The Razor | February 2021

Hopkins School 986 Forest Road New Haven, CT

Vol LXVII, no. 9

February 12, 2021

www.therazoronline.com

Hopkins Celebrates Black History Month account] of uplifting voices that need to be heard.” Imevbore echoes Szabo: “The personal stories that Black @ Hopkins School posts played a part in us deciding to keep the speakers very personal to Hopkins.”

Anjali Subramanian '22 News Editor

This February, the BLSU (Black Latinx Student Union), SURE (Students United for Racial Equity), and Diversity Board came together to plan and orchestrate a variety of events to celebrate Black History Month.

The theme for this year’s Black History Month is getting to know the “Black faces you see every day, but don’t know much about,” co-head of BLSU Milan Yorke ’21 says. She continues, “Therefore, all of our events are more in-house. We’re keeping speakers to current students, alumni, and faculty. We plan to have a Kahoot for advisory groups to play around with, a song of the week that showcases Black culture throughout the years, and multiple movie nights.” Yorke explains their objective behind these events: “We really wanted to highlight our Black peers and reinvent the month specifically for them to enjoy.”

A key aspect of this year’s Black History Month is incorporating more speeches from Black people within the Hopkins community, rather than turning to outside speakers. Co-head of BLSU Michael Imevbore ’21 elaborates, “We have four scheduled speakers, with three of them currently on campus and one a semi-recent graduate.” He continues, “We thought it would be more productive for students to learn about the experiences of people close to them today, rather than from a past that might seem unfamiliar to them.

There are so many people that we think we know, but we only know on a surface level. Hear[ing] their stories will be eye-opening.” Co-chair of Diversity Board Hannah Szabo ’21 believes that the speeches are “a great way to continue the work of the @blackathopkins_ [Instagram

The events for Black History Month include speakers, movies, and the Student Showcase on February 26.

The @blackathopkins_ Instagram account was created last summer to amplify Black voices within the Hopkins community and provide them with a platform to

share their experiences of racism at Hopkins.

BLSU also plans to screen three films, "The Photograph," "Black Panther," and "Just Mercy," that touch on Black history or culture, and feature a predominantly Black cast. Co-head of SURE Jasmine Simmons ’21 explains the significance of film for Black History Month: “Film is a great way to learn about history and celebrate Black culture. In past years, these were some of my favorite events because they can be entertaining, but also really productive.” Co-chair of Diversity Board Ranease Brown '21 reinforces Simmons’s sentiments, noting the impression last year’s Black History Month films left on her: “I loved the trip that Hopkins planned to see 'Harriet.' There is such beauty in representation of Black people in movies and when Hopkins made that step, I was overjoyed, to put it lightly.” Brown explains that from that experience she wanted to carry on the tradition of watching “different movies and documentaries each week pertaining to Black culture.”

On February 26, Black History Month will culminate with the Black History Month Student Showcase, a celebration of Black poetry, music, and dance.

With Covid-19 and the hybrid model, replicating the usual showcase was a challenge for BLSU, SURE, and Diversity Board. However, they wanted to preserve this Black History Month custom. Brown details why she wants to keep the showcase: “I have performed in [the showcase] almost every year since eighth grade, and there is nothing like watching people express themselves through art. Whether it is painting, playing an instrument, singing or dancing, there is so much talent in the community.” The showcase will not look the same as it has in previous years, as it will take place virtually. Brown explains, “We will be formatting the event similarly to what we did at the end of the 2019-20 school year...

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PPE Shortages 101: A (Very) Brief Overview Anushree Vashist '21 Lead News Editor Access all sources at therazoronline.com

The United States Covid-19 pandemic has been marked with a consistent failure: chronic personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages.

Ever since the crisis was declared a pandemic in March 2020, American news has been riddled with stories on PPE shortages. In addition to traditional news stories, healthcare workers turned to social media to share their subpar work

The Boston Globe

Used N-95 masks in the trash. conditions. For example, pediatrician Dr. Vidya Ramanathan spoke about reusing masks and face shields and running short of disinfectants. In an NPR article, an ER Inside: News........1, 2 Features....3, 4 Op/Ed......5 Arts...........5, 6 Sports.......7, 8

physician in New York City suggested that being in the hospital is “ like walking into Chernobyl without any gear.” Nurses demonstrated their frustration with the lack of access to PPE through marches across the nation. That these struggles were widespread is evident in the results of a survey of approximately 23,000 nurses conducted

by National Nurses United (NNU), which found that 87% of test subjects reused single-use masks and respirators.

In an examination of the causes for PPE shortages, Jennifer Cohen and Yana van der Meulen Rodgers argue that the lack of PPE is not simply a workers’ rights issue but “a system wide public health problem.”

Healthcare workers without adequate protection are more likely to contract Covid-19, thus leading to “a decline in the supply of healthcare due to worker illness” while also adding to viral transmission, thus “increas[ing] the demand for care while simultaneously reducing health system capacity.”

The unsatisfactory circumstances resulted in movements like Project N95 and Get Us PPE. The latter establishment is “the largest national organization getting personal protective equipment (PPE such as masks, gloves, and isolation gowns) to frontline workers who need it most.” AddiFeatures Page 4: Bodhan Chiravuri Designs Toilets For Astronaunts

tionally, Get Us PPE also provides updates regarding the status of PPE shortages nationwide. Their recent statement, titled “The PPE Shortage Crisis and Rationing,” outlined the dramatic increase of 260% in the company’s requests for PPE between November and December 2020. Nitrile gloves, disinfecting wipes, and hand sanitizer consist of the most requested commodities, with surgical masks and N95 respirators remaining in high demand."

The piece continues, “The rationing and reuse of PPE are profound CT Post and continue to be utilized among many facilities, placing their front- A healthcare worker in PPE holds a Covid-19 test. line workers at risk.”

Cohen and van der Meucrisis before the pandemic’s start. George len Rodgers identified four major causes of Burel, the former Director of the Strategic the shortage: “a dysfunctional budgeting National Stockpile (SNS), stated that the model in hospital operating systems [that] program was not prepared for a crisis of incentivizes hospitals to minimize costs this magnitude. Additionally, the former rather than maintain adequate inventories Trump Administration had only sparingly of PPE;” “a major demand shock triggered used the Defense Production Act to help by healthcare system needs as well as pan- increase PPE production, leaving states to icked marketplace behavior [that] depleted compete with one another for equipment.

PPE inventories;” the failure of the U.S. Without federal intervention, the United federal government in “maintain[ing] and States was not capable of handling supply distribut[ing] domestic inventories;” and shortages, in part because of the budgeting the “major disruptions to the PPE global model and sudden increase in demand, but supply chain [that] caused a sharp reduc- also because the U.S. is the largest importtion in PPE exported to the U.S.” er of face masks.

