May 2016 Issue by The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

CHRONICLE the harvard-westlake

Los Angeles • Volume XXV • Issue VIII • May 25, 2016 • hwchronicle.com

ILLUSTRATION BY VIVIAN LIN

Brentwood video spurs discussions about diversity By Sammi Handler Jesse Nadel

and

After a video surfaced last week of some white students from Brentwood School singing a rap song with the n-word, upper school deans decided to open up a conversation about racial insensitivity among Harvard-Westlake students. “Honestly, this is an issue that I personally feel really strongly about, so when I saw that video, it just stuck with me,” upper school dean Beth Slattery, who is white, said. “I spent a lot of time that night looking at the Change.org petition, reading the comments and feeling that if I didn’t do anything I would just be part of the problem. There are too many times when teachable moments come along and we as a school don’t seize them because things are too busy or it’s too inconvenient.” On May 17, students from Brentwood posted a Snapchat video of some white students

partying on a yacht and singing “Dump Dump” by A$AP Ferg. Other students sent the video to Brentwood administration and posted it to a Change.org petition, calling for disciplinary actions and shedding light on Brentwood’s lack of diversity. Lyrics to the song are explicit, including the refrain caught on tape: “I f***ed your b**** n****, I f***ed your b****.” At a junior class meeting Wednesday, Slattery expressed her indignation of the students’ actions and urged Harvard-Westlake students to be mindful of white privilege, a blind spot for students who have not experienced racism. White students cannot understand the implications of casually saying racist slurs, so they do not have the right to determine how a minority student feels in response to the video or similar situations, Slattery said in her announcement. “Being told the n-word is not that big of a deal (even

when it’s in a song) by someone is black, said. “I know the conwho is not black is disrespect- versations need to be taking ful on so many levels,” Phae- place, because it could easdra Robinson ’17 said. “I think ily happen here with very well Mrs. Slattery said it very well meaning people who just don’t in her talk to the juniors: priv- understand what the issues ilege, in all scenarios, should are. If they don’t understand not give people a pass to feel the issues we can’t necessarlike they can tell others what ily expect them to abide by whatever our they should societal rules and shouldn’t are. We need find offensive.” I think that this something to Administrators, deans incident isn’t something make sure that and students that reflects individually we educate.” Similarly, said that they on those students, some students feel the school believe those needs to fabut really represents a Brentwood stucilitate more bigger problem.” dents themconversations to be proactive —Charles Flippen ’18 selves are not racist, but that rather than rethe video demactive to prejuonstrated a general lack of dice of any kind. “When you think about sensitivity to differences that what Brentwood did, they put has to be changed. “I knew one of the people out the [official school] statement, but we’re talking about who was in the video, and I reaction as opposed to some- guess saying the n-word is thing that’s proactive,” upper racist, but I don’t think in the school dean Chris Jones, who context that they were saying

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it was racist,” Charles Flippen ’18, who is black, said. “I don’t think that they should be expelled or suspended. People at Harvard-Westlake do that all the time when they’re singing a song. It is unfortunate that they thought they could put that on social media and that would be okay, but I think that this incident isn’t something that reflects individually on those students, but really represents a bigger problem.” In a Chronicle poll, 75 percent of students who responded said they have seen the video and 91 percent said that they believe something like this could have happened at Harvard-Westlake. “A video surfaced this year of a [Harvard-Westlake]ninth grader saying the n-word, and just like in the Brentwood case, nothing really happened to him,” Black Leadership and Culture Club Head Nina Milligan ’16 said. “I know that a lot • Continued on page A8

Administration prohibits Peer Support sleepovers INSIDE

By Sharon Chow

Peer Support sleepovers have been prohibited by the administration due to one sleepover last month being “run inappropriately,” counselor and humanities teacher Luba Bek said. While Bek said she would not describe the details of what happened, she did say that several people at the sleepover were uncomfortable with events that occurred and told adults about what happened. These reports prompted the administration to cancel Peer Support sleepovers for at least

the rest of this year and the entirety of next year. “I am extremely disappointed in what happened and very sad,” Bek said. “Not at the fact that there will be no sleepovers but in the fact that people we, as adults, trust and hold on a pretty high pedestal can violate our trust so easily and put down the entire community.” Bek said rumors about inappropriate management of Peer Support sleepovers surfaced last year. “This is high school, and there are all sorts of rumors, so the rumor was circulating last

year that some Peer Support sleepovers steered away from the rules that were very specific and very clear,” Bek said. “We questioned everybody, and we reiterated the premise of peer support sleepovers that we needed to stay safe, sober and confidential, and we reminded over and over again all the leaders and trainees.” The Peer Support leaders in charge of the sleepover at which misbehavior was reported were dismissed from the program. “The leaders of the group are no longer Peer Support leaders,” Bek said. “We asked

them to leave the group, and it was the end of their Peer Support career, and the trainees of the group were put on probation because the trainees were not aware that the incident was authorized by the Peer Support leaders. The result of that is, as of the date we spoke to the administration of the school, there are no more peer support sleepovers this year, next year and indefinitely.” Bek said she is not sure when the issue will be revisited but she thinks that the Peer Support sleepovers were • Continued on page A7

C4 SU JIN NAM /CHRONICLE

CATCHING A RIDE: Many students use Uber instead of a designated driver, possibly leading to increased teen drinking.

A2 News

FAC considers new post-AP activities

The Chronicle

May 25, 2016

By Jonathan Seymour

members agreed that the last few weeks of school seem to be The Faculty Academic a waste for seniors, ultimately, Committee rejected the idea the arguments for maintaining of continuing AP courses for the status quo won out, namely students after exams finish the existing precedent coupled but is still searching for other with the idea that students potential uses of seniors’ look forward to their freedom time during the period in late in late May as a final reward, May between AP exams and and it would seem oppressive graduation. to take it away. “I think the discussion Although AP courses began because there was this aren’t changing next year, concern that somehow we Harvard-Westlake is currently weren’t making a good use of at the very beginning of the the time at the end of the school process of examining other year, and it just seemed like schools’ programs for seniors seniors were just fading out to determine if anything can at the end of the school year,” be translated to HarvardFAC head and math teacher Westlake, though this wouldn’t Kent Nealis said. “That just happen for at least a few years, didn’t feel right to us, so we Nealis said. were trying to find something “There aren’t any useful to do with that time additional meetings of FAC because it sort of just this year, so nothing felt haphazard and dramatic is going to depended on how change next year, many [AP] courses but people are always each senior was floating around the taking, so each senior idea of what other was having a different schools do: capstone experience. That was projects,” Cuseo said. the background for “In a capstone project, this discussion.” you take what you There were ’ learned in a class and arguments for Kent Nealis apply it.” continuing classes Capstone projects after exams and arguments consist of something creative for keeping the current conditions. Nealis said that done by each student to show at one point, students used what he or she learned in to continue AP courses until class, and if implemented at graduation, and at other times Harvard-Westlake, they would the seniors graduated when differ from class to class, Cuseo said. exams ended. Also, students wouldn’t “This year, AP exams fell pretty early, and ideas like necessarily need to come to this tend to happen when school every day to complete APs are pretty early,” upper their projects. Nothing is changing for school dean Sharon Cuseo next year, but in a few years, said. “I don’t think it bothers anybody. In fact, I like that seniors might have the option students like to be here even of culminating their educations when they’re not required to in some meaningful way. “Just because you’ve taken be here. I think that it bothers teachers when students feel a cumulative national test on like it’s an imposition on them government or written a final to attend their classes, and I synthesis on literature, you think that’s the part that’s haven’t learned everything hard, that students do a lot of about political science or [complaining] when they knew solved the evolving challenges that these specific classes of critical close reading,” upper would last all year when they school dean Adam Howard said. “There’s always more signed up for them.” Though some faculty exciting lessons.” nathanson s

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF MIKE BIETZ

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: Nick Steele ’16 and Cameron Cohen ’16 read over and edit their cases in

order to prepare for their debate round in the Tournament of Champions in Lexington, Kentucky.

Debater earns school’s first win at the Tournament of Champions

By Anthony Weinraub

Nick Steele ’16 won the Tournament of Champions, one of the most prestigious debate tournaments of the season, and Cameron Cohen ’16 was named a semifinalist at the tournament May 2. The tournament took place in Lexington, Ky., and it was the first win at this tournament by a Harvard-Westlake student since the debate program was restarted in 2007. Harvard-Westlake is the first school to make it to the finals of the National Debate Coaches Association National Championships, the Woodward Academy Novice Nationals and the Tournament of Champions in the same year. Cohen made it to the finals of the NDCA National Championships, which took place in Orlando April 8-10. The Tournament of Champions featured 92 debaters

from across the country. De- Steele advanced over Cohen baters who earned two qualify- due to his higher seeding. ing bids during the debate sea- Steele was ranked sixth and son were eligible to attend the Cohen was ranked seventh. “I really did feel prepared tournament. Debaters could earn bids by performing at going into the championship, various national tournaments. and I knew we had done all of the work that S t e e l e we could do,” earned eight Cohen said. bids and Cohen I worked for years This year earned seven. was Steele’s Steele beat and years to ultimately and Cohen’s Felix Tan of progress to this third time atClements High point, so winning the tending the School in Houstournament. ton in the finals tournament was really “I felt reon a 2-1 decisurreal.” ally confident sion of a threejudge panel. —Nick Steele ’16 in the preparation my team “It was and I had the best ending to a debate career I could done,” Steele said. “I was more have asked for,” Steele said. excited to debate one more big “I worked for years and years tournament than scared to go to ultimately progress to this into it.” Connor Engel ’17, Evan point, so winning the tournaEngel ’17 and Indu Pandey ’18 ment was really surreal.” Cohen was paired against also attended the tournament Steele in the semifinals, but this May.

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In the issue

Arts & Entertainment GIVE MY REGARDS: Harvard-Westlake upper school choir singers perform Broadway songs in their caberet show. B1

News

TORQUE IT OUT: The AP Physics Band

performed original songs teasing other science classes at the last 1st and 3rd Wednesday Assembly of the year. A4 MUSICAL RESURRECTION: KHWS returns after a three-month-long hiatus due to the shutdown of the regular broadcasting site and will get back to its regular schedule. A7

Opinion

YOU’RE JUST BEING DRAMATIC:

Teen mental health is often overlooked by adults and friends, making it more difficult to reach out for help. A11

Features

LET ME BE PRANK: Senior pranks leave marks on the school and the senior classes who pull them. C8

Sports

IT’S GOING SWIMMING-LY: Breaking

school records and winning CIF, the swim team maintains its place at the top. D1

SU JIN NAM/CHRONICLE

“UBER” DRUNK: The availability of companies such as Lyft and Uber may contribute to teen alcohol abuse since students no longer have the responsibility of driving to and from parties. Continued on C4

The Chronicle, the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School, is published eight times per year and distributed free on both the upper and middle school campuses. There are 727 students at the Middle School and 869 students 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

COMMITTED

TO SUCCESS: Gifted athletes are taking their talents to colleges around the country. See where they are going to continue their legacy. D4

to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 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 Kelly Loeb at kloeb1@hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

MAY 25, 2016

HWCHRONICLE.COM/NEWS

NEWS A3

KHWS returns after hiatus By JOSIE ABUVGOV

NOA SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE

Cum Laude Honors Society inducts seniors in ceremony HONORABLE DISCHARGE: Cum Laude inductee Josh Friedman ’16 shakes President Rick Commons’s hand upon receiving a certiﬁcate of honor for his academic achievements at the school’s Cum Laude Assembly May 16. Fifty-seven seniors were inducted into the National Cum Laude Honors Society this year. Inductees have GPA’s in the top 20 percent of their class. Following the ceremony, seniors and their families attended a reception in the Feldman-Horn gallery.

Amato to assume interim position at private elementary school By SAMMI HANDLER

Vice President of School John Amato will leave Harvard-Westlake to take a new post as the Interim Head of John Thomas Dye School, JTD Board of Trustees President J. David Tracy announced Friday in an email to alumni. John Thomas Dye is a private elementary school in Los Angeles that sent the most seventh graders to Harvard-Westlake for this school year, according to admissions data. He is temporarily replacing Head of JTD Andrea Archer, and after his interim, Amato will return to Harvard-Westlake. “It’s a great choice for them, because no one draws people together better and with more heart than John Amato,” President Rick Commons said.

Amato ﬁrst came to Harvard School in 1978 and was later named the Head of Lower School. After the merger in 1991, he assumed the position of assistant headmaster before his current position as vice president. During his 38-year tenure at the school, Amato has seen three administrative eras, from Harvard School Headmaster Christopher Berrisford to Thomas Hudnut to Commons. Just after the merger, Amato began the 15-year planning process for the middle school modernization project, which resulted in the new middle school campus in 2008. He has also been an integral part of the plans for the new parking garage at the Upper School. Amato currently teaches a seventh grade history class and

coaches middle school boy’s soccer, but in the past he has also worked in admissions, developed curriculum and welcomed students and parents as they arrived at school during morning carpools. “After 18 years of starting my days the same way, it is hard to imagine coming to work and not being greeted by Mr. Amato, who stands on the front curb and waves to arriving students and faculty every morning,” Head of Middle School Jon Wimbish said. “His warm, inviting, fun-loving presence will be missed.” Wimbish also said that the community owes it to Amato to take care of one another, as Amato has always said that the community’s number one priority is to do just that. Tracy is conﬁdent that

History department eliminates AP World History course for next year By SARAH LEE

Due to history teacher Drew Maddock’s departure from Harvard-Westlake, next year’s seniors will not be able to take Advanced Placement World History as their history or elective course. Maddock’s replacement will need a year in order to prepare the curriculum and materials that are needed to teach the course, History Department Head Katherine Holmes-Chuba said. “AP World is a complex course,” Holmes-Chuba said.

“It is the history of the world. It took [Maddock] more than a year to fully prepare for the course, and I don’t want to offer a course that isn’t up to our standards.” Twelve students had enrolled in the class for next year, and some are disappointed it won’t be offered. Lily Beckinsale-Sheen ’17, who was going to take the course next year, said it is disheartening, especially because she feels like the school offers more honors and AP opportunities for STEMoriented students than it does

for those interested in the humanities. “I am not STEM-minded whatsoever,” Beckinsale-Sheen said. “So my choice of courses is seriously limited. It’s always bothered me that it seems like this school opens up more doors to students who excel in math and science, especially to the younger grades.” Beckinsale-Sheen said that although AP World History was the course she was most excited to take in her senior year, she is considering taking AP Art History and AP U.S. Government.

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After a three-month hiatus, KHWS student radio returned on air April 25. Club leaders had to find a replacement broadcasting service after the one the club previously used, live365, went bankrupt. “It was a tedious process and also during a very busy time for most of the seniors,” KHWS leader Daniela Grande ’16 said. “We had to go through every single service and test it out. We went to an internet radio station, Dub Lab, and they gave us advice on how to proceed.” Ultimately, they chose Serverroom, which was the most cost-efficient and also has new features. If members are willing to broadcast during finals week, the club hopes all 28 shows will air until early June to make up for lost time. “[KHWS] is very low-stress, and it’s interesting to see what music other people play, and I like to show what I play to my friends,” Grande said. “I’m just really happy to be back on the air. KHWS is one of my favorite parts of Harvard-Westlake.”

After 18 years of starting my days the same way, it is hard to imagine coming to work and not being greeted by [John Amato].” —Jon Wimbish Head of Middle School

Amato will be a positive inﬂuence on the school. “Known, admired and loved by hundreds of JTD alumni and their families, John Amato has the personal touch, the professional gravitas, experience and local knowledge that will serve our school well in the year ahead,” Tracy said in the email. Amato and his wife will move from their home in Pasadena to one of JTD’s homes near the school so he can be closer to the community. “John’s willingness to join the JTD family to help us through this period of transition is an extraordinary gift,” Tracy said in the email. “I should also

NATHANSON’S

make a special acknowledgement to Harvard-Westlake for their extraordinary generosity in supporting us here. We are deeply grateful.” Students said they will miss Amato’s presence at Harvard-Westlake. “He really makes an effort to get to know his students, and it is evident that he cares about each and every person he teaches,” Alexa Nourafchan ’17, who had Amato for seventh grade history, said. “He always found a way to incorporate fun into his lessons while still providing us with a great education of different countries and their issues.”

Seniors’ AP History Course Options Human Geography

Art History

United States Government

Comparative Government

SOURCE: HW.COM GRAPHIC BY SAMMI HANDLER

A4 News

The Chronicle

May 25, 2016

HR head retires after 25 years By Claire Dennis

DANIELLE SPITZ/CHRONICLE

Parents’ group holds self-defense workshop for female students

GIRL POWER: The Parents of African-American Harvard-Westlake Students group held a free self-defense workshop for junior and senior female students in Hamilton Gym May 22. Instructors from Divas in Defense ran the “On Her Own” workshop and taught participants skills and techniques they could use to defend themselves when they leave home and go to college.

English teacher to leave after one semester

By Noa Schwartz

English teacher Megan Shakow will leave the school at the end of the year in order to spend more time with her family. Shakow began working at Harvard-Westlake after first semester, taking over Amber Caron’s classes when her husband received a job research-

ing history at Cambridge University. “I assumed I would be staying here for awhile when I initially took the job, but unfortunately, it was just too much to handle for me while simultaneously trying to care for my two little boys,” Shakow said. According to Shakow, she and her family are now considering moving to Minneapolis,

where most of her extended family resides. This was Shakow’s fifth year teaching English at the high school level. She also taught at Viewpoint School in Calabasas, CA. “I loved the level of engagement I saw in all my students this year,” Shakow said. “I found it challenging, but in a good way.”

She said she does not know if she will continue to teach English in the near future due to familial obligations. “I’m trying to figure out if I can teach again, because I think with kids it just gets really complicated, especially with the paper grading, just to find enough hours in the day,” Shakow said.

Teacher departs to spend time with family By Josie Abugov

between ninth and tenth grade. This year, she created the English teacher Caroline AP Language elective, “ImagMiller will leave at the end of ined Societies: Utopia and Dystopia,” with English the school year. She teacher Jeffrey Kwitwill move to Edgeny. worth, Pa. to teach at “[Caroline Miller] Sewickley Academy. genuinely cared about During her four teaching us material years at Harvardthat we would enjoy Westlake, Miller learning about,” Lautaught the sophoren Jones ’16 said. more English course, “She cares about each English II, as well ’ and every student and as AP Language and Caroline Miller their endeavors inside Composition. She and outside the classalso led the team of sophomore teachers this year, room.” She mentored “My Word,” and worked with middle school faculty on easing the transition the school’s spoken word club, nathanson s

and worked with the team on ward to spending more time writing, performing and partici- with her brothers and sister, pating in slam poetry competi- who live in the Midwest. Howtions. ever, she is going to “I had never done miss the time she spoken word bespent here, she said. fore, and she kind of “My experience showed us the ropes, at Harvard-Westlake and showed us how has been so incredible everything worked,” that its impact is diffiMy Word teammate cult to sum up,” Miller Matteo Lauto ’18 said. said. “I’ve learned an “She taught us how extraordinary amount ’ to write slam poetry, Matteo from my brilliant coland she was really the Lauto ’18 leagues and dedicated core of it. I don’t know students. This school what we’re going to do is a very difficult place to leave, next year without her.” Having grown up in Ohio, and I will certainly miss it a Miller said she is looking for- lot.” nathanson s

Math department chair departs after 17 years to care for ill mother By Noa Schwartz

Upper School Math Department Chair Paula Evans will not return to teach next year. Evans said she had anticipated leaving at the end of the school year; however, plans changed when her mother became extremely ill, requiring full-time care. Evans now resides with her in Northern California. “[Evans] left a few weeks ago to attend to family matters and has made the difficult decision to stay there permanently,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said in an

email to faculty. “We understand, of course; at the same time, we are sad that we won’t be able to say good-bye collectively.” Evans taught math and computer science at the school for 17 years and was appointed Math Department Chair in 2002. Prior to arriving at Harvard-Westlake, Evans studied and taught computer science at several colleges. She focused on developing expertise in the field of online and distance learning. “[Evans] was a visionary leader, an expert manager and an outstanding networker,”

Huybrechts said. “She realized early goals to vertically integrate Harvard-Westlake math and develop a robust and relevant Computer Science program.” Throughout her time at Harvard-Westlake, Evans served as a scorekeeper for for the varsity girls’ basketball team and participated in the school’s all-night “Moby Dick” read-a-thon in addition to her duties as head of the Math Department. Evans was also a leader of HW STEMfest and Girls Who Code. “Ms. Evans was one of the nicest teachers I’ve ever

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Director of Human Resources Marty Greco will retire in June after 25 years at Harvard-Westlake. Caitlin Adams will fill her position. Greco has been working at the school since 1991. “I’ve enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that I’ve had in this position, because everything that I do to make the lives of our faculty, staff and employees easier means they have more time to teach and help the students, and that is the number one priority here,” Greco said. In her new position, Adams will assist newly hired and departing employees and execute employment and departure agreements, as well as field questions from existing faculty and staff regarding employment-related issues. Adams worked for 10 years as Director of Human Resources at the Broad Foundation, a Los Angeles non-profit group of philanthropies focused on making grants in education and the arts. “I’m looking forward to getting to know people,” Adams said. “I’m getting to know the school. It is a great institution, and I’m looking forward to learning from what has made this organization so great for so long.” The main difference between working in a traditional non-profit organization and a school is the calendar, Adams said. Adams began working alongside Greco in March to prepare her for the position and said she is grateful for the training Greco has provided so far. “I am very impressed with everything [Greco] has done,” Adams said. “She has been very forthcoming with information and knowledge that she has gained here over the past 25 years.” Greco said she is confident in Adams’ ability to succeed her. “[Adams] has a really solid background in human resources, which is something she learned on the job. I learned it on the job, too, but she is far more up to date on things,” Greco said.

I will really miss my wonderful students. It has been such a gift to be a part of their lives, and I always enjoy hearing about their adventures.” —Paula Evans Upper School Math Department Chair nathanson’s

had, and it was an honor to be able to have her teach me my favorite subject,” AP Computer Science student Shauna Hannani ’18 said. Since Evans left just a week before the AP Computer Science exam, a substitute teacher took over her classes during that time. “We will miss [Evans] very much and are truly grateful for her genius, geniality and generosity,” Huybrechts said.

Suzanne Lee will replace Evans as Math Department Chair. Lee has been in training for much of the past year in order to prepare for Evans’ departure. “I will really miss my wonderful students,” Evans said in an email. “It has been such a gift to be a part of their lives, and I always enjoy hearing about their adventures.”

MAY 25, 2016

Chronicle adviser to depart

HWCHRONICLE.COM/NEWS

NEWS A5

English teacher to leave By AARON PARK

By ELI ADLER

Upper school Communications Department Head and Chronicle adviser Melissa Wantz is leaving her position after one year. Former journalist and adviser to The Occidental Weekly at Occidental College Jim Burns has been hired to oversee the program next year. Wantz taught three sections of journalism classes, advised the quarterly sports magazine Big Red and served as a member of the Faculty Academic Committee. She came to the school from Foothill Technology High School in Ventura, where she was an English teacher, technology coordinator and adviser for its online newspaper, The Foothill Dragon Press. This year, she made it a priority to introduce new digital tools for staff communication and multimedia storytelling. “Communication has really changed in the past 10 years

KITTY LUO/CHRONICLE

HOT OFF THE PRESS: Melissa Wantz instructs Gabi Berchtold ’18 and Jadene Meyer ’18 on journalism. Wantz is leaving her position as the adviser to the Chronicle after one year at the school.

with the rise of smartphones, and I think journalism has to respond to that and the fact that news is coming in all the time,” Wantz said. Wantz facilitated the release of a new app and new website, which gave the Chronicle a greater online presence than it had in previous years. Under her leadership, the Chronicle was named one of the top high school newspapers in the country. Harvard-Westlake is one of just three schools in the U.S. this

year to win the Hybrid Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, along with both Print and Online Pacemakers from the National Scholastic Press Association. “Awards are really indicative of consistent hard work over the course of the year,” Wantz said. “For me personally, the awards were an indication that the [staff] is doing some of the best quality work in the nation.” Wantz decided to leave due

to her long daily commute, which took two to three hours per day. She will return to teaching near her home in Ventura. Wantz was well-respected by the Chronicle staff, the student journalists said. “She was a great adviser who made her presence known in the newsroom, helped us revamp our website and ushered in a more media-focused mindset,” Editor-in-Chief Henry Vogel ’16 said.

