, the planet on which we spend every single day. Please do all that you can to keep this community eco-friendly. Don’t use different plastic water bottles every day; buy a bottle that you can reuse. I promise that it will be cheaper and easier in the long run. Turn off the lights in your house once you leave a room; turn off the tap while you brush your teeth. These actions are not hard to do, but will create a huge impact in the long run. Be mindful about throwing plastics in the recycling bin and not the floor, because millions of animals die each

year from ingesting litter.

The state of the environment affects us all, no matter where you live or how much you go outside. The glaciers are melting and most low-lying areas of the world are in danger of being swept away by the ice and glacier melt. Here, at Greenhill, we value our beautiful campus with its large trees, beautiful fields and peacock wildlife.

But what we all forget is that the world is our greater campus, and we need to take the same care of the world as we do our campus at Greenhill. Once we treat our wildlife, parks and water systems with the same respect, we will see change for the better in our ecosystems. So, think about how the choices you make affects the world around you. Small, daily actions will go a long way to protecting our ecosystems.

Let’s put the “green” back in Greenhill.

Photo courtesy of Abbas Hasan

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Junior Maya Ghosh teaches kids about recycling at Friday on the Hill

Graphic by Drake Heptig, Annika Squires and Areeba Amer

News the

Greenhill reimagines Career Day

Ben Schachter Executive Editor

In an attempt to expose current Greenhill students to both career options and Greenhill’s alumni network, the Alumni Board has partnered with a group of junior parents to create a speaker series. This series will bring back one recent Greenhill alumnus each month to speak with upperclassmen.

The program is the Upper School’s attempt to restore some form of career day, which ended in the Upper School over 15 years ago. In recent years, the Upper School has been without a formal program dedicated to career exposure or options. In addition, the Alumni Board hopes that the intimate nature of the program will allow current Greenhill students to network with the speakers.

From time to time, Greenhill has brought in speakers independently of one another to talk about their career paths and their professional lives.

However, administration noted that career exposure is a potential area for improvement in the Upper School curriculum and student life. Each year, Greenhill Upper School students complete the HSSSE survey, which gives administration information as to where improvements can be made.

“I think that [career options] are an area where we have a lot of opportunities to think of more ways that we can expose you guys,” said Head of Upper School Laura Ross. “When we look at HSSSE results every year, one of the areas it shows we can do more is exposure to actual careers. We give incredible grounding in all of the skills to be successful, but we probably haven’t done enough to find what that is a good match for in the real world.”

Some students feel that Greenhill does a very good job of providing important skills to be successful in the real world.

“I think that Greenhill does an excellent job of preparing people for the real world. Starting in Lower School by giving us binders and teaching us how to organize,

Photo by Simra Abedi

TEACHING NEW DOGS OLD TRICKS: Greenhill alum Zach Shor (‘06) gives career advice to current junior and senior students. This is the first of a series of monthly meetings that will be conducted at lunch by different alumni representing various career options and educational paths.

because that becomes important as life becomes more hectic,” said senior Hayes Barton. “Being required to take a speech class in Middle School, because even though it’s simple, public speaking is essential to so many different parts of life. Communication, toobeing able to write a good email.”

Mrs. Ross hopes that the new speaker series will show upperclassmen the indirect paths that most people, successful ones included, take in their professional careers.

“I want people to understand that there are few direct paths in life. I worry that sometimes you think that if you don’t go to the right school or major, everything is going to go wrong when there really is no wrong,” Mrs. Ross said.

For example, Zach Shor ‘06, the first speaker, is the Chief Operating Officer of Topgolf International in Dallas, but began his professional career as a teacher New York City.

With limited spaces only open to upperclassmen, Greenhill administration also hopes that the small setting of each speech will create an opportunity for conversation and exposure to the alumni network.

Hayes, who attended the first meeting, said that the intimate nature of the meeting was very beneficial.

“The small setting made it feel more accessible. I felt like I could ask whatever question I wanted.

It allowed it to be more of a conversation than a speech, which

allowed us to get more out of it,” Hayes said.

Hayes felt that the program with Mr. Shor gave him a valuable networking opportunity.

“I think [the program] is extremely conducive to getting internships and just gaining confidence. I went up to [Mr. Shor] after the meeting and got his email,” Hayes said.

According Director of Alumni Relations Katie Young, the value of the alumni network extends far beyond the opportunities through the Senior Project program, which allows seniors to intern with a professional in the field of their choice during the third trimester. Being a Greenhill graduate can have benefits in the real world.

“I always hear from alumni that they didn’t know the value of being part of [the Greenhill] network until they needed something and they reached out to [fellow Greenhill alumni] and got such a warm reception just because they said they were a graduate of Greenhill,” said Ms. Young.

Hayes thinks the program will promote the alumni network, even giving students in-roads for their future.

“If sometime in the future I want to do an internship, I might reach out to [Mr. Shor] and say, ‘I’m a Greenhill alum and went to your speech a few years ago. I’m interested in what you do, could I talk to you about that?’”

Pre-K implements new technology in classrooms

cont’d from page 1

As much as the preschool has transitioned this year, Ms. Pogorzelski also said that the addition of other applications could be helpful. Applications such as Skype would allow students to conduct interviews with experts, thus promoting important social-emotional skills.

“I think it just deepens their learning in a different way,” she said. “If you were studying a restaurant, best case scenario would be you’d be able to visit a restaurant to tour, interview and more. Sometimes that is not always doable for logistical reasons. So being able to offer that first-hand experience using technology is really exciting and powerful to deepen their learning on the subject.”

Preschool teachers at Greenhill said they are excited to use the new iPads and TV monitors, but others have hesitated, noting that it’s important for kids to experience screen time in moderation.

“I think there is a lot more to be said for the personal interaction at this age that is necessary for them to build skills socially and emotionally. Beyond that, technology can help in other ways as

long as it’s presented in a way that kids are using it to learn and not to take up time,” said Kindergarten Team Leader Janice LaMendola.

If used appropriately, educators believe technology has the potential to positively impact the classroom environment.

“The big thing with technology is making sure there’s a balance,” said Prekindergarten Team Leader Greg BrowneNichols. “We want to use it as an extension of what we’re doing. We’re not necessarily just using it to completely teach the children.”

According to Dr. Chris Bigenho, Director of Instructional Technology, these technological programs will also allow young students to gain a foundation for programming. He said that while technology/computer can be considered a subject, engineering it is also a tool.

“School should not be about technology. It’s like saying school is about pencils. It’s not,” said Dr. Bigenho. “If they’re using computers to create things, to write programs, to create art, that’s really no different than using paper before computers existed.”

Administrators have said that the changes in the Preschool are not just

technological, but also philosophical.

“We know that some children receive a lot of screen time at home.

Therefore, it is imporant to us that we use technology only when it is beneficial and enhances the learning as well as is allowing them to engage in a way that gets them excited about the integrated subjects.

We are expsoing them to, whether it be math, literacy, creative writing or interactive science opportunities,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said.

According to Dr. Bigenho, the addition of technology in the Preschool does not mean teaching students how to use specific technology like Osmo or iPads, but rather learning how to adopt a new skill.

“A student today must be able to unlearn just as easily as they can learn,” he said. “If there is one skill that is [specific to the twenty-first century], that is the ability to learn something rapidly, and to rapidly unlearn something- to rapidly leave an old idea behind and move forward- that’s a skill that can be difficult to learn.

We don’t like to let go of the way we used to do things.”

Photo by Simra Abedi

TEACHING TECH: Pre-K fellow Ali Campos shows a nature documentary to a few of her students using a TV.

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Graphic by Drake Heptig

Greenhill eighth graders spend election night in D.C. Zoe Allen Arts Editor

On November 8, millions of American people did the same three things: vote, watch their votes being counted and see the democratic process play out live on television. It is the day that is anticipated and prepared for once every four years, a symbol of a new era and a part of history. Although this day affects every American, most watch the process from afar, but the eighth grade class had the opportunity to do something different by taking their annual trip to Washington, D.C. and immersing themselves in American culture on the days leading up to it.

In previous years, the trip

was taken in the beginning of November because of the lack of tourism and good weather that is consistent this time of year. Two years ago, the trip was taken so the then eighth graders were in D.C. during midterm elections.

“

I think it will be interesting to see how the election differs from their predictions.”

“This year, we asked [the eighth graders] if they wanted to be at Greenhill on Halloween, or in D.C. on Election Day,” said Head of Middle School Susan Palmer.

“Almost all of the kids that we talked to said that it would be so

fun to be there during the election.”

This year, the trip had more of a focus on the United States itself, its government and understanding the political process.

The first two years of the program, started with a focus on the United States and ended with a focus on the world, mirroring the seventh and eighth grade history curriculum.

“Because it’s an election year, and we are there on Election Day, the focus is going to be on understanding our country, understanding our founding documents and t hen taking us all the way to the present and the way our founding documents affect 2016,” Mrs. Palmer said.

Before they left, the students made maps of which states each candidate needed to win the magic number of 270 electoral votes.

On the night of the election, the students partook in a watch party sponsored by Close Up, Greenhill’s partner for this trip.

Their website said that Close Up is a “nonprofit, non partisan citizenship education organization that promotes responsible and informed participation in the democratic process.” There were trivia games, prizes and challenges for tracking the election at the event.

“I think it will be interesting to see how the election differs from their predictions,” said Middle School History teacher Paige

Ashley.

After returning home, Mrs. Ashley plans to follow up on the election with her class. The students were also asked to consider the repercussions of the election of each candidate upon arrival in D.C. They were challenged to delve deeper into government and policy questions about the Supreme Court and balance of Congress.