The federal government was already unprepared for a large public health Continued on Page 2 Arts Page 5: Hopkinsarts. com Artist Spotlights

Sports Page 7: RealTalk x Razor: Sexism and Racism in Athletics

The Razor: News

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Hopkins Celebrates Black History Month Cont’d

LookJemma Williams Continued from Page 1 ing towards the ...for Hopkins Arts Night. We will put future of Black all the videos together and release the history at Hoppremiering time for everyone to tune kins, Simmons in.” Szabo continues: “A challenge hopes that Hopfor Black History Month events is to kins’s curriculum replicate that sense of community that will amplify more you have in an in-person conversa- Black voices and tion.” experiences: “Our

Brown explains how they history courses, plan to overcome these obstacles: specifically the “Our team has had practice with Atlantic ComZoom for almost a year now and can munities seem to facilitate and work through a screen be taught primarwith the same energy as if we were in ily from the perUpper Heath. The silver lining is that spective of white Speakers at the 2020 Black History Month Assembly. when we have the showcase, perform- Europeans and our English and History curriculum, ers will not get stage fright when see- Americans. Something I would love in terms of learning about Black hising all their friends’ faces.” to see is more literature that showcas- tory, is that we don’t have any elec Imevbore details the other es regular Black people as opposed to tives that could take the place of the changes Covid-19 brought to this being centered around Black trauma required Atlantic Communities curyear’s Black History Month program: and racism.” Imevbore notes a similar riculum.”

“Our speakers cannot speak in As- lack of Black representation in Hop- Reflecting on what Black sembly and then stay after for a Q&A kins’s English curriculum: “I can only History Month means to her, Simlike previous years. Also, with the hy- remember reading two stories that mons says, “It’s a time to recognise brid model, we are not able to have dealt with Black culture, Fences and the history that is fundamentally tied a screening of the movies we planned The Sellout, and those are not nec- to the story of this nation, but that is at Hopkins for the whole school.” Co- essarily focused on Black history. If too often ignored or unappreciated.” head of BLSU Anajah Williams ’21 you don’t take the African-American Brown expresses her opinexplains how these changes raised Symposium, you really don’t learn ions on the importance of Black Hissome concerns: “Everything need- about Black history past slavery.” tory Month: “Although it may not Brown ac- seem like celebrating Black culture Hopkins.edu knowledges for a month can bring us all together, it the difficul- allows for the minorities to feel more ties of chang- proud and have their voices amplified. ing the curric- It is one of the most powerful months ulum, but still in our calendar.” Williams adds, “It’s urges Hop- sad we only get one month to show kins to offer a how long we fought to be where we wider variety are today. We squeeze as much as we of electives: can into February because it’s proof “I don’t just of our struggle and how we built our think that culture.” Yorke shares her take: “Not Black history only is it my birthday month, but it’s a is not taught month where everyone that looks like enough in me and who might be a few shades English and darker or lighter can gather around Former Hopkins students perform at the 2019 BHM showcase. History class- and be fully immersed in our unique es, it isn’t. and lovable Blackness. It’s a month ing to be online is a bit frustrating I’ve spoken with many teachers and for love and appreciation for all that considering we have to make a lot of they feel the same way. It is just very our ancestors went through. A time what we are doing optional. There is difficult to alter an entire curriculum when being unapologetically Black is always a fear that no one will watch in order to allow for more diverse His- welcome. It’s a time for Black people or pay attention now.” tory courses. The main problem with to just be Black and nothing else.”

February 12, 2021

Attention Hopkins!

The Razor is covering the events of January 6, 2021 at our nation’s Capitol, and would like to talk to as many community members as possible. If you want to be interviewed, please reach out to: Vivian Wang (vwang23@ students.hopkins.edu) and Aanya Panyadahundi (apanyadahundi23@students.hopkins.edu).

PPE Failures Cont’d

Continued from Page 1

Public health experts are calling for the use of medical protective gear for the general public. In July 2020, Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to President Biden’s Covid-19 response team, said that “[b]y now every American should have access to N-95 quality masks,” before outlining the “epic failure of indifference of our government” in a 16-tweet Twitter thread.

Now, given the rise of the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants, more scientists are calling for the universal wearing of medical-grade masks. Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Tom Frieden, stated: “N95 masks are the most protective masks, followed by three-ply surgical masks, then fabric masks.

A fabric mask is a lot better than no mask, but we may need to step up our mask game if contagious Covid variants start to spread widely.”

Former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Scott Gottlieb agrees, suggesting that “Quality of mask matters more now.

N95 best, or double masking.”

Dr. Abraar Khan, Dr. Ranu Dhillon, and Devabhaktuni Srikrishna published an op-ed in STAT news titled, “Along with vaccine rollouts, the U.S. needs a National Hi-Fi Mask Initiative.” The use of higher quality masks for everyday people is becoming more common in other countries; Germany and Austria require those using public transportation or in supermarkets to wear N95-equivalents or surgical masks.

The Biden Administration has outlined an approach different than its predecessors in combatting the PPE shortage.

Biden’s National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness states: “To make vaccines, tests, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and other critical supplies available... the President has directed the use of all available legal authorities, including the Defense Production Act (DPA), instructing departments and agencies to expand the availability of critical supplies, to increase stockpiles so that PPE is available to be used in the recommended safe manner, and to start to fill all supply shortfalls immediately.”

Are Snow Days Doomed?: A Potential Pandemic Casualty Melody Cui ’23 Assistant News Editor

[uses] snow days for homework, [there is also] time to relax.” The effects of a snow day can even stretch into the rest of the week. Samuel observes that snow days often provide an opportunity to “get ahead on homework so the rest of the school week is less stressful.”

Under the current hybrid model, however, stu-

In past years, snow days have provided a momentary respite to students from their normally busy workloads, but as distance-learning becomes the norm for students, the fate of snow days hangs in the balance. Hopkins Facebook Page

The process for deciding whether or not a day will be a snow day normally begins early in the morning, around 5:00 a.m. After sampling various sources for information about the impending weather, Head of School Kai Bynum, Assistant Head of School John Roberts, and Chief Financial and Operating Officer David Baxter, meet to compile their findings. Roberts details, “we have all that information that we push back and forth. [And] the three of us, we talk [from] 5:15 [a.m.] to as long as it takes.” Some of the considerations unique to Hopkins include the geographical diversity of its students, as well as the campus cleanup needed. (For more information on what goes into deciding to have a snow day, check out the article from the February 2020 Razor article: “Snowdays? Snow Problems!”)

Thompson Hall in the snow during the 2020 Winter Break.

With the weather conditions forcing students to stay home, previous years’ snow days are most commonly used to reset and take a breath. dents can attend school from the safety of their homes Will Schroth-Douma ’23 explains, “In theory, a snow through the use of Zoom, removing many of the obstacles day is above all else a refresher for one’s mental health. created by bad weather. Still, many Hopkins students are It breaks up the monotony of everyday, in-person school in favor of retaining snow days, arguing that the break life just by changing simple things like when you wake provided by snow days is still needed. Erin Low ’22 up.” Laila Samuel ’23 notes that while she “normally states, “I definitely think we should keep snow days be-

cause it offers a break from the constant stress of school.”

Schroth-Douma agrees, declaring that “if anything, no matter how small, can be done to disrupt the rigid, unvaried schedule of distance-learning […] it ought to be done.”

Some students believe the pandemic has created even more of a reason to retain normal snow days.

Emma Yan ’24 believes that “Hopkins should keep [snow days] so that we can still have some kind of normal in [these] crazy times.” This sentiment is echoed by Vedant Aryan ’24, who remarks, “Hopkins should keep ‘normal’ snow days because it’s a fun tradition to uphold.” Jess Horkovich ’22 reflects, “I still get excited whenever I see snow outside and I’d like to spend the day relaxing, just like a Covid-19-free year.”

However, the growing prevalence of Zoom makes virtual learning a potential alternative to the traditional snow day. While deciding what to do on January 26, 2021 (which ended up being an early dismissal), Roberts explains that “there was some interest on the part of a few of us [...] who wanted to [have the] option of saying, hey, well, if it’s sloppy enough, let’s just go virtual.” Roberts warns, though, that adding that fourth option can create “a slippery slope.”