Chinese teacher to join Massachusetts school By ELLIS BECKER

Upper and middle school Chinese teacher Tiantian Wang will leave to teach Chinese at Middlesex School in Massachusetts. Wang has taught Chinese III and Chinese III Honors at the Upper School for ﬁve years, as well as Chinese II at the Middle School. “The ﬁve years I spent at Harvard-Westlake were precious to me,” Wang said. “I will cherish the memory of all my students and colleagues. I think Harvard-Westlake is a great school to work at.” Wang had commuted be-

tween the upper and middle cally and culturally to interact in a modern Chinese context,” school campuses each day. Her departure, therefore, the Middlesex School website will leave a large hole in both said. “The objective is to cultivate a level of comcampuses’ Chinese petency in Chinese programs. through which stu“[Wang] is very dents can commuknowledgeable while at nicate in a variety of the same time making settings.” class very fun and creFellow Chinese ative,” Ryan O’Donnell teacher Yi Jiang will ’18 said. “I think she is also leave the school, a great teacher.” ’ making an even bigWang will join MidTiantian ger gap for the new dlesex School to be one Wang Chinese teachers of two Chinese teachand current teacher ers in the growing ChiKun Li to ﬁll. nese program. “[Li] will do a great job “The Chinese Department prepares students linguisti- taking over for [Wang],” JarNATHANSON S

World Languages department chair to move to Berlin with family By JESSE NADEL

Upper School World Languages Department Chair Margot Riemer is leaving the school after 24 years of teaching Spanish to move to Berlin with her family. “My husband and I have always wanted to live in Europe,” Riemer said. “It’s been a reoccurring dream in our lives over many years. When my parents were elderly and my kids were really little, it wouldn’t have been a good time for us to try this, but now I’m at a point in my life when I could do this.” While she does not have a permanent job at one of the six international schools in Berlin for the fall, Riemer said that she plans to teach Spanish classes at one of the schools as a substitute. “I don’t have a job lined

up for the fall, so that’ll be a really strange feeling, but I can substitute in the international schools to begin to learn the IB system, and whether I work into a permanent job at one of the international schools or come back to the United States, I can bring that knowledge with me,” Riemer said. French teacher Jerome Hermeline will replace Riemer as the new World Languages department chair next year. Riemer and her husband decided to move to Germany as opposed to a different European country because of Germany’s strong economic standing, which means that the country has more job opportunities. She has also spent several summers in Berlin with her family and is familiar with the area. In addition to teaching Spanish at an international

school in Berlin, Riemer would like to learn German. “Even if I don’t ﬁnd a job in Berlin, I want to learn German well so I can show a prospective employer in the future that I didn’t waste a year and that I put it to good use,” Riemer said. “Also, studying German on my own this year has been good for me. It helps me understand what my students are going through in learning a new language.” In her time at the school, Riemer has taught Spanish I, II, III, III Honors, IV and AP Spanish Language and Culture. She said that she will miss the students and the school community the most when she leaves HarvardWestlake. “The students make every day different, and they make me laugh every day,” Riemer said. “Working at HarvardWestlake makes me feel like

ed Goldman ’18 said. “She is a caring person who always makes sure her students understand the lessons.” Li previously taught Chinese I and Chinese III at the Middle School. She will now take over the duties Wang held this year. Li will begin the same routine Wang did, commuting between the upper and middle school campuses each day to teach classes at both campuses. In the coming year, she will begin teaching Chinese III, Chinese III Honors and Chinese II.

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Part-time English teacher Mahshid Feiz ’92 will leave at the end of this school year. For the last two years, Feiz taught English III: Living America. One of the main reasons for her departure was the fact that she only held a part-time job, teaching one section of juniors, Feiz said. “I have a very particular part-time job here, so I think the department felt that having the one section wasn’t going to work,” Feiz said. Feiz began teaching parttime last year. She said that balancing her personal responsibilities at home is a priority for her and another factor in her decision to leave. “I think it was just I had a lot going on this year at home,” Feiz said. “I love teaching, love being here, love everything about the job and again I only have a small part of what everyone else in this department does, but I have a lot of responsibilities at home.” Feiz said that her future plans include raising her children, ﬁxing up her house and possibly having shoulder surgery. She also mentioned that she was considering a return to practicing law. Feiz graduated from Harvard-Westlake as part of the Class of 1992, the ﬁrst co-educational senior class at the school. “It was amazing,” Feiz said. “I love Harvard-Westlake, always have. I always felt very connected to the school and the mission and believe in the students and the teachers. That combination I think is a valuable thing for me to have been able to participate in.”

The students make every day different, and they make me laugh every day. Working at Harvard-Westlake makes me feel like I’m a part of something bigger than myself and meaningful.” —Margot Riemer Spanish teacher

I’m a part of something bigger than myself and meaningful. That is a gift in life that not everyone has, to have meaningful work to do and be excited to come to work every day. Harvard-Westlake has been really good to me, and I’m going to miss it.” Students said that they will miss Riemer next year. “[Riemer] is one of my favorite Spanish teachers and teacher overall that I’ve had so far,” Borna Shoa ’18 said. “She brings a whole new level of enthusiasm to the classroom, and she understands the struggles of Harvard-Westlake kids and empathizes if there is a test or scheduling

NATHANSON’S

conﬂict. I’m genuinely really disappointed that she’s leaving and that others after me don’t get to have the experience with her that I did.” Hermeline came to Harvard-Westlake as a new teacher in 2013 after a year of substitute teaching French at the Alliance Francaise in Newport Beach. Hermeline has taught French III and III Honors classes for the past three years. “[Hermeline] has been working with me so I can teach him what I do,” Riemer said. “He has a really good head for charts and solving hard problems, so I think he will be very good in this position.”

A6 News

The Chronicle

inbrief

May 25, 2016

Leaders announce new Peer Support trainees

School counselor and humanities teacher Luba Bek announced the Peer Support trainees for the 2016-2017 school year in an email on Friday. The 26 sophomores were chosen from an application pool of 68 students. The group is comprised of 12 girls and 14 boys. Peer Support is a system of student-led groups on campus committed to creating a safe, supportive place for students to speak and share their issues. —Kate Schrage

Science Bowl elects leaders for next year The Science Bowl elected new leaders for the 2016-2017 year. Johnny Berman ’17 and Nomi Ringach ’17 were elected by club members after filling out a candidate statement. Members meet Wednesdays and Fridays and participate in games where students can buzz in to answer questions. “I think that [Berman] and [Ringach] will be great leaders and prepare us well for the competition,” member Myria Chen ’18 said. “They are both highly capable of keeping us on track and motivating the teams to do their best. With their combined efforts, Science Bowl next year will definitely be a fun and exciting experience.” —Elly Choi

Annual issue of Babel published, distributed The World Language Department distributed this year’s issue of “Babel” at the National Language Honors Society Assembly May 17. “Babel” featured poems, stories, recipes, drawings and photos from a total of 62 submissions. Submissions were in languages from across the globe, including Chinese, Spanish, French, Latin, Arabic and Korean. Students submitted and edited all works. “I loved the way it came out, and my favorite part was the cover,” Assistant Editorin-Chief Lucas Perez ’16 said. “Our collective effort made a really good product.” —Emory Kim

School to hold HW Inc. summer program HW Inc., a summer program open to all Harvard-Westlake students interested in business and entrepreneurship, will take place from June 13-18 this summer at the Upper School. “I got involved because a friend of mine was on the leadership team when it was called HW Startup Scramble, and I joined the leadership team the next year and stayed on for this team,” Chief Operating Officer of HW Inc. DJ Lesh ’18 said. There will be space for 36 students, who will have the opportunity to create internship connections, build a startup and learn the skills required to start a business. —Maddy Daum

ALENA RUBIN/CHRONICLE

VENTURE TIME: Miles Agus ’18 shares his group’s ideas for future speakers and field trips at the first HW Venture meeting last Monday. Students participated in the event, discussed future plans for Venture and listened to the Noname Ventures founder keynote speaker, Taylor Adams ’02.

Alumni speak to HW Venture about startups By Alena Rubin

Students gathered in the Kutler Center May 16 for the inaugural HW Venture meeting, during which alumni and faculty shared past personal experiences in the tech industry and at startups. Venture is a school group that focuses on innovation and idea sharing within the school.

During the meeting, students discussed ideas regarding the future of Venture, including a new name and logo, upcoming projects and field trip ideas. “Our big reason for throwing this event particularly was to figure out the big idea,” said DJ Lesh ’18, who is a member of Venture’s leadership team. “Our thinking was to improve

people’s connections, and so the whole idea is to put people together.” Noname Ventures founder Taylor Adams ’02 gave the keynote address to the group of students, alumni and faculty, sharing his story about the creation of his company, which advises startups on how to effectively navigate obstacles and grow and improve as

businesses and organizations. “Don’t be afraid of throwing out crazy ideas,” Adams said. “Don’t be afraid that you’re going to be embarrassed. The craziest ideas are always the best ones.” A shuttle brought the middle school students involved in the club to the Upper School so that they could participate in the event.

Juniors win Miranda Rights essay competition

By Nicole Kim

how the justice system safeguards them. The essay contest Dani Mirell ’17 and Serena celebrated the anniversary of the Davis ’17 won first and second U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled place, respectively, at that someone must the district level in the be informed of his or 2016 Ninth Circuit Civher Fifth Amendment ics Contest sponsored right against self-inby the Ninth Circuit crimination before beCourts and Community ing taken into police Committee. Mirell’s escustody. say will automatically The contest looked be submitted into the for videos and essays Ninth Circuit Civics ’ that summarized the Contest along with winDani court’s decision, and ners from other disMirell ’17 also discussed the tricts. additional rights esStudents wrote essays or created films that de- tablished by the court as a refined the Miranda Rights and sult of the case, according to its nathanson s

History teacher to retire after 28 years at school

By Eshanika Chaudhary

History teacher Drew Maddock has fulfilled his various interests throughout his life. He was arrested in communist Czechoslovakia, got “clean for Gene” while campaigning for Senator Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and taught 28 years at Harvard-Westlake. He will retire at the end of this year. “I’ve been teaching for 46 years,” Maddock said. “That’s enough teaching, I think. My kids have finished their educations and are out of the house, and now [my wife and I are] sitting around staring at each other, and I think it’s just time to go.” In addition to teaching United States history classes, Maddock also teaches AP

World History, which has been canceled for next year. Maddock said his favorite part about working at Harvard-Westlake was the students, and that he will miss teaching them every day. “Being in a classroom is actually fun if you’re talking about something interesting,” Maddock said. “That’s actually the most fun of all.” Maddock has lived through some of the material he teaches in class. He said that his opinions are part of a wholesome teaching experience and that he encourages his students to share their opinions, even if they are different than his own. “I’m happy to say who I campaigned for in an election or what I thought,” Maddock

received cash prizes: $2,000 for website. “When a friend suggested I first place, $1,000 for second enter the contest, I did research place and $500 for third place. “Regardless of winning, I got regarding the Miranda decision a lot out of writing the and the Fifth Amendessay and developed a ment, and eventustrong stance on what ally my thesis even our country stands for,” led me to learn more Davis said. “But for me, about Descartes and winning felt very validatexistentialism,” Davis ing in that my ideas were said. “As I continued being acknowledged as to write the essay, I worthy and substannoticed myself betive.” coming much more ’ The Ninth Circuit invested, interested Serena provides each district’s and excited.” Davis ’17 winner with a trip to the Judges and lawNinth Circuit Conferyers in the Central District judged the essays. Win- ence in Big Sky, Montana July ners of the District Contest also 10–12. nathanson s

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I’m happy to say who I campaigned for in an election or what I thought. We’re all people, we all have opinions, so let’s talk about them. The teacher who punishes you for having opinions is what we don’t want. ” —Drew Maddock

said. “We’re all people, we all have opinions, so let’s talk about them. The teacher who punishes you for having opinions is what we don’t want.” Although Maddock has no specific plans for his retirement, he wants to travel with his wife. “My wife and I have talked a bit about traveling,” Maddock said. “She wants to go to Europe for a long time, not just a week or two, and you can do it when you retire.” He said that he would like to revisit Asia and take a road

nathanson’s

trip across America as well as continuing to pursue his hobbies, which include reading books from his “enormous” home library and working on an old British MGB sports car. Students said that they will miss Maddock next year. “He had a great ability to bring history to life for our class and make it a truly immersive experience, and I’m really sad I won’t get to take [AP] World History with him next year,” Aidan Luscinski ’17 said.

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com/news

News A7

inbrief

Student Ambassador Co-Chairs announced

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF WERMZ/CHRONICLE

WHAT’S APP: With the help of Cinton Grusd ’95, founder of the technology company Wermz, the Chronicle released a new and free app for iPhones. The app, shown in screenshots above, provides easier and quicker access to Chronicle articles, videos and photos.

The Chronicle releases new iPhone app

By Eli Adler

The Chronicle released its new iPhone app this week. Clinton Grusd ’95, who founded the technology company Wermz, offered to develop the app. Wermz is a technology platform that develops news apps quickly and cheaply. “We didn’t want to take away from the paper, but wanted to enhance it,” Grusd said. “We plugged the site into

our platform and created an app that is really easy to use.” Designed as a supplement to the print and web versions of The Chronicle, the app will make it easier to explore what is happening at school. “I wanted the app to be a medium by which more people could be exposed to the Chronicle’s content, both digitally and portably,” Grusd said. He hopes the app will help keep people more up to date with current school news and

events. “The app is also about focusing in on the exploration of what is going on at the school,” Grusd said. “Whether it is the students, faculty, or alumni, everybody has access and is up to date.” Editor-in-Chief Eugenia Ko ’16 helped with the app’s beta testing. “An app is really the fastest and easiest way to keep up with the Chronicle, especially for younger audiences like stu-

dents, so we are really excited that we’ve been able to take the next step to being digital first,” Ko said. The app can be downloaded for free in the iTunes store. Chronicle adviser Melissa Wantz said she is excited to release the app to the readers. “Very few high school journalism programs in the country have this quality of an app,” Wantz said. Our mobile readers will be delighted.”

Robotics team wins state championship By Claire Keller Robotics Team 62, the Kanagasabapathys, competed in VEX California State Championships in Pasadena March 11-12 and emerged as state champions, qualifying for VEX World Championships in Louisville, Ky., where they made it to quarter finals. The team also won the Think award, given to a team with multiple exceptional autonomous programs. In a separate competition, Team 62 finished 27th place in the world for Robot Skills out

of 3,800 teams, also qualifying them for VEX World Championships. This competition specifically tested the offensive strength of a robot based on its performance in isolation from other competing robots. “The team’s hard work really shone at the [State Championships] tournament and everyone did an exceptional job,” Jonathan Damico ‘18 said. Team 62 brought 13 students and one robot to VEX World Championships to compete alongside 1,000 teams participating. Five hundred of the teams, including Team 62,

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

MR. ROBOT: Robotics Team 62’s robot 1148 makes an apperance at the last 1st and 3rd Wednesday assembly. were part of the High School Competition, which was the largest of the four competing divisions. The team made it to quarterfinals before suffering a disappointing loss. “We will be making more teams at the school to allow

more students to access robotics. We would like to expand the program to allow more students to compete and build. The competition for next year has already been given to us, and we are eager to start building,” Damico said.

Peer support sleepovers cancelled for misconduct

• Continued from page A1

a valuable way for students to have active fun instead of sitting in a classroom. “[Peer Support sleepovers] are long,” Bek said. “It’s more fun. It’s not sitting in an uncomfortable chair in the classroom or the hard floor in your history or math or English homeroom. It’s a lot of activities. It’s a lot of different kinds of food. It’s like really being a family.” Jarett Malouf ’18 said he believes that the Peer Support sleepovers allowed his group to form a tighter bond. “Going out into town to do fun activities was an amazing experience and brought all of us closer together,” he said. “Memories like those are irreplaceable, and I feel that the

termination of an aspect of Peer Support so intrinsic to the formation of lasting bonds is the step in the wrong direction on the administration’s part.” Lauren Weetman ’16 said she believes that the cancellation of Peer Support sleepovers may be detrimental to Peer Support. “It will probably make the group less close because they don’t have that extra time to hang out and bond as a group, but I think Peer Support is such a strong group on its own that hopefully it won’t be affected,” she said. Peer Support members can still participate in activities not sponsored by the school, Bek said. “If they do want to socialize with their group outside

of Peer Support, they can go bowling, they can go to have a movie night, they can go do a scavenger hunt, but nothing is affiliated with Peer Support. And if any parent calls us about any of those activities, we don’t have anything to do with that as of right now. It’s fine with us because a lot of group members, and actually the incoming trainees and leaders, they want more time than just Monday, and who are we to deny them that?” However, reports of misbehavior in Peer Support events, even those not sponsored by the school, could result in students’ dismissal from the program, Bek said. “We’re asking the leaders and trainees that indeed, if they decide to have an evening of activities with the group

outside of school, they do it on their own, but if we hear about anything that happens during that activity that goes against the code of ethics of leaders’ and trainees’ behavior, they will be out, despite the fact that this is not associated with us,” Bek said. “Leaders and trainees sign a contract with us that if they violate a code of ethics that is attached with the contract, they are no longer associated with the program. [The contract] stays for not only their behavior at school but behavior outside of school.” Bek also said that the Peer Support members are a “forgiving group” and that no grudges are held against the people who complained about inappropriate behavior at the sleepover.

The five freshman and six senior Student Ambassador Co-Chairs for the 2017-2017 school year were announced May 19. The Co-Chairs for next year are Carli Cooperstein ‘20, Lauren Nehorai ‘20, Justin Park ‘20, William Seymour ‘20, Megan Cohen ‘17, Natalie Musicant ‘17, Courtney Nunley ‘17, Brennan Lee ‘17, Jack Li ‘17 and Charlie Thompson ‘17. “I hope that I can be an approachable and reliable source for all the ambassadors and families,” Nunley said. “Hopefully I can connect with upper schoolers and get more participation there, since the Middle School already has so much participation in the program.” —Danielle Spitz

Barzdukas, Guerrero honored at assembly The final 1st and 3rd Wednesday Assembly honored departing faculty members. Head Prefects Grace Pan ’16 and Hunter Brookman ’16 commemorated departing Head of Upper School Audrius Barzdukas’s time at the school. Barzdukas also spoke. “These have been the best years of my life, to be with you. We’ve learned together, we’ve grown together, we’ve laughed together, and in times of tragedy, we’ve cried together,” Barzdukas said. The Chamber Singers celebrated performing arts teacher Rodger Guerrero’s departure from the school after 15 years. Guerrero conducted the singers in a rendition of their favorite song, “Have You Seen the White Lily Grow.” —Nicole Kim and Anthony Weinraub

Juniors advance in Chemistry Olympiad Youna Choi ’17 and Talia Ratnavale ’17 advanced to the national level of the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad after excelling in the local level’s examination. Ratnavale and Choi received the top two scores in the school for the local exam, which they took in March. Both took the national exam in April but will not advance to the next round. —Layla Moghavem

Yearbooks to be distributed Thursday

Seniors will be able to pick up this year’s edition of the yearbook, Vox Populi, Thursday at 1 p.m. in the lounge. Other students will be able to get them in the lounge Friday starting 6th period. Students who did not order a yearbook beforehand can purchase one at the bookstore at the end of this week. “We are all so excited,” Editorin-Chief of Vox Populi Lauren Weetman ’16 said. “It’s a really special edition, and we tried to showcase that as much as possible. Alex and I couldn’t have done it without the incredible yearbook team and the support of Mr. Tash.” —Wilder Short

A8 News

The Chronicle

Student journalists win awards

May 25, 2016

By Matthew Yam

The Chronicle website won first place for Online General Excellence from the California Newspaper Publishers Association. The print publication received second place in the General Excellence category. Awards in the 2015 Better Newspaper Contest were announced in San Francisco on April 30. Bennett Gross ’16 and Henry Vogel ‘16 took first and second place respectively in the Best Sports Game Story category. Jake Liker ’17 and Joe Levin ’17 took first and second place in the Profile Feature Story category respectively. Vivian Lin ’16 took first place in the Illustration. Jacob Goodman ’15 took first place in the Photo Illustration category. Ellis Becker ’18 and Benjamin Most ’16 took first and second place respectively in the Best Columns category. Zachary Harleston ’17 took second place in the Best Writing category. Su Jin Nam ’16 took second place in the Enterprise News Story or Series category. Caitlin Neapole ’16 and Carina Marx ’17 earned first and second place respectively in the Sports Action Photo category. “I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished this year, but especially proud of the younger members of our staff whose recognition makes me confident that they will successfully lead the future of the Chronicle” said Ko.

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

SMOOTH VIBRATIONS: Science teachers John Feulner (right), Jesse Reiner (top left) and Yanni Vourgourakis (bottom left) played a variety of parodies featuring science concepts including “Stormy Monday” at this year’s last 1st and 3rd Wednesday Assembly.

AP Physics Band performs parodies at assembly

By Eli Adler

Three AP Physics teachers performed a rendition of B.B. King’s “Stormy Monday” in addition to other original songs to open the last 1st and 3rd Wednesday Assembly of the year May 18. Yanni Vourgourakis ’91, John Feulner and Jesse Reiner played guitar, and

Diversity at HW 69% think white privilege is a problem at HW

Reiner played harmonica while singing a satirical solo about physics and chemistry concepts, such as torque and diatomic molecules. “Mr. Reiner turns the harmonica into an instrument of fine art, on par with the violin and the electric guitar,” said Tony Ma ’17. The three teachers have been performing the song,

In a poll sent to students May 21, 409 responded to questions regarding race.

91% think a similar incident could happen at HW

55% of minorities said they had experienced prejudice at HW SOURCE: CHRONICLE POLL GRAPHIC BY DANIELLE SPITZ

Video sparks debate about diversity

• Continued from page A1

of students casually sing the n-word and probably use it casually, just not around other black students.” Some students said that they feel this general problem of prejudice has affected them personally. In fact, 55 percent of minority students surveyed said that they have experienced racial prejudice at school. “I’ve seen many people at school use the word in songs or just outright say it in conversation,” Robinson said. “Through my time at HarvardWestlake, I’ve had multiple incidents with people using the word around me. Even though I’ve tried to communicate that I am not okay with the word at

all, I know those same people continue to do it, and I still continue to hear the word used on campus.” Diversity has been a topic on campus all year. From students talking about racial tensions on college campuses to a March visit by University of Southern California professor Ange-Marie Hancock who urged students to recognize their own implicit or unintentional biases towards people of different races. The BLACC planned to meet with senior dean groups to address the use of the nword on campus, but due to the amount of education needed to catalyze conversations of that kind, club membershave decided to delay those talks

until next year, Jones said. He also added that the campus needs to stimulate these conversations school wide, not just in senior and junior class meetings. The administration also announced earlier this year that the school is looking to hire a diversity coordinator and more teachers of color in an effort to proactively combat racial prejudice, whether subconscious or conscious. “I think hearing from peers [about these issues is ideal], because students don’t necessarily want to hear from the President or Head of School or principal,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. “I think it would be great to engage in some kind of conversation about this.”

which also teases other Advanced Placement science courses offered at HarvardWestlake, together since 2004. According to Feulner, this year’s show was a scaled-down version of those in prior years. “We did a full-blown electric show back in 2004 and 2005, and we have been asked to do more since then,” said Feulner. “However, the electric show was no longer practical,

so we decided to scale it down to an acoustic performance.” The performance was wellreceived by students, even those who are not enrolled in an AP science course, as an entertaining and humorous way to end the school year together as a community. “I thought the performance was really funny and brought a sense of vibrancy and excitement to the assembly,”

Seniors commemorate Holocaust survivors By Anthony Weinraub

prom and going on the trip. Students visited Auschwitzand Treblinka Twelve seniors attended Birkenau the annual March of the Living death camps, a mass grave, a from May 1-15, traveling crematorium, a building filled to Poland and Israel to with human ashes and other historical monuments. commemorate the Holocaust. At each location, the The March of the Living dates coincided with the students listened to stories by Jewish holiday Yom HaShoah, survivors of the Holocaust. “I learned to be grateful also known as Holocaust for more Remembrance things after we Day, which listened to all began at the survivor I learned to be sundown on stories,” Emma May 4 and Yom grateful for more things Wasserman ’16 Ha’Atzmaut, after we listened to all said. which annually The twelve commemorates the survivor stories.” students’ time the Israeli — Emma in Poland Declaration of Independence Wasserman ’16 c u l m i n a t e d in a mile-long and began at march from sundown on Auschwitz May 11. Fewer students attended concentration camp into the this year than in past years gates of Birkenau death camp due to conflicts with Senior with Holocaust survivors and Jewish people from around the Prom and AP exams. Some students returned world to honor the victims of early to attend prom, and the genocide. Students then traveled to students were able to take their AP exams during the Israel and visited several cities and beaches. scheduled makeup day. “[I most enjoyed] Israel. As prom was scheduled a year in advance and the When you leave Poland, you’re school calendar was unable so drained and sad, but in to be changed, many students Israel I enjoyed the beach and considering participating in meeting a lot of cool people the March of the Living had who you would never met,” to decide between attending Wasserman said.