“I think that [this trip] is a great opportunity to understand what it means to be a citizen and the role of our history,” said Mrs. Ashley. “We hope that they make some really fun memories, but hopefully they get to view D.C. in a lens that is meaningful.”

AX 10 adds Global Online Academy course to curriculum Lili Stern

Sports Editor

The sophomore history course Atlantic Experience 10 (AX10) is formally incorporating the United States presidential election into its curriculum for the first time. All AX10 students recently completed a course called US Elections in the World through Global Online Academy (GOA).

This course is new for both Greenhill and GOA. AX10 had not had a monthlong course on a specific topic until this election course. The course was split into four weeklong focus topics: international security, global economy, human rights, democracy and the environment. 463 people took the course globally, so students were introduced to perspectives from people outside of Greenhill.

The entire AX10 teaching team decided that the recent election was important enough to alter the regular history curriculum.

“It’s the first election that these students will remember, and in the next election they’ll be voting. It’s a great time to get them to understand what goes on in an election,” said Upper School History teacher David Lowen.

The AX10 team planned on highlighting issues related to the election before they discussed enrolling students in a new course. They decided on GOA due to the wider lens the online medium provides.

“It allows them to interact with

students outside of Greenhill,” said Upper School History teacher Scott Cotton. “There are noted experts on a particular topic that are brought in each week [on video], and so we thought it would be good to have them exposed to leading professionals and journalists in the field, because they watch these lectures every week.”

GOA’s online discussion boards enabled students to interact with others around the world. US Elections in the World students were split into groups, with the Greenhill students being spread among different groups. In videos posted every Monday night, the students stated their country of birth and answered a question related to the topic of the week. On Tuesday nights, students were asked to spend half an hour looking at election related resources provided by GOA. Students then wrote summaries of articles and videos they saw, posed discussion questions, and responded to their peers’ posts.

“I like GOA because you get to hear the opinions of people you don’t know. They have a different background than you, so you can hear very different ideas from your own,” said sophomore Kate Gould.

The online format exposed Greenhill students to international commentary, perspectives and discussion.

“One of the schools that was also part of the GOA was in Monterrey, Mexico, and

there were several across the US. It was just cool getting other people’s perspectives who don’t necessarily live close to where we do,” said sophomore Barrett Russ.

However, some students noted disadvantages of taking the course online.

“Having it just at Greenhill would make it more individual. You could ask more questions and participate more if it’s just you and your class, which I don’t think is that great for GOA because it’s all online,” Kate said.

Unlike many of the news outlets that

“

It’s the first election that these students will remember, and in the next election they’ll be voting. It’s a great time to understand what goes on in an election.”

cover the election, the GOA course did not discuss the personal attacks and misconduct present in this year’s presidential candidates. It focused instead on the issues and the candidates’ policy stances.

“Hopefully [the course has] given the students a little bit more of a substantive look at the campaign,” Mr. Cotton said. Some students said they had concerns about how Greenhill worked around the GOA course.

“They didn’t really slow down the

curriculum of actual AX10 while we were doing GOA so it was almost like having a sixth core class. That was kind of tough,” said sophomore Sophia Little.

While AX10 students have always been required to write a research paper, it has been open-ended in years past. This year, however, AX10 students have been asked to narrow their topics to anything pertaining to the election. Students can use what they learned from the GOA course in their research papers.

Although tenth graders cannot vote yet, learning about the election is still a valuable skill to have according to sophomores.

“I find myself in political discussions with people who actually can vote, so it’s nice to be able to be educated about a subject, and to actually know what you’re talking about,” Kate said.

According to Mr. Cotton, this new GOA course is useful for educating Greenhill students on the election, but is also a great precursor to the eleventh grade government class.

“These students will be really well prepared for government next year.

This doesn’t overlap too much with government, there’s much more that we do next year, but it does sort of pique their curiosity and it gives them an introduction to some study that they’ll do in more depth,” Mr. Cotton said.

Features the

History teacher earns her doctorate degree Maya Ghosh

Backpage Editor

After almost three years, 60 hours of classwork, trips to five different cities, a foreign language exam and a 300page dissertation, the history department now has not only one, but two teachers with doctorate degrees. Upper School History teacher and Greenhill legend Becky Daniels has successfully defended her dissertation and will receive her diploma in Aesthetics from the University of Texas at Dallas’ Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History in December.

In order to receive this prestigious degree, Dr. Daniels worked tirelessly to complete her classwork, although the process slowed once the school year began.

“I loved the research. I mostly did it over the summer and would work about 12 to 14 hours a day. That’s why when the school year started, it became difficult to finish,” she said.

During the school year, Dr. Daniels would limit herself to studying two nights on weekdays, but would study all day Friday and Saturday.

As part of her doctorate requirement, Dr. Daniels taught herself German, thus allowing her to understand German art in its most authentic form. She was required to use her knowledge of German to complete all of her classwork and papers in her Art History and Urban Studies classes.

Following her German studies, she wrote her dissertation: Teens Programs in Twenty-First Century Art Museums: A Critical Analysis of Nine American Programs, a paper that analyzes data and tests a theorem on art history, urban studies and teen development. Dr. Daniels studied “teen development” by examining teen programs in art museums.

She wrote her comparative analysis on nine programs in five different cities: Washington D.C., Boston, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Dallas.

“These teen programs are not to teach art and they are not school tours. These teen advisory boards go behind the scenes to interview artists, visit the storage areas, find out how curators put exhibits together and ideas reflected in the art. Teen boards often design their own programs,” she said.

Dr. Daniels was able to complete a lot of her research through field trips she took with her classes. Last year, she took her Art History class to the Dallas Museum of Art to meet with the Islamic Art curator, Dr. Sabiha Al Khemir.

“I looked at a three-fold impact of these programs: on the teens, on the city itself and on the museum culture.

Museums want to hear what teenagers say because they are their future audience,” Dr. Daniels said.

She believes that teens create a large impact on the art culture of museums and cities because in her opinion, they do not just look at something and automatically accept it.

These programs are beneficial to the museums who receive different perspectives, as well as to the teens who gain employment from the programs.

“These programs are also beneficial to the city because they bring the teens of the city together, so I looked at cities that had more than one teen board. Teens learn how to be involved with their community and perform acts of community service,” Dr. Daniels said.

Dr. Daniels is excited to receive her degree not only for the culmination of her years of work, but for the special ceremony that accompanies it.

“It is called a hooding ceremony.

They put this hood on you and you get to wear these funny, poufy tams instead of the mortar boards. It goes back to medieval tradition,” she said.

In the Spotlight...

Josh Rudner Staff Manager

We continue our “In the Spotlight” series, a chance to get to know one randomly selected Upper School student each issue. This conversation was with junior Erin Puckett.

During the summer, most Texans spend their free time cooling off in pools or indoors with the air conditioning. Miles away, junior Erin Puckett straps on her hiking boots and goes outside. With snow falling heavily all around her, she prepares to climb Mt. Sheridan.

Erin and her twin sister Chelsea have a deep love for nature. They’ve been hiking and camping since they were little and founded the Outdoors Club at Greenhill last year.

At first, Erin didn’t always like going into nature with her family.

“My family has always hiked, and growing up I didn’t like it that much,” Erin said.

However, in the summer after eighth grade, Chelsea convinced a reluctant Erin to go on a trip called Overland.

“I was nervous at first, but it was the best thing ever,” said Erin. “I loved the outdoors and I really couldn’t wait to go back.”

Photo courtey of Erin Puckett

On that trip, Erin experienced nature and its offerings with a new perspective.

She realized the self-reliance that camping requires appealed to her and her sense of independence.

“I like being self-reliant and I get a sense of satisfaction by being able to do things on my own. In nature, you can’t expect people to do the work; you need to do your share,” she said.

Since then, she’s been trying to get outdoors as much as possible, spending her summers backpacking and camping at different national parks throughout the country.

Their passion for the outdoors led Erin and Chelsea to start the Outdoors Club.

With a variety of activities and events like their recent celebration of the national park system, the club’s main goal is to get people to go out and appreciate nature.

“Dallas isn’t an outdoorsy city, but there’s still stuff to do,” said Erin. “So we want to open up the idea to people that even though we don’t live next to a National Park there [are still places they can experience].”

Her favorite places to experience nature in DFW are White Rock Lake, Cedar Hills State Park and Arbor Hills Park.

Through these hikes, Erin has acquired skills that she has brought back to her life at school.

“I think [camping] has taught me not only that I need to be more open to things and look for new opportunities, but that it’s really important to work on a team,” she said.

Nonetheless Erin admits that backpacking is hard, even after all of the lessons she’s learned.

“It’s not an easy thing to go backpacking, but living in Dallas, a huge city full of buildings, [going camping] is a nice change,” Erin said.

Photo by Simra Abedi

8 features

the

wednesday, november 16, 2016 Evergreen The Great Debate

Greenhill debaters compare the presidential debates to their own Jordan Sternblitz

Sports Editor

Members and coaches of the Greenhill Debate program have been able to watch with a different set of eyes than the rest of the American public. While they see just as much of a cross-stage shouting match, what is also evident to debaters at Greenhill are the differences in civil discourse. Civil discourse represents conversation with the intention of gaining knowledge. This is commonly seen in local scholastic debating, such as at Greenhill. However, members and coaches of the Greenhill debate team have no problem identifying that there is a lack of respect when it comes to the presidential debates.