He wonders, “When does the weather get you a snow day, and when does it just get you a virtual day?”

Nevertheless, students should stay hopeful about the possibility of future snow days. Roberts emphasizes that “we had gone into this winter with the idea that we would not leverage technology to avoid a snow day [...]

My hope is that we stay with that.”

February 12, 2021

FEATURES

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Diversity and Climate: Community Reacts to Cabinet Picks Zoe Sommer ’23 Campus Correspondent

On January 20, 2021, at 12:00 pm, Joseph R. Biden was sworn into office, becoming the forty-sixth President of the United States. President Biden enters the Office of the President along with Kamala Harris; the first woman, African American, and South Asian Vice President. His cabinet will be one of the most diverse cabinets in American history, including a majority of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and will be almost equally composed of men and women. President Biden also enters office during a time of great political and social divide, a global pandemic, dire climate issues, high unemployment rates, and an economic crisis.

In order to pass Biden’s proposed legislation targeting all five issues, cooperation with Republican members of Congress is needed. According to 21st Century Democracy teacher and School Archivist Thom Peters, “much hinges… on how the Republican Party shakes down after Mr. Trump leaves office.” Peters says that “Mr. Biden will have to grapple with the fact that the way he was able to be a successful Senator, through friendships and exchanges, has not been the model used in the Senate in recent years.” However, Peters notes that while “only ⅓ of the current Senate was there when Biden was there… many of them are now among the leadership of the Senate, so that works in his favor.” For example, President Biden has a history of a positive relationship with Republican Mitch Mcconnell, the Senate Minority Leader. This connection feels potentially problematic for the power demographic in the cabinet to many, including co-head of Young Democrats Ella Zuse ’22. She believes there “already are some tensions present in the Senate as McConnell is looking to hold on to some of his power.”

While Biden calls for unification and cooperation, co-head of Young Democrats Nathan Meyers ’22 predicts that Biden will face difficulties cooperating with Republican members of Congress when “passing legislation that addresses problems Republicans don’t believe in, like systemic racism and [access to] abortion[s].” Meyers also states that other issues, such as the amount of money in the Covid relief bill, “could be debated” but “will get passed eventually.”

Co-head of Young Republicans John Stanley ’22 shares his hopes for the new administration: “Above everything, I think solving the problem of Covid-19 has to be the biggest focus of the President.”

Stanley continues, “We’ve heard a lot from him criticizing Trump’s decisions on the virus, and I’m hoping that Biden will do as good of a job that he’s advertised.”

Biden’s cabinet nominees are the most diverse in American history. For example, Biden nominated Repre-

sentative Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo, for Interior Secretary. Environmental Science teacher Allison Mordas explains that “the Department includes all National Parks, as well as Bureau of Land Management lands (which are extensive and mostly rangelands), the United States Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” Mordas is “hopeful that she will lead our public lands in a positive direction.”

The cabinet is also the first-ever to be evenly composed of men and women. Additionaly, the President’s top picks in-

A graphic of Biden’s Cabinet as of January 8, 2021. clude the Cabinet’s first openly gay cabinet member, Pete Buttigieg; African American Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin; and woman Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen. Meyers is particularly excited for Buttigieg’s position as Transportation Secretary as “it’s great that a millennial is going to be in the President’s cabinet because we need younger voices in politics.” He believes that “Improvements to the transportation sector are shown to be among the best ways to combat climate change, and the US falls behind other nations in creating modern transportation networks, such as high-speed rail and light-rail networks.”

Under former President Donald Trump’s administration, more than 100 environmental rules were rolled back, according to The New York Times. When asked about the largest problem facing our planet today, Mordas refers to climate change as “the largest in scale and [one] [that]

will certainly impact all aspects of our lives, particularly if governments continue to ignore or minimize it.” Mordas believes that the environmental threats to our daily lives stem from the “indirect effects of climate change.”

She says that the indirect effects of climate change are caused when “climate change affects one thing, and that thing then affects us. Indirect impacts are notoriously difficult to legislate against and manage, particularly when so many government officials lack the political will.”

Government inaction to adress other environmental issues also poses a significant threat. According to Mordas, “The laws governing the controls on [environmental] hazards to human health are older than me… and I’m old. They are outdated and haven’t been significantly updated since I was in high school.” For example, “water pollution controls don’t effectively measure and limit things that we know represent serious threats to human health, such as PFOAs and endocrine disruptors.”

Environmental threats also disproportionately affects poor, minority communities. Mordas says that “if you are poor, or a POC [Person of Color], you’re much more likely to live near heavy sources of air and water pollution, incinerators, and landfills...

There has been evidence for at least a generation that these communities are experiencing the negative health impacts of these exposures, such as higher than average asthma rates, and yet nothing has been done to remedy this. Our laws need updating, and they need to be addressed in a much more equitable way.”

On his website, Biden states that he hopes the U.S. can achieve a 100% clean-energy economy and net-zero emissions by 2050. Meyers beleives that “Biden needs to pass… sweeping legislation that helps combat climate change, both in terms of trying to limit carbon emissions, and create long-term solutions to climate change, like investing heavily in renewable energy to move the U.S. away from fossil fuels and natural gas.”

Biden’s current plan also involves establishing an Environmental and Climate Justice Division within the U.S. Department of Justice. Mordas is unsure about this aspect of Biden’s plan, since “it’s hard to say how that could be used to protect citizens from the impacts of climate change, but I’ll take all the help we can get.” Mordas elaborates, “most of the time the problem is that our laws haven’t kept up with scientific knowledge. We have also written most environmental laws in a way that places an extreme burden on the prosecutor.

In most pollution cases, environmental lawyers cannot bring a suit without a whistleblower providing documentation that the company knew of potential hazards and exposed workers and communities anyway. Repairing these issues and giving the Environmental Protection Agency a more significant role, which is less easily impacted by executive order, should be the highest priority.”

RealTalk x Razor Razor:: “It Was Not a Position That Any of Us Wanted to Be in.”

“In the 2018-19 school year we had a speaker by the name of Jasiri X. Jasiri X is an African American rapper, activist, and public speaker. He had a way with words and a very engaging speech that resulted in a classic standing ovation.

After each Assembly with a distinguished speaker, there is usually a Q&A session.

In one of the Q&A sessions there was a teacher who stood up and asked Jasiri X ‘How do you feel about the use of the word n----- in English classes?’ The teacher was a white man and he said the word with ease as he asked the question. There was a moment of murmuring and turning heads because you could feel the uncomfort in the room. I felt the eyes staring at me as everyone waited for one of the few black people in the room to say something. I don’t know if they thought I was going to be mad or upset or anything of that nature. I sat there squirming in my seat and waiting for the session to end. This Q&A session was all the talk for weeks. To this day, as I am a current Hopkins student, people talk about this teacher and how they could not believe he said what he did. I ended up having this teacher at one point in my Hopkins career and I was nervous about what he might ask us to say or do in terms of literature in that class. Thankfully, Jasiri X was very professional about the situation and did not cause any fuss, but it was not a position that any of us wanted to be in. I am not sure whether or not the teacher apologized for using the word when he could have simply said ‘the n-word’.”