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C HRONICLE THE HARVARD-WESTLAKE

Los Angeles • Volume XXV • Issue 7 • May 25, 2016 • hwchronicle.com

EDITORS IN CHIEF: EUGENIA KO, HENRY VOGEL MANAGING EDITORS: ANGELA CHON, BENJAMIN MOST, JONATHAN SEYMOUR EXECUTIVE EDITORS: SACHA LIN, KELLY RIOPELLE

OPINION The Chronicle • May 25, 2016

editorial

PRESENTATIONS EDITORS: SU JIN NAM, PIM OTERO ADS

AND

BUSINESS MANAGER: KELLY LOEB

ASSISTANT ADS AND BUSINESS MANAGER: OLIVER RICHARDS NEWS MANAGING EDITOR: COLE FELDMAN NEWS SECTION HEADS: SAMMI HANDLER, LAYLA MOGHAVEM, JESSE NADEL, TERESA SUH NEWS COPY EDITOR: JACKSON NOVICK NEWS ASSISTANTS: GABI BERCHTOLD, MADDY DAUM, CLAIRE DENNIS, BRITTANY HONG, EMORY KIM, INDU PANDEY, NOA SCHWARTZ, WILDER SHORT, DANIELLE SPITZ OPINION MANAGING EDITOR: JONAH ULLENDORFF OPINION COPY EDITOR: LEXI BOWERS OPINION SECTION HEADS: HANANH CHO, KAMI DURAIRAJ OPINION ASSISTANTS: BRITTANY HONG CLAIRE KELLER, JIWON PARK, ANTHONY WEINRAUB, MATTHEW YAM FEATURES MANAGING EDITOR: SHARON CHOW FEATURES SECTION HEADS: SABRINA DE BRITO, JEAN SANDERS, LIZ YOUNT FEATURES ASSISTANTS: JOSETTE ABUGOV, NICOLE KIM, KITTY LUO, JADENE MEYER, ALENA RUBIN, KATE SCHRAGE, ALEXA ZURIFF A&E SECTION HEADS: LAUREN KIM, TIFFANY KIM, KATIE PLOTKIN A&E ASSISTANTS: JACQUELINE AYESTAS, ELLIS BECKER, ISABELLE ESHRAGHI, SARAH LEE, CATY SZETO HEALTH & FITNESS SECTION HEADS: ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY, SOPHIE COHEN, CLAUDIA WONG HEALTH & FITNESS ASSISTANTS: SOFIA GUILLEN, KRISTEN KUWADA SPORTS MANAGING EDITOR: BENNETT GROSS SPORTS SECTION HEADS: JULIANA BERGER, ZAC HARLESTON, JOE LEVIN, JAKE LIKER, DARIO MADYOON, CARINA MARX, EMILY RAHHAL, CONNOR REESE, RIAN RATNAVALE SPORTS ASSISTANTS: ELI ADLER, OLIVER AKHTARZAD, ANDREW AHN, JORDAN BEDIKIAN, ELLY EUN SEO CHOI, ETHAN KNIGHT, SAM MCCABE, AARON PARK, ADAM YU SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY: CAMERON STINE PHOTOHRAPHY: PAVAN TAUH CREATIVE DIRECTOR: VIVIAN LIN CHIEF DIGITAL EDITOR: BENJAMIN MOST DIGITAL EDITORS: ELLIS BECKER, SABRINA DE BRITO, ISABELLE ESHRAGHI, SAMMI HANDLER, BRITTANY HONG, NICOLE KIM, KITTY LUO, BRYANT WU ONLINE READER ENGAGEMENT: LAUREN KIM, JAKE LIKER, TERESA SUH, ANTHONY WEINRAUB ADVISER: MELISSA WANTZ 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 Kelly Loeb at kloeb1@hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

Walking a fine line

iversity has become the “it” word on private school campuses. Five of our eight front covers this year have included a story about diversity, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we are tackling it once again here in our editorial. The recent events at Brentwood School (see story on A1) have added yet another spark to the fiery and controversial struggle of incorporating diversity on campuses notorious for their overwhelmingly white population. The use of derogatory slang like the n-word depicted in the video, particularly by students who benefit from so-called white privilege, has come under scrutiny via an online petition. Some students in the Brentwood community have denounced the insensitivity and racism reflected by the video and by what petitioners say are longstanding problems in the mostly white community. Ninety-one percent of students polled by the Chronicle believe a very similar situation could have happened here. Though the administration has taken many steps to improve diversity this year, it is important to use the events at Brentwood as a learning experience and to not let our privilege hinder our push for diversity. Fundamentally, as journalists, we fully grasp the importance of free speech, especially on campuses where demonstrations and media outlets can lead to change. In talks with President Rick Commons, however, we’ve discussed the distinction between what is allowed under free speech and what is respectful as a member of the Harvard-Westlake community. If students decide to sing explicit lyrics offensive to a certain race or group of people at a party with friends, no one can stop them. Yet in a place where achieving full diversity and inclusion has been so difficult, though not for lack of trying, the responsibility rests on those in-

ANNA GONG/CHRONICLE

dividuals to recognize and understand the lasting impacts their actions could have. It’s also important to acknowledge that the n-word has a complicated background, and while it has been revived and claimed by many African-Americans, notably in the hip-hop community, it still needs to be used cautiously. Its meaning cannot easily be stripped from its history and derogatory use and is not a word any of us should use lightly given our diverse community. It’s hard to pin down the intent of the students in the video, many of whom critics noted were predominantly white and wealthy, who used the word in the context of a song sung by an African-American artist. But their nonchalant use and apparent disregard for the offensive and demeaning connotations of the word are concerning for many. Bringing in more faculty and students from different socioeconomic, geographic and ethnic backgrounds is the easier part and we have not fully achieved this goal yet. Even so, having a truly diverse community means integrating these groups into a single body where social boundaries are ideally non-existent and interactions and relationships are ﬂuid amongst the members. So, while singing along to a song like the one in the video can seem harmless, it represents a shameful insensitivity to other members of the community. Hastily said words, even if empty of true racist or derogatory intent, are counterproductive to integrating a student body unless used for good. As we develop into adults, we urge everyone to think before they speak. While you have a right to speak your mind, doing so without considering the implications of what you may innocently say could prove to be counterproductive to the job the administration has set forth: creating a diverse and, more importantly, inclusive community.

A10 OPINION

THE CHRONICLE

MAY 25, 2016

Stop apologizing

By Liz Yount

his year, I have made a conscious effort to stop apologizing. Not for accidentally bumping into people in the halls, but rather for my opinions and actions. In Amy Poehler’s book “Yes Please,” she writes, “it takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. As females, we are taught from a young age through media, our immediate surroundings and beyond to feel shame when we don’t meet certain expectations or fulfill certain roles. There have been countless times when I’ve apologized to the people around me when I’ve showed up to school without makeup, as if my face in its natural form required a disclaimer. I have begun questions in class with “I’m sorry, this might be a stupid question . . .” when it probably wasn’t, and even if it was, there’s no reason I should have apologized for trying to learn. I’ve seen my best friend cry and immediately say “this is so stupid, I’m so sorry” because she didn’t want to be perceived as weak over something “trivial.” Or better yet, accidentally dropping a tampon on the ground during class as I try to sneak one into my jacket sleeve and subsequently apologizing profusely to my surrounding peers for the “mishap” because apparently menstruating is something to feel sorry about. It’s all so ridiculous. In the face of advertising that teaches women to hate their bodies, media that almost always portrays females as the conventionally attractive and complacent sidekick and beauty industries that literally profit off exploiting our insecurities, as a woman simply loving yourself and standing firm behind your opinions is an act of immense bravery. I shouldn’t have to apologize for wanting two scoops of ice cream instead of one or

for expressing anger when I’m genuinely upset about something. But conversely, most men are often perceived as “healthy growing boys” when they eat and are seen as “tough” or “strong” when they express frustration. Seems rather inconsistent if you ask me. Debate has helped me immensely to speak without disclaimers, and more often than not, I’m the only girl in the room. But ever since I stopped apologizing for being female, I’ve found myself being more authentic in my conversation. When I speak, I want people to listen because I’m expressing my genuine thoughts, which I believe to be quite valid. If that makes me bossy or aggressive, then I really couldn’t care less. If I were male, however, that would make me a leader. If I need to leave class because of period cramps, I’m not sorry that my body is performing a normal female function. I’m also not sorry for talking about periods. I’m not sorry for writing an opinion column on women’s issues, even if there are a few people in my target audience who are tired of hearing me talk about women’s issues. But most importantly, I’m not, nor will I ever be, sorry for speaking my mind. Ultimately, I would encourage all girls to divorce the words “I’m sorry” from their vocabularies. This toxic society does not go out of its way to beneﬁt you, so there’s no need to make your existence more accommodating for a toxic culture. Please, do not dilute your excellence with apologies and justiﬁcations. Do not let people who fear powerful women shame you into eclipsing your light just because they’re too afraid to stare into the sun. Make an entrance. Make yourself known. Do not apologize if someone else cannot handle the multitudes that make you brilliant and make you female.

NICOLE KIM/CHRONICLE

The birth of a masterful ping pong champion

here comes a time in every man’s life when he reaches a crossroads. A time when he must decide who he is: if he is a peasant or a king, a novice or a master, a commoner or a champion. When I came to school for my ﬁrst day of senior year, I saw a ping-pong table situated near the quad by Chalmers. It was then I knew I was destined to be a champion. There is a yearning in all of us to transcend our humble origins, a thirst for greatness, a longing to become a god among men. But often, that dream of success seems distant and unattainable. The road to greatness is not an easy one. It is a path strewn with thorns and pitfalls. On my journey to greatness, I suffered many a loss to a lesser man. I crumbled many times before weaker foes. But every time I failed, I also learned. The wooden paddle, once awkward in my palm, became familiar and comfortable. The ball that once evaded me came to fear me. They said I could never become a champion – because I was new to the game, a young hotshot with bold dreams and ambitions. They said I could never beat the ping-pong establishment. They said I would never amount to anything more than an amateur with a love for the sport. They were wrong.

Preparing for the future By Lexi Bowers

As senior year comes to a close, many students enjoying their final weeks together are reflecting upon their time at Harvard-Westlake. It is generally agreed upon that school has been stressful, filled with tests and fierce academic competition. However, most seniors agree that despite the seemingly endless and toilsome journey to get to where we are now, the experience has aptly, and maybe even overly, prepared us for college and even life as young adults. For me, ninth grade was the first time when I felt crippling stress from academics. I was enrolled in Honors Biology, despite my objection, and failed the first test of the

year. After that test, about five students quit, leaving me one of the two girls left in the class. Unlike the other students who went on to join the regular biology class and do really well in it, I was not allowed to switch and had to suffer through a grueling process of receiving unfavorable grades. For the first time, I felt competition amongst my classmates and felt like I may not be as capable as my other classmates. While it felt like torture, now I realize that this experience prepared me for dealing with failure and learning not to give up. It ended up giving me more confidence in my abilities because I survived a

By Benjamin Most

Ping-pong is a sport misunderstood by most. Many players try to ace their opponents with flashy serves. Others risk everything for impressive outplays. Some focus on spinning the ball into unexpected trajectories. However, ping-pong is not a game of force or flash. It is not a sport of brute strength or power. It is a test of finesse and skill, of patience and consistency. The true champion is not the one who gets the most aces, the sickest outplays, or the fanciest spin. The true champion is the one who gets the most points; the one who can return anything, in any conditions, on any terrain; the one who does not just see the ball but understands it, who does not just wield the paddle but is one with it. I am that champion. One by one, members of the ping-pong establishment crumbled before me. I have made many a friend at the ping-pong table, and many an enemy. Bonds were formed and broken. Lesser players have come to both love and fear me; greater champions see their throne contested. There is no better feeling than standing at the table, sweat dripping down my back, my shirt moist with greatness. The paddle is wrapped warmly in my loving grip. The orange ball arcs over the table gracefully; I carry a couple spares

in the left pocket of my cargo shorts. At this table, I have known how it feels to be at the edge of victory or at the brink of defeat. I have won matches to the drumbeat of my pounding heart and the thud of the paddle against the ball. I have learned the manifesto of the table tennis master: integrity, dedication, and above all, a passion for the sport. This is the table where boys become men. This is that region of space where stars are formed. This is the womb of greatness from whence gods are born. At the table of justice, the voiceless are given a voice. All pretenses of race or ranking or inequality are left behind. Champions battle as equals. Men are judged not by the color of their skin but by the quality of their play. All around the world, politicians and activists puzzle over how to achieve equality, how to conquer prejudice, how to stop racism and hatred. But the answer to equality is not written in books or locked in the minds of scholars. It is at the ping-pong table, in the creed of the sport and heart of the champion. For me, there are still players left to defeat. But a year since I first embarked on my difficult journey, I am still just as thirsty for the win. So for now, the champion fights on.

Though Harvard-Westlake can be difficult, the school prepares us for college and our careers. In the end, we will remember the friends we made, not the hard tests we took.

course that I believed I was destined to fail. Sophomore year for me was the worst year. I became aware of my GPA. This created a greater sense of competition because GPA was now a way to statistically rank everyone in the grade. Academics became even more serious, and I had to narrow down my extracurriculars to study. Although 10th grade is marked by an omnipresent image of a gray cloud in my memory, it also taught me how to multitask and how to study effectively. Things started to get better junior year. My friends and I became closer, and I spent more time doing the extracurriculars that I was the

most focused on. In addition, the college process began, and there was a general vibe of stress and uncertainty about the future looming over 11th graders. People were meeting with their deans more often, beginning to ﬁll out the Common App, and freaking out over what to write the personal statement about. Finally, we have reached senior year, and everything is coming to a close. The grade has bonded, and drama has subsided as people begin to be placed into their homes for next year. While it sounds cliché every time, everyone really does end up somewhere where they can succeed. This year, I learned to really ap-

preciate my friends and family because I will not live near or with them forever in the way that I do now, and it is important to enjoy my time with them while I can. While everyone has had a different experience at Harvard-Westlake, there is no doubt that everyone has learned valuable lessons to carry with them into the future. I know for a fact, from both family and friends who have graduated from this school, that the relationships and skills that you develop as a member of the HarvardWestlake community will continue to make you a stronger person for years to come.

HWCHRONICLE.COM/OPINION

MAY 25, 2016

quadtalk The Chronicle asked:

Don’t suffer in silence By Claire Keller

often feel that the deeper matters in my life are too personal to publish, yet the simpler problems are far too shallow to even consider complaining about. As teenagers, we are stuck in a “too dramatic for adult treatment and too young for a mental-health day away from school” kind of period. And what can we do? The science is all there: we’re moody and hormonal because of our lack of cranial development. Our infamous shortage of judgement and tendency to “leap before we look” can be traced back to our mental immaturity. So, we suffer in silence. Waiting for the day our problems are taken seriously instead of being seen as normal “teenage angst.” Waiting until someone decides to grant us emotional liberation from the shackles limiting us to impersonal advice like: “we all have those days, you just have to work through it.” I can almost guarantee that I am not alone in this endeavor. As many of my classmates can now attest, the thoughts that I write in my personal notebook are far from love notes and social anxieties. When I write, my hands ache, struggling to keep up with my thoughts as they ﬂy in chaotic circles, resembling the frequently drawn tornadoes on the corners of my papers, scribbled as I stare at the clock during class. Though each note shouts a different story, I have come to learn that according to those around me, my notes are just an outlet to vent about problems I don’t feel entitled to complain about. They are the words I wish I could speak to my parents without feeling guilt roll off my tongue with every syllable. My notebook is the storm trapped inside my throat waiting to be freed and spilt from my mouth. But the book remains

GUEST COLUMN

tucked inside its shell, in the drawer underneath my bed. Though I often think of speaking my feelings, the same excuses return to me, nagging at me until I draw my worries back into hiding with my book. As mentioned previously, it is often difficult to share my struggles as a result of the privileges I have been given in my lifetime. It is possible you are also thinking that someone attending Harvard-Westlake, living in Los Angeles and leading an overall balanced life should not have the right to complain about their “first-world problems.” But what many don’t understand is that by shutting down someone’s issues, you are really just adding to their suffering. Supporting the idea that living a certain lifestyle does not allow for “real problems” only adds to the guilt we are already feeling as we hesitantly express our emotions. When you tell me that only certain people can feel a certain way, I simply pour my feelings into my notebook— my already teeming glass, each drop bulging and threatening to overflow. Yes, I recognize that the struggles I face on a daily basis are insignificant in comparison to those in much different situations, yet the pain and emotions that come with them are far too real. What adults and those around us need to realize is that although we may gain the courage to tell them our true feelings, it feels more like admitting to fault than admitting to pain. Mental health issues should not be taken lightly and our age and privilege are not justifications for ignoring our problems. If I were able to ask for your help, trust me, I would ask for it, and there would be no need for my infamous notebook.

“Do you think it’s acceptable to say the n-word if you are singing along in a song? Should schools punish students for what they say off campus?” “I think it’s ﬁne because it’s not your words, and it’s not directed to hurt anybody. But I think overuse of the word is not okay, and people use it as an excuse to express certain things such as underlying racism. I think [school’s have the right to punish students] because it’s in the contract that we sign, and we represent the school at all times. With the Brentwood situation, Brentwood’s name is plastered on the videos and the articles, so then the school gets dragged down with all of the racism, so it makes the school look bad.” —Natalie Blut ’18

INFOGRAPHIC BY HANNAH CHO

“I think people have this weird conception of what the n-word means. I think it’s like an attack on your character; like if I call you an a****** that’s an attack on what you’ve done or your character, but the n-word is an attack on who you are as a being. It can never be taken out of context to mean something nice or ﬁne if you are not black. It is an attack on who you are as a person; it is meant to be dehumanizing. There’s no way it can be used as a cool little slang word even if you take oﬀ the hard ‘r.’ I think it depends if you go to a school then you represent that school, especially if you are wearing HW gear or any other school gear. At the same time I think it’s kind of odd that these days stupid teenagers get their lives ruined for saying some things. I don’t know when we made that transition where anything you say can be held against you for the rest of your life. Anyone who does or says something can be punished to a point; I think it should be treated more of a learning experience.” — Connor Engel ’17

A new outlook in retrospect By Cole Jacobson

’ll start this off with a disclaimer; I’m only writing this because the Chronicle’s Opinion section needed to ﬁll space, and I happened to be visiting the staff’s layout session this weekend. And I say that not to diss the Opinion writers, but to justify to myself that I’m writing for a high school newspaper a year after I graduated, and to let my beloved Sports section know that I don’t intend to betray them by writing this. I could write pretty extensively about my freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, giving some generic claims like you’ll be academically prepared coming from Harvard-Westlake, you’ll ﬁnd enjoyable extracurricular activities, you’ll meet a great group of friends and so on. I wholeheartedly agree that these statements are true, and I loved my freshman year. But considering

the Chronicle’s audience, I figure I should talk more about the pride I’ve had for Harvard-Westlake in my first year away. First off, as the self-proclaimed “Best to Ever do It” within the Sports section, I obviously have to comment on high school sports, and I have to say the state of Harvard-Westlake athletics is strong. I followed along on HWTV as my former football teammates shocked the media, their classmates and potentially even themselves en route to the school’s first playoff win since 2009 – with perhaps a bit of jealousy that my team couldn’t do the same a year ago. Similarly, I took pride in the fact that my old boys’ track team finished in the top three of California’s best league for the third consecutive season. As for the sports I didn’t play, reading about boys’ basketball’s run to a state

OPINION A11

Returning from college and coming back to campus, an alum recalls his Harvard-Westlake experience and memories and how the skills he learned in high school will last him a lifetime.

title with a ﬁrst-year coach, girls’ basketball qualifying for the CIF-SS Open Division, boys’ cross country taking a CIF-SS title, lacrosse reaching the divisional semiﬁnals, baseball making its way through the playoffs and water polo coming within a goal of its third straight mythical national title, there’s no question that Wolverine sports are continuing to dominate across the board. Additionally, I can’t write a column in this paper without giving a shout out to my Sports section. With a staff that only includes one senior in Bennett Gross ’16, both he and my former apprentices in the class of 2017 have stepped up dramatically and made me proud with some great content throughout the year, whether it was Joe Levin’s ’17 viral column on my former teammate Marshal Cohen ’16 or the consistently killer coverage by Gross and

Jake Liker ’17 on the internet sensation of Cassius Stanley ’19. Overall, not only have you all proved that people besides me were actually capable of live-Tweeting games or taking photos all along, but you’ve also remained a hilarious bunch and welcomed me back whenever I’ve been back in town, and I’m glad to call you guys my family even from 2,500 miles away. As is fairly obvious from the preceding paragraphs, there were facets of high school that I missed. I would’ve been down for another chance to throw on the pads for Harvard-Westlake – feelings exacerbated even further by the success of this year’s team. I saw the incredible job done by Mike Mapes ’16, Gabe Golob ’16 and the rest of the Head Fanatics this year, and longed for an experience like that as I sat in lackluster student sections

during Penn games. I looked back fondly on the in-class Backyard Baseball and the Dr. Seuss-inspired Tweets from my senior year with the Chronicle, aware that The Daily Pennsylvanian hasn’t offered such opportunities yet. Thus, while I’ve loved my time at Penn so far, HarvardWestlake will always be a part of me. Is it weird that combining my visit to the Harvard-Westlake football practice and my time spent with Chronicle layout, I’ve now spent three of my ﬁve days since arriving back in L.A. on campus – a ratio that has potential to increase further if I’m using the school’s weight room during the summer? Probably, but I still embrace it. This school played a key role in shaping me as a person, and that lesson has reached me arguably as much as any of the ones I’ve picked up in Philadelphia.

A12

Play by Play

exposure

May 25, 2016

Over 250 students wrote, produced, directed or acted in 13 different plays at the annual Playwright’s Festival. Performances were April 28, 29 and 30.

PAVAN TAUH /CHRONICLE

STORY TIME: Cate Wolfen ’17 tells Five Novogratz (brother of Wolfgang ’16) a story to help him cope with their parents’ divorce. To drown out the sound of their parents fighting, the two pretend to be knights.

PAVAN TAUH /CHRONICLE

POWER PLANT: Joe Katz ’16, who plays an employee at a back-scratcher company, speaks to Carolyn Kim ’18, who plays a plant that comes to life in Dylan Schifrin’s play “Gwendolyn.”

PAVAN TAUH /CHRONICLE

DARK TIMES: Lily Beckinsale-Sheen ’17 sits in a beam of light in the play “Dark.”

PAVAN TAUH /CHRONICLE

PRETTY IN PINK: Cate Wolfen ’17 distracts herself by drawing in “The Hidden Empire.”

PAVAN TAUH /CHRONICLE

STAND UP: Lily Beckinsale-Sheen ’17 talks to an unknown man in the darkness (Jared Gentile ’16) in “Dark” by Kitty Luo ’18.

PAVAN TAUH /CHRONICLE

GOT YOUR BACK: Adam Hirschhorn ’16 shows Joe Katz ’16 an idea he has for a new back-scratcher that could help Hirschhorn’s character get promoted within the fictional company called Scratchopolis.

Arts & Entertainment The Chronicle • May 25, 2016

TIFFANY KIM/CHRONICLE

JESSE NADEL/CHRONICLE

PUTTING ON A SHOW: Jessica Brandon ’16 (top left in black) sings her duet with Adam Yaron ’16 (top left in white shirt). Chamber Singers students (top

right) pose during “Razzle Dazzle.” Elizabeth Gaba ’17 (right middle in pink) performs “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” with James Hansen ’16 (top middle in white shirt). Elizabeth Edel ’16 (bottom left) sings “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” Students from multiple choirs (bottom right) present “Big Spender.”

‘Give My Regards to Cabaret’ By Isabelle Eshraghi

Choir students performed in “Give My Regards to Cabaret” Friday and Sunday. Students in Bel Canto, Chamber Singers, Wolverine Chorus and Jazz Singers performed a variety of Broadway songs in Rugby Auditorium. Students sang in combined choir groups as well as duets, trios and solos. The music selection ranged from the early 20th through 21st centuries. This year’s Cabaret is the first to have a Broadway-centric theme.

“We’ve never done it before,” upper school choral teacher Rodger Guerrero said. “The amount of music that we could do was unbelievable, exponentially bigger than almost any other topic area. We could get old and new and jazz and pop and classical styles of broadway all within it. We got music from as early as 1904 on Broadway and as late as 2013.” Choir students performed songs from “My Fair Lady,” “Chicago,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and other popular musicals.

The Broadway-themed shows were the last that choral teacher Rodger Guerrero conducted during his time at Harvard-Westlake.

This was the final performance directed and conducted by Guerrero, who is leaving the Upper School to teach music to adults. “Cabaret is my favorite performance of the year. Since everyone in the choral program has a part, it really brings together this wide-ranging community of people who all share the joy of singing,” Eli Timoner ’18 said. “The acts are always fun, and the singing is amazing. This cabaret is also really special because it is Mr. Guerrero’s last show before he retires, so we want to make it

his best show, and something he will remember as a lasting, parting gift from everyone in the choral program.” Guerrero believes that this year’s theme is unique and unlike any other previous cabaret performance. Prior to the show, he said that he was looking forward to seeing the audience’s reaction. “With a show like this, we take songs out of context from their musicals and make our own show out of it, so we never know what the audience is going to really like and we don’t know what their reactions are

going to be,” Guerrero said. Choir alumni joined the students for a surprise performance of “For Good” from “Wicked” to commemorate Guerrero’s last show and honor his 15 years at the school. “It is our job as your teachers to open your eyes to either literature or art or science or history that’s outside of what you know,” Guerrero said. “The kids in the music program know a lot about music, but we always choose things that they don’t know, and then we get to see them get appreciation for something new.”