Greenhill Debate Coach Aaron Timmons believes that understanding the background of scholastic debaters is one manner in which civil discourse is honored.

“You have two different individuals who may be similarly situated age-wise, intelligence-wise, maybe even research-wise, but have different backdrops as to how they think about issues of race, issues of police, etc. The discourse can be civil, it can even be aggressive, but you have to understand the other party,” Timmons said.

While Mr. Timmons firmly supports acceptance and respect of others opinions, he suggests that disagreement is a part of proper civil discourse.

“Having some agreement as to what we do and what we don’t do is important. But understanding that there are different ways of which people opt to communicate is very much a thing. Sometimes you have to adapt a little bit in the way you think about things and the way you make your point,” Mr. Timmons said.

There are certain strategies that Greenhill debaters use in order to honor the civil discourse of the debates.

Photo by Sudeep Bhargava Graphic by Drake Heptig

“There may be some concern about not offending the other person, and other teams see that. My point is you have to be careful as to how you would answer that question. Part of that is the training we do; it’s anticipating why that question is being asked, how that question is being asked, knowing that they expect you to answer it in a particular way,” Mr. Timmons said.

As it relates to the presidential election, Mr. Timmons says that the lack of civil discourse in the debates has been evident and has a negative influence on discourse in general.

“It [the election] has totally destroyed the way we engage in discourse, because everything seems to be fair game. Not the topics, but the way those topics are embraced. Rarely, if ever, have I seen the level of vitriol used in an attempt to demean the various candidates,” Mr. Timmons said.

Specifically, the candidates’ attacks on each other and lack of policy discussion are

Graphic by Suman Chebrolu

what concern Greenhill debaters.

“I thought they were disappointing. I thought both candidates did not articulate their plans very well and just knocked on each other. They didn’t show the public why their policies would work,” said sophomore Greenhill debater Reid Zlotky.

These “knocks” on each other have not just drawn away from essential policy discussion to aid voters in the election process, but have also gained criticism for their inaccuracy and irrelevancy.

“Categorizing all individuals voting for Mr. Trump as ‘deplorables’ would be an example of that. Saying that Secretary Clinton is a ‘crook’ without any evidence to support that would be attacking the individual,” Mr. Timmons said.

Mr. Timmons is not alone in his belief that these personal attacks are unnecessary.

David A. Fahrenthold and Katie Zezima of The Washington Post reviewed the presidential debate in a similar manner.

“Republican Donald Trump at one point said that his rival Hillary Clinton had ‘hate in her heart’. Clinton in turn accused Trump of living in an ‘alternate reality,” The Washington Post reads.

Senior Greenhill debater Priya Agrawal believes that all of the attacking seen in the presidential debates is not comparable to the image of scholastic debate.

“As a debater, I try to portray myself as very formal and polite. Those presidential debates were just so childish and not at all what debaters strive to be,” Priya said.

From the eyes of a Greenhill debater, the lack of civil discourse caused the presidential debates to seem comical and a source of entertainment.

“They just were attacking each other.

They were interrupting, they were not really upholding the values of a good debater.

[These include] constructively answering the other person and presenting arguments in a way that is compelling. Those were just compelling for the wrong reasons; they were compelling because they were funny to watch,” Priya said.

While he recognizes the difference between scholastic and presidential debating, senior Greenhill debater Diego Marrero thinks that there is a method to the candidates’ madness.

“In a presidential debate, it’s unique in that since the candidate is slowing down it’s not as much based in fact, but rather a lot more spin and portraying it in a more aggressive way. It’s a lot about convincing these undecided voters,” Diego said.

It is up to the American public to decide if the presidential debate style led to the swaying of voters. However, what is certain is that Greenhill Debate will continue to promote civil discourse and encourage this kind of respect during scholastic debate moving forward.

the

Evergreen

wednesday, november 16, 2016

features

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Fifth grade student builds 3D printer and creates business Suman Chebrolu

Online Managing Editor

It’s 2 A.M., and fifth grade student Arjun Melwani is still awake in his room.

He’s tinkering away with pieces of metal and circuitry. Slowly, he starts to see his creation come to shape: a 3D printer.

“I really wanted to learn how to build it and learn how it works. It was really interesting and I learned a lot,” said Arjun.

Arjun had to prove himself before he could get his hands on the printer kit.

Four years before he started construction, he showed his interest by using a hot glue gun, fan, and plastic hanger to make a crude 3D pen, an instrument that replaces ink with plastic and melts the plastic at a high temperature and is used to draw in the air or on a surface to create 3D objects. After proving himself with the 3D pen, he was halfway to convincing his parents that he

could manage a 3D printer. To convince them, Arjun had to show he knew 3D printers inside and out. He presented a nine page power-point, which included a business plan, to his parents before finally receiving the go-ahead.

“I made a business plan with costs and how much I would be making for each cubed centimeter,” said Arjun. “That at least got my parents interested.”

His parents brought the kit from the Prusa Research Laboratory, a company that specializes in creating personal 3D printers for the everyday user. Arjun started building his 3D printer in late June, spending a few hours each day on his printer. In all, it took him 34 hours to build.

“There was a week I did it with a little bit of time here and there. Two days in the week I did the whole day,” said Arjun. “One of those days I worked the whole day, I was up until two in the morning building it until

Q&A Charlie Owens What was your old job?

I was directing a boarding program, but prior to that I had been the Dean of Students for eight years.

What are your life goals?

Tell me about your background.

I’m from Illinois [and] I went to First Baptist Christian school. I did my undergrad at a small private college, and then I did my masters. I started my master’s degree at Otterbein University with Dr. Amy Chivington, but then I switched my program to Webster’s University and worked with Dr. Catherine Smith Bowers. She was my conducting mentor, and that’s where I finished my degree.

Why did you apply for this position?

I was tired of being an administrator.

The stress and the politics were getting on my nerves. I really wanted to teach, and I really wanted to spend time doing the thing I studied in college.

My goals are to promote singing and to help people understand that everybody can sing. It always seems to be the most frustrating thing in the world when people say “I can’t sing,” but everybody can sing. It’s how we’re designed as humans. It’s a natural instrument. Everybody can sing, but some people just don’t know how to listen in order to sing.

I wouldn’t say that everybody can play an instrument, but I would say everybody can sing. They just have to be taught how to hear. The second one is working with equity and affinity groups in independent schools. It can be a challenge to be a person of color in independent schools. With the school I went to, I was the only kid. There were no other black kids, there were no Hispanic or Asian kids I was it. I had one teacher that helped me move through that process, and my parents didn’t want me in the public schools; they wanted a better environment for me. I had a good high school experience, but it was a bit of a challenge. reporting by Alice Zhang Photo by Sudeep Bhargava

my parents came in.”

However, for Arjun, the hardest part was not the actual building of the printer, but calibrating and configuring the printer to make it more accurate.

“I still have to recalibrate it and add on things,” said Arjun. “It is a 0.1 mm precision machine, and so I have to get it to that precision.”

Now, Arjun is running a business taking orders from around the world and printing their requests. The business is operated through 3Dhubs.com, and sets up clients with designers near their geographic area. Arjun made an account and now prints for multiple people, occasionally delivering the products in person. He said that the application process to get onto 3Dhubs.com is very competitive.

“You can’t just be a regular person printing,” said Arjun. “You have to configure your printer a lot to get it to work.

[3Dhubs.com] asks you to print something for them to review before they allow you to [create a 3D printing account.]”

Along the way, Arjun reached out to Upper School Computer Science teacher Maria Suarez to help him build it.

“I think [it is] because he feels comfortable coming to me,” said Mrs. Suarez.

“He would always come and would love to hang around. Last year he came and helped us with Robotics. He’s a very motivated kid and he would come to me when he had problems printing.”

One of things that inspired Arjun to print in 3D is its futuristic qualities.

“3D printing is the next manufacturing revolution, and I am really interested in how it works and how it will impact us,” said Arjun. “Think about it like this: it is the ability to make an idea a reality in a short period of time. ”

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Everg

The Nig

green

wednesday, november 16, 2016

11

ght-Shift An examination of the unusual sleep patterns and sleep disorders in the Upper School Ellen Margaret Andrews Executive Editor

Radhe Melwani Features Editor

Samar Ahmad

Asst. Features Editor

Head of Upper School Laura Ross still remembers every crack in her childhood bedroom ceiling. Growing up, these were the lines that she looked at nearly every night as she found herself fighting to fall asleep. Years later, she recalls these restless nights, remembering the anxiety and unease that insomnia brought to her everyday life. Her story is not unlike that of many children, students and adults around the world who suffer from sleeping disorders or unusual sleeping patterns.

“I have suffered from insomnia my entire life. Even as a kid and as a teenager I never could fall asleep,” she said. “It’s like I’m missing that piece in my brain that shuts off.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, insomnia is a disorder that makes it difficult for someone to fall asleep, and often causes one to have restless sleep. Sleeping disorders like insomnia affect nearly 70 million Americans and close to 30 percent of children across the nation are affected with some sort of sleep disturbances. Others around the country may not suffer from sleeping disorders, but still have irregular sleeping patterns.

Unlike sleeping disorders, irregular sleeping patterns are rarely professionally diagnosed, and those who stuggle with these issues are rarely medicated. Nonetheless, both irregular sleeping patterns and sleeping disorders often have a significant impact of the quality of one’s everyday life.

Senior Rachel Friedman is one of many Greenhill students who follow an unusual sleeping pattern. On a normal day after school, Rachel typically comes home and takes an hour-long nap. However, as the night continues, she spends hours doing schoolwork and art projects.