- Current Hopkins Student, Anonymous

Submit to the RealTalk x Razor Collaboration Share Your Voice RealTalk and The Razor are collaborating to create a space for community members to share a short reflection that highlights any aspect of their identity or experience. We hope this platform will promote discussions on campus that lead to powerful conversations and meaningful change. Entries are not meant to be long essays, but rather written or artistic work on a topic of your choice. Submissions for the RealTalk x Razor Collab will be considered separately from the RealTalk Speaker Series submissions

Anyone can submit an entry at any time of the year, to be published in the next available issue of The Razor. You can submit an entry through the Google Form linked on The Razor’s website: www.therazoronline.com, as well as on The Razor’s and RealTalk’s Instagram accounts: @hopkinsrazor and @realtalkcollective. You may choose to submit anonymously or have your name published alongside your entry. Submissions will be reviewed by a small group of RealTalk and Razor members, who may reach out to you for clarification or to workshop your submission.

The Razor: Features

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February 12, 2021

Bodhan Chiravuri Designs Toilets For Astronaunts have now.” On the Zero Gravity ride, “The Another important element in Aisha Nabali ’23 entire mechanism is spinning around the the creation of space toilets is the disposal Campus Correspondent central axis. In the same way, my toilet process. Space shuttles lack plumbing sys will spin but will do so vertically.” tems, so Chiravuri needed to devise a way

There are several privileges and Chiravuri details the science of to efficiently seal off all waste in a secure commodities we take for granted on Earth, the CosmoCommode: “the artificial gravi- and disposable manner. On the Cosmoand being able to use the bathroom is one tational force i.e. the rotational centrifugal Commode, “as soon as the astronaut is of them. In order for NASA to return to force is proportional to the radius of the done, they will press a button that makes a the moon in 2024, their engineers need to system and the speed of spinning. RCF = containment lid slide over the waste chamdesign a toilet that works in space. Rather 1.18 X 10-5 X Radius (cm) X RPM2.” The ber in the toilet. After this, the toilet comes than trying to solve this conundrum them- CosmoCommode requires its user to be to a stop and the astronaut can get off. The selves, NASA created the Lunar Loo chalBodhi Chiravuri lenge in the summer of 2020. The task was set out: create a toilet that works both in microgravity and lunar gravity. Hopkins School’s very own Bodhan “Bodhi” Chiravuri, ’26 won third place honors in the NASA Lunar Loo challenge.

Chiravuri’s toilet needed to be able to work with two forms of gravity.

Creating a toilet for space has proven an issue for NASA because of the two types of gravity astronauts will encounter on their trip. NASA explains microgravity as, “what is generally considered ‘zero-g’ and is experienced as weightlessness.” This is different from lunar gravity, which, “is approximately one sixth of Earth’s gravity, so urine and feces will fall down.”

Chiravuri named his toilet the “CosmoCommode.” In order to battle gravitational differences, he designed the CosmoCommode to, “create its own ‘artificial’ gravity by spinning around and creating a rotational centrifugal force Bodhi Chiravuri ’26 uses Procreate to create his toilet design for the NASA Lunar Loo Challenge.

(RCF) for the entire system which is the astronaut, the human waste, and the toilet strapped into the device in order for it to waste is then suctioned out.” itself.” He derived his idea from the Zero create enough rotational centrifugal force.

Chiravuri stated that the most difGravity carnival ride: “based on my read- “The one thing I was worried about was ficult part of designing his toilet was the ings and experience with the Zero Gravity the astronaut getting dizzy,” he notes, “but sizing restrictions. NASA required that all ride, I knew that rotation produced artifi- Astronaut Tim Peake performed an experi- submissions be lightweight and compact, cial gravity, and went from there. I spent ment that proved that you can’t get dizzy weigh less than 15 Kg in Earth’s gravity, some time researching, designing, and by spinning while in space, due to weight- have a volume no greater than .12cubed, redesigning before I came up with what I lessness.” and be quieter than the average bathroom

fan. “I sketched it up on my iPad and used Procreate to create my design,” he recalls.

“I kept refining it even after that. I did have to stick to strict sizing guidelines, which was hard considering all of the mechanics that I had to fit in it.” Ultimately, he was able to incorporate all his designs elements in a model even smaller than the guidelines.

Chiravuri heard about this challenge through his previous research on SpaceX launches. He remembers, “My dad and I had just watched the SpaceX launch of astronauts last summer and I was surfing the internet to learn more about SpaceX and NASA when I came across the Lunar Loo Challenge. It was a fun way to spend our time learning about space toilets and how they work.” Chiravuri shared he has a knack for robotics and design, and that he “always loved to build things, starting with Legos and models but [has] also liked to take things apart. I more recently started to draw, and have enjoyed creating blueprints and designs for some of my projects.”

Chiravuri was just one of almost a thousand contestants competing in the Lunar Loo challenge. Each competed within their specific age division. He reminisces, “There were a lot of other amazing ideas and designs as well. One of my favorites was one that used circular airflow.”

The prize for placing in the top three was public recognition for the contestants’ innovations and NASA merchandise, but that’s not all Chiravuri got out of the competition. “It was a great experience,” he says. “It gave me the opportunity to put together some of my skills. The most rewarding part of this experience was the recognition I got. The NASA swag bag was pretty nice too. I definitely plan on doing something like this again. It was a lot of fun and I learnt a lot in the process.”

Chatting With Art Teacher Legend, Peter Ziou Amalia Tuchmann ’23 Campus Correspondent

Peter Ziou is nothing short of a celebrity on Hopkins campus. Students may know him as an advisor, a Junior School Studio Arts teacher, an Upper School Fine Arts teacher, or just someone who is always cheerful and happy to chat. During his 28 years teaching at Hopkins, Ziou has instilled a love of art in both hesitant and eager students that lasts far beyond The Hill. His classroom is a comfortable place to explore and take risks through watercolor, collage, pencil sketches, and countless other mediums.

Everyone has a “Mr. Ziou story”, from the time he went up in front of the whole school to Capoeira dance during Assembly, to the time he hijacked the walkie talkie system during Back to School Bash to talk about the sunset. His lessons highlight the intersection of art and spirituality, giving students a new lens through which to view creativity.

Q: What made you want to become a teacher?

Let me start by saying that becoming anything is not something that you know you’re going to become. I would probably venture to say that in many cases, people who become or do something they end up loving do not know they’re going to do that. I know at Hopkins, the students either have goals early on in their lives, or their parents have goals for them. That doesn’t always work out, and it puts the student in a bind, psychologically, because they might think they’ve failed at something that should have happened in their course of life. But the surprises and unexpected experiences in our lives are what gives us, hopefully, more motivation than fear about what we’re good at.

And what we’re good at, we don’t necessarily know. I know as a little immigrant Greek Peter Ziou

Peter Ziou’s painting“Memories of the Southwest.”

kid from an island in the Mediterranean Sea, that when I came to the United States and I was a public school student in Bridgeport, I didn’t know this country and the way it worked. I couldn’t speak the language. And it was a teacher, like Ms. Macintosh, (I was sort of called her teacher’s pet by the class, but I loved her) who would keep me after school, and help me with English. Other teachers, such as Ms. Forester, in high school freshman year, would always keep me after school, and she was very adamant in trying to tell me good things about what direction to go in. Ms. Flannigan, who was tough to the class, she was feared by the wise guys, but loved by the good students. So, when I got a chance at Yale [where Ziou studied painting] to be a TA for one of my professors, and after the students received my lesson positively, I realized that sharing something I loved with other people, in this case art, gave me this feeling inside that I didn’t know was possible. But first, I wanted to become a better artist, because I love creating, drawing, and painting. I had to love what I do, before I could teach what I do. If I only go to school to become a teacher, if I don’t really love what I do, then I can’t teach it. My life made me become a teacher, rather than I decided to become a teacher.