The Chronicle

B2 A&E

May 25, 2016

Jackanapes performs two shows By Jacqueline Ayestas

Fifteen students performed 15 scenes in the two Jackanapes improvisation shows May 6. Jackanapes, like the Scene Monkeys, are a student improv group that hosts shows throughout the year for students, faculty and parents. “What is unique about Jackanapes is that it’s a form of acting that requires no memorization of lines,” Alexa Franzel ’18, a member of Jackanapes, said. “It is purely thinking on your feet to achieve the greatest and funniest performance possible.” One of the shows was mainly for students and began at 4:00 p.m. The second show was the same night at 7:00 p.m. Both shows were hosted in the Rugby Theater, and attendees were charged a $5 entry fee at the door. The scenes consisted of different games in which the improv group members asked the audience for suggestions for character names or scene themes. A brief reception followed both shows, with snacks and refreshments provided for audience members. Jackanapes, directed by Lisa Fredrickson, were selected through auditions in December. “I really enjoyed it,” Harry Garvey ’18 said. “A lot of the performers really stunned me with their acting abilities and their surprising grace during an improvised dance piece.”

DANIELLE SPITZ/CHRONICLE

BACK IN ‘NAM: Justyn Chang ’18 and Christopher Park ’18 give a brief introduction to their film, “The American War.” Chang and Park were two of 16 students who traveled to Vietnam during semester break in January as part of a Digital Storytelling Adventure.

Students present digital stories in showcase By Caty Szeto

Students from the HW Go! Vietnam trip displayed their final film and photography projects in Ahmanson Lecture Hall on May 18. In January, a group of 16 students traveled to Vietnam with Upper School Visual Arts Department Head Cheri Gaulke. Each student selected an aspect of Vietnamese culture or history to study and on which to create a project during the trip. The students presented their documentary and photography projects for the first

time at the showcase, sharing what they learned during the digital storytelling trip. The showcase included 10 photographic pieces and nine student films. The photographs captured many aspects of Vietnam, such as people in uniforms, a monk in his temple and a knotted mass of wires on a telephone pole. The documentaries focused on various topics such as food, propaganda, religion, female soldiers and the legacy of the Vietnam War. Kinly McCaffrey ’18 presented her documentary about her mother’s escape from Vietnam during the war. McCaf-

frey’s film included an interview with her mother, video clips from the trip and actual footage from the war. “I wanted to tell the story from the South Vietnamese side because the North Vietnamese story is the only one ever spoken of,” McCaffrey said. “So not only did I want to tell my mom’s [difficult] journey, I also wanted to inform all who watch it what life is and was outside of our bubble of California.” Students from the trip have been working on their projects since their return. Gaulke held weekend workshops and editing ses-

sions after the trip, as well as workshops prior to the trip to teach Vietnam’s historical context and digital storytelling skills. “I am very proud of all the students who made time in their busy schedule to do these meaningful projects,” Gaulke said. “Being a tourist can be a shallow experience, but these students made theirs a deep one by working to transform it into a product that they can share with the world. I look forward to entering these films into film festivals, and I imagine they will find the success in those festivals that our other films have had since 2013.”

Scene Monkeys acts out skits By Katie Plotkin

Members of the Scene Monkeys improvisation group performed two shows in the Rugby Auditorium May 13. “There was just so much adrenaline and energy on stage, and it felt like all the monkeys were on the same page,” Talia Leftkowitz ’17 said. The experience of performing in front of an audience was very different from practices with just members of the group earlier in the year, Leftkowitz said. “In rehearsal, it’s really hard to tell if you’re doing things right, so when we finally had an audience, it felt really good to have the huge reactions and support from the audience that we didn’t have in our small rehearsals,” Leftkowitz said. Students who were interested in joining the Scene Monkeys auditioned back in November. Auditions entailed participation in improv games. Scene Monkeys have been rehearsing

KATIE PLOTKIN/CHRONICLE

THE WORLD OF IMPROVISATION: Shelby Weiss ’16, Sabrina de Brito ’17 and Joe Levin ’17 perform in a skit. The students are members of the Scene Monkeys, an improvisation group that performed two shows in the Rugby Auditorium on May 13. for the show since January. “Any improv show can have a few little moments of comedy, but our shows this year were characterized by consistent, hearty laughs and a lot of really good scene work as well,” Carlos Guanche ’16

said. “Our narrative was consistent and logically constructed, meaning we were able to go for a lot more jokes than if we just slapped some basic characters together and then hoped something funny would come out of it.”

The troop performed around 20 different skits, each with a different set of rules. One of these such skits was “Fish Bowl,” in which the monkeys had to incorporate random phrases into their scene that were written by audience

members prior to the show. “I feel like the group just really worked well together,” Guanche said. “It felt like a team, full of some of the coolest folks on campus, and I really just had an incredible time being a part of it.”

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com/A&E

A&E B3

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

ACCUSATORY: Sophia Van Iderstine ’17 argues with Joe Katz ’16 during a performance of Dylan Schiffrin’s ’16 “Gwendolyn.” Schiffrin’s play, directed by professional actor Tait Ruppert, was about a businessman and his relationship with a living cactus, named “Gwendolyn,” that manipulates him into doing evil.

Students direct productions for Playwrights Festival By Jadene Meyer

Sixteen students wrote 13 student-written plays for the Playwrights Festival 2016, which took place in Rugby Theater April 28-30. Drama teacher Christopher Moore directed and led students throughout its production and organized the event as a whole.

The festival was comprised of performances that ranged from political commentaries to genres such as horror and comedy. Auditions were held Feb. 16 and 17 in the Drama Lab. A 34-member committee selected the plays from 32 submissions. The rehearsal process involved after-school practice

consistently throughout the week. “It was a great experience where I got to meet a lot of people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met and made friends with,” Playwrights actress Alexa Frandzel ’18 said. “It is also so great that in a short amount of time, you are able to see so many stories and get to know so many characters.”

Students to travel to Guatemala By Jordan Bedikian and Sammi Handler

dents to war-torn countries,” Gaulke said. “There, they will meet actual people who are Students have the oppor- victims of events that have octunity to participate in the HW curred. [Last summer] in Laos, GO! Digital Storytelling trip to students met a man who had Guatemala this summer Aug. his legs blown off by a 40-yearold mine left over from the 1-19. Participants will develop Vietnam War.” The program is three weeks documentary filmmaking and editing skills by interviewing long, with a two-day pre-trip workshop followed by locals, visiting Mayan an eight-day trip to ruins and learning Guatemala and then about Guatemalan a two-day post-trip women. Prior to deworkshop. parture, students will “Through the trip, learn about Guatestudents will not only mala’s history and learn history from acplan a media project. tual survivors, living The chaperones historians, but they ’ will include Harwill learn how to comCheri Gaulke vard-Westlake Visumunicate those ideas al Arts Department Head Cheri Gaulke, journal- to other people through living ist Jeff Macintyre, visual arts storytelling,” Gaulke said. The documentaries that teacher Joe Medina and the founder of Peace Works Travel students create will be submitted to film festivals and Alethea Paradis. “The trip is our signature screened for the school comprogram where we take stu- munity. nathanson s

“Guatemala is a hidden gem of the Americas with a rich Mayan culture that predates the birth of Christ,” Gaulke said. “This one-of-a-kind experience combines cultural awareness, adventure travel, insiders’ access to social enterprise, natural landscapes and project-based inquiry of the Maya culture.” All Harvard-Westlake students are eligible to go on the trip. “I hope that after this trip, I’ll have a better understanding of the people and the environment in Guatemala, as well as more appreciation for the culture,” Angel Hoyang ’18 said. “I also look forward to the opportunity to do some filming and photography and further my experiences in those types of media. Overall, I’m really excited to have the opportunity to explore and further my interests when I usually don’t have the chance to do so because of school.”

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

ISOLATED: Cate Wolfen ’17 sits on her bed listening to music during Sabrina de Brito’s ’17 play, “The Hidden Empire.”

“

It’s fascinating how seemingly mundane notes on the page turn into captivating lyrical lines. The piece requires a lot of creativity and flexibility from everyone.” —Jaebok Lee ’16 nathanson’s

Seniors to play in last concert of the year By Jiwon Park Seniors in Symphony Orchestra will perform Terry Riley’s musical piece “In C” outdoors on the Feldman-Horn plaza beginning at 4:30 p.m. May 31. This will be the seniors’ last concert. As a tradition, seniors have performed “In C” in past years for the senior art festival. “In C” will be the only performing arts portion of the senior art show itself. “In C” does

not have a set duration, but the concert will last about 40 minutes, overlapping slightly with the senior art show in Feldman Horn gallery. “It’s fascinating how seemingly mundane notes on the page turn into captivating lyrical lines,” principal cellist Jaebok Lee ’16 said. “The piece requires a lot of creativity and flexibility from everyone. We have to experiment with rhythm individually and somehow make music together as a whole group.”

B4 A&E

The Chronicle

May 25, 2016

Seniors to exhibit art in gallery By Sophie Cohen

Graduating seniors will present their artwork to students, parents and faculty at the Senior Art Show Tuesday in the Feldman-Horn Gallery from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibit will be “salon-style,” covering every inch of the gallery wall, and will feature drawings, paintings, sculptures and ceramics crafted by senior art students. The gallery viewing will be accompanied by a senior instrumentalist performance on the Feldman-Horn Plaza beginning at 4:30 p.m. An awards ceremony will take place following the reception. Awards will be given in categories such as drawing and painting, 2-D design and video. The main visual art and photography awards will have already been presented at the all-school assembly the morning of May 31. Film such as music video and narratives created by Video Art III students will then be shown to conclude the program.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF DYLAN PALMER

Students attend film screening By Tiffany Kim

Students attended a screening of “The Hunting Ground” Monday at 3:30 p.m. in Ahmanson Lecture Hall. The screening was requested by a student. The movie is a documentary about the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. The creators of the film believe that colleges do not adequately address sexual assault cases as they should. “The Hunting Ground” is directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015. The Ahmanson screening was followed by a brief discussion about sexual assault. The discussion was facilitated by upper school psychologist Kavita Ajmere “I think it is important to educate girls and boys and parents about sexual assault and rape, not just on college campuses, but how it can happen in other places as well,” Assistant to the Head of Upper School Michelle Bracken said. Last year, a similar screening was held for seniors and their parents. “I’m really happy that they’re doing this and the self-defense workshop because it’s time that schools warn their students about harassment on college campuses and that they fight against it while the kids are still in high school,” Megan Cohen ’17 said. Bracken and Ajmere ran the event.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF DYLAN PALMER

THE GLASS MENAGERIE: Visual arts teacher Dylan Palmer’s artwork has been on display at the Belgian National Glass Museum since March. The four glass pieces, which were not based on a singular idea, took about a month to make. Two are shown above.

Visual arts teacher exhibits four sculptures at the Belgian National Glass Museum

By Claire Keller

The Belgium National Glass Museum in Lommel will display the glass artwork of visual arts teacher Dylan Palmer until Sept. 4 in an exhibit that opened Mar. 26.

A group of curators contacted Palmer, asking to display four of his works in the exhibit. The exhibit collects artwork that cannot be comfortably sorted into a certain theme or existing category.

To select the pieces featured, curators found works that fit within the curatorial vision of the show. Galleries within the museum are planned months and even years ahead of time. “There’s no submission

process for shows like this, so it was something of a surprise,” Palmer said. “I haven’t decided if I’ll be going to Belgium before the show comes down in September. I was honored to be invited to participate and happy to get the news.”

Video art teachers conduct interviews with 10 juniors for next year’s film festival directors By Danielle Spitz

Video art teachers conducted interviews May 18 to select next year’s senior film festival directors, who will be announced this week. Ten juniors applied for the position. “We’re looking for people that are very organized because there’s lots of things to manage, like the submis-

sions,” Visual Arts Department Head Cheri Gaulke said. “We get over 200 films, so someone has to manage that process of judging. But we also look for people who have vision. What might we do different each year? The festival is long and established, it’s 13 years old, so what we do is pretty much set, but each year we try to grow it in small ways, so that’s

what we’re looking for [with] the vision aspect.” The number of film festival directors fluctuates every year. “Last year we tried five [film festival directors], and we’ve never had that many, and we were a little nervous,” Gaulke said. “We thought maybe that was too many, but we found it worked really well. Two kids focused on social media, so

we had more of a social media presence last year than we ever had before. One of them worked on the submission management, and the other two worked on outreach. We tell our candidates when you come in for your interview [to] think about what are your personal strengths and what role are you going to play in the festival.”

Features The Chronicle â&#x20AC;˘ May 25, 2016

2015-2016 Year in Numbers

5 Coffeehouses

11,044 Tickets sold at the Upper School

400 Peer Support signups

16 Honor Board cases

3,200

Tournament of Champions Debate winner

1 CIF State Championship

2,295

Applications sent to colleges by the Class of 2016

Pots made in ceramics

Sets created for performances

N O I T

N E T

4,325

Books checked out from the library

295

Detentions served

308 Students involved in drama productions INFOGRAPHIC BY JEAN SANDERS COMPILED BY SABRINA DE BRITO

C2 Features

The Chronicle

May 25, 2016

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY

Work That’s Worth It More and more high school students feel pressure to fill their summers with activities that will impress colleges, but many students at Harvard-Westlake are torn between a summer job and an internship. By Jesse Nadel Jean Sanders

Upper school dean Jamie Chan also thinks that the benefits of working a real job While some of her class- should not be overlooked by mates spent their summers students wanting to pad their doing STEM cell research at resumes. “I think getting job expethe University of Southern California or getting coffee for rience, be it at Starbucks, editors of NYLON magazine, McDonald’s or in retail, can Maddy Ulloa ’17 rang up cus- be beneficial because I think tomers and counted inventory many students don’t have that experience nowadays,” Chan at American Apparel. “I gained a lot of communi- said. “Getting a summer job cations skills from my job last isn’t something that a lot of summer,” Ulloa said. “I also our students think about, so gained knowledge about deal- it can look good to colleges because it shows that you’ve goting with bosses and ten out into the real having to meet deadworld and interacted lines, as well as being with people.” held responsible by However, Chan your co-workers and said it also can be your superiors.” beneficial to show a Although many college that you have students see pressome background in tigious internships the field you’re interas their ticket into a ’ ested in. These intop college, some stuLauren ternships also allow dents like Ulloa see Genender ’17 students to see what the value in getting it’s actually like to real-world experience and getting paid rather than work in the profession they’re simply running errands like thinking about and make a more educated decision when many unpaid interns do. “I helped with a chemistry picking a college major. Many students find internresearch project last year as a ships in their preferred area of part of an internship at UCLA,” Wiesenthal said. “I learned a study through the school. HW lot, and it was a great experi- Works administrator Zaakira ence, but honestly I am just Daniels ’10 said that she’s had really interested in joining the students come to her looking workforce and starting to make for internships in a variety of fields including technical themy own money this summer.” and

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ater, foster care, business and mers doing activities that will marketing. bolster their qualifications on “I think that as long as a resume, many are thinking what you’re doing over the mostly of what colleges will summer is helping you to be- think of their summer work. come the person you want For some students, appealto be, there’s a benefit to it,” ing to colleges carries a high Daniels said. “I like jobs, be- price. There are several interncause you’re getting profes- ships where students pay the sional training while making organizations to be involved. money at the same time. Un- One of the most popular of fortunately, not a lot of intern- these is the Early Investigators ships for high school students High School (EiHS) program offer monetary compensation.” that was founded at USC and Combining passion for a is now held at the California summer job with the ability to Institute of Technology. It is an actually make money for their eight-week program focusing work is a difficult on stem cell research task for most stuthat costs $10,000 dents, but those who for each participant, have done so say it is according to its weba great experience. site. “Last summer I Despite the stuworked at L’Agence, dents’ focus on acwhich is a fashion tivities that will help company,” Lauren their admissions to ’ Genender ’17 said. colleges, some faculIzzy “Most of what I was ty and staff said that Wiesenthal ’17 doing was work that they encourage stuis typical of an interndents to do activities ship, like packaging boxes and that they enjoy rather than writing notes, but I was also what they think will look good. able to work closely with the “A lot of students are thinkdesign team, which was amazing about colleges when they ing. I was paid a very small come to me,” Daniels said. “I amount, so getting paid was try to explain to the students just an extra bonus, and what who come to see me that it’s I truly enjoyed about the job not necessarily about doing was getting to experience the just what colleges want bebusiness side of fashion.” cause that’s not going to help Due to the pressure on when you’re growing into an students to spend their sum- adult.” nathanson s

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com/features

Features C3

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF CONOR BELFIELD

MIND THE GAP: Sarah Winshel ’15 (left) pictured with Former First Lady and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Winshel worked as a volunteer on her political campaign in New York City during her gap year. Conor Belfield ’14 (top right, bottom right) stayed with a host family in India during his gap year as part of a National Outdoor Leadership School program. Belfield was able to backpack in India and South America before college after being awarded the Brownstein Fellowship Grant.

Filling the Gap

By Claire Dennis

Like a growing number of graduating high school seniors, including the president’s daughter Malia Obama, Conor Belfield ’14 took a year off before starting college in 2015. “I felt like I was on a path that was leading me very quickly towards adulthood and everything that entails, which is both very exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time,” Belfield, who completed his freshman year at Bowdoin College, said. “I was looking to have an adventure and put everything else on pause.” Like most students who take a gap year, Belfield tried to do things he thought he might not have the chance to do otherwise. He spent three months living in South America through a program offered by educational organization Thinking Without Borders. Belfield divided his time between working at a school in Ecuador and a community center in Bolivia, with a week-long trip to Peru in between, where he climbed Machu Picchu. “I’m aware that I had a minimal impact,” Belfield said. “But I think that just by meeting people who were doing their best to try to change the world, I am more likely to have a bigger and hopefully better impact in the future.” Belfield also spent three months in India on a National Outdoor Leadership School program, where he went backpacking and whitewater rafting and lived with a host family. Living on his own in foreign countries was a life-changing experience, he said. “It wasn’t like slightly coming out of my little world in Los Angeles,” Belfield said. “I was in a completely new world where I could define what relationship I wanted to have with the environment I was in.” Harvard-Westlake assists a couple students each year by granting fellowships through

Alumni have pursued gap years in between graduating high school and attending college. Many found funds for their trips from the Brownstein Fellowship Grant.

the Michael Brownstein ’99 the gap year for a very long Memorial Gap Year Fellowship time here at Harvard,” Harvard Program. College Senior Admissions OfInitiated in 2008, the ficer Kaitlin Howrigan said. Brownstein Fellowship awards “In recent years our incoming up to $10,000 to each selected classes have typically included senior to help cover expenses between 90 and 115 students for an experience that can incoming off a gap year expericlude foreign travel and service ence out of 1,665 matriculating to others. students.” Belfield was No official a 2014 Brownstudy tracks The year stein Fellowthe number of between high school ship recipient. U.S. students “I was very and college is perfect for who take a lucky to be one year off before taking a break.” of the Browncollege. Howstein Fellows,” atten—Conor Belfield ’14 ever, Belfield said. dance at gap “There is no year fairs inway I could have done the gap creased 300 percent between year without that stipend.” 2010 and 2014 according to Belfield credits his year off The American Gap Association, with improving his work fresh- a non-profit organization that man year. researches the benefits of gap “By the end of my gap year, years. I was so excited to go back to In a May 20 Chronicle poll class and start learning again,” of 282 juniors and seniors, 30 Belfield said. “In my first year percent said they were either in college, I’ve had a more vig- planning to take a gap year, orous interest in my studies.” had considered or are currently Colleges are seeing the considering taking one. same academic results Belfield Former Head Prefect Sarah reported. Winshel ’15 pursued politics The Harvard College Admis- during her gap year. Although sions page said that the school she knew she wanted to take a “encourages admitted students year off before college, Winshel to defer enrollment for one year wasn’t sure what she would do to travel, pursue a special proj- during it. Once Hillary Clinton ect or activity, work or spend announced her candidacy for time in another meaningful president, the choice was clear, way.” Winshel said. She is spending While Harvard has sup- a year living in New York, workported gap years for ing as a volunteer for approximately 40 Clinton’s campaign. years, other selec“I’ve always been tive colleges, includinterested in politics, ing Yale and Brown, and I wanted to see are joining the trend. whether the world Some schools even that I saw and envioffer programs that sioned on ‘West Wing’ help students design was really as wonderand pay for their exful and interesting as ’ periences. it seemed to be, and I Sarah With the supcan tell you that it is,” Winshel ’15 port of colleges, the Winshel said. number of students taking gap She plans to attend Wellesyears is increasing too. ley College in the fall. Harvard reports that now “Although Harvard-Westnearly seven percent of incom- lake really does a great job ing freshmen take a gap year. in teaching us discipline and “We have been big fans of work ethic, what I’ve learned

“

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[on the campaign] is different,” this is not always true, as UC Winshel said. “There is an oper- Berkeley approved Kelly Morriation, and there are other peo- son’s ’16 request for a gap year. ple who are expecting you to be Jona Yadidi ’16 plans to part of the team in your work. take a year off before college as It makes you more invested in well. what you are doing rather than “Towards the middle of just thinking that you need to senior year, I really felt overstudy and do well on the tests whelmed from having been in for yourself.” such a rigorous program for While Winshel said she has the past four years and spendloved her experience, she ac- ing countless hours at rehearsknowledges it may not be right als and studying for tests,” Yafor everyone. didi said. “Some people should go As a conservative Jew who straight on to college and con- has studied Jewish texts since tinue their education without first grade, Yadidi will spend a a break,” Winshel said. “But I year in Israel before college. think that gap years Through the proneed to be a greater gram Nativ, Yadidi part of the conversawill spend half of her tion, particularly for year studying at the people who have an conservative yeshiva interest in something in Jerusalem and the specific that they want other half teaching to do or somewhere English to first gradthey want to go.” ers. Upper school dean “Throughout my ’ Sharon Cuseo invitentire life, I’ve known Jona ed Winshel to speak the importance of IsYadidi ’16 with juniors this year. rael,” Yadidi said. “I She wanted to offer knew I could not live students a new perspective to my life and not call Israel my help them decide if an academ- home for one point of it.” ic break was something they Yadidi, who will attend Ocwanted to explore. cidental College when she reCuseo confirmed that while turns, has no regrets about not Harvard-Westlake does not starting college in the fall with maintain records on the num- her classmates. ber of students who take time “I don’t think [starting a off before college, there has year late] will have a big effect been a marked statistical in- on how I feel,” Yadidi said. “ I’m crease since the school started young for my grade, and most offering the Brownstein Fellow- of my friends are a bit older ship. than me. If anything, it will Since 2008, there has not make me feel more ready for been a year in which a student college.” did not take a gap year, Cuseo Belfield, who said he would said. take a gap year again “in a Most colleges and univer- heartbeat,” agrees. sities will grant admitted stu“Students at Harvard-Westdents’ requests for gap years lake are in a huge rush to get to before their freshman year. college for no reason,” Belfield The only colleges that do said. “Once you are out of colnot hold admission spots for lege, you will feel the pressure gap year students are some to get a job and start supportpublic colleges and universi- ing yourself, and it will be hard ties, including the University for them to put their whole of California and some univer- world on pause. The year besities in the United Kingdom, tween high school and college Cuseo said. is perfect for taking a break. I However, it seems that would just say go for it.” nathanson s

The Chronicle

C4 Features

May 2

Driven to Drink With the increased availability of personal driver apps, there is less need for designated drivers at parties. This leads to a potential increase in adolescent drinking.