“A lot of people are brain dead by midnight, but for me it’s 3 A.M. and I am still studying and functioning,” said Rachel. “I don’t really get that much sleep during the week, 5 hours is good for me. I am a night owl.”

Rachel said that it is during these late hours that her best artistic ideas come to mind and she is able to be her most creative self at night.

According to PBS, another reason for disrupted sleeping patterns is that melatonin levels in blood naturally rise later at night for teenagers, which makes them more alert. For some Upper School students like Rachel, 3 A.M. is the perfect time for studying.

For other students, the problems they suffer with sleeping are caused by anxiety. During her freshman year, junior Leah Witheiler found herself getting very little sleep during the week. She would especially struggle before important tests and school events.

Her lack of sleep left her having a difficult time maintaining focus throughout the school day.

“It definitely affected my quality of life. Throughout the day I would find myself kind of dozing off during class. I never really told my teachers about it. The day of the test, I couldn’t just approach my teacher and say ‘I didn’t sleep, can I get an extension.’ I mostly kept it to myself,” she said.

Yet once she started to become more familiar with being a Greenhill student, sleeping slowly but surely became easier.

She was previously under the impression that homework needed to be completed all in one night. Upon realizing that this was not always the case, Leah’s sleep pattern improved.

Junior Joanna Quan also suffers from mild panic anxiety, which induces mild insomnia. While little sleep often leads her to crankiness the following day, what bothers her more is how it affects her social and academic exchanges.

“The thing that is really serious is that it prevents me from wanting to interact with people,” she said. “I will not talk to teachers even though I will really need to and then it will just delay myself and then it delays my to do list. I also won’t listen in class during fifth and sixth period because I am really sleepy and then I use that to justify why I shouldn’t answer questions.”

“

I do think that in general Americans tend to wear busyness as a badge of honor. A perception exists that if you are overscheduled, involved in everything and are not getting ton of sleep, then you are selflessly sacrificing for your schoolwork.”

However for other students, their sleeping patterns are directly related to the amount of homework or after school activities they have. Senior Zach Rudner’s sleeping pattern varies from night to night.

“I don’t have a consistent sleeping pattern, the amount of sleep I get is directly dependent on how much homework I have and how little sleep I got the night before. So some combination of those two variables determines how much sleep I get,” Zach said.

Dancing competitively outside of school with over 20 hours of rehearsal every week, senior Annie Ablon often finds herself sacrificing sleep.

“In my opinion, in high school I’ve chosen a different path than what many other people might have chosen. I have chosen to try to work on two different aspects of my life: one that takes place here that is mainly academic, and one that takes place outside of school that is primarily artistic,” she said. “I know that both fields interest me on a really high level and I want to be able to put myself in a position that if I so choose, I can pursue a career path in either domain. Even though I know that I won’t get a lot of sleep, it’s worth it to

me like 80 percent of the time to be able to participate to the level I do in both dance and school.”

Junior Allie Frymire occasionally has sleep terrors, which are episodes of screaming, intense fear and flailing while still asleep. She also correlates this form of sleep disruption with high levels of stress, and recalls how the first occurrence was when she was fairly tense after moving to Memphis as a rising fifth grader. Now, the frequency in which she has sleep terrors has decreased significantly, as the condition primarily affects youth and goes away with time.

Allie’s last sleep terror was during fall SPC of last year.

“I’m pretty sure the reason [I had a sleep terror] then was that I was incredibly nervous about it being my first SPC [tournament] with a team that I had only spent a season with. That, and I was sleeping in a different environment,” she said.

Upper School Counselor Priya Singhvi acknowledges some sleeping issues are harder to deal with than others, especially diagnosed disorders. However, she believes students can take some initiative in improving their sleep patterns.

“If you surround yourself with peers that also value getting sleep on time, then there’s not going to be a crew of people you can text at 1 A.M. who are also awake because the people you surround yourself are individuals who value sleep and go to bed at a decent hour,” she said.

Ms. Singhvi also recognizes that there is a societal stigma that equivocates sleeping more to being less motivated.

“I do think that in general Americans tend to wear busyness as a badge of honor. A perception exists that if you are overscheduled, involved in everything and are not getting ton of sleep, then you are selflessly sacrificing for your schoolwork,” she said. “But I think that figuring out balance and setting boundaries is the true badge of honor.”

While administrators at Greenhill understand that they cannot solve all of the issues students face concerning sleep, they hope that they can teach the Greenhill community to be sympathetic to others who may struggle with sleep related problems.

“What I hope I can help people understand is how it feels when you haven’t slept and how your emotion defenses are down, how your brain can’t think straight, how it’s hard to articulate thoughts, how it’s hard to retain information,” Mrs. Ross said.

Furthermore, Mrs. Ross acknowledged that if teachers and students can be aware of the struggles that their peers might face, Greenhill can further build on its core principal of compassion in how members of its community treat others every day.

Graphic by Amy Yang

the

Special Report

Finding a place...

Women In S.T.E.M

SINGLED OUT: Junior Allie Frymire sits in her AP Physics C class discussion. Allie is the only girl in the class of nine total students.

Simra Abedi Copy Editor

Areeba Amer

Design/Online Content Editor

In today’s world, women are often underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.

This year, only around 18 percent of students majoring in engineering are female. According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, women make up only 11.1 percent of physicists and astronomers in today’s workforce.

Greenhill is no exception to this trend, with a noticeable gender disparity in Advanced Placement Physics, upper level robotics courses and the robotics team.

In the past few years, 38.5 percent of students in AP Physics courses were female and currently only 18 percent of students on the Robotics team are girls. Except for upper level physics classes, all science courses have a fairly equal number of girls and boys in their classes.

The few girls who do take AP Physics classes say they feel out of place. Females make up 35 percent of the class in AP Physics 2 and 14 percent in AP Physics C. This gender imbalance also holds true for Upper School Science teachers, as nine out of the ten Upper School science teachers are male.

The one female teacher works primarily in the Middle School, only teaching one course in the Upper School.

Although most classes have an equal number of girls and boys, some girls still feel that the boys control classroom discussions. In some general science classes, girls have noticed differences in the confidence levels between boys and girls.

“In my class the girls, they do speak out, but the boys aren’t as intimidated if they get something wrong,” said freshman Chemistry student Anais Zhang. “They keep going after the problem, but a lot of the girls just quiet down.”

Girls in male-majority STEM classes feel isolated.

“You can feel the presence that we’re not as accepted into the environment as the

other guys are,” said senior Rachel Friedman, one of the three females in Greenhill’s AP Physics 2 class.

Rachel noted that her opinions aren’t often appreciated as much as those of the boys in her class. Additionally, girls have pointed out that the camaraderie among boys leads to bias in the classroom, especially when it comes to answering questions in class.

“There was a question, and I answered it and no one even acknowledged the fact that I spoke. And then this guy two seconds later said the exact same thing and everyone (including the teacher) was so impressed.

This has not only happened to me; it happens to most of the girls in these upper level science classes,” said senior Kaavya Venkat.

Some students see these differences in male and female behavior as unrelated to gender.

“I don’t think being a certain gender would matter at all, it’s just from person to person how much you invest in it,” said junior Victoria Shiau, a member of the Robotics team.

Other students say they do not really see a difference in treatment of girls in science and computer engineering classes as compared to other subjects.

“I don’t really notice a difference in treatment.” said junior Jason Wu, a member of the Robotics team and AP Physics 1 class.

Upper School Science teacher Nicholas Park believes a lack of female involvement in STEM is partially due to faculty make-up of the Science Department.

“Of course [having fewer female teachers] is going to have an impact on female involvement, because you have less role models,” said Mr. Park. “What do you do about it? No idea.”

Junior Allie Frymire weighed in on her experiences in science classes with a clear gender imbalance.

“I feel like there’s a huge intimidation factor. It’s like ‘Okay I’m going to go to this class. I’m going to be the only girl. There’s not going to be a girl teacher,’” Allie said.

“You can anticipate that feeling of isolation it extrudes.”

Head of Upper School Laura Ross recognizes the gender disparity, but said that Greenhill hires teachers based on merit, not gender.

“It just happened that when we were hiring, we were hoping to keep the gender balance, but we also wanted to find the right person for the position. And it happened that the people we found happened to be men,” said Mrs. Ross. “It was certainly not on purpose, and we thought long and hard about it because we were worried [about] this exact question.”

“

I feel like every science subject should have one female teacher.

There needs to be more options for girls to reach out and feel comfortable talking to someone, because sometimes it’s intimidating talking to an older man

However, Kaavya believes Greenhill should make a conscious effort to hire more female teachers.

“I feel like every science subject should have one female teacher. There needs to be more options for girls to reach out and feel comfortable talking to someone, because sometimes it’s intimidating talking to an older man,” said Kaavya. “A lot of girls don’t go into AP sciences because of the misrepresentation. There’s one biology teacher, but even she doesn’t teach at the AP level.”

The Robotics team only has four girls out of the 22 members on the team, but unlike AP Physics, they have a female teacher, Maria Suarez. The girls on the Robotics team say it is an inclusive environment.

Some faculty and students around the Greenhill community have started programs to encourage women to join STEM fields. Lower School Science teacher and Department Chair Regina Yunker decided to begin a club called Supergirl Science Fridays after girls in her class approached her wanting to learn more

Photo by Simra Abedi

about topics covered in class. Since then, Ms. Yunker has noticed a difference in how the girls behave in the club compared to how they behave in science classes during school.

“In the Supergirls Science Club, they do really behave differently,” said Ms. Yunker.