Q: What is one memorable experience you have had while teaching at Hopkins?

That’s a tough one because I love my students so much! I mean, just this week, I did a lecture on utilizing the ellipse and the cube while drawing three apples, and talking about the interspace between the apples, and the overlap. A 7th grader showed me her drawing, and it was better than my example! And that to me was a surprise, but a beautiful surprise.

And, what it is, is a student, through whatever inspiration they’ve gotten into themselves, that nobody can put in there, not parents or teachers, only the student’s spirit puts it in.

And they didn’t even know how good of a job they did, but they felt it.

Q: What projects are you working on at the moment?

These days, I would probably say, I think it’s the nature of COVID, I’ve been less focused on my personal art and putting more concentration on coming in every day and teaching the best lesson I can for virtual and in-person students. But, I think that this is also the time of self-reflection, and we can all become spiritually motivated if we allow ourselves to, by our isolation. Recently, I’ve been doing little washes of landscapes. Part of it is a goal I set for myself: when the school allowed me to go see the national parks in the southwest [during Ziou’s sabbatical from the end of January to the fall term of 2020], like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, I took pictures and did some little drawing studies, and I’ve been doing little paintings off them. I’ve also been doing little paintings of New England. During COVID, the best and safest thing for me to do when I have the time is to go somewhere and hike, take pictures and draw, then come back to the studio and try to make a painting out of them. But I have to do it soon afterwards, because if I wait too long I lose the actual moment of time, which is what I search for, where your spirit is connected to the image in front of you, and allows you to find something beautiful.

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Page 5

February 12, 2021

Vaccination Acceleration: Four States Lead the Way Riley Foushee ’23 Op-Ed Editor

The emergency approval of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and the subsequent distribution and administration was a long-awaited, uplifting turn in the management of the coronavirus. As of January 31, 49.9 million vaccine doses have been distributed and 29.5 million shots have been administered. While there have been many bumps in the road to immunizing the population (such as New York having to throw out doses due to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s strict restrictions on who could receive the vaccine) there have been several success stories. Giving states more autonomy over their own vaccine rollout has led to discrepancies between states in the efficiency of administering shots, but four states have been especially effective at getting their population vaccinated: West Virginia, New Mexico, and North and South Dakota.

Although this eclectic quartet may seem surprising, the data is clear. All four states are in the top ten for percent of population given at least one dose (both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses for immunity); but, more importantly, they comprise the top four states for percentage of doses administered. North Dakota leads the country in dispensing 85% of vaccines allocated to the state, with New Mexico at 78%, West Virginia at 76%, and South Dakota at 70%. New Mexico has largely fol-

lowed federal recommendations on vaccine rollout, and has been very effective with their coordination; however, the other three states followed different routes.

West Virginia and North and South Dakota’s plans have USA Today

A nurse receives her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. slightly differed, but there is one consistent theme: the cutting of red tape and a rejection of federal planning.

In each state, the elimination of bureaucratic processes and federal programs happened in different ways.

West Virginia decided to opt out of the national program that partnered nursing homes with CVS and Walgreens, instead deciding to use the multitude of independent pharmacies in the state to vaccinate the elderly. North Dakota also followed in these footsteps and encouraged long-term care facilities to use other methods besides the CDC’s Long-Term Care Partnership. South Dakota increased the speed of their rollout by adding in other groups, such as law enforcement agents, to be eligible to receive the vaccine to the first few tiers, which included the elderly and frontline healthcare workers. While these states are aided by the fact that they have smaller populations and are more tightly knit, other less-populated states have had issues with their rollouts. Both Rhode Island and Idaho, two states with populations similar to West Virginia and North and South Dakota, have struggled to administer 50% of the doses they have been distributed.

The success of West Virginia and the Dakotas and their methods of efficiently vaccinating their populations are an important lesson in policy-making.

Governors and state legislators know their states much better than the federal government and can tailor policies that better fit their state, rather than an overbearing, cumbersome nationwide policy. A policy that works in Florida will not always work in Wyoming. It’s important to keep in mind that one size fits all policies coming from the federal government aren’t always the best idea.

The Razor: Arts

Hopkinsarts.com Artist Spotlights Anand Choudhary ’22 Assistant Arts Editor

From virtual a capella performances to intricate drawings, Hopkins’ Arts Department website, hopkinsarts. com, features many different student artists. Given the necessity of displaying art online during the hybrid model, artists are adapting to inconsistent working conditions and changing their creative processes.

One section of the website is dedicated to the Community Gallery Show, “Three Dimensions.” The gallery displays triple submissions that solve a theme of your choice in three different ways. In a normal year, the show would take place in the Keator Gallery; however, with Covid-19 restrictions, the artists were limited to uploading their work digitally.

YuQing Ma ’22 submitted her piece “A Heart Forms Seven Sides: Three of Seven.” The piece was inspired by a character in the game Onmyouji named Menreiki. “The game is based on Japanese culture and traditional myths,” Ma says.

“Menreiki is a type of yokai (monster) composed of Gigaku and Japanese theatre

masks. Her character lore and design in- though Ma did not have to alter her process not only an a cappella group, but a group of game revolves around seven masks that drastically to display her work on hopkin- girls I’m really close with. Now, because each represent a different feeling.” Fol- sarts.com, other artists are not so lucky. we can only meet through Zoom, it’s hard to lowing the show’s theme, Ma chose three Orly Baum ’22, co-head of the all-female get that bonding.” Baum is unsure how this of the seven masks to draw. To her, the a capella group Triple Trio, had to change affects the newcomers of the group. “In recontrast between the first and third one re- her approach from start to finish in order hearsal our usual routine is to rehearse the ally stood out, and the one in the middle to upload the group’s rendition of “That’s song in parts, so I’ll put them into breakdidn’t represent humans. “One is [xiǎo Christmas to Me” to the “Freestyle” page. out rooms accordingly. My hope is that miàn], which stands for youth in my draw- The group meets twice a week they’ll take twenty minutes of that time to ing, although it could also YuQing Ma rehearse and ten minutes to socialize and stand for rationality and get to know each other. Even though all vivid self representation. of Triple Trio is really close, I know that [hú miàn] is connected to I’m closest to the people in my part, so I the Inari-Okami, who brings try to switch it up. It’s good not only for harvest. [lǎo miàn] stands musical growth but growth as a group.” for loneliness, uncertainty,

Another challenge Baum faces is pain, and an elder man” finding the right music. “There aren’t that

At first, Ma wasn’t many soprano-soprano-alto-alto arrangesure if she wanted to commit ments that suit our group, so when I found to her idea, especially with ‘That’s Christmas to Me’ I knew it was YuQing Ma’s “A Heart of Seven Sides: Three of Seven.” “fewer big blocks of time to going to be perfect for our holiday perforwork on it in class” due to the hybrid model. over Zoom to practice. Baum explained mance,” Baum commented. She also chose After finishing drawing the first mask, how- the challanges of the rehearsal process: the song for its difficulty. “There were ever, she found the “motivation” to keep “it’s a lot different now. We rehearse our some parts that had more simple rhythms going. In the end, while not the “happiest songs using MIDI’s, which are prac- but other parts that relied on each member with the final result,” Ma deemed her piece tice tracks. Each member will learn their to have more rhythmic and tonal accuracy.” “acceptable” enough to submit to the gal- part on their own and then after a few Creating art has been a challenge l e r y. rehearsals, we’ll all make a Soundtrap for many this year. With Covid-19 and the

[a digital, collaborative recording soft- hybrid model hindering their ability to creA l - ware] for it where we record our parts.” ate, student artists have had to adapt and The group makes their video record- grow. As Baum puts it, art is something peoings in the next rehearsal, and then stitch ple “want to participate in, can find friendthem together to create the final product. ships from, and have fun while doing so.”

