October 2020 Issue

Chronicle the harvard-westlake

Studio City • Volume 30 • Issue 2 • Oct. 14, 2020 • hwchronicle.com

Activist fosters dialogue

By Melody Tang

make, that we don’t get it 100% right. And so we need to have the conversations with people who have questions and concerns and can offer those questions and concerns in good faith. I was disappointed in the ‘wokeathw’ [account] because it didn’t seem to be contributing to the kind of good faith that enables the work to be done together.”

Some of the account’s posts were factually incorrect or misleading. One post claimed that the school has “refused to have any conservative speakers,” despite the fact that the school hosted President Trump’s original Secretary of Labor nominee, Andrew Puzder, in 2018. Another post claims Associate Head of School Laura Ross endorsed the 1619 Project, when, in the video the account posted, she only mentioned the year 1619 as the year that enslaved people were brought to America.

Two separate posts criticized middle school dean Jon Carroll for praising two female activists

New York Times bestselling author and social entrepreneur Wes Moore spoke to the community about his childhood experiences growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, during an online webinar Sept. 18. He said his upbringing informed his work in social advocacy and eventually led him to become the CEO of Robin Hood, an organization that works to fight poverty in underserved communities in New York. After the webinar, student moderators, deans and teachers then led small group discussions to evaluate the lessons presented in Moore’s speech during the following Community Flex Time on Sept. 29.

Over the past few months, many seemingly disparate issues, such as the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality, have exposed the same truth about racial inequality in the United States, Moore said.

“We see how these two twin crises expose a real singular truth, and that is the role that race plays in our society, in our work, in our mission and how undeniable it is,” Moore said. “Dealing with COVID is about much more than the discovery of a vaccine, and dealing with inequitable policing is much more than the elimination of chokeholds.”

Moore said his personal life and his mother’s perseverance shaped his view of the world around him, especially after realizing how much his mother had struggled after his father passed away from acute epiglottitis when he was a child.

“As tough as I thought I had it, or as tough as I thought my sisters had it, the person who really had it toughest was my mom because she was now going to raise three kids on her own,”

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KYLE REIMS/CHRONICLE

‘Wokeathw’ responds to anti-racism initiatives

By Ethan Lachman and Kyle Reims

Certain members of the community, dissatisfied with the school’s new anti-racism and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, created the Instagram account @wokeathw in early September to highlight what they claim are pitfalls of allegedly damaging curriculum changes. The anonymous owners of the account described the school’s anti-racism work as “a fashionable but destructive agenda.”

In an email exchange, the account’s founders said the “Woke at Harvard-Westlake Project” is run by many members of the community, including students, faculty and parents from a variety of backgrounds.

Though the account has received criticism from some students, the founders said their mission has garnered widespread support from those too fearful to speak up, drawing comparisons between the school’s implementation of its anti-racism policies

and the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union.

“We’ve received encouragement from several members of the school, both faculty and admin, who are afraid they will lose their jobs if they do not pretend to be enthusiastic about HW’s new mission,” they said. “The situation is grimly analogous to the story about Stalin’s speeches; everyone is afraid to be the first person to stop clapping.”

The account was first active Sept. 7 and posted 11 testimonials before going silent for over two weeks. However, two news sites, The Daily Wire and Red State, each ran articles discussing the account Sept. 21, though the creators said they knew nothing about them until their publication. Following these stories, the account’s comment sections were filled with support, the majority of which came from accounts lacking connection to the school, according to the creators.

Ben Davidoff ’20, one of the account’s few followers from the school community, said he supports both the founder’s message

and the fight for racial and social equality.

“I think to a certain extent, the measures that [the administration] put in place start to hit the academic integrity of [the school],” Davidoff said. “And they start to compromise certain things in favor of more representation, I guess, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but that’s the trade-off that they’re making.

They’re giving some here and taking some there.”

President Rick Commons said the school remains open-minded and flexible when finding the best approach to its anti-racism work. However, he said he was discouraged that the account misrepresented and criticized the school anonymously, as that prevented the opportunity for further growth.

“As important as the DEI and anti-racism work [are], it’s also important for us to hear concerns and questions and different perspectives that are offered in good faith,” Commons said. “We’re going to find that, in this really difficult progress that we’re trying to

Updated iHW app asks students, faculty to disclose their location data

By Hannah Han

The administration and the IT department worked in conjunction to update the iHW app on Aug. 18, adding an automatic check-in and check-out feature that tracks whether or not users are present on campus. Students and faculty primarily use iHW to view their daily schedules and upcoming assignments. After receiving multiple notifications asking them to enable location tracking, some upperclassmen raised concerns about the potential privacy issues the app poses.

Head of Communications and Strategic Initiatives Ari Engelberg said the tracking feature allows users to check in and out of campus

automatically, expediting the attendance system. He said iHW does not track users’ specific locations; it only knows if students are within the “geofences,” or virtual geographic boundaries, constructed around the perimeter of the school.

“I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding about what the iHW app is really doing,” Engelberg said.

“If you’re on campus, [the app] doesn’t actually keep track of where on campus you are. And it certainly doesn’t keep track of where you are when you’re not on campus at all.”

Engelberg said the location information gathered by the app, though limited, may prove useful during the pandemic.

“We decided to expand the

functionality to all students to help with contact tracing in the era of COVID-19,” Engelberg said.

“Knowing when someone came onto campus and left campus is helpful if there is a need to trace contacts in the event of a positive case of COVID-19 on campus.”

In a Chronicle survey, 102 out of 138 respondents said the app has requested them for their location data. Joy Ho ’21 said she began receiving notifications from iHW at the beginning of the school year and believed the app was asking her to disclose her precise location.

“When I first started receiving the [notifications], they said that • Continued on A2

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ROHAN MADHOGARHIA

SEND ME YOUR LOCATION: The new iPhone iOS update tells students when iHW is using their locations, though the school does not access this data.

A2 News

The Chronicle

iHW app raises concerns

Oct. 14, 2020

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they were tracking my location continuously,” Ho said. “It showed me a map that had dots on it with where I’ve been, so I was worried.

Every time I turned off [the app], it would keep telling me that it needs my location to check me in.”

Software Development Manager Alan Homan clarified that in order for the “geofencing” system to work, the app may require iHW to access students’ specific locations when using the check-in feature.

However, he said that the school does not view this data. “[The app] may [identify your specific location], technically, but our app only gets activated when the boundaries are crossed,” Homan said. “If you were out on a Friday night and hit the check-out button, nothing would happen. We wouldn’t do anything with [the specific location data that iHW used].”

Homan also said the map Ho referred to is generated by the device itself; a new iPhone iOS update mandates that apps disclose whether they are receiving location data from students’ phones, even if they are not storing that data. He said iHW technically began receiving users’ locations when the manual version of the check-in and checkout feature was first implemented Jan. 21; however, students did not know at the time because the iOS system was not released.

Jake Futterman ’21 said he set his device’s location settings to only enable location tracking while the app is in use. However, a bug causes iHW to repeatedly ask students to switch their settings to “Always.”

“If you don’t set the app to ‘always allow tracking,’ the app comes up with this error message telling me to turn on [the ‘always allow’ feature],” Futterman said. “I have to press ‘cancel’ twenty times [before the notification disappears] and I can access my schedule.”

Homan said that if students switch off the “Automatic Check In/Out” setting within the app, and not in their devices’ general settings, this issue should be alleviated.

• Read full article online

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

INSTAGRAM CONUNDRUM: Students created several Instagram accounts, such as @hw.confessions and @hw.compliments, over quarantine. While one account posted negatively charged comments about members of the community, the other posted compliments, which were submitted anonymously.

Students create controversial Instagram pages

By Claire Conner and Sandra Koretz

Students created several anonymous Instagram accounts dedicated to posts about members of the community in recent months. Accounts such as @hw.confessions posted negative messages and rumors about community members, while @hw.compliments screened submissions and posted compliments.

Both the @hw.compliments and @hw.confessions, which posted uncensored comments about students and teachers, reached hundreds of followers.

A third Instagram account named @hw.hotteachers posted submissions about attractive teachers at the school. Its posts were deleted within a few days.

Colin Luse ’22 said he thought

that the account’s posts were problematic because teachers did not approve of their names being published.

“I’m all for students expressing themselves freely, but the teachers mentioned were unable to give their consent to the posts,” Luse said.

Carina Villalona ’22 said she chose not to follow the account because of its inappropriate nature.

“Our teachers are meant to teach us, not be rated on attractiveness,” Villalona said.

She said that she is opposed to the creation of accounts that post hurtful messages about peers, such as @hw.confessions.

“I think these accounts can encourage cyberbullying because people are incentivized to gossip about students under the veil of anonymity, which can be really dangerous,”

Villalona said.

Villalona said that during quarantine, while students are more reliant on social media, the effects of accounts like @hw.confessions are more damaging.

In response to the creation of gossip accounts, @hw.compliments was created to uplift members of the student body. The page amassed over 250 followers and has posted more than 300 compliments.

“I think the effect of this account is positive because it’s always nice to get a compliment; it makes your day better,” Kara Yoon ’23 said.

While students had mixed reactions to the different accounts, Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research Teacher and Head of Peer Support Tina McGraw said they can be harmful to students’ mental health.

“What is problematic is when they amplify information that is harmful to teachers or students,” McGraw said. “Even positive comments can make someone feel uncomfortable in the digital space, especially if the posts are anonymous. I can guess that socially selfconscious teenagers would have a difficult time with unwanted social media attention of this sort.”

McGraw said student-run Instagram accounts using the name of the school contradict the Honor Code and the school’s beliefs.

“Sometimes there is great value in sharing experiences on social media platforms, but Instagram accounts dedicated to gossiping about people’s personal lives without their permission seems antithetical to our desire to be a supportive and cohesive community,” McGraw said.

In the issue...

A6 VIRTUAL VIBES: Upper school

students attended the Activities Fair, which was hosted by Prefect Council online for the first time this September.

B7

A11 TO VACCINATE OR NOT TO VACCINATE: Two assistant edi-

tors offer differing perspectives regarding the pending COVID-19 vaccine.

NOTORIOUS R.B.G.: Students

and faculty express their sadness and shock in light of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing.

The Chronicle, the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School, is published eight times per year and distributed for free on both the upper and middle school campuses. There are about 730 students at the Middle School and 870 at the Upper School. Subscriptions may be purchased for $20 a year for delivery by mail. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to

C3 ARTIVISM: Three seniors share how

they have used their creative skills to benefit others both inside and outside of their respective communities.

D1 SIX FEET APART: Several sports

teams return to campus with modified practice rules. All athletes must maintain social distancing and wear masks.

3700 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Business Managers Lucas Lee at llee3@hwemail.com and Emma Limor at elimor1@hwemail. com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

Oct. 14, 2020

hwchronicle.com/news

News A3

Students reflect on diversity • Continued from A1

Moore said. “And in no way was this the life she prepared for and in no way was this the life she expected. This was not the life that she dreamed about. As my sister says, our mother wore sweaters so we could wear coats.”

Moore continued his speech by relating his personal experience to the present day, with an emphasis on empathy.

“When we live in a completely interconnected society, and when we live in a framework right now, when somebody is feeling insecure about the neighborhood that they are living in, then that should concern me just as much as it concerns them,” Moore said.

Moore encouraged people to use the opportunities they have been given to make a significant impact on others.

“The interconnection of everything we are as a society right now has got to be the way we approach the rebuild that is going to be necessary,” Moore said.

“Unless we build together, there will be nothing left to salvage.”

Junior Prefect Jason Thompson said a committee of Prefect Council members organized the Flex Time in hopes of starting conversations on campus about controversial topics.

TANISHA GUNBY/CHRONICLE

DIVERSITY DISCUSSIONS: Cameron Herring ’21 and Daniel Novikov ’21 ask author and social entrepreneur Wes Moore questions from students through Zoom during Community Flex Time on Sept. 18. Moore shared stories from his childhood, connecting them to present injustices.

“I thought [Moore’s] speech was very powerful,” Thompson said. “He is a great speaker and used his stories to keep everyone interested, while still touching and giving his perspective on some very pertinent and ever-important topics.”

Students and faculty discussed Moore’s speech during the next Community Flex Time on Sept.

29. In breakout rooms organized by dean group, participants explored topics such as personal

growth, adversity and diversity Each discussion group was led by a student moderator and a teacher, with a list of pre-written questions connecting Moore’s speech to their own experiences.

Community Council member Carolina Rodriguez ’21 said the Community Flex Time Committee planned the discussion sessions for the first time to allow students to express their ideas.

“Every time the school has a speaker, we hear the speaker, then

English teachers adjust curriculum

By Tessa Augsberger

In accordance with schoolwide efforts to integrate anti-racist education across academic disciplines, the Upper School English department revised its curriculum for the 2020-21 school year.

The department implemented a framework to amplify diverse voices and added five courses, while also revising the curriculum to fit the block schedule and the transition to remote learning.

After working on implementing curricular changes for approximately five years, the English department began to discuss

specific changes last fall, English teacher and department head Larry Weber said.

English classes will incorporate texts by writers from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds and include more discussions about current events and social issues. Weber said the English department is uniquely poised to implement more changes.

“As English teachers, we have a rare opportunity to explore those issues because we get to talk with our students all the time about the big questions of life,” Weber said.

Living American Revolutions

student Ash Wright ’22 said she has already noticed positive changes in her English class.

“In terms of [diversity, equity and inclusion], I’ve seen changes in the curriculum in my classroom,” Wright said. “It’s catered to be inclusive and also teach us more about different experiences that we wouldn’t necessarily learn about. The focus is on experiences, which I really like. We haven’t gotten to fully see how [diversity, equity and inclusion] is going to play into our English class, but so far, it’s been really good.”

Weber said English teachers are in the process of reviewing

allot time for a few questions and never seem to follow up,” Rodriguez said. “The point of these smaller group discussions was to allow the school reflect on Wes Moore’s impactful words and be able to listen to their peers.”

One discussion question asked students how they have the ability to make a difference in their communities. Lily Bailey ’21 said she felt students at the school have many educational opportunities that should not be taken

“

for granted.

“As students at Harvard-Westlake, we have been given an opportunity to receive a top-tier education and surround ourselves with excellent teachers, faculty and peers,” Bailey said. “I think we need to use that to our advantage and realize that we’ve been given the privilege that barely any other students are fortunate enough to receive. We should be up to date on issues and know what it means to stand up.”

It’s catered to be inclusive and also teach us more about different experiences that we wouldn’t necessarily learn about. The focus is on experiences, which I really like.”

— Ash Wright ’22 white’s

the curricula of the courses they teach. This year, the department added three electives for seniors: What’s New, Criminal Minds and Senior Seminar: One Life’s Worth. It also increased the number of English courses for juniors to three in offering Living American Revolutions, Living American Odysseys and English III

Honors: American Studies.

“With America being such a crucible for race relations— its identity so enmeshed in the struggle for racial equality and its coming to an important head— [Living American Odysseys] is a great opportunity to deal with this central American identity problem,” Weber said.

School moves Flex Day to allow for civil engagement among student body

By Will Sheehy

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

ROLLING TO THE POLLS: In order to allow students to participate in the upcoming election, the monthly Flex Day was moved to Nov. 3.

In an effort to allow students and teachers to vote and volunteer at polling stations more easily, the administration decided to give Election Day on Nov. 3 off to Upper School students for the first time in school history.

After middle school Mathematics teacher Gregg Ross suggested the idea, it was brought to the Upper School Faculty Academic Committee, which unanimously approved it.

“It seems like if we’re encouraging people to be civic-minded, we ought to facilitate that as much as possible,” Head of Upper School Beth Slattery said. “I love the idea of young people being engaged in this process, however they choose to do it.”

This decision was easily implemented due to the addition of Flex Days in this year’s schedule.

Flex Days, created as an oppor- reported. This age demographic tunity for students to rest, for has a heightened vulnerability to professional development or for the virus, according to the Cencommunity time, were integrat- ters for Disease Control. ed into the schedule earlier in the “The only way to be confident year. The school decided to move in government is to participate the previously scheduled Nov. 11 in it,” James Johnson-Brown ’21 Flex Day to Election said. “We are pretty Day, Nov. 3. wired in, mostly beStudents are able to cause we have to be. volunteer as poll workNews is also dominaters through organizaed by politics, classes tions such as Poll Hero are political, family is or by signing up on the political. We have no Los Angeles county choice but to engage.” website. In a year when Johnson-Brown said the risk of COVID-19 he felt satisfied when white’s will keep many older reading the school’s deJames Johnsonpoll workers at home, cision to cancel school Brown ’21 youth volunteers will on the day of the elecplay a key role in protecting the tion to allow for more student right to vote, according to USA political participation.

Today. In 2016, more than half “Reading that announcement of the country’s poll workers were was the proudest I’ve ever been to at least 60 years old, the U.S. be a Harvard-Westlake student,” Election Assistance Commission Johnson-Brown said.

A4 News

The Chronicle

Oct. 14, 2020

"Zoom Bombings" increase

By Georgia Goldberg and Melody Tang

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

Deans Office updates standardized testing plans

By Tessa Augsberger

In accordance with new guidelines released by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, the Upper School Deans Office released updated information regarding the school’s standardized testing plans in an email to upper school students Sept. 22.

The SAT exam is scheduled to take place Oct. 14 for seniors attending the school, and a national sitting of the ACT exam will be held on campus Oct. 24. The school will also offer the Nov. 7 and Dec. 5 SAT and SAT Subject Tests for students who had originally registered to take the exams

on these dates.

Head of Upper School Beth Slattery said the administration has received negative feedback from seniors due to the lack of available spots at the school’s testing site. Slattery said many seniors signed up for the exam date in August, which was cancelled, while sophomores and juniors signed up for the tests in the fall, which will take place as planned.

“We can’t add spots because of social distancing, so I think some people are upset, but we don’t have any control over the registration of those national test dates, and they were already full as of this summer,” Slat-

tery said. “If we could do anything to give seniors more of an opportunity, we would, but we don’t have any flexibility.”

Audrey Ahn ’21 said she started studying for the SAT in July of 2019 and after the many cancellations last year is grateful that the school will administer the exam to seniors.