SU JIN NAM/CHRONICLE

25, 2016

hWChroniCle.CoM/Features By SOPHIE COHEN

drunk-driving crashes by 6.5 percent in California. However, the Institute for “Don’t drink and drive,” is a maxim drilled into every ad- Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washingolescent mind. So when *Harry Smith ’17 ton reported that since 2005, set out for a Friday night house heavy drinking among Amerparty with friends as the desig- icans is up 17 percent, and nated driver, he had no inten- binge drinking is up nine percent. tions of getting wasted. The report concludes that Yet as the bottle of Grey Goose and red Solo cups were alcohol is killing Americans at passed around, he gave into a rate not seen in at least 35 the temptation knowing he years. “I think subconsciouscould instead rely on Uber to get him and his friends home ly driving services promote drinking because they enable safely. “Before I knew it, that one it since they are so accessible, sip of vodka turned into sev- making it easier for someone eral more shots as the music to drink at parties,” Jacob blasted and new bottles were Tucker ’17 said. Uber drivers acknowledge being passed around,” Smith that they are commonly called said. Prior to Uber and Lyft, upon to act as sober drivers. “Later at night, like most many teenagers went to and from parties by relying on a of the time, I get people who designated driver, allowing at are intoxicated or people who least one sober-minded peer are going in between different who might help control the clubs or venues,” said Uber alcohol-influenced behaviors driver Georges, who didn’t and decision-making of pas- wish to provide his last name. He said that intoxicated sengers. Uber, Lyft, and other ride passengers occasionally get servicesb have effectively as- sick in the back of his car, sumed the position of the des- which some students consider ignated driver, eliminating the to be an added benefit of drivneed for a sober individual in ing services. “If someone gets sick in an the group. “[In the past], if everyone Uber, it is an easy thing to fix and takes no explaelse was drinking and nation,” *Lila Jones partying, the only ’17 said. “Teenagers reason one person can pay their Uber wouldn’t be drink[to clean up the voming is because they it] versus in a kid’s had to drive. If they car that would pose don’t have to do this a problem with many anymore because of parents, making Uber Uber, everyone is gomore convenient for ing to be partying to’ certain people.” gether,” said Jeremy Jacob Jones said she Manne, the Director Tucker ’17 feels more comfortof Admissions at Parable in an Uber than adigm, an adolescent treatment center in Malibu. when she had to rely on a sup“I definitely think Uber has posedly sober friend as a desdeveloped use [of alcohol] be- ignated driver. “I never knew if my friend cause people know that they can drink more because they was 100 percent sober but asdon’t need to worry about driv- sumed and hoped that he or she was,” she said. ing themselves.” Underage drinking acIn his counseling, Manne has worked with families who counts for 11 percent of alcopartially blame Uber and Lyft hol consumption in the Unitfor enabling their children to ed States, according to the sneak around town and attend Substance Abuse and Mental parties and drink alcohol, he Health Association. Matthew Torrington, a said. A 2015 Mothers Against Culver City family physician, Drunk Driving (MADD) re- shares similar concerns when port suggests that ride-shar- it comes to teens acting as the ing applications such as Uber “responsible driver.” “Unfortunately, people who and Lyft have helped reduce NATHANSON S

Designated Driving Stats

76% of students know someone under the age of 21 who have used ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft to drink and avoid the responsibility of driving

Features C5

“

[In the past], if everyone else was drinking and partying, the only reason that one person wouldn’t be drinking is because they had to drive. If they don’t have to do this anymore because of Uber, everyone is going to be partying together.” —Jeremy Manne Director of Admissions at Paradigm Adolescent Treatment Center in Malibu

think that they aren’t going own cautionary measures to drink too much and drive, when their children host parend up drinking a lot and ties at home by asking the still drive,” Torrington said. “I attendees for their car keys, never cease to be amazed by requiring them to find a safe how much kids in certain sit- ride home via a parent or drivuations drink, which is really ing service or asking them to dangerous.” spend the night. The current generation will Police Officer Mike Yamabe the first to grow up with da of the Motor Office Traffic such easy access to on-de- Bureau at the Beverly Hills Pomand designated drivers. This lice Department said that he has some parents concerned. thinks many people have not “I think it is possible that made the connection between Uber leads to adolescent binge ride-sharing services and indrinking,” a parent of a junior creased use of alcohol. at Harvard-Westlake said. “It “Even though Uber and applies to adults as well be- Lyft maybe be advocating that cause it is an excuse to go out an individual can drink beand get drunk without having cause they are there to provide to worry about what kind of a driving service, [the Beverly shape you are in.” Hills Police Department] still The parent, who wished believes in personal responsito remain anonymous, add- bility because unfortunately ed that she alcohol does is relieved affect someteenagers one’s reaTeenagers can pay can use soning and Uber as an judgement,” their Uber [to clean up the alternative Yamada said. vomit] versus in a kid’s car to drunk He is that would pose a problem driving bethankful, cause a with many parents, making however, that drunk drivadolescents Uber more convenient for er may not are not drivcertain people.” only kill him ing drunk, he or herself —Lila Jones ’17 said. and other T o r passengers, rington bebut also lieves that reother innocent bystanders on ducing alcohol-related deaths the road. is paramount. Other parents prefer that “The worst outcome is their child call an Uber or oth- drinking and driving,” Torer ride servicer as a second re- rington said. sort. Uber is the alternative “I think the best thing for teens are turning to. someone to do is to have their “At the end of the day, alparent pick them up,” a moth- though I do believe it is not er of another junior, who also okay that kids take advantage asked to remain anonymous, of Uber, as they drink more, said. “We are definitely happy I do think it is a much betto go anywhere day or night, ter alternative than teenagers and that way the parent can being dangers to themselves see what shape the child is in and others on the road driving when he or she is leaving the drunk,” Jones said. party.” Some parents take their *Names have been changed.

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The Chronicle polled 396 students on May 21 regarding their experiences with teenage drinking and personal driver apps.

23% of students think that Uber or other ridesharing apps encourage people to drink excessively

43% of students have used a designated driver instead of a ridesharing app SOURCE: CHRONICLE MAY 21-22 POLL GRAPHIC BY SABRINA DE BRITO/CHRONICLE BOTTLES LICENSED IMAGES FROM FREESTOCKPHOTOS.COM

C6 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

MAY 25, 2016

giving a grade to

GRA DE TR ANSPARENC Y Unlike many private schools in Los Angeles, the vast majority of Harvard-Westlake teachers do not disclose grades online for students to check their progress.

By HANNAH CHO AND KAMI DURAIRAJ

erally have parents hitting the refresh button,” upper school dean Beth Slattery said. “So Rachel Lee ’17 impatiently while I think that the school waited as the clock counted understands that for some down the minutes until 6 p.m. students [not knowing grades] on March 22. Three minutes causes anxiety, there is a later, she logged onto the Har- strong feeling that the convard-Westlake student portal stant tracking of grades would and accessed her long-awaited cause more anxiety and would also create a constant nagging third quarter grades. of the teacher.” “I just felt so reWhile the school’s lieved to finally see philosophy is to teach my grades, regardstudents to be inless of whether they dependent and take were good or bad,” ownership of their Lee said. “It’s such a grades, teachers are weight off my shoulrequired to notify a ders to know for cerstudent’s dean if his tain where I stand in ’ or her grade drops a class.” Brendan dramatically during Students have acRose’17 a quarter or if they cess to their current grades four times a year—at have below a C+ in a class. “If there’s a dramatic the end of first quarter, first semester, third quarter and change [in a grade], I try to tell after final exams. However, in the kid and give the family a between these dates, students heads up before final grades have no easily accessible re- come out,” Slattery said. “I also see final grades before source to check their grades. Unlike teachers at other they go home to families, and schools such as Campbell Hall I compare them to what their and Marymount High School, trend looks like and what they Harvard-Westlake teachers do got on the final.” Nevertheless, many stunot update grades weekly or allow students to check their dents believe their access to grades online whenever they grades is limited and that they like. Instead, in most classes, should be able to check their if students want to know their grades more often. They find grades before an academic that it can be difficult to keep quarter is over, they have to track of their own progress in meet with their teachers or a class when they do not immediately receive feedback or deans. “It’s discouraged for teach- grades on assignments. Addiers to keep a constant running tionally, as homework, quiztally of all of their grades any- zes and tests accumulate over where online, and that was a a quarter, students have a purposeful decision, just like harder time trying to calculate the decision to not have par- their own grades. “I think students should ents be able to track grades online because you would lit- be able to check their grades NATHANSON S

See No Evil

80 percent agree with a system that constantly updates grades online

whenever they want to see of that student’s performance. how they’re doing in the They do not necessarily have class,” Lee said. “While some to go strictly by numbers.” teachers have grades calcuThe school’s policy on lated and updated regularly grades gives teachers the final for us to check whenever we say in a student’s end-of-thewant, some teachers don’t, year grade, and they can give which can be kind of frustrat- a grade that is different than ing.” the numerical value. By the end of a quarter or “I feel like most teachers semester, some students are round up rather than round even surprised by the grades down if they know that a kid they receive in a class. is working hard,” Brendan “In English last year, the Rose ’17 said. “The teachers grades I got first semester ver- are hard first quarter, but I sus the grades I got second se- feel like they reward kids who mester were very different, so I do care and show that they do didn’t really know what my fi- care by coming into their ofnal grade would be, especially fice. [The end-of-year grade] because the grades I received usually works in the student’s were just letter favor rather grades instead than against of actual perthem.” I need to know centages,” Lee Although about my grades to said. students can According to set up meetassess how well I’m school policy, ings with doing in a class and to the curriculum teachers to figure out what I need to discuss their is the same for every class, and grades, some do to improve.” teachers will students —Rachel Lee ’17 would rather occasionally grade in teams not discuss to set standards for grading. them to avoid being seen as However, especially in English a nuisance or coming across courses, teachers still have as a student who only cares the discretion and autonomy about GPA. Additionally, some to choose their own books, students feel that it is hard lessons and teaching mate- to have an open conversation rials, as well as to decide on about grades with teachers. their own grading system. “I feel like I’m bothering “The school tries to strike a [teachers] and that I’m obbalance between making sure sessing over a letter,” Lee said. teachers don’t feel like they “I don’t want to be known as are being told how to grade that kid who only cares about or run a classroom and hav- grades, but at the same time, I ing some conformity,” Slattery need to know about my grades said. “Actually, the faculty to assess how well I’m doing in handbook gives teachers a lot a class and to figure out what of leeway, and the teachers de- I need to do to improve.” cide what is a fair evaluation While some students do be-

“

lieve that a more transparent grading system would alleviate stress, others think that it would distract students from the value of learning. “Some kids might go overboard worrying and checking, but not having constant updates leaves more room for happy surprises at the end of the year,” Rose said. “I think [the current system] focuses more on learning because you aren’t constantly notified about your grade going up and down.” Furthermore, a system where grades are more accessible would also allow parents to see the grades as well. This would make it possible for parents to become overly focused on each specific grade. “Most people have a good idea of what their grades are, and I think that having teachers post grades online for every assignment would make students more focused on their grades than they already are,” Jenna Moustafa ’17 said. “Like at my old school, they posted grades online, and my parents and I would be checking grades all the time. Now that they’re not posted online, you can just focus on the work in the class and learning and not just the grade itself.” For some, not knowing grades helps them learn and encourages them to meet with their teachers and establish a relationship with them. “Though my initial reason for meeting with my teachers might be to find out my grades, I end up learning the material better from working with them,” Sean Jung ’16 said.

The Chronicle polled 415 students on May 21 about their thoughts on a system where they can constantly check their grades as opposed to only at the end of the quarter.

34 percent don’t want their parents to check their grades online

13 percent were able to keep track of their grades themselves

SOURCE: MAY 21-22 CHRONICLE POLL GRAPHIC BY JIWON PARK/CHRONICLE

May 25, 2016

highstakes The Athlete: Lindsey Tse Emory University

hwchronicle.com/features

The All-Around: Nicole Araya Harvard College

The Brain: Cameron Cabo University of Pennsylvania

Features C7 The Artist: James Hansen Kenyon College

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY

Cashing In

By Eshanika Chaudhary

The Athlete: Lindsey Tse ’16 Lindsey Tse ’16 will attend Emory University in the fall, and while she applied undeclared, she plans to major in something science-related. Emory was her first-choice school, and she applied early decision. “I’m just happy how everything worked out, and I just advise everyone to calm down,” Tse said. Although Tse knew she had a good chance of getting in because of her sport, she was still nervous because the agreement was not yet fully official. She received her acceptance letter in December while she was at practice. “I was nervous right when I read the letter and then it said ‘congratulations,’” she said. “I was happy to be surrounded by my teammates.” Tse is most excited to be in the city of Atlanta. “I think I’m most excited for just a different change of scenery, like it’s still

The Athlete, All-Around, Brain and Artist reveal their college decisions as well as their identities. They also reflect on the process.

an urban city, but it’s going to be completely different from Los Angeles, so it will just be something very new,” Tse said. The All-Around: Nicole Araya ’16 Nicole Araya ’16 will attend Harvard College in the fall. Although she has not decided what she will study, she thinks that she will most likely major in applied science and minor in studio art. Harvard was one of her top three choices, and she is very happy about her admittance. “I couldn’t believe it at first,” Araya said. “I was really excited.” Araya said that she is most looking forward to learning new things. “I’m just excited to explore all the different fields that I haven’t been able to delve too much into this year but that I have an interest in,” she said. She also says that if she were to give advice to someone going through the college process, she would tell them to stay organized.

“It seems like everything at the moment is due the next day, so keeping an organized schedule is really helpful,” she said. “That’s something that I haven’t done as much, and even though I had a lot going on, it would have made it a lot easier to keep a schedule.” The Brain: Cameron Cabo ’16 Cameron Cabo ’16 said he is very excited to attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall. He was accepted into the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, which combines Penn Engineering and the Wharton School of Business into one program. “I guess it was really down to between the program at Penn, Columbia and UC Berkeley, and after visiting those three, I just felt most comfortable at Penn,” Cabo said of his decision. “I also knew that it would be really cool to be a part of that program because I’d have a class of 50 kids that I would know really well, and I also just felt like

Penn was a little more social and integrated.” Cabo is looking forward to studying art in addition to his main program, experiencing the city of Philadelphia and meeting new people. The Artist: James Hansen ’16 Hansen will attend Kenyon College, which was his first choice, in the fall of 2016. Although he does not yet know what he will study, he is thinking about either film, history or music as possible majors. “[Kenyon has] an incredibly welcoming campus,” Hansen said about his decision to attend. “It’s small, but small in a good way where I know that I can get a great education and a great time, and I can really delve into the subject matter. It’s also just got a great, really broad curriculum.” Hansen is most excited for the culture differences between life at Kenyon, which is in Gambier, Ohio, and Los Angeles.

C8 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

MAY 25, 2016

Thanks for the Pranks Senior pranks have been a school tradition for many years. Pranks range from water balloons and backpack mountains, to goldfish in bathroom sinks and fake road closures.

By KITTY LUO

with road closure signs to delay exams. Assistant to the Head of When Dylan Wan ’18 emerged from the Head Pre- Upper School Michelle Brackfect election assembly March en remembers a notable prank 23, he immediately noticed in which seniors placed a DVD that his backpack was not in player looping a pornographthe same location as he had ic audio clip in a Chalmers originally left it. Making his locker. According to Bracken, way through the crowd of jos- math teachers and students tling students, he finally came were baffled by the mysterious source of the upon a massive moaning and heap of backheavy breathpacks piled in I think a good, ing noises. front of the cafTo Bracketeria — a sehealthy prank could en, the most nior prank from actually have a postive important facthe graduating effect by unifying the tor to consider class. Despite havclass, and building and when organizing a prank is ing their backcreating community.” the amount packs stolen and relocated, —Chaplain J. Young of cleanup required afterWan and his wards. She said friends considered the prank funny, not an- she considers senior pranks to be funny as long as they noying. “It took a little bit longer are harmless and don’t reto find my backpack, but it quire somebody else to work wasn’t that much of an incon- to clean up. In her opinion, pranks are fine as long as they venience,” he said. When he becomes are creative and innocuous. “I get that kids want to do a senior one day, he too, will want something that’s fun, but I to organize a don’t think it would be fair class prank, for our maintenance crew to have to clean up afterwards,” he said. “I thought Bracken said. Most of the time, seniors it was creative and do not seek out the approval overall a good of teachers and deans before prank,” he pulling a prank. However students occasionally ask Bracksaid. Senior pranks en for her opinion. “Seniors have had ideas are organized by the senior class usu- of doing things which I think ally towards the end of a would be hilarious, like getting school year in order to leave a mariachi band to follow Mr. a memorable mark on the Barzdukas around and have school. The backpack prank them play whenever he starts occurred in March to take to talk,” she said. “I mean it advantage of one of the only would be hilarious. There are school assemblies seniors things like that that are harmless that would be very funny, don’t attend. Almost every year, seniors but most of the time students plan certain days where they just never follow through with will make water balloons to [their ideas].” Usually when students apthrow at juniors and sophomore on the quad, as well as proach Bracken, she is glad to bringing water guns to shoot help as long as the ideas are practical, she said. at underclassmen. “Students have come to Generally meant to be harmless and funny, these me with these ideas and said, stunts have become an an- ‘Could we do this, would you nual tradition for graduating help us?’, and I’m like, ‘Absolutely,’ because it’s harmless, students. In previous years, seniors and if it’s a great idea, I’ll do have put goldfish in bath- whatever I can,” she said. This year’s senior class creroom sinks and built walls in Chalmers Hall to blockade ated a Facebook group dedicated to brainstorming entrances. One year, right ideas for pranks. Albefore finals, seniors though there were closed off a part of numerous suggesColdwater Cantions, very few were yon Avenue

“

carried out. prank Facebook page were “Yes, we have talked and jokes,” Stovitz said. “Most of discussed our class pranks the ideas that had real poon our Facebook group, but tential were orally communithey never came into fruition cated to me, but a lot of these because it was just us really pranks seemed like they might being silly, and I think that by lead to excessive mishaving a Facebook group we chief, and I didn’t bonded and just had a lot of want to get in fun,” Rachel Porter ’16 said. trouble, so Porter believes that despite many were its lack of successful pranks, not exethe Facebook group provided cuted.” a positive environment. Brack“It was more of getting to- en begether and imagining a kind of lieves the fun. I think that more senior d e c r e a s e classes should do this in the in successfuture,” Porter said. ful senior The “backpack mountain,” pranks is originally nicknamed “back- due to better pack island,” was one idea that security. originated in the Facebook “Fifteen years group, except the plan was to ago, we didn’t have the inflate a yellow raft, place as security that we have now,” many backpacks as possible she said. “So it was a little bit onto it and set it adrift in the easier to get on and off camschool swimming pool. pus without people knowing. “I came up with backpack Now it’s much more difficult to island after watching sneak around and try an old Truffaut movto get on campus. So ie with my friends that’s why in recent where these busiyears we haven’t had nessmen essentialquite as many.” ly made a briefcase In past years, island,” said Jack many students have Stovitz ’16, the crealso approached ator and organizer Chaplain J. Young of backpack mounwith ideas for senior ’ tain. “We thought it pranks and have Jack Stovitz ’16 was hilarious, and I asked him how he decided to tweak the thinks the school’s idea to make it work for back- a d m i n i s t r a t i o n would packs.” respond to However, on the day of ex- these stunts. ecution, the raft would not in“I love a flate in a timely manner due good senior to a pump malfunction and p r a n k , the fact that it was too large to and I inflate by mouth, Stovitz said. wish we “This was very upsetting had more, because I spent a lot of mon- as long ey on the raft,” he said. “I had as they are kept backpack island a secret healthy and anyway, in order to discreetly don’t destroy sneak my raft into the pool, property or don’t so no one knew we failed,” he make other people said. “We ditched backpack clean up a big mess island and at the last min- or don’t hurt anyute came up with backpack body,” he said. mountain. Overall, I think it Pranks can be still went really well and was a fun and incluvery effective.” sive way for seniors Stovitz acknowledged that to bond, he said. most of the ideas posed on “I think a good, healthy Facebook never came into prank could actually have a fruition because they were positive effect [by] unifying not serious or thought the class and building and out well enough to creating community,” be successful he said. “I think pranks. it’s totally possi“A lot of ble to pull off a the ideas good, healthy, suggestsenior prank, ed on the and I love it.” NATHANSON S

PHOTO GRAPHIC BY JEAN SANDERS

Sports The Chronicle • May 25, 2016

Swimming and Diving

Boys’ Soccer

New soccer head to start next season By Aaron Park

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF HW ATHLETICS

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY: Claudia Wong ’17 swims the butterfly. Wong broke the school record held by Dara Torres ’85 in the 100 fly. The girls’ squad went undefeated this season, with a 4-0 league record and a 7-0 record overall. They finished first in the Mission League.

Individual swimmers thrive, qualify for Division I state championship By Juliana Berger and Emily Rahhal Claudia Wong ’17 placed 10th for the 100-yard fly with a time of 55.58 at the CIF State Swimming Finals May 21 in Clovis. Wesley Chang ’17 placed 15th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.34. There were 16 swimmers in each race. Earlier this season, Wong beat the school record set by Dara Torres ’85 in the 100 fly. Torres went on to swim in the Olympics. “It’s really incredible that she broke a 30-year record,” Haunani Bautista ’17 said. “She really deserves the record. She’s one of the hardest-working people I know in and out of the pool, and honestly, I wouldn’t expect anything less of her. She’s an

incredibly versatile swimmer, holding the school record in the 200 free, too.” This year’s squad was especially strong in relays, Bautista said. The squad had at least one boys’ and one girls’ relay team final at the CIF Division I Championship. Furthermore, the team as a whole was able to unite with dedication to the sport. The girls’ squad went undefeated this season, with a 4-0 league record and a 7-0 overall record. They finished first in the Mission League, and the boys’ team finished second to Loyola with a league record of 3-1 and an overall record of 5-1. “For the girls, getting first [in Mission League] really set the tone for CIF and even for future seasons,” Bautista said.

“We went from third last year to pact, and the speed of swimfirst, and I don’t see us slowing mers is expected to increase. down anytime soon.” But the team views this season Swimming and as a success. Diving Program Head “Our biggest Jason Schwartz finstrength this year was ished his first season really uniting as one with a focus on creatteam and all striving ing an aquatics comfor the same end goal,” munity focused on Bautista said. “The ensuccess. tire team really bought “Our new coach into swim this season brought our swim and put forth all of team and water polo their effort and dedinathanson’s team into one large cation. I really cannot Wesley aquatic program,” think of a weakness in Chang ’17 Chang said. “Because our team. Maybe conof this, everyone was more will- fidence? But that came with the ing to train with each other and progression of the season and cheer each other on, helping more team victories. I think we everyone achieve better goal were all pleasantly surprised at times.” how well we did from the very In the future, the team is start of season, beating prelikely to focus on making small season teams that we had lost changes to create a large im- to in the past year.”

The Athletic Department announced Friday that Kris Ward will be the boys’ soccer program head for the 2016-2017 season. Ward is currently the head coach for the FC Los Angeles and Total Futbol Academy youth soccer clubs. “We are extremely excited to have Kris Ward lead our boys’ soccer program,” Head of Athletics Terry Barnum said via a statement on the Harvard-Westlake Athletics website. “His wide range of coaching and leadership experience, from youth to professional levels, will benefit our school and our program enormously.” While most team members have yet to meet their new head coach, the school notified the players about Ward’s hiring via email on Friday. Originally from San Diego, Ward began his coaching career in 1999 in Northern Virginia. Before moving to Los Angeles, Ward most recently worked in Washington, D.C. as the Director of Recreational Soccer at DC Stoddert, a youth soccer organization. In addition, Ward has previously coached with the Southwestern Youth Association, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the Maryland Youth Soccer Olympic Developmental Program. Ward worked in Major League Soccer as a scout for the Seattle Sounders and an academy coach for D.C. United. During his last year with the Sounders, they finished the year as U.S. Open Cup champions. Additionally, Ward served as an assistant coach for the Washington Freedom of the Women’s United Soccer Association. • Continued on page D6

Boys’ Lacrosse

Squad ends season with close loss By Dario Madyoon and Rian Ratnavale The boys’ lacrosse team ended its first season under the leadership of Head Coach Erik Krum with a 10-8 loss against the rival Loyola Cubs May 7. “I am very proud of the effort that we gave the third time playing Loyola after losing twice to them earlier in the season,” goalie Troy Hattler ’17 said. “We gave them all that they could take. A lot of young players stepped up in that game, so the future for HarvardWestlake lacrosse is bright.” The team finished 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Mission League play, besting last year’s 11-8 finish. This improvement is in large part due not only to the new leadership of Krum but a wealth of young talent, such as Tommy Park ’18 and Zac Harleston ’17. “There is definitely some pressure to fill the leadership

roles, as three of our five captains were seniors,” Park said. “However, our junior class has done a great job leading. Zac Harleston and our other junior leaders did a great job this year of really leading by example. Not only us underclassmen, but everyone has to step up to fill the void left by the seniors.” The departing seniors are also quite confident that the new leaders will be able to rise among the underclassmen and take the reins next year. “I think Harleston and Paul [Rodriguez ’18] are going to step into big leadership roles next year,” Princeton University commit Phil Thompson ’16 said. “They’ve both already been impact players this year, and that should only continue as they improve over the summer. I also hope that Shane Houska ’17 can step up as a leader in his senior year. At times this year he was one of

the best defenseman in the state, but inconsistency was an issue. I think that if he works over the summer and matures a little bit over the summer he can step up his leadership, get rid of that inconsistency and dominate next year.” Now that the offseason has arrived, many younger players are looking to work on their game and do their part to step up next year. “The summer is mainly left for the players to do their own work,” Rodriguez said. “We have already scheduled a few summer workouts, but for the most part this is when we have progress as individuals, then when fall rolls around, we will be back in the weight room and on the practice field. I think now that we have had more experience together as a unit we know what to expect from the teams in L.A. and will continue to prepare for that.”

DARIO MADYOON/CHRONICLE

TABLE TOP: Philip Thompson ’16 wins a ground ball in a 6-5 Wolverine victory over Agoura Hills High School in triple overtime.

D2 SPORTS

THE CHRONICLE

Game to watch

MAY 25, 2016

Baseball

MAY 5

Mission League Finals @ Occidental College Three Wolverines made it through CIF finals for the girls’ track and field team. Nina Milligan ’16 (100-m hurdle), Claire Chapus ’17 (high jump) and Tierni Kaufman ’19 (high jump) will advance to the next round and to the Masters’ Tournament, where they will go to compete against fellow qualifiers from the CIF Southern Section finals.

KEY PLAYER Tierni Kaufman After an excellent performance in the CIF Finals tournament in Cerritos, Kaufman is poised for another great performance in the Masters’ tournament. Kaufman qualiﬁed with a second-place ﬁnish in the high jump with a height of 5'3".