A major part of a capella is the onstage connection between singers which the audience feels during live perforhopkinsarts.com mances. Now, not only is it harder to feel the singers’ camaraderie through the computer screen, but Triple Trio members also have fewer bonding opportunities. Baum said: “it’s tough that we don’t get the social time we would normally have during practice. I Triple Trio performs “That’s Christmas to Me.” think of Triple Trio as

ARTS

Page 6

February 12, 2021

HDA’s Annual Winter One-Acts Zoom to the Stage had us send a video… with this, we could choose which takes we liked and which we didn’t; allowing for much more time and creative leeway.” Casting was easier for Hartup then the fall show, It’s a Wonderful Life, be On February 4 and 5 and February 18 and 19, cause Hartup “was able to cast students from either cothe Hopkins Drama Association (HDA) performs their hort into the role I felt they would find success” as opWinter One-Acts. As the drama department gets in- posed to the students being cast by cohort as in the fall. creasingly accustomed to the hybrid model that Hop- Despite the auditions and final performance being kins has been in since the fall, the quality and efficiency fully virtual, Hartup has chosen to utilize the hybrid system of their productions have skyrocketed. For the Winter for rehearsals. Hartup says that “during the week [rehearsOne-Acts Teacher Hope Hartup has refined every as- als] are a mix of virtual and live. On weekends they will pect of the show’s production, allowing for a cleaner all be remote, which works fine, because that will be our fully virtual theatrical experience while still manag- platform when presenting them.” Hartup is hopeful that a ing to keep 40 students from grades 9-12 involved. fully virtual show will work better than masked in-person

From start to finish, the process of designing this performances because “we will be able to see everyone’s year’s One-Acts has been unlike any in Hopkins’s history. face,” making it easier to convey the comedy the actors First, Hartup had to choose one-acts that she felt could are tasked with presenting. Overall, Hartup is thrilled be performed effectively over Zoom. For this, she chose; “that the students and I have figured out a way to make 10 Ways to Survive the One Acts happen.”

Life in Quarantine While Hartup and her

by Don Zolidis, tips actors have found things and tricks on ways to look forward to in this to entertain yourself foreign style of producat home; Bad Audition, they still face new tions on Camera by challenges. For HartIan & Carrie Mcup, one of the biggest Wethy, the story of a obstacles is the varycasting director with ing capabilities of the one day to fill an estechnologies students sential role; and Help have access to at home.

Desk by Don ZoliHartup feels she may be dis, a comedy about forced to “bring a few the weird world students up on campus of telemarketing. to perform, since all

To begin Zach Williamson of the school computthe casting proers are connected to the cess, Hartup “used The castmembers of “10 Ways to Survive Life in Quarantine” pose for a internet via an ethernet photo during their dress rehearsal on Zoom. a Google sign-up cable.” Co-Head of the form for basic inforHDA Drew Slager ’21 agreed with Hartup: “Having virmation (grade, schedule, etc.) and had students record tual rehearsals means you have to deal with issues like their monologue on Flipgrid,” a digital bulletin board. wifi problems” Assistant stage manager Yaqub Bajwa ’22 Hartup felt this system “actually worked out really well. had a different perspective: “The rehearsals are easier to The students were all prepared, maybe a bit more re- coordinate because they are over Zoom and the perforlaxed because they knew that they could re record their mance itself has fewer nitty-gritty things that we need to video, and I was able to view them more than once as keep track of. It’s definitely going to be different, but also well.” Felipe Perez ’22 agrees. “The virtual auditions one of the most interesting shows I’ve been a part of.”

Craigin Maloney ’21 Arts Editor

Yaqub Bajwa

Joey Rebeschi ’21 and Ty Eveland ’21 have a good time rehearsing for “Short Stuff.”

Perez found himself seeing both the positive and negative of performing over Zoom: “Often I have to remind myself to look at the camera on my computer rather than my zoom viewfinder while I’m acting. Some actors also have had to use green screens, ring lights, and make changes to their wifi in order for things to run smoothly. What’s great about these one-acts is that they’re written specifically to be performed virtually. It makes it a lot easier on the actors and on the audience to believe what they’re seeing.”

Slager also worries about the aggressive pacing of this show. He said, “The one-acts are also happening a lot faster than any other Hopkins show I’ve done because... we got the cast list four weeks before the show and didn’t start rehearsal until three weeks before.” Despite Slager’s reservations about the time-crunch, he recognized that “being at home every other week makes it easier and everyone is working hard to put this show together.” Because each member of the cast is performing under different circumstances at home, they each face varied difficulties.

Hartup has picked lighthearted shows that have the ability to uplift students and teachers, making them temporarily forget the larger issues humanity is currently facing and focus on the joy happening right in front of them. And, while these one-acts present altered necessities, Perez, Slager, and Bajwa can all agree that it will be an interesting show to be a part of. Ranease Brown ’21 has even stronger feelings towards the one-acts. “Getting to perform in any way has been a joy. It’s been nice having our HDA family back together and adapting to a different style of theater. There are no audience reactions, so the show moves a little faster. It’s been a challenge for sure, but seeing how many people auditioned and have asked to help just shows the amount of love our program has for this art. My senior year in HDA looks a little different, but I’m just happy to have something!”

ARTIST OF THE ISSUE: JOANNA WEI Sophia Chavez ’23 Campus Correspondent

Dauntless and venturesome with her process, Joanna Wei ’21 has created visual art in many mediums and is an accomplished artist at Hopkins.

Wei began her journey as a visual artist at the age of four and has since dedicated herself to her artwork. In preschool, Wei recalled “[coming] in every single day … and just us[ing] crayons and draw[ing] the same house.” Wei’s mother soon noticed her interest in the visual arts and helped Wei pursue this passion throughout her childhood: “My mom has been the biggest influence to me because she always said, ‘You know, this is obviously something you love, so I’m not going to discourage you from doing it.’ I guess just having someone to tell you that, you know, you’re right on track and they like what you’re doing is a tremendous help.”

Wei continued, “[my mother] would take me to museums or galleries for as long as I can remember, and she would always provide me with paints or pencils.” Wei believes the support she received as a child contributed to her current artistic success.

Wei takes inspiration from Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most accomplished oil painters of the seventeenth century who challenged society’s patriar-

chal conventions. Wei said, “She prioritized the female narrative in her artwork and also pushed for feminism in the arts, which I believe is extremely important.”

Even though Wei supports feminism in Highpoint Pictures

Joanna Wei ’21

the arts, she explained, “I don’t like to outright express social justice issues in my artwork because I’m not ready for that yet.” Instead, she noted, “I can see a personal narrative in my own artwork.”