“I was very relieved that [the school] released the [Oct. 24] test date because I was signed up to take [the SAT] basically every single month since quarantine started,” Ahn said.

“It was just one test date getting cancelled after another.”

The upper school deans also announced that an additional

Account frustrated with new curriculum

• Continued from A1

with a history of anti-Semitism.

While factually accurate, the posts omit that Carroll apologized on two separate occasions.

The creators confirmed they had seen these apologies, yet they did not take any action to acknowledge such in the posts.

Additionally, many of the posts are simply screenshots of emails or homework assignments without commentary or explanation of how they damage the curriculum in the way the account claims they do. One post shows a homework assignment tasking students with annotating specif-

ic words, and another shares the account’s problems with a class titled “Racism, Antiracism, and You” teaching students about historical racism.

Some students said they took issue with a post that said “my teacher has a Black Lives Matter picture and a We Are On Native Land picture on our home page,” accompanied only by a caption saying it was a student testimonial. Emery Genga ’21 said she had multiple concerns about this post, specifically the implications that go along with it.

“They’re framing this like it’s a bad thing, which is just so ridiculous to me,” Genga said. “First

of all, saying we’re on native land is like saying that the sky is blue.

It’s just a fact. One common concern in a bunch of these posts is that teachers are bringing politics into the classroom. But these two things are not political.”

The creators said they posted this because they felt it was inappropriate for teachers to share “political slogans,” comparing the two statements to a Trump sign.

Asked if they considered “Black Lives Matter” to be a political statement, they called the question a “gotcha” question and did not respond to further requests for clarification.

The account also claims that

national ACT test will take place Dec. 12. This exam is intended for seniors who want to take another standardized test before the deadline for regular decision college applications, according to the email.

In addition to offering the previously scheduled PSAT sittings Oct. 14 and Oct. 17, the school will offer an in-person PSAT on Jan. 26 for juniors in order to provide students the opportunity to be recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The school will also proctor optional online practice PSAT exams for both juniors and sophomores Oct. 14 and Oct. 17 and a practice ACT on Nov. 14.

“

As the school transitioned to virtual learning through Zoom, the number of “Zoom bombings” has increased. "Zoom bombing" occurs when anonymous individuals join calls to interrupt classes.

Upper school dean Jennifer Cardillo said she felt surprised when her Lifelab class was recently “Zoom bombed.”

“The incident was startling in the moment and really disappointing,” Cardillo said.

Cardillo said people came into the meeting with their cameras off, unmuted themselves, said obscene things and then typed similar profanities in the chat. This happened three times before she ultimately ended the meeting.

Sophia Rascoff ’23 said she was taken aback by the fact that people would interrupt classes and take advantage of others during the coronavirus pandemic, which is an already difficult and stressful situation.

“While there were no real repercussions for our class, it was mostly just shocking to me,” Rascoff said. “It’s surprising to me that people would want to do something like that.”

There have been other “Zoom bombings” this year, but teachers said none have been too damaging to students’ learning.

The IT department has now implemented preventative measures to keep these incidents from occurring in the future.

I think if more schools around the country were to implement this education into their curriculum, even in a small way, the world could be a lot better for future generations.”

— Emery Genga ’21

the school rushed extensive changes without consulting the community. Commons denied these claims, saying the administration made an informed decision after meeting with multiple groups from the school such as the board of trustees, school leadership, students and parents.

Genga said she thinks the school is moving in the right direction by implementing these

changes and is optimistic they can help make a change.

“With everything going on in the world, I think it was super important for the school to implement this anti-racist education,” Genga said. “I think if more schools around the country were to implement this education into their curriculum, even in a small way, the world could be a lot better for future generations.”

National Merit recognizes 40 seniors as semifinalists

By Sandra Koretz

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation named 40 seniors as National Merit semifinalists based on their PSAT scores.

In previous years, approximately 20 seniors from the school were selected, making the number of recipients this year nearly double compared to last year.

Head of Upper School Beth Slattery attributed the rise in semifinalists to the cutoff score being lowered.

“Part of the reason why we went up this year is because the

[testing] bar was lowered this year. Last year’s class need an index score of 222, and this year it was 221. It was the first year that the standard was dropped [...] But I am happy for the students that made it,” Slattery said.

Semifinalist Anna Shell ’21 said she was pleased to hear that the hard work of her fellow semifinalists paid off.

“I’m incredibly honored and super proud of my grade,” Shell said. “We’ve worked hard alongside each other for almost six years now, so it feels great to have our accomplishment recognized.”

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

Oct. 14, 2020

hwchronicle.com/news

News A5

Senior class returns to campus for ceremony

By Tanisha Gunby

In keeping up with an 87-year-old tradition, the school celebrated the seniors’ last year of high school with a drive-thru ring ceremony Sept. 13.

The senior ring ceremony, which started in the fall of 1933 at Westlake School for Girls, represents the seniors’ role as leaders at the school.

The event started with a series of pre-recorded, livestreamed speeches given by Senior Prefects Brooke Stanford ’21, Navid Ghodsi ’21, Thomas Schramm ’21 and Chelsea Cho ’21.

After reminiscing on nostalgic moments specific to the class of 2021, Cho emphasized that trial, evaluation and growth are the most important parts of the senior class’s journey, reminding students that their purpose and mission are defined by who they are. Stanford said in her speech that seniors should try to become better versions of themselves and embrace their leadership roles.

When describing the meaning of the senior ring ceremony, Schramm said that while the ceremony is different from previous years, the significance remains

the same. As the seniors climb one final hill on their high school journeys, they leave a lasting impact on the school community, Schramm said. During his speech, Ghodsi explained how the school’s coat of arms connected to its motto, “possunt quia posse videntur,” from Vergil’s “Aeneid,” which translates to “they can because they think they can” in Latin.

After the prefects’ speeches, President Rick Commons introduced the senior ceremony speaker, history teacher Dror Yaron.

Yaron discussed individuals in history who did not succumb to conventional wisdom or complacency in the face of adversity, but rather acted in ways that inspire us to grapple with challenges and seek purpose beyond ourselves.

These difficult times have offered students with the opportunity to introspect, Yaron said.

“A year that has been characterized by confinement, increased anxiety and collective insecurity presents an opportunity for deepening connection to those people closest to us,” Yaron said. “It provides us an occasion for venturing outside and breathing in with all of our senses, breathing in all of

CRYSTAL BAIK/CHRONICLE

FLOWER POWER: Mohona Ganguly ’21 receives a floral wreath from upper school dean Celso Cárdenas from inside her car. The celebration was held for seniors as a drive-thru due to the coronavirus Sept. 13. our natural surroundings, even under a mask.”

Seniors received floral wreaths, boutonnieres and gifts from the Harvard-Westlake Student Alumni Association and the Harvard-Westlake Parents’ Association as they drove around the Ted Slavin field. Commons congratulated the students as they stepped out of their cars to receive their

class rings or lapel pins. Following this, the seniors posed for professional photographs while holding their rings before driving to the final photo opportunity behind a 2021 sign.

Although the ceremony was held unconventionally, Khyra Stiner ’21 said she enjoyed being back on campus.

“Returning to school was a

very bittersweet thing,” Stiner ’21 said. “I kept getting flashbacks to all the time I spent at school and on the track. It made me a little sad that we didn’t get to physically enjoy the ceremony on campus like the other classes before us.

However, it made me feel really lucky and appreciative of the time that I did get to spend on campus and took for granted.”

Industry speakers visit HW Venture students

By Lucas Cohen-D’arbeloff and Fallon Dern

CRYSTAL BAIK/CHRONICLE

NOT SO ELEMENTARY: Writer and attorney Leslie Klinger speaks to members of the English IV: Criminal Minds class about his passion for the Sherlock Holmes franchise and its central plot and main characters.

“Sherlockian” presents to English class

By Crystal Baik Winner of the 2019 Edgar Award and 2015 Anthony Award Leslie Klinger spoke to the English IV: Criminal Minds class about his career studying Sherlock Holmes on Sept. 11. Klinger said he considers himself “the world’s first consulting Sherlockian,” a scholar of the fictional private detective Sherlock Holmes.

Klinger began the virtual session with a brief history about the intertwined lives of Sherlock Holmes, Holmes’s assistant John Watson and the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Klinger said that though the characters in Doyle’s stories are fictitious, he views them as real individuals.

“At [some] point in my talk, somebody raises their hand and says, ‘Excuse me, Professor Klinger, I’m confused,’” Klinger said. “’Is Sherlock Holmes real or fictional?’ And my answer is always the same: ‘yes.’”

Klinger proceeded to discuss the empowering message behind the Laurie King series about Mary Russell, inspired by Sherlock Holmes. He also described his role as a technical advisor for the recent “Enola Holmes” film on Netflix, starring actress Millie Bobby Brown.

Klinger said Sherlock Holmes still resonates with audiences today because of its universality.

“Part of it, to me, is the plasticity of Holmes,” Klinger said.

“So right now, for example, there is a great Japanese manga show called ‘Miss Sherlock.’ These characters can be reshaped without losing their core identities.

Conan Doyle and Watson were Victorian males, and that was the world they knew, and that’s what they wrote about. These characters have given us the opportunity to think about how these iconic characters might have changed and might have reacted to different worlds.”

Valentina Gaxiola ’21 said she appreciated Klinger’s enthusiasm for the franchise.

“I think it was really cool that our teacher was able to get in touch with someone who is so knowledgeable,” Gaxiola said. “It was great to see how passionate he was and how he turned what he was passionate about into something he could pursue successfully, considering that he is also a practicing lawyer.”

English teacher Adam Levine said he reached out to Klinger as he prepared to teach this year, hoping to give his seniors an opportunity to hear from crime writers and scholars firsthand.

“I’m glad he addressed the lore of Sherlock Holmes and the impact of this character on popular culture,” Levine said. “Mr. Klinger is a celebrity in the Sherlock Holmes community, and it was a real treat to hear a world-renowned scholar share his passion for his subject.”

HW Venture students also had the opportunity to speak to Hamilton, a graduate student HW Venture welcomed Wal- at the Massachusetts Institute ly Heath’s Head of Experience of Technology’s Sloan School of Chelsea Acosta Patel as its first Management. Hamilton visited guest speaker of the year, inviting students twice to reflect on their her to discuss her dentistry busi- career interests, intended majors, ness Sept. 29. In addition, Pangea individual projects and big picManufacturing CEO Evan Ham- ture goals for the future. ilton ’07 met with students Sept.

Hamilton is mainly focused 11 and Sept. 25 through the on venture capital and entreprenewly developed Alum-In Resi- neurship and recently founded dence program, which gives in- his company, Pangea MFG, as a terested students the opportunity platform that connects Los Anto receive buisness advice from geles businesses and hardware experienced alumni. startups.

Patel spoke about HW Venture Alumher experiences with ni Coordinator Hope her business, WalHsieh ’23 described ly Health, a virtual how the Alumni solution for dentistry Speaker sessions were amid COVID-19 recoordinated and said strictions. Before the she was glad they went pandemic hit, Wally well despite being virHealth’s solution was tual. white’s Li Yam to create a care mem“The first installaKreiz ’22 bership for patients to tion of the program pay one fee for a year’s had [Hamilton] in a dental services, make physical Zoom call,” Hsieh said. “A few appointments and connect with students cycled through and talkdentists across 35 states. ed to him for mentorship, guid“We made the decision to ance and really anything they drop what we were doing before wanted. I didn’t get to participate because we realized [our old busi- in the program, but he was our ness model] was working, but first alumnus to speak because of we saw more opportunity in this his varied background. He was new arena as a much more excit- able to appeal to a wide audience, ing and valuable opportunity,” and the few kids [who spoke with Patel said. “One of the best skills him] were really lucky.” you can learn in life is saying ‘no’ Li Yam Kreiz ’22 said she was to things. In a company, if you grateful for the conversation she say ‘yes’ to everything, you can’t had with Hamilton. do anything.”

“I loved meeting with [HamPatel and Venture instructor ilton] since I got to learn about Brooke Levin discussed the con- his experiences in his field and cept of hypothesis-based discov- became even more interested in ery and the importance of being what he does,” Kreiz said. “He flexible when faced with obsta- shared with me invaluable advice cles. Wally Health, which Patel and tips, and I am very grateful to says is more successful than their have had the opportunity to have previous model, connects den- learned from him. I can’t wait to tists to customers virtually and share my newfound knowledge create a market for a new world. with my Venture group.”

A6 News

Oct. 14, 2020

The Chronicle

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

Prefect Council hosts first ever virtual Activities Fair

By Ava Fattahi

Prefect Council hosted the Activities Fair completely online this year, offering signups and showcasing all of the student-led clubs on the Quad website from Sept. 14 to 18.

In past years, the Activities Fair took place in-person on the quad with tables and signs describing the wide variety of clubs that students could choose to join. Since the school is currently only offering classes and assemblies remotely due to COVID-19, the fair was another of many activities held online. Students had over 30 clubs to choose from, including affinity groups, Peer Support and hobby-based clubs such as cooking and chess.

There were also some new clubs added this year, includ-

ing Plus One, a peer-led group designed to be a safe space for those who need it during quarantine, founded by Jade Stanford ’22, Chronicle Assistant Features Editor Quincey Dern ’22 and Lola Cortez ’22.

“It was difficult [to start a new club entirely online] because at the heart of persuasion—for me at least—is personal interaction,” Cortez said.

“There’s just something different about face-to-face that hits home. The club is new, and it’s so, so crucial [for] new clubs to be able to have that face-toface. We worked around this challenge by using social media as a way to give notice to our club.”

As students did not get the opportunity to learn about the clubs in person, all club leaders were required to make

promotional videos describing their clubs’ objectives and their plans for the year. Along with the video, many clubs also hosted Zoom Q&A panels so that interested students could have the chance to learn more about the clubs and ask any questions they might have.

Cory Porter ’22, one of the five hosts of the Model United Nations (MUN) panel, said she enjoyed her experience on the Zoom.

“We had both a promo video and Q&A session, and it went great,” Porter said. “It was amazing to see how many people were interested in MUN, even in this super weird time, and I know that we’re going to have an amazing year, despite all of the circumstances.

By joining our club, students will learn to interact diplomat-

ically, helping them become better communicators and collaborators, public speakers and leaders. Additionally, because delegates usually represent a different country than they’re familiar with, they can gain a broadened understanding of global issues and affairs.”

Another returning club, Economics Club, led by President Lucas Lee ’21 and co-leaders Nathan Russell ’21 and Spencer Felix ’21, smoothly transitioned from in-person presentations to video introductions. Russell felt that the virtual fair was organized and that his group handled the circumstances well.

“The virtual fair, in our eyes, was a success,” Russell said.

“While hard to beat standing at a table with posters and a sign-up sheet, the school did

Introducing new clubs on campus Science Olympiad by Konnie Duan Members of the Science Olympiad club, run

by Helena Wu ’23 and Olivia Wang ’23, prepare for the invitational, regional, state and national Science Olympiad competitions in their weekly meetings on Fridays.

Science Olympiad has 23 events, and partners of two or three can choose which of the events they compete in. During club meetings, students take practice tests, study and perform labs. Participants are exposed to various fields of science in club meetings.

Jam Session by Claire Conner Members of Jam Session work together to create rock and alternative music every Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

The club is led by Ryan Zoller ’22 and Beck Walthers ’22, two musicians who said they are hoping to create a collaborative environment for guitarists of all skill levels to explore genres that are not traditionally taught in school classes.

“We have two main goals for HW Jam Session: eliminate stress and introduce a type of music into school hours,” Zoller said.

Leaders United For Change by Konnie Duan Members of Leaders United for Change, led by Lyon Chung ’21, mentor underprivileged students so that they may overcome financial and racial inequalities they face.

Mentors teach various subjects, such as mathematics, writing and science, in addition to assisting with preparation for standardized testing.

A branch of a larger organization, the Leaders United for Change club at the school works with other clubs not only in Los Angeles but also internationally.

HW Movie Club by Will Sherwood Run by Aiden Schiller ’22 and Hannah Yanover ’22, the HW Movie Club plans to spend its time watching a variety of movies from an assortment of genres.

The two leaders hope to unite cinema lovers throughout the school, watching a new film each week. The club will view movies from different eras and time periods in an effort to understand how the world of cinema has changed over the years. Schiller said he is excited to watch older movies with other members.

as well as it could given the circumstances. The club did not do a Zoom Q&A session, but instead, we had a promo video featuring a slideshow of pictures from the club along with some inspirational music. Overall, we have gotten a really positive response to our outreach, and the only potential roadblock I see for our club is having too many members.”

Other new clubs include Cooking Club, HW Movie Club, Surf Club and Make Infinitesmal New Items. Clubs are led by students from grades 10 to 12 and are supervised by a chosen faculty member.

Students were able to sign up for clubs of their choice on a Google Forms link throughout the week. All club meetings will be held completely online until further notice.

Meet the Leader: Ryan Prybil ’21 What club do you lead?

I’m a leader of Survivor Club.

What does your club do?

We discuss the show and play virtual games.

Why did you start the club?

I started the club not just for my love of the show but to spread the experience to others. I look forward to hosting our own Survivor games.

WHITE’S

A7 News

The Chronicle HW Surf Club by Will Sherwood

History Bowl by Konnie Duan Participants in the History Bowl club prepare for the National History Bowl, a buzzer-based history quiz competition for teams of up to six students, in their weekly meetings on Mondays.

Questions in the competition focus on the history of the arts, sciences, religion, philosophy, language, historical geography, sports and entertainment. This year, due to COVID-19, the National History Bowl competition will take place online.

Leader of the History Bowl club Micah Gold ’22 said he hopes students will bond over history.

Space Exploration Club by Will Sherwood The Space Exploration Club, organized by Ethan Rose ’22, plans to focus on a variety of space disciplines in a time when SpaceX has risen to fame and American space missions have become more frequent.

The club expects there to be human colonization of Mars in the near future and wants to educate club members about that process.

Rose says they will discuss the stage humans currently sit in terms of exploration, talking about rockets, the logistical challenges of Mars and the plausibility of permanent settlement there.

Run by Nik Grube ’21, Ely Dickson ’22 and Dylan Giovine ’22, HW Surf Club is focused on and will be discussing all things surf-related. Meetings will be held each week to watch surfing movies and play surfing games.

The club is set to organize monthly weekend surf trips, which areopen to surfers of all skill levels. All three of the co-leaders have varying experience with the sport.

Survivor Club by Natalie Cosgrove The Survivor Club, organized by Matthew Lee ’21, Lucas Grad ’21, Ryan Prybil ’21, Matthew Paul ’21, Chronicle Digital Managing Editor Kyle Reims ’21 and Chronicle Print Managing Editor Jaidev Pant ’21, will be starting this fall. The club will be centered around discussing the show and playing virtual games involving the plot and characters.

“I’m excited to get to know more fans of a show that brings so many different people together,” Matthew Lee said. “Since the new season has been delayed, we [will] discuss our favorite old seasons.”

Oct. 14, 2020 HW Model Congress by Natalie Cosgrove Model Congress is a place to discuss national affair issues. The club gives students a chance to learn more about the government and processes of Congress over Zoom. Model Congress is organized by Daniel Ju ’22 and Jason Morganbesser ’22.

“Model Congress provides an extraordinarily unique look at the functions and mechanisms at play in our government, and making the most out of experiences such as making policy and giving speeches is a huge source of excitement for our members,” Ju said.

“I’m most excited for Model Congress tournaments.”

Party Games Club by Lucas Cohen-D’Arbeloff The Party Games Club meets every other Friday night and engages in online multiplayer games, presenting an opportunity to unwind with fellow students.

The club played Among Us, a space-themed teamwork video game, during their first meeting. Co-leaders Aaron Cho ’22 and Navid Ghodsi ’21 said the Zoom meeting format works well for their club and that they plan to incorporate a variety of online games and meeting styles in the future.

ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA IM

Cooking Club by Natalie Cosgrove The Cooking Club starts this fall with Mental Performance Coach Katherine Scardino as its organizer.

Upper school dean Nia Kilgore will serve as a faculty advisor to overlook the weekly meetings. There will be weekly Instagram competitions that anyone can participate in by publishing recipes or tutorials.

The club will send out an ingredient list and recipes for the week, giving students time to gather and purchase ingredients. During the lunch period on Fridays, the club members will join a zoom and cook together.

Political Discussion Club by Lucas Cohen-D’Arbeloff The Political Discussion Club serves as a space for students to discuss current and recent events on Friday afternoons.

Co-Leader Josie Jun ’21 said that topics they covered in the club included the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Presidential Debate and President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis over group Zoom calls. “[The virtual discussion format] has been working out pretty well for us,” Jun said.

SANDRA KORETZ/CHRONICLE

App Developing Club by Lucas Cohen-D’Arbeloff

The Elbow by Natalie Cosgrove

The App Development Club meets in a classroom format, as leader Matteo Dall’Olmo ’22 shares his computer screen and helps other students understand the basics of programming. Members have the opportunity to create their own applications that can eventually appear on mainstream app marketplaces.

Dall’Olmo said the first few meetings have been successful in helping students troubleshoot their own programs and begin their own projects.

“I feel very optimistic that club members will be able to start things on their own,” Dall’Olmo said.

The Elbow, a humor magazine publication, is organized by Oliver Green ’22. The club’s goal is to model after comedic magazines like the Harvard Lampoon, McSweeney’s, The Onion and the Yale Record. Members will work on the publication during traditional club gatherings.

In the meetings, students will come together to create comedic pieces, as well as articles and comics.

The club will accept some submissions to either be published online in a blog-type format or printed in a physical magazine.

Ignia by Georgia Goldberg Ignia, run by Alice He ’21 and Christina Zhao ’21, is a cultural exchange program that helps connect students from all over the world. It allows students to video chat and online message with people in other countries. Students will be able to learn about other nations and cultures, He and Zhao said.

The organization is called Ignia, which means ‘fire’ in Latin, because members aim to bring liveliness to those interested in cultural exchange.

The club started in China this past summer and has grown to have about 40 kids participating in it.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF NADINE EISENKOLB

MODEL UN UNITES: Model United Nations club PROTECTING THE PLANTS: Environmental Club’s (MUN) meets and virtually hosts guest Ryan Villanueva. on-campus garden is taken care of regularly by club members.

Make Infinitesimal New Items by Georgia Goldberg Make Infinitesimal New Items (MINI) is a club where students can make miniature artwork and origami using recycled materials, clay, paper and most ordinary materials students can find lying around their homes. The club was created to help students destress and have fun while making art in a collaborative environment.

The club was formed by Leila Pagel ’22 and Faith Kim ’22 to let students socialize while making art, Pagel and Kim said.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ARIANA AZARBAL

CULTURAL CLUB: Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) meets and discusses their plans for the year.

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The Chronicle

*Ring Ring*... Senior Year Calling

Oct. 14, 2020 The senior ring ceremony happened via car parade Sept. 13, with livestreamed speeches by prefects and faculty leading up to the event.

CRYSTAL BAIK/CHRONICLE

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF MADDIE BOUDOV

SOCIAL DISTANCING: Andrew Gong ’21 receives his senior ring, which Associate Head of School Laura Ross placed on the cushion to observe COVID-19 precautions. He then had his photo taken by a professional.

FUN WITH FRIENDS: (left to right) Hayley Rothbart ’21, Chronicle Features Editor Mak Kriksciun ’21 and Maddie Boudov ’21 celebrate.

CRYSTAL BAIK/CHRONICLE

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA: Chronicle News Editor Tanisha Gunby ’21 smiles while posing for a series of pictures taken by a professional photographer after receiving her senior ring near Ted Slavin field.

CRYSTAL BAIK/CHRONICLE

CRYSTAL BAIK/CHRONICLE

CONGRATULATIONS: President Rick Commons congratulates Paula Gonzalez ’21 at the podium and wishes her good luck for her senior year ahead.

WAVE TO THE CAMERA: Alexandra du Manoir ’21 waves from the car on the way to the Student Alumni Association booth, where students were given blue light glasses, M&M’s and a stress ball.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF CAROLINA RODRIGUEZ

DOUBLE VISION: (left to right) Twins Carolina Rodriguez ’21 and Isabella Rodriguez ’21 hold out their brand new senior rings as they look forward to the year ahead.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF JOSEPHINE AMAKYE

POOL PARTY: (left to right) Gabby Odoom ’21, Chance Walker ’21, Josephine Amakye ’21 and Delaney Klace ’21 celebrate poolside after the event while holding up 2021 balloons.

Opinion

The harvard-westlake

Chronicle

The Chronicle • Oct. 14, 2020

Studio City • Volume 30 • Issue 2 • Oct. 14, 2020 • hwchronicle.com

Editors-in-Chief: Hannah Han, Ethan Lachman Print Managing Editors: Austin Lee, Jaidev Pant, Celine Park

editorial

Digital Managing Editor: Kyle Reims Presentation Managing Editors: Siobhan Harms, Lucas Lee News Editors: Tanisha Gunby, Frank Jiang Assistant News Editors: Tessa Ausberger, Ava Fattahi, Sandra Koretz, Will Sheehy, Melody Tang Opinion Editor: Emma Limor Assistant Opinion Editors: Julian Andreone, Caroline Jacoby, Sarah Mittleman, Alec Rosenthal Features Editor: Ruoshan Dong, Marina Nascimento Assistant Features Editors: Milla Ben-Ezra, Kate Burry, Quincey Dern, Mia Feizbakhsh, Sophia Musante, Katharine Steers A&E Editor: Chloe Schaeffer Assistant A&E Editors: Sydney Fener, Keira Jameson, Mimi Landes, Caitlin Muñoz Sports Editor: Charlie Wang Assistant Sports Editors: Justin Goldstein, Ben Jacoby, Liam Razmjoo, Ryan Razmjoo, Amelia Scharff, Maxine Zuriff Engagement and Multimedia Editor: Marina Nascimento Photography Editors: Crystal Baik, Eugean Choi Broadcast Producers: Alex Amster, Kyle Reims, Charlie Wang Business Managers: Lucas Lee, Emma Limor Assistant Broadcast Editors: Zachary Berg, John Coleman, Ely Dickson, William Moon, Mikey Schwartz Art Director: Evie de Rubertis Junior Art Director: Alexa Druyanoff Layout Assistants and Staff Writers: Grace Belgrader, Rebecca Berlin, Lucas Cohen-d’Arbeloff, Claire Conner, Natalie Cosgrove, Daphne Davie, Fallon Dern, Allegra Drago, Konnie Duan, Georgia Goldberg, Alex Hahn, James Hess, Julia Im, Jina Jeon, Paul Kugan, Lily Lee, Annabelle Nickoll, Andrew Park, Max Ruden-Sella, Leo Saperstein, Charles Seymour, William Sherwood, Natasha Speiss, Harrison Tarses, Karen Wu, Vasilia Yordanova, Emmy Zhang Advisers: Jim Burns, Max Tash Layout Assistant: Alexis Arinsburg The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published eight times per year. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Business Managers Emma Limor and Lucas Lee at elimor1@hwemail.com and llee3@hwemail.com, respectively. Publication of an advertisement does not imply any endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or school.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

F

The Truth: Tied to Technology

rom the moment the alarms on our Clock apps go off to when we click the power button on the sides of our devices before falling asleep, we’re connected. We no longer wake up on the wrong side of the bed but rather the side of the bed our phone is on. The messages on our lock screens set the tone for how we start the day, whether it be Canvas grading notifications or a Snapchat from a close friend.

Then school starts, and we receive our daily doses of disheveled bed head and pajama tops via Zoom. For almost a quarter of each day, we sit facing the screen, filling breaks with TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

Whether for work or for play, we’re constantly on our devices.

How do you start talking to someone you’re interested in being more than just friends with? The first step usually begins with responding to a Snapchat story or a direct message on Instagram. The second step entails sending a daily Snapchat message. After the third step—being added to their private story— the real-time conversations through FaceTime begin.

All three steps have one common thread tying them together: technology and, more specifically, how involved our beloved tech has become in our daily lives.

The recently released Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” lays bare the prevalence of 'Big Tech' and its power. The sources, which include former Silicon Valley executives, add nuance to the ever-growing debate over the detrimental effects of technology on our mental health. "The Social Dilemma" argues

that our growing addiction to the virtual world comes from the nature of technology, which is designed to create profit like any other type of corporation in America. As Facebook, Google and even Pinterest have come under the social microscope, we see that the concerns over data harvesting aren't about security.

These companies are the largest advertising powers in the world and use their data to predict our human behavior. In order to make sales as ad placement sellers but also to create tech companies expanded their reach and honed in on their AI systems to not only target customers, but to also create the impetus for us to buy that tennis skirt on Etsy or a new pair of AirPods. On a larger scale, this sways elections through the Facebook ad situation, like in 2016. And it looks like, with the greater integration and reliance on technology, the stakes will only get higher.

The first iPhone came out in 2007, Instagram was released in 2010 and Snapchat was developed in 2011.

Gen Z is the first generation to live with this phenomenon called social media.

Look at your pinky finger on the side that you hold your phone. Compare it to your other pinky. Is there a little indent on the inside of that second ridge where you hold your phone?

Or maybe you instinctively open Snapchat or Instagram out of nervous habit when you’re waiting in public. We see technology expanding its reach over us, and we have the authority to make what we want of it.

The next time you wake up on the phone side of your bed, just keep this in mind.

Our Story

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

PUBLICATION INFO:

Founded in 1990, The Chronicle is the Harvard-Westlake Upper School’s student-led newspaper. In the midst of its 30-year anniversary, The Chronicle strives to uphold its legacy of journalistic integrity and to report stories accurately and fairly. The newspaper is published eight times per year and is distributed to students, parents, faculty and staff at the Upper School. Additionally, the paper is affiliated with two Upper School magazines, Big Red and Panorama.

EDITORIALS:

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of staffers and are written by the seniors on the Editorial Board, which is composed of the Editors-in-Chief, the Managing Editors and the Section Editors.

ADVERTISING:

Questions pertaining to advertisements may be directed to Business Managers Emma Limor or Lucas Lee at elimor1@hwemail. com or llee3@hwemail.com, respectively. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or school.

UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS:

Letters to the Editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format.

We are committed to uplifting the voices of marginalized or underrepresented individuals and groups in accordance with our efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Though we always strive to be as accurate as possible, following the publication of each issue, staff members identify inaccuracies and receive feedback from readers. The Chronicle publishes corrections when we discover a factual error within a piece. We will continue to uphold transparency even in the face of mistakes.

PUBLICATION AWARDS:

- Columbia Scholastic Press Association - National Scholastic Press Association - Quill and Scroll Honor Society

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A10 Opinion

The Chronicle

Oct. 14, 2020

A clarification from the Peer Support faculty leader

By Tina McGraw, Head of Peer Support

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

P

eer Support started 30 years ago, right before the merger between Harvard and Westlake took place.

Although some things have changed over the years, it essentially remains the same studentled space where different grade levels come together to listen to each other, support one another, share a few laughs and, occasionally, a few tears.

Every year, four student coordinators are elected from within the senior Peer Support leaders to act as the student heads of the program. This year,

those leaders are Taylor Dees ’21, Brooke Stanford ’21, Spencer Sherman ’21 and Connor Colao ’21. One of their primary tasks is to create the groups that will be meeting starting Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. for those students who signed up for Peer Support. They take into consideration the balance of various grade levels but mostly use a randomizer program to break over 300 students into groups of 20 to 25.

Although they are amazing leaders, they cannot know the full scope of every student’s individual history and relationships

with the people who are placed (randomly) into a group. This is why Peer Support has to have a system to resolve conflicts.

What is a conflict? A conflict within a group is either a relationship that is too close (best friend, romantic partner) or too tense (ex-best friend, ex-romantic partner) that may inhibit the person from being able to share in a comfortable way.

When someone has a legitimate conflict, they will let their group leader know, and then that group leader will forward the name to one of the four program

coordinators. The coordinators will place the student in a different group and let them know about their new placement. It is the student who expresses the conflict who will be moved to a new group, not the person they are conflicting with.

The vast majority of conflicts are resolved in this way, but occasionally there are complex circumstances that may require different solutions. For example, we have people who join late in the first semester who may be conflicted by someone who is already in the group and has

been attending for months. In this case, we would move the person who recently joined to a different group. In previous years there have also been situations where the groups were too unbalanced and needed some reshuffling.

While sometimes conflicts can lead to short term discomfort, they are necessary to preserve the accessibility of the program to more students. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to reach out to me or one of the four senior coordinators.

2020: Just a number

By Claire Conner

M

ILLUSTRATION BY CAROLINE JACOBY

Gen-Z, in the affirmation age

By Keira Jameson and Katharine Steers

I

n today’s increasingly polarized ideological world, groupthink is often preferred to any real exploration and exchange of ideas.

When we only interact with likeminded people, our opinions are confirmed rather than tested.

Most of Generation Z only knows “Google” as a verb and social media as omnipresent.

In today’s America, our online preferences are monitored meticulously, shoving users out of the information age and into the “affirmation age.” What drives our insatiable need for confirmation? Social media has created a deceptive world of black and white when in fact, the world is more nuanced: acknowledging a gray area doesn’t make attractive clickbait for a social media post.

For many in our generation, adhering to strict political ideologies leaves no room for dissenting opinions. We need to realize that the exploration of ideas beyond ourselves is what enriches society. From the public square to academia, we must tolerate some productive disagreement without retreating into our corners.

Within our own school community, an Instagram account named @wokeathw emerged seemingly as a catch-all for those disgruntled by additions made to the school’s curriculum and the implementation of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.

Per the account’s bio, the forum is ‘documenting the self-destruction of an elite private school.’ Allegedly managed by students, parents, faculty and alumni, the account offers an anonymous platform to criticize the school, faculty and administration.

One post that seemed emblematic of others on the account stated, “My teacher has a Black Lives Matter Picture and a We Are On Native Land picture on our home page.” To that, we submit: If you take issue with your teacher’s beliefs, talk to them about it.

Yet, the question remains: why do those who object to the school’s expansion of curriculum feel afraid to speak out publicly?

While majorities have been punishing minority opinions for centuries to suppress social deviance within a group, it’s never been like this. Social media has an incredible reach, amplifying what we know as ‘cancel culture.’

Cancel culture encompasses everything from vocalizing opposition online to doxxing. Often one will ‘cancel’ another with intent to punish them socially or economically. Some argue that cancel culture is just the market’s response to rejected ideas, but we view it as far more expansive, with a side of blood lust. Simply put, cancel culture has contributed to the erasure of open discussions.

If having a different opinion puts

you and your family at any level of risk, why take that chance?

History is littered with the corpses of people who dared to express ideas that opposed social norms and cultural understandings about the nature of being.

From Galileo Galilei, who suggested that the universe doesn’t revolve around us, to Mary Wollstonecraft’s opposition to traditional gender roles, those who challenge prevailing views are met with punishment and shunning.

But do the consequences fit the crime? Certainly, actions have consequences, and those who engage in bullying or harass others should be penalized. However, we disagree with the sanitation of expression that comes with muzzling different ideas.

We must learn to accept differing opinions without blaming those who hold them. When faced with a different opinion, the initial response should be to hold an honest discussion. While there are outliers who stir the pot and hurt others, the majority of people have good intentions. As a society, we shouldn’t complain behind an anonymous Instagram account but rather start a dialogue. In order to become fully realized, we must embrace diverse perspectives and develop informed opinions. What better way to foster conversations than in an educational setting?

y last conversation in 2019 was with my friends. We spammed our group chat with cheers about the end of the year and lamented the difficulties of ninth grade, deciding that no matter what would happen in 2020, it had to be better than 2019.

Yikes.

Sure, hindsight is 2020 (literally), but there was nothing I had misjudged more than what would come in the year ahead.

Midterm grades ended up being the least of our worries as my friends and I were faced with a global pandemic, heightening racial tensions, a worsening climate crisis and murder hornets. It felt like at any moment, someone would yell “Jumanji!” and everything would be over.

While everyone knew the situation would not improve overnight, we got used to the idea that it was “just 2020, the worst year of our lives!” We embraced quarantine trends and practically drowned in dalgona coffee and sourdough starter.

Many of us took the opportunity to educate ourselves about current events, but our activism remained mostly performative, as we watched bad new Netflix shows and counted down the days until the end of 2020.

Unfortunately, this resigned outlook will not yield anything, and it is counterproductive to getting out of the mess we are in. 2021 is nothing more than a different number; we have created the illusion of a fresh start to convince ourselves there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

That light will not appear unless we make it.

It might seem as though all of our problems are about to go away. The November elections and justice movements could make 2021 a better year.

11 COVID-19 vaccines are in Phase 3 trials, according to the New York Times, and it feels like we will soon return to the norm.

However, it is important to remember that these changes require consistent effort and that there are many problems with the old normal. Regardless of when a vaccine becomes available, we will still have to do our best to socially distance and protect each other before it can be distributed. No matter who

wins the election, we will still be in the midst of global warming and the natural disasters it causes because of the gradual nature of climate action plans.

Systemic racism will continue to preclude the possibility of justice. Los Angeles might not be shrouded in an apocalyptic cloud of yellow smoke, but the wildfires are still burning across California.

None of these problems will go away when the clock strikes midnight Dec. 31. So where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Are we even in a tunnel, or are we in one giant loop without an escape? Our place as young people in this society can worsen the sadness and stress coming from feeling powerless and unable to solve long-term problems. Yet there is only one way the cycle can be broken and one reason why we should be so motivated to take action: us.

The combination of a generation with a strong passion for changing the world and tools like social media to give our voices power has not existed before. We are ardent advocates working to educate others about issues that will have a direct impact on our future. Movements like March for Our Lives are led by students like us and effectively brought problems to the attention of adults in power. These efforts were successful because of young leaders who knew how to make use of social media and their voices. As students, we are also developing our knowledge and skills to one day make change instead of just influencing it.

Until then, we must do our best to contribute to the fight.

We need to educate ourselves and those around us, so we can all make informed and productive decisions. This is the time to use our voices to influence others and promote meaningful action. We should adhere to COVID-19 guidelines to keep each other safe, so we can reemerge from quarantine and take advantage of greater opportunities to engage in activism.

Even if we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, we have to keep digging with the knowledge that we are the key to getting there.

Oct. 14, 2020

hwchronicle.com/Opinion

Impulsive Immunization

Validating Vaccines

By Ryan Razmjoo

By Caroline Jacoby

V

accines are undeniably important for the health and economic stability of society. However, it is also important for members of the public to do their due diligence before receiving any kind of medical treatment, and the COVID-19 vaccine is no exception.

One thing, though, is clear: the only way that the pandemic, which has taken over a million lives so far, will end is through the administration of a vaccine to the majority of the general public. Still, we must also pay attention to the controversies surrounding the coronavirus vaccine’s ongoing development.

Many have expressed concerns that the vaccine’s accelerated development timeline, which seeks to provide healthcare workers and vulnerable portions of the population access to immunization early next year, may be politically motivated. President Trump has repeatedly insisted that the vaccine, developed by companies in the United States, Germany, England and other countries, will be available before the election.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has also been said to push the CDC to make decisions that contradict the advice of public health officials. These comments have sparked concerns that President Trump may press companies to make their vaccines available to the public before their safety and efficacy have been proven in phase III clinical trials.

The general public should consider not only the immediate potential risks associated with getting a vaccine but also the possible long-term impacts.

Since SARS-COVID-2 is a novel coronavirus, there is little

data on the disease itself or the long-term consequences that a future vaccine will have on the health of its recipients.

It will take several years before researchers have gathered enough information about possible side effects that a future vaccine may cause. This uncertainty has been exacerbated by the rapid pace at which developers are moving in order to produce a vaccine that can be quickly released for use by the general public.

The vaccine development team led by AstraZeneca and Oxford University has been one of the leading research groups, but their Phase-3 trial was recently halted (and then restarted) after a recipient developed severe neurological symptoms and inflammation of the spinal cord. Because relatively rare but very serious side effects can only become visible after a vaccine has been given to thousands of people, it is important that vaccine developers complete all Phase-3 trials. A rushed release could have massive consequences on the world’s population.

While one would hope that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and drug companies themselves would mitigate the possibility of administering a vaccine with harmful side effects, these companies cannot accurately predict the potential long term impact it may have on recipients without adequate clinical trials. Sometimes, drugs that have been on the market for a number of years end up being pulled by the FDA because they appeared to be responsible for illnesses or deaths.

Because the timetables for the release and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine are of major political importance, I would encourage readers to research and weigh both the positive and potentially negative impacts of the vaccine before receiving it.

W

ith hundreds of thousands affected by COVID-19, scientists are working to quickly develop a safe vaccine for the public. This expedited timeline for the vaccine has left many people within the United States questioning whether or not they should take it. However, assuming there is transparency about the clinical trial results, it is essential to take the coronavirus vaccine in order to protect yourself and others from the virus.

Following President Trump’s claim that a vaccine would be ready in time for Election Day, the CEOs of nine drug companies issued a pledge Sept. 8 promising to wait until the vaccine is properly vetted before administering it to the public, according to statements from the companies involved, including Sanofi and Pfizer Inc. They reassured people that they are committed to transparency even while striving for the quick development of a safe COVID-19 vaccine.

On Oct. 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released guidance on emergency use authorization of the vaccine. This guidance describes the requirements that the vaccine must meet to be administered, including data proving that the companies followed clinical trial participants for at least two months after their final injection. This requirement makes the vaccine’s trial process more transparent and ensures that drugmakers stick to a safe timeline. The COVID-19 Vaccine Maker Pledge and the FDA’s guidance should give us more confidence, serving as important reminders to trust scientists amid political turmoil.

The politicization of this vaccine, which is largely to blame for the concerns about its safety, sets a dangerous precedent of only believing in science when it suits one’s political interests. Vaccines, however, are vital to public health, and it is imperative to take them

Bonding Between the Bandwidths

By Julian Andreone

A

lthough we students are constrained to virtual learning environments, it remains crucial that we engage in them cooperatively and enthusiastically; the connections they promote are extremely important for establishing both professional and recreational relationships later in life.

It can be difficult to foster personal connections over Zoom because many crucial aspects of physical interaction such as body language, eye contact and facial expression are inaccessible in an online setting. However, these potential virtual conversations are our only opportunity to compensate for the lost social interactions we would have shared together on campus this year.

After spending a little over two years in high school, I have realized that the classroom shifts away from the stereotype of mutual disrespect between teachers and students. In fact, as students mature, school becomes a more collaborative community that allows them to explore how they contribute to communal environments outside of school.Thus, as students begin to explore their potential societal roles, student-teacher relationships that are fostered in the classroom become increasingly important to their transition from high school to adult society.

Behavioral and Social Sciences Professor at the University of Amsterdam Frank Wanders found that having more positive relation-

even when they have become the subject of political discourse.

Instead of worrying about a potential vaccine that is months away from public administration, we should focus on stopping the spread of COVID-19. In just seven months, there have been over 7.41 million cases and 209,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S, according to the CDC. The country has been unable to flatten the upward curve of COVID-19 cases, and at this rate, it seems unlikely without a vaccine.

Due to the country’s failure to practice social distancing or wear masks, COVID-19 cases will only continue to increase until herd immunity is achieved—a classification only possible if 70% of the population is immunized. Currently, only half of the country plans to take the vaccine, according to a poll conducted

by Pew Research Center. Unless most of the country receives the vaccine, it won’t be effective in stopping the spread.

Although certain countries were able to initially eradicate the virus with social distancing protocols, some of these nations are experiencing a second wave of transmission. For example, New Zealand experienced a sudden spike in cases in August after controlling community transmission for months since the initial outbreak. This proves that it’s extremely difficult to eliminate the virus by social distancing alone.

In the U.S., the need for a vaccine is even more urgent than in other countries. The number of cases is still rising daily, and misinformation about COVID-19 has caused pushback against social distancing and mask mandates. If Americans continually refuse to adhere to social distancing, the only way to protect ourselves is to take the vaccine.

Especially for those who are at low risk for COVID-19, it would be selfish to refuse the vaccine and allow the virus to continue killing thousands.

Opinion A11

ILLUSTRATIONS BY CAROLINE JACOBY AND ALEXA DRUYANOFF

An Assistant Opinion Editor writes about the importance of sustaining strong student-teacher relationships amid the chaos of the school’s newly established virtual learning environment.

ships with teachers during high school is associated with greater societal involvement as an adult. Healthy classroom environments can simulate communities similar to those of companies, organizations, charities and even residential neighborhoods that students may join later in life. These environments can lay a framework in students’ minds that familiarizes them with how societies function and their potential impact within them.

Our school’s administration presents its students with endless academic, athletic, artistic and extracurricular opportunities; however, the greatest opportunity that we as Wolverines are presented with is the opportunity to learn about ourselves and to use that introspective knowledge

to establish our role in future societies.

For example, last year, one of my most memorable experiences as a sophomore was made while watching a field hockey game after school alongside my math teacher. I saw him across the bleachers, sitting alone and supporting one of my classmates on the team. I decided to go watch with him, and we began to talk about sports and life outside of school for the remainder of the game. For the rest of the year, he and I had that moment in common and understood each other better as people, not just as teacher and student.

Despite the circumstances that constrain us to a virtual learning environment, we must take advantage of the

culture that the school has established for us by trying to form and sustain these types of relationships. The results of strong student-teacher connections are simply far too rewarding to allow a pandemic and a quarantine to deprive us of them.

During these tumultuous times, even the smallest gestures such as joining class five minutes early or unmuting your microphone when there is uncomfortable silence can help to foster and maintain connections with teachers that we would have otherwise bonded with in person.

In the coming months, let’s conquer the adversity that virtual learning environments have presented us with by actively pursuing relationships with our teachers.

Community The Chronicle • Oct. 14, 2020

Regional businesses struggle

By Liam Razmjoo

KONNIE DUAN/CHRONICLE

CITY OF SMOKE: Smoke produced by several wildfires on the Pacific Coast casts a shadow around the sun in Los Angeles. The fires, most of which started burning in late August, are record-breaking, as they killed over 30 people and burned millions of acres from Oregon to Southern California.

Wildfires along the Pacific Coast give rise to poor air quality, evacuations in Los Angeles

By Tessa Augsberger

Audrey Perkins ’23 watched as a plume of smoke rose out of the Bobcat Fire while at a friend’s house in Pasadena. Before long, a layer of gray smoke blanketed the sky, obscuring the Californian sunshine and the white clouds.

“I live in Silver Lake, which is closer [to the fire] than a lot of people at Harvard-Westlake live.

I know a lot of everyone saw a lot of smoke, but the sky was bright orange for a few days,” Perkins said. “For a really long time, even after [the smoke] cleared up, there was still ash all over everything. I didn’t have to evacuate, but I saw a lot of people in my classes who had to go to a grandparent’s house, a friend’s house or stay in a hotel. It was really scary.”

Wildfires have been ravaging the Pacific Coast from Oregon to California since August.

Although the record-breaking

North Complex, Santa Clara ing to University of California, Unit Lightning Complex and Los Angeles climatologist Daniel Bobcat fires are mostly contained, Swain. Climate change also comthe August Complex fire is still pounds the intensity of the fire not contained. Accordby creating warmer and ing to BBC News, the drier conditions, makwildfires collectiveing the region more ly burned millions of susceptible to wildfire, acres and killed over NBC News report30 people. The August ed. Not only do these Complex fire in Northconditions increase the ern California is the likelihood of fires, but largest fire in California they also end up fuelhistory. Designated a ing them, increasing “gigafire” Oct. 6, it has their intensity and dewhite’s burned more than one struction. From 2009 Terry million acres and is the to 2018, fire dollar loss Barnum first such fire California in the United States inhas experienced. As of creased by 90.6%, or press time, the August Complex approximately $10.9 billion, and fire is 67% contained, according the number of deaths from fires to the California Department of has risen by 20.5%, according to Forestry and Fire Protection. the U.S. Fire Administration.

Rising temperatures contribIn Los Angeles, air pollution uted to the severity of the fires, as from the fires caused especially this past August was the hottest poor air quality in recent weeks. on record in California, accord- Over Labor Day weekend, L.A.

residents experienced the worst air quality since 2003, with ozone present in the air at 185 parts per billion Sept. 6, according to the Los Angeles Times. The smoke blocked out the sun and cast an eerie glow over much of the state. Smoke from the wildfires was seen as far away as Britain on Sept. 9 and Iceland on Sept. 16, Reuters reported.

As a result of the poor air quality, the school canceled athletic activities from Sept. 10 to 15.

“Each day, athletic administration consulted with the Director of Sports Medicine [Brian Gallagher] and Community Health Officer [Milo Sini] to evaluate the air quality at both the middle school and upper school campuses,” Head of Athletics Terry Barnum said in an email. “By [1 p.m.] each day, we made a decision [about] whether it was safe enough to move forward with practices or cancel for the day.”

Five months after restaurants reopened for outdoor dining in Los Angeles, the economy is slowly climbing back to where it was before the pandemic.

Yet with many shops and offices closed, widespread layoffs mean that many people can no longer afford to spend money at the same rate they could before the pandemic.

Ultimate Cleaners owner Sheri Stearns said she has had to make difficult decisions to keep her company afloat.

“Business has been down 50% to 60% since the [COVID-19] shutdown,” Stearns said. “Unfortunately, we have had to lay off a few of our longtime employees.

We have also had to reduce employee hours down to about 30 hours a week.”

Stearns said she has been trying to help local small businesses as much as she can by utilizing their services.

“We have been trying to support businesses by going out to restaurants once in a while because they are also in our shoes,” Stearns said.

In addition to service retail businesses, restaurants have also been significantly affected by the lack of consumer presence. Owner of Il Tramezzino Rick Walken said his restaurant has been struggling because of the pandemic.

“We have a reduced staff,” Walken said. “Since 40% to 50% of our sales are now online, we have to pay up to 30% to online companies. That takes a chunk out of our sales.”

Apart from business instability, owners said they are apprehensive about the health and safety of both employees and consumers when they eventually reopen their establishments.

“We are primarily concerned with staff and customer safety,” Walken said. “Those two reasons are the primary reasons as to why we are sitting tight and waiting for this thing to pass and be sure that it is over.”

The Chronicle’s Guide to Voting in 2020

How to Vote 1. Online (by Oct. 19) 2. By mail (postmarked

by Oct. 19) 3. In person (Nov. 3)

In-Person Voting Checklist • Check your registration status before voting in person • Wear a mask and gloves • Bring identification, just in case • Bring a Voter Information Guide (optional)

Where to Vote Near Harvard-Westlake • TreePeople • Bridges Academy • William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom and Sooky Goldman Nature Center in Franklin Canyon Park

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

Features The Chronicle • Oct. 14, 2020

Students and faculty mourn Late Justice Ginsburg’s passing and express their fears regarding the future of the Supreme Court.

• Continued on B7

ILLUSTRATION BY SOPHIA MUSANTE

B2 Features

The Chronicle

Oct. 14, 2020

Unmasking the Envir nmental Disaster Members of the school community reflect on how they are staying environmentally conscious during quarantine.

By Mia Feizbakhsh

“Obviously, though, people are really concerned about As Emma Donnelly ’21 long- COVID-19. I, for one, haven’t ingly looked down at her feed been inside of a store regardless on Depop, an app for buying of what kind store it is. Since the and selling clothing, she wist- pandemic began, you really [can’t] fully recalled a time when being shop second hand online as easily eco-friendly did not entail putting as you can from big companies.”

Katherine Kihiczak ’21, who her health at risk.

“I haven’t ordered anything has bought second-hand clothing from Depop since the COVID in the past from thrift shops and pandemic began,” Donnelly said. buys from environmentally-safe “If I’ve ordered clothing it’s been clothing brands, said the lack of from companies that I know are government regulation of large sustainable and online. I’m pret- companies largely contributes to ty concerned about catching environmental destruction.

“It’s really unfortunate that COVID, especially because I’m immunocompromised. I can’t re- individual people are assigned ally take that risk, and I don’t real- the emotional weight and guilt of the dying planet when, while ly know who I am buying from.”

Donnelly is not alone in her everyone could be more ethically reluctance to buy from individual responsible, larger entities such as state governments and sellers instead of bigger major corporations are companies. Customers polluting and creating have been wary of the broken systems,” Kisecond-hand clothing hiczak said. market since long beThese businesses fore the emergence of are not confined to the COVID-19 in Decemfashion industry. In fact, ber of 2019, according the mass production to Mintel, a market reof single-use surgical search firm. In a study white’s masks has already bepublished in July, MintKatherine gun to take a negative el reported that 55% of Kihiczak ’21 toll on the environment. shoppers had cleanliness Opération Mer Propre concerns when buy(OMP), a nonprofit ing pre-owned items, even before COVID-19. Helen group that cleans the waters of Graham ’21, a leader of the en- France’s Mediterranean coast, has vironmental club, said she has reported finding masks and gloves noticed an increased interest on the beach. The organization’s in buying used findings come after French Minclothing but ister of Health Olivier Veran anthat health nounced March 17 that the counp r e c a u - try had ordered nearly 2 billion t i o n s disposable masks. Laurent Lomhave tak- bard, a member of the OMP, said en prior- the production and distribution ity over of these masks pose a large threat s h o p p i n g to the environment.

“Knowing that more than 2 eco-friendbillion disposable masks have been ly.

“I would ordered, soon there may be more say that I masks than jellyfish in the waters noticed sec- of the Mediterranean,” Lombard o n d - h a n d wrote on social media.

After hearing about France’s clothing gained a lot of mass order of masks, Kihiczak said prominence re- she felt more concerned about the cently, especial- state of the environment.

“It’s really devastating that ly as it became a trend,” Graham we’re wasting resources mindlessly,” Kihiczak said. “A reusable said.

mask is just a lot more practical. spillover from Even single-use masks are only animals into advertised as single-use. Some ob- people.

But viously get worn down, but it feels largely we still very easy to just put a single-use view the envimask in your pocket and save it ronment, and for a later time.” life on earth, as In order to combat the en- separate. We can vironmental consequences of and must do betwearing a single-use mask, many ter if we want to students have found reusable al- prevent the next ternatives. Donnelly said that al- infectious panthough she initially wore dispos- demic.” able masks, she quickly switched According to to a cloth mask after realizing the a workshop sumenvironmental ramifications. Gra- mary published by ham, however, went a step further. the National Cen“I made a bunch of masks in ter for Biotechnolthe beginning of quarantine, so ogy Information, my family uses those and we gave while many kinds of them out to a bunch of people pathogens periodically and donated a bunch to homeless infect humans, there are shelters,” Graonly a ham said. few that When it become comes to balanca d e p t a t I made a bunch of ing COVID-19 masks in the beginning of t r a n s m i t t i n g precautions and themselves. The quarantine, so my family eco-friendly habcenter said that its, Graham said human activiuses those and we gave both tasks have ty, specifically them out.” the same goal regarding ac“Keeping each —Helen Graham ’21 tions are damother safe is what Environmental Activist aging to the we’re trying to environment, do in both situais making this tions, whether it be environment transmission increasingly easy. or COVID related,” Graham said. Science teacher Melody Lee said “It’s just a matter of what takes pathogens could be reacting to precedent in terms of what is the environmental destruction. most immediate danger to the “With more time, there is people around us.” more capability among pathogens Just as Graham said she sees a to mutate,” Lee said. “From an connection between the two is- evolutionary perspective, as there sues, Harvard University’s T.H. are more advancements in techChan School of Public Health nology, this leads to possible visaid that public health and the en- ruses mutating in order to escape vironment are much more deeply certain things humans are doing.” intertwined than most are led to believe.

“The separation of health and environmental policy is a d ​ angerous delusion,” Harvard stated on their website. “Our health entirely depends on the climate and the other organisms we share the planet with. We need to bring these communities together. Some progress has been made in addressing the risk of pathogen

“

photo illustration by evie de rubertis

The Chronicle

B3 Features

Oct. 14, 2020

Connections Cut Off Teachers reflect on their personal and professional struggles and successes due to the new online educational environment.

By Kate Burry

changed his curriculum to incorporate topics of equity Prior to the COVID-19 and activism. pandemic, French teacher “There’s lots of adjustAmandine Nelaton began ments we’ve been making every class by stopping at her in how we’re creating art, in students’ desks and convers- both the materials we use ing with them about their and the things we’re thinking goals, passions and lives. about,” Godoy said. “I start Using her positive aura to every class by showing an imilluminate the classroom, age by an artist. Recently, we she was able to put a smile looked at an artist from the on the faces of students who 1960s who created paintings showed signs of stress. Now, about police brutality, racism due to the constraints of on- and antisemitism. I felt it was line learning, Nelaton said so important to talk about, she is stuck facing her living in 1969 and now.” room wall, talking to the disSimilar to Godoy, Nelamal squares on ton said she feels exher computer tremely lucky to teach screen for hours a course that enables on end. her to educate her stu“I love to exdents about cultural change energy awareness and social with my stujustice, even in a virdents,” Nelaton tual classroom. said.” It sustains Most teachers, inme and my cluding mathematics white’s teaching. When teacher Michael Mori, Amandine you’re in a classexpressed despondenNelaton room, you can cy due to the lack of feel the body language, the interpersonal connection in posture, the eyes. But when the new school environment. you’re teaching 20 kids on a “This [online version of screen, you can’t tell. You can school] is trying to do learnno longer see the expression ing and education, but it’s not in their eyes, and it’s hard school,” Mori said. “School is to detect the distress, mis- a social event where we make communications and if a kid friends, teachers form bonds needs help or is upset. Now, with their students and each everyday it feels like I’m other and we joke around a teaching a wall.” lot. It’s hard to do that virOn Mar. 11, President tually.”

Rick Commons sent an English teacher Stephen email to students and teach- Thompson said he most ers informing them of the misses coincidental interacadministration’s decision to tions with students in the suspend in-person schooling hallways. because of the rapidly grow“It’s really important to ing threat of coronavirus. my vocation as a teacher to Ever since, teachers have con- know my students in a roducted classes solely in an on- bust way,” Thompson said. line capacity over Zoom and “So it’s a real drag not to see have provided instruction students outside of class ranin places such as their living domly. The thing that I miss rooms, garages and even out most about being in person of town or state. Due to this is not necessarily the classunprecedented educational room experience, but it’s the environment, many teach- walking down the hall and ers, such as sculpture and talking to people.” ceramics teacher Gustavo English teacher Lucas Godoy, have been forced to Gonzalez is married to completely reconstruct their Marti Macinnes, a teacher method of teaching and the at Marshall Fundamental, content of their curriculum. a public high school in Godoy altered the ma- Pasadena. Because she is terials used in his course to required to prepare lesaccommodate virtual school- sons for four different ing, given that many students courses and teach praclack a potter’s wheel and tically nonstop all day other expensive art utilities with up to 40 kids per found on campus. Similarly, class, she said her expein light of the current racial rience with online school justice movement, he has has been both overwhelm-

ing and disheartening. She in quarantine to find new said that the transition onto hobbies and spend more virtual platforms has dispro- time with family. portionately affected her stuHistory teacher Peter dents due to limited educa- Sheehy said he has seen some tional resources. benefits with the online “This year, I have to be learning. Not only is he able very mindful of the discrep- to spend more time with his ancy between my students, kids, but he has also made more than usual,” Macinnes modifications to his teachsaid. “Some may have their ing style that he will use even own room to work in, strong after the eventual return to Wi-Fi and the ability to go campus. He now hosts more get books and materials, but discussion-based lectures, some do not have that what- which he said teaches skills soever. I also have a lot of essential and applicable to blank squares and turned off life beyond high school. cameras, and there are kids “The interpersonal skills who don’t of listening show up to and learning class or log from others This [online in and then and preversion of school] is fall back senting are asleep.” invaluable,” trying to do learning Due to Sheehy said. and education, but it’s its immense “If you don’t not school.” repositor y learn it now, of resourcyou —Michael Mori when es, teachget into Mathematics Teacher a ers at the college school said seminar or the administration has been do group work in business helpful, conscientious and school or law school, you will empathetic of the teachers’ be lost.” new circumstances. Nelaton Many teachers said they said she appreciates their rec- want to return to campus ognition of the teachers’ hard and resume normal school work, as well their proactive- life. Nelaton said she’s lookness in facilitating the transi- ing forward to seeing her stution from physical to online dents and colleagues, all of learning. Thompson said the whom she misses dearly. school has been generous in “I miss school, and I want supplying the teachers with to go back,” Nelaton said. “I resources beyond the neces- want to feel the hugs. I want sities. to see kids come to my ofDespite the detriments of fice and show me their prom online learning, dresses, and I want to disnumerous cuss the movies they’re teachers watching. I miss said they that. I’m just really have used eager to get back their extra to school and see free time everyone.”

“

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

B4 Features

The Chronicle

Oct.

As the rise in fitness culture floods social media platforms, students reflect on how it negatively affects their eating habits and body image.

photo illustration by milla ben-ezra

14, 2020 hwchronicle.com/features

By Milla Ben-Ezra

diet and get skinny.”

Keipp-Stroud was not alone.

“Your abs will love you and Cassie* said that throughout hate you at the same time,” Chloe the pandemic, she noticed an inTing, a popular fitness influencer, crease in fitness routine and dietsaid in a now viral workout vid- ing videos and the clear rise of diet eo. Ting, a content creator with culture in her TikTok feed. more than 15 million subscrib“There was a certain period ers on YouTube, is known for her of time, around March, April and extremely popular workout chal- May, when my entire [TikTok] For lenges and body-transformational You Page was entirely diet videos promises. and working out videos, and that From March to May, Ting’s gave me a lot of anxiety,” CasYouTube channel grew from fewer sie said. “And there were just so than 800,000 subscribers to more many, and I couldn’t stop watchthan 3 million, according to Social ing them.”

Blade. Ting’s subscriber boom is a Cassie said the recent inundadirect reflection of the surge tion of fitness culture in fitness culture that has throughout social mespread through social media dia platforms puts a during the pandemic. great deal of pressure As students made the to exercise and diet on unprecedented transition many girls, including towards a predominantly herself. virtual lifestyle, social media “I went through a white’s platforms became increasperiod where I would Gillian ingly flooded with diet tips work out like craKeipp-Stroud ’22 and workout routines. This zy,” Cassie said. “I pushed viewers to strive for was in my room, on society’s standard of a dream body my floor with a yoga mat, workduring the free time they now pos- ing out for like four hours a day. I sess. Feeling this added pressure, was obsessed with it. But I found Gillian Keipp-Stroud ’22 said so- that every time I would finish [a cial media made her feel as though workout challenge], and I would she had to maximize her newfound look in the mirror, I felt no differtime. ent about myself. I felt sometimes “Everybody was posting about worse about myself.” all the stuff they were doing and Overall, Cassie said she feels all the workouts and other things, that the fitness challenges, which and I just felt like if I wasn’t getting are meant to inspire health and everything I wanted done, then I wellness, ultimately had the oppowas lazy and wasting time,” Keipp- site effects on her.

Stroud said.

“As a direct result of the chalAlthough people were pres- lenges and everything I was putsured to be more productive at the ting myself through, I found that beginning of the coronavirus pan- my mental health and body image demic, as weeks turned to months, were significantly worse than when Keipp-Stroud said the pressure I started,” Cassie said. shifted almost entirely to fitness Like Cassie, Vita Saffari ’22 and dieting. said interacting with fitness cul“Basically, what I was seeing ture and participating in workout all over social media were chal- challenges resulted in a negative lenges like the Chloe Ting Two outcome for her. Saffari said she Week Abs, where [Ting] said that felt an overwhelming sense of disif you did her ab workouts, you content with any physical result of would get abs or a flat stomach in these workout challenges, especialtwo weeks,” Keipp-Stroud said. “[I ly with the addition of social media would see] TikToks that were say- where other participants in fitness ing, ‘get your butt big in five days,’ challenges are able to broadcast or ‘get your waist tiny,’ which is their results. obviously not possible, but they “Seeing those results make you think it is. My whole kind of prolonged the [TikTok feed] was full of ways to toxic [mindset I had

Features B5

developed] with the Chloe Ting to count my calories and carbs, [challenges] because I remember and [I] was always really self-conjust being very unhappy when scious of looking different or bigI was doing it,” Saffari said. “Be- ger than the rest of my friends,” cause you’re constantly analyzing Keipp-Stroud said. “And I think yourself when you’re in these kinds when you do these challenges and of challenges, because you’re con- workout and it doesn’t work, you stantly looking for that end result, think, ‘Okay, next step, food.’ You and you’re never going to get there try to cut more calories or switch because it’s always an unachievable to only eating foods that TikTok goal.” told you would make you look a Interdisciplinary Studies and certain way.”

Independent Research Teacher and Mimi Offor ’21 said she recHead of Peer Support Tina Mc- ognizes that working out can be a Graw said students must be careful healthy practice for people if they when comparing their bodies to are motivated to participate in fitthe ones they see on social media. ness challenges with honest mo“The tives, not to lose weight unrealistic in accordance with traYou’re constantly ditional standards of and highly m o d i f i e d looking for that end beauty. content on result, and you’re never “It has to come social me- going to get there from a positive place dia portrays and not from a place of because it’s always an a hyper-reself-hate,” Offor said. “I unachievable goal.” ality which just hope that anybody –Vita Saffari ‘22 who’s doing a workout isn’t representative plan is doing it because of the way they want to be healthy, people look in reality,” McGraw and they love themselves and not said. “It’s extremely harmful to because they think they need to compare yourself to these doctored change who they are to be beauimages.” tiful.”

However, as someone who did For young women like Saffari, compare herself to images shared who began fitness challenges due on social media, Saffari said that to the societal pressures created for her, the discontent extended by traditional beauty standards, further than a simple workout rou- working out in this fashion can tine. She said the pressure to lose feel isolating. Saffari said having a weight coming from fitness and space for girls who are also battling diet culture pushed her into pat- this isolation to confide in one anterns of restrictive eating. other would have helped her great“For me, everything went ly. She said that the best way for hand-in-hand,” Saffari said. “I girls to get through the struggles was doing these fitness challenges of body-image is to uplift and be and then ended up thinking that there for each another. [losing weight] is 90% what you “I remember feeling really eat, and then I thought, ‘I have to isolated and lonely by my probchange up what I eat.’ It was kind lems, so I think as a community of a chain of events for me, and it being there for each other would was pushed along by the fact that probably be the best way to supI was seeing so many of these fit- port each other,” Saffari said. “I ness videos on YouTube or on In- think having a support system to stagram.” talk about these issues with other Keipp-Stroud, who previously people, especially with girls and struggled with anorexia and buli- other girls [would have been helpmia, said the rise in fitness culture ful]. Because for me, it was really exacerbated a struggle she has faced important for me to see myself in since childhood. other people.”

“Ever since I was little, I *Names have been changed. used

“

photo illustration by milla ben-ezra

B6 Features

Oct. 14, 2020

The Chronicle

The Stoned Age While some students take advantage of the quarantine to learn new skills, many students have turned toward increased marijuana usage.

By Sandra Koretz

“Weedmaps has recorded a significant spike in sales since the shelterLike any teenager before the in-place order was implemented in COVID-19 pandemic, Adam* ’20 mid-March,” Feijoo said. “There was followed a nightly routine of complet- a 348% increase in the number of ing homework, brushing his teeth, orders processed from March to July scrolling through Instagram and fall- 2020, when compared to the same peing asleep. His regimen changed riod in 2019.”

The company also recorded the during quarantine when he began taking hits from his favorite birthday highest single-day volume in the comcake-flavored Stiizy, a marijuana elec- pany’s history this year April 20, a tronic cigarette, every night. Smok- national holiday in cannabis culture. ing before falling asleep provided him Orders processed through the compawith the necessary high to get through ny this year reflected a 434% increase his summer job working at an office compared to the same day last year, Feijoo said. the next day, Adam said.

Feijoo attributed this rise in sales Marijuana has become an outlet to individuals needing cannafor teenagers and young bis for medical use. adults during quaran“Arguably the most importtine. Those between the ant issue is that there are many ages of 18 and 29 make who depend on cannabis for up the largest group of their medicinal needs, so much marijuana smokers as like one would go to their of 2019, according to pharmacy to stock up on their Statista.

Throughout prescriptions, these consumers March, marijuana disare taking the necessary steps to pensaries saw a 42.1% white’s ensure access to their cannabis increase in sales specifiTina medicine,” Feijoo said. cally among Generation McGraw ’01 Students said they began Z, those born between the mid to late 1990s and early 2010s, purchasing and smoking marijuana according to Headset, a marijuana an- more frequently after transferring to online learning. They said smokalytics company.

“I was working a job, and I would ing relieves stress induced by virtual come to work high because I did not schooling and fills the time they no want to be there, but I also wanted to longer spend socializing.

Robert* ’21 said he has shown up get paid,” Adam said. “I was probably smoking every other day in quar- to his online classes high on marijuaantine, compared to once a week or na almost every day.

“Before quarantine, I was smoking every two weeks.”

Local demand for marijuana has once or twice a week, and then once skyrocketed during the coronavirus quarantine started, I would wake up pandemic, as cannabis dispensaries and show up to class every single day were deemed essential businesses high,” Robert said. “I know people in California. In 2019, the United that would smoke blunts on Zoom.

States marijuana industry was worth The seniors didn’t care at the end of approximately $13.6 billion and em- the year. I had a friend that showed ployed around 340,000 individuals, up to class smoking a blunt, claiming according to Investopedia. Every it was a cigar, and the teacher did not year, the industry continues to grow care.”

According to Headset, 31.7% in popularity, with investors pouring millions into the production process. more women purchased cannabis Weedmaps, the largest technology from dispensaries in March. Yet males company in the legal cannabis econ- account for two-thirds of cannabis omy, connects consumers to mari- sales, which may have caused women juana retailers. The business has seen to stock up on cannabis at the begina massive increase in sales during the ning of quarantine, Headset reported.

Former Chronicle Senior Staff COVID-19 quarantine, Chief Marketing Officer at Weedmaps Juanjo Writer Lee Nichols ’20 said she noticed that her friends, confined in Feijoo said.

their homes, began smoking more to made people seek relief.” escape the reality of the pandemic.

Robert also said that his friends According to a school poll, 25% of who sold marijuana frequently ran students at the school have increased out of products in their inventory beor noticed an increase of marijuana cause so many teenagers and young consumption during quarantine. adults were smoking.

“There was definitely a trend of “I know a few people that sell marpeople picking up smoking as a hob- ijuana and said that quarantine did by,” Nichols said. “The days were lon- great things to their inventory,” Robger, and people were much more anx- ert said. “One said that at the beginious and nervous compared to usual. ning of quarantine he [had] sold out The culture of quarantine turned into of a month and half ’s supply of pot in getting messed up everyday.” a week or two.”

Interdisciplinary Studies and IndeYan attributed the success of dispendent Research teacher and Head pensaries to being essential businesses. of Peer Support Tina McGraw said “When everything was closed, yet the mandatory lockdown led to teens somehow cannabis dispensaries were isolating themopen and essential, selves, potentially [this] sparked an leading to dangerinterest in a new For me, [getous behavior. group of people ting a MedCard] wasn’t “For many young that had probably people, school, never tried cannabis about acquiring marsports, socializing or [were] previously ijuana; the card acts and recreation serve worried that it was like more of a safety as protective factors federally prohibitagainst unhealthy ed,” Yan said. mechanism.” behaviors,” McFormer Chron—Zack Schwartz ’20 icle Business ManGraw said. “When the mandatory ager Zack Schwartz lockdown started, it isolated young ’20 has a Med Card, a license signed people from many of the activities by doctors that allows patients to lethat were most important to them. gally obtain and own marijuana for That void likely created more time to medical purposes. Similar to Yan, fill and triggered difficult emotions. Schwartz said he supports the use of For many, drug use is an unhealthy marijuana to relieve worries. coping mechanism, and it is likely “I have a Med Card for my anxthat some turned to marijuana during iety because marijuana was helping the pandemic for these reasons.” me,” Schwartz said. “It was a very easy The Washington, Oregon, Nevada, process to get one, and a lot of people Colorado, Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota have one. For me, it wasn’t about acand California state governments al- quiring marijuana; the card acts like lowed cannabis dispensaries to sell more of a safety mechanism.” marijuana recreationally and medicalMcGraw said that using smoking ly, causing sales to rise rapidly during to cope with circumstances can be the pandemic, according to Market- dangerous in the long run and may place. lead to future chemical dependencies.

A cannabis cultivator and growth “Young adults need to develop advisor in Los Angeles and Portland, healthy coping mechanisms for dealYan** said that those battling anxiety ing with emotional pain and stress,” alleviated their worries by smoking.

McGraw said. “Drug and alcohol use “Due to marijuana being a feder- is dangerous for the teenage brain and ally protected substance, people felt can lead to terrible and unintended safer knowing that dispensaries were consequences. Ultimately, smoking essential businesses,” Yan said. “This marijuana amplifies mental health gave people the peace of mind to go issues in the long run and should be out and try to give themselves peace avoided by adolescents.” of mind in order to sleep and settle their anxieties. The pandemic spiked

*Names have been changed. sleeping and anxiety issues, which

**Name is partially revealed.

“

illustration by sophia musante

B7 Features

The Chronicle

Oct. 14, 2020

In Her Honor Members of the school community remember Ginsburg for her fierce protection of human rights and appreciate her legacy of progress.

By Quincey Dern and Sophia Musante

Reed v. Reed,” Lee said. “[Ginsburg] wrote the brief for the Plaintiff who argued that an Idaho law discriminated As she walked her dog through her on the basis of gender, and the court neighborhood with a live news broad- ruled in her favor, extending the 14th cast playing softly from her mom’s Amendment equal protection clause. phone, Frances Ross ’22 came to a Her life story and the challenges she halt. Watching as her mom frantically overcame are so inspirational, and I opened Safari and read the same head- think we all have something to learn line over and over, Frances Ross strug- from her persistence, activism and gled to process the news she had just bravery.”

Following former President Bill heard: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Clinton’s nomination, Ginsburg beBader Ginsburg had died.

“I honestly didn’t know what to came the second woman and the sixth think at first,” Frances Ross said. “It Jewish person to serve on the Supreme seemed unreal that such an influen- Court. During her 27 years on the court, Ginsburg’s legal detial and amazing person cisions protected LGBTQ+ who had done so much for rights to marriage, women’s the country and who myreproductive rights, equal pay, self and many others had disability rights, environmenlooked up to all our lives tal rights and voting rights was gone. I was also scared and mandated that the Virabout what her death would ginia Military Institute open mean for the future of the its doors to women. She upcountry. Needless to say, the held the Deferred Action for rest of the walk was pretty white’s Childhood Arrivals (DACA) quiet.”

Mia program this June.

Ginsburg passed away Hutchinson ’21 Mia Hutchinson ’22 said due to complications with pancreatic cancer Sept. 18, Rosh Ha- she admired Ginsburg for her determination and leadership. shanah’s eve. She was 87. “[Ginsburg] was an example of who A leader in the 1970s fight for women’s rights, Ginsburg broke down I want to be: a relentless woman who many misogynistic barriers in the years wouldn’t back down until change was before her 1993 Supreme Court nomi- made,” Hutchinson said. “I admire nation. The first female member of the her courage to persevere in such a Harvard Law Review, Ginsburg was male-dominated environment regardone of nine women in her Harvard less of the misogyny and anti-Semiclass of 500. After transferring to Co- tism she faced. To me, she was a womlumbia Law School, she graduated first an who helped give women like me in her class; however, in spite of her ac- rights, whether that be in control of ademic excellence, no law firm would our own bodies or just the overarching hire her because she was a woman, a umbrella of making such vast strides to mother and Jewish. Eventually, Gins- end gender-based discrimination.”

Associate Head of School Laura burg landed a clerkship with a judge, Ross said that Ginsburg will be recatalyzing her career.

Ginsburg’s work as an attorney was membered for her passion and drive.

“Justice Ginsburg was a complete dedicated to promoting equality for women and all people by changing inspiration to me,” Laura Ross said. “I federal and state laws. As a co-found- especially appreciated her emphasis on er of the Women’s Rights Project at making sure one’s life’s work had a posthe American Civil Liberties Union itive impact on the issues of the larger (ACLU), Ginsburg was involved in world and not just as a means to enrich over 300 gender discrimination cases oneself. She also took the long view and won five of the six brought before and recognized that even in dissent she was hopefully laying the groundthe Supreme Court.

To Simon Lee ’23, Ginsburg’s col- work for justice in the future for the lege and early law accomplishments issues she believed in. I’m sad for her family and for the legions of women serve as an inspiration.

“The list of landmark cases she ar- and girls who looked up to her as an gued before the court is ridiculously inspiration.”

For many students, Ginsburg’s passlong, but one that stands out to me is

ing represents a time of great fear and for how much worse [things] could get uncertainty. Senate Majority Leader if the Supreme Court were to be conMitch McConnell announced his in- servative-leaning or if Trump were to tention to confirm a new Supreme be elected again.”

Court Justice before the election. SucHoping to persuade officials to cess in appointing President Donald leave Ginsburg’s seat open, Wright said Trump’s chosen nominee would create she used social media to distribute ina 6-3 conservative majority within the formation on how to contact senators Supreme Court, which could overturn and representatives. laws previously upheld by Ginsburg.

“I also stressed the need for votTrump nominated Judge Amy ing, especially following [Ginsburg’s] Coney Barrett for the U.S. Court of death, and tried to make registering Appeals for the 7th Circuit on Sept. [and] pre-registering more accessible 26. McConnell’s suggestion and a re- to my friends and family,” Wright ligious conservative favorite, Barrett is said. “[I] reminded some of my family known for her staunch opposition of members to vote [and] checked in to pro-abortion legislapersuade them if they ture and the Affordweren’t planning on able Care Act. voting.”

[Ruth Bader Only two RepubFor Hutchinson, a Ginsburg] knew how lican Senators—Sumajority conservative important it was that san Collins and Lisa Supreme Court poses Murkowski—have a danger to her own she stayed alive, [and] announced opporights and the rights of she selflessly clung to sition to voting on others. her life for that reason.”

Trump’s pick before “As someone who Nov. 3. relies heavily on birth —Eve Levy ’22 control to get through “My most fervent wish is that I will not daily life, I’m terrified be replaced until a new president is I will no longer have access and live in installed,” Ginsburg said to her grand- extreme pain,” Hutchinson said. “As a daughter just days before her death, woman of color, I’m terrified that race NPR reported. will become more and more enforced Rushing the appointment of Gins- to create separation. I fear more disburg’s replacement would be an insult criminatory laws will be set in place to all that she fought for, Eve Levy ’22 and more and more hate crimes begin said. to shoot up. Although I am not part “[Ginsburg] knew how import- of the LGBTQ+ community, I am so ant it was that she stayed alive, [and] worried that their rights to literally she selflessly clung to her life for that exist will become illegal like in some reason,” Levy said. “It concerns me other countries. There’s so much that to think that the Supreme Court may could happen, and frankly, I’m so have a conservative majority. I hate to scared for the future.” think that Trump and McConnell can As people mourn Ginsburg’s passtake advantage of her death. It feels ing and worry about the implications like dishonoring her memory.” for the election and the future of the Ash Wright ’22 said her fears con- Supreme Court, it depends on Amercerning a conservative Supreme Court ican citizens to continue Ginsburg’s have been at the forefront of her mind legacy, former Empower Club leader since she learned of Ginsburg’s passing. Dahlia Low ’20 said.

“I don’t think I fully got the time “Anyone who knows me knows my to mourn before I was trying to put love for Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Low together resources and things to do said. “Justice Ginsburg has been and considering how important her specif- always will be my biggest role model ic presence on the Supreme Court was and greatest hero. From her decisions and all the possibilities of things that on landmark cases to her part in the could happen considering her pass- creation of the ACLU women’s sector, ing,” Wright said. “As a [person of col- I am so grateful to her for being a guidor] and woman, [thinking] about how ing light in the fight for equality under Trump and the Republican party have the law for all people. It is now up to tried to make attacks against those dif- us to continue the fight [she] started. ferent groups in the past, I’m worried May her memory be a revolution.”

“

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

B8 Features

Oct. 14, 2020

The Chronicle

Members of the school community reflect on how the current political climate has affected their mental health.

By Quincey Dern and Alec Rosenthal

including the Trump wall and the Middle East immigration ban and reluctantly condemned white suWhen Head Prefect Jonathan premacy. The actions of the Trump Cosgrove ’21, who had been pre-reg- administration have impacted peoistered to vote for months, turned ple differently. Upper School English 18, he frantically reloaded his web teacher Jocelyn Medawar said she browser to confirm his registration. avoids watching the nightly news for Cosgrove had one thing on his mind: her mental well-being.

“I think the last few years have voting in the 2020 presidential elecbeen incredibly stressful, personally, tion.

“I am so excited I can finally vote,” [and] anxiety-producing,” Medawar Cosgrove said. “I’ve always tracked said. “I try not to watch the news at politics closely, so being able to exer- night now. That was never the case cise my democratic right and have an before. It’s hard to see the whole idea impact on the course of the United of civil discourse fall spectacularly apart in a participatory democracy.”

States is something really special.”

Members of the school commuTo Cosgrove, an aspiring politician, becoming a first-time voter nity viewed the first Presidential Desymbolizes more than a right of pas- bate of 2020, which Medawar called a debacle. Thomas Schramm ’20 who sage in his civic engagement.

“There are so many [issues] on the has participated in Youth Governballot this year that go beyond the ment said he felt the debate was demoralizing. individual president,” Cos“I thought it was really grove said. “There are issues disheartening,” Schramm of race, COVID-19, the said. “The debate had little Supreme Court and more to no major policy content, that directly affect the lives and I felt like the whole of millions of Americans— show just devolved into even more so than other personal attacks. What I reelections. In that sense, my ally found to be disturbing vote is more meaningful to white’s were the attacks on Biden’s me and my community this Jonathan son Hunter, along with year.”

Cosgrove ’21 Trump’s jabs at Biden’s inAfter the 2016 electelligence. Trump had abtion, the election amplified stress, anxiety and a sense of help- solutely no respect for his opponent, lessness in Americans, according nor was he willing to take the time to to the Washington Post. The New listen to Biden at all.”

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, York Times also revealed that 55% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans who moderated the debate, said the felt the election was a major source of event was a missed opportunity for stress for them. With the next pres- the United States and that he felt sadidential election less than a month dened by how it played out, according away, many fears are on voters’ to The New York Times. Schramm minds, including voter suppression said that despite a disappointing first in the form of manipulation of mail- debate, he remains optimistic.

“I’m hopeful that [in] future dein ballots, voter intimidation at the polls, the direction of the Supreme bates—though with Trump getting Court, global warming, the manage- corona, I doubt they are still going ment of COVID-19 and a potential to happen—the two candidates [will] post-pandemic recession. Out of the engage in an actual conversation, not 172 students who responded to a just personal attacks,” Schramm said.

Chronicle poll, 135 answered that the “I am a big fan of Biden, so I hope current political climate has affected he can step up his game in the next their stress levels. Of the 156 students debate.”

Audrey Perkins ’23, who also who shared their political party, 117 identify as Democrats, 10 identify as viewed the debate, said Trump’s beRepublicans and 29 affiliate them- havior during the event further unselves with other political ideologies. derscored the importance of voting Over the course of President him out of office.

“Politics right now is a mess,” PerTrump’s term, he has withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement, kins said. “The way Trump behaved supported anti-immigration policies during the debate was unpresiden-

tial. He refused to condemn white “I have been helping get young supremacy and, instead of talking people registered to vote,” Perkins about his policies, decided to make said. “With how polarized the eleclow blows at Biden’s sons. I think the tion is this year and what’s at stake, debate really showed how important it’s really important that everyone it is for everyone to vote if they can.” who is able to vote does. Our generaChad Bacon ’22 said he felt disap- tion has a very low voter turnout, and pointed by the debate and the behav- we shouldn’t be leaving the election iors of both Trump and Biden. in the hands of Gen X or the Baby “The immaturity displayed by not Boomers since it is our futures that just President Trump, but also Joe are at stake.”

Biden really frustrated me,” Bacon Schramm is also encouraging peosaid. “I know it is difficult [to remain ple to vote, though not out of the calm], but I expected [the former] same worry as Perkins.

Vice President to be able to keep “I wouldn’t say that the current his cool and not stoop down to the political climate has had any major games Trump was playing.” impact on my mental health; I think Bacon said his mental health has everyone feels slightly under duress also been impacted negatively by cur- because of everything going on,” rent politics. Despite this, he said he Schramm said. “I do think that the has persisted by staying tuned in to Presidential election has definitely the world around him. had an energizing factor, but I also “The current political climate wouldn’t say that it has had an abdefinitely has pronormal effect. My vided me moments friends and I have of frustration and been running a I think the last sadness,” Bacon said. whole bunch of onfew years have been “But overall, ever line voter registraincredibly stressful, since [then], I started tion events, but we to educate myself [on do them every elecpersonally, [and] current politics] for tion, so I wouldn’t anxiety-producing.” multiple hours daily, say that the current which began about —Jocelyn Medawar political climate has nine months ago.” a particularly English Teacher had The increased pomotivating effect.” litical awareness can Like Perkins and directly correlate with an increase in Schramm, Medawar is also taking stress and relationship disturbanc- action by enhancing her knowledge es, according to a study conducted of ongoing social justice campaigns,

by The Wall Street Journal in 2019. such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) As the election is less than a month movement. away, Perkins said her worries for its “I’ve been educating myself about outcome are increasing, and she fears African American history, [which] I what a second Trump term could was always keenly aware of but that look like.

I never really understood as well as “[The election] is adding some I should,” Medawar said. “There are stress on top of everything, but the people out there in BLM and in othmost I can do is be hopeful for the er groups who are incredibly inspirafuture,” Perkins said. “As the election tional. I appreciate the public figures gets closer I am starting to worry who know what it means to fight for more and more, but overall I am do- something, as opposed to fighting ing okay.” just to hear their own voices.”

Although youth have become Politics aside, Medawar said she more aware of political and social hopes her students will learn from issues in recent decades, younger cit- meaningful examples of leadership izens are statistically less likely to ex- to become well-rounded members of ercise their right to vote, according to society. a data accumulation from an analysis “As my students know, I’ve by the Pew Research Center prior to been citing the late R.B.G. lately,” the 2016 presidential election. Per- Medawar said. “‘Fight for the things kins said that despite her feelings of that you care about, but do it in a way frustration with the current political that will lead others to join you.’ If all climate, she feels energized to take the tools of their education boil down action. to that, I’ll be happy.”

“

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

Arts &Entertainment The Chronicle • Oct. 14, 2020

Art is at the forefront of activism in the upsurge of the racial justice movement; teachers and students discuss the prevalence of art in activism.

By Caitlin Muñoz

geles area since the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter moAs Lena Bagley ’22 walked vement. She said she enjoyed to her local grocery store June seeing new art amplifying 14, she passed a long processi- the voices of transgender and on of protesters turning onto queer people of color in her Fairfax Avenue, brandishing city and appreciates the message behind signs emblathe new street zoned with mural. the phrase

To me, street art “ W h a t “All Black Listruck me abois incredibly important ves Matter.”

The following because it allows artists ut [this mural] is the way it day, Bagley to have a voice.” highlights innoticed the phrase again, —Katherine Holmes- tersectionality and unity this time in Chuba, Honors Art in the Black the form of a History Teacher community,” large and briBagley said. ghtly-colored “It forces the street mural on Hollywood Boulevard. She public to face the bigger pilater discovered that this mural cture and the bigger problem, was a tribute to the transgen- which we see in the police der people of color who have system as a whole.”

Bagley also said she has lost their lives due to police come to view street art as brutality.

Despite a recent rise in more than just a means of prostreet art advocating for the test and feels it is also a way of Black Lives Matter movement, rewriting and sharing history this mural was the first perma- from diverse perspectives.

“I think the location [of nent memorialization in Los Angeles dedicated to trans- the mural] is great because so gender members of the Black many more people will have community. On the morning the opportunity to see it,” Baof the June 14 protest, vo- gley said. “This [protest] was a lunteers painted the words moment in our community’s “All Black Lives Matter” on history and should be commethe street in the colors of the morated as such, and the art transgender, non-binary and should reflect the history of L.G.B.T.Q. flags, as well as the [Los Angeles]. I would hope yellow which has come to re- the mural was organized by present the Black Lives Matter Black artists who can memomovement. While the origi- rialize the event accurately and nal mural was intended to be as they see fit.”

Sammy Kimball ’21 said temporary, a permanent copy has been installed between that while she supports the Highland Avenue and Oran- message of the mural, she doge Drive, commemorating the esn’t view the art as capable of effectively initiating change in march.

Bagley said she has observed the fight against racial injustian increase in powerful street ce. Kimball said she believes art throughout her neighbor- there are better ways for actihood and the wider Los An- vists to support members of

“

the Black community than to most art gives people a voice fund street art and to donate to share their own stories and to Democratic fundraising speak out against injustice, it platforms, such as ActBlue. has also played a role in depi“I have no problem with cting a skewed account of the street art,” Kimball said. “We country’s narrative, as seen in live in a city full of beautiful the controversial Confederate and diverse street art and ar- monuments. tists. I think people “I think a lot should be able to put of people are just up the things they want unaware of the in order to spread their history [behind messages, and the methe Confederate ssage about Black lives monuments] and mattering is a beautiful think that they and important one. I were built right afjust don’t think that ter the Civil War, [activists] are helping but they were not,” white’s the community in the Holmes-Chuba Adrienne ways they should be said. “They are Usher ’22 and could be. It seems very much a delipurely political to me, for if berate attempt to reclaim and they truly wanted to help the re-narrate a history. I’ve been community, they would put having this conversation with that money into infrastructu- a lot of my peers who, when re, higher education, Black they studied American history, businesses and job opportuni- didn’t really question it. But ties instead of ActBlue.” that’s part of our history.”

Honors Art History teacAdrienne Usher ’22 said art her Katherine Holmes-Chu- may serve to create an accuraba stressed the importance of te history of the U.S. in the open conversations about the future, but up to this point, role of art in activism and said it has played an active role in that street art is becoming shifting the narrative of the more significant as artists country’s foundation. attempt to paint a new and ac“I think that art has been curate history. a long-needed response to a “What’s great about [street history that has been overly art] is it’s opening up con- simplified in our school boversations about these topics, oks,” Usher said. “We’ve had and people are finally talking many conversations about the and not just passing and ob- Confederate monuments in serving [without] saying anyt- my history class, and I’ve come hing about it,” Holmes-Chuba to the conclusion that we need said. “To me, street art is in- to remember all of our history credibly important because it but not venerate the bad parts. allows artists to have a voice. There’s no point in trying to There are so many street artists dumb down the fact that slawho talk about inequalities. very is a big factor in the founIt’s not something that began dation of our country. The art with Black Lives Matter, but it is just a reminder of what has has become much more preva- happened in the past, and that lent now.” the pain can’t necessarily fade Holmes-Chuba said while with time.”

illustrations by sydney fener and chloe schaeffer

C2 Arts and Entertainment

The Chronicle

Oct. 14, 2020

Celebrity culture, which is on the rise, has often sparked outrage. Students and industry professionals discuss the realities of cancel culture.

culture” mostly take issue with it because they believe it robs When Jonathan Groff, a people of a chance to grow, writer on the hit show “Black- change and defend themselves. ish,” first met Louis C.K., they “I think that the most probwere working together on Late lematic and unproductive side Night with Conan O’Brien. of it is when it’s entirely online Groff said that while C.K. and driven by virtue signaling,” seemed to have a dark side Levy said. “A major flaw is that to him, he never could have people will not provide the perimagined the public back- son they are criticizing any real lash his peer opportunity would eventuto improve. I

Once you ally face. Now, also think that apologize, people still with “cancel rather than get to decide whether or creating culture” drawacnot your apology was ing worldwide countability controvers y, or any meangood and if they want Groff said ingful impact, to accept it.” he’s reevalupeople can just —Felicity Phelan ’21 get caught up ating how he thinks about in the heat of the judgment of celebrities and the moment and disproportheir actions. tionately punish someone even “It was when their impact is largely inv e r y significant.” interOthers, like Jonah Anschell esting ’23, said they believe that “canh o w cel culture” is often motivated the term purely by political vendettas. ‘politically correct’ became “I think cancel culture, while like an epithet, and it’s simi- theoretically sound in certain lar to the term ‘cancel,’ which situations, can sometimes be started as a snarky shorthand misappropriated and used by for ‘I don’t want to engage with groups who, instead of trying this anymore,’” Groff said. to expose legitimately discrimi“Now it has become weapon- natory or problematic organizaized, where people are accusing tions, businesses or individuals, others without nuance.” use it as a political tool against Eve Levy ’22 said that she those which they disagree with,” defines this form of backlash Anschell said. “It becomes more as a phenomenon that exists and more of a divisive and delargely online. structive tool than it is a con“I would say that cancel structive one.” culture in my view is the mass Though there are some who criticism, harassment and ‘boy- believe that “cancel culture” has cott’ of a person for an action obvious flaws, others do not deemed to be motived by big- consider it a major issue. Levy, otry via social media,” Levy for example, questions its actual said. impact.

She said that “What I would classify as fans and cancel culture mostly targets cec r e a t o r s lebrities, which is why I think it alike who can often be meaningless,” Levy come out said. against Other than people who have “ c a n c e l been convicted of crimes, like

By Sydney Fener

“

producer Harvey Weinstein, or support or enrich those peothere have been few conse- ple, that’s just the social marketquences for people who are place of ideas.” “canceled” by the internet. UsuThis, Groff said, is the truth ally, their punishment is limited behind “cancel culture.” Groff to mean tweets and a few weeks said that because society is so of public outcry. According to inundated with the presence of CNN, the dust then settles, and celebrities, and they’re so visible the “canceled” celebrity gets and audible, people are hearing back to their career. Groff said more and more things from that since he believes the victims them that they don’t like. He are mostly wealthy, said he believes that powerful people, this constant exposure the small, toxic area causes consumers to of the internet that stop supporting those might actively seek celebrities, which is to ruin celebrities their own decision. does not represent Celebrities are pubthe majority. He said lic figures, and the white’s he believes this public things they say are Eve outcry against “cancel available for the pubLevy ’22 culture” has culmilic to judge and internated in the demonization of pret, Felicity Phelan ’21 said. accountability.

Phelan said they believe When people are examining that celebrities are and analyzing a cultural pattern allowed to say such as cancel culture, Natalie what they Ayeni ’21 said it’s crucial to want, but consider how it’s grown and c o n s u m changed. ers are also “Canceling someone has allowed to gone from a necessary thing to react negahold those in positions of power tively. accountable to a buzzword used “For celebrias a catch-all for anyone who is ties, I don’t believe aptly dealt with for being racist, “cancel culture” actually sexist or otherwise genuinely exists—if you decide to stop problematic,” Ayeni said. being a fan of and supporting Groff echoed this sentiment, an artist because you think saying the patterns of behavior their music dropped in qualthat make up “cancel culture” ity, or they acted poorly in a may simply be a means of hold- role or they wore an outfit to ing public figures accountable. an event you thought looked “[Cancel culture] plays a bad, then that’s considered role because that term activates just a normal part of fame and a bunch of people who get en- celebrity,” Phelan said. “But ergized by that,” Groff said. “I when people stop supporting don’t know if cancel culture is celebrities because they say a real thing aside from people something that offended them who say, ‘I don’t really want to or they thought was tasteless, interact with your work because suddenly that’s ‘cancel culture’ you bum me out.’ I don’t really and some huge societal probknow if that’s cancel culture. I lem to be solved. Once you think it’s kind of people going, apologize, people still get to ‘I’m done.’ Accountability is a decide whether or not your real thing, and whether people apology was good and if they choose to continue to validate want to accept it.”

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SYDNEY FENER

Oct. 14, 2020

hwchronicle.com/a&e

A&E C3

Three seniors have taken advantage of their free time in quarantine to combine their creative passions with charitable spirit.

By Mimi Landes

Ben Brill ’21 Fashion Designer

Emma Walther’s ’21 interest in baking has only grown during quarantine. She said that her family inspired her to pick up the hobby in the first place.

“My mom is from Kentucky, so it’s always just been a part of my life,” Walther said. “Both my parents are really good cooks, and so I took on the role of baking.”

Grace Shin ’21 Crocheter

Ben Brill ’21 has been designing his own clothes since he was in tenth grade and only recently began selling his handmade T-shirts.

“Usually the pieces I make are made to fit me,” Brill said. “This time, I wanted to make something that others could wear too.”

Brill said that because he is passionate about fashion, he decided designing T-shirts was the best way to earn money.

Brill said he came up with the concept for his shirts

Walther said baking helps her cope with the boredom and stress of life in quarantine.

“Recently, my mom has been making me bake lemon bars, so those are something I really like to bake,” Walther said, “Obviously, chocolate chip cookies and brownies are always fun and easy to make.”

Walther said she

while watching the movie “Christiane F.” “I saw a black-andwhite poster of a woman in the back of a scene and loved it, so I asked who it was in the comments,” Brill said. “It turned out to be [the radical German journalist] Ulrike Meinhof. The graphic focused on themes of criminal justice reform but was made before the protests.

I thought the coincidence was interesting and also that it was my strongest piece, so I went with it.”

Brill said he created

initially began selling her baked goods and donating the proceeds to The Black Lives Matter Foundation and Allies for Every Child with the help of her dad.

“At the beginning of quarantine, especially at the beginning of the summer, I had so much time, and I was doing absolutely nothing,” Walther said. “It was actually my dad’s

Grace Shin ’21 has been crocheting since she was in third grade and started out by creating very simple designs, before developing more advanced pieces. During quarantine, Shin said she crocheted many pieces, including an elephant stuffed animal, a pair of socks and a collection of mini whale and penguin keychains. Shin said she has relied on crocheting mainly to relieve stress

the design for his T-shirts right before school ended but did not physically make the shirts until June, after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“In light of [George Floyd’s] murder, I decided to donate all of the profits from the project,” Brill said. “I donated the profit from the project to The Equal Justice Initiative.”

The Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization founded by lawyer and social justice

idea to start selling my baked goods and donating the profits.”

Walther said she clearly remembers the first cake she ever sold.

Since no bakeries in her area were open, her neighbors asked her to bake a baptism cake.

“It was so rewarding to be able to bake something so meaningful for a family I adore,” Walther said.

and provide her with entertainment.

“As long as I have yarn, I don’t even need to go anywhere, ” Shin said. “I definitely have been crocheting more in quarantine because I have more time and because it’s such a relaxing activity.”

Shin said that crocheting is special because it is a personal and meaningful way to give someone a gift.

“The best part of cro-

activist Bryan Stevenson, works to preserve fundamental human rights and end excessive punishment and mass incarceration in the U.S. by providing legal representation to those who have been wrongly treated.

“After learning about Bryan Stevenson through his book [and] movie, ‘Just Mercy,’ and hearing him on some podcasts, I was inspired by his work and thought his organization would be the best one to give [the proceeds] to,” Brill said.

Emma Walther ’21 Baker

cheting is being able to share my creations,” Shin said. “[Making homemade crafts] is a really nice way to show that you put a lot of time and effort into a product.”

Shin is also part of a group called Crocheters United for Change and sells some of her creations on Etsy. Through CUFC, she donates the proceeds to Leaders United for Change, a non-profit organization

founded by Lyon Chung ’21 that provides younger students with academic and extracurricular support. “[Leaders United for Change] is donating money to bridge the technology gap for students,” Shin said. “All the people in Crocheters United for Change are part of Leaders United for Change as tutors, so we all just decided to do this as well for the organization.”

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JULIA IM AND CHLOE SCHAEFFER

C4 Arts and Entertainment

The Chronicle

Oct. 14, 2020

HW Project allows for students to collaborate creatively in quarantine

By Keira Jameson

to join the time capsule project.

Martin said participants have the The performing arts depart- opportunity to answer a few quesment created the first ever HW tions, such as what has mattered Project, a multi-media time cap- most to them during quarantine, sule that will allow the Upper what people should know about School commuthem, what nity to reflect on It could have music, they would the entire year and tell their fuit could have fine art, it express themselves ture selves could have animation—it’s and how they through different up to whatever talent they would define means, includwant to bring to express ing storytelling. their 2020 themselves.”

The project is stuexperience. dent-centered, but Meetings Michele Spears the entire operabeing Performing Arts Teacher are tion is co-directed held after by performing arts teacher Mi- school and on Sundays in Octochele Spears and Broadway veter- ber, but students participating in an Jennifer Leigh Warren. the project are also able to perIn a school-wide email sent sonalize their schedules dependout Aug. 26, performing arts ing on their extracurriculars. The teacher Aaron Martin said no final time capsule product is set artistic experience is necessary to premiere via live-stream at the

“

end of the calendar year.

Alon Moradi ’21, a performing arts student, said the project is still in the planning stages, though he has an idea of what it will eventually become in the future.

“We just started the twoweek workshop period, and this is helping us to brainstorm the stories we are choosing to tell and how we tell them,” Moradi said.

“Eventually, we will be working on student-created multimedia material, and it will be made into a creative film at the end of the process.”

New to the school community, Warren said she is grateful for the opportunity to be a co-director and is very impressed by the work the students are willing to put in.

“This is my first time here—

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

[Spears] brought me in on this project, and I’m just blown away,” Warren said. “I’m so excited. I’m just happy that she made the phone call.”

Spears echoed the idea that the project is completely up to the student members, and she said the final product is still unknown to those involved. The project is all about them and is

open to interpretation.

“The time capsule was used as a prompt to get their ideas going,” Spears said. “If we were going to create this, the final project would be a video, but it could have dance in it, it could have music, it could have fine art, it could have animation—it’s up to whatever talent they want to bring to express themselves.”

In this issue, members of the Arts and Entertainment section introduce the Reviews Column. Students share their opinions on newly released films and explain how they feel these movies are affecting the current political and social climate in the United States.

“‘Boys State’ is vicious.”

By Harry Tarses

A24’s 2020 documentary “Boys State” is a profound, compelling and important look at American politics through the eyes of its youth, proving itself to be a must-see film in election season.

The movie follows 1000 boys as they travel to Austin, Texas for an annual political event called Boys State.

The concept is simple enough: upon arrival, the group is split into two parties, The Nationalists and the Federalists.

Over the course of the week, the teams must create an agenda, decide on a campaign manager and delegates for their party and most importantly nominate a governor, who will eventually go head-to-head with the other party’s nominee. It is a captivating concept, and even a general survey of the event would have been a passable film. What makes “Boys State” so irresistible, though, is the individuals it chooses to focus on and the story that their combined experiences tell.

The film is centered around four boys, all with unique backgrounds and personalities. Their diversity is obvious, as white conservatives make up a large majority of the population in Boys State. The individual who represents that majority is Robert McDougall. The most eye-catching of all the central characters, he’s handsome, charismatic and dead-set on becoming governor.

Steven Garza is the polar opposite of McDougall. He’s heavyset and shy, a member of the Latinx community and almost completely overlooked throughout the first day of the convention. You almost pity him, yet when he takes the stage, everything changes—all his insecurities are shed and he speaks with an overwhelming eloquence and charisma.

With his words, Garza seems to transcend the conference, the film itself and speak directly to the viewer.

The final two boys are Rene Otero and Ben Feinstein. Despite the obvious rivalry between McDougall and Garza, Otero and Feinstein are the true enemies. Serving as each party’s head, the two work tirelessly behind the scenes to push their candidate to victory and hinder their opponent in any way possible.

With the cast of characters established in almost fictional convenience, the story begins, twisting and turning its way through the week-long convention.

With each debate, conference and covert strategic meeting, it becomes increasingly clear just how impressive these four boys are, whether they’re wrangling or riling up thousands of others.

For all its crisp editing and riveting storytelling, the film’s greatest achievement lies in the questions it asks and the themes it uncovers.

One can look at McDougall in 10 minutes in and say: “That’s George Bush in a 17-year-old’s body,” but the truth is, he’s a 17-year-old in a 17-year-olds body. The true thematic crux is that these are just kids. True, it’s inspiring to see the future of America is so politically capable, but at the same time, it’s almost scary.

The Boys State is vicious. For all the confidence it inspires to probe these kids’ minds, it becomes clear how deeply and darkly politics has manifested itself in American youth.

When he lies about his views to get the support of the majority, McDougall defends himself in a confessional, saying “That’s politics, I think.”

No matter how intelligent the boys are, they are really just kids playing at politics. They are imitating what, in their mind, it means to run a government. That this imitation revolves around deceit sends a powerful message about America.

“Boys State” sends an urgent message, a cry for help, for political bipartisanship­—before it’s too late.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF AND JULIA IM

‘Mulan’ neglects global problems, falls short of lofty expectations in remake

By Karen Wu

With questionable writing and external controversies, Disney brings dishonor to its live-action “Mulan” by mishandling human rights issues, Chinese customs, feminism and the material from the original animated version.

Based off the Chinese legend Hua Mulan, the film tells the story of a young woman, Mulan (played

by Yifei Liu), who struggles with societal expectations for women in an imperial China. When the Rouran tribal kingdom invades, Mulan takes the place of her ailing father in the army. Aiding the invaders is Xianniang (played by Li Gong), a witch shunned by imperial China.

Movies do not exist separately from societal issues, and “Mulan” has faced boycotting calls because of its association with Chinese human rights violations. Liu posted on social media in 2019 supporting the Hong Kong police, who used force to quell pro-democracy protests. In the movie credits,

Disney thanks several Chinese government entities working to detain over one million Uighur Muslims, an ethnic minority living in the Xinjiang Province.

Disney’s weak stance on the Mainland Chinese government’s human rights violations and its casting of a popular Chinese actress come across as attempts to court the Mainland Chinese audience. However, Disney even misses that mark by hiring white New Zealand director Niki Caro and littering the film with historical inaccuracies. For example, the original Mulan was born in northern China. However, Disney’s live-action Mulan lives in a “tulou” house from the southern Fujian province.

Some plot points in the movie felt contrived, such as (spoiler alert) Xianniang’s death after she switches to Mulan’s side. Xianniang died stopping an arrow from hitting Mulan, which was unnecessary considering Mulan consistently dodges arrows throughout the film. It felt as though the writ-

ers couldn’t figure out what to do with Xianniang and chose to get rid of her. The death goes against the movie’s feminist message, considering Xianniang was the only other woman Mulan had significant interactions with other than Mulan’s mother and sister, who had few lines of dialogue throughout the course of the movie.

Though the fight scenes were enjoyable and the set and costume designs were striking, the movie was dry when there wasn’t any combat. Because the live-action movie excluded Mushu, a character who served as comedic relief in the animated movie, it was also less engaging.

With dry writing, plot points contradictory to feminism and a refusal to stand up against the Mainland Chinese government’s human rights violations, Disney fails at both crafting an entertaining movie and navigating social issues. Disney’s blunders make “Mulan” barely decent at best and downright infuriating at worst for a wide range of audiences.

Sports The Chronicle • Oct.14, 2020

Despite the start of practices on campus, athletes have chosen to stay home and feel unable to adequately bond with teammates.

By Amelia Scharff

Field hockey player Iris Huang ’21 hasn’t been going to practice out When point guard Melissa Zozu- of caution and has missed the daily lenko ’21 packed her bag on the last interactions with her teammates.

“I think it hasn’t affected me too day of in-person school, she didn’t realize she would have to say good- negatively, but there’s definitely an asbye to her basketball team for over six pect of missing the support I get just by being with them every day and the months.

Since then, she has been isolated comfort of knowing that they’re there from the majority of her teammates for me,” Huang said.

Even though sports have partially and coaches, even though she has recently returned to the court for her resumed on campus, COVID-19 club team. In addition to missing her cancellations of sports trips and traditions have made it diffifriends, whom she normally spent hours with every day, cult for players to bond as she couldn’t release her a team. stress through basketball The girls field hockey practice. team missed out on their “I was really used to seeannual trip to Florida this ing them everyday and havSummer, but Huang said ing basketball be an outlet, team bonds were not affectso it was inevitably hard on ed, as no new players were me at first, but keeping in added to the roster. contact with them whenev“I think not going to er we can has helped mutuFlorida hasn’t affected us Jack ally,” Zozulenko said.

Weisskopf ’21 much this year since no one Even though sports have new’s been brought up bepartially resumed on camcause there hasn’t been able pus, many students have not been to be tryouts, so we all already know able to come to practices because of each other well,” Huang said. “We’re concerns about COVID-19. all good friends on and off the field so Without traditional practices, it wasn’t much of a big deal.” teams are missing out on the small Despite field hockey player Sayet vital daily interactions that al- rina Smolev ’22 returning to the field low players to bond. Subsequently, with her team on the upper school players said team morale and their campus, many of her other teammental health have been negatively mates haven’t gone to practice. She impacted. said this absence makes team bonding very difficult and ultimately affects the team’s performance.

“A lot of the team hasn’t come to practice, so we haven’t been able to bond and practice as a full team,” Smolev said. “It’s also been a challenge playing again after having our training season and summer practices canceled.”

Football and basketball player Jack Weisskopf ’21 said he has found it hard to be seperated from his teammates, especially since it is his senior

year season.

“Not being around my teammates and coaches has definitely been tough because these people are my extended family and having all of this uncertainty around my senior year of athletics has been hard,” Weisskopf said.

Even though COVID-19 has restricted team bonding, the majority of players have already spent at least a year playing with and getting to know their team. However, this is not the case for the freshman class, and many said it has been especially difficult for them to adjust to a new team in such a volatile environment.

Jasmine Tang ’24 said she has struggled to get to know her new teammates due to the limitations of practicing during the pandemic.

“It is more difficult to connect with the rest of my team, but having practices together helps a lot,” Tang said. “We get to see each other almost every day, but it’s much different than seeing each other when we walk around campus. It’s nice, but all the precautions make it less natural.”

Players said that getting back into the swing of practice has brought hardships due to this lack of community. Weisskopf admits that there have been obvious challenges to teamwork.

“I would say that the lack of time that we have spent together obviously has affected our ability to collaborate with each other and also get to know the newer players on our team, but I think both basketball and football have done a great job in keeping the team camaraderie very high,” Weisskopf said.

Weisskopf, however, said he remains hopeful that team chemistry will improve quickly when a sense of normalcy returns. He said that the strong bonds the football team built prior to the pandemic will help them succeed in these times.

“I think this may only affect our

season in its earlier stages, as it may take some time for us to get back in the swing of things when our sports return to, ‘normal,’” Weiskopf said.

“However, I think our strong relationships with the coaches and players will make this transition period very smooth and quick.”

With over six months separated as a team, players who haven’t returned to in-person practices worry that this lack of morale could impact their seasons negatively.

Zozulenko said she is dissapointed that she is unable to meet with her teammates and worries that the lack of physical togetherness will cause bumps down the road when her team practices resume on campus.

“Despite training on zoom together, I think we will have to work twice as hard in-person to regain the chemistry on the court we had previously,” Zozulenko said.

In the face of the struggles and uncertainties of the pandemic, many students said they are optimistic their seasons will turn out well. Weisskopf said he believes the athletics department has been supportive throughout the reopening process.

“The athletics department as a whole has done an amazing job throughout this COVID period in supporting the players and coaches and giving us the opportunity to return to campus and continue on with practices,” Weisskopf said.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXA DRUYANOFF

D2 Sports

InBrief

Oct. 14, 2020

The Chronicle Alumni

Wolverines engage in virtual tournaments The eSports team will begin their season Oct. 19. While there has been a club for three years, this will be their first competitive season.

“The school gave us permission to compete last Spring. Now, we’ll finally have an opportunity to show off the skills we’ve been developing,” club leader Matthew Redford ’21 said.

-Ben Jacoby

Shooting arrows, even through the pandemic Despite the hurdles of quarantine, archery has managed to continue. Ryan Moon ’21, an archer, has been able to practice a lot in recent months.

“We have held group practices in our individual backyards twice a week,” said Moon. “For these practices, we would be on a Zoom call with our coach and he would comment on our technique as we shot.”

However, since archery ranges have started to open up, the team has begun practicing as a group at their usual training spot in Fountain Valley, while wearing masks and maintaining their distance.

-Danny Johnson

Putting, chipping and driving from a safe six feet of distance Golf courses have been busy since quarantine began: sometimes so busy that golfers have had a harder time getting tee times than before.

“I initially expected to play golf a lot more because of the pandemic but I found that it has been a lot tougher to find tee times because so many more people are playing,” Anthony Holly ’22 said. “However, I have been able to work on my game consistently since COVID began.”

-Ben Jacoby

illustration by alexa druyanoff

Wolverines compete in major league baseball

By Ryan Razmjoo

In the last decade, the school has built a reputation of excellence in baseball, winning multiple championships, including the Mission League in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2018, and the CIF-SS championship in 2013. Many of those players have now gone on to play in the MLB. The most recent standout player was outfielder Pete CrowArmstrong ’20, who was drafted 19th overall in the first round of the 2020 MLB draft by the New York Mets. Crow-Armstrong said he credits much of his success to the school’s baseball program.

“Every player gets to decide what they want their path and future to look like,” CrowArmstrong said. “They control the outcome, but it’s tough to do that alone. At Harvard-Westlake, you have top coaching and everything you can ever hope for.

I attribute much of my success to being at Harvard-Westlake. I set myself up well, but I don’t think it would have turned out like this if I hadn’t gone to HarvardWestlake.”

Crow-Armstrong had previously committed to

Vanderbilt University, but as a top selection in the draft, he decided to go straight to the MLB. In his junior year, Crow-Armstrong had a .426 batting average and hit five triples and three home runs.

Although his senior season was cut short due to the pandemic, Crow-Armstrong batted .514 in 10 games for the Wolverines.

The MLB season was also cut short in 2020, with teams playing only 60 games. Like all young players, Crow-Armstrong expected to debut in the minor leagues, but this was delayed when the all minor league games to be canceled for the remainder of the season. Crow-Armstrong was not the first Wolverine to make it to the MLB. Between the years of 2010 and 2012, the school had three pitchers on the team—Max Fried ’12, Lucas Giolito ’12 and Jack Flaherty ’14—make it to the MLB. All three of these players were coached by the school’s pitching coach, Ethan Katz, who is now the assistant pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants.

Crow-Armstrong shared the benefits of his interactions with other MLB players from the school and how they have guided

him through his MLB process.

“I had conversations with them before the draft," CrowArmstrong said. "They helped a lot. The times they reach out are times you remember, and you apply their advice to your on and off the field work. Max, Lucas and Jack have been very generous with their time to me.

Flaherty pitches for the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent four years playing at the school before being drafted 34th overall in the firstround of the 2014 draft.

Flaherty’s win-loss record is 2322, and he has a 3.37 career ERA. Flaherty was named to the 2019 All-MLB Second Team.

Giolito currently pitches for the Chicago White Sox. He verbally committed to the University of California, Los Angeles, but then decided to skip college and go straight to the MLB, where he was drafted in the first round by the Washington Nationals.

In the beginning of his career with the Nationals, he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair an injury that occured during his senior year at school. Tommy John surgery is a common procedure for pitchers where a ligament in the elbow is replaced with a tendon

from somewhere else in the patient’s body. In 2019, Giolito was selected to the American League All-Star team, where he pitched a scoreless inning. This year, he threw a no-hitter and struck out 13 batters Aug. 25. He became the first player in White Sox history to throw a no-hitter with more than 10 strikeouts.

Max Fried is a left-handed pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.

Similarly to Giolito, Fried committed to UCLA before choosing to go pro and was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the seventh pick of the first round.

In 2014, he was ranked the Padres’ top pitching rising star and their number two overall prospect. Fried missed most of the 2014 and all of the 2015 season because of Tommy John surgery.

He was traded to the Atlanta Braves, briefly skipping AAA. In the 2020 season, he became the first left-handed starting pitcher since Babe Ruth to not allow any home runs for eight games.

As Crow-Armstrong said, it seems that a large part of these players’ success is a testament to their hard work, talent and the school’s baseball program.

LA Sports

Students unite in hopes of winning championships for City of Angels

By Justin Goldstein and Liam Razmjoo

ETHAN LACHMAN/CHRONICLE

UNITED FRONT: Editor-in-Chief Ethan Lachman ’21 and Assistant Sports Editor Ryan Razmjoo ’22 watch the Lakers in the finals.

On a dreary Wednesday afternoon in the middle of quarantine, Collin Assil ’22 sat down in front of his computer to cheer on the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs with his best friends.

As he watched his Lakers, he instantly forgot the challenges that had resulted from the pandemic.

“During quarantine, I really haven’t been able to connect with many of my friends due to wanting to stay safe,” Assil said.

“I have always loved watching Lakers games. I feel like the one good thing to come out of this pandemic has been that I have been able to connect with my friends through sports.”

Although the pandemic raised questions about when athletics would resume, the NBA and MLB Player Associations and

commissioners came together to keep their seasons alive. After a break from play, the NBA resumed in a “bubble” format, in which all NBA staff members and players are confined at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Now that these two major sports have started up again, both the Los Angeles Dodgers and L.A. Lakers are favorites to win their respective titles, according to ESPN. It has been 32 years since the Dodgers won the World Series and the Lakers won the NBA championship in the same year.

“Many of my friends, myself included, are die-hard Lakers fans, so when the Lakers made the playoffs this year, we were all very excited,” Assil said. “It has been so fun watching them dominate especially because they hadn’t been good in a really long time.”

With potential titles on the horizon for L.A. sports teams,

Michael Lapin ’22 said fans are excited about what is to come.

“Now, before every Lakers and Dodgers game, I hold a Zoom call with my closest friends, and we all watch and discuss the game,” Lapin said.

Because fans have not been able to attend in-person sporting events, they have come up with creative, socially distanced ways to enjoy games with their fellow supporters. Students have used videoconferencing to stay in touch and support their teams together. “[In a time of divisiveness], sports offers people an outlet of connection,” Jordan Assil ’22 said.

“The Dodgers and the Lakers both doing really well helps unite the [L.A.] community together.

People of different ethnicities, religions, socio-economic status, political views all ignore their differences in order to root for a common goal.”

Oct. 14, 2020

hwchronicle.com/Sports

Sports D3

inbrief

Fall Sports

Lacrosse all-star takes his talents to Salisbury Simba Makawa ’21 announced his commitment to play lacrosse at Salisbury University Sept. 4th. He said he is excited about the opportunity to play at a higher level.

“I’ve always loved playing up, and I play my best when I’m playing with and against the best,” Makawa said.

Makawa was a midfielder during last year’s season. He said that throughout his high school career, he has enjoyed having a second family with his team.

“It’s nice knowing that your teammates always have your back no matter what,” Makawa said.

—Claire Conner

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF SPORTS RECRUITS

Sun’s Out, Guns Out

AIR JASON: Varsity football player Jason Thompson ’22 participated in several summer workout sessions at Santa Monica beach, together with other players who belong to the Sports Recruits program. Last year, Thompson and the football team finished with a 4-6 record. The season opener is set to happen in January and the team is preparing through socially distanced practices on campus.

Students reflect on in-person practices

By Maxine Zuriff

The school started its first phase of athletic practices Aug. 24, allowing athletes to return to campus while still practicing social distancing protocols.

Athletes in the baseball, boys basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls water polo, field hockey and football programs all made their way back to campus to begin their new seasons.

Field hockey goalkeeper Caitlyn Dovel ’21 attends the practices on campus and said she was eager to get back on the field.

“I was really excited to get back into practice, especially after hearing that we could potentially have a season this winter,” Dovel said. “It was also really nice just being back on campus in general.”

Dovel said she has found socially distanced practices to be more effective than online meetings, during which her team reviewed plays and exercised together on Zoom. However, she said she still feels restricted when ADVERTISEMENT

it comes to training on campus.

“I think practices are generally productive,” Dovel said. “It’s obviously really tough because we are given new guidelines.

Doing shooting drills, for example, is a lot harder to do if we can’t get near each other and feel like we are in the game.

However, it’s a lot better than what we were doing before over Zoom.”

Girls water polo player Ayva Magna ’22 said she believes that in-person practices have helped her get back in shape. Since there was a long period of time when athletes were not practicing, Magna said she believes anything to help her game is effective. She also feels like social distanced practices are similar to practices from previous seasons.

“Even though we’re not allowed any contact, we’re still swimming, passing and shooting,” Magna said. “We’ve been able to get back into shape since we had so much time off, and most of the drills that we’ve been doing are the same as we would be doing during a good portion of our normal practices.”

Football player Anthony

Holly ’22 said he is thankful for the time he gets on campus, since it has prepared him for his upcoming season.

“It is still very productive because we get to learn the plays in-person, and that will help me for the upcoming season,” Holly said. “This will help build a relationship with my coaches and teammates, as well as helping to get my strength and endurance up.”

The school has also placed many restrictions on students who practice on campus, including routine temperature checks. Both Dovel and Magna said they feel that the school is doing all it can to keep the environment safe, but Dovel notices that her teammates come in close contact with each other, especially when pursuing the same ball.

“The only concern would be that players can get too close during some drills, but it’s difficult to enforce that every second of practice,” Dovel said.

“I also think that the players’ contact with the balls and then sharing balls with other players is a little risky too, but [the

school] gives sanitizer to clean the balls.”

Magna said that there are multiple steps that students must clear to practice on campus with the team everyday. Not only are temperatures taken before walking in, but the school also monitors any health issues that may arise.

“Each day we have to fill out a health screening questionnaire that asks about COVID-related symptoms, and if you are cleared to practice, you’ll get an email that you have to show the coaches when you arrive,” Magna said.

Holly said he is grateful for the time he spends with his coaches because they have helped him improve his game immensely. Also, he said he is thankful for their ability to help his team improve as a whole.

“My favorite part about practice so far is the time spent with individual coaches because I get to learn from them and practice their plays,” Holly said.

“I am very thankful that they show up to practice everyday and continue to help our team get better.”

Soccer player commits to Claremont Mckenna Girls’ soccer defender Natalie Phillips ’21 committed to Claremont Mckenna College this past month. Phillips helped the girl’s soccer team go 15-3-3 overall last year. Phillips was also awarded the All-Mission League defensive player of the year.

The girl’s soccer team failed to win CIF last year, but with every player returning this year, they look to make another deep postseason run with the hopes of winning another coveted CIF Championship.

Due to all of the changes from the COVID-19 pandemic, the girl’s season is currently scheduled to start at some point in early March of next year.

—Justin Goldstein

Adeline Jackson ’21 joins USC water polo Adeline Jackson ’21 will join the University of Southern California water polo program to play NCAA Division 1.

Jackson has been on the varsity squad for all four years of her high school career. The water polo team had a record of 18 wins and 15 losses last year, and Jackson, a center, managed to help lead her team to win the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Championship.

Jackson’s final season as a Wolverine is set to commence at the end of December and they have.

—Amelia Scharff

The Chronicle

D4 Sports

Oct. 14, 2020

WOLVERINES ONLY

BY H

FIENE OERLEMANS

ow can I explain to the Harvard-Westlake community what field hockey means to me? Well, that is a difficult question, since not a lot of people are familiar with the sport. Not only are people unfamiliar with field hockey at Harvard-Westlake, but the sport is also relatively unknown in all of America.

However, in the Netherlands, where I am from, field hockey is the most popular sport in the country. My dad was a great field hockey player and first inspired me to pick up a field hockey stick when I was about 6 years old. The field hockey clubs in the Netherlands are very competitive and serve as social communities where most kids spend their childhood playing field hockey and hanging out with their family and friends. I consider my field hockey club my second home, the place I learned to love the sport that I still play today.

Unfortunately, when I was 10 years old, I had to leave this memorable place because I was moving to Los Angeles for my dad's work. It was the biggest change of my life. It took me many years to adapt to my new surroundings because I moved from a small village with a lot of field hockey activity to a large city where most people do not even know what the sport is. The closest field hockey club that I found was 50 miles away from my house, whereas, in the Netherlands, there was a different club every five miles.

Of course, I continued playing field hockey because of my love and passion for the sport. I drove an hour or more four days a week. Looking back, it was definitely all worth it. I met a lot of Dutch friends at the club, with whom I

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF DANIEL MORIARITY

traveled all over the country and whom I love very much. Meeting these people and going to the club reminded me of my life in the Netherlands. It was a place where I could express myself and experience my Dutch culture. It was like a part of my home moved to California with me.

Whenever I was at this club, it felt like I was back at home playing. This is one of the reasons why I love playing field hockey so much and feel so connected to the sport.

I also love field hockey because of the adrenaline and serotonin it produces in me. There is no greater feeling than playing against your biggest competitors and winning. Twice a year, my team and I travel to Palo Alto to play in a tournament.

Our rivals, a team from San Diego, also attend this tournament. I remember one year, it was raining, and we had already played four games that day, and we were all so tired, but we had the championship game left. This game was against our biggest rival, and we wanted to win so badly.

We were all younger than the other team, but we knew that we were more eager to win. After 45 minutes of competing, the buzzer rang, and we had won. We were jumping for joy and could not believe we had just defeated them. It was such an amazing feeling to be standing on that field, hugging my teammates, with the biggest smiles on our faces. That feeling will never be forgotten and is another part of why I love playing field hockey so much.

I think the biggest reason why I love playing field hockey is that the things you learn are not only important for the game but also for life. Being on a team has taught me a lot about commu-

nication, leadership and teamwork. All of these also translate into life lessons and help you become a better student and a better person.

My dad has been the most important person for me during my field hockey career. He introduced me to the sport when I was 6 years old, and he has inspired me to start playing field hockey, which is now a part of my identity. He has traveled across the country with me for field hockey for many tournaments, including Nationals, and for college visits. My dad is my number one fan.

He is there at almost every game he can attend and is always so proud to watch me play. He is also my coach, and I could not ask for a better one. He plays with me every single day in our backyard and has taught me so much over these past few years. My dad does criticize my play a lot, and although this may sometimes be frustrating, I know that I would not be the player that I am today without the help of my father. I am very thankful for the time and effort he puts into making me a better field hockey player and a better person.

I am very proud to announce that during the summer of 2020, I committed to the admissions process at Harvard University for field hockey as a member of the class of 2026. I am so beyond ecstatic and grateful for this opportunity.

It is such a blessing, and I can’t wait to continue my field hockey career throughout college. This has definitely been the best accomplishment of my life so far, and I am so excited to see what Harvard will bring me as a student and as a field hockey player!