& Figures Facts

.611

Baseball's league-win percentage

Boys' lacrosse California ranking according to MaxPreps

Number of years ago boys' basketball won previous state championship

.08

Seconds by which Claudia Wong ’17 beat the 100-meter butterﬂy school record

Junior Varsity Baseball (19-4) Last Game: 3-1 May 12 @ Alemany

Boys’ Golf (1-1) Last Match: 186-233 April 11 vs. Granada Hills HS

Boys’ Lacrosse (11-4-1) Last Game: 9-6 April 30 vs. Crespi

Boys’ Tennis (8-1) Last Match: 12-6 April 25 vs. Beverly Hills

Boys’/Girls’ Track (4-1) Last Meet May 5 at Mission League Finals

Boys’ Volleyball (4-18-1) Last Game: 2-0 May 4 @ Viewpoint

BENNETT GROSS/CHRONICLE

CURVEBALL: McCabe Slye '16 throws a pitch in the third inning of an 8-0 Wolverine victory against the Chaminade Eagles March 16.

Wolverines win first two playoff games By B ENNETT G ROSS

difficult CIF-SS Division I bracket. “Our only goals are to win Under first year Head Coach Jared Halpert, the all of our playoff games and baseball team finished the win a CIF championship,” regular season with an Loren Franck ’18 said. overall record of 22-8 and “That should be obvious.” Harvarda Mission Westlake League record h o s t e d of 11-7. Westlake and Heading We always joke defeated the into the CIF that [Thomas] is going Warriors 6-4 Playoffs, the behind Jesse Wolverines to be President some Bergin’s ’18 won five of day, so it would only six-inning their final five-strikeout six Mission be fitting he be a major performance. League games, leader on the team next Bergin got including a the win with year.” three-game the aid of sweep of the —Jake Suddleson ’16 John Thomas Crespi Celts. ’16 and Casey The team Slattery ’17, finished the year as the third best team who each added two RBIs. in the league, only behind After the first inning, the Wolverines led 6-0, but had Loyola and Chaminade. Despite its high to hang on late in the game placement, it was forced to clinch the victory. The squad advanced to to participate in a playin game in the notoriously face J.W. North in the first

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round. The Wolverines won 10-7 with the help of Jake Suddleson’s ’16 two home runs and four RBIs. Harvard-Westlake got out to an early 5-0 lead, but after four innings, the game was tied at seven runs each. However, the Wolverines scored three in the sixth inning to secure the victory and a ticket to the second round of the Playoffs. “Getting momentum early in the game is the biggest way to get ahead and stay ahead in games,” Paul Giacomazzi ’16 said. “When we lose that momentum, we have to find some little things to get it back to help us finish the game and end up on the right side of the scoreboard.” With the two wins, the Wolverines advanced to the round of 16 and faced Vista Murrieta Tuesday. The results of the game were not available as of press time. “Our main goal for the

rest of the year is to just focus on the task at hand,” Suddleson said. “Obviously getting better is still a priority, but the playoffs are a whole different animal, and we are trying to focus on winning game-by-game.” Next season, the squad will lose 11 seniors, including all three starting outfielders and both middle infielders. The team will rely on rising seniors Matt Thomas ’17, Ben Geiger ’17, Nico Mannucci ’17 and Sam Peacock ’17. “[Thomas] is such a natural leader and people have always gravitated towards him,” Suddleson said. “We always joke that he is going to be President some day, so it would only be ﬁtting that he be a major leader on the team next year. Not to mention that he would be following in the footsteps of his brother, who is a major leader this year.”

Boys' Tennis

Team loses in second round of CIF playoffs By BRYANT WU AND CONNOR REESE

The boys’ tennis team exited the CIF-SS playoffs with a second round loss to Los Alamitos 10-8. Going into the ﬁnal round of matches, it was tied 6-6. Patrick Hudnut ’16 and Adam Sraberg ’17 had given it their all to tie the match, and the team was missing captain George Noonan ’16, who was out with a broken foot. Stanley Morris ’18 gave the Wolverines hope by winning his singles match to bring the Wolverines to a 9-9 tie, but the doubles pairing of Sacha Pritzker ’18 and Kenneth Lee ’19 then lost the ﬁrst match of the day. It was a loss that the Wolverines couldn't recover from. “It was a really disappointing match, but I'm proud of how hard we fought to try and win,” captain Jed Kronenberg ’17 said. “Apart from not having [Noonan], we were playing away from home, and Los Alamitos is notorious for having a really

rowdy and obnoxious crowd, but we were able to ﬁght through these issues and have the chance to win. The only problem was that we couldn’t take advantage of our chance. “Even though we didn't make it as far as we hoped in playoffs, it was still super fun because of how close our PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF HW ATHLETICS team was.” The squad now changes DOUBLE TROUBLE: Adam Sraberg '17 (left) and Jed Kronenberg its focus to next year, for '17 (right) prepare to recieve a serve in a 6-0 win against San Marcos. which it has good hopes. strength in doubles matches. “While we are losing some for us next year as well.” “The way our team is set Jacob Tucker ’17 also has important seniors such as high hopes for the up now and next year requires Noonan, Hudnut and us winning most of the next season. Jared Eisner ’16, we “Even though doubles, as we are fairly deep are returning most of we lost Michael throughout the starting lineup our starting line up Genender ’15 and but do not have anybody that from this season,” Jacob Adler ’15, we wins every match in singles Kronenberg said. are getting three like [Genender] used to,” “Everyone should more nationally Kronenberg said. come back more With these thoughts, the ranked players experienced and who are coming in Wolverines are ready for a just better at tennis ’ as freshmen, so successful season next year. a year from now. I Jed our next season They will all work on their also know the middle Kronenberg ’17 is looking good,” games during the summer school team had an either by themselves or with Tucker said. undefeated season, The one thing that the the team and try to improve so maybe a few stars from that team will be able to come in Wolverines think that they from last year, Kronenberg and play important matches need to improve on is their said. NATHANSON S

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com/sports

Sports D3

inbrief

Track & Field

April Athletes of the Month announced

The Student Athletic Advisory Council named Jake Suddleson ’16 and Claudia Wong ’17 the April Athletes of the Month for their respective sports. Suddleson, a senior on the baseball team and a Harvard College commit, has led the team in many ways this year. Suddleson led the Mission League in homeruns, with 12 as of press time. The team is 21-8 this season. Wong, a junior on the swim team, unofficially broke a 30-year school record for the 100m butterfly. The girls’ swim team also won CIF-SS this season. —Zac Harleston

Team honored at all-school assembly

JOE LEVIN/CHRONICLE

PASSING THE TORCH: Nate Hollander ’17 passes off the baton to a teammate in the 4x400m relay at the meet against Crespi.

Individuals excel in CIF track playoffs

By Carina Marx and Cameron Stine

spite disappointing varsity losses to the very impressive Notre Dame team, our team The varsity track and field still managed to come home team has exceled this season, with 70 new personal records and personal going nearly bests, which undefeated in is really cool the Mission I really know and shows League and how hard [Barnum and that win or overall. lose, we’re still Seventeen Kaufman] worked and working hard members of the so it is good to see those and improvsquad made it to CIF playoffs two leaders of our team ing.” To qualify individually, be rewarded.” for CIF Finals, with a breakdown of seven —Andrew Berg ’17 event participants must boys and 10 place in the girls, and nine of those people qualified for top nine in playoff events. Nine people qualified for the finals on May 21. The boys are ranked eighth Finals—Alex Barnum ’16 for out of 45 and the girls are both the 100m and 200m ranked 14th out of 44 in Di- races, Bennett Yee ’17 for the pole vault, James Chung vision III schools. “I would say that the team ’19, Mason Rodriguez ’18, is very tough this year,” Brayden Borquez ’19 and Casey Crosson ’17 said. “De- Barnum for the 4x400m re-

“

and Kaufman] lay, Nina Milligan ’16 for the [Barnum 100m hurdle, Tierni Kaufman worked, and so it is good to ’19 and Claire Chapus ’17 for see those two leaders of our the high jump and Danielle team be rewarded,” Andrew Berg ’17 said. Spitz ’18 for the pole vault. Unfortunately, the team’s To qualify for CIF Masters, “throw squad” did members of the team not have much sucmust place in the top nine across all four cess in the Mission divisions. League Finals for This means that the shotput and the even if someone discus as the rest of placed first in their the team. event in Division III, The only varsity if nine other people member of the throw had faster times than squad, Tony Bouza them in the other di’16, who did qualify, ’ missed the competivisions, they would Casey not go to Masters. tion due to an unexCrosson ’17 Barnum qualified pected illness. for Masters in the 200m race, “[Bouza] is not just a throw and Kaufman qualified in the squad leader but a leader of high jump. the entire track team,” Berg This is the 15th consecu- said. “It was a bummer that tive year in a row that at least he couldn’t end his Harvardone Wolverine athlete has Westlake career in glory, and he will be hard to replace qualified for CIF Masters. “I really know how hard next year.” nathanson s

Softball

Squad ends season with shutout loss in playoffs By Oliver Akhtarzad and Elly Choi

said. “We went into the game ready to give it our all. We knew they were a good team, and After defeating Montclair we wanted to leave everything High School 7-6 on May 17, on the field. After the game, I the softball team fought its way think we were all a bit disappointed because we reinto the first round ally wanted to win.” of the CIF playoffs. Although the team However, the girls’ was upset about losseason came to an ing in the first round end in a tough loss of playoffs, the girls on May 19 against are proud of what they Gahr Richard High were able to accomplish School. as a team. After five in“I’m overall very nings, the game was proud of our team for called to an end as ’ coming together over a result of the merGillian the season on the field,” cy rule, with a 10-0 Gurney ’17 outfielder Gillian Gurloss. “It was a tough loss,” in- ney ’17 said. “In the beginning fielder Brenda Zaragoza ’17 we didn’t know each other as nathanson s

well, and there of course was a lot of talent, but we hadn’t figured out yet how to play together. Once we got into the season, we really got to know each other’s strengths, and I think that helped us to gel together as one unit.” The squad’s head coach said she feels the same sentiments. “We had an incredible season, which was a dramatic improvement from last year,” Head Coach Melanie Williams said. “I don’t think the team could have done better. They could have had a few more catches or a couple more hits, absolutely, but that’s the nature of softball. Going to playoffs definitely gave us insight

into what it takes to be a championship team.” Throughout the season, the squad was able to work on a variety of skills. The players gained more confidence, improved the skills necessary for their positions and began to take on leadership roles for next year’s season. “I think a good thing for us to work on next year is playing at a high level of the game no matter who our opponent is,” Gurney said. “We sometimes sink down to the opponent’s level and forget our capabilities. So I think we should definitely work on playing the game we know how 100 percent of the time, no matter who we face.”

Los Angeles City Council member Paul Krekorian, Head of Athletics Terry Barnum and Head of Upper School Audrius Barzdukas recognized the boys’ varsity basketball team for its Division 4-AA state basketball championship during the final 1st and 3rd Assembly of the year on May 18. Each member of the team at the Upper School, from team managers to players and coaches, was called up in front of the student body and faculty and given his championship certificate. It was the boys’ basketball program’s first State Championship since the 1996 and 1997 seasons, when they won two consecutive championships with the leadership of the Collins twins. —Zach Schwartz

Freshmen players release ‘HoopMojis’ Basketball players L Simpson ’19 and Cassius Stanley ’19 have made an emoticon app called “HoopMojis.” The app replaces the traditional iPhone keyboard and allows users to send basketballinspired emojis. It contains over 500 emojis, stickers and GIFs. Both freshmen who created the app played on the varsity team and won a state championship. —Oliver Richards

School to test out new sports data analysis The school’s Institute of Scholastic Sports Science and Medicine (ISSSM) entered into an agreement with Sparta Performance Science to conduct studies on athletes. ISSSM is an educational research group established in 2009 for the study and implementation of the best practices in sports science and medicine in order to enhance Harvard-Westlake’s athletes’ performances. Seventyfive athletes on five different varsity teams will be assessed using force-plate data for motion signature analysis to identify weaknesses that could cause injuries. —Sam McCabe

THE CHRONICLE

D4 SPORTS

MAY 2

All In

North Leo K UC Berkeley Duncan Froomer - Water Polo Alexandria Oser - Rowing Stanford Ben Hallock - Water Polo Cal Lutheran Jordan Brown - Basketball

Washington University in S Zoe Baxter - Volleyball Jadon Yariv - Soccer

USC Courtney Corrin - Track & Field Alexander Barnum - Track & Field John Thomas - Baseball

class of 2015

class of 2016

commits

Rhodes Colle Paul Giacoma

commits

soccer commits

water polo commits

tennis commits

track and field commits

golf commi

basketball commits

baseball commits

volleyball commits

football commits

swim commi

25, 2016

HWCHRONICLE.COM/SPORTS

SPORTS D5

Each year, students commit to take their sport to the next level. Even though there were more commits last year, a significant number of the Class of 2016 agreed to play their sports at highlyranked colleges next year. Listed below is every Wolverine who committed to play a sport in college.

hwestern Kaplan - Baseball

Kenyon University Patrick Hudnut - Tennis Bray Caverly - Golf

The Ohio State University Courtney Gazmarian - Soccer

St. Louis

ege mazzi - Baseball

m it

Davidson College Josie Treadwell - Volleyball Emory University Lindsey Tse - Basketball

Bates College Max Rolnick - Soccer Dartmouth University Jenna Thompson - Rowing Colgate University Noah Rothman - Football

squash commit

rowing commits

Wesleyan University Kaira Muraoka-Robertson - Volleyball Lafayette College Nina Milligan - Track & Field University of Pennsylvania Alec Hsing - Swim

lacrosse commit

Trinity College Marshal Cohen - Football

Gettysburg College Eric Bradley - Football

Colby College Sam Kelly - Football Tufts University Sahar Tirmizi - Squash Harvard Jake Suddleson - Baseball MIT Montana Reilly - Soccer

Brown University Cameron Deere - Baseball Quinn Frankel - Soccer Juliana Simon - Tennis Hannah Eliot - Water Polo

Princeton Davis Watchell - Water Polo Philip Thompson - Lacrosse

Johns Hopkins University Genny Thomas - Volleyball

US Naval Academy Gabe Golob - Baseball Garrett Robinson

D6 Sports Boys’ Soccer

New coach preparing for season

The Chronicle

May 25, 2016

Boys’ Volleyball

• Continued from page D1

“It is a tremendous honor to join the Harvard-Westlake family,” Ward said through the Athletics Department’s statement. “Going through the extensive interview process, it is apparent that this is a special community, one that seeks excellence in all endeavors. I look forward to learning a great deal from the faculty and students and hope to add my own insights in coaching and education. I’m excited about leading this new chapter for the boys’ soccer program and have confidence that our student athletes will rise to the challenges in front of us and push the program to unprecedented new heights.” The Athletics Department’s statement noted Ward’s utilization of sports science in his coaching philosophy. It also noted that Ward had already started working as the soccer program head, preparing the team for next year’s season. Ward will inherit a team that went 7-9-3 under former head coach Lucas Bongarra this year, including 4-6-2 in league play. The Wolverines will lose key seniors including forward Andrew Vanderschans ’18, forward Max Rolnick ’16 and center back Jadon Yariv ’16. Rolnick was named the Student Athlete Advisory Council’s February Athlete of the Month. The team will look to juniors like center back Ethan Blaser ’17 and wing player Theo Velaise ’17 as new leaders. The team’s underclassmen will also look to athletes like Velaise and Blaser to set an example in working closely with Ward this offseason to improve for their upcoming season. “I’m really looking forward to the upcoming seasons,” Jeremy Yariv ’18 said. “He seems like a great coach based on his resume and previous jobs. I really see the program going far under his coaching.”

JAKE LIKER/CHRONICLE

BENNETT GROSS/CHRONICLE

CATCH OF THE DAY: The six senior team captains (left) played their last match on Senior Day against Viewpoint on May 4. The Wolverines won the match 3-0. Chris Hedley ’16 (right) winds up to hit a serve during the Wolverines’ 3-0 loss to Notre Dame March 3.

Squad misses playoffs, ends season with triumph against Viewpoint on senior night

By Jake Liker

script at that moment and never looked back, winning the next With Mission League play al- eight points to win the set 25-23. Chris Hedley ’16, who reready complete and its hopes of making the playoffs dashed, the mained sidelined thanks to his boys’ volleyball team ended its right pinkie, which contained a litany of screws and pins after season with a rare high note. The boys finished 3-9 in undergoing surgery for the inleague play, a figure which gave jury, said the large contingent them sixth place out of seven of Fanatics in attendance played a big role in inspiring the turnteams. Then there was the Wol- around. “I think that everyone realverines’ senior night opponent, ized that this wasn’t how we Viewpoint, which won wanted to end our seanine of 10 Gold Coast son,” Hedley said. “We League games to finish had a nice Fanatics atop the league standturnout and we felt like ings. we were letting them Coming off of six down, and that it was straight victories, it time to show them how seemed unlikely that we usually play.” the Wolverines would That said, the defeat the Patriots in team did not usually straight sets. ’ win matches in three The odds were Colin sets—they hadn’t aconly further stacked in Shannon’17 complished that feat Viewpoint’s favor when all season long—but the Patriots stormed ahead to a 23-17 lead in the first the Wolverines went on to win set. The Wolverines flipped the the next two sets 25-16 and 25nathanson s

Athletic trainer plans to leave school for position at Loyola

By Adam Yu

lake. Zamani was often the first one on the field when a Athletic trainer Amanda player hit the ground during Zamani will leave Harvard- sporting events. One such athlete was Westlake at the end of the football and volleyball player year. Zamani previously worked Andrew Klein ’18. “[Zamani] is a funny, at Los Angeles Pierce Community College and attended genuine and loving person,” Klein said. “She loves California State Uniwhat she does and versity, Northridge. loves who she works She will take with. She is an amaza similar position ing person and trainat all-boys instituer. [Zamani] always tion and Harvardtreats her players as Westlake’s Mission if we are her friends League rival Loyola rather than another High School in Los patient. She is kind Angeles. to us and always Zamani assisted ’ loves to laugh with many student athAmanda us. She is the best letes with injuries Zamani trainer and friend and ailments during her time at Harvard-West- you could ask for.” nathanson s

Klein is not the only student who feels this way about Zamani. “She’s always been super nice and helpful, and she will be missed by everyone at Harvard-Westlake,” boys’ basketball team manager Eddie Mack ’17 said. Boys’ soccer outside back Boden Stringer ’18 also had similar thoughts about Zamani. “[Zamani] was always helpful whenever someone was injured or needed medical help,” Stringer said. “She was kind and showed a lot of care. When I hurt my back as a freshman, she was always there to check on me and give me help whenever I needed it.” Wolverine volleyball setter

point. Tilton was battling a back It was an admittedly surpris- injury and jammed finger and ing result, but Hedley said he was not cleared to play. Conversebelieved his ly, Henry Peteam would terson ’16, win. Roy Dritley “I knew ’16, Alec that for us, I knew that for us, any Winshel ’16 any game game was winable, and and co-capwas winthat if us seniors could tain David nable, and Ho ’16 were that if us seget everyone to focus, able to take niors could then we would win.” the court get everyone for their on the team —Chris Hedley ’16 swan song. to focus, we could win,” Outside Hitter A c c o r d i n g to Ho, this Hedley said. swan song “I’ll admit that I was scared in the first half would be etched in his memory of the first set, but we turned forever. “It was my last [Harvardthings around quickly, which was a testament to how much Westlake] game, and it’s a stronger this team was mentally game I’ll look back on no matter how much more I’ll play,” by the end of the season.” Hedley was one of six seniors Ho said. “It also allowed us to who donned a Wolverine jersey end our season with a good for the final time. Tommy Tilton team chemistry and have ’16 was another senior who was a common good memory to sidelined by injury against View- share.” 17.

“

Since ninth grade, [Zamani] has always been there for me and other athletes. Whether you need her to give you treatment or even just give you advice for a nagging injury, she’s always helpful and does it with a smile.” —Nathan Yeh ’16

Chester Ranger ’18 was yet another Harvard-Westlake student-athlete to share overwhelmingly positive thoughts on his experience with Zamani. “[Zamani] was really, really helpful in helping me recover from my concussion that took me out for a week or two,” Ranger said. Varsity boys’ basketball shooting guard Nathan Yeh ’16 said he appreciated how Zamani cared for athletes of all ages. “Since ninth grade, [Zamani] has always been there for me and other Wolverine

nathanson’s

athletes,” Yeh said. “Whether you need her to give you treatment or even just give you advice for a nagging injury, she’s always helpful and does it with a smile. As a coach at the Wolverine Basketball Sports Camps, I’ve sent many kids to [Zamani] and she always brought those campers back to me better than when I sent them before. They would always have a smile on their face because they felt cared for by [Zamani], and just as importantly, they were ready to get back to playing. We will all miss [Zamani] a lot.”

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com/sports

Sports D7

Boys’ Golf

Two golfers make state contest, team exits CIF-SS playoffs early By Joe Levin

Two golfers were able to qualify for the earliest round of the CIF State Championship by finishing near the top of the leaderboard Thursday in the CIF Individual Championships. Owen Calvin-Smith ’17 shot a 73 and Trey Fearn ’16 shot a 77 in the Individual Championships at Mission Lakes Country Club in Palm Springs. CalvinSmith’s round was low enough to tie for the sixth-best score of the tournament. “I came in knowing that par would be a good score on any hole, so I played it very safe throughout the round to eliminate any major mistakes,” Calvin-Smith said. Fearn deployed a similar tactic. “I tried to play very conservatively and simply scrape by because at that course with those conditions, that is really the only safe option,” Fearn said. “I know it does not [sound like] the mindset of someone looking to win, but when you’re an individual fending for yourself, you have to give yourself the best chance of advancing to the next stage.” Brandon Kewalramani ’17 played in the tournament too, but he was unable to advance. Calvin-Smith and Fearn will compete next in the CIF Regional State competition on May 26 at Brookside Country

Club. They will need to finish in “Some stuff did not go our way the top nine to move on to the towards the end, and some other bad breaks just made it State Championship in June. While some top golfers will hard to recover.” Two weeks earlier, the be participating in the Regional tournament, Fearn is not fazed. squad’s top golfers participated “I am not going in with in the Mission League Individthe mindset of wanting to just ual Championship. Fearn won make it in the top nine to ad- with a final round of 71 and vance to State,” Fearn said. “I was named league MVP. “A team is more than one am playing to win. I think that guy,” Fearn said. is going to be the dif“We stuck by each ference. Keeping in other’s side as we mind that top nastruggled, and that tionally-ranked playis really what being ers are in the field, part of a team is all I want to prove that about.” I deserve to be up The squad will there with them.” lose four seniors next Calvin-Smith is season, but Fearn is using the week beconfident that Calfore the tournament ’ vin-Smith and Keto get more comfortBrandon walramani will step able on the course. Kewalramani ’17 into their roles as se“I am very familiar with the course, so I nior leaders. “Those two guys work hard am practicing the shots that I typically struggle with at that and lead in different ways,” Fearn said. “I hope that regardcourse,” Calvin-Smith said. Although some of the indi- less of how things go, they nevviduals continued, the team’s er give up on themselves and season ended in the CIF-SS each other.” Calvin-Smith doesn’t plan Division Team Championship on May 16. They finished sixth on changing his approach too much, even with the added title overall. The team had high hopes of team leader. “I hope that [leadership] going into the team championships, so the early exit was par- comes naturally,” Calvin-Smith said. “And I hope that I can ticularly tough to swallow. “It was really frustrating help give advice to anyone who and disappointing, especially needs it and provide a spirit with the depth of our team that will bring us into competithis year,” Kewalramani said. tion mode.” nathanson s

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF HW ATHLETICS

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Owen Calvin-Smith ’17 (left) and Trey Fearn ’16 (right) pose after qualifying for CIF-SS Regional State Qualifier in Palm Springs. Calvin-Smith shot a 73, and Fearn shot a 77.

D8 SPORTS

THE CHRONICLE

Q&A

MAY 25, 2016

Hailey de la Vara Softball

By ELI ADLER When and how did you start playing softball? How long have you been playing for? I started playing softball when I was eight years old. At first, I was kind of forced into playing since I had an older brother who had been playing for years. I have been playing for eight years now. What is the practice and training regimen like, both in and out of season? During the high school season, the practices are sometimes productive, sometimes not. Towards the end of the season, our team all had the same goal, which was clinching a playoff spot, and we worked super hard during training to achieve that goal. For my club softball team, the training is always super intense and difficult. The practices with my club team have pushed me to compete with my teammates and to become an overall better player. How would you characterize this season? What went especially well? What were some highlights? I think that this season was overall pretty good. We started off slow, and had a losing record for a while. Towards the end of the season, we had a six-game winning streak that put our record over 50 percent, which was a big deal for the softball program. I think the biggest highlight of the season was beating undefeated Chaminade in league. The whole team contributed to the win, and this game clinched our playoff spot. Heading into this season, how did the team improve from last year’s disappointing season? I personally didn’t feel very much pressure, because I knew that we’d be getting a couple key freshmen that would make a sudden impact to the team this year. I think that we all knew that this year would be a completely different season. Each of us individually learned something from last year’s disappointing season, which strengthened our game. Do you have any pre-game rituals? What’s on the playlist? A couple of the girls on the team and I are always dancing to music before the game and cracking jokes on the bus. Some of the songs on our team playlist are “Formation” by Beyoncé and “Jumpman” by Drake. What has been your most memorable Wolverine moment? My most memorable moment was probably playing in playoffs this year. The last two years on the softball team, we didn’t make playoffs, so I think that this has shown how much we have improved. I think that next year we will really have a shot at competing in playoffs. What do you hope to work on during the offseason, heading in to next year? I’ll be playing with my club team over the summer, so I will be working on my pitching mainly. I really want to work on perfecting all of my pitches and to continue to be successful at the plate. As you’ve gotten older, how do you feel your role on the team has changed? I definitely have become more of a leader. I want my teammates to look up to me and to come to me when there are any problems. How have you evolved over the course of this season? I’ve evolved over the course of this year because I’ve gotten stronger and more fundamentally sound. Last year, I only batted around .400, and this year I improved to .515, which was a huge step for me. I also led the Mission League in RBIs. Also, towards the end of the season, I think my pitching was steadily improving game by game. My defense had my back, and it helped me to be a more confident pitcher and player.