Covid-19 has impacted Wei’s artistic process. Before the pandemic, Hopkins allowed Wei “to do anything [she] wanted.” Now, however, Wei must reevaluate her approach, often asking herself, “Which piece can I work on at

home versus which piece can I work on at “[I’m] the opposite of a meticulous person. school by transporting it back and forth? I get really annoyed when I have to plan What mediums am I limited to inside my everything out beforehand.” Instead, she house?” Wei has started to create more “immediately start[s] working to try and 2D projects. The mediums required for 3D see what happens.” projects are difficult to acquire or use in a When asked to give advice to domestic setting, so at-home weeks limit aspiring visual artists, Wei suggested: Wei’s ability to work in three dimensions. “Don’t be afraid. And if you want to try

Wei usually gravitates towards something, you have to go for it. ... you using oil paint, watercolor, and charcoal. can’t be afraid of criticism or what ev“I see different mediums as representa- eryone else thinks. You just really have tions of my different goals,” said Wei. “I to create for yourself and for what you use oil for landscapes or still lifes as oil believe in.” As for Wei, she cannot envipaint is just a beautiful medium to work sion a future without art, and plans on in. Watercolor is quite nerve-wracking minoring in visual arts during college. and volatile as there isn’t the same room for mistakes as with Joanna Wei oil. Charcoal is great for expressive work or portraits.”

Wei described her artistic process as “a series of problem-solving... If I’m able to push past those problems, what’s next?

What else can I do to make my piece better? Or , what other kinds of artwork can I create?” Wei preWei’s Study of Turner’s Fort Vimieux fers to improvise:

February 12, 2021

SPORTS

RealTalk x Razor Sports: Sexism and Racism in Athletics Stories Gathered By Maeve Stauff ’21 Lead Sports Editor

Continuing the series from last month, the Sports section is providing a forum for students experiencing racism and sexism in athletics at Hopkins.

“I came to Hopkins in seventh grade and I did junior school sports for the first year. I did junior school soccer, junior school basketball, and that I did varsity track in the spring, which was cool. It was actually my first time running track, but it was something I kind of always wanted to try. The first year I had a great experience. The seniors and all the high schoolers were really welcoming and embraced me. The next year in eighth grade I did junior school soccer again, but then I tried out for basketball. Originally I just wanted to play at a higher level and I didn’t really mind if it was JV or varsity, but I ended up making the varsity team. It was really cool and I also got to play with my sister too. Throughout high school I played varsity soccer, varsity basketball, and varsity track.”

“A sexist experience I remember having was in seventh grade. The girls and boys basketball teams scrimmaged and there was a coach who was a boys’ basketball coach who was doing the clock and being a referee. The whole experience was not taken seriously at all. This basketball coach would add points to the girls side and call ridiculous plays and calls. He tried to give us a leg up. It just felt like we weren’t taken seriously at all. And I wanted to actually go out and play and compete, even if we lost by a bunch. But instead, the basketball coach made it kind of like a joke. That was honestly one of the most memorable experiences of a bad experience at Hopkins.”

“But in general, I find that girls sports aren’t taken as seriously or respected as much as the boys sports are. I can remember, during my freshman year, the girl’s soccer team was really good and we were doing really well. But, I still found that we didn’t get as much support as the boys soccer team. In general, of the sports I played, we might have had a similar record as the boys, or even a better record than the boys, and their games would be packed and we wouldn’t have as many stu-

dents. I think a big thing on campus is that it sometimes just feels like people don’t care about the girl’s sports as much, or you have to work harder to get that respect.”

“In terms of race, so I think my sophomore year I was the only black person on the basketball team. And I wouldn’t say like, I’ve experienced racism, but I would say it’s just, it’s something that you notice. When you’re practicing or in a game and you’re just the only black person on your team. It is something I’m self-aware of when I’m playing. For instance, I’ll try to make sure that I’m really respectful to the ref and other coaches so I don’t get pulled into a stereotype of being overly aggressive or angry. But,

Peter Mahakian

Jasmine Simmons ’21 dribbles the ball during a home basketball game.

I don’t think it affects how I play too much. I think in some ways it might inhibit me because I don’t feel that I’m able to play as freely or as emotionally as other people.”

“There is a lot of sexism in the basketball department. Originally, the Pancake Breakfast used to just be a guys basketball thing. They just never even considered to ask the girls. We’ve just had to advocate

Page 7

for things like that. Specifically, we had to advocate to get the same amount of gear as the guys’ team did.”

“Two years ago, when I was a sophomore, it was senior day for the guys and girls basketball teams.

Usually for a senior day game, you play in the main court. But, because we were on the same day, we had to play in the middle court and it was a big deal because our only senior couldn’t play her last home game in the main court because the boys team got it. But, even though we didn’t get to play on the main court some of the boys on the boys team were really rude and disrespectful about it. To make it even worse, we brought in a ton of balloons and went all out for senior day. And then, the boys ended up taking our balloons and using our setup for their senior day which was really bad.”

“At the end of the day, I want to see Hopkins increasing representation. For example, having my assistant basketball coach, Nae, on the team as an AfricanAmerican female helps me out a lot. She is someone I can relate to on that level. I also want Hopkins to encourage having conversations with each other and within the athletic department. I do feel like a lot of the racism and sexism people experience at Hopkins comes from within the athletic department itself, which is an issue.”

-Jasmine Simmons ’21

“Hopkins mainly prioritizes funding boys sports which is evident since they always receive new gear.

Football recently got an automatic thrower. But, JV girls field hockey never had a real field to practice on and they were told to practice on the side of a grass field. Girls lacrosse always has half the balls than the boys do. Also, many times when there is a football or boys soccer game, the girls have to forfeit their practice time. For example, last year, JV field hockey didn’t have a field for their last home game and instead of giving them the turf, they were going to give it to the junior school boys for their scrimmage. But, the team emailed Rocco and some parents complained in order to get the turf field for their game.”

-Anonymous Student in the 10th grade

Hopkins Weighs In on Mayweather-Paul Fight Tanner Lee ’23 Assistant Sports Editor

On February 20, YouTube sensation Logan Paul and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather will face off in an exhibition boxing match. Paul, the 25-year-old Ohio native, will fight in only his second official match ever, while Mayweather, the 43-yearold from Michigan, currently holds one of the best boxing records ever at fifty wins and zero losses.

This matchup, featuring a YouTuber, will not be the first to do so. The first match between YouTubers featured KSI and Joe Weller in England in 2017.

KSI, who has amassed over twenty million subscribers on his channel, proceeded to challenge either of the Paul brothers to a boxing match, seeing as he has a feud with the two of them. KSI and Logan Paul fought twice, once in August of 2018, and lastly in November of 2019, which was classified as a professional fight.

This was Logan Paul’s only match and only loss. Logan Paul’s younger brother Jake then fought retired NBA star Nate Robinson in November 2020, and won convincingly. Now, Logan is set to fight Floyd Mayweather.

The matchup between the two is not as one-sided as it may seem. Paul, standing at 6’2 and weighing roughly two hundred pounds, is a staggering six inches taller, and fifty-three pounds heavier, than the world-champion boxer. Mayweather is also nearly twenty years older than Paul, and is coming back to boxing after announcing his retirement in 2017. Also, Paul comes from an extremely athletic family and has played many sports during his life. While he is not familiar with boxing, Logan and his brother Jake were great football players in high school and even better wrestlers in high school and college.

However, none of this means anything when the person across the ring is one of the world’s best. After conquering his first world title in 1998 by defeating Genaro Hernandez, Mayweather never stopped winning. He won four more world titles in 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007, solidify-

ing himself as one of the greatest athletes ever. In 2015, he agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division champion, and won, extending his perfect record to 45-0. After beating Conor McGregor in 2017, the champion achieved a perfect 50-0 record, and announced his retirement.