“I don’t know if it’s because of how we title [the club], or if it’s because of the activities we do, but the camaraderie that they share is really exciting to watch.”

Kaavya and Allie also began a Women in STEM club to promote female participation in STEM fields.

“I started the club because not a lot of girls take higher level sciences, because they are scared of it or not interested enough.

I believe this is due to the fact that they feel that they are not represented enough at this school,” said Kaavya. “They need a safe place to talk about issues they may face on a day to day basis and to show passion in a subject they might want to pursue.”

Girls in the club have discussed ways to make themselves more comfortable in male-majority classrooms.

“We can encourage the male and female teachers to pay special attention to the way they treat the girls in the class. Make sure female students are getting equal opportunity as well as equal treatment,” said sophomore Kylie Quinn.

Greenhill administrators plan to address student concerns in the future, though they have not yet taken any steps to help the issue.

Director of Academics and Upper School History teacher Jason Yaffe acknowledged that Greenhill has a responsibility to make no student ever feels discluded in the classroom.

“What we need to do with any student is hear what’s going on and work towards a collective solution,” Mr. Yaffe said. “[We need to] understand that one person’s discomfort is something we don’t want for any student.”

the

Arts

The Technicalities of Tartuffe

Abbas Hasan News Editor

On the last performance of the Fall Drama this year, the cast received a big round of applause.

However, not only the cast was applauded, but those who spent numerous hours creating the world of Tartuffe, the members of Technical Theater. They applauded the people who took the time to paint each individual square on the floor, to weld the backdrop and make everything as perfect as it can be to create a unique world for the audience.

Tartuffe is a seventeenth century French story about a seemingly pious man who uses his faith to cheat people out of their wealth. The Tech Theater crew spent their time ensuring that the audience would be transported back to France and a time when people wore big wigs, and even bigger hip pads.

“

Opening night is probably the best thing ever, because this is the first time we are presenting this to people.”

The Tech crew worked on the set design, lighting, costumes and scenery for as long as the actors rehearsed. Nearly every day after school, the crew spent hours bringing the play to life.

Sarah Nunez-Lafontaine, Head of Backstage, Costumes, Scenic Designs and Painting, even took some work home to ensure that everything was ready for the actors at rehearsals. Greenhill hired a

Photo courtesy of Matthew McKinney

SETTING THE STAGE: Greenhill Upper School students participated in the fall drama, Tartuffe. Not only did the students perform on stage, but others also designed the set of the seventeenth century French play.

costumer to make the attire, but some variations were made by Sarah.

“There are so many parts of these costumes that didn’t all come together until the week before the production. We never saw everyone together until the Thursday before the opening night,” Sarah said.

Each one of the members of the Tech crew played an integral role in putting on the show. Since there were less than ten students

who helped out in Tech, stress came naturally. Some students decided to join the crew without being enrolled in the class.

Students like Sophie ThomasDietrich got involved just for the sake of helping.

“I am not even enrolled in the class. I just went one day after school and I help out whenever I can. I get a lot of homework done too, so that’s nice,” Sophie said.

Every part of the production is planned out thoroughly. Junior

Grace Cooper Jackson, Stage Manager, spent a lot of time taking notes and writing queues. Her role was to oversee the production, and make the show seamless. She managed every detail on the set, making sure not a single part of the stage went overlooked.

One of the main challenges the Tech crew had was painting the floor. Each square of the marble floor was painted individually.

“It was daunting; we were like ‘how are we going to do this?” Each

square had to look just the same. It was stressful, but when it all came together I think it looks amazing,” Sarah said.

To add perspective to the set, a metal background was welded by the tech students. Senior Hayes Barton led the welding with the help of sophomore June Turbeville. “[Welding] just took a little practice. It was something I could make small mistakes on, and it wouldn’t be a big deal,” said Hayes.

“Still, it is a weird process, and making it look good was tough.”

Each member of the crew had unique challenges, but their main focus was to transport the audience back in time.

“Getting to see them all together with everything together is so nice because it brings together this world we created and it looks like they belong in that time period,” Sarah said.

After the production ended, the set was taken down and replaced in preparation for the next Greenhill Theater Production.

The audience only saw the world the crew created for one weekend.

However, that short time doesn’t take away from the hard work.

“Opening night is probably the best thing ever, because this is the first time we are presenting this to people,” said Sarah. “This is not like sports; we don’t get to perform every month or every week. We have three or four days and that’s it. I think it really exciting to share what we’ve been working on for the past trimester.”

Culture Wall celebrates Pre-K diversity

Abbas Hasan News Editor

At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, Preschool instituted a “Culture Wall” as a way to promote cultural understanding.

It is a designated place in the preschool for the students to learn about cultures different than their own. The wall is primarily used for the preschool students, but some Kindergarten teachers take their students to see it too.

Each month, a different culture will be featured on the wall to expose the students to cultures from around the world. For example, the month of October featured

information about Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. The month of September focused on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the Jewish New Year. The wall features facts and history about certain cultural traditions. The wall also contains some images for the students to gain a visual understanding of the culture.

Preschool Equity and Inclusion Coordinator and Pre-K teacher, Greg Browne-Nichols, along with Pre-K teacher Sari Pogorzelski had the original idea to create the Culture Wall.

“When we met over the summer, we realized we both value culture,” said

Mr. Browne-Nichols. “We think it is very important to value differences and understand that we are not all the same.

Also, for them to have an appreciation for differences.”

The wall displays information about how the traditions are celebrated in individual cultures. For the most part, the students will be learning mainly about different cultural celebrations.

“The wall will change depending on the holidays celebrated among different cultures in the Preschool,” Mr. Browne-Nichols said.

Parents who participate in the celebrations help the preschool students

learn about the different traditions.

“If we have the opportunity, and if we have families in our community that celebrate different holidays, we will invite them in to speak to the kids to give a more authentic understanding of the holiday,” Ms. Pogorzelski said.

Although the students have only learned about two different cultures so far, they enjoy the addition of the culture wall.

“I really like the Culture Wall. I like all the colors, especially the pink one. I liked learning about Diwali,” said Pre-K student Alia Gaitonde.

Photos by Simra Abedi

CULTURALLY COMPETENT: The Preschool recently introduced the culture wall, located in the Pre-K pod. Every month, a new culture or holiday is presented on the display.

the

14 arts

Evergreen

wednesday, november 16, 2016

Op-Ed: the casual coolness of street style Zoe Allen Arts Editor

Fashion has become representative of the faces controlling our Instagram feeds, our music and ultimately, how we carry ourselves. Celebrities like Kanye West could present us with trash bags and plastic flipflops in the form of a Yeezy collection, (thankfully he does not), and we would gobble them up for large sums of money with little to no thought about their actual attractiveness. People want to be like Kanye and others deemed to be cool, and thus, the concept of street wear has taken the spotlight in the fashion world.

Street wear is not only comfortable, but it is also casual, (mostly) affordable and aesthetically pleasing. No longer are sweatpants for sick days or for your Spanish midterm, but for any occasion (Kylie and Kendall Jenner can prove it). The endorsement of the Kardashian-West-Jenner clan has athletic brands like Adidas’ sales through the roof and has made Puma relevant again.

While Yeezy styles are anything but affordable, these street wear staples are.

Fashion has also begun to

head in an androgynous direction.

Street wear is mostly the same for both men and women, and aspects of traditional fashion for both have combined to make street wear almost completely androgynous.

For many people, fashion is not just about the look, but also about the brand. Street wear is no exception. For once, the classic Nike swoosh and Adidas trefoil do not reign above all, but smaller brands such as Antisocial Social Club, Supreme, FILS and Stussy have also reaped the benefits of the craze.

As increasingly more people indulge themselves in hip-hop culture, more and more people begin to adopt a casual look.

A key component to this look is the subtle, humble palette that is a staple of street wear. Bright colors are a thing of the past; they are abrasive and loud. Instead, nudes, monochromes, light shades and earthy tones have ruled this movement. Forest greens, mustard yellows, whites, blacks, pastels, greys and browns are king. Long, boxy and baggy fitting pants and shirts are often a part of the street wear aesthetic.

These staples are far more

about the logo than the product, which is smart. Designers have noticed that people are willing to pay excessively to be adorned in a brand, and have taken advantage of it. Kanye West sells Gildan tee shirts with simple, gothic style quotes for a hefty forty dollars at concerts.

This is not to say that the street wear aesthetic is unattainable without breaking the bank. Dallas thrift stores such as Buffalo Exchange carry almost every street wear staple you could hope to find for affordable prices.

Big department and chain stores such as Forever 21, Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom sell the look for relatively cheap as well.

Achieving the look is easy.

Sweats, meshes, sneakers, ripped jeans, oversized clothing and street-wear brand logos can comprise a stylish outfit.

Fashion is becoming more accessible, inclusive and progressive as the world undergoes the same metamorphosis. Take advantage of the sleek, classy look by dressing it down while dressing it up.

Every few years, Greenhill changes its logo. This is primarily to update its look and modernize the brand.

In some instances, the logo was changed for a specific reason, such as the 1971 logo which was a part of the Save the Land campaign. In general, the Communications Department wants Greenhill’s logo to be easily identifiable and to represent the school as a whole. Every logo change is discussed extensively

throughout administration before being implemented.

In the past, Greenhill used logos interchangeably, never establishing a system of branding.

Different fonts and styles were used for athletics, arts and even the Evergreen. This was true until 1996, when Greenhill published its first graphic style manual to standardize all logos, which established Greenhill as an independent association. For example, the logo of 1996 was too

Photos by Zoe Allen

SHADES OF COOL: Juniors Sam Cooper (top), Becca Berger (bottom left) and Maddy Arroyo (bottom right) pose in street style clothes.

similar to the Green Bay Packers ‘G’, so Greenhill changed it to separate the brands. Since then, Greenhill has used different logos for different subcategories. The Summer on the Hill logo is different than the sports logo. The sports logo is modern, while the Summer on the Hill logo is adorned with flowers and butterflies. Needless to say it will never be used to represent Greenhill athletics. The logo is ever evolving, just like Greenhill. story by Alice Zhang

Graphic by Areeba Amer Logos courtesy of Tom Perryman

wednesday, november 16, 2016

the

Evergreen

15

arts

An enlightened review of Isaiah Rashad’s The Sun’s Tirade.

Arhum Khan Design Editor

If you’ve heard of Isaiah Rashad, it’s most likely because of his 2014 hit “Heavenly Father.” On the melodious record, he sings “I’m praying that I make it twenty-five/they be calling doctors for my health/ and “no” is kinda hard to say to drugs/ I been having problems with myself.” After a three-year hiatus he’s back—25 years old somewhere between drained and rejuvenated.

Rashad’s new album, The Sun’s Tirade, is a tense and honest focus on his strenuous introduction into the music industry—a narrative of depression and Xanax and alcohol abuse. However, rather than sensationalizing an artist’s drug addiction, I think it’s more important to focus on the product from his or her journey of struggle and resilience.

This project is sincerely human. From skillful flows and detailed stories to a diverse selection of production, Rashad’s raspy voice rings with depth. I’ve always been attracted to the soul in his music.

There are moments when he mumbles melodies and I can’t tell if he’s about to snap or if the track will be a banger.

The 17 tracks feature an attractive guest list with the likes of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), label mates Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Jay Rock. Rashad says the title of the album is synonymous to a long and hot rant, referring to his nerves during long, burning days in Los Angeles. His stream of consciousness approach makes the music allude to just that—a metaphorically scorching hot day.

The first single, “Free Lunch,” is a

smooth, three-minute rhythmic song he describes as “really just a shout out to my crib.” The track focuses on his childhood and the free lunch program in his community. It isn’t a struggle ballad or a motivational anthem. Rashad raps about what he knows.

A verse from Kendrick makes any song better, so “Wat’s Wrong” is definitely a favorite. Rashad talks about the internal struggle he endured while battling substance abuse and how it almost lost him his spot on the TDE roster. Conversely, Kendrick Lamar’s verse reads as a direct response to his battle, referencing answers in faith and religion.

I enjoy the album’s various changes of mood. They are intimate windows into Rashad’s relatable dual personality. Songs like “Park” and “A lot” are upbeat and energetic. As far as lyrics, we still receive a solid presentation, but from a different side of his creativity.

Two of my favorite tracks on the album are “AA” and “Brenda.” “AA” is an incredibly catchy track that showcases Rashad’s mastery at producing music.

Brenda paints a picture likewise, but offers a vulnerable confrontation with bad habits and Rashad’s relationship with his grandmother. With lines like “who had you on your bad day,” Isaiah creates a selfembracing exchange of humility. These internal dialogues give him clarity.

“Find a Topic (homies begged)” closes the album. The track is personal and catchy.

The melodic sample and Rashad’s hook work perfectly together. This song is an answer to the first skit on the track listing, “Where U At?,” where TDE President Dave

Graphic by Arhum Khan

Free asks Rashad on a phone call to hurry up and finish his album and find a topic.

Luckily, he ended up finding an array of ideas to talk about.

The Sun’s Tirade took a few listens before I could fully appreciate it’s genius, but has since become one of my favorite albums of this year. Isaiah Rashad’s

honesty and straightforward approach to music makes him unbelievably absorbing.

His mantra is easy to listen to. I love the sporadic nature of his detail as well as the fervor in his rapping. This album will be on repeat for a while.

the

Sports Joseph Weinberg

Committed to Service the second Greenhill student-athlete in the

Managing Editor

On September 23, junior Brooke Allen announced her verbal commitment to play lacrosse at the United States Military Academy. Her decision came after she visited the historic Academy at West Point, New York for the third time, and ultimately felt it was the right fit despite having offers from other Division I lacrosse programs.

“Service has always been important to me, but at first I wasn’t sure how I felt about [West Point] when I received my offer,” Brooke said. “When I visited, I definitely found it was something I wanted to be involved with.”

Playing sports at West Point is not the average NCAA Division I student-athlete experience. All students at West Point, or “Cadets” as they are colloquially known, are required to serve as an active duty member of the United States military for at least five years immediately following their graduating from Greenhill, and then serve an additional three years as a military reserve. Brooke will report to the Academy in June of 2018, just after graduation, to complete a six-week intensive training program required for all Cadets.

Brooke loves the sense of community she felt on the West Point campus.

“You’re not only a part of a team as far as being on the field, but basically every single aspect of going to school there is part of being on a team,” Brooke said.

For Brooke, the decision went beyond playing lacrosse. In fact, she said that she probably would have pursued the opportunity to attend West Point even without the opportunity to play lacrosse.

With her commitment, Brooke becomes

opportunity to be able to play football at the n e x t

Photo by Lili Stern

WEST POINT WOMAN: Junior Brooke Allen recently committed to play Division I lacrosse at the United States Military Acadamy at West Point.

past four years to commit to playing a sport at West Point, joining current Army Football player, Jalen Sharp ‘14.

Jalen, Most Valuable Player of the Greenhill football team in both 2012 and 2013, said his decision to play football at Army ultimately came down to athletics and the ability to play Division I Football.

“I think my decision had more to do more with playing [Division I] football than service,” said Jalen. “I thought it was a great

level while also attending such an academically prestigious school.”

Brooke and Jalen, like all other West Point students, will have a say in what field of the army they serve for those five years. There are 17 branches of the military in which West Point students can be placed, and during their senior year, they are given the chance to rank their preferred branches from 1-17. The school then takes every student’s preferences and divvies them up among the 17 branches.

The Cadets’ preferences are prioritized based on a comprehensive class rank system in which each student is given a score based on his or her athletic, academic, and military performance in that individual’s four years at West Point.

“The higher your score is the better chance you have of getting your top branch,” said Jalen. “The majority of the people get one of their top three though, so it’s not random at all.”

Brooke is confident in her decision and is looking forward to the immense responsibility that comes with attending the Academy.

“I think West Point will provide me with a lot of opportunities and lessons that don’t necessarily have to do with being in the army,” she said. “It’ll be well worth the commitment.”

David Allen, Brooke’s father, believes Brooke is ready to take on the challenge that comes with being a student-athlete at West Point. As a parent, his role was to make sure Brooke knew exactly what the commitment entailed and all the other relevant factors.

“Brooke understands [the commitment] is the deal. We understand that’s the deal and we are going into this with eyes wide open,” said Mr. Allen. “Her mom and I were proud of Brooke for wanting to take on the challenge.”

Her parents are confident that West Point is the right fit for Brooke, although it is a drastically different college experience.

“The school has a mission that goes beyond a normal college, which is developing military leaders,” he said. “It’s certainly not for everybody but we’re convinced its right for her,” Mr. Allen said.

Fall SPC Championships recap

After a championship run at last year’s Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) championships, the Boys volleyball team came just short of a repeat. They came into the tournament as the number two seed in SPC’s North Zone, ranked behind The Casady School, who ultimately beat them in the championship match in four sets.

Girls cross country finished in second place at SPC, a new record for the team. Greenhill had three top- ten finishes in a race with 110 girls: freshman Maddie Hatfield came in fourth, freshman Kaiti Ness came in fifth and junior Cameron Crates came in ninth.

Heading into the tournament as defending champions and the number one seed in North Zone, the Girls volleyball team had championship aspirations. They won the quarterfinal game against St. Stephen’s Episcopal School as well as the semifinal game against John Cooper each in four sets before meeting Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD) in the finals. ESD was Greenhill’s only counter game that went to five sets, which made for an anticipated championship matchup.

Greenhill pulled out a win in three sets, making the girls volleyball team repeat champions.

Varsity Field Hockey ended their season with a fifth place championship. They beat Episcopal High School (EHS) 3-0 in their first game, but lost to Trinity Valley School by a score of 0-1 in the quarterfinals, knocking them out of championship contention. They finished the season with a win against Kinkaid in the fifth place game.

Coming off of a seventh place finish last year, the Boys cross country team was able to improve to a fifth place finish this year. Junior Matthew Zweig finished seventh out of 150 runners. Next year, the team’s top two finishers, Matthew Zweig and Daniel Brickman will return, as well as the vast majority of the Varsity team that ran at SPC.

story by Lili Stern

wednesday, november 16, 2016

the

Evergreen

17

sports

Can the Cowboys go Dak?

The Greenhill community weighs in on the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback controversy What should Cowboys Head Coach Garrett do when (and if) Romo gets healthy this season? Does Romo get to start at quarterback right away? Does Dak return to the bench as the backup quarterback? In my opinion, Dak should remain the starting quarterback for one simple reason: team chemistry. Ultimately (and this may not be a good thing), NFL teams are judged by their win/loss record. Right now the Cowboys are winning, and regardless of how this came about, they are winning. So it is imperative that the Cowboys do not tinker with the current situation and keep rolling with Dak as their starting quarterback. But in this same vein, if Dak were to repeatedly struggle (meaning more than one series or one quarter) once Romo is healthy, I would hope for the same reason I stated above, that Romo would get his chance to be the team’s QB once again.

I believe that the starting job should go to Dak without a doubt. His situation is almost identical to Tom Brady’s when he was given his first start in wake of an injured Drew Bledsoe. That year, Tom Brady was sensational, just like Dak and won a Super Bowl for the Patriots. I am not saying that Dak Prescott will win a Super Bowl for the Cowboys this year, and I am definitely not saying that he is the next Tom Brady; however, it is nearly impossible to ignore the success of Dak regardless of the stage or team. Dak Prescott has come in and shown his ability to win, and lead the Cowboys to success, which should be commended by a starting role, even if it is over franchise quarterback Tony Romo. It is also important to note that after his career in New England, Drew Bledsoe came to Dallas only to be replaced by Tony Romo. What we see going on right now may be karma catching up to Romo.

I’m very pro-Romo. Every Cowboys fan that I talk to wants Dak to remain as the starting QB when Romo comes back, because we have a lot of momentum. My philosophy is that Romo won’t kill the momentum that the Cowboys have right now, and that he will only add on to the momentum. It is incredible that after eight games people are calling Dak the next Tom Brady. Romo deserves the chance to come back and dominate. Dak showed that against an elite defense in the prime time game on a Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles that he was still a rookie. He struggled the whole game until overtime. Dak got the ball at the 40 tied with 1:50 left in the game, and he went three and out. Romo in that situation will lead the cowboys to a field goal 10 times out of 10. I believe Romo will come back and be at his best and lead the Boys to a Super Bowl #IstandwithRomo.

The old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and the 2016 Dallas Cowboys are definitely not broken (except for Romo and Dez). The Dallas Cowboys, with the exception of a few seasons, have been exceptionally average since their last Super Bowl win in 1995, but this year is either another exception or maybe the start of a new era for Dallas Football. Regardless, Dak Prescott has led the Cowboys to a 7-1 start, broken records, and put up league-leading stats, showing no sign of slowing down. Why bring back a 36 year-old Tony Romo who has had three major injuries in the last two years?

No amount of wish or prayer will heal Romo to the always reliable, mobile quarterback he once was; time has taken its toll. While I have always been a Romo fan, it is time to go Dak to the future.

-Chad Wabrek, Athletic Director

-Clay Goldberg, senior

-Zain Arfi, junior

Graphic by Drake Heptig

I have come to admire and appreciate Tony Romo over the past ten years, and I have to admit, I enjoy watching him play as much as I have any Cowboy since Roger Staubach. I love Tony’s fire, his free-wheeling creativity, his honesty, his work ethic. He seems to be a really decent and good human being. I want him to achieve the success and fulfillment that he deserves. I want him to win a Super Bowl. But even more than that, I am a diehard Cowboys fan. And right now, Mr. Prescott has the team rolling like it has not done in a long, long time. It would make me very sad if Tony never led a Super Bowl champion. But right now, Dak is the man.

He has to have the chance to make this happen.

-Tom Perryman, Assistant Head of School

Dak is the future of the Cowboys. Not only has he proven to be a clutch and incontrol quarterback for the ‘Boys, but has also broken a rookie record in the NFL, previously held by Tom Brady. It is not only his actions on the field that are amazing, it’s also the actions off of it, specifically the story of his relationship with his mother. The only test that the National Football League has left for the kid is how he plays in the postseason compared to Tony, which shouldn’t be too difficult of a challenge. Overall, by the end of the season we need to be doing three things at the quarterback position. Number one, look to trade Tony, number two, we need to be starting Dak, and lastly we need to look to sign him to a long term contract along with Zeke.

-Hayes Barton, senior

-Bridge Brinkmann, sophomore

Relentless Effort Revamped

Head of Athletics and Physical Education Chad Wabrek has revealed the newest addition to his “Relentless Effort” campaign: three new signs outside of the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms, each sign portraying a different motivational word.

The three words, Outwork, Outlast, and Outplay, are a reminder to kids of what “Relentless Effort” is according to Mr. Wabrek.

These new signs will not replace Mr. Wabrek’s “Relentless Effort” slogan, rather he thinks they have the potential to evolve into some bigger ideas in the future.

“Since the idea of Relentless Effort helps identify the Athletic Department, [the signs] are yet another perspective on how we do what we do. It is important for student-athletes and, if interested, parents to have a visual reminder of what messages our coaches are sharing with their children,” said Mr. Wabrek The signs were installed in the locker room to be a daily reminder to studentathletes as they enter and leave practice.

They remind Hornet players to work hard each and every day they put on the Greenhill logo and represent the school.

Photos by Lili Stern

According to Mr. Wabrek, the first step of Relentless Effort starts in the High Performance Center (HPC).

Through work, opponents can be outhustled with strength, speed and stamina, starting in the HPC. This work starts in the weight room and helps Hornet athletes reach their full potential come game-time.

Mr. Wabrek said the next word, Outplay, is all about bringing practice skills to the game and having fun while competing. All week long, the team works relentlessly for the big game, and when the first whistle blows, it becomes time to outplay the other team. The team that has the most fun will win the game.

Per Mr. Wabrek, the last word, Outlast, requires both mental and physical strength. This step combines the knowledge and durability gained from lifting. Eventually towards the “crunch time” of the game, the opponent will be tired, but if the player can outlast, he or she will come out on top.

story by Ross Rubin

18 sports

the

Evergreen

wednesday, november 16, 2016

From Brazil to the Hill Chris Quintero

Online Broadcast Editor

Brazil: A country widely known for its beaches, its sports fan and its passion.

While Brazil’s excellence in fútbol (soccer) is perhaps most commonly known, the country is also an international powerhouse in volleyball. The Brazilian women’s team is ranked fourth in the world, while Brazil’s men’s volleyball is number one. Perhaps the success of both the Greenhill boys and girls volleyball teams is due to the coaching of two Brazilian natives.

Tatiane Deibert has now finished her seventh year as head coach of the Greenhill Girls Varsity Volleyball team, while Mauro Grasso finished his second year at the helm of the boys program. They are both natives of São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, and the most populous city in the southern hemisphere.

“

If you have [a coach] that leads you really passionately, it’s contagious.”

Both coaches loved the game from a young age, and eventually played volleyball professionally in Brazil. Coach Deibert playing for Santo Andre, a professional club based in São Paulo, for two years before moving into coaching. She coached at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level before moving on to DI and DII NCAA schools. Coach Grasso spent six years as a player in Brazil before transitioning to professional

Photo by Simra Abedi

VIVA VOLLYBALL: Both Greenhill Varsity Volleyball coaches originate from Brazil and have had significant impacts on their respective programs, securing three combined SPC Championships in the past two years.

coaching in 1987 with Sadia Esporte Club where he won a world championship as the Head Coach in 1991. He later went on to coach in Italy, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Qatar. He also was an assistant coach with Brazil’s women’s national team in 1989.

In 2010, Coach Deibert’s husband began looking for work in Dallas. With their family planning to move here, she applied for a coaching job at Greenhill. Soon after, she was hired and began coaching. After Coach

Keith Nannie’s retirement in 2014, Coach Deibert recommended Coach Grasso, who she knew from her time in Brazil, for the job.

“We were working together for a volleyball club, and we knew Coach Nannie was going to retire, and then Coach Wabrek asked if I knew anybody,” Coach Deibert said.

Coach Grasso and Coach Deibert said that Brazil’s reputation for passion holds true. It is this passion that helps them coach their volleyball teams to success, they said.

“If you have [a coach] that leads you really passionately, it’s contagious,” Coach Grasso said.

According to Coach Grasso, passion was on full display this summer during the Rio Olympic Games. Coach Deibert also agreed that the Olympic Games set a positive example for her girls.

“It was fun having the Olympics [in Brazil] this year. The kids can watch how crazy and fun Brazilians are, and I think they relate a lot, so it was huge for the kids to see and understand our culture,” she said.

Players also appreciate the positive impact these coaches have had.

“I’ve never had a better volleyball coach in my entire life,” said Girls Volleyball captain Allie Frymire. “She’s just this perfect balance between caring about her players and the people they will become, while also holding us accountable for our actions on the court.”

Senior Peter Diaz also said his coach’s nationality brings a new perspective and energy to the team.

“He’s definitely a lot more passionate about volleyball being from Brazil, where men’s volleyball is a big deal. There is a certain level of work ethic and passion he brings to the table that isn’t always seen here because the sport is less common,” Peter said.

This season, both teams enjoyed another successful run. The girl’s team brought home the Southwest Preparatory Conference championship trophy and the boys made it to the final falling just short of consecutive championships.

wednesday, november 16, 2016

the

Evergreen

afterwords

19

The music in me

It’s been nearly 12 years since I saw a musical for the first time. Yet each time I wake up early to go on a Sunday run, it’s musicals that help me get out of the door.

After a brief stretch, I unlock my phone and stare at my two favorite playlists. They are entitled, “Musicals by Camille” compiled by my middle sister, and “Best Musical Playlist

of the Century,” put together by none other than my oldest sister, Melanie.

While my “pump-up” music is atypical to say the least, I find that when I listen to it, my mind goes somewhere else. It might go to New York, Baltimore, France or even Oz. Yet the one place that it often takes me is the one I like best: a Saturday afternoon, cleaning the house with my family.

As a young girl, Saturdays were often characterized by one of us girls having some sort of athletic commitment in the morning.

Yet upon returning home, our house became a stage. As we vacuumed the floors and washed the windows, we transformed into some of our favorite characters: Josephine March, Tracy Turnblad, Mimi Marquez and Maria Von Trapp. As we ran around the house belting out our favorite show tunes, we felt the most pure form of joy. We saw

ourselves in the characters and shows that we embodied, and in these moments we were being our most true selves. In “Little Women,” we saw a powerful bond between sisters. In “Rent,” we saw friends who sought to see the best in one another. In “Billy Elliot,” we saw passion. While many of our friends talked about the Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana concerts that they were dying to see, all we could think about was getting tickets to shows like these.

As much as I idolized many of the actors and actresses that performed my favorite shows, I always lacked a necessary characteristic of someone who aspired to be on Broadway: talent. The truth of the matter was that I would never get to be the voices and the characters that inspired me as a child. I’d never hit a powerful note, nor would I ever execute a spectacular dance arrangement.

I’d never perform a scene that would bring tears to someone’s eyes. Yet in all of this, I realized that the power of musicals and the reason I liked them so much was that I never had to be in a show to feel part of one. As I listened to these stories, I felt like I knew these characters. In a funny way, I felt like they understood me.

To this day, my friends roll their eyes at me when I ask to “DJ” music during a car ride. My basketball teammates shake their heads when I tell them what I’m listening to before a game, and I continue to be the only person that follows either of my sisters’ playlists. And my sisters and I continue to be an odd little trio, but nonetheless a trio with whom we can be ourselves.

respecting others’ opinions seems to become synonymous with only liberal opinions should stand.

Before I go further, I should preface by saying I’m not fully dedicated to one party or another and tend to be center-right on the political spectrum. But at Greenhill, it feels as if I might as well be a diehard Trump supporter.

One time, I argued that unfriending Trump supporters does not do one any good, as it puts one into a bubble. The response I got said that who someone votes for is very indicative of their beliefs (how one can split people so easily into two drastically different categories is beyond me), and a clear representation of whether they’re racist or not. But I remember one senior speech in which the senior said that he felt like he was silenced for having conservative beliefs. Instead of taking his opinions into

consideration, the responses I heard after ranged from “why is he saying that?” to “why is he saying that, he is so privileged outside of Greenhill.” At the time, I didn’t say anything, I just went on agreeing. But his speech opened my eyes to the situation at Greenhill.

I realized how hypocritical Greenhill can be when it comes to respecting other voices. I talk to more conservative students, and they feel scared to speak up in class or to go to political clubs for fear of being oppressed. Or they didn’t feel there was a community to back them up. I surely didn’t want to question the status quo for a while either. There was no point refuting a Facebook post making general statements about Republicans, right? I’m not the best at delivering arguments, so if I tried to refute, I couldn’t possibly stand for myself.

In the wake of this historic election,

I understand the mounds of frustration coming from so many students. I am among them as a dedicated Trump hater. However, I’ve also heard a lot of generalizations about Trump supporters. This rubs me the wrong way; I’m good friends with some Trump supporters, in and out of school. But by sitting down and listening to what they had to say, I realized that being a Trump supporter does not define a person, and that someone can vote for him without agreeing with all his stances.

Perhaps the Greenhill community is ready to experience conservative students’ voicing their opinions more often. If so, conservative students shouldn’t be nervous to offer that counter-argument that they’ve been holding in. As for me, I’ll go ahead and give a counter-argument from time to time.

I’m sure it would prove not only beneficial to them, but to the whole school.

trait I needed to maintain.

As I grew older, my curiosity naturally evolved into what it is today. As a teenager becoming more aware of the world around him, I fostered my knowledge of race, politics, religion, and other cultural identifiers. I by no means am an expert in these areas, in fact, my constant questioning of these things left me more confused than before. Instead of being a devout catholic, I found myself questioning God Himself.

Instead of being a complete democrat, I found myself questioning virtually everything I knew about politics to the point where I did not identify as either blue or red. My bewilderment expanded but the questions kept coming.

Meanwhile, it seemed all my friends were moving to their corners. They all had set religions, political affiliations and seemed to have a pretty solid view of how the world worked. As time passed and high school

progressed, this became irritating to me. If I so much as questioned a liberal view, I’d be shouted at and called a “racist” or something of that nature. Similarly, the questioning of any conservative views earned me the title of “libtard” which was a problematic insult, but showed how much one side hated the other.

There was never a discussion, just one side defending another. I’ve never heard a political discussion end in, “Oh yeah you right bro. Good call there.” It’s ALWAYS been defensive and never productive.

All these political associations and religions are ideals carried throughout the world by devout followers who believe in it and will defend it to its core. I find that admirable, but only when the idea holds true, because the truth itself should be able to withstand any form of scrutiny. If someone is born and taught to believe certain ideals, it closes off a world of possibilities. Tradition has always been a part of human history.

We pass down stories, religions, political associations and other every day things. But this process is flawed.

It’s difficult to have an open-minded discussion when you have premature alliances you refuse to leave. I sometimes get chastised for challenging the beliefs of people when in reality I just asked a question. We like to say we’re open minded and respectful of ideas, but this is only true when it’s convenient for us. The moment a core belief is challenged, it rocks a person’s foundation and they become defensive. Why not embrace the scrutiny and see if your belief still holds true? The moment a set of ideas is declared immune from criticism or satire, freedom of thought becomes impossible. Now, as my time at Greenhill comes to an end, I’m know I can look to the future with a positive and open mind.

disabled among us. We must fight for the soul of this nation like our lives depend on it because they do. Like Hillary Clinton, we here at Greenhill know that our strength lies in our diversity. We must set an example for the rest of this country by caring, listening and empowering each other, because it has never been clearer that we are stronger together.

Together we will dismantle the patriarchy, fight for equal pay for equal work and we won’t stop until women have total and complete control over their bodies. We will defend the rights of immigrants and we will build bridges, not walls. We will reform our criminal justice system; bring an end to the War on Drugs, and stop all forms of police brutality. We will work every single day to ensure that racial minorities are protected. We will never relinquish the freedom of religion that is enshrined in our

constitution and Muslim Americans will know that this country belongs to them as much as anyone else. We will transform our economy to ensure that everyone gets a chance to achieve the American dream, not just those at the top. We will care for the sick, the elderly and for those brave men and women who fought for our country. More than anything, we will not abandon our beautiful earth.

Jewish sages teach that the Holy Temple in Jerusalem fell not because of the invading Roman armies, but because our people were divided and filled with baseless hatred for each other. We did not see the beauty in those who looked, prayed, loved or thought differently from ourselves. The Rabbis teach, therefore, that our most powerful weapon is our capacity for baseless love. Because loving one another at a time like this is revolutionary.

Conserving free speech on the Hill

In her biography about Voltaire, author Evelyn Beatrice Hall said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Above all, I hold this value.

From the first day of high school, I heard something similar. “We respect all voices and opinions.” It’s an important value to have. But I quickly found myself self-censoring and hiding my true feelings;

Liberating ideals

The apostle Paul once said that humanity would be ever learning and that we’d never come to the knowledge that is truth. Simply put, we’re going to always be so curious that we want to learn more, but we’ll never know enough. I consider myself a truth seeker.

And sure, most people might, but the reality is that many people are so aligned with some beliefs that they refuse to consider anything else as truth. When I was little, my mother would always tell me that my curiosity was a

Stronger together

When the results came in on Election night, I was distraught, confused, furious, depressed and so incredibly heartbroken.

And I still am. I’m horrified that a man like Donald Trump, who demeans and threatens those closest to me, could become the President of the United States. And for the 24 hours after the election, all I could feel was my anger and despair, and I resigned

myself to my fear. But, after crying it out (and then some) in Dr. Bradberry’s office, several bathroom stalls, a few classrooms and my bedroom, I realized that resigning ourselves to our fear is what got Donald Trump elected. Almost half of American voters decided that they would choose their president based on their fear of the other.

And so if anything, we owe it to ourselves, to this country and by G-d to the hero that is Hillary Rodham Clinton, to refuse to let our fears take over.

For decades, Hillary has fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, and like she has been every day of her life, we must be fearless. We must fight for the disenfranchised in our society. We must take action to lift up those with no voice.

We must stand up for our Muslim friends, our Hispanic friends, our black friends, for the women, and children, and LGBT and

the

20 backpage

Evergreen

wednesday, november 16, 2016

1 Which are you more thankful for?

A) Family and friends

B) Food

4 Which type of pie do you like more?

A) Strawberry rhubarb

B) Pumpkin

2 Which color do you prefer?

A) Rainbow

B) Gold

5 Pick an onomatopoeia.

A) “Squawk!”

B) “Gobble, gobble!”

3 Where would you rather hang out?

A) Greenhill

B) A family Thanksgiving dinner

6 Which event is your favorite?

A) Founder’s Day

B) Thanksgiving

Peacock (if you circled mostly A’s) Turkey (if you circled mostly B’s) You are unique, colorful and a bit eccentric. Your hobbies might include strutting across campus and screeching like a maniac to say hello to your fellow peacocks. If you have never participated in any of these noisy activities, maybe that is a good thing (at least for everyone’s eardrums), but you are still beautiful and awesome. Spread your feathers this Thanksgiving, because you deserve it.

You care about tradition, and Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday (mainly because of apple pie and sweet potato casserole). You are brave, and not a chicken, so don’t fear political discussions with family on Thanksgiving. You can handle it. Like a true turkey, on this upcoming break from school, you will courageously run around and celebrate the end of the first trimester.

What is your special friend’s...

...worst fear? ...role model? ...secret talent? ...favorite holiday? ...favorite memory? ...best piece of advice? ...favorite exotic animal? ...biggest mistake in school?

Graphics by Drake Heptig