Stats 11

Wins

148

Number of strikeouts

2.30

Earned run average ADAM YU/ CHRONICLE

SENIORSUPPLEMENT The Chronicle â&#x20AC;˘ May 25, 2016

No Place Like Home From the tornado that was seventh grade to our journey over six years along the Yellow Brick Road of high school and maturity, as vetted seniors about to graduate, we can truly say there is no place like home.

ILLUSTRATION BY VIVIAN LIN

E2 Senior Supplement

The Chronicle

quadtalk

May 25, 2016

The Chronicle asked members of the Class of 2016: “What’s your favorite memory from Harvard-Westlake?”

“Definitely my favorite thing about senior year was having way more free time so that every day I was able to get really close with friends and go off campus for lunch. We drove all around Los Angeles to ridiculous places and explored a bunch of the city.”

— Cameron Cohen ’16

ANGELA CHON/CHRONICLE

“A memory that sticks with me is that in ninth grade I went to the lower river retreat, but my bag got sent to upper river so I was that one kid who didn’t have to carry their bag the whole trip. I ended up getting my stuff when I got back to Harvard-Westlake.”

— Dora Schoenberg ’16

ANGELA CHON/CHRONICLE

“My favorite memory at Harvard-Westlake was probably towards the end of junior year in my programming class when we were working on our final projects. Mr. Fieldman and I really got to spend every day working on my code, creating an app and developing my work ethic.”

— David Ho ’16

COLE FELDMAN/CHRONICLE

“I think overall, all of the basketball games were extremely fun even though I’m not the sportiest person. It’s probably the last time I’ll get to do that with all my friends.”

— Yoko Everard ’16

COLE FELDMAN/CHRONICLE

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com

Senior Supplement E3

“Senior privileges of going off campus to eat were pretty cool because the cafeteria food can get boring sometimes.”

— Jack Feldman ’16

COLE FELDMAN/CHRONICLE

“I loved the feeling immediately after my last AP test. It was so cool how everything felt like it had culminated. Afterwards, I just felt like I could enjoy what had happened with my friends in the past three years at high school.”

— Cameron Cabo ’16

COLE FELDMAN/CHRONICLE

“The geology trips that I took in 11th and 12th grade were amazing. Ms. Van Norden allowed me to go again in 12th grade for my friend’s birthday there. It really felt like the community came together.”

— Kayla Darini ’16

COLE FELDMAN/CHRONICLE

“My favorite memory was when Roy Dritley fell while trying to demonstrate the Doppler Effect.”

— Emma Kofman ’16

“I loved our last Cabaret concert. It was a very great experience for the choirs and brought us all very close together.”

— Jessica Brandon ’16 ANGELA CHON/CHRONICLE

“My favorite parts of school were just the random second semester senior nights. I loved watching my good friend Sid Kucheria going live on Facebook.”

— Jaebok Lee ’16

SACHA LIN/CHRONICLE

E4 Senior SUPPLEMENT

THE CHRONICLE

The Next Adventure

Karla Alas Occidental College Patrick Albarino Undecided

Paul Anderson Carnegie Mellon University (Institute of Technology) Javier Arango Harvard College

Caroline Chapus Gap Year (Harvard 2021) Justine Chen Barnard College

Hyunseok Choi Washington University in St. Louis

Jeffrey Ehlers UC Berkeley

Jared Eisner University of Michigan

Hannah Eliot Brown University Brady Engel University of Michigan

Angela Chon Cornell University

Justyn Erramouspe NYU (Tisch)

Harold Chong USC (Marshall)

Yoko Everard University of St. Andrews

Zoe Baxter Washington University in St. Louis

Sharon Chow Johns Hopkins University

Kenneth Trey Fearn Cornell University

John Chung Emory University (Oxford)

Cole Feldman Emory University

Zachary Belateche Stanford University

Cameron Cohen Harvard College

Jack Feldman Vanderbilt University

Mollie Berger Emory University

Marshal Cohen Trinity College

Ryan Finley Scripps College

Brandon Bergsneider Stanford University

Truth Cole Amherst College

Paige Berlin Barnard College

Tiana Coles Colgate University

Madison Foster University of Wisconsin-Madison (Business)

Daniel Birnholz University of Miami (Rosenstiel)

Benjamin Cooper Tufts University

Anthony Bouza Carleton College

Courtney Corrin USC

Alexa Bowers Barnard College

Veronica Crow Scripps College

Eric Bradley Gettysburg College

Hannah Dains Washington University in St. Louis

Alexandra Arreola Sewanee: University of the South Alexander Barnum USC (Annenberg)

Jessica Brandon Wesleyan University Duncan Brin UC Santa Barbara Hunter Brookman University of Chicago Jordan Brown California Lutheran University William Burford Williams College Cameron Cabo University of Pennsylvania (Jerome Fisher)

Christopher Darden Pomona College Kayla Darini Colgate University Jensen Davis Harvard College Isabelle De Montesquiou NYU Cameron Deere Brown University Saransh Desai-Chowdhry NYU (Gallatin)

Laura Campbell Vanderbilt University

Roy Dritley Dartmouth College

Natanael Carlos-Vargas Kenyon College

Christina Duval Georgetown University

Emma Caragozian Columbia University

Elizabeth Edel Duke University

Jonah Carloss Declined to State

Michael Edwards University of Miami (Frost)

Martin Caverly Kenyon College

Daniel Eghbal Washington University in St. Louis (Olin)

The Roads Most Traveled Roughly one in four seniors will attend one of these ďŹ ve schools in the fall.

Members of the Class of 2016 announce their plans for next year. Alexandra Gordon Cornell University (Hotel Administration) Ava Gordon UCLA

Natalie Elattrache USC

Joelle Choi Washington University in St. Louis

Nicole Araya Harvard College

MAY 25, 2016

Isadore Frankel Tufts University Quinn Frankel Brown University Joshua Friedman USC (Cinema)

Amanda Gores NYU (Clive Davis) Jack Graham University of Edinburgh

Gabriel Jenkinson UC Berkeley Lauren Jones Dartmouth College Nina Avalos-Juarez The Hill School (Navy 2021) Matthew Jung SUNY Binghamton

Alexandra Grande Oberlin College

Sean Jung Columbia University (Engineering)

Daniela Grande Kenyon College

Elliot Kang Brown University

Sebastian Grande Rice University (Architecture)

Leo Kaplan Northwestern University

Bennett Gross Cornell University

Marissa Karo NYU (Stern)

Carlos Guanche Yale University

Camila Katz Gap Year (Stanford 2021)

Benjamin Hallock Stanford University

Joe Katz Colgate University

James Hansen Kenyon College

Cole Kawana USC (Marshall)

Lauralee Harper USC (Thornton)

Victoria Keating University of Chicago

Daily Hartmeier UC Berkeley

Samuel Kelly Colby College

Cole Hattler Duke University (Pratt)

Michael Kellman Dartmouth College

Marisa Hattler Northwestern University

Hannah Kelson Imperial College London or Cornell University (Undecided)

Duncan Froomer UC Berkeley

Christopher Hedley University of Wisconsin-Madison

Daniel Furman University of Pennsylvania

Carter Hindle University of Miami

Audrey King Bennington College

Sydney Garnett Oberlin College

Adam Hirschhorn Harvard College

William Klink Johns Hopkins University

Courtney Gazmarian Ohio State University

Jonas Hirshland University of Michigan (Engineering)

Victoria Knight Wesleyan University

Bradley Gellman Vanderbilt University (Peabody) Jared Gentile NYU (Tisch) Paul Giacomazzi Rhodes College

David Ho NYU (Tandon Engineering) Samantha Ho Carnegie Mellon University (School of Design)

Alexander Kihiczak UC Berkeley

Erik Knighton Gap Year Eugenia Ko University of Chicago Emma Kofman Brown University

Julian Girod University of Chicago

Alexander Hsing University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

Katie Kreshek University of Michigan

Jonah Goldman Yale University

Patrick Hudnut Kenyon College

Siddharth Kucheria USC (Viterbi)

Benjamin Goldsmith Columbia (Engineering)

Robert Iancu UC Berkeley

Dharan Kumar Boston College

Gabe Golob Naval Academy Preparatory School (Navy 2021)

Taylor Ingman Oberlin College

Brandon Kuwada University of Toronto

Annik Irving UC Santa Barbara

Paula Lahera Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Eliseo Gonzalez Hagerman NYU (Tisch)

NYU - 17

Shaileja Jain Brown University

USC - 15

MAY 25, 2016 Annabel Lassally Washington University in St. Louis Christopher Lee USC Dahyun Lee Cornell University Jaebok Lee Georgetown University (Walsh) Nathan Lee Stanford University Agustin Letelier Cornell University Brandon Lim Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) Leena Lim University of Chicago Sacha Lin Swarthmore College Vivian Lin Cornell University (Art, Architecture and Planning) Kelly Loeb Undecided Troy Loizzo UC Berkeley Kennedy Long Williams College Arjun Mahajan Oxford University (Magdalen) Ara Mahseredjian USC (Viterbi) Michael Mapes UCLA Ryland Marcus Emory University Neda Mazdisnian UC Santa Barbara Miles McQueen Middlebury College Nina Milligan Lafayette College Haden Modisett UC Berkeley Roland Montgomery Carleton College Jolie Moray University of Michigan (Music, Theatre and Dance) Kelly Morrison Gap Year (Berkeley 2021) Daniel Mosch University of Wisconsin-Madison

HWCHRONICLE.COM

SENIOR SUPPLEMENT E5

Caitlin Neapole Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University

Henry Roskin Vanderbilt University

Katharine Speare UCLA

Jon Nelson Brown University

Noah Rothman Colgate University

Cole Staggs Duke University

Juliet Nguyen Union College

Ryan Ruiz Southern Methodist University (Lyle)

Nicholas Steele Stanford University

Kenneth Noble Brown University George Noonan Imperial College London Wolfgang Novogratz Gap Year Alexandria Oser UC Berkeley Anne Otero Washington University in St. Louis

William Ruppenthal Johns Hopkins University Gabriella Salimpour Barnard College Joss Saltzman Stanford University Montgomery Samuelian Boston University Jeremy Samuels NYU

David Ozen University of Chicago

Brendan Sanderson University of Chicago

Grace Pan Harvard College

Aria Sarnoff NYU

Lucas Perez UC Santa Barbara

Shannyn Schack Boston University

Henry Peterson Duke University

Madeline Schapiro Bates College

Jessica Pfeifer Kenyon College

Emma Schechter Columbia University

Alivia Platt University of Colorado Boulder

Dylan Schifrin Yale University

Rachel Porter Williams College

Dora Schoenberg Washington University in St. Louis

Jordan Pulaski UC Berkeley Claire Quinn University of Vermont Laurel Rand-Lewis Middlebury College Alexa Ranger NYU (Tisch) Elizabeth Rao Johns Hopkins University Hannah Rasekhi UC Berkeley Noah Redlich University of Chicago Montana Reilly Massachusetts Institute of Technology

David Seo University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)

Mariel Murphy Cornell University

Adam Rosen Tufts University

Su Jin Nam UC Berkeley

Dillon Rosenblatt USC (Marshall)

David Strauss Cornell University Jordan Strom University of Michigan Jacob Suddleson Harvard College Michael Swerdlow Stanford University Robert Tarlanian Occidental College Frances Tercek Brown University Genevieve Thomas Johns Hopkins University

Kieran Whitmore NYU (Tisch) Zachary Wieder Vanderbilt University Natalie Wiegand University of Pennsylvania Scarlett Wildasin Bard College Hannah Wilen Duke University (Pratt) Emma Williams NYU (Gallatin) Haley Wilson Lewis & Clark College Alec Winshel NYU (Stern)

John Thomas USC

Benjamin Winters Davidson College

Jenna Thompson Dartmouth College Philip Thompson Princeton University Thomas Tilton Duke University

Jessica Wolf USC Isabelle Wolff University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

Josephine Shaughnessy University of Washington

Josephine Treadwell Davidson College

Caroline Shaum NYU

Dietrich Tribull Duke University (Pratt)

Nina Woythaler Washington University in St. Louis

Julian Shaw Kenyon College

Lindsey Tse Emory University

Clement Sheng Boston University

John Turk University of Missouri

Chloe Shi Wellesley College (Engineering with MIT)

Jonah Ullendorff University of Chicago

Katherine Sing Case Western Reserve University

Max Rolnick Bates College

Jack Stovitz Harvard College

Simone Woronoff Northwestern University

Kelly Riopelle Cornell University

Kaira Muraoka-Robertson Wesleyan University

Stephanie West USC (Marshall)

Sampson Traenkle DePaul University

Juliana Simon Brown University

Elliott Rollins Tufts University

Claire Stevens Rice University

Jonathan Seymour Stanford University

Nicholas Richmond Vanderbilt University

Henry Muhlheim University of Chicago

Andreas Werner Pitzer College

Mikaela Wolfsdorf Washington University in St. Louis

Jonathan Rich UC Berkeley

Ivan Rodriguez University of Notre Dame

Shelby Weiss Georgetown University

Sahar Tirmizi Tufts University

Parsa Shoa University of Michigan (Engineering)

Benjamin Most Columbia University

Lauren Weetman University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)

Matt Ursin-Smith Boston College Miles Van Tongeren Declined To State

Andrew Wu Johns Hopkins University Jona Yadidi Gap Year (Occidental 2021) Vivian Yang University of Michigan Jadon Yariv Washington University in St. Louis Adam Yaron USC (Thornton)

Andrew Vanderschans Boston College

Nathan Yeh University of Wisconsin - Madison

Henry Vogel Dartmouth College

Sara Zhao Johns Hopkins University

McCabe Slye NYU (Tisch)

Davis Wachtell Princeton University

Jake Zimmer Carnegie Mellon University

Daniel Sneider Carnegie Mellon

Francesca Walker Columbia University

Henry Zumbrunnen Tufts University

Lauren Song Cornell University

Emma Wasserman Villanova University

Toby Spain UC Berkeley

Ian Watts University of Michigan (Engineering)

UC Berkeley - 14

*SpeciďŹ ed schools or programs are noted in parentheses.

Cornell University Washington University in St. Louis

- 11

*Based on colleges reported to the Chronicle PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SU JIN NAM

THE CHRONICLE

E6 SENIOR SUPPLEMENT

MAY 2

Follow the Yellow Bri • Written by Eugenia Ko Illustrations by Vivian Lin

Seventh Grade: The Tornado Walking through the gates of the middle school for the ﬁrst time, we all felt a little like Dorothy arriving in the technicolor land of Oz. Seventh period cookies and sushi days, decorated lockers and the newfound freedom of free periods seemed new and magical compared to the recess times and line leaders of sepia-toned elementary school. Still, with the excitement for our new surroundings, came the slow recovery from the tornado of transition that landed us in middle school before we were ready – dodging shouts of “sevvie!” from our upperclassmen, discussing bar/bat mitzvah invites and happenings at lunch tables and trying to remember the new rules under the bellowing voice of Mr. Kim. Like Dorothy’s house blown away by the tornado squashed the Wicked Witch of the East, our tornado tore up old elementary friendships, nights of minimal Algebra homework and even our hopes of who we’d be in the new world of middle school. As we timidly made new friendships on the lawn outside of Seaver or on the steps up to the library like the eventual alliance of Dorothy and the munchkins, we stared down something scarier than even the Wicked Witch of the West: the next six years of our lives.

Eighth Grade: Glinda Appears Our Ruby Slippers from the Good Witch of the North came in the form of seniority as eighth graders. Though the ninth graders still ruled the school (and the back of the bus), we found delight in knowing our way around campus like Dorothy after help from Glinda the Good Witch. But with new views came the emerging prospect of grades and advanced classes, Geometry and Biology tracks that would pave the way for the new goal: the Emerald City, the Upper School. With heightened rumors of who was dating who in often day-long (or, if lucky, week-long) relationships and more clearly deﬁned friend groups, we seemed full-ﬂedged, awkward middle schoolers all uncomfortable in our skin but hoping to pretend a little better than the person next to us, ready to travel down the Yellow Brick Road toward Emerald City, high school and maturity.

Ninth Grade: The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion As ninth graders who ruled the middle school, we thought we made it, we could do it alone. But in retrospect, we hadn’t grown up nearly as much as we thought we had – it was the friends and bonds we forged that year that taught us as much about ourselves and each other as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion learn about themselves when they meet on the Yellow Brick Road. Each hope to meet the Wizard of Oz, the answer to all their prayers – whether seeking home, heart or brain like Dorothy and her friends, or friends, college success, a high school experience like many of us. We on the Chronicle bonded on the Spectrum staff, budding journalists excited for the next episode, an Emerald City of our own. For the rest of us, whether while rafting on the Colorado River or at the Happiest Place on Earth, we became a complete grade when the new ninth graders joined us as we looked forward to the next chapter, joined together to ﬁnd each of our own Wizards -- whatever Honors classes, dodgeball upsets or witches came our way.

25, 2016

HWCHRONICLE.COM

ick Road

SENIOR SUPPLEMENT E7 In our past six years together, we have faced wicked witches, been each other’s ruby slippers and helped each other along the Yellow Brick Road towards graduation. As we prepare to leave, let’s take a look back at some highlights from each year of our epic journey through Harvard-Westlake. Tenth Grade: The Poppy Field The Wicked Witch of the West was no match for the Upper School. After a year of bonding and seniority at the middle school, the projectile apples and fire that Dorothy and her friends face in the poppy fields were nothing compared to the intimidating upperclassmen, endless stairs and a workload none of us saw coming. Like the sleep that Dorothy and her friends fall into, the first few months were a hazy deluge of in-class papers, dean meetings about the very looming prospect of college and desperate attempts at adjustment. However, we had made it to the Emerald City after all, and just as Dorothy, Toto and the Lion clean themselves up, the Tin Woodman gets polished and the scarecrow gets fresh stuffing despite the attacks of the Wicked Witch (or any history test), we recharged every weekend enjoying football games as Fanatics and getting involved in upper school plays, reaping the benefits of the upper school life. By the end of sophomore year, the “great and powerful” Wizard of Oz, the bearer of all answers (for whatever each of us sought), was so close within our reach, we could just see it.

Eleventh Grade: The Wizard and the Witch If only junior year delivered the answers we’d hoped for. Dorothy and her friends arrive at the door of the Wizard of Oz ready to receive his wisdom, believing it’s that easy. After a year to adjust, understand how to calculate GPA’s and the best time in a period to avoid a long sandwich line, we expected the answers we were hoping for. But inevitably Dorothy and her friends are tested one last time, attacked by winged monkeys but strong enough to melt the Witch and escape. APUSH seems as hard as any vengeful witch or monkey, and we’d be lying to say we made it through with dry eyes or a normal sleep schedule. Whatever the answers we sought were, we quickly learned they couldn’t be answered by a phony Wizard, bumbling and apologetic. By junior year, we were experts at all-nighters, how to ace a test (or brush a bad grade off), but most importantly years of confusion, struggle and college seminars taught us strength.

Twelfth Grade: Going Home Looking back on our six years together as seniors just days away from Graduation, “there’s no place like home” is an understatement. Dorothy wakes in her bed, the journey looking more and more like a dream, the same way a time when we didn’t know each other’s names or didn’t have random party selfies together seems worlds away. As confident people who’ve seen each other through it all (bad haircuts, growth spurts and all), we don’t need our Emerald City or Wizard of Oz, not even a lucky pair of ruby slippers to find answers, for we have learned to find them ourselves with each other by our sides. Home will always remind us of the Class of 2016, Basketball State Champs, pancakes on the quad, Flume blasting from beats pills. There will be times in the future as we disperse all over the country, when we embark on the next Yellow Brick Road, look for our next Wizard of Oz, but home (though it may not be Kansas) will always be three heel clicks away.

E8 Senior Supplement

Last Words

The Chronicle

May 25, 2016

Seniors end their Chronicle careers with their farewell columns.

Hard work pays off By Henry Vogel

I settled into the Chronicle long haul three years ago. Countless stories, edits and hours of hard work later, it feels slightly ironic that I’m writing my swan song for the publication on the topic of perseverance. Nevertheless, hard work is a notoriously intrinsic component to the stereotypical Harvard-Westlake experience, and as I look back on my years at the school, it seems like a fitting subject for a final sermon to my readers. Hard work has become somewhat of a taboo. Prospective parents on my guided tours inevitably ask about the legend of the HarvardWestlake work load, hoping to shield their child from the apparent monsters of stress and labor. I’ve heard students lamenting over their choice to be a Wolverine due to the excessive homework assignments and tests, and other times wishing they had chosen another school altogether just because it would allegedly have been “easier.” I shamefully include myself in this trend, as I came dangerously close to quitting the basketball team just before our state championship season started, fearing that the new coach’s intensified practice schedule might prove overwhelming in the midst of the college admissions process. But while hard work scares so many of us, we should not fear it, only respect it. The moments of maximum pain and discomfort at the pinnacle of our toils are the most invaluable to our

growth and development. As we question why we should continue through a hard practice or a long night of studying, we are forced to evaluate our values and motives. I hold those periods of introspection accountable for shaping me into the person I am today. Shifting my focus to college, I envision the nights where I’ll sit alone in the library, wondering what the heck I’m doing 3,000 miles away from home. The sacrifices I made trying to improve as a teammate, player, journalist and student will pay off when I recognize that I already know how to take a deep breath, execute a self-evaluation and push onwards. While I’m proud of my state championship ring and the name of the college I was accepted to, the intangible things I developed on the road to these accomplishments will be far more useful in my further development as a human being. On the other hand, I sympathize with parents and students who feel excessive stress is counterproductive to a healthy childhood. As someone who took on an incredibly full schedule in high school, I wholeheartedly see that side. Conversely, President Rick Commons’ attempts to make Harvard-Westlake a more student-friendly environment are laudable and much appreciated. Yet while we strive to find a healthy balance, the value of hard work should not be disregarded. It’s part of the learning experience in and out of the classroom, and while

SACHA L/CHRONICLE

SHE’S GOT HIS BACK: Editors-in-Chief Eugenia Ko and Henry Vogel joke around in the parking lot outside of Weiler Hall, the building where the publication is designed and edited every month.

SHARON CHOW/CHRONICLE

MOST OF ’EM: Clockwise from top left, Managing Editor Benjamin Most ’16, Editors-in-Chief Eugenia Ko ’16 and Henry Vogel ’16, Presentation Editors Su Jun Nam ’16 and Pim Otero ’16, Managing Editor Angela Chon ’16 and Executive Editors Sacha Lin ’16 and Kelly Riopelle ’16.