Getty Images

Mayweather and Paul will face off on February 20.

In fighting this exhibition match, both Mayweather and Paul have much to gain, but Mayweather also has something to lose if Paul defeats him. Due to Paul’s large YouTube fanbase, and Mayweather’s fame in the boxing world, the fight is expected to produce millions of dollars for both, regardless of who wins. Mayweather’s long-awaited fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2015 grossed about six hundred million dollars in total, making it the richest boxing match to date. The match between YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul did not generate nearly as much money, but still grossed a generous eleven million dollars. On February 20, Mayweather is already guaranteed two million dollars, while Paul is guaranteed two hundred thousand of his own to fight the boxing legend.

However, the average fan only wants to know who will be crowned victorious that night. If Mayweath-

er were to win, as he is expected to, it would not mean much to the boxing world. A boxing legend only three years into retirement should beat someone who, despite being younger, has only ever fought twice, and never won. Not many will be surprised if Mayweather wins.

However, if Logan Paul surprises fans and beats Mayweather, Paul will have bragging rights, and Mayweather’s career might become slightly tarnished for agreeing to take a fight against a younger, yet much less experienced fighter.

When asked who he thought would win the exhibition match, Ryan Schatz ‘23 replied, “I feel like [Logan has] overcome a lot of the difficulties he’s had to face and therefore I feel like he has a better mindset in order to win this fight.” Schatz is referencing Logan’s recklessness as a teenager, and believes his maturity could lead him to be victorious.

Juan Lopez ‘22 had a different opinion on the outcome of the fight. He said, “I one hundred percent think Mayweather is going to beat Logan Paul because Logan has almost no experience.” Lopez also suggested that, “In the one professional fight [Logan] had he lost to KSI. So if anything KSI should be fighting Mayweather.”

Maeve Stauff ‘21 also said she thinks “Mayweather is going to win because Logan doesn’t have much experience and Mayweather has been fighting forever and is undefeated.” Stauff continued, “I don’t think Mayweather will go as hard on Logan as he did Conor McGregor because he wants it to be entertaining.”

Luke O’Connell ‘23 also believed Mayweather would win the fight: “Mayweather simply has the brute force to defeat any man in the arena, and despite Logan’s determination to take down one of the best boxers of our generation, Mayweather’s experience will lead him to be the top dog.” Assata Dawson ‘23 also believed Mayweather would emerge victorious, saying, “I definitely think that Floyd Mayweather will win because he is undefeated and Logan Paul, while larger than Mayweather, has nowhere near the amount of skill that Mayweather has.”

The Razor: Sports

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February 12, 2021

Recruitment During the Pandemic: Hopkins Athletes Continue to Attract the Attention of Coaches and Sign Letters of Intent Anika Madan ’24 Campus Correspondent

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), approximately eight million students participate in high school athletics, out of which more than 480,000 students compete as NCAA athletes. The most important steps of the college athletic recruitment process are getting in contact with coaches, visiting campus, hosting visits from coaches, receiving scholarship offers, and signing the National Letter of Intent. The Hopkins senior athletes that committed this year are Cooper Bucklan, Nicholas Wilkinson, Katherine Park, Riley Lipman, Drew Williams, Brooke Lane, Gonzalo de la Mora, Ethan Woolbert, and Cristin Earley.

Park will attend Brown University for soccer, which she has been playing since first grade. She stated, “Although many [coaches] were helpful, my club team coach, Jack, was the most because he handled a lot of the communication between the Brown coaches.” Unfortunately, she tore her ACL, which was the “most difficult part of the process.” Her recovery took about one year long and she added that she has “to work really hard to make up for lost time and prepare for the college season.”

Peter Mahakian

Peter Mahakian

Gonzalo de la Mora ’21 winds back his racquet.

Peter Mahakian

Riley Lipman ’21 dribbles out wide.

Courtesy of Cooper Bucklan

Cooper Bucklan ’21 commits to Swarthmore College.

Bucklan, who has been playing lacrosse since he was three, will be attending Swarthmore College. He was introduced to the coach there at a showcase in the fall. He said, “My dad and Coach Bartush here at Hopkins have been by my side at all times.” This support system helped him greatly throughout the application process. He noted that the most difficult part for him was “maintaining solid grades in the classroom while training and practicing consistently.”

De la Mora has played squash since he was eight years old and began competing two years later. He will be playing at Columbia University. His old club coach, Lynn Leong, who is the associate head pro at Yale University, was “super helpful” because she gave him “unbiased advice.” De la Mora said, “The actual recruitment process wasn’t that difficult because most of the work that goes into getting recruited is done by being ranked high in the years leading up to your recruitment year.”

Peter Mahakian

Lipman has been playing soccer since she was four years old. She will be attending Vassar College and began the recruitment process between sixth and seventh grade. She describes how it was challenging “travelling to dozens of showcases with [her] ECNL [Elite Clubs National Team] to places like Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Washington because the process as a whole was stressful.

Ethan Woolbert ’21 swims breaststroke in a meet.

Peter Mahakian

Courtesy of Drew Williams

Drew Williams ’21 celebrates a NEPSAC championship.

Woolbert has been a swimmer since he was eight years old. He committed to Washington University for swimming. He said, “Being comfortable with rejection from coaches when they said they were not interested was the most challenging aspect of my process.”

Courtesy of @hopscoresct

Williams began to play tennis competitively when she was twelve years old. She committed to Bates College, after meeting the coaches at a college showcase.

Williams explained, “Because she [her mom] knows me better than myself, she helped me find a good fit both academically and athletically.” This balance between school and sports was the most difficult to sort out, so her mom was “unbelievably helpful” with this.

Courtesy of @hopscoresct

Nick Wilkinson ’21 plays in a squash match.

Wilkinson has played squash since he was seven years old. He will be attending Bowdoin College. He began the process in the September of his junior year and committed in July. He said, “It’s difficult mentally when coaches show a lot of interest in you and then they don’t make you an offer.” He suggested, “We need to understand that these coaches are trying to keep as many kids interested in their programs as possible.”

Peter Mahakian

Katie Park ’21 prepares to head the ball.

Cristin Earley ’21 signs her National Letter of Intent.

Brooke Lane ‘21 signs her National Letter of Intent.

Lane will be attending Macalester College for water polo, which she has been playing for five years. She calls attention to the fact that there are many little tedious things to be done for the process, so her mom was helpful in keeping track of them, along with managing emails and phone calls. Lane described how Covid was the biggest obstacle because there were “so many restrictions on how a coach could communicate with a prospective athlete.” Lane also pointed out a problem affecting all seniors: “I was unable to go to any in-person visits, so I had to decide whether I liked a school without having seen it in person.” Finally, “all competition and practices were cancelled, so it made it impossible for coaches to see[ me play.”

Earley is a swimmer and has been one for fourteen years. She will be swimming at the University of Delaware, which she began looking at during the summer after her sophomore year. Her friends were informative because they had gone through the process themselves, so their input was valuable. Because of Covid, she was unable to visit schools. She said, “It was difficult to make a decision without seeing and interacting with the team, but [she] was still able to talk to swimmers and meet some of them.”

The college recruitment process was different this year, due to Covid restrictions. However, Hopkins student-athletes will continue to contribute on the field and court and in the pool for an array of colleges in the 2021-2022 school year.