I’ve watched my fair share of Netflix, I’ve also had plenty of times where I’ve had to sweat my way through a set of lines during the second half of a grueling midseason practice or a multi-page study guide

To my last Chronicle contribution By Eugenia Ko I’ve lived my entire life swearing by Advil until I contracted something Advil can’t fix. I have all the symptoms of a common cold — my head feels like it is racing a million miles a minute, my palms sometimes sweat, my throat closes up (often with some accompanying tears) and I really often want to lie down. Advil can’t fix it, and it won’t heal. Recently I have been obsessed to the point of sickness with the idea of “lasts.” I can’t go 30 minutes after a milestone in my life, however small, without feeling the intense pull to wallow in nostalgia for events that are so recent they are not yet in my past. It makes me feel dizzy, and my stomach churns thinking about a time in my life where I can’t return to where I am now. I could really almost faint thinking about the fact that that time is coming soon. I don’t know what quite triggered this addiction that makes me perpetually walk around with a disposable camera to catch moments for my dorm wall or make lists of things I must, must do before

I go, as if Los Angeles won’t be waiting here for me when I return. All I know is it’s all I’ve been thinking about as the days count down, and this weekend — I don’t know how I got through it. I hadn’t made it 500 feet down Coldwater Sunday night before the dreaded but familiar feeling set in. The flowers my best friend brought me for my last Harvard-Westlake performance rattled around in the passenger seat next to me, weighed down only by the remnants of my lunch from Chronicle layout, the makeup from my choir show running down my face washed away by tears. I don’t blame myself. My mind was nostalgic for so many things already: Coldwater Canyon that doesn’t exist in Chicago where I would be in 5 months, only 5 months, my last choir show and my beloved Chronicle team during our last layout — all pinnacles of my high school experience, filled with people who had made it possible. One of the good side effects of my obsession is that I can recognize a special moment. So it was only when I pulled over on Ventura, took a

for a seemingly impossible unit of APUSH. Even if the end result doesn’t go my way, I’ve learned to recognize and respect the value of hard work. Deriving learning experiences

Nostalgia was an inevitable part of my senior year, but I’m starting to realize our impending goodbye is only until the next time we meet.

tionally distant not only from breath and watched the cars my high school self but all of go by that I made a scientific my friends. breakthrough about my obI guess that change is session sans years of research inevitable, that “lasts” are in a facility. I thought what I last times for a reason, and was always fearing was losing it is naive to think I won’t be all the people in my life as we shaped by new surroundings scattered to different ends of and new people when my curthe globe. But looking down rent surroundings and people Ventura at all the food joints in my life have changed me and Harvard-Westlake staples so much. But that we’d it is easier to spent the past say goodbye to three years people I know I at, I couldn’t It is easier to say will see again, imagine a goodbye to people I rather than world where know I will see again, parting with we wouldn’t return to them rather than parting with who I grew into during the last sooner or later. who I grew into during six years. It was then It is moI realized it the last six years. ments when I wasn’t my feel the influfriends I’d miss ence of the people around at all (sorry, and much love). me that I realize I may not be What I was really fearing, the changed so easily. root of all my insane scrapEvery time I hear Wicked’s booking and daily bouts of “everything is ending” anxiety, “For Good,” I will be reminded of the time I played a stripwas that I’d lose the version per in my last choir show of myself that I am now, lose and cried into one of my best the way I feel around the friend’s shoulders. Every time people I love or become bored someone “roasts” me or an by the things I used to love to insane phrase of LA-exclusive do. I am afraid that life and lingo accidentally escapes my time will change me — that lips to bewildered Chicago I will end up so irreversibly students, I’ll think of my edichanged that I will feel emo-

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from the processes of studying for a test or practicing for a game shouldn’t be forgotten when considering the importance of childhood development and a high school education.

tors, my best friends and our fast food weekends filled with coordinated Drake rapping. These things are embedded in who I am, whether I like it or not, habits and memories I’ve developed that won’t go away with a little wind and snow. Even with this realization, I need some Advil writing my last piece of writing for my last Chronicle issue. I can’t even begin to consider if I chose the right topic to write about last, or if there are things I’d like to add and people I want to thank. There are some moments I will remember forever without a photo to commemorate them, spontaneous moments just as important as “firsts” and “lasts” that no amount of heartfelt writing could account for, and I have very slowly begun to accept and appreciate that. I don’t think I will get over this condition any time soon because the word “graduation” still sends shivers down my spine, and finality has become the bane of my existence, but I can rest a little more easily knowing we can always make a few more “lasts” and infinitely more “firsts.” Class of 2016, I am already feeling nostalgic.

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com

Senior Supplement E9

Gather around, it is time for us to connect By Bennett Gross

Even though I was mostly focused on the score of the Sunday Night Football game or watching the sun set behind the crowd during Senior Ceremony in September, one thing that I distinctly heard was Prefect Helene Miles ’16 say that this was the first time that all of the parents and students of the Class of 2016 were in the same place at the same time. I began to think. Seventh grade? No. Eighth Grade? No. Ninth, 10th, 11th? No luck either. I was shocked and appalled. While most people were focused on the pictures and finally receiving the rings that they had ordered five months before the ceremony, the moment that stuck with me the rest of the night, was that sentence in Miles’ speech and how disturbing it seemed. Fast forward a few months later, the boys in the Class of 2016 were given the opportunity to attend the Senior Boys’ Event, which was a luncheon with their fathers to hear Los Angeles Lakers’ legend Magic Johnson. When I arrived at Bel-Air Country Club, I was pleasantly surprised to see 270 students and fathers in the room, watching an NBA legend give his advice to 135 high school students. Attendance was not taken. There was no credit for college acceptance, no extra credit for a sixth AP class. Everyone went solely because they were genuinely interested. Just before Magic took the podium, one of my good friends turned to me and said, “This feels like a New Student Admit Day.” I chuckled then went back to trying to find Johnson hiding in the back of the room before his grand entrance. However, my friend was

completely right. This should not have only been happening during the last few weeks of senior spring. While I am not advocating for a professional athlete — in the girls’ case, it was a founder of a notable cosmetics company — to come speak at the school on a moment’s notice, these events led to a valuable two hours on a Saturday that otherwise would have probably been relatively wasted. It was refreshing to see nearly every senior boy and his father truly riveted by someone that everyone, basketball fan or not, would consider inspirational. It was not to see their son playing quarterback, or acting as the lead in the school musical, but just to essentially have a good time. We constantly talk about the Harvard-Westlake community, and with recent discussions about diversity and inclusion, the idea of uniting our students, parents and faculty is one that is sometimes overlooked. In my Business of Life class this year, one of the main takeaways heading into later life is that sometimes things are so obvious that it is hard to see that they even exist. In this case, the faculty makes a lot of attempts to unite our school. However if we just took a step back and saw how successful the Senior Boys’ and Senior Girls’ Events were, we would have our solution. Having more non-stressful, non-competitive events in which everyone can just have a good time — either by listening to a speaker, watching a movie or going to a Dodger game — are some of the most memorable ways to spend a Saturday afternoon with your classmates and their families.

EUGENIA KO/CHRONICLE

SPORTY SOUL MATES: 2014-15 Sports Section Heads Bennett Gross ’16, Henry Vogel ’16 and Jonathan Seymour ’16 (left to right) share a joke in their final weekend on the newspaper staff.

SACHA LIN/CHRONICLE

FORK IT UP: Managing Editors Benjamin Most ’16 and Angela Chon ’16 enjoy a snack during a break from working at layout. Managing editors helped oversee sections and edit pages throughout the year.

Reflections on my reflection

By Benjamin Most

Every morning, it’s the same thing. Rinse. Watch the shaving cream spiral down into the sink. Raise the blade to my face. Scrape off the tiny hairs blossoming like little brown flowers from my chin. Wipe the blood from my face onto a damp washcloth. Check my face in the mirror, rub my chin to get rid of any loose hairs. Rinse. Repeat. I’ve been shaving for a long time now. The truth is, I’m a very hairy guy. An early bloomer. In the middle school locker room of my old school, I was known for the jungle of hair in my armpits. That’s what they called it — a jungle. And to be fair, the metaphor was not too far off from the truth. If you put your ear to my armpit and shushed the other boys in the locker room, you could hear tiny monkeys swinging from tree to tree. At first, I was embarrassed to strip in front of my classmates and reveal the lush manly forests of my body. But in time, this embarrassment faded, and indeed was

replaced with pride. After all, when you’re in the same locker room as one boy known for eating insects in second grade and another who wet his pants in third, having hairy armpits isn’t so bad. I’ve heard that masculine hair growth is a big turn-on for women. It’s a symbol of our primal evolutionary roots. I know this because in eighth grade, I read an article on the top ten ways to attract women, recommended to me by my friend. These ten guidelines have largely determined the events of every day of my life since then, and I swear by them religiously. In truth, I don’t know if a hairy face or chest is truly an attractive quality. But for an eighth grade boy ripping his shirt off in the locker room, it’s somewhat of a confidence booster. Anyway, the most important part of the morning shave is the face check. All is revealed in the mirror: every blemish, every scratch, every cut, every wrinkle. It is a moment at once exhilarating and frightening — a moment of

Inspired by his reflection in the mirror as he shaves, Benjamin Most ’16 considers how he has changed in the past four years.

naked truth, both figuratively and literally, as I see my own reflection with a Santa Claus beard of shaving cream. My own eyes gazing into mine. My own bushy eyebrows raised in anticipation. My thickly muscled chest. My armpits, pre-deodorant. (Tip number two: use deodorant sparingly. Women like a little natural scent, I hear.) It is hard to describe what I see in the mirror every morning. It is a face I wear every day, and yet one that I see only a couple times a day. But one thing is undoubtedly true: the face I see in the mirror now as I shave at age 18 is very different from the one that gazed back at me four years ago. I remember what I saw in the mirror four years ago. Insecurity. Fear. Self-consciousness. I was unsure of what to expect at a new school, and I knew nobody except for a couple people from Fast Start. But looking in that mirror back then, I knew this was a new beginning. A chance to start fresh, to reinvent my

image. To throw away the old me who was known mostly for memorizing 4030 digits of the number pi, an accomplishment that was somehow absent on my list of ten tips to attract women. From the ashes of my past I could emerge as a triumphant phoenix. I’m a different person now. More confident, more secure. Funnier, smarter, wittier. When I look in the mirror, I’m proud of what I see. I like that guy. I would be friends with that guy. If I ran into that guy on the street, I would nod upward at him and perhaps even offer forth a fist bump. For readers unaware of the universal language of nodding: a nod up is a symbol of brotherly love and trust. Scholars claim that this meaning developed because the upward nod bares one’s neck, making them vulnerable. The upward nod is reserved exclusively for friends or generally trustworthy people, as opposed to the more wary downward nod. There’s very little I’m afraid of anymore. Because, looking in the mirror, I know

I can handle anything. I can trust myself. Four years ago, I was just a boy. A smart boy, a hairy boy, but a boy all the same. A boy largely unaware of the world around him; unaware of politics, of history, of the way the world works and why. I’m a man now. A man confident in himself and in his own abilities, both mental and physical. A proud, intelligent man. A man with a beautiful, gaping future in front of him — a future with promises of success and toil and fast sportscars and supermodelfilled saunas. But I’ve never forgotten where I came from. I’ve never forgotten the kid who felt embarrassed about his armpits in the locker room. I’ve merely built on that kid. I’ve made him bigger, stronger and sexier. And every time I slip — every time I cut myself – I just wipe away the blood and keep on shaving. After all, women like a few cuts here and there. Injuries show confidence and toughness. Trust me on this one.

E10 Senior Supplement

The Chronicle

May 25, 2016

Just fake it ’til you make it, act the part By Cole Feldman

SU JIN NAM/CHRONICLE

THE A-TEAM: News Editor Cole Feldman ’16 and Opinion Editor Jonah Ullendorff ’16 worked on news and opinion content for the the A-section of the monthly Chronicle issues last year.

EUGENIA KO/CHRONICLE

FEATURES FELLOWS: Benjamin Most ’16, Sharon Chow ’16, Sacha Lin ’16, Vivian Lin ’16, Pim Otero ’16 and Su Jin Nam ’16 all worked in the Features room during the 2014-15 year.

I’ve always wanted to have a nickname. In elementary school, most people knew my closest friend (and idol) only as “B,” short for Bryce, and it described him perfectly. He was too cool for any more letters of the alphabet, and only someone of his notoriety could pull it off. His seemingly inexhaustible wisdom enthralled me, and I could not shut up about him. He taught me about girls and cars and told me impossible stories of his own adventures at his public school. I believed everything he ever told me. How could I not? After all, Bryce is one whole year older than me. He could spin stories like no other I have ever met, creating grandiose and complex narratives of wonder. Although his tales of seeing a 200-foot-long snake and surfing gigantic waves have become fiction to me, his confidence and conviction have remained ingrained in my memories of him. When people referred to him just as “B,” I saw it as the summation of all of his bravado. To be exact, I wanted to have his confidence and be exactly like him. Years later, the shadow of Bryce’s legacy and nickname guided me through my freshman year of high school. I heard his words in the back of my mind and truly tried to get out of my comfort zone for the first time. I joined the boy’s volleyball team on a

whim with no knowledge of the game. All I had was my old friend in the back of my head telling me to “fake it until I made it.” I went to my first practice only to discover that I would be practicing with the entire program, including the frighteningly veteran varsity team. I got hit in the face by countless balls, barely completed passes and plainly just sucked. I went back the next day for the same result. Wash, rinse, repeat. Regardless, I acted like I deserved my own nickname each time I played, and I was proud of myself for that. I competed for that recognition until a senior player pointed at me at an away game at St. Francis and called me “Sad Eyes.” It definitely wasn’t as suave a name as I had dreamed of, but at least it was unique. After this point, I realized the true lesson I gained from my friend all those years ago. All you need is confidence and a goal. I will need these words as I have to tackle the impending nightmare of adulthood and college. I have little knowledge of what I must do to be successful in life, and the first time I have to do my own taxes, I will probably finish looking a bit like the first time I stepped out onto the court. That being said, I will take my sad eyes and look capable every single time I attempt anything in the future. Whenever I will fail, I’ll look good and be that much closer to success.

‘The Real Slim Shady’ stands up

By Jonah Ullendorff

EUGENIA KO/CHRONICLE

PRESENTABLE: Presentation Editors Pim Otero ’16 and Su Jin Nam ’16, who edit page designs, hang out outside Weiler Hall.

What’s the coolest thing a guy could do? I think I nailed it on the head when my first impression on editor-in-chief Henry Vogel ’16 was of a weird kid who sat on the back of the bus on the first day of school in seventh grade memorizing the lyrics of every song by Eminem. I must say my social skills only improved from there when in eighth grade I told the football coach, Mr. O’Leary, that the main similarity between the middle school football team and Abraham Lincoln was that they both can’t finish a play. He gave me a detention, which he later offered would be rescinded if I just apologized to him. I stood firm though, bravely carrying out my detention, for I would not apologize to this man. I think I gained his respect that day, although I’ve had my doubts, especially after he declined my Facebook friend request I sent him for the fifth time. Perhaps my proudest moment was in ninth grade when, for an English project, I asked Willy Rosenfeld ’16, who left after ninth grade, what is the first thing that pops into his mind when he thinks of Jonah, and he asked, “Jonah Goldman or Jonah Carloss?” Which brings me to Eminem’s classic song, the one I memorized on the bus all those years ago next to Henry Vogel.

“Will the Real Slim Shady please stand up? I repeat, will the Real Slim Shady stand up? We’re gonna have a problem here.” (In the music video everyone then stands up). Now stay with me here, but I believe that no one is actually the “real” Slim Shady because Slim Shady as a concept is not real. The idea of Slim Shady is manufactured and imitated by Eminem’s followers and fans so much so that there is nothing that separates Eminem from the other “fake” Slim Shadys. And an identical crowd of Slim Shadys is a simple indication that there is no one single “real” Slim Shady. So here I am memorizing “The Real Slim Shady” in the back of the bus with Henry Vogel watching in awe of my rap skills, thinking I’m the coolest kid he’ll ever see in his life. I was hoping to make myself a replica of the real Eminem, Marshall Mathers himself (minus the lack of a high school diploma and felony charges), not realizing that the song I was memorizing was literally making fun of people like me. Wait, but before you stop reading in disgust assuming that this is another stupid column about the importance of being yourself and not conforming to others, I urge you to stay. I promise you that’s not where I’m going. Look, it’s no secret that people behave differently around their friends than they do around their family. Often people will

behave in contradictory ways for their own benefit. This is all to fit a certain mold that people want to be, but is this so bad? Is the way you choose to create this mold not, in fact, a reflection of who you are as a person? Who cares if Henry Vogel finds my amazing rap skills indistinguishable from the real Slim Shady himself? Isn’t that a good thing? Furthermore, those who rebel and claim not to be followers of ideals are in fact followers of the “anti-follower” ideal. Bring me a group of people claiming to be free thinkers and individuals, and I bet you would have a hard time differentiating them if you ignored their physical features. When I refused to apologize to Mr. O’Leary, I was not being an anti-conformist. Instead, I was just conforming to those who thought I was in the right and he had overreacted. Yes, it feels weird to be the least-known Jonah in the grade, and it stung even more when such a lesson was taught to me by Lord Willy himself, but that’s just a result of the mold I decided to fit into: a shy kid who is extremely admired by Henry Vogel for his superior rap skills. So when some loser tells you that you have to change because you’ve conformed too much into what society wants to, you just tell that plebeian what Mr. Roger’s told us all those years ago, “I like you just the way you are.”

May 25, 2016

hwchronicle.com

Finding my way By Angela Chon

As I was scrolling through the nominations for Senior Superlative Awards, gossiping about who had the best hair or who was most likely to become a dictator, I couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened when I hit most/least changed since seventh grade. This wasn’t because I didn’t agree with the votes necessarily. Instead, at the close of senior year, when everyone reminisces about their middle school days, thinking back to bar mitzvahs and horrible lockers in Reynolds Hall, I was reminded again that I never got the chance to have that experience because I was a new ninth grader. Being a new ninth grader felt like it defined my experience at Harvard-Westlake for a long time. Especially in ninth grade, I remember being exclusively in a friend group with only other new ninth graders, being lost on a cam-

As a new ninth grader, it took a while to acclimate, but eventually I found my home.

pus that everyone else seemed to know as a second home and not yet understanding certain school traditions. Though these little feelings of being one of the new kids gradually disappeared with my transition into the Upper School, I still never quite felt like I fit in—from things as basic as my entrance into Harvard-Westlake in ninth grade. This year, however, as I reflect upon my final year at this school, I can’t help but feel a sense of true community, family and a home. Maybe it sounds cliché, and I only feel this way because there is a countable number of school days left, if you count coming for one class a day of school. But I’ve found a home in my newspaper room, where I spend literally an entire weekend not only laying out the paper but also making lunch runs, complaining about sophomores—jokingly of course—and coming up

with puns that don’t end up really making sense. I’ve also found my family on the basketball court, where I first learned to perform with my cheerleading team. After four years of summer intensives, year-round practices and games and multiple injuries, though I never perfected my splits, I learned how to be a team player and work together to conquer all sorts of issues. In the end, there are so many little communities I’ve become apart of throughout my four years here, and I no longer feel like an outsider among the families I’ve established at Harvard-Westlake. Though I’m excited to start a new chapter of my life in college next year, I’m honestly glad to say that I’ve spent my last four years right here, excited for the next amazing few days to come but also still a little sad that I was not able to add those extra two years to my time here at HarvardWestlake.

Senior Supplement E11

Live day by day

By Sharon Chow

my perspective. The speaker was the founder of the nonprofit In 10th grade, the only “because I said I would.” He thing on my mind was colgave out cards that had that lege. Every day, my parents phrase printed in the corner. I would talk about strategies only used one of those cards, to get into the best college at but what I wrote completely the dinner table or urge me changed how I approached to study more. Everything the rest of my high school seemed to depend on going to career. the best possible college, and “I will find one thing to be if I did, then happy about I could get a every day,” my great educacard read. tion, get into I never took the Whenever a great meditime to slow down I had a rough cal school, get day at school, a great job to and appreciate the would look at earn lots of experiences like my first Ithat little card money, raise a football game.” taped up next family to pass to my desk and on my legacy reflect on the and die happy. good of the day. Sometimes That was the plan. That was it was as small as someone always the plan. opening the door for me or But that meant I never someone just saying hello to took the time to slow down me in the hallway. and appreciate the experiLooking back now, I realize ences like my first football how important it is to take game or Homecoming. To be life day by day and reflect, perfectly honest, it is incredbecause it will be gone before ibly difficult for me to recall you know it. Each individual specific memories from 10th day might not have been grade. All the days seem to great, but all those days taken have melded together. together were. However, near the end of How thankful I am that I my 10th grade year, I went to a talk that drastically changed was able to experience it all.

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A bittersweet ending By Kelly Riopelle

SU JIN NAM/CHRONICLE

THE EXECUTIONERS: Executive Editors Sacha Lin ’16 and Kelly Riopelle ’16.

Thank you to my beloved teachers

By Su Jin Nam

Rather than try to condense my four-year experience at Harvard-Westlake into just a few words, a significant portion of which is embarrassing memories anyway, I’m going to take this space to relay my sincere thanks to the people that have had an integral role in my high school career and possibly in my life. I don’t know if I have the courage to ever say these things in person, so I turn to the pen to relay my feelings of gratitude. First to English teacher Dr. Malina Mamigonian. I’m sorry I never told you how amazingly beautiful you look every day in class, not only because of your impeccable style, but also because of your elegance and love for your subject. I have been honored to sit in your class every day for two years, and I would be lying if I denied the fact that some days I go to class just to see you teach. I hope to one day live with the same energy that you exhibit everyday in English, Ethics and Ethics

Bowl. You’ve pushed me to think deeper, question what I thought were social laws and never settle for mediocre reasoning. Thank you for taking this clueless junior under your wing and making me a human being. Second to performing arts teacher Rodger Guerrero, who is soon to be Dr. Rodger Guerrero. I apologize to Mamigonian for saying this, but I’m glad the Ethics class was cancelled in my junior year because it gave me the opportunity to continue my choral career with you. Bel Canto and Chamber Singers became for me, exactly what you had hoped it would be for your students. It was a safe haven in the middle of my hectic Harvard-Westlake schedule, and you were the fearless leader of a group of hoodlums. Although I will not go on to study music in the future, I will forever appreciate the role of music in bringing joy and lightness into my life. It will forever amaze me that you had the schedule for the last week of school on the first day of classes, when I don’t

even know what my day will look like tomorrow. You did so much more than teach me how to sing. You gave me the confidence to assert my voice and the ability to connect with others through emotions. Third to performing arts accompanist Dr. Sara Shakliyan. I can only aspire to have half the amount of patience that you have. Thank you for smiling at me when class was rowdy, for teaching me that learning was meant to be fun and joyful. You led by example. By being professional and fun at the same, you inspired not only me, but also all of your students to work harder to achieve new heights. We see your dedication and we try to emulate your passion. Thank you for being an example and for loving us so much. To all the teachers and people at Harvard-Westlake that have touched our lives in some way, thank you. In some way that you are not aware of, you’ve changed our lives. Thank you for giving us your time and love. We’ll remember it forever.

,and while I’m definitely torn about leaving for college and everything that I’ve known my To be honest, sitting here, entire life behind, I also don’t trying to write this column, feel like another month or two I’m not quite sure what to say except that I almost didn’t end at Harvard-Westlake would help me. up here. There’s a reason high In 10th grade, overschool is only four years long, whelmed by the transition to and a reason that I feel like the Upper School, I applied I won’t quite be completely out to various other schools ready to leave come August and had the opportunity to move-in day. leave. I want to leave feeling a But, I decided to stay, in little sad and nostalgic; I want part because of the friends to worry about missing my that I had made at Harvardfriends and family because Westlake. that means that returning will Now I can certainly say be all the sweeter. As cliché that I am glad I did. as it is, I am grateful to have Harvard-Westlake has been far from easy. From wak- something to miss and people to be excited to come home to. ing up at 4 a.m. to study for I am someone who doesn’t Mr. Neisser’s history tests— really care for change, and it’s I’m more of a morning person fairly recently that I finally feel anyway—to slaving over Engcomfortabe walking across the lish essays trying to not disquad or lounge without feeling appoint English teach Jeremy uneasy. This is why I’m glad Michaelson, to meeting that I stayed. dreaded 11:59 p.m. deadline Because as a shy, introfor online physics homework verted seventh grader, I never assignments. Some weeks it would’ve imagined that I could seemed like senior year—let walk into school and have alone graduation—would people outside never come, esof my direct pecially those friend group times when all I’m sure I’ll even say hi to me. of my teachers long to be back on the Even simultaneously though I am quad, eating Costco assigned tests not close with upon essays bagels and avoiding everyone in upon quizzes. math homework.” the grade, and And yet at there are some other times, people I only weeks would met this year, it will be weird pass in a blur of rehearsals, drives to 7/11 to get Slurpee’s to not see so many familiar faces around next year. and blasting music driving I’m sure, for the first down Mulholland with my couple of months at college, best friend. I’ll even long to be back on the But whether it was during a hectic, stressful week, or the quad, eating Costco bagels and avoiding math homework. weeks after APs ended and I I don’t know quite what I didn’t know what to do with want to say to you all; I don’t all my spare time, spending have any words of wisdom to six years at the same place pass off or any keys for suchas been an invaluable expecess, but Harvard-Westlake rience that I am glad I didn’t Class of 2016, while it’s been miss out on. a long journey, there is no My friend asked me reother class that I would rather cently if I would want another month of high school if I could be a member of.

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E12 Seniors

May 25, 2016

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PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF SHANNYN SCHACK

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF EUGENIA KO

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1. Sacha Lin ’16, Lexi Bowers ’16 and Shannyn Schack ’16 2. Kelly Loeb ’16, Angela Chon ’16 and Toby Spain ’16 3. Elliott Rollins’ 16 and Sharon Chow ’16 4. Ravi Durairaj ’17 and Su Jin Nam ’16 5. Eugenia Ko ’16 and security guard Nate White 6. Ryan Finley ’16, Jenny Lange ’17, Adam Hirschhorn ’16, Abby Shaum ’16, Saransh Desai-Chowdhry ’16, Emma Caragozian ’16, Jessie Pfeifer ’16, Sydney Garnett ’16, Erik Knighton ’16, Juliet Nguyen ’16, Kenneth Noble ’16, Shelley Jain ’16, Zach Belateche ’16, Lucy Yetman-Michaelson ’17 and Carlos Guanche ’16 7. Abby Shaum ’16 and Saransh Desai-Chowdhry ’16 8. Jon Nelson ’16 9. Hannah Kelson ’16, Cole Fletcher ’15, Daphna Fischel ’15, Michael Swerdlow ’16, Lexi Block ’17, Agustin Letelier ’16, Nicole Araya ’16, Josh Friedman ’16, Daniela Grande ’16, Ben Weinman ’17, Rasa Barzdukas ’17, Henry Roskin ’16, Daniel Eghbal ’16 and Jessica Dickman